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  • On Chidoka’s soup and spoon endorsement

    On Chidoka’s soup and spoon endorsement

    I am amongst the few who believe that governance in the 21st Century should be majorly for  intellectuals, the likes of Ambrose Alli, Obafemi Awolowo, MI Okpara, Nnamdi Azikiwe Babatunde Fashola,Chuba Okadigbo have continued to reinforce such a belief and that is despite the shambolism demonstrated  by the governor of my state, Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo.

    Whilst I did not support Soludo in his bid to be governor, I had high hopes in his person and did believe that he would reclaim the state and position it for the future, sadly three years plus, this has not been the case and to be honest his administration has merely wobbled and fumbled and has failed to deliver much despite the humongous amount of funds that has accrued to his administration.

    Evidence of this can be seen in the way and manner our governor has been shopping for endorsements from every nook and cranny of the state, an administration with much to show, in terms of projects and the deliverables would not hound and arm twist communities for endorsements, such should flow naturally and not in the manner such endorsements have been garnered. Even at such endorsement rallies, many would notice that the administration prefers to campaign on histrionics and non issues such as zoning, at a point where Ndi Anambra ought to be celebrating his achievements and earning him such endorsement, the governor has rather attacked his opponents in a manner unbefitting  of an intellectual.

    Thus no serious individual would buy into the flurry of endorsements that have come from all sorts of persons, not even the recent endorsement of  Soludo by a former Minister Osita Chidoka as  representing  nothing but a brazen exercise in political theater and we are not buying it.

    This endorsement, delivered with flowery metaphors about “tasty soup” and “aromatic progress,” stands as a testament to the cynical manipulation that has come to characterize Anambra’s political landscape. Far from being a genuine assessment of governance, this endorsement should be viewed as what it truly is: a calculated hoax designed to selfishly serve  personal ambitions rather than the collective interests of people of Anambra.

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    How Chidoka arrived at his culinary like endorsement, perhaps as an “ Akunne Ite Ofe” leaves much to worry. To understand the hollowness of Chidoka’s current praise, one must first examine the glaring contradictions that define Charles Soludo’s political journey. In 2017, as Governor Willie Obiano sought re-election, Soludo emerged as one of his most vocal supporters, declaring with characteristic confidence, “if it’s not broken, why fix it?” This endorsement came at a time when Obiano’s administration was already showing signs of the fiscal recklessness and governance failures that would later come to define his tenure. Obiano’s style, aptly described as a revision of the Yoruba “Owambe” culture of ostentatious display,

    was already evident in stories of revelry  and questionable priorities that characterized his administration.Yet, barely five years later, the same Soludo who had proclaimed the system unbroken suddenly discovered that Anambra’s finances were in “dire straits” when he assumed office in 2022. This dramatic reversal raises fundamental questions about Soludo’s credibility and judgment. Was he willfully blind to the state’s problems in 2017, or was his support for Obiano merely a strategic calculation designed to position himself for future political advantage?

    In  understanding the reality behind the rhetoric, Chidoka’s glowing assessment of Soludo’s “transformational leadership” and “prudent financial management” exists in stark contrast to the lived reality of ordinary Anambra citizens. After nearly four years in power, what tangible improvements can the Soludo administration point to? The state’s infrastructure remains in deplorable condition, with roads that were bad when he assumed office continuing to deteriorate under his watch, even those attended to such as the Mbuka Obosi Road, Agulu Road, Adazi Ani- Mkpota Oraukwu, Fegge and Ochanja road, alongside numerous road projects abandoned by the Soludo administration. The much-vaunted urban renewal projects have largely remained on paper or exist as token gestures that fail to address the fundamental challenges facing the state.The security situation, perhaps the most critical concern for any government, has shown little improvement under Soludo’s leadership. Instead of the peace and stability that citizens deserve, Anambra continues to grapple with various forms of insecurity that make daily life precarious for ordinary people. The harassment of citizens, particularly women and children, by the notorious “aka odo” touts represents a fundamental failure of governance. These groups operate with apparent impunity, extorting money from traders and commuters while the government appears helpless or unwilling to address this menace effectively.

    Perhaps most troubling is Soludo’s apparent attempt to muscle traditional rulers and religious leaders, institutions that form the bedrock of Igbo society and culture. His confrontational approach to these respected figures suggests an authoritarian mindset that brooks no dissent or alternative centers of influence.

    One however understands Chidoka’s calculation as  ambition disguised as endorsement! Chidoka’s sudden discovery of Soludo’s supposed virtues cannot be separated from his own political ambitions. His flowery endorsement, complete with culinary metaphors about soup and spoons, represents a Machiavellian  attempt to position himself as Soludo’s heir apparent. The timing of this endorsement, coming at a “senatorial zone endorsement event,” suggests a carefully orchestrated political arrangement rather than a genuine assessment of performance.There is also compelling evidence to suggest that an accord exists between Soludo and Chidoka regarding succession plans.

    This arrangement would explain why someone of Chidoka’s stature would offer such effusive praise for an administration that has demonstrably failed to deliver on its promises. Matter of fact , it is alleged that Chidoka was to replace the present deputy governor but for the fear of Ibezim’ s elder brother, Bishop Onyeka Ibezim’, who is the Bishop of the Diocese of the Niger.  The endorsement serves Chidoka’s interests by aligning him with the current power structure while positioning him as the continuity candidate for 2029.

    While I frown at such an arrangement, since it assumes that a dynamic people like Ndi Anambra are gullible and passive to who governs them,  Chidoka would do well to study Soludo’s history of relationships with political allies. The current governor has demonstrated repeatedly that he is a “shifty figure” who “rarely keeps his side of the bargain.” Willie Obiano, who benefited from Soludo’s support in 2017, can attest to how quickly that support evaporated when political convenience dictated a different course. Similarly, Atiku Abubakar, who once counted Soludo among his supporters, experienced firsthand the economist’s propensity for abandoning allies when better opportunities arose.This pattern suggests that any political arrangement between Soludo and Chidoka is likely to be honored only as long as it serves Soludo’s interests. Should circumstances change, Chidoka may find himself abandoned just as quickly as he was embraced, left to explain to voters why he endorsed an administration that failed to deliver meaningful progress.

    The Chinese proverb reminds us that while you may “fool me once,” wisdom comes from learning from experience. Ndi Anambra have endured nearly four years of unfulfilled promises and deteriorating conditions under Soludo’s leadership. They have witnessed the gap between political rhetoric and governance reality. Most importantly, they have seen how political elites prioritize their own interests over the collective welfare of the state.Chidoka’s endorsement represents exactly the kind of elite manipulation that has kept Anambra from reaching its full potential. His attempt to package failure as success, to present stagnation as transformation, and to offer continuity when change is desperately needed, embodies everything that is wrong with Nigeria’s political class.

    The time has come for Ndi Anambra to reject these “offside endorsements” and take their destiny into their own hands. They must look beyond the flowery rhetoric and political arrangements of the elite to demand leaders who will prioritize their welfare over personal ambition. Chidoka’s soup metaphor rings hollow when the pot contains nothing but the bitter herbs of failed governance and broken promises.True progress in Anambra will come not from the continuation of failed policies dressed up in new rhetoric, but from authentic leadership that addresses the real challenges facing the state. The people of Anambra deserve better than the political theater currently on display, and they have the power to demand it at the ballot box.

  • Tinubu’s Silent Week of Impact: Reforming Insurance, Securing Retirees

    Tinubu’s Silent Week of Impact: Reforming Insurance, Securing Retirees

    In an era where political relevance often seems tied to media optics and dramatic public appearances, last week reminded Nigerians that true leadership isn’t always loud or conspicuous. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, though notably less visible over the course of the past week, orchestrated one of the most profoundly impactful spells of governance in his administration thus far—proof that substance often outshines spectacle.

    Within just two days, President Tinubu signed into law the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) 2025 and directed the immediate rollout of free healthcare for low-income retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS). These landmark interventions signal a deep recalibration of the nation’s social and economic architecture, and they collectively underscore the President’s silent resolve to live Nigeria daily—structurally, economically, and humanely.

    The Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) 2025, signed into law on Tuesday, is no ordinary legislation. It is, by all measures, a strategic move designed to revitalize the country’s underperforming insurance sector and integrate it more deeply into Nigeria’s economic engine. The act repeals several outdated insurance laws, replacing them with a modern framework that aligns with global best practices. It mandates comprehensive regulation of all insurance and reinsurance businesses and introduces stringent capital requirements to ensure financial soundness.

    Critically, the Act ushers in an era of greater transparency, customer protection, and digital inclusion. The digitisation of the insurance market promises to bridge long-standing access gaps, while compulsory insurance policies and policyholder protection funds will give Nigerians greater confidence in a sector historically plagued by mistrust and inefficiency.

    Proving the woeful performance of the sector, StatiSense on Thursday evening reeled out the figures for Nigerians, from age 16 years and above, with insurance cover as at 2023. Breaking it down to regional zones, the Southwest with only 5.17% has the highest number. This was followed by the South-South with 4.50%, followed by the North-Central with 3.71%, Northeast with 2017%, Northwest with 2.06% and Southeast with 1.60%.

    But the symbolism of NIIRA 2025 goes even deeper: it is a linchpin in the broader Renewed Hope Agenda aimed at achieving a $1 trillion economy. With insurance penetration still alarmingly low, this reform is expected to unlock billions in domestic and foreign investment, expand job opportunities, and strengthen Nigeria’s claim to being Africa’s most dynamic economic force. The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) is now tasked with giving life to this law—a responsibility that could very well redefine the landscape of financial services in Nigeria.

    Barely 24 hours after signing NIIRA 2025, President Tinubu turned his attention to a demographic that often suffers in silence—retirees. His directive on Wednesday to immediately roll out free healthcare services for low-income retirees under the CPS is another chapter in his administration’s human-centred governance playbook.

    For far too long, retirees—particularly those without substantial pensions—have struggled with the cost of healthcare in their twilight years. By launching this initiative, Tinubu’s government is not only providing comfort to Nigeria’s aging population but also reaffirming its commitment to social dignity and economic justice.

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    This healthcare rollout, coupled with the President’s instruction to implement overdue pension increases and establish a minimum pension guarantee, reflects a comprehensive reordering of national priorities. Pensioners, especially retired police officers whose pension woes are now being directly addressed, can begin to feel seen and heard in ways that matter. These steps are not just bureaucratic fixes—they are restorative acts that align closely with the President’s broader vision of a socially inclusive Nigeria.

    While structural reforms defined the policy front, the week also served as a moment of national celebration—and reaffirmation of Tinubu’s values—as D’Tigresses, Nigeria’s female basketball team, were honoured for clinching their fifth consecutive AfroBasket title. At a well-organised presidential reception on Monday, Vice President Kashim Shettima, standing in for President Tinubu, announced that each player would receive $100,000 and a flat. The coaching and technical crew were also rewarded, and the entire team was conferred with the Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON).

    This gesture came just a week after the Super Falcons, fresh off their 10th WAFCON triumph, were similarly honoured. The consistent and structured nature of these rewards is no coincidence. It signals a presidential culture that appreciates excellence—whether on the field, in classrooms, or in offices.

    Critics may attempt to trivialise these gestures as mere optics or fiscal imprudence, but they miss the larger point. Recognition is a form of national investment. In inspiring a new generation of girls and boys to dream bigger, President Tinubu is expanding the national psyche beyond survival to aspiration.

    Indeed, the President’s praise is not reserved only for athletic feats. On Wednesday, President Tinubu celebrated three Nigerian teenagers—Nafisa Abdullahi Aminu, Rukayya Muhammad Fema, and Hadiza Kashim Kalli—who dazzled at the TeenEagle Global Competition in London. Their victories in English language skills and debate brought pride to the nation and reaffirmed what the President has always stated: that Nigeria’s greatest resource lies in the intellect and ambition of its youth.

    While some have loudly demanded cash rewards for these academic stars—led notably by former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Ali Pantami—the President’s more measured approach is worth deeper reflection. Education is a lifelong journey, and its rewards must be calibrated to encourage growth, discipline, and long-term vision. Tinubu, who has consistently identified education as a cornerstone of national rebirth, understands this well.

    The Tinubu administration has not only praised these teens but has also continued to plough resources into the educational system, exemplified by the establishment of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND). These are systemic interventions meant to outlast the headlines, and unlike instant cash awards, they guarantee structural change.

    What is more, there’s nothing to suggest that the government has concluded its plans for the girls. Support may yet come through mentorships, scholarships, or private sector collaboration—all of which often happen quietly, and for good reason. Not all encouragement has to be noisy.

    The week wrapped up with another quietly symbolic but loudly strategic decision: the nomination of 39-year-old Engr. Abdullahi Garba Ramat as the new Chairman and CEO of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC). This is no token appointment. NERC is one of the country’s most powerful regulatory agencies, and the choice of Ramat—a young, accomplished electrical engineer with a PhD in Strategic Management—sends a clear message.

    This administration is not just talking about youth inclusion; it is executing it with deliberateness. In a country where the median age is 18 and where the youth population makes up more than half the electorate, such appointments are not just politically correct—they are practically necessary.

    Ramat’s acting assumption of office, pending Senate confirmation, ensures continuity at the helm of Nigeria’s electricity reforms. Alongside his nominated colleagues—Mr. Abubakar Yusuf and Dr. Fouad Olayinka Animashun—Ramat is expected to help drive Tinubu’s ambitious plan for a sustainable and efficient power sector. This reform strategy includes deeper private sector participation, regulatory independence, and, most crucially, consumer protection.

    By placing a youthful, technically competent leader at the helm, Tinubu is investing not only in capacity but also in credibility—showing young Nigerians that they are not only the leaders of tomorrow but also of today.

    A President’s Steady Hand in Leadership, Memory, and Nation-Building

    Meanwhile, in a week marked by solemn reflection and steady affirmations of partnership, the President once again demonstrated his unwavering commitment to honouring excellence, leadership, and service—values at the heart of his vision for a renewed Nigeria. Though the week lacked the spectacle of sweeping reforms or state visits, it was defined by a quiet but dignified sense of purpose, underscoring the President’s role not just as a chief executive but as a custodian of national memory and moral leadership.

    President Tinubu began the week by paying tribute to Abdul Samad Rabiu, Chairman of BUA Group, on the occasion of his 65th birthday. In a statement laced with admiration, the President described the industrialist and philanthropist as “a builder in every sense,” and more notably, “a trusted partner in nationhood.” These are not hollow praises. Rabiu’s quiet excellence in business and his continued reinvestment in Nigeria’s future place him in the President’s orbit of patriotic entrepreneurs—those who choose nation over noise.

    The message also served as a reaffirmation of Tinubu’s belief in homegrown enterprise as a pillar of national development. In a time when private sector leaders are often viewed with cynicism, Tinubu’s public praise signaled a call for synergy—between industry and governance, wealth and public good.

    From business to diplomacy, Monday saw the President celebrate the 85th birthday of Ambassador Patrick Dele Cole, a veteran journalist and public intellectual. Personally signing the message, President Tinubu honoured Cole’s exceptional contribution to Nigeria’s democratic and journalistic heritage.

    By spotlighting Cole’s legacy as Managing Director of the Daily Times in the 1970s—a time when the paper regained its glory—the President reemphasised his own long-held respect for a free and ethical press. It was not just a birthday wish; it was a nod to the power of the media in shaping public life and sustaining democracy.

    Wednesday brought a double dose of solemnity. First, the President issued a poignant tribute to the late Dr. Doyin Abiola, revered media matriarch and democracy advocate. Hailing her as a woman of “integrity, tenacity, hard work,” Tinubu’s words were weighted with respect for her role in the June 12 democratic struggle—a history he himself is closely tied to.

    Later that day, the President reached across borders to condole with Ghana following a tragic helicopter crash that claimed two cabinet ministers and six others. In extending Nigeria’s solidarity with President John Mahama and the Ghanaian people, Tinubu reaffirmed his pan-African statesmanship and commitment to regional unity in times of sorrow.

    The week closed with President Tinubu celebrating Governor Nasir Idris of Kebbi State on his 60th birthday. The President’s remarks praised Idris’s “purposeful leadership” and his role in driving socio-economic progress in the state. The message was not just about a birthday; it was a statement of support for a subnational leader whose work aligns with Tinubu’s larger developmental goals.

    All these developments—structural, celebratory, intellectual, and strategic—occurred in what many would describe as a “quiet” week. But therein lies the deeper story. The President does not need flashing cameras to lead, nor does he need to grandstand to reform institutions. In one week, through intentional actions and well-calibrated decisions, Bola Ahmed Tinubu reinforced that his governance is anchored on results, not rhetoric.

    From overhauling an entire financial sub-sector to easing the lives of retirees, from honouring champions to elevating new leaders, Tinubu is demonstrating that governance, at its best, is a continuous act of thinking Nigeria and living Nigeria—even when the world isn’t watching.

    And perhaps that’s the true definition of leadership: not being everywhere at once, but making sure your imprint is felt everywhere—where it matters most.

    Taken together, President Tinubu’s engagements this past week reveal the depth of his statesmanship. Whether honouring icons, consoling allies, or encouraging public servants, he continues to lead with a steady hand—reminding us that sometimes, the power of a presidency lies not in loud proclamations, but in the quiet, consistent work of nation-building.

  • PMB: Simplicity in life, dignity in death

    PMB: Simplicity in life, dignity in death

    It would have been surprising if his death last Sunday, July 13, in a private hospital in London, had been received with universal approbation and adulation of a virtuous, unblemished life in a polity as complex and fraught as Nigeria. First, there are no human beings without fault. With the possible exception of the immaculately spotless Peter Obi, according to the holy gospel of the ‘Obidients’, mortal leaders are no angels. Again, an inevitable and unavoidable price of greatness is the intense controversy evoked by those who make a significant impact on history across time and space. Those who love them do so fanatically, and those who detest them are implacable in their hatred. And so it was with President Muhammadu Buhari, unassuming military Head of State for about 20 months between December 1983 and August 1985, and two-term elected President of Nigeria from 2015 to 2023. It was no different with Ahmadu Bello, Tafawa Balewa, Obafemi Awolowo, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Ladoke Akintola, Murtala Mohammed, Odumegwu Ojukwu and several others who had played prime roles in Nigeria’s political evolution.

    When he died in 1987, the great sage, unrivalled administrative genius and first Premier of the Western Region in Nigeria’s First Republic, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, was passionately mourned by his teeming followers and remorselessly reviled by those who could not differentiate him from Satan. The great novelist and thinker, Professor Chinua Achebe, had issued a public statement after Awolowo’s death, accusing him of supporting genocide during the Nigerian civil war, and vigorously canvassing against according the great politician a state burial. He did not believe that the dead deserved some respect, and he was no doubt entitled to his view in a free and open society. It is instructive in this regard that Awolowo’s arch political opponent, Alhaji Shehu Shagari, who defeated him in the 1979 and 1983 presidential elections, awarded him the National Honour of Grand Commander of the Federal Republic (GCFR), even though Awo was never President.

    A near-unanimous refrain in the outpouring of emotions following President Buhari’s transition to eternity from both his friends and foes alike, however, was the unrivalled ethical pedestal he bestrode and the impeccable moral integrity that characterised his over five decades in public life. His aversion to material accumulation earned him the lifelong adulation, adoration and reflexive loyalty of millions of ordinary Nigerians, particularly in Northern Nigeria, where mass poverty is particularly pronounced, largely as a result of leadership lack of vision and elite venality.  Indeed, in his slim but powerful classic, ‘The Trouble with Nigeria’, Achebe had traced the excessive materialism that is the bane of contemporary Nigeria partly to what he described as the deficiency in the political thought of some of our key founding fathers.

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    As Achebe put it, “A perceptive student of Nigerian politics, James Booth, has drawn attention to the poverty of thought exhibited in the biographies of Dr Azikiwe and Chief Awolowo in contrast to the expressions of ideology to be found even in the more informal works of Mboya, Nyerere and Nkrumah! In a solemn vow made by Azikiwe in 1937, he pledged: ‘that henceforth I shall utilise my earned income to secure my enjoyment of a high standard of living and also to give a helping hand to the needy’. Obafemi Awolowo was even more forthright about his ambitions: ‘I was going to make myself formidable intellectually, morally invulnerable, to make all the money that is possible for a man with my brains and brawn to make’. Thoughts such as these are more likely to produce aggressive millionaires than selfless leaders of their people. An absence of objective and intellectual rigour at the critical moment of a nation’s formation is more than an academic matter. It inclines the fledgling state to disorderly growth and mental deficiency”.

    Though controversial, Achebe ‘s contention here in my view contains some grains of truth. Buhari was no intellectual and did not pretend to be one. He was a simple soldier who defended his country’s territorial integrity first on the battlefield, next in a war against indiscipline and corruption through ‘redemptive’ military statecraft between 1984 and 1985 and then on the partisan political terrain as a politician and emergent statesman between 2003 and 2023. Yet, he had a strong moral orientation to life undoubtedly influenced by his deep commitment to Islamic spirituality. It is amazing that a man who was military governor of the former North Eastern State comprising about five states today did not seize the opportunity to amass stupendous wealth. He was a former Chairman of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and military Head of State but never allocated any oil bloc to himself. He never acquired any property in Lagos. It almost sounds like fiction.   It was after he left office in 2023 that the succeeding Tinubu administration upgraded his house in Kaduna.

    When he assumed office as military Head of State in 1984, following the martial overthrow of a thoroughly corrupt and decadent Second Republic, the military still had the image of being a redemptive, messianic institution with the requisite reservoir of patriotism and professional integrity to rescue Nigeria from the havoc of predatory politicians. There is no doubt that Buhari and his deputy, Brigadier General Tunde Idiagbon, pursued their War Against Indiscipline and Corruption in essentially purist and uncompromising, Messianic terms. Thus, they set up anti-corruption tribunals that tried and jailed corrupt politicians of the Second Republic for terms that amounted to life sentences. They publicly executed drug couriers and jailed foreign exchange speculators. They drafted draconian punitive laws against a media they perceived as veering beyond the bounds of liberty into licentiousness.

    Even before his emergence as military Head of State, Buhari ‘s patriotic commitment to Nigeria was indisputable. In his thrilling and authoritative book, ‘Soldiers of Fortune’, the lawyer, writer and historian reputed for his extensive knowledge of Nigerian military history, Max Siollun, wrote, “Buhari was in charge of troops sent to Nigeria’s north-eastern border region in 1983 to prevent infiltration by armed rebels from the neighbouring Republic of Chad. After his troops successfully cleared the rebels from the border area, the troops advanced several kilometres into Chadian territory. The political hierarchy ordered Buhari to withdraw his troops, but he refused, arguing that the Chadian rebels would return to the area as soon as his troops departed… Buhari was finally persuaded to withdraw after President Shagari enlisted Buhari ‘s superior officers, Lt-Generals Jalo and Wushishi, to order him to pull back.”

    As expected and as Max Siollun writes, the incident created a tense relationship between top members of the Shagari administration and Buhari and that “It also caused enough concern in the government for the Transport Minister, Umaru Dikko, to place Buhari under surveillance. Dikko also pressured the Chief of Army Staff, Lt-General Wushishi, to block Buhari ‘s posting to Lagos…The strong-willed Buhari complained to President Shagari that Dikko had asked his movement to be monitored. When Shagari raised the issue with Dikko, Dikko did not deny the accusation, but simply warned Shagari that Buhari could not be trusted and should be retired. Dikko had woken a sleeping tiger.”

    Widely reviled by Nigerians, Umaru Dikko had a reputation for corruption, arrogance and contempt for suffering Nigerians. When asked on national television about the economic hardships being experienced by Nigerians under the Shagari administration, he responded by asking if any Nigerians had been seen eating from dust bins! The audacious attempt by the Buhari regime to abduct Dikko from Britain, where he had escaped to after the 1983 coup, an effort coordinated with the support of the dreaded Israeli intelligence outfit, Mossad, made global news at the time. Dikko had been successfully kidnapped outside his residence when he was taking a walk, anaesthetised into unconsciousness, bundled into a waiting van and driven away by Nigerian and Israeli security officers. He was later offloaded into a crate labelled “diplomatic baggage”, addressed to the Nigerian Ministry of External Affairs in Lagos and transported in a lorry to Stansted Airport, where a Nigeria Airways plane was waiting to depart for Lagos with its “diplomatic baggage” at 3 pm.

    Unfortunately, there had been a last-minute lapse in the operation and British security and immigration agents in and around the airport had been put on high alert. Attempts by the British authorities to inspect the diplomatic crate were vigorously protested by a Nigerian officer, Major Ahmed Jarfa Yesufu (rtd) and one Okon Edet, a member of the Nigerian High Commission in London. According to Max Siollun, “The vehement protests were dismissed and the police opened the crates with a crowbar. What they found inside was shocking. In the first crate was a bound and unconscious Dikko with his torso bare. Dikko ‘s captors had shoved an endotracheal tube into his throat to prevent him from choking on his own vomit when he was unconscious. His captors wanted him brought back to Nigeria alive. Besides him was Shapiro, brandishing syringes and a supply of additional anaesthetics to administer to Dikko if need be. Shapiro asked the customs officers, “Well, gentlemen, what do we do now?”

    Those were momentous episodes in Nigeria’s foreign policy at the time, resulting in a prolonged diplomatic face-off between Nigeria and Britain. Buhari’s transition from a feared military dictator to a democratically elected two-term President who governed with utmost respect for democratic ethos is unprecedented in Nigeria’s history. Obasanjo also governed as a two-term elected President after previously serving as a military Head of State who voluntarily handed over to a democratically elected President in 1979. But on his second coming as elected President, his attempt to secure a tenure extension for a third term in 2007 had to be thwarted by a concerted resistance of critical political stakeholders. Obasanjo sings his anti-corruption credentials from the rooftops and labels everybody else as corrupt. But the monstrous Hilltop mansion in Abeokuta and the expansive Obasanjo Presidential Library complex, as well as numerous multi-billion Naira private investments, give the lie to his rhetoric. Buhari has no such baggage.

    This column does not intend to join the debate on the achievements or otherwise of the  Buhari administration for his eight years as elected President.  His accomplishments are there for all to see, and his failings too, like any leader. One of these is that he was too trusting of some of his key aides who hid behind the cover of his unstinting integrity and credibility to amass humongous wealth without the slightest iota of compassion for the teeming talakawa that Buhari loved and who reciprocated his affection fervently. Yet, some of such unscrupulous persons see his consistently over 12 million votes over several electoral cycles as an asset they can inherit and trade with, even as the honest one leaves us in a blaze of glory. They should not underestimate the intelligence of Buhari’s masses.

    Flashback to October 1, 1974. In his address to the nation, Nigeria’s military Head of State at the time, General Yakubu Gowon, told his stunned countrymen and women that his earlier pledge to return the country to democratic governance by 1976 was no longer feasible. Aba Saheed, pen name of Akogun Tola Adeniyi, fiery and unsparing columnist with the then trail-blazing Daily Times, responded with a pungent and incisive piece titled ‘Death, I salute you!’. He warned about the transience of human existence, the ubiquity of death and the ultimate vanity of power. Buhari needed no such admonitions. According to his media adviser, as President, Femi Adesina, towards the end of Buhari’s tenure, he asked the former President, “after here, what next?” And he responded, “I’m looking forward to leaving. And from there, I go to my grave at the appointed time”. No wonder he was so indifferent to the obsessive accumulation of wealth and the arrogant utilisation of power. May the honest one rest in deserved peace.

  • Nigeria sports in diapers

    Nigeria sports in diapers

    A thunderous applause for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for doing the righteous thing by rewarding the country’s female basketball team, the Tigress with $100,000 for each player and $50,000 each for the team’s coach and other members of the team’s technical crew, reminiscent of what he did for the Super Falcons for lifting the WAFCON trophy for the tenth time in the competition’s history – the first of such feat ever recorded by any African soccer squad, albeit in the history of soccer globally across gender. This reward for excellence accorded the Tigress is vintage Mr. President – a man for all seasons. I wasn’t surprised.

    Asked my thoughts on rewards to be given to the Tigress at the Editorial meeting at The Nation on Monday, I stated categorically that I was in support of giving to the basketball players and their technical crew members exactly what the Super Falcons got. There was the argument that the Falcons recorded the feat for the tenth time. But I reminded everyone that the Tigress’ feat was for the fifth consecutive time, making it a total seventh, if one adds their two previous triumphs in the competition.

    The suggestion that soccer was the most popular sport here compared with basketball was revolting because you can count a few  American basketball players and other elite basketball nations whose players earn  as much as footballers.

    Interestingly, in a stirring address, the First Lady Oluremi Tinubu said the team’s triumph represents more than a basketball win—it is a beacon of inspiration for future generations. Apt.

    “This victory is a resounding statement of hard work, excellence, and national pride. You have written another golden chapter in Nigeria’s sporting history. You inspire every young girl to dream boldly and pursue greatness”, she said.

    “You showed up then, and now you are seated before the President. That’s what consistency, excellence, and discipline can achieve”, the First Lady noted.

    She highlighted the extraordinary story of Dr. Sarah Goke, a full-time surgeon who recently had a baby and still played in the tournament, saying “Your story is one of resilience and inspiration. May your path continue to light the way for others.”

    Can you beat this? Thank you Dr. Sarah Goke for representing Nigeria even while nursing an eight-month-old baby. Nigerian women or should I also say girls have won more sports honours than the men, though the latter are the much hyped in the media. One is also absolutely thrilled that the President didn’t succumb to the ranting of perpetual harbingers of bad news to dilute the gifts given to the women basketball team, the Tigress. Certainly, the hallmark of good leadership from the President, who doesn’t stoop to conquer. He is indeed a conqueror.

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    Yes, I watched in disbelief how those designated to reinvent sports by the President took delight in ascribing the feats by the Super Falcons and the Tigress to the astuteness of their ideas for both teams. I thought that they would have been magnanimous to acknowledge the fact that most of the girls (80%) either ply their trade outside the country or traced their roots back to the country from the Diaspora. So far, what has characterised the tenure of those at the realm of sports have been photo ops, junketing round the world with succeeding but popular sporting teams than to identify with reinventing the industry from the 774 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in the country.

    The pain for me is how this over-reliance on athletes discovered, nurtured and exposed by other countries stabs one’s heart when they just stand on the podium unable to recite the Nigerian Anthem. It isn’t rocket science to get these athletes to memorise and recite the anthem as it is being sung on honours’ days. One needs to see how other countries recite theirs and break into a roar at the end of the recitation, punching the air in ecstasy – indicating their readiness to make their countries proud which they often do.  You will know the faith of these athletes by how they end their prayers with the sign of the cross, for instance.

    It would be a huge disservice if these ‘new’ Nigerians end up selling the three bedroom houses simply because their roots here haven’t been cemented. The hierarchy of our sports ought to have kept quiet than ascribe these pyrrhic feats to their administrative astuteness. Not true. Kudos should go to the NFF for daring to appoint Madugu as an interim coach to the Super Falcons ahead of the 2024 WAFCON which Nigeria won. The NBBF, despite their internal crises held their ground by building on previous achievements to keep Nigeria’s basketball teams across genders in competitions. What the Tigress exhibited during the last tournament by coming from the dead was a familiar script from when pushed to the wall.

    For Nigeria to witness a new dawn, our administrators should tell us where the gold medalists at the National Sports Festival held in Abeokuta are and what plans are in place to groom them to stardom? We need to also know where those who won silver and bronze medals are. Of course, what would best suit the new dawn would be with our sports chieftains. I also hope they can reinvent sports, using the six zones in the country to discover, nurture, and expose them to the big competitions, starting from intra sports tournaments.

    Need I talk about the advantages of recruiting, training and re-training the coaches across all sports? I recall coaches Tony Urhobo, Isaac Ikhuoria, Gladstone Agbamu, Tony Oghuma, Ewa Henshaw, Babatunde Obisanya, et al and what they achieved using the six geopolitical zones as their sports hubs. These six sports zones produced new talents who shocked our better exposed athletes during the Mobil Athletics Championships of yore? The nurseries in Nigeria aren’t calibrated to be in sync with what obtains in other climes. Yet, we want to compete against them. No chance.

    The countries that excel in sporting events have systems that guarantee enough funds for the sportsmen and sportswomen to compete with the best, such as tax rebates on sport-friendly firms, lotteries, and businesses owned by wealthy nationals who know what is in such a sponsorship that benefits them by the sitting government. Such financial taxes are spelled out to companies and wealthy citizens after agreements have been reached. These cast-in-stone policies are binding to all the parties to such an extent that breaches are adequately addressed to allow either of the parties to seek redress in court.

    Civilised countries develop their sports through the neighbourhood system, where facilities are built to engage the youth and push them away from social vices. Nurseries serve as the bases for storing the data of those discovered. Such information helps to nurture and monitor the good ones to stardom. Besides, nurseries lay the foundation upon which the athletes are taught the rudiments of the game. It is at such factories that playing styles and patterns unique to such countries are evolving.

  • The challenge of constitution review (2)

    The challenge of constitution review (2)

    THE 45-man Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, with the Deputy Senate President Barau Jubrin as Chairman and Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele Vice Chairman, has concluded the zonal public hearings across the six zones.

    Four issues elicited wide ranging interests – devolution of power, state creation, local government creation and state police.

    Other issues like inclusive reforms, institutional reforms, fundamental rights and objectives, system and structure of government, reforms of the judiciary, roles of the traditional institutions in government, reforms of the fiscal environment, and electoral reforms also came up.

    State creation has been a problematic issue, due to the constitutional stipulations that now serve as inevitable constraints. It was easy for the military regimes to embark on arbitrary and tyrannical exercise through decrees without considering the core federal principles that should guide their decisions.

    As centrists, states were never created by the military rulers to deepen federalism. For example, in 1967, state creation by the military Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, was in response to the civil war. It was an attempt to quel the late Col. Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu’s rebellion and truncate his expansionist agenda. The exercise demarcated between Igbo, who were restricted to Southeastern State, and others ethnic groups who were lumped together in Eastcentral State and Rivers State.

    Also, in 1976, some aspects of the Irikefe Report on State Creation were ignored by Muritala/Obasanjo regime. For example, while some towns were proposed as state capitals, certain members of the Supreme Military Council (SMC) insisted that their home towns should be made capitals. Under subsequent military regimes, state creation was dictated, most times, by ethnic pulls, with state capitals as gifts to military cabals and their in-laws.

    Also, military governors as lesser lords of manor in states, assisted by privileged top civil servants, also created local governments, with attendant boundary disputes.

    Every geo-political region is agitating for states, but there are also regions spicing their agitations with inexplicable arguments that tend to demarket the claims of others.

    The factors of population, land spread and resources have to be considered along with historical issues and the quest for the redress of past and current injustice.

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    It was a contentious issue at the 2014 conference in Abuja. As Southeast delegates pressed for more states, Ahmadu Ali, former senator and minister, was taken aback that the Southwest kept quiet, or did not make enough noise. The argument was that the old Eastern Region, whose delegates were more vociferous, had more states than the Western Region.

    The old West has eight states – Lagos, Oyo, Ondo, Ogun, Osun, Ekiti, Edo and Delta. However, nine states had been carved out of the old East, namely Anambra, Enugu, Abia, Imo, Ebonyi, Akwa Ibom, Cross Rivers, Rivers, and Bayelsa, which in population, is not up to the old Alimoso local government in Lagos State. This fact is cleverly covered or omitted by Southeast agitators for more states who continue to make cloudy and subjective references to a Southwest with six states and a Southeast with five.

    Senator Bamidele disclosed that the Senate Committee had received 31 proposals for the creation of additional states;  six from Northwest, eight from Northcentral, five from Southeast, six from Northeast, six from Southsouth and four from Southwest.

    In the Southwest, the people of Ijebu and Remo are asking for a state. Ibadan, made up of 11 local governments, wants a seperate state from Oyo. In Delta, there is clamour for Anioma State. In Ondo, there is agitation by Ilaje and Ikale for Coastal State. Igbomina people from Osun and Kwara want Igbomina State with the capital in Offa.

    Prominent stakeholders of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) are also seeking recognition as a sub-national entity. In its present form, Abuja is more or less a state, except that it does not have a House of Assembly.

    The House of Representatives Committee even said 31 requests were made. All the agitations and demands are legitimate. They are driven by various factors. These include ethnic and geo-political considerations, perceived marginalization and unequal distribution of resources and opportunities.

    The process of creating new states in Nigeria is complex. It requires constitutional amendments and political consensus, which can hardly be arrived under a civilian administration.

    The creation of a new state in Nigeria requires a multi-stage process outlined in Section 8 of the Constitution. It is a tedious procedure. Apart from the support from the area seeking the state, a referendum is required. But the more difficult criterion is the approval by a majority of existing states. The final process is that the resolutions on state creation have to be passed by the chambers of the National Assembly.

    How to secure the two/third vote of the 36 states is challenging. It is big test for governors who control the Houses of Assembly and federal legislators whose positions may be shaped or dictated by ethnic bias, religious considerations and primodal sentiments.

    The Senate has received 18 requests for the creation of local government areas nationwide. This, without mincing words, cannot be a “federal or central matter,” but a matter for the respective states to handle. It is a defect of the so-called federal constitution that local governments are listed in the constitution. The practice of central control of the local government system is incompatible with federalism. Local government should be removed from the federal purview, and states should be allowed to create councils, based on agitations, feasibility, suitability and peculiar circumstances of the areas making the demands.

    There is a proposal for the establishment of state police, other state government security agencies, and the establishment of the  State Security Council to advise governors on matters relating to public security and safety. State police is not new. But, its establishment is dragging for too long. There is need for more commitment on the part of the government.

    The present centralised police structure did not evolve from the people, and communities see the policemen as strangers and oppressors who cannot serve their purpose adequately.

    Any amendment thar does not lead to devolution or decentralisation of power to the state and local government is a deservice to federalism and a waste of time. That is why the bill seeking to transfer  labour, industrial relations, industrial disputes  and minimum wage from the Exclusive Legislative List to the Concurrent Legislative List in the Constitution is salutary.

    Remarkably, the railway has been decentralised. But states have not embraced the opportunities. Also, it is important that the proposed bill  to transfer the control of interstate waterways  from the Exclusive Legislative List to the Concurrent Legislative List should see the light of the day because it would grant the federal and state governments the power  to legislate on matters relating to shipping and navigation on interstate waterways.

    What is required in a federal state is not uniformity but unity in diversity. Nigeria is federalising too much, and the military legacy of centralisation or uniformity should be discarded.

    There is no justification for dragging land matters with the states by the Federal Government. The lands belong to the state. Also, a uniform law for traditional institution is unnecessary. There is nothing wrong if the adjucation on traditional disputes terminates at the regional court of appeal so created. Even, the suggestion that the Supreme Court should be decentralised should be considered as it will reduce the number of pending cases at the apex court.

    It is laughable that company registration is still being handled by federal authorities, although the companies are domiciled in states and local governments. So also is the issuance of driving licence, which fell under the purview of states or local governments in the past.

  • Uba Sani’s example in Kaduna state

    Uba Sani’s example in Kaduna state

    Purposeful vision

    Two years into his administration as the Executive Governor of Kaduna State in the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency, Governor Uba Sani, hit the ground running and has so far built the critical momentum of properly re-directing the political and socio-economic vision and trajectories of Kaduna State. He has restored relative security, peace, and harmony while he is grappling with what I call “the Burden of inherited complications of debt, toxic ethno-religious tensions, and insecurity”. Indeed, so far so good, despite the daunting challenges, Kaduna State is fast reclaiming its pride of place in Nigeria under the leadership of Governor Uba Sani.

     Restoring relative Security, Peace, and Harmony in Kaduna State

    In the past two years, Governor Uba Sani has demonstrated a clear understanding of his mandate. By applying a high level of emotional intelligence, bridge building, and his understanding of the political and socio-economic dynamics of Kaduna State, he has been able to significantly dilute the insecurity, toxic ethno-tribal, and religious tensions, and consequently scale down the animosities and communal clashes. We observed with admiration, as he constructively engaged the critical stakeholders in Kaduna across political, religious, ethnic, and divides, including; former Governors of Kaduna State, political leaders, traditional leaders, religious leaders, business leaders, academics, professionals, and from all walks of life at grassroot levels to ensure that the root causes of the issues are addressed from top to bottom and across the strata in all the Local Government Areas and hinterlands of Kaduna State.

     The governor has been measured, respectful, and statesmanly in his rhetoric, utterances, engagements, and behaviors, because he understands the importance of those virtues as a Governor of a State that is diverse, and has been polarized with scars of mutual suspicion, concerns of marginalization, and the attendant insecurities. We are all witnesses of the significant reduction of breakdown of law and order due to ethnic and religious battles, which have threatened the existence of such a beautiful, peaceful, hospitable, highly resourceful, strategic, and one of the most diverse States in Nigeria.

     Where there were issues, for example, the unfortunate incident that occurred in Tudun Biri, Governor Uba Sani did not escalate the situation with vile rhetoric or impulsive political self-preservation activities. He responded like a strategic leader by directly engaging the victims, not with blame or threats, but with empathy and a sense of responsibility. He also sought the support of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as the leader of the Country, and he engaged all the critical stakeholders like the National Security Advisor, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, the Armed Forces, traditional, religious and community leaders etc. to ensure that the people at Tudun Biri were provided all the necessary support at that sensitive and crucial time. Truly, that was one of the defining moments of Governor Uba Sani’s administration – a true test of his leadership qualities. In my opinion, he did well, given the circumstances, especially with his follow-ups of keeping tabs on communities that were affected by conflicts or disasters across Kaduna State. Indeed, authenticity and consistency define the character of a leader.

     Looking back at where we are coming from, I am very happy, along with other teeming Nigerians, that Kaduna State is more peaceful than it was 10 years before Governor Uba Sani took over the leadership of the State. What a relief! So far, so good.

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     Fighting Insecurity

    The challenge of insecurity has been a lingering national issue in Nigeria for over 16 years, which is one of the critical challenges inherited by the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and State Governors across Nigeria. Therefore, Federal, State, and Local Governments all have roles to play to tackle insecurity at all levels. Prior to the administration of Governor Uba Sani, we were all aware of the escalating level of insecurity in terms of kidnappings, banditry, religious extremism, and other forms of terrorism in and around Kaduna State. 

     Despite the multi-dimensional challenges, upon resumption in office, Governor Uba Sani proceeded with the agility, commitment, and passion to deliver the people’s mandate. He proceeded to formulate a strategy to sidestep all the booby traps and has so far been effectively delivering his mandate. It is evident that the level of insecurity in the State has significantly reduced, with the rescue of kidnapped people, elimination of terrorists, reclaiming of communities and farmlands hitherto taken over by criminals and terrorists, and recent surrender of some of the bandits. Citizens and residents are gradually returning to their communities. All these are due to effective stakeholder management, people’s skills, and relationship management by Governor Uba Sani.

     Dealing with The Burden of Inherited Debt

    Despite the debt burden of $587m,  and N85bn Debts, as well as 115 Contract Liabilities, based on which N7 Billion out of the N10 billion Federal Allocation for the state in the month of March was being deducted to service the state’s debt; Mr. Governor, has crafted a strategy of how to avoid the booby trap of debt to continue building infrastructure, investing in human capital development, providing interventions in times of conflicts and disasters, alleviating poverty, paying salaries, pensions and welfare of workers in Kaduna State including the increased minimum wage. Kaduna State is one of the States in Nigeria that pays the minimum wage. Therefore, it is important to note the prudence with which Mr. Governor is delivering such critical projects.

     Economic Recovery and Development

    Infrastructural Development

    Infrastructure is the backbone of economic and social development, and Governor Uba Sani clearly understands that. This is why he immediately embarked on critical infrastructure development across all 23 local government areas of Kaduna State, while also completing some of the ongoing projects started by his predecessor. New constructions and rehabilitations of major township roads, while placing priority on rural development with roads connecting local governments and communities, and feeder roads, all spanning over 1,000 Kilometers; construction and rehabilitation of schools, hospitals, provision of clean water, etc. are all ongoing, to ensure that no part or people of Kaduna State are left behind.

     Economic Diversification Initiatives

    Understanding that economic diversification is a critical success factor for economic recovery and growth. Governor Uba Sani has undertaken various economic diversification initiatives, and some milestones and impacts have been achieved so far, which include the following:

    Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ): In April (4 months ago), Kaduna was the first State in Nigeria to key into the $510 billion Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones initiative by the African Development Bank. The objective of this project is to transform Nigeria’s rural areas into thriving economies, ensure improved food security, boost the agriculture value chain in production, processing, value addition, and build export capacity, while creating jobs for millions of Nigerians

    Large Budget for Agriculture: Mr. Governor demonstrates the premium he places of Agriculture as a fulcrum of economic diversification by significantly increasing the budgetary provision in agriculture, from N1.4 billion when he took over as Governor of Kaduna to N74 billion for this year. The investment difference is clear, as the impacts will certainly be huge.

     Moreover, His Excellency has secured Foreign and Local investment commitments in Manufacturing, Solid Minerals, and Power, which will catalyze the productive sector of the economy of Kaduna State to reawaken the glory days of Kaduna as a manufacturing hub in Nigeria, which will also support national economic recovery.

     Foreign Investments: Two days ago, the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS) stated that the Federal Capital Territory (Abuja has overtaken Lagos in terms of Foreign Direct Investments Destinations in Nigeria. Interestingly, Kaduna State is listed as one of the only 5 out of 36   States and the FCT in Nigeria that attracted Foreign Direct Investments in the Q1 of this year. They are: Federal Capital Territory attracted $3.04bn, Lagos attracted $2.54bn, Ogun State with $7.95m, Oyo with $7.81m, and Kaduna with $4.06m. This achievement is also indicative of a secure, peaceful, and conducive environment for living and business.  Kudos to Governor Uba Sani.

     Human Capital Development and Youth Empowerment:

    Four days ago, Mr. Governor signed a $25.35 million concessionary loan secured by the Federal Government from the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development as part of President Tinubu’s youth empowerment and social development strategy to take our teeming out-of-school children back to school. This is one of the most important focus areas of Governor Uba Sani, given that northern Nigeria has over 10million out-of-school children and youth, with the attendant, horrible socio-economic consequences.

    Additionally, Governor Uba Sani has made massive investments in upgrading public primary and secondary schools, ensuring that every child in Kaduna has equal opportunity for a better life.

    Conclusion

    This episode is not enough for me to espouse the achievements so far made by Governor Uba Sani midway into his administration. Suffice it to say that from a dashboard view, it is clear that Governor Uba Sani is one of the few performing and outstanding State Governors in Nigeria, at a time that we are calling for more good governance, not only at the federal level but also at the State levels, as rightly stated by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. That is why I find it necessary to also encourage the governors that are doing well so that they can be motivated do more.

  • Doyin Abiola (1943-2025)

    Doyin Abiola (1943-2025)

    Dr Doyinsola Hamidat Abiola (nee Aboaba), former editor, columnist, leader-writer, publisher and manager, who died on Tuesday night came into journalism at a time it was queer for women to do so. She was 82. Her gender was rare to find in the newsroom when she joined the Daily Sketch, a publication owned by the defunct Western Region in 1969. She did not come to journalism unprepared. She came well educated, having read English and Drama at the University of Ibadan. It is to her eternal credit that she held her own against the men who her crossed path on the job.

    As a woman of letters, it was only fitting that she be deployed on the Features Desk, a department that expands and expounds the news. She did her job well, doing riveting feature news. She wrote a column to boot, under the title: Tiro, a name which has English and Yoruba connotations. It did not take long for her to switch jobs from Daily Sketch to Daily Times,  which was the paper to be then.

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    She soared at the Times too and travelled abroad for her Ph.D. Her time at the Times was marked by many firsts – the first woman features editor, group features editor, and a member of the Editorial Board. To be a member of the Editorial Board at a time it was filled with other fine writers like Stanley Macebuh, Dele Giwa, and Amma Ogan, among others, showed her strength of character and intellect. Again, she moved. This time to National Concord, which was founded by her husband, Bashorun M.K.O Abiola, who she married in 1981. She was the pioneer editor of the Concord, the first Nigerian woman to hold such a newspaper title.

    Mrs Abiola did not stop there. She became the managing director/editor-in-chief, with her husband as chairman/publisher. She became the publisher when Abiola was incarcerated over the June 12, 1993 quagmire. In this capacity, she held fort, running the Concord until the paper was hounded out of circulation by the Abacha junta. Her passing stunned the media world. Mrs Abiola was a media juggernaut, to borrow the word of K.O. Mbadiwe. She was a journalist through and through, with attention to fine details. She was one of the profession’s finest, who paved the way for the few women editors that have come after her. May she find rest in the Lord’s bosom.

  • Their one-term kite

    Their one-term kite

    Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP)) in the 2023 elections, was not saying anything new when he spoke of doing only a single-term of four years, if elected in 2027. Before him, Atiku Abubakar and Rotimi Amaechi said the same thing. It is all aimed at winning votes, no more, no less. But Obi, being who he is, has been trending on social media since he made the statement. First, to run again, as he did two years ago, Obi must get the ticket of a party. Which party will that be? LP? The coalition African Democratic Congress (ADC)? or the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    The question is pertinent because Obi seems to be caught in between the three parties. He claims that he is still in LP, but is romancing ADC. He and his running mate in 2023, Datti Baba-Ahmed, were at the coalition’s Abuja unveiling of ADC as its special purpose vehicle for prosecuting the 2027 elections. Typical of Obi, he is hedging his bet. He is running with the hare, and hunting with the hound. He has one foot in ADC, and the other in LP, where he is sure to get the presidential ticket – that is if he mends his way and stops hobnobbing with ADC.

    His erstwhile runningmate Baba-Ahmed has seen the light and run back to LP. He may cut the feet from under his principal in the emerging political scenario. Baba-Ahmed said he went back to LP to help in putting the crisis-ridden party back on track. Obi is still weighing his options on which way to go. Sensing his dilemma, the embattled PDP threw him a lifeline to come over to Macedonia and help to rebuild the party on which platform he ran with Atiku in 2019. Will he hearken to the call?

    He is at a crossroads. As he ponders what to do, he pulled a rabbit out of his magic bag, as they say. He says he would do only one-term of four years, if elected. Some have described it as a vow, pledge, promise, undertaking and so on and so forth. It is none of these. I see it more as a kite being flown to test the waters. This was the same bait that Atiku, the serial contestant, who has made the rounds of almost all the parties in his desperation to become president, dangled before the electorate in 2019 and 2023. Amaechi followed suit after they ‘hijacked’ ADC. Now, Obi is singing the same tune.

    When Atiku first flew the kite in 2019, it was to truncate the second term bid of the late President Muhammadu Buhari, a fellow northerner. His thinking was that the electorate would swallow the bait hook, line and sinker, and vote him in to complete the eight-year tenure of the north under the perceived power rotation agreement between the north and the south. The unwritten pact was broken in 2010 when President Umoru Yar’Adua, who succeeded President Olusegun Obasanjo died in office. Death prevented him from completing his first term, not to talk of doing a second term.

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    Certain politicians from the north have not forgotten about these ‘outstanding four years’ and they have been looking for all means possible to regain those years. Time, they seem to have forgotten, waits for no one. Since there can be no vacuum in leadership, President Goodluck Jonathan completed his principal, Yar’Adua’s first term in 2011. Politicians like Atiku then rose in arm during the next election to make a case for a northerner to become president to complete eight years that Yar’Adua would have served.

    With that process aborted by Yar’Adua’s death, and Jonathan constitutionally stepping in to fill the gap, getting him not to run in 2011 so that the north can have its way failed and the unwritten rotational presidency accord at eight years interval snapped. Atiku’s ploy to use the one-term bait to unseat Buhari failed in 2019, just as that of Obi and others to wrest power from President Bola Tinubu in 2027 will collapse.

    It has nothing to do with the sincerity of Obi’s statement, but what he has to offer. Obi’s performance in the 2023 presidential election has given him the false confidence that he is an astute politician. Saying that he would do one term is one thing, but what is his blueprint for turning the country around in those four years of that term? One term of what? What are the deliverables and what is his timeframe for achieving them? He should share them with the electorate. This is no time to say these are details he would keep to his chest until he gets to office. Nor that he would lay the foundation for others to come and build on. He should turn the sod and start the building, if he can, within the time allotted for that by the Constitution.

    The public does not want him to turn around later to say that the foundation was destroyed by successive administrations because they did not understand his ideas. He should execute his own ideas; nobody is going to steal or execute them for him because they are original to him. The fear of someone stealing anybody’s idea is a sign that none exists in the first place. If there is one, the brain behind the idea must have perfected it to the point of how it will be executed within a stipulated time to achieve maximum benefit for all. This is the beauty of an original idea, and stealing it would do the thief more harm than good.

    Pledging to do one-term when the Constitution allows for two terms is a political gimmick that can no longer win votes. The electorate know what they want and they know how to go about getting it. They cannot be swayed by talks of one-term, no matter how it is framed, by those who cannot deliver when the chips are down.

  • The patriots’ agenda

    The patriots’ agenda

    A distinguished group of Nigerians self-proclaimed “The Patriots” held a summit in Abuja some weeks ago and apparently considering what is wrong with contemporary Nigeria, zeroed in on the constitution imposed on us by the AbdulSalami Abubakar regime in 1999. No sensible person would dispute the fact with The Patriots that the political structure as currently existing is problematic. The same is true of the large cabinet and presidential system itself and the process of law-making. They preferred a mixed presidential system and parliamentary system including the process of constituting the membership of the National Assembly and asked whether a bi-cameral legislature is not too expensive and therefore counterproductive.

    This is just to highlight a few of the multitude of problems identified by The Patriots. The Patriots drew from the global experience of its membership headed by Chief Emeka Anyaoku, a distinguished former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth of Nations and experience particularly of federations like India with its 1.5 billion of people and complex advanced written civilisations having about eight times or more people than Nigeria but manages to run its affairs much more on reasonable basis than Nigeria.

    On the question of the political structure of Nigeria, The Patriots suggest a zonal structure using the current informal zonal thinking in the country to arrive at idea that a six zonal structure for the country will be more equitable and fairer than the present 36 states federation in which small state structure promotes unitarian rather than federal systems of government. This is against the federal system which the different peoples of Nigeria embraced in 1957, 1959 and which allayed the fear of ethnic domination which was a genuine fear arising from politics and political sloganeering leading to independence. The Patriots argue that nothing has positively happened since that time to fundamentally change the views of Nigerians about the political ideas necessary to lead them to feel that what they need now is unitarianism in preference to federalism. The fissiparous tendencies that mar every discussion about the present and future political trajectory of our country always  leads to feel that our founding fathers chose the federal system advisedly . The Patriots therefore suggest that to overcome the fear of ethnic and political domination, the country should be restructured into six zones or at most eight zones of equal status in a cooperative federation and the question of creating states and local governments should lie in the zonal political province as long as revenue allocation will be done in such a way that this will not lead to disrupt access to the federal revenue based on differential contribution and access.

    The Patriots  suggests that the country should embrace the revenue philosophy of fiscal federalism meaning simply that states or the zones should retain most of what  they produce in the form of  taxes on manufactured goods, mineral exploitation, individual and corporate taxation and agriculture and send to the federal purse the appropriate federal taxes which along with import revenue and appropriate export tax and tariffs on inland transportation and communications and currency, should accrue to federal revenue purse.  This federal revenue should be enumerated and whatever is not listed should ordinarily belong to the zones. With this division of revenue, the zones and states should have enough revenue for their administration and development. The Patriots put much effort to define what political regime we need to adopt to run a fair federation. Tied with this is the electoral system and the organization and conduct of elections. It argues and correctly so, that if elections are not transparently conducted, what arrives at the end will be worthless. Nigerian elections have been supervised by members of the judiciary, civil service, the academia in recent times. We have not tried the police and the military yet and there is no hope that those two institutions of the Nigerian state will do better than their compatriots who have been given the assignment before and have failed because in the nature of politics in Nigeria, the rampant corruption and bribery have hitherto extended to the military and the uniformed services.

    The electoral commission could be headed by a senior member of church or mosque if such an acceptable man can be found. If we can put together an acceptable organ to conduct an election without the dead weight of government bureaucracy, then we have made progress. Secondly, The Patriots sees the operation of the bicameral legislature as too expensive and unaffordable for Nigeria bearing in mind our fragile economy depending on the oil economy that is up and down in prices. It is the suggestion of The Patriots that a bicameral legislature of the House and Senate may not always be ideal in all circumstances. Perhaps a lower House would be sufficient  and an expanded Council of States to include representatives of the religious bodies,  judiciary, academia and the intelligentsia  broadly  including the press, and the military and other security organisations  like the police, prisons, customs, immigration, interior and external intelligence services may give government a wider scope of needed representation.

    The Patriots feel the current size of the federal cabinet and state counterparts is too large. A cabinet of more than 30 members is too large in my view. If the federation is made up of eight zones, 30 members is enough to give each zone enough room for representation. The Patriots also made a suggestion about presidential system. Nigeria is in a position to say we have tried the parliamentary and the presidential systems and we should be in a position to judge. Most of us will want a mixture of the two systems to be adopted by Nigeria just like South Africa and it would help the party system to develop and would permit detailed discussions of government policy before bills become laws and will also raise the intellectual level of cabinet ministers and that of the president and state governors. The zones will be empowered to create the number of states and local governments they can fund and effectively supervise. If adopted, the new recommendations will assist party formation and party governance.

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    The thrust of the suggestions of The Patriots is not only political structure but it touches the place of the judiciary and its organisation to eliminate current clashes of jurisdictions and concurrent jurisdictions which even to a layman is totally unwieldy. There ought to be federal courts with limited jurisdiction to federal laws and interstate disputes, and zonal courts whose jurisdiction ends at zonal levels. The Patriots suggest that the secular nature of the state must be maintained and only religious cases should go before sharia or cannon courts.

    The role of the well organised bureaucracy of the past recruited on the basis of careers open to talents and merit must be brought back to the federal and the constituent zones or states constituting the state. Efficient and effective bureaucracies are keys to progress. The history of an efficient bureaucracy in Nigeria has been proven by the continuity of governance during the turbulence of military rule in Nigeria during which some government continuity has been maintained. In recent times, entry into the core areas of the bureaucracy has been marred by such contrivances as federal character and ethnic balancing with consequential weakness of the bureaucracy. There are good people in every part of Nigeria and the institutions of government, whether in the bureaucracy, military, foreign representation and other organs of government need not be so weakened as to make government largely irrelevant and impossible and unsustainable.

    The Patriots did not spend much time or make adequate place for the economy and education in their scheme and how to build a big economy that would move Nigeria beyond the current oil economy. We always spend too much time on politics not realising that if we have a big economy, it would not matter who is a president or minister because everybody will be so busy that they would not have time for the present political gossips that dominate discussions and ethnic disputes.

    Not much is said about transforming the present clerical education system inherited from the colonial regime that lays emphasis on white collar jobs and certificates to practice one trade or the other. We should move to a STEM education system with emphasis on science, technology, engineering and mathematics from primary to tertiary levels and how to train artisans of bricklayers, carpenters, iron-benders, cobblers, electricians, mechanics and so on. Emphasis needs to be laid on what one can make with one’s hands and not rote memories. We need a fundamental change in education and the earlier we begin this the better. Time is really against us in a world of competitive and knowledge economy.

    In the submission of the recommendations of The Patriots, efforts have been clearly made to separate personal feeling in preference for scientific and objective feelings that an unserious consideration of the inputs of this highly considered group would be like the country shooting itself in the foot.

  • Bigots with bylines

    Bigots with bylines

    Some lies are native to the pen: that being cynical equals true patriotism; that a combative press has Nigeria’s best interest at heart.

    These lies pulse through the Fourth Estate of the Realm. Thus, the inclination of certain journalists, at home and abroad, towards dubious altruism and self-love.

    Every journalist now fancies himself a revolutionary, but most are simply mercenaries of narrative warfare. We decry injustice not because we abhor it, but because we are paid to amplify it, selectively.

    Every newsroom pretends to be the bastion of patriotism while amplifying tribal resentment and sectional bigotry. This is the heart of our posturing. The sanctification of self-interest disguised as national concern. And when hate becomes editorial policy, democracy dies, quietly.

    The participation of large segments of the press, like the civil society, is driven by funded partisanship, but like Arundhati Roy would say, “I’m not against people being funded—because we’re running out of options, but we have to understand, ‘Are you walking the dog or is the dog walking you? Who’s the dog and who are you?”

    The situation triggers existential questions about the quality of professionalism of the press as a social institution. How do we define professionalism? How do we determine real and funded patriotism? How do we educate and commit Nigerians to the precepts of political participation astride the politics of reality and memory? The jostling over both becomes more intense in an oppressive clime where they distort to preserve the status quo of exploitation or repudiate it.

    No doubt, we are living through an epistemic crisis: a post-truth era where feelings are elevated above facts, and opinions, regardless of their merit, trump evidence. In this clime, journalists, who should be society’s navigators through the fog of propaganda, have become the fog itself as the truth is doctored, relativised, and distorted to suit an ideological whim or political vendetta.

    There is blood on the byline. And the stench of carnage pervades the newsroom as the pen, once consecrated to truth, now pricks at Nigeria’s soul like a poison-tipped dagger. From the tip drips venomous gaslighting, manufactured consent, and post-truth propaganda.

    Everyone in this charade pretends. Thus, the preponderance of the self-styled truth-teller and hyperbolic patriot in the Nigerian newsroom. If the press is truly the last free social institution and moral high-ground, why does it dawdle on the leash of shady puppeteers?

    We talk a great shop on Nigeria’s need to re-create its public sphere. But to achieve this, our newsrooms must recommit to a narrative of redemption against the backdrop of ruin. The press must inspire national pride, not just despair, sponsored chaos and hedonism.

    Of course, tragedy is a given of human society, but it should no longer command our practice. We must sieve and winnow catastrophe to extract positive lessons amenable to the growth and survival of our people alongside our sociocultural institutions.

    And to those baiting foreign intervention, we must always remember that the Libyans, Afghans, and Ukrainians, to mention a few, wildly embraced a dandy dream of  ‘American-NATO-styled freedom, but instead, got trapped in a sinister nightmare. To date, they are paying dearly for it.

    I know war. Of my over two decades in journalism, I have walked through the minefields and aftermath of conflict in Liberia, Nigeria’s northeast, and Cameroon’s Far North. I have witnessed how innocent lives are dismembered by bombs and bureaucracies. I have seen villages turned to ash and humans to fodder, all in the name of peacekeeping, counterterrorism, and regime change.

    But most heartbreaking of all, I have seen how the language of the press has evolved, no longer as an instrument of outrage or healing, but of appeasement and misinformation. I have seen the language of identification and analysis segue from outright condemnation of terror to a patronising patois of political appeasement. Terrorists have become “non-state actors,” murderous anarchy is misinterpreted as “civil dissent,” and terrorism is whitewashed into “insurgency.”

    These dangerous reframings are the currency of gaslighters. They are the scripts handed to us by hegemonic hands seeking to recolonise Africa through trapdoors disguised as development, diplomacy, polite euphemism, and digital disruption.

    And the Nigerian newsroom, too lazy or complicit to resist, has lent itself as both stage and opera for this theatre of manipulation. And yet, the violence that takes the most lives in Nigeria today does not always resonate through artillery or drone strikes. It pulses into our homes via newscasts and headlines. It speaks the dialect of division and punctuates every “breaking news” ticker with innuendo. It wears the powdered face of punditry and masquerades as editorial independence.

    The newsroom is no longer a sacred space but a weaponised confessional, where sin is sanctified in partisan ink. We are bigots with bylines, paid mouthpieces masquerading as moralists. We scream “rule of law” but ignore the rule of decency.

    When journalists amplify lies, romanticise insurgents as misunderstood rebels, and twist economic facts to suit their political loyalties, they rob citizens of truth and autonomy. They reduce the electorate into cynical bystanders, unable to discern right from wrong, and too weary to fight back. Such arrant misinformation often triggers demoralisation. And in that vacuum of public trust, dubious demagogues emerge.

    To reclaim Nigeria from collapse requires a collaboration of the political left and right. Ralph Nader’s recent founding of The Capitol Hill Citizen is instructive. His vision for a left-right alliance, to push back against corporate greed and political inertia, is instructive.

    Such a coalition cannot thrive in a media landscape overrun by zealots and saboteurs. It needs a patriotic press that treats Nigeria as a sacred ground to be defended with honesty and empathy, not as a battleground for clickbait and artifice. If journalists continue to act as enablers of partisan warfare, they will thwart every attempt at a national consensus.

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    Nigeria needs us to embrace our duty as fair arbiters and truth-tellers to birth a truly progressive democratic renaissance. But right now, we don’t seem interested in building bridges. We are setting them aflame. Each camp is too obsessed with winning the argument to win the country. Obidients vilify BATists. BATists mock Obidients. Everyone screams. No one listens. And Nigeria bleeds.

    This is not a call for censorship. The Nigerian press must remain free; ferociously so. But freedom without responsibility is not liberty; it is licentiousness. Tact is not timidity. Responsibility is not repression. A patriotic press must espouse accuracy, fairness, and social responsibility alongside love for the country and the fragile lives teetering on the edge of chaos.

    Nigeria is in dire need of a detribalised newsroom. We need a press that does not mistake Western hegemony for enlightenment, or editorial loyalty for nation-building. We need newsrooms that defy foreign interests seeking to recolonise Nigeria through narrative warfare.

    In our march towards redemption, journalists must be less social mirrors and become compasses. We must stop amplifying society’s bigotries and start guiding it towards greater empathy and accountability.

    To the younger journalists reading this: you do not have to be heroes. But you must not be villains. You must not be tools in the hands of dubious demagogues and activists. You must not lend your bylines to the machinery of misrule.

    It’s about time we questioned our headlines, tempered our hot takes and acted better. For in a country teetering on the edge, the distance between peace and war may just be one journalist who chose the truth over the trending lie.