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Category: Femi Orebe

  • Atiku or Obi: who emerges ADC presidential candidate (2)

    Atiku or Obi: who emerges ADC presidential candidate (2)

    You Have Ran Enough”: Former Cross River governor,  Donald Duke advising Alhaji Atiku Abubarkar to end his long-standing presidential ambition.

    Last week I ended the column by concluding that former Anambra State governor, Peter Obi, would not be an ideal ADC Presidential candidate at the 2027 Presidential election.

    But neither did I endorse

    Alhaji Atiku Abubakar as a politically fit and proper person for the party’s presidential candidacy even though one of the two would emerge.

    Today we examine Alhaji Atiku’s suitability and his chances of victory if he eventually emerges the candidate.

    Ordinarily, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar’s experience and network, his decades of experience in Nigerian politics and government should provide him a strong foundation for the leadership of the Nigerian nation except for his unchecked arrogance of being a born to rule Northerner which has led him to many avoidable mistakes.

    His  national appeal – he has built a broad coalition of supporters all over the country – should ordinarily enhance his  electability just as his background in business and other sectors of the Nigerian economy should help him drive economic growth.

    Unfortunately, now in the age of AI, his being perceived as an old guard, having been too long in the political space,  and contesting at each election cycle since the 90’s, have rendered him otiose, and out of touch with younger Nigerians as well as current realities in governance, no matter the effort to mask all these.  It’s comeuppance and all these are now bound to combine to rob him of any such opportunity.

    READ ALSO: Kwara massacre belies end of Mamuda/JNIM terrorists

    Past allegations of corruption, not limited to Nigeria, would also negatively, impact his chances – and here I am not relying only on President Obasanjo’s deliberate, mostly hyperbolic de – marketing of his one – time Vice.

    Nor can we forget that Atiku has also made the mistake of unreasonably discounting most Nigerians’ crave for rotational presidency.

    More than the above, however, are  his personal failings which have already rendered him unfit to be elected President of a huge multi- ethnic, multi- religious country like Nigeria.

    These are so obvious, and negative, that only a very committed, but limited number of his own political party members can feel obliged to vote for him at the election.

    Come with me as we navigate these personal failings in my article of 27 November, ’22.    

    Titled:’Atiku’s Long Running Superiority Complex That May End Up Aborting His Presidential Ambition’, it reads as follows, though now significantly edited for space:

    My first received impression of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar was that of an arrogant, condescending Hausa-Fulani senior customs officer, who considered himself superior to all – thanks to two friends of mine – also customs officers -both now long retired, one of who actually worked directly  with him at the Lagos International Airport, Ikeja.

    This view got further confirmation when I saw the entitlement mentality he exhibited while pursuing his ambition to be Chief MKO Abiola’s Vice Presidential candidate, for no other reason than that he was a protégé of the powerful General Shehu Musa Yar’ Adua. The unimaginable intra-party crisis that followed the choice of Babagana Kingibe did not help. Of course, I was all the while rooting for Kingibe in my column in a Lagos evening newspaper edited by my friend, Banji Ogundele. 

    Vice President Atiku has demonstrated a striking lack of patience in waiting  to take his turn, the reason I recently captioned one of my articles on this column as “Atiku Abubakar: Desperation is Your Name”.

    Underpinning his desperation is his superiority complex. He so much believed he was better than his boss, former president Olusegun Obasanjo, that he actually wanted to supplant him as PDP candidate in the 2003 presidential election.

    Let us hear how the Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka put it while answering a question at the special presentation of his book, “Quis Custodiet Ipsos Custodes?: Gani’s Unfinished Business”,  at the Freedom Park, Lagos:

    ” Before the PDP primaries in January 2003, Obasanjo got everyone he knew could reach me on the surface of the earth including Yemi Ogunbiyi and my son, to get me to help him intercede when it was clear that (Abubakar) Atiku was in a position to take his job. He knew Atiku had a lot of regard for me and calls me ‘Uncle’.

    “The pressure was intense. Of course, I could not have knelt before Atiku not to embark on a course of action that would lead to his boss’ disgrace. But I can confirm to you that Obasanjo as President knelt down before Atiku so that he would not lose his job”. “But I warned Atiku that for making Obasanjo to kneel down for you, be sure you would have to pay heavily for that. I guess my warning came to pass if you remember Atiku’s dramatic change of fortune once Obasanjo was sworn in for a second term of office.”

    That is vintage Atiku.

    Another instance when Atiku demonstrated his belief in being superior to everybody was when he took peremptory action, though coyly, in his choice of Ben Obi as his running mate in the 2007 presidential election.  Chief Bisi Akande captured it as follows in his Autobiography, ‘My Participations’, Pages 485 – 486: “In 2007, we formed a party, the AC, with Atiku Abubakar. We agreed that Atiku should be our presidential candidate but with the understanding he would run with Bola Tinubu.  

    One day after we had nominated Atiku as our presidential candidate, one young man came and gave me a form from INEC. I told him I could not sign a blank form, and that I, as Chairman, must know the name that would be filled in the form. The young man, Bashir Yusuf Ibrahim, must have been the organising right- hand man of Atiku. The following morning, he came again with Lawal Kaita. Kaita begged me and said it was Ben Obi whom Atiku had chosen as his running mate behind our back. So I signed the form because I believed that as the candidate, Atiku had the right to choose his running mate. We, however, believed that Atiku should have chosen his running mate from the AC even if he was no longer favorably disposed to Tinubu. With Atiku, the party will be strong in the North, but because of the preponderance of PDP in the South East and the South – South, it would face more resistance in that area. Obasanjo was stepping down from the Presidency. Therefore, the Yoruba, even the few that benefited from his arrogant rule, would no longer be obliged to vote for PDP”.

    You can see in how Atiku tried to trick Chief Akande into signing a blank ‘cheque’ that he was, indeed, being unduly pompous; all in the attempt to show that he was wiser than all. That was apart from the way in which he unilaterally chose Obi as his running mate, in a political party which  he did not own, and where you had the likes of Tinubu and Akande.

    What could be more audacious?”

    That exactly is Atiku, and it is what Governor Wike has been saying about his unreliability. Any rational person would expect that he would, at the very least, let the Chairman of the party know who he intended to choose as running mate.  But Atiku so believes in his superiority, “being of the Nigerian Aryan race”, he thinks he could get away with just about anything, which is what he does in whatever political party be belongs.

    Two other events are worth recalling. One Sunday in The Nation, absolutely unknown to both of us, it so happened that Tatalo Alamu and I wrote two very scathing articles about Alhaji Atiku, the candidate of the AC. Indeed, I actually went ahead to endorse General Muhammadu Buhari only to hear later, that the Monday after, emissaries of the Atiku campaign organisation visited with Ashiwaju to remonstrate against the two articles.

    The other event was much more momentous. Again to ‘My Participations’ we go, pages 429 – 430 where Chief Akande brought into bold relief, the incredible support General Muhammadu Buhari enjoyed in the North in 2007.

    He wrote: ”During the 2006 electioneering campaigns, as the National Chairman of AC, I was leading the party’s meetings and campaigns to most of the emirate capitals and cities of Northern Nigeria, crisscrossing Buhari’s ANPP in the political spaces of the North. We were trying to market Atiku Abubakar. One day, according to our schedule based on police permit, we were to hold a public rally at a particular open concourse in Jalingo. Buhari’s ANPP too was granted a police permit to address his rally a few days after our own rally at the same venue. As our aircraft was descending into Jalingo, I saw a large crowd of party enthusiasts in the bowl of the venue. I was secretly jubilant that we were being welcomed by such size of crowd. As we touched down, our party leaders told us that the venue had to change. I was wondering as to how we would evacuate such a large crowd. It was alarming to hear that the crowd I saw at our supposed venue were reported to have come to wait and catch a glimpse of Buhari at the ANPP campaign being anticipated a few days after our rally. The people had come to avoid harmful jostling among Buhari’s die-hard supporters at the expected date”. “When it became impossible to block their coming or prevent their intended waiting, the police had to advise AC to look for another venue. In our own case, the practice was to provide fund for transportation and logistics in advance, to mobilise our party loyalists. I was made to understand that Buhari would advance nothing for mobilisation, yet his enthusiasts would travel by foot, or ride on donkey, days ahead to beat the time. Such was Buhari’s charisma in the political space of the entire Northern Nigeria”.

    Yet Atiku insisted, as usual, on being his party’s presidential candidate. He would even follow that up by singularly selecting his running mate.

    The same thing is playing out in his PDP. But in Wike, Atiku has met more than his match.

    Believing Wike was a person he could easily wrong foot, having coyly beaten him to the presidential candidacy of their party, the first thing he told him when he visited Wike’s house after their party’s convention was: “Ayu must go”. He had expected Wike to jump at that but instead, he was asked why? And although he it was who said that since the presidential candidate is from the North, the party Chairman should come from the South for the sake of fairness, and equity, he would later begin to say other things, claiming he hasn’t the power to effect what he jubilantly promised.

    Such perfidy.

    That exactly is how Atiku’s superiority complex and cunning, not forgetting his entitlement mentality, and several allegations of corruption, have all caught up with him that these human frailties will now end up being the final nail on the coffin of his presidential ambition.

    It is precisely this ego-maniacal superiority complex that would not let him see the greed, and the unfairness, that out rightly perfume the North, holding tightly to all the consequential positions in the PDP, namely, the Presidential candidacy, the party Chairmanship as well as the Director- Generalship of his campaign. It is only fair that the Wike-led Group of 5 is stubbornly, but righteously, standing up to this one-upmanship.

    Without a doubt, Alhaji Atiku’s arrogance, coyness, not to say lies, perfidy and unreliability should, in a serious political party, render him unsuitable to be chosen as the ADC’s candidate for the 2027 Presidential election or as the president of any country,  even Myanmar.

    What then should the party do?

    In the first place, not many Nigerians think that both Atiku and Obi would still be in the ADC by the time of the election. It is even not unreasonable to suggest that one of them is behind one of the two newly registered political parties. Whatever happens on the long run, ADC will be stuck with one of the two politically unfit candidates and Nigerians can only wish them the defeat ADC – a mere party for hire – so richly deserves.

  • Atiku or Obi: who emerges ADC presidential candidate?

    Atiku or Obi: who emerges ADC presidential candidate?

    Beginning 21 September, 2014 I commenced, on these pages, a trilogy of articles titled ‘Periscoping The Ideal APC Presidential candidate(1)’.

    I compared and contrasted the serious contestants – all Northerners – as I did not really bother with  then Imo state governor Rochas Okorocha, for the obvious reason of rotational presidency.

    Those considered were General Muhammadu Buhari(rtd), a former Head of state, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, former Vice President, Dr Musa Kwankwaso, a former Kano state governor, and  Sam Nda – Isaiah, the Publisher, Leadership Newspaper.

    The exercise almost turned out a no- brainer as General Buhari, now late, very easily met every quality Nigeria needed to fight the two  ferocious demons tearing at its innards – corruption and insecurity.

    He, therefore, emerged my preferred candidate and went on to defeat the other candidates, hands down, at the primary election proper.

    I have, unfortunately, since had cause to regret my

    support and advocacy for General Buhari who, although remained incandescently incorruptible till the end, was so weak a leader that besides the very corrupt Villa Mafia which completely ringed him all round, far too many of his ministers, advisers etc, especially the Northerners among them, so rapaciously ruined the country that it is only now  anti- corruption agencies are beginning to make them answer for their sins against all of us.

    This short background is necessary as I begin an examination of who, between Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, should be the ADC Presidential candidate at the 2027 Presidential election.

    Today is the turn of Peter Obi, the former Anambra State governor.

    My job is made easy by the well known answer to the question: What is History?

    Google puts it succinctly thus:”History is the systematic study and interpretation of the human past, encompassing events, people, societies, and changes over time, using evidence from sources like artifacts, documents, and stories to create narratives that explain how the past shapes the present and future. It’s a discipline that seeks to understand “what happened,” “when,” and “how,” in analysing political, social, economic, and cultural developments”.

    Let us, therefore, now see the former Labour Party Presidential candidate – he has since, as usual, fled that party – in the eye of history, no matter what “stories” he will be concocting afresh on their new, borrowed political party – the ADC, regarding what he believes qualify him to be our next President.

    If one of these is his totally unexpected huge vote tally of 6,101,533 which placed him third in the 2023 election, let me quickly inform Nigerans, ADC members in particular, that Obi has no such hopes in the 2027 election cycle if he is a candidate.

    Lest we forget, that high vote was the result of his extreme exploitation of ethnic and religious differences at the election, especially the mistaken view, among a large proportion of Christians, that APC’s Moslem – Moslem ticket was particularly noxious.

    While President Tinubu has since proved that completely false,  I cannot see the likes of  highly regarded Bishop Oyedepo  and  several other men of God, once again, put their pulpit at the service of Peter Obi, as happened in 2023.

    Besides the above, the following will also work against his candidacy:

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    His limited national presence as his influence is largely limited to his ethnic Southeast which, with the tectonic changes that have taken place in the region since the last election, he can no longer win 90+ per cent of the votes. He will, at best, take a decent 60 per cent of the Southeast vote, edged on by the Obidients;

    His being seen as a divisive figure will certainly negatively impact his ability to build broad coalitions just as

    Lack of Experience, compared with  both Tinubu and Atiku, will show Obi’s national-level experience as very limited.

    Finally, the yet uncertain alliance dynamics being spearheaded by Baba Obasanjo, pairing Obi  with Kwankwaso, will certainly face challenges in balancing regional and party interests.

    His greatest advantage, which will come to nothing, is the massive, geo- spatial presence of Igbos in every part of the country but with only aggregate figures that will be very negligible.

    Peter Obi, whose biggest claims are that he brings a new face and energy to Nigerian politics, as well as an appeal to young voters and those seeking change,  is himself an old guard politician, having served two terms as Anambra State governor from March 2006 to November 2006, and then from February 2007 until March 2014 – a clear 20 years.

    Just imagine a 20 year old adult!

    For my job, therefore, I’ll do no more than press into service, a subtantial portion of my article of Sunday,  12 November, 2023 titled ‘Peter Obi: The Consumate Obscurantist’s Grand Delusions’ which reads, in part, as follows:

    “Rather than just his claim of victory at the Presidential election,  this will be an examination of the entirety of what Obi brought to an election he and Atiku so malignantlly poisoned.

    That will mean psycho- analysing the man I describe here as an insuferable obscurantist.

    Obscurantism, by the way, is the practice of deliberately

    preventing the facts, or full details of something from becoming known.

    And how does this apply to him?

    Although both the PEPC and the Supreme court gave no moment to the fact that he was an 11th hour joiner of the Labour party,

    meaning that contrary to INEC Guidelines, the courts gave no probative value to his name not being on the party’s membership register forwarded to the commission 30 days before its primaries, and thus implying  that he flagrantly flouted one INEC stipulation, his entry, being so ethnic and stealthy, resulted in an instant internal crisis within the party which is still smouldering as you read this.

    What is more important, however, are the lies which underpinned his emergence as the presidential candidate, when Gbajue- style – thanks to the Nobel Laureate – somebody stepped down for him, in the process, deprecatingly pronouncing himself  inferior to Obi as far as leadership is concerned;  he  a normally show- boating individual, who never ceases to preach to Nigerians from the rooftops thus degrading himself, just so his  Igbo brother could emerge  the  presidential candidate TWO DAYS  after  becoming a member of the party.

    That too pales into insignificance when compared to  the lies  Obi told Nigerians as his reasons for eloping from the PDP.

    Such were they that lies soon became the party’s modus operandi, whether it was Obi’s claim that he went to Egypt to “understudy that country’s education, power and finance sectors”, or several of his pastors, and bishops, regaling their hypnotised, congregants with details of dreams they never had as to how Obi had already won an election yet to be conducted – all to rapturous shouts of Halleluyah.

    What of his  sophistry, explaining how, and why, he claimed to have joined the Labour party  and schemed his way to its presidential candidacy.

     Hear him:

    “I have chosen a route that I consider to be in line with our aspirations and my mantra of taking the country from consumption to production” – apparently, he momentarily forgot everything about NEXT, his importation giant.

    “I invite all Nigerians to join me in taking back our country. Be assured that I’ll never let you down.”

    Having gratuitously let the Ikemba down by dumping APGA for PDP,  our man just has to promise not to let Igbos down again.

    But pray! Was it in two days, after leaving PDP, he did all he is claiming here?

    He continues: “Since I resigned from the PDP because of issues that are at variance with my persona and principles (such as serial decamping and investing state funds in family business?) I have consulted widely with various parties and personalities to ensure we do not complicate the route to our desired destination. For me, the process of achieving our goal is as fundamental as what one will do thereafter.”

    Just listen to this practised obscurantist, trying to suck in, not just his Igbo brethren, but every Nigerian.

    His placing third in the election proved, conclusively, that Nigerians were not deceived.

    “Since I resigned”, Obi also said, making two days look like a millennium, “I have consulted widely with parties and personalities” – parties and personalities who were, understandably, nameless.

    Here is a guy who had, only a few days earlier, submitted himself for screening by the PDP whose Vice Presidential candidate he was four years earlier.

    “I thank all Nigerians, he continued, especially our youths who have joined me in the mission of taking back and reuniting Nigeria. This project is yours and for the future of your children.

    I am just a facilitator” – certainly a precursor to  President Obasanjo’s letter to Nigerian youths while soliciting support for Obi later. Now Baba is allegedly putting every effort into an Obi- Kwankwaso Presidential combo. Nigerians remember, all too well, the futility of all such Obasanjo’s past efforts.

    I digress.

    All that sweet nonsense was after Obi had run the most

    ” hateful, vile, divisive and polarising campaign that pitted Christians against Muslims and one ethnic group against the other in a multi-ethnic and multi-religious society like Nigeria”, as Presidential Spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga would later perspicaciously put it.

    All these should tell Nigerians who Peter Obi truly is.

    Let us now see how the cookie crumbled, how Obi was outed in a situation akin to which Yoruba would describe as ‘bi iro ba lo logun odun, ooto ma ba lojo kan’, that is, even though a lie may subsist for 20 years, (but) truth will catch up with it one day.

    Obi had probably forgotten all these lies when, several months later,  the Executive Committee of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide visited former governor,  Nyesom Wike,  remonstrating with him over his non support for Igbo interests, especially,  the Southeast  quest for the Presidency, emphasising, in particular, his failure to  support Peter Obi.

    Trust Wike to have told the elders what would most probably have put ashes on their faces.

    Wike let it be known to the eminent Igbo statesmen that Obi was actually bullied into leaving the PDP.

    He had journeyed, excruciatingly, to Jigawa state, Wike said, intent on soliciting the support of Sule Lamido who took him to a village that took him more than four hours drive from Dukse to reach.

    That was vintage Lamido who sees Fulani as the Aryan race and was eager to teach the Igbo upstart politician a lesson he would never forget.

    That visit should remind us all of Obi’s promised one term all in the hope of playing servitude to the North, even if Igbos had wanted the presidency for ages.

    Task master, per excellence himself, Lamido  respects no single Southern politician besides former President Olusegun Obasanjo who appointed him External Affairs minister; a position for which he had nil qualification.

    Obi, therefore, had to drive hours through the desert dust to hear Lamido

     tell him that in his books, a Northerner  must, willy nilly,  succeed Buhari who was about completing his two terms.

    That was when their boy fled PDP, not the sweet song his worshipful professors were scripting as reasons, putting Goebbels to shame.

    It is all these, and the fact that his Igbo brethren believe Obi, hook, line and sinker even now, in fact, canonise him alive, that rankle.

    It is why others watch in utter amazement as the otherwise brilliant and enterprising Igbo look like bewitched followers of Obi even when a redoubtable race like theirs does not have a paucity of brilliant, experienced and well connected men and women than can be thrown up for the ultimate Nigerian diadem.

    It is, therefore, time Igbos tell Obi that he ill represents them, going round, and round, romancing ethnicity and religion as his route to the presidency:  a choice sure to  take  Igbos nowhere.

    It is the ADC I pity the more, as Atiku Abubakar, who we examine next Sunday, is not much better.

    Net winner: Nigeria

  • Obasanjo’s Obi – Kwankwaso 2027 chimera

    Obasanjo’s Obi – Kwankwaso 2027 chimera

    One day, we will analyse Obasanjo and discover that there’s nothing altruistic about him.

    I used to think that he really meant well for Nigeria, but I was very wrong.

    The man only cares about his ego, pride, and feelings, not necessarily the wellbeing of Nigeria and Nigerians.

    He’s the worst architect of problems of Nigeria alive.

    Those of you hoping that he will genuinely support your favourite as a redemption act,are on a ‘long thing ‘.

    Everything Obasanjo does is about Obasanjo and for Obasanjo.

    It’s hard to swallow for me, but that’s what it is – Akin Iyanda (Facebook 24 January,  26)

    “I do not see how a split opposition into PDP and ADC can prevail in 2027.What is more,the North believes President Bola Tinubu is the only one from the South who can complete the eight years in 2031 and hand over to the

     North in the spirit of zoning which accounted for why Bola Tinubu defeated Atiku in 2023 in the North.

    The odds favor president Bola Tinubu for 2027″ – Toni Sani, elderstatesman, and former Secretary, Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF).

    Try everything I could, I can no longer remember how many articles I have written about former President Olusegun Obasanjo, dating back to the late 70’s when I held a Sunday column in each of the Tribune and the Sketch newspapers during the editorship of my friend, the erudite journalist, Banji Ogundele, and the inimitable, and suave, Uncle Jide Adeleye respectively.

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    My Writings on General Obasanjo reached a crescendo much later when he, as the Nigerian President chose, of all people the highly respectful Ekiti people, as his whipping boys, sparing no scurrilous epithet in describing us. He even said we read our books upside down.

    I did not let him go scot free as so scathing were my articles on him that one of his armour- bearers could not help responding. It must be said, to his credit, however, that he didn’t say a word, that is, if he read them.

    All that, however, is now ancient history as what concerns Nigerians today are his present peccadilloes

    because, as is his wont, Baba is back in his weird old ways. 

    Ahead every Presidential election since the Peoples Democratic party (PDP) ignominiously lost the presidential diadem in 2015, President Obasanjo has, predictably, never made a right, or wise move regarding the presidency.

    Since he always wants to destroy whatever it is he cannot control as  Iyabo, his daughter, once told the world in a public letter, he woke up one day in 2018, as if from a bad dream, attempting to sell to a Nigerian Public that has long left him behind, what he called a ‘Third Force’,  aka Coalition for Nigeria Movement (CNM).

    Keen on hoodwinking Nigerians, he presented it as a political movement aimed at mobilizing Nigerian youths to take over power by challenging the dominance of the two major political  parties,  cleverly framing it as an alternative platform for national development.

    The man who did everything to concoct a Third Term for himself even advised then President Muhammadu Buhari to not contest the 2019 election.

    Forever  considering himself the wisest ever Nigerian, there was no way he could have known that Nigerians knew that all he really wanted was a President he could control from the shadows.

    He had first tried it with President Umar Yar’ Adua, the man he never allowed to conduct his own campaigns, but the

     gentleman  successfully pushed him back when he  told bemused Nigerians that the election that brought him to office was rigged.

    Never one to smell the coffee, Baba Obasanjo came out much more frontally during the 2023 election cycle, enthusiastically pushing the candidacy of  Peter Obi, one time Anambra State governor.

    There was no trick in the book he did not try in wanting to railroad the efette politician to the presidency.

    But Nigerians knew better and refused the Obi gambit.

    2027 beckons and Baba is at it again, “brokering alliances and stirring the pot”, of Nigerian politics, as somebody recently put it. The latest move sees him pushing for a joint presidential ticket between Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso under the African Democratic Congress (ADC) – a party Alhaji Atiku Abubakar deliberately floated for his own last presidential bid and for which he had since  handpicked its key officials, in readiness for his usual try at every presidential election since ’93.

    Trust  President Obasanjo to always want to foul the waters. He hates Atiku that much.

    Since this is, however, still largely in the realm of rumour, even though exploratory committees are already being set up according to Mallam Kwankwaso’s spokesperson, l would rather await further  developments before dovoting any quality time to it.

    In the meantime, therefore, let us go all the way back to my signature article in exposing President Obasanjo’s antics  while pretending he loved Nigerian youths to bits. That was when he wrote the following  romantic letter to them, the clever man who can sell a poke for a pig:”My dear young men and women, you must come together and bring about a truly meaningful change in your lives. If you fail, you have no one else to blame”. “Your present and future are in your hands to make or to mar. The future of Nigeria is in the same manner in your hands and literally so. If for any reason you fail to redeem yourself and your country, you will have lost the opportunity for good and you will have no one to blame but yourselves and posterity will not forgive you”.

    “Get up, get together, get going and get us to where we should be. And you, the youth, it is your time and your turn. ‘Eyin Lokan’ (Your turn”.

    Please don’t ask him what he did for the Nigerian youths when he was President for 8 years.

    The article was titled ‘2023: President Obasanjo’s

    Decoys and Nigerian Youths’ and was dated, 15 January, 2023. It will now be significantly edited for space constraint.

    And please bear in mind that he sees his latest effort towards the next election as strictly a strategic move to oust President Bola Tinubu from office since he has never been able to live down the fact of another Nigerian President of Yoruba extraction, especially, during his lifetime.

    Happy reading.

    Wole Olujobi, in his withering

    ‘2023: Obasanjo And The Legend Of Tenea’ article approximated former president Olusegun Obasanjo to “Oedipus orientation in consummate complexity”.

    Raised and reared to preserve a kingdom, Oedipus,  a grand patron of hubris, fell into a complex interplay of fate and pride to become an albatross to the kingdom he sought to preserve”.

    Let us quote him at some length.

    “Sophocles in his play ‘Oedipus Rex’ presents a gripping narrative of a man at the mercy of fate, but who pride would not allow to rediscover himself until he suffers irredeemable consequences”.

    “The ancient legend of Oedipus, the mythical king of Thebes who unwittingly killed his father and married his mother, in several of his sojourns, lived in Tenea, a mythical lost city in Greece, according to Greek mythology”.

    As recently as 1984, one of Greece’s top archaeologists, Eleni Korka, a Greek-American,  made the biggest discovery of her 40-year career: the mythical city of Tenea, which was built by Trojan prisoners of war sometime around 1100BC. After a laborious excavation by Korka and her team, the abandoned Tenea City, in ruins, was discovered to harbour golden carvings and other precious, high levels of art that could turn the fortunes of the delerict city of Tenea for good.

    As it is with both Oedipus and Tenea, so it is for Nigeria and General Olusegun Obasanjo (rtd)as Nigerians again prepare for the February 2023 election)to elect their President.

    After long years of misrule that  left Nigeria in ruins, conscious efforts were made to find a leader to turn the nation’s fortunes around for good.

    And so like archaeologist Korka, Nigerian military ‘archaeologists’  led by Generals Ibrahim Babangida and Abdusalami Abubakar dug through the length and breadth of the country and landed on one of them, namely, Olusegun, Obasanjo, a retired General, a man who had litetally decayed in General Sani Abacha’s gulag like the ruins of Tenea. 

    Pronto,  he was dusted up, and crowned Mr President with Nigerians believing they had won lottery”.

    But what forlon hope it will all turn as what they found was not gold, but a crippling albatross in the class of Oedipus: a fortune turned awry, who opened the floodgate  to complex problems that stalk Nigerians till today, even in their sleep”.

    By the time he handed over power after a determined but futile effort to transmute to a Life President, 16 Billion dollars, among others, had been wasted on electricity that produced only darkness, 100B dollar National patrimony  had been sold off in sweet heart deals for less than 20B dollars by the trio of himself, Atiku and El Rufai, his Vice and the man in charge of  Privatisation respectively, just as court proceedings  in the Mandilla Power project is currently  being told that the former President allegedly instructed the minister in charge that the N6B  cost should be sexed up with an additional N11B.

    This is why I often wonder whether President Obasanjo usually, momentarily forgets about himself when writing those his scathing letters about the presumed failings of others.

    I digress.

    In his letter to the Nigerian youth, he painted a rosy picture of Nigeria, something the country wasn’t under him. He also gave the impression he left power of his own volition, forgetting that the National Assembly had to rescue Nigeria from his attempted life presidency project.

    It is apposite to state here that President Obasanjo has all the rights, human as well as legal, to endorse any presidential candidate of his choosing, but it is obvious that he  cannot give Nigeria what he does not have, that is, good and corruption – free governance.

    He should, therefore, be advised to refrain from this 4- yearly attempt to deceive Nigerians into buying his apostasy about the right leader for Nigeria. All he is doing is self – promotion, and Nigerians wish him well. However, if his primary intention is to fight Atiku to the death, and thereby, ensure he does not achieve his

    Marabout – inspired, life long ambition, he should please look for other means, rather than, periodically, taking Nigerians for a ride.

    In the meantime, I advise undecided youths, and other Nigerians, who may want to truly know President Obasanjo, and his schemes, to make out time to read an:”Open Letter to My Father, by Senator Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello, PhD dated December 16, 2013.

    If they learn nothing at all, they should, at least, come to the realisation that in the Obasanjo Obi- Kwankwaso conjecture, they should not deceive themselves into another Waterloo, reminiscent of the Obasanjo-Obi 2023 gambit.

  • FG – ASUU landmark agreement on tertiary education: Tinubu scores bullseye again

    FG – ASUU landmark agreement on tertiary education: Tinubu scores bullseye again

    For nearly two decades, Nigeria’s public university system existed in a state of  uncertainty—never fully open, never fully closed. Each strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), “without a scintilla of doubt the country’s most  disciplined, most serious, and absolutely most focussed Labour Union”(columnist), emptied campuses, fractured academic calendars, and reinforced a national sense of déjà vu: agreements signed, hopes raised, promises broken”- channels TV.com

    If you have not been able to put your hands on the problem with Nigeria, it must be because you have never really put your mind to it as it is so easy to know. It is simply that of a blessed country, home to some of the  best and brightest on the surface of the earth but which have, unfortunately, seen several hundreds of thousands of its citizens voted with their feet, out of the country, simply  because it has been ruled at the topmost level, like for ever,  by its 3rd Eleven – those you will, with considerable justification, describe as emergency, or amateur politicians. It was worse with the military. That, of course, was until the coming into office of the incumbent, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

    Please come with me as I navigate this obvious truism.

    Prof Richard Adeboye Olaniyan is one   teacher of mine I respect hugely. He taught me History at the University of Ife, Ile – Ife. He had arrived the University from the U.S, during my graduating year, after earning a Ph.D. from Georgetown University,

     Washington D.C.

    A President’s Scholar, and Fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Letters, he is the author of several books, among them, ‘IFE: Holy City Of The Yorubas’.

    Today is not about  him; rather it is about the highly thought provoking piece he sent me  sometime ago; and for him to share a WhatsApp post, it must have been worth its weight in gold.

    That post became the theme of my article of  4 June, 2021 about which the new FG – ASUU renegotiated agreement pungently reminds me. It was titled: Cry The Beleaguered Country.

    It becomes germane now that President Tinubu is on the way to returning our Universities, and higher institutions generally,  to an era of sanity and stability again, reminiscent of what he did with the scandalously corrupt Nigerian oil industry when, on his first day in office, he put paid to fuel subsidy, a ruinous sink hole.

    Happy reading.

    Smartest People, Mediocre Nation – The Irony of Nigeria.

    British Nobel laureate,Dorothy Hodgkin, once noted that the University of Lagos was one of the world’s centres of expertise in her field of chemical crystallography.

    Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria had the first world class computer centre in Africa while the University of Ife had a notable pool of expertise in nuclear Physics. Our premier University of Ibadan had an international reputation as a leading centre of excellence in tropical medicine, development economics and the historical sciences. It is no news that the Saudi Royal family used to frequent the UCH, Ibadan, for medical treatment in the sixties.

    The engineering scientist, Ayodele Awojobi, a graduate of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, was a reputed genius. He tragically died of frustration because our  environment could not contain, let alone utilise, his huge talents.

    Ishaya Shuaibu Audu, pioneer Nigerian Vice-Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello, Zaria, collected all the prizes at St. Mary’s University Medical School London. His successor in Zaria, Iya Abubakar, was a highly talented Cambridge mathematician who became a professor at 28 and was a noted consultant to NASA. Alexander Animalu was a gifted MIT physicist who did work of original importance in superconductivity. His book, Intermediate Quantum Theory of Crystalline Solids, has been translated into several languages,  Russian inclusive.

    Renowned mathematician, Chike Obi solved Fermat’s 200-year old conjecture, with pencil and paper, while the Cambridge mathematician, John Wiles, achieved same with the help of a computer, working over a decade.

    Read Also: ASUU, CONUA laud renegotiation deal

    After the harsh environment of the 1980’s IMF/World Bank structural adjustment programme, the Babangida military dictatorship undertook massive budgetary cutbacks in higher education in Nigeria.

    Our best and brightest fled abroad.

    Today, Nigerian doctors, scientists,  engineers etc are making incalculable contributions in Europe and North America.

    Philip Emeagwali won the 1989 Gordon Bell Award for his work in super-computing. Jelani Aliyu designed the first electric car for American automobile giant, General Motors. Olufunmilayo Olopede, Professor of Medicine at the University of Chicago, won the McArthur Genius Award for her work on cancer.

    Winston Soboyejo, who earned a Cambridge doctorate at 23, is a Princeton engineering professor, laurelled for his contributions to materials research. He is Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board to the Secretary-General of the United Nations. Washington University biomedical engineering professor Samuel Achilefu received the St. Louis Award for his invention of cancer-seeing glasses that is a major advance in radiology.

    Kunle Olukotun of Stanford University did work of original importance on multi-processors.

    National Merit laureate Omowunmi Sadik of State University of Binghamton owns patents for biosensors technology. Young Nigerians are also recording stellar performances abroad.

    A Nigerian family, the Imafidons, were voted “the smartest family in Britain” in 2015. 

    Anne marie Imafidon earned her Oxford Masters’ in Mathematics and Computer Science when she was only 19. Today, she sits on several corporate boards and was awarded an MBE in 2017 for services to Science. Recently, Benue State University mathematician Atovigba Michael Vershima  solved the two centuries’ old Riemann Conjecture that has defied giants such as Gauss, Minkowski and Polya.

    Another young man, Hallowed Olaoluwa, was one of a dozen “future Einstein”, awarded postdoctoral fellowships by Harvard University. He completed a remarkable doctorate in mathematical physics at the University of Lagos, aged 21. While at Harvard he aims at focussing on solving problems relating to “quantum ergodicity and quantum chaos”, with applications to medical imaging and robotics.

    Another University of lagos alumnus, Ayodele Dada, graduated with a perfect 5.0 GPA, an unprecedented feat in a Nigerian university. Victor Olalusi recently graduated with such stellar performance at the Russian Medical Research University, Moscow, and was feted as the best graduate throughout the Russian Federation. Habiba Daggash, daughter of  Senator Sanusi Daggash, recently graduated with a starred first in Engineering at Oxford.

    Emmanuel Ohuabunwa earned a GPA of 3.98 out of a possible 4.0 as the best overall graduate of the Ivy-League Johns Hopkins University. Stewart Hendry, Johns Hopkins Professor of Neuroscience, described the young man as having “an intellect so rare that it touches on the unique…a personality that is once-in-a-life-time”.

    There is also young Yemi Adesokan, postdoctoral fellow of Harvard Medical School who patented procedures for tracking the spread of viral epidemics in developing countries.

    Ufot Ekong recently solved a 50-year mathematical riddle at Tokai University in Japan and was voted the most outstanding graduate of the institution. He currently works as an engineer for Nissan, having pocketed two patents in his discipline. This is only the tip of the iceberg.

    If our system were not so inclement to talent we would be celebrating a bountiful harvest of geniuses in all the fields of human endeavour from our home Universities. This is why the correlates between our gene-pool and national development are so diametrically opposed; so bad Nigeria is almost becoming a failed state.

    We punch miserably below our weight in the hierarchy of world economics and politics. None of our institutions come near the top 500 in the World Universities League Table. Almost  50% of our people live in extreme poverty. Youth unemployment hovers around 45 percent ;70% and above, for the far-North.

    The poverty is heartbreaking. Our per capita GDP is less than $3,000 as compared to Singapore’s $55,252.  We have the worst road carnage record in the world, with more than 20,000 lost to road accidents annually.

    We wasted some $16 billion on the power sector during the Obasanjo years and our people still live in darkness, decades after, though he has forgotten all that debacle grandstanding, and sermonising, all over the place. 

    Many state governments, before the removal of fuel subsidy by President Tinubu, were literally bankrupt, and could hardly pay their staff salaries.

    With stability now sure to return to our higher education – and government must extend this sanity to all levels of the country’s educational system – we shl.ould be able to invest in science and innovation, both of which are the way to our future development.

    Without science and innovation we will be unable to  overcome our underdevelopment, and millennial servitude.

    Leveraging on our Universities,

    we should be able to incentivise all-round talent while building a merit-based society.

    In Brazil, a Nobel laureate is entitled, by statute, to the same pension rights as a former President. Society must adequately recognise, and reward, all men and women of excellence.

    Our government should keep a roster of all super-achievers of Nigerian origin whose brains we should tap to build   this country”.

    The first thing to note in the above is that no part of Nigeria  is left out of this sheer embarrassment of riches. So I ask: why do we remain this pathetic?

     As I indicated earlier, the problem lies in our political leadership recruitment process. 

    We continue to see opposition politicians berrating President Tinubu for the bold measures he took at the beginning of his administration, and since, whereas without them, as recently cogently argued by Tunde Lemo, a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank, the Nigerian economy would since have gone south. Afterall, Venezuela has far more oil reserves than Nigeria can ever dream of. Yet it was in tatters before U. S President Trump’s recent assault on its sovereignty.

    Some even argue that  governance has nothing to do with education, but I’d say that is nothing but gross ignorance.

    Judging by how past governments  messed up our Universities, as a result of which many of our best brains migrated abroad, the place and role of leadership and governance should be more than obvious.

    Nigerians must, therefore,  be very careful in  our choice of leaders, going into the 2027 Presidential election.

     There is this apocryphal story of the Heads of state of the UK, U.S and some other developed countries going to God to remonstrate against His many blessings on Nigeria in human and material resources, whereupon God was reported to have told them,  to go and look at Nigeria’s leadership cadre, whereupon the visitors left happier than  they arrived.

    Was it by chance that not a single Nigerian former Head of state,  came prepared for office? All that the much revered Sir Tafawa Balewa wanted to be was a teacher, perhaps a school headmaster. Even President Obasanjo, to whom some development could be credited, was  only an accidental military Head of state who became President only because some people wanted to profit from military “espirit de corps”.

    Do we have a single  Nigerian Head of state one can  compare with Chief Obafemi Awolowo in the way he equipped, and prepared, himself for political leadership? Wasn’t that why on his death, a British Prime Minister said he could, effortlessly, have been the British Prime Minister?

    How can Nigeria ever develop with our present political architecture in which some members of our legislative houses are barely literate?

    Yes, many will ask legitimate questions as to how well political appointees from within our universities  performed in office?

    The saying that “fish rots from the head down” fully encapsulates the Nigerian condition. It  confirms the fact that leadership is key to organisations, qua organisation, be it a country, a company, or even family.

    The consequences of our political leadership failure are legion. For instance,

    the word, “Andrew” assumed a new meaning in Nigeria when President Obasanjo, as military Head of state, descended on University lecturers, ordering them out of  their accommodation on campus. Many like Professor Isaac Adewole, the former Minister of Health, knew that they had to rapidly bid the country bye.

    Today, not just the family head, but  entire households, are fleeing town – Japa – ing, as they now call it, presenting Nigeria like a beleaguered country with its people, including  top salary earners, with their entire families, thronging Airports, to check out before the apocalypse.

    This is happening especially in areas of the country where people value their children and would  not simply throw them to the elements, or at the mercy of  marauding terrorists.

    The above, and much more, is where puerile political leadership, which neither “incentivises talent”, nor concerns itself with “building a merit-based society”, has landed Nigeria while her best continue to illumine the outside world.

    One needs not dwell on the need for members of ASUU and those other unions that will similarly be impacted, to make the best use of this opportunity for the greater good of Nigeria

  • Ekiti 2026: election that should firm up BAO’s political paradigm shift

    Ekiti 2026: election that should firm up BAO’s political paradigm shift

    Most observers of Ekiti political history, pre  BAO, should be ‘ad idem’ on the fact that it was atavistic and cold blooded; something akin to “bo ba o pa, bo ba o bu lese”, that is,  just harm your political opponent, any which way. Nobody could ever have believed, based on our politics then, that we are the most homogeneous people in Nigeria.

    It was with that scurrilous situation in mind that I wrote as follows on this column a whole sixteen whole years ago, on 31 October, 2010 shortly after the Apeal Court, Ilorin, ruled in the Fayemi Vs Oni election case, while reflecting on the way forward for  the state in: ‘Ekiti – Beyond Politics: “As William Shakespeare wrote in Julius Caesar, “There is a tide in the affairs of men, which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune. Omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and in miseries. On such a full sea are we now afloat. And we must take the current when it serves, or lose our ventures”.

    You would think  the Bard of Avon had Ekiti in mind when he penned those memorable words as they fit us so uncannily, looking like a clarion call to every Ekiti, young and old, to take our destiny in our hands and blow off  the shibboleths that have stuck to us like  ‘amutorunwa spots’.

    The time is not now to ask how we got here. Rather, it is a time for total reconciliation: first, with our God, and then amongst ourselves, Ekitis. 

    The appropriate questions for us now are: what is the way forward? How do we rediscover, hold , cherish and nourish again, those pristine and immaculate Ekiti cultural traits which have served generations of Ekiti so splendidly? How do we get back that bonhomie, that espirit de corps that total strangers saw in us and thought we were all born of one mother? How do we begin to re- discover those economic traits that galvanized and enabled the poorest of our fathers to see his children and wards through college; how do we begin to seriously contend with the multi-faceted problems that today confront all of us, Ekitis, but especially our youth, educated  thousands of them, who are paving the streets of Abuja, Lagos and Ado-Ekiti in search of non-existent jobs?

    READ ALSO; Obi’s defection sets teeth on edge

    How do we take Ekiti back into the main economic artery of our country? How do we get our respectability and honour back? Where do we go from here?”

    These are questions I believe that governor Biodun Oyebanji, then only an incoming commissioner in the emergent Fayemi administration, must have ruminated over, wondering if he could ever be in a position to attempt answering them.

    The past three years have seen him doing exactly that because Ekitis, in the words of Shakespeare, have through the auspices of the governor, “taken the current when it served”, and as captured by Wole Olujobi, the sagacious and very accomplished journalist, observer and writer on Ekiti politics when he wrote, inter alia, in  ‘Oyebanji: Three Years Of Focused Leadership and Service Delivery:

    “Three years after, Ekiti people now wake up daily to tell stories of peace and progress in a state once notoriously renowned as a state of one day, one trouble”. “In a state where adversarial politics was the norm, Oyebanji, who is firmly rooted in the ideological nuances of the Ekiti ‘omoluabi’ credo, has put his hands on the plough, building coalitions and erecting a maze of relationships, never seen in the state, to achieve unprecedented peace as old animosities among diverse political gladiators, for the very first time ever, gave way to a mutual amity for  development”.

    In the article:’BAO -Mania: How Biodun Oyebanji Reset Ekiti Politics’, I

    examined what factors assisted him in breaking what can be described as ‘the Ekiti Crises Conundrum’, not only in our politics, but in everything; so all -encompassing we had a one- day governor unlike any other state in Nigeria, saw an inchoate impeachment orchestrated by President Obasanjo, just as we witnessed a series of politically motivated assassinations. 

    I also unearthed how the governor  birthed a  paradigm shift from Ekiti’s negative, minimally developmental politics of many decades.

    Since the essence of this essay is how the governor should, during his second term, fully solidify the socio- political peace he has birthed in the state, let me recap the reasons he had been so successful in achieving what he did.

    I start with how the management of Marketing Edge, Nigeria’s leading Marketing and Advertising Magazine which named him winner of its 2024 Most Outstanding Governor of the Year in the Inclusive Leadership and Grassroots Development category captured him.

    According to the magazine, “Gov. Oyebanji was unanimously voted winner of the coveted category after painstakingly evaluating his approach to governance, development and leadership, alongside other Nigerian governors.

    The award, the magazine noted, was in recognition, and celebration, of his not only impacting the people of the state with laudable projects and policies, but for also using his exalted position to redefine governance by promoting peace, and uniting leaders in the state irrespective of their political and social background”.

    Before BAO politics in Ekiti was like a slugfest, ensuring that the state was always in the news for the wrong reasons.

    Truth be told, politics in the state had not always been that terrible. While that is not to suggest that there were no fierce inter, and intra – party contestations,  especially during the UPN vs NPN days, politics in Ekiti was a lot more friendly as elders, the likes of Chiefs Babatola, Akerele, Akomolafe, Dr N.F Aina, Professor Banji Akintoye, Chief S.K Babalola and other leaders of the UPN, and their counterparts in the NPN, ensured that.

    Things, however, changed rapidly for the worse from around 2003 for two main reasons.

    One of these can loosely be described as ‘sibling rivalry’, while the other, and much more virulent one, was the intrusion of busybodies from outside the state, spearheaded by none other than then President Olusegun Obasanjo, whose  effect on Ekiti was totally deleterios.

    As to what I describe loosely as sibling rivalry, it was a question of a good intention turned awry.

    E -11, a socio – cultural group from which a slew of Ekiti state governors would subsequently emerge, was an

    ensemble of highly regarded, well educated young Ekiti professionals who had started out intending to positively impact the state’s politics and economic development. That was until there was a collision of ambitions.  The group then floundered very badly, and its members headed into the two major political parties, and ferociously fought one another.

    Had E.11 remained united they would have taken Ekiti to great heights. It was a missed opportunity.

    What then are the factors that informed governor Oyebanji’s decision to attempt a paradigm shift to the debilitating political situation?

    Oyebanji has been a long-term observer/participant in the affairs of the state, and there can be no doubt, he must have many times belly- ached over the state of permanent crisis, and its negative consequences on the state’s economic development.

    Without a doubt, he must have heard or read the Avatar, Chief Obafemi Awolowo say, severally, that  the ‘raison detre’ of government, qua government, is the welfare and happiness of the governed and must have long hoped to be part of the solution to the Ekiti crises.

    With his election  as  governor, therefore, he must have thanked God for the opportunity to try bring peace to this very unique state.

    As to what factors  played a role in his success, I summised as follows in the article.

    UPBRINGING

    The highly perceptive Yoruba people have this saying that: ile lati nko eso rode’, meaning that good upbringing underpins good manners.

    Without, a scintilla of doubt, governor Oyebanji has  a solid home training to thank for all he has been able to do. This is an  upbringing rooted in strict discipline,  respect, not only for elders, but for everybody he may interact with, just as loving your neighbour which the bible teaches. I also feel certain that his parents must  have inculcated in him  the essence of contentment.

    How do I know these?

    Governor Oyebanji demonstrates them in his interactions with people, no matter how lowly they are, in spite of his high office.

    I have not, for instance, once seen him unduly angry, or raise his voice and I didn’t know him yesterday.

    You will not find in him, any hint of unrestrained ambition.

    Work Experience,  Knowledge of Ekiti State & Tutelage Under Two  former Governors.

    As a young man, Chief Deji Fasuan had tapped Oyebanji as Secretary to the Committee For The Creation of Ekiti state. That was, however, only the beginning of his always being in vantage positions to know the state probably far more than his peers.

    In the course of his service in the state, he was privileged to have worked directly with two former Ekiti state governors.

    He also served in various positions including as Secretary to the State Government before being elected governor.

    Apart from  the leadership and managerial qualities these positions require, he must have many times seen his bosses seriously agonise over the terrible state of Ekiti politics,  and how it hampered  development.

    He must have decided, therefore,  to  try to use his lofty office to change the direction of politics in the state.

    He has equally had, in all these, the support of his wife, with whom he must have bounced off everything  to get the most honest, non political advice.

    Thanks to her efforts, governor Oyebanji’s government enjoys the pride of place as about Nigeria’s most gender friendly administration. This is because the government has been relentless in “investing in the well-being of women, advocating for better policies and programes that target widows, youths and women, with the goal of fostering economic independence and reducing poverty level across the state”, as the wife once perspicaciously put it.

    The governor’s modus operandi was simple but very effective.

    He started off by jettisoning partisan politics and, instead, extended a genuine hand of friendship to all his predecessors, inclusive of those from other political parties. He showed them a level of respect that was absent even between some governors who were of the same party.

    Opposition party members also came to accept, and respect him when they saw how he was treating their leaders.

    By acknowledging, and respecting past governors from other parties, governor Oyebanji killed more than two birds with one stone as the decibel of state – wide political antagonism became significantly reduced; meaning that  the simple act of respecting his predecessors, acted  like a magnet in enhancing his acceptance by   members of the other political parties and the citizenry in general.

    The governor also turned attention to the welfare of the people, ensuring that nobody was left behind.

    He made sure that  workers, as well as the long – suffering pensioners, women and the youth are all appropriately factored into governance, as much as state finances permit.

    How then will his second term enhance and solidify his achievement to date?

    Any perceptive reader would note that I have already assumed BAO’s victory in the forthcoming election. Yes indeed. And this cannot be considered farfetched, or presumptuous because even in the trully competitive election of 2022, he defeated his formidable co- contestants hands down at a time he hadn’t demonstrated any of his exemplary capabilities.

    The coming election should, therefore, be a walkover.

    Ordinarily, governor Oyebanji should need no lessons in how to further enhance the unity amongst the state’s leading politicians as well as the state of socio – political peace currently in place in the state.

    He will, however, need to do much more and not rest on his oars.

    He must continue to be inclusive in his governance as that will increase understanding.

    God forbid that the governor will ever be too important in his own eyes, a possibility which i very much doubt, he will finish in flying colours.

    Apart from interpersonal relations, especially with his predecessors, he must extend hands of friendship to members of the other political parties, especially, those who would have contested with him at the election.

    To further solidify peace, camaraderie and overall well -being, he must make every effort to further improve on the economy as well as the overall development of the state.

    Indeed, this is the most important part.

    As Olujobi put it in his aforementioned article:”His development agenda includes: youth development, agriculture and job creation through micro, small and medium scale enterprises (MSME) financing and support, providing facilities for the acquisition of digital and vocational skills, the Ekiti Knowledge Zone, sports development; education; healthcare, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and social investment sectors including heavy investments in the power sector and reconnection to the national grid of several communities that have been in the dark for over 10 years”.

    “These are areas where the governor has performed so creditably he had received laurels from even outside the state where he grabbed newspaper headlines”. 

    Of particular interest to me, personally, is the Youths in Agriculture programme, started in 2012 during the Fayemi administration, when a young medical doctor simply dropped his stethoscope.

    Under BAO this has grown in leaps and bounds with the objectives being the following: to create jobs, reduce poverty, and boost food security.

    Through these, the government engages young graduates and the youth in commercial farming through training,funding, land clearing, provision of inputs, and market linkages for high-value crops, livestock as well as processing.

    These initiatives are also  focussed on making agriculture a viable and dignified career path for young Ekiti  entrepreneurs rather than have young and educated  Ekiti Youths daily paving the streets of Lagos and Abuja,  doing nothing worthwhile.

    Concluding, there can be no better reset of politics, whether in Ekiti or anywhere, at all, than these, because once the youth which are always the canon fodder for  over – ambitious politicians are yanked away from them by being kept gainfully, and profitably engaged, politicians who are keen on fouling the air, would have nobody to recruit into their asinine projects.

    I wish the governor well as he prepares, by God’s grace, to ride into his second term.

  • Northern Nigeria: between theocracy and modernity

    Northern Nigeria: between theocracy and modernity

    Through mass murders, kidnappings, bombings, and other acts of terrorism, Boko Haram remains an enduring threat, principally to Northern Nigeria, but  also to the whole country. Surprisingly, not the wanton destruction it daily wreaks, nor the fact of Nigeria spending trillions fighting it, as well as trying to beat back banditry which is, unfortunately, spreading fast, have been sufficient enough to mobilise the Northern elite behind the  efforts to rein in these twin evils. Nor has the existential danger murderous herdsmen constitute to large chunks of the country been deemed sufficient to draw any reaction from this educated, and very  knowledge-able, section of the Northern society to, at least, indicate that they are awed by what a negativity the North now constitutes to Nigeria’s well- being.

    And as to the question what can they do? I say, a lot” – being the introductory part of my article of Sunday 23 February,  2020.

    In the same article I also wrote:

    “You cannot be happy with about 87% of poverty in Nigeria being in the north. You can’t be happy with millions of northern children out of school. You can’t be happy with nine states in the north contributing almost 50 per cent of the entire malnutrition burden in the country”. “You can’t be happy with the drug problem. You can’t be happy with the Boko Haram problem. Or with banditry. If the North does not change, it will destroy itself” – Quoting the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, CON.

    During the past few weeks two gentlemen – my friend of over a decade, Tony Sani, former Secretary of the Arewa Consultative Forum, but better known as the Forum’s Publicity Secretary and Moh’d Yusuf, who I just met on these pages reacting to my articles, trenchantly criticising my views not only on the North but also on President Muhammadu Buhari – have spent considerable time interrogating the place of the North in contemporary Nigeria.

    Because I know that most of Yusuf’s criticism are misplaced, I have reminded him that long before many Nigerians fell in love with the late President, I wrote on these pages, when President Buhari was only a Presidential aspirant, that Nigeria needed him much more than he needed Nigeria. I was then relying on his incandescent inorruptibility as he has long displayed in public office.

    As to my love, or otherwise for the North, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria was my first choice University and I spent two weeks in Congo campus before I relocated to another University.  I shall never forget that the fees I paid was returned, pro rata, something not many Nigerian Universities would do, even now.

    I can say, with all boldness, that my views about the North, and Northerners, have always been honest and down to earth. For instance, twice in “Psycho-Analysing Sanusi Lamido Sanusi” (1 & 2), I wrote supporting the appointment of the latter Emir as Central Bank Governor in September,  2009 when it was not the most popular view.

    So when my views seem anti- North to some, it is certainly not out of malice.

    Today, I am taking a critical look at the choice/s before the North as it continues to constitute a major embarrassment to the whole country, so bad a foreign country had come, “gun – a – blazing”.

    Northern Nigeria today stands at a critical juncture, that is, at the choice between theocracy and modernity.

    As the Emir postulated above, the North, to survive as a modern conglomerate, must acknowledge the critical need for change.

    By embracing modernity, Northern Nigeria can unlock its vast potential, contribute to Nigeria’s growth, and become a beacon of hope, not only for that part of the country alone but for the entire country.

    Presently, Northern Nigeria, rich in cultural heritage and history, finds itself at the crossroads. It

     is grappling with the challenges of balancing its traditional values with the demands of modernity. The dichotomy between theocracy and modernity has led to a myriad of problems, including poverty, illiteracy, and insecurity, all of which have become a significant drain on Nigeria’s resources.

    Northern Nigeria has a long history of Islamic influence, with many states adopting Sharia law and although insecurity can be attributed to many reasons, the most fundamental is religion.

    Read Also: Northern Nigeria: Untameable and prospect of Nigeria achieving trillion dollar economy

    Insecurity in the North is, in my view and above anything else, mostly driven by the desire of the greatest percentage of Northern Moslems, if not all of them, to have Sharia declared all over Nigeria and the country, itself, proclaimed an Islamic country.

    This is precisely what nurtures insecurity,  be it it’s funding, the not  insignificant communal support it enjoys, as well as the ease with which the various gangs recruit new members from the bazaar of out – of – school children roaming the streets.

    Whoever denies this is only just talking.

    Knowing full well that the preponderance of their numbers in the National Assembly cannot foist sharia on the country, a greater percentage of Northern Moslems, no matter their position in life, would quite easily turn a blind eye to the activities of all these Islamic terrorist gangs terrorising Nigeria, from the sahel to the shores of the Atlantic ocean, if only to achieve the objective of having an Islamic country.

    It is a well known fact that this is the primary purpose of all Islamic terror gangs the world over and it enjoys local support everywhere,  not minding the collateral damage of losing some of their members.

    It is the reason why the United State’s first point of call was Sokoto state, an area the Nigerian security has never once declared as a terror stronghold.

    Never.

    But unlike Nigeria’s successive governments, the U.S has nobody, or anything, to fear.

    This fear of the unknown is also the reason successive Nigerian governments have never been able to name terror financiers and did, absoluely nothing, when foreign countries obliged the Buhari government with some of their names.

    But for America, Nigeria would have remained in limbo never able to touch terror kingpins, only relying on reeling out the names of mere hired guns for public consumption.

    It is time for the North to realise that the forces of globalisation and technological advancement have made modernity an unavoidable reality.

    It must, therefore, adapt to these changes if it is to ever compete with the modern world. The North must realise that Education, innovation, and entrepreneurship are key drivers of modernisation, in all of which the region, unfortunately, lags behind.

    Not unexpectedly, the North’s reluctance to embrace modernity has come at a great cost. For instance, its human development indicators are among the worst in Nigeria and, therefore, in the world, and are coupled with extra-ordinarily high rates of poverty, illiteracy, and infant mortality.

    Lack of economic opportunities has naturally fueled insecurity, with Boko Haram and a host of other killing and kidnapping gangs roaming the region, daily leaving trails of blood and anguish.

    The North must make a choice between continuing to cling to a theocratic model that has failed to deliver development or embrace modernity and its attendant benefits.

    This is not a call to abandon tradition or faith but to recognise that modernity and progress are not mutually exclusive with cultural heritage.

    What then is the way forward?

    There are a few of them.

    First, the North must, willy nilly, invest in education, especially education for girls and women, aimed at empowering individuals and driving economic growth. It must launch programs to improve education access, both quantity and quality – wise. Efforts must be made to drastically reduce the number of out-of-school children.

    Indeed the world would not collapse if Almajirai is officially prohibited and the study of the Holy Book streamlined into the expanded school syllabi. This is not too much if Northern states’ governments are prepared to turn around the fortunes of the region.

    The leaders must also put enough resources into ICT which is the future.

    Economic Diversification will be key too. Reliance on primary products of agriculture must give way to medium scale industrialisation to create a more diversified economy. Incentives could be offered to businesses to invest in the region to facilitate employment, especially in dairy products.

    Mining should have been beneficial to the local  economy  but for the ranka dede culture which makes the poor or not so rich behave like slaves to the rich, and thus cannot revolt against the rich who indulge in illegal mining together with their foreign partners and supported by hundreds of terrorists who, in addition  engage in kidnapping.

    Equally important is good governance which is mostly lacking in Northern states as a result of the uncritical culture of the people.

    Serious effort must also be made to strengthen institutions, promote transparency and hold leaders accountable.

    There must also be a cultural evolution which mass education should facilitate and promote. This should include a culture of tolerance, openness, and innovation.

     Finally, Northern region can significantly benefit from exchange programs with other regions, even other countries, to promote understanding, innovation and faster economic development.

    The North must seize this moment to redefine its place in all ramifications.

     The future beckons – it’s time for the North to make a choice.

  • Insecurity: President Tinubu recalibrates

    Insecurity: President Tinubu recalibrates

    The declaration forms part of the Tinubu administration’s broader effort to overhaul Nigeria’s security and criminal justice systems amid persistent challenges posed by banditry, insurgency, kidnapping and organised violent crime across several regions of the country”.

    Since he assumed power over two years ago, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s security strategy has involved a multi-pronged approach, including kinetic pressure through modernised military capability

    and intelligence-driven operations, as well as the much criticised

    non-kinetic measures like restoring governance in underserved communities, counter-radicalization programs, and economic stabilization initiatives.

    The administration has also emphasised inter-agency cooperation, technology-driven intelligence gathering, and community engagement.

    Unfortunately, these have not stemmed insecurity which some lazy Northern governors

    inflicted on Nigeria when, rather than provide education, good health care delivery and proper governance for their people a decade and half ago, hid under the Sharia, flee their state capitals and went to  live, mostly a lecherous life at Abuja, consuming both women and alcohol.

    READ ALSO: No place for terrorists, kidnappers in Kwara, says Abdulrazaq as forest guards end training

    Insecurity was further worsened in the country during President Muhammadu Buhari’s laizerfaire eight years when his seeming love affair with all manner of Islamic terrorist groups was so fervent Boko Haram could proudly nominate him as their representative in an interface with the Goodluck Jonathan government.

    Now Tinubu says no more.

    The President has  vowed to classify violence by armed groups as terrorism, allocating $3.7 billion to defence and security. The 2026 budget prioritizes security, with a N5.41 trillion allocation for defence and security.

    Tinubu’s approach to security is centered around discipline, enforcement, and accountability.

    He has abandoned euphemism, declaring that any armed group operating outside state authority will be regarded as terrorists.

    This doctrinal reset removes political, ethnic, or semantic cover from violent non-state actors, signaling to security agencies that ambiguity will no longer be an operational excuse.

    Details of the new order also include the following.

     Recruitment:

    50,000 new personnel to be recruited by the Police, with a 20,000 additional to the Army;

    Forest Guards Deployment:

    Trained guards to be deployed to flush out terrorists and bandits from all forests;

    State Policing: National Assembly to review laws to enable states to establish their own police force;

    Military Modernization: Procurement of advanced weaponry, surveillance systems, and force multipliers

    Community Engagement: Initiatives  to resolve herder-farmer conflicts and promote social investment.

    Not surprisingly, all manner of Northern characters , probably including terror financiers, have risen in opposition to this brave determination by the President.

    This is why I continue to commend the President for removing fuel subsidy, quite unexpectedly, on day one because had he wasted time, some enemies of state could have made it impossible and thereby turn Nigeria to another Venezuela.

    Further details of the President’s NEW ORDER are as follows:

    According to the President, “the new framework will end the practice of treating banditry, militancy and related crimes as isolated criminal activities.

    Instead, such acts will now fall squarely within the scope of terrorism, with harsher responses from the state”.

    “Under the new security architecture,  bandits, violent cults, militias, armed gangs, forest-based criminal groups and foreign-linked mercenaries would no longer be viewed as standalone criminal elements but as terrorist threats to national stability”.

    “We will usher in a new era of criminal justice. We will show no mercy to those who commit or support acts of terrorism, banditry, kidnapping for ransom and other violent crimes”.

    The President further explained that his administration was restructuring the nation’s security system around a new counterterrorism doctrine designed to improve coordination and effectiveness across security agencies.

    “Our administration, he said, is resetting the national security architecture and establishing a new national counterterrorism doctrine — a holistic redesign anchored on unified command, intelligence gathering, community stability, and counter-insurgency.

    This new doctrine will fundamentally change how we confront terrorism and other violent crimes.”

    He also indicated, very clearly, that the designation would apply broadly to all armed groups operating without state approval.

    “Under this new architecture, any armed group or gun-wielding non-state actors operating outside state authority will be regarded as terrorists”.

    “Bandits, militias, armed gangs, armed robbers, violent cults, forest-based armed groups and foreign-linked mercenaries will all be targeted”.

    “We will go after all those who perpetrate violence for political or sectarian ends, along with those who finance and facilitate their evil schemes.”

    The President also stressed that increased security spending under the 2026 budget would be tied to measurable outcomes, insisting that funding must translate into improved safety for Nigerians”.

    “We will invest in security with clear accountability for outcomes — because security spending must deliver results”.

    Concluding, the President added:

    “To secure our country, our priority will remain on increasing the fighting capability of our armed forces and other security agencies and boosting the effectiveness of our fight”.

    Let me conclude by wishing my loyal and incredible readers happy New Year in a much safer Nigeria.

  • Revered (Sir) Remi Omotoso speaks on Ekiti Agro-Allied International Airport

    Revered (Sir) Remi Omotoso speaks on Ekiti Agro-Allied International Airport

    “To God be the glory, great things He hath done, so loved He the world that He gave us His Son, who yielded His life an atonement for sin, and opened the life-gate that all may go in” – Fanny Crosby(1875)

    It was a joyful moment for Ekitikete as the Ekiti Agro- Allied International Cargo Airport commenced commercial flights in grand style(ABUJA – ADO – EKITI) with all the four former governors of the State- Otunba Niyi Adebayo, Dr Ayodele Fayose, Engr Segun Oni and Dr Kayode Fayemi – on board. 

    It was indeed a moment of pride for all Ekiti sons and daughters as the United Nigeria Airline touched down at the airport and took off with passengers heading to another destination.  It was a beautiful experience,  historic and quite exciting . 

    With the airport in place Ekiti has taken a major leap in the quest for economic development.

    Thanks to God and  BAO’s transformative leadership” – a euphoric Funmi Bold on the Ekiti New Dawn WhatsApp platform.

    The Eagle has landed.

    And finally the much storied Ekiti Agro- Allied International Airport, Ado – Ekiti, received its maiden commercial flight to a euphoric welcome on Tuesday, 10 December, 2025.

    Nobody can legitimately begrudge any Ekiti man or woman today if he/she heartily bursts into the above song of gratitude in appreciation to God or  if we Ekitis choose to sing the most sonorous  of our songs to the various leaders who made this a reality.

    This is a project that has many shades and colours, and passed through various stages of acrimony before finally birthing in ultimate glory. God be praised.

    Commenced during the administration of Governor Kayode Fayemi as a dual purpose infrastructure, it has a 3.2 km runway facility and obtained the NCAA approval in October, 2025.

    Read Also: ICPC invites Dangote over $7m school fees claim against ex-NMDPRA boss

    One of the many phases the project passed through, though behind the scenes, was the mostly combative, absolutely politically motivated discussions that predominated our Ekitipanupo@yahoogroups.com web portal, comprising over 2000 Ekitis home, and Diasporan. Our

    debates were so acrimonious they remind me, uncannily, of promotion exercises at the Pre – Clinical departments of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Ibadan in the 70’s, when two distinguished Nigerian professors of international repute – who will remain nameless here – headed the departments of Anatomy and Physiology, respectively, and

    no matter the brilliance of candidates from the other department you knew, apriori, what type of recommendation to expect from the opposing Head of Department.

    In our discussions, therefore,  your views merely reflected where you belonged in the state’s politics.

    However, one contributor differed, completely, from the ensemble as, even in all the ongoing cacophony, he took the professional path which is why his contributions are very vital, and relevant today, for both the Ekiti state government and, in particular, for those who will be responsible for the day to day management of the facility.

    That exactly is why Sir Remi Omotoso will be speaking to us today about the Airport. Yes speak, via his intervention to my article captioned: Still on The Ekiti Airport Project. His contribution was dated 7 November, 2019.

    Sir Remi Omotoso MFR, (1945 – 2020) was a true servant leader who poured out himself in service to God and humanity through institutions such as the Methodist Church of Nigeria, Unilever Plc, Odu’a Group of Companies, Standard Chartered Bank, Greenwich Trust Group, DN Meyer Plc, University of Ibadan, the Institute of Directors, Nigerian Institute of Marketing, Chartered Institute of Personnel Management, the Ekiti State  and his home community of Ayedun-Ekiti.

    He served without expecting anything in return, his  satisfaction coming from seeing people and processes improve, and knowing that the Almighty God would be glorified.

    He joined the Saints Triumphant on 5 June, 2020. Eternal rest grant him O Lord.

    Happy reading.

    My dear compatriots,

    In o kun o.

    I have followed with keen interest the various views expressed by many of our people. Some are for and some are against the establishment of an airport in Ekiti, everyone advancing reasons for position taken.

    In a democracy, this is what it should be: you talk and I talk and Democracy no go vex. However, a responsible Government under a worthy leader would take a decision on any matter, hopefully, in the best interest of the people.

    Let me state upfront that I was a member of the Committee set up by Dr Kayode Fayemi during his first coming to consider the pros and cons of having an airport in Ekiti. There was hardly any view expressed today that didn’t come up during our Committee meetings. Tope Porta’s views on this forum on the airport almost covered the views of those on the Committee who were opposed to the establishment of the airport. The views of Femi Orebe and Femi Ebenezer more than covered the views of the proponents of the establishment of the Airport. From outside of the Committee were also strong views. Late Prof. Mike Filani, a highly respected Transport Geographer didn’t  see the need for the Airport, at least for now. He didn’t see its viability from the passenger size and also didn’t seem to see the prospect of agribusiness so soon to keep the Airport alive and running. His views in my personal discussion with him was that the airport would only serve elitist interest and would be grossly underutilized. So, the Committee had a wide array of views to base its decision on.

    I must disabuse the minds of some of us who felt that Chief Afe Babalola who was Chairman of our Committee wanted the Airport ” tipa ti kuku”( by all means) for the relative comfort of the parents of the young students of the Afe Babalola University Ado-Ekiti ( ABUAD). Yes, this could be part of his interest in the airport but beyond that, Chief Afe Babalola has the largest private commercial agribusiness in the Southwest of Nigeria today. His mango farms which runs into hundreds of hectares will benefit from the Ado-Ekiti airport by way of export.

    As a member of the Committee,  I was the most vociferous canvasser for the airport to be established to be run largely as a specialised agric. produce cargo airport. I submitted that apart from Ekiti State, the west of Kogi, the south-east of Osun, and a good part of Akoko north-west will serve as good catchment areas for the airport, almost entirely for agro Cargo export.

    There has been the pessimistic question asked by those not in support of the airport: what and where are the cargoes? Here are the agro products:

          1)  YAMS.

    Today, Ghana is reported to be among the largest exporters of yams, largely  to the US. In 2016, Ghana exported $N27.5m and was reported to be the 6th largest exporter and holds 10..3% of world yam export. Ghana total annual production is put at about 6.6m/tonnes compared with Nigeria production of 32.3m/ tonnes but with no notice in the world market for export. 

    Yagbas in Kogi west and the Igbiras are great yam producers along with us in Ekiti North, Akoko Northwest and Northeast. A good proportion of  the 32.3m/tonnes must be between Benue and Ekiti and those locations mentioned in Kogi.

    Now, please, reacall that Gov. Sgun Oni established a Yam Conditioning Plant at  ILASA EKITI which was not completed  and commissioned before he left office. If the current Fayemi-led government gets this plant completed and put it to use through sale or lease to a private company, Ekiti would be ready to take over Ghana’s position in the world in the export of YAMS. The yams are airfreighted.

          2)FRESH PINEAPPLE FRUITS

    The market for fresh pineapple fruit export from West Africa is dominated by Ghana and Cote D’ivoire. I visited  Ghana some years back to find out more about the success of the country just to see how Ekiti can enter this lucrative business. All around Greater Accra, young families own, courtesy Govt empowerment program, each hundreds of hectares of pineapple farms cultivated under strict pytosanitary certification for specific offtakers. The offtakers also in collaboration with Govt ensure extension services are provided which assures consumers confidence in direct consumption without any further quality control. As at the time of my visit about 2011, at least a Boeing 737 cargo plane load of pineapple was exported daily from Kotoka airport.

    The demand for organic fruits is exploding in the  world and Ekiti stands to benefit from this development. Ekiti share same geographical and ecological conditions with the Pineapple producing region in Ghana. Add pineapple export to that of Yam and you will begin to see the viability of Ijan-Ado Ekiti Airport. There are more promising fruits from Ekiti  you can add to these because of their commercial potential.

           3) BANANA/PLANTAIN.

    The Ikere-Ilawe- Igbara Odo Axis has best clime and ecology for Banana and also plantain similar to what prevails in Ghana where export to Europe is thriving. If Govt helps to establish strains and off-taķers the business potential is huge. Obviously,  bananas are plantains are usually airfreighted.

         4) MANGOES and AVOCADOS.

    Oga Aare Afe Babalola has a large mango farm as part of ABUAD. I understand the mangoes ere of Israeli strain. When they are in full blossom, the Ijan-Ado road airport will be a huge advantage.

          5) CHILLI PEPPER.

    This is also in huge demand in the world market. This is a crop women deal in a lot. Some cooperative movement of a sort can engage in growing and processing for export.

    All these crops and more are more than enough to justify the establishment of a medium size cargo airport in Ado-Ekiti designed to be scalable with adequate cargo-handling systems and facilities.

    Ekiti is an agrarian, landlocked State. This should not disadvantage us if we embrace agribusiness seriously on an industrial scale. It should not be long before we start to add value.I saw an astonishingly beautiful factory in the outskirts of Accra where fruit COCKTAILS were being prepared and shipped out of Kotoka airport to various locations in Europe from where they are distributed to various food chains in those locations.

     Some have argued that AKURE AIRPORT can still serve the purpose of handling the business. I have my reservations on this. Akurr isn’t designed for Cargo handling.  Secondly, it has its drawback on cost of getting these products to Akure. In the cost configuration for them, freight is a key factor and can negatively affect competitiveness. The nearer point of production is to point of airfreight the better. It’s no brainer that yams will leave Ilasa Yam conditioning Plant and get delivered to Ado airport than to Akure airport located on Akure-Owo road. If I were involved in the business, I would prefer Ado. Apart from the cheaper transportation costs, Ado airport will  have holding facilities for my export haven been designed to handle agro cargoes.

    MY APPEAL TO EKITI  STATE GOVERNMENT.

    Please,  as the airport is being constructed, let adequate preparation be commenced to prepare the farmers that will produce the agro cargoes. The gestation periods of these crops must have worked into them land preparation, the selection and preparation of the farmers, their training and psychosocial conditioning. It should be possible for rhis new crop of farmers  to operate like any other businessmen and women without being isolated in farm settlements. Contiguous farms will promote experiential learning and information sharing among the farmers.  Selection of Extension Service providers should start at the right time, that is at.the time of seeking offtakers and strains of crops to focus on. Govenment should be responsible for procuring phyto sanitary certification from the offtakers.

    Let me dare to recommend that the selected farmers.should be exposed to practices in Ghana, Cote D’ivoire or Kenya and a few of them to the offtakers as well as the food chain stores and direct consumers. The success of Unilever in its various markets is the attention paid to training of the employees, knowledge of the market and consumer behavior and preferences. Nothing happens unless people make them happen.

    So, as work goes on in the construction of the Airport, work goes on regarding growing of the crops and their packaging. When the airport is ready, there should be cargo to push through it.

    I am passionate about the Ado-Ekiti Airport, just as I am of the emerging opportunities in the exponential growth in agribusiness in Ekiti. I look forward to the day I will shop for organic fruits and yams in Eirope and America and find the label;.PRODUCE OF EKITI, NIGERIA or PROUDLY EKITI NIGERIA. 

    Nothing would befit the memory of our late compatriot more than for  governor Oyebanji to carefully distil Sir Omotoso’s seminal article, and allow the suggestions therein, guide him, first and foremost, in the formulation of the policy guidelines which will propel its operations as well as in his choice of the individuals who would be in charge of the Airport’s management.

    HAPPY BIRTHDAY BAO

    Here’s wishing our Omoluabi Governor Abiodun Oyebanji of Ekiti state happy birthday and many happy returns as he turns 58 today, 21 December, 2025.

    Yours has been a journey in humility, grace and service to humanity.

    May the good Lord continue to keep you and all yours under His canopy of all – round peace. Amen.

  • Revered (Sir) Remi Omotoso speaks on Ekiti Agro-Allied International Airport

    Revered (Sir) Remi Omotoso speaks on Ekiti Agro-Allied International Airport

    “To God be the glory, great things He hath done, so loved He the world that He gave us His Son, who yielded His life an atonement for sin, and opened the life-gate that all may go in” – Fanny Crosby(1875)

    It was a joyful moment for Ekitikete as the Ekiti Agro- Allied International Cargo Airport commenced commercial flights in grand style (ABUJA – ADO – EKITI) with all the four former governors of the State- Otunba Niyi Adebayo, Dr Ayodele Fayose, Engr Segun Oni and Dr Kayode Fayemi – on board. 

    It was indeed a moment of pride for all Ekiti sons and daughters as the United Nigeria Airline touched down at the airport and took off with passengers heading to another destination.  It was a beautiful experience,  historic and quite exciting . 

    With the airport in place Ekiti has taken a major leap in the quest for economic development.

    Thanks to God and  BAO’s transformative leadership” – a euphoric Funmi Bold on the Ekiti New Dawn WhatsApp platform.

    The Eagle has landed.

    And finally the much storied Ekiti Agro- Allied International Airport, Ado – Ekiti, received its maiden commercial flight to a euphoric welcome on Tuesday, 10 December, 2025.

    READ ALSO: Benin Republic demons

    Nobody can legitimately begrudge any Ekiti man or woman today if he/she heartily bursts into the above song of gratitude in appreciation to God or  if we Ekitis choose to sing the most sonorous  of our songs to the various leaders who made this a reality.

    This is a project that has many shades and colours, and passed through various stages of acrimony before finally birthing in ultimate glory. God be praised.

    Commenced during the administration of Governor Kayode Fayemi as a dual purpose infrastructure, it has a 3.2 km runway facility and obtained the NCAA approval in October, 2025.

    One of the many phases the project passed through, though behind the scenes, was the mostly combative, absolutely politically motivated discussions that predominated our Ekitipanupo@yahoogroups.com web portal, comprising over 2000 Ekitis home, and Diasporan. Our

    debates were so acrimonious they remind me, uncannily, of promotion exercises at the Pre – Clinical departments of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Ibadan in the 70’s, when two distinguished Nigerian professors of international repute – who will remain nameless here – headed the departments of Anatomy and Physiology, respectively, and

    no matter the brilliance of candidates from the other department you knew, apriori, what type of recommendation to expect from the opposing Head of Department.

    In our discussions, therefore,  your views merely reflected where you belonged in the state’s politics.

    However, one contributor differed, completely, from the ensemble as, even in all the ongoing cacophony, he took the professional path which is why his contributions are very vital, and relevant today, for both the Ekiti state government and, in particular, for those who will be responsible for the day to day management of the facility.

    That exactly is why Sir Remi Omotoso will be speaking to us today about the Airport. Yes speak, via his intervention to my article captioned: Still on The Ekiti Airport Project. His contribution was dated 7 November, 2019.

    Sir Remi Omotoso MFR, (1945 – 2020) was a true servant leader who poured out himself in service to God and humanity through institutions such as the Methodist Church of Nigeria, Unilever Plc, Odu’a Group of Companies, Standard Chartered Bank, Greenwich Trust Group, DN Meyer Plc, University of Ibadan, the Institute of Directors, Nigerian Institute of Marketing, Chartered Institute of Personnel Management, the Ekiti State  and his home community of Ayedun-Ekiti.

    He served without expecting anything in return, his  satisfaction coming from seeing people and processes improve, and knowing that the Almighty God would be glorified.

    He joined the Saints Triumphant on 5 June, 2020. Eternal rest grant him O Lord.

    Happy reading.

    My dear compatriots,

    In o kun o.

    I have followed with keen interest the various views expressed by many of our people. Some are for and some are against the establishment of an airport in Ekiti, everyone advancing reasons for position taken.

    In a democracy, this is what it should be: you talk and I talk and Democracy no go vex. However, a responsible Government under a worthy leader would take a decision on any matter, hopefully, in the best interest of the people.

    Let me state upfront that I was a member of the Committee set up by Dr Kayode Fayemi during his first coming to consider the pros and cons of having an airport in Ekiti. There was hardly any view expressed today that didn’t come up during our Committee meetings. Tope Porta’s views on this forum on the airport almost covered the views of those on the Committee who were opposed to the establishment of the airport. The views of Femi Orebe and Femi Ebenezer more than covered the views of the proponents of the establishment of the Airport. From outside of the Committee were also strong views. Late Prof. Mike Filani, a highly respected Transport Geographer didn’t  see the need for the Airport, at least for now. He didn’t see its viability from the passenger size and also didn’t seem to see the prospect of agribusiness so soon to keep the Airport alive and running. His views in my personal discussion with him was that the airport would only serve elitist interest and would be grossly underutilized. So, the Committee had a wide array of views to base its decision on.

    I must disabuse the minds of some of us who felt that Chief Afe Babalola who was Chairman of our Committee wanted the Airport ” tipa ti kuku”( by all means) for the relative comfort of the parents of the young students of the Afe Babalola University Ado-Ekiti ( ABUAD). Yes, this could be part of his interest in the airport but beyond that, Chief Afe Babalola has the largest private commercial agribusiness in the Southwest of Nigeria today. His mango farms which runs into hundreds of hectares will benefit from the Ado-Ekiti airport by way of export.

    As a member of the Committee,  I was the most vociferous canvasser for the airport to be established to be run largely as a specialised agric. produce cargo airport. I submitted that apart from Ekiti State, the west of Kogi, the south-east of Osun, and a good part of Akoko north-west will serve as good catchment areas for the airport, almost entirely for agro Cargo export.

    There has been the pessimistic question asked by those not in support of the airport: what and where are the cargoes? Here are the agro products:

          1)  YAMS.

    Today, Ghana is reported to be among the largest exporters of yams, largely  to the US. In 2016, Ghana exported $N27.5m and was reported to be the 6th largest exporter and holds 10..3% of world yam export. Ghana total annual production is put at about 6.6m/tonnes compared with Nigeria production of 32.3m/ tonnes but with no notice in the world market for export. 

    Yagbas in Kogi west and the Igbiras are great yam producers along with us in Ekiti North, Akoko Northwest and Northeast. A good proportion of  the 32.3m/tonnes must be between Benue and Ekiti and those locations mentioned in Kogi.

    Now, please, reacall that Gov. Sgun Oni established a Yam Conditioning Plant at  ILASA EKITI which was not completed  and commissioned before he left office. If the current Fayemi-led government gets this plant completed and put it to use through sale or lease to a private company, Ekiti would be ready to take over Ghana’s position in the world in the export of YAMS. The yams are airfreighted.

          2)FRESH PINEAPPLE FRUITS

    The market for fresh pineapple fruit export from West Africa is dominated by Ghana and Cote D’ivoire. I visited  Ghana some years back to find out more about the success of the country just to see how Ekiti can enter this lucrative business. All around Greater Accra, young families own, courtesy Govt empowerment program, each hundreds of hectares of pineapple farms cultivated under strict pytosanitary certification for specific offtakers. The offtakers also in collaboration with Govt ensure extension services are provided which assures consumers confidence in direct consumption without any further quality control. As at the time of my visit about 2011, at least a Boeing 737 cargo plane load of pineapple was exported daily from Kotoka airport.

    The demand for organic fruits is exploding in the  world and Ekiti stands to benefit from this development. Ekiti share same geographical and ecological conditions with the Pineapple producing region in Ghana. Add pineapple export to that of Yam and you will begin to see the viability of Ijan-Ado Ekiti Airport. There are more promising fruits from Ekiti  you can add to these because of their commercial potential.

           3) BANANA/PLANTAIN.

    The Ikere-Ilawe- Igbara Odo Axis has best clime and ecology for Banana and also plantain similar to what prevails in Ghana where export to Europe is thriving. If Govt helps to establish strains and off-taķers the business potential is huge. Obviously,  bananas are plantains are usually airfreighted.

         4) MANGOES and AVOCADOS.

    Oga Aare Afe Babalola has a large mango farm as part of ABUAD. I understand the mangoes ere of Israeli strain. When they are in full blossom, the Ijan-Ado road airport will be a huge advantage.

          5) CHILLI PEPPER.

    This is also in huge demand in the world market. This is a crop women deal in a lot. Some cooperative movement of a sort can engage in growing and processing for export.

    All these crops and more are more than enough to justify the establishment of a medium size cargo airport in Ado-Ekiti designed to be scalable with adequate cargo-handling systems and facilities.

    Ekiti is an agrarian, landlocked State. This should not disadvantage us if we embrace agribusiness seriously on an industrial scale. It should not be long before we start to add value.I saw an astonishingly beautiful factory in the outskirts of Accra where fruit COCKTAILS were being prepared and shipped out of Kotoka airport to various locations in Europe from where they are distributed to various food chains in those locations.

     Some have argued that AKURE AIRPORT can still serve the purpose of handling the business. I have my reservations on this. Akurr isn’t designed for Cargo handling.  Secondly, it has its drawback on cost of getting these products to Akure. In the cost configuration for them, freight is a key factor and can negatively affect competitiveness. The nearer point of production is to point of airfreight the better. It’s no brainer that yams will leave Ilasa Yam conditioning Plant and get delivered to Ado airport than to Akure airport located on Akure-Owo road. If I were involved in the business, I would prefer Ado. Apart from the cheaper transportation costs, Ado airport will  have holding facilities for my export haven been designed to handle agro cargoes.

    MY APPEAL TO EKITI  STATE GOVERNMENT.

    Please,  as the airport is being constructed, let adequate preparation be commenced to prepare the farmers that will produce the agro cargoes. The gestation periods of these crops must have worked into them land preparation, the selection and preparation of the farmers, their training and psychosocial conditioning. It should be possible for rhis new crop of farmers  to operate like any other businessmen and women without being isolated in farm settlements. Contiguous farms will promote experiential learning and information sharing among the farmers.  Selection of Extension Service providers should start at the right time, that is at.the time of seeking offtakers and strains of crops to focus on. Govenment should be responsible for procuring phyto sanitary certification from the offtakers.

    Let me dare to recommend that the selected farmers.should be exposed to practices in Ghana, Cote D’ivoire or Kenya and a few of them to the offtakers as well as the food chain stores and direct consumers. The success of Unilever in its various markets is the attention paid to training of the employees, knowledge of the market and consumer behavior and preferences. Nothing happens unless people make them happen.

    So, as work goes on in the construction of the Airport, work goes on regarding growing of the crops and their packaging. When the airport is ready, there should be cargo to push through it.

    I am passionate about the Ado-Ekiti Airport, just as I am of the emerging opportunities in the exponential growth in agribusiness in Ekiti. I look forward to the day I will shop for organic fruits and yams in Eirope and America and find the label;.PRODUCE OF EKITI, NIGERIA or PROUDLY EKITI NIGERIA. 

    Nothing would befit the memory of our late compatriot more than for  governor Oyebanji to carefully distil Sir Omotoso’s seminal article, and allow the suggestions therein, guide him, first and foremost, in the formulation of the policy guidelines which will propel its operations as well as in his choice of the individuals who would be in charge of the Airport’s management.

  • Naming and shaming of sponsors as solution to escalating terrorism in Nigeria

    Naming and shaming of sponsors as solution to escalating terrorism in Nigeria

    I believe that with political will and cooperation of the Northern elite, we can flush out these vermin in our blood in six months.

    It is a choice, and not a difficult one. Bello Tunji and Dogo Gide are human beings. The bandits are not spirits. We only need to be spirited” –

    Sam Omatseye in ‘The Maidens of Maga’, Monday, December 1, 2025.

    “If Nigeria truly wants to break the cycle of insecurity, corruption in defence spending, weak intelligence coordination, and the embarrassing militarisation of internal policing, then the appointment of General Christopher Musa as Minister of Defence must come with a national agenda—clear, uncompromising, and measurable.

    Nigeria is too security-fractured for business as usual.

    We need a Defence Minister who will disrupt the old order, confront the rot, and rebuild trust between the armed forces and the citizens” –

    culled from Idowu Oboro’s:

    “If General Christopher Musa Becomes Minister of Defence: The Agenda Nigerians Must Demand”

    Last week on these pages I wrote, quoting Chima – Oforgu

    in his seminal work on terrorism in Nigeria: “Who is really paying for Nigeria’s bloodbath?

    We talk endlessly about “terrorists”, “Fulani herdsmen”, “bandits” – as if they are ghosts who appear from thin air, armed to the teeth, fuelled, fed and endlessly re-supplied by magic.

    They are not ghosts.

    They are funded.

    And the sponsors are not barefoot militants in the bush – they are people in suits, kaftans and uniforms; sitting in air-conditioned offices in Abuja, Lagos, Kaduna, Dubai and beyond”.

    The Nigerian security situation has just been brutally captured in a trending WhatsApp post which, mutatis mutandis, reads as follows:

    “Nigeria Is Being Taken Over slowly and in Silence.

    This Is Not INSECURITY. It’s a CONQUEST.

    Nigeria is currently undergoing a systematic territorial takeover by armed groups. This is not random criminality. It is not isolated insecurity. It is a coordinated expansion of hostile forces exercising real control over Nigerian territory determined, more than ever to turn Nigeria into a radical Islamic country.

    In the North-West, bandit networks are displacing entire communities, imposing illegal taxation, controlling farmland, and forcing civilians to either flee or submit. In the North-East, jihadist factions including ISWAP are consolidating safe operating zones, enforcing parallel governance under the pretext of “Sulhu” or peace talks, and building logistical routes deeper into the country.

    Both groups are advancing SOUTHWARD.

    Their operations are no longer confined to the peripheries.

    They are now penetrating Niger, Plateau, Benue, Kogi, and reaching the borders of the Federal Capital Territory.

    This is a strategic progression:

    Control the rural zones → dominate transportation corridors → threaten cities → challenge the state.

    The indicators are clear:

    1. Loss of state monopoly on violence in multiple LGAs.

    2. Parallel administrations emerging in forest regions.

    3. Mass abductions targeting schools and community leaders to cripple social confidence.

    4. Strategic raids near Abuja  to undermine national authority.

    5. Southward infiltration toward economic population centers aimed at causing maximum socio- economic dislocation.

    This is what territorial conquest looks like in the 21st century:

    Not declarations of war, but the state slowly losing ground to non-state actors who act like governments.

    Civil authority retreats.

    Armed actors remain.

    Communities adapt for survival”.

    What to do

    Terrorism in Nigeria is complex and multi – dimensional. It has led to devastating consequences, among them, loss of hundreds of thousands of lives, displacement of people, and monumental economic instability. One critical way of addressing insecurity in Nigeria is identifying, and tackling, the financial networks and individuals that sustain these terrorist groups.

    One approach is the naming and shaming of  terrorism sponsors, which can be a potent tool in curbing, in deed, defeating, terrorism since funding is terrorism’s live wire.

    Terrorist organisations rely heavily on funding, both internal and external, to carry out their terrible operations.

    These funds are often sourced from wealthy individuals, organizations or from even state actors who choose to support terrorist activities especially for religious purposes as we have here in Nigeria.

    In Nigeria, Boko Haram has been known to receive funding from various sources, including local and international sponsors.

    Naming and shaming involve publicly identifying individuals or organisations that support terrorist activities. This approach aims at isolating sponsors, disrupt their financial networks as well as deter others from providing similar support.

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    Its effectiveness will depend on several factors, including the accuracy of information, international cooperation, and the willingness of governments to take action.

    On these pages last week, I proved conclusively, and beyond all reasonable doubt, that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu does not lack the political will to take important political decisions.

    What then are the

    potential benefits of publicly naming, and shaming, terrorism sponsors?

    These include

    deterrence, as doing so will naturally deter others from providing such support, fearing reputational damage as well as the legal consequences of  being so publicly outed.

    This will naturally reduce terrorism since funding, as I indicated earlier, is integral to their multi- pronged activities – be it weapons acquisition, training, kidnapping, killing etc

    Another benefit is International cooperation which is of critical importance in successfully fighting terrorism, especially in the Sahel region and neighbouring countries with their porous borders where it is now obvious no country can single – handedly defeat terrorism.

    International cooperation can also lead to sanctions such as asset seizures and, even arrests, across several countries, working in synergy.

    There is also the additional advantage of domestic pressure.

    As things stand today in Nigeria, there are clear evidence of some elements of state security working with terror sponsors, not only to facilitate attacks but, more importantly, to ensure that terrorists are protected from the long arms of the law.

    Naming sponsors will galvanise public opinion and push  government to take stringent actions against miscreants.

    Of course,  naming sponsors has its down side. It can lead to retaliation and can even put some lives at risk. Government should, however, be able to adequately protect whistle blowers as they will be providing intelligence against very powerful persons.

    Government  must also guide against inaccurate evidence which can lead to wrongful accusations thus damaging innocent individuals or organisations.

    To effectively do this, the policy should depend mostly on:

     Intelligence-led operations in disrupting terrorist networks. There must also be international  collaboration with global partners to share information and coordinate efforts.

    There must be proactive

    community engagement  to encourage reporting of suspicious activities.

    Highest importance must, however, go to information sourced  through financial intelligence – bank records, transfers, suspicious transaction reports etc.

    There is equally the very important role of the National Assembly which must waste no time in providing an appropriate legal frame work for the policy.

    Several countries have successfully implemented naming and shaming strategies to combat terrorism financing. For instance, the United States’ Terrorist Financing Targeting Center has been instrumental in identifying and sanctioning individuals and organizations supporting terrorist groups.

    Concluding, I am not in any way,  suggesting naming and shaming of terrorism sponsors as a monocausal solution to what we are seeing increasing in leaps and bounds in our country.

    On the contrary, it should be part of a comprehensive strategy to address the root causes of terrorism.

    By adopting a multifaceted approach, Nigeria can effectively tackle both the individuals, as well as the financial networks supporting terrorism in Nigeria and thus be able to create a safer environment for us all.