Ahead of the 2026 Osun governorship election, it is incontrovertible that a consensus candidate has been chosen for the All Progressives Congress (APC). He is Asiwaju Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji (AMBO).
While Oyebamiji’s emergence signals a strong, focused start for the APC, it might be interpreted – or perhaps, misinterpreted – that the disqualification of seven out of nine aspirants during the December 5, 2025, screening exercise is, without doubt, an indication of a wobbly institutional mechanism within the party. A revamp of the procedure used is worth undertaking to prevent a recurrence. A repetition should be prevented, going forward, to lessen the possibility of disaffection, which could lead to unintended consequences. As the Good Book warns, “… lead us not into temptation” (Matthew 6:13).
We must account for personal sensitivities, commitments, and bruised egos. These are human beings, not robots. Every serious aspirant has gone the extra mile in pursuit of what he or she perceived as a legitimate ambition. Consequently, the APC must initiate a damage control act – and do so very urgently and unpretentiously!
One particularly contested line of reasoning centres on the importance of a leader’s strong mandate in the governance structure. To this end, one must commend the party’s titular leader for using his influence as a soothing balm. So, the ‘kì-í-gbó-kì-í-gbà, (I-no-go-gree) aspirants who wear their egos on their sleeves should go and sit down! Yes, they should find something else to do!
But what are the consequences of President Bola Tinubu’s endorsement of a consensus APC candidate? The answer is clear: it will be an overwhelmingly positive development for the party, mainly by consolidating power and silencing internal dissent. The sheer weight of a presidential intervention means those who had hitherto been contemplating leaving the party will no longer have the courage to do so – after all, who would dare challenge a decision backed by the ultimate power brokers?
It will therefore be in the best interest of the less influential aspirants to quickly accept their fate and move on. If one or two juicy appointments, or contracts, come their way, they should swiftly accept and thank God. To do otherwise is to risk incurring the wrath of Aso Rock – and that’ll not be too good to contemplate!
But that’s not all; and that’s not where I am headed! The governorship election in Osun is likely to be a three-way horse race and the possibility of a runoff cannot be discarded. For its own good, Osun APC must go into the race, which is just months away, as a united front. Complacency will be dangerous to the party. Nothing must be taken for granted in the twists and turns of a very unpredictable political situation in a politically savvy state.
Beyond all efforts, there must be intellectual humility and moral circumspection in the current sequence of events. To put it succinctly, the victor must demonstrate profound magnanimity. He must embrace genuine unity over triumph. It is to the eternal glory of Umaru Yar’Adua that he accepted that there were flaws in the process that threw him up as Nigeria’s 13th president and Head of State. He said so publicly and started to make amends, and Nigerians forgave him, even before death took him away.
For Osun APC to stand strong against any challenges that might come its way, unity is paramount. The most critical lesson from the 2022 defeat was the devastating cost of internal wrangling, which, if repeated, guarantees loss of victory at the polls. Since only a fool gets burnt twice by the same fire, the party must be prepared to rise up against internal discord and destructive rivalries, for no organization thrives or wins a battle where there is division. A seed does not bear fruit unless it is rooted deep into the ground. Unity is not optional! It is foundational!
In the Yoruba wisdom, “Kàkà kí eku má je sèsé, á á fi se àwàdànù” (Rather than the rat not eating the hard beans, it will waste it). A conciliation strategy is very key for the Tajudeen Lawal-led Osun APC, for some of the disaffected have influence in the local governments and the areas of contagion. The disaffected can, if not pacified, exact revenge, and that may be too toxic for the overall health of the party. The meaningful hymn is that the consensus candidate will be reconciling from a position of undeniable strength. It is left for those contacted to choose between the carrot of inclusion and the stick of isolation.
A good historical precedent is the outcome of the contentious primary election of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in 1992. Angered by what they thought was imposition, the members revolted, and the party imploded, which ultimately led to the election of Sir Michael Otedola as the Governor of Lagos State. No betting man could have thought in his wildest dreams that any National Republican Convention (NRC) candidate would have come close to being elected as the Governor of Lagos State, not even in a Nollywood movie.
Otedola won because of a mass rejection within the rank and file of the SDP. So, APC would be well-advised to learn the critical lessons from the SDP’s debacle of 1992. History does not repeat itself. The problem is that human beings do not learn the lessons of history. At a time like this, Osun APC must save itself from a potential debacle. The preponderance of the Osun electorate is at the moment in a state of mind akin to what the late Bola Ige famously described as ‘siddon look’. There is everything to play for, and complacency will be ill-advised.
Oyebamiji has to act with a strategic focus. First, he must, without hesitation, initiate a genuine peace accord with the disaffected to prevent the possibility of mutually assured destruction (MAD). Second, he must have a clear, effective media strategy to rally the support base of the unhappy members and, simultaneously, the electorate of the state around a programme offering a pro-people alternative to the present Dance-a-Thon contraption in the state. The media strategy must provide the medium to present the APC candidate as the champion of a hard-pressed people, suffering from an economic downturn and disenchantment.
This means a strategic, data-driven, and creative media thrust is vital for the consensus candidate, replicating the successful model recently deployed by the APC in Ekiti State. That instance not only ensured immediate stability but also allowed the party to swiftly pivot and focus its energies, in earnest, on the core objective: rescuing Ekitis from the doldrums of degradation.
The candidate must tailor the media message to specific focus groups across the three senatorial districts and the thirty local government areas (plus one area office). There cannot be a universal media campaign. The message must directly address the demographic bases of voter registration and be customized to ensure a maximum turnout. Furthermore, the choice of medium is key; the candidate has to work out which one will convey the message to maximum effect.
Again, to dig up a Yoruba aphorism, Èhìnkùlé lòtá wà, inú ilé laseni ńgbé” (The enemy lives in the backyard, while the evil doer lives within the house). Those who do not – and will not – leave the party could be more dangerous operating as a fifth column to undermine the party from within. Beware of the Ides of March! Julius Caesar ignored the forewarning about the Ides and the enemies within to his immortal peril!
May the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, grant us peace in Nigeria!
For nearly half a century, Ogun State has stood as a federation of Yoruba subgroups – Egba, Ijebu, Remo and Yewa. Yet one fact remains: since 1976, Yewa has never produced a governor. Equity – affirmed by the Nigerian Constitution and Yoruba custom – demands that no part of a polity be permanently excluded from its highest offices. The late Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona, foresaw this imbalance and urged that Yewa should produce the next governor of Ogun State. His prognosis carries truth to its destination. Democracy without fairness descends into exclusion by another name.
Against this backdrop, Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola (Yayi) emerges not as a mere aspirant but as a corrective to historical imbalance – a moral and democratic necessity. Attempts to weaponise genealogy – casting him as an outsider – have now met their answer. Yoruba wisdom cautions: Àlejò kì í mọ ìtàn ilé – a stranger cannot know the full story of the house. That story has been affirmed by those who keep it, and by the institutions that preserve lineage and belonging. As a Yoruba saying reminds us, ìrò lè rìn pẹ́, òtítọ́ ní í dé l’ẹ́yìn – falsehood may travel far, but truth arrives all the same.
In Yewaland, Oba Kehinde Olugbenle, the Olu of Ilaro and paramount ruler, publicly affirmed Adeola as a son of Yewa. Indeed, Adeola holds the traditional title of Aremo (prime son) of Yewaland, underscoring a lineage rooted in place and custom. The maternal seal followed. At Kemta Day the previous Sunday, Adeola declared: “Ilu iya mi ni mo wa yi. Emi omo Abibat Olasumbo, omo Akinola Baba Pupa from Kemta Odutolu.” The Alake and paramount ruler of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo, then added a defining pronouncement: “Kemta ti fun wa ni Governor!” In Yoruba cosmology, kings are custodians of heritage; their declarations carry authority. Agbà kì í wà l’ọjà, kí orí ọmọdé tuntun wó – elders do not stand by while a child’s head is misshapen. To question Adeola’s indigeneity now is, effectively, to challenge the crowns.
Constitutionally, a governorship candidate must be an indigene. Nigerian courts often consider attestations by traditional rulers when questions of lineage arise, recognising that in matters of ancestry, custodians of custom provide important context. With these royal affirmations, the central question – indigeneship – can reasonably be regarded as resolved. Eligibility is clear. Whether Yewa or Egba, count Senator Adeola a bona fide candidate. A kì í fi ẹ̀tẹ̀ sílẹ̀ pa lápálápá – one does not abandon leprosy to treat ringworm. The debate must now shift from ancestry to governance.
On that score, Adeola’s record is measurable and visible across all three senatorial districts of Ogun State. He has facilitated over 270 infrastructure projects across Ogun West alone; empowered 15,000 market men and women with cash grants; trained thousands in entrepreneurship; and supported over 5,000 students through a Scholarship and Bursary Board. He helped reopen the Ikenne–Ilishan road, a corridor associated with the Awolowo era, long overdue for rehabilitation, and donated 102 transformers serving 435 communities. In Sagamu, youths point to empowerment schemes; in Ifo, traders speak of solar-lit markets; in Abeokuta, students recall scholarships; in Yewa, elders reference roads linking their villages. These are not promises; they are monuments. The works that touch daily life are the truest testimonials across the three senatorial districts.
Politically, the Egba Lokan sentiment has broadened into a wider call for justice, grounded in the ethos of balance and inclusion. This call aligns with the current profile of the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, a son of Yewa with an Egba mother. High Chief Bode Mustapha, the Osi of Egbaland, has publicly commended Adeola’s service and described him as highly qualified among the field of contenders in terms of public service records. One voter captured governance’s essence in practical terms: the road he built reduced her car repair costs. Adeola’s dual heritage – paternally Yewa, maternally Egba – is a bridge, not a burden. Tí kì í ṣe ti bàbá ẹni, ó lè ṣe ti ìyá ẹni – what is not of one’s father may be of one’s mother. For advocates of the Egba Lokan agenda, this is a conundrum that requires wisdom. Agbájọ ọwọ́ la fi n s’ọ̀yà; ọwọ́ kan kì í gb’ẹrù d’órí – it takes joined hands to lift a load. In a state sometimes strained by sub-ethnic rivalry, such a bridge can steady the polity.
Legitimacy, philosophers remind us, is earned. Aristotle wrote: “The good ruler is not he who is born to rule, but he who rules well.” Yoruba thought echoes this in omolúàbí – honour, responsibility and service. Ìwà l’ẹwà – character is beauty. Adeola’s record is his manifesto; his projects are his pledges in brick and mortar, in kilowatts and scholarships. The question of origins is closed by law and custom. The campaign must now be fought on competence, character and outcomes.
History also counsels balance. Since 1976, Ogun’s leadership has passed from Olabisi Onabanjo (Ijebu), through periods of military rule, to Olusegun Osoba (Egba), Gbenga Daniel (Remo), Ibikunle Amosun (Egba) and now Dapo Abiodun (Remo). Yewa’s omission is glaring. The spirit of federal character – understood as an ethic of inclusion and fair representation – reminds us that cohesion is strengthened when all components see themselves in leadership. When law, custom and conscience converge, the argument is unassailable: justice demands that Yewa should have its turn.
Service-delivery indicators reinforce the case. In numerous town halls and community meetings, stakeholders point to reopened roads, restored power, improved market lighting, bursaries and training programmes that have equipped young people to start small enterprises. These are lived realities, not abstractions. As policy moves from spreadsheet to street, citizens measure leadership by the bridges they cross, the lights that stay on and the opportunities that open. The test of governance is not rhetoric but results – how many lives are tangibly improved through would‑be leaders’ interventions.
It is only fair to acknowledge that Yewa/Awori sons and daughters have every right to aspire to the governorship of Ogun State, even as I acknowledge Yayi’s edge. I do not consider any aspirant a footnote. Each is a chapter in this long‑drawn struggle that has marginalised people of Yewa/Awori origin. Over the years, names such as Gboyega Isiaka, Abiodun Akinlade, Noimot Salako-Oyedele, Biyi Otegbeye and others have surfaced – each carrying the hopes of their people. Many observers argue that the seat has eluded Yewa not for lack of talent or ambition, but for want of unity and a common front. Fragmentation, multiple candidacies and internal rivalries have, at times, diluted the collective claim. The lesson is clear: a house divided against itself cannot stand. The right to contend is sacrosanct, but it is best exercised with caution, dignity and a commitment to the larger cause of Yewa’s long‑awaited turn.
If Senator Adeola has been deemed worthy to sit in the hallowed chambers of the National Assembly, where he has distinguished himself with tangible service and verifiable delivery, then it follows by both logic and justice that he is equally qualified to occupy the Governor’s Office at Oke Mosan. The Constitution does not prescribe a lesser standard for the Senate than for the governorship; indeed, both demand competence, integrity and commitment to the people. Having facilitated infrastructure, empowered communities, and touched thousands of lives through scholarships and social programmes, he has already demonstrated the capacity to translate vision into dividends of democracy. To deny him the gubernatorial ticket after such a record would be to contradict both law and custom, and to deprive Ogun State of a tested hand whose service has spoken louder than rhetoric.
Within this context, the emergence of Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola should be seen not as a threat but as an opportunity. If he is qualified to be a senator and has delivered verifiable dividends of democracy – roads, scholarships, empowerment and infrastructure – what principle would justify denying him a fair contest for the gubernatorial ticket? The crowns have spoken, the Constitution is satisfied and his record is manifest. What remains is for all aspirants to embrace consensus where possible, coalition where necessary and civility at all times. Campaigns should elevate issues, not inflame identities; they should test plans, not impugn persons. A race anchored on programmes, capacity and probity will serve Ogun better than one framed by whispers of ancestry.
The road to 2027 will be defined by three questions that every contender must answer plainly. First, what is your plan to accelerate inclusive growth across Ogun’s three senatorial districts – industrial corridors, agribusiness value chains, urban renewal and rural connectivity alike? Second, how will you deliver reliable power, water, primary healthcare and basic education to communities that have waited too long? Third, what is your approach to youth employment – skills, finance and markets – so that entrepreneurship is not a slogan but a pathway? On these questions, Adeola’s portfolio of projects provides an opening bid. Others should place their records alongside his and let the people compare, line by line.
Good politics is, at heart, good governance. It listens, learns and builds. It makes room for difference without turning difference into division. It honours tradition without becoming captive to nostalgia. It remembers that in a republic, leadership is stewardship: those who seek the people’s mandate must show the people’s returns. As the saying goes, ohun tí a bá fi ọwọ́ ṣe, kì í bà ẹnìkan lórí – the work of one’s hands vindicates. In a competitive field, the voters will look for what is concrete and measurable.
The argument, then, is complete. Indigeneity has been addressed in law and affirmed by custom. The historical omission of Yewa has been acknowledged by monarchs and widely recognised in public discourse. The service record in question is tangible and verifiable. The Constitution demands fairness; Yoruba tradition demands balance; democracy demands justice. All three converge on a simple conclusion: it is Yewa’s turn. And if the race is to be run on competence, delivery and character, Adeola enters it with a record that can be examined without fear or favour.
For now, the crowns have spoken. History calls. Let the campaign begin. In that campaign, one name stands – not as a slogan, but as a standard; not as a whisper, but as a monument; not as a claimant, but as a custodian. Yayi.
Somorin, former Chief Press Secretary to Governor Dapo Abiodun, writes from Crescent University, Abeokuta.
The Y2025 is approaching its end. In precisely five months’ time, the government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu would be clocking three years in the saddle. Today’s not a time for passing a verdict on the president’s administration. That’ll come later, but today’s a day to look at the president’s most recent appointment of a new minister of defence in view of the exacerbating insecurity in the land. Also, the need to look at how to forestall or deescalate foreign intrusion in the nation’s internal affairs.
Tinubu, as governor of Lagos State, was known more by the catchphrase: ‘Talent Hunter.’ And as president and commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the federal republic of Nigeria with several federal appointments in his kitty, many believe the jury is still out on that catchphrase.
So far, the president has made appointments that have elicited mixed reactions from the Nigerian public since August 2023, when the first set of ministerial appointments of his administration were announced. However, never in the almost three years of this administration’s existence has any of the president’s appointments been widely celebrated as the president’s recent appointment of General Christopher Musa (rtd), as the country’s new Minister of Defence. Why this is so may not be unconnected with the ineptitude with which Alhaji Badaru Abubakar, minister of defence until few weeks back and his currently serving junior minister, Bello Matawalle, mishandled the recent spate of insecurity in the country. Clearly, these two appointments put to task the catchphrase of the president as a talent hunter.
No wonder that Nigerians, almost in unison, applauded the appointment of General Musa, whom the president, weeks ago sent on compulsory retirement from his erstwhile post of Chief of Defence Staff, alongside other Service Chiefs of his epoch.
Musa truly possesses a salutary profile. But despite this, he has an Herculean task ahead of him as the country’s man-of-the-moment because Nigerians truly look up to him to rescue them from amongst others, the pangs of banditry, the criminality of kidnappers and also the barbarity of armed miscreants disturbing ceaselessly, the spirit of Nigerians.
Questions: Can the retired but obviously not tired General Musa deliver Nigeria from the menace of insecurity that has become a routine recurrence in the country? Won’t the burden of expectations from Nigerians be too deafening for the new Defence Minister to bear? Being a significant part of our rotten system that created and nursed him to hierarchical recognition, will he be able to muster the requisite political will to quash our systemic monsters that might stand between him and his plans for ridding the country of insecurity? Can he stop the endemic corruption and systemic compromise that the unnamed architects of the ongoing insecurity have been inflicting on the country?
How’s Musa going to deal with the unimpressive military hardware on ground and the debilitating welfare of our military personnel, especially those on the battlefields that did not positively speak to the billions of dollars officially claimed to have over several decades allegedly spent in tackling insecurity in the country?
This military general, being a creation of this system, presumably knows what he wants to do and how. During his screening appearance before the National Assembly, he spoke smoothly and with confidence. But there is a clear distinction between talk, considered to be cheap, and implementation of the desired action necessary to bring about expected results to quell ongoing insecurity in the country.
Now is the time for Musa to walk his talk. Franz Kafka once stated that a wise man “starts with what is right than what is acceptable.” This statement should be Musa’s watchword if he intends to achieve anything meaningful as the country’s Defence Minister. Those currently responsible for the rotten state of affairs in the country will surely want him to do what is acceptable to them but to achieve anything tangible for self and country, he needs to depart from acceptable norms and take a detour to the pathways of what is right.
Yours sincerely can vividly recollect that while he was still in active military service, one or two of his video clips surfaced on the social media where he was seen lecturing his audience on what the country needs to do to win its current intractable insecurity conundrum. He should not detract from his position in those videos but stick to what he thinks should be done to effectively tackle insecurity in the country.
He was shown, in one of the videos, strongly advocating for the building of comprehensive border perimeter fences with neighbours like Niger Republic, Cameroon, Chad and Benin Republic so as to curb the infiltration and illegal crossings of insurgents into the country. He made comparative allusions to countries with similar issues that largely resolved their insecurity problems through perimeter fencing of their borders. He alluded to Pakistan that walled its borders with Afghanistan while Saudi Arabia equally walled its borders with Iraq. Musa wondered why the country was delaying in embracing this option months ago. But now that he’s now the country’s defence minister, he should make the achievement of this good idea one of his main critical priorities.
General Musa also advocated for the deployment of drones, cameras, and transponders, which he considered necessary security tools for effective border surveillance and intelligence gathering. It is sad that our country is yet to fully key into daily deployments of modern technology in combating its insecurity despite the vast resources at its firm disposal. Yet, it is still not too late if, as our new defence minister, Musa can forthwith make this happen.
The new defence minister should be focused and not be deterred by hypocritical commentators that see everything from the prisms of costs in a resource-endowed country like ours while downplaying such projects’ benefits to the security wellbeing of Nigerians. This geographical entity must be secure before there can be a government in place and even a country called Nigeria.
Musa should always ask himself about the desirability or otherwise of any project that comes to his mind. Once he is convinced that such project is really necessary for national security, he should pursue them no matter the cost outlay because a country that was recently reported to have spent a huge amount of N17.5trillion on pipelines monitoring in twelve months should be willing and ready to construct perimeter fence to protect its territory from infiltration by rampaging, mostly, Fulani herdsmen aggressors and Boko Haram/ISWAP criminal elements.
Another important battle General Musa must be prepared to wage and possibly win is that of the federal bureaucracy. Generally, bureaucracy creates a structure of rules/regulations deliberately designed to control governmental decisions. But these rules/regulations have grown to become avoidable bottlenecks of suffocating red tapism, loss of freedom to initiate, inefficiency, and sadly detachment from contemporary societal reality.
For Musa to meet up with the expectations of Nigerians, he must immediately commence how he truly plans to waltz through this government contraption called bureaucracy that is renowned for its frustrating procedures that stifle individual action and prompt problem-solving techniques. This new defence minister, that is once used to a ‘command and obey’ structure as a military general, needs a survival technique to manoeuvre the country’s bureaucracy.
More importantly, the president has removed Badaru from the defence ministry. Matawalle should also go for Musa to succeed? The allegations of insecurity misgivings heaped on Matawalle’s head by his successor as Zamfara state governor deserves the president’s revisit.
Musa truly projects an image of a fine gentleman but whether he’s President Tinubu’s best ministerial appointment so far stands to be seen in view of his also being a creation of the rotten system that spends trillions of naira on insecurity without commensurate results to show for such budgetary spendings. Time shall tell if he possesses the political will to stop the ongoing bleeding insecurity by weeding out dead woods on his paths to restoring Nigeria’s lost peace. He no doubts will need an unimpeded presidential support to deal with the unnamed power-bloc behind the country’s insecurity quagmire.
Again, time shall tell if Musa is indeed the president’s best ministerial appointee. He needs courage, confidence, undiluted determination, and presidential support to do and succeed in this insecurity extermination assignment of his.
Musa’s greatest challenge lies more in the fact that our society, as it stands today, values its privileges more than its principles. And in Dwight D. Eisenhower’s observation, any society like ours that “values its privileges above its principles soon loses both.” Yours sincerely pray for Musa to survive this rotten system within which most Nigerians expect him to perform wonders.
Sanusi, former MD/CEO of Lagos State Signage & Advertisement Agency, is currently the managing partner at AMS RELIABLE SOLICITORS.
“Africa cannot accelerate climate action without predictable, accessible, and just climate finance.”
Africa’s push for equitable climate finance took center stage at COP30 in Belém, Brazil, an event that many African negotiators describe as both a breakthrough and a reminder of the long road ahead. While the continent secured new commitments on adaptation financing and “loss and damage funding”, the gap between pledges and actual disbursement remains wide.
At COP30, African leaders emphasized that the continent, despite contributing less than 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions, bears the brunt of climate impacts; floods, droughts, desertification, and food insecurity.
The African Group of Negotiators (AGN) argued strongly for reforms to the global climate finance structure, calling for easier access, reduced bureaucracy, and a significant increase in adaptation-specific financing.
One major achievement from COP30 was the strengthening of the Loss and Damage Fund operationalized at COP28. Several high-emitting countries pledged additional resources, with some promising long-term contributions up to 2030.
However, experts caution that much of this funding is still far from guaranteed. Another area of progress was the renewed commitment to revisiting the long-standing but unmet $100 billion annual finance promise first made in 2009. African delegates pushed for a clear roadmap, demanding transparency on how wealthier nations plan to meet and surpass that target. COP30 concluded with a framework requiring annual reporting and more accountability.
Despite these wins, Africa’s climate finance needs continue to grow. The African Development Bank estimates that Africa requires up to $2.8 trillion by 2030 to fully implement its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). Current flows remain a fraction of that amount.
Africa also raised the alarm over the imbalance between mitigation and adaptation finance. Roughly 70% of global climate finance still goes to mitigation; projects like renewable energy, while only 30% supports adaptation. African nations, however, need strong investments in early warning systems, flood defenses, climate-smart agriculture, and resilient infrastructure. Looking beyond COP30, Africa is pushing for deeper reforms within global financial institutions. Many countries argue that multilateral development banks must increase concessional financing and reduce interest rates that leave nations trapped in debt cycles.
There is also growing momentum behind calls for debt-for-climate swaps; an approach that could free fiscal space. As COP31 approaches, the continent plans to present a unified strategy aimed at securing long-term finance commitments, strengthening adaptation mechanisms, and boosting the negotiating power of African states. Observers say Africa’s voice in global climate diplomacy is growing louder.
The outcome of COP30 makes one thing clear: Africa’s climate finance battle is not just about environmental survival, it is an economic, political, and moral fight for fairness. The world may have moved a step forward in Belém, but unless promises turn into tangible action, Africa will continue to demand justice on the global stage.
Adebayo Adeleye, PhD, Ibadan, Researcher in Environmental Pollution and Control badeleye@gmail.com +234 803 525 6450
Ignorance, cultural, spiritual beliefs spread resistance to children’s vaccination
Nigeria’s record as country with highest challenge of zero dose children globally sparks concerns
Vaccination helps safeguard children’s health all over the world. But over the years, the lifesaving invention has continued to experience disturbing resistance not just among rural populace but also among urban dwellers who avoid it like a plague. Nigeria, with 2.2 million cases is home to the largest number of zero-dose children in the world, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). The federal and state governments may need to embark on aggressive mobilization and sensitization, including introducing some incentives as Kano State is said to have started, to encourage more parents to present their children for vaccination. INNOCENT DURU reports.
Trouble broke out in Seme area of Lagos State during the week when health officials visited some schools in the area to administer vaccines to the pupils.
From the gates of the various schools, the health workers got more than they bargained for. They were seriously quizzed and angrily turned back.
“The schools didn’t allow them to give any vaccines to the pupils because they feared that if anything should go wrong, it is the school that the parents will hold responsible,” a resident who gave his name simply as Michael said.
“The schools said if they want to give vaccines to the children, they should go to their houses to do that with the consent of their parents and not in the schools which risk serious penalties and possible closure if anything goes wrong,” he added.
There are palpable fears among some people in the community that vaccines could trigger health crises for their children in future. Chief among the fears is that vaccines are formulated to reduce the population of Nigeria by affecting the people’s reproductive abilities.
Unfortunately, people who choose not to vaccinate their children also put others at risk should such children fall ill.
Local government authorities in Seme got wind of the treatment meted out to the health officials, stepped in and thus saved the pupils from possible health crises in the future.
An official of the local government Olumide Julius, while confirming the development, blamed it on poor communication to the concerned schools.
His words: “Some schools turned back health workers giving out vaccines because they claimed that they were not officially informed about it by the authorities.
“The matter was reported to me and I had to go there and address the schools and encourage them to take it. The schools promised to allow the children to take the vaccines the following day if they should come and they did that. ”
He said the schools feared that being located in the border community, anybody might come and administer anything.
“The problem is not really from the schools. It was the parents who advised them not to allow their children to take vaccines. When the information got to me, I told the schools to volunteer the contact details of such parents so that I could call and speak with them. I did just that and they agreed that their children should take the vaccines.”
He observed that some of the vaccine resistant parents are from the north and “they just settled here in Zongo part of Seme. They were said to have previously attacked teachers for allowing their children to be given vaccines. They resisted it because they didn’t want anything that would cause havoc. Part of their fears is that the vaccines will not allow them to have more children in the future and that some of them may not be able to have children again. They feared that there was plan to reduce the population of Africa.
I gave them the assurance that no evil will befall their children after taking the vaccines and they agreed,” the official said.
To prevent a reoccurrence, he said: We are planning a meeting with the northern communities, and the concerned schools. We will do a jingle in Hausa language, and Egun language. Some people from Benin Republic come here for business and when their children come here they send them to school. The Beninoise who come to Nigeria do say that the vaccines in Nigeria is different from the one in Benin Republic. They always claim that the one in Benin Republic is the original and the ones given in Nigeria is fake. That is their mentality. By the time we explain to them, their mind set will change.
But the fear of vaccines is not confined to Seme and other rural parts of Lagos State.
It is a general challenge across the state and the records show that the state has one of the highest cases of zero dose children.
For instance, Alimosho Local Government Area (LGA), according to the United Nations Children’s Fund, (UNICEF), had over 35,000 zero-dose children in 2021, the highest number of any LGA in Nigeria.
“Kosofe, had nearly 17,000 zero-dose children in 2021. It also had around 17,162 partially immunized children, the second highest number for an LGA in Lagos State,” UNICEF said.
Zero-dose children are those who are without any routine vaccination or are lacking the first dose of diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis–containing vaccine. Based on global estimates from the World Health Organization/United Nations Children’s Fund in 2022, Nigeria has the highest number of zero-dose children, with 2.3 million unvaccinated.
Before now, Permanent Secretary Lagos State Primary Health Board, Dr Ibrahim Akinwumi Mustapha had told our correspondent how some of their vaccinators were beaten and harassed in some communities.
“Like you rightly noted, before now, around early and mid-November, the schools, community members even beat our vaccinators. The schools shut their doors against us. Community members rejected us vehemently in the early days, but now it is getting better to the extent that some schools are the ones calling us to come and vaccinate their pupils. The rejection is going down and we are vaccinating more now, but it is still not what we want.”
Dr. Ibrahim noted that the state government was spending a lot on vaccines, adding: “It is not just the state government; the federal government and their partners, like WHO and UNICEF, are spending a lot to ensure that our people get the vaccine.”
He could not put a figure to the amount spent on the vaccine, but be said it was “a huge sum.”
The challenge is not different in parts of Bayelsa State where parents also shield their children from taking vaccines.
Although, it appears that more parents are now disposed to having their children be vaccinated, Noel Ikonikumo, the head of fishermen in Sangana area of the South south state said: “many people had unpleasant experiences taking vaccines in the past.
“In the past, vaccines were given in the form of injection. That caused serious health crises for many people. Some in my village even had challenges walking.
“Now that they have modernized it and are administering it orally, many people still have fears that it can cause a health crisis for them.
“You know this is a rural setting. Some still don’t allow their children to take it but sometimes, the health workers meet the children on the way and administer the vaccines to them without waiting for the approval of their parents.”
75 percent of Bauchi IDP camp not vaccinated
Online search shows that North West and North East states have the highest percentages of zero-dose children.
This much was confirmed when our correspondent reached out to the camp of internally displaced people (IDPs) in Tirwun area of Bauchi Local Government.
The Chairman of the IDPs, Buba Musa Sheu said 75 percent of the children are not vaccinated.
“We are about 66,921. Children are about 20,000. About 75 percent of our children don’t have access to the vaccines,” he said.
Explaining why such a high figure of children are not vaccinated, Buba said: “We don’t always see people giving vaccines. Everybody wants the children to take the vaccine but the problem is that we are not seeing the people that are giving it.”
He regretted that “our children are always having measles, diarrhea and other challenges just like in other places in Nigeria. We have children dying but we don’t know the causes.”
Ruling out resistance from any member of the community, he said: “If they (health officials) come to me and inform me that they want to give vaccines to our children, I will gather my people and tell them well ahead and everybody will be available for it.”
Since health workers don’t come to their area, Buba said he often advises his people to go and get vaccines but “you can only advise but can never force anybody. Many of our people don’t have money to go to hospital or to go and get the vaccines. Everybody is running away from that because of the financial implications. We don’t have money. If we have the money or even have means of livelihood, our people will go for it. Prevention is better than cure.”
Spiritual, cultural angles to vaccine resistance
As a country with high spiritual and cultural attachment, checks showed that many people resist vaccines because of their belief. Joy, a teacher in a faith based school, says the authorities of the school do not allow the pupils to take any form of vaccination.
She said: “The vaccinators don’t come to our school because we don’t allow them to give vaccines to our children. They have tried coming a couple of times but when the authorities said no, they stopped coming.
“The management must have their reason for doing that, but I don’t know why it’s against it. I do allow my children to take it. Even when I see them passing, I take my children to them for vaccination. They will only not take it within the school premises where it is seen as a taboo.”
A respondent, who gave her name as Abigail, spiritualised the whole issue, saying: “polio or whatever health problems that come with vaccines will never be the portion of my children. How many children in villages take all these vaccines? I pray that education will not put us in trouble, because most of the things we are apprehensive about don’t worry villagers.
“Go and take statistics of people in the villages and see how many of them take these vaccines. Once you eat healthily and maintain good hygiene, sicknesses will be far from you. That is my belief and practice.
“I won’t allow my children to take what I don’t know about and then regret it. Let them go with their vaseline or is it vaccine you call it.”
At Ikija, a rural community in Oluyole Local Government Area, Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, the residents are not keen on vaccines.
During a recent visit to the community by our correspondent, it was found that water taken from a river popularly called Omi Eridu serves as their vaccines. They strongly believe that the water is potent against every kind of ailment.
The river in question is tucked deep inside the community and almost covered by water hyacinth. Residents scoop water from a small portion of the river spared by water hyacinth, using a partly broken calabash dropped on the grass at the bank of the river.
“What is vaccine?” the abore (traditional priest), Musibau Adekambi, asked disdainfully as he led our correspondent to the river, accompanied by the chief hunter of the community and a young girl said to be a devotee of the river.
“We don’t take vaccines here in Ikija. Going to hospital is not our way of life. The water from the river is our vaccine. People are coming for treatment and they are receiving healing after using it,” he said gleefully as he scooped and drank from the river.
“We use the water from the river to treat all kinds of sickness, including COVID-19. If you come here with COVID-19, you will be healed. It is not by our power but by the power that was used to found this community together with the powers of the deities and the river.
“Go round the village and you will not find any sick person. The river will never allow any strange sickness to enter the community. Even if the person contracted the sickness elsewhere, once he enters here, it will not spread to any member of the community. We would rather heal him of the sickness he came with.
“Even strangers who came to reside here have had all their sicknesses in their bodies cured.”
How women are motivated to present children for vaccination in Kano- Nursing mother
A Kano based nursing mother told our correspondent that the number of people turning up for vaccination of their children is on the rise in the state.
The nursing mother who gave her name simply as Mrs Tao said the improvement is as a result of monetary rewards given to women who go to hospitals to vaccinate their children.
She said: “Unlike in the south where immunization is very common, here, it is a challenge. People will tell you that they don’t have transport fares to go to the hospital. Some will say that if they give immunization to their children, it will cause health problems for them.
“Now government has made it easy for the people. They support women coming for immunization. For the first week, they give N1,000. The more you go, the more the money you get increases. By the 14th week, they will give you N6,000. This happens in federal government hospitals and state hospitals too. I am not sure of private hospitals.”
Sharing her personal experience, she said: “when I took my baby to the hospital for BCG recently, they gave me N1,000. I was even surprised. To get that, you will go through some processes like obtaining a card, taking photograph and thumb printing.
“My sister has collected all the available money remaining that of the 14th month which is N6,000. After taking the vaccine, they will give you the money instantly. There is a card they will give you when coming to the hospital. Even if you don’t come with it, they will still give you the money to encourage you to come next time.”
Continuing, she said: “If you give birth in a registered health care facility, they will trace you to your house, vaccinate the child and give you the money.
“I remember when my neighbour did not go for immunization, they traced her to the house. They waited outside till she returned from school to immunize her child and give her the money. This works perfectly here in Kano and everybody is aware of it.”
Nigeria has world’s highest number of zero-dose children – UNICEF
Last May, UNICEF said that Nigeria had the highest global burden of zero-dose (ZD) children with Borno and Yobe States accounting for a disproportionate number of these unvaccinated children.
Speaking during a one-day media dialogue in Damaturu to mark the 2025 World Immunisation Day, UNICEF Health Officer, Bashir Elegbede, highlighted the critical gaps in immunisation coverage across Nigeria’s North-East.
He said: “the under-one population in Nigeria is estimated at 8.7 million, with 2.1 million of them (24 per cent) classified as ZD children. This highlights that Nigeria bears the highest global burden of ZD children. Reducing the number of zero-dose children—those who have not received any routine vaccination—is crucial for improving public health outcomes in Nigeria.”
Elegbede said that around 400,000 children, aged one and above, have not received any form of vaccination across the North-East region. He attributed the high number of ZD children to factors including conflict, climate change, the Covid-19 pandemic, hard-to-reach areas, pastoral communities, urban outskirts, slums, and regions grappling with systemic health challenges.
He warned that unvaccinated children are significantly more vulnerable to life-threatening diseases.
“Children not immunised have been seen to have a relatively high risk of being infected and succumbing to vaccine-preventable diseases like polio, measles, meningitis, yellow fever, and viral hepatitis, among others,” Elegbede stated.
The global target, according to him, is to reduce the number of ZD children by 25 percent this year and by 50 percent by 2030.
He stressed the importance of vaccines as a foundational health measure.
“Across the world, millions of lives have been saved by vaccines. Globally, sadly, Nigeria has the highest burden of ZD children. A number estimated to be 2.1 million as of 2023,” he said.
“With Borno and Yobe States having a disproportionate number of these children. UNICEF, alongside stakeholders in the health sector, has continued to work with the government to reduce the number of ZD children through improvement of routine immunisation coverage and approaches that strengthen the health systems across Nigeria.”
UNICEF in a post on its website lists seven reasons why children must be vaccinated.
It says being a responsible parent or a good caregiver of a child, you should know why it is so important to complete all the vaccines on time.
1. Your children will be more likely to get serious illnesses
Do you know if children who do not receive complete immunization on time will be susceptible to various vaccine-preventable diseases such as hepatitis, tuberculosis, whooping cough, and diphtheria? Furthermore, children are also susceptible to various other health problems; for example, when a child has measles, complications like diarrhoea, pneumonia, blindness, and malnutrition are common.
2. Other family members are also more likely to get seriously ill
Do you know other people around sick and unimmunized children at risk of contracting diseases or vice-versa?
When you get sick, your children, grandchildren, and parents may be at risk, too
Adults are the most common source of pertussis (whooping cough) infection in infants, which can be deadly for babies. When your child gets vaccinated, you are protecting yourself and your family, as well as those in your community who may not be able to be vaccinated.
Adults can also contract and experience mild symptoms with fatal complications; for example, pregnant women who are infected with the rubella virus are at high risk of giving birth to children with various disorders known as congenital rubella syndrome (CRS). Pregnant women who contract the measles virus are at risk of experiencing a miscarriage.
3. You may contribute to a disease outbreak in the community
Infectious disease cases among a vulnerable group could lead to a broader community outbreak. This is why the government still vaccinates children against polio. When more children miss their vaccination, diseases that have been in decline for many years could suddenly break out again.
4. You have to bear the cost of treatment for the disease and its complications
Diseases not only have a direct impact on individuals and their families but also carry a high price tag for society as a whole. It requires expensive and time-consuming treatment.
For example, diphtheria will require immediate treatment in a hospital that has the capacity to treat this disease and its complications. The patient is placed in an isolation room and requires special drugs. An average measles illness can last up to 15 days, typically with five or six missed work or school days. Adults who get hepatitis lose an average of one month of work. In the case of a baby born with CRS, they will require lifelong treatment and high-cost medical aid and therapy.
Vaccines preventable diseases could lead to lifelong disability,for example, measles could lead to blindness. Paralysis is the most severe symptom associated with polio because it can lead to permanent disability and death.
6. Risk of decreasing life expectancy
Incomplete vaccination contributes to a decrease in life expectancy, while complete vaccination among toddlers influences the increase in life expectancy. Data showed that those children who do not receive complete immunization as a child are more likely to contract various other diseases and therefore experience decreased life expectancy.
In West Papua, life expectancy increase from 2010 to 2017 with significant contribution from an increasing number of fully immunized children. [1]
Between 1940 and 1998, life expectancy at birth in Brazil increased by around 30 years, mainly due to the reduction of deaths due to vaccine-preventable infectious diseases. The vaccination of children, which reduced not only cases of illness but also the circulation of infectious agents among the population, positively impacted the health of adults and the elderly (collective protection).
7. Travel restrictions and school enrollment
Several countries require visiting foreigners to be completely immunized. Without immunization, children can lose the opportunity to pursue education in these countries
More and more schools listed ‘complete immunization status’ as one of the admission criteria to ensure all children and school residents are protected from vaccine-preventable diseases and students can fully enjoy their rights to learn at school.
Fast-Rising singer Fola has opened up on his modest beginnings, recalling how he worked in his father’s betting shop before finding his footing in the music industry.
Fola, who shared his story in an interview, said his passion for music began in high school where he played in a band but lacked the means to pursue it professionally.
“I started making music in high school obviously not professionally, but I had a band I was playing with,” he said.
After graduation, the struggle became more pronounced. According to him, he did not own a phone at the time and relied on a friend’s device to make progress. “It was difficult for me because I didn’t even have a phone, I was using my guy’s phone to do stuff,” he recalled.
Faced with limited opportunities in Ibadan, he decided to take up work at a small bet shop owned by his father.
“I checked my environment and it wasn’t encouraging so I started working at a bet shop owned by my dad. I worked as a manager and cashier so that I could raise some money for myself,” he said.
Fola later left Ibadan for Lagos, a move he described as the turning point in his journey. In Lagos, he met the late Mohbad, whom he credits for creating pathways that helped shape his career. “I met Mohbad. Mohbad did a lot of things for me,” he said.
Through Mohbad, he was also introduced to Bella Shmurda, a relationship that led to an informal collaboration in 2022. “Mohbad and Bella were very close so Mohbad was always telling Bella about me. I and Bella did a song together in 2022 without any paperwork and it was just great,” he said.
Despite the gap in their profiles at the time, Bella agreed to the collaboration without financial interest, a gesture Fola still speaks highly of. “The gap was so much between us but Bella did it anyway even when he wasn’t going to make a dime out of it,” he added.
Looking back, the singer said he remains grateful for how far he has come. “I thank God for where we are today,” he said.
Inspirational singer Sola Allyson has spoken about her early exposure to multiple religions, saying her upbringing took her through Islam and Christianity at different stages of her childhood.
Allyson, who shared the experience in a recent interview, explained that her environment largely determined the faith she practised while growing up.
“As a child I didn’t have the control to make certain choices. I had to practice the religion they practiced in the places I lived,” she said.
According to her, her mother, aunt and grandmother all came from Muslim backgrounds, which meant she was raised as a Muslim whenever she lived with them.
“My mother is from a Muslim background and so is my aunt and grandmother so I practiced Islam when I lived with them,” she noted.
She added that her faith practice shifted again when she later moved into a Christian household. “When I moved to another place where they practiced Christianity I also worshipped with them as a Christian,” she said.
Despite her exposure to various beliefs, Allyson maintained that her personal relationship with God remains above any religious label.
“Personally, knowing God’s love is more important than religion,” she said.
The singer stressed that peaceful coexistence is possible among people of different faiths and that relating with others should not be mistaken for adopting their beliefs.
“If I’m with you and you’re a Muslim we will definitely have a good time, if I’m with you and you are a traditionalist we will also have a good time. The fact that I’m talking with you doesn’t mean that I have adopted your faith,” she said.
Calling for mutual respect, she urged Nigerians to avoid hostility over religious differences. “We all can practice our religion respectfully. We don’t have to hurl insults at each other. God is one,” she added.
As The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip: Africa made its highly anticipated debut on Showmax, stars of The Real Housewives of Lagos, Mariam Timmer and The Real Housewives of Abuja, Princess Jecoco hosted intimate watch parties in Lagos and Abuja to usher in the new season.
Held simultaneously, the events brought the family, friends, and fans of Mariam and Jecoco and members of the entertainment community together to celebrate the first-ever African edition of the global Ultimate Girls Trip franchise, now streaming on Showmax.
The African edition of Ultimate Girls Trip brings together Housewives from Abuja, Durban, Johannesburg, Lagos and Nairobi setting the stage for luxury, drama and unforgettable reality TV entertainment.
Gospel singer Oluseyi Adewale aka Seyi Crown has unveiled the video of his new single, ‘Eni Iyi.’
The new music video was unveiled at the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) Secretariat, Iyaganku GRA, Ibadan, Oyo State.
The event drew a blend of entertainment lovers and community leaders, including Mr. and Mrs. Adameji, Engineers Agboola Samson and Joshua, Hon. Fijabi, and several church ministers.
The new video, according to the artist, was produced in honour of the newly installed Olubadan of Ibadanland, Senator Rasheed Adewolu Ladoja, as a documentation of the monarch’s historic ascension to the throne.
In addition to the video premiere, Seyi Crown also announced the release of two new gospel singles.
He expressed appreciation to Ariya Networks for partnering with him on the unveiling, noting that the platform exclusively covered the event.
He said, “Ariya Networks made themselves available, and that is why the full unveiling can only be seen on their platform.”
Crown used the occasion to encourage emerging artistes not to give up on their dreams, revealing that the unveiling marked the fulfilment of an 18-year expectation.
“I am so happy that what I believed in for 18 years has finally happened. Don’t stop believing,” he told attendees.
The Ile-Ife-born gospel musician added that he intends to release more songs soon for the enjoyment of his growing fan base.
