The Nation Newspaper

Category: Columnists

2027: Party/Governors’ Report Cards

Nigeria is the most populous black nation on earth whose political economy cannot be ignored in the global stage. The human and material resources of the country form the pillars of the country’s strength. However, it does seem that the country’s greatest asset, its human resources has not been optimally developed in ways that can catapult the country to its greatest productivity levels. Much needs to be done on major sectors like, agriculture, education, infrastructure and health.

Developing the human capital of any nation requires grit, vision and focus. As a democracy, progress has been made especially with the return of democracy in 1999 but much still needs to be achieved. The level of development in the country still needs a greater and more daring attention to all the variables of development. There has to be a deeper reorientation and introspection by the political elite. The exaggerated celebration of democracy becomes a farce the moment the people are handed the short end of the stick through policy misdirection, inconsistencies including the absence of viable socio-economic policies.

The Nigerian democracy seems to have been modeled after that of the United States of America. However the political elite seems to merely choose the politically expedient democratic structures that have weakened the Nigerian brand. To start with, the political parties in Nigeria lack any ideological base. This makes it almost dysfunctional as there seems to be no ideological anchors that unite any group of politicians that decide, even if momentarily to come together for the purposes of winning elections.

The political parties lack a certain form of cohesiveness and administrative accountability that empowers political parties to hold members accountable. The tiers of government; federal, state and local governments often appear to have overlapping and often confusing roles in the eyes of a largely illiterate citizenry. In a country like this often leave jobs undone. In a country where citizens are often fixated on the post of the Presidency because of both tribal and religious sentiments, governors and local government chairpersons often bask in that flawed mob belief that the office of the president just needs to wave the magic wand to solve all problems.

Make no mistake about it, the federal government wields enormous powers that many political analysts believe a constitutional amendment can help balance out in the future. However, the Nigerian governors are a very powerful political force. They often hold Presidents to ransom when their individual interests are at stake. In real terms, governors often wield more powers than the president when it comes to local/grassrrots politics. The essence of their association, ‘The Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF)’ which often has units at the regional levels often spells bullish authoritarianism.

Governors in Nigeria are almost very imperial in ways that distort democracy and impede progress. They are often the ones that control the political structures which they use to extract blind loyalty in some cases. Their attitude is often the reason intra party democracy is hard to maintain. Because they wield so much power, they often determine who gets elected to the state houses of assembly, their own deputies, and the national assembly members. For party congresses at the national level, they often determine who gets the presidential nominations.

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As a developing country, it is often easy to describe the Nigerian democracy euphemistically as, ‘nascent’ but there must be a time to wean the country into real development. The governors have been getting away with a lot since 1999 and 2027 must be a defining moment if Nigerians are serious about getting value for the democracy that is on the right side of three decades. It is time to begin to hold governors to account. There is a reason the buck stops at their table as state chief executives.

The news has been all over the place that due to the removal of fuel subsidy in 2023, governors across the country are getting more allocations from the Federal Allocation Committee (FAC) with media publications of how much each state gets on a monthly basis. Factual as the news is, not much difference has been noticed by the men and women on the streets. But mum has been the word while attention is focused on the federal government. Development cannot happen by accident. The people must begin to have more interest in the activities of their state governors and local government chairmen that have been granted financial authonomy.

Commissioning ‘projects’ (read roads, bridges, school renovations etc. ) with all the exaggerated fanfare and media bliss seems to have become the norm for most governors as proof of their people-focused development projects. Ironically, despite the plethora of ‘commissioning of projects’ across the country, the poverty index keeps increasing. Most of the commissioned projects are either white elephant projects or they are abandoned for new ones by their successors most of who they as ‘godfathers’ install at the end of their tenures.

Not many governors since 1999 have real legacy projects that are impacting the people and pushing up development. It does seem that rather than target real development projects, many governors across the country focus on self-glorifying projects that are principally for political expediency rather than functional investments that change the lives of the people. There seems to be little investment in the informal sector of the economy and this merely translates to more poverty. There is little investment in human capital development and this has led to an increase in insecurity and unemployment.

The Roundtable Conversation is ready to ask the very tough, questions. Nigerian democracy has shown that many political parties and state governors have not made very impactful social and economic investments aimed at empowering women and girls that drive the informal sector. The political parties are still dominated by men at the leadership levels because there is a tendency to just leave ‘Women Leader’ roles for the women. This position is nothing other than a furtherance of the exclusion of more women at the decision making level of party leaderships which if reversed and made more representative can alter the fortunes of women politically and help the country to progress.

Political parties still run as a male monopoly given that the funding of political parties is still not inclusive of the larger voting bloc through voluntary donations. In other climes, there are ceilings to campaign donations and a bit of transparency which deepens democracy. In Nigeria, there is no firm systemic control of financial inflow for political party administration. It is therefore not difficult to see a subtle exclusion of women who even though ready for political leadership, get sidelined due to low economic capacity. Political party administration ought to be open and accessible by willing and competent individuals of any gender.

Political parties in Nigeria must be realistic enough to understand that democracy is about the people and not about one gender. Economists and global institutions like the UN across the world consistently publish statistics about the status of countries that do not empower their women. These warnings have always been ignored by both political parties and most Nigerian governors. Electing women at party levels for executive positions has been very abysmal. As populous as Nigeria is, there has never been a woman presidential nominee from the major political parties, no woman has been elected as governor and even some state assemblies have no female member.

Nigerian political parties often merely appoint a few women into positions as tokenism. While women excel in sectors where merit is the criteria like in the corporate world, entertainment, agriculture, sports and the academia, most male politicians often bully women out of political participation through subtle economic and even physical bulling. The Nigerian national Assembly has in the last few years seen a decline in the number of women elected to represent their constituencies not for want of qualified and willing women but just out of the lack of real understanding of the value of inclusivity.

Development happens when countries invest in their human capital through policies that yield tested and tried results. Leadership at state levels has been largely that of lip service to the development and empowerment of women. There must be a level playing field for the best to emerge. Leadership is not gender-sensitive. Ironically, women lead in most areas except in politics and that says something about the democracy we run. For a long time, Nigeria seems to have become a one-winged bed trying to fly but falling back each time but continues to do the same thing but expecting a different result.

Illiteracy, poor reproductive health, lack of basic education, child marriage, poor economic prospects and some other odds seem to be huddles against women empowerment and the poverty index continues to increase. Governors who pay attention to some of these sectors obviously have better economic and social stability than those who seem not to care. The increased food insecurity and banditry are rooted in certain policy flaws.

As 2027 election cycle approaches, we intend to highlight the political parties and governors who have shown through actions that they understand the socio-economic impact of empowering women. The poverty index in Nigeria must alarm any governor or political party and they must show through the right actions that they understand that the world leaves any nation that fails to empower women behind.

Governors must be accountable to their political parties and that can only happen when they act in ways that make democracy a functional system that is for the people, by the people and for the people. If the mantra, “when you educate a woman, you educate the nation” is anything to go by, then political parties must restructure in ways that their governors understand the functional development models that have been tried and tested. In the coming weeks, we intend to publish the statistics of projects and inclusion in states who feel they have more inclusive and women-empowering policies to push development.

•The dialogue continues…

August 16, 2025
Is FIFA Father Christmas?

Suddenly, some of them who chained our football in the past with their tunnel vision ideas and illusory concepts have again woken up from deep sleep to reinvent what they destroyed over nine years ago. Do they think that when they were snoring and producing frightening sounds in their sleep, our group opponents left their doors ajar? Certainly not. Where were our sports administrators when some countries in Nigeria’s World Cup group chose some of the South African cities as their home grounds for their qualifiers? What did they do to stop the matches? Do they now want to shift the goalposts when the fixtures have just four matches left? Who does that? Dey play, as they say in pidgin English.

Our football buffs have spent the interlude between matches to ‘leak’ the story that the South Africans fielded an ineligible player against Lesotho, which could see them lose the three points. What they have refused to reveal is that there isn’t any protest lodged against the South Africans? So, on what basis would FIFA be relying on to punish them? Or do our people think that FIFA men are Father Christmases?

Yes, Bafana Bafana infringed on the law but who would the three points deducted be credited to when indeed there isn’t any protest? Is there a precedent case to rely on? Isn’t it true that South Africa’s remaining games are against foes in their group in South African cities? I foresee a situation where Bafana Bafana would play the spoilsport whenever Nigeria plays against those countries that have chosen South Africa as their home ground.

Nigeria might as well bid the 2026 World Cup goodbye if not for the unpredictable results from games. However, much of what we tag as surprises during games comes from serious-minded teams hungry for glory and being coached by men or women with high tactical savvy to outwit their opponents. Not docile coaches who look on like morons when things go awry for their teams during matches. I wonder what these administrators would be saying to themselves after seeing the Super Eagles draw three home games inside the Stadium of Champions in Uyo? Who does that and expects to snatch a World Cup qualification ticket? People were deceived to believe that the Eagles had arrived with the 2-0 spanking of Rwanda on away soil. But our World Cup fumbling continued when the Eagles drew 1-1 against Lesotho in Uyo, a few days later.

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How I wish these people would jointly sign a communiqué apologising to Nigerians over another failed World Cup appearance in 2026, and save us the heartache by collectively resigning from their posts. The South Africans won’t bottle up this unique opportunity, especially on the heels of parading an unqualified player in one of their World Cup qualifiers.

The big poser people have been struggling to comprehend is if Eric Chelle can be trusted to rescue our World Cup qualifiers? I respond by asking if we have the players to play the games of their lives, beginning with the September 9 qualifier against Bafana Bafana in South Africa? That is the game-changer for Nigeria to return to the title chase for Group C’s qualification ticket.

Nigeria’s quest for Group C’s 2026 sole World Cup ticket was thrown into the lagoon with the recruitment of Jose Peseiro, whose coaching record of being sacked is still legendary, not forgetting that he was sacked by a club in Africa after his reign as Nigeria’s coach. It was bad enough that Gernot Rohr wasn’t good enough. Recruiting Peseiro as Rohr’s replacement was the last straw that broke the proverbial Carmel’s back.

August 16, 2025
Louis Odion: Who the cap fits

Easily one of the most engaging and engrossing journalists and public intellectuals in Nigeria over the last two and a half decades, Louis Odion’s trade mark essays in his inimitable columns combine uncommon literary flair, deep-seated historical context, with intellectual muscularity. If sufficiently provoked, the Edo State-born wordsmith can also engage in devastating polemical exchanges no less bruising than the art of boxing, of which he is an aficionado and amateur practitioner. President Tinubu has just tapped Odion’s immense cerebral resources by nominating him for confirmation by the Senate as Executive Director, Operations, of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC).

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The FCCPC has witnessed a remarkable resurgence under its Chief Executive Officer/Executive Vice Chairman, Mr Tunji Bello – an outstanding journalist, editor, lawyer, environmentalist and public administrator – over the last two years, and Louis will certainly have considerable value. A former Editor and Managing Director of prestigious national newspapers, he was a former Commissioner for Information in Edo State and Special Technical Adviser to former Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo. This is wishing the industrious, meticulous and focused ‘Capacity’ all the best in his new assignment.

August 16, 2025
Kayode Opeifa and NRC’s’ Morning Yet on Creation Day’

It was an unusual post on Facebook. It is not often that Nigerians have charitable or commendable things to say about occupants of public office. They are seen more as masters rather than servant leaders; more preoccupied with the pomp and grandeur of office as wealth acquisition rather than the opportunity it provides to add value to society and promote national development. There is a linkage between deficient leadership at all levels and an otherwise richly endowed country’s continued inexplicable romance with dehumanizing underdevelopment. But on the 5th of July, 2025, Engineer S. O. Yusuf, from Kaduna, had a post online tagged ‘Leadership by Example’.

In his words, “This morning at about 7:46 a.m. inside a train from Rigasa to Idu, Abuja, I had a remarkable encounter that left a lasting impression on me about leadership in Nigeria. While seated in Coach 20 of the Nigeria Railway Corporation train, I met a humble and well-spoken gentleman who joined us on a three-seat bench. After exchanging pleasantries, he engaged me and my friend in a thoughtful conversation about Railway transportation in Nigeria, particularly our experiences along the Abuja-Kaduna route. We spoke openly, highlighting both the positive aspects and areas where we believed improvements were needed”.

Engineer Yusuf continued, “Throughout the discussion, he listened with genuine interest, asked insightful questions, and responded thoughtfully. His calm, respectful, and unassuming manner stood out. To our surprise, it was only after we introduced ourselves that we discovered he was the Managing Director of the Nigerian Railway Corporation. What struck me most was how approachable and down-to-earth he was. There was no air of superiority or entitlement. He embodied what true leadership should be, listening to honest feedback, and leading by example”. But what did Engineer Yusuf find even more fascinating? Hear him: “Upon arrival at Idu Station, he quickly got down and ensured the elevator was operational. For the first time in years of using the train, I was able to use both the elevator and the escalator; an immediate and visible impact of proactive leadership”.

Incidentally, the current Managing Director of the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC), Dr Isiak Kayode Opeifa, who was appointed by President Bola Tinubu on 22nd January, stressed on an appearance on TVC’s breakfast show that the restoration of dignified and satisfactory customer service, which he described as a constituent key soul of Railway operations, is a cardinal goal of the organization under his leadership. The correspondence shared above by an impressed customer confirms that he is indeed walking his talk. Other components of the soul of this mode of transportation, very critical to the management he leads, Opeifa avers, are affordable cost, comfort, connectivity and pride arising from the customer’s sense of fulfilment and safety.

In articulating his goal at the NRC within the context of President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, Opeifa situates one of Nigeria’s oldest public institutions at the very core of the country’s pursuit of economic growth and development, prosperity and national integration. Tracing the historical trajectory of the NRC, he notes that it had been at the centre of national economic development and integration as far back as 1898, up to 1912, even before Nigeria was formally christened with the famous name it bears today. Although he never used the then functional trains before he was born 21 May, 1965, he recalls with nostalgia tales he was told of how the train service moved people and goods from Lagos to Kafanchan, Kutuwenji, Kaura Namoda, Zungeru, Enugu, Aba, Port Harcourt and all over Nigeria. Historians surely have a duty to document for popular readership the role of the NRC over time in the emergence of a popular national consciousness.

However, Opeifa laments that the NRC was allowed by successive regimes to become one of the foremost symbols of the abysmal decline of the country’s fortunes for a period of no less than six decades. Steps to reverse this decline, he states, started about a decade ago with the late President Muhammadu Buhari administration that jump-started the actualization of modernizing the country’s rail system. There are those who can see no positive gains of the PMB years in power. But even the blind can see the various rail projects either initiated or completed by the administration in eight years of frenetic activity in the sector. These include the Kaduna-Kano railway project; the Abuja Kaduna railway route; the Port Harcourt – Aba railway rehabilitation; the Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge railway and the Kano- Daura section of the Kano- Maradi rail project to name a few.

Describing the national railway system he inherited as stable, not yet good enough but recovering, Opeifa, who holds a PhD in transport and mobility planning and logistics, is according priority to ensuring that investment of effort and revenue yield more efficient and effective outcomes. According to him, under the Renewed Hope Agenda, the focus as regards revitalization of the country’s rail system is to “optimize what we have to work for us; moving people as well as agricultural and other products; creating jobs; boosting prosperity and situating rail transportation at the centre of national development”. He explains that a cardinal but hardly noticed step that the Tinubu administration has taken in the direction of national restructuring has been to place the NRC in a prime position to promote development at the states and hinterlands by removing rail transportation from the exclusive to the concurrent list of the 1999 Constitution.

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Consequently, infrastructure development around the national rail system has been taken back to the states where the people are no longer just users of the rail facilities but are now primed to benefit from the inclusive growth the decentralization of rail transportation engenders. As part of efforts to ensure that national assets entrusted to the NRC are utilized to the benefit of all citizens, Opeifa says that the organization will soon unveil details of how all parts of the country will be integrated into the national rail grid. Contrary to the view in some quarters that the new regional development commissions are wasteful and profligate, the NRC Chief Executive notes that one of their main preoccupations is the development of integrated rail networks for their various territories, which are now being connected to macro rail grid networks.

Given the high cost of these ventures, he points out that provision has been made in the 2025 budget for financial grants to be made available to state governments willing to develop rail networks. The Tinubu administration is thus backing sub-national units of administration to develop infrastructure that belongs to them and not to the centre. While Kaduna and Niger States are collaborating on developing the Minna – Kaduna rail route, the Katsina State government is seizing the new opportunity to develop the Katsina -Kano- Maradi Jibiya- Funtua rail route. He enthuses that many state governments are eagerly working with the NRC to initiate new rail projects or reignite moribund ones. The Red Line Rail in Lagos runs on the NRC’s Lagos-Ibadan corridor, while Ogun State is taking advantage of the same corridor to develop a number of its inner city rail routes.

In collaboration with the Plateau State government, the NRC’s ‘Railing on the Plateau’ initiative has resurrected and operationalized the Jos-Bukuru-Kava rail, moving large numbers of people at far more affordable costs than possible on the road. And in Niger State, the ‘Rail on the Niger’ scheme is moving farm products from various centres in the State to markets within and beyond the state. While the Apapa Port to the standard gauge has been completed to enable movement of cargo both from the narrow and standard gauge, the route from the Apapa Port to the Tin Can Port is at an advanced stage of work. On the Eastern axis, Opeifa is understandably excited that the Port Harcourt to Aba route has been completed and commenced commercial operations, moving people to and from the two commercial nerve centres at a cost of N700.

Under the administration’s ‘Trade by Rail’ revolution, the NRC is now moving huge cargoes including cement, gypsum, soda ash and others by rail. The pipes used on the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano AKK project were moved by rail from Warri to Itakpe. The NRC under Opeifa is rehabilitating and bringing back the moribund Lagos-Kano narrow gauge, while abandoned old coaches are being rehabilitated and returned to functionality. It has completed and tested the concept plan to replace diesel use with Liquified Natural Gas for its stations and locomotives, and considerably reduce its operational costs, while all the NRC’s generators will now be powered by Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), reducing operation costs by 70 per cent. In the sixties, Chinua Achebe’s collection of essays titled ‘Morning Yet on Creation Day’ indicated what he saw as a new spirit of resurgent creativity for African literature. The same spirit is stirred in an NRC on the rebound under Opeifa.

August 16, 2025
Ogun 2027, Yayi and zoning

The zoning debate is on the front burner in 49-year-old Ogun State, where the struggle for the governorship ticket on the platforms of ruling and opposition parties has been intense since the Second Republic.

Although zoning is not a constitutional matter, it is believed that the rotation of the governorship seat among the three senatorial districts would ensure equity, fairness, justice, and a sense of belonging. The convention in the Gateway State has often been discarded to the detriment of one district, which is now struggling to remove the yoke of oppression, marginalization, and inferiority.

Unlike Ekiti, which is a one-zone state, Ogun comprises three zones – the Central, the East, and the West. The zones have their distinct identities, although the majority of the people generally belong to the Yoruba stock.

In the East are the Ijebu and Remo, who speak almost the same dialect. This reality led the colonial masters to lump them into one province. But that action prompted Oba Christopher Adedoyin, Akarigbo of Remo land (Sagamu and its environs), to fight the identity battle, which he won at the Privy Council in London.

Despite the age-long gulf, rivalry, and repressed tension, the Ijebu and the Remo have always achieved a workable consensus on politics.

The Central is Egba land, the home of civilisation and organised pre-colonial order – a unique confederation of Ake, Owu, Ibara, Oke Ona and Gbagura – envied by the colonial interlopers. It is the most enlightened and united, as underscored by the dictum: “baawa,” which translates to “us” or “we”. The corollary is that the Egba, who have been united by their battles for survival and relevance since the days of Yoruba inter-tribal wars, never contradicted themselves. They have always got along on what unites them.

The third, and the most problematic, is the West, referred to in those days as the Egbado but later christened Yewa, in rejection of the superiority complex of Egba and the old thinking that the whole territory – from Ilaro through Ado-Odo/Ota, Imeko Afon, Ipokia to Benin Republic border, was an addendum or extension of Egba land. That perception is demeaning.

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The West is not wholly identical. In the zone are the Yoruba and their sub-national dialects of authentic Yewa, the Awori, and the Egun (also called Ogu or Ogun), who are not bound by deep cultural ties. That is why the harmonisation and coordination of interests are sometimes difficult. Even among the traditional rulers, unity is not total.

The subjugation or exclusion of the zone is an understatement. Since the Second Republic, the district has not produced a governor. Only the role of a second fiddle or spare tyre is marginally conceded to them, with the disunited members of the political class there fighting for the crumbs.

While the Ijebu Division had produced Governor Olabisi Onabanjo, the Egba Division produced Aremo Olusegun Osoba and Senator Ibikunle Amosun, and Remo Division produced Otunba Gbenga Daniel and Prince Dapo Abiodun, the Egbado Division has been left in the cold.

In 1979, two Yewa politicians – Senator Jonathan Odebiyi and Dr. Tunji Otegbeye – were in the race along with Onabanjo from Ijebu and Soji Odunjo from Egba. Pleas to the Yewa aspirants to step down for each other fell on deaf ears.

At the Electoral College for the primary, the Egba voted for Odunjo, giving all the 22 votes of their division to him, and 22 votes from Ijebu/Remo went to Onabanjo.

However, the 10 votes by Egbado delegates were split into two. At that first round, they were wasted. A tie was recorded between Onabanjo and Odunjo, necessitating a second ballot. Egbado delegates gave their votes to Onabanjo, who won the poll. Although there was a gentleman’s agreement that the Ijebu would give their votes to the Egbado in the next governorship election in recognition of the good gestures, it never happened. Onabanjo consolidated his hold on the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) chapter and was re-elected.

In the Third Republic, Osoba also defeated the eminent scholar, Prof. Afolabi Olabimtan, in the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP) governorship primary.

In 2011, the ambitions of Yewa candidates – Gen. Tunji Olurin of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), backed by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, and Gboyega Isiaka of the Peoples Party of Nigeria (PPN), backed by Daniel – crumbled.

Since then, major political parties have never looked in the direction of Ogun West, despite the persistent agitations for zoning.

Ahead of 2027, zoning, if it were to be considered, favours Ogun West. But it should be noted that only in the All Progressives Congress (APC) is the sentiment gaining traction. It is not being discussed in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) circles in Ogun State.

There is no shortage of qualified, competent and patriotic indigenes from the district to succeed Abiodun at the Oke Mosan State House in 2027. Four aspirants are already on the field, deepening consultations and mobilisation. As it is with politics, they are working at cross purposes.

On the slippery political field are Abayomi Hunye, Special Adviser on Environment and Managing Director of Ogun State Waste Management Authority (OGWAWA); Isiaka, a member of the House of Representatives; and Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola.

But the Egba are also ‘coveting’ the slot. It is being speculated that a former minister and diplomat, Sarafa Ishola, is warming up, like Senator Afolabi Salisu, who represents Ogun Central.

In the PDP, the dominant aspirant is the serial contestant, Ladi Adebutu. More aspirants may still join the list in the two dominant parties.

Evidently, the aspirants are prepared for the naira or dollar war that may characterise the nominations, which can either be through direct primary, indirect option, and consensus; the last method being very remote.

The shadow poll, and even the main election, will not be a walkover for any aspirant or candidate. There are hurdles to cross. There are obstacles to overcome.

Every governor prefers to install a successor. The Ogun governor could not be expected to be aloof or indifferent to the nature and tendency of his would-be successor. But historically, no Ogun governor has installed an anointed candidate. Onabanjo’s second term was brutally terminated by the military. Osoba was stopped after the first term when a political earthquake swept the Southwest in 2003. Daniel and Amosun could not install Isiaka and Akinlade, respectively.

But zoning also is not sacrosanct, except for the party that insists on the convention. All the aspirants from the three districts have the constitutional right to contest. However, for 2027, it is more crucial and strategic for Ogun West to put its house in order by collectively adopting an acceptable aspirant or candidate and liaise with the two districts, instead of going into the primary together, with the peculiar prospects of defeat and failure.

Also, overconfidence on the part of any contender could herald a fall or disappointment in succession politics. Getting the ticket and winning the election would depend on the candidate’s personality, track record, networks, capacity for proper negotiation and consensus building, mobilisation capability, persuasive talent, financial war chest, godfatherism, support from majority delegates, unforeseen circumstances, and the grace of God.

Without dispute, in Ogun State of today, only God can predict tomorrow. All eyes are on the crowd puller, Adeola, popularly called Yayi (meaning: the vivacious), a symbol of his political brand, associated with positive attributes, including accessibility, generosity, hard work, and responsiveness to the needs of his constituents. The moniker is widely used for him in Lagos and Ogun states, and even beyond, as a term of endearment and a way to express support for his leadership.

A former state lawmaker, House of Representatives member, and senator through the wishes of Lagos West and Ogun West, Yayi has successfully weathered the storm of derisive partisanship of being a Lagosian from Ogun State, a propaganda fueled by his adversaries. His closeness to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu makes his co-contestant livid with envy and jealousy. It should be noted that Asiwaju has apparently been grooming or nurturing his boy since he was in the Lagos State House of Assembly and found him to be consistently loyal, effective, patriotic, and effusively competent.

Yayi, a household name, is a politician with a huge brain and capacity, a great mobiliser, a big spender, a philanthropist, and a progressive to the core.

With his years of experience in progressive politics, he is good to go. Given his popularity in Ogun State and the strength of his party, especially, Yayi could have just a little partisan battle to fight and win on his way to Oke Mosan.

If the slot eludes Ogun West in 2027, the district would only become, politically speaking, a foot note in Ogun State.

August 16, 2025
How muslims write will

One of the obligatory Islamic duties which most Muslims take for granted is the writing of will. For every Muslim adult, male or female, writing a will is not a matter of choice. It is statutorily obligatory. But not many Muslims know this.

The general thinking is that writing a will is only for old people who are close to death or those who are very rich. This does not only contradict the concept of Islam about death, it also contravenes the principle laid down in Islam about will writing. No one knows when death will come. An octogenarian may continue to live while a man or woman of twenties or thirties may die. The healthy may die while the sick lives.

The circumstances of life in this age of technology which cause death are very unpredictable. Thus, death may come to anybody at any time.

One of the advantages of Tafsir in the sacred month of Ramadan is to disseminate knowledge especially on sensitive but fundamental issues often over-sighted by most Muslims. Writing a will is one of such issues. Will in Islam is called wasiyyah. It is a very significant means of providing a flexible instrument of transferring estate or a fraction of it to those who not heirs.

Wassiyyah basically means a bequest of assets and debts to others after one’s death. It depicts the differences between gift given out personally and one’s behave. Unlike hibah which means a gift in one’s life time, wasiyyah is a gift delivered to the beneficiary after the death of the giver.

In Islam, writing a will is not about bequeathal of wealth per se. It is rather more about the explanation of certain things in the life of the will writer which were not known to his or her family members, relatives and close associates. For instance, if the concerned will writer did not pay Zakah when he was able to pay it, or he was indebted but did not disclose it to his relatives or if something is entrusted to him in confidence or even if he made a promise to someone without the knowledge of his relatives, it is incumbent upon him to include such matters in his will. This is to clear any possible ambiguity or doubt about his relationship with other people while alive.

Writing of will by Muslims is ordained by the Almighty Allah in Q.2:180 thus:

“It is decreed that when death approaches, those of you that leave wealth shall bequeath it equitably to parents and kindred. This is a duty incumbent upon the righteous. He that alters that (the will) after hearing it shall be accountable for his crime. Allah is all-Hearing, all-knowing.”

Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was also reported by Bukhari and Muslim as saying that “Any Muslim who has something to bequest should not pass two nights without writing his will”. And Ibn Majah also reported a narration from Jabir quoting the Prophet as saying those who die leaving will behind died in the path truth and righteousness and they shall receive the forgiveness of Allah”

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Ordinarily, in Islam, a Muslim has no right to share his property among his off springs or relatives by his own whim. The Islamic way of bequeathing inheritance has been divinely spelt out clearly in the Qur’an. And that is a different topic entirely not to be lumped with the issue of writing will.

Who should write a will and how?

If a will must be written according to Islamic prescription then the writer of such a will must be a Muslim. He must have attained the age of maturity. He must be sane. He must use an understandable language and clearly identify himself in his will. He must also append his signature and date to every page of such will. There must be witnesses to the writing of the will and those witnesses must also identify themselves clearly and duly sign the space left for them in the will.

But if the will is to be orally recorded, the voice of the will recorder must be very audible with understandable language. The executors as well as the trustees of the will must be clearly named and if necessary, described to avoid any confusion that may arise from similarity of names. In the case writing, four original copies must be produced. And one each must be given to the four appointed executors. No one of the executors must know another and no photocopy should be produced for any reason. This is to prevent any possible leakage or connivance that may lead to betrayal of trust. Every appointed executor must be an acknowledged trustworthy person of integrity.

Contents of the will

An Islamic will should contain the following facts as a matter of necessity:

•Listing the all assets

•Listing all liabilities including debts, unpaid Zakah, promises made but not yet fulfilled, entrusted property, illegal acquisition in the possession of the bequether.

•Listing the wives, the children and other legitimate beneficiaries including the parents and siblings. All these must be clearly spelt out without mentioning the amount or share due to each beneficiary.

•Listing of special bequest and testamentary transfer and endowment as well as the names of the beneficiaries. All these must be clearly spelt out.

•Appointing a guardian or trustee for minor children until such children attain maturity

•specific sections of the will may be addressed to the wife/wives and children

•The will must be updated from time to time and each latest copy must be given to the trustees and the old ones withdrawn for destruction.

•The executors must not know the trustees. And the trustees must not take part in the execution of the will. Their duty is to ensure that the executors comply with the letters of the will.

Outside the will

Some facts not to be included in the inheritance aspect of the will of a Muslim are as follows:

A non-Muslim child of a Muslim will-maker or an illegitimate child or a murderer (one who kills his parent) should not be included in the list of those to inherit because they are not qualified to inherit a Muslim parent under Islamic law. If, however, the will maker feels strongly about giving his non-Muslim child something from his estate, this may be contained in the aspect concerning testamentary transfer. Ditto the non-Muslim wife and illegitimate child. But the total aggregate of what a Muslim can will out to those not qualified for inheritance should not exceed one third of the entire estate after the deduction of debts.

The idea of one third came about from a conversation between Prophet Muhammad (SAW) and Sa’d bn Abi Waqqas. The latter had sought the Prophet’s permission to bequest his entire estate to certain people and groups.

The Prophet said ‘NO’. He, (Waqqas), then said what of half? And the Prophet said ‘NO’. Then he said what of half? The Prophet at that stage reluctantly gave a go ahead indicating that even the one third was too much concluding that “it is better to leave your heirs rich than poor”. Thus, the final approval became a Prophetic tradition which Muslim must abide by. This means that one third is the maximum a Muslim can bequest to anybody in his will outside the inheritance bracket.

Islam does not allow Muslims to write bequest or make will for those who are legitimately eligible as heirs.

Therefore, anybody who is qualified to inherit cannot be included in the will for any gift.

The copies of the will may be given to banks or any other corporate institutions like courts for safe keeping without the knowledge of the beneficiaries. But there must be witnesses to the keeping of such document in bank or court. A Muslim must not wait until death approaches before he writes his will. Neither should he wait until he becomes rich before doing same. Writing a will for a Muslim must begin as soon as he marries. And what is applicable to men in this case is equally applicable to women.

August 15, 2025
Nigeria’s value addition bill targets N2.3trillion GDP

“Today it’s fashionable to talk about the New Economy, or the Information Economy, or the Knowledge Economy. But when I think about the imperatives of this market, I view today’s economy as the Value Economy. Adding value has become more than just a sound business principle; it is both the common denominator and the competitive edge.” … Arthur Levitt Jr., a former Chairman of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration is targeting a 17% year-on-year growth in real output, thereby pursuing an increase in real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to N23.2 trillion by implementing a new Bill mandating 30% value addition to raw materials before export.

One of the premises of this target is that, according to the Nigerian National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Nigeria’s real GDP in 2024 averaged N19.83 trillion, when Quarter-on-Quarter performance stood at N18.28 trillion, N18.29 trillion, N20.12 trillion, and N22.61trillion for Q1 to Q4 of the preceding year. Therefore, an increase of 17% in the average real output would push GDP to N23.2 trillion. It is an ambitious target, but achievable if the foundation and strategic pillars are properly set; and if the process of legislation is appropriate, and the consequent policy is well implemented, end-to-end. In my view, this is a very important step in the right direction. I am therefore in support of the Bill.

As the engine room of incubation and development of innovation and materials and in Nigeria; the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), will play a key “focal point” role to upscale the value of our production, industrial growth to international standards and more importantly to make our products to be effectively competitive, sellable and acceptable. This will surely add value to our export earnings, enable the achievement of the “Nigeria First” policy of President Bola Tinubu, and consequently significantly upscale our GDP by ensuring sustainability.

Accordingly, on July 2, 2025, the Nigerian Senate approved an amendment to the Raw Materials Research and Development Council Act, 2022, which will mandate that exporters must process at least 30% of raw materials locally before exporting.

As the bill undergoes legislation, I advise on some key points to note.

The Value Addition Policy and Nigeria’s Competitiveness in the Global Market

According to a Global Competitiveness Report published by the World Economic Forum, Nigeria scored 48.33 points out of 100 (48.33%) in 2019. Before then, the Competitiveness Index in Nigeria averaged 13.81 Points from 2007 until 2019, reaching an all-time high of 48.33 Points in 2019 and a record low of 3.37 Points in 2011. These are key indications of how important the value addition policy will be to upscaling the competitiveness of Nigeria’s products and services in the continental and global arena.

If the value addition policy is successful, our products and services will be more competitive in the international market. For example, in the agriculture sector, fruits, vegetables, and even flowers from Kenya, Morocco, South Africa, India, etc., are very competitive in the international market. But Nigerian exporters are not competitive due to value addition, post-harvest/ post-production challenges like poor storage, poor logistics and supply chain infrastructure and systems, use of some pesticides during planting or post-harvest, etc. Consequently, a lot of Nigerian products and services are rejected or underpriced. Therefore, the value addition is a welcome development if properly formulated. More importantly, if the policy is well implemented.

Reversing Trade Deficits to become a Trade Surplus

Essentially, Nigeria cannot achieve its socio-economic objectives by just exporting raw materials, products, and services without value addition. I also strongly believe that the value addition policy, if properly implemented, will significantly change our trade deficits to become trade surpluses, putting us at a better advantage in international trade and investment to rein in more foreign direct investments.

Technology Transfer and Job Creation

In addition, the value addition policy will anchor foreign investors to situate their industries within Nigeria, thereby ensuring employment for our teeming youth, ensuring technology transfer and achieving economic values within the country and exports with concomitant effect on our economy, while also ensuring sustainability.

Standardisation

In my view, during the process of Legislation, some germane questions should be addressed as stakeholders distill the “30%” value addition within the framework of the Bill. For example, what are the standards? What makes up 30% value addition, in terms of the products? What are the standards for that 30% value addition? Because, in my view, value addition should also encompass storage, logistics and supply chain, infrastructure, facilities, and systems, etc. This is, because value addition will be useless if, for example, in the case of agri-products, by the time you move the products to the seaport or airport for export, having added the value, the products have degraded in quality, and therefore will not be competitive or will not even be sellable or acceptable in the global market.

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So, I hope that there will be clear definitions and boundaries of standards with regard to value addition. It is also crucial that almost all our national policies key into an overarching national development strategy, in terms of industrialization, trade, and investment, etc. This is very important, so that there will be policy coordination and policy coherence as the Bill undergoes legislation, such that when enacted into law, the policy will not be in conflict with other Bills or policies that are already in place, and if so, for a realignment or streamlining to be done to ensure success.

Policy Consultation and Strategy

We need a robust Bill that is successful. Hence, I am calling for coherence in our policy formulation and reforms. Meanwhile, while contemplating this Bill, the following questions should also guide our thoughts: What is Nigeria’s trade policy? What is our Trade Policy? What are the key drivers of our strategies? The correct answers to those questions will ensure the achievement of the targeted 17% year-on-year growth in GDP through this new Bill.

Appropriately, in formulating this policy, we should be very deliberate and visionary in our target setting in strategy. I believe this is achievable if we do the right things at the right time and have the right people doing them.

There should be policy consultation so that we are well coordinated to achieve the desirable objective(s), i.e., economic recovery, economic growth, and sustainable economic development.

Infrastructure

Infrastructure is crucial to the achievement of this very laudable bill. Particularly, logistics and supply chain platforms and systems (land, sea, and air), intermodal transportation networks, storage, etc., are also key to the success of the value addition policy. As an illustration, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations has stated that over 50% of the agricultural products we produce in Nigeria get wasted from the farmland to the market or even to the dining table. Therefore, value addition and bridging the infrastructure deficit are crucial to our national economic diversification strategy, achieving the N2.3 trillion GDP, and also achieving the $1 trillion economy target set by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. So, I hope that the foundation laying and the strategic pillars setting will key into an overarching national strategy, so that we are moving lockstep in the right direction, to achieve successful legislation and passage of this laudable Bill, and effective implementation.

Power/ Energy as a Sine Qua Non

Earlier on, I stated that value addition cannot be achieved without infrastructure in terms of power. Nigeria is lagging far behind in terms of meeting its power/energy requirements for any meaningful economic turnaround, growth, and development.

I am very happy that President Tinubu, early in his administration in 2025, as one of the first set of laws he signed into law, passed the law that enables all the 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory in Nigeria, to generate, transmit, and distribute their power/energy capacities to drive socio-economic development. Thus, I want to see value innovation by the State Governors. I also expect decisiveness by the federal and state governments in result-oriented moves to ensure that we have enough power/ energy that will recover and sustain our industrial sector, and the Micro-Small-and-Medium scale Enterprises (MSMEs) in the short to mid-term, even if it is in a phased fashion. Our expectation is that between now and the end of the 2nd quarter to next year, governments at the federal and state levels are able to generate, distribute, transmit, and more power/energy for industries.

Infrastructure Connectivity and Interlinks

Furthermore, as stated earlier, the other critical infrastructure, i.e., intermodal transportation, rural feeder roads and bridges, logistics and supply chain, are critical to the success of the value addition policy. When production/ processing/value addition is completed, the efficient and safe movement of products from production location to the market, whether domestic or international, is also critical in the value chain. Therefore, the qualities and standard of the road network, and airports (passenger and cargo) we build, should fit into our short to long-term socio-economic visions and strategies to support and sustain the economy. It is very important for us to also have effective interlinks between land, air, and sea transportation systems so that we are able to succeed in a timely and coordinated manner.

This administration has a target of another two years until the 2027 general election. If we modularize our strategy, we will be able to achieve a lot before 2027.

August 15, 2025
Air rage: Not a season film

It is something that happens infrequently, at least, at the scale witnessed twice in recent days. Most times, it ends after tempers might have cooled down. Air rage is not different from road rage – in the sense that senses take temporary flight as the disputants throw caution to the wind. When tempers flare, people lose their sanity, and resort to violence.

It first happened on a ValueJet flight with renowned Fuji musician Wasiu Ayinde Marshall alias Kwam 1, and then on an Ibom Air flight, with a woman, Comfort Emmanson. In Kwam 1’s case, he attempted to stop the plane from taking off by standing in its front. You said haa! I did too, until I saw the video. Barely a week later, it was Comfort and the cabin attendants slugging it out after the plane landed. The optics of both incidents were not good, at all.

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Air rage is dangerous because of the inherent fatal consequences. It could lead to a crash in which people including the innocent who are on the ground can die. This is why it is a serious offence. Air rage should not be allowed to become a series movie to be shot in the aircraft, as it happened in Comfort’s case, or outside it, as in the Kwam 1 show.

I have strong views on the handling of both incidents, but I will keep my gun powder dry since Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo (SAN) has decided to be merciful to all the feuding parties. To quote Shakespeare: “The quality of mercy is not strained; it drops as the gentle rain from heaven upon thè place beneath. It is twice blest; it blesses him that gives and him/her that takes….”

What remains is to ensure that measures are put in place to avert a recurrence. Complying with instructions that you cannot board with a flask containing an unknown substance; or that you should switch off your phone before take off are minor issues that should never ever snowball into an air rage again.

August 14, 2025
A coalition story

THE THREE OF THEM ARE AN ITEM. Wherever one is, the other two will be. The trio, Rotimi Amaechi, Nasir El-Rufai, and Kayode Fayemi, all former governors and ministers, were expected to be together when the coalition took off in Abuja where it adopted the African Democratic Congress (ADC) last month.

Some members of ADC led by its presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, Dumebi Kachikwu, is resisting the adoption. Kachikwu has vowed to go to any length to ensure that the intruders do not have their way. To the public, Amaechi, El-Rufai and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who were at the unveiling ceremony, are the brains behind the coalition. The assumption may not be entirely correct going by recent developments.

Amaechi has been prattling all over the place on how the coalition was born. He claims that he and Fayemi laid its foundation. Since President Bola Tinubu beat him to a distant second for the ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2022, Amaechi has been unrelenting in his pursuit to get the President out of office, at all costs.

This was why he started plotting to remove the President from power some 20 months ago when the administration was barely four months old. Amaechi loves to be in power, a privilege he enjoyed for 24 uninterrupted years between 1999 and 2023, as Rivers assembly speaker, governor and minister, at various times. It is strange to him that he and his family are no longer kept at public expense. Or how else, do you describe his desperation to get back into office for, wait for it, the simple reason that: “I am hungry”. Just two years after leaving office after 24 unbroken years?

How can he be “hungry” when, according to him, he has an industrialist wife who feeds him and their family. Where did the money come from? Well, Nigerians have not forgotten the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nyesom Wike’s story about someone collecting N4 billion monthly from the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) for training women and youths in soap making and skills acquisition! With that kind of money, you can feed the whole nation for the whole year!! I am not here for this today.

I am more interested in what is becoming a row between Amaechi and Fayemi over the coming of the coalition. Over a week ago, Amaechi told the story of the coalition’s birth. He said he and Fayemi were its arrowheads. Fayemi replied last weekend in a tame statement in which he only rose in defence of Amaechi without saying anything about his own role in the coalition. Is he in the know of the coalition’s birth? It is a simple question that demands a yes or no answer. “Simple yes or no”, as Lagabaja, the masked musician, will say.

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What is Fayemi hiding? Where does he stand on the coalition? A man like Fayemi, going by his recent activities is capable of anything, including forming a coalition with others, in order to achieve his goal. Check: he publicly said the 2012 petrol subsidy removal protest was a ploy by the opposition to undo the Jonathan administration. His party, the Tinubu-led Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), was the leading opposition party then. He consequently apologised to the former president.

Check: Just before the Amaechi bombshell, Fayemi had blamed the present government for what he calls the hunger in the land. Amaechi has been singing the same hunger song for how long God knows when. I hate to say it, but I believe Amaechi, who has come out the second time to tell the coalition story.

“The coalition started between I and Fayemi in the house of…. He wanted us to reconcile. After the reconciliation, we agreed to broaden it so that it would involve more than just the two of us talking about starting a new party….”, Amaechi restated on Tuesday. I do not know what Fayemi’s response will be this time. But his first was nothing to write home about. What will Fayemi’s defence be now that Amaechi has, so to say, stood by his initial story which the former Ekiti governor claimed there was no “credible evidence to support”.

What other “credible evidence” does he need now that Amaechi is rubbing the statement in? Fayemi should stop talking from both sides of the mouth. In his statement, he also said he “is still in APC, Ekiti State”. What about the party at the national level? Can his membership be limited to APC, Ekiti State, as he seemed to portray in his statement? Can APC, Ekiti State stand alone without its national arm? Surely, Ekiti APC cannot exist in isolation of the national APC. In fact, it owes its existence to the national APC.

Fayemi cannot pull the wool over people’s eyes on this matter. His job is not to question the veracity of Amaechi’s statement, but to respond to the specific part that concerns him about the formation of the coalition. To do otherwise is deceitful. Nigerians know better.

August 14, 2025
Ibadan taking a new shape

I live in Ibadan and the Redemption City and sometimes for weeks, I stay away from Ibadan because of unavailability of electricity in my area sometimes for weeks, and to God be the glory for the spiritual and physical light available to us in the Redemption City by the grace of God and the leadership of Pastor Adejare Adeboye. Yet my area is supposed to be in a low density area not far from Bodija, the first planned town in Nigeria after independence. The hellish heat these days makes life almost unbearable for people particularly elderly people. This is despite having a generator which does not really solve the problem because of the astronomical cost of fuel whether petrol or diesel. I have not yet tried the solar option which is what some of my colleagues have adopted. Perhaps I will try solar devices when I am able to afford the cost.

I know my readers will probably say look at this old man talking about solar options when people are not able to afford the cost of food necessary for survival. I plead guilty and I agree I bear, alongside people of my generation, vicarious responsibility for the way the country has been run down all these years but in our old age, we deserve some comfort for some of our positive contributions in the past. I can mention a thousand things and many risks taken by some of us to advance the national interest.

Some of our young people may say that writing about the new looks of Ibadan is not worth celebrating because they should be regarded as ordinary events because they take place in all countries including African countries. Road construction and channelization should be regarded as routine. But when they are not routine in our clime, it is worth celebrating.

This preamble is necessary for me to be able to put in context the recent efforts of the Oyo State government because I have had reasons to be critical of the government before and it is just fair to applaud the government when it is doing well.

A visit to Ibadan today will confirm the fact that Governor Seyi Makinde is in name and indeed, the executive governor of Oyo State. I sometimes laugh when a sitting governor is introduced as the executive governor of his state which I always dismiss as error of tautology but in the case in hand, the governor is really the executive governor just as any performing governor deserves the heavy duty description as “ executive governor “

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Entering Ibadan from Lagos through Alhaji Arisekola road and driving towards Molete, one is confronted with digging of gutters at the intersection of Felele and Molete where for years there had been some kind of spring that floods the road perennially in wet and dry seasons. This is the section connecting the road to late Lamidi Adesina’s house at Felele which he refused or could not fix while he was governor of Oyo State. It seems the government is determined to fix it once and for all. From this point to Saint Anne’s school, heavy drainage equipment is at work digging deep gutters on both sides of the road. I pray this will be extended to all parts of the state capital and to all major towns like Ogbomosho and Oyo. Any government that can do this kind of work deserves to be commended.

While on this road project, may I appeal to the Oyo State government to extend its revolutionary approach to road construction to the road linking Molete with Ibadan Grammar School and Saint Luke’s College going on to Saint David Cathedral in Kudeti. This road for historical reasons deserves to be fixed as a symbol of CMS contribution to the education and development of Ibadan. Government should look into the possibility of combined redevelopments of Saint Luke College and Ibadan Grammar School as a comprehensive technical college for training young people for the future industrial development of Oyo State.

The importance of street lights in Ibadan should be highlighted. There is need for Ibadan to have a night economy. It’s wasteful for a huge city like Ibadan to go to bed at seven O clock because that’s when the sunlight goes out. Government can double the economy of the city by lighting up the city if government can provide electricity outside the present electricity generation mechanism.

There is also need for strict enforcement of traffic lights in the city. Government should also consider tolling of some of the roads so that money will always be available for their maintenance. This is also the time to begin to plan the planting of trees and turning all our roads into avenues. This was the case with all major roads in Ibadan and in such places like Kano, and Maiduguri until some military governors decided to cut down the huge neem trees under the guise of beautification with streets lights! How could any sane person have done this in the Sahel towns of Kano and Maiduguri!

Yes it was done while we all looked on in silent awe! We have to bring back the neem trees. Incidentally the leaves of the neem trees were potent cure for malaria when boiled and squeezed into juice. The government of Engineer Makinde should embark on proper and simple street numbering of Ibadan away from its present antediluvian confusing numbering.

Let’s make Ibadan great again. I remember when we were young during the golden days of the old Western Region, Ibadan did not accept inferior status to Lagos the federal capital and those of us still in school basked in the glory of Ibadan. Ibadan has remained the capital city of Yoruba land with millions making the city their homes even if they had homes in their villages in Ekiti, Osun, Ondo, Ogun, Lagos and even Kwara and Kogi states because of their ethnic consanguinity with Oyo State people.

There were of course people from all over Nigeria because of the presence of an institution like the University of Ibadan and the historical connection of the people from the present Edo, Delta and Bayelsa with the city of Ibadan from where they were administered. Those were the days and thinking of those days makes old people like us wonder if the creation of states was really worth the effort and the excitement that went into the splitting of Nigerian humanity into the present puny states only useful to the looters who have benefited from the division which, looking backward, amount to destruction of what could have been important blocks of national unity.

I am one of those who hail the setting up of the various regional commissions by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu that is bringing back the old regional zones for development. I hope this is the beginning of zonal divisions of the country away from the present puny state divisions which makes for broad planning as we used to have during the regionalisation of politics and economic planning in Nigeria. I personally feel that the present atomisation of political divisions and economic resources makes it possible for over concentration of power at the centre. This is what those advocating going back to pristine federalism or to put it mildly fiscal federalism.

August 14, 2025