The Nation Newspaper

Category: Saturday

  • BAO and self-indictment of sacked agency boss

    BAO and self-indictment of sacked agency boss

    Soon after the unanticipated sacking of some members of the Ekiti State Executive Council on August 11, the unassuming and surpassingly modest Governor Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji (BAO), has removed from office the former Chairman of the state’s Microcredit and Enterprise Development Agency, Akogun Abayomi Olumide. A terse statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr Olayinka Olabode, issued on 16-08-2025, simply described the sack to be “as a result of gross misconduct and dereliction of duty” and “was with immediate effect’. But in a statement released to the press, the sacked agency Chief asserted that it was untrue that he was sacked over “corruption”.

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    Elaborating on the reason for his sack,  Akogun Olumide said, “The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said the agency should recover funds amounting to N1.6 billion. But along the line, we met bottlenecks. Politicians were interfering, saying the money was not disbursed by us. Because of these obstacles, we decided to stop and recommended that those who issued the money should be responsible for the recovery. So, in view of that, we continued with our mandate”.

    This curiously worded press statement does not indicate that the Chairman of the agency was directed to stop the fund recovery process that he was mandated to undertake in the first place. Rather, faced with resistance by those he was supposed to recover the money from, he desisted from carrying out the directive, advised that the responsibility be shifted to others, and “we continued with our own mandate”. Is there any description for this other than indefensible insubordination?

  • The voodoo called injuries

    The voodoo called injuries

    It is precisely 14 days to Nigeria’s next World Cup qualifier against Rwanda inside the Nest of Champions in Uyo, with the voodoo of missing key players due to injuries starring us in the face and which have effectively ruled out at least six players from the must-win game on September 6.

    In fact, coaches pray fervently against it knowing how badly it dissipates their squads ahead of crucial matches such as the two waiting for the Super Eagles against the Rwandans on September 6 and the kill-and-go game against Bafana Bafana on September 9, a date dear to my heart. September 9? Why always September 9.

    These injury worries have sidelined central defender Semi Ajayi, while poor form arising from a spate of injuries kept them off the pitch last season, making them ineligible for bidding during the summer transfer period, such as Taiwo Awoniyi of Nottingham Forest FC in the Premier League.

    Ajayi’s injury also raises fresh concerns over squad depth, as the team continues to battle with injuries to key players ahead of must-win matches. His injury problems paved the way for the Baggies to stop his contract, prompting his summer move to Hull City, where he delivered a dominant display against Coventry before the latest setback.

    Chelle is now saddled with the task of replacing Ajayi which means the Malian coach will naturally play an ageing William Troost-Ekong who has a way of rising to the big occasions with Bassey who features regularly for Fulham FC of England in the centre-back.

    Awoniyi was attempting to get on the end of a cross by winger Anthony Elanga. Sources told BBC Sport that Awoniyi suffered a ruptured intestine. He received medical attention for several minutes and had to leave the field after initially attempting to carry on.

    Having had the first part of the surgery, he spent the next day in an induced coma, as medical staff monitored his progress. Awoniyi had the second stage of the operation, including closing the wound, on the third day after the horrific injury in one of the Premier League matches last season against now relegated Leicester City.

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    Iheanacho’s spell on the sidelines with thigh injury contributed immensely to his poor form at the Foxes, leading to his move to Spain. Indeed, the former Golden Eaglets’ striker was out for “a number of weeks” after tearing his adductor muscle.

    This voodoo is threatening the depth of the squad with only Stanley Nwabali as the safest hands in the goalkeeping area of the team. The talk of having Okoye to stand in as the reserve goalkeeper has been shattered following the results of an investigation into the allegations of “unsporting misconduct” or match-fixing which was dropped against him by the tribunal.

    Okoye’s two-month ban began with Udinese’s first official game of the season, scheduled for their Coppa Italia tie against Carrarese on August 18. He will miss six Serie A matches and return to action on October 18. The import of this judgment leaves Nigeria with the short end of the stick, as it effectively rules out the Udinese FC of Italy goalkeeper from Nigeria’s September 6 and September 9 fixtures.

    My thoughts ran wild trying to figure out the goalkeepers to deputise for Nwabali in the event of injuries or red card (God forbid). I quickly rushed to the team’s past invitation of players’ list. Again, my heart shrunk. Tanzania-based Amas Obasogie will still fight for the goal-tender’s starting shirt. My only fear is that he has returned to Nigeria, casting doubt on his fitness and the quality of opposition he had whilst playing in Tanzania’s league last season.

  • 2027: Party/Governors’ Report Cards

    2027: Party/Governors’ Report Cards

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    •The dialogue continues…

  • Is FIFA Father Christmas?

    Is FIFA Father Christmas?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • Louis Odion: Who the cap fits

    Louis Odion: Who the cap fits

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

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

  • Kayode Opeifa and NRC’s’ Morning Yet on Creation Day’

    Kayode Opeifa and NRC’s’ Morning Yet on Creation Day’

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • Ogun 2027, Yayi and zoning

    Ogun 2027, Yayi and zoning

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • 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.

  • 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.