The Nation Newspaper

Author: The Nation

  • Lamorde, EFCC brain box exits

    Lamorde, EFCC brain box exits

    Sir: Sunday morning, l was jolted from sleep by the sad news of lbrahim Lamorde’s passing.

    The departed was with the EFCC from the beginning, and was part of the trio of Ribadu and Magu whose activities made the EFCC the dreaded organisation for the corrupt and saboteurs of the nation’s economy.

    While Nuhu Ribadu held sway as the executive chair of the EFCC, Lamorde was the quintessential Director of Operations who handled and co-ordinated the field operations of the commission. He was the tried, tested and trusted ally of Ribadu, who in turn relied  on Magu of the Economic Governance Unit for effective investigations of the earliest high profile cases of corruption in that era. The departed was the “engine box” who spoke sparingly but was polite, effective and efficient. Warm, unassuming and accessible, Lamorde worked seamlessly with Ribadu as if both were Siamese twins.

    The early structures and personnel of the EFCC were put in place by himself and a few of the earliest pioneer staff of the commission under the leadership of the irrepressible Ribadu. The agency’s image soared and the fear of EFCC was the beginning of wisdom.

    When Nuhu Ribadu was eased out in controversial circumstances, Ibrahim Lamorde never betrayed the cause. He remained the silent investigation and intelligence officer committed to the war against corruption.

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    The departed was to return to EFCC after the inspiring stint of Farida Waziri as EFCC chair. He was brought back to the agency and appointed chair by the Jonathan administration. Again, he served diligently and effectively. The Buhari administration opted for Magu and Lamorde was redeployed back to the police where he served in the intelligence units and was serially promoted first as AIG and later to the position of a Deputy Inspector General before his dignified exit from service.

    I recall my last encounter with the deceased at his private residence at Abuja on a courtesy call. He was quite receptive and warm and seemed to be enjoying his retirement peacefully.

    During the encounter, we exchanged banters. He was without airs as usual, and actually walked me to the door as l made my way out after about one hour robust conversation.

    Many who encountered him will attest to his simplicity and sonorous voice, almost feminine voice.

    Lamorde was kind and gentle. He was courteous, accessible and accommodating. He made friends with the high and mighty.

    A man of few words, the departed was more of action than words.

    Adieu, lbrahim Lamorde, former chair of EFCC and a damn brilliant police officer.

    •Wahab Shittu, SAN,Lagos.

  • Iran beyond Raisi

    Iran beyond Raisi

    Iran, a Shiite theocracy on the Arabian Peninsula, suffered a mortal blow early last week when an helicopter in which President Ebrahim Raisi was travelling crashed, pulling him down to a fiery death along with some other top Iranian officials.

    Raisi was on Sunday, 19th May, returning from a ceremony at which he and Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev inaugurated a dam at the border region of Iran and Azerbaijan when the American-made Bell 212 helicopter conveying the Iranian president slammed into a mountain peak amidst thick fog, killing him and all others on board including Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian. The charred wreckage of the helicopter carrying eight passengers and crew was found early on Monday after an overnight search in blizzard conditions. Besides Raisi and Amir-Abdollahian, others who died in the crash were the governor of Iran’s East Azerbaijan province, a senior cleric from the Iranian city of Tabriz, an official of Iran’s elite Guardian Council and three crew members, according to state-run agency IRNA, which is the only outlet for news in the authoritarian state.

    Although the crash caused the death of lynchpins of the Iranian state, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the government remained steady and state running business-as-usual while the crash victims were being mourned – he announced five days of national mourning. On the heels of confirmation of the deaths early on Monday, he named first vice-president, Mohammad Mokhber, as caretaker leader in line with the constitution of Iran that stipulates calling a new presidential poll within 50 days. Ali Bagheri Kani was named interim foreign minister. The state news agency said fresh presidential election would hold on Friday, 28th June, with candidates to be registered between 30th May and 3rd June.

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    Iran disclosed no cause for the crash nor suggested that sabotage was involved, but conspiracy theorists fingered Israel with which Iran has been in long-drawn mutual hostility. The United States as well got blamed because while Iran has flown Bell helicopters extensively since the era of the Shah, aircraft in the country face shortages of spare parts owing in part to Western sanctions, and they often fly without safety checks. It was against that backdrop a former Iranian foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, argued that the U.S. was culpable in the crash. He was repotted saying in an interview: “One of the main culprits of (the) tragedy is the United States, which embargoed the sale of aircraft and aviation parts to Iran and does not allow the people of Iran to enjoy good aviation facilities. This will be recorded in the list of U.S.’s crimes against the Iranian people.”

    An ultraconservative cleric who formerly headed Iran’s judiciary, Raisi, 63, was widely seen as a protégé and likely successor to Khamenei – a hardcore hardliner who has the final word in Iranian affairs and is the de facto head of state. Khamenei has been supreme leader since 1989, but aged 85, he has suffered health challenges in recent years and the question of who replaces him as supreme leader upon death or retirement has gotten more topical in Iran. Raisi was touted as the likely candidate, the only other potential mentioned being Khamenei’s 55-year-old son and mid-level cleric, Mojtaba Khamenei. But analysts argued that Mojtaba succeeding his father would mark a shift from the principles of the Islamic republic, which overthrew the Shah dynasty in an Islamic revolution 1979 and has since prided itself on shaking off hereditary rule. So, with Raisi’s death, the succession plot is up in the air.

    Raisi came to power in 2021 through an election whose outcome many saw as engineered because moderate and reformist candidates were blocked from contesting, just to favour hardliners, and with voter turnout being the lowest in the Islamic republic’s history. By the laws of the Persian Gulf country, a powerful 12-member body, the Guardian Council charged with overseeing elections and legislation, screens candidates for presidential elections and pre-vets membership of an 88-member assembly of mullahs that determines succession to the supreme leader position. Raisi until his death sat in the assembly of mullahs that has gotten increasingly hardline over the years: he won re-election to the body last March.

    The hardline disposition of leadership characterises the conduct of the Iranian state. Under Raisi, Iran’s ties with the West nosedived as the country enriched uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels. The country supplied bomb-carrying drones to Russia for its war on Ukraine, and fuelled proxy wars through  sustained moral and material support for the “axis of resistance” of political and military groups like Hamas in Palestine, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq and Houthi rebels in Yemen. Meanwhile, Iran’s leadership faced years of internal uprising by Iranians over the country’s economy that has been laid prostrate by Western sanctions. There were as well virulent protests over women’s rights, the most recent following the 2022 death in security agents’ custody of Mahsa Amini, a young woman who was detained over her allegedly inappropriate hijab dress code. Months-long security crackdown against demonstrations over the death of Amini killed more than 500 people and saw over 22,000 detained. In March, a United Nations investigative panel found the Iranian leadership culpable for Amini’s death.

    Beyond its borders, Iran has had a combative reputation in the Middle-East. The country over the years provided financial and other forms of support to Palestinian militant group, Hamas, which staged the 7th October attack on Israel that triggered the yet ongoing Gaza war. While there is no that evidence Iran was directly involved in the 7th October attack, its leaders voiced solidarity with the Palestinians. The country’s allies in the region have gone much further: Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group has waged a low-intensity conflict with Israel since the start of the Gaza war, with the two sides trading strikes on near-daily basis along the Israel-Lebanon border, forcing tens of thousands of people on both sides to flee. So far, though, the conflict has not boiled over into a full-blown war that would be disastrous for both countries. Also, Iran-backed militias in Syria and Iraq launched repeated attacks on U.S. bases in the opening months of the war but pulled back after U.S. retaliatory strikes for a drone attack that killed three American soldiers in January. Yemen’s Houthi rebels, another ally of Iran, have repeatedly targeted international shipping in what they touted as a blockade of Israel. Their strikes, which often target ships with no apparent link to Israel, have also drawn U.S.-led retaliation.

    Meanwhile, tensions between Iran and Israel never before reached as high as they were in April when Iran under Raisi and Supreme Leader Khamenei launched hundreds of drones and ballistic missiles at Israel, in response to an airstrike on an Iranian Consulate in Syria that killed two Iranian generals and five officers. Israel, with the help of the United States, Britain, Jordan and others intercepted nearly all the projectiles. In apparent retaliation, Israel has launched its own strike against an air defense radar system in the Iranian city of Isfahan, causing no casualties but sending an obvious message. The sides have waged a shadow war of covert operations and cyberattacks for years, but the exchange of fire in April was their first direct military confrontation. Speculations that Raisi’s death could be an extension of this confrontation are highly moot because while Israel is believed to have carried out attacks over the years targeting senior Iranian military officials and nuclear scientists, there is yet no evidence linking it with the helicopter crash.

    Iran’s potential stretches beyond the Middle East. Western countries – just like Israel – have long suspected the Islamic republic of pursuing nuclear weapons in the guise of a peaceful atomic program – a pursuit they regard as a threat to global non-proliferation. Former U.S. President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from a nuclear pact between Iran and world powers in 2018, and his imposition of crushing sanctions, led to Iran gradually abandoning all limits placed on its program by the deal. Surveillance cameras installed by the UN nuclear agency have been obstructed, while Iran has barred some of the agency’s most experienced inspectors. The country always insisted its nuclear program is for purely peaceful purposes, but the U.S. and other nations suspect it has an active nuclear weapons program. In that, it might be simply aiming to match Israel, which is widely believed to be the only nuclear-armed power in the Mid-east though it has never acknowledged having such weapons.

    After Raisi, not much will change in the nationhood character of Iran. The levers of power repose effectively with Khamenei and the Guardian Council, and these are core conservatives in disposition. Iran as we know it will continue business-as-usual.

    •Please join me on kayodeidowu.blogspot.be for conversation.

  • Waiting for Cardoso

    Waiting for Cardoso

    By Aoiri Obaigbo

    My beloved friend has a farm in Ibadan area. A herd of cattle went in there and not only ate his cassava plants but also trampled on the mounds. The law enforcement advised him to plant ‘cow not allowed’ sign posts at strategic points and one is wondering whether cows can now read or whether herdsmen care a hoot.

    The bankers committee and the NIBSS which were set up to promote ethics and collaboration respectively have transformed the financial system into a huge farm where their herds may graze with only a signpost to restrict them. CBN’s interest in stability of the economy is hardly reflected in the actions of these institutions.

    Keep this in the parking lot as we drive through the rest of this text.

    For the purpose of knowing when the rain started beating us, every big institution like the CBN needs a resident historian. Curating how things began provides organic decisions at the fork road.

    The dollarisation of our economy, in the past eight years became a mechanism for enriching the financial herdsmen and wrecking our collective farmland. How did we become addicted to dollars and when will the addiction end?

    During World War I, the Allies paid the U.S. for arms supplies using gold, which made the U.S. the largest holder of gold. That’s when the dollar gained prominence as a global currency, shoving the pound sterling aside.

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    So in 1944, forty-four allied countries convened in Bretton Woods and established the Bretton Woods Agreement, under which the U.S. dollar was designated as the official reserve currency, backed by gold.

    The International Monetary Fund (IMF) was also created during this conference to facilitate international monetary cooperation.

    By 1960, some countries had reduced the U.S’s share of global GDP to about 40%. Despite this, the dollar remained dominant.

    In 1971, rising government spending led to inability to maintain the dollar link to gold at $35 per troy ounce. President Richard Nixon suspended the dollar’s convertibility with gold. The Nixon shock reshaped international finance, the currency markets, and trade relations.

    The dollar continued as the primary reserve currency, though it was no longer tied to gold. This is the beginning of a voodoo dollar value if you remember that money started as receipts for gold deposits.

    As of 2022 data, the United States has dwindled to approximately 15.54% of the global gross domestic product (GDP).  So its share has declined over time, yet approximately 59% of all foreign bank reserves are denominated in U.S. dollars based on international agreements and speculative rather than true value.

    In recent times, de-dollarisation has become a thing. It refers to countries reducing their reliance on the U.S. dollar as a reserve currency, medium of exchange, or unit of account. It involves seeking alternatives to the dollar for international trade and financial transactions.

    Some citizens of Nigeria like Femi Falana are looking up to Yemi Cardoso to take a clue from this trend. For the first time in 48 years, Saudi Arabia has indicated interest in trading outside the yoke of the dwindling dollar. Brazil, Argentina, Ghana and a growing number of countries are looking away from the USD. In April 2022, four European gas companies made trade payment settlements in roubles. What is Nigeria waiting for? Our romance with the greenback has done nothing but emasculated our economy.

     A look at the metamorphosis of the naira will justify citizens desire to be free as well. Naira was introduced on January 1, 1973, making Nigeria the last colonised nation to exit the apron strings of the British pound.  “Naira” was coined from “Nigeria” by Obafemi Awolowo, and launched by Shehu Shagari as the Minister of Finance in 1973. It immediately fell under the influence of the US dollar by default. Starting with a value of two naira to a pound, the twin monetary organs of the West began to implement a fluctuation graph for the naira which began to kick in during Ibrahim Babangida’s bewildering debates about IMF loans. To take or not to take it and the crippling diseases that come with taking it.

     In 2016, the naira was allowed to float after being pegged at ₦197 to US$1 for several months. Unknown to Nigerians, the plunge had only just begun.

    With the US dollar once exchanging at almost two dollars to a naira striking a deadly curve at a peak of $1600 to a naira, citizens are praying for Cardoso to consider the growing trend of de-dollarisation. Understandably, all the profiteers of the present arrangement will be resistant to this logical progression.

    President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, speaking during an interactive session with Nigerians in France and neighbouring European countries said that under Godwin Emefiele, “…the financial system was rotten. Few people [were] making bags of our money” while impoverishing majority of Nigerians. He promised financial reforms in the coming weeks.

    During Emefiele’s tenure, Nigeria indeed faced economic challenges, including two recessions, high inflation rates, and a high debt profile.

    Central bank governors typically operate without getting entangled in politics, but Emefiele went to the extent of ‘vying’ for office.

    Emefiele lorded over a system of multiple exchange rates, which was criminally exploited by a cabal. While his policies and actions had a substantial impact on Nigeria’s financial system, attributing the rot in an entire system to him is rather oversimplifying a complex situation.

    The Nigerian Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) plays a crucial role in the country’s financial system, facilitating electronic payments, interbank transfers, and settlement processes. NIBSS has not only a master list of everyone engaging in a financial transaction through a bank but also an instant record of every transaction in the ecosystem.

    In tandem with commercial banks, regulatory bodies, and monetary policies committee in charge of system stability, it is a major backbone of the financial system.

    The Bankers Committee, composed of top executives from commercial banks, also significantly influenced Nigeria’s financial landscape.

    President Tinubu’s remarks underscore the need for comprehensive reforms and transparency in Nigeria’s financial ecosystem. The role of NIBSS and the bankers committee, along with other economic factors, must be examined when assessing the decay in our financial system. Emefiele didn’t run the town all by himself.

    Cardoso’s move towards a single, market-determined exchange rate will certainly eliminate distortions caused by Emefiele’s multiple rates, but the NIBSS infrastructure must be x-rayed in other to account for issues like round-tripping— a deceptive financial practice where two entities engage in a series of transactions that create an illusion of legitimate business activity.  In reality, they are merely exchanging the same money or assets back and forth.

    By round-tripping, banks created artificial demand for foreign currency (such as dollars). They diverted allocated dollars to the black market for higher profits. This increased demand lead to scarcity and put pressure on the exchange rate. It also attracted speculators who bought and sold dollars rapidly, further impacting the exchange rate. Most crucially, when dollars are diverted from legitimate transactions, users faced scarcity. This scarcity affected businesses, individuals, and essential transactions, leading to the rot the president alluded to and economic instability. Imagine a situation when companies in Nigeria began to sell in dollars.

    Not quite a saint himself, Bode George has had the audacity to drag bank MDs— members of the bankers committee—for undermining our financial system in this way.

    The reforms the president promised must not be superficial. Two things should happen. NIBSS is the settlement partner for all banks. It’s assumed that NIBSS infrastructure is the vehicle for interrogating the eight-year tsunami that brought Nigeria’s financial system to the verge of collapse. For more control over stability of the economy and increased monitoring capacity, Cardoso must review the 3.5% stake of CBN in NIBSS. After all, the United States Department of the Treasury exercises considerable oversight over SWIFT— Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication— and consequently has a huge sway on the global financial transactions systems, with the ability to impose sanctions on foreign entities and individuals.

    Locally, increasing transparency of our financial master list is imperative. Internationally, diffusing a situation of economic enslavement to the USD is a task that must be done. Erecting a ‘do not enter’ signpost against a ravaging herd is insufficient.

    •Obaigbo is the author of The Wretched Billionaire.

  • Attention, Oba Ghandi; Soun of Ogbomoso

    Attention, Oba Ghandi; Soun of Ogbomoso

    Sir: I applaud your royal majesty in attracting more glory to the ancient town of Ogbomoso and its environs. We pray most fervently that your labour shall yield the most rewarding dividends that will make generations of future of Ogbomosos and neighbouring people to remember Oba Olaoye Ghandi for good.

    This is to draw your attention to some market unions or trade associations that have formed themselves into illegal cartels for orchestrating upward manipulation of price goods in the town. To be factual, these associations are creating more harm than good to the socio-economic growth of Ogbomoso. Because, they would come together to determine what prices beans, gari, elubo, edu, palm oil, charcoal, agriculture products etc. should be sold and to determine that nobody in a particular market should take goods from any other person except members of their association. This in most cases lead to price gouging, anti-competitive conduct and some commercial issues that certainly contributes to the extremely high food prices, other commodities and services. The actions of these associations or a group or combination of businesses are affecting in diminishing free market competition is wrong and most unacceptable especially in town like Ogbomoso, with rising poverty, population and inflation.

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    As a matter of fact, trade unions and market associations should know that they should promote commerce and not destroy trade. They are vital and important to business; they are important to the wellbeing of the society but there are limitations on what they should engage in. One of the most important limitations is the control of supplies or affecting trade and commerce in a manner that reflects in price.

    Recently, Oba (Dr.) Adesimbo Kilade, Jilo III, the Osemawe of Ondo due to the high cost of food items and commodities in his domain as a result of the abnormal traders activities declared Ondo markets free and open for every legal traders. Likewise, couple of weeks ago, Alayeluwa, Oba Gabriel Adekunle Aromolaran, the Owa-Obokun of Ijesa directed that no individual must be compelled or forced to join any trade association before he or she can engage in legal businesses of their choice. The cry of joy and pleasant remarks that followed the declaration by both Osemawe of Ondo and Oba Aromolaran is proof that people are extremely tired of the excesses of trade or market associations.

    Kabiyesi, the people of Ogbomoso too are tired of the abnormally high cost price of goods and services due to the monopolistic activities of many trade or market associations in the town. The citizens’ exploitation of fellow citizens through business or trade manipulation is a crime against humanity and God which these so-called trade unions are less concerned. There is no doubt, if we do not prioritise that, it will continue and it would affect the growth and development of our town. The purpose of competition regulation is to unlock the market and enable it to behave the way it should and let price be negotiated between a seller and a buyer, which is always the surest way to arrive at the fairest possible price.

    We call on your royal majesty to look into the plight of the people of Ogbomoso and if possible sir, you can use your good office as Osemawe and Oba Aromolaran did in their respective domains on abnormal activities of many trade unions and market associations in order to bring comfort to the people.

    • Sunday Ogunkuade Ogbomoso.

  • Ensuring that our children are safe online

    Ensuring that our children are safe online

    Sir: In today’s interconnected world, children are increasingly exposed to the vast landscape of the internet from a young age. While the digital realm offers boundless opportunities for learning, creativity, and social interaction, it also harbours numerous risks that can pose threats to children’s safety and well-being. From cyberbullying and online predators to exposure to inappropriate content, the online world presents challenges that parents and caregivers must navigate to ensure their children’s safety.

    As children immerse themselves in the online world at increasingly younger ages, the need to safeguard their digital experiences has never been more critical. While the internet offers unparalleled access to information and social interaction, it also exposes our young ones to a multitude of threats that can have lasting repercussions on their physical, mental, and emotional health. Cyberbullying, for instance, has become a pervasive issue, with harmful messages and malicious behaviour leaving deep scars on impressionable minds. Likewise, the anonymity of the internet provides fertile ground for predators seeking to exploit and manipulate unsuspecting children, posing a grave danger to their safety and well-being.

    The unrestricted flow of content on the internet means that children are exposed to a wide array of material, not all of which is suitable for their eyes and ears. Explicit imagery, hate speech, and violent content can seep into their digital spheres, leaving them vulnerable to harmful influences and desensitization to violence and inappropriate behaviour. Left unchecked, these online hazards can have profound effects on children’s development and shape their attitudes and behaviours in ways that may not be immediately evident.

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    In the face of these challenges, harnessing the power of artificial intelligence (AI) emerges as a promising solution to protect our children and foster a safer online environment. AI technology offers a multifaceted approach to addressing the complexities of child online safety, leveraging advanced algorithms and machine learning capabilities to mitigate risks and empower parents and caregivers.

    One of the most impactful applications of AI in child online safety lies in content filtering and moderation systems. Traditional methods of filtering content often fall short in accurately identifying and blocking harmful material, relying on manual review processes that are slow and prone to errors. AI-powered filtering systems, however, excel in analysing vast datasets with unparalleled speed and precision, enabling more effective identification and removal of inappropriate content before it reaches young users.

    AI-driven parental control tools provide parents with the means to manage and monitor their children’s online activities more effectively. Features such as website blocking, time limits, and activity monitoring empower parents to set boundaries and enforce responsible behaviour, fostering a safer and healthier digital environment for their children. Also, AI algorithms can analyse usage patterns and detect potentially risky behaviours, such as excessive screen time or interactions with unknown users, alerting parents to intervene and address concerns promptly.

    In the realm of cyberbullying prevention, AI technologies play a crucial role in identifying and addressing instances of harassment and abuse. By employing natural language processing (NLP) algorithms, AI can analyse text-based communications to detect signs of bullying behaviour in real-time, enabling platforms and moderators to take swift action to protect victims and address perpetrators. AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants offer children personalized guidance and support on staying safe online, engaging them in conversations about internet safety and empowering them to make informed decisions.

    As we harness the potential of AI to protect our children online, it is paramount to address ethical considerations and privacy concerns associated with its implementation. Safeguarding children’s privacy rights and ensuring responsible use of personal data are essential principles that must guide the development and deployment of AI technologies in child online safety. Transparency, accountability, and adherence to strict guidelines and regulations are imperative to building trust and confidence in AI-driven solutions.

    AI technology holds immense promise in safeguarding our children’s digital well-being and creating a safer online environment for them to explore, learn, and connect. By leveraging AI-powered content filtering, parental controls, cyberbullying detection, and educational resources, we can empower parents, educators, and policymakers to protect our youngest digital citizens effectively. However, it is essential to approach AI implementation with care and foresight, ensuring that our efforts to safeguard children online are not only effective but also ethical and respectful of their rights and privacy. Together, let us navigate the digital frontier with vigilance and compassion, ensuring that our children’s online experiences are enriching, empowering, and above all, safe.

    •Wale Bakare, <wale@webfalainitiative.org>

  • Bernard Ifechi Nnagha (1957-2024)

    Bernard Ifechi Nnagha (1957-2024)

    Bernard’s late father was my headmaster and teacher while I was in primary six. Bernard was also in the same primary school then but three classes behind me.

    But he drew considerable attention because of his brilliance in class. The school had a unique way of celebrating pupils’ exceptional performance. So, you will definitely get to know those doing well irrespective of their classes.

    My late eldest brother who worked in the Ministry of Agriculture, Okigwe in the then Eastern Region, used to send my school fees through his father. That brought me closer to the family with his father regularly showing interest in my class performance.

    And when the entrance forms into secondary schools were out, he encouraged us to apply. Among the schools I took their common entrance was Holy Ghost Juniorate, Ihiala – a junior seminary. When the result was out, four of us from St Mary’s primary school, Osina were successful.

    The letter from the seminary which was received by the headmaster had also indicated the date for the interview. The challenge was how to get to my eldest brother to inform him of my success and get prepared for the interview.

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     My brother used to send my school fees and other messages to my headmaster through a commercial bus that plied Afikpo/Okigwe through my community to Onitsha. Our headmaster quickly arranged for me to follow that bus on a Friday afternoon preceding the Monday of the interview. He instructed the bus driver to drop me off at the Ministry of Agriculture while proceeding to Afikpo. That was how I travelled to Okigwe.

    My brother took over from there and made arrangements for me to be at that school early that Monday. The outcome was successful.

    Bernard was later to enrol at Iheme Memorial Grammar School Arondizuogu. We usually met and interacted during some of those holiday activities organised by the student’s association in the community.

    After the result of my school certificate (London GCE ordinary level) came out, I relocated to Lagos for my Advanced Level courses. As I was awaiting my result, the news filtered that Bernard had secured admission to the University of Ife (Obafemi Awolowo University) to study Geology.

    It was a rare feat then. There were actually five full-fledged first generation universities in the country. Two or three others that had come on board then, were affiliates of these first generation universities-Jos and Calabar. I had the chance of meeting his father later that year during one of those football matches organised by our community to mark the annual New Yam festival celebrations.

    He took keen interest in me having not seen me since I left the seminary. He asked many questions including my next plans. I told him I was awaiting my A/L results and was optimistic of gaining admission the next academic session.

    Around the same period, I was at the Orlu motor park to catch a vehicle when I saw Bernard strolling in, clutching a newspaper. He had not seen me. My mind was divided as to whether to draw his attention to where I was or allow him go his way. I quickly opted to dodge him.

    Why? I knew the first question he would ask me after exchanging pleasantries will be: where are you now? I didn’t want to be repeating the story I told his father of how I had finished A/L and hoping to enter the university and all that. Remember he was three classes behind me. Somehow, I did not have the psychological comfort of mind to enter discussions with him on university admissions.

    But luck came my way later that year when I secured direct entry admission to the University of Ibadan. That opened the way for those of us from my community in the various universities to meet on holidays and interact on the educational progress of our community.

    During one of our sittings, I shared the story of how I saw Bernard at the Orlu motor park during his first year in the university and dodged him. The story drew loud laughter but it underscored the prestige that accompanied mere admission to the university then and perhaps, the complex that drove me to hiding.

    Bernard graduated with second class upper division and lectured at the University of Benin during his youth service. At the end of the service, both of us taught briefly at the secondary school in my community and decided to pursue other endeavours.

    But when the news of our imminent departure filtered, some prominent men from the community under the auspices of a social club sent emissaries to us. They invited us to a meeting where an offer of Peugeot 504 salon cars was to be made to us. They reasoned for good, that the cars would encourage us stay and help the school children.

    But we did not fall for the car offer as enticing as it was. Accepting it would bar us from pursuing other plans and consign us to the village. Those who invited us did not take kindly to our guts. They were later to summon us to the general meeting of the town union to explain our conduct.

    But before the summons by the town union, Bernard had secured appointment at the National Iron Mining Company (NIOMC), Itakpe, Kogi State. I had taken to journalism. He quickly rose through the ranks occupying various positions. He was technical assistant to three Project Directors, Deputy General Manager and General Manager, Beneficiation.

    He spent all his working life in that company and shared in the bitter experience of the disagreement between the federal government and an Indian company that stalled activities in NIOMC for many years. The Yar’Adua regime had cancelled the concession agreement his predecessor entered into with the Indian company following allegations of assets stripping. That led to litigations.

    For the years the legal dispute lasted at The Hague and the International Court of Arbitration, London, the company was virtually grounded. It took serious toll on the work force. And Bernard had a sour taste of that.

    But he remained committed believing they were temporary setbacks. At a time during that period, he had asked me for a media plan for the repositioning of the organisation. I promptly availed him one. He was later to inform me his boss was happy with that proposal.

    Luck seemingly smiled his way when in August 2016, the then Minister of Steel Development, Kayode Fayemi announced an out-of-court settlement of the dispute with the Indian firm. Bernard was thereafter appointed the Sole Administrator and Chief Executive Officer of the Company.

    With the new prospects, he initiated action in many fronts to bring the company back to function. These yielded fruits as he succeeded in attracting a World Bank sponsored project for the iron ore sector. The sole administrator also succeeded in defending the company’s budget at the National Assembly and money was released.

    The joy of the workers knew no bounds. The company was to sign contracts for the face-lifting of the facilities that had gone rusty following years of neglect and auction of some properties. These decisions were taken at an executive meeting which ended at about 6pm. Implementation was billed for the next day.

    But the unfortunate happened. Man’s inhumanity to his fellow man took the centre stage. As he was being driven to his residence located right inside NIOMC premises after that meeting, a volley of bullets were suddenly pumped  into his car by assassins lying in wait. He was fatally wounded.

     Some interests that wanted him out by all means had done their worst. By the time he was rescued, he was still alive. But the damage had been done. The next five years or so saw the family doing all humanly possible to save his life. It took a heavy toll on them.

    Sadly, all those efforts and sacrifice could not reverse the mortal damage inflicted on the innocent man by demented assassins. He departed this sinful world on April 17.

    A well brought up and brilliant man, Bernard was an embodiment of honesty and integrity. God fearing and unassuming, he accepted challenges with philosophical vision.

    He was a fellow of the Nigerian Mining and Geosciences Society (FNMGS), Fellow Nigerian Metallurgical Society (FNMS) and Institute of Management Consultants (FIMC).

    Fare well Bernard. ‘Assassination is the tool of the weak and the cowardly’. They have harmed the physical body but your gentle soul rests in the comfort of God’s bosom. You live in our minds!

  • The Nigerian spirit is special

    The Nigerian spirit is special

    By Zayd Ibn Isah

    It was an unforgettable night on May 22 for three Nigerian footballers: Victor Boniface, Ademola Lookman, and Nathan Tella, as their clubs faced off in the UEFA Europa League final. The long anticipated match kicked off at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, and for Ademola Lookman, it was a night of pure glory, one whose significance would forever be etched deep into his heart. This was because the 26-year old sensational striker scored three goals to secure for his club, Atalanta, their first-ever Europa title in 117 years. There are few better fairy tales such as that in football, and the world of sporting in general.

    In stark contrast, Victor Boniface and Nathan Tella had what could be best described as a downer of a night, one they would wish had been more favourable for them, crushed as they were by missed opportunities and the bitter taste of defeat.

    What happened last Wednesday is even more incredible when one considers that Bayer Leverkusen had gone into the final as the top dog and clear favourites. And why not? After enjoying a 51-match unbeaten streak worldwide, one would expect that the final would be more or less a walk in the park for them. Add that to the anticipation of Xabi Alonso bringing Leverkusen into the hallowed realms of historic treble-winning campaigns after clinching the Bundesliga title. But then, such is the beauty of the round leather game that one can never really be certain about anything until the final whistle is blown. And of course, it would have been utterly arrogant of anyone to write off Atalanta as a walkover. The Serie A side have had nothing short of a stellar season, and who can easily forget how they trounced Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool by three goals to nothing at Anfield of all places?

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    For Atalanta, it just so happened that when they needed to overcome the odds stacked against them in Dublin as they squared off with Xabi Alonso’s formidable team of champions and record-breakers, Ademola Lookman stepped up to put all doubts to rest. And boy did he do it in spectacular style.

    Nigerians from all walks of life, especially the diehard football fans, celebrated Atalanta’s victory in much the same way they would have celebrated with Bayern Leverkusen had it been the other way round. The underlying contest was clearly between the three Nigerians for whom the achievement of victory would have been irresistible, something to attain at all costs even. It was definitely not going to be a matter of “no victor, no vanquished.” It is also worth noting that even though many people would have preferred a historic Bayern Leverkusen triumph, particularly one that would elevate the duo of Victor Boniface and Nathan Tella for being part of an invincible run, either way, the eventual results still proved to be a victory for Nigerian football.

    And with the exhibition of hat-trick heroics, Ademola Lookman has now joined the league of Nigerian football legends who played significant roles in winning major titles for their clubs. Last year, the world of football was in awe of Victor Osimhen for bringing joy to the people of Naples after helping their home team, Napoli, win their first Scudetto in 33 years.

    Sports aside, it should be clear to most people that Nigerians are a special breed. There is just something special about the Nigerian that makes them resilient, determined, and capable of achieving greatness not only in sports, but also in other endeavours. In a variety of fields, Nigerians often stand out as record breakers and pacesetters. This was the reason why a BBC article in 2021 described Nigeria as “the country that loves to overachieve.” As much as that description is a tad hilarious, it echoes an undeniable truth, one instilled in most Nigerians right from childhood. If you conduct a survey on Nigerians across major social media platforms, you can be sure to draw in respondents who would affirm two distinct myths peculiar to the Nigerian experience: 1) the case of parents who, in order to encourage or scold their children, would claim to have been constantly at the top of their classes from primary to secondary school, and 2) the belief anything other than “first position” in one’s class at the end of each academic term, was simply failure.

    According to a 2023 report from the Migration Policy Institute in Washington, USA, Nigerians in the United States are the most educated group of immigrants, with a significant percentage (61) holding more Bachelor’s degrees than other immigrant groups and the locals as well. Not only that, but Nigerians, and those of Nigerian descent, are also among the most successful immigrant groups in the USA, with a lot of them living the American Dream as rich medical practitioners, tech-based professionals, lawyers, authors, athletes, entertainers, entrepreneurs and popular social media figures.

    Even beyond the continental sprawl of the United States, Nigerians still succeed and thrive in various aspects of life, causing others to mark them out for being creative, enterprising, daring, resilient, smart and goal-oriented. In effect, the myth of the Nigerian spirit appears to be more than just that. In millennial/Gen Z terms, the hype is real. Or how does one explain the rate at which Nigeria is churning out winners of Guinness World Record breakers, football league champions, academic geniuses, Afrobeats pushers, literary talents, social media and streaming giants, athletic greats, tech and science innovators, and so on and so forth?

    The rate at which Nigerians continue to inspire and elevate the nation on the global stage is worth envying, although critics often point out that Nigerians only seem to be able to excel outside their own shores, due to the artificial limitations that stifle and bury potential within a country of over 200 million people. One might even go as far as to say that Nigerians also stand out in less flattering areas such as corruption, embezzlement, cyber fraud, insecurity and violence. While this is just being intentionally dishonest and biased, it is worth noting how often Nigerians are lumped under negative stereotypes with the consequence that a few bad eggs are allowed to define the entire crate.

    Agreed, like any other society, we are not without our flaws. These flaws often come to light through the criminal actions of certain people who do not represent the truest essence of the Nigerian spirit. The actions of a few should never be allowed to define the many. This is why it is crucial that we tirelessly showcase those values which best define us: our diligence, our authenticity, our friendliness, our spirituality, and our zeal. In consciously adopting this strategy, we can begin countering the harmful “danger of a single story”, as Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie famously put it.

    The Nigerian spirit is a strong force, and it can be used for good. Our children can benefit from it in the sense that it can be used to help them embrace their identity, shoot for the stars in their pursuits, and strive to positively represent Nigeria in every space they venture within.

    Let us tell the young ones about Wole Soyinka, Aliko Dangote, Nnedi Okorafor, Tunde Onakoya, Hilda Baci, Jelani Aliyu, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Amina J. Muhammad, Victor Osimhen, Akinwumi Adesina and yes, Ademola Lookman. Let the young and upcoming generations launch themselves into greatness knowing that they come from a heritage of absolute supremacy.

    And for the rest of us, let us flaunt our true colours and dazzle the world with the beauty that is Nigeria. This is so that as we work hard to prove we are a nation of dreamers and doers with much to offer humanity, we can proudly trumpet our triumphs and learn for the purpose of growth, constantly retaining the special mentality of doggedness and excellence that is the Nigerian spirit.

    •Isah can be used via lawcadet1@gmail.com

  • Turbaned or Turbanned

    Turbaned or Turbanned

    “In those days, there was no king …: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” Judges 21:25

     The theatre playing out in Kano is not fun but funny. But to historians and a certain breed of political scientists, it is fun because it is funny. In this comedy, heads roll, laws are broken, a judge is invisible, palaces are at once in one place and another, one turban becomes one plus one and one minus one, we have kingmakers and a grudge match.

    Some will call it absurd. But it is the sort of tempest that will fit any dramatist’s twist.

    Today, there is an emir. Tomorrow there is another emir. The next day, some say there is an emir, and the other says there is another emir. Some then conclude, there is no emir at all.

    One emir is inside the palace, and the other is outside the palace.

     Some say the legitimate one is in the palace. Where else should he be? Others say the legitimate one is outside the palace. Again, the authorities with the full attire of police and retinue of secret service are with the one outside the palace.

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    But is the one inside not supposed to have the police with him?

    To bring humour to it, both are turbaned. Both are hailed with ranka dede.

    Then, a governor, known for his penchant for gubernatorial bulldozing, is halted by the courts. Who halts a bulldozer? But the bulldozers throw out a charge. The judge of the court, he alleges, pronounced a verdict in absentia. He was not in court, not in Kano, not in Nigeria. He was ensconced in Biden’s neighbourhood in a democratic setting when he was making a verdict on a feudal matter.

    So, says the governor, Abba Yusuf of Kano. Sanusi Lamido Sanusi was installed at about 5 p.m., when the courts had closed for the day. So, how did they get the restraining order when the matter had not happened. Of course, they turned it into an ecclesiastical, nay celestial entity. Maybe it was not just a judicial injunction but a prophetic injunction.

    The first court in history to hear a case before the crime and passed verdict.

     In these days of Guinness Book of Records, this is the turn of the Nigerian judiciary.

     Some have asserted that it was a virtual judgment. When did the law procedure rule that judges could sit virtually from their bedrooms or hotel suites? I am yet to know that, pardon me. But even then, if he passed the verdict, was he operating on American time? Pacific, Eastern, Rocky Mountain time, Central or what? Maybe hence, he did not know that the courts had closed. Or was it a case of a closed mind bent on neutralizing the bulldozer? Even then, what was the bulldozer thinking when he defied the court of the land.

     If the court was wrong, the remedy is not self-help but another court. Yet, the National Judicial Council will do well to gaze with its focal lens the doings of the judge.

    The NJC had just put the hammer on a few errant men who were more wizened than wise. We also had the episode of Sanusi first in the state house  as the bulldozer paved the way with an ultimatum to Ado Bayero.

     Now, some are not sure who is behind this. Some tried to link Nuhu Ribadu, but the NSA has sued an upstart deputy speaker of the Kano State House of Assembly who was speaking without evidence.

    Yet, the real story is much like Wike versus Fubara, as the matter is being pursued by law, but it is a grudge match. It is, like all palace intrigues, inside the family. But politics has taken over family feud.

     It is because since the colonial lords pushed out ancient kingdoms and teased them with the House of chiefs, thrones and monarch have become tools of the state. Former governor and bitter enemy, Ganduje broke the emirate. Critics saw it as breaking the royal calabash.

     Now, with Ganduje clucking in Abuja and with no more edicts on his lips, Abba Yusuf can play bulldozer. Ganduje can only say Haba Abba! Even former governor in the Second Republic, Abubakar Rimi, who dismissed an emir of Kano as no more than a public officer under the local government chairman, said he would toss any king if he committed an offence.

    That is the process. Yusuf did not want to play the sophist. He did not want to quibble on his intention, which is revenge. He did not bother to go through due process.

     He is supposed to issue a query, as Ganduje did, and wait for a response before unleashing a hammer. The local government and the commissioner of local government and chieftaincy affairs ought to be the channel between governor and emir.

    But it is clear that whatever the route the demolition man of Kano has opted for, the cards are still in his hands. Under his watch, Emir Sanusi would triumph. In this matter, it does not matter who is right. It is in the words of the novelist, Bessie Head, a question of power.

    Ado Bayero strolled into the palace under Ganduje as vendetta. Sanusi does the same for the same reason. Emir go, emir come, apologies to Fela. The governors are like gods using the emir for their sport.

     In King Lear, Shakespeare says this about gods and men. “As flies to wanton boys are we to the gods; They kill us for their sport.” Some governors play gods with kings. They actually play king to kings, democrats when they please, autocrats when they choose. It is not about the law. It is about the governor. Edicts don’t always make convicts if the governor evicts it.

     After all, the Edict of Worms – what a name – was  slammed on the renegade priest Martin Luther during the Reformation in Europe, but he escaped execution. If the police defy Mr. Bulldozer, it may be for a moment. We shall know who deserves the turban or who should be turbanned. Maybe not who deserves, but who will be served.

  • Obaseki breaks Benin calabash

    Obaseki breaks Benin calabash

    The video is riveting. I had never imagined a vision of a dancing Oba of Benin. But here he was, in his full royal apparel, splendour and grandeur, swaying from side to side. Within his orbit, his white robe adorned with a semi-circle of beads around his neck, he stepped right and left, his hands upraised and came down in rhythm to a song from courtiers’ lips that filled the royal chamber with awe and majesty. The song, translated for me by a Benin friend and former classmate, was: Serene, serene May calm reign In the Oba’s domain Serene, serene. And well, he should. The palace had just received two coronation stools stolen at an infamous hour of the Benin Empire.

     The stools were for the coronations of two kings, Oba Eresoyen and Oba Esigie. The reigning king, Omo N’Oba N’Edo, Uku Akpolokpolo, Oba Ewuare II, was inhaling a proud draught for the kingdom. But not everyone in Edo State is happy. Not least the governor of the state, Godwin Obaseki.

     He has not congratulated the palace.

    He even carried it so far that he wanted to pit his party against the throne. Even after members of the APC, including its guber candidate, Monday Okpebholo, has issued a hearty congratulations, he has kept mum. It took a while before Asue Ighodalo, PDP counterpart, did. It is seen as an afterthought. It is more of a reflection of the atavistic malice that Obaseki bears against the throne.

     He is reminding everyone in the state that he is an Obaseki, and he would work against the stature of the palace.

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    His forbears were on the side of the foreigners when the British invaded in 1897. It was an Obaseki, who conspired with them and served as a warrant chief for the interlopers of the kingdom. He still carries that age-long pain in his lineage. That bad blood is the reason he wants to cut the royal kingdom into parts and asks the parts to become equal to the Oba of Benin.

    He is even backing renegade Enigies who are like dukes. And Dukes are no kings. He wants to dress them in Obaseki’s robes. He is enlisting an “army” against the throne because he is a governor. It is puny force. His party has been complicit in it, and I want to know what Ighodalo will say for himself when the campaigns heat up. Will he deny Obaseki during the campaigns, or will he deny the palace. To be or not to be, to echo Shakespeare. He is a governor trying to become a bandit against the throne. He is divvying up the kingdom, so the allocation that should go to the king will now be divided among the dukedoms. He is trying to suffocate the monarch by hitting the pocketbooks. But he is an inelegant man. He can not even acknowledge the good fortune of the palace. Rather, he wanted the stools to come to him. He set up a museum by breaking away part of the iconic Central Hospital in Benin to house the artefacts.

    This is against the wish of the palace.

    The palace wants it at the Oba Akenzua II Cultural Centre located across the palace. Is that not befitting? A cultural centre to house an icon of history. But Obaseki has turned it into a motor park.

    Obaseki has broken the royal calabash. Hence, I say he is a gubernatorial bandit.

     But he will miss the prize, like the bandit in Alexander Pushkin’s unfinished tale, Dubrovsky, about a bandit who loses the prize, a young woman, because he arrives late to rescue her.

     Obaseki is a joke now because he has only a few months to go. The palace knows that. They have to temporize and bid their time before a civilised turn.

     Meanwhile, Obaseki is a cross on Ighodalo’s neck.

     Will he deny himself and carry Obaseki’s cross? Will he allow himself to be cast as the candidate to sully the Benin throne?

  • Two envoys in Italy

    Two envoys in Italy

    Ademola Lookman was the moving spirit of the match. His dribble run and instinct for the killer shot made him the man of the match at the Europa League final. He won our hearts with a hat trick. Bold, imaginative, defiant, he troubled the defence, elated a crowd, subdued a tournament.

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    Europa League bowed, Atalanta Club leapt from his shoulders because he led with his feet, his goals, one, two, three. He, a Nigerian in Italy, held a flower for the Nigerian pride. He was an envoy for a maligned nation as it can be. Before him is the gangling Victor Osimhen. The man, a toast of goals, has shaken the nation each time his shot shook the nets of Italian clubs. Both are men of medals and honour for their country. They are our best ever envoys in that country. They did not need accreditation, just their sweat and sweet feet. Their president saw them in their glory and must show awe at their prowess. That is how to be an ambassador.