The Nation Newspaper

Category: Sunday

  • Atiku and the Delta defections

    Atiku and the Delta defections

    Whether he acknowledges it or not, former vice president Atiku Abubakar is bound to feel more frustrated than ever over the unprecedented and indeed seismic defections that coursed through Delta State last week. He had thought the main battle ahead of him was how to incentivise the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to support his coalition idea or at least to offer him a platform to contest the next presidential poll. He was also mistaken to think that if his first wish failed, his secondary headache would be which political party he could safely and rewardingly defect to in order to build the amorphous coalition he was trying so opportunistically to concoct. Now the defections in Delta State led by Governor Sheriff Oborevwori and seconded by ex-governor Ifeanyi Okowa, his running mate in the 2023 presidential election, are certain to give him permanent migraine. He may try to belittle the import of the defections in a state that had been a bastion of the PDP since 1999, but no one will let his seeming indifference get in the way of observable facts. His last race in this lifetime is being imperiled.

    What Alhaji Atiku is loth to acknowledge is that he ran his last race in 2023, and that both the April 14 PDP Governors’ Forum meeting in Ibadan, which broke free of his strangulating hold, and the Delta defections that clearly repudiated his politics have signalled the end of his political career and public service. Notwithstanding what he thinks or how dismally he feels, the bells toll for him and indeed constrict his chances going forward. Alhaji Atiku never really set store by a merger of political parties even when he was still in good standing in the PDP, for he always preferred a coalition of parties, a grand or mega coalition, as he fondly put it. He knew that his relationship with the leading opposition party, with which he had sustained a specious on-and-off romance, was fragile and it would be presumptuous of him to call on them to make huge sacrifices. That was why he opted for the wafer-thin coalition that would guarantee a pathway for him to the presidency. But he was also experienced enough to appreciate that the coalition, even before it took off the ground, was endangered. It would require so much to put it together, and it would need huge resources to hold it together. He went along with the idea of a coalition, but he managed to never sound like he believed he could pull it off. Yes he spoke it and acted it, but he approached the subject with a wariness and tentativeness idiosyncratic to his politics.

    His fellow travelers, particularly his potential Southwest partners, had been careful not to openly associate with him, preferring to send their apologies when he called for a coalition meeting. Now, they will be even more wary than ever. They think he never really had a Midas touch, despite his vaunting rhetoric about democracy and his many years in the limelight; now, they may finally bolt from the stable and begin to seek pasture elsewhere. Unlike Alhaji Atiku’s many fair-weather associates and friends, former Kaduna State governor Nasir el-Rufai may be trapped with him; but even he will be entertaining some pianissimo doubts now. He will doubtless get more truculent as the weeks drag on, and as doors and windows are shut against him, he will in addition also get more desperate and more reckless, eager to make one fateful throw of the dice. He has already announced his membership of the somnolent Social Democratic Party (SDP), though some party leaders dispute his bona fides, but everything considered, as his principal, Alhaji Atiku, wavers, he also will feel some consternation. Having burnt his bridges, it is hard to see him retracing his steps to the Tinubu administration which he had publicly vilified, or rekindling his tenuous association with his successor in Kaduna, Uba Sani, whom he had also cynically dismissed as disloyal. Like the former vice president, he will be wondering how he came to this sorry pass.

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    Sensibly, Alhaji Atiku has been less intolerant of the Delta defectors’ actions. He knew that having defected and acted footloose many times in the past himself, he would be hypocritical to condemn the Delta governor’s actions. In fact, he has acknowledged their right to defect to anywhere that catches their fancy, for as he put it, ‘it is part of democratic politics.’ He will, however, be privately miffed that his running mate in the last presidential poll also defected, perhaps without confiding in him. In his statement on X (Twitter), the former vice president swivelled to condemning President Tinubu’s administration, reframing the defection controversy as not just an exercise of democratic rights but an indication of where a politician or political leader stands in the affairs of Nigeria. Nigeria, he concluded, was facing an existential battle for which a liberating coalition was needed to help fight. It is not clear how he would assemble his armada when many of his formerly loyal troops are deserting the ranks. At the current rate of depletion, Alhaji Atiku may be unable to muster a brigade to fight an entire army.

    The former vice president has all his political life embraced short cuts, in addition to a series of miscalculations. He needed to be patient and submissive in his dealings with ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo, and would probably have inherited the throne in 2007; instead, he made a miscalculated bid for power, and for one dizzying moment had the former president on submission hold. But acquiescing to entreaties, he relented, left the snake scorched, not killed, and naively assumed relationships had been reset. He lost the game. Back to the PDP after fruitless detours to the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and the All Progressives Congress (APC), he needed to help restore confidence in the party he had abandoned at its hour of need. Instead, he fought ex-governor Nyesom Wike, the caretaker who succoured the party in his absence, brutally fought his way into taking the party’s ticket for the 2023 election, and scorned every entreaty to realign and reform the party for the future. Weighed down by a short attention span, he did very little to salve the wounds of a party that had broken down and fragmented midway into the poll. And nearly two years after that electoral debacle he has still not found the right formula or leadership acumen to rebuild and rearm the party.

    In the year ahead, the former vice president will find it doubly difficult to build a coalition capable of taking on the APC. Alienated from the PDP, unable to return to the APC for obvious reasons, and uncertain where to berth his lumbering ship, he will flail around a little, and hope that his jibes at his enemies, particularly President Tinubu, could help him rouse and inflame his regional faithful to battle stations in preparation for 2027. Just like Mr Obi who has left the Labour Party’s crisis untouched while he perambulates round the country playing political drama, Alhaji Atiku has abandoned the attempt to repair and rebuild the leading opposition PDP. Even if the anticipated coalition is anchored on the two men, having come second and third in the last presidential election, they will still be hard put to cobble together an army of capable followers motivated to give the APC a fight. The simple reason is that they have left the weightier issue of mending their electoral vehicles, without which they would have to walk like political toddlers rather than run like political pros.

  • North, coalition formation and presumptions

    North, coalition formation and presumptions

    Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, former Special Adviser on Political Matters to President Bola Tinubu, managed to get the huge publicity he craved last Sunday when he again stoked ethnic and regional sentiments in respect of the 2027 presidential election. The North would in six months announce its position on the poll, he said gravely in an interview, hinting that the region was at the moment dissatisfied over a number of unresolved issues. He, however, mentioned only one major issue – security. Tangentially, he also referenced the sidelining of the North, a clever term to avoid the more ferocious but jaded word, marginalisation. And finally, he seemed convinced that the present administration, which he served until he resigned in a huff recently, did not understand the needs of the North.

    What came out of the carefully choreographed interview was that Dr Baba-Ahmed, despite all his pretensions, exuded a virulent sense of entitlement. His grandiloquent reference to the North and what it wants, as if the region was ever or still remains a monolithic entity, betrays his incomplete understanding of the shifting dynamics of Nigerian politics. Whenever members of the northern elite are disadvantaged, real or imagined, they often resort to whipping up untested and often malignant theories of the position and relevance of the North. In the interview, Dr Baba-Ahmed did not, however, attempt to define the North which he swept into his analysis of regional disaffection. The fact is that ethnically, religiously or even geographically, the North has struggled like other parts of Nigeria to be monolithic. The nearest it came to being a monolith was in the First Republic. Since then, discounting the decades of military rule, the region has electorally become a variegated pastiche of competing interests and religions, with the competitions becoming fiercer every election cycle.

    Dr Baba-Ahmed was simply grandstanding. Surely he would recall that until former president Muhammadu Buhari expanded his political vista and won the presidency in 2015, he had tried three times earlier to fashion the North into a monolith in order to win the presidential poll without being beholden to the other regions and their power centres. Before he won in 2015, he could not take the entire Middle Belt or North Central, a huge part of Dr Baba-Ahmed’s hypothetical North. Nor could he even take the entire Northeast, another huge slice of the North referenced by the embittered special adviser. All he managed to take wholeheartedly was the Northwest, despite his strong pro-North proclivities. There has not been one prime minister or president of Nigeria who did not need the other regions to win the presidency. But perhaps what the former adviser was suggesting is that it is easier for a candidate to get a substantial part of the North than a substantial part of the South in order to clinch the presidency. But even that supposition would be tentative and contextualised on a number of factors, including political and cultural ecosystems.

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    Unable to predicate his argument and analysis on plausible reasons, Dr Baba-Ahmed excused his rage on the pervasive insecurity in the North. He insisted that if any administration does not act convincingly on banishing insecurity from the North, it would be undeserving of the electoral support of the region. This is balderdash. With all his education, he could not even pass the buck well. More northerners have presided over Nigeria much longer than southerners, yet poverty had increased by leaps and bounds. Poverty is a strong factor in predisposing the region to insurgency and banditry. Incompetent to execute policies that would reduce poverty, and ignorant about the effect of uncontrolled birth rate in fueling poverty and feeding insurgency, Dr Baba-Ahmed’s North wants a southern-born leader to wave the magic wand to defeat the anarchy raging in their region. Elite irresponsibility and ethnic and religious bigotry by northern leaders, rather than southern malfeasance, have been the principal reasons for the existential crisis facing the North. Northern leaders should tackle the madness raging in their midst instead of passing the buck.

    It is true that no southern presidential candidate can win without the support of the North; but it is also true that no northern presidential candidate can win without the support of the South. This political wisdom, which Dr Baba-Ahmed is not ignorant of, has reigned since the First Republic. Indeed, what he may be saying is that at the moment, he and other non-liberals like him are minded to look for a northern candidate to push their hidden agenda. Having been out of office for a mere two years, and seeing how President Tinubu has wielded power with some indifference to entrenched power idols, Dr Baba-Ahmed and his group, including the fiery loather Usman Yusuf, a professor and former National Health Insurance Scheme chief, are impatient to seek out a northern champion to recapture power. They have begun to tout former vice president Atiku Abubakar to run for office again as a one-term Mandela-type president on a ticket with the populist Peter Obi. But even if they manage to cobble together a coalition headed by the two former presidential candidates, it would still be a problematic ticket no sensible political assumptions or guarantees can undergird.

    President Tinubu has placated the core North to no end. But Dr Baba-Ahmed and others like him still feel a sense of loss and emptiness over the power shift to the South, and particularly to the Southwest, not to say to a president who is well schooled in the laws of power. Apart from the fact that the former special adviser and his cohorts cannot put together a convincing coalition, their threats of engulfing the country in flames should the 2027 election prove adverse to their stated interests is also unlikely to make the country quake. Nigeria’s political tectonic plates are shifting constantly, and those shifts require men and women smart enough to resist the temptation of arresting the crushing movements and new and unstoppable realities. If the core North will not admit their responsibility in their region’s stagnation, it is perhaps too late to shift the blame to other parts of the country. Much worse, it is pointless to threaten the other parts of the country, as fragmented as they are, with disintegration. Given the huge resources wasted on tackling banditry and insurgency in the North, it is unlikely the South or even the Middle Belt would feel disturbed by Dr Baba-Ahmed’s threat of secession.

  • Plateau crisis exposes Gov Namadi, Gumi

    Plateau crisis exposes Gov Namadi, Gumi

    In their responses to the mayhem in Plateau State, Jigawa State governor Umar Namadi and Islamic cleric Ahmad Abubakar Gumi stretched logic to the limit. Addressing the root causes of the Plateau crisis, the sheikh argued that laws prohibiting open grazing, as contemplated by the Plateau State government, would be counterproductive. Laws ‘accommodating the traditional practices of herders’ would suffice to eliminate frictions between the various groups in the state, he concluded. After all, he surmised, the Igbo, despite being non-natives, were thriving in Lagos because the state had created ‘inclusive economic environment’. But it is untrue to suggest that no friction and unease pervade Yoruba-Igbo relationship in Lagos, which sometimes erupt in ethnic hatred and bigotry. But while his analogies may be problematic, Sheikh Gumi’s arguments about herders in Plateau may also have been coloured by his hidden prejudices. The Plateau crisis clearly transcends herders-farmers clashes. It has morphed dangerously into ethnic cleansing and land grabbing.

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    Closely related to Sheikh Gumi’s suspect analysis on the Plateau crisis is the equally tendentious and prejudiced summation of Jigawa State governor on the same subject. Governor Namadi had argued that former army chief T.Y Danjuma’s call on citizens to take up arms to defend themselves against kidnappers, land grabbers and marauders was impolitic. According to the governor, asking citizens to take up arms and defend themselves would trigger anarchy. He advocated dialogue, but without explaining why dialogue failed in Zamfara, Kaduna, Katsina and some other states in the recent past. The incontestable fact is that, given the inability of security agents to protect citizens, the only reasonable deterrence against evil appears to be armed defence. Arming law-abiding citizens will not promote anarchy any more than militant land grabbers, kidnappers and herders, most of whom, it is now established, are foreigners. If the obviously insular Governor Namadi is so empathetic towards rampaging herdsmen, whom Bauchi State governor Bala Mohammed once described as citizens of everywhere, he should redirect his energies at persuading them to abandon their scorched-earth policy. 

  • EARTH DAY

    EARTH DAY

    (To be accompanied with Music of the Earth – in any language)

    Everyday is Earth’s

    Earth is everyday’s

    But this day is the day

    Of the bell and the gong

    Of solemn awakenings

    And the hurt which comes before the herb

    Wounded trees bleed in the forest

    Lynched lakes congeal like rancid potions

    A poisoned sea foams

    At the edge of a million mouths

    Who dare forget

    The day the River caught fire

    And the Mountain lay crushed

    Like a mound of hapless cake

    Yellow rains, crimson dew,

    Broiling winters, freezing summers

    A perforated sky leaks red tears

    Into the basin of thinning rivers 

    A tropical madness unclothes the streets

    New-born babies surprise the cradle

    With double heads. A heartless Science

    Has sowed the wind; see how we reap the storm

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    Where are the silk-petalled flowers

    Birds with feathers of paradise

    Air clean like the breath of a mountain spring

    Dust which speaks the language of the human skin?

    This day insists that we

    Restore the frog to its pond

    The dew to its grass

    Man to his mind

    Earth to its future

  • Rivers, clash of protests and Tompolo

    Rivers, clash of protests and Tompolo

    Rivers State was last week preoccupied with a clash of organised women protests for and against the proclamation of a state of emergency. First to gather were the anti-emergency protesters who, two Fridays ago, sallied out almost from nowhere into the streets of Ahoada East local government area decrying the proclamation of a state of emergency in the state, and calling for the restoration of democracy. They were estimated to be about a few hundreds, and were clad in black. Piqued by the silence of the group of protesters when the fierce battle for the soul of the state raged between the Governor Siminalayi Fubara crowd and the ex-governor Nyesom Wike troops before state of emergency, a second but unrelated group of protesters poured into the streets of Port Harcourt on Monday in a startlingly far greater number. The second group decried the hypocrisy of the first group, and enthused that the state of emergency proclamation secured peace when all portents showed that anarchy was imminent. From the tone of the second group, and the tenor of their dressing, it was clear that peace, much more than the merits or demerits of the state of emergency proclamation itself, was uppermost in their minds.

    But not to be outdone, and unwilling to concede both the last laugh and slogan to the pro-emergency ‘peace’ protesters who rallied under the banner of Rivers Women for Peace and Good Governance, the anti-emergency protesters again rallied pari passu with the pro-emergency group in a different part of Port Harcourt under the aegis of Rivers Women Unite Prayer Group. However, noting the disparity in law enforcement control of the protests, Mr Fubara openly chafed at the unfairness of the police in allegedly repressing the anti-emergency crowd. He should have kept quiet. Unable to restrain himself, it was interpreted that he was lending support to the anti-emergency protesters, a trait he earlier exhibited when he failed to condemn pipeline vandals presumably trying to preempt the House of Assembly from impeaching him in the heat of the crisis in early March.

    Proclaimed on March 18, the state of emergency in Rivers is expected to last six months. During the period, it is expected that tempers would cool down between warring factions, the governor would be more statesmanlike, the House of Assembly less combative, and the state’s elders more diplomatic and conciliating. While most members of the elders group have sensibly kept quiet, and the lawmakers have distanced themselves from state activities, Mr Fubara has kept on talking. Before the state of emergency, he had acted and given the impression that he could browbeat both his enemies in and outside the legislature as well as the federal government into backing down from their intransigent positions. After the Supreme Court put paid to his effort to continue ostracising the Assembly, gave him a piece of their minds, and ordered that he should relate properly with the House of Assembly, he embarked on subterranean moves to undermine the judgement by feigning obedience to the rule of law. He was adamant about the justification of his cause, and was determined not to have his enemies laugh last.

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    That headiness has unfortunately continued. There is nothing, short of plotting a coup, that can unmake or reverse the state of emergency. Even if the country were to descend into anarchy, the state of emergency would still not be reversed. If Mr Fubara had this understanding, he would have declined to give support to any protests in his favour, restrained himself from commenting on state activities, whether by the sole administrator or any other caretaker officials, and shrugged off accusations about any financial malfeasance. If he must speak, it would be wise to talk about peace, support the sole administrator to reestablish law and order, and invite stakeholders and aggrieved indigenes to work for the peace, unity and progress of the state, even if he does not mean a word of what he says. Rather than secretly harbouring the unrealistic desire to upturn the emergency proclamation, his paramount goal should be to ensure that the state of emergency does not exceed the six months proclaimed by the president. He may not be the wisest governor to find himself in a similar position, but he needs to read the emergency proclamation again, especially the part that talks about the ‘six months in the first instance’ provision. If the crisis continues, if the swords are not sheathed in six months, if the combatants are still squaring off and warring recklessly, and if there are still threats to critical national infrastructure, the emergency period might be extended. And like all sides to the conflict in Rivers say, heavens will not fall.

    Mr Fubara’s goal must, therefore, be to ensure that the six months emergency rule should not be extended. The ball is in his court; but so far he has proved quite awkward in kicking the ball. He doesn’t even appreciate the gravity of his situation, and lacks the acumen to conciliate his enemies. He talks glibly about democracy, but he has undermined it at every turn and by every remark. Government Oweizide Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo, the pipeline protection contractor and notable Ijaw son, has said that Mr Fubara would return to office after the six months of emergency. It is not clear what gave him the confidence to make that pronouncement, but he should instead counsel his kinsman to mollify his rage and resentment against real and perceived enemies. The governor’s return is not in the hands of well-wishers, or the constitution, or animated protesters, or even the rule of law. His predicament rests on his absolute ineptitude in managing dissent and provocations. Only he can determine how the Rivers crisis would play out. Only he. And so far, he has not given anyone the confidence that he can make the difference the Rivers situation desperately urges him.

  • US and the Trump dilemma

    US and the Trump dilemma

    After resting a little, and waiting for about 100 days since the current president assumed office, former United States president Joe Biden has returned to give President Donald Trump a severe tongue-lashing. He seized upon the subject of social security, which resonated well with his audience. “In fewer than 100 days, this administration has caused so much damage and destruction. It’s breathtaking,” said the former president. “They’ve taken a hatchet to the Social Security Administration…They’re shooting first and aiming later. The result is a lot of needless pain and sleepless nights.”

    President Trump’s economic policies may be unscientific and instinctive, and largely counterproductive, misguided and unpredictable, thereby signposting the decline of his country, but it is the atrocious manner he has infected all around him with his scurrility and meanness that has been perhaps the most off-putting to so many millions of people around the world who until now saw America as their lodestar. They may loathe his capricious tariff wars and denounce his resuscitation of the 19th century-style gunboat diplomacy by which he has bullied and alienated the rest of the world, but it is the projection of his own inadequacies and the anchoring of his self-worth on the denigration of others that rankle very badly.

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    Weeks after he assumed the presidency, he talked whimsically of getting a second or even third term should he desire. He’ll probably encounter a disastrous mid-term election, let alone secure another term. It is unlikely his presidency will end on a high note.

  • Tinubunomics: Picturing the gains of his hard work in facts and figures

    Tinubunomics: Picturing the gains of his hard work in facts and figures

    As the Easter holiday weekend closed out a critical week for Nigeria, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu remained away from the country on his working visit to Europe. Yet, even in absentia, the President’s influence loomed large over both national discourse and the machinery of state, with developments on the economic front pointing to hard-won gains — and on the security front, a renewed urgency to quell growing threats.

    While cynics may remain unconvinced, the facts about Nigeria’s economic turnaround under President Tinubu are becoming harder to ignore. In an emphatic social media breakdown during the week, O’tega Ogra, Senior Special Assistant on Digital and New Media, laid out facts and figures about the wins in the economic sector, including seven key economic indicators that capture the tangible impact of the Tinubu administration’s policy direction — and they paint a picture of steady recovery and renewed investor confidence.

    Most strikingly, Nigeria’s total debt stock — comprising federal, state, and FCT borrowings — has declined from $108.2 billion to $94.2 billion as of December 31, 2024. In a global climate still grappling with post-pandemic economic shocks, such a reduction is no small feat. It is further bolstered by the successful clearance of a $7 billion verified foreign exchange backlog, an albatross that had previously stifled investor engagement and hindered trade flows.

    Despite these repayments, Nigeria’s gross external reserves have grown to approximately $40.9 billion, up from $33 billion in 2023. More impressively, net external reserves have seen a massive 482.5% increase — from $4 billion to $23.3 billion. These are the fruits of not just prudent fiscal management, but deliberate macroeconomic reforms aimed at repositioning Nigeria as a viable investment destination.

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    The country also recorded a balance of payments surplus of $6.83 billion in 2024, reversing deficits of over $3 billion in each of the two previous years. “This reflects stronger trade performance and increased investor confidence,” Ogra noted. Non-oil exports surged by 24.6% to $7.46 billion, while gas exports rose by 48.3% to $8.66 billion, helping drive Nigeria’s overall trade surplus.

    Equally noteworthy is the revival of portfolio investment inflows, a direct indicator of investor sentiment, which more than doubled, rising by 106.5% to $13.35 billion. This marks a clear vote of confidence in the administration’s fiscal discipline and policy direction.

    And in a stirring show of belief in the motherland, the Nigerian Diaspora followed suit. Remittances rose by 8.9% to $20.93 billion, complemented by a 43.5% increase in inflows via International Money Transfer Operators, now at $4.73 billion. “Thank you, dear Nigerians in the Diaspora, for believing in your country,” Ogra wrote, a sentiment echoed by many who view these figures as evidence of renewed hope taking root.

    In the President’s own words, as contained in his Easter message to the nation on Friday, “We are grateful to all Nigerians for your patience and resilience as our economy begins to show encouraging signs of recovery… We are working tirelessly to restore investor confidence, stabilise key sectors, and build an inclusive economy.”

    Still, as the numbers shine on paper, realities on the ground remain sobering, particularly on the security front. The week saw a resurgence of brutal violence in parts of Plateau State, continuing a cycle of bloodshed that has plagued the region for decades. In a strongly-worded statement on Monday, President Tinubu expressed sorrow over the attacks, which claimed more than 50 lives, and condemned the recurring violence rooted in long-standing communal tensions.

    “The ongoing violence between communities in Plateau State, rooted in misunderstandings between different ethnic and religious groups, must cease,” the President stated. “Enough is enough.”

    He disclosed that security agencies have been instructed to investigate the recent attacks thoroughly and identify those responsible. But the President also took the conversation further, calling on Plateau State Governor Caleb Mutfwang to take up the mantle of leadership in addressing the root causes of the conflict.

    “These problems have been with us for more than two decades. We can no longer ignore the underlying issues. It is time to tackle them fairly and find a lasting solution,” Tinubu said, adding that he has held multiple conversations with Governor Mutfwang on the matter.

    His words underscore a broader concern: while economic indicators improve, the threat of insecurity could undercut those gains if left unchecked. Beyond Plateau, intelligence and other reports have revealed a resurgence of terrorist activities in the Northeast, and a disturbing spread of criminality in other parts of the country.

    It was against this backdrop that the President’s Easter message struck a chord. “Let me assure you that my administration’s resolve to restore peace and security remains unshakable,” he said. “Forces of evil will never prevail over our country.”

    Tinubu revealed that he has issued “clear directives to the Armed Forces and all relevant security agencies to end insecurity decisively and without delay.” He added, “with the unwavering courage and commitment of our gallant men and women in uniform, we are turning the tide and making steady progress in reclaiming peace and stability.”

    These statements are not just rhetorical. Even while away in Europe, the President has maintained constant communication with his security and intelligence chiefs. The Presidency on Thursday confirmed that Tinubu remains fully engaged with national affairs, giving directives and receiving briefings in real-time from Paris and later London.

    From economic stabilization to security escalation, this past week encapsulates the dual challenge that faces the Tinubu administration: sustaining the current momentum on the economic front while decisively addressing the nation’s security challenges. But in both arenas, there are signs of seriousness and structure, the hallmarks of purposeful governance.

    Critics may question the timelines or doubt the methods, but for many Nigerians, there is an unmistakable shift in tone and substance under this administration. One that recognises that governance is not a sprint, but a marathon, and that progress, while often slow, is real when built on foundations of competence, clarity, and conviction.

    As the nation continues its slow but steady march towards stability and growth, President Tinubu’s message this Easter may serve as both a prayer and a promise: “Just as Christ triumphed over death, so too shall our country triumph over every challenge we face… The present moment may be cloudy, but it will usher in a glorious day.”

    Indeed, for many Nigerians, the sun may already be peeking through.

    As President Tinubu continues to steer the nation through the complex process of national restructuring, his activities in the past week reflected not only resolve, but a clear-eyed focus on laying durable foundations for a prosperous, secure and data-informed Nigeria. From declarations of national urgency to dignified recognitions of outstanding Nigerians, President Tinubu demonstrated that governance, under his leadership, remains multifaceted and deeply purposeful.

    Besides his intervention on the Plateau crisis and his assurances in his Easter message, the other event at the heart of his week’s engagements was the inauguration of the Presidential Committee on the National Population and Housing Census, a significant step toward Nigeria’s long-overdue census. The last comprehensive national headcount took place in 2006, nearly two decades ago. Since then, demographic shifts, migration patterns, urbanization, and socioeconomic realities have drastically changed the national landscape.

    Inaugurated on Wednesday at the State House, the committee has been tasked with delivering an interim report within three weeks. President Tinubu, represented by his Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, stressed the pivotal role of a credible, technology-driven census in national planning and development.

    “You cannot budget if you do not know how many we are,” he noted emphatically, charging the committee to work closely with the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning. The President’s insistence on deploying biometrics and digital tools underlines a modern, forward-thinking approach, one that ensures transparency, inclusivity, and accuracy.

    The committee, chaired by the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Atiku Bagudu, comprises key government figures including the Minister of Finance, the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), and the Director-General of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).

    Indeed, as Nigeria seeks to reset its economic, infrastructural, and social compass, such a data-driven exercise is not just timely, it is indispensable.

    While the census dominated the policy space, President Tinubu also took bold steps on food security, declaring a national emergency on Monday. At the 6th African Regional Conference on Irrigation and Drainage in Abuja, the President, represented by SGF George Akume, emphasized the urgency of expanding irrigation infrastructure and embracing participatory water resource management.

    This move comes at a time when global food supply chains remain fragile and local agricultural productivity requires immediate strengthening. The declaration signals the administration’s recognition of food security not just as a matter of survival, but of national strategy.

    True to his inclusive governance style, the President also found time to honour exceptional Nigerians whose lives and work inspire others. On Sunday, he celebrated the 65th birthday of businessman and industrialist Tunde Folawiyo, praising him as a beacon of entrepreneurial excellence and a committed champion of Nigeria’s economic progress.

    Midweek, he extended similar honours to Dr. Oladele Fajemirokun, marking his 75th birthday with a tribute that lauded his legacy across insurance, telecommunications, oil and gas, and philanthropy.

    In the realm of international recognition, President Tinubu hailed Mo Abudu’s inclusion in TIME Magazine’s 2025 list of the 100 Most Influential People in the World. He celebrated the media mogul’s achievements as a “global affirmation of African excellence” and a source of national pride. Abudu’s storytelling and cultural diplomacy continue to elevate Nigeria’s image on the world stage, and the President’s commendation reinforced his support for the creative industry’s global aspirations.

    From moving to halt needless killings and destruction to statistical recalibration to food security, and from celebrating visionary leaders to supporting global icons, the week was a microcosm of Tinubu’s broader national vision—one grounded in resilience, inclusion, and forward motion.

    As he moves forward with his agenda of restructuring, the President’s assurance that Nigerians will live in peace, security, and prosperity appears increasingly anchored in deliberate planning and strategic action. With data as the new oil, and national unity as the refining force, Tinubu’s recent activities underscore a government gearing up not just for today’s challenges but tomorrow’s possibilities.

    He is expected back in the country this week from his closet reflections, with new ideas and plans, which will be unveiling in coming weeks and months. We all must wait to experience what more he has for the nation.

  • Niger Republic’s linguistic geo-politics

    Niger Republic’s linguistic geo-politics

    International politics in the West African sub-region entered a dynamic phase when a fresh wave of coups-d’état started to take place in the French-speaking part. Especially noteworthy among these were the coup in Mali on 24 May, 2021 led by Colonel Assimi Goita, the one in Burkina Faso on 30 September, 2022 led by Captain Ibrahim Traore, and that in Niger Republic on 26 July, 2023 led by General Abdourahamane Tchiani. 

    The coups constituted a violation of the Economic Commission of West African States (ECOWAS) December 2001 “Protocol A/SP1/12/01 on Democracy and Good Governance Supplementary to the Protocol Relating to the Mechanism For Conflict Prevention, Management, Resolution, Peacekeeping and Security”. Specifically, the protocol in Article 1(b) and (c) states: “(b) Every accession to power must be made through free, fair and transparent elections. (c) Zero tolerance for power obtained or maintained by unconstitutional means.”

    The coups were also a challenge to Nigeria because the country’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu became the Chair of ECOWAS on 9 July, 2023. The coup in Niger Republic was particularly perceived as an afront to Nigeria, because it took place after Nigeria had become Chair of ECOWAS and because Niger Republic was bordering Northern Nigeria. Hawks within and outside the Nigerian government therefore started to contemplate an invasion of Niger Republic to remove the anti-France coup leaders and re-install the deposed pro-France civilian government of President Mohamed Bazoum.

    In fact, Aljazeera’s Shola Lawal, in an article titled “West Africa’s ‘coup belt’: Did Mali’s 2020 army takeover change the region?”, reported on 27 August, 2024: “Tinubu convened an extraordinary meeting of West African leaders immediately after the Niger coup. ECOWAS suspended Niger, shut its borders, cut electricity and demanded that Bazoum be reinstated. All 15 countries except Cape Verde committed troops for a possible ‘military intervention.’”

    The fear that such an invasion could take place led to unimaginable backlash. The geographical contiguity and ethnic and religious affinity between Northern Nigeria and Southern Niger Republic generated stout opposition to any possible invasion. Politicians and other sections of the elite from Northern Nigeria claimed President Tinubu was trying to repay the electoral support they gave him in the 2023 presidential elections with an attack on their kith and kin across the Nigerien border. They also complained that any hostile actions against Niger Republic and the closure of the border between the two countries would jeopardise the economy of Northern Nigeria due to the extensive cross-border trade between both countries.

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    It was also argued that though Niger Republic looked like an enemy that could be easily subdued, the ramifications of any warlike situation between both countries could have long-lasting negative implications for the internal security of Nigeria. This implies that a smaller or militarily weaker country could thump its nose at a bigger or more militarily powerful one, at least in the short term, if the consequences of the exercise of that power could result in a Pyrrhic victory.

    In fact, the attention of the government was drawn to the near-conflict situation between Nigeria and the United Kingdom arising from the 4 July,1984 abduction, drugging, crating and attempt to fly former Nigerian Minister in the Alhaji Shehu Shagari administration, Alhaji Umaru Dikko, to Nigeria, on a specially-provided Nigerian Airways plane, from Stansted Airport. He had been accused of embezzling humongous sums of money, and the General Muhammadu Buhari military government was reported to have sought to bring him back to Nigeria alive to answer for the charges.  

    When the plan fell through, the Nigeria Airways plane was detained at Stansted airport. In retaliation, the Nigerian government forced a British Caledonian flight which had already taken off with over two hundred passengers on board back to Lagos. With this development and probably considering the relative potential losses, the British authorities released the Nigeria Airways plane and the British Caledonian aircraft was then allowed to resume its journey.

    Possibly noting the potential costs of a military offensive, especially in view of the threat by Burkina Faso and Mali to come to the defence of Niger Republic if it was attacked, the Nigeria-led ECOWAS coalition was dissuaded from trying to remove the Nigerien military administration by force. But this did not reassure General Abdourahamane Tchiani, and every visit of President Tinubu to France has been a cause of trepidation for the General.

    So, when President Tinubu embarked on a three-day visit to France from 27 November, 2024, Tchiani addressed a press conference on 25 December, 2024 in which he was reported to have said that, during the visit, the Nigerian President and the French President Emmanuel Macron reached an agreement to collaborate to destabilise Niger Republic. This was promptly denied by the Nigerian authorities.

    Meanwhile, Niger Republic’s military government has continued to consolidate its efforts to break the colonial yoke binding it to France. One of the latest profound efforts at decolonisation by the military government was to adopt Hausa as the national or official language of Niger Republic in place of French. On 9 April, 2025, The Cable newspaper reported the story as follows: “The military government in Niger Republic says the country is adopting Hausa as the national language, replacing French. The change was announced in a new charter released on March 31, which said, ‘the national language is Hausa’ and ‘the working languages are English and French’.”

    The Cable further reported: “This move follows a national conference held in February, which strengthened the ruling junta led by Abdourahamane Tchiani, to remain in power for the next five years. The conference also led to the recognition of nine other local languages as ‘the spoken languages of Niger’, including Zarma-Songhay, Fula, Kanuri, Gourmanche, and Arabic. Hausa is the most widely spoken language in Niger, with around 26 million people reportedly using it, particularly in the central-southern regions of Zinder and Maradi, and in Tahoua in the west. However, only about 13 percent of the population, just over three million people, speak French.”

    It is widely acknowledged that language is an instrument of personal and group or national identity and a store and reflector of the cultural values of a people. It is, in other words, adopting Oprah Winfrey’s idiom, a socio-cultural GPS (Geographical Positioning System) or even, in a sense, an effective tool for articulating what Reverend Martin King Jr called ‘life’s blueprint’. It is for this reason that the issue of language death – the going out of existence of the speakers of a language – has been of major concern to multilateral organisations like the United Nations. Language death constitutes the loss of critical cultural knowledge and could result in social disorientation.

    Within neo-colonial contexts, the decision of Niger Republic to drop French for Hausa as a national or main official language signals national pride and the assertion of sovereignty, given the asphyxiating colonial hold of France on its former colonies, especially in West Africa. As far as language policy is concerned, this new shift is quite significant, because there has been the tendency for colonialists to project their languages as status symbols and instruments for access to power and privilege and portray the indigenous languages of the colonised states as indices of primitivity. This colonial mentality has been detrimental to the interests of the majority of the citizens of these colonised countries and has ultimately compromised national development.

    With respect to Niger Republic’s apprehension about and stategising against military action against it by ECOWAS, the country’s new language policy could be regarded as astute geo-politics. In other words, if Northern Nigeria could rise in condemnation of any move to attack Niger Republic in 2023 before it adopted Hausa as a national or official language, more robust opposition to any such military moves is to be expected now that the country has more profoundly manifested its cultural and linguistic affinity with Northern Nigeria. A situation is therefore being created which would strongly cause the declaration that “injury to one is injury to all.” Disregarding this principle would have serious implications for Nigeria’s national unity and internal security.

    Niger Republic’s new language policy also has the potential to rectify the alienation that often attends the use of colonialists’ languages as national or official languages. As has been noted above, with French as national or official language in Niger Republic and with only 13 percent of the population speaking the language, 85 percent of the population have been excluded from the circle of opportunity, privilege and power which competence in the colonialist language creates.

    On the other hand, if well-managed, the new status of Hausa, which is spoken by the largest percentage of people in the country, has immense potentials to engage significantly the largest number of people in the cultural and socio-political affairs of the nation. This potential for enhanced broad-based engagement of the citizens of the country has positive implications for the nation. For example, if it is properly harnessed, especially by using Hausa substantially as a medium of instruction in schools, access to education would be remarkably increased. This would have the potential to facilitate the development of the nation.

    As a 20 April, 2023 article by the United Nations, titled “Why mother language-based education is essential,” notes, “UNESCO has been leading the way and advocating for multilingual education based on the mother tongue from the earliest years of schooling. Research shows that education in the mother tongue is a key factor for inclusion and quality learning, and it also improves learning outcomes and academic performance. This is crucial, especially in primary school to avoid knowledge gaps and increase the speed of learning and comprehension.”

    The document further states: “And most importantly, multilingual education based on the mother tongue empowers all learners to fully take part in society. It fosters mutual understanding and respect for one another and helps preserve the wealth of cultural and traditional heritage that is embedded in every language around the world.” For practical reasons in specific environments, “education in the mother tongue” is usually qualified with “or in the language of the immediate environment.”

    Niger Republic’s adoption of Hausa as its new national or official language in place of French is a remarkable repudiation of neo-colonial dominance. It is also a strategic move to enhance the country’s protection against potential ECOWAS-initiated external aggression. Moreover, it is a significant effort towards eliminating social alienation and disengagement between the elite and the hoi polloi that often attend the adoption of colonialist languages as national or official languages in subjugated nations.

    Finally, the new language policy creates the challenges of re-examining or re-defining concepts such as ‘national language’ and ‘official language’, and of contextually defining and elucidating such terms as ‘working language’ and ‘spoken language’. The policy is therefore an interesting linguistic and geo-political development.

  • The rise, rise and rise of capitalism (XVI)

    The rise, rise and rise of capitalism (XVI)

    One can be forgiven for thinking that throughout the torrid four year period of the First World War, British minds were solely concentrated on how to come out with victory from it. That for the period of the war, they would have put aside the thought of further imperial conquests as they fought a vicious modern war of survival. At a time when they were suffering several thousand casualties everyday, they were still plotting to extend the reach of their extended, some would even say, over-extended Empire which at that time covered more than 25% of the world and existed on all continents. This might be conventional thinking but, not for the British who as early as 1915, in the very early period of the war were already deep in the formulation of plots and stratagems to grab territories in the Middle East which were part of the Ottoman Empire. The empire which together with Germany, Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria formed the opposing Central powers. The war had come at a time when the Ottoman Empire which had at one time been a dominant force in European affairs was clearly on the wane. In spite of this, the Ottomans still held sway in the Middle East taking in territories which stretched across North Africa into the whole of what is called the Middle East today. Within a year of the beginning of the war however, the British, in collaboration with the French had concluded the Sykes-Picot agreement which was basically a secret accord which allocated vast territories to Britain, France, Russia and Italy. By the end of the war, Russia had dropped out of the Alliance and out of the Sykes-Picot agreement so that Britain and France got even more than they had originally allocated to themselves. An interesting footnote to this agreement is that the area around Morocco and also Libya was ceded to Italy whose earlier attempt at colonizing Ethiopia, then known as Abyssinia was brought to a tragic and altogether unsuccessful end at the battle of Adwa in 1899. Furthermore, this rapacious agreement was ratified when the respective territories were awarded to France and Britain as what were referred to as mandated territories. They were handed over to them by the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles which was supposed to have brought the First World War to a close. On further consideration it should be said that it is this kind of thinking that made it possible for that physically insignificant island nation to dominate the world to the extent that it did at the height of its pomp and glory.

    The backbone of the British Empire was the Royal Navy as British naval power was immense. More than that, it was awesome. It was this institution that made the creation of the empire possible. And it was always capable of maintaining, strengthening and expanding it. It is quite understandable then that whatever the Navy wanted or needed, it got from any government of the day. It is pertinent to note that it was the involvement of the British in and the experience gained in the trans-Atlantic slave trade that made the Royal Navy the formidable force that she turned out to be. This is because many men and officers of the Royal Navy were introduced to service at sea on one of the many slave ships that ferried African captives across the sea into slavery. Without that platform, it is unlikely that the Royal Navy would have been as efficient a fighting force as it turned out to be. It was because Britannia ruled the waves that the assertion could be made as indeed it has been made that Britons could never be made slaves of.

    As noted before, several events came together to trigger the Great War but little will be gained by enumerating them here. One of the more visible causes however has to be the insistence of the British on total domination of the seas. The reason for this is clear. The continued control of the affairs of the far flung British Empire could only be guaranteed by the Royal Navy. Each colony, especially India had to be kept within striking distance of a squadron of ships of the line to keep the natives in check at all times from both internal  insurrection and external interference from other colony seeking rivals.

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    Another matter for consideration here is the protection that the Navy provided for the country itself. British involvement in European affairs could be said to have followed from the totally unexpected defeat of the mighty Spanish naval fleet, the Armada by what can only be described as a motley collection of British ships during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. By the time Napoleon, self proclaimed Emperor of the French, was rampaging through Europe nearly two and a half centuries later, it was the British Navy that made it possible for Britain to escape from inclusion in Napoleon’s agenda for total European domination. But for the costly victory of the Royal Navy at the battle of Trafalgar, Napoleon at his prime would have had all the crowned heads of Europe from Russia in the East and Britain in the West in his big bag. It was his inability to bring Britain to heel that led to his eventual demise at Waterloo in 1815. The British success in these battles is still commemorated by the existence of both Trafalgar square with its towering stature of Nelson and  Waterloo Place, both in London. I cannot at this point resist the temptation to put the records straight in this matter of who won the Battle of Waterloo. Not surprisingly, the British have, for a long time claimed Waterloo as a British victory. This is inspired propaganda. For much of that battle, the British were having their arses handed to them by Napoleon. At the height of the battle when Napoleon was probably thinking of another victory, Blücher, at the head of a massive Prussian Calvary force arrived just in time to turn the tide and secure victory. More than two hundred years later, the British are convinced of their victory over Napoleon at Waterloo. It fits right into their colonial tradition.

     At the height of the struggle of Europeans to establish colonies round the world, it was clear to the British that the seas had to be ruled by the Royal Navy. By the turn of the twentieth century, they had come round to insist on maintaining the two Navy system in which the power of the Royal Navy had to be greater than the combined naval power of the two countries next to them. The maintenance of this system was at this time put under considerable challenge when Germany decided on a course of massive naval building following her unification under the guiding hand of Otto von Bismarck, the Iron Chancellor. As expected, Britain accepted the challenge from Germany and it was resolved that she would build two warships for every warship built by the Germans. This sparked off an arms race with both sides finding it difficult to keep up given its effect on their respective economies. The strains imposed on them must have been a contributory factor to the war which duly followed.

    Another ingredient in this heady mix of deadly power relations was the decision by the British government to build a navy powered by fuel oil rather than coal. The decision to switch from coal to oil was initiated by Winston Churchill in his capacity as the First Lord of the Admiralty on the bases of convenience and effectiveness of oil over coal. On the other hand however, there was the question of availability. There was an abundance of coal in Britain and so, there was no problem in respect to providing fuel for the Navy. But, to maintain the dominance of the Royal Navy at whatever cost required, its ships had to switch to oil, large quantities of which existed in those parts of the world under Ottoman control. The equation that needed to be solved was quite simple. Find a way to lay hands on those lands flowing with crude oil. With this in mind, the method in the madness of the Sykes – Picot agreement becomes easily discernible. Britain needed fuel oil for her naval vessels and it made sense to control the lands in which this commodity existed in considerable abundance. A classical case of imperialism at work. Since that unfortunate period in human history the world’s leading capitalist nations have been trying their utmost to retain some form of control over the countries in that region. They have taken little care to disguise their determination to dictate terms to the countries of the Middle East in respect of the vast quantities of crude oil under their soil. The British started the race when they took control of their mandated territories to extract the oil they needed to power the ships of the Royal Navy. Thereafter, they found out that their factories needed to burn fuel oil in order to make it possible for them to continue with the industrial production of all those seductive goods that were the key to their continued control of global means of production. However, the vital importance of oil to the evolution of human civilisation had to wait until after the Second World War when the capitalist mode of production was clearly seen to be in triumphant mode and all varieties of goods produced in ever increasing profusion became available all over the world except perhaps in those areas of the world under communist control as well as in those countries where the absence of capital did not leave room for the consumer boom being enjoyed in the more fortunate parts of the world where the rise, rise and rise of capitalism was prominent.

  • The CBEX swindle

    The CBEX swindle

    Perhaps the scam would have been averted if the govt had arrested the promoters

    Swindling, like most other good or bad things, has been with us for some time. Indeed, Nigeria has had several examples in the past without many Nigerians learning any serious lessons. The one trending in the country now is (Crypto Bridge Exchange (CBEX), which also operates under the corporate identity of ST Technologies International Ltd, Smart Treasure/Super Technology.

    People have lost various sums deposited with CBEX, some as little as N50,000 and others, millions. A particular person reportedly deposited $10,000. Sometimes I wonder what such people want; you have that much money and you cannot think of a worthwhile business to do with it but to risk putting it in a place where it could be eaten up by ants and caterpillars.

    As at the time the company collapsed early this month, the owners had raked in over N1.3 trillion. They then reportedly vanished into thin air!

    I hardly have any feelings for people who hanker after easy money. Yoruba people say “eni nwa’fa, nw’ofo” (whoever is looking for freeby is looking for loss). I hope that translation aptly captures it.

    I have read the accounts of some of the victims of the CBEX swindle. Usually, most of them were introduced to it by friends, relatives, colleagues in the office, co-traders, fellow students, mosque or church members, neighbours, and what have you.

    Inasmuch as there is a long list of CBEX victims to choose from, that of an Ibadan-based ‘kuli-kuli’ (a local snack made from groundnuts) seller in Ibadan interests me most.

    She said in a video that was shared by ‘Punch’, that she “took a loan of one million naira to invest in CBEX,” adding that “they vanished with my money the second week I joined.” In pains, she said “They have ruined our lives in Soka; husbands and wives don’t agree anymore in the home. Please help me, I’m raising stranger’s children.”

    Today’s swindle business seems to me a modern version of the crude one that used to take place in Lagos when I was a child. One day, I was returning on holiday from Ijebu-Ode Grammar School, Ijebu-Ode, where I started my secondary education sometime in the ’70s when I saw this crowd, I think around Onipanu, Lagos. Curious about what could be going on, I put my trunk box down from my head and joined the crowd. I think they were doing both magic and money doubling. Not that I was interested in either, really, because my parents, like many parents of that golden era had warned me that the only wealth that pays is the one that one worked for.

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    But I joined the crowd all the same due to the typical juvenile curiosity. Unknown to me and some other victims of the incident, the organisers had planted pickpockets among the crowd. They were all adept at their duty. They made sure we the onlookers were carried away by what they were doing. Then, as we pushed and shoved ourselves trying to get candid views of what was happening, some of us stretching our necks almost to breaking point in the process, the pickpockets that had been strategically-positioned in the crowd swung into action. I only got to know what had happened when I decided to leave for home. My transport fare had disappeared!

    I began the long trek from that spot to Post Office Bus Stop near Oyingbo where I lived with my paternal grandmother of blessed memory, a distance of about 6.9 km. Even as a little boy then, it didn’t occur to me to beg for transport fare home because that was alien to us here in the southwest. There was no mobile phone then; even the table phones of old were then not for every Tom, Dick and Harry. So, there was no way I could have got across to my grandmother about where I was or what was happening.

    I eventually met her outside the house and when she finally saw me that night, she was extremely happy. She knelt down to pray, fervently thanking God after hearing the big lie I told as excuse for getting home so late. Of course if I had told her the truth, she wouldn’t have flogged me (many grandparents of old always pampered their grandchildren) but my father must never hear that kind of story.

    But that was swindling as we used to know it then. Today, swindling is now big business. It has transformed along with the tide, these days leveraging on technology. Anyone who tries the crude method of the 1970s and ’80s to defraud today would not only reap little, his or her chances of being caught like a chicken are very high.

    But, much as those involved in scamming have kept on upgrading themselves, travelling on the super highway that internet offers, their victims have refused to upgrade. They are still on the analogue lane that leads to regret and gnashing of teeth.

    Greed may be the dominant reason why so many people continue to fall victims of CBEX and other scams; ignorance is another.

    Imagine the ‘kuli-kuli’ seller who said she took one million naira loan to invest in CBEX. Is it not better for her to borrow half of that amount to improve and expand her ‘kuli-kuli’ business? You can imagine the kind of transformation that would happen to the business with such an amount. Five hundred thousand naira may not make a dent on many businesses in view of today’s low value of the naira. But it would have salutary effect on ‘kuli-kuli’ business. Let’s even concede that N500,000 would not be enough, why couldn’t she borrow the one million naira for her ‘kuli-kuli’? That business would no longer be the same again if she had enough knowledge or idea of what to do to better the lot of what she does for a living. Who told her that her business cannot be modernised and her ‘kuli-kuli’ packaged in a way to attract the patronage of people on a higher economic level?

    If many of us see where they produce some of the plantain chips that we eat with relish in traffic hold-ups, we would swear never to eat it again. But all we see is the final product, well packaged and we are even ready to pay a little higher premium to get it if only for that reason. That is the wonder of packaging.

    As a matter of fact, it is this kind of knowledge that many artisans and traders need to better their lot. I don’t know if governments can come in at this stage with programmes to empower people like this with the knowledge to improve their trades, or they go into cooperatives for this and other rewarding purposes. Politicians and philanthropic institutions giving these people start-up capital could also find time to train them on how to improve their businesses. Maybe, many of them who perished for lack of knowledge would have been saved through such programmes.

    Another Yoruba adage says you first ensure that you dye the cloth that you want to dash a lazy fellow (ta ba ma da’so f’ole, a paa laro). It is not enough to start them up, there must also be follow-up workshops and enlightenment programmes to ensure they keep modernising their trades. Many of them who inherited trades from their parents and grandparents have continued to do the trades the same way their ancestors were doing them many decades ago. No trace or evidence of modernisation.

    In the case of the ‘kuli-kuli’ seller, I want to believe that she did not tell those who gave her the loan the truth and the whole truth about what she wanted to use it for. She must have lied to them because it is unlikely those ones would have given her the loan if she said she wanted to invest it in CBEX. In fact, they would have advised her not only to run but flee from it if she had disclosed such a thing to them! Yes, they are eager to give loans and get interest from it; but they are also concerned about the risk element on the loan.

    Now, the ‘kuli-kuli’ seller and the many others who have fallen victims of CBEX are gnashing their teeth and biting their lips in regret. A dry morsel eaten in peace is better than fat meat in a terrible situation (okele gbigbe pelu itelorun san ju ora agbo ninu hila, hilo).

    Many of the victims said they were told that government approved the business.

    Some said they joined because there are no jobs. None of the excuses is good enough.

    But all of them have one prayer in common: they want the government to help them by probing those involved in the scam and punishing them. They want government to help them retrieve their deposits. Those are the kinds of things that happen when businesses go awry. Those ‘investors’ who participated in the CBEX deposits early enough have since smiled to the banks. I am not sure they paid tax, not to talk of government being aware that they made such profit for doing nothing.

    But such is life. A dog knows the way back to its owner’s house after using its head to pack faeces.

    As I said earlier, I have no sympathy for people who fall victims of a thing like this. Even then, I think the Federal Government ought to have done better by stopping the scam before many Nigerians became victims. It is true an institution like the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) warned against patronising CBEX. It is possible the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) also did. But, was that enough?

    Could the operators not have been rounded up the moment the government saw they were operating without approval?

    I am a novice here. I only want to be educated. Is ‘siddon’ look as we did with CBEX the global best practice in the circumstance?

    Even if that is, methinks the government still ought to have done a little more to prevent this ugly situation. If government can take it upon itself to prosecute people who attempted suicide, nothing stops it from helping to stop a business like CBEX before it became a messy affair. Some of its victims may contemplate suicide. Without necessarily saying the ‘kuli-kuli’ seller is likely to consider that option, how many ‘kuli-kuli’ would she sell to get one million naira? Seen why the government

    ought to have done better than the warnings that its agencies gave on this matter?