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Category: Femi Orebe

  • Reactions to: Taking the wind out of Benjamin Kalu’s indigeneship Bill

    Reactions to: Taking the wind out of Benjamin Kalu’s indigeneship Bill

    Iwrote the above-referenced article, published on these pages Sunday, 4 May, ’25 out of the anxiety that Yorubas may soon find themselves  standing between

     a rock and a hard  place if we do nothing about Igbo’s plan to capture Lagos – TAKE LAGOS, as they describe it –  so they “can lock us up and put us (Yorubas) in jail”.

    Surprised at that?

    Please read my original article to hear the discussion, first hand, and understand the entire macabre plan, in addition to hearing what Igbos actually think of their Yoruba hosts, not only in Lagos but in the entire Yoruba land where many of us would stupidly think nothing of selling ancestral lands to them, to be paid for from monies whose sources they dont know. And that is when they actually don’t tell you that Lagos is a no man’s land.

    Add that scenario to murderous Fulani herdsmen having already completely over ran Southwest  forests and it becomes obvious we cannot afford to stand akimbo,  doing nothing.

    While we were fortunate that the less educated, but abrasive of Igbos exposed their plan via an on- air dialogue, the more coy, like their highest ranking member of the National Assembly, the Rt. Hon, freshly minted, Dr Benjamin Kalu, who was more discerning dropped the innocuous Indigeneship Bill on the House of Representatives, presenting it as a bill to unify Nigerians, thus confirming the Yoruba saying that: ‘oro ta ni ki aditi ma gbo, enu were lati ngbo – meaning that secret you are keeping away from the deaf, he will hear from the mad man.

    Hon Kalu should please tell us how many Nigerians( from other parts of the country) are likely to take advantage when his bill becomes Law to become a citizen of any Southeastern state, 10, 20? Compare that to the millions of Igbos in Lagos and other parts of Yorubaland.

    As should be expected the article generated considerable reactions, some of which are published below.

    The first is from a younger, very close friend of mine, whose articles I have severally got published on these pages. He is a distinguished Professor of Igbo extraction.

    He wrote:

    “Good morning dear uncle.

    I have read your well scripted article (as usual) and I find it quite amazing.

    Kindly permit that I make two observations, perhaps three :

    1. The article reminded me of Mien Kampf, one of those great literary works that changed the direction of the world almost a hundred years ago. It’s exceptionalism  still endures.

    2. By my character and upbringing, I do not accept the blanket ascription of the “Igbo’s inexplicable, and totally uncontrolled, desire to own things which belong to others, especially land”.

    It is just not for me.

    3. I had thought that the greatest danger facing southern Nigeria today is the presence of armed Fulanis in many forests across the south, especially the south west. And I have often wondered about their intentions and their mission.

    However, looking at the real and present danger revealed in your article, the Fulani menace pales into insignificance, a child’s picnic more or less.

    This is because a humongous plot by the Igbos to take over Lagos and drive the indigenous population into the lagoon (via an obscure whatsapp group) have been uncovered. May God help us all.

    Dear uncle, I once penned a personal message where I tried to explain a bit of myself to you. I said, among other things, that I see myself as a human being and I see the next person the same way.

    I stand by that, whatever happens, even though many will see me as naive, even foolish. But that is my choice and I am comfortable with it. What’s more, I will keep it that way to the end, irrespective of what happens around me. That is where I derive my peace”.

    The second from the owner of Tel no: 0806 – 78 – 689 reads:

    “If not because of covetousness, I am baffled about why or how you can claim to be an indigene of a place simply because you have lived there for 10 years or because you are married to an  indigene of the place? That is if the person has not changed his/her indigeneship over the years.

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    Both my parents were from Ode-Rẹ́mọ in Ogun State under Rẹ́mọ North Local Government. I was born in Ibadan where I lived for 17 years in different local governments before I moved to Lagos State where I’ve lived for 52 years. In Lagos State, I lived for 12 years in Ajegunle under Ajeromi Local Government. I lived for 5 years in Ijeshatedo. I lived for 17 years in Ejigbo under Oshodi-Isolo Local Government. I now live at Isheri-Oshun under Alimosho Local Government (Ìgandò/Ikotun LCDA) for the past 18 years. Please let the sponsor of the bill tell me which indigene I am and under which local government.

    I am very proud of my ancestral origin. I have no intention of claiming indigeneship of any other place than where I am a native by my parents (with all the ìjẹ̀bú-Rẹ́mọ DNA in me), even as I have not resided there continuously for up to two years at a time. Even as my visits there most of the time were usually short stays. This is what I have filled as my origin in all my documents all my life (National Identity, Census, Driver’s License, Employment form, etc). This is also the case with my children, even as their mother is from a different place from me.

    Why should an Ohafia man from Abia State wish to jettison his ancestral indigeneship for that of Ọ̀jọ́ local government in Lagos State when he is not a bastard of his original place? Is he ashamed of his origin? Or being an intrepid traveller (onyi ije), is he going to be toggling in his claims between all the places he has lived for over ten years in Nigeria? Why do some people like to cause confusion because of inordinate desires?”

    The 3rd, from @Lawrence Ibe,.

    was not sent to me directly but  forwarded to me by one of those I regularly forwarded my articles to.

    It is, however, being published because it is authored by a honest Igbo and patriotic Nigerian.

    It reads as follows:

    “I am a full blooded Igbo man but I believe the Yoruba’s need to rise up and defend their identity, land, and culture. It’s unfortunate to say this but the truth needs to be said by someone. We the Igbo’s can no longer continue to be territorial in another mans land. We go to a place, they welcome us with an open hand, we establish there and prosper and the only way to show appreciation to them is to declare their land a “no man’s land” How is this possible? Every land has indigenes.

    What the Yoruba’s are tolerating even we the Igbo’s will not tolerate in our land.

    Why is it possible I can move to Lagos or any Yoruba land and willfully acquire any choice land at any part of Yoruba land as long as I have the means yet we cannot accord the same opportunity and privilege to Yoruba’s in Igbo land? In my place no matter how much a Yoruba man is willing to buy land, that land will not be sold to him.

     There is a serious need for equity from all sides. The Yoruba’s must be accorded what they accord us. The Yoruba’s must demand what is theirs. In Igbo land, Igbo’s speak with one voice and foreigners cannot Influence things in our land. If we have Eze Igbo in Yoruba land, why then can’t we have Oba of Yoruba in Igbo land?  Yoruba’s must stand up and defend that which is theirs. The liberality of the Yoruba’s must be reciprocated by others.

    You can easily be a house of assembly member in Yoruba land even as an Igbo man or Akwa Ibom person but can we say the same in Igbo land? 

    You people must rise and defend what is yours. Elections in your land cannot continue to be decided by foreigners. It cannot happen in my place, so why would you Yoruba’s allow it? Being too nice is foolishness. Defend what is yours now or forever lose it.”

  • Taking the wind out of Benjamin Kalu’s indigeneship bill

    Taking the wind out of Benjamin Kalu’s indigeneship bill

    It is not the intention of the columnist to stoke any ethnic particularities in the essay below. On the contrary, I will be exposing the very underpinnings of Hon Benjamin Kalu’s Indigeneship Bill, a bill he coyly presented as one to unite Nigeria. Nigerians must simply open their eyes.

    Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu, CON, of the All Progressive Congress(APC), is an Igbo politician and current  Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives.

    He represents the Bende federal constituency of Abia State.

    It is, therefore, not surprising that he is the sponsor of the Indigeneship Bill now before the House of Representatives.

    The Bill seeks to grant indigene status to individuals who have resided in a state for 10 years or married a native for the same length of time.

    It is deftly proposed as a progressive bill intended to cohere the country like the National Youth Corps  which mandates Nigerian University graduates, below a certain age, to serve for one year in a part of the country other than theirs as a way of fostering inter – ethnic unity in the country. But nothing can be further from the truth.

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    Given Igbo’s rather tiny piece of territory which, besides its miniscule size is landlocked, and thus impedes their truly industrious proclivities, they are spread so thin all over the country that there is hardly a community in the entire country where you will not find an Igbo community. Such is their gregariousness!

    While this in itself is not bad, Igbo’s inexplanable, and totally uncontrolled, desire to own things which belong to others, especially land, is the elephant in the room.

    This abhorrent Igbo characteristic tend to make others dislike them because they demonstrate it wherever they sojourn. But do not take my word alone for that allegation.

    Instead, see below, its typical and vivid  demonstration in a WhatsApp dialogue involving some Igbos and moderated by one  Okonkwo. It is only  one of several, concerning how they must expropriate Yoruba land, especially Lagos, which they see as a ‘No Man’s Land’, and for which they would kill without batting an eyelid.

    THEIR BOAST.

     Ndigbo Will Conquer and Rule Oduduwa Republic:

    “We must take Lagos. We must. Those who want to keep it are fighting themselves.Those of us who want to take it must fight harder.

    The people who want to keep it are threatening. We that want to take it must be prepared for that threat.

    There”s no new thing they are going to do now in Lagos. We already know what they will do.  Therefore, we must prepare ourselves in large numbers …

    Because if we do not take Lagos, I do not know if you can still stay in Lagos.

    To stay in Lagos, you have to take Lagos, to remain there we must win Lagos; to do that your business,  for your parents to go to that church, for you to enter that estate, to enter that bus (Marwa) we just must take Lagos – (Mind you, they don”t even want to win, but TAKE Lagos).

    … the only way is to defeat them; so we can lock them up.

    The only way to defeat them is to send them to jail”.

    Who will believe these are the words, and plans, of TOTAL STRANGERS IN YORUBALAND, a totally foreign land?

    Not only that, the speaker was hectoring in a stentorian voice reminiscent only of  Ojukwu’s effete boasts before he led millions of them to their early graves in the Biafran war, and promptly fled abroad.

    But that is not all to their plan to consummate which Hon Benjamin Kalu is now ferociously at work in the Peoples’ House.

    So they went on:

    “We will join Afenifere and soon be part of the powerhouses that will be eligible to be crowned Obas.

    We will get married to the daughters of Oduduwa , build mansions in their towns and villages and only visit our country home in the land of the rising sun, once a year, as usual.

    Gradually we will turn Oduduwa Republic into one of the most ethnically mixed countries in the world”.

    Can a war plan be more detailed?

    What Igbos are saying, put simply, is that they would do anything to TAKE Lagos state – rig, burn, kill etc,  come the next election.

    This is where, and why members of the National Assembly must be extremely careful, and not permit themselves be hoodwinked by any seeming dogooder/s.

    They already have their job cut out for them in the matter of the Indigeneship Bill.

    What all these poignantly remind me of is my article of 16 February, ’25 which, for lack of space, I shall only briefly summarise below.

    Titled: Non – Indigenes Should Be Barred From Contesting Governorship, Senate, House Of Representatives and State House Elections, I wrote:

     If for the sake of equity amongst Nigerian states,  representation in the senate is set at 3 members per state, and  constituency, 

     based on  population is the basis for allocating the number of Reps seats a state can have,  why are non- indigenes allowed to  contest for these positions outside their state of origin or geo political zone?

    I consider this practice grossly unfair in a country where, for instance, some states in the Southeast geo- political zone would not accept a cleric, even of the same Igbo ethnic stock, as their parish clergy – where so appointed by the Pope himself – if he comes from outside their state.This we have seen severally.

    It could, in fact, be  worse as happened when the entire indigenous peoples of Aba Ngwa not only rose, like one man, to reject a non- indgene as the Aba Mayor, but  dared their  governor, Alex Otti, to dare try – see  Vanguard October 19, 2023.

    These are the same people who come loaded with money, from all kind of sources, to try everything  to contest elections in Lagos.

    I could barely hold myself when this past week, on television,  Muiz Banire,a Senior Advocate of Nigeria,  glibly described this practice as signifying political freedom.

    What manner of political freedom? Why should this freedom, applicable to the geese, not also apply equally to the gander? Or where in Igbo land can a Yoruba man contest a senate seat?

    Whoever likes may call me an ethnic bigot but where, in all honesty,  has this been allowed to happen in the East?

    During the 2023 elections Peter Obi, not only ensured that Igbos predominated his party executives in both the North and the West, many of the party’s candidates for election, all over Nigeria, were Igbo.

    You can only imagine where a politician from Aboh Mbaise LGA (Imo state),  representing Amuwo -Odofin(Lagos state) in the House of Representatives, would  consider first for a  project between his Imo state and Lagos?

    If this is truly freedom, as Banire put it, then it should apply equally everywhere in the country.

    The National Assembly must move, with all speed, therefore, to abrogate the misnomer.

    It could, in future, be reversed when all Nigerians consider themselves brothers and sisters enough to jettison primordial considerations, the type these Igbos wanting to capture Lagos, and jail its citizens have abundantly shown us in their dialogue.

    In Nigeria, unlike in the U.S, the UK or the West in general, primary loyalty is to one’s place of birth as well as to one’s people, while scant attention is paid, if at all, to people from far fetched areas regardless of any domicile status.

    Kalu’s bill should nicely be returned to him  while the National Assembly proceeds, proactively, to make laws prohibiting non – indigenes of geo-political zones from contesting elections, in states where they are merely domiciled, but neither know well nor love.

    Igbos should be encouraged to go  and develop their land of the rising sun and vote, and be voted for, there.

     As  Gloria Adebajo – Frazer put in a well written piece on the subject:”The bill poses a serious threat to Nigeria’s federal structure, and inter-ethnic coexistence.

    It reopens ideological wounds from the past, threatens ancestral sovereignty, and risks sparking political and ethnic conflict under the guise of inclusion.

    Nigeria’s identity as a federation is rooted in the recognition of its diverse ethnic nationalities. Indigeneity is not a matter of administrative convenience—it is a sacred cultural and historical bond between people and land.

    Granting this status based on mere length of stay or marriage undermines this bond and sets the stage for future conflict.

    This bill will not bring harmony. Instead, it will pit communities against one another.

    Allowing non-indigenes to vote or run for office in states where they are not ancestrally connected would lead to serious political complications. Non-indigenes should vote in their states of origin, where their cultural and historical identity lie. To do otherwise is to create a situation where outsiders may legislate or govern communities they neither fully understand nor belong to, leading to resentment, unrest, and even violence”.

    A word should be enough for our wise men and women of the National Assembly as Nigeria already has far too many challenges for them to allow one Kalu, cladenstinely fighting a primordial ethnic cause, to add more.

  • BAO has endeared himself to Ekitis across party lines – There’s therefore no vacancy in Government house come 2026

    BAO has endeared himself to Ekitis across party lines – There’s therefore no vacancy in Government house come 2026

    Anybody who wants to contest the governorship election in Ekiti state should come after 2030. Oyebanji has won the 2026 election” – former governor Ayo Fayose of the PDP.

    Whoever knows him well would know two things about Ayo Fayose, former two term governor of Ekiti state: one, that he passionately loved the PDP and, the other, that he neither minces his words nor talk glibly.

    For a very long time, Fayose has vowed never to  join the APC and though he said those alluring words about governor Biodun Oyebanji, that is, endorsed him ahead  the 2026 election, Nigerians are yet to see him dump the beleaguered party, despite its many troubles.

      “Generally speaking, I think we have a lot to thank God for and we must thank our Governor. Everywhere we turn to its BAO. I do exchange notes regularly with him. When I was coming back to the country yesterday morning, I travelled with somebody from the Senate from London, and he said to me: “thank you very much for the Governor. I went to Ekiti for Senator Opeyemi Bamidele’s conferment of an honourary degree. You need to extend the Ekiti magic to the rest of the country to help all of us”.

    This is all due to the way and manner our Governor has conducted himself and conveyed his sense of humility and service to the party, both at the national and state levels.

    That is why we are all gathered here to happily work with him to accomplish the task of greater development for our people” – Former Ekiti state governor – Dr Kayode Fayemi.

    In saying what he did, Governor Fayose was not alone amongst former  Ekiti state governors who are not even members of governor Oyebanji’s party but who have endorsed him ahead of 2026.

    As far back as August 2024, another respected former Ekiti state governor, Engr Segun Oni has expressed his admiration for the leadership style of Governor  Oyebanji as well as his dedication to the development and progress of the state, describing him  as exemplary, and a model for others to emulate.

    He equally lauded Governor Oyebanji’s commitment to good governance, stressing that his inclusive approach has fostered unity and peace in the state, thereby creating an environment conducive to growth and prosperity.

    While noting that he might have different views on certain issues, governor Oni said he will never criticise Oyebanji openly. Rather, he will approach him in a manner that will promote unity, rather than discord”.

    Like all the former governors quoted above, I have always, in my writings about governor Oyebanji,  popularly known as BAO by  the appreciative Ekitis,  laid greater emphasis on his statesmanship.

    While not underrating the place, and importance of brick and mortar in a state which suffered millenial neglect as a result of disunity amongst its political elite, some of who, unfortunately,  permitted unnecessary external interference in its affairs – especially during the shambolic Obasanjo years – for me, like  the governors, BAO’s  admirable cohering governance model has been far more impactful, and beneficial to the state and its people. One can claim, with considerable justification, and with due apology to all his predecessors, the former helmsmen, that the atmosphere of peace, and near unanimity, in the Ekiti political firmament today is  unprecedented.

    And that’s the gospel truth.

    While we Ekitis do not hate ourselves- since we are all one, any way, some very   clever politicians- external to the state – and all, incidentally, of the Peoples Democratic Party – persons like former President Olusegun Obasanjo who actually loathed us, and said so to our faces – were given  undue opportunity, by their party members within the state, to so completely insinuate themselves into our politics that instability reigned supreme in the state, up to the point that Ekiti actually had a one day governor.

    Things were that bad.

    Unlike the peace and harmony governor Oni spoke glowingly about in his praise of BAO, it was not uncommon to see many of our top politicians, even within the same party, who were not  on speaking terms.

    BAO, God be praised, has changed all that, and although political opponents may still virulently criticise his  performance, majority of our people will simply put that to cheap politics.

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    It was as a result of all these, and since we say in Ekiti:’pe omo to ba sipa ni iya e ngbe’, the Ekiti State Caucus of the All Progressives Congress, upper Friday, hadn’t any alternative to, unanimously, endorsing both President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Governor Oyebanji for a second term in office, citing their exemplary leadership qualities, and impactful policies.

    The endorsement, which came up at a special Caucus meeting of the state chapter of the party, was held in Iyin Ekiti, and attended by the first civilian Governor of the state, Otunba Niyi Adebayo, the immediate past Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi and the incumbent, Mr Biodun Oyebanji.

    Moving the motion for the President’s endorsement which was loudly ratified through a  voice vote, Senator Yemi Adaramodu (Ekiti South), commended President Tinubu for his decisive economic reforms which are beginning to revitalise the country’s economy as was recently confirmed by the IMF, as well as his  security strategies which are aimed at addressing the root causes of insecurity in the country.

    Both they appreciate, are work in progress. Adaramodu

    described the President’s reforms as transformational and impactful, stressing that the Ekiti APC is, proactively, adopting continuity in order to deepen, and fruitify, the Renewed Hope Agenda of the President.

    In the same vein, moving the motion for Governor Oyebanji’s endorsement for re- election, the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Adeoye

    Aribasoye, said the Governor has demonstrated outstanding leadership qualities, characterised by an unwavering commitment to the peoples’ welfare, as well as ensuring an all – round development of the state.

    He praised his   sterling performance and for consistently prioritising the needs and aspirations of the citizenry, thereby fostering trust and unity across party lines.

    All these, he said, the governor did with integrity and all round dedication and commitment to the development of  Ekitis, irrespective of party affiliation.

    The result has been tremendous infrastructural development, enhanced security, improved healthcare and educational facilities all positively impacting the socio – economic development of the state.

    Although, stricto senso, this is not a write up on BAO’s infrastructural development strides, the write up will be incomplete⁰, if I fail to say a word or two, about his gargantuan achievements in the Health sector, for instance, achievements seen in other spheres of the states economy.

    Here I shall not have to re- invent the wheel.

    Rather, because of space constraint, I shall simply present an abridged version of a well documented WhatsApp write up on the subject, by Femi Esan who wrote, inter alia:

    “In less than two years, here’s a glimpse of what BAO has done in the health sector:

    1. Teaching and Tertiary Healthcare Reform.

    ● Full renovation of Male & Female Medical Wards at the Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital (EKSUTH)

    ● Upgrade of the main theatre and installation of high-tech tools: mammogram unit, LED surgical lamps, oxygen plant (ongoing), 10KVA inverter, hospital beds and patient trolleys etc.

    ● Completion of a state-of-the-art NICU, giving premature babies a fighting chance.

    2. General & Secondary Health Facilities

    ● 9 General Hospitals across Ijan, Ijesa-Isu, Ilawe, Okemesi, Efon-Alaaye, Iye, Ayede, Ifaki, with others now rehabilitated with upgraded diagnostic and surgical equipment.

    ● Renovation of Health Centres in places like Ilawe, and equipping the Okeyinmi Health Centre in Ado-Ekiti.

    ● And now, under a bold ward-focused health access strategy, no fewer than 121 Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs), at least one per ward, are undergoing renovation across the state.

    The idea behind this is that healthcare shouldn’t be a journey, it should be a right, and it should be close by.

    3. Access & Affordability: Health Insurance & ‘Ulera Wa’

    ● Every ward in Ekiti now has at least one accredited health facility.

    ● Facilities receive monthly capitation to prepare for emergencies and stock up ahead of time.

    ● Over ₦30 million per cycle pumped into each facility to maintain steady, proactive service.

    And, the crown jewel,  the “Ulera Wa” program, a comprehensive answer to free healthcare in Ekiti.

    It covers: Pregnant women

     Children under 5 Aged & pensioners

     Over 1,000 sickle cell warriors, among very many other beneficiaries

     And more than 500,000 beneficiaries… and still counting

     By June, that figure is projected to hit 1 million.

    4. Medical Workforce Reform

    ● Pay parity for doctors across the Ministry of Health and Hospitals Management Board.

    ● Renovation of the Dialysis Centre at EKSUTH.

    ● Completion of a new hostel for nursing students, closing long-standing infrastructure gaps.

    5. Health Equity and Inclusion

    ● Free health scheme for People With Disabilities (PWDs)

    ● Assistive devices and special needs equipment distributed statewide

    ● More than a dozen special needs schools now have access to medical support infrastructure

    What You Should Know:

    ● Ekiti now ranked 3rd nationally in the SBM Health Preparedness Index 2024.

    ● Oyebanji is indeed building a system that works before you scream emergency.

    What’s happening is about real people walking into public hospitals and walking out treated, seen, and respected.

    It’s about ensuring that healthcare is nearby, affordable, and reliable, not once in a while but every day”.

    Above, without a scintilla of doubt is what, in many parts of the country, a governor would pray he could achieve in his two terms of 8 years.

    What governor Oyebanji has demonstrated in Ekiti is how, in reality, every state governor, in every part of the country, should endeavour to let President Tinubu’s economic policies impact his own corner of the country.

    Rather than wait to see their people chorusing ‘Ebi n pawa’ – we are hungry all over the place – they should let the huge monthly inflow from the federation account – a consequence of fuel subsidy cancellation – reflect on the overall well being of their people.

  • PDP governors throw Atiku under the bus

    PDP governors throw Atiku under the bus

    We, the undersigned leaders and committed members of the former Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) who were part of those instrumental in the historic merger that gave birth to the All Progressives Congress (APC), hereby issue this statement to clarify our unalloyed loyalty to our great party and express firm solidarity with the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR.

    Recent misleading narratives suggesting a defection or disaffection among CPC stakeholders are false, mischievous, and should be ignored.

    We remain integral to the APC and are fully aligned with its leadership and vision.

    We stand firmly with the APC and wish to state, categorically, that we have neither left the APC, nor do we intend to leave.

    The CPC bloc remains one of the legacy foundations of the APC and we are resolute in our commitment to the party and its progressive ideals. The APC is our collective project”.

    These are the same leaders El Rufai must have convinced VP Atiku had been commandeered, by former President Muhammadu Buhari, to dump the APC because in the words of President Olusegun Obasanjo  El Rufai:”has a penchant for lying, for unfair embellishment of stories …”.

    By the time former Vice President Atiku Abubakar read the above statement by some core members of the former CPC, reaffirming not only their loyalty to the party, but also expressing their unalloyed support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, two things must have become obvious to him: that Nasir El Rufai has gamed him like some before him did and also, that the only way he had envisioned to see his marabouts’ prediction of becoming the President of Nigeria has, again, gone up in smoke.

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    In order to coral many an unthinking politician to whatever was to become his next obsession, having lost it all in Kaduna State where he had been a luckless governor for 8 years, with a commissioner whose principal responsibility was to, every week, announce the number of persons and houses incinerated by murderous Fulani herders – particularly in Southern Kaduna where original land owners were being deliberately uprooted, and their lands forcefully taken over by the Fulani invaders as they are currently doing in Plateau and Benue states – he had rushed to former President Buhari, solely as a camouflage to be able to claim that the former President has endorsed whatever he might be cooking  up in the political space.

    Ordinarily, the former Vice President ought to have seen through El Rufai but he is, unfortunately, too far gone in his  desperate infatuation with the presidency. If he contests in 2027, it will be his seventh successive attempt.

    That he couldn’t properly decipher who El Rufai truly is stands out as a major difference between him and former President Olusegun Obasanjo to whom he introduced the petit gentleman earlier in life.

    Unlike him the highly introspective Obasanjo was not, in any way, deceived by El Rufai’s brilliance, something that might have rattled  Atiku. Rather, he saw through him and wrote, inter alia, as follows about him in “My Watch” Vol 2; pages 110-112:

    “A leader must know the character and ability of his subordinates. Character wise, Nasir has not much going for him. But he is a talented young man who can always deliver under close supervision. So, when Osita Chijoka approached, among others, propping Nasir as my possible successor, believing that whoever I supported would make it, which was a false belief; I did not hesitate to point to Nasir’s naivety and immaturity, talk less of his inability to give honour to whom honour is due.” “My vivid recollection of him is a penchant for lying, for unfair embellishment of stories and his inability to sustain loyalty for long”.

    That is the man a respected Atiku now follows everywhere,  genuflecting to persons with whom he is not known to be on particularly good terms, politically.

    If the Press Statement by those CPC leaders was tangential to Atiku’s 2027 plans, not so the PDP governor’s complete ruination of the alliance talks which had taken him to Peter Obi, Kwankwaso and to the now absolutely politically marginal individuals like one time Nigerian Transport minister, Rotimi Amaechi, in addition to spending stupendous quality time partnering with El Rufai on drawing up plans about how to hijack the SDP from  Adewole Adebayo, its wily, and sure-footed, 2023 Presidential candidate.

    All this is, however, in character.

    Atiku is a master of impunity and always believes he owns whatever group he belongs to.

    He did it in the ACN  where he was merely done a favour and made the Presidential candidate, but went behind Bola Tinubu and Chief Bisi Akande’s back to, single handedly select a Vice- Presidential candidate.

    His obduracy

    in having Iyorchia Ayu, a Northerner, retained as PDP Chairman during the 2023 Presidential election at which he, another Northerner was the candidate, arose from the same mindset. Nor can one forget how he ditched governor Nyesom Wike who was recommended by the screening committee as his running mate, as another streak of his annoying arrogance.

    Believing that the Northern elders who threatened Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal  out of the 2023 election for him would repeat the same thing and flush out Bauchi state governor, Bala Mohammed from contesting the 2027 election, he has gone ahead, allegedly, promising Peter Obi the Vice Presidency of whatever new party he believed he would take the unsettled PDP.

    But not so fast, hollered the PDP governors at their meeting in Ibadan this past weekend.

    Ordinarily, one would have expected that an elder of Atiku’s standing would be keener in having the party itself restored to some level of normalcy.

    But that won’t be Vice President Atiku, whose entire focus is once again solely on the office; if not on the PDP, then on the SDP platform.

    Shedding more light on the rejection of any alliance by the governors, host of the Ibadan meeting, and governor of Oyo state, Seyi Makinde, said in a television interview later:”the merger or coalition talks are unknown to the Peoples Democratic party. Nobody can just wake up and draw the party into any arrangement when the party organs do not have a clue as to what is being done”. “We have no clue, whatever, of what is in this coalition. We also do not know whether it is personal, or is being done in the best interest of the party and the people of Nigeria. These are very critical questions.”

    But as the Yoruba would say:’aja to ba ma sonu ki gbo fere olode’, meaning that the dog that would get lost, would not hear the hunter’s whistle.

    Rather than take things easy, explain matters to members, and seek their concurrence, the former Vice President, who has oscillatted between the following parties in his political odyssey- Peoples Democratic Party (1998–2006; 2007–2014; 2017–present)

    Peoples Front of Nigeria (1989)

    Social Democratic Party (1989–1993)

    United Nigeria Congress Party (1997–1998)

    Action Congress (2006–2007)

    All Progressives Congress (2014–2017) and contested the presidency six times, would rather contest and fail as usual out of arrogance.

    His answer to the governor’s decision was, therefore, to flaunt an alliance that can hardly be so properly described in their face, telling them:”Indeed, the Coalition Train has left the station and would have multiple stops to bring on board Nigerians of all shades”. 

    Also as an indication that he wont mind parting ways with the PDP in the build-up to the 2027 elections, he went further:”Whatever vehicle that will give us good governance in the future of our children and grandchildren; that is the vehicle we are going to ride on”.

    Nigerians have heard words to that effect from VP Atiku since he started contesting for the presidency in 1993. They can now barely wait to hear his usual result, come his historic 7th attempt in 2027.

  • When will southerners band together to protest serial herdsmen killings in south

    When will southerners band together to protest serial herdsmen killings in south

    The gruesome killing of 16 persons believed to be hunters returning from Rivers to Kano state some two weeks ago is reprehensible and will, forever, leave a sore taste in the mouth. It is gruesome in the extreme and shows in a grim  manner what killer Fulani herdsmen, long embedded in Southern forests  during the President Muhammadu Buhari administration, do on a daily basis.

    Even when during the pandemic the President declared illegal all interstate travels, he could very well have been talking to the marines as thousands of these Northerners were furiously being hauled in trucks to no particular addresses in the South .

    As I showed in the article:’The recrudescence of  criminal Fulani herders’ kidnapping activities in the Southwest’ of 23 March, 2025, these killers reportedly nestling in over 50 camps in the Southwest alone, and their cousins in other Southern parts, were doing nothing besides answering to the following FUNAM DICTUM:

    “We your leaders held meetings across the key Northern States of Sokoto, Bornu, Katsina,  Kano, Yobe, Kebbi, Bauchi and Kaduna. Our resolve is that Northern youths should move enmasse to Southern States. Relaunch the mass movement in ways they have never seen … If the towns and cities are hostile,  hang out on the street corners, in uncompleted buildings, occupy the forests, pitch tents, make any where available as your abode, your rest places, your home.We urge you to be armed. The infidels may want to attack you”. 

    Since then it has been tears and more tears everywhere in the South and there had been no Southern groups threatening, claiming that the heavens was about to fall.

    But I think it is time Southerners convey press conferences daily, to announce that a Fulani herdsman, even with no cow at all, has again killed, or kidnapped, a Southern Nigerian.

    It seems to me that only such can mollify this furious harassment and blackmail from the North.

    Incidences are countless in and around Uromi, Edo state, and other parts of southern Nigeria of murderous Fulani herdsmen daily wreaking havoc, raping, kidnapping and killing at any or all hours of day, and night since they now know the terrain only too well. Neither the bush nor highway is any longer safe.

    That the same is the fate of non- Fulani Nigerians in the North was amply demonstrated in the Plateau killings of this past week when  gunmen  killed no less than 52 people and displaced nearly 2,000 others over several days of attacks in six villages in Plateau’s Bokkos district, reminding one of December 2023 when more than 100 people were killed in the same district.

    This is what Nigerians suffer in the hands of murderous Fulanis, yet their politicians and so- called elders are adept at threatening and blackmailing governments, vowing retaliation on the one occasion they get paid in their own coins.

    Below, in an abridged form, is how the PUNCH Editorial of 6 April, 2025, very dispassionately did justice to its well- earned reputation by brilliantly capturing  all the issues at stake in the matter of the unfortunate Uromi killings, perpetrators of which it says must be apprehended and tried.

    It wrote inter alia: “

    .”The Edo State Government and the security agencies must activate mechanisms to identify the culprits of the dastardly act. They must be brought before a court of competent jurisdiction and tried justly.

    The caveat: the security agencies should do their work with tact and not become an army of occupation terrorising innocent members of the Uromi community.

    As the outrage deepens, with the police, military and other security agencies invading Uromi, Nigeria is missing one crucial point. There is a clear precursor to the killing of the Uromi 16: the provocative bloodshed by Fulani herders across Nigeria.

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    In February, Edo witnessed the death of 27 farmers. Initially, the state government reported 22 deaths. The casualty figure jumped to 27 by the end of the month. Governor Monday Okpebholo did not move into action then or offer to pay compensation to the victims’ families.

    Beyond Edo, Nigerians have been constantly inundated by the rapine of Fulani herdsmen, with little respite from the state and federal governments.

    Farmers are under siege and unable to go to their farms in Plateau, Benue, Ekiti, Ondo, Nasarawa, Ogun, and many other states.

    Many farmers are paying tribute to Islamic terrorists. Fulani herdsmen, with a sense of gross entitlement, encroach on farmlands and kill farmers for preventing them from violating their livelihoods. Massacres, arson, rape, and killings have become the norm for these violent Fulani herdsmen.

    In 2014, the Global Terrorism Index listed Fulani herdsmen among the four most dangerous terrorist groups in the world because of their killing spree in Nigeria.

    On New Year’s Day in 2018, Fulani herdsmen slaughtered 72 persons in Benue State. President Muhammadu Buhari feigned ignorance about the massacre.

    The bloodthirsty herdsmen murdered over 40 people in Ukpabi Nimbo, Enugu State, in 2016. The Federal Government has not prosecuted any of the perpetrators.

    In December 2023, Fulani herdsmen continued their atrocities in Plateau State, killing over 140 residents in 62 villages during the Christmas period.

    The outrage simmered down shortly thereafter without the arrest or prosecution of any invader.

    So, the hypocrisy of the Federal Government and security forces in handling such incidents is glaring.

    This selective justice raises troubling questions about the value placed on the life of a Southern Nigerian and a Northern Nigerian.

    When an Adamawa State farmer, Sunday Jackson, killed a Fulani intruder on his farm in self-defence in 2015, the Supreme Court upheld the death sentence against him, even though he should have been tried for manslaughter.

    Yet, when Fulani herdsmen carry out mass killings across the country, the government feigns ignorance, remains silent, or reacts tepidly.

    Until Nigeria embraces the rule of law and discards partiality in the dispensation of justice, the cycle of violence will persist.”

    The Tinubu government has established a Ministry of Livestock to encourage ranching: Livestock farmers should take advantage of it instead of practising the divisive and outdated open herding system.

    It is not only Fulani herdsmen.

    Islamic extremists have been responsible for numerous killings. The 2016 murder of Eunice Olawale, a Christian preacher in Abuja, attracted no outrage in Northern Nigeria or among the security forces that have now trooped to Edo State.

    In 2007, the pupils of Toyin Oluwasesin murdered her on the untenable accusation of abusing the Koran. None of the 16 pupils were brought to justice by the Gombe State Government or the Federal Government.

    In Sokoto State, the colleagues of Deborah Samuel lynched her on flimsy grounds of writing against Islam; the 2022 case has died down with no justice for the victim.

    The Federal Government practically ignored the brutal killing of Funke Olakunrin, the daughter of Afenifere leader, Reuben Fasoranti by Fulani herdsmen in 2019 in Ondo State.

    When violence is met with indifference, it emboldens criminals to act with impunity.

    International observers have repeatedly warned about the unchecked violence of Fulani herdsmen. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have documented the widespread attacks and government inaction.

    Some estimates suggest that Fulani militias have killed over 3,600 people since 2015, making them one of the deadliest non-state armed groups in Africa.

    The solution lies in a comprehensive security overhaul. The Nigerian Police Force is understaffed and ill-equipped to handle the country’s security challenges.

    Therefore, Nigeria should decentralise policing and allow for the creation of state police to enable governors to protect their domains effectively.

    Security agencies must leverage intelligence to prevent attacks rather than merely reacting after the fact.

    Farmers must be protected, and perpetrators of violence must be prosecuted to serve as deterrents. Without true federalism, Nigeria is doomed.

    The Federal Government should rise above ethnic biases and ensure that every Nigerian life is valued equally.

    Selective justice and political correctness have eroded trust in the state’s ability to protect its people…”

    No government, federal or state, worth its name, must permit itself to be hoodwinked or blackmailed (to make money) by the slew of Press conferences by Northerners, read as Fulani – inspired,  and allow itself be misdirected in its actions.

    If, as they have threatened, this is the occasion for the North to opt out of the federation so be it because whoever comes to equity must come with a clean conscience.

    Just recall that not even President Buhari empathised with grieving Benue people after they have mass buried about 70 persons killed by Fulani herdsmen in Guma and Logo areas of the state but remembered to tell them to live in peace with their neighbours – the same villains.

    If the federal government does not want a backlash from Nigerians

    then it must treat them like it treats Fulanis.

    No Nigerian is more Nigerian than the other.

  • What is going on in Nigerian universities?

    What is going on in Nigerian universities?

    Not knowing he was  only dealing with the very tip of a can of worms, I thought I have heard the very worst of the state of putrefaction in the Nigerian University system this past week when Osita Chidoka, former minister of Aviation and now Chancellor of the Athena Centre for Policy and Leadership, opened up on the details of a report by his centre.

    We would have to quote him at some length in an interview where he described Nigerian Universities as an embarrassment to the nation.

    Excerpts:”

    “Nigerian institutions are a very big embarrassment to the country. These are institutions that are going to breed the future leaders of Nigeria. Today, they are the bastion of opacity and lack of transparency. All over the world, we did a survey and just said, how much does the universities get? I am one of those who feel that our universities are poorly funded. And I was asking how much they really get and spend.

    To our chagrin, that information was not available, not on their website, not on surveys we sent out to the universities to find out.

    Then we decided to check out other African countries. From Kenya to Egypt to South Africa, all the universities had the information on their website. We knew how much they internally generated. We knew how much they got from grants. We knew how much they got from research funding. And we knew how much they got from government funding. All the universities got the majority of their recurrent funding from school fees. And then, of course, grants and research grants and other forms of income from alumni and co. But what we find interesting in Nigeria is that we are not able to attract funding to our universities. We are able to attract donations from people who come for doctorate degrees. And even that, there is no accounting for it. How much does it cost to train a graduate in Nigeria? How much do the universities get from the Federal Government or state governments? And how much do they get from internally generated revenue? That information is a black hole. Nobody knows. We do not know with clarity what is costing us. If you look at the whole amount of money the federal government budgets for education and for higher education, you would then be shocked at that level of public appropriation, some universities get as much as N35 billion, N40 billion from federal allocation yearly. Yet, there is no record of how that money is spent.

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    For the visitation panel that visits the universities, we can only see the reports from the Ministry of Education. We do not see it on the websites of the university.

    Compared to foreign universities, we see the strategic vision. We see the plan. We see their hostel accommodation, how much they want to bring in private operators and how much students pay for it. All that information creates the transparency that brings in more funding to the university. In Nigeria, the reverse is the case.

    I told former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Professor Attahiru Jega yesterday that when he brought in professors to become returning officers, we all shouted hurray. If I knew what I know today, that the universities themselves are not transparent, I would have known that the professors were going to be worse. Because our electoral system, like I said many times before, is messed up. And partly because the university professors who go as returning officers have no history of transparency. So when we bring them to public office, they come to public office the same way they run the universities. We are in a back cycle”.

    I did not know I was in for a greater shock until I came across the following shocking, and thoroughly distressing, WhatsApp post by somebody we would simply describe as an insider.

    Again I shall quote him/her verbatim so that those who have primary responsibility for education, especially tertiary education – the National Assembly, which should see its responsibility far beyond oversight during which University Administrators are harassed beyond limit, state governments, as proprietors of some, and the federal government which seems to delight more in the approval of more Universities which stand no chance of being better rum than the poorly funded, nearly moribund, ones to which they are being needlessly added.

    Titled: University Education in Nigeria is Collapsing”, which I described elsewhere as a horror story, it reads as follows:

    1. Being a university lecturer in Nigeria is no longer sustainable. Every day is a struggle just to eat, pay rent, and survive. Teaching is what I know and love, but the financial strain is making it impossible to do my job effectively.

    2. When I started teaching over seven years ago, I could afford to drive to school daily in a family vintage fuel efficient car that I subtly colonized, pick up colleagues from their homes, and never asked for fuel money. Today, I can barely afford public transport to work. I now go to work twice a week, if I manage.

    3. Government officials say prices are coming down. Yes, I completely agree. But do we have money to buy it? No. Before, while growing up in a middle-income family, my parents stocked food at home, beans, yam, okpa etc. at these times. Now, you can’t even afford to buy when prices drop. Survival is day to day.

    4. One illness in the family and you plunge into poverty. Rent increases annually. Inflation is destroying us, but the government pretends not to notice. No policies protect ordinary Nigerians. It’s hardship upon hardship.

    5. I once considered sleeping in my office to save transport costs, but senior colleagues warned me. If anything happens, I could find myself explaining things I shouldn’t have to. So, I keep struggling, like many others.

    6. We are so understaffed that I teach five courses in a semester. But the real tragedy? The students.

    They are not being taught. Some barely see a lecturer thrice in a semester. Their degrees are losing value because the system is collapsing.

    7. I recently supervised an exam for 400-level students. Out of 145, about 60% are on student loans. They are paying, but are they getting their money’s worth? No. They graduate with certificates but without knowledge.

    8. HODs come to work once a week. Deans, principal officers, same thing or at most trice. Those who come Monday won’t come Tuesday. Those who come Tuesday won’t come Wednesday. Academic efficiency is dead. But who do you blame? They all have families

    9. A three-unit course that should have three hours weekly barely gets one hour in two or three weeks. I teach five courses so how do I cover my syllabus? You want to teach 400-level students, but they don’t know 300-level material and as much as I pity them, I can only confuse them the more.

    10. After the eight-month strike, owed salaries were paid in bits, spread over months. Inflation wiped out what little we had. Most other service rendering profession adjusted by adjusting their prices. Lecturers can’t. If they take money for textbooks, handouts or worse, grades, it’s a scandal.

    11. We are churning out graduates who are with all due respect, educated illiterates. In 20 years, this country will be in crisis because of it. The government must act now. This is not about lecturers alone, it is about the future of Nigeria.

    12. I asked my students how many want to be lecturers. None. They don’t want to be like me. They see no dignity, no reward, no future in teaching. Universities should attract the best, but now, teaching is a last resort.

    13. Once, first-class students were happy to be retained. Now, even if you force them at gunpoint, they won’t stay. Those who do are mocked for “lacking ambition.” This is the death of academia in Nigeria.

    14. Some lecturers now earn more from side businesses than from teaching. When that happens, even if salaries were to ever increase, they won’t return to full-time teaching and give their best to research. A generation of lecturers is being lost.

    15/ Nigerians are paying the price for necessary government reforms, but not everyone is affected equally. Some are shielded. Meanwhile, the government ignores the suffering of its people. Rent hikes (which state governments should tackle), inflation, job losses, no protection.

    16. This is me joining the #30daysrantchallenge against both the federal and state governments: feel the pulse of the people. University education is collapsing. If we continue like this”.

    It is note worthy that things have not always been like this because some absolutely impeccable individuals were at the helm of affairs: the likes of Professors H. A Oluwasanmi at Ife, Oritsejolomi Thomas at Ibadan, Herbert C. Kodilinye at Nsukka and Iya Abubakar in Zaria.

    In my days in the University – by the way I attended Great Ife – one of the best Universities in the country and graduated on top of my Faculty, to boot, we did not have or see all these filth; these abnormalities.

    And that was as recently as the late 60’s to early ’70’s.

    But then came President Olusegun Obasanjo and everything went south.

    For him, University teachers were like football and could be kicked anyhow.

    His administration, 1999 – 2007 albeit had significant impact on Nigerian Universities.

    He established 12 new Universities and increased funding to the institutions.

    However, like everything Obasanjo, his aggressive privatisation and commercialisation of the Universities did not sit well with ASUU, the association of Nigerian University teachers which has been involved in titanic struggles, including strikes, and negotiations, with the government, to address issues such as funding, salaries, and working conditions.

    To the Obasanjo administration must, therefore, be credited the origins of most of the problems currently bedevelling our institutions of higher learning.

  • Rivers Emergency: Those criticising Tinubu must think the constitution is dumb or an ass

    Rivers Emergency: Those criticising Tinubu must think the constitution is dumb or an ass

    Isn’t the concept that law is made for man, and not man for the law a central theme in some interpretations of the Bible, especially in the context of the teachings of Jesus  and the relationship between the Law and humanity?  Didnt Jesus emphasise that the Sabbath, and by extension, the Law, exists to serve humanity’s well-being, and should neither be a burden”, nor a legalistic control over them?

    Flowing from the above, shouldn’t the declaration of a state of emergency, no matter where, be consequential, that is, be towards the good of the state and, indeed, isn’t the raison detre of the emergency declaration in Rivers State to bring peace to a state already declared by the Supreme Court as having no government, even as governor Sir Amaopusenibo Siminalayi Fubara sat pretty in government House?

    Why then, in the face of the above, the hullabaloo by all manner of TV lawyers and some loud TV anchors?

    With due respect to the high and mighty – for some are truly distinguished – who had and, in fact, continue, to flagellate the President for suspending Rivers state governor Fubara and the state’s House of Assembly – one  has actually called for his impeachment – I can consider my job  done on the above topic after I would have quoted the opening portion of Sam Omatseye’s last week column which he captioned:”It’s All Noise”.

    He wrote:”So, they say the president could declare a state of emergency but leave the house members and the governor intact. What does that mean? It means rolling tanks and stamping jackboots on the streets of Port Harcourt. But the house members could go ahead and impeach Governor Sim Fubara?

    But wait! These are the same people that say the house members should not impeach him, and that it would be an act of bad faith and a call to turmoil. What turmoil? Blowing up pipelines and blowing up houses, putting lives of political enemies and innocent civilians in peril. So, the president should send Nuhu Ribadu and his team to look out for those who want to turn the state over to the devil? Meanwhile, those in office still retain the resources and capacity for turbulence?

    It is quite unfortunate that it is reason that is upside down. The state of emergency is to stave off violence, but what if the violence will remain a clear and present omen so long as those who would foment (it) are in their ferment because they have the power and pocket?

    Those who say this and call for constitutionalism were the same persons who prodded Fubara against the law. Against the same constitution, he set up a four-man legislature. They were the same television lawyers and commentators who kept mum when he blew up a legislative monument by way of the House of Assembly building. He also, against the constitution, passed a budget with four men. Also, against the constitution, he defied court order and organized a local government election.

    The same persons, against the constitution, are saying the Supreme Court erred by maintaining that Fubara defied the constitution. If the top court ruled otherwise, then he  would have acted like Obasanjo when he asked a dawn cabal of about six men to impeach a governor. It was the same PDP that did it and hailed it at that time. Obi said nothing then. Atiku was in PDP then. They did not stand up to their guy”.

    Hasn’t Omatseye said it all or can Fubara burn a common police station today and go scotfree?

    Yet constitution, constitution they bellowed, hardly letting us hear word.

    And they have their TV station where they congregate every morning – lawyers, aspiring lawyers, not so brilliant public analysts etc, spewing inananities, whilst the anchors pretend to permanently lecture the rest of us, eagerly showing off their erudition.

    So we ask: what is the essence of a  constitution if not to cohere the country and ensure peace and stability?

    Are all those who shout the primacy of the constitution, while correct, saying that President Tinubu should have slept off on duty, wait till the obdurate Fubara was impeached, as the House of Assembly was unerringly going to do, and see the entire Rivers state, complete with oil wells, and infrastructure, upon which the nation relies for sustenance, go up in flame?

    Is that really what they wanted the President to do?

    So the Obi’s and the Atiku’s of this world could gloat?

    Then they probably dont know Bola Ahmd Tinubu at all.

    It would have been funny, if not pathetic, that some otherwise respected individuals could be drawing a correlation between the emergency President Goodluck Jonathan declared in 1913 after a series of deadly attacks by Islamist militant groups, asking that the military should take “all necessary action to put an end to the impunity of insurgents and terrorists” in Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe and what the President just did.

    While the case in those three Northern states rested squarely on the menace of Boko Haram which was fast uprooting elected governments and the concerned state governors who needed nothing but help, in Rivers state the malady has gone past its politicians and was beginning to consume its elders most of who enthusiastically misdirected the governor.

    BTW, I have said to myself that this is pay back time for Rivers state as the crisis has broken the umbilical cord which  tied together those who, a few years back, turned Port Harcourt to the capital of judicial merchandising in Nigeria. Many of the victims of that era are still suffering the consequences of their  unexpected losses in the courts, whilst those expected to lose went back home celebrating.

    When critics hold that the emergency is okay but not the suspensions what exactly are they saying?

    That the Emergency declaration should be a mere formality – a damp squib?

    That Fubara and the House speaker should have continued to hold court, in their respective corner, when oil pipe lines are erupting in flames and human blood welling up in the creeks and everywhere on the streets of Rivers state?

    And they expect Tinubu to sit pretty in Aso Villa?

    No wonder some say the law is an ass, but not for this President.

    If the constitution will have to be stretched to its  elastic limit, so be it as long as the end in view is to save lives and property.

    What exactly would governor Fubara have been doing, on a daily basis, when other peoples’ husbands, wives , fathers and mothers, that is, our already overstretched soldiers – are out there, facing fire?

    Can we think for once?

    Of course had there been chaos, tv anchors would have remained there in their elegant suits,   telling us what Tinubu should have done; the exact same thing he did to save both lives, and the Nigerian economy, but for which those who speak English better than the owners of the language, are now recommending his impeachment.

    So who today are the “insurgents and terrorists” in Rivers state other than the suspended institutions against whom Tinubu would declare action?

    Can he sleep easy if those institutions are still able to continue their obduracy and further ensure that the state was without an effective government?

    It’s time some people  come to appreciate what gargantuan destruction President Tinubu saved the country from – the sheer bloodletting in a region known to be prone to unrestrained blood letting.

    Add to that the amount of oil   infrastructure which could have been blown off by some retired “local terrorists’ who were already braying for action. And didn’t governor Fubara, in one of his giddy moments, surrounded by hundreds, if not thousands, of Rivers youths, literally declared himself their commander of operations when he told them to go and await orders? What could he not have done if the President had waited for him to be impeached?

    In my view, if any Federal organ of government deserves any blame, it is none other than our successive body of lazy legislators for whom it has been impossible to see that the relevant portion of the  constitution is inchoate, needing an amendment.

    Finally, who and who had been the lead protagonists in the unremitting attack on the President?

    As usual Atiku, Obi and their joint godfather have, as usual, thought their attacks on Tinubu could bring back the presidential jewel they ignominiously lost in ’23, and so have never relented from their odious, childish practice of  taking every opportunity to lampoon him to their hearts’ content.

    I won’t blame most lawyers, especially those not showing off on television stations, seeing them more as strict constructionists of the constitution.

    It is, however, surprising, that many couldn’t bring their knowledge of Logic to bare on the matter.

    If the declaration itself constituted the premise, where then is the conclusion without which it will all amount to nothing and the President would have merely being wasting his time.

    But if most lawyers   acted ‘uberima fidei’, certainly not so Afam Osigwe, SAN, the NBA President, who emerged the “comrade Joe Ajaero” of the entire event the way he coyly sought to call people, not just his fellow lawyers, but Nigerians, out on a mass rising.

    Hear the ‘Labour leader’:”At this inauspicious moment in our nation’s trajectory, all people of goodwill and conscience should rise to oppose this audacious violation of our constitution and rape of our democracy”.

    “Mr. President must be made to know and understand in unmistakable terms that this illegality cannot stand”. He then concluded by “asking politicians across Nigeria to speak up and rise against the country’s descent into totalitarianism.”

    When you read that and note that the lead critics are the Obi’s, and the Pat Utomi’s, then you know that the thunderous shellacking of 2023 still rankles in some quarters.

    But sorry, we can’t help them.

    My advice, therefore, would be that rather than this their sterile and unproductive preoccupation, they should simply join veteran Alhaji Atiku Abubakar as he, again, begins to put together his ‘Association of the Aggrieved’, ahead of 2027.

  • The recrudescence of criminal herders’ kidnapping activities in Southwest

    The recrudescence of criminal herders’ kidnapping activities in Southwest

    These infidels are back. They struck again this past week, killing five in Akure. Yes, infidels they are because were they true Muslims, though renegade Fulani murderous herders they are, there isn’t a chance in a million, they would have committed such gruesome murders during Sallah.

    No. I wasn’t surprised they are back, because they never really left these shores; not since the Muhammadu Buhari – era Fulani armada Southwards when, in spite of a so – called ban on interstate movements,  thousands of these vermins were freighted down in Dangote -like trucks, complete with cows, AK 47 rifles, arrows and daggers and intentionally  planted in our forests in Southern Nigeria, among them elderly Almajiri’s then recently expelled by Northern state governors. The latter are now scavengers demeaning most Southern cities, begging.

    I shouted myself hoarse on these pages but to no avail.

    For instance my article of 17 May, 2020 titled:”Waves and waves of Northerners coming South despite ban on interstate travel – What is a presidential order now worth?”, contained an advisory to Professor Agboola Gambari, then the new Chief of Staff to President Buhari which I would like to quote in full.

    It reads:”His appointment can only come as a surprise to those who do not know him as a keen Arewa ideologue. I expect him to use this opportunity to achieve at least two things, nationally, and personally.

    Given his advanced age and extensive experience at the world level, especially, having served in places like Myanmar and Iraq, two absolutely atrocious countries, representing the U.N Secretary – General, he should be able to assist the President in mending a divided and painfully agonising Nigeria. With the massive resurgence of banditry in Katsina, Kaduna and Zamfara portraying the government as weak, he should be able to dig deep into both the Boko Haram and banditry conundrum, with a view to reaching an agreement which, apart from stanching the ferocious blood-letting

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    on both sides , will also put a stop to these North-induced ‘burning’ of billions and billions of naira, on security – related matters, which the country could have put to much better use especially in that same part of the country which accounts for more than 70 percent of the  national poverty index.

    He should also devote some quality time to seriously interrogate the nuisance the Fulani Nationality Movement, (FUNAM) is fast turning to. Only on May 2, 2020, that atavistic body issued a statement, saying, inter alia, to Northerners now being furiously transported southwards: “We your leaders held meetings across the key Northern States of Sokoto, Bornu, Katsina,  Kano, Yobe, Kebbi, Bauchi and Kaduna. Our resolve is that Northern youths should move enmasse to Southern States. Relaunch the mass movement in ways they have never seen … If the towns and cities are hostile,  hang out on the street corners, in uncompleted buildings, occupy the forests, pitch tents, make any where available as your abode, your rest places, your home.We urge you to be armed. The infidels may want to attack you”. Were this statement made by any other group in the country, the Nigerian police would have become unusually hyperactive, but a whole two weeks after, mum has been the word from both the police and the other security agencies”.

    Two issues emerge from the above. One, the nefarious elements are back, killing everywhere in the South but now more viciously in the Southwest where there have been several instances in the past few weeks, amongst them the notorious seizure of many surveyors, at a go, in Ondo state and the absolutely harrowing experiences of Prince Eniola Ojajuni, the Afenifere National Youth President and his team who, on February 17, 2025,  became victims of this growing wave of kidnappings by Fulani herdsmen in Southwest Nigeria. Ojajuni has since escalated their traumatic ordeal to the whole world. While this portrays weakness on the part of government, at all levels – Federal, state and at Local Government, it has shown more poignantly, that the killers planted in Southern forests a few years back have now matured and, are ready to start reaping benefits for their patrons who  probably reside very far away from Southern Nigeria.

    I say this because, according to Ojajuni: “The kidnappers, armed with over 20 AK-47 rifles, operated with precision, coordination, and alarming confidence. They used my phone to track, negotiate, and monitor communications, revealing their advanced technological capabilities. These criminals have established well organized kidnapping camps across Southwest Nigeria, strategically positioned for their operations:Ondo State – 27 camps, Ekiti State – 16 camps, Osun State – 7 camps and, Ogun State – 5 camps. Their reign of terror targets innocent travelers, extorts families, and destabilizes communities with impunity”.

    The recent resurgence of kidnapping activities by criminal Fulani herders has sent shockwaves throughout Nigeria, raising concerns about the safety and security of citizens in the country.

    This phenomenon is not new, as the Southwest has witnessed sporadic incidents of kidnapping and banditry by Fulani herders in the past. However, the latest wave of attacks has been particularly brazen and widespread, prompting calls for urgent action by government and security agencies.

    One of the most disturbing aspects of these attacks is the seeming impunity with which these criminal elements operate.

    Despite the presence of security personnel in the affected areas, they have continued to carry out their nefarious activities with alarming frequency.

    This has led to widespread fear and anxiety among the people, with many residents living in constant dread of being kidnapped or attacked.

    Shockingly, one victim somewhere in the North, who managed to overpower, and killed his attacker in self defence, recently saw the Supreme Court confirm his death sentence, obviously suggesting extra judicial considerations.

    The impact of these kidnappings on the affected communities has, of course, been devastating. Many families have been torn apart, with loved ones being held captive while the killers wait for ransom. The emotional trauma and psychological distress cannot be overestimated. Nor are the economic consequences less severe as many businesses, especially farms, have been devastated and forced to shut down, whilst the patrons of these irritants smile to the bank.

    Unfortunately, despite the efforts of security personnel,  kidnappings have continued unabated.

    It has now become obvious that in addition to various state’s efforts, for instance Amotekun in the Southwest, Federal authorities must now consider establishing  a special task force to tackle the menace head on. The task force should consist of personnel from all the security agencies- the police, military and, for purposes of intelligence gathering, the Department of State Services (DSS).

    In conclusion, concerning the  return of this menace in the Southwest, state governments must be encouraged to do more than hitherto, especially by further arming Amotekun which has done tremendously well, in keeping these criminal Fulanis out for quite some time.

    No amount of resources should be spared in putting increased technology at their disposal in addition to enhancing their investigative capabilities, especially as they are dealing with a very dangerous, and stealthy, people. All must be done to bring Amotekun to speed if we would like to sleep with our eyes closed in Yoruba land.

    Kudos, in advance, to our state governors, and well meaning stakeholders, as they take these onerous responsibilities in hand.

    Odua a gbe wa o.

  • Donald Trump: How Europe must react to the Disruptor-in-Chief

    Donald Trump: How Europe must react to the Disruptor-in-Chief

    Concluding his essay, ‘They say Zelensky wont walk alone’, last week, Palladium asserted, and  correctly too,  that after nearly half a century of close relationship with the US and dependency on the Transatlantic accord to guarantee global order and security, Europe should now begin to acknowledge  that such hopes

     have become anachronistic, all because of President Donald Trump’s shambolic politics since his second coming.

    Which, of course,  is quite a shame because in his first term in office, President Trump did so much for the Transatlantic alliance in spite of his acerbic  comments regarding  Europe’s defence spending which in many cases was as low as 2 per cent of the respective country’s GDP.

    During those 4 years, President Trump did, arguably, more to bolster Europe’s security than any US president since Ronald Reagan. It is on record, for instance,  that his administration implemented policies that significantly strengthened NATO, and US commitments in Europe.

    As reported by Luke Coffey in his article ‘Despite the Bombast, Trump Never Turned His Back on Europe’,

    of 8 November, 2024 Trump’s administration  ensured that there were more American troops stationed in Europe than when he took office. The US also increased military exercises and stationed forces further east, including in Poland.

    Under him, US defense spending for Europe, through the European Deterrence Initiative, was more than 40 percent greater than under the Obama administration. His record on Ukraine equally deserves mention. He was the first US president to provide advanced anti-tank weapons to Ukraine, where his predecessor, Barak Obama, offered only non-lethal aid. Trump also supplied air defense and anti-tank systems to Georgia within his first year in office, something the Obama administration  resisted for a whole eight years.

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    As an aside, Nigerians would recall that as against Obama’s refusal, citing rights abuses, President Trump enabled the sale to Nigeria, of the Super Tucano A-29 aircrafts which can be used for both surveillance and attack for use  against Boko Haram.

    In Europe, President Trump championed the Three Seas Initiative, led by Poland and Croatia, which aimed at enhancing infrastructure, connectivity, and trade across Central and Eastern Europe. His administration withdrew from the Open Skies Treaty, and welcomed North Macedonia and Montenegro into NATO, thus strengthening the alliance”.

    At his second coming in January, 2025, Russia had not only invaded Ukraine, it has engaged in a merciless war with Ukraine since the previous two years.

    For Trump, this would appear to have changed everything.

    So unremittingly has he supported and canvassed the Russian viewpoint, in the process obdurately pressurising Ukraine’s President Zelensky, that the suggestion has re- echoed again,  that the Russian President probably has something on Trump with which  he could be blackmailed.

    Under Donald Trump’s presidency therefore, the idea of relying on the Transatlantic accord to bring peace to Europe has become unthinkable.

    The Transatlantic accord, which has been the cornerstone of European security since World War II, is no longer a viable solution in today’s complex geopolitical landscape.

    During his first term, his rhetoric often made European leaders uneasy, but in spite of that, and as shown above, his administration  demonstrated copiously that he was committed to European security.

    However, his second term, barely a month and a half, has sparked great concern in Europe. As things stand in Europe today, EU’s largest economic powers, Germany and France, are presently weakened by economic and political crises, making them seamingly more vulnerable to external threats than hitherto. This, unfortunately, is the point at which Trump has made the US completely unreliable. Happily, however, Europe has become well aware that it can no longer rely solely on the Transatlantic accord to ensure its peace and security.

    Besides the above, the Transatlantic accord was forged in a different era, at a time when the US and Europe shared a common enemy in the Soviet Union. Today, the geopolitical landscape has dramatically changed. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Trump’s complete volte face, have reshaped the  alliance. 

    Additionally,  Europe is now facing new challenges, including terrorism, migration, and economic instability, among others.

    In this new era, therefore, Europe must take greater responsibility for its own security. Her increased defence spending, and greater commitment, to her  security as demonstrated at the recent meeting in France are developments in the right direction, and therefore, welcome even though, more needs to be done.

    Europe must develop her military capabilities as well as improve its cybersecurity, and enhance its cooperation with neighboring countries.

    NATO remains a vital component of her security, but its role must evolve to address the new challenges.

    There is urgent need for increased defence spending to a minimum 5 per cent by member nation as Trump has never ceased to urge.

    NATO’s expansion into Eastern Europe has created new tensions with Russia.

    Indeed, many say it is the ‘casus belli’ for the Russian – Ukraine war. Europe must find a balance between its commitment to collective defense and how to avoid Russia hiding under that to pursue its expansionist designs.

    There is also the additional challenge of the impact of US tariffs on the economies of Europe. The EU’s decision to impose retaliatory tariffs on US goods has further escalated the trade war to a point Trump has been bandying about the possibility of imposing a 200 per cent tariff on goods from Europe.

    Unfortunately, you do not know exactly when the man is serious as he imposes tariffs today, postpones it for 30 days but doubles it the next day, making it of immediate effect.

    Thank God not many statesmen are wired like that.

    It is heartwarming that before Trump introduced this new global trade instability, the EU was already far into looking for new trading partners amongst countries in Asia, South America and Africa.

    It is gratifying too to know that no matter how difficult it may be initially, Europe will never permit Trump and his MAGA accomplices run roughshod over her.

    But above all, she must not give up on Ukraine. It must not let that beautiful, and mineral rich, country become one for a deal between an extravagant Deal Maker and an unreflecting Russian leader whose only wish is to run over Eastern Europe.

    For its precious minerals, President Trump will give Ukraine away without batting an eyelid.

    Even if the Russian – Ukranian war will become a 30- year war, Europe must stand ramrod behind Ukraine knowing, for a certainty, that Trump will be history in 4 years.

  • IBB: That the youths may know or never forget

    IBB: That the youths may know or never forget

    This week we continue where we left  off with our examination of the Babangida years, the same years he did everything to glamorise in his biography.

    As part of the offering last week, we brought on board Professor Steve Egbo who, a whole 24 ago, was prescient enough to devote a whole chapter of his book to the self-proclaimed evil genius. We bring him back today in a full throttled article which is, however, constricted by space.

    We also bring the views of an active participant in the affairs of those evil days in Nigeria. Wale Adeoye, a multi-award winning journalist who, for his efforts, was also detained at the time, writes in his article

    ‘A Victim’s Review of Babangida’s Journey in Dis-Service” which I described on the Ekitipanupo web portal as a “first rate, analytical chronology of the Babangida years” wherein he wrote:

    “Babangida was also silent on many critical issues of human right violations under his tenure. His regime unleashed one of the worst human right abuses on the students movement while he was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of innocent students apart from creating the nursing bed for violent cultism on Nigerian campuses. I recall 1986 and 1987, the years of clubs, daggers, guns and knives.

    Four students of the Ahmadu Bello University had been killed after his government ordered ‘Kill and Go’ police to invade the campus. The invaders raped and killed some students. It became a national upheaval. At the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, we joined the national resistance.

    I was in the leadership with the late Emma Ezeazu and Chima Ubani. The IBB regime recruited students, trained and armed them. Their duty was to attack, kidnap and maim students’ leaders. At Eni Njoku Hall, where we were having our rally, four students led by a student, now somewhere in the Philippines, stormed the venue and kidnapped a student, Lanre Ehonwa.

    Not satisfied, that night, they stormed the hostel of Chidi Omeje and Kunu Harmony, two radical students. They maimed them. They did the same at other Nigerian University campuses. Many of these students were later recruited to join the State Security Service. At least I saw three of them later in years, who confessed to their atrocities. 

    At ABU, Patrick Wilmot was arrested and deported from Nigeria. What about the kidnap of Omoyele Sowore and his being injected with poison by sponsored armed men? What of Igboku Otu who was stabbed to death by unknown assailants one evening in his private Ikeja home?

    His memory failed him on the disappearance of people like my friend and colleague in The Guardian, Chinedu Offoaro, Prince also of The Guardian, the murder of Tunde Oladepo, Taiwo Lukula and many others across the country as consequences of the successors he bequeathed. Oladepo was killed in the presence of his family. They took away his suits. On the day of his burial, the killers came, putting on the suits they had stolen from their victim. They audaciously stared at Oladepo’s wife who was caught by awe and trembling. He fled the country.  How do we explain the controversial accident that led to the death of ASP Dare who was investigating the death of journalist, Dele Giwa? Can we easily forget the torture of many soldiers like Digifa Werenipre, now leader of Egbesu Assembly, my friend who was kept in underground cell in Kano? What of Col Gabriel Ajayi who was kept in the cemetery for many years, only to be released to the hands of harrowing, cold death? How can one forget Major Nya and others that I met while I was in detention at the Directorate Military Intelligence and reports that people were being shot and taken away for burial in secret places having been picked on the road on suspicion of being anti-government?

    Babangida militarised the mentality of Nigerians through his adoption of violence and brute force, over logic and clear thought.

    Under Babangida, state terrorism was elevated and idolised.

    The people soon began to adopt violence as personal norm. The militaristisation of values, of culture, of politics, of debate, of the family, of the mental state finds expression in the current culture of violence in Nigeria today.  

    The least one can say is that the families of all these victims should band together and sue Babangida so that their estates can, collectively, make a good dent on his N17  freebie, sourced mostly from those who were made to profit, unfairly, from the national patrimony.

    Still On Ibb’s Journey In Dis-service

    In his own contribution this week, Professor Egbo writes:

    Ibrahim Babangida’s memoir, “A Journey in Service”, has continued to generate interest across the nation. Babangida was a man who took Nigeria by storm much more than any before or after him. Forty years after his catastrophic incursion, he has simply refused to allow Nigeria rest. So much has been said in response to, and condemnation of his endless deceit. Perhaps, the launch of his memoir, and the huge cash it raked in for him, is his final act of defiance as he prepares to make his exit from the public stage.

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    Babangida’s atrocities have been properly chronicled by historians, analysts and commentators over the years, by those who participated in his perfidy; those who merely observed and the millions whose lives were blighted by the contempt and greed of this individual. His biography is an attempt to change the narrative, to re-write history and perhaps, perform one more act of defiance against Nigeria and Nigerians.

    But whatever Babangida may have written, whatever efforts he may have exerted to twist and upend the facts, the truths of his mis-rule and the bungling of Nigeria’s destiny under his watch  remain unhidden and will remain a testimony against him till eternity.

    Of  his numerous atrocities against the fatherland, the greatest was the annulment of June 12 – an election globally acknowledged as  Nigeria’s finest outing ever. June 12, 1993, marked Nigeria’s date with history.

     But sadly, a history that was cruelly aborted.

    The cancellation of that election brought to fore Babangida’s design to keep Nigeria permanently enslaved to his personal whims and caprice. June 12 was the climax of a secret plot by Babangida and his cult of predators to sustain an illegitimate oligarchy that had since lost its bearing.

    As I noted in my book, “Political Soldiering”, the tragedy of June 12 “marked the precariousness of the state of the union called Nigeria, a country of many ethnic nationalities groaning under an ill arrangement where the preponderance of power is arbitrary and hegemonic.”  The success of June 12 election and the deliberate sabotage that followed “marked a date that exhumed the contradictions within the Nigerian contraption which the political class has worked so hard to pretend never existed”.

     June 12 annulment and the upheavals that erupted “marked a culmination of years of frustration and discontent, jealousy and mischief, incompatibility, self destructive anomalies, perfidy and thralldom. It  was another climax of what Ahmadu Bello famously described as ‘the mistake of 1914’.”

    When the heat generated by the gruesome cancellation became unbearable, Babangida sneaked away into the night to plot and scheme for another opportunity. Despite stepping aside, he remained attuned to the vagaries of Nigeria’s political firmament and continued to bid his time. Babangida was a big man – wealthy, ambitious and cunning – and with vast resources at his disposal, he convinced himself that someday, he would be back.

     But his determination to realize his dream of a come-back never materialised,  despite his numerous schemings to bring it about as even the most cunning of men must someday, come to the end of  the road.

    Babangida’s greatest desire was to come back as a civilian president. But despite how much he desired it, schemed for it and plotted for it, he failed.

    Abysmally.

    The chain of events that followed in the wake of June 12 annulment has thrown Nigeria into a bottomless pit, one from which it has been impossible to wriggle out. From trepidatious ING to Abacha’s brutal reign, from the National Assembly Trade Fair to years of misrule, incompetence, ethnic supremacists, religious irredentism, nepotism, banditry, judicial panic, grinding poverty, legendary corruption by both the political class  as well as the private sector, and so many ills, Nigeria has never had it so bad.

    But all put together, General Ibrahim Babangida must be held supremely responsible for whatever tragedy Nigeria has suffered since he stepped in and  stepped aside. This was a man who had the opportunity to do good, but deliberately, and consciously, chose to do so much evil he named himself the evil genius. And he has continued to sit in cross-legged pomposity atop the heap of his evil.

    Otherwise, his memoirs would have been a true confession and an act of penance; a show of remorse and a plea for forgiveness by Nigerians, a people he has so wronged and betrayed.

    Babangida would also have seen this window as an opportunity to seek the forgiveness of the Almighty God who allowed him an opportunity to do good but he  rather chose the opposite.

    That the cream of Nigeria’s political and economic elite gathered in the poshest hotel in Abuja last month on behalf of this badly flawed human being shows our legendary capacity to condone evil. Babangida did not deserve the honor done him by those who heeded  his call.

    He deserves only the courtesy and embrace suitable for a leper.

    The gathering of who is who to honor a man like him shows the moral decadence of our leadership elite. In a country where the laws are of no consequence on the conduct of office holders, success and progress are measured by how much public funds one is able to steal. Here, the institutions created to guard against such grandiose larceny become accessories to the heist.

    Presidential Library? What a joke. What purpose will Babangida’s library serve to generations of deprived, poverty stricken, uneducated, abused and abandoned Nigerians? And make no mistake, Babangida was never a president. He was and will always remain an impostor and a pretender. A usurper.

    Babangida may be having the last laugh; and if that were actually the case,  Nigerians do not have to humor him any longer.

    The gap-toothed general is a chameleon and a vampire. He has no heart.

    No amount of image laundering will convince Nigerians that Babangida is a new creature, that the vulture will turn away from the rotten carcass in disgust or that the he-goat will feel a pang of conscience at the prospect of mounting his own mother..