The Nation Newspaper

Author: The Nation

  • Igoche Mark to fete Lagos Legends at Abuja reception

    Igoche Mark to fete Lagos Legends at Abuja reception

    Lagos Legends Basketball Club will receive a rousing reception in Abuja  today, where top basketball benefactor and Mark D’Ball founder, Igoche Mark, is hosting a grand celebration in their honour.

    The ceremony follows the Legends’ sensational campaign in the abridged Nigeria Basketball Premier League, climaxing with their thrilling 74–72 triumph over Rivers Hoopers in the Final 4 showdown in Port Harcourt on November 24, 2025. The hard-earned victory not only secured the national championship but also booked their place in the 2026 Basketball Africa League (BAL).

    Read Also: Chukwueze happy with life at Fulham

    Mark, whose Mark D’Ball initiatives have become a backbone of basketball development in Nigeria, has extended an open invitation to fans, stakeholders, and the wider basketball community to celebrate the newly crowned champions.

    The Abuja reception is expected to attract senior NBBF officials, coaches, players, and prominent figures across the basketball landscape—coming together to salute a team whose resilience, discipline, and clutch performance produced one of the league’s most unforgettable finishes.

    For Lagos Legends, the achievement represents more than winning a title—it is a bold statement of intent. For Nigerian basketball, it is a moment of pride worth celebrating.

  • EPL: Palace beat Fulham to move up to fourth

    EPL: Palace beat Fulham to move up to fourth

    Crystal Palace left it late to secure a 2-1 victory away at Fulham and move up to fourth in the Premier League on Sunday while Brighton & Hove Albion were held to a 1-1 draw at home by West Ham United.

    Skipper Marc Guehi scored a late winner in the London derby to move Palace up to 26 points with their fifth away win of the season to sit a point above Chelsea in fifth. Fulham remain in 15th.

    “It is good (to be in the top four), we keep our feet on the ground, it is only one win against a really good side and we now focus on the next game,” Guehi said.

    “It was a tough game, Fulham are a very good side who create a lot of chances with the rotation they have out wide, so it was important we stayed in the game and stay together.

    “It is credit to the whole team, not me, as when everyone does their job it is easy.”

    Palace took the lead after Adam Wharton found Eddie Nketiah in the box and the striker produced a smart finish to beat goalkeeper Bernd Leno for his second league goal of the season.

    However, Fulham equalised in the 38th  minute when Harry Wilson played a sublime one-two pass with Raul Jimenez, turning at the edge of the box before pulling the trigger with the outside of his boot to beat Dean Henderson’s dive.

    Fulham thought they had turned it around when Emile Smith Rowe scored from a rebound but the goal was chalked off when replays showed Samuel Chukwueze had strayed offside in the build-up.

    Read Also: Osimhen wants Onyedika at Galatasaray

    With a draw seemingly on the cards, Palace scored in the 87th  minute from a corner when Guehi rose above the defence to head home the winner, with the captain celebrating in front of delirious Palace fans with his arms outstretched.

    Meanwhile, Brighton and West Ham shared the spoils after Jarrod Bowen’s stunning second-half goal for the visitors was cancelled out by Georginio Rutter’s equaliser in stoppage time.

    Bowen’s 73rd -minute strike gave West Ham a ray of hope but Rutter pounced at the death to deny the visitors three valuable points that would have taken them out of the relegation zone.

    The result leaves West Ham in 18th  place with 13 points, two behind Nottingham Forest, while Brighton moved up to seventh with 23 points.

    “It feels amazing for the first goal for the season. I am very happy but we only take one point so that is frustrating,” Rutter told Sky Sports.

    “I think West Ham are very good and they are very compact. We were waiting for them to make a mistake.”

    In a match played in driving rain and swirling winds, both teams managed to create chances in a goalless first half.

    West Ham nearly scored the opener in the second half when Bowen danced through Brighton’s defence before forcing a fine save from Bart Verbruggen, who then made a second save when Crysencio Summerville attempted an acrobatic volley.

  • Senate’s push for death penalty against kidnappers

    Senate’s push for death penalty against kidnappers

    • By Babatola Akinsanmi

    In response to security challenges nationwide, the Senate has been working diverse measures to deepen internal peace, order and stability. The measures include the classification of kidnapping as an act of terrorism and prescription of death penalty for kidnappers, their financiers and informants.

    The last fortnight has been quite engaging in the Senate, even the National Assembly. The reasons for such high-spirited engagement are in two folds. First, it is associated with the spate of kidnapping, hostage-taking and other related heinous offences that took place in different parts of the federation.

    Second, the search for lasting antidotes to the security challenges further deepened the senate’s multi-pronged engagement. And the engagement was tied to restoring peace, order and stability across the federation. This is premised on the conviction that the National Assembly has the mandate to make or review laws to enable security agencies carry out their operations within the ambit of duly enacted laws.

    Specifically, the succession of kidnapping incidents in Maga, Kebbi State; Papiri, Niger State; and Eruku, Kwara State inspired the senate to take diverse initiatives to support the efforts of the President Bola Tinubu administration to nip insecurity in the bud. At least, these cases alone brought 313 persons, including about 250 schoolgirls, into the captivity of the kidnappers.  However, some of them have regained their freedom.

    Measures from the Senate

    In response to these challenges, the senate has been taking measures to strengthen the country’s counter-terrorism operations. One of such measures was the dissolution of the Senate Committees on Air Force as well as National Security and Intelligence, which Leader of the Senate, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele attributed to ineffectiveness in the exercise of their oversight powers. This initiative received unanimous support from all senators across all the political divides.

    Besides, the senate directed its Committees on Army, Navy, Defence, Interior and Police Affairs to submit reports of their activities to the plenary within two weeks. The essence of the reports, according to Bamidele, is to highlight the initiatives the committees have taken to reduce the waves of insecurity in the country and justify why they should not be dissolved and reconstituted.

    While President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio subjected this initiative to the decision of the plenary, it was a case of unanimity among the senators. This attested to what Bamidele ascribed to the resolve of the senate to first purge itself as it explored other measures that could further reinforce the country’s national security.

    The senate, also, treated with an unusual speed the request of the president for the screening of his Minister of Defence Nominee, General Christopher Musa. The request was subjected to consideration the day the senate president formally read it at the plenary, which according to him, could not be delayed due to the need to sustain the fight against the enemies of the country.

    Read Also: Ribadu in talks with U.S. fact-finding Congressional delegation

    Inside the Bill

    Apart from all these measures, the senate initiated “a Bill for an Act to amend the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.” The amendment bill was sponsored by the senate leader. But prior to its initiation, all senators subscribed to the national significance of the bill, which they all argued, would meaningfully contribute to countering extremist violence across the federation.

    At the core of the bill lies the collective will of all the lawmakers, indeed all Nigerians  to  address gaps in the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022. As canvassed in his lead debate, the senate leader  pointed out three central objectives that inspired the senate to seek review of the Act, first enacted in 2011 to prosecute and punish any person found guilty of terror and other related acts.

    Bamidele first identified the compelling need to designate kidnapping, hostage-taking and other related offences as acts of terrorism. The classification, according to him, empowers our security agencies with broader operational authority, intelligence capabilities, and prosecutorial tools available under counter-terrorism law.

    He, also, cited the failure of the existing counter-terrorism legislation to prescribe maximum punitive measures for kidnappers and hostage-takers. Unlike the existing regime, the senate now agreed that the death penalty be recommended for all perpetrators of kidnapping, hostage taking and other related crimes.

    Bamidele further observed that the bill did “not only recommend the death penalty for kidnappers or hostage takers. It equally recommends it for  their logistics providers,  financiers, informants, harbourers, transporters and anyone who knowingly assists, facilitates, or supports kidnapping operations. And its essence is to serve the purpose of deterrence and empower law enforcement agencies to confront kidnapping at a scale it currently demands.”

    The senate leader highlighted the significance of the bill, when it becomes law, to become a veritable tool, which the  law enforcement agencies “will leverage to dismantle kidnapping networks by enabling stronger enforcement as well as placing kidnapping under the terrorism framework anywhere in the federation.

    “By placing kidnapping under the terrorism framework, agencies can pursue: asset tracing and forfeiture, intelligence-led operations, inter-agency coordination, swift pre-trial procedures under terrorism laws, disruption of funding and logistics chains. This will help weaken the infrastructure that sustains kidnapping syndicates,” he pointed out with a conviction to pursue counter-terrorism campaigns with more consequential regimes.

    The grounds for these proposals are pure and simple,, according to the leader of the senate. He ascribed the grounds to the manners kidnappers “have killed their victims; compelled them to pay ransom; subjected them to brutal torture, raped, mutilated and starved hostages; and used crime proceeds to procure more weapons and perpetrate more crimes.”

    Evident in its grievous consequences for the victims, their families and the economy at large, Bamidele argued that kidnapping “is no longer a mere crime. It is terrorism in its purest form,” which he argued, should not be fought with kid’s gloves. “If an offence repeatedly results in mass murder, mass fear, mass displacement, and systemic destabilization, then the strongest legal sanction becomes necessary.”

    No more deradicalisation

    At the height of the debate, some senators questioned the efficiency of the deradicalisation programme, which the federal government introduced to discourage violent extremists and terrorists from taking up arms against the state. Even though all senators supported amendments to the Terrorism Act, some argued against the programme, citing its failure to bring about desired outcomes.

    Chairman, Senate Committee on Interior, Senator Adams Oshiomhole first questioned the deradicalisation programme, which according to him, had not failed to prevent extremists, hostage takers, kidnappers and terrorists from returning to their crimes.

    He emphasised the danger of extending amnesty “to extremists and terrorists, a model that has not effectively countered extremist violence.” He, thus, faulted “a practice whereby an extremist or terrorist will be arrested and allowed to go without facing consequence of his crimes in the name of deradicalisation and reintegration. This has not produced any meaningful result given the rising acts of terrorism nationwide.”

    Based on evidence in the public domain, Oshiomhole pointed out two scenarios, which he said, justified the failure of the deradicalisation programme. In the first place, the failure of the programme manifested in a situation where some of the repentant terrorists went back “to take up arms against the state that granted them amnesty.”

    The failure, also, became more evident in another situation whereby the federal government spent “so much money on prosecuting terrorists, and the suspects will not be allowed to bear the brunt of his heinous crimes.” He classified such a practice as a case of double loss, which according to him, would continue to fester the wounds of injustice in the federation.

    Oshiomhole, therefore, pushed for the adoption of capital punishment for kidnappers, hostage takers and other related offences. He said such a measure “is rooted in the Bible and Quran. If the holy books prescribe that those who are killed have no right to be alive, we should not hesitate to do the same. This bill should outlaw any initiative or programme that seeks to deradicalise whether extremists or terrorists, kidnappers or hostage takers. If any individual is caught and convicted for such heinous acts, then the penalty should be death and nothing more.”

    Supporting Oshiomhole’s argument against the deradicalisation programme, Chairman, Senate Committee on South-East Development Commission, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu lamented untold agonies that kidnappers “have subjected their victims, whether in the North or in the South.

    “Consequently, it is a natural thing for all senators to unite against such acts and push for a system that will enforce maximum penalties. Likewise, informants, sponsors and everybody involved in such heinous acts must face the full consequences of their crimes.”

    Kalu concluded that Nigerians “have suffered so much in the hands of kidnappers. Young girls have been raped. Women have become widows for no reason. This must not continue again,” Kalu called attention of his colleagues to untold and grievous pains that Nigerians had suffered and the need for more consequential measures.

    Resolution of the Senate

    Minority Leader of the Senate, Senator Abba Moro summed up the perspectives to the bill, which according to him, perfectly reflected the spirit of unanimity among all senators. As a result, he called for its passage into second reading, citing the need “to complete the review on time and come up with a new regime that emphasises consequence rather than pardon.”

    After the exhaustive debates, the senate resolved in favour of the bill, passing it into second reading unanimously. It also adopted all the amendments to the bill  as proposed by the senate leader. It referred the bill to the relevant committees for the purpose of wider consultation,  public hearing and securing buy-in of the people.

    The senate further directed its Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters chaired by Senator Adeniyi Adegbonmire, SAN to midwife the process of the public hearing and report to the plenary within two weeks. It mandated the judiciary committee to work together on the bill with its Committee on Interior as well as Committee on National Security and Intelligence.

    • Akinsanmi, a peace and governance, specialist, wrote from Abuja

  • National Assembly directs NCDC to resolve lead poisoning in Lagos

    National Assembly directs NCDC to resolve lead poisoning in Lagos

    • No room for health hazard, says Abiru

    The Senate has directed the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) to deploy emergency medical teams for free toxicology screening, and continuous treatment of children and adults in Ogijo, which is being rattled by lead poisoning.

    The directive followed the motion by Senate Tokunbo Abiru, who directed the attention of the Senate to the lead-poisoning crisis in Ogijo, a boundary town between Ogun and Lagos states, during plenary.

    Read Also: Nigeria sends fighter jets, ground forces as troops foil coup in Benin Rep

    Describing lead poisoning as a national public health emergency, the senator from Lagos East District said “no community in our country should be exposed to hazardous industrial practices, and the situation in Ogijo demands urgent national attention.”

    The Senate commended the Federal, Lagos and Ogun state governments for their active engagement and swift responses and collaborative actions.

    It mandated the NCDC to deploy emergency medical teams for free toxicology screening, and continuous treatment of children and adults in the affected town.

    NCDC was also mandated to do a detailed environmental remediation and contamination mapping exercise.

    The Senate also directed NEMA to provide emergency relief and food support, clean water intervention to Ogijo residents.

  • How has Oyebanji administration fared in three years?

    How has Oyebanji administration fared in three years?

    Deputy Editor EMMANUEL OLADESU examines the scorecard of Ekiti State Governor Biodun Oyebanji, based on the six-pillar agenda of the administration.

    On assuming office on October 16, 2022, Biodun Oyebanji unfolded a six-point agenda focusing on youth development and job creation, human capital development and infrastructure, industrialization, arts, culture and tourism, and good governance.

    Three years after, he is seeking a renewal of mandate. The poll, which takes place next year, would be a major event in the Fountain of Knowledge.

    The governor came to office with a lot of experience, having served as Senior Special Assistant and Chief of Staff under former Governor Niyi Adebayo, and commissioner and

    Secretary to the Government (SSG) under former Governor Kayode Fayemi.

    The governor understood why and how the state was created, having joined the elders to demand for its creation by the military government. His blueprint still serves as a guide for effective leadership and delivery of dividends of democracy.

    Not only has Oyebanji built on the foundation laid by his four predecessors and sustained their legacies, he has also made new marks across the sectors. It is therefore, not surprising that the Big Four- Otunba Adeniyi Adebayo, Segun Oni, an engineer, Dr. Kayode Fayemi and Ayodele Fayose – are backing him for a second term.

    The governor has been able to keep the state together in unity and peace. Many prominent indigenes are returning home to contribute ideas because Oyebanji listens and appreciates their patriotism suggestions which also serve as feedback on government’s policies and programmes.

    Ahead of governorship primary, external forces collaborated with a tiny segment within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti to paint the governor in a bad light through their campaign of calmuny. Facts were twisted, particularly in the media by desperate rivals trying to pull down.

    Read Also: Ribadu in talks with U.S. fact-finding Congressional delegation

    But Ekiti people rose in defense of their humble and performing governor, who is fulfilling his campaign promises. When his colleague- governors joined him in commissioning many infrastructural projects across the states, their lips were permanently sealed.

    Oyebanji’s style is strange to the pompus rivals who are clearly estranged from the legitimate aspirations of the people. Not a noise maker, the governor’s impact is felt by the targetted grassroots people across 16 local governments.

    Job creation and income generation are the priorities of the administration. The government cannot do it alone.“We have identified some of the drivers, markets and industries that create these opportunities within the system and intend to nurture them and give them the enabling structures and support required to deliver the jobs we need,” he said.

    Ekiti is an agrarian state, which made a lot of contributions to internally generared revenue drive of the old Western Region in the days of Premier Obafemi Awolowo.

    Oyebanji promised to further develop the agricultural sector by attracting more investment in agribusiness. This is necessary to deepen the processing capacity of both the staple and cash crops. Through this, food security is achieved. Also, it boosts the country’s non- oil export.

    The governor, who reiterated his commitment to the sector, added:“We have a responsibility to support our farmers with facilitated adequate financing, value chain support, access to markets, skills and technology to increase productivity within the sector.”

    Oyebanji promised to support  small and medium enterprises to attract investment and foster a business-friendly environment. In his his New Year broadcast, he pointed out that agriculture and technology would drive economic development. He stressed: “We will continue to prioritize the sectors that drive economic development. Our efforts will ensure that Ekiti remains a hub of opportunities for everyone, especially our young people.

    “We are committed to shaping the future of our youths by investing in education and vocational training. The young people of Ekiti are our greatest resource, and we will continue to empower them to reach their fullest potentials.

    To ensure adequate healthcare delivery, the governor promised to make it more accessible, qualitative, affordable and sustainable. His also promised to focus on improved life expectancy and and zero-child and maternal mortality rates.

    Adultrated drug is a threat to the health sector and wellbeing. The governor vowed to curtail the menace of fake drug that could cause sudden death or health deterioration.

    During the distribution of equipment to Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) and the commissioning of the Pharma-Grade Warehouse at the Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital (EKSUTH), he unfolded an agenda for the revatalisation of the sector. He said the new warehouse, built with the support of the Global Fund, would serve as the pillar of an effective and transparent drug management system. He said the Drug Management Agency would be equipped with the resources to operate at the highest professional standard.

    Oyebanji disclosed that the agency’s monthly revenue has been increased from N28 million to N75 million to foster effective and efficient operations.

    The governor noted that 750,000 people have benefited from a health scheme programme tagged: ‘Ulera Wa’ since it took off.

    Oyebanji said: “With this facility, Ekiti State now has the capacity to maintain an adequate supply of medicines and consumables, prevent frequent stock-outs, and effectively curb the circulation of fake and substandard drugs within our boarders. It represents not just an investment in infrastructure, but in the health security of our people.

    “The results speak for themselves. Before the establishment of the Drug Management Agency, only about 43 per cent of health facilities in the state had regular access to essential medicines. Today, that figure has risen to 89 per cent. Primary healthcare coverage now stands at 80 per cent, while both secondary and tertiary facilities have achieved 100 per cent coverage.”

    Education is the pride of Ekiti. Oyebanji has fulfilled the promise to hire and retain competent and experienced teachers.

    During the World Teachers Day, he announced the extension of the retirement age of teachers from 60 years to 65 years and service year  from 35 to 40 years. The governor also rewarded outstanding teachers with N46 million cash gift, granted an upward review of the allowance of science teachers and heads of department and paid the 2019 leave bonus arrears to motivate the teachers.

    No fewer than 5,000 teachers converged on the Ekiti Parapo Pavilion, AdoEkiti, for the celebration. The governor reiterated his commitment to their welfare in line with the shared prosperity agenda of his administration. He said: “I have heard your yearnings with respect to the mandatory age for retirement and this has been approved as recommended but only for able and willing teachers.

    “On the issue of science teachers and heads of department allowances, I know that the Head of Service is doing the review of the allowances and I have instructed her to bring it by next week for approval.”

    Oyebanji described education as the most valuable investment that any government can bequeath on citizens. He therefore, promised to fund the sectir so that it can meet the demands of the 21st Century.

    Oyebanji received Ekiti-born teacher, Anifowose Oluwaseyi, who set a Guinness World record for organising the largest gathering of teachers in the world. He told him his administration is investing in reforms that would make education in the state globally competitive and responsive to modern realities.

    The governor unfolded plans to upgrade the teaching method, the curriculum and the entire learning environment to produce citizens, who can adapt to knowledge-driven economy. He said he intended to create an education ecosystem that focuses on both quality teaching and conducive learning environment.

    Oyebanji added: “If you look at the six pillars of our administration, you will see human capital development.

    “We try as much as possible to strike a balance between infrastructure and human development and we have been deliberate in ensuring that we create an ecosystem that strikes a balance between what you teach and how you teach it because we believe strongly that the future of education rests on those pillars.”

    While critics indulge in falsehood and attempt at image denting, objective observers have always given Oyebanji excellent marks in behavioural creativity and good governance. His counterpars, including Lucky Aiyedatiwa of Ondo State, Monday Okphobolo of Edo and Usman Ododo of Kogi marvelled as his giant strides without making noise.

    Ododo lauded him for “purposeful leadership and progressive governance” during the commissioning of the 21kilometre Ikere-Ilawe road and the renovated General Hospital, Ilawe-Ekitii.

    He said Oyebanji has prioritized local content and engaged indigenous contractors in the execution of developmental projects in the state.

    Ododo added: “When you have the best, why run out of the country to get contractors? I thank you most sincerely for proving your worth and ensuring this project was completed on time and within cost.”

     Ododo, who highlighted the significance of the Ikere-Ilawe road, said the project completed with drainage, culverts and asphalt pavement, symbolized a “bridge to opportunity, growth, and prosperity for Ekiti people.”

    He added: “Your administration’s strides in infrastructure, education, health and youth development, speak to your love for your people and your clear vision for Ekiti. Even if your opponent will not admit it in public, they will know your great performance.”

    Aiyedatiwa, who commissioned the Itawure(Efon-Alaaye)/Okemesi Road and the renovated General Hospital at Oke Agbona in Okemwzi-Ekiti, said Ekiti is fortunate to have Oyebanji as governor, urging the people to renew his mandate for a second term.

    Oyebanji thanked his party leader, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for providing a condusive atmosphere for the sub-national units to drive development at the grassroots. He said President Tinubu’s economic reforms “enabled states to deliver meaningful development projects without resorting to borrowing.”

  • From renewal to global resonance: Nigeria prepares to assert itself on world stage

    From renewal to global resonance: Nigeria prepares to assert itself on world stage

    • By Seye Oladejo

    The Lagos State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) salutes President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the strategic appointment of Nigeria’s new ambassadors – an unmistakable signal that the nation is not only rebuilding internally but preparing to project renewed confidence, capability, and clarity of purpose to the international community.

    With these appointments, Nigeria is transitioning from national renewal to global resonance. The world will no longer engage a hesitant or reactive Nigeria, but one fully ready to assert itself with the dignity, authority, and strategic foresight befitting Africa’s true giant.

    A Diplomatic Arsenal Rooted in Competence and Purpose

    The newly appointed ambassadors represent a carefully curated blend of experience, patriotism, and diplomatic acumen. Their deployment is a deliberate step in repositioning Nigeria to engage global powers from a position of strength, not supplication. This administration has made it clear:

    Our envoys will be partners in progress- not passive observers of global events.

    They are expected to uphold Nigeria’s interests with firmness, deepen bilateral partnerships, counter negative narratives, and aggressively pursue opportunities that serve the Nigerian people. In a rapidly shifting geopolitical landscape, Nigeria will no longer be content with mere participation – we will shape outcomes.

    Nigeria Is Ready to Reclaim Its Influence

    The era of timid foreign policy is over.

    The era of strategic, assertive diplomacy has begun.

    Under President Tinubu’s stewardship, Nigeria has embarked on bold reforms in security, the economy, and governance. These reforms form the backbone of a foreign policy that is proactive rather than reactionary – one that positions Nigeria as both a stabilizing force in Africa and a global stakeholder of consequence.

    Read Also: Nigeria sends fighter jets, ground forces as troops foil coup in Benin Rep

    As our ambassadors prepare for deployment, Nigeria stands ready to:

    •Reinforce its leadership role in ECOWAS and the African Union

    •Expand security and counter-terrorism cooperation

    •Strengthen trade, investment, and economic diplomacy

    •Champion energy transition and climate action rooted in national interest

    •Build mutually beneficial ties that reflect Nigeria’s strategic priorities

    •Protect Nigerians abroad with renewed vigour and institutional authority

    A New Global Posture, A New National Confidence

    For years, Nigeria’s global reputation was diminished by inconsistency and lack of direction. Today, the nation steps forward with a unified message and a leadership that understands the weight of its international responsibility.

    President Tinubu’s foreign policy vision is clear:

    Nigeria will no longer whisper at global tables – it will speak with purpose.

    Conclusion

    As the nation awaits the official deployment of these newly appointed ambassadors, the Lagos APC expresses full confidence in their capacity to elevate Nigeria’s standing and secure meaningful gains across political, economic, and strategic domains.

    Nigeria is rising again- deliberately, confidently, and irreversibly.

    From renewal to global resonance, Nigeria is prepared to assert itself, influence global outcomes, and occupy its pride of place among the nations of the world.

    • Oladejo, is Lagos APC spokesman

  • The Sahel crisis

    The Sahel crisis

    • ECOWAS needs to engage the world for an urgent solution to bandits and ISWAP

    Danger is not looming in the Sahel and the West African region. It is not news that it is intractable now. The real fear is that it may rise to a catastrophic dimension such that the world may scramble in vain to stop it; and it may be a difficult task to do so in short order. Meanwhile, deaths, destruction and displacement may become routine.

    The warning has been in the airwaves in the past few years, especially after the French pulled out their forces from former colonies at the behest and hectoring of the locals. But the immediate alarm came from the world’s top civil servant and the Secretary General of the United Nations (UN), Antonio Guiterres.

    “The security situation in West Africa and the Sahel is growing more critical by the day,” Guterres said as he virtually addressed a Security Council session on peace consolidation in West Africa. For emphasis, he pointed to the emergencies in one of the countries in question. He said “developments in Mali are a clear reminder of what is at stake.”

    It is important to state that most of the Sahel countries were French colonies, and they include Guinea, Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania and Niger. Gambia, which speaks English, is the exception.

    On Mali, the world’s top scribe said, “In the last month, terrorists have continued to attack military-escorted convoys, killing and kidnapping both soldiers and civilians.”

    He added that the Sahel “is not only a regional dramatic reality,” and warned that the Sahel has growing links across Africa and beyond, and so the dire situation could balloon into a “global threat.”

    He did not raise the alarm in a vacuum. He matched it with data. He said that “about 4 million people are now displaced across Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and neighbouring countries,” while 14,800 schools and more than 900 health facilities have shut down.

     His solutions are a unified regional security response, fully funded humanitarian appeals, and a coherent development strategy to address the underlying drivers of extremism.

    “Terrorists thrive where the social contract is broken, when families are plunged into poverty and young people don’t have employment, don’t go to school,” he stressed.

    While the UN scribe was right about concerns like poverty, weak institutions and climate change as some of the causes of this growing emergency, we need to go back in time to trace why it has become not just an African cross but the world’s burden.

    During the presidency of Barack Obama, the United States was unhappy with the ways of the Libyan leader and dictator Muammar Gaddafi. Gaddafi had an internal crisis and NATO countries backed rebels who ambushed and killed their president. NATO, led by the U.S. Airforce sandwiched Gaddafi in the capital and immobilised his forces with a no-fly-zone policy. They reinforced the momentum of the rebels who had exploited the Arab Spring to dare their despot.

    Eventually, the rebels took over, and they became a Frankenstein monster that even morphed into a domestic political crisis in the United States when goons stormed the U.S. embassy and killed their ambassador, Chris Stevens, in 2012 in Benghazi.

    It was obvious that the West got more than they bargained for. Rather than get rid of a dictator, they unleashed a generation of unrest in Africa.

    Read Also: Ribadu in talks with U.S. fact-finding Congressional delegation

    Libya became a fountainhead of rebels and militants. Rings of hoodlums did not only move like wanton flies in the Sahel, they inspired never-do-wells and opportunists, especially of the religious stripe.

    This factor immobilised the West, who left Africa to its devices. But it has gotten worse as climate change affected the prosperity of the herders who could not find grazing routes without colliding with land rights and farmers. They crossed borders and felt a sense of entitlement.

    With arms flowing from Sudan, a ring of Islamic terror found a fertile ground.

    Other factors followed. Youths who have lost faith in West African countries also saw the routes as passageways out of their countries and continent. Miscreants in Libya are making business and committing crimes from kidnapping to human trafficking to slave labour to rape.

    If there was an Arab Spring in the Middle East and Maghreb, there was impatience with French troops in the Sahel and West Africa. In Niger, for instance, there was an outcry of nationalism. It was trumpeted by its military junta spearheaded by its head of state, General Abdourahamane Tchiani. He exploited the presence of foreign troops, including the French, Americans and British, as a colonial presence in the face of his people’s dignity.

    The same happened in other states, including Burkina Faso, where its military junta led by Ibrahim Traore, has whipped up a nativist hubris. Yet all these countries are not strong enough to fend off the insurgencies, especially of Islamic State of West African Province (ISWAP).

    As Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, who is now Minister of Defence in Nigeria, had attributed the resilience of the ISWAP and bandits in Nigeria to the free flow of weapons to the elements. He has asked the international communities who have their pulses on the arteries of international finance to identify and stop their white-collared militants in air-conditioned lofts feeding the bloodshed and slaughter in lush and arboreal quiets in the region.

    If some of these countries are sitting on edge as the insurgents acquire territory after territory and edge further to the state houses, it is because they have weaponry, resources and an intangible artillery: faith.

    They combine resource and belief, two assets that beat their foes. This makes it important for the rest of the world to take the tasks urgently. The same Sahel countries that have driven the Western military out cannot overcome their foes without the forces they booed out of their lands.

    Is it a time for them to eat humble pie, and ask the forces back? Or shall they latch on to national dignity and die a slow, inevitable humiliation. We cannot call for force since it intercepts sovereignty rights. We can only ask them to look for a diplomatic route out of this situation.

    The consequence of inaction is a looming Afghanistan, and that would imply that there would not be a resistance, and resistance would be a call back to the melee in Bosnia in the 1990s. Libya just gave us a brutal prototype of such a scenario.

    Most of the endangered countries are under the military, and the soldiers have acquitted themselves without statesmanlike virtues. They have hectoring brutes in uniforms, appealing to thankless African pride while their people are displaced, killed, their women raped and taken to wife by force. Their routine lives have been taken away from them.

    Four million people in the sub-region will be a child’s play as refugees if they are allowed to surge ahead. More territories won, more refugees, more miseries. Europe is angry over the many Africans ferrying to their countries but are not willing to tackle the fundamental problem pouring them into their waters and their borders.

    It is this context that has created a problem for Nigeria. Of the about 2000 entry points through our borders, only about 84 are manned. Is it a wonder that Nigeria is a target of bandits, with our forests as nests, while they invade, kidnap for ransom, and cart away schoolchildren?

    The United Nations needs to galvanise the world for the region, and the regional leaders under the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) also need to cry in one voice and take the lead in a quest for help and set a cooperative template for how to flush out the bandits and Islamists. This will not work if they do not first stop the money flow. The situation is very urgent today. It will be even more so in the next 24 hours.

  • Our age of jangled nerves breeding complex problems

    Our age of jangled nerves breeding complex problems

    • By Obiotika Wilfred Toochukwu

    Sir: Christmas is a season traditionally associated with love, reflection, and goodwill. Yet each year, as the yuletide approaches, the tension and impatience in our society become more obvious. In Nigeria, December exposes the cracks that have widened from January to November: unmet expectations, financial frustration, dashed dreams, and the widening gulf between the privileged and the ordinary citizen. What should be a time of communal warmth increasingly becomes a mirror reflecting the agitation, exhaustion, and moral strain of our age.

    These stresses become most visible during the Christmas season. In the Southeast, what should be heartfelt charity—sharing rice, tomatoes, palm oil, yams, or wrappers with widows—often becomes riddled with politics, favoritism, and suspicion. Acts of kindness lose their purity. Gifts are shared not out of compassion, but as tools for influence or manipulation. Even benevolence becomes tainted, turning a beautiful tradition into a display of inequality and competition. The implications of this high-tension age on the common man are far-reaching.

    First, the pressure creates complex personal and social problems. When people feel trapped, unheard, or hopeless, they begin to respond in desperate ways. Petty conflicts escalate. Road rage becomes common. Minor misunderstandings turn into violence. The psychological strain of living in an unpredictable country produces a new kind of citizen—one who is perpetually defensive, easily triggered, and distrustful.

    Read Also: Ribadu in talks with U.S. fact-finding Congressional delegation

    Second, morality suffers. When society normalizes shortcuts, dishonesty becomes the currency for survival. Young people observe that those who succeed often do so through dubious means. When ethical behavior is punished while corruption is rewarded, moral clarity disappears. A generation raised in such confusion inevitably struggles to uphold integrity.

    Third, our nerve-racked age contributes to broken homes. Financial strain, emotional fatigue, and social pressure create toxic environments within families. Many homes fracture not because love is absent, but because stress overwhelms patience. Parents work endlessly to make ends meet, leaving little time for bonding. Marriages collapse under the weight of unmet expectations. Children grow up witness to conflict instead of stability, and the dysfunction multiplies into the next generation.

    Fourth, prolonged stress manifests physically—stomach ulcers, migraines, hypertension, and unexplained illness. Doctors increasingly report stress-related conditions among people who are not yet middle-aged. The body, weary of constant alertness, begins to fail.

    Until we restore calm to our hearts and conscience to our institutions, our age will remain neurotic and troubled. But if even a few choose a better path, renewal is still possible—one heart, one home, one community at a time.

    •Obiotika Wilfred Toochukwu

    Nkono-Ekwulobia, Anambra State.

  • Poverty is the root of Nigeria’s violence

    Poverty is the root of Nigeria’s violence

    • By Bashir Bello

    Sir: The late sage Mahatma Gandhi captured a profound truth when he said: “Poverty is the worst form of violence.” Nigeria cannot make meaningful progress in the fight against insecurity without addressing the deeper causes that fuel it. For too long, we have mobilised for defence. What we truly need is to mobilise for development.

    Since the emergence of Boko Haram in 2009, insurgency has steadily expanded. What began as isolated attacks by a handful of poorly equipped fighters in the Northeast, using improvised explosives at the risk of their own lives, has grown into open confrontation with state forces.

    Beyond Boko Haram whose motivations appear superficially ideological, a wider network of armed groups has spread across the country. Their operations now span regions like a swarm of bees, overwhelming national security from all angles.

    Read Also: Nigeria sends fighter jets, ground forces as troops foil coup in Benin Rep

    At the heart of this violence is poverty. We must not forget that Mohammed Yusuf, the founder of Boko Haram, did not attract followers with superior ideology. He recruited from the poor and unemployed, offering economic incentives, start-up capital, welfare, and even paying marriage expenses for young couples. These gestures drew thousands into his fold, some crossing state and even national borders to pledge allegiance.

    The uncomfortable truth, which government often avoids, is that a purely military solution will only escalate an already fragile situation. Conventional warfare cannot defeat unconventional enemies. Increasing troop numbers will only increase casualties on both sides. If Nigeria truly intends to end banditry, terrorism, armed robbery, arson, extremism, rustling, and the many conflicts tearing the nation apart, then it must wage a war on poverty.

    This requires mass employment opportunities, major investment in public works, a fair wage system and reduced income inequality free and quality education, free and quality healthcare and the economic empowerment of women. Once these pragmatic solutions are pursued with sincerity and consistency, violence will fade as  shadows disappearing at daybreak.

    •Bashir Bello,

    Kaduna.

  • Nigeria’s diplomatic missions as national risk management

    Nigeria’s diplomatic missions as national risk management

    • By Lekan Olayiwola

    Sir: Nigeria’s Foreign Service is often treated as ornamental, a stage for protocol, prestige, and patronage. Yet in a world defined by volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity, diplomacy is not decorum. It is infrastructure. It is insurance. It is the difference between survival and strategic drift.

    Nigeria’s first vulnerability lies in security. Every time citizens buy groceries, fill their tanks, or pay rent, a hidden “diplomatic tax” is levied against them because the Foreign Service has not shielded the economy from external risks. Global insurers classify Nigerian waters as a high risk zone. Every vessel carrying goods into Lagos, from oil tankers to container ships, is slapped with war risk insurance premiums. These costs are passed on to Nigerian importers, and ultimately, to consumers.

    Countries like Kenya and South Africa worked through their defence attachés — military diplomats embedded in embassies — to negotiate joint patrols and share real time intelligence with NATO and regional partners. They signalled stability, and those premiums dropped. Nigeria, by contrast, operates with a diplomatic security blackout. We have no systematic corps of defence attachés.

    We are blind to the rising tides of transnational threats, relying on costly, last minute military intervention instead of cheap, proactive intelligence. The result is hundreds of millions of dollars siphoned out of the Nigerian economy every year to pay for vulnerabilities our embassies were meant to insure us against.

    The second exposure comes from global finance. When Nigeria borrows money on the international market, our sovereign interest rate (the cost of the loan) is heavily influenced by our credit rating. Rating agencies don’t just look at debt to GDP ratios; they assess institutional credibility and the perceived risk of the nation.

    Read Also: Ribadu in talks with U.S. fact-finding Congressional delegation

    Nigeria’s diplomatic missions, often under resourced and politically appointed, project fragility and miss early chances to shape investor and media narratives. This exposes the country to higher borrowing costs, where even small interest rate increases add billions in debt service — funds that could build schools, bridges, or hospitals.

    Debt service crowds out social investment, and while embassies are not the sole cause, their underutilisation within this chain of vulnerability prevents them from functioning as “sovereign profit centres” that lower risk premiums through investor diplomacy. Rwanda and Vietnam send dedicated commercial diplomats to Wall Street and the City of London, lobbying for lower interest rates. Diplomacy is macroeconomic policy, but Nigeria’s missions remain underutilised in lowering national cost of capital.

    The third untapped frontier is the diaspora. Nigerians abroad send over $22 billion annually in remittances, one of Africa’s largest flows. Yet we treat the diaspora as a cash channel, not a strategic asset. Vietnam mobilised its diaspora not only for remittances but also for lobbying power in host countries and technology transfer. India’s diaspora shaped US policy on visas and tech investment.

    Ireland’s diaspora influenced EU positions on trade and migration. Nigeria’s missions, by contrast, seem to treat the diaspora as an administrative burden, a line of citizens waiting for passport renewals. We fail to capture the brain circulation, the technology transfer, and the political leverage that comes from actively integrating our brightest minds abroad.

    This is not a question of budget but of mandate. Nigeria’s missions should be tasked with turning remittances into investment and diaspora influence into policy leverage. Without that clear directive, their potential remains untapped.

    Global shocks are no longer abstract. Nigeria, one of the most climate vulnerable states, has no comparable diplomatic infrastructure to negotiate adaptation finance or migration protections for its citizens abroad. This is an existential gap. Without diplomatic presence, Nigeria absorbs the shocks alone. Migration crises are equally pressing.

    Nigerian citizens abroad often face precarious conditions, yet missions lack the staffing and mandate to negotiate bilateral protections. In a world of tightening borders, diplomacy is the frontline tool for safeguarding citizens. Treating missions as ceremonial undermines Nigeria’s ability to respond to climate and migration shocks that will define the next decades.

    For Nigeria, with its large population, youth bulge, strategic location, and regional influence, diplomatic presence abroad is a necessity, not a luxury.  Every year of drift costs billions in lost investment, weakens security leverage, and leaves diaspora capital untapped. Every delay shrinks our relevance in global governance. Diplomacy, properly framed and funded, is survival work; the shield against risk, the lever for growth, and the bridge to opportunity.

    •Lekan Olayiwola,

    lekanolayiwola@gmail.com