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  • Bimbo Ademoye to sponsor IVF for fan after film success promise

    Bimbo Ademoye to sponsor IVF for fan after film success promise

    Actress and filmmaker Bimbo Ademoye has announced plans to fund an IVF procedure for an individual, fulfilling a personal vow she made before the release of her 2025 film, Broken Hallelujah.

    In a video shared online, Ademoye said she had promised God that if the film recorded significant viewership, she would take a step to positively impact someone’s life.

    Although Broken Hallelujah has attracted over 11 million views on YouTube, she noted that another film released in December 2025, Where Love Lives, also performed strongly, which she described as an answer to her prayers.

    “When I was about to release Broken Hallelujah I had a made a promise to God I said if I get certain number of view specially like 15-20million views, I was going to do something that will touch one person life . I want to pay for someone IVF procedure. Even if it is not Broken Hallelujah, it is another project that has answered my prayer,” she said, adding that the impact of the movie on viewers and messages she received confirmed her decision to honour the promise.

    Ademoye expressed her intention to keep the specifics of the gesture private for now, stating that it will help change one person’s life.

  • Timini Egbuson opens up on father’s death, love, Nollywood influence

    Timini Egbuson opens up on father’s death, love, Nollywood influence

    Actor Timini Egbuson has spoken about the challenges he faced in his personal life, including the loss of his father, Samuel Oyindobra Egbuson, on January 1, 2026.

    In a recent interview with Jay On Air, Egbuson said the grief of losing his father has been especially difficult, given their complicated relationship.

    “On the 1st of January, I found out that I lost my dad. I really had to deal with this type of grief,” he said, describing it as his first experience losing a close family member.

    “That was one thing I wanted to work on in 2026. I prioritised work so much that I should have been more available,” he added.

    Egbuson also reflected on his career, stating that he has changed the image of actors in Nollywood by bringing a new level of confidence and swagger to the industry. 

    “There was a certain way actors were back in the day, but then I came and made it look cool. I was a cool guy before Nollywood. I brought confidence and jealousy. Whether they admit it or not, everybody is using my playbook,” he said.

    The actor also opened up about a past relationship, revealing that he regrets not prioritising his partner’s needs. 

    “She’s married now. I don’t know if you have more than one soulmate, but I’m convinced that she was my soulmate. All she wanted was for me to be present,” he said.

    Egbuson added that the experience taught him that “money is just one out of many things that matter.”

    Egbuson expressed his desire to build a family, stating that he would prioritise his partner’s needs if given another chance. “She’ll be priority. She is. She’ll be priority,” he said.

  • Kwara Killings: How terrorists lured victims with prayer call

    Kwara Killings: How terrorists lured victims with prayer call

    • Survivors relive escape from deadly attack •US slams killings, backs Tinubu’s security deployment
    • 50 victims recuperating in hospitals; NEMA deploys response team, relief items to Kaiama
    • Gov announces committee on humanitarian support for victims

    It was a typical late-afternoon harmattan scene. The temperature had begun to fall, but the sun still hung hazily in the sky, the air dry and dust-laden.

    Farmers were returning from their fields, while some traders were closing their shops.

    For a group of young men, including 26-year-old schoolteacher Umar Bio Kabir, the hour marked the start of a routine football game.

    The calm was disrupted when a long convoy of armed men on motorcycles rode into Woro, in Kaiama Local Government Area of Kwara State, last Tuesday.

    Residents said there was no need for warning or speculation.

    The identity of the invaders and the intent of their visit were immediately clear.

    Moving swiftly, they selected their targets and opened fire.

    Within moments, the market descended into chaos, the football pitch was abandoned, and the streets emptied as residents fled for safety.

    Kabir, 26, ran alongside his friends, escaping the gunfire.

    Although, he survived the attack, some of the young men who had been playing football with him were not as fortunate, as they were struck dead by the attackers’ bullets.

    The government and security agencies subsequently confirmed the gunmen to be terrorists, who struck because the residents rejected their ‘strange’ doctrine.

    About 75 victims have been reportedly buried in the aftermath of the massacre.

    “God said I would survive or else I would have been among the dead,” said Kabir.

    Another survivor, Razaq Abdulazeez, was returning home on the fateful day when he encountered people running out of the village.

    Immediately he got wind of what was happening, he dashed into his house to rescue his loved ones. “I gathered my family members and we escaped into a bush, faraway, on the outskirts of the community.”

    Abdulazeez said a number of people who could not run out of town climbed trees to hide.

    An agency report said that in one of the communities, the terrorists went into a mosque, announced the call to prayer and shot everyone who turned up.

    Attacked were Woro and Nuku, both of which are largely Muslim communities.

    The invaders fired sporadically for about 10 hours, survivors of the attack said.

    At least 50 people who escaped the violence are currently receiving treatment in hospitals for varying degrees of injury. The Senator representing Kwara North, Sadiq Umar, has visited some of the survivors.

    Scores of other residents have fled the affected communities with whatever remained of their belongings, relocating to neighbouring towns in a bid to restart their lives.

    By Thursday, only about 20 men were left behind in the villages, charged with the grim task of burying scores of victims. This occurred as the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) announced the deployment of a response team to assess the situation and coordinate intervention efforts in the aftermath of the attacks.

    AbdulRazaq appoints committee on humanitarian support for victims

    NEMA said it had also arranged relief materials, including food and non-food items, which have already been delivered to support victims in the affected communities. In a parallel move, Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq appointed a seven-man committee to engage directly with the communities impacted by the invasion.

    The committee is headed by Alhaji Ahmed Kiwozi, a former lawmaker from Kaiama Local Government Area.

    Read Also: Kwara attack: NEMA deploys response team, relief items to Kaiama

    To serve with  Alhaji Kiwozi on the committee set up by Governor AbdulRazaq are Vice Chairman of the Local Government Council Aisha Abubakar Sadiq; Abubakar Mora; Woro Village Head Umar Bio Saliu; a representative each of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) and Kwara State Social Investment Programme (KWASSIP); and a representative of the Office of the Secretary to the State Government.

    The committee has four weeks to carry out its assignment and, so doing, “interface with the community leaders on rebuilding efforts, areas of need of the survivors, and other outstanding issues,” according to the state government.

    United States condemn killings

    Meanwhile, the United States has condemned the killings, describing them as horrific.

    “The United States condemns the horrific attack in Kwara state in Nigeria, which claimed the lives of more than 160 people, with the death toll still unconfirmed and many still unaccounted for,” the US Mission in Nigeria said on X.

    The statement added, “our deepest condolences to the families of those affected by this senseless violence,” and welcomed President Bola Tinubu’s “order to deploy security forces to protect villages in the area and his directive to federal and state officials to provide aid to the community and bring the perpetrators of this atrocity to justice.”

    NEMA deploys response team, relief items

    The Director-General of NEMA, Zubaida Umar, yesterday, directed the team from the Agency’s Minna Operations Office, which covers Kwara State, to temporarily relocate to the affected areas to conduct a detailed on-the-ground assessment of the situation and the needs of the impacted communities.

    The agency said the assessment was being carried out in collaboration with the Kwara State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) and other relevant security agencies to ensure an effective, coordinated, and well-informed response.

    Umar expressed her sympathies to the affected communities and the Kwara State Government over the unfortunate incident and assured them of the Agency’s full support.

    Lai Mohammed condoles with Kwara over killings

    Former Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has expressed profound condolences to the government and people of Kwara State on the killings.

    In a statement issued in Abuja by his media office, Mohammed sympathised with bereaved families, praying that God grants them the fortitude to bear their immense losses and repose the souls of the departed.

    The former Minister also commended the affected communities for their courage and steadfastness in the face of intimidation, highlighting their determination not to yield to the reign of terror imposed by the assailants.

    He further applauded President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his swift intervention in ordering the deployment of an army battalion to Kaiama LGA to neutralise the terrorists, describing the action as a testament to the Federal Government’s unwavering commitment to protecting innocent Nigerians, not only in Kwara State but across the nation.

    Alhaji Mohammed called on the people of Kwara State to continue cooperating with both state and federal authorities in efforts to halt the attacks and restore peace and normalcy to affected communities.

    In light of this tragedy, the former Minister has postponed his planned donation of copies of his latest book, Headlines & Soundbites: Media Moments That Defined an Administration, to tertiary institutions in the state, originally scheduled for next week, out of respect for the victims of the heinous killings.

    He stated that a new date for the donation will be communicated in due course.

    • More reports on the attacks on Page 11
  • Tinubu unveils major sports sector reform, orders funding reset from 2026

    Tinubu unveils major sports sector reform, orders funding reset from 2026

    • Says Nigeria won 373 medals in 2025
    • Approves unified funding framework under NSC

    President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has set in motion, a sweeping reform of Nigeria’s sports sector, directing key ministries and agencies of the Federal Government to reset sports funding and make the industry more economically viable.

    The President announced the plan on Friday evening in a message posted on his verified X handle, @officialABAT, where he described sports as one of Nigeria’s strongest national brands and a major tool for unity and global influence.

    Tinubu said the reforms were anchored on the Renewed Hope Initiative for Nigeria’s Sports Economy (RHINSE), which he described as a strategy to position sports as a driver of job creation, tourism, investment, and global influence.

    He added that his administration would build a stronger sports ecosystem through scientific elite athlete development, active grassroots participation, revitalised sports federations, and hosting major international events in Nigeria.

    “Sports is our national asset and thus must be administered, managed, and funded in alignment with its special nature and demands devoid of any bureaucratic bottlenecks,” he said.

    Tinubu pledged that the future of Nigerian sports would be “planned, properly funded, and competitive,” assuring that athletes would be supported early, prepared thoroughly, and celebrated proudly.

    “Nigeria will continue to win, with pride,” the President declared.

    “In 2025… scores of athletes representing Nigeria made our nation proud,” Tinubu wrote, citing the achievements of individual champions in athletics and other sports, Nigeria’s “winning female football and basketball teams,” and the Super Eagles who, despite finishing with a bronze medal at AFCON 2025, “captured our hearts.”

    The President disclosed that Nigerian athletes recorded what he called an unprecedented 373 medals across all sports in 2025, stressing that the performances proved Nigeria’s capacity to excel when talent is supported with structure and preparation.

    “From grassroots competitions to continental and global stages, the evidence is clear that when talent is supported with structure and preparation, Nigeria delivers,” he said.

    Tinubu commended the National Sports Commission (NSC) for making progress despite challenges, praising the commission’s leadership under its chairman, Malam Shehu Dikko, for driving a reform agenda aligned with his administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda and “shared prosperity vision.”

    Read Also: Food prices ease under Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, markets urged to reflect gains

    However, the President acknowledged longstanding issues that have undermined Nigeria’s sports development, particularly delays in funding and weak infrastructure investment.

    “For too long, sports funding was slowed by bureaucracy, fragmented across institutions, and when funds are released, they come too late to support proper preparation and even participation,” he said, adding that “no meaningful investment is made towards sports infrastructure development and maintenance that meets international benchmarks.”

    Tinubu declared that the cycle must end, announcing that he had approved and directed the Ministries of Finance, Budget and Economic Planning, and the Budget Office of the Federation to reset sports funding starting from the 2026 fiscal year.

    He said adequate provisions must be made in Nigeria’s annual budget for sports infrastructure development, maintenance, sporting activities, programmes, events, and participation in international competitions.

    He further directed that all funds appropriated for sports must be released immediately once the budget is passed and assented to.

    “Nigerian athletes deserve certainty, not excuses,” the President stated.

    As part of the reform, Tinubu said allocations for sporting activities currently spread across various ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) would be reviewed, restructured and streamlined, with savings transferred into a unified funding framework under the NSC to strengthen domestic programmes and international participation.

  • PDP factions square up over reopening of national secretariat

    PDP factions square up over reopening of national secretariat

    • Sealed building to be reopened Monday, says Anyanwu •Turaki group warns police against giving pro-Wike faction access

    The two factions of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) launched into a fresh face-off yesterday after the pro-Wike group announced its plan to reopen the Wadata Plaza national secretariat in Abuja for business on Monday.

    The announcement did not go down well with the Tanimu Turaki-led faction which warned that any such move would amount to self-help, and declared that “responsibility for any injury to persons or damage to property arising therefrom should be placed solely on the aggressors and their security collaborators.”

    The building was sealed by the police on November 19, 2025 following a clash between the Taminu Turaki-led National Working Committee (NWC) and that of the factional acting National Chairman, Abdulrahman Mohammed.

    It has since remained out of bounds to both sides.

    However, the Wike faction said at the end of Thursday’s meeting between the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) and leaders of political parties that it was preparing to resume operations at the building on Monday.

    The faction’s admission into the meeting was based  on a recent court interim injunction.

    Asked why the party leaders had not possessed the Wadata Plaza, Sen. Samuel Anyanwu, the acting National Secretary, said the building  was locked, following a clash between the two groups in the party.

    “We wrote to the police. Remember that the police sealed the place and then the other group went to court to ask the police to open it.

    “The matter was dismissed because they have no locus. So by Monday, we are taking over the office,” he said.

    Anyanwu claimed  that there are no factions in PDP and that the party remains under the leadership of Mohammed, the reason they attended INEC meeting with other political parties.

    His words: “Yes, we had issues, court issues, and last week Friday, as a matter of fact, the Federal High Court in Ibadan made it very clear that the problem of PDP is over because the so-called convention of November 15 and 16, 2025 is a nullity.

    “No other person should parade himself or herself as a member of the NWC of the PDP.

    “The body that has the full powers to speak for the party and administer the party is the National Caretaker Committee, led by Hon. Abdulrahman Mohammad,” he said.

    Anyanwu said that members are now happy that normalcy has returned to the party.

    For those who were afraid that PDP would not have candidates in the forthcoming elections, he said it was now settled that the party would field candidates for all positions.

    “So we’re happy; people are happy that normalcy has come to the party now.

    “You can see something different because you have old hands who have been in this party, who have been managers of this party for a long time, for the last 25 years.

    “We are still involved. So, we are going to fast-track everything,” he said.

    On the forthcoming FCT area council elections, Anyanwu said that interim caretaker committee would work for the victory of the party in the exercise.

    “We are going to hit the ground running with our campaign until the February 18, the last day for campaign,” Anyanwu said.

    Read Also: INEC can’t choose leadership for PDP – Turaki

    The faction said the decision of INEC to recognise the Abdulrahman Mohammed-led  National Caretaker Committee would  help restore stability and constitutional governance within the party.

    National Publicity Secretary of the caretaker committee, Jungudo Haruna Mohammed, said in a statement that the decision of the commission to respect lawful court order was commendable.

    “By affirming a lawful leadership structure following the Federal High Court judgement, INEC has helped to remove uncertainties capable of undermining the party’s organisational processes and electoral readiness,” Mohammed said.

    He added: “This development should serve as a rallying point for all loyal party faithful. The time has come to set aside differences, embrace reconciliation, and channel our collective energy towards strengthening the PDP ahead of 2027 Elections.

    “Nigerians look to our party for responsible leadership and a credible alternative, and we must not allow internal disputes to distract us from this historic responsibility.

    “We therefore urge stakeholders across all levels of the party to support the recognized leadership of Abdulrahman Mohammed as it works towards organising a successful convention, restoring cohesion, and laying the groundwork for the emergence of competent candidates who will carry the banner of the PDP to victory in the next electoral cycle.”

    The Nation gathered that the Wike group also plans to conduct a  thorough screening of party staff with a view to weeding out  the  ‘compromised.’

    “A screening and likely replacement of such persons are being considered,” a source said.

    National Publicity Secretary of the Wike group, Hon. Jungydo Haruna Mohammed, said plan by the Turaki faction to approach the court would not hinder ongoing plans to reposition PDP and hold a more acceptable national convention.

    “The Kabiru Turaki group actually plans to go on appeal as we heard, but they will never succeed; fact is fact and law is law. Nothing can change that.

    “But we appeal to them to reconsider their position in the overall interest of the party,” he said

    “We are putting in place all necessary machinery and arrangements toward the conduct of an acceptable National Convention; we will ensure that all state congresses are conducted where necessary in accordance with the judgement of Justice Omotosho, and we shall also ensure that PDP does not suffer in the conduct of any off cycle election.”

    The group, invoking Article 29(2)(b) of the PDP Constitution, has constituted Caretaker Committees for the various states, including Zamfara, Oyo, Bauchi and Yobe states where the governors and former National Chairman, Ambassador Umar Ilyas Damagum, remain opposed to Wike loyalists ahead of its planned National Convention  next month.

     Those appointed for Plateau State are Dr. Gideon Nandem Tyem (Chairman), Hon Plangnan Gorip, Alh (Dr.) Samaila A.A. Rukuba, Hon. Rangdat Moeshep, Hon. Francis David Pam, Alh. Adullahi Useni, Hon. Clara Adidi, Alh. Ishap Umar, Anthony M. Bukum, Hon Silas Lukawan, Hon. Mrs Lubabatu Mohammed, Hajiya Mariam Aliyu and Hon. Goje A. Hirfo (Secretary).

    Those appointed for Zamfara State are: Hon. Zilkikar Auwal Tambaya (Chairman), Hon. Salisu Usman Zurmi, Hon. Abubakar Adullahi Anka, Hon. Ashiru Muh’d Dan Ango, Hon. Mustafa Ahmad, Hon. Surajo Adamu Tsafe, Hon. Mati Rabo Shinkafi, Hon. Imrana M. Hassan T/Mafara, Hon. Adullahi Abubakar, Hon. Adullahi Salmanu, Hon. Maryam Lawal, Hon. Ibrahim Mande Sai’, Hon Aliyu Sani, Hon. Kabiru Aliyu Bakura, Barr. Babaginda Garba, Prof. Ubaidu Mani, Hon. Saadatu Kasimu and Hon. Rabiu Mani Shinkafi (Secretary).

    Members of the new Caretaker Committee for Kano State are: Dr. Bello Gambo Bichi (Chairma), Engr Auwal Sale Yau, Hon. Ali Mati Shantake, Engr. Sagir Abdulkadir Dambatta, Dr. Hafsat Abubakar, Malam Yahuza Mahraz, Hon. Aliyu Ibrahim Muhammad, Abubakar Lamido, Haj. Fatima Ahmed Baffa, Hon. Mukhtari Dansarai, Haj. Naja’ atu Sharada, Hon. Hussaini Ahmad Rahama, Alh. Gambo Adullahi Doguwa, Haj. Rashida Yakubu Khalid, Alh. Sabo Ajingi, Adamu Adullahi Nalange and Hon. Rabiu Sale Wangal (Secretary).

    For Yobe State, the Caretaker Committee members are: Hon Yusuf Adullahi Mallushe (Chairman), Hon Halilu Abubakar Mazangane, Ali Mohammed, Zamma Modu, Abdulraham Zabairu, Mohammed lawan Aapchi, Abubakar Inuwa, Ali Adamu lyam, Haruna Garba Goje, Tela Jaji Maajl, Hauwa Mohammed Damaraturu, Alhaji Bulama Balle, Mall Aahiru Gulani, Hajja Bukar Abdul, Sale Ibrahim, Hassan Abdullahi Tela and Mairambe Alhaji Modu (Secretary).

    Earlier on January 15, the National Caretaker Committee had constituted state Caretaker Committees Delta, Rivers, Enugu, Imo, and Osun states while a state Caretaker Committee led by Professor Abdulrahman Akinoso (Chairman) and Dr Biola Olanipekun (Secretary) had been put in charge of Oyo state PDP since December, 2025 despite Governor Seyi Makinde’s intense displeasure.

    According to party sources, two PDP governors – one each in the North and South may have concluded plans to insert their loyalists into the leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in their respective states as a sort of Plan B, in case they eventually lose remaining legal battles to loyalists of FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike.

    Turaki’s faction warn police against allowing Wike group access to secretariat

    In a swift response, the Tanimu Turaki led NWC asked the police to not succumb to the entreaties of the other faction.

    National Publicity Secretary of the group, Comrade Ini Ememobong said in a statement that the secretariat is a subject of litigation instituted by the  Wike backed group at the Federal High Court,Abuja and the Court of Appeal.

    He said: “Any attempt to enter and occupy these property will be a resort to self-help and an affront to the time-tested principle of law that parties who have submitted to the jurisdiction of courts should not act in ways that will render nugatory, the powers of the Court.”

    Continuing, Ememobong said: “”In this particular instance, the case pending before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik was instituted by the expelled members, they cannot resort to self-help, until judgment is delivered in the matter.

    “This statement serves to remind all the dramatis personae, especially the Police Force, which is a party on record in the said matter, that any action taken to grant access to anybody, pending the determination of the suit, is a contempt of the court.

    “We assure that we will deploy all legal means to defend our property from trespass. Responsibility for any injury to persons or damage to property arising therefrom should be placed solely on the aggressors and their security collaborators.”

    The Taminu Turaki-led NWC had on Thursday said INEC could not  choose a leadership for the party.

    It faulted the commission’s decision to invite “some former members of our party who are purporting to lead a so-called National Caretaker Committee, to represent our party, whereas there is no such provision in our constitution.”

    It added: “This action, though ordinarily vexatious and capable of causing widespread breach of peace, will be met with all possible legal response.

    “Though not unexpected of this current INEC leadership, but it is expected that an impartial umpire would have taken notice of the pendency of the matters in the Court of Appeal.

    “This include the judgment which they are relying upon, which, when decided, will effectively affect the subject under consideration; and exercised restraint, therefrom.

    “We can assure that INEC will not choose a leadership for our party,” Ememobong said.

    He urged all PDP members to remain calm and hopeful that soonest, the Court of Appeal would hear and determine all the cases concerning the leadership of the party.

    “We assure that the rebirth movement of our party, under the able leadership of Tanimu Turaki, SAN, is steady and secure.

    “It will ultimately surmount all these challenges, to present a stronger and more united party to Nigerians, as a credible alternative to the ruling party,” he said.

  • Summit targets $500m investment in Nigeria

    Summit targets $500m investment in Nigeria

    • Lists creative sector, agric, aviation, energy, others as priority areas

    In what may be described as an economic resurgence of some sorts, the board and management of the World International Economic Group (WIEG) Nigeria, has hinted of plans to raise over $500 million as foreign direct investment into the country.

    Giving this hint on Friday was Bassey Essien, a member of the WIEG, who addressed a press conference ahead of the two day summit scheduled to hold from February 25-26, at Four Point by Sheraton, Lagos.

    Justifying the need for the interface and discussion sessions tagged, ‘Nigeria’s Next Frontier: Unlocking Sustainable Investments for Economic Transformation,’ Essien said the summit, which promises to be a regular feature, becomes inevitable to help businesses harness opportunities that would make them strategically utilise, capitalise and maximise available resources, market trends for maximum growth ultimately.

    While admitting that despite ongoing policies, many small business operators are still grappling with all manner of difficulties from lack of access to finance, knowledge-gap in investment-readiness, he however assured that WIEG hopes to drive economic transformation by connecting policy, private capital and investment-ready enterprises.

    According to him, with more than 20 investors expected from Malaysia alone, others from Angola, South Africa, over 500 participants, 50+ exhibitors and over 70 speakers are billed to attend the summit.

    The President, World International Economic Group (WIEG), Muhammed Fathulah, will lead the delegation from Malaysia, which according to him, grosses over $1billion annually in bilateral trade in Nigeria. 

    Read Also: Jimoh Ibrahim hails First Lady’s role in reframing Nigeria’s image abroad

    “This is a purely private sector-driven initiative with key national and regional priorities. The summit is going to be properly curated, an event designed to deliver practical results with SMEs across different sectors participating. One of the sectors we are looking at is the creative sector, which contributes 2.5 percent to the GDP. It’s going to be multisectoral. The key sectors of interest include aviation, creative industry, agriculture, finance, energy industry, infrastructure, to mention just a few.”

    Expatiating, he said, “The WIEG Investment Summit 2026 will bring together global investors, policymakers, and business leaders to unlock sustainable economic growth and bankable opportunities in Nigeria.”

    Already we have a commitment to raise more than $500m capital from investors, dozens of MOUs and PPP frameworks to be launched; as such this summit presents a rare blend of visibility, policy influence, and commercial opportunity.”

  • Division in political dynasties

    Division in political dynasties

    Psychologists believe that in human relationships, familial bonds are stronger than any other outside the regular human relationship unit. They postulate that man prioritises the survival of close kith and kin over non-kin. In their studies of “survival fitness” behaviour, psychologists maintain that blood is thicker than water.

    Familial bonds and relationships are said to be stronger, more important, and more enduring than bonds with friends, associates and acquaintances.

    The implication is that no matter the situation, and even in the face of intense conflicts, family loyalty should take precedence.

    But some other studies have thrown up rare cases of relationships that jettison family for personal benefits. Partisan politics and cult allegiance often break this norm. Differences in political views may not strengthen family bonds, leading to a sort of split loyalty to backgrounds and interests. Since interests ultimately define goals and directions in politics, the features of competition and antagonism are expressed, resulting in hostility and mistrust.

    While people are born into families, they are moulded by the wider environment through education, learning, and exposure. Individuals from the same household begin to exhibit unique personality traits that distinguish one person from another due to the development of intelligence and skills as they move up in life. They form attitudes and respond differently to the socio-political milieu, reflecting diversity of orientation, aptitudes and beliefs.

    Some prominent families associated with vast business empires are perturbed by the choice of their offspring opting for careers in entertainment instead of the boardroom. That is the manifestation of individual differences.

    Many legal luminaries with successful practice sent their children to the law school, only to realise that the lawyer-son came back home as a D-Jay due to the non-alignment of interests.

    However, political differences between father and son, husband and wife, and among siblings tend to generate attention, as it currently does in the case of Abba Atiku, son of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar. Abba recently defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC). His father is one of the bigwigs in the opposition platform, the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

    It is because Atiku, who has been nursing a presidential ambition since Abba was a toddler, has yet to realise his dream. Ahead of next year’s poll, the former vice president is on the queue again, and his son appears not ready to ride in the same partisan boat with his dad. Or is it a decoy?

    Abba is just one of the 30 children of the Wazirin Adamawa. No law forbids him from supporting his father as a member of another party, even if the PDP or ADC views it as an anti-party activity. His father is unperturbed by the shift in alliance because as an adult, he is at liberty to choose his path. Atiku, the likely presidential candidate of the ADC, said: “The decision of my son, Abba Abubakar, to join the APC is entirely personal. In a democracy, such choices are neither unusual nor alarming, even when family and politics intersect. As a democrat, I do not coerce my own children in matters of conscience, and I certainly will not coerce Nigerians.”

    Abba has defected. But the heir, Umar, a commissioner in Adamawa State, is still in PDP. It is a consolation.

    Abba’s case is not the first in history. But he is not contesting against his father as Dr. Samuel Ikoku did in the late 1950s. The scholar and ideologue, after returning from the London School of Economics and Political Science, joined the defunct Action Group (AG) and became the main rival of his illustrious father, Dr. Alvan Ikoku, a member of the Eastern Regional House of Assembly seeking a second term on the platform of the National Council of Nigerian Citizens (NCNC). The young man defeated his old man, who accepted his fate. The episode drew the curtains on the political career of the eminent educationist and statesman.

    Read Also: Food prices ease under Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, markets urged to reflect gains

    In Ikenne, Ogun State, a prominent lawyer, Chief Kehinde Sofola of NCNC, opposed his cousin, Awolowo. Asked by a reporter when he turned 80 why he took a different path, he said it was based on principle, adding that he hated pomposity, intimidation and timidity.

    Although the NCNC and AG carried their 1951 feud to the independence year and could not agree on a workable alliance, ‘Unbreakable’ Oluwole, son of the jailed AG leader, Obafemi Awolowo, later teamed up with the NCNC in 1964 by joining the campaign train of Chief Theophilus Owolabi Shobowale (TOS) Benson.

    While politics can be a divisive factor in the family, the tension can also be managed by the exhibition of maturity. It was that level of maturity, tolerance, and understanding that enabled Dr. Clement Gomwalk and his wife, Hellen, to cope as a couple despite their contrasting political leanings. The husband was the National Secretary of the defunct Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), and the wife was a top notcher of the then ruling National Party of Nigeria (NPN) from Plateau State.

    It was a different ball game in the large Shitta-Bey family, where the two siblings, Sikiru and Rasheed, fought to a standstill for the Lagos Central senatorial ticket of the UPN in 1979. Both were household names in the country. Sikiru, a lawyer and Secretary of Action Group Youth Association, led by Ayo Fasanmi, was a House of Representatives member in the First Republic. His younger brother was an outstanding student leader who ventured into business and became a resounding success.

    Pleas to them to step down for each other fell on deaf ears. The party leader, Awolowo, intervened. Eventually, Sikiru got the ticket to the Senate and Rasheed to the House of Representatives. For a very long time, they were not on talking terms. Efforts by the then-Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu to settle the inexplicable rift during Sikiru’s 75th birthday in Lagos failed.

    In the current dispensation, the two deceased siblings were politically separated after the collapse of the Alliance for Democracy (AD). But the political difference did not affect the relationship between or among their wives and children.

    Even, two Tinubus – governor and former Head of Service – also had their quarrel in Lagos. The retired civil servant later drew up an imaginary family tree and excluded his brother to spite him. It paled into a hoax. The book presentation was shunned by all and sundry. The objective was defeated.

    It was worse between the two Dosunmu brothers – Dr. Wahab and Rasheed – who were locked in rivalry between 1979 and 1983 in Lagos State. The younger brother, Wahab, was NPN’s Minister of Housing; his elder brother was a prominent UPN chieftain in Lagos. The feud degenerated into a shouting match and violence, fuelled by the rival parties and supporters. The language of warfare was fabricated by supporters who claimed that a sibling said if his brother died in the process, he would be around to cater for his widow and children.

     The quarrel only subsided after the collapse of the Second Republic. In political adversity under the military rule, they reunited.

    Also, In the last three months of the Second Republic, Omololu Olunloyo and Oye Olunloyo,  had a disagreement. The governor announced that the past administration would be probed. He turned his attention to the Ibadan Municipal Council, firing salvos at the former chairman, Oye Olunloyo, reiterating his plan to probe its finances. The governor said family consideration and Ibadan solidarity were out of it. Military intervention in politics truncated the probe plan.

    Around 2006, a certain Oyinkansola surfaced with the claim of a biological link with the Kwara kingpin, Dr. Olusola Saraki. The semblance could hardly be disputed. The media attempted to feast on the fact that another Saraki, who had joined the Action Congress (APC), had elected to oppose her elder brother, Kwara State Governor Bukola Saraki, and father who were the custodians of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state. It paled into a feeble attempt.

    But both Bukola and Gbemisola had to part ways in 2011 when the Second Republic Senate Leader sponsored her for governor and Bukola insisted on the candidature of Abdulfatah Ahmed. The old man, who mounted the podium in aid of his beloved daughter, found out too late that he had been displaced by his son. The campaign had become hectic in the face of diminishing agility.

    Gbemisola, who ran on the platform of ACPN, lost to Bukola’s candidate.

    The rivalry continued, with Gbemisola, who later defected to the APC, becoming a minister in the Muhammadu Buhari administration. Bukola remains the Kwara PDP leader. But two years ago, when a Saraki building was demolished by the state government in Ilorin, both momentarily put their differences aside and came together to defend the legacies of their father.

    To a lesser degree, divisions in political dynasties are better managed these days through sheer tolerance and mutual understanding. Thus, no ripple was generated when Blessing Onuh, daughter of David Mark, made an adventurous journey to APGA.

    Also, while former Governor Ayo Fayose of PDP campaigns for APC, his siblings fire salvos at him from other opposition platforms. It is now comical.

    In Kaduna, Mohammed Bello of the House of Representatives and son of former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, is in APC, which his father dumped for the ADC. No strain relationship is decipherable.

    In Edo, the Igbinedion siblings distribute themselves into APC and the PDP, and there is no discord.

    Political maturity goes on display where families see partisanship as ephemeral and family bonds as permanent.

    Politics can be terminated and participation brought to an end. Party office can be deserted, but nobody can ‘decamp’ from his family to another.

  • Once upon an FCT Minister

    Once upon an FCT Minister

    After God na government! That pithy pidgin English statement succinctly captures the awesome powers of government at any level. No matter how powerful or wealthy an individual may be they are quickly brought down to earth when they confront the government of the day.

    Not many today remember that once upon a time in the 80s and 90s, a certain Chief M. K. O. Abiola was one of the richest and most influential Nigerians. He was courted by the high and mighty, sought after by countless others who craved his benevolence to address their challenges.

    For most of his time in the limelight, the mogul was a friend of the most powerful people in government. That was until he decided to cross the divide and seek political power. It was a fated move, it would also prove to be fatal.

    Sentry was recently regaled with a true tale about the powers of government that played out a couple of decades ago back when the military ruled the roost. At that point an influential general from one of the Northern states was the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister.

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    At that time there was a massive construction boom in Abuja as the young capital city began to take shape. A key player in the industry was another Northerner who had built a thriving business renting out earthmoving equipment of all kinds. His operation was almost comparable to a monopoly because no one else had his array of equipment.

    But gradually the upstarts started encroaching on his turf by also acquiring some of the construction equipment as they had capacity to do so. In no time these little competitors mushroomed to the extent that the market leader began to feel the impact on his business.

    Alarmed, he ran to his kinsman for help. After laying out his predicament, he was assured that something drastic would be done to restore his near-monopoly.

    Not long afterwards, the minister issued an order directing that no one should operate in the earthmoving equipment business in the FCT unless they had the complete works. In one fell swoop the bit players were knocked out of business, while the monopolist was restored to his gravy train. Talk about the awesome powers of government! 

  • Robert Orya: Blessed are the greedy…

    Robert Orya: Blessed are the greedy…

    On Thursday, a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court sitting in Abuja convicted a former managing director of the Nigerian Export-Import (NEXIM) Bank, Robert Orya, sentencing him to 490 years in prison over a N2.4 billion fraud.

    The judgment delivered by Justice F.E. Messiri sentenced Orya to 10 years imprisonment on each of the 49 counts filed against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for abusing his position to fraudulently obtain more than N1.4 billion from the bank. The former boss of NEXIM Bank was also said to have incorporated a company while in office, using the names of non-existent persons and others, without their consent, to secure from the bank loans that were never repaid.

    Of course, any rational mind would be alarmed at the news that a multi-billionaire who is obviously above 60 would spend that number of years inside the prison walls. Yet a careful look at the weight of his alleged sins would show that the length of his jail term is not anything above what he deserves. Even a judge with the heart of Jesus Christ would find extenuating considerations hard to come by. Justice Messiri deserves nothing but commendation for his faith in believing that a man already in his 60s can endure a stay in confinement for half a millennium.

    The import of his judgment is such that could warrant making a case for an amendment to the biblical contents of Matthew 5:3-12. Inheriting the earth can no longer be an exclusive right of the meek when a greedy billionaire is availed the chance to endure 490 years in a country where life expectancy is less than 57.

    Needless to say the historic judgment is a win-win for the parties involved. For the boss of EFCC, Ola Olukoyede, it is a vindication of his vow to prosecute the war against corruption in the country to the very best of his ability. Those who have made a job of dragging him and the agency on the social media over the seemingly slow pace of known corruption cases like that of former governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, may have to do a reassessment of the anti-graft agency’s efforts on account of Orya’s conviction.

    Still, Orya needs not shed tears except they are for joy. Didn’t the sage say there is a silver lining behind every cloud? If Olukoyede is beating his chest in a gesture of personal triumph, the former NEXIM boss’ sentence could also be a blessing in disguise, all things considered. If nothing else, he should be grateful for the benefits that are bound to accrue from the new life experience that beckons.

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    To begin with, his long jail term is a massive opportunity for self introspection in a serene world away from the hurly-burly of Lagos or Abuja. It is a rare privilege to experience life in an atmosphere the iconoclastic afro beat exponent Fela Anikulapo-Kuti called the inside world. In Orya’s new world, his needs will no longer be limitless as to warrant the situation that led him to dip his hand into the exchequer. They will now be restricted to basic one like food, clothing and shelter, on which he may not even need to spend a dime because the government is under obligation to provide them free of charge.

    No longer for him the culture of chasing exotic cars and other luxuries of life responsible for the sins that culminated in his change of abode. It will no longer be his headache if the traffic on our highways and neighbourhood streets are crawling like a three-month-old baby or even stagnate like the Peoples Democratic Party. What the DISCOs or the GENCOs do with electricity will no longer be any of his business.

    His guiding books are no longer Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves or James Hardley Chase’s The Guilty Are Afraid. The Holy Bible, the only source of knowledge guaranteed within the walls of Kirikiri, will now become his definitive text. In the Old Testament, he will learn about the 10 Commandments, especially the verse that says thou shall not steal. In the New Testament, he will also learn about the verse that admonishes us all not to be selfish but “love thy neighbour as thyself”.

    He will realise, too little too late, that there is no wisdom in one public official cornering billions of naira from the public purse in a country of more than 200 million people where the average citizen does not know where his or her next meal will come from.

    In an age when the competition to break into the Guinness Book of World Records has become fierce and stiff, Orya could well beat his chest in self-adulation for the potential to break into not just the Guinness book but also dim the biblical record of Israelites’ 400 years sojourn in Egypt.

  • Nigeria’s economy: What is to be done?

    Nigeria’s economy: What is to be done?

    Using the phrase ‘What is to be done?’ in the headline to this analysis is deliberate. Vladimir Ilyich Lenin used the title in a brilliant 1902 treatise to outline the strategic methodology needed for a successful transformation of the state. It is a question that remains hauntingly relevant whenever a nation faces structural decay. ‘What is to be done?’ is important because out of it came solutions which, through their focus on organizational discipline and ideological clarity, continue to illuminate the path for any leadership seeking to dismantle a dysfunctional status quo.

    We must now look ahead to what ought to be done in a Second Term for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Surely certainly, Tinubu will obtain a convincing victory in next year’s presidential election, but the question becomes how that victory will be turned into a consolidation of the gains of the First Term, as well as a decisive forward march towards building a new, enduring society for which history will be positively in his favour.

    In a Second Term, Tinubu will have the political clout to finally face the real issue: the structural dysfunction inherent in the Nigerian state, whose genesis was the ill-advised, infantile suspension of the 1963 Republican Constitution. That Constitution was backed by the legitimacy of an era that saw a turnout of 82% of registered voters in its formative plebiscites – the highest in Nigeria’s history from 1923 to date. A Tinubu Second Term must speak to the tenor and ethos of the 1963 Constitution. The suspension of that document turned Nigeria from a country whose political economy was based on production into a consumptionist state, with predictably disastrous results. Nigeria succumbed to the tempting froth from the cup of easy oil rents, and that left a majority of its citizens outside the loop of opportunity. The data is heartbreaking!

    On October 1, 1960, Nigeria was the 57th largest economy in the world. Sixty-five years later, by October 1, 2025, we had slipped to 59th. Had we maintained the 1963 Constitution, even under the most incompetent governments, Nigeria would not have been anything less than the world’s 25th largest economy. Had the country enjoyed competent leadership at all levels, there is no doubt that our dear fatherland would today be the 14th or 15th largest economy in the world. We truly lost our way, and a Tinubu Second Term must lead us back to it.

    In 25 years’ time, India – whose federal model mirrors Nigeria’s 1963 structure – will likely have displaced the US as a global economic leader; and the heavens will not fall. The performance of India as a multi-ethnic, multi-racial, and religiously diverse entity should provide the blueprint for a Tinubu Second Term.

    India since 1947 has faced much of the dysfunction affecting the Nigerian state, but it stayed the course with positive results because its constitution, unbroken since independence, has been anchored on production. This is why a Tinubu Second Term must focus on how political skills and modernization can be used to recreate a modern adaptation of the 1963 Constitution. Frankly, the country has no alternative.

    For example, Nigeria must create at least 27 million new jobs by the year 2030. Whatever macro- and micro-economic policies are pursued by even the most competent government or an independent Central Bank, it is difficult to see how even half of this figure can be achieved without a return to the spirit of productive interface embedded in the 1963 Constitution. We ignore this path at our peril!

    On January 27 this year, we had another national grid collapse – a perennial feature of our economic landscape. Sadly, no modern economy since the Industrial Revolution has been built without a cost-effective, regular supply of electricity. ‘Cost-effective’ is the key phrase!

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    In the 1950s and the early 1960s, the power needs of the tin mines in Jos, Plateau State, were fully met; Jos was arguably the only place on the African continent where a 24-hour electricity supply was guaranteed. Had we stayed with a federalist constitution in which you ‘eat what you kill’, it is inconceivable that Nigeria would be generating, transmitting and distributing anything less than 70,000 megawatts of electricity, which, in truth, is still no great achievement for a population estimated at over 200 million people. For instance, Lagos State alone – if it is to be competitive against places like Hong Kong, Singapore and Johannesburg – cannot possibly be a viable economy while generating, transmitting, and distributing anything less than 25,000 megawatts. Without a constitutional revamp, no amount of ‘increased revenue’ can solve Nigeria’s problems, for that revenue will only go to fund the activities of a parasitic establishment while the citizens become more and more hapless.

    In the context of the struggle for our national soul, Ayo Opadokun’s recently published book, The Gun Hegemony, is deeply relevant. It is one of the most important analyses of Nigeria in recent decades. The septuagenarian valiantly – and with patriotic vigour – debunks the self-serving deceit that the January 15, 1966, coup d’état was born of nationalistic fervour. It was not! It stood in stark contrast to the epoch-making Free Officers Coup in Egypt in 1952, led by Gamal Abdel Nasser, or the earlier reconstitution of Turkey out of the Ottoman ruins by Mustafa Kemal, whom a grateful nation venerated into immortality as Atatürk (The Father of the Turks). The 1966 putsch (was it actually a coup?) did not liberate; instead, it has hamstrung the Nigerian federation and debilitated its prospects for development.

    Both Atatürk and the Free Officers in Egypt had clear programmes and an ideological vision. The vacuous postulations made by those who seized radio stations on January 15, 1966, cannot in any way be described as programmes of liberation, let alone development. If there was any ideological base, it can be traced back to the 1950 Constitution of the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC), which called for the creation of a unitary state – a clear absurdity in a multi-ethnic entity. The NCNC manifesto of 1950 divided the Western wing of the party to the extent that notable figures like Mojeed Agbaje, A.M.A. Akinloye left to form the Ibadan People’s Party. The only person left standing was the brilliant Adegoke Adelabu (Penkelemesi).

    Not surprisingly, the apeing of the NCNC fantasy about the constitution of a unitary state led to the military’s imposition of the destructive unification decree of 1966. Although later repealed, the damage had been done because the genie had fled from the bottle and has never been put back! For Nigeria, it has been downhill all the way – a gladiatorial clash between darkness and light, hypocrisy and truth. This decline reveals itself in underperformance, a lack of basic industries, and the inability to develop a productive, modern, and competitive economy.

    Tinubu recently ended a state visit to Türkiye. Were it not for Atatürk, Türkiye would have remained a backward nation. Today, it is a modernized, advanced power. Beyond its status as a contemporary society, the country is built on real programmes. But what policies and programmes did Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu and his colleagues actually have for Nigeria – those for which their adherents have been making noise all these years?

    It is early days yet, but Opadokun should be a frontrunner for ‘Man of the Year 2026.’ His book will always be a key strategic intervention in redressing the lies, concoctions, and negative revisionist perspectives which continue to distort what has led to today’s painful reality.

    Kudos to Ayo Opadokun!

    • May the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, grant us peace in Nigeria!