The Nation Newspaper

Category: Sunday

Lt. Gen. Ipoola Alani Akinrinade: The Colosus

When the history of that era is written, Gen. Alani Akinrinade would be one of its guiding lights.Home and abroad, Gen. Akinrinade fought the military regime for the soul of Nigeria as entrenched in the democratic rights of Nigerians. For that, he paid heavily.

The general had a thriving large-scale farm before the crisis. To get back at him for his effrontery to confront the military roughnecks, the Abacha regime went for the general’s economic jugular. They ruined his farm. His shipping business too was fair game. If he had tarried at home, they most probably would have sent a killer gang after him. That is the only logical deduction from the arson agents of the state committed on his house.

But after all the trauma, Gen. Akinrinade stands firm and formidable in his beliefs. Whatever he had lost in that struggle, he gained in the estimation and affection of the grateful Nigerian masses, who were not only tired of military rule but were also irked by the arrogant cancellation of a mandate they freely gave Basorun Abiola.

Gen. Akinrinade may have been disillusioned at 70, seeing the gulf between his vision of what the Nigerian military should be when he signed up; and what it was when he left. But history will bear him testimony that despite all the rot of his generation, he maintained his personal honour and integrity; and remained the quintessential officer and gentleman.

No one could wish for more, in a generally traumatised era, when honour had gone to the dogs and debauchery was the new high point of state culture – Olakunle Abimbola in: Akinrinade – An officer and gentleman at 70″.

READ ALSO; MC Mbakara, wife open up on daughter’s nine-year cerebral palsy struggle

This piece, simpli cita, is not a biography of, definitely, one of the most outstanding generals ever produced by the Nigerian Army.

Lt. Gen. Akinrinade who turned 86 on October 3, 2025 was, as usual, more than generously celebrated by the high and mighty.

One of those who congratulated him, appropriately the Executive Governor of his Osun State, Senator Ademola Jackson Nurudeen Adeleke,

fulsomely celebrated the elder statesman, describing him as “a patriot of the highest order, a military legend, and a shining example of statesmanship whose life is defined by service, sacrifice, and courage.”

This article, therefore, deals with only one of the General’s post military engagements, namely, his always very courageously, providing communal leadership for both country and the Yoruba race which explains his multi – pronged roles in NADECO, the group that provided a dignified escape route for Yorubas of Southwest Nigeria when the ruthless General Sanni Abacha was intent on annihilating the entire race.

This then leads me to my review of the General’s ALAROYE LECTURE of 3 December, 2006, now definitively

etched in history on pages 313 – 315 of my book: ‘Simply a Citizen Journalist’ ( Amazon link:https://a.co/d/dXnfY77

Happy reading.

Yoruba Nation Politics, Irridentism And Issues Arising

Until I read an in- depth analysis of General Alani Akinrinade’s lecture delivered on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of Alaroye, Thisday, 28 NOV.2006, by Philip Ogunmade, I had almost concluded that there was a press conspiracy to black it out.

All I had seen of the event, before then, consisted only of the photographs of politicians and Kabiyesis, and it would have been a great dis-service if the lecture, entitled ‘Yoruba and Their Neighbours After 2007’, had been reduced to nothing more than a photo opportunity.

First, a word about the guest lecturer.

Lt. Gen. Alani Akinrinade, one time Nigerian Chief of Army Staff, was a twotime Minister of the Federal Republic. An officer and a gentleman, if ever there was one, Gen. Akinrinade was run out of town during the reign of the goggled one with his house literally bombed out of existence whilst on exile with his “co-conspirators”in NADECO.

As God would have it, he and his associates saw the end of Abacha and returned home to Nigeria.

Since coming back, Gen. Akinrinade has resumed where he left off in the service of Nigeria and the Yoruba race in particular. Around him, and at his great inspiration, an organisation is in the works to which every Yoruba man and woman would be only too happy to register his/her unborn child as member.

Modelled after the Jewish council, the organisation, unlike extant Pan – Yoruba groupings, will be all-inclusive, non-partisan and there would be no joiners, but co-equals, despite the many months of ground work the General and his associates have invested in the project. It will suffice for now, that I am jumping the gun, to say only that the organization will have as its primary duty, the re-invention, reinvigoration and nurture of Yoruba culture, language and the Arts, as well as the ‘gathering’ together of all Yorubas, whether here at home in Nigeria, in Brazil, Cuba or the United States and wherever on earth our compatriots practice IFA in its pristine originality; an institution which happily, has now become a UNESCO responsibility.

Given the above background, Lt. Gen. Akinrinade is eminently qualified to give the ‘Alaroye’ lecture which he concluded to a rapturous applause from the audience which included the high and mighty in society.

Highly respected across board, General Akinrinade, with neither airs nor ego, is a deep and very committed Yoruba leader. Indeed, a natural Yoruba leader, almost of the old school, very accommodating and tolerant of others’ views. General Akinrinade spares nothing, not time, nor resources, in the service of motherland.

May his tribe increase.

The General, in his lecture under review, went down memory lane; traversed centuries of the history of various Nigerian nationalities, emphasizing how British imperialism undermined local authorities and completely vaporised all.

He concluded this section with how the South came to be unequally yoked with the North.

In his view, the principal job of the Yoruba in the post-Obasanjo era will be the need to ‘see to the promotion of a true peoples’ constitution which will reflect the aggregated wishes of our various nationalities’.

As long as the status quo remains, he continued, the death struggle which our politics has become can only intensify.

The Yoruba, continued the General, ‘must now find a unity that transcends politics, religion, social status, gender etc’. He believes that Yorubas must show the way for they it is who have a tradition for reform, decency and abhorrence of cheating and hegemony over others.

Finally said the general, ‘we must rise to the struggle to entrench a constitution that can bring good governance, return power to the people, remove career politicians whose only contribution is looting; entrench the rule of law and repudiate majoritarian democracy in a heterogeneous society like Nigeria’.

This is no doubt a laudable road map for the Yoruba and it will only be in our tradition to lead the way.

However, I believe that the audience at the Alaroye lecture would have been better served if General Akinrinade had been given the luxury of choosing his topic or, alternatively, if he was asked to appraise the place of the Yoruba in these ‘our’ – read as Obasanjo’s two terms of almost eight years.

A critical examination of what Yorubas suffered during the Obasanjo administration – 1999-2007′, would have better made their day as it was a ruinous era for the entire race.

Traditionally, Yorubas have always belonged in opposition to the

Federal government of the federation. This has largely resulted from a hard-headed, consensus- based preference for our own political leaders who know exactly what we want as a people.

Beginning with Chief Obafemi Awolowo, through Chief Adekunle Ajasin; from Chief Adesanya to Late Chief Bola Ige, the Yoruba has come to be well served by their ‘opposition’ governments until 2003 when Obasanjo started his so – called mainstreaming against our wishes.

Things have since gotten so bad that only this past week, the Yoruba Council of Elders, a body that owed its birth, and life-line, for quite a while, to the Obasanjo regime, railed unrepentantly about the misfortune that has befallen education in the South West since 2003.

I was amazed to hear members of the Parents/Teachers Association of Queen’s College, Lagos, assert painfully, on an AIT Kaakaki programme, that they saw a copy of the Federal government’s letter inviting Chevron to come and buy the School. Even NEPA may have been invited by Obasanjo’s dutiful daughter, as Minister of Education, to buy King’s college.

This would practically have had the down-side of taking quality secondary education beyond most Nigerians.

Not too long ago, Agbajo decided to set up a rapid response committee of three, under the leadership of Professor Jide Osuntokun when it became obvious that rarely was any of the multibillion naira road and water projects announced routinely after Executive Council meetings meant for the South West.

Not many would now remember when the uncompleted Ibadan -Ilorin road was awarded nor when the Ilorin-Ado-Ekiti road project which has become a perennial, would be completed. The least said about the Lagos-Ota road, in his own neck of wood, the better. A documentary on the Benin-Ore road, brought tears to many eyes even in this era of multibillion petrol dollars.

The case is probably worse in the Federal Ministry of Water Resources where the Obasanjo government , with Muktar Shagari as minister, has out-spent every other government in the history of the nation, weekly announcing multi- billion irrigation projects for only the North.

Meanwhile, Obasanjo expects Ekiti State to be industrialised even when, like Bayelsa, it is yet to be connected to the national grid. This is not to mention the Lagos state experience during this ‘our’ tenure, when ‘our president’ cruelly seized all Local Government funds.

In conclusion I believe that Yoruba is in a double jeopardy if, during ‘our tenure’ we have been treated as shown above, only God knows what lies –in wait for Yorubas in a new administration headed by a Northerner. Therefore, the need for a Yoruba leaders to rigorously interface with the various party presidential candidates, whenever they emerge, to agree minimum parameters to have our electoral support, should be considered a must.

October 19, 2025
Screening of kindergraduates

JAMB’s exam for underage but brilliant children ends with fond memories

Just as the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) was yet to release the results of the candidates who penultimate week sat for the underage screening examination into tertiary institutions in the country nationwide, came the rude shock that the Federal Government had decided to change the current admission process into tertiary institutions in the country by allowing the institutions to decide their choice of students themselves. In effect, JAMB would have lost its essence. To put it more bluntly, the board would naturally cease to exist once that happens because, under the extant arrangement, JAMB is central to the admission process.

I would return to that shortly because this piece actually set out to comment on the underage screening that took place in Abuja, Lagos and Owerri between October 8 and 9. One hundred and seventy-six candidates in all sat for the examination, out of which 84 were adjudged to have finally scaled the hurdle to proceed to the universities of their choice for the 2025/26 academic session, having met the set criteria. This means they have scaled the four-stage screening set for them, having scored at least 320 in the UTME; at least 80 per cent in the Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE); 80 per cent in the university’s internal screening exercise; and another 80 per cent in the final screening conducted by a JAMB-appointed panel comprising vice-chancellors, civil society representatives, education experts, and other distinguished professionals.

These included Prof. Adamu Ahmed, Vice-Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, chairperson of the Lagos centre; Prof Taoheed Adedoja, chairperson of the Abuja centre while Prof. Paulinus Okwelle, Executive Secretary of the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), chaired the Owerri centre.

Prof. Boniface Nworgu, a renowned psychometrician, who chaired the panel in Lagos on October 9, as Prof. Ahmed had to leave after the first day for other engagements; Dr Rafiu Soyele, Provost Federal College of Education, Abeokuta, Prof. Lawrence Ezeminye, Vice-Chancellor, Igbinedion University, Okada, Edo State, and Mrs. Mary Millicent Nnawuogo, Principal, Federal Government Academy, Suleja, among others.

READ ALSO; MC Mbakara, wife open up on daughter’s nine-year cerebral palsy struggle

A candidate becomes eligible for the next stage only after successfully meeting the requirements of the preceding one. This, indeed, was the issue with one Miss Kareem Kaamilah Omolarami, who scored 371 in the UTME and indeed successfully scaled the first two hurdles but was not invited for the final screening because Nile University of Nigeria to which she had applied wrote to JAMB that she was absent at the university’s internal screening. She therefore automatically became ineligible to continue the process, having missed one stage.

It was interesting how the oral interview session went in Lagos, with Professors Ahmed and Nworgu in charge. The conviviality of the atmosphere was such that could have normalised the blood pressure of the most nervous candidates. It took place largely on a father to son/daughter basis and not as some professors up there looking condescendingly at some kids trying to do what they did several decades ago.

At times, the candidate’s name was an object of joke. While some knew what their names meant (as we usually give people names in this part of the world for different reasons), I remember one of them who said his surname was ‘Arowosaye’ and he was asked the meaning, which he translated as ‘’one who has money to enjoy life’’!

How about welcoming the candidate to the oral interview with ‘’how are you doing, my son/daughter’’? Sometimes, Prof. Nwogu would, during break, chat up the candidates. ”Are you enjoying your coffee’’? Sometimes he cracked jokes with them, drawing laughter. It was such an enjoyable time that I knew some of the candidates would wish never ended. Virtually everyone that JAMB selected for the exercise was a parent indeed; born teachers, too. They had all it takes for such exercise: the patience, stamina, knowledge and what have you.

And JAMB more than spoilt the candidates with food, snacks and drinks.

I observed the process at the Lagos centre which held at the Senate Chamber of the University of Lagos, Akoka, Lagos. Trust Prof Ishaq Oloyede, the registrar and chief executive of JAMB, he would never allow any opportunity pass deserving of a joke without seizing it. The Senate Chamber also happens to be the seat of the highest decision-making authority in the university. In case the candidates did not know, Oloyede made them understand that and how indeed lucky they were to be sitting in such a place when they have not even become ‘JAMBITES’ (students newly admitted into the university). He was right. The candidates were lucky indeed. For those of us who left the university decades ago, the Senate Chamber was a place we looked at with awe from outside. We could only be imagining what the hell was happening in there!

Then, the candidates’ food. There was no doubt that some of them were amazed at what they were served, as they openly confessed that the pieces of meat and fish they were served were adult size. But that was not all. They equally had tea break during which they had snacks and coffee on the two days, all very rich qualitatively, and something to write home about, quantitatively, all paid for by JAMB!

But that is Oloyede for you. As a matter of fact, when the parent of one of the candidates asked him whether the board made any arrangement for lunch for the candidates, the question did not go down well with him as he wondered whether it was possible for any reasonable person to assemble such children without making provision for feeding for them. But then, both the parent and Oloyede were right. It is just because the JAMB registrar cares. Some other organisations would organise such things from morning till evening as JAMB did and the children would have to be catered for by their parents. All they would give them is lunch break; and the candidates, forget their impressionable ages, would have to fend for themselves.

This brings me yet to another aspect of the Oloyede phenomenon: resource management. When I considered the money spent to conduct these examinations in three centres, the calibre of experts that were engaged to ensure that things went well, the facilities used, etc., I keep wondering where the JAMB registrar gets the billions that he returns to the government’s coffers despite all these unforeseen expenses. Considering that this underage screening is novel in the JAMB processes, it means it was probably not budgeted for. Yet, candidates were not asked to pay a dime for its organisation. And I doubt if this would in any way stop the board from returning billions to the government’s coffers at the end of the day, given our experiences in the last few years that Oloyede assumed the front seat in the board.

May be someday, the man would tell Nigerians the magic. I do not want to dwell on this aspect of JAMB’s operations since the coming of Oloyede because it has become a familiar thing. As a matter of fact, the news from JAMB is; if the board cannot remit the billions as it used to do, not otherwise.

If JAMB’S past is anything to go by, then Oloyede is going to leave oversized pair of shoes for his successor when his second term ends. Alternatively, he may have to induct him or her into the secret of the machine that is spinning the billions that he has been handing over to the Federal Government annually in the last eight years. Or better still, show him or her the way to the shrine from where the gods cough up the remittances! What I am saying is that Oloyede’s successor must be ready to continue to ‘su dundun’ as we say in Yoruba land. That is he or she must be ready to excrete something pleasant or sweet! That is one of the lessons and legacies of the Oloyede years in JAMB. Anything short of that is unacceptable.

Be that as it may, let me seek your indulgence to return to the satanic rumour about the Federal Government scrapping JAMB, or making it impotent by stripping it of its role in the admission processes into tertiary institutions in the country. I did not take the rumour with a pinch of salt right from the time it ‘broke’. Mind you, rumours too break, not only stories! I knew it must have been something from the pit of hell. Apparently, some of the people benefitting from the rot in the JAMB of old must have had a dream of such happening. And, just like the Lagbaja episode, ‘’Omo, anything for me’’, and the response: ‘’Lagbaja, nothing for you’’!

Mercifully, the Federal Ministry of Education did not waste time to turn the fraudsters’ dream into a nightmare by issuing a rejoinder signed by the director of press and public relations of the ministry, Boriowo Folasade, on behalf of the minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa. The statement said: “For the avoidance of doubt, JAMB remains the statutory and legally empowered body responsible for conducting entrance examinations and coordinating admissions into all tertiary institutions in Nigeria.” It added: “The established admission processes through JAMB remain fully operational, and any contrary information should be disregarded in its entirety.” Thus ended the antics of the satanic dreamers.

All said, that the screening of the underage candidates went without serious hitches in the three centres was due mainly to the fact that it was well organised. Yes, there were minor hitches, especially with some of the parents who accompanied their children; these were generally sorted out without incidents. The fact that many parents indeed came with their children, at least to the Lagos centre, was one proof they were really underage; as in below the minimum 16 years required for admission. In my time, no one followed me because I was old enough to know my left from my right before seeking university admission. That was one of the things two years of Higher School Certificate (HSC) did for us back then.

It was indeed thoughtful of Prof Oloyede who insisted that the examinations should be held on university campuses instead of centres in town. This restricted movement and also made many of the parents to comport themselves. Otherwise, the exercise might not have been as successful as it was. In fairness to the candidates, they were generally calm and law-abiding. But, because babies would always be babies, some of them forgot the original of some of their documents in their answer sheets, particularly the National Identification Number (NIN) slips. Mercifully, they were not too many; therefore retrieving the documents did not pose a serious problem.

I congratulate the 84 candidates who successfully scaled the hurdles. In terms of brilliance, many of them cannot be denied the accolades. From reports globally, Nigeria has got talents. Many of our children, including the very ones we are talking about have all it takes when the matter is academic studies. What has been the central concern of many is whether these children have the mental and physical capacities to withstand the rigours of the environments in our tertiary institutions, with cultism and all.

October 19, 2025
Uncertainties envelope opposition coalition

The defection of Enugu State governor Peter Mbah does not just reflect his personal desire to join the ruling party and win more federal concessions for his state, it is also probably an indication that he and many like him have given up on his former party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and any thought that an opposition coalition can wrest power from the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2027. While angry commentators and some party chieftains accuse defectors of sabotage and selfishness, the defectors see their migrations as realistic appraisals of the shifting dynamics of contemporary Nigerian politics. If they do not adapt quickly, the defectors ruminate, they could fade into irrelevance prematurely. They recognise the worrisome internal dynamics of the main opposition party far more comprehensively than armchair critics who still bandy superficial analysis of the PDP’s prospects or make moralistic evaluation of what defection presupposes.

In one fell swoop, Mr Mbah got rid of the uncertainties clogging his movement and stymying his politics. To him, the PDP was too weakened by internal rancour that it had become difficult to calculate options. The PDP candidate in the 2023 presidential election had also jettisoned the party and moved on to spearhead a new coalition of aggrieved parties. Labour Party’s Peter Obi, a presidential candidate in the last elections, had also leapt into the void by trying to straddle the Labour Party (LP) and the coalition platform, the African Democratic Congress (ADC). Until he lands, neither his supporters nor he can tell whether he has landed well or not. But he was also at a time a member of the PDP. Other than the interim leaders of the ADC led by former senate president David Mark and former Osun governor Rauf Aregbesola, few other party chieftains are sure who really is an ADC member.

READ ALSO; MC Mbakara, wife open up on daughter’s nine-year cerebral palsy struggle

Despite the initial razzmatazz of coming together for a public presentation of the ADC and letting the public know that their souls are knitted with the adopted party, presumptive party chieftains have engaged in protracted formalisation of their membership of the party. Former vice president Atiku Abubakar announced through his spokesmen that the process of registering with the ADC was ongoing. It takes less than 24 hours to register with any party, but Alhaji Atiku is taking months. It takes just a moment to register with the coalition platform, but Mr Obi has engaged in sophistry and unabashedly declared he was still an LP member while his soul drew to the ADC. Their dithering is unlikely to be because of their lack of certainty in winning the presidential ticket nomination. Alhaji Atiku knows no one can upstage him in a party he has invested his personality and money on a significant scale. Conversely, Mr Obi knows he cannot win the ADC ticket under any circumstance.

So, why are they still pussyfooting? In the next few months, the parties will hold their primaries. And possibly before the end of 2026, going by the speculations about the scope of the legislative amendment being proposed to the Electoral Act, the elections might conceivably be held next year, and not 2027 as previously determined. Given the tightness of the electoral schedule ahead, party leaders and aspirants to various offices ought to demonstrate urgency and perspicacity in their political calculations. Instead, both Alhaji Atiku and Mr Obi have been formulaic and lethargic. Their seemingly detached approach is, however, unlikely to be a result of their excessive caution in watching which way the cat jumps. Their lethargy is in fact a function of two factors intrinsic to their politics. One, both men worry over what other banana peels are strewn across their paths, hobbled it seems by the unpredictability of their self-willed colleagues within a fractious party.

Two, having never founded any party before but had thrived reaping where they did not sow, the two gentlemen a lack of capacity in running anything but trading concerns and one-man businesses where their word is law. Asking them to engage in perspective thinking and modeling will be asking them to deconstruct a black hole or expound the latest advances in particle physics. Alhaji Atiku is adept at picking holes in other leaders’ policies and scorning their achievements, while Mr Obi is brilliant at sermonising and drawing distinctions between black and white, not other colour spectrums. Both gentlemen have imposed their inadequacies and uncertainties on the coalition force. But they know that after 2027 or 2026, they would no longer be in currency, especially given the superficiality of their ideas and the insubstantiality of their persons. So, it is now or never, with no room for mistakes. But their best political years are behind them, whether they recognise it or not.

The ADC itself, or whatever is left of it, having morphed so badly that it has become unrecognisable even as a special purpose vehicle for political journeymen, is in a quandary. Party chieftains await the decisions of their notables. Until those putative leaders make up their minds, the party will remain in the doldrums. Fiery chieftains like former Kaduna governor Nasir el-Rufai will loath such inertia; but there is little he can do, having burnt his fingers in other issues and decisions because of shortage of funds and lack of sound judgement. Other chieftains like Rotimi Amaechi will continue to nurse his bilious rage, but there is little else he can do until both Alhaji Atiku and Mr Obi make up their minds. Other less calculating chieftains like Gen. Mark and the obstreperous Mr Aregbesola will squirm beneath the surface until someone puts them out of their misery. The ADC will hope that the former vice president and the former Anambra governor will never return to the PDP, for from such devastation, should it happen, no politician, no matter how gifted and principled, has ever recovered.

October 19, 2025
The genocidal claims against Nigeria

Old habits die hard. Under Donald Trump, the United States has indicated isolationism as its foreign policy core. But it is now embroiled in the Middle East, and the president is loving every bit of it. It finds Asia a tough nut to crack, so it will forebear in the short run. It cannot best Europe in moralising, or in Whiteness, so he will stay aloof or try to force them to blink first. Overall, the US president, despite mouthing isolationism, wants to become president of the world. This may partly explain the hoopla about designating Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) over claims of genocide based on the recommendation of the United States Commission on international Religious Freedom (USCIRF).

READ ALSO: Military debunks report of alleged coup to overthrow Tinubu

Apart from misusing the term, which could cause Nigeria to be designated as a CPC, thereby attracting economic sanctions, the USCIRF has consistently recommended Nigeria to be designated a CPC since 2018. In any case, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Egypt, Pakistan, all of them Mr. Trump’s new friends, in addition to dozens of other countries, have been on the list for years. So, why the hysteria when in fact what is taking place in some parts of Nigeria is terrorism mixed with ethnic cleansing over grazing and mining lands? The Nigerian parliament is working to engage the US Congress over the issue, but this whole furore is one more reason for those who specialise in washing Nigeria’s dirty linens in foreign lands to be circumspect. If sanctions are imposed, and they prove debilitating, it will affect everyone, Christians and Muslims alike, not to say every ethnic group.

October 19, 2025
Like reaping fruits of reforms in installments, like statecraft by stealth

It was a week without spectacle — no roaring motorcades through Abuja, no grand state receptions, no boisterous summits at Aso Rock. Yet, for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the past week was as eventful as it was defining. From the serene precincts of Rome to the corridors of Nigeria’s energy sector, his steady hand on the levers of governance quietly delivered another chapter in what is shaping up to be one of Nigeria’s most reform-driven Presidencies in modern times.

At a time when leadership is often judged by the noise it makes rather than the results it produces, President Tinubu’s governance style continues to favour the latter — a methodical, deliberate, and reform-focused rhythm that is now bearing fruits in instalments. The latest evidence came in the form of Shell’s $2 billion Final Investment Decision (FID) for a new offshore gas development in Nigeria’s HI Field — a major boost that pushes total upstream oil and gas investment commitments under his watch to over $8 billion in just 18 months.

It was also a week that revealed the multiple layers of the Tinubu persona; the reformer, the diplomat, and the doting father.

President Tinubu began the week in Rome, where he joined other Heads of State and Government for the Aqaba Process meeting — a global counter-terrorism forum co-chaired by the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the Italian government. The session focused on the evolving security landscape in West Africa, particularly the twin threats of terrorism and transnational crime.

Though Rome was not abuzz with the familiar ceremonial flourish of high-level summits, the significance of Tinubu’s attendance was unmistakable. It underscored Nigeria’s centrality to regional peace efforts and reaffirmed his standing as a continental stabiliser.

READ ALSO: Military debunks report of alleged coup to overthrow Tinubu

At the heart of the discussions was the understanding that no nation can tackle violent extremism in isolation. Nigeria, as the anchor of the Sahel and the most populous country in Africa, remains both a target and a solution. Tinubu’s presence ensured that the voice of West Africa’s frontline state was heard — a reminder that Nigeria’s security concerns are inseparable from the stability of the entire region.

If diplomacy dominated the President’s early week, economic validation took the stage by midweek. On Tuesday, global oil giant Shell announced a $2 billion FID for its new offshore gas development in OML 144 — the HI Field. The project, which will deliver approximately 350 million standard cubic feet of gas per day from 2028, represents one-third of the feedgas requirements of Nigeria LNG Limited’s Train 7 project.

For a government that has spent its first two years rolling out painstaking reforms to unlock investment bottlenecks, the Shell FID was more than a corporate milestone, it was vindication.

“This major FID announcement by Shell, their second in one year, is a clear validation of our wide-ranging reform efforts and a signal to the world that Nigeria is fully open for business and investment,” President Tinubu said in a statement through his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.

The investment came on the back of two earlier FIDs — the Ubeta Non-Associated Gas project and the Bonga North Deepwater Development — both cornerstones of Tinubu’s energy revitalisation drive. Together, the three projects bring total upstream commitments to over $8 billion since he assumed office in 2023.

These achievements were not accidental. They were the outcome of structural reforms painstakingly crafted through Executive Orders the President signed in March 2024, introducing fiscal incentives, shortening contracting cycles, and reducing costs for oil and gas investors. For years, international oil companies had complained about Nigeria’s bureaucratic inertia. Tinubu’s response was swift: dismantle red tape, streamline approvals, and restore investor confidence.

Special Adviser on Energy, Olu Arowolo Verheijen, captured the significance succinctly: “With the Ubeta FID and now the HI FID, we have secured the gas supply needed to make NLNG Train 7 not just possible, but transformative”.

Beyond the numbers, the investments carry strategic importance. They anchor Nigeria’s energy transition, boost foreign exchange earnings, and reinforce the country’s aspiration to become Africa’s gas hub. Shell’s Global Upstream President, Peter Costello, was unambiguous: “This project will grow Shell’s leading gas portfolio while supporting Nigeria’s ambition to become a more significant player in the global LNG market”.

For Nigeria’s economy, still adjusting to post-reform realities, this was not just a gas story, it was a story of restored confidence. Investors are voting with their wallets again, and the results are trickling in.

If Tinubu’s economic strides have been visible, his diplomatic manoeuvres often unfold in quiet corridors — effective, understated, yet deeply strategic. On Friday in Rome, that subtle statecraft was again on display when the President met with Massad Boulos, Senior Advisor to U.S. President Donald Trump for Arab and African Affairs.

The encounter, though brief, carried profound implications. In recent weeks, a small chorus of influential American voices, including television host Bill Maher and Senator Ted Cruz, had amplified the narrative of “Christian persecution” in Nigeria. The aim was clear: to distort Nigeria’s complex security situation into a simplistic religious frame that could influence American foreign policy.

But Boulos’ comments after his meeting with Tinubu shattered that narrative in seconds. Speaking to journalists, he said: “Those who know the terrain well know that terrorism has no colour, no religion, and no tribe. We even know that Boko Haram and ISIS are killing more Muslims than Christians.”

It was a blunt and factual repudiation of the misinformation being peddled. In less than three minutes, the Trump advisor not only neutralised the false claims but also reaffirmed Washington’s confidence in Tinubu’s leadership: “The Nigerian government and President Tinubu’s administration have recently taken additional measures and put more resources in those areas, and we’ve seen some improvements. We appreciate those measures and we definitely look forward to more.”

For Tinubu, who has consistently pursued a balanced approach to international relations, favouring results over rhetoric, the Boulos meeting was another exercise in quiet diplomacy. It showed a President who doesn’t rush to counter every provocation with outrage but patiently waits for the right moment and the right voice to validate his government’s position.

In doing so, Tinubu demonstrated one of his defining traits: a capacity for calm engagement in the face of noisy provocation. Nigeria’s image, often a casualty of global misinformation, was subtly but powerfully defended, not through counter-punching tweets, but through strategic engagement.

What binds Tinubu’s economic, diplomatic, and domestic efforts together is a simple philosophy: reform without hysteria. His administration has shown that structural change need not be chaotic. From fiscal reforms and investment incentives to security coordination and sub-national partnerships, his leadership style blends firmness with flexibility.

Observers note that the President’s hallmark has been an uncanny ability to build consensus even among diverse stakeholders — industry leaders, governors, security chiefs, and development partners. His reforms are deliberate, and his policies are layered with consultation.

The petroleum-sector transformation, for instance, wasn’t just about signing executive orders. It involved months of inter-agency collaboration between the Ministries of Finance, Justice, Petroleum, Budget and Economic Planning, and the Federal Inland Revenue Service — a rare display of bureaucratic harmony in a system often defined by silos.

That is Tinubu’s quiet genius: aligning institutions without fanfare, pushing reforms through coordination rather than confrontation.

Amidst the business of governance and global diplomacy, the week also unveiled Tinubu’s human side, the father, not the President. On Sunday, he penned an emotional tribute to his son, Seyi Tinubu, who clocked 40 the next day.

“Happy 40th Birthday, my son. You have made us proud, and I know you will continue to make Nigeria proud,” he wrote, in what many Nigerians saw as a deeply personal moment from a leader known more for his political resilience than public sentimentality.

The letter radiated warmth, humility, and introspection. He praised Seyi’s determination, creativity, and leadership, describing how his son had “turned ideas into institutions and challenges into opportunities.” He also lauded Seyi’s devotion to family and nation, calling his journey a reflection of values “beyond material success.”

For a President often viewed through the prism of politics and power, the message offered a rare glimpse into his private world — a father proud of his son’s growth, yet grounded enough to remind him that true success lies in service to others.

“May God bless you with wisdom, good health, and peace. As you celebrate this milestone, remember that your strength lies in what you achieve and how you inspire others”, he concluded.

It was a moment that resonated far beyond family, a symbolic message about continuity, legacy, and responsibility. It humanised the Presidency and offered a softer counterpoint to the rigours of governance.

Nearly two and a half years into his tenure, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has moved beyond the honeymoon of reform announcements into the reality of outcomes. The FIDs, the renewed investor confidence, the diplomatic poise, and even the personal reflections are all threads of one narrative — that Nigeria is being quietly repositioned.

The results may not yet be fully visible to all, but the trajectory is unmistakable. The economy is recalibrating. The energy sector is awakening. Diplomacy is being redefined. And through it all, the President remains consistent in tone and temperament — firm but not fiery, strategic but not sensational.

As he wrapped up his engagements in Rome, Nigeria’s leader seemed content to let his results do the talking. The Shell FID spoke of faith restored. The Boulos encounter spoke of perceptions corrected. And the birthday note spoke of values sustained.

Meanwhile, rounding off a week defined by reforms paying off and quiet, effective diplomacy, Tinubu’s Presidency’s cadence of service also echoed in tributes, policy signals, and moments of national pride. On Monday, President Tinubu mourned Evangelist Uma Ukpai, hailing the late revivalist as “one of God’s Generals,” and saluted labour icon Abiodun Aremu for a lifetime defending workers. By Tuesday, the President paired condolences for trailblazing diplomat Joy Ogwu with a hard-edged regional message—urging ECOWAS to classify resource theft as an international crime—while congratulating EFCC Chair Olanipekun Olukoyede for reformist momentum and commiserating with the Church on Bishop-Emeritus Michael Fagun’s passing.

He also cheered the Super Eagles’ 4–0 rout of Benin Republic, framing football’s lift as shared national optimism. Midweek, he condoled Kenya on the passing of former Prime Minister Raila Odinga and celebrated Senators Basheer Lado and Ahmed Wadada, underscoring executive–legislative synergy and fiscal discipline.

On Thursday, he feted NILDS DG Prof. Abubakar Sulaiman at 60 for scholarship in the service of democracy and on Friday, he applauded Nigerian lawyer Tolu Obamuroh’s elevation to global partnership at White & Case—another marker of Nigerian excellence.

In the end, perhaps the story of Tinubu’s leadership is best told not through grand proclamations but through the quiet accumulation of progress; one reform at a time, one handshake at a time, one heartfelt message at a time.

October 19, 2025
Dangote on my mind V

There is little doubt that the most important commodity within Nigeria’s economy today, is petrol followed by diesel, kerosene and lately, cooking gas. A long time ago, kerosene would have been at the head of that list, at the time when it was used to lighten the darkness which descended each day at dusk. That is talking about a very long time ago, long before independence. By the sixties, kerosene was in highest demand when kerosene stoves became available and practically all urbanites depended on it for cooking their food, in favour of using wood or charcoal. Now that more convinient and efficient gas cookers are in vogue, kerosene has taken a back seat to the other fuels. At the height of its popularity, every neighbourhood had someone who sold kerosene in bottles and could be roused at any time of day or night to take care of any emergency caused by the shortage of kerosene at some critical juncture. Later on, kerosene became available in petrol stations which from time to time were decorated with long lines of plastic containers waiting to be filled with the precious fluid in distressingly too many times of inevitable scarcity.

Now, petrol is deservedly at the top of this fuel queue because it is used as the major propellant on which the country is run. Whenever there was a shortage of petrol, the country was grounded, with long vehicle queues at any petrol station dispensing the precious fuel, usually at mercilessly inflated prices. This was the situation for a little over fifty uncomfortable years. Petrol is by far the preferred fuel for shifting all kinds of vehicles in Nigeria, with the exception of the long distance, usually articulated trucks used in the delivery of goods all around the country. The sale of the diesel used in these vehicles was deregulated many years ago and even under the notorious subsidy regime, diesel was always terribly expensive and perhaps therefore, also always available. In any case, it would have been ridiculous to have long queues of articulated lorries at petrol stations.

READ ALSO; MC Mbakara, wife open up on daughter’s nine-year cerebral palsy struggle

Taking everything into consideration, it can be concluded that there is a high usage of petrol per capita in Nigeria. This is why the cost of living is so neatly tied to the cost of petrol per litre. Any increase in the price of petrol is reflected instantly in the cost of practically all commodities and everyone feels the pinch instantly. There is no reason why this is not so. An illustration will prove this point as it was proved to me by observation many years ago. In that instance, I saw an old lady coming from the farm with a small load of wrapping leaves. She was trying to move her leaves to a nearby urban market at a time immediately after a steep increase in the price of petrol. Transport fares had also been increased to reflect the new price of petrol. Whatever profit the poor lady was entitled to, was immediately wiped out and the only way that she could keep her head above water was to increase the price of her leaves in equal measure. This increase was in turn, passed on to the moi-moi seller who also passed it on to her customers and by so doing, put some fire under the figures for inflation, causing them to soar destructively. The converse is of course also true. A reduction in the cost of petrol will douse the flames of the inflation which at this time is devouring our collective happiness and well being.

I have no doubt in my mind that a substantial drop in the price of fuel, especially petrol, will give us the slack we sorely need, in order to breathe. The only way to get this done at this material time, is to cut the Dangote refinery the slack that it needs to bring down the cost of petrol and maybe, as an afterthought, the price of cooking gas as well. The first point that must be noted in this regard is that the Dangote refinery has the capacity to do this and more. All that needs to be done is to climb down from his back. Given the extant circumstances however, this is easier said than done. But, it has to be done all the same. This is why the signals and threats now coming out of many quarters are so worrisome. Dangote is now in this pivotal position because, more than ten years ago, he took the decísion of investing in a refinery. An identical decision could have been taken by any number of well heeled Nigerians, before and after then. But nobody had neither the foresight nor perhaps the audacity to do so, leaving Dangote in his current position of profitability and massive authority. That position is not only visible but it is also above any challenge in the near future.

We are told that Alhaji Dangote is now worth close to 30 billion dollars. That is a humongous sum of money by anybody’s accounting. Were he to spend a million dollars everyday on whatever caught his fancy, he cannot live long enough to spend more than a small fraction of this sum. That is how big it is. It would therefore be a sad negation of his privileged existence if he decided to put sheer profit before principle at this time. The only way for his life to show any purpose is to stake his huge personal fortune on the future of Nigeria. Were he to fail in that purpose, it would be a heroic failure, worthy of being told and retold all down the ages and that in itself is grace and significant historical significance. Given the trajectory of his life up till now however, it is inconceivable that he would not be successful in this respect. To what purpose would it be if he continued to pile up the dollars which can be ascribed to his name? None is the simple, straightforward answer. From this admittedly rosy position, it is ridiculous to think that his primary objective is to build up a monopolistlc control of the fuel market. It will not work anyway if only because even as we speak, there are other local refineries under construction and it is only a matter of time, possibly a number of months before at least one other refinery comes on tap to give him some real competition. It is laughable for those who do no more than import, store and then distribute fuel of whatever quality to claim that they are genuine competitors. They may be so in their heads but in reality, they are only so in their dreams. It is a waste of time to advise them to come out of their dream and set up their own refinery. They simply are totally incapable of doing other than what they are doing now, that is to collect rent on their depots and shift petrol around the country in expired trucks, many of which are incapable of passing any decent road worthiness test. Even from that point of view, they cannot be regarded as being capable of offering any competition to the gas powered trucks mobilized for fuel distribution by Dangote. We can say that with those trucks, Nigeria is moving into a modern and safer mode of fuel distribution. Even then, until fuel is sent round the country in underground pipes, Nigeria will not be classed as a country with a modern fuel distribution system. In the meantime, the use of Dangote trucks for fuel distribution must be regarded as non-negotiable both from the point of safety as well as accountability. Without due accountability, there is no guarantee that considerable volumes of petrol will not stray across our notoriously porous borders.

October 19, 2025
BRIDGE BUILDER

(for Christianne Fioupou)

Bridge builder

Silence lessener

Tamer of the eternal turmoil

Between contending tongues

The horizontal strife in their syntax

The paradigmatic leanings of their words

The seeming idiocy behind their idioms

The loaded profundity of their proverbs

Pause

And so it was

When The Road* led you to your quickening quest

And whispering Embers burst into blaze

Across your Mediterranean bridge

How did King Baabu’s barbarous barking

Sound 0n the lips of a different bully:

Red like the fiery fury of Thunder King

Read Also: Germany, Australia, ASF France kick against death penalty in Nigeria

Or soft like the mellow expressivity of the Gallic tongue

How did you manage the magic rendering

Of Silences’ “painted harmonies”

Or the redolent tonalities

In the anxious patience of Waiting Laughters?

Tell us about the passionate territoriality of tongues

And the semantic serendipity of lucky correspondences

Diligent undoer of Babel’s babble

Patience being your province; wisdom your wand

* References to some of the works translated by Professor Fioupou: The Road and King Baabu (Wole Soyinka); Embers (Soji Cole); Thunder King (Femi Osofisan); Labyrinths (Christopher Okigbo); Waiting Laughters (Niyi Osundare).

October 12, 2025
Conclave of statecraft: Rebuilding security, justice, soul of the nation

The week that just concluded was another testament to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s relentless devotion to duty. From Sunday through Saturday, the President was engaged in matters that touch directly on the heartbeat of the nation — governance, justice, and security. Yet, even within this packed schedule, Thursday stood out in golden relief. It was the day the President convened not one, but two of the country’s most sacred constitutional gatherings — the National Council of State and the Police Council — in a stretch of national decision-making that reaffirmed his government’s seriousness about security, justice reform, and institutional renewal.

For any observer of Nigerian governance, these meetings are not routine. They happen only at critical junctures when the nation must take decisive steps to secure its stability and define its direction. Thursday, therefore, was a moment of convergence — a day when the President summoned the combined wisdom of Nigeria’s elder statesmen, governors, and institutional leaders to deliberate on matters that would shape the country’s future.

Presiding over the Council of State, President Tinubu sought counsel and consensus on issues fundamental to Nigeria’s democratic survival: the appointment of a new Chairman for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the exercise of presidential mercy, and the approval of national honours. Each agenda item reflected a balance between law, justice, and humanity — three cardinal points of the President’s political compass.

After due consideration, the Council unanimously approved the nomination of Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan (SAN), a scholar and legal luminary of unimpeachable integrity, as the next INEC Chairman. The choice of Amupitan, the first nominee for the position from Kogi State, was hailed across the board, including from quarters where the media had expected sharp criticisms, as a symbol of merit over partisanship, a reinforcement of Tinubu’s promise to protect the independence and credibility of Nigeria’s electoral body.

In the President’s own description, Amupitan represents “a bridge between the classroom and the courtroom, a man who understands both the letter and the spirit of the law”. That endorsement captures the essence of Tinubu’s broader reform ethos: to rebuild institutions on the strength of competence and integrity rather than convenience or political loyalty.

The Council’s backing of Amupitan’s nomination, which will now proceed to the Senate for confirmation, was both historic and symbolic. It reaffirmed the Tinubu administration’s deliberate return to meritocratic appointments in sensitive institutions, especially one as pivotal as INEC, where credibility underpins the entire democratic edifice.

If the INEC decision projected a commitment to fairness and institutional strength, the Council’s consideration of presidential pardons highlighted another facet of Tinubu’s leadership; compassion. Acting on the recommendations of the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy, the President approved 175 pardons, including posthumous clemency for nationalist Herbert Macaulay and the poet-soldier Major-General Mamman Vatsa.

Equally significant was the formal pardon of the Ogoni Nine — Ken Saro-Wiwa and his compatriots — whose 1995 executions remain one of Nigeria’s darkest historical chapters. Tinubu’s decision to close that wound was deeply symbolic; it was not merely an act of forgiveness but of national healing.

The President also extended clemency to 82 inmates, commuted seven death sentences to life imprisonment, and reduced the sentences of 65 others. In all, the exercise served both moral and practical ends; decongesting correctional facilities while advancing the cause of restorative justice.

The same session saw the approval of 959 national honours, including posthumous recognitions for the Ogoni activists, as well as awards to icons of journalism, technology, sports, and global philanthropy. From Bill Gates to Uncle Sam Amuka-Pemu, and from the Super Falcons to D’Tigresses, the honourees reflected the administration’s expansive view of service, one that values humanitarian and intellectual contributions alongside political or economic achievement.

The conferment also carried a subtler message: President Tinubu’s determination to reposition Nigeria’s honours system as a credible national institution, no longer reserved for the well-connected but for the truly deserving. From his first year in office, he had indicated the focus on restoring integrity to every process that carries the seal of the Federal Republic. Thursday’s endorsements showed that promise being fulfilled in earnest.

If the Council of State meeting embodied reflection and restoration, the Police Council meeting that followed represented reform and reinvention. It was here that the President’s longstanding interest in overhauling Nigeria’s internal security system came fully into view.

Read Also: Security operatives intercept $6.1m cash at Lagos airport

The Council approved major proposals to strengthen the Nigeria Police Trust Fund (NPTF) — the institution responsible for funding training, welfare, logistics, and modernization in the police force. Specifically, it endorsed the repeal and re-enactment of the NPTF Act, removing its six-year lifespan clause and transforming it into a permanent statutory agency.

More importantly, the Council approved an increase in the Fund’s revenue allocation from 0.5 percent to 1 percent of the Federation Account, with a provision for future upward review to 2 percent. The goal, according to Minister of Police Affairs, Ibrahim Gaidam, is to guarantee sustainable financing for training, technology, and welfare, the three pillars of modern policing.

President Tinubu’s message was unmistakable: a nation that desires peace must invest in its protectors. The President’s own reform blueprint for policing, from equipment modernisation to digital crime management, has been clear since his days as Lagos State Governor, when he pioneered the Lagos Security Trust Fund. Thursday’s decisions now elevate that vision to the national stage.

In what seemed like perfect coordination, news also broke that President Tinubu had earlier, in the last few days, signed into law the Nigeria Police Training Institutions (Establishment) Bill, 2024, a landmark legislation that legally anchors 48 police academies and training schools across the six geopolitical zones.

The new law is a decisive leap in the professionalisation of Nigeria’s law enforcement architecture. It categorises the institutions into Police Colleges, Police Tactical Schools, Police Technical Training Schools, and other specialised centres, from the Counter-Terrorism Unit in Nonwa-Tai, Rivers, to the K9 and Marine Training Schools in Jos and Bayelsa, respectively.

For a country long plagued by fragmented police training and inconsistent standards, the new Act provides a unified framework for capacity building, ethics, and continuous education. It institutionalises what President Tinubu has often called “the culture of competence”, ensuring that every officer, from constable to commissioner, receives structured and modern training aligned with global best practices.

By signing the Act and strengthening the Trust Fund, the President effectively closed the loop on two of the most critical weaknesses in Nigeria’s security system: poor training and chronic underfunding. These twin interventions, executed within the same week, show a reformist resolve that is both strategic and sustained.

Beyond the specifics of appointments, pardons, and reforms, the symbolism of Thursday’s twin meetings was profound. Bringing together past leaders like Generals Ibrahim Babangida and Abdulsalami Abubakar, alongside the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House, four former Chief Justices, and state governors, the Council of State meeting was a rare assembly of Nigeria’s institutional memory.

That President Tinubu chose to convene such an august body at a time of national reflection underscores his instinct for timing and consensus. It was a moment to draw from collective wisdom and project unity of purpose, two resources that Nigeria needs more than ever in this phase of reconstruction.

Similarly, the Police Council’s deliberations, anchored in data, law, and fiscal prudence, revealed a methodical leader, not one given to rhetoric. Tinubu’s governance style was once again on display: combining big-picture vision with administrative precision, ensuring that every decision fits into a coherent national reform mosaic.

The events of Thursday added another chapter to President Tinubu’s ongoing chronicle of statecraft. His administration has often been defined by its balancing act, between reform and relief, compassion and discipline, politics and principle. Yet, if there was ever a day that encapsulated his governing philosophy, it was Thursday, October 9, 2025: a day of leadership that fused law, mercy, and security into one seamless narrative of nation-building.

From the posthumous pardon of heroes to the institutionalisation of police professionalism, the President’s message was clear — that leadership must heal, build, and protect all at once. That is the essence of his Renewed Hope Agenda: a leadership of empathy anchored on results.

If Thursday was the summit of statecraft, the rest of the week supplied the steady cadence that gives governance its heartbeat. On Sunday, President Tinubu opened with gratitude and institutional memory, hailing former Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor (rtd.), at 60. It was more than a birthday message; it was an affirmation of service and sacrifice to those who held the line when insurgency threatened the Republic. Honouring courage is how a nation teaches the next generation what it values.

By Monday, the President was back in Abuja after a ten-day working visit to Lagos that doubled as an investment roadshow and policy clinic. Meetings with capital allocators like Bayo Ogunlesi and Hakeem Belo-Osagie underscored a simple thesis: private capital follows clarity, and this Presidency intends to provide it. His audience with IMO Secretary-General, Arsenio Dominguez, flanked by the Blue Economy team, carried the same through-line: unlock trade corridors, formalise the maritime economy, and move Nigerian logistics from potential to competitiveness. The day also carried a personal note as the President celebrated Dr. Dele Alake at 69—saluting a long partnership now powering reforms to reposition solid minerals as a sovereign revenue pillar.

On Tuesday, statecraft met sobriety. The President formally acknowledged Professor Mahmood Yakubu’s exit after two full terms at INEC, conferring a national honour to mark a decade of democratic stewardship. In the same spirit of institutional hygiene, he accepted the resignation of Geoffrey Nnaji from cabinet amid certificate controversies—a reminder that public trust is the coin of the realm and that this administration will let due process breathe.

Thursday’s solemnity also embraced the nation’s conscience as the President mourned Dr. Christopher Kolade, calling him an “intellectual treasure”, a phrase equal parts tribute and instruction. He also extended warm felicitations to Hajia Bola Shagaya at 66 and to Governor Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe, recognising impact where it is measurable: classrooms built, schools upgraded, outcomes improved.

Closing the loop, Friday spotlighted youth enterprise without borders: Interface Africa’s £1.5m triumph at the NextGen Innovation Challenge—a win for solar finance, small business resilience, and Nigeria’s innovation brand. And as the curtain fell on Saturday, the President saluted former Vice President Namadi Sambo on his turbaning as Sardaunan Zazzau—a cultural investiture that dignifies service and stitches community to country.

A Nation in Steady Hands

As Nigeria continues its march toward becoming a model modern nation, the decisions of last week will likely be remembered as pivotal. The convening of the Council of State and the Police Council on the same day was no coincidence; it was deliberate choreography, the President’s way of aligning justice, security, and governance under one national purpose.

With the INEC leadership question settled, the Police reforms institutionalised, and historical wrongs corrected through presidential mercy, Nigeria ends this week on a note of stability and moral renewal.

In a world where many nations struggle to balance strength with compassion, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Thursday meetings offered a rare example of both; the firm hand of reform and the soft heart of humanity.

For a nation rebuilding its confidence and institutions, that combination may well be its greatest hope.

October 12, 2025
Tinubu puzzles Amina Mohammed

Speaking at an award dinner at the Nigeria House in New York to celebrate Nigeria’s 65th anniversary, Amina Mohammed, deputy secretary-general of the United Nations (UN), said she was puzzled by President Bola Tinubu’s disciplined reticence on the socio-economic conditions his administration inherited. She knows how fashionable it is for a new president to expiate his difficulties by blaming his predecessor’s abominable policies and track record. She added: “But he (Tinubu) also told us that he wasn’t going to complain about what he (inherited). I have not heard him complain. People around him complain about what he inherited, but he doesn’t.” The global diplomat seemed fascinated. So, too, do many Nigerians, including those who like or hate the president.

Read Also: Our unity, not factionalism, will secure victory for Tinubu in 2027 – APC group

Though he is no religious puritan, President Tinubu, by his attitude, teaches faith leaders the exemplary art of not complaining or murmuring. In 2015, weeks after basking in his contributions to the Muhammadu Buhari electoral success, he was sidelined and treated shabbily by his party and leaders. Shocked, he nevertheless kept silent. Shortly before the 2019 reelection campaign, when the ruling party realised it had been unable to groom former governor Tinubu’s replacement in the Southwest, they went back to him for help. Again he offered that crucial help but studiously refused to mock his traducers or complain. In fact he was even mysteriously silent. And when his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), enacted a welter of policies to ostracise and emasculate him, and even erected huge boulders across his path to derail his 2023 presidential ambition, he refused to abuse the then president or any party leader.

And after he won, he has been nothing but gracious to his undeserving predecessor, a fact now attested to by Mrs Mohammed. Rudyard Kipling put it succinctly: “If you can keep your head when all about you// Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;// If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,// But make allowance for their doubting too;// If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,// Or, being lied about, don’t deal in lies,// Or, being hated, don’t give way to hating,//…If you can fill the unforgiving minute// With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run—// Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,// And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!//” President Tinubu embodies this timeless lesson.

October 12, 2025
Peter Obi, Kenneth Okonkwo and verbal jousting

The battle began innocuously days ago, and it provided a window into the mind of former Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Peter Obi. A certain Katch Ononuju, director general of the Abuja-based Heritage Centre, had declared in an interview that Kenneth Okonkwo, lawyer, actor and former LP presidential campaign spokesman, had lobbied to be the publicity secretary of the party. Mr Okonkwo was not just incensed but also shocked. He said that he expected Mr Obi to halt the antics of someone lying in his name. It seemed a simple enough fight; but it soon snowballed into a fiery exchange between the actor and the former candidate, with Mr Ononuju, the agent provocateur, becoming a bystander.

Convinced that he had never lobbied anyone for a position, let alone for a lower position, Mr Okonkwo painted his disappointment colourfully. Said he: “How is it that people are lying with Peter Obi’s name, and Peter Obi would hear such a thing publicly and would not react to it and would not call them to order publicly? You can never use me, Kenneth Okonkwo, to lie against Peter Obi, no matter the situation, because I detest lies. It shows a leader who cannot even defend the truth or defend people who have worked for him. These are the kind of problems Peter Obi has, attracting even street urchins, classless street urchins who are ill-bred. Those are the kind of followers he’s attracting now.”

Here is where the story got incandescent. Instead of simply refuting Mr Okonkwo’s allegations, Mr Obi sidestepped the part that involved Mr Ononuju, and launched into a discourse on egalitarianism. Or, to be more historical, and in perhaps an unconscious imitation of Voltaire, Montesquieu, Rousseau, and Diderot, the French philosophes, Mr Obi wrote a disproportionate thesis on the concepts of egalite, equalite, fraternite – all to answer why he failed to set the records straight in the matter of Okonkwo vs. Ononuju. It may seem sophomoric philosophy, especially seeing that he was a student of philosophy himself, but Mr Obi is capable of throwing red herring and using colourful yet uncharismatic language. For the former governor, the acerbic exchange between Mr Okonkwo and Mr Ononuju was not about truth or falsehood; it was instead about how to view the poor and the dispossessed, his eternal and jejune fancy. To him, it was, indeed, about street urchins.

Read Also: APC group to Peter Obi: tell Otti to account for Abia’s revenue management

Here is how Mr Obi framed the answer to a question not posed by Mr Okonkwo: “Humanity is paramount in my politics, no street urchins. Lately, I have heard a few people say that those who follow Peter Obi are low-class Nigerians, and some have even gone as far as calling them ‘street urchins’ and people of no value. It is deeply unfortunate that in today’s Nigeria, citizens now look down on fellow citizens in such a degrading manner. I have never and will never look down on anyone, except to lift them up…My involvement in politics has never been about associating with the so-called high and mighty, but about standing with the ordinary Nigerians whose voices have been silenced and whose resources have been stolen by the same ‘big names’ who now parade themselves with all sorts of titles and names…No Nigerian is a street urchin. It speaks volumes about the state of our nation that everyday Nigerians are now battered by poverty and hardship, to the point their leaders refer to them as of no value, and urchins.”

Mr Obi said he ‘heard a few people say’. For inexplicable reasons he was unprepared to mention Mr Okonkwo, the secondary object of his thesis, by name. Yet, his explanation about street urchins and how they are treated smacks of excessive condescension. It is clear that Mr Okonkwo made reference to street urchins in the context of a class of people unable to engage in the smallest exercise of logical deductions. Well, one is a lawyer, and the other a third-rate philosopher. Worse, rather than set the records straight, Mr Obi actually preferred to politique. Thereafter, he engaged in extrapolations and then deplored Nigerian leaders’ view of the poor, putting words in their mouths, and all but concluding that Mr Okonkwo belonged to that category of snobbish leadership. Mr Obi obviously and alarmingly views all this as politics. But he was not done, for, as he is wont, he must end every public statement with jaded sermons. Hear him: “Every Nigerian deserves dignity, opportunity, and care. That is why I will continue to do my part to ensure that the ordinary Nigerians enjoy a better life, one built on access to education, quality healthcare, and genuine efforts to lift them out of poverty. True leadership is not about mocking the weak; it is about lifting them up.” Nigerians do not have a global reputation for mediocre reasoning or tolerating mendacity. It is, therefore, mystifying why a loud and impertinent section of the populace finds Mr Obi’s drivelling fascinating.

October 12, 2025