The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State loyal to the faction of Minister of the Federal Capital territory, Nyesom Wike has hailed last Friday’s Federal High Court judgment which nullified the National Convention of the party held in Ibadan.
Factional chairman of the party, Barr. Nosakhare Ogieva-Okunbor, in a statement, said the judgment marked a new dawn for unity and progress of the party.
Barr. Ogieva-Okunbor urged party loyalists to support Alhaji Abdulraman Mohammed as National Chairman and Senator Samuel Anyanwu as National Secretary of the party.
According to him, “This ruling provides much needed clarity and judicial endorsement, reinforcing the principles of internal order, constitutional due process, and unity within our great party. It represents a timely and decisive intervention that strengthens our foundation, restores confidence among members and enhances our collective capacity to rebuild and reposition for future victories.
“We extend our warm congratulations to Alhaji Abdulraman Mohammed on this well-deserved affirmation of his leadership. His steady hand, commitment to broad-based reconciliation, and focused efforts to rebuild party structures nationwide have earned him the trust and respect of members across all zones. Similarly, the confirmation of Senator Samuel Anyanwu as National Secretary solidifies the administrative framework necessary for effective coordination and renewed organisational vigour.
“At this pivotal moment, we call on all members, supporters, and stakeholders of the PDP to unite behind the affirmed National Caretaker Committee. Unity of purpose is indispensable to our mission of repositioning the party, strengthening internal democracy, and restoring our widespread national appeal.
“This judgment opens a new chapter of collective renewal. We urge every committed member to embrace this opportunity, uphold party discipline, and work collaboratively for the greater good of the PDP.”
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused the APC-dominated Senate of deliberately delaying the passage of the Electoral amendment Bill 2025, warning that the slow pace could undermine preparations for the 2027 general elections.
In a statement yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the opposition party said the continued delay in passing the bill for presidential assent raises concerns that the National Assembly is deploying tactics aimed at frustrating key electoral reforms.
The ADC noted that several proposed amendments to the Electoral Act 2022 introduce new compliance and eligibility requirements for political parties, which require sufficient time for understanding and implementation.
It warned that failure to pass the bill promptly could expose political parties to compliance risks and also constrain the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in setting clear guidelines within statutory timelines.
According to the party, provisions mandating electronic voter accreditation and electronic transmission of results are minimum safeguards required to guarantee the credibility of the 2027 elections and should not be weakened through legislative delays.
The party also pointed to the existing requirement for INEC to publish notices of election at least 360 days before a general election, noting that time is already running short.
“The lack of clarity around the final provisions of the law could serve as booby traps for opposition parties and make it difficult for INEC to prepare adequately,” the ADC said.
It called on the National Assembly to urgently pass the bill, warning that further delays pose serious risks to the integrity of the 2027 elections.
The ADC also urged civil society organisations, international partners and other political parties to pressure the legislature to act swiftly; stressing that Nigeria cannot afford another election cycle without the necessary legal safeguards in place.
The Lagos Water Corporation (LWC) has announced a temporary disruption in water supply to parts of the Lagos metropolis, including Akiode, Ikeja, Magodo, Oregun, Ketu, Ojota, Maryland, Aromire, Ogudu, Gbagada, Shomolu, Ojuelegba, Oyingbo, Ijora Olopa, Agege, and parts of Lagos Island, to enable the completion of critical repair and replacement works at the Adiyan I Water Treatment Plant.
This was disclosed in a statement issued by the Deputy Director, Public Affairs Unit , Kehinde Fashola.
. According to the statement, the planned repair works are necessary to address a leakage on the ND1600mm Adiyan raw water pipeline located at the Akute Intake Station.
The Corporation explained that the continuous leakage has been adversely affecting the ongoing construction of the Adiyan Phase II project.
“It was observed that the persistent water discharge from the leakage point is saturating the surrounding soil, thereby compromising ground stability and posing safety risks to heavy construction equipment, including cranes and excavators, currently deployed in the affected area,” the statement noted.
LWC further stated that the Adiyan I Water Treatment Plant will be shut down temporarily pending the completion of the repair and replacement works. This measure is to ensure the safe and effective execution of the Adiyan II intake construction works.
The Corporation assured customers that efforts are being intensified to complete the works promptly, adding that water supply restoration is expected soon.
The enemy within smirks, mocks and laughs when our President slips and falls to the floor in far away Turkiya.
Oblivious of the fact that a democratically-elected President, whether you like or support him or not, is the living manifestation of our nation and the essence and symbol of our national sovereignty and pride they pray for the worse and celebrate it in the inner recesses of their dark, sinister, twisted and malevolent minds.
They forget that when our President falls it essentially means that our nation falls.
They forget that a true patriot is meant to pray for, cheer on and encourage the leader of his country, whether or not he is in opposition, when he is fighting for the future of our people in a foreign land.
They whisper to themselves in their closets and bedrooms that “finally, this is his end”.
With glee they say to themselves and to their grubby little minions that “at last we have him!”
They assume the worse and they desire for the worse.
They forget that anyone can slip and fall at anytime and that the Holy Bible says “rejoice not over me, O my enemy; when I fall for I shall rise and when I sit in darkness, the LORD will be a light to me”- Micah 7:8.
They forget that it also says “for a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again but the wicked shall fall by calamity”- Proverbs 24:16.
It is to the glory of God and to the shame of our detractors and the enemy within that though our President slipped and fell in Turkey before the entire world, he rose again with strength and pride like the phoenix and he went on to negotiate and sign numerous bilateral agreements which will bring security, succour and prosperity to our nation with President Erdoğan of Turkiya.
That is the lot of a righteous man and a humble, forgiving and kind-hearted leader and it signifies the fact that the Lord is with him and that the enemy within has failed once again.
Yet they never stop and neither will they ever do so because they are seized of a dark, depraved, diseased and sadistic mind that craves failure and chaos and longs for calamity, tragedy, sorrow, tears and malevolence.
The enemy within just loves it when terrible things happen. Like the accursed masochists that they are, that is their pleasure and delight.
They love to hear the cries of infants and babies and they delight in hearing the wailing of widows and the screaming of orphans.
Consider their reaction to the sad and unfortunate events that took place in Kajuru, Kaduna state earlier this month.
I am as saddened and concerned as anyone else about the abductions of the worshippers that took place there and like everyone else I hope and pray for their rescue and safe return back home at the soonest.
I am however constrained to make the following observations and I do so with pain and sorrow.
The reality is that the enemy within, namely a handful of political leaders in the opposition who seek to undermine and discredit our Government and to destabilise our country and who are working in collaboration with foreign powers are part of those that are secretly encouraging and, I suspect, facilitating the abduction of Christians in Nigeria because they make political capital out of it.
They secretly crave it yet openly condemn it because it suits their purpose and it confirms the narrative that they want to establish.
For some it proves that Christians are being targetted in Nigeria and it plays into the Christian genocide and persecution narrative which the Americans have gladly cottoned on to and for others it feeds the erroneous suggestion that having a Christian candidate for the opposition or a Christian running mate for our President in 2027 are the answers to the problem and the only way of proving that Christians are safe and treated with humanity in our country.
Both views do not fully recognise the depth and complexity of the problem and can therefore be fairly described as simplistic, myopic and misplaced because the situation is much more complex than that.
Worse still the specious lies and dubious political motives that fuel this thinking are irresponsible and disingenious.
You cannot play politics with peoples lives and liberty, take advantage of their misery and suffering and use them as pawns in a deadly game of political chess.
Worse still you cannot attempt to distort the narrative, misinform the world and perpetuate and peddle the nonsensical falsehood that only Christians are being abducted and killed by the terrorists in our country and that only Churches are being burnt down whilst Mosques are left standing. This is simply not true.
The reality is that Muslims are also being abducted in massive numbers and a more accurate and honest categerisation of the situation we are faced with would have been that both Christian and Muslim Nigerians are “not safe” in parts of Northern Nigeria because of mass abductions and not just Christians.
Even this categorisation may not be accurate and is possibly unfair because it negates the efforts and successes that the the Nigerian military, the Minister of Defence, the Minister of State for Defence, the National Security Advisor and the Nigerian security forces and Intelligence agencies together with numerous notable Governors from the Northern states like the Governor of Kaduna, the Governor of Kwara, the Governor of Yobe, the Governor of Borno, the Governor of Sokoto and a number of other key Northern leaders such as Vice President Kashim Shettima, Senator Abdul Aziz Yari, Senator Aliyu Wamakko, Senator Shehu Umar Buba and a number of others have made in curbing this menace.
The truth is that for every person that has been abducted hundreds have been protected and delivered from attempts at abduction and virtually every single one of those that were actually abducted before Kajuru have been rescued and returned home safely.
That in itself is encouraging though it does not negate or underplay the problem we have and the challenge we collectively face.
It simply means that despite the problems and challenges and the politically-motivated expressions of angst and concern of the usual suspects at least some progress is being made.
It is deeply saddening and troubling that ANYONE is abducted or killed in the first place and this represents a failure in our efforts to achieve 100% security for Nigerians in the midst of what is essentially an open and horrendous guerrila war where civilian populations are purposely targetted and a massive and unprecedented armed rebellion and relentless insurgency is in full play.
However we must acknowledge that our successes in this respect both in the prevention of even more killings and abductions and in terms of recovery and rescue of those taken is very good.
Sadly people people tend to focus on the failures and remain silent in the face of the successes which is most unfair.
What is even more unfair and extreemly dangerous is to continuously frame the entire matter in religious terms.
I am amongst those that did so in the past but six years ago, after much research and extensive travelling all over the more distant parts of the core North for an investigation into the matter and an extensive 5 week tour my eyes opened and I came to appreciate the fact the Muslims were being targetted with equal ferocity and in equal measure.
This is a fact that the media and most Southern Nigerians, for reasons I cannot fathom or comprehend, appear to ignore and choose to play down and it begs the question whether Muslim lives are considered as being as sacred and precious as Christian ones in their eyes?
The criminals and terrorists that carry out these atrocities do not care whether it is Christians or Muslims that they terrorise, traumatise, kill or abduct. They only care that their victims are Nigerians.
Their war is not against Christians alone but against the Nigerian state and the Nigerian people, both Christian and Muslim.
It is in this light that we must view this harrowing challenge and once we do so we will be in a better position to confront it, defeat the enemy, eliminate the threat and put both our local and foreign detractors to shame.Permit me to continue this contribution with a sincere and heartfelt word for Mr. Peter Obi, a notable member of the Nigerian opposition.
I refer to your post on the terrible events that took place in Kajuru on Sunday 18th January 2026.
share your concerns for the safety of those abducted but unlike you mine are from the heart and I am not expressing those concerns for political gain.
At a time like this we should be praying for the rescue of the worshippers and assisting and encouraging our Government to ensure their safe return.
Instead of doing so you are sheepishly asking “what is happening in our country” as if you, your supporters and your insincere and divisive rhetoric are not part of the problem.
You feign concern and focus on the negative never offering support or giving credit to whom it is due when things go well and are done properly.
For example have you ever had the decency or prescence of mind to commend the efforts of the gallant men of our Armed Forces and security agencies or acknowledged the number of people and lives they have successfully defended and saved?
Have you ever considered the fact that many of them are paying the supreme price every day on the frontlines in their attempt to protect and guard the realm and prevent the barbarians from climbing over our walls?
Have you ever thanked them for this or publicly expressed solidarity with or support for them? I doubt it.
Our greatest problem are people like you that openly crave for and secretly celebrate chaos, lawlessness, division and carnage and that see the propagation and execution of such evil as a justification for your futile and pitiful attempt to discredit the Government and gain sympathy and support for yourself.
Simply put you seek to harvest the misery of our people in the same way that some harvest human organs and you celebrate their pain, suffering and tears.
Relevant here are the words of Mr. Dennis Amachree, a former Assistant Director of the DSS, who said the following:
“most of these mass abductions are carried out to spite the Government in power: there are fifth columnists and complicit actors within the system and by the time the Government reacts the damage has already been done”.
I am constrained to ask whether you are part of those that are actually behind these abductions and insurgency simply for political gain?
Let me be clear: this is a question and not an allegation but whatever the answer is (and I do not claim to know it) kindly save your crocodile tears and insincere concern for the welfare and safety of our people whether it be in Kaduna or elsewhere. We know you don’t mean it.
The only thing that is important to you is that all our institutions fail and our nation is burnt to ashes in a religious and ethnic conflagration so that you and your cohorts can divide our country, break it into pieces and share what is left of it amongst yourselves.
Be rest assured that that will NEVER happen and you will NEVER achieve your objectives.
Whatever our challenges may be as a nation and whatever obstacles may be placed in our path, I am persuaded that in peace, love, unity, mutual respect and faith we shall SURELY overcome.
Permit me to add the following.
It has come to my attention that when ESN and IPOB terrorists murder Christians and Muslims in the South East you encourage it by saying nothing and endorse it with your resounding silence.
When Muslims are killed in the North, except on the odd occassion, you say nothing because you do not see them as human beings and you could not care less.
When Christians are killed in the North you feign outrage and you celebrate and magnify it, citing it as evidence of “Christian persecution” and “Christian genocide” and encouraging the right-wing lunatic fringe in American politics to latch on to it.
When Christians are not killed in the North you pretend that they are, inflate numbers and fabricate it in an attempt to plant the seeds of religious division and provoke a sectarian war.
What manner of man are you?
Why are you so hell bent on destroying our country and shattering the unity that we are trying to establish and preserve?
Is it your desire to be President over a broken, bleeding and dying Nigeria and to preside over the corpse of a great nation like ours that you are evidently so desperate to murder? What pleasure can you possibly derive from your dangerous doublespeak and grave antics and what has Nigeria done to you and yours that you so desperately seek her destruction and demise?
We have seen this desperate thirst and quest for power before and we saw how many bodies littered the streets in an attempt to gain it.
It happened on January 15th 1966 with shocking and devastating consequences for those that were behind it and indeed for the entire nation.
May we never see such again.
You do not have to tear Nigeria apart to achieve your ambition of becoming President: God alone gives power to whom He pleases and when he deems it fit.
I have little doubt that when that time comes, years down the line, and He deems it fit to give it to the South East it will certainly NOT be to you.
I say this because there are men and women from your part of the country that are far better and far more deserving and qualified than you and that are neither divisive or obsessed with the division of our country.
Unlike you such men and women proudly consider themselves as being Nigerians and not Biafrans and they do not make a distinction between Muslims and Christians.
They see all Nigerians, whether Christian or Muslim or whether Northerner or Southerner, as being one and the same and that is what we expect and deserve.
They appreciate the fact that the road to power in a democracy is one of peace, inclusiveness and understanding and not one of discord, strife, violence, lies, insults, disinformation, propaganda, division, historical revisionism, inordinate ambition, greed, entitlement and deceit.
Neither do they believe in the stereotyping or demonising of any of our great ethnic nationalities or religious faiths.
These are the basic and fundamental prerequisites that are required for anyone to lead our great nation and in my humble opinion you do not have them and you are incapable of ever cultivating them.
Yet it doesn’t stop there.
You not only turned on your own Obidient supporters and called them “criminals” (an appelation I will not contest with you) after they complained about the fact that you joined the ADC, a political party that you had earlier described as a “structure of criminality” but you also disavowed and disowned them when they resorted to their usual infantile tantrums after it was brought to their attention that you were considering the possibility of being the running mate to the undisputed leader of that party given the fact that you have no hope in hell of winning the presidential primaries.
Yet all that doublespeak, lack of consistency, opportunism and deceit pales into comparison when compared to what you did to your former presidential campaign manager.
You repaid his good with evil by turning your back on him in his time of need and refused to stand by him and support him when he fell ill. For this alone God will never forgive you.
I will not go into what else you did to him because that is for another day but to say the least you were unfeeling, insensitive and callous towards this profoundly good man who many loved and held in high esteem.
The only mistake he made was that he associated himself with you and joined your bandwagon of misguided and irreverent Obidient cheerleaders.
Thankfully towards the end he saw you for what you were, retraced his steps and returned back to us.
Surely you are not the stuff of which real leaders and Presidents are made. Your loyalty is to your vaulting ambition and to no-one and nothing else.
Your new friends in the ADC will attest to that at a later date after you break ranks with them.
These are my words for you Peter. I sincerely hope that you will consider them.
Permit me to end this contribution with the following.
If truth be told Obi sincerely believes that he has the right to the Presidency just as satan believed he had the right to Moses’ body.
When the latter passed on and satan came for his corpse the Holy Bible tells us that Archangel Michael rose up, confronted him, resisted him and boldly pronounced “the Lord rebuke you satan” after which the devil fled.
Today I say, “the Lord rebuke you Peter” and, like satan, you MUST flee.
Just as he had no right to Moses’ body, you have no right to the Nigerian Presidency!
God alone has the exclusive right to give it to whom He deems fit!
Yet one thing is clear: if it is ever Peter Obi we shall rue the day!
This is a man whose supporters celebrated and lept with joy when President Donald Trump threatened us and described our nation as “a disgraced country” and when he said, “we may very well go into that now disgraced country, guns-a-blazing and if we attack, it will be fast, vicious and sweet”.
This was like music to the ears of Obi and his Obidients but when the narrative changed, sanity prevailed and tempers cooled they could not bring themselves to express a word of support, relief or commendation for the Federal Government after it responded to the Americans in a restrained, mature and profound manner, rebuilt the bridges of friendship and understanding, entered into a joint security agreement with them and started working closely with them to combat the menace of terrorism in an atmosphere of camaraderie and mutual respect.
This is not what Obi and his supporters wanted. What they had in mind was for the Americans to attack Nigeria, kill our people, bomb our cities and implement a Maduro-style regime change before carving us up into at least four separate pieces.
As Otunba Bayo Onanuga, the spokesman to President Tinubu said, “we will NEVER forgive or forget Peter Obi for wanting our nation to be attacked and bombed”.
These words reflect the thinking of not just those in Government but of every right-thinking Nigerian patriot.
To add to that as my friend and brother His Excellency Ambassador-Designate Reno Omokri asked in a recent write up,
“How can an individual like Peter Obi who has divided four different parties in Nigeria want to be President?”
This is a pertinent question which needs to be answered and I add the following: how can an individual who refuses to condemn the wanting acts of mass murder, butchery, abduction, torture and intimidation of the ESN and IPOB and a man who, as far as I am aware, has never condemned the Monday ‘sit at home order’ issued by the terrorists throughout his own South-Eastern region aspire or expect to lead our nation?
Surely the very thought of such a prospect is as frightful as it is perverse.
A fundamental requirement and pre-condtion to being the President of a great nation like ours is surely a deep respect and love for and understanding of ALL the people regardless of where they come from or what their religious faith is and a total and complete rejection of terrorism not just in the North but also in the South.
To be selective in this respect is to be divisive and to be divisive is to be destructive. We do not want or need a destructive President.
We want a Commander-in-Chief, like the one we have today, that will at least endeavour to hold us all together as one and not a Divider-in-Chief that will favour his own and seek to turn the rest of us into serfs and slaves.
We have been down that road before and, by God’s grace, we shall NEVER walk it again.
Whatever the case and whoever the enemy within choose to field in 2027 as their presidential candidate one thing remains clear: in a 36 state Federation our ruling party the APC now controls all but 7 states and of the seven one is in alliance with us.
Given this it is clear that only God can stop President Bola Ahmed Tinubu from being re-elected in 2027.
All the subversion, destabilisation, betrayal, hostility, lies, conspiracies and shenanigans that the enemy within, the opposition and their hordes of foreign friends, attack dogs and bellicose trolls have collectively contrived cannot stop or deter him.
I advise them to focus their presidential aspirations on 2031 and forget 2027 because until then there is no vacancy in Aso Rock.
I also urge them to purge themselves of their divisive and subversive ways and their hate and contempt or, failing that, to leave our shores and embark on a journey of no return.
May God bless and defend the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
(Chief Femi Fani-Kayode is the Sadaukin Shinkafi, the Wakilin Doka Potiskum, the Otunba of Joga Orile, the Aare Ajagunla of Otun Ekiti, a former Minister of Culture and Tourism, a former Minister of Aviation, a former Senior Special Assistant to President Olusegun Obasanjo, a Legal Practioner and an Ambassador-Designate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria)
For 12 teachers in the country, Tuesday, January 27 would forever remain a day to remember. It was a day they would thank God and whoever or whatever led them into the teaching profession. If they had been sad all their years in service, that melancholy was replaced with joy on January 27. If they had been shedding tears and lamenting their pitiable plight as teachers, their tears were wiped away on that fateful day that destiny bestowed on them awards for outstanding performance in their line of duty. For them, the saying that ‘teachers’ rewards are in heaven’ became nugatory as they got their own rewards right here on earth; not posthumously, but even while they are alive and still in service.
The occasion was the maiden edition of National Teachers Summit held at the State House Banquet Hall in Abuja. The theme of the summit was: “Empowering Teachers, Strengthening the System: A National Agenda for Education Transformation and Sustainability”. It was also an occasion where the Minister of Education, Dr Olatunji Alausa, launched the EduRevamp Portal, a national digital platform for continuous teacher professional development, aimed at improving teaching quality across Nigeria. Its features include provision of audio/video lessons, text-based learning, and case studies, to foster skills.
The lucky teachers are: Solanke, Francis Taiwo from Ogun State, who was recognised as the overall best teacher. Other awardees included Mrs. David Kachollom Joseph (Plateau State), Malam Musa Abubakar Garba (Kaduna State), Ifetike Hope Chekwube (Anambra State), Obafemi Peter Lawal (Lagos State), Johanna Gilando and Bashar Hantsi (both from Kebbi State), Blessing Ikong, Chinwe Ituma, Gombo Lawan, Khadijat Galadima, and Okide Ochike.
Each of them, selected from the six geopolitical zones, got N25 million. But Solanke, who was recognised as the overall best teacher for 2025 got an additional N50m, a car, and a two-bedroom flat, to boot. The selection process was based on merit and covered different education levels.
Alausa said at the occasion that “This is more than a reward. It is a national signal that teaching is a noble, respected, and valued profession in Nigeria.”
This may be the destination, but we are not there yet. Ours is a country where teachers are rarely appreciated. It is heartwarming though that some of those in the teaching profession were recognised for award that could be described as mouthwatering, given the paltry nature of what many teachers are paid in the country, whether in the public or private schools.
While it may be a little better in the public schools where many things like their remuneration and conditions of service are defined, it is worse in many private schools where greedy proprietors call the shot. At least, in the public schools, you are even entitled to pension after retirement. There is nothing like that in the private schools.
Again, while one may not be able to blame some of the proprietors of the private schools, particularly those that are just managing to survive, there are still others that could be described as ivy private schools whose proprietors are greedy; they take so much from the students’ parents and yet pay so little to their teachers. Unfortunately, many of them get away with this shabby treatment of their teachers either because there is, unlike in the past, no regulation, or the regulators have been compromised.
It is against this background of poor pay that many teachers combine teaching with other things, some of which eat into their school periods. Some of them become emergency traders, selling all manner of things like clothes, shoes, groundnuts in bottles, foodstuffs, etc. Anything, just anything that they think is moving, so as to augment their meager pay. This would not have been an issue if the merchandising takes place after school hours. But sometimes, it is not only during school hours, but within the school premises.
I remember the private school that my children attended in Lagos. The school allowed the teachers the freedom to organise lesson after school hours but the teachers had to pay a token to the school authorities for maintenance because the lesson was being done on the school premises. Some of these teachers were not satisfied and they began to organise private lesson for the pupils whose parents were ready to pay for it right during the school hours.
And, guess what? These lessons took place right under the nose of the school authorities! But they did not know! What happened was that one of the parents who happened to be our family friend had cause to visit the school one day. The teacher in the classroom had divided the pupils into two; those she had private teaching arrangement with their parents on one side, and those whose parents could not afford the payment or simply refused to join, like my wife, on the other side. This was before 12 noon. The children, as young and innocent as they were (generally under–10) knew this was what was going on as the son of our family friend told his mother during the visit that the teacher was focusing on those that had private lesson arrangement with her! She neglected the rest of them.
Not only that, those pupils who were doing the private lesson also had some other benefits; like double promotion, pampering and slaps on the wrist for offences they committed. All of these the other pupils did not get. If you did not belong in the category of the private lesson, your son or daughter even in the baby care section would also be neglected. You may come to pick him or her with soaked and smelly diapers.
When our family friend reported what she saw to the proprietor of the school (the school is owned by a couple), he dismissed her story rather than pledge to investigate, even if he wouldn’t. That, to me, was the beginning of the school’s descent in the area. This was a school that should be the toast of the environment, but see what teachers turned it to.
And to think that most of the teachers involved in this cruelty to children were women!
But, can we in all honesty blame the teachers alone for this?
One of them at a point approached my wife for home lesson for our son. Apparently, she had not known her stance on such matters. When she asked her to name her price, the teacher said we should pay N15,000 per subject! Meanwhile, her salary at the time was about that amount. So, she wanted us to pay her monthly salary for only one subject!
The interesting thing is that by the time my children gained admission into the university, many of those pupils that those wicked teachers were pampering unduly by awarding them marks and double promotions they never deserved (but just to justify that their private coaching was working) were nothing near such progress. It was at that time I realised what my wife was always saying then that ‘’she would never buy someone else child’s glory for her children’’. Of course we withdrew our children from that school to other places.
Many of those teachers are now retired or had been sent packing from that school. Many of them try to hide their faces when we come across them now because they no longer look like human beings. They look and dress like some deranged persons. Not that they were doing well even when they were getting all the illegal monies they were collecting without delivering value; just that they were a shade better then.
And, when we talk about the ridiculous pay that teachers earn generally in the country, it does not exclude the lecturers in tertiary institutions. It was on this page I lamented what many professors earned at least until December, last year, about two weeks ago, and I felt so sorry for the country. Mercifully, the Bola Tinubu administration has managed to somewhat redress this through its enhanced salary structure that it just put in place, the impact of which those affected would have felt when they received alerts for their salaries last month (January, 2026) because that was when the new salary structure in the federal public universities was supposed to take effect.
Hopefully, that, and some other measures that the Tinubu government has taken will bring some tranquility into our universities that have been citadels of strike rather than learning in the past three or so decades.
I narrated this personal story because I know many people would have shared from this kind of horrible experiences. Some might even have gone through worse scenarios. True, we have neglected our teachers for so long. But, the personal experiences I just shared, just like many others that others have experienced at whatever level of our educational pursuit, show the difference between ‘born teachers’ and other teachers.
It should be surprising that in the midst of this madding crowd, we still have teachers that have received their calling as their fate. They are unmoved by what is happening around them. Materially, they may not be rich but they are contended with the little they have. They do their job without minding what they get in return.
But their type is going into extinction in an ever-increasing materialistic country that Nigeria has become.
This should worry us.
Public officials often speak so glowingly about teachers and the teaching profession, yet do little or nothing to lift them up. Without teachers, no person of substance would be whatever they are today; doctors, journalists, engineers, lawyers, bankers, or what have you. I therefore implore our governments, federal and states, to do something about teachers in their employ. It is good that we often spare some thought for them on World Teachers Day or during National Teachers Summit as in the present instance. They are treasures that we must cherish always rather than treat like Australia that many people know where it is but are not willing to go to.
I congratulate these lucky 12 whose levels have changed and wish others would emulate them. I congratulate Dr Alausa too for being so thoughtful, especially concerning EduRevamp Portal and the teachers’ summit. As the First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, who gave the keynote address at the event said: “Teachers are the quiet architects of great nations, shaping young minds, instilling values, and nurturing hope. I understand firsthand the demands of teaching and the enduring impact of teachers in shaping societies.’’ She is a teacher herself.
Alausa echoed a similar sentiment, even if in different words: “No nation can rise above the quality of its teachers. No reform, no matter how well designed, can succeed unless teachers are empowered, motivated, supported, and respected.”
So, the summit should not end up being a talk shop; action must follow the talks. The nation is the better for it when we do our teachers well. Teachers used to be respected in Nigeria. We must return to that glorious era in the national interest.
On Thursday we gathered in Ibadan not merely to remember the man SL Akintola but to reverence the enduring spirit of courage, intellect, and sacrifice of the Sage, Akintola.
Sixty years after his passing, the name Samuel Ladoke Akintola still evokes strong sentiment and resounds—not as an echo of the past, but as a mirror of the present. Chief Akintola was a man of many parts:
A man of great intellectual acumen,
A mind swift, fearless, incandescent.
A speaker who did not lean on notes, because his convictions were already written in his soul.
A statesman whose wit disarmed, whose candor stirred, whose charm persuaded, and whose vision unsettled complacency.
He was not merely a politician- he was an idea in motion.
Chief Akintola was a nationalist in the purest sense—one who believed that leadership was not comfort, but burden; not privilege, but sacrifice. He lived standing. He spoke standing. And he died standing—in service to his fatherland.
Chief Akintola occupies a permanent place in the architecture of modern Nigeria. As Premier of the defunct Western Region and Aare-Onakakanfo of Yorubaland, he governed at a time when political leadership was not ceremonial, but consequential—when decisions shaped the economic, social, and cultural foundations of entire regions.
His administration pursued development as a matter of urgency: industrial growth, regional self-reliance, education, and the strengthening of public institutions were not abstract ideals, but measurable goals. In the Western Region, governance was understood as a tool for building prosperity, not merely exercising power.
Akintola’s political philosophy was rooted in pragmatism, not sentiment. He believed that leadership must confront reality as it is, not as it is wished to be. His vision of federalism recognized the importance of strong regions contributing to a strong nation, and he championed the idea that economic progress, social cohesion, and national stability must rise together. His ideals were shaped by an unshakable confidence in the Nigerian project, even when that project was fragile and contested.
These ideals are still valid today.
His tragic death during Nigeria’s first military coup was not just the loss of a leader, but a turning point in the nation’s democratic journey. It marked the end of a formative era and the beginning of a long national struggle to define the relationship between power, unity, and governance. Yet, six decades later, the questions he wrestled with remain strikingly relevant: How do we manage diversity? How do we balance regional strength with national unity? How do we reform systems without tearing the fabric of the nation?
Today’s Nigeria still echoes these debates. In our search for economic renewal, social cohesion, and institutional reform, we are once again reminded that progress requires courage, clarity, and a willingness to challenge the status quo. Chief Ladoke Akintola’s life stands as a mirror to our present—urging us to govern with vision, to lead with conviction, and to remember that the true measure of leadership is not popularity, but impact.
I hold Late Chief Ladoke Akintola in the highest admiration. I reflect often on the political school of thought from which he emerged—the same lineage of vision, reform, and resilience that Akintola championed.
Draw a line from late Akintola
to President Bola Tinubu you will learn a profound lesson: that leadership is not about safety, but about purpose; not about applause, but about posterity. This is what President Tinubu is about.
Chief Akintola’s life reminds us that the path of reform is never smooth—but it is always necessary. Today, as Nigeria continues her journey of renewal, his ideals still speak.
That unity must be nurtured, not assumed.
That courage must guide policy.
That progress demands sacrifice.
And that leadership must be anchored in service.
Sixty years on, we gather not in mourning, but in gratitude. Gratitude for a life that burned bright, for a voice that dared to speak, for a legacy that refuses to fade.
Chief Samuel Ladoke Akintola did not live too long—but he lived well and looms large. He did not die in silence—he entered eternity in the thunder of history.
And today, Nigeria remembers.
May his ideals continue to guide us.
May his courage strengthen us.
May his sacrifice remind us that nationhood is worth every price.
But for a quirk of fate, you would have been forgiven for having never heard of the existence of a small town in the Swiss Alps called Davos. After all, it is no more than a ski resort with less than ten thousand permanent inhabitants offering no interest for anyone in Nigeria or anywhere else in the world for that matter. But Davos, for all its previous obscurity, is now famous the world over. This is because since January 1971, at the invitation of Dr. Schwarb, a German academic, stakeholders in various aspects of the ordering of the global economy have descended on the otherwise sleepy village of Davos. For a few January days, Davos takes its place in the wintry sun as the most influential CEOs in the world hold discussions with each other, with heads of state, academics and other groups of people who have been recognised as contributors to the global economic order.
According to Perplexity AI, the guest list at the last Davos meeting which occupied a good part of last week included about 3,000 participants from roughly 130 countries. This included around 400 senior political leaders and more than 60–65 heads of state or government. Roughly 800–850 CEOs, founders and chairpersons of major global companies. Dr. Okonjo-Iweala in her capacity as the Director General of the World Trade Organisation was also present but not representing Nigeria at that venue. This distinguished guest list is a far cry from the few CEOs of European companies who were invited to the first Davos forum in 1971. Now, private jets of every magnificent description annually turn all the airports around Davos into a massive jet parking lot for the world’s richest CEOs, heads of state and others with enough clout to operate expensive private jets, for a few days. They come on this yearly pilgrimage to meet and discuss what exactly?
One would have thought that their major preoccupation would have been to jointly improve the flow of world trade with a view to decreasing poverty in those parts of the world where degrading poverty is making a mockery of human existence. These are places where people have no choice but to battle on, on less than $2 a day. Their attention should also be turned on people in the rich countries who are marginalised to the level of those wretches facing anonymity and extinction in the poorest parts of the world. What is the use of all those words poured out in Davos every year if a significant minority of the world is left staring into the abyss of extreme economic disadvantage whilst a miniscule minority swims in an ocean of unimaginable wealth?
I became interested in the World Economic Forum (WEF) about ten years ago when I came across an article on Davos by Oxfam, the British organisation which has dedicated itself to global charity and is currently active in more than seventy countries all around the world. Founded in 1942 at the height of WWII, Oxfam has dedicated itself to fighting poverty and injustice with the conviction that both have their root in inequality. The focus on the reduction of inequality will be followed by the reduction of both poverty and injustice and the world would become a better place for most of her inhabitants. Every year, in the leadup to the WEF meeting in Davos, Oxfam publishes the state of global inequality using one vital statistic, the number of the richest people in the world whose wealth is balanced by the number of the poorest people in the world. About a decade ago, Oxfam reported that eighty-seven of the world’s richest people held as much wealth as half of the number of the poorest people in the world. That number is put into some perspective if we imagine that those eighty-seven persons will fit comfortably into a London double decker bus without anyone having to stand. It is most instructive that that number has shrunk perceptively over the last ten years even as the number of the poorest half of the world has increased. The number released by Oxfam this year is twelve, only twelve, just enough to fit into a minibus or perhaps more instructively, into a Lagos danfo with space left over for the driver and conductor. The global population today is 8.3 billion people, up from 8.2 billion in 2025. This means that the twelve richest people in the world today, have resources in excess of the poorest 4.15 billion poorest people in the world. This figure simply boggles the mind! Forbes has identified around 3000 billionaires in the world today, certainly an impressive figure which dwarfs by a considered distance, the figure of 140 billionaires reported in 1987 when to all intents and purposes, the world was a saner place. Latest figures show that in the United States alone, there are 924 billionaires with a total worth of $6.9 trillion or 31.7% of global total. But there are other figures coming out of the US which must arrest our interest. 800 of the richest Americans are in control of no less than 3.8% of the nation’s wealth with the poorest 50% of the population having to make do with only 2.5%. Bearing in mind that the USA is by far the largest economy in the world, this figure verges on the scary. And with recent policies put in place by the Trump government, this disparity is set to grow as soon as tax cuts for the rich kick in as they are bound to do soon enough. The USA runs by far the largest economy in the world but a very significant number of her citizens are very poor, even when judged by third world standards. The Davos initiative has been alive since 1971 but in spite of it or is it because of it, global wealth inequalities have increased relentlessly year upon year. And it is clear that this trend will be accelerated in the coming years as the CEOs continue to hoover up more wealth at the expense of the rest of us.
The elephant in the room at Davos this year was a small man in a large suit and wearing a red tie. As the President of the United States, he was expected to make what should have been the keynote speech at the Forum. He made a speech alright but it was so full of air and blather that its emptiness will still embarrass his great grandchildren far into the next century. That speech has been said to mark the end of an old global order, that order that was supposed to bring order to the chaos of the global market place.
If the old order is said to be gone, then, it stands to reason that its place must be taken by a new one and indeed, it is safe to assume that there is a new world order as proclaimed by Mark Carney, the Prime Minister of Canada. He identified the main problem of the old order as being blatantly predatory. Those people or countries, the super powers that had somehow acquired a place at the table of global dominance feasted on those, the wretched of the earth, who were rigorously excluded from the table. They were not even given the dubious privilege of feeding on scraps as they were on the menu. Given that Canada is one of the wealthiest nations on earth, one would have thought that her place on that table was secure but the implication of Carney’s speech was that Canada did not have a place on that famous table and consequently was a victim of the old order. What he proposes is a new order to be governed by a concert of what he called middle powers which would include some countries in the European Union including France and Germany. Those of us on the outside looking in must be looking on with considerable bemusement because as far as we can see, some of those so-called middle powers had guaranteed places around the old table. Canada for one has been feeding on African flesh for centuries. Her first discernable industry was cod fishing off her North Atlantic coast. The best of their catch was sold in Europe for a very good price. The worst was salted and sold to the owners of sugar cane plantations in the West Indies. This formed the staple food of the slaves working on those plantations. Those slaves were of course excluded from the table and it is easy to see that they were the main course on the menu. Canada, France, Germany and other so-called middle powers of Carney’s imagination have been feasting on the rest of us for hundreds of years. And so, what is new about this much vaunted new order? Come next year, the number of those sitting in our pilot vehicle will fit comfortably in any self respecting SUV.
In June 2024, and in the Gumi City Council of South Korea, a service robot—or Robot Supervisor—was alleged to have committed “suicide.” This event is just one of the many bizarre and chilling incidences that herald the consequences of the unraveling of artificial intelligence and robotics in contemporary human affairs. In the same South Korea in November 2023, another robot deployed in a vegetable plant fatally crushed a man to death because it could not differentiate between the man and the boxes of vegetables. Some seven years earlier, in 2017, Sophia—the first humanoid robot—became the first robot citizen of Saudi Arabia and an innovation ambassador for the United Nations Development Program. All over the world, and due to the increasing deployment of AI and robotics in various professional fields—from engineering to surgery and the public service—we will never know the statistics of fatalities that might have resulted due to robotic malfunctions.
Two significant facts about South Korea will bring the two earlier incidents into clearer relief. One, South Korea has the highest robot density in the whole world. Statistics claim that there is at least one robot for every ten people in the country. To put it clearly, robots have been deployed almost everywhere in South Korea. Most importantly, robots, like Sophia, have become not just administrative assistants but effectively civil servants working tirelessly in state and city councils. The second fact that connects with the so-called robot suicide is that South Korea has the unenviable record of being one of Asia’s most overworked countries. South Koreans work fifty-two hours per week, from 9am to 9pm every day. The total of 1915 hours per year is 200 hours more than the average clocked by any countries within the OECD nations. It was inevitable that the South Koreans would invent a name for death by overwork: gwarosa. The Japanese call it karoshi.
It is therefore no surprise that even a service robot would “feel” the fatal pressure of the overworked workplace, and develop a glitch that plunged it to its death. This facts about South Korea allow me to draw specific correlations and implications for public administration and the public service in postcolonial Nigeria, especially in terms of institutional reforms and what we can call the imperative of technological modernization, public service ethics, productivity and democratic governance that can make the public service a genuine backstop for launching a developmental state in Nigeria. The Asian countries are notorious for the template of their work ethic. This ethic connects working longer hours with the value of diligence and perseverance which translate to a productive persona. The Robot Supervisor was integrated into the (over)work culture, working from 9am to 6pm daily.
There is a similarity between the workplace pressure in Asia and in Africa. In 2025, the ten most hardworking countries in Africa, ranked by an average weekly work hour, are Sudan (50.8), Lesotho (50.2), Republic of the Congo (48.7), Sao Tome and Principe (48.2), Liberia (47.5), Egypt (45.6), Burkina Faso (45.3), Cape Verde (45.3), Zimbabwe (45.0), and Senegal (44.9). Even though work hours do not always automatically translate into productivity, Nigeria, at 39.6 hours per week, does not qualify as a hardworking nation. This work hour might actually reflect a work culture that is less than salutary within the context of what Nigerians usually call the ‘Nigerian Factor”; a key dimension of which is the indolence that attends working in a government institution. This plays into the overall fabric of institutional dysfunction, especially in the over-bloated and ineffective public service, where too many people doing nothing, too many doing too little, and too few people doing too much.
A significant dimension of institutional reform and modernization of the dysfunctional public service in Nigeria is the imperative of open and transparent government that demands the deployment of technological creativity and innovation in fast tracking efficiency in government business, and ultimately productivity. This technological imperative lies beneath the need for computerization, digitization and automation of the public service to increase and deepen efficiencies. Given the furious development in AI and robotics, and the demonstration of their efficiency in assisting government to achieve their administrative goals, we can say that Nigeria is grossly behind in creating an efficient workplace where the robotic and human civil servants can work side by side in energizing the public service workplace for efficient and effective service.
And yet, the level of our anxiety with being behind in the AI deployment race must be directly proportional to the level of our carefulness in learning from the technological experiences of other countries in ways that will feed Nigeria’s institutional reform trajectory. Experience, and definitely example, is the best teacher, as they say! The Gumi City Council AI incident says and teaches significant lessons. At the fundamental level, the incidence calls to the fore the context of interaction between human and machines, and the ethical framework that ought to guide that interaction. This implies that reflections about AI and its reality must first be grounded within the sociocultural circumstances of those who are deploying it. AI, when it begins to function, is a reality within a specific milieu. And so, it is not a phenomenon that must be taken as an unconscious default adaptation process. When South Korea adopted and adapted it, it was within a specific demographic, administrative and cultural context. Any thought that goes to the need to deploy AI must be thoughts that consider the context within which it is to be deployed and those that it will affect, positively and negatively.
The constant evolution and modifications to AI is due to the fact that it is developed by humans for humans. AI affects people in their various social and professional endeavors. And it is only within these contexts that we can adjudge AI to be functional and successful, or ineffective and failed. It is these contextual dynamics of deployment and use that provides the accurate data that enables us to think about the regulatory frameworks that can help us make AI more adaptable for societal, institutional, organizational and ethical use. The worries about AI are critical ones. There is the worry about the increasing autonomy of AI and the challenges that poses for how humans perceive themselves and their worth. But more immediate is the worry about the societal disruptions of the deployment of AI, especially in the workplace—displacement, alienation, security, death. Thus, AI is not just a panoply of technical issues. It is also fundamentally a human-centered phenomenon that must be adequately understood if we are to better enjoy its functional innovation and creativity.
These issues take on some sinister conceptual and practical directions when situated within Nigeria’s dysfunctional context of public administration. Africa has the unsavory reputation of being the most difficult administrative context in the world. And this translates into a lot of implications and repercussions for individual states like Nigeria. One of the implications is the lack of efficient connection between the public service and the state. It is difficult, for instance, to point to any functional developmental state—in the mold of the Asian Tigers—on the continent. And this speaks volume about the capacity of individual states to deliver on the promises and dividends of good governance for their respective citizens. It is also a damning indictment on the effectiveness of the trajectories of institutional reforms in Africa.
This is the context that demands, as a matter of urgency, the AI revolution in the service of productivity for a citizenry that have been waiting a long time for good governance. And yet, this is where caution is most required in proportion to the level of urgency. In other words, if the malfunctioning of robot assistants and supervisors can generate such a huge global hoopla within a work and administrative context—like South Korea—that is highly efficient and productive, what would happen if they are deployed within a highly difficult administrative environment? Or, even more fundamental, how do we relate the deployment of AI to a context that less than effective, efficient and productive?
Is it enough to automate, computerize or digitize when the system and processes being improved have not been mapped, reprofiled for reengineering; does it not amount to engrafting technology on a challenged system and what results should we expect? This is the current direction of the institutional and administrative reform dynamics in the Nigerian public service. And it calls for a critical pause for reflection. Two issues are fundamental for resolution. The first is: Can the AI efficiency dynamic be tacked on to a deficient system to achieve efficiency and effectiveness? Yes, it can; but then it becomes another supposedly “innovative” recipe for deepening existing inefficiencies and deficits. First consideration: we need to start the reflection from the perspective of the self-motivated, hardworking but extremely frazzled and demotivated Nigerian public servant who is compelled by so many factors to work within a highly toxic, inefficient and highly politicized workplace. This is the first and most significant context that AI is to be deployed. How will this pan out in practice? What regulatory frameworks can such a system deploy? What safety measures can the system afford that will not compromise the human well-being?
Second, how do we ethically mediate the relationship between the robot assistant and the human civil servant not just in terms of emotional connection but fundamentally of ethical relationship. If the existing public service is flawed in mediating human-to-human ethical relations, how do we hope to situate the human-AI component and achieve even a measure of success? The workplace is a context that must be configured to protect and enhance human dignity, self-worth and welfare which cannot be sacrificed to structural efficiency that AI deployment is meant to address. What accountability structures and standards are then in place to safeguard human self-worth? This also goes beyond the workplace to, for example, the sanctity of data collected by AI. How is the system to ensure data privacy? How about the ethical oversight function of the system to monitor AI autonomy and deployment for critical use? This also affects the way the system manages public perception and public trust with regard to the functional effectiveness of AI.
A challenged system does not need more innovation; rather, it needs a moment to rethink and reengineer and get right the institutional basics. The effectiveness of AI in the workplace is not in doubt; it has been demonstrated all across the world as the harbinger of efficiencies and productivity if properly managed and grafted effectively into a functional system. AI is meant to enhance an already functioning system rather than serving as an instigator for a deficient one. This implies that to adopt, adapt and deploy AI into the Nigerian administrative workplace must be preceded by an urgent imperative of reflecting on, rethinking and reengineering the administrative and institutional basics that can make the public service genuinely and efficiently worldclass. And the most fundamental question in this regard is: what change management mechanism can yield a government business model that is efficient?
Beginning 21 September, 2014 I commenced, on these pages, a trilogy of articles titled ‘Periscoping The Ideal APC Presidential candidate(1)’.
I compared and contrasted the serious contestants – all Northerners – as I did not really bother with then Imo state governor Rochas Okorocha, for the obvious reason of rotational presidency.
Those considered were General Muhammadu Buhari(rtd), a former Head of state, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, former Vice President, Dr Musa Kwankwaso, a former Kano state governor, and Sam Nda – Isaiah, the Publisher, Leadership Newspaper.
The exercise almost turned out a no- brainer as General Buhari, now late, very easily met every quality Nigeria needed to fight the two ferocious demons tearing at its innards – corruption and insecurity.
He, therefore, emerged my preferred candidate and went on to defeat the other candidates, hands down, at the primary election proper.
I have, unfortunately, since had cause to regret my
support and advocacy for General Buhari who, although remained incandescently incorruptible till the end, was so weak a leader that besides the very corrupt Villa Mafia which completely ringed him all round, far too many of his ministers, advisers etc, especially the Northerners among them, so rapaciously ruined the country that it is only now anti- corruption agencies are beginning to make them answer for their sins against all of us.
This short background is necessary as I begin an examination of who, between Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, should be the ADC Presidential candidate at the 2027 Presidential election.
Today is the turn of Peter Obi, the former Anambra State governor.
My job is made easy by the well known answer to the question: What is History?
Google puts it succinctly thus:”History is the systematic study and interpretation of the human past, encompassing events, people, societies, and changes over time, using evidence from sources like artifacts, documents, and stories to create narratives that explain how the past shapes the present and future. It’s a discipline that seeks to understand “what happened,” “when,” and “how,” in analysing political, social, economic, and cultural developments”.
Let us, therefore, now see the former Labour Party Presidential candidate – he has since, as usual, fled that party – in the eye of history, no matter what “stories” he will be concocting afresh on their new, borrowed political party – the ADC, regarding what he believes qualify him to be our next President.
If one of these is his totally unexpected huge vote tally of 6,101,533 which placed him third in the 2023 election, let me quickly inform Nigerans, ADC members in particular, that Obi has no such hopes in the 2027 election cycle if he is a candidate.
Lest we forget, that high vote was the result of his extreme exploitation of ethnic and religious differences at the election, especially the mistaken view, among a large proportion of Christians, that APC’s Moslem – Moslem ticket was particularly noxious.
While President Tinubu has since proved that completely false, I cannot see the likes of highly regarded Bishop Oyedepo and several other men of God, once again, put their pulpit at the service of Peter Obi, as happened in 2023.
Besides the above, the following will also work against his candidacy:
His limited national presence as his influence is largely limited to his ethnic Southeast which, with the tectonic changes that have taken place in the region since the last election, he can no longer win 90+ per cent of the votes. He will, at best, take a decent 60 per cent of the Southeast vote, edged on by the Obidients;
His being seen as a divisive figure will certainly negatively impact his ability to build broad coalitions just as
Lack of Experience, compared with both Tinubu and Atiku, will show Obi’s national-level experience as very limited.
Finally, the yet uncertain alliance dynamics being spearheaded by Baba Obasanjo, pairing Obi with Kwankwaso, will certainly face challenges in balancing regional and party interests.
His greatest advantage, which will come to nothing, is the massive, geo- spatial presence of Igbos in every part of the country but with only aggregate figures that will be very negligible.
Peter Obi, whose biggest claims are that he brings a new face and energy to Nigerian politics, as well as an appeal to young voters and those seeking change, is himself an old guard politician, having served two terms as Anambra State governor from March 2006 to November 2006, and then from February 2007 until March 2014 – a clear 20 years.
Just imagine a 20 year old adult!
For my job, therefore, I’ll do no more than press into service, a subtantial portion of my article of Sunday, 12 November, 2023 titled ‘Peter Obi: The Consumate Obscurantist’s Grand Delusions’ which reads, in part, as follows:
“Rather than just his claim of victory at the Presidential election, this will be an examination of the entirety of what Obi brought to an election he and Atiku so malignantlly poisoned.
That will mean psycho- analysing the man I describe here as an insuferable obscurantist.
Obscurantism, by the way, is the practice of deliberately
preventing the facts, or full details of something from becoming known.
And how does this apply to him?
Although both the PEPC and the Supreme court gave no moment to the fact that he was an 11th hour joiner of the Labour party,
meaning that contrary to INEC Guidelines, the courts gave no probative value to his name not being on the party’s membership register forwarded to the commission 30 days before its primaries, and thus implying that he flagrantly flouted one INEC stipulation, his entry, being so ethnic and stealthy, resulted in an instant internal crisis within the party which is still smouldering as you read this.
What is more important, however, are the lies which underpinned his emergence as the presidential candidate, when Gbajue- style – thanks to the Nobel Laureate – somebody stepped down for him, in the process, deprecatingly pronouncing himself inferior to Obi as far as leadership is concerned; he a normally show- boating individual, who never ceases to preach to Nigerians from the rooftops thus degrading himself, just so his Igbo brother could emerge the presidential candidate TWO DAYS after becoming a member of the party.
That too pales into insignificance when compared to the lies Obi told Nigerians as his reasons for eloping from the PDP.
Such were they that lies soon became the party’s modus operandi, whether it was Obi’s claim that he went to Egypt to “understudy that country’s education, power and finance sectors”, or several of his pastors, and bishops, regaling their hypnotised, congregants with details of dreams they never had as to how Obi had already won an election yet to be conducted – all to rapturous shouts of Halleluyah.
What of his sophistry, explaining how, and why, he claimed to have joined the Labour party and schemed his way to its presidential candidacy.
Hear him:
“I have chosen a route that I consider to be in line with our aspirations and my mantra of taking the country from consumption to production” – apparently, he momentarily forgot everything about NEXT, his importation giant.
“I invite all Nigerians to join me in taking back our country. Be assured that I’ll never let you down.”
Having gratuitously let the Ikemba down by dumping APGA for PDP, our man just has to promise not to let Igbos down again.
But pray! Was it in two days, after leaving PDP, he did all he is claiming here?
He continues: “Since I resigned from the PDP because of issues that are at variance with my persona and principles (such as serial decamping and investing state funds in family business?) I have consulted widely with various parties and personalities to ensure we do not complicate the route to our desired destination. For me, the process of achieving our goal is as fundamental as what one will do thereafter.”
Just listen to this practised obscurantist, trying to suck in, not just his Igbo brethren, but every Nigerian.
His placing third in the election proved, conclusively, that Nigerians were not deceived.
“Since I resigned”, Obi also said, making two days look like a millennium, “I have consulted widely with parties and personalities” – parties and personalities who were, understandably, nameless.
Here is a guy who had, only a few days earlier, submitted himself for screening by the PDP whose Vice Presidential candidate he was four years earlier.
“I thank all Nigerians, he continued, especially our youths who have joined me in the mission of taking back and reuniting Nigeria. This project is yours and for the future of your children.
I am just a facilitator” – certainly a precursor to President Obasanjo’s letter to Nigerian youths while soliciting support for Obi later. Now Baba is allegedly putting every effort into an Obi- Kwankwaso Presidential combo. Nigerians remember, all too well, the futility of all such Obasanjo’s past efforts.
I digress.
All that sweet nonsense was after Obi had run the most
” hateful, vile, divisive and polarising campaign that pitted Christians against Muslims and one ethnic group against the other in a multi-ethnic and multi-religious society like Nigeria”, as Presidential Spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga would later perspicaciously put it.
All these should tell Nigerians who Peter Obi truly is.
Let us now see how the cookie crumbled, how Obi was outed in a situation akin to which Yoruba would describe as ‘bi iro ba lo logun odun, ooto ma ba lojo kan’, that is, even though a lie may subsist for 20 years, (but) truth will catch up with it one day.
Obi had probably forgotten all these lies when, several months later, the Executive Committee of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide visited former governor, Nyesom Wike, remonstrating with him over his non support for Igbo interests, especially, the Southeast quest for the Presidency, emphasising, in particular, his failure to support Peter Obi.
Trust Wike to have told the elders what would most probably have put ashes on their faces.
Wike let it be known to the eminent Igbo statesmen that Obi was actually bullied into leaving the PDP.
He had journeyed, excruciatingly, to Jigawa state, Wike said, intent on soliciting the support of Sule Lamido who took him to a village that took him more than four hours drive from Dukse to reach.
That was vintage Lamido who sees Fulani as the Aryan race and was eager to teach the Igbo upstart politician a lesson he would never forget.
That visit should remind us all of Obi’s promised one term all in the hope of playing servitude to the North, even if Igbos had wanted the presidency for ages.
Task master, per excellence himself, Lamido respects no single Southern politician besides former President Olusegun Obasanjo who appointed him External Affairs minister; a position for which he had nil qualification.
Obi, therefore, had to drive hours through the desert dust to hear Lamido
tell him that in his books, a Northerner must, willy nilly, succeed Buhari who was about completing his two terms.
That was when their boy fled PDP, not the sweet song his worshipful professors were scripting as reasons, putting Goebbels to shame.
It is all these, and the fact that his Igbo brethren believe Obi, hook, line and sinker even now, in fact, canonise him alive, that rankle.
It is why others watch in utter amazement as the otherwise brilliant and enterprising Igbo look like bewitched followers of Obi even when a redoubtable race like theirs does not have a paucity of brilliant, experienced and well connected men and women than can be thrown up for the ultimate Nigerian diadem.
It is, therefore, time Igbos tell Obi that he ill represents them, going round, and round, romancing ethnicity and religion as his route to the presidency: a choice sure to take Igbos nowhere.
It is the ADC I pity the more, as Atiku Abubakar, who we examine next Sunday, is not much better.
The recent decision by Lt Col., sorry, Governor Chukwuma Soludo to shut down the Onitsha Main Market for one week has ignited a fierce debate about governance, security, and the existence of democratic rudiments in Anambra State. While the Colonel’s, sorry governor’s frustration with the Monday sit-at-home compliance is understandable, his stentorian response raises fundamental questions about whether ‘ajuwaya’ strong-arm tactics can substitute for the protection and security that these traders desperately need.
Governor Soludo’s reasons for this drastic action are not without merit on the surface. The Onitsha Main Market, previously like many commercial centers across the Southeast, had been observing the Monday sit-at-home order, an action that appears to validate the authority of non-state actors, over the legitimate government. This compliance represents a troubling erosion of state authority, suggesting that faceless individuals wielding threats hold more sway over citizens than elected officials. The economic implications are equally staggering. Each Monday that Onitsha Main Market remains closed, Anambra State hemorrhages revenue that could fund infrastructure, healthcare, and education. The cumulative effect of these weekly closures amounts to trillions of naira in lost economic activity annually, affecting not just the state’s coffers but the livelihoods of countless families dependent on the market’s vibrancy.
Furthermore, Soludo’s argument that other major markets across Anambra are functioning normally on Mondays carries some weight. Markets in Awka, Nnewi, Nkpor, Abagana and Obosi, and even other parts of the Southeast continue their operations without interruption. The question then becomes: why should Onitsha be an exception? From this perspective, the governor’s insistence that Onitsha traders must break free from the grip of fear and resume normal trading appears logical. The state cannot afford to have its commercial nerve center paralyzed by the dictates of criminal elements who have no electoral mandate or moral authority.
However, this is precisely where Soludo’s approach reveals a fundamental misunderstanding of democratic governance and the social contract between leaders and the led. The governor appears to have forgotten that Nigeria is a democracy, not a military dictatorship. In a democracy, governments exist to serve and protect their citizens, not to coerce them into dangerous situations. The traders are not closing their shops on Mondays because they are lazy ,unpatriotic or closet symphatisers of IPOB. They are doing so because they are terrified for their lives and property. This is not willing submission to non-state actors; it is survival instinct in the face of credible threats and demonstrable violence.
Shutting down the market as punishment for this fear-driven compliance is not just counterproductive; it is morally indefensible. If the market were being closed for legitimate regulatory reasons such as poor sanitation, fire safety violations, or environmental hazards, the government would be within its rights. But closing a market because traders are afraid of being killed or having their goods destroyed represents a spectacular failure of leadership. It shifts blame from the government’s inability to provide security onto the victims of insecurity themselves. These traders are not the enemy; the hoodlums terrorizing them are.
The comparison to other markets functioning normally, while superficially compelling, crumbles under scrutiny. Onitsha Main Market is not just any market. It is the largest market in West and East Africa combined, a sprawling commercial ecosystem with hundreds of thousands of daily visitors and transactions running into billions of naira. The security requirements for such a massive complex are exponentially greater than those for smaller markets. Protecting Onitsha Main Market would require tripling or even quadrupling the security presence that might suffice elsewhere. Has the Anambra State government deployed such resources? Have there been visible, sustained security operations that would give traders confidence in their safety? The evidence suggests otherwise.
Ali Chukwuma, one of Anambra’s finest bards once crooned “ Eje ana bu isi Ije” (A safe return is the centrepiece of every journey or travel). Now, if the government could guarantee absolute security within the market premises, what about the journey to and from the market? Traders cannot materialize in and out of the market gates by magic and with Soludo arresting and detaining a number of dibias, such magic may not be readily available to these traders as they travel from various parts of Anambra and neighboring states, often in the pre-dawn hours to set up their wares. The roads leading to Onitsha, the motor parks, the surrounding neighborhoods—these are all potential ambush points for those enforcing the sit-at-home. A trader who survives the market day unscathed might still face violence on the way home. Is their life worth the revenue they would generate for the state? The traders themselves have answered this question with their feet, and it is revealing that many of them are willing and eager to trade even on Sundays, demonstrating their entrepreneurial spirit and economic ambition. Yet this same ambition cannot override the instinct for self-preservation.
Contrast such authoritarian directives with the fact that a number of state institutions such as the Anambra State House of Assembly, as well as local government council secretariats observe these sit at home days (Anambra State House of Assembly conducts plenary sessions on Tuesdays, whilst most secretariats experience skeletal presence of staff) these are places that possess immense security coverage, yet, Soludo wants to compel hapless citizens to risk their lives, a case of do as I say not as I do!
Governor Soludo would serve his people better by engaging in meaningful dialogue with market leadership rather than wielding the sledgehammer of closure. What specific security measures do the traders need to feel safe? What intelligence-sharing mechanisms can be established between market unions and security agencies? What emergency response protocols can be implemented?
These are the questions a democratic leader should be asking. Copying from the playbook of military regimes—issuing ultimatums, making threats, forcing compliance through coercion—is a dangerous path that may indeed come back to haunt him politically and morally.
Democracy thrives on consultation, consensus-building, and collaborative problem-solving. It withers under autocratic edicts and punitive measures against citizens who are already victims. The Onitsha Main Market crisis is fundamentally a security crisis, not a compliance crisis. Until Governor Soludo addresses the root cause—the inability of the state to protect its citizens from violent non-state actors—any attempt to force the market open will be both futile and unjust.
The governor must remember that leadership in a democracy means walking with the people, understanding their fears, and creating conditions that make courage possible, not demanding bravery while providing no shield. Onitsha’s traders need protection, not punishment. They need a governor who fights the criminals terrorizing them, not one who fights them for being terrorized. Only when security is genuinely assured will the market return to its full glory, not through coercion, but through the restoration of confidence and peace.
