The Nation Newspaper

Category: Sunday

  • Jonathan goes fishing

    Jonathan goes fishing

    Three Sundays ago, the enigmatic former military head of state Ibrahim Babangida turned 84. He is in good octogenarian company. Except those assassinated during violent takeovers of government, Nigerian leaders have done very well for themselves, achieving a life expectancy most developed countries find enviable. The general neither got the throng he was used to receiving decades ago nor voluminous paid advertisements wishing him happy celebrations, however, many highly placed individuals and leaders have not forgotten him. How could they?

    Former president Goodluck Jonathan, speculated to be renewing his interest in the presidency, was at the former military head of state’s Hilltop residence in Minna to wish him a happy birthday. But was that all he did? Maybe. He described the 84-year-old former leader as “one of the finest leaders whose legacies remain relevant to the nation’s unity and development.” Gen. Babangida, he added, “stands out clearly as a committed leader…” Hopefully he believes his own words, and was not just fishing for support in line with the speculations surrounding his alleged interest in running for president 10 years after he left office. There is of course not a chance he would do better than when he first ruled. Worse, he would in fact be even more beholden to special interests should he get another chance. Now that he has set this scintillating precedent, there are other birthdays for him to consider honouring: Abdulsalami Abubakar; Yakubu Gowon; Olusegun Obasanjo.

    READ ALSO: How long can Wike walk the tightrope?

    Many commentators are daily imploring Dr Jonathan not to run. On the contrary, he should. The pains of his 2015 defeat are yet to abate, and the only remedy he sees is another shot at the presidency, and a win. He is of course chasing a chimera, but he won’t see it that way until he comes a cropper and rubbishes the little honour he garnered in his unexceptional years as president.

  • Olawande Folorunso Julius Adebiyi – the Prince we will all miss

    Olawande Folorunso Julius Adebiyi – the Prince we will all miss

     All roads lead to Ado – Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, come Friday, 12 September, 2025 as the world bids goodbye to

    Prince Olawande Adebiyi, aka FLAMINGO MAGNETETE, the unforgetable, long – reigning Christ’s School, Ado – Ekiti  goal tender of the ’60’s, as his mortal remains are committed to mother earth to join the Saints triumphant, commencing with a funeral service at the  St.  Patrick’s Catholic Church Cathedral, Ado-Ekiti.

    As we bid farewell to our Prince Charming, the ‘Walking Bible’, we are reminded of the countless memories we shared. His presence in our lives was a gift, and though he’s gone, his legacy will, forever, live on in our hearts.

    We met in the corridors of our secondary school – The School – bonding over shared laughter, tears, and adventures. He very quickly became more than just a classmate. To many of us he was a brother, a confidant; a friend.

    Ever sartorially turned out, Wande’s infectious smile and unwavering optimism drew people to him, making him extremely popular amongst the entirety of the student population, seniors and juniors alike. But it was on the field of soccer that he shone the most, like a thousand roses.

     As our school’s longest-reigning goalkeeper, he was a wall, a guardian, and a hero.

    READ ALSO: North frantic about 2027

    His agility and reflexes inspired us all as he faced every match with unbendable determination. His passion for the game was contagious. We were always happy and proud to have him between the sticks, like the rock of gibraltar. His incredible saves will forever be etched in our memories.

    Wande, without a scintilla of doubt, was an exceptional human being. He lifted our spirits with different jokes, especially as he never ceased to lace, even jokes, with copious biblical quotes.

    Wande was a kind soul, ever willing to lend a helping hand, or a listening ear. His empathy, compassion, and generosity of heart inspired us all to be better versions of ourselves. Our departed friend was a shining example of what it means to live life with purpose and integrity.

    As we reflect on his life, we’re reminded of the memories we shared. From laughter-filled moments in the class room, to watching him between the posts go through those intense football matches.

    Irresistibly handsome,

    Wande was always the center of attraction even though we had in our school team, many tantalising, and mesmerising, players – the likes of Cudjoe(Falayi), Acro Sambo (Adu), Lojokojo(Dipeolu), Obe(Faloye) and Ekpegrin, to mention a few.

    At the personal level, I can never forget our London summer escapades when he would fly in from Yugoslavia and I, from Nigeria, to rendezvous at the home of my Uncle,  his friend, Mr Francis ‘Leye Olaofe, also of blessed memory where, as University students without a care in the world, we usually spent the entire holiday, luxuriating in Brother Leye’s generosity before heading back to our separate destinations.

    May the good Lord grant them eternal rest.

    We continued where we left off in the U. K when he returned from overseas studies and  linked up with me at the University of Ibadan where  he tried to secure a job.

    I remember once driving him all the way to Oyo town, to see the highly reverred Mr Justice Jide Olatawura of blessed memory, his Uncle in- law in an earlier marriage.

    It was during this time I was probably the very first of his acquitances to whom he introduced Idowu, his -jewel of inestimable value, who would become the loving mother of his adorable, absolutely over -achieving children.

    These are children who

    all so incandescently resemble EYE’JA – his mother -(Oja being the name given to female princesses in Ekiti) – to whom he was an only child.

    As his son, Adegoke , beautifully put it, Wande’s “life’s work was service; decades of it with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock;

    fisheries and aquaculture were his craft, and excellence his language”. “Even in retirement, the nation called him back to serve as a trusted Aide to the Director- General of the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the U.N (FAO) and was, before his retirement, appointed Deputy Director, with the same steadfast heart”.

    Wande’s story will continue to inspire us all while his memory will remind us to cherish every moment, to support one another, and to live, always with  purpose.

    Rest in peace, dear friend. May your soul find eternal peace, and may your memory inspire us to be the best versions of ourselves. We’ll miss you dearly, but we’ll keep your spirit alive in our hearts.

    ADIEU.

    For and on behalf of the Christ’s School, Ado – Ekiti, 59 -63 set. 

  • Rivers State local government elections delivered

    Rivers State local government elections delivered

    On 30 August, 2025, the Sole Administrator of Rivers State, Vice-Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd) delivered local government elections widely acclaimed as exemplary.

    It is gratifying for this column that Ibas delivered so impressively, because on 23 March, 2025, in an article titled “The Rivers state of emergency,” the column had challenged the Sole Administrator “to organise new free and fair local government elections or at least prepare the ground for free and fair elections to hold into the offices of that very crucial level of government,” before the end of his tenure,  in the light of the Supreme Court’s declaration of the 5 October, 2024 local government elections as null and void.

    In his comment on the elections by the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) appointed by the Sole Administrator and headed by Dr. Michael Ekpai Odey, who is a Cross River State indigene, the Director-General of the Centre for Credible Leadership and Citizens Awareness, Dr. Gabriel Nwambu, said in an election day interview with TVC News: “I [am] the Head of Mission for election observation here in Rivers State. … We noticed [that in] the pre-election [activities] there was no election-related violence. There was no acrimony. People were campaigning strictly … issue-based and personalities were not being attacked … unlike [in] the conventional elections in the past.”

    Nwambu further remarked, about the law enforcement agencies: “They are well-briefed. They are strictly adhering to the rules of engagement. You see, this is one of the best elections in terms of the performance index of the law enforcement agencies. They are not beating up anybody. They are no brutalising anybody. Unlike in the past where you even introduce yourself as an election observer [and] they would pretend as if they were not even hearing you. This time they are even ready to assist you to cross [the checkpoints] and go your way provided you conduct yourself in a peaceful manner.”

    READ ALSO: How long can Wike walk the tightrope?

    Nwambu continued: “So, I think the security situation here in Rivers State is excellent. … We believe that the electorate are happy. They came out en masse to exercise their franchise which they feel is long overdue. … We would recommend this patten of election for Nigeria any day, any time, because of the peaceful disposition of … the electorate, the peaceful disposition of the candidates themselves and then the peaceful disposition of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission which so far has demonstrated capacity and competence in terms of level of preparedness and dispensation of the electoral mandate. … [There] is no case of vote buying observed anywhere. I mean, this is a pacesetter. This is how an election should be.”

    Monitoring polling activities on election day, as reported by Symphoni Television, Ibas said: “The process has been peaceful, and from the turnout and from the conduct of all who are involved, those voting and those who are conducting the elections, I believe, at the end of the day, we should have something [to be] proud of. I think generally from all the reports I’ve gotten so far the situation is reported to be calm. The process has been also very seamless and we’ve not had any major negative reports from any of the polling units or centres.”

    Ibas further noted, in the spirit of the lizard that fell from the iroko tree which praised itself even if nobody else praised it: “I believe all indigenes of Rivers State are desirous of having in place, even at the grassroots, what they desire, and that’s a manifestation of what we have seen through the conduct. And for me, I think it’s one of the primary objectives that I was mandated to offer from the aspect of putting the state back on its footing. I want to believe that we’ve done a good job. … People are happy.” 

    However, some have condemned the elections. And that’s understandable. After all, as a Yoruba proverb puts it, “Gbénàgbénà ti gbénà tán, ó wá ku ti gbénugbénu” (‘The carver has carved; it’s now the turn of the critic to criticise.’) One of such criticisms by the 2023 presidential candidate of Labour Party (LP) Peter Obi, on his X handle, on 31 August, 2025, is: “The conduct of the Rivers State local government election is rascality taken too far. It represents a double tragedy for our democracy when a Sole Administrator – himself illegally appointed – dares to conduct an election that should empower the people. … Such actions are unconstitutional, legally untenable, and morally indefensible. … Illegality can never give birth to legitimacy.”

    On his own X handle, also on 31 August, 2025, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who has now defected to the African Democratic Congress (ADC), wrote: “The local government election conducted by the occupation government in Rivers State is an awful absurdity and a travesty to the very notion of elective democracy. By the shameful and shambolic manner in which the occupation government went ahead to conduct local government elections in Rivers State, it is clear that the ruling APC [All Progressives Congress] party is not leaving anyone in doubt that it is prepared to throw caution to the wind in order to achieve an inordinate political advantage.”

    The former Vice-President then declared: “It therefore becomes necessary to call the attention of well-meaning Nigerians, international community and all friends and partners of Nigeria to the dangerous curve that the President Bola Tinubu regime is taking our dear country. I will also call on all opposition parties in Rivers State to reject the local government election on the premise that the occupation government that conducted the exercise is extraneous to our laws, with absolutely no legitimacy to undertake such a crucial and sensitive assignment.”

    The former Governor of Rivers State and current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, Nyesom Wike, gave an equally abrasive response to Obi and Atiku. He said that Atiku was venturing into an area of law which he had no knowledge about, due to the fact that he was busy undermining President Obasanjo when Atiku was the Vice-President, rather than noting that Obasanjo had signed a legal instrument which validates Ibas’s conduct of the local government elections. Wike also said that Obi’s undemocratic antecedents as Governor of Anambra State, including the fact that he refused to conduct local government elections until two months to the end of his 8-year tenure, make it hypocritical for Obi to be upbraiding the expansion of the democratic space through last month’s local government elections.

    Some have also questioned the pattern of the results announced by RSIEC. In them, APC won 20 local governments and PDP won 3. Public Affairs analyst Jide Ojo said there’s nothing strange in this pattern, and cited the case of the 2024 Rivers State local government elections in which Action Peoples Party won overwhelmingly in spite of the fact that the Governor of the state belonged to the PDP. He also recalled the case of Abia State, on 2 November, 2024, where the Governor belonged to LP, but Zenith Labour Party won 15 out of 17 local government chairmanship seats, and the Young Progressives Party won the remaining 2.

    The 30 August, 2025 elections have some features which deserve particular notice. One of them is the collaboration between the ruling APC and the main opposition PDP. This strategic bi-partisanship is a positive development in Nigerian politics today. Another noteworthy feature is suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s strategic silence and tactical withdrawal from view all through the elections. These may be indications that Fubara is becoming a more astute politician.

    As work on this article progressed, it became clear that it was difficult to address the issue of the Rivers State local government elections without giving significant attention to Nyesom Wike, among other persons. In other words, Nyesom Wike was a recurring decimal, as mathematicians would put it, and he reminded the writer of the tortoise in Yoruba folktales. In these folktales, hardly can any story escape the tortoise’s mention. This is represented in the saying, “Òrò gbogbo ò kìí sé lórí alábawun.” And this seems to have attracted envy and opprobrium to the FCT Minister.

    In fact, Wike has been demeaned as a jester. But is he really one? A proverbial lyric of the late popular Yoruba fuji musician, Sikiru Ayinde Barrister, can provided perspective to this. The musician sang: “Wón n pe ‘Wèrè ni, were ni,’ ó n fi apá ewúré j’iyán. Wón n pe ‘Wèrè ni, wèrè ni,’ ó n fi itan àgùntàn je’kà. Wón n pe ‘Wèrè ni, wèrè ni,’ ó n gun esin l’ósán ó n gun omo ènìyàn lóru.” (‘They say, “This person is mad; this person is mad,” but the person eats pounded yam with goat arms. They say, “This person is mad; this person is mad,” but the person eats amala with ram thighs. They say, “This person is mad; this person is mad,” but the person rides a horse in the afternoon and rides a human being at night.’) So, who, really, between the abuser and the abused, is the mad one?

    You may not like Wike’s choices or even his actions, but with some circumspection, you would realise that he tends to constantly stand on the side of the law or constitutionality, as has been shown in his insistence that the South must produce the PDP’s presidential candidate in 2023 and for 2027; his resistance to the removal of then-Acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum; his resistance to the removal of the National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu; and his unyielding insistence that the 5 October, 2024 Rivers State local government elections were illegal.

    According to some commentators, given the pattern of results, Wike has taken back the structure of the PDP in Rivers State. In navigating the web of derogation woven around him,

    one of Wike’s major instruments of survival is the media – both friendly and hostile. Looking closely at the Wike issue, it would be seen how potent stereotypes could be; how unyielding prejudices could remain; and how valid the saying is that even when a lie has been travelling for twenty years, truth catches up with it in just one day of journeying. (‘B’író ba lo l’ógún odún, ojó kan soso l’òtító yóó baa.’)

    In the meantime, let all who have facilitated the epoch-making 30 August, 2025 Rivers State local government elections savour their uncommon achievement, even as cynics continue to question the legality of the declaration of the state of emergency in the state, the suspension of the elected governor and members of the state’s House of Assembly, and the organisation of the local government elections by the Sole Administrator. The Court will pronounce on this in due course.

  • Inclusivity, results, stability: Hallmarks of Tinubu’s presidency

    Inclusivity, results, stability: Hallmarks of Tinubu’s presidency

    The past week before President Bola Ahmed Tinubu embarked on his 10-working-day annual leave in Europe was a busy one in Abuja, filled with high-level engagements, heartfelt assurances, and concrete policy affirmations. In all these, one message stood tall above the noise of political mischief and opposition propaganda: Tinubu is President of all Nigerians, committed to governing without bias, leading reforms that are already yielding results, and deepening security measures to protect every life and community.

    His week underscored three major realities of his administration. First, that his leadership is not sectional but national, with every Nigerian covered under the umbrella of his oath of office. Second, that the difficult but carefully structured reforms he initiated are working, stabilising the economy and producing unprecedented fiscal harvests. Third, that he is strategically laying the groundwork to finally break the cycle of violence through security interventions and fast-tracking the birth of state police.

    At the same time, his warm personal exchanges with Vice President Kashim Shettima put to rest whispers of political discord, showing instead a bond of mutual respect and loyalty that strengthens the Presidency ahead of 2027. Taken together, these engagements reveal a President fully in charge, unshaken by partisan distortions, and focused on delivering progress for all.

    A President Beyond Divisions

    The week began with a direct communication from President Tinubu to the people on Monday. In an era when propaganda and distortion attempt to dominate public imagination, the President chose to remind Nigerians that they are in safe hands and that his government will never categorise citizens along regional, ethnic, or religious lines. His message was clear: his mandate is to serve every Nigerian equally, and his oath of office binds him to that sacred duty.

    READ ALSO: How long can Wike walk the tightrope?

    This was more than a social media post. It was a statement of philosophy, a reaffirmation of inclusivity in governance. Opposition elements, knowing their only chance in 2027 lies in peddling negative optics, have ceaselessly sought to twist perceptions. But Tinubu’s assurance spoke directly to the yearning of Nigerians to breathe easy, to be recognised not as pawns in political games but as equal stakeholders in the national project.

    The President’s insistence on equal treatment of all Nigerians draws from his long political history. As governor of Lagos, he built a reputation for accommodating Nigeria’s diversity, making Lagos a mini-Nigeria where merit trumped origin. Now as President, he is replicating that ethos nationally. It is this refusal to play the divisive card that unsettles detractors who thrive on stoking mistrust.

    On Tuesday, the President received a delegation of The Buhari Organisation (TBO), led by Senator Tanko Al-Makura. This visit carried both symbolic and practical weight. Symbolically, it was a handshake between Tinubu and the loyalists of the late President Muhammadu Buhari, who had stood firm with the APC. Practically, it was an opportunity for Tinubu to highlight the concrete results of his reforms.

    The President revealed that Nigeria had met its 2025 revenue targets—a landmark achievement. For the first time in decades, the government can contemplate a fiscal year without resorting to unsustainable borrowing simply to meet expenditure. This is no small feat. From January to August 2025, non-oil revenue collections surged by over 40 percent, amounting to ₦20.59 trillion, compared with ₦14.6 trillion in the previous year.

    This fiscal performance is not a stroke of luck but the fruit of deliberate reforms: digitised tax administration, stronger compliance frameworks, and a widening of the revenue base. It is proof that Tinubu’s “Renewed Hope” economic agenda, though painful in its early stages, is stabilising Nigeria’s finances and creating space for investment in infrastructure, education, and health. May be this is the point to also give kudos to the man the President has trusted with revenue generation matters, Dr Zacch Adedeji, the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), now to be known as the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS). He piloted the feat along with other agents of the administration.

    At the State House that same day, while hosting the Soun of Ogbomosoland, Oba Ghandi Afolabi Oladunni Olaoye, the President again alluded to the stabilisation of the economy. He explained that the bleeding had stopped, the illusions of fake statistics and arbitrage trading had been dismantled, and Nigeria was regaining international respect. To traditional rulers and citizens alike, he delivered a consistent message: the economy is no longer on life support; it is healing and preparing for sustainable growth.

    Security, however, remains a pressing concern. The President devoted significant time during the week to engaging subnational leaders on how to defeat criminality. On Tuesday, when Governor Dikko Radda led a delegation of Katsina leaders to the Villa, Tinubu ordered an immediate review of security operations in the state. He promised deployment of more advanced hardware and surveillance, while considering the peculiar terrain and the need for community-based solutions.

    But it was on Wednesday, during a broader meeting with Northeast governors led by Professor Babagana Zulum of Borno State, that Tinubu charted a new course. He gave a nod to the expedited take-off of state police, insisting that security agencies closer to the people and more attuned to local cultures are indispensable in combating insurgency and banditry.

    For years, Nigeria debated state policing amid politicisation and mistrust. Tinubu, however, is cutting through the inertia by recognising the exigencies of the times. His position is pragmatic: a centralised police cannot effectively cover Nigeria’s vast and diverse terrain. Localised forces, working in synergy with federal structures, are essential. This is not just a response to crime but a strategy to end the cycle of violence and restore public confidence.

    The significance is profound. By pushing for state police, Tinubu is giving governors and communities a stronger role in their own protection, while ensuring the federal government supports with training, equipment, and coordination. It is a bold step long demanded by Nigerians, now being championed at the highest level.

    Loyalty, Affection, and the Presidency

    Politics often thrives on speculation, and one whisper that had gained traction in certain quarters was the question of whether Vice President Kashim Shettima would remain Tinubu’s running mate in 2027. Last week decisively answered that.

    On Monday, the President himself penned a heartfelt tribute to Shettima ahead of his 59th birthday. It was not a perfunctory message but a carefully worded affirmation of respect, comradeship, and appreciation for a loyal deputy. Tinubu hailed Shettima as a partner in progress, underscoring their shared bond in the service of Nigeria.

    Shettima’s response was equally telling. On Tuesday, he publicly vowed never to take his bond with the President for granted. He described Tinubu as a leader he deeply respects, promising unwavering loyalty. In politics, gestures matter. This exchange of affection and loyalty was more than a birthday ritual; it was a public sealing of a political compact.

    For observers, the implication is clear. The President and Vice President are united, dismissing whispers of discord. Their joint front not only reassures the APC faithful but also frustrates opposition strategists who thrive on sowing division. It sends a strong signal that the Tinubu-Shettima ticket is intact and that 2027 will be approached from a position of unity.

    Opposition Distortions vs. Reality

    The contrast between these developments and the narrative pushed by opposition elements could not be starker. While the President was consolidating reforms, meeting revenue targets, stabilising the economy, and fast-tracking security strategies, traducers were busy peddling propaganda. Their goal is simple: to prevent Nigerians from seeing the good in the government’s efforts, to blind them to the maturing benefits of reforms, and to instil cynicism in the populace.

    But facts have a stubborn way of prevailing. Nigerians are beginning to see through the fog. Stable revenue flows, reduced borrowing, renewed investor confidence, and visible security measures are hard to hide. The propaganda machine may scream, but the results on the ground speak louder.

    Indeed, the opposition’s desperation betrays its weakness. Unable to present credible alternatives, it resorts to distorting facts in hopes of discrediting Tinubu before 2027. Yet the irony is that every successful reform, every stabilisation of the economy, every step toward improved security only strengthens the President’s standing.

    In all these, one hidden meaning shines through: President Tinubu is governing with the future in mind. His assurances to citizens highlight inclusivity. His fiscal reforms show prudence and vision. His security strategies reveal pragmatism. His bond with his Vice President demonstrates stability at the top.

    This combination is rare in Nigeria’s democratic experience. Too often, leaders have been accused of sectionalism, short-term populism, or palace intrigues. Tinubu is showing a different model—balancing national inclusiveness with tough economic reforms and forward-looking security strategies.

    As he takes his short vacation in Europe, the narrative is not of a President fleeing from problems but of one who, after a busy week of concrete actions, can afford a brief pause before resuming the heavy burden of steering the ship of state. His leave is well-timed, his government firmly in motion, and his message to Nigerians clear: the journey is tough, but progress is real and the destination is hopeful.

    Beyond his message of assurance and high-level engagements, President Tinubu’s week was also defined by acts of empathy, celebration, and leadership.

    On Sunday, he mourned the passing of two eminent Nigerians — Bishop Francis Emmanuel Okobo, the pioneer Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Nsukka, who served the church faithfully for 54 years, and Dr. Solomon Ehigiator Arase, Nigeria’s 18th indigenous Inspector-General of Police. The President hailed Bishop Okobo’s humility and devotion, and described Arase as a “highly resourceful officer” whose reforms left an enduring legacy in the nation’s policing system.

    On Monday, President Tinubu commiserated with the family of Mrs. Grace Adayilo, the pioneer Head of Service of the FCT, consoling Minister Nyesom Wike and the FCTA community over her loss. That same day, he congratulated Eko Club International on its 25th anniversary, recalling its founding during his exile years, while also pledging speedy implementation of agreements reached with visiting Colombian Vice President Francia Márquez to deepen economic and diplomatic ties.

    By midweek, the President reinforced his commitment to good governance by reinstating NTA Director-General Salihu Dembos, making new appointments in Kano and Zaria federal universities, and directing the enforcement of mandatory health insurance across MDAs. He ended the week commending Inspector-General of Police Kayode Egbetokun on his birthday and meeting Rivers State’s Sole Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd), ahead of the September 18 expiration of emergency rule in the state.

    Conclusion

    The past week was a microcosm of Tinubu’s presidency: inclusive, reformist, security-focused, and politically stable. He reassured Nigerians that he is leader of all, not some. He proved that his reforms are working, meeting revenue targets and stabilising the economy. He advanced security measures, moving toward state police and intervening in troubled Katsina. He strengthened his political base through open affection and loyalty with Vice President Shettima.

    The hidden meanings are profound: inclusivity over division, results over propaganda, stability over speculation. These are the hallmarks of a President in charge, committed to leading Nigeria to the point where both citizens and the world can see tangible signs of advancement.

    No amount of distortion can erase the reality that Nigeria under Tinubu is stabilising, reforming, and preparing for greater heights. As he takes his well-earned vacation, Nigerians can reflect on the week past and find reassurance: the President is on their side, leading a government that serves all equally, protects every interest, and refuses to be distracted by the noise of those who wish the nation ill just to score cheap political points.

  • Zoning: PDP goes definitely Machiavellian

    Zoning: PDP goes definitely Machiavellian

     When the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Executive Committee (NEC) met in July in Abuja, party bigwigs restored the sanctity of their zoning arrangement by ceding the presidential ticket for the 2027 election to the South. Reason, it seemed, had prevailed. But in reality, they merely recanted their belief in open contest because they got their fingers badly burnt in the 2023 election. In fact, the leading apostate who led them down the red gullet of a bruising and bloody battle to defeat, former vice president Atiku Abubakar, had jumped ship and given the party the leeway to embrace political sanity. He had suspected that on the zoning matter, not to talk of the possibility of securing the nomination, he would be unable to tame or charm the young party iconoclasts spoiling for a fight. With his exit, the party was, therefore, freed of any encumbrances that had shackled them and made them vulnerable since 2015.

    By embarking on a new zoning arrangement in total repudiation of their wayward ways at the last presidential poll, they have finally signaled their resolve to fight to the bitter end in the next polls. What may not be obvious to them, however, is that they have in consequence decided to go Machiavellian in their politics. At their founding in 1998, they adopted certain high-sounding principles to guide their internal and external relationships. Though they sometimes fell into error, as the foundational mistakes of the Olusegun Obasanjo presidency showed when he tried to embody the party, they often regained their senses and retraced their steps. But in 2022, when they enabled Alhaji Atiku to hijack their soul and processes, they voted for expediency over their own constraining rules and regulations that strike at their core. They may still have a long way to go in pacifying restive and powerful groups in the party, but by and large they are relieved and enthusiastic about the general, even if vague, consensus they have reached so far.

    Party leaders appear glad to be rid of the imposing Alhaji Atiku, but are unsure how to handle the more obstreperous Nyesom Wike, former Rivers governor and now Federal Capital Territory (FCT) minister. Somehow, however, they think building consensus in their party may translate into either a miracle at the polls or at least a revivification that warms the cockles of their hearts. For them, these are sanguine times. So flush with excitement was the party’s national vice chairman (Southwest), Kamoru Ajisafe, about the new consensus that he was prepared to swear about the party’s newfound direction. Should the party win the 2027 presidential election, he exulted, he would work against any PDP president interested in a second term in 2031. He surmised that party leaders were united in that position. PDP or not, every aspirant worth the name has made a similar promise: each has promised only one term if the country would give them a chance. The promise assumes the formidability, if not unassailability, of President Bola Tinubu who seemed even more entrenched today than he was vulnerable in 2022. Coming against such a man, they reasoned, a candidate must have a great bargaining chip. That chip is one term, a ruse one of their own, the acerbic former Kaduna governor Nasir el-Rufai, has described as hypocritical, sensational and dubious.

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    The party should have avoided making a one-term promise. That ruse should have been left to the aspirants, and possibly too the party’s nominee. The PDP had no business immersing itself in that boondoggle or lending the party name to a scheme so inglorious and so provocative that it beggars belief anyone could swear by it. But once they broke their own zoning rule in 2023, it was but a short distance to infamy. Behind closed doors, they acknowledged that in 2023 they had no southern candidate of repute, not one person capable of taking on the APC juggernaut. The resort to Alhaji Atiku was a consequence of their desperation, an admission that they lacked both tactics and strategy, an indication that since their founding, when the voices of their principled comrades were silenced, they had lacked direction and any sense of the long-term. Now their folly has come home to roost. Despite the seeming unflappability of Alhaji Atiku, and regardless of whatever political platform he finally chooses to enter the 2027 race, the general understanding is that the North will not return to the presidency until 2031. The PDP has acknowledged this fact, but rather than take the admittedly costly long-term perspective, they have joined the rat race in their desperation to return to office. Yet, they really have no powerful something to beat the APC’s something. They have opted for recourse to the country’s political brothels to seek out a candidate able to trounce the APC, but are making heavy weather of it. They have toyed with Peter Obi, the former Anambra governor of no fixed political address, but have discarded the idea for being too outlandish. They are also flirting with the vacillating former president Goodluck Jonathan, but he too has continued to pussyfoot, waiting for foolproof nomination guarantees. Given their mood and desperation, PDP leaders appear prepared to clutch at any straw, anyone they think remotely capable of flexing some muscles in 2027.

    If the party manages to overcome its many self-induced leadership and membership crises, it will still have one more major hurdle to cross. That hurdle, despite the enticing certainty of its new-old zoning arrangement, concerns how to find a nominee capable of beating the ruling party. Since they prefer the fortuity of discovering a candidate rather than rebuilding their party and grooming bright and credible nominees, they must be prepared to go through the ordeal of deploying hoaxes and unscrupulous tactics to fight major electoral battles. The outcome will not always be favourable, but the party itself has never in anyway been profound or thorough in its modus operandi.

  • North frantic about 2027

    North frantic about 2027

    Not the entire North, of course. Just some powerful elements and groups in the far North. No one can fully explain why these groups are frantic about 2027; but either singly or collectively, or sometimes through the eyes of the Peoples Democratic Party that often postures as a northern political organisation, they have advanced various theses about regional marginalisation to justify their impending rebellion against the All Progressives Congress (APC) and President Bola Tinubu. The plotting has manifested across all strata and political parties, with some observers even fearing that the kind of internal (party) revolt and betrayal that undid former president Goodluck Jonathan in 2015 might be replicated in 2027.

    One of the theses the powerful groups have advanced is the bogey about appointments and projects marginalisation. It is of course a ruse, considering that the lion’s share of projects and key administration appointments have been colonised by the Northwest, and with the entire old North having the quantitative upper hand. The country, not to say the regions, is not tired of accusations and counteraccusations of one region dominating the others, or of incipient Fulanisation, Yorubanisation, and Igbonisation of government and society. As long as the country remains structurally ossified and immersed in the unitarism or centralisation of the polity and government, there will be no end to centrifugal agitations. Some interest groups and political parties in the far North have seized upon these agitations to press, sometimes in inflammatory words, their campaign for change, a campaign that completely ignores or downplays the immense economic change and advancement the APC administration has inspired in two years of heavy lifting.

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    Unmindful of repeating the tragic mistake of 1993 when some elements in the military and polity thought it abhorrent to endure four or eight years of the Moshood Abiola presidency, disaffected and mainly northern groups have intensified the campaign to ditch the APC government by facilitating the return of Dr Jonathan, or even doing the unthinkable by baiting former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi, or at worst organising to split southern votes in favour of a northern candidate, possibly former vice president Atiku Abubakar. They have also advanced the thesis that the APC administration has been lax in tackling insecurity, despite the North being both directly and indirectly responsible for the mayhem. The grounds for the campaigns are weakened with each passing day and administrative milestone, but northern politicians like former Kaduna governor Nasir el-Rufai, gripped by buyer’s remorse, have stuck to their campaigns and their guns. It does not seem as if the far North can in fact bear the thought of not sitting in the saddle of power for any stretch of time, let alone eight years. The federal saddle is their stimulant, but a dangerous and anachronistic addiction with fearful consequences for stability. 

  • How long can Wike walk the tightrope?

    How long can Wike walk the tightrope?

    Former Rivers State governor and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, is not by any stretch of the imagination the friendliest of politicians, but he remains colourful, charismatic and entertaining. His posture on Rivers politics is hard to codify, and even more bizarre is his perspective on opposition politics as defined and executed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of which he is a member. On Monday, he and his co-travellers in the party poured cold water on the new deal reached by the party to conduct its November 15 elective convention, a six-point demand which must be satisfied in order to enable the party legitimise its dealings. Among other demands, the Wike camp of about four former governors insisted that the party must end micro-zoning, retain the chairmanship position in the North Central zone, conduct fresh congresses in Ebonyi and Anambra States, and order a new zonal congress in the Southeast and local government congresses in Ekiti State. Exasperated, their balloons deflated by the fresh scent of discord, some PDP leaders shot back that they would fearlessly confront the Wike camp and not buckle under pressure or allow themselves to be held hostage, while dismissing the complainants as potential ‘blackmailers’ and a ‘camp of fools’.

    For about two years, observers had squirmed over Mr Wike’s politics as a cabinet member of an All Progressives Congress (APC) administration, describing him as an unprincipled politician running with the hare and hunting with the hounds. For the same period, he had managed to maintain a delicate balance between his position as a PDP leader whose choices shook the party to its foundations during the last elections, and as a minister in the Bola Tinubu administration torn between loyalty to his new boss and duty to his party. He has not quite resolved the dilemma, and has consistently and thus far put on a bold face when compelled to take a definitive stand; but as the 2027 elections draw near, his ability to walk a tightrope will be sorely tested. Indeed, it is already being badly tested as the party inches near its elective convention. Party leaders put all their eggs in one basket, believing that the convention would put paid to the shenanigans of ‘fools’ playing ducks and drakes with the affections of party members and leaders. It is not certain whether their hopes are well founded, for the Wike camp is also both strong and sizable, not to say battle-hardened and eager to cross swords with the fiercest and swiftest in the party.

    But Mr Wike is keeping his cards close to his chest. No one is sure what joker his camp holds, but unlike the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the feisty patrons of the traumatised Labour Party (LP) which embraced strong-arm tactics to enforce obedience to their interpretation of court orders, Mr Wike, a lawyer himself, and his camp may opt for the litigious route. Whether that would be enough to stall the PDP convention will depend on how their unpredictable lordships view the case. PDP leaders had taken care to carry the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) along when they held their National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting in Abuja, and have notified the electoral body about the upcoming national convention. They have also made peace with Iliya Damagum, their former protem chairman whom Mr Wike loved; and pacified the sometimes dithering Samuel Anyanwu whose cause Mr Wike previously advanced tenaciously. Little by little, however, Mr Wike’s men in the PDP National Working Committee (NWC) are either being neutralised or won over. If an irrevocable court order cannot be procured to stymie the convention, Mr Wike will be left with his yesterday men, the former governors of Enugu, Ekiti, Abia, and Benue, to prosecute a war he now increasingly seems fated to lose.

    What ails Mr Wike more than anything else is his impetuousness and glibness. Indeed, he is not averse to walking a tightrope, whether it casts him as an unscrupulous politician or not. Needled by angry newspapermen besotted to the opposition, whether that opposition is led by Atiku Abubakar or Peter Obi, Mr Wike had responded to the speculation of planning to contest the next presidential election by suggesting that he would commit himself to President Bola Tinubu lock, stock, and barrel. If that is the case, does he not see a contradiction between supporting the ruling party against his own party, the PDP? He waffled some arguments and wished away the dangerous suppositions and inept attempts to corner him. Engaging in two-timing, and dating two ‘ladies’ with aplomb, unfettered by the howls of outrage and disgust by Nigerians who view with dread the contradiction of lying in bed with the APC administration and smooching the disgruntled PDP reclining on the sofa, can be problematic. The outraged spectators have begun to see the FCT minister as deliberately committed to forestalling a return to normality in the PDP, thereby castrating it and deterring it from reclaiming its winning ways.

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    Despite the general outrage, however, Mr Wike has proven adept at wrong-footing his opponents in the PDP generally and in Rivers State in particular. Two qualities stand him out. Though sometimes regarded as a roughneck, his instinct for political strategy has remained well above average, sometimes even seeming to be canonised by the favourable outcomes his style and strategies engender. He is a hard working public officer, unafraid to confront the hobgoblins of Nigerian politics wherever they are. Though his political vision may lack much refinement and depth, he is nevertheless a rarity among his peers. He continues to stand out, and is an asset to any administration. In addition, Mr Wike’s six grievances are germane to the politics and internal dynamics of the PDP. If he heads to court and the temples of justice are inured to the criticism of those who accuse the judiciary of compromise, they will find merit in his complaints and will grant him reliefs of all kinds. What remains for the PDP, therefore, is to appeal to public sentiments and paint the FCT minister as an agent provocateur and a two-timing and unscrupulous politician working for the APC administration. The characterisation will resonate, but it will crumble under legal scrutiny.

    The PDP has become testier and more desperate than ever. Judging from their intemperate responses to Mr Wike’s nimble footwork, they seem willing to go for broke. The FCT minister knows this, or at least senses that the opposition party is spoiling for a fight, a fight that could entail his expulsion. While he will not back down, he appears aware that he does not hold as many aces as he held and played in 2023 when he took the battle to the grumpy Alhaji Atiku and won. Mr Wike may wish to prolong the current fight to as close to the next presidential election as possible, but the PDP bigwigs, who are experts at trench warfare themselves, also know this and are determined that the turf battles be fought now rather than in the future. Even if tightrope walking becomes too demanding for the FCT minister, and he eventually capitulates along the line, it is uncertain that the PDP, as it is currently run and constituted, can profit from the surrender. They don’t have a viable presidential candidate, and, despite casting their net far and wide, are unlikely to find an extraordinary politician in the next six months to put them in good stead to make a great impression in 2027.

  • Proverbs, politics and Bode George

    Proverbs, politics and Bode George

    This column’s article for last week, titled “World Folklore Day 2025: Proverbs,” celebrated the Day which came up on 22 August with a look at proverbs and how some of them derive from certain fields of the social sciences, agriculture, natural sciences, engineering and medical sciences. Today, a continuation of the celebration looks at how proverbs relate with politics and how they are used by an individual to achieve specific communicative goals in particular contexts. 

    Human beings are political animals. This is the famous Greek Philosopher Aristotle’s summation of the belief that it is from participating in community with others that a human being achieves the ultimate human goal of being happy. Derived from a keen observation of human nature, and being short, witty and often repeated, this Aristotelian statement has become a political proverb.

    A Yoruba proverb which deals with the nature of the political system adopted by a society is: “Idálú ni ìsèlú” (‘How a community originates determines how it is run.’) In other words, the peculiar circumstances surrounding the creation of a society determine the political system, for example between Liberal Democracy or Communism, that would be most suitable for its administration.

    Another political proverb is: “Ohun tí a fún èsó só ni èsó n só” (‘It’s what a guard is charged with guarding that the guard guards.’) With ‘guards’ meaning the armed forces in today’s context, the underlying principle is that different categories of human beings in a society are trained to play different, but complementary, roles for the stability of the society and the benefit of all. This Yoruba proverb therefore abhors coups d’état which undermine both the quality of governance (for which the army are not conventionally assigned or trained) and the quality of security coverage which is the military’s primary duty.

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    A quite confounding political proverb that a respectable, elderly Yoruba man once cited in a conversation with me is: “Eni tó bá gò níí joyè” (‘It’s a foolish person who accepts leadership position.’) This proverb presumes that there are all sorts of people in a community, with some of them quite wise and some glaringly foolish. Usually, even the foolish would insist that they are wiser than the leaders, through pontificating and expressing magisterial opinions about issues they are ill-informed about. And it is the duty of a ruler or politician to play the fool once in a while, and allow these foolish people to have sway, and strategically allow foolish pressure to supplant wise vision.

    One interesting dimension of the proverbs and politics nexus is the use of proverbs by or with respect to a politician. It would be insightful to see how this plays out in the case of Chief Bode George, a retired Commodore of the Nigerian Navy, a former Military Governor of old Ondo State (before it was split into the current Ondo and Ekiti states) from 1988 to 1990, and a former Deputy National Chairman and now Life Member of the Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). He is from Lagos and belongs to the Yoruba ethnic group.

    Remarkably, the eighty-year old Chief Bode George has had numerous television interviews on, notably, ARISE News, Channels Television and TVC News. In a 4 July, 2025 Channels Television interview with Maupe Ogun-Yusuf, Bode George called the PDP “the real iroko political tree”. Explaining the point, he said: “You know what is called an iroko tree in the bush? It is the strongest. Its roots are so deep rooted. No matter the storm, they will weather it.”

    It would therefore be interesting to look at Bode George’s use of proverbs in the context of PDP politics. The party has been bedevilled by a series of internal problems. First, as the national ruling party from 1999, it was defeated in the 2015 presidential elections and thrown into disarray and abandoned by a remarkable number of those who were its leading lights.  Second, the PDP national convention in preparation for the 2023 elections threw up a Northerner, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, as the presidential candidate of the party, despite the fact that another Northerner, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, was already the National Chairman.

    This contravened the PDP’s constitutional stipulation that if one of the two offices was held by a Northerner, the other one should be occupied by a Southerner. This Atiku upset gave room for other unsalutary developments which have undermined harmony in the party. This has led prominent members of the PDP to defect from the party and join others to form a coalition yoked to the African Democratic Congress (ADC) which they declared was to remove President Bola Ahmed Tinubu from office in 2027.

    Asked, by Vimbai Mutinhiri in an 11 July, 2025 interview on ARISE News, about his assessment of the coalition political parties to which PDP members have been presumed to be flocking, Bode George said: “There is an adage in my part of the world that says ‘No matter how many clothing a young man has, he can never have as many rags as the old man.’” In its original Yoruba form, the proverb is: “Tí omodé bá l’áso bí àgbà kò lè l’ákísà bí àgbà.” ‘Clothing’ in this proverb is a metaphor for the zeal of the smaller coalition parties, and ‘rags’ are the vast experience and extensive structure that the PDP possesses. The underlying message is therefore that defecting to those weaker opposition parties was ill-advised.

    Moreover, in a 21 August, 2025 interview with Nifemi Oguntoye of TVC News, Bode George said that the PDP members who moved to the ADC were exactly the ones who created the mayhem at the last convention of the PDP. He also noted that Atiku wanted to contest when President Muhammadu Buhari, a Northerner, had just completed an 8-year term. Chief George continued: “We said, ‘No. … Mr. Atiku, you cannot.’” Chief George also said that it was this position that accounted for Atiku’s “shifting, rolling around like a rudderless ship,” and “running helter-skelter like a little rat.” He then cited the proverb, “A rolling stone gathers no moss” to admonish Atiku to be politically stable to be able to record significant achievements.

    Furthermore, some aggrieved and influential members of the PDP, including the party’s Governors’ Forum, wanted Senator Samuel Anyanwu to be removed as National Secretary; and the South East zone of the party had, in fact, already chosen a replacement for him. However, he could not be removed due to legal encumbrances. In an effort to appease those who could not have their way, Chief George, in the interview with Vimbai Mutinhiri asserted: “Sometimes in an association, you lose some, you win.” This consolatory proverb is normally cited as “You win some, you lose some.” 

    With respect to the PDP’s zoning of party and electoral offices to accommodate diversity and promote inclusivity, Bode George said: “In the First Republic, majority had their way, minority were onlookers. Second Republic, the same thing. That’s why they collapsed.” The proverb which Chief George varied for communicative here effect is: “The minority will have its say, but the majority will have its way.” He cited the varied proverb to show his opposition to the inconsiderate exercise of numerical superiority and the foisting of a Northern presidential candidate on the party for the 2023 elections, in disregard of democratic equity.

    Furthermore, on those who claim to be PDP members, but concurrently belong to the ADC-based coalition of opposition forces or pledge to work for the presidential candidate of the APC in the 2027 election, Chief Bode George said in a 13 August, 2025 ARISE News interview: “You cannot serve two masters.” Christian.com elucidates the point as follows: “In Matthew 6:24, Jesus states, ‘No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.’” In other words, the Naval Chief used the biblical proverb to condemn political double-dealing.

    Chief George also notes in a further romanticisation of the PDP in the 4 July, 2025, Channels Television interview with Maupe Ogun-Yusuf: “There’s no individual in our party that can claim that he owns this party. That’s the beauty of the PDP. … No individual owns our party. It will be a collective decision who will be our presidential candidate. We need to show to the electorate that this party can be trusted. … How do the lawyers say it now? He who comes to equity must come with clean hands.” In other words, using the legal proverb, he continued his public relations offensive to encourage those who had defected from the PDP to return and make the party attractive to the electorate in forthcoming elections.

    Moreover, in the 13 August, 2025 ARISE News interview, Bode George stated: “In any organisation, there must be laws … and there are also red lines. You should not cross the red line. … If you want to be a responsible, respectable member of this organisation, you must obey their laws. If you can’t stand the heat, get the hell out of the kitchen.” He complements this culinary and temperature proverb with the following proverbial admonition: “… let’s call a spade a spade. … Enough is enough.”

    Commenting on the 25 August, 2025 National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the PDP at which significant reconciliatory decisions were reached, Chief Bode George, in a 26 August, 2025 YouTube post of a Channels Television interview with Geoffrey Uzono, said: “It’s a refreshing gallop to see us come together as one indivisible members of this party; because the more a divided house, it will remain a defeated house.” The proverb here is an electoral adaptation of “A divided house cannot stand.”

    He also said with respect to other salutary NEC decisions, including zoning the 2027 presidential candidacy to the South: “No matter how long a load of lies keep flying, it doesn’t take time, when the truth is said, [for it to] catch up and leave [the lies] behind.” This is an adaptation of the Yoruba proverb “Tí iró bá lo l’ógún odún, ojó kan soso l’òdodo ó lee bá” (‘If a lie travels for twenty years, truth will catch up with it in just one day.’)

    As Nigeria continues to strive to reform its electoral system, attention needs to be paid to folklore which can facilitate the process. But even closer attention needs to be paid to folklore which can undermine the effort. For example, an electorally-perverse Yoruba proverb is: “Omodé ò j’obì, àgbà ò j’oyè.” (‘If the youth don’t eat kolanuts, the elders can’t reach the throne.’) Like ‘stomach infrastructure’, ‘kolanuts’ in this proverb is a fanciful or permissive name for electoral inducement or bribery.

  • Ooni, Alafin and lexical storm in a teacup

    Ooni, Alafin and lexical storm in a teacup

    Spokespersons sometimes get their principals into trouble. Last week, former vice president Atiku Abubakar and political coalition leader on the platform of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) had to quickly debunk a statement purportedly made by him suggesting he was more concerned about rebuilding Nigeria than he was desperate to be president. It seemed contradictory, but because Ola Olateju, a professor, claimed during a meeting in Lagos welcoming defectors into the ADC that he was representing the former vice president, many observers were puzzled about what had changed so soon in Alhaji Atiku’s perspective. About two days later, another spokesman claiming to represent the former vice president insisted his boss was still in the running for the presidency, and that Prof. Olateju did not have his mandate to speak the way he did.

    Well, the troubles often stirred up by spokesmen are obviously never in short supply. Before two spokesmen contradicted themselves over Alhaji Atiku’s presidential ambition, two other spokesmen had exchanged in lexical jousting over their principals’ monarchical rankings in Yorubaland. The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, had conferred a chieftaincy title on an Ibadan-based engineer, Dotun Sanusi. He probably thought nothing of the conferment, and never expected that it would trigger a furore. But it did, in a teacup. First to draw blood over the title was the Alafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Owoade, whose media and publicity director, Bode Durojaiye, flew off the lexical handle by issuing an ultimatum to the Ooni. It was indeed a colourful ultimatum, the kind that reenacts the lost art of insults when literary giants crossed swords and challenged one another to a duel.

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    Mr Durojaiye was entertaining, in a pompous way. He said: “The attention of the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Akeem Owoade I, has been drawn to the purported conferment of the chieftaincy title of Okanlomo of Yorubaland on a business tycoon, Dotun Sanusi, by the Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi. The conferment of a chieftaincy title which borders on Yorubaland by the Ooni of Ife is an affront to the revered institution of the Alaafin, who is the Titan of Yorubaland and who holds the exclusive right to confer any chieftaincy title which covers the entire Yorubaland on anyone. The Ooni of Ife is behaving as if there is no authority to check and call him to order, and because of that ‘above the law’ syndrome of his, he is in the habit of walking on everybody’s back, including the Apex Court in the country, the Supreme Court, which had ruled on the exclusive preserve of the Alaafin to confer chieftaincy titles that cover the entire Yorubaland on anyone.”

    It was not the most dignifying of statements, one complete with the detachment and cadence many observers of great monarchies associate with illustrious traditional institutions. But, alas, it was just the tip of the iceberg, or perhaps volcano. Mr Durojaiye had fiercely added: “The instrument of office presented to Oba Ogunwusi during his installation specifically limits his traditional area of authority to Oranmiyan Local Government, which has now been split into three local governments, viz: Ife Central, Ife North, and Ife South. The dictum that nobody is above the law of the land is now being put to a crucial test, and the reality of our time makes it very obligatory for the Alaafin to call the Ooni of Ife to order and demand revocation of the so-called Okanlomo of Yorubaland chieftaincy title conferred on Engineer Dotun Sanusi within 48 hours, or face the consequences…”

    The victims of so engaging an ultimatum were at first fairly restrained. But the ultimatum was too tempting, definite and colourful to be shrugged off with a mild sentence or two. The Ooni’s spokesman, Moses Olafare, first told the media that he would not dignify the Oyo provocation with a response, but soon issued a cryptic, defiant and sarcastic statement. “The Ooni is busy setting up businesses and creating jobs for youths across Yorubaland, while they (Alafin and his crowd) are busy fighting supremacy that does not exist. Dead empire. Their 48-hour ultimatum will soon lapse. We are waiting. Dead Empire. Ooni plans for the groundbreaking and launching of the Ojaja smart city in Ibadan, the biggest in Africa; and someone is somewhere busy issuing 48 hours empty threats. Where does this king (Ooni) have time for supremacy hullabaloo? Issuing 48-hour ultimatum over a chieftaincy title that doesn’t even exist.” There you have it. The contempt from Ile-Ife could barely be hidden, just as the Oyo ultimatum was deafening.

    It turned out that the recipient of the title himself had posted on his social media handle that he had been conferred with the title of Okanlomo Oodua, not Okanlomo of Yorubaland. In other words there was really no basis for a verbal skirmish. Media reportage probably transmuted Okanlomo Oodua to Okanlomo of Yorubaland, maybe in error or ignorance; for indeed how does the uninitiated differentiate between Oodua and Yoruba/Yorubaland? Of course the media obligingly went on to feast on the brickbats between the foremost traditional rulers to the dismay of the Yoruba. It was also clear that the brief lexical skirmish was essentially between the spokesmen of the two monarchs fighting century-old grudge matches on their own behalf and on behalf of their principals. Their statements were idiosyncratic of their individual hot-headedness, bearing little resemblance to the monarchs whose comportments are fairly well known to be regal and aristocratic. And judging from the less-than-satisfactory lexical exactitude of the contending statements, it was abundantly clear that none of the aides had adequately weighed or judged their words well before dishing them out on behalf of their bosses to more discerning and discriminating public.

  • Peter Obi heads to court

    Peter Obi heads to court

    Former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, who is as at today of no fixed political party address, has shocked many Nigerians by deciding to sue human rights activist and lawyer, Deji Adeyanju. By threatening to take legal action, he has probably let his exasperations with Mr Adeyanju’s relentless verbal attacks get to him. Last week, his lawyers wrote the activist asking him to delete his alleged defamatory posts begun since 2022 and to top it with an apology. Sensing that Mr Obi had taken the bait, an elated Mr Adeyanju announced to the world that he was eager to square off in court with the greying LP pugilist. The younger fighter knows that all he has to do in court to quash any defamation allegation is to prove just one of the offending characterisations complained about by Mr Obi.

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    For a notable politician and presumed leader of the cyberbullies (or Obidient) movement, it is not known why Mr Obi has not developed a thick skin to verbal assaults, the kind his supporters torrentially levy against his opponents. He clearly does not like Mr Adeyanju calling him a fake messiah, religious bigot, and corrupt investor. Shortly before Mr Obi struck, the activist’s lawyers had last week written Serah Ibrahim, one of Mr Obi’s female aides, threatening to sue her for defaming Mr Adeyanju’s wife. If the Obi case ends up in court, it will be a bruising battle susceptible to all sorts of delay tactics once an injunction is secured to gag the defendant. Mr Obi will count on the Obidients to rally and inflame the crowd in his favour and against Mr Adeyanju, but the latter also has a captive army of roughnecks capable of fighting on all terrains and in all weather, including biting in the clinches. Nigerians should brace for a battle royal, assuming one of the combatants does not chicken out.