The Nation Newspaper

Category: Columnists

  • The wages of terrorism

    The wages of terrorism

    It is good that finally, the slow wheels of justice in the country crawled to its destination in Nnamdi Kanu’s case

    Unless two things happen, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the separatist leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), will spend the rest of his life in prison, following his conviction on terrorism-related charges by the Federal High Court, Abuja, on Thursday, November 20. One, Kanu may be off the hook if President Bola Tinubu decides to exercise his prerogative of mercy powers and, two, if the convict appeals the judgment and finds favour in the eyes of the appellate court.

    Justice James Omotosho who delivered the judgment said that prosecutors had proved beyond reasonable doubts that Kanu’s orders and broadcasts incited deadly attacks on security forces and citizens in the southeast. Not only businesses but the entire south east region was usually paralysed whenever Kanu issued sit-at-home orders to the people in the region, banning businesses, schooling and other activities.

    Kanu, who was arraigned on a seven-count charge, was convicted on all. The least of the sentence for the offences was imprisonment for five years without an option of fine for count seven, whilst the maximum punishment for terrorism was death penalty. However, Justice Omotosho noted that death sentence was becoming anachronistic; he also considered the allocutus made on Kanu’s behalf to hand him the life sentence despite the prosecutor’s plea that he be handed the stiffest punishment of death by hanging till he be pronounced dead. A fair deal, if you ask me; considering the havoc Kanu and his goons had caused not only to security agencies but also his people who defied his sit-at-home orders in his heyday.

    According to Justice Omotosho, “The court finds that the defendant, Nnamdi Kanu, is an international terrorist and must be treated accordingly.” He added that “His intention was quite clear as he believed in violence. These threats of violence were nothing but terrorist acts.”

    It is significant that Kanu was cantankerous for the better part of the trial. Indeed, on the day of judgment, this cantankerousness reached a crescendo as he lambasted Justice Omotosho who he said did not know the law. The 58-year-old secessionist leader who had earlier dismissed his legal team and represented himself during the trial, had to be ejected from the court for “unruly” behaviour. “Which law states that you can charge me on an unwritten law? Show me,” Kanu said before he was removed from the court. “Omotosho, where is the law? Any judgment declared in this court is complete rubbish”, he said.

    Kanu was first arrested in 2015, and taken into custody in October of the same year, and slammed with multiple charges, including treasonable felony. He was granted bail 18 months later from where he disappeared, or jumped bail, as it were, before he was reportedly arrested in Kenya in controversial circumstances in 2021.

    IPOB, like some other Igbo separatist movements sought to revive the short-lived state of Biafra, which seceded from Nigeria in 1967. The secession sparked a three-year civil war that lasted from 1967 to 1970, and which claimed the lives of about three million people. But, after Biafra troops surrendered to the federal troops in 1970, the then General Yakubu Gowon military regime came up with a policy to reintegrate the Eastern Region back into the country under its three ‘Rs’ of  Reconciliation, Rehabilitation, and Reconstruction.

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    Somehow, years after, some people in the eastern region still felt the country was not fair to them and had formed several secessionist movements to protest against what they see as political and economic marginalisation. In the course of doing that, some of them have had to rally indigenes of the region in the diaspora to donate to the agitation for independence, including training militia in the region’s forests.

    It is unfortunate that IPOB that was formed in 2012 as a peaceful movement later metamorphosed and launched an armed wing in south-eastern Nigeria in 2020, ostensibly to defend the Igbo ethnic group.

    We have had other Igbo separatist groups like the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), which was founded by Ralph Uwazuruike in 1999. But he adopted the principle of nonviolence as propagated by Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr., as the philosophy of the struggle. Naturally, he was detained several times and charged with treason in Nigerian courts.

    Of course we also had the Simon Ekpa wing of IPOB that broke away from its parent body and was led by Ekpa, who was only in September jailed for terrorism against Nigeria, in faraway Finland. Between the two factions of IPOB, the geopolitical risk consultancy SBM Intelligence, had claimed that as many as ”700 deaths have been linked to separatist militants since 2021, including a May 2024 incident where five soldiers and six others were killed in an ambush in Abia State. During the conflict, military personnel have also been implicated in multiple cases of human rights abuses.” 

    Even the court that sentenced Kanu said that the prosecution proved that about 175 security personnel lost their lives; 134 police stations were destroyed and nine offices of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) were burnt on the orders of Kanu in his broadcasts. This was apparently why the court said Kanu should forfeit the transmitter used for his broadcasts to the Federal Government.

    These are not all. The court also found Kanu culpable of incitement in the destruction of government properties in Lagos during the EndSARS protest in 2020, as well as that Kanu had called upon his listeners or supporters to attack the British High Commission in Nigeria.

    All of these made Justice Omotosho to conclude that ”His action was aimed at causing anarchy, which will in turn lead to the breakdown of law and order. His evil intention was to wreak havoc on the people of Nigeria. Were all these actions for self-determination? The answer is No”, Justice Omotosho concluded.

    It is instructive that it is not only the Igbo in the southeastern part of the country that are crying of marginalisation. Several other parts of the country also have one grievance or the other against the Nigerian state, including the south-south region where the country’s golden eggs are being laid. Other parts of the country had also suffered one form of marginalisation or the other at one time or the other.

    Even at that, it is not that people cannot agitate for ethnic or whatever freedom. But there are constitutionally laid-down processes for doing this, as Justice Omotosho noted while delivering his judgment. ”Agitations for self-determination can only pass through the constitutional amendment through the National Assembly”, the judge said. But Kanu’s model deviated from this norm to embrace violence, illegal broadcasts, incitement, intimidation, threats and actual commission of crimes, including murder, to promote whatever cause he believed he was promoting.

    In actual fact, both Kanu and Ekpa committed virtually the same crime. While Kanu committed his own crime within, Ekpa was throwing violence across the seas to Nigeria from abroad. Ekpa activated the Biafra Government In Exile (BGIE) in 2022, and in 2023 declared himself leader of the government. The Federal Government protested to the Finnish authorities which initially seemed not keen on arresting him (a thing some people initially attributed to his being a Finnish citizen of Nigerian origin). Indeed, at a point, the Nigerian government called for his extradition, so he could come and face justice at home. In March, 2024, the Nigerian Army declared him and 96 others wanted for terrorism, violent extremism and secessionist threats.

    He was eventually arrested in Finland, in 2023. Ekpa’s trial which ran from May 30, 2025, to June 25, 2025, consisted of only 12 days of hearings as the verdict which sentenced him to six years in prison was delivered on September 1, 2025.

    This was a remarkable difference from that of Kanu that lasted a whole 10 years (2015-2025). Granted that the wheel of justice travels at a snail’s speed in Nigeria, Kanu made his spectacularly so.   Apart from jumping bail, he has had cause to use delay tactic to prolong his trial. He had cause to reject at least three justices from sitting on his matter, citing either bias or lack of jurisdiction. Justice Omotosho who eventually decided the case was the fourth judge to sit on it. He too might have been put off by Kanu’s unruly behaviour even in the face of the court, but for his patience. All kinds of excuses that would not be tolerated in courts elsewhere were tolerated in the matter. So, Kanu is the architect of his own fortune as he even at a point fired his entire defence team and decided to defend himself.  However, despite its slow pace, and Kanu’s grandstanding, it is gratifying that a court of competent jurisdiction eventually found him guilty and sentenced him accordingly. If Ekpa could be convicted in Finland, why should Kanu’s case be different? This is why it is surprising that some people are wondering why Kanu should be convicted. Why did they not raise eyebrows when Ekpa was convicted? Is it because Kanu was tried in Nigeria?

    It would seem to me that Obi Aguocha, a member of the House of Representatives representing the Ikwuano/Umuahia North/Umuahia South Federal Constituency of Abia State, who delivered the allocutus on behalf of Kanu at the court shortly before Justice Omotosho delivered his judgment in the case of the Federal Government of Nigeria vs. Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, loved the accused more than the accused loves himself, given the sober manner he delivered the allocutus.  “My lord, I am the direct representative of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. That is why you see me here almost every time, showing presence and solidarity with him.”  Aguocha explained that he and Kanu attended primary and secondary school together, noting that despite being Kanu’s senior, he felt a personal responsibility to speak for him, especially in his capacity as a federal lawmaker.

    But Kanu and his co-travellers should have seen what eventually befell him coming. It could not have been otherwise, given the gravity of the charges levelled against him. Neither terrorism nor treasonable felony is a minor crime.

    I know Kanu has his admirers as he indeed received royal treatment in his heyday; with some prominent Igbo personalities paying homage to him. The fact of the matter is that the law is the law. It is no respecter of anybody.

    It is good we have finally had a closure to the matter, unless Kanu appeals the judgment. If he does and the judgment is reversed, fine. Otherwise, it is President Tinubu we should all look up to for prerogative of mercy. Given Kanu’s recalcitrance, the latter option seems more like it.

  • Language activism

    Language activism

    My language epiphany occurred in the summer of 1986. I had just spent a sabbatical year in Sweden and was on my way back home when I made a short detour to Manchester to present the work I had been doing in Sweden at a gathering of microbiologists from all over the world. After my presentation, one of my listeners hung around until after every other person had left. He then came up to me and congratulated me on a brilliant presentation. I accepted his congratulations graciously because I thought he wanted to discuss various aspects of my presentation with me. But he soon disabused my mind of that notion when he told me how much he admired the quality of my command of the English language. I was still wondering about how best I should respond to him when he went on to ask me if I had a language of my own. After all, for all my understanding of the language, I was obviously not English. I immediately decided that this was a gratuitous insult to which I needed to respond robustly.

    ‘Of course!’ I replied with considerable heat, much more heat than my interlocutor could have expected. I went on to tell him that although I had spoken English virtually all my life, my mother tongue was Yoruba, spoken by millions of people in Nigeria and other parts of the Yoruba Diaspora in other parts of West Africa and the New World. I was in suit and tie and had a tag which identified me as coming from Sweden and maybe should have condoned his inquisitiveness but I really was not in charitable mode, so I quickly dismissed him. Looking back now, I realise that I should have thanked him because he set me on the path of Yoruba language activism, a path which I have found to be vastly rewarding.

    The follow-up to the above encounter happened three years later. I was back in Sweden for another work stint in Uppsala University and had run into a colleague from Ife, who was also on a research visit to Sweden, in the street. After a brief conversation, I invited him to my lab, an invitation which he accepted. When he showed up at my lab a few days later, I made him realise that our conversation throughout the period of his visit to the lab was to be Yoruba. Not only that, it was to be Yoruba which was not under any circumstances to be laced with English words. I wanted my Swedish colleagues to appreciate the fact that I had a language of my own and that language was definitely not English. My coup was stunningly successful. After the departure of my guest, everyone expressed an opinion about my language which they all agreed sounded musical to them. At a departmental party later on, they all wanted me to sing a song or two in Yoruba. I went further to treat them to a meal of rice and fish stew, just as I would have, had they visited me at home in Nigeria. Although it made their noses stream and faces flushed, they assured me that they had found the food delicious. Through these activities, I had brought a small slice of Nigeria (Yoruba) culture to the lab and taught them a much appreciated lesson in cultural studies.

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    On my next visit to Europe, I decided to dress in such a way that advertised the fact that I was coming straight from a part of Africa where buba and sokoto were part of the culture. I did not want to be identified as an exile in Europe. When I got back home from that trip, I decided to do away with European attire completely and took to wearing my buba and sokoto on practically all occasions. However, my full conversion to language activism did not come until much later and it came on home soil, right here in Nigeria, in Owerri.

    On that day, I was in Owerri on the invitation of Peter Umez, to the launch of his first volume of poetry. He had sent the manuscript of the book to me when he had finished writing it, with the request that I edited it and so, by the time the book was published I was recognised as having made a useful contribution to the writing of the book hence the invitation to the launch. I was of course warmly received and placed on the high table with other dignitaries which included the Eze of the poet’s village as well as the Vice Chancellor of Federal University of Technology (FUTO).

    After the introductions had been made, I was told that kola was to be presented and as everyone knew, the only language that kola understood was Igbo and so they were sorry that I could not follow the ritual since I did not understand the language. I was amused by this because being Ijesa, the kola that was to be used, quite probably was grown in my backyard. After all, it was not for nothing that Ijesas are described as coming from the land of the kola nut. I watched as the kola nut was presented and plotted my revenge for my exclusion.

    Shortly after the kola was presented, I was invited to make a speech as I knew I would be. I got up, looked up at all the faces present and then, quite deliberately broke into Yoruba. The first response was consternation but this was almost replaced with applause, loud and prolonged. My hosts received my Yoruba words with appreciation, as if I had honoured them by linguistically taking them back home with me. What I found out after my speech, which I had to more or less repeat in English, was that a significant minority of those present in that hall spoke Yoruba, some of them fluently! The Eze with whom I had spoken a few words before the speech welcomed me back to my seat in perfect Yoruba and told me that not only had he spent some time in Lagos but that he was an Ife alumnus, another attribute that we shared. I had become doubly welcome to what was described as a home away from home on the wings of those Yoruba words with which I had addressed my hosts.

    There is still a reverse side to this language story. I was on the train to Stockholm from Uppsala one surprisingly sunny day when I heard one of my fellow travellers speaking English. There should not have been anything strange about this since most Swedes spoke English, or perhaps I should say, they spoke a form of English which had a thick underlay of their native tongue. It was okay as a form of communication but it was very strange to my ears which is why those ears were pricked up by the sound of a voice speaking English as it should be spoken. After a few months of hearing English in Swedish mouths, the words coming out of his mouth were music to my starved ears. I was immediately drawn to him and as soon as we exchanged the first words, we bonded instantly and were transported into a new world of our own making, a world from which all the Swedes around us were ruthlessly excluded. Such is the power of language. The language of inclusion in this case was English but every other language spoken anywhere in the world is similarly imbued with the same power.

    Language is a fundamental human property, so powerful that without it, we would definitely not be human. It is not for nothing that our scientific name is Homo sapiens (Wise man). Our wisdom which has allowed us to conquer the world is based on our ability to compliment each other’s thoughts. Because of our ability to communicate through the use of words, we have been able to connect all our brains together to process a whole lot of data, to put it in the simplest terms possible, without the power of speech, the last of us would have perished in some miserable hole in the ground many thousands of years ago. This is not a fanciful statement because our closely related cousins, the Neanderthals suffered this gruesome fate about 40,000 years ago.

  • Time to tell ourselves the truth

    Time to tell ourselves the truth

    Of Nigeria’s 65 years of independence, leaders of Northern extraction have controlled the Federal government for approximately 40 to 41 years.

    Nigeria gained independence from Britain on October 1, 1960. This means  that leaders from the North have held the primary executive power for over four decades out of Nigeria’s 65-year history as a sovereign nation.

    Throughout that period, Northerners ruled the region, whether as Sultan, Emir, Governor etc but, unfortunately, with no discernible positive developmental impact, whatever .

    As a result of this negativity, the following factors  combined to birth a virulent banditry and all kinds of terrorism, spearheaded by all kinds of murderous Islamic groups, which soon spread their violence to the southern extremities of the country:

    widespread poverty, unemployment,  competition over scarce resources, poor, almost non- existent education with more than 10 million -out – of – school children which, as a group, has become a super market for recruitment of would – be terrorists; poor governance and

    the weakening of state authority as well as poor law enforcement which have all further exacerbated the problem and allowed armed groups to operate with impunity in every corner of the region.

    Additionally, the North became literally ungovernable, especially given the large swathes of ungoverned spaces which terrorist groups, keen on spreading Sharia, use to maximum effect, daily killing in numbers.

    Terrorism was given such free rein, no arrests, no trial, that some sponsors of Boko Haram, fingered by the UAE, and recommended for trial in Nigeria, were  left completely untouched by the Muhamadu Buhari government.

    Back during the Buhari years, as a result of neither the Federal Government,  respective Northern states nor consequential leaders in the region doing anything meaningful to stanch the  unbelievable bloodletting, I saw all that was happening then as only a precussor of far  worse things in the future and I have been more than proven right.

    This, indeed, was the background to my article of 21 April, 2019 which now appears on pages 195 – 197 of my book ‘ Simply a Citizen Journalist’ (Amazon Link:   https://a.co/d/dXnfY77).

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    What particularly underpinned that  premonition was the attitude of President Muhammadu Buhari when he visited Benue State on March 12, 2018 in response to mass killings by  Fulani herdsmen which saw  no less than 70 people killed and mass buried in the state.

    He had visited only because of significant public criticism, including that from former President Olusegun Obasanjo and, even,  Ibrahim Babangida, both of who condemned his delayed and  indifferent response to the killings.

    And what did he, an ethnic Fulani, tell the grieving people of Benue?  “Live in peace and cooperate with your neighbours”, meaning those who had just killed them in numbers. Meanwhile, that was the  same man who, a few years earlier, led a Miyetti Allah delegation to the Oyo state governor to protest the killing of a few Fulani herdsmen.

    Titled: The North – Militancy, Bandits and The Rest of Us’, the referenced article reads as follows:

    “It is really a crunch time. This harvest of despair is the product of many years of servile bondage, repression, suppression, deliberate pauperization of the people and placing their destinies and lives at impossible angles. My late father used to warn the

    Northern elite. This is morning yet, the Somalization of the far North is fast becoming a reality” – Dr C.C. Nwagwu.

    Completely unknown to me that this newspaper would be running an interview it had with Anthony N. Z Sani, my friend, and Secretary- General of the Arewa Consultative

    Forum, in its edition of Sunday, 14 April 2019 in which, incidentally, my own article:’It is Crunch Time’ appeared, I had written to him as follows some three days earlier on Friday, 12 April, 2019: “Tony what’s the problem with the North? Please talk to me at some length.

    Why has the North become a killing field? Is it that human lives mean nothing up there?

    I am at a complete loss; so am raising these questions in my column this Sunday.

    I wrote further:

    Without a doubt feudalism, I guess, is the root of Northern problems. For far too long education was denied the children of the poor. Of course, you know that  religion and illiteracy are the two things invigorating Boko Haram.

    But who and who is funding BH and are our security agencies so helpless they can’t find them out all this while? Has it occurred to Northern leaders that the region is becoming

    a massive drain on the country?

    What is the exact cause of the problems in Zamfara? The million dollar question really, is: how do we exit these North- inspired problems?

    Please feel free to share this within your circle so that we can generate well distilled reactions.

    Never known to disappoint, Tony wrote back as follows: “Good morning and thank you for the concerns. I think there is a swarm of locust in the land and we do not seem to know the pests. Hence our inability to device the appropriate pesticides. I am happy some of you down there are also concerned. This is because Nigeria is a big river being fed by tributaries, and when one tributary is poisoned, the whole river is contaminated.

    When in 2011 there was post election problems and the hoodlums burnt down some traditional rulers’ houses, Prof Bolaji Akinyemi called, and warned about the consequences of destroying the only platform of effective control in the North. To him, it is not time to dismiss the vestiges of indirect rule. That is, he saw wisdom in indirect

    rule by the British. Then there was the problem of education whose slow pace of development in the North cannot be blamed entirely on the leadership all of who could not possibly be depicted as feckless. I told him to consider the time Western education started in the South and when it reached the North which is almost a century. There is also the factor of unbridled growth in population. I mentioned “unbridled growth in population” because, the rate is not commensurate with growth of the economy, hence

    the poverty that comes with unemployment. For instance, the population of Nigeria and Britain were at par at our independence but today Britain is 62M while Nigeria is

    about 180M. What rate of GDP can cope with such increase? Without a doubt, the challenges are far more overwhelming than the capacity of the leaders, considering the difference between the level of education at independence, and today, in the North. The difference is much. Somehow, I believe in what Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore once wrote that: order, justice, liberty, common decency, and prosperity, are never the natural order of things, but are attained through ceaseless hard work by the leaders, and the led, and that there is no country or society that is perfect. What matters when challenges arise is consciously directed effort to overcome them. I believe that President Buhari has what it takes to overcome our challenges.

    Terrorism is universal, and unfolding; and Nigeria has predisposing factors that encourage it. The sponsors of BH may not even be Nigerians. During one of our interactions with Alhaji Atiku Abubakar on the underlying factors of terrorism or insecurity, he traced BH to thugs used by Gov Kachalla and Senator Modu Sheriff. Whether he is right or not, one cannot say. When the minister of finance (read Defence) accused traditional rulers in Zamfara of complicity in banditry, I had my doubts. 

    Sani and I went on, and on, in a few  exchanges later, but then let’s cut to the chase and properly distil his full-throated piece in which he identified: lack of education, uncontrolled and unbridled population growth and poor governance.

    It is sad that poor governance continues till today as exemplified in the 10M plus out – of – school children who wander about as Alamjiris, whilst the governors live in opulence and go about in their free flowing

    babarigas, at best buying them okadas after which they are trucked down, in their hundreds, to every nook and cranny of the South, as Okada riders maiming themselves as well as their patrons. I am sure the governors see this as Youth Empowerment. May Allah forgive them.

    So, what has been the response of the Northern elite to the  factors so perspicaciously identified by the Secretary – General of the ACF which, this past week, weighed in on the increasing Somalisation of the region when it called on President Buhari to stop the killings? Northern political elite read politics into it when, before and after independence, Chief Obafemi Awolowo drew their attention to what trouble the North was breeding when it chose, deliberately, not to educate the children of the poor; when it looked askance at both the Western and Eastern regions putting massive investments into education.

    Today village chiefs, even some minor

    Emirs, are being chased out of their palaces in the North. And like Dr Nwagwu wrote in my intro, this, unfortunately, is only the beginning, as Somali, Sudan and Syria have shown.

    With regards to over population, what was the North’s take away when during the 2015 campaigns Mrs Patience Jonathan, poked fun at the North on account of its many children most of who are thrown into the streets from early age? Which one single governor made a move towards checking his state’s unproductive population growth? Or which cleric lent a hand in their tough preaching’s which governor El Rufai had to warn against? The North has many, if not most, of our highly regarded monarchs.

    What has any of them done to mitigate the factors that continue to undermine the North economically, and socially?

    Isn’t political, even traditional power, for a purpose?

    How exactly has the Northern traditional and religious elite – helped to positively impact the region? Or wasn’t it only this past week we heard that Zamfara monarchs are helping bandits with intelligence? Have they taken time to reflect on a future when the North begins to reap the whirlwind?   Finally, as we can infer from Sani’s statement, when will this Northern tributary stop  contaminating the big Nigerian river?

    When?

    A stitch in time can still save nine.

  • How Tinubu stepped back from global stage to lead Nigeria through its most intense security week

    How Tinubu stepped back from global stage to lead Nigeria through its most intense security week

    The past week will go down as one of the most troubling and emotionally draining moments for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration. Few weeks in recent national memory have carried such a heavy, unrelenting weight on a sitting government. What unfolded across Kebbi, Borno and Kwara states in the space of days was not just a string of violent incidents; it was a coordinated wave of terror that tore through the country, shook public confidence and rekindled deep fears that Nigeria may be witnessing a deliberate replay of the unsettling patterns last seen ahead of the 2015 general elections.

    From Monday morning’s shock in Maga, Kebbi State, when armed men stormed the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, killing Vice Principal Hassan Yakubu Makuku and abducting 24 students, the nation was thrown into mourning. Hours later, even before the country could absorb that tragedy, confirmation came that ISWAP had executed Brigadier General Musa Uba, Commander of the 25 Task Force Brigade in Damboa. He was ambushed alongside two soldiers and two civilian task force personnel and later killed after a recorded interrogation that circulated online to inflame public trauma.

    Still grappling with those horrors, Nigerians were hit by yet another nightmare on Tuesday evening in Eruku, Kwara State. Terrorists attacked Christ Apostolic Church during a thanksgiving service, killing three worshippers and abducting 38 people, including the pastor. The incident was livestreamed, turning a sacred gathering into a global showcase of human terror and panic. The graphic scenes of worshippers running, screaming, crawling and being herded like cattle appeared to be crafted deliberately to feed the growing foreign narrative that Nigeria is experiencing “Christian genocide,” a narrative aggressively pushed in recent weeks by U.S. President Donald Trump.

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    Then, in the early hours of Friday, gunmen struck again, this time at St. Mary’s Catholic Secondary School in Papiri, Niger State, reportedly abducting 215 students and twelve members of staff. This was the third mass abduction in four days, executed with the same precision and messaging as Maga. By then, it had become undeniable that the nation was facing more than criminal opportunism; this was a coordinated barrage intended to destabilise public order, shake national confidence and trigger reactions beyond Nigeria’s borders.

    The timing of the attacks cannot be divorced from the international rhetoric surrounding Nigeria since Trump placed the country on his “Countries of Particular Concern” list and accused Nigeria of “Christian-targeted killings.” The Federal Government has since stated clearly that these pronouncements emboldened extremist groups who now see the international spotlight as an opportunity to advance their propaganda, gain sympathy from unsuspecting foreign audiences and ignite sectarian tension at home. Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, went further to describe the claims as “inaccurate, dangerous and misrepresentative of Nigeria’s security realities,” stressing that both Boko Haram and ISWAP have historically attacked churches, mosques and public institutions without religious distinction.

    For many Nigerians, especially those who watched events unfold in 2014–2015, the pattern feels painfully familiar. Then, as now, the nation experienced a surge in mass abductions, bombings and targeted attacks on vulnerable communities. Those escalations fed into a psychological war that eroded public confidence and influenced political outcomes. Now, with the 2027 electoral atmosphere gradually approaching, the same playbook appears to be resurfacing, same tempo, same audacity, same strategic timing.

    However, this time the country is not led by a president who ignores patterns. Tinubu seems acutely aware of the script being dusted off and reused. Long before the week ended, he had already decided that business-as-usual was no longer an option. On Wednesday, he was scheduled to depart for Johannesburg for the G20 Summit and then proceed to Luanda for the AU-EU Summit. These were not minor meetings; they were important opportunities for Nigeria to strengthen partnerships and affirm its global relevance. But in a decisive move that instantly reshaped the week, Tinubu passed the trips off. Vice President Kashim Shettima jetted to Johannesburg on Friday to represent him at the Summit, ensuring Nigeria does not miss out on opportunities.

    The President chose to remain at home, not out of political caution, but because the times demanded a leader fully present at the helm. His decision sent an unmistakable message that Nigeria’s safety and stability come before global diplomacy. It also reinforced the impression that he is not a leader who grants terrorists the power to dictate national priorities. He immediately ordered the highest-ever national security alert level, called for accelerated operations across multiple states and directed all service chiefs to tighten intelligence around soft targets.

    On Wednesday, Vice President Kashim Shettima was deployed to Kebbi State to console families of the abducted girls and convey the President’s assurance that Nigeria stands with them. Standing before grieving parents, Shettima relayed Tinubu’s firm message: the government would use “every instrument of the state” to bring the girls home and bring the perpetrators to justice. It was an emotional moment, as he reminded the families that Kebbi’s pain is Nigeria’s pain, and that the government regards the incident not as a regional tragedy but as a national assault on conscience.

    Particularly significant was the President’s directive for the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, on Thursday to immediately relocate to Kebbi to coordinate rescue efforts. This marked a shift from routine official responses to proactive, on-ground leadership. Matawalle’s presence in the state signals high-level commitment and a readiness to treat the abduction as a national emergency requiring close oversight.

    Despite the enormous pressure, Tinubu did not suspend other matters of state. On Monday, he opened the 2025 All Nigerian Judges Conference where he warned the judiciary to guard its integrity. He also received Prince Edward, the Duke of Edinburgh, briefed him on Nigeria’s reform trajectory and exchanged views on youth development. Governance continued. The state did not freeze because terrorists staged a week of chaos. This ability to multitask in crisis, fighting fires while keeping the engine running, is the hallmark of a seasoned political hand who has survived storms before.

    What is clear is that Nigeria is dealing with enemies determined to manipulate international narratives, provoke religious fractures and create a climate of fear capable of disrupting national cohesion. The wave of attacks is not accidental. It is coordinated. It is strategic. And it is aimed squarely at destabilising an administration that has made significant gains in economic reforms, institutional reorganisation and regional diplomacy.

    Tinubu’s demeanour throughout the past week showed calm resolve. He looked the crisis in the eye, stepped away from global podiums and rolled up his sleeves to confront a threat that is as political as it is security-related. Those seeking to replicate the 2015 destabilisation environment may have assumed they would encounter a distracted, jet-setting president. Instead, they found one ready to return to the trenches, reorganise the state’s response architecture and lead from the front.

    The coming days and weeks will be decisive. Security agencies have intensified clearance operations across the forests of the Northwest and North-Central. Troops have been reinforced in Eruku and surrounding areas. Intelligence agencies are tracing the communication trails behind the coordinated attacks. The government is also countering the dangerous misinformation being pushed from outside the country, especially from political actors who appear invested in shaping a narrative of religious persecution in Nigeria.

    One thing is certain: while the enemies of peace may have hoped the week’s tragedies would paralyse leadership at the top, it had the opposite effect. Tinubu has shown that he recognises the familiar script, understands its underlying motives and is prepared for a more decisive counter-response than the nation saw in 2014–2015.

    Last week may have been one of the darkest in recent memory, but it also reminded Nigerians that the country now has a president who does not blink in the storm, does not abandon his post at the moment of crisis and will not allow foreign or domestic actors to weaponise tragedy for political manipulation.

    The nation is on high alert. Leadership is fully engaged. The enemies of Nigeria may have fired the first shots, but they will not write the final chapter.

    Even with the tense security atmosphere that defined the week, President Tinubu’s schedule reflected the balance he has tried to maintain between crisis management and the ceremonial, administrative and symbolic duties of the Presidency. On Sunday, he joined the people of Iwoland to celebrate the Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrasheed Akanbi, on the 10th anniversary of his coronation, praising the monarch’s progressive leadership and impact over the past decade. On Monday, he turned his attention to sports, urging the Super Eagles to recover quickly from their World Cup heartbreak and focus fully on the 2026 Africa Cup of Nations. He also celebrated Osun APC chieftain Munirudeen Oyebamiji at 60, describing him as a steady, reliable figure in governance and politics.

    By Tuesday, Tinubu mourned veteran journalist and Newswatch co-founder, Chief Dan Agbese, calling him a towering institution in Nigerian media. He also honoured Rep. Adegboyega Adefarati at 60 and approved fresh leadership changes in NEITI and NIWA to deepen accountability in strategic sectors. On Thursday, he celebrated former President Goodluck Jonathan at 68, mourned petrochemical pioneer Pa Olusanya Sotinrin, and lamented the death of Segun Awolowo. Rounding off the week, he hailed NSA Nuhu Ribadu at 65 and reaffirmed national unity at Chief Bode George’s 80th birthday. What a week indeed.

  • Osun 2026: APC and the zoning question

    Osun 2026: APC and the zoning question

    The 2026 Osun State gubernatorial election readily presents the All Progressives Congress (APC) with both a challenge and an opportunity. While some have advocated zoning the ticket to Osun West, a detailed examination of political realities, party performance data, and the current administration’s failures reveals that the Osun East Senatorial District represents the APC’s most strategic path to victory.

    Since assuming office in 2022, Governor Ademola Adeleke’s PDP led administration has failed to advance Osun State despite substantial resources at its disposal. The evidence is stark:

    Education in Crisis: Osun State University (UNIOSUN), once a beacon of academic excellence, has deteriorated to subpar levels compared to peer institutions in the region. Also the governor’s decision to sack 1,500 teachers without replacement has created a vacuum in the education sector that undermines the future of Osun’s children.

    Employment Scandals: Successful job applicants who paid application fees remain in limbo, with the administration delaying their employment indefinitely. This betrayal of young Osun residents speaks to a government more concerned with political optics than delivering tangible results.

    Health and Security Decline: Both sectors have witnessed measurable deterioration under the current administration, with citizens feeling increasingly vulnerable and underserved.

    Governance by Performance: While Governor Adeleke has earned the moniker “dancing governor,” his penchant for celebration has not translated into policy substance. Allegations of crass hedonism and lack of focus have overshadowed any meaningful governance achievements.

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    This record of failure creates an opening for the APC—but only if the party makes the right strategic choice.

    As the countdown to Osun 2026 draws nigh, several opinions have reared their heads or rent the political atmosphere. A minority like analysis have sprung up in favour of zoning the ticket to Osun West where the wobbling incumbent hails from. These yesmen naively tout the “ Edo Template” but have failed to see that the factors which favoured a Monday Okpebholo’s  emergence as Edo State Governor is lacking or non-existent in the Osun scenario.  I will give a few examples here.

    First, Governor Adeleke will definitely run for a second term as the constitution permits him, in the Edo Template, Okpebholo was running not against an incumbent but a newbie in Asue Ighodalo, even a five year old can differentiate between the two scenarios. In addition to this, let us note that Senator Okpebholo was a sitting senator, something Osun West APC presently lacks.

     Third, is the fact that Obaseki was at war with the powerful Oba of Benin, his estranged predecessor, Adams Oshiomole and his erstwhile loyal deputy, Philip Shuaibu amongst many other interest groups within the PDP at both national and state levels( Wike and Dan Orbih respectively), the same cannot be said of Adeleke who maintains strong traditional relationships and controls the party machinery.

    Then there is the reputed voting strength of the Adeleke’s in Osun West, particularly in Ede North and South, such voting patterns witnessed in the days of the late Isiaka Adeleke( Serubawon) in 1992 , 2007, 2011, 2014 and then in 2017,  both Isiaka and Ademola Adeleke have  dominated Osun West with overwhelming margins.Both figures did consistently deliver crushing victories with massive margins which resemble some sort of cult following, the verdict is simple:  any APC candidate from Osun West would face Adeleke’s home advantage without any meaningful end result. The APC has no strong man from Osun West,  who can match Adeleke’s gubernatorial incumbency advantage.

    While it is agreed that the principle of zoning exists to ensure equity for politically disadvantaged areas, however, Osun West has produced two governors since state creation—both from Ede Federal Constituency. Now,  if fairness guides zoning, the logical approach would be: Zone  to other areas within Osun West, either  to Ikire or Iwo Federal Constituencies (never represented),and  yet even with the number disparity,  the stark reality is that Adeleke’s dominance in Ede and Osun West as a whole will readily take the wind out of such sails. In addition to this, why would the rest of Osun readily vote another son from Osun West for a possible tenure of eight years when they can pitch their tent with Adeleke, and have power shift to another zone or district?  After all 4 will always be better than eight!

    Again, the principle of zoning exists to ensure equity for politically disadvantaged areas. Osun West haven produced two governors since state creation—both from Ede Federal Constituency should require that another zone be presented for the election proper. If indeed fairness guides zoning, the logical approach would be to recognize zones or constituencies  that have not produced a governor. Constituencies like —Ile-Ife, Ijebu-Jesa and Osogbo. This makes the equity argument favor Osun East much more stronger than  any claim from Osun West, since another term for Adeleke will give Osun West three stints in Government House Oshogbo, Osun East would have only had two compared with Osun Central which has also had three stints.

    The Omisore Factor?

    Senator Iyiola Omisore as a political juggernaut embodies the required  experience and structure to give Adeleke a good fight and return Osun APC to power.  A one time deputy governor, senator,  two time guber candidate and party scribe, we can readily recall how as the ‘beautiful bride’ in 2018, he helped rescue Oyetola and the APC from the jaws of defeat and it did not just end there, Omisore’s Osun East Senatorial District was the only district that delivered victory for APC in 2022 with the same Oyetola winning five local governments in Osun East.

    In addition to this, readers must note that Osun East is the only district where all National Assembly members belong to APC—the senator and all representatives; why should APC then reward another zone that cannot boast of such credentials with a guber ticket?

    Osun East also boasts of huge voter populations with Ife East ranking second  (114,404) and Ife Central (113,232) ranking third respectively in voter strength statewide, trailing only Osogbo, a combination of these factors and

      decades of Omisore’s commanding presence in Osun’s politics is the fillip for an Osun APC victory in 2026. An Omisore candidacy should guarantee that all 10 local governments in Osun East would be in the APC ‘ s kitty and serve as a springboard to the party’s victory.

    In conclusion, the APC must nominate an Osun East candidate, specifically Iyiola Omisore, to defeat the incumbent in 2026. Osun East offers not only strong APC institutional presence across all legislative seats, but also proven party loyalty, electoral resilience, and high voter concentration in strategic areas. The zone can maximize margins while competing effectively in Osun  Central and making inroads in Osun West.

    In contrast, Osun West presents Adeleke’s overwhelming incumbency advantage in his home zone, weak APC infrastructure, and the risk of splitting the home district while failing to dominate elsewhere. Omisore has likewise demonstrated unwavering APC loyalty through total commitment and unequivocal sacrifices, along with the ability to mobilize Osun East while building coalitions in Central and West districts.

    The victory formula requires maximizing margins in Osun East to create an insurmountable lead, competing strongly in Osun Central by leveraging senatorial and ministerial influence, and targeting disaffected voters in Osun West by exploiting Adeleke’s performance gaps. Drawing lessons from past elections, the APC must prioritize strategy and political realities above zoning sentiments. These considerations are indeed  essential for reclaiming Osun State via an Omisore candidacy.

  • FOR ADEGOKE OLUBUNMO

    FOR ADEGOKE OLUBUNMO

    (Still asking “What does it all add up to?”*)

    Early wayfarer

    Whose feet knew the language

    Of the roadside grass

    Scion of the Upland Stock

    Who never feared the fire

    Of the climbing sun

    Born to count daylight dreams

    In digits of fleeting moments

    Unfazed by the curious calculus

    Of  numbers and fluttering figures

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    Wonder led to Knowledge,

    Knowledge to Wisdom,

    As you divined your way

    Through Ifa’s mathe-magical  divinations

    With polyvalent prowess

    And uncommon profundity 

    You surprised our questing universe

    With rainbow stars

    And  countless  gifts

    What is Life if not

    An endless chain of

    Plusses and ceaseless minuses?

    Deep, doughty, diligent

    Patient, fair, unfailingly humane

    Born to think, born to count

    Forty long years since

    Here we are, still asking

    “What does it all add up to”?

    A riff on the title of Professor Olubunmo’s  1984  Valedictory Lecture at the University of Ibadan.

  • Genocide: CAN needs doctrinal rethink

    Genocide: CAN needs doctrinal rethink

    On November 19, United States lawmaker, Congressman Riley M. Moore, issued a statement after his meeting with a Nigerian delegation led by National Security Adviser (NSA) Nuhu Ribadu over President Donald Trump’s controversial redesignation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern. A day later the US congressional hearing on Nigeria took place. Chaired by Chris Smith, Mr Moore was also present. After his meeting with Mr Ribadu, Mr Moore declared: “Today, I had a frank, honest, and productive discussion with senior members of the Nigerian government regarding the horrific violence and persecution Christians face and the ongoing threat terrorism poses across Nigeria. I made it crystal clear that the United States must see tangible steps to ensure that Christians are not subject to violence, persecution, displacement, and death simply for believing in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

    Sounding a little conciliatory, weeks after shouting himself hoarse over the persecution of Christians in Nigeria, he added: “We stand ready to work cooperatively with Nigerians to help their nation combat the terrorism perpetrated by Boko Haram, ISWAP, and Fulani militants against their population, specifically Christians in the Northeast and Middle Belt regions of Nigeria. The Nigerian government has the chance to strengthen and deepen its relationship with the United States. President Trump and Congress are united and serious in our resolve to end the violence against Christians and disrupt and destroy terrorist groups within Nigeria. I urge the Nigerians to work with us in cooperation and coordination on this critical issue.”

    From all indications, except something goes wrong, the Americans might strike a tentative deal with Nigeria to stave off the ‘guns-a-blazing’ attack President Trump promised if there was no let up on the ‘genocide’ against Christians in Nigeria. Included in the delegation were Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, NSA and Leader of the Delegation; Her Excellency, Bianca Ojukwu, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Kayode Egbetokun, Inspector General of Police; Chief Lateef Olasunkami Fagbemi, SAN – Attorney General of the Federation; General Olufemi Olatunbosun Oluyede , Chief of Defence Staff; Lt. Gen. EAP Undiendeye, Chief of Defence Intelligence; Ms. Idayat Hassan, Special Adviser to ONSA; Ambassador Ibrahim Babani , Director of Foreign Relations, ONSA; Ambassador Nuru Biu, Acting CDA, Embassy of Nigeria; Paul Alabi, Political and Economic Section, Embassy of Nigeria in the US. Did the delegation persuade the Americans to exercise restraint? It is unlikely. They probably only managed to sow seeds of doubt in the heart of Mr Moore regarding the efficacy of any attack by the US.

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    Central to the discourse at the US congressional hearing were the depositions of the US Christian community and their Nigerian allies who continued to harp on their conviction that the killings in particularly the Middle Belt of Nigeria were genocidal in intent. But here, precisely is where the problem lies. Because of years of campaigning for the US to intervene in the matter, the Nigerian Christian community may have inadvertently precipitated an American cause of action they can’t influence one way or the other. A few weeks ago, Mr Trump gave what amounted to an ultimatum to Nigerian leaders to rein in the ‘genocidal’ attacks or face military action of undetermined severity. The American threat has predictably caused uproar. While some Nigerians wondered how American bombs would discriminate between Christian innocents and non-terrorist Muslims, the Christian community in both the US and Nigeria have appeared to be relieved that at last, help was on the way.

    However, the relieved in the Christian communities are divided into two categories. While some hope that the American threat would not proceed beyond mere threat but would ginger Nigeria into discernible action against the terrorists, and have spoken gingerly about their expectations, a second group, but probably fewer in number, appears indifferent to a shooting war between the superior American arms and the archaic arms of terror masterminds. Given the massive haemorrhaging they have endured from those who have murdered Christians and taken their lands, especially in the Middle Belt, both Christian groups are dead set against sustaining the status quo of flimsy action. The problem, however, is that gradually and perhaps imperceptibly, the doctrinal foundations regarding violence in the defence of their faith may be changing due to the frustrations Christians experience in getting their government to act decisively against rampaging killers. The early church, who were more persecuted than the modern church, reposed no faith whatsoever in violence of any kind, either from within their ranks or from outsiders, against their enemies. Is their methodology still relevant in the modern era where dividing lines have been blunted by globalisation, culture wars, and the sweeping and often anarchic generalisations of the social media?

    The modern church is, therefore, in a quandary over whether to support the retaliatory and deterrent killing of their persecutors or to face the unfathomable existential dilemma of waiting to be wiped out and dispossessed. If they vote for the former, they face the harrowing task of providing new and probably unscriptural doctrinal justifications for their choice. That task, given their history, will not be easy. In fact that task has been made doubly onerous by seeking a champion in Mr Trump who has neither the history nor the grace for moderation. Indeed, seeking American intervention might in some ways be interpreted as an indirect admission of losing faith in the power of Christ to save His church. But perhaps, the Middle Belt knows that the battles in the Middle Belt between the natives who are predominantly Christians and Fulani militias who are predominantly Muslims is all about land wars for which the cry of Christian genocide has become a resonating global mobilisation tool.

  • Probe every security breach, abduction

    Probe every security breach, abduction

    Kebbi State governor Nasir Idris has been livid over the abduction of some 25 schoolgirls from a government school in Maga community in Zuru Emirate. He was angry that despite being tipped off about the impending attack, the security agencies could still not prevent the crime. Worse, according to him, the manner of the abduction reeked of conspiracy. He said: “As a responsive government, when we received intelligence on a possible attack, we summoned a security meeting…The security agencies assured us that all was well and that personnel would be mobilised to the school…The military was deployed, but they later withdrew by 3 am, and by 3:45 am, the incident happened…Who authorised the military to withdraw? How did security personnel pull out at such a critical time? That is our concern. We have asked the military to investigate and identify who gave that order…Our duty as leaders is to ensure that our daughters return home safely, and we are doing everything possible to achieve that…What is happening in this country shows that enemies are working against this government.”

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    The governor’s allegation should be probed. In fact, every case of abduction should be probed to rule out conspiracies and collaborations. While it is true that security personnel are spread dangerously thin everywhere, an indication that the country’s security paradigm is unworkable, it does not necessarily preclude the possibility of conspiracy. On the heels of the tragic execution of a brigade commander in the Sambisa sector of the Northeast during counterinsurgency operations, incidents that smell of conspiracy need to be investigated in order to reassure Nigerians that the security agencies have not turned on themselves. Dealing with the enemy without is far better than dealing with the enemy within. The loss of a brigade commander, Musa Uba, and the Maga abduction should be investigated.

  • US congressional hearing exposes Nigeria

    US congressional hearing exposes Nigeria

    Last week’s United States congressional hearing on Nigeria has exposed the African country’s nakedness. Testimony after testimony showed a country that has for more than a decade become paralysingly impotent to tackle its existential crisis. What came out of the testimonies is a Nigeria at war with itself, a war ventilated through cracks such as climate pressures, ethnic disharmony, constitutional failures, religious intolerance, and selective law enforcement, among other reasons. It was a relief that at the end, the congress was split over what to do with Nigeria. The threat of bombing Nigeria may have temporarily receded, and even the shrill congressman Riley Moore may have begun to entertain doubts about his own conclusions, but the nakedness of Nigeria was evident for everyone to see, and the picture was truly unflattering.

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    Nigeria was painted as inept, averse to tolerance and justice, and its security services polluted by collaborators and corrupt personnel. Apart from the open congressional hearing, only Mr Moore has disclosed what he discussed with Nigerian officials. No details have been published yet of the meeting with the Defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, or other top officials of the US State Department. In due course, the details or sketches will be known. From all indications, however, and despite Mr Trump’s continuing fierce rhetoric, the storm looks like it is over in terms of the US levying war on Nigeria. But the image painted before the global community of Nigeria allowing the killings to last for more than a decade is truly depressing and tragic. Much worse, by its inability to combat and defeat the extremists, the country has now found itself besieged, with dozens of schools shut indefinitely in many states, despite knowing where the extremists hibernate, and who their sponsors are.

    Yet, some Nigerian interest groups and officials remain defensive, unwisely and unproductively quibbling about the definition of genocide. US intervention was never a solution, and US boots on the ground would have been disastrous. But if the Nigerian authorities get a reprieve and yet fail to rein in entrenched religious, ethnic and political extremists, including closet fanatics in high places, the problem will persist, and one day, an outsider will intervene and possible trigger Nigeria’s disintegration. The congressional hearing and Mr Trump’s threats, particularly the repeated mention of rampaging Fulani militias, should encourage Nigerian leaders to tell themselves a few home truths and get to work to forge an equitable and just society. But given their defensiveness, prevarications, name-calling, and blame game, it is unclear the elite have learnt any lessons. It is either they are too incompetent to appreciate the dynamics of their existential crisis or they are too self-absorbed and parochial to care.  

  • Alarmingly, PDP goes for broke

    Fifth-rate politicians have taken over the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The party is now so fractured that no one is sure how many factions exist anymore. It began casually with three discernible factions before the 2023 elections, then grew to four some two years after, and is now feared to be about five or six factions, some of them so furtive that mutual suspicion is rife in the party. Those who converged on Ibadan on November 15 and reveled till the next day orchestrating what they freeheartedly described as an elective convention affirmed Kabiru Turaki as their chairman. Every other party position appears sinecure and surplus to requirement. Party chieftain Bode George, angry and opinionated as ever, and Oyo State governor Seyi Makinde inspired the revolt that produced Mr Turaki, a former Special Duties minister and senior advocate. Tired of pussyfooting over who were the legitimate leaders of the party, and exasperated by the knot that had shackled the party for years, they simply looked for a judicial sword and cut the restraints.

    Weeks before the convention, party chieftains were hopping from one court to another, until they had had enough. Now, in spite of themselves, their legal nightmares have just begun. It is feared that the party is irretrievably fractured. Perhaps. But there are many hardy perennials in the party who will not give up easily; and others who will go down fighting; and yet others who will make sheep’s eyes at the ruling party, hoping for a personal financial and political breakthrough. Admittedly the party was in a very bad spot, constrained by the chicaneries, or more accurately the intransigence, of former Rivers governor Nyesom Wike and his loyalists. For a party unwisely accustomed to breaking its own rules and hopping into bed with sundry political suitors, some of them dressed garishly in hideous robes, it was sadly not difficult to organise the kind of convention they put up in Ibadan two Fridays ago. Some of those who helped them organise the jamboree, including Plateau State governor Caleb Mutfwang and Adamawa State governor Umaru Fintiri, were appalled by the brazenness with which they sacked Mr Wike’s loyalists and enthroned the dour Mr Turaki.

    By the time they carried out the assault on the PDP Headquarters in Abuja days later, the apostasy in the party, not to say more factionalisation, was complete. The Wike amputation and the forcible coronation of Mr Turaki mean that mending the party fabric will now be more difficult than before. Not only will they become hopelessly mired in court cases, their depleted ranks will sap their spirit and send survivors scurrying for shelter wherever they can find it. Their only straw which they desperately clutch is the tenuous legitimacy the Ibadan convention conferred on Mr Turaki. But Mr Makinde, who almost singlehandedly inspired the convention and probably underwrote a significant portion of its budget, is not as charismatic as he pretends. Had he possessed the wit and élan, had he brought panache to his fights like the hated Mr Wike, had he acquired the fecundity for dissembling like Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP), he would have come out of the convention talced with leadership lavendar of the most exquisite composition.

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    It is not clear why the Makinde faction of the PDP settled for Mr Turaki; but they did, at great expense and at the risk of destroying the party. On the day their charge of the Wadata Plaza headquarters of the party came to nought, when their cavalry were stopped by violence and tear gas, Mr Makinde and Bauchi State governor Bala Mohammed stood grimly by as Mr Turaki made an ass of himself since his coronation barely a week earlier. Both governors winced as their new chairman made a plaintive appeal to the United States president Donald Trump to save Nigerian democracy. It was a momentous occasion, one which no one in this generation should ever miss. There he stood like a military officer who had just led his troops into an ambush and barely escaped with his life, asking the world’s most narcissistic, dictatorial and uncouth president to come rescue Nigeria from the grip of one-party rule. Was it a slip of tongue? Or had the tear gas still wafting in the air addled his brain and diminished his judgement? No one in the world, except this regular Rip van Winkle, goes to the American president seeking anything properly describable as democracy. No one, not Russia’s Vladimir Putin, nor the corpulent North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, would dare such antics even as a joke. But Mr Turaki, exhumed from some Neolithic crevices, dared.

    But someone exceeded all of them in political travesty: the hard talking Chief George. Given the role he played in the mass sacking of Mr Wike’s loyalists and the fracturing of the party, it is no wonder that he appeared drained thereafter, and has barely spoken a word since. Until enterprising reporters give us an account of how the decision was taken among the party’s panjandrums to do the mass sacking in the party leadership without recourse to either their own rules or the law, it can only be conjectured that Chief George was fully convinced that the Gordian knot restraining the party had to be brusquely cut. He was tasked with moving the motion for the decapitation, and he relished the assignment, especially being a former military officer. The job not only suited his unforgiving and tempestuous politics, it accorded with his frigid personality. He failed in Lagos PDP politics to stamp his authority and personality, and has never been known to keep an oath or his word. Fond of shooting first and asking questions later, and surrounded by obsequious party leaders, he led the troops to Golgotha without bothering about the consequences.

    It is hard for any Nigerian patriot to reconcile with the diminution of the PDP. The party never really had strategists, not even ones with half the talent of a failed coup plotter. Now they are proving to also lack thinkers, as Mr Tukur is showing so disapprovingly. At their rate of decline, they may soon discover that they will lack the men to help prosecute any electoral war. Hemmed in on all sides by incompetent and querulous men and women, and unable to free themselves from their straitjacket, they will soon join forces with those scheming by propaganda, abductions and subversion to undermine the APC administration.