The Nation Newspaper

Category: Saturday

Sympathy for IDPs

One of the most cutting taunts in Nigerian politics right now is to be referred to as an Internally Displaced Politician (IDP). That is the tag that has been hung around the necks of some of the leading lights of the opposition African Democratic congress (ADC).

Among the most prominent of this new species is former Vice President Atiku Abubakar who left the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) with so much hype, but is yet to formally join the over-inflated platform that we were all told was going to topple the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and send President Bola Tinubu back to Lagos in a hurry.

In this group belongs the fire-spitting former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, who regular bulletins on X have somehow lost their earlier menace. Now he mournfully bewails the calamity that awaits Nigerian democracy if the president is allowed to cruise to victory in two years’ time.

In the meantime, he’s floating around in political purgatory – somewhere between the Social Democratic Party (SDP) where he has received an icy welcome and his ADC promised land, trying to conjure some sort of magic potion that would banish Tinubu and deliever him from irrelevance.

Read Also: CSOs call for dedicated humanitarian fund to support IDPs, refugees

Part of this band is a certain Rotimi Amaechi, one-time Minister of Transportation who briefly flirted with something called the All Democratic Alliance (ADA). It was a brief and spectacular flop. The former governor of Rivers State who still fancies himself something of a political lion has been huffing and puffing – wondering why Nigerians haven’t revolted against the government of the day.

When that trick didn’t work he began moaning about hunger. Again, not too many were sympathetic given his ample midriff.

And then there’s Peter Obi who seems to be doing his level best not to jump into the ADC bed and whilst still pretending to be a member of the troubled Labour Party (LP).

You really have to feel for the politically homeless are they trun round and round in circles not having the courage of their convictions but always willing to believe that their accommodation problems are caused by the all-powerful occupant of Aso Rock – and not by their own dithering.

November 15, 2025
Ijebu-Jesa Grammar School at 70! (2)
According to Michael Afolayan, a US-based Professor of Education and Linguistics, what is happening in IJGS “is a systemic problem – the aphorism of the crooked top. Today, we have a pseudo-leadership that has no value for education. Imagine such a great school you just appraised here having only 10 permanent teachers!

“Just imagine the IJGS in the days of Oba Joseph Ajayi Palmer, when every trained teacher wanted to come and serve there. I recall the late Mr. E. Adegbola, owner of Surulere Bookstore in Ile-Ife and Ijebu-Jesa, who was a headmaster where I taught at the time. He would contribute any amount and donate a stockpile of books to IJGS.”

This legacy of excellence and community support is a microcosm of the much larger educational landscape of Nigeria today. Nigerian education parades more than 270 universities, over 160 Colleges of Education, and roughly 145 Polytechnics. This tertiary system is supplied by an immense basic education sector, including approximately 129,600 primary schools and over 43,000 secondary schools.

At the best of times, those who hold the view that secondary institutions act as the foundational pipeline by preparing students academically and morally, and providing the required SSCE certification for university admission, are not far from the truth. After all, universities, in turn, influence the secondary system by setting minimum academic standards and by training the teaching manpower for the schools.

Beyond the cloak of deniability and euphemism, the voices and forces of the competition between public and private secondary schools have become so severe that, during SSCE periods, public school students often gravitate towards private schools, aka ‘miracle centers’, over their own institutions. The significant increase in the number of schools compared to the past, when secondary schools were scarce, has also contributed to the woes.

The truth we ignore is that Nigerian parents are no longer holding public education in high regard as they once did. As things stand, many Nigerian parents even prefer sending their children to schools with inadequate facilities, simply because they are labeled as private institutions. Added to these problems is the dearth of qualified teachers and essential teaching facilities.

Read Also: Ijebu-Ife Community Grammar School Alumni rehabilitates school ahead 50th anniversary

Evidently, the 1955 noble vision has become a trickle, proving that parents will always seek the best available educational life raft. To put it in succinct terms, IJGS’s stagnant enrollment is an indictment of the state’s negligence of the education sector. Unfortunately, there has been no focused opposition to expose these fatal flaws, thereby leading to a dangerous normalization of misplaced priorities. Or how do we situate the building of urban flyovers over the building of rural roads? This lack of scrutiny surrounding these decisions has been normalized as political sagacity across the states and only God can help us!

To rise out of this quagmire, governments across the board must stop using public schools as political dumping grounds for unqualified staff. For my alma mater, there’s an urgent need for an immediate cash injection to hire trained teaching, even non-teaching, staff to effectively compete with the glossy façade of the private sector. Otherwise, the school risks becoming a historic relic.

There’s no need to reinvent the wheel; the current efforts of Nigeria’s oldest school, CMS Grammar School, Bariga, Lagos, serve as a powerful example. Founded in 1859, former students of the school have laid the foundation for a $2.5m ICT centre to prepare its students for the future of technology. Similarly, Ilesa Grammar School’s distinguished alumni, including Wole Olanipekun SAN, and Obi Daramola, provide funding for resources and facility upgrades.

The Government College, Ibadan, Old Boys Association (GCIOBA) now manages its alma mater, following its government handover. India, Malaysia and Brazil have also demonstrated that alumni associations play a critical role in achieving sustainable development. Efforts such as this must not just be acknowledged but actively emulated by IJGS. This emulation would be the greatest acknowledgment and appreciation of the great community who planted the seed for this enduring institution seventy years ago.

To achieve this, IJGSOSA should set up an endowment fund to attract funds from home and abroad, towards bringing the institution to the cutting edge of modern society and meeting the needs of the next 50 years. This focus on capacity building represents the biggest expression of the ultimate concept of acceptable empowerment. We can go on and on, but handing out perishables or things that have no lasting economic impact should be out of sync with true empowerment.

On a day like this, we remember Bayo Okunmuyide, one of the authors of Champions Mathematics, published by MacMillan, and an inaugural graduating student. His son, Tayo Okunmuyide (’89 set), currently works with TotalEnergies SE.

We also honour Mike Awoyinfa (HSC, ’71 set), the Pioneer Editor of Weekend Concord and the founding Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of The Sun Publishing Limited. Another prominent alumnus is Lanre Arogundade (1976/77 set), the man who famously described IJGS as a “university of high standards”.

Olukemi Babatunji, the Otun Iyalode of All Souls Anglican Church, Ijebu-Jesa, belonged to the ’84 set. The younger sister of Bishop Babatunji, she’s currently the Manager of Nursing Services in an Oil and Gas multinational concern.

We also remember the many dedicated academic staff members who guided us during those formative years at the school. These include: Pa Joshua Agunsoye, Mr. & Mrs. D.D.W. Chandratilleke, Mr. & Mrs. P.J.D. Thanasingh and Chief (Mrs.) Hannah Babatunji.

Further names include: S.K. Tsipotey, Y. Ofori, Kofi Agyeman-Duah, C.A. Fasina, S.F. Obisesan, and many others like I.D. Hayibor, Nana Osei, Soula Pani, C.A. Afouda and Mrs. P.O. Ayoade.

Our remembrance extends beyond the classroom staff to honour the valuable administrative and supporting personnel, including: J.O. Dagunduro (Librarian), Akin Adejuwon (Bursar), Miss Bintu Asimi (Typist), and Biodun Kato (Clerk). We also remember Asimi Sanni, Josiah Obileye, Samuel Fajemisin, and Sunday Loye (Gardeners); Mustapha Atanda, aka ‘Kosepo’ (Driver), and Gabriel Ikotun (Night Watchman).

Still in the spirit of commemoration, Isaac Aderogba, aka ‘Kammy-Cut’ and ‘Baba Olomi’, comes to mind. Pa Aderogba was the ever-ready, always-smiling, happy and ‘no-dull-moment’ tailor who made the School’s uniforms and house wears until the late 1970s.

As I have argued earlier, IJGS’s alumni commitment is demonstrated through various renovation projects. I stand by it! For instance, in 2016, Class ’76 renovated the school’s Assembly Hall to mark its 40th anniversary. Professor Oyewole Ajifolokun (’82 set) renovated a classroom block while Class ’80 renovated the Principal’s Lodge to serve as the ‘Corpers Lodge’.

The ’89 set has been sponsoring the Chemistry teacher since September 2022, and the results of this effort have been fantastic. This set counts two professors among its members. The first is Professor Oloyede Bolaji, who is currently the Head of Department, Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, at the College of Health Sciences, Osun State University, Osogbo.

Professor Bolaji is the President of the Class ’89 and also serves as the Global Assistant General Secretary 2 in the current IJGSOSA Executive Committee. The second is Professor Olumide Longe, currently the Vice Chancellor of West Midlands Open University, Lagos.

Although he didn’t attend the school, retired Army Colonel Wole Ogunseemi made a significant contribution to its infrastructure. During his time as a member of the Osun State House of Assembly (2003-2007) and as the Executive Chairman of Oriade Local Government (2008-2011), he constructed three blocks of nine classrooms in the school. Wole Oke, the Member Representing Obokun/Oriade Federal Constituency in the National Assembly, also renovated a block of classrooms as a constituency project.

Felix Septuaginta Annorum Celebratio ad IJGS!

May the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, grant us peace in Nigeria!
- KOMOLAFE wrote from Ijebu-Jesa, Osun State, Nigeria (ijebujesa@yahoo.co.uk; 08033614419 – SMS only)
●Concluded.
November 15, 2025
Issues in the Trump threat (2)

No less hypocritical and predicated on utter falsehood than the petition of the leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, to President Donald Trump, claiming to be the victim of Christian genocide in Nigeria and being illegally detained by the Nigerian authorities, was a protest letter submitted to the Embassy of the United States in Abuja, the European Union (EU) Mission and the Ministry of Justice by a faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Acting under the aegis of the PDP Like-Mind Group, the protesting opposition party members appealed to the international community to help safeguard democracy in Nigeria and prevent the country from descending into a one-party state.

According to a news report in The Independent Newspaper, “Led by Mr Moses Aliu, the protesters carried placards urging global partners and the Ministry of Justice to act swiftly to protect Nigeria’s democracy and uphold the independence of the judiciary. They accused the ruling party of orchestrating a drift towards a one-party regime through intimidation of opposition figures. The protesters said their demonstration aimed to draw attention to rising corruption, political persecution and what they described as the capture of key state institutions. The protest also called on the judiciary and law enforcement agencies to stand firm in defending democratic rights and the rule of law.”

Coming shortly after the US President, Donald Trump, had threatened sanctions and possible military intervention in Nigeria to check what he described as ‘Christian genocide’, the factional PDP protest was a subtle support for external forcible intrusion in the country’s internal political structures and processes. The protracted factional crises that have hobbled the former self-proclaimed largest party in Africa, purportedly destined to rule for 60 years, are attributed to deliberate machinations of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the President Bola Tinubu administration to annihilate opposition parties and impose a one-party dictatorship in Nigeria.

Unfortunately, this kind of deliberately misleading rhetoric may give opportunity to foreign elements bent on destabilising Nigeria for ulterior motives and hidden agendas to intervene directly or indirectly in our internal affairs, citing support for such disruptive intrusions within the country. If the government of a country with perhaps the most extensive and sophisticated intelligence network on earth could be misled into perceiving Nigeria’s multi-dimensional crises encompassing political, ethnic, religious, economic, climatic and environmental factors as a unidirectional Islamic terrorism against Christians, it is not impossible that misrepresentations of the country’s challenges could lure outsiders into misguided adventurism in Nigeria.

Now, what are the roots of the current crisis plaguing the PDP and which unfortunately continues to fester by the day? Can the internal ruptures and ripples within the former ruling party, which was in power at the centre for 16 years, be credibly and plausibly blamed on the Tinubu administration? The remote cause of the PDP imbroglio was the attempt under the presidency of General Olusegun Obasanjo (1999-2007) to destabilise and absorb opposition parties into the PDP and impose an essentially one-party-dominant system on the country. This was a period when elected office holders of the major opposition parties, the Alliance for Democracy (AD) and the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), routinely defected to the PDP in a bid to partake of ‘mainstream’ resource sharing at the centre.

Read Also: Trump’s ineptitudes and panic in Nigeria

The Chairman of the second largest opposition party in the country at the commencement of the fourth Republic in 1999, the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), the late Alhaji Mahmud Waziri, from Adamawa State, was subsequently appointed as Special Adviser to President Olusegun Obasanjo on inter-party relations. This was part of a process of systematic bleeding of the ANPP by the then-ruling PDP that rendered the former a shadow of itself before the 2003 elections. The defunct Alliance for Democracy (AD) was in control of the six states of the Southwest between 1999 and 2003. In the 2003 elections, the rampaging PDP Tsunami swept five of the Southwest states into the ruling party’s orbit with then-governor Bola Tinubu of Lagos State as the only one reelected on the platform of the AD in the region.

Even as the leadership and members of the AD were in a virtual state of mourning after the party’s questionable routing by the PDP in 2003, its national chairman, Alhaji Ahmed Abdulkadir, congratulated the ruling party on its electoral victory and was later appointed as Special Adviser to the President on Manufacturing and Private Sector in the Obasanjo administration. In an article in this space on August 1, 2009, titled ‘PDP as Noah’s Ark’, this column commented on the intensifying gale of defections to the PDP at that time.

As I put it in that piece, “As the rampaging elements of vengeful nature assail Nigerians on all sides, devaluing the quality of their lives, it is not surprising that more and more political office holders are dumping the political party platforms on which they rose to power and migrating to the safety of the Noah’s Ark that they perceive the PDP to be. Just as the biblical Ark protected Noah and his family from the fury of the flood that devastated sinful creation, the PDP is seen by the growing army of executive defectors as their eternal refuge and stronghold against political calamity. At least with the irascible Professor of travesty, Maurice Iwu, still inexplicably calling the shots at INEC, they can be guaranteed life tenures in the Ark of power irrespective of the will of the people.”

The piece continued, “Following in the footsteps of Governors Isa Yuguda of Bauchi State and Mahmud Shinkafi of Sokoto State, who had earlier shamelessly dumped their original party platforms, the ANPP, for the PDP, Governor Ikedi Ohakim of Imo State is the latest governor to jettison moral principles and dive headlong into the contemporary PDP Noah’s Ark built on deceit and fraud. Governor Ohakim demonstrated a stunning lack of grace and civility in so callously ditching the PPA that offered him a platform to contest the 2007 elections; an opportunity he was denied with arrogant impunity in the PDP. Today, Ohakim has opted to stab the PPA in the back by going back to his vomit”.

At the reception ceremony to welcome Ohakim to the PDP in Owerri, the late President Umaru Yar’Adua had declared exultantly, “Today is a great day for us in PDP. All the leadership of the party is here today to receive Governor Ohakim in our fold. You are welcome back to the PDP. Today is a day for prayers; today is a day to celebrate, and today is a day for songs”.

After the 2007 general elections, the PDP was in control of 31 of the 36 states in the country. Before the polls, President Obasanjo had described the elections as a ‘do or die’ affair for the then ruling party. Yet, no one accused the PDP of trying to foist a one-party system on the country despite President Yar’Adua’s admission after his controversial electoral triumph that the election which ushered him to power was deeply flawed.

After the 2003 elections, President Tinubu remained the only governor in the country on the platform of the AD. He was the butt of jokes by fellow governors and PDP leaders, especially that he would ultimately have no choice but to join the ruling party. Rather than being an attempt to convert Nigeria’s multi-party democracy into a one-party system, the pattern of opposition party leaders defecting to the ruling party, as currently happening, is an unfortunate, ingrained feature of Nigeria’s political culture, which has been prevalent ever before the emergence of the APC. To his credit, Tinubu did not join the bandwagon of defectors to the ruling party. Rather, he worked assiduously with other like-minded leaders to retrieve his party’s stolen electoral mandates through the judicial process and ultimately to form political parties that worked in coalition with other parties and forces to win political parties at the centre in 2015.

What is dispiriting about the letter of the IPOB leader to President Trump or the PDP’s petition to the US and the European Union seeking external intervention in our internal political and Judicial processes for reasons that lack logical or empirical validity is that it portrays our political class as being incapable of solving domestic challenges and in the process strengthening our socio-political institutions. Again, it legitimises the attempt by external powers to dictate how we run our affairs, thus engendering a feeling of psychological inadequacy and inferiority among Nigerians. This also obscures the fact that those we seek to be our redemptive political Messiahs also have their own structural, behavioural and institutional challenges despite having a headstart of hundreds of years over us in the practice of democracy.

Following the refusal of losers in the 2023 presidential elections to accept the outcome of the polls, for instance, the cerebral thinker and novelist, Chimamanda Adichie, wrote an open letter to former President Joe Biden not to recognise the outcome of the election. Actuated largely by ethnic considerations because of her support for Mr Peter Obi, an Igbo who came third in the polls, she conveniently forgot that Donald Trump had vehemently questioned the legitimacy of the election that produced Biden, claiming that it was brazenly rigged! It is the same mentality that informs calls by members of the political class who lose elections and their supporters for military intervention because they disagree with the outcome of polls and dislike the government in power. They forget that soldiers plan and execute coups essentially for their self-interest and will hardly stake their lives to hijack power unconstitutionally only to donate such power to a group of disgruntled opposition politicians. It is in the interest of mutinous soldiers to discredit the political class as a whole and democracy as a system of government.

When Alhaji Atiku Abubakar emerged as PDP presidential candidate for the 2023 elections, key stakeholders within the party, including the Group of five governors led by Barrister Nyesom Wike, urged him to allow the Chairmanship of the party to shift to the South for regional and zonal balance. He was adamant and arrogant in his refusal, thus laying the foundation for the defeat of the PDP in that election. Atiku did not win in any of the PDP states controlled by the PDP G5 governors. The opposition is going into the 2027 elections even more divided than they were in 2023. With the economic reforms of the Tinubu administration gradually beginning to yield fruit with bright prospects of impacting lives positively in the near future, it is tempting for many of them to long for foreign military intervention or a military coup to torpedo the entire political process out of loathing for the Tinubu administration.

If so, they will only shoot themselves in the foot. The only way to organise effectively to confront the APC in the next electoral cycle is for the opposition to get its act together, forge a more cohesive front and present the electorate with a credible alternative economic pathway, which they are yet to do up till now. As the notable journalist and lawyer, Seun Okinbaloye, of Channels Television (by no means a supporter of the Tinubu administration), so aptly put it, “This is the time for every Nigerian to come together and leave every kind of politics to stand together for Nigeria…An invasion of Nigeria is not in the favour of any Nigerian. If you look at Somalia, Egypt, Libya, and other nations invaded in the past by foreign forces, those countries are destabilised”.

November 15, 2025
Wake up Super Eagles!

Most of us think that participating at the four-yearly fiesta for the biggest and enthralling games is a tea party. Aside, many others feel strongly that playing at the Mundial was as simple as buying a lottery ticket from the shop. In fact, there is a dismissive tendency of thinking that all that we need to be part of the comity of nations at every Mundial is just walk up to FIFA headquarters in Zurich to say ”We are Nigerians,” and we would be handed the qualification ticket without stress. No plan.

The sports administrators’ approach to Nigeria’s participation at the Mundial is such that you would think the competition is our birthright. It doesn’t matter how well the real contenders prepare. Getting the cherished ticket should define the growth of the game at the domestic front for the next four years.

In plotting our illusory chart for the World Cup ticket, we rely on God’s divine favours, as if other nations don’t believe in ”Our Father who art in Heaven, Halloweth be thy name…”. We forget the biblical phrase of Heaven helping those who help themselves first. Truth be told, we allow our emotions to rule our thought processes, leaving us in the lurch groping over how we missed it. We leave it late and expect to qualify by the snap of our fingers. Pray, when will we learn? Other 211 countries don’t have the right to dream about playing at the senior World Cup? No, only Nigeria. Indeed.

Until the government starts disbursing funds to run the game here directly to the NFF, the show of shame where players demand for their entitlements in foreign lands will continue unabated. It amounts to good governance when each level does its job without overlaps. It is ethically wrong for the supervisory body to do the disbursement of funds which pass through them. The supervisor must learn how to discharge his functions and allow others to do theirs.

Otherwise, how do you explain the trip to Rabat by the hierarchy of the supervisory body taking foreign currencies to the team 24 hours to a crucial competition after telling the world they had given the soccer federation all that they asked for to prosecute the World Cup playoffs for the African continents.

Of course, the supervisory body’s penchant for holiness is laughable because till date we don’t know the correct medals’ table to capture what happened at the last National Sports Festival held in Abeokuta, Ogun State. No one holds the supervisors accountable publicly, but through laid down procedures. A situation where the supervisor becomes the servant says a lot even when both bodies have accounting experts deployed to handle such an exercise.

Read Also: Super Eagles’ pay dispute : Height of peculiar mess in NFF

Perhaps, the government should in the future get the finance ministry officials to handle the NFF’s financial transactions except those from FIFA which the international body knows how to detect excesses and abuses including misapplication of their cash.

Taking the cash to Rabat meant that the supervisory body didn’t do its job to ensure that things were done tidily instead of the disgraceful resort to self help by the players, coaches and team officials. The impression being created when there are strikes is that the soccer body is incompetent. It always turns out to be the failure of leadership by the supervisor.

One world has suggested that the Federal Government should constitute a World Cup Task Force to handle the country’s campaign. But previous ones had their members overreaching their briefs, leading to crises of shameful dimensions. The soccer federation should be given their funds directly, with the EFCC and the ICPC officials tasked to look into the federation’s books to identify misapplication of funds, and those found culpable made to face the full wrath of the laws.

Certainly, the obvious question would be how do the other countries handle their qualification plans without problems? Do these countries agree with the players, coaches and team officials on the mode of payment which could be handled directly by the finance ministry by transferring cash directly into their respective accounts after due diligence has been done? The bigger picture could be for the government to release cash to the NFF, with the finance ministry officials doing the disbursement after vetting the payment vouchers. This idea of bringing odium to the country must stop. The supervisory body must be told in strict terms not to disburse cash to the players, coaches and team officials as if they are labourers. After all, they play for clubs who remit their entitlements to them seamlessly through their bank details. A stitch in time saves nine.

Watching the game on Thursday night showed that the players must begin to take the reporting date to camp seriously. Practice sessions mustn’t be tampered with on the altar of flight difficulties. Most of the players ply their trades in European countries where airlines have schedules to different parts of the world. Bookings for such flight schedules can be done at individuals’ discretion.

Victor Osimhen needed the first half of woeful misses in front of goal to regain his goal-scoring sharpness in the second half, culminating in his brace which sank the Gabonese. Again, Osimhen is too exposed as a professional to know that it is awful to take off one’s shirt in celebration after scoring a goal. Besides, our players must be punished over needless yellow cards. Frank Onyeka ought to have known that retaliation is a punishable offence which in most cases translates to such players being shown a straight red card which could have affected the team’s performance. The Eagles must now play against D.R Congo without Wilfred Ndidi who was shown a yellow card in the sixth minute in Thursday’s match, making it his second yellow card in the competition.

Coach Eric Chelle goofed when he removed Nigeria’s goal scorer Akor Adams. One has been trying to process the reason for the change. Dear Chelle, Super Eagles have been conceding late goals. Please fix the problems. At senior World Cups, games are won from the bench through informed substitutions which rub off on the game almost immediately. In the likely event that Nigeria gets one of the two playoffs’ tickets, the NFF and their cantankerous supervisors should ensure that Chelle attends good coaching refresher courses to update his knowledge about the modern tricks of the game which is dynamic.

In a post-match statement by the president’s Special Adviser on Communication and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, on Thursday night via a tweet, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu described the performance as a clear expression of the Nigerian character that rises, adapts, and prevails.

“This is the true Nigerian spirit of resilience against all odds. Do not stop until you secure a qualification. Super Eagles, keep soaring. The nation stands with you,” the president said.

Chelle’s post-match comments raise hope when he said: ”I am very proud of these guys, because every time they are focused on what I ask them to do and they do what I want. They always show what I want from them, and they can prove why I believe in them.”

“The difference in this game was the passion these guys had. They had focus, kept the ball together and held the same thinking. We are happy, but we can’t celebrate just yet. Maybe after the second game, we can smile.”

November 15, 2025
The Christian genocide question in Nigeria: a nuanced examination

The question of whether Christians in Nigeria are experiencing systematic genocide has become increasingly prominent in international discourse, particularly in Western media and political circles. Such characterization, while capturing the very real suffering of Christian communities in certain regions, requires careful examination to avoid oversimplifying a complex humanitarian crisis that has claimed lives across religious lines.

Nigeria’s security challenges cannot be reduced to a single narrative of religious persecution. The violence that has plagued the country, particularly in its northern and Middle Belt regions, stems from multiple interlocking crises: the Boko Haram insurgency, banditry in the Northwest, farmer-herder conflicts, and broader governance failures. While it is undeniable that Christians have been targeted in specific incidents, particularly during religious and civil disturbances, the reality on the ground reveals a more troubling picture—one where violence has consumed communities regardless of their faith.

Since the emergence of Boko Haram in 2009, Muslims have borne an enormous share of casualties. The terrorist group, whose name roughly translates to “Western education is forbidden,” has killed tens of thousands of people, the majority of them Muslims. Towns and villages across Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa states—predominantly Muslim areas—have been razed, with entire populations displaced. Mosques have been bombed during Friday prayers, and Islamic scholars who speak against the group’s extremist ideology have been systematically assassinated.

Similarly, the banditry crisis that has devastated Northwest Nigeria, particularly Zamfara, Katsina, and Kaduna states, has primarily affected Muslim communities. Armed criminal gangs have attacked villages, kidnapped thousands for ransom, and disrupted agricultural activities, creating a humanitarian catastrophe. These bandits, motivated primarily by economic gain rather than religious ideology, have shown no hesitation in targeting Muslim communities, schools, and places of worship.

A crucial aspect often overlooked in the genocide narrative is that terrorist groups operating in Nigeria have demonstrated a consistent pattern of indiscriminate violence. Boko Haram and its offshoot, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), Ansaru and Lakurawa have attacked both Christian and Muslim targets. Their ideology views any Nigerian who does not subscribe to their extreme interpretation of Islam as a legitimate target—this includes the vast majority of Nigerian Muslims.

Read Also: Genocide claim: Clerics urge courage, justice, divine intervention

The terrorists’ strategic objectives center on destabilizing the Nigerian state, controlling territory, and imposing their governance system. While they have certainly attacked churches, Christian communities, and used anti-Christian rhetoric, they have simultaneously waged sustained campaigns against Muslim institutions, traditional leaders, and government structures. Their violence is totalizing, aimed at anyone who resists their authority or represents the existing order.

To characterize this as a genocide against Christians specifically is to misunderstand the nature of the threat and inadvertently minimize the suffering of Muslim victims who have died in equal or greater numbers. It also plays into the terrorists’ strategy of sowing religious division, which serves their interest in fragmenting Nigerian society along religious lines.

The violence in states like Plateau, Benue, and Taraba presents additional complications to the genocide narrative. These states have experienced horrific bloodshed, often framed as attacks by Fulani Muslim herders against Christian farming communities. There is truth to this characterization in specific incidents—Christian villages have been attacked, churches burned, and entire communities displaced in what appears to be religiously motivated violence.

However, a closer examination reveals that these conflicts are rooted in competition over land and resources, exacerbated by climate change, population growth, and the breakdown of traditional conflict resolution mechanisms. While the religious dimension cannot be ignored—the perpetrators are often Muslim herders and the victims Christian farmers—the underlying drivers are economic and environmental.

Critically, these conflicts have not been one-sided. Reprisal attacks carried out by Christian communities against Muslim herders communities and settlements have also occurred, resulting in significant Muslim casualties. Villages with Muslim populations have been attacked, mosques destroyed, and innocent Muslim herders killed in revenge for earlier attacks. This cycle of violence and counter-violence demonstrates that the situation is more accurately described as communal conflict rather than systematic genocide.

The framing of these incidents solely as persecution of Christians ignores the Muslim victims and obscures the need for comprehensive solutions that address land use, climate adaptation, and intercommunal reconciliation. It also risks entrenching the very religious divisions that perpetuate the violence.

Thus recent statements from the U.S. President, Donald Trump regarding potential military intervention to protect Christians in Nigeria have sparked controversy and concern. While the international community’s attention to Nigeria’s security crisis is welcome, and assistance in defeating terrorist groups would be beneficial, such support must respect Nigeria’s territorial sovereignty and constitutional order.

Nigeria is a sovereign nation with its own military and security apparatus. Any form of intervention must be conducted through proper diplomatic channels, with the consent of the Nigerian government, and in accordance with international law. Unilateral military action or intervention justified solely on the basis of protecting one religious community would be both illegal and counterproductive.

Moreover, conspiracy theories have emerged suggesting that such intervention rhetoric is connected to Nigeria’s 2027 elections, potentially aimed at influencing domestic politics or supporting particular candidates. Whether or not these theories have merit, they highlight the danger of external actors inserting themselves into Nigeria’s internal affairs in ways that could destabilize rather than help the country.

True Nigerians—those committed to the country’s unity and progress—must resist narratives that oversimplify the nation’s security challenges or seek to divide its people along religious lines. The violence affecting the country is real and demands urgent action, but that action must be based on accurate understanding of the problem.

What Nigeria needs is comprehensive security sector reform, investment in affected communities regardless of their religious composition, genuine reconciliation efforts, and governance that delivers justice and economic opportunity to all citizens. International support should take the form of intelligence sharing, training, equipment, and diplomatic backing—not interventions that undermine sovereignty or reinforce religious divisions.

The suffering of Christians in Nigeria is real and deserves attention. But so too is the suffering of Muslims, and of all Nigerians caught in the crossfire of terrorism, banditry, and communal violence. Only by acknowledging the full scope of the crisis can we hope to address it effectively. The goal should not be to protect one religious community at the expense of truth, but to protect all Nigerians and build a country where security, justice, and dignity are available to everyone, regardless of their faith.

November 9, 2025
Ijebu-Jesa Grammar School at 70! (1)

Paying tribute to a respected institution as it marks three scores and ten of sustained success and brand excellence shouldn’t feel routine or simply like a chore. Instead, it ought to serve as a genuine moment to reflect deeply on its past achievements and the potential it may have missed.

The spirit and community efforts that led to the establishment of Ijebu-Jesa Grammar School (IJGS), Ijebu-Jesa, Osun State in January 1955 are worthy of remembrance and high commendation. The founding fathers were driven by a clear understanding of the consequences of inaction. Their determination was to align with the enlightenment and opportunities provided by Western education to uplift an incoming generation. They must be commended, not just for their pioneering efforts, but for their strategic astuteness.

IJGS is a result of the original blueprint by the Ijebu-Jesa Union Conference (IJUC), which initiated the concept circa 1936. That year, during the presidency of D.B. Aloba, the IJUC sent a delegation to secure the support of the chiefs and people of Ijebu-Jesa. The delegation included: S.A. Fatiregun, T.T. Ojumu, A.A. Esugbongbe, S.K. Ogunseemi, I.O. Fajuyigbe, J.O. Famakinwa and J.O. Aloba.

The principals who have served the school include: C.O. Komolafe (1955-1962); Z.A. Ogunmola (January-December 1963); P.O. Orunmuyi (1964-1972); E.A. Iyanda (1973-1975); S.A. Adewole (1975-1982); I.O. Orolugbagbe (1982-1984); and Olu Olowokure (1984-1999).

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Others were: G.A. Adesina (April-December 1991); M.O. Saseun (1992-1994); B.A. Fakankun (1995-2000); M.O. Fadare (2001-2005); P.O. Oyewale (2008-2012); J.O. Ayeni (2012-2017); I.O. Dagiloke (2017-2018); J.D. Olanipekun (2018-2020); C.B. Adeoye (2021-2024); and Bolanle Aderemi (2024-date).

Currently, IJGS boasts ten permanent teaching staff, three Teaching Practice teachers, and seven corps members. Additionally, there are fifteen PTA teachers whose wages are covered by the Old Students Association (IJGSOSA). Class ’71 has, for the past four years, employed and paid a Physics Teacher for the school and is willing to continue this generous commitment. Thankfully, the student beneficiaries have responded with outstanding performances.

To paraphrase what was said of Christopher Wren, the architect of Modern London, whose epitaph reads, “Si monumentum requiris, circumspice” (If you seek his monument, look around you). In the same powerful way, if you seek to know what those who conceived the idea of establishing IJGS achieved, look around you. The school has since provided a remarkable array of professionals and technocrats who have elevated the community and extended their reach beyond it.

IJGS opened with more than seventy students. This first set included Babajide Jayeoba, Patrick Agbara, Saka Sanusi, Jide Oluwi, and Oladapo Aloba, who served as the pioneer Senior Prefect. Among others were Gideon Oni, Dapo Olatunde, Ezekiel Ogundele, Theophilus Obisesan, and Koya Olubiyi.

An interesting part of the IJGS story is that its inaugural graduating class comprised only eleven students. Originally an all-male secondary school, the institution also admitted its first female students in 1966. They graduated in 1970.

The first student who made distinctions at the Cambridge examination (equivalent of today’s Senior Secondary School Examination, SSCE) was the late Professor Olaniyi Ayoade (1962 set). The first football goalkeeper of the school was the late Lere Adigun, aka, Maja. Adigun is fondly remembered for reportedly riding a bicycle all the way from Germany to Nigeria. The late Adepoju Onibokun, the first Professor of Urban and Regional Planning in Africa, was also a distinguished product of IJGS (1961 set).

The reigning Elegboro of Ijebu-Jesa, Oba Moses Olufemi Agunsoye is a 1976 product of the school. Oba Adesuyi Haastrup (Ajimoko III), the Owa Obokun of Ijesaland, also attended IJGS for a year (1963-1964). Among other notable alumni is Francis Fadahunsi, the Senator Representing Osun East Senatorial District, who earned his Higher School Certificate (HSC) at IJGS between 1972 and 1973.

The list also features Olusola Famuyide (Class ’71), a retired Research Director and one-time Provost of the Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria (FRIN). Another notable alumnus is Kolawole Kazeem (1976 set), a Professor at the University of Ibadan, current IJGSOSA Global President, and last substantive Provost of the former Osun State College of Education, Ilesa (2017-2021).

The list continues with Olutise Adenipekun (’77 set), former Registrar and Head of the Nigeria National Office of WAEC; Ambassador Adedayo Adefidipe (Class ’74); and Tony Igbaroola (Class ’76), owner of Sambeatz Hotel and Suites, Ilesa.

Olukayode Abe (’77 set) is a renowned administrator and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management. He maintains key roles in various organizations and serves as a Facilitator and Senior Lecturer in Rome Business School in Rome, Italy. His younger brother, Oluwaseyi Abe, mni (’83 set), is a multifaceted professional whose expertise spans banking, insurance, finance, and solar energy. He’s the 9th President of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers and sits on the boards of several companies.

Tayo Abogan (Class ’78) is the Chairman, Committee of Deans, and the Dean of the Faculty of Environmental Studies at the Osun State College of Technology, Esa-Oke. Before his current roles, Abogan served as the Acting Deputy Rector and, from 2010 to 2019, as the Head of Urban and Regional Planning Department.

Among the Class ’84 were: Sola Fasoranti, a US-based Petroleum Engineer; Professor Wole Ajayi (LAUTECH, Ogbomoso); Bank Executives Olufemi Fasoyin and Abayomi Fadare; and Adebowale Adeduntan, a Dublin-based Mechanical Engineer. The set also includes Rt. Rev. Olugbenga Babatunji, the Lord Bishop of Osun Diocese (Anglican Communion), and Pastor Femi Faseru of the KICC, Lagos. Femi Faseru’s younger brother, Babalola Faseru (1987 set), is a Professor of Population Health at the University of Kansas Medical Center (KUMC).

I belonged to the 1985 set, and I was the Chapel Prefect Boy. The set showcased a superb team, including: Akinyemi Adu (Senior Prefect Boy), who sadly died on October 21, 2025, and Onifade Toyin (Senior Prefect Girl). Falola Moses served as Labour Prefect Boy; Ajayi Ige (Agriculture Prefect) died on December 11, 2023. The late Ajayi Olamide was the Chapel Prefect Girl, while Ekundayo Temitope and Aworele Kehinde held the Social Prefect roles.

Fasoyin Oluropo was the Punctuality Prefect while Faseyitan Dada (Boy) and Dada Margaret (Girl) served as Health Prefects. Komolafe Oluwaseun was the Library Prefect Boy. Olugbade Ebenezer (Boy) and Agbedu Elizabeth (Girl): Games Prefects; and Agbedu Emmanuel (Boy) and Ekundayo Ayodele (Girl): Food Prefects. Among the House Prefects were Olagunju Julius (Agigiri, Boy), Arojojoye Adejare (Agigri, Girl), and Anakali Pius (Yoloye, Boy).

IJGS presently has 327 students. The current leadership team includes Adeosun Boluwatife (Head Boy); Ajayi Sharon (Head Girl/Health Girl); Ojelabi Michael (Assistant Head Boy/Punctuality Prefect Boy); and Oladipupo Favour (Assistant Head Girl/Punctuality Prefect Girl). Other prefects are Swardart Samson and Giwa Omotola (Labour Prefects, Boy and Girl respectively); Akinsola Emmanuel (Social Prefect Boy); Adedayo Precious (Social Prefect Girl); and Taiwo Ayomikun (Games Prefect). The team is rounded out by Omilegan Lekan (Time Keeper), and Chapel Prefects Tofunmi Ademilolu and Olanipekun Khadijat.

Not unexpectedly, the alumni have been instrumental in significant infrastructural developments for the school. For example, Engr. Folorunso Esan (Class ’81) secured Federal Government funding for the complete renovation of the Administrative Building, and Senator Fadahunsi funded the construction of an ICT Centre. Class ’73 sponsored the renovation and equipping of the Science Laboratories with modern facilities.

IJGSOSA facilitated the establishment of a School Clinic and a Games Block, while Class ’85 renovated four classrooms within the Administrative Building. These examples represent only a fraction of the alumni’s contributions.

We might ask: Why is a school with such great potential still struggling with enrollment and related issues, seventy years on, with the student figure currently standing at less than 350? Of course, the challenge lies not with the school itself but with the powers and principalities in the current societal climate.

● To be concluded.

November 8, 2025
Trump, not Nigeria, is of particular concern to the world

Since Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s ugly encounter with American President Donald Trump in the latter’s Oval Office in Washington DC on February 28, I have come to the conclusion that the American President is a bully who thinks nothing more of power than a tool for oppression. In the midst of Ukraine’s war with Russia, President Zelensky had visited Trump at the White House to discuss a minerals agreement and secure continued US support for Ukraine in her fight against Russia’s invasion. But about 40 minutes into the meeting and in front of dozens of cameras in the room, Zelensky found himself sandwiched between President Trump and his deputy, J.D. Vance, as they derailed the meeting and minerals deal and descended on their guest in an unprecedented public confrontation between an American President and a foreign head of state.

Trump, a supposed ally of Zelensky in Ukraine’s war with Russia following the latter’s invasion of the former’s territory, wanted Ukraine to agree on a ceasefire with Russia in order to halt hostilities and work towards a comprehensive peace deal. Trump, a known friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin, suddenly came to the decision that Ukraine was to blame for Russia’s invasion of her territory. He then went on to tag Zelensky, the weaker party in the dispute, as a dictator! Nearly all of US allies, along with other global figures, voiced their support for Zelensky, with many issuing statements to rebuke Trump for his confrontational disposition.

Three months later, it was the turn of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa to get the Trump treatment. In a pure case of ambush, President Trump, in the middle of a meeting with Ramaphosa inside the same Oval Office at the White House, called for the lights to be dimmed so he could play a video to back up allegations of genocide against white South Africans. A thoroughly embarrassed Ramaphosa sat mouth agape as Trump hauled at him allegations of racism and mass murder of white South African farmers. The South African President tried to push back on Trump’s assertion, admitting that there is “criminality” in the country but most of the victims are black, but Trump was neither persuaded nor convinced.

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The same Trump has engaged China, Canada and other countries around the world in unwarranted diplomatic rows, embarrassing his countrymen and almost subjecting them to ridicule in a tax war with China. A man whose successive marriage to three different women collapses is certainly the one in need of self introspection.

As it has turned out, Nigeria is confronted with the fate that befell South Africa at Trump’s hands with another unfounded allegation of genocide against Christians leveled by Trump against the Tinubu administration. The American president had Friday last week shocked the country with a post on X (formerly Twitter), accusing Nigeria of genocide against its Christian population. And while the populace was trying to come to terms with the bombshell from the blue, he made another post, threatening to invade the country with American soldiers “gun-a-blazing”.

Ordinarily, news of American soldiers coming to complement the efforts of our armed forces in the bid to end the reign of terror that has been unleashed on the nation for more than one and a half decades should gladden the heart. But the antecedents of both Trump and America in such matters would be a cause for concern for any patriot. Similar interventions in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and other countries before now have ended in regrets for the populace. In most cases, the interventions are based on fallacies aimed at pursuing the selfish economic agenda of America.

In the case of Nigeria, there are already enough grounds to believe that the fate that awaits it in the event of an intervention would not be any different from those of Libya, Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan where America had previously called the dog a bad name in order to hang it.

A more viable option would be that America supports our armed forces with cutting edge arms and other military equipment to help our soldiers in the fight against terrorism. But while Trump is not oblivious of this alternative, he finds President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s ‘sins’ against him and the American nation too serious to be dealt with remotely. Observers say he has not forgiven the Nigerian President over his alleged support along with other democrats like French President Emmanuel Macron for Kamala Harris, the democrats’ candidate in the election that brought Trump into office, for fear that Trump as American president would be a veritable threat to world peace.

Added to the foregoing is the quiet economic revolution the Tinubu government is steering in Nigeria. If any country or head of state is in love with the strides in the nation’s economic sphere, it certainly cannot be America or Trump. Before now, the US had reaped bountifully from refining our crude oil and exporting same to our country to deplete our foreign reserves. But with the Dangote Refinery now in full operation and other indigenous ones coming on board, the nation no longer has to depend on the US for her fuel needs. This does not only mean a huge loss of revenue for the US, it is also a huge loss of jobs for its populace. Many US refineries whose survival depended on Nigeria’s crude are said to have folded up. Besides, the naira has stabilised and has continued to appreciate against the dollar.

It will be clear from the foregoing that Trump’s outbursts and threats against Nigeria are products of a frustrated mind.

November 8, 2025
Nigeria and the challenging times

On many occasions, the world’s most populous black nation, Nigeria, has passed through dreadful and challenging moments that taxed the ability of its successive leaders and the adaptive capabilities of its diverse people.

The country survived the mistrust of the 1950s, the political upheaval of the turbulent sixties, the destructive civil war, the dark period of the botched Third Republic, years of pestilence and global recession, and predictions of disintegration by foreign agencies.

Nigeria’s major problem today is insecurity, occasioned by the persistent activities of terrorists, bandits, cattle rustlers, commercial kidnappers targeting ransom, and other agents of violence across the North.

The threats to national peace by these unpatriotic elements are worrisome. Also disheartening are other forms of inhumanity of man to man in the South, as manifested by the activities of armed robbers, ritual killers and deadly ‘sit-at-home’ enforcers who maim, kill and destroy socio-economic activities.

Peace has taken flight in many communities where the rich and the commoners hitherto coexisted in harmony. Murders are on the increase, despite efforts by the government to halt the embarrassing trend. Everybody is a target, a potential victim – physically, socially, economically and emotionally – whether Christians or Muslims.

Across the globe, attention may have shifted to Nigeria, now a troubled nation that still shoulders enormous regional and continental responsibilities, despite the constraints.

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The searchlight and warning by the United States President Donald Trump may, in the final analysis, be a blessing in disguise. It is like a renewed wake-up call from afar in a world that has become a global village. The message of the American leader to Nigerian leaders is that they should put their house in order, rekindle efforts at liberating the country from the jaws of terror and create an enabling environment for all and sundry to thrive.

Foreign relations require tact; a rare application of intelligence. Diplomacy requires in-depth skills, knowledge and mobilisation of networks. Only seasoned and experienced envoys can handle the sensitive assignment.

But the situation at the home front is also crucial. Foreign policy is dictated by the home condition. Emergency experts in international relations are thrown up by the current circumstances. They are trying to twist facts and score cheap political points, oblivious of the fact that the more they dent the image of their country on social media, the more its reputation in the comity of nations is impaired.

This is the time for Nigerians, irrespective of their political differences, religious leanings and ethnic backgrounds, to unite and stand against the deviants and unpatriotic elements consistently giving the country a nightmare for nearly two decades.

The terrorists may be partly Nigerians and partly foreigners. Their capacity for consistent onslaught shows that their financial backers are not relenting. Nigerians – the government and the people – have to rise up to them.

There is a clear understanding that the government of Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a little above two and a half years in office, is not responsible for the tragedy. The problems were inherited from the preceding administrations, whose leadership also tried their best to rid the country of the menace. It is also indisputable that government has made a concerted effort to halt the carnage. But the problem has persisted.

Although ethnic and religious sentiments persist, the Tinubu administration comes across as a symbol of religious harmony and national unity that should be improved upon. President Tinubu legitimately holds the people’s mandate, and there is no national ethnic or religious discord that would have led to any genocide against any ethnic group or religious sect. He is a Muslim-husband of a Christian cleric-wife in a family that showcases the beauty of accommodation, religious tolerance, freedom of worship, association, and assembly.

It is good that the Federal Government has reacted to the allegation of genocide against Christians by properly clarifying the circumstances that heralded the misrepresentation and misunderstanding of the true picture of the war by terrorists against all Nigerians – Muslims and Christians – in the North. It is a bad idea to view the current scenario as a major confrontation between the United States and Nigeria or between Trump and Tinubu.

What makes it appear that Christians are the major or exclusive targets is that Christian bodies are more vociferous and confrontational in their responses to the killings, with further amplification by their networks abroad, unlike their hapless Muslim brothers and sisters at home, who submit to divine will.

It is certain that since Muslims are in the larger population in the Northeast and the Northwest, most victims are likely to be Muslims in a terrain where insurgents and bandits kill indiscriminately. The conclusion that more Christians die from the unprovoked and unwarranted attacks needs to be objectively scrutinised.

Nigeria needs to show depth and determination in handling the unfolding situation so that it does not risk further division between Christians and Muslims, who are collective victims of the current danger.

What is discernible from the critical foreign intervention is that a baseline has been created for seeking a wider global support for tackling the mounting terror challenge, which is not peculiar to Nigeria.

Speed is required. At a time the economy is improving and relief is not far in sight, Nigeria cannot afford to suffer reverses. The warning by the U.S. has implications for the investment drive and supply of aids. There would be fear of alienation. Diplomatic relations built over the years would be ruptured and the unfolding scenario might inadvertently pale into uncritical isolation or alienation of Nigeria, which has been a key partner in counter-terrorism and great factor in regional stability in West Africa and the entire African continent.

It is possible that Nigerians in the Diaspora are worried and they may be eager to plead, on behalf of the government and people of Nigeria, for more understanding and assistance in terms of arms supply to combat the terrorists.

Nigeria deserves the sympathy of humanity at this trying period. There is no evidence that this calamity is self-induced or brought by the government of the day. External influences cannot be ruled out. The North is a vast region sharing porous borders with a number of West African countries – Niger, Chad, Cameroon, and Benin Republic. Insurgent groups, identified and unidentified, visible or invisible, operate across the regions, apparently shifting bases and regressing to the crude tactics of targeting vulnerable populations whenever they are destabilised, before regaining strength.

Also, some occasional bloody ethnic clashes that led to deaths of innocent Nigerians should not be confused with the onslaughts by Boko Haram and ISWAP.

The war against insurgency should now be fought with much more vigour. It would be costly, but it is non-negotiable. More resources – human, financial, and military – have to be deployed until the desired result is attained. More recruitments in the military, equipment and much intelligence gathering are required.

At the diplomatic level, there is a need for more engagements with the world powers, particularly the U.S., the Evangelical bloc, whose outcry led to the U.S. searchlight on Nigeria, and more coordinated strategy with neighbouring countries. It is also time to appoint envoys to major Western countries and the United Nations (UN).

The immediate creation and effective activation of state police has become most urgent. It is the security structure for coordinating intelligence gathering in particular. The situation has become compelling for all hands to be on deck in the fight against the enemies of state, the terrorists and other agents of destabilisation.

November 8, 2025
2030, too far for Osimhen

I love my country, Nigeria. I love being called a Nigerian. Forget about all the seeming negatives about the Country. I will remain here and exit this world a happy man. But the few times I’ve had to do a little rethink was on how badly our soccer teams play in spite of the huge talents we parade seasonally. Then where is the problem with our soccer rooted? Simply. Every succeeding soccer federation seems worse than their predecessors and it is very unfortunate.

Ordinarily, we ought to have been talking about a talent that Nigeria would be unleashing to the world full blown after being exposed as a member of the Golden Eaglets at the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup, which Nigeria won. The world would be standing still waiting for Victor Patrick Osimhen in the country’s green-white-green jersey with applause. It is important to note here that Osimhen won the competition’s Golden Boot award. He made his senior international debut in June 2017, and played at the Africa Cup of Nations in 2019 and 2023, reaching the final of the latter competition.

Indeed, on Wednesday, Osimhen scored a hat-trick in 19 minutes against revered Ajax FC in Amsterdam which earned Galatasaray a 3-0 victory, their third consecutive UEFA Champions League win this season. Galatasaray last recorded his feat during the 2012/2013 season. No prize for guessing right that the Nigerian was given the Man of the Match diadem, not for the first time this season.

With the feat on Wednesday, Osimhen became the Nigeria with the highest number of goals in European competitions with 25 goals, surpassing Obafemi Martins’ hitherto 22 goals record. On 29 May 2023, Osimhen was made a Member of the Federal Republic of Nigeria by the late President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja.

Osimhen said in a post-match comment on Wednesday night: “I’m also very happy about the goals, of course, but I’d like to thank my teammates again.

“We’re going to put it on top of that pace.’’

”We’ll continue to build on this momentum. I believe we’ll be very happy at the end of the Champions League campaign, and we’ll continue to work on that.”

Asked about the possibility of winning the Golden Boot, Osimhen said he believes it’s achievable with the help of his teammates.

“Of course, I think I have the quality to do so, but I do it with the support of my teammates. They love giving me the ball, just like they did today,” he said.

“It’s a team effort, and I believe that with my teammates and their support, such a possibility is definitely possible. I will fight for it.”

Osimhen is currently the top scorer in the UEFA Champions League this season with six goals. The 26-year-old scored his first UCL hat-trick as Galatasaray beat Ajax 3-0 on Wednesday night. Osimhen becomes the second Nigerian to score a UCL hat trick, and is currently Nigeria’s all-time top scorer in the competition.

Osimhen’s records are intimidating, making him the future world soccer if he keeps his form playing for both his European club and the country, in this case, Nigeria. But, the snag would be with playing for Nigeria at the 2026 World Cup to be co-hosted by Mexico, Canada and the United States (US).

Rather than rue the miss by direct qualification for the 2026 World Cup in Group C which Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Republic of Benin, Rwanda, South Africa and Nigeria, the NSC’s and NFF’s chieftains are celebrating the fickle synergy between them. Pity! What they don’t understand is that there won’t be any form of permutations beginning with the African zone’s playoff where the Super Eagles must win her two matches, first against high scoring Gabon on November 13, and the winner of the cracker between DR Congo and the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon to qualify for the Intercontinental playoffs in March 2026.

Already, the Confederation of Africa (CAF) officials have informed Nigeria, Cameroon, DR Congo and Gabon that the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) machine would be used to adjudicate in controversial incidents during matches. Recall that the African continent didn’t use the VAR machines in all its 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

According to agency reports: ”The introduction of VAR for the playoffs could be a game-changer for Nigeria. It means that every single situation will be scrutinised.

”For example, if there was VAR, Calvin Bassey’s goal for Nigeria against South Africa in the return leg would have been cancelled for handball.

‘On the other hand, Nigeria have been on the receiving end of some terrible tackles in recent months. Case in point was the situation that got Osimhen injured against Rwanda in August. There could have been a red card in that situation, but the referee did not call it back.

‘’The Super Eagles will be hoping that the introduction of VAR favours them in Morocco.”

It would be a travesty if Osimhen watches the 2026 World Cup as a spectator and not one of the players of the competition playing for Nigeria.

The playoffs would be very tough laced with high wired politics, especially if some established countries fall back into the intercontinental zone of the playoffs. My heart freezes over the likelihood of Italy requiring the playoffs to qualify for the 2026 World Cup. That will be the day.

Sadly, Nigeria has fixed her resumption date for November 10 in Morocco with the Super Eagles Head Coach talking about the presence of new boys to strengthen his squad. He is the coach but many people are of the view that he ought to have known those he saw from previous camping periods to pick replacements from instead of inviting new kids who may not have visited the country. They consider these kind of players as luxuries, except Chelle is tacitly telling Nigerians that he is preparing for the next edition of the Africa Cup of Nations holding in December in Morocco.

Chelle has a supporter in the team’s first team goalkeeper, Stanley Nwabali who is already talking about Nigeria lifting the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations diadem in Morocco in December. Call this part of the mind games for the 2026 World Cup ticket chase by Nwabali and Chelle, you could be right. After all it is good to aspire for greatness. But why do we like releasing our team lists after others have done theirs? Gabon released theirs on Thursday.

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Leading the Gabonese25-man team is captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who will spearhead the attack alongside Denis Bouanga, the in-form striker who has scored eight goals in the qualifiers. Midfield general Mario Lemina also makes the list, reinforcing Gabon’s spine with his leadership and tactical intelligence.

Aubameyang and Bouanga have formed a lethal partnership throughout the campaign, combining for 15 goals that have taken the Panthers to the brink of a maiden World Cup appearance.

Coach Mouyouma expressed confidence in his team’s readiness, highlighting the careful balance of experience and youthful enthusiasm in the squad.

“This is a defining moment for Gabonese football,” Mouyouma said. “Our players understand the magnitude of this opportunity, and we are going to Rabat with full determination to make history.”

Interestingly, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has formally lodged a complaint with FIFA over what it describes as “a clear conflict of interest” in the appointment of South African and Benin Republic officials to handle Nigeria’s crucial 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying play-off against Gabon.

According to the appointment list signed by Gordon Savic, FIFA’s Head of Qualifiers & International Matches, South Africa’s Abongile Tom will officiate as the centre referee, assisted by compatriot Zakhele Thusi Granville Siwela, who will serve as Assistant Referee 2.

Another South African, Akhona Zennith Makalima, has been named head of the two-person Video Assistant Referee (VAR) team.

The politics of the playoffs have begun with the choice of match officials. It remains to be seen if the NFF can stand on their feet to make sure there is always a level playing field in the playoffs.

November 8, 2025
Rivers still waiting for Fubara’s new cabinet

Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has spent about 50 days in office since his second coming after the six months emergency rule in the state. The governor has been trying to bounce back; picking the gauntlet and pushing through all frontiers of development. But uncertainties still hover around his administration. He could not hit the ground running.

The obstacles posed by the conditions for peace might have prevented the governor from hitting the ground running. Fubara wants to appease his core loyalists and diplomatically disengage some of them seen as the faces and progenitors of the crisis. He looks like a man carefully charting a new path but conscious of not stepping on toes.

Many observers are curious that the governor after about 50 days has yet to have a fully constituted cabinet. The administration seems to lack the steam, the enthusiasm, the agility and activities that characterised its beginning.

Some issues have been left in the cooler unattended to as the governor appears to be biding his time. While the governor showed the exit door to his former Secretary to the State Government Dr. Tammy Danagogo by appointing his replacement, Benibo Anabraba, uncertainties still surround the office of his Chief of Staff (CoS).

Obviously, his political family does not want Edison Ehie to remain as his Chief of Staff. However, Fubara has not specifically said anything about his fate. It is unclear whether the man considered as the king of the youths is still performing his functions as the chief of staff.

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During his return, Ehie was seen with Fubara in almost all the events. In fact, he was in the company of Fubara on the aircraft that flew him back to office.

Suddenly, Ehie disappeared from public glare and went out of circulation. He has not been seen in the entourage of Fubara in most of the events, spiraling speculation on whether he is still the Chief of Staff. Fubara is widely expected to define these offices. Will he retain Ehie as Chief of Staff or assign him a new role in his government?

Apart from the position of the Chief of Staff, many ministries are yet to have commissioners and the governor has not reappointed some of the agencies he dissolved shortly after his return.

Where is the new commissioners’ list? What Fubara has so far done was to disengage about 19 commissioners sacked by the Supreme Court’s judgment without replacing them.

But the governor reportedly carried a minor reshuffle of commissioners not affected by the judgment. He redeployed the Commissioner for Information, Joe Johnson, to the Ministry of Commerce and left Johnson’s former office vacant.

As strategic as the Ministry of Information is, it has no commissioner. But the governor has been running the ministry and others like it with permanent secretaries. Will the governor run the ministries with permanent secretaries till the end of his first tenure?

It will be recalled that the House of Assembly, during its first sitting, asked the governor to send his list of commissioners-nominee for screening and confirmation, but he has yet to do so.

November 8, 2025