The Nation Newspaper

Category: Hardball

  • NBA’s obtainment tangle

    NBA’s obtainment tangle

    The ink had hardly dried on the sheets proclaiming emergency rule in Rivers State than the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) started hoofing it was unconstitutional! 

    No one, back then, could have guessed that was more for a Fubara obtainment, than for NBA’s ballyhooed rule of law!  But now, folks know better!

    Whether the NBA claim is correct or not, on the disputed cash, is now sub-judice.  But however the case goes, not all the legalese in NBA’s cocky arsenal could wash this obtainment scandal off its body, just as not all of the waters in the Atlantic could clean the deranged Lady Macbeth’s bloody hands of regicide.  It’s clearly not the NBA’s finest hour!

    Pushing its “rule of law” gallery play, the NBA had, full of legalistic flourish, announced the shifting of its conference from Port Harcourt, Rivers, to Enugu, Enugu State.  It claimed it couldn’t, in all good conscience, hold its parley in an outpost under the yoke of an undemocratic sole administrator!

    Wait a minute, that’s cant! — Rtd. Vice Admiral Ibok-ete Ibas, the Rivers administrator, roared back.  If you want to move your conference, that’s fine.  But return “our” N300 million!  You can’t bad-mouth a state, yet take its money!

    From that spot, our “rule of law” NBA started speaking in tongues!  First, it wasn’t tied to any hosting right.  Then, it was free and unconditional gift — as if there is ever a free lunch even in Freetown!  In any case, Ibas should produce any signed document committing NBA to holding its conference in Port Harcourt.  We’re keeping the cash! All gas!  All cant!  All legalese!  Yet, no respite.

    Read Also: Rivers lawmaker accuses NBA of hypocrisy, insists on refund of N300 million to state

    Let the NBA do the honourable thing: return the cash — and stop this disgraceful quibbling over a night it can’t spin into a day, no matter how hard it tries.

    And while at that: it must give us full disclosure too.  With Enugu now its new bride, did it do a fresh obtainment from the Enugu government?  Or it was “rule of law” that propelled its reason?  We have a right to full disclosure!

    But before anyone starts pointing fingers and playing the saint, just remember that cynical Nigerian quip: we’re all rogues, but whoever is caught out becomes “barawo”!

    This parasitizing on the government and turning round to roast that same government is a Nigerian elite specialty.  Very early in this same 4th Republic, the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) created its own racket, making themselves self-imposed judges over state governments’ project performance, with its leaders savouring the resulting sushi, after a scandalous tour of some states!

    So, as it is, there’s an NBA in the Nigerian elite DNA — the NBA in all of us? The Yoruba call it “ajeniseni” — in coarsest and most cynical pidgin: “chop and clean mouth”!

    Let the NBA do what’s right — and thanks to the “undemocratic” Ibas: he summoned the courage to expose the holy hypocrisy of our “democratic” NBA! 

    No country thrives on self-imposed lies!

  • Unequal treatment

    Unequal treatment

    In a case of questionable double standard, security agents responded differently to two women’s groups staging separate demonstrations about emergency rule in Rivers State.

    President Bola Tinubu had intervened in the political crisis in the state by declaring a state of emergency on March 18.  He suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, Dr Ngozi Ordu, and all members of the Rivers State House of Assembly. He also appointed Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas (retd) as the sole administrator of the state for an initial period of six months. The Senate and House of Representatives endorsed the president’s measures.

    On April 11, a group of about 200 women under the aegis of Rivers Women Unite for Sim protested against emergency rule in the state and demanded the reinstatement of Fubara. The protesters from Elleye and Engine communities in Ahoada East local government area were reported to have carried placards with messages such as “Ibas leave us alone,” “Our democracy is threatened,” among others. “Security operatives, including the police, fired teargas to disperse them, causing the protesters to flee in different directions,” a report said.

    Three days later, on April 14, another group, Rivers Women for Peace and Good Governance, marched through Aba Road and arrived at the Isaac Boro Park in Port Harcourt, the state capital.  The women carried placards with messages such as “Emergency rule is Constitutional,” “We support Tinubu,” “Don’t take us back to darkness. Don’t return Fubara,” among others. They were not dispersed with tear gas by security agents.

    Read Also: Rivers: Only police, EFCC, ICPC can probe Fubara, says Ahamba

    One of the leaders of the anti-Fubara group, Mrs Inime Aguma, told journalists that they were grateful to President Tinubu “for declaring a state of emergency in Rivers State,” adding that they were “pleased with it and living well with it.”

    Rivers Fubara, Wike and Tinubu

    A former Commissioner for Social Welfare and Rehabilitation under Fubara, she had resigned in May 2024 as the conflict between him and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, worsened. She was among pro-Wike commissioners who resigned from the Fubara administration at the time. She had attributed her resignation to the “inconducive working environment,” saying there was “no room for progressional development in the workplace.”

    Why were the Port Harcourt demonstrators and the Ahoada East protesters treated differently by security agents?  Did the anti-Fubara group have the backing of the powers that be?  Was the pro-Fubara group regarded as an irritant? The unequal treatment was unfair.

  • Rising and rising

    Rising and rising

    Rising inflation in the country continued in the last three months. Many Nigerians struggled to cope with this reality. Sadly, there seems to be no end in sight.

    Figures from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) indicated that the cost-of-living crisis in the country is unrelenting. Month-on-month food inflation rate, for instance, increased in September, notably affecting prices of staples such as rice, maize, beans, and yams. There were also significant price increases in housing rentals, transport, and medical services.

    Again, according to the agency, the inflation rate rose to 33.8 percent in October from 32.70 percent recorded in September. At the time, the Statistician General of the Federation, Prince Adeyemi Adeniran, said in a statement that the highest increases were recorded in the prices of “Bus Journey within the city, Journey by motorcycle, Bus journey intercity, etc. (under Passenger Transport by Road Class), Rents (Actual and Imputed Rentals for Housing Class), Meal at a local Restaurant (Accommodation Service Class), and hair cut service, woman hairbrush, women’s hairdressing, etc. (Hairdressing salons & personal grooming establishments Class).”

    Read Also: FAAC shares N1.578tr March revenue to FG, States, LGAs

    The narrative has not changed. The prices of staples keep increasing. The same thing is true regarding housing rentals, transport, and medical services.  Yet again, a report by the bureau said inflation increased in November. The food inflation rate in November 2024, for instance, was higher than the rate recorded in October 2024, the agency said, attributing the rise to “the rate of increase in the average prices of Mudfish, Catfish Dried, Dried Fish Sardine, etc. (Fish Class), Rice, Yam Flour, Millet Whole grain, Corn flour, etc. (Bread and Cereals Class), Agric Egg, Powdered Milk, Fresh Milk, etc. (Milk, cheese and eggs Class) and Dried Beef, Goat Meat, Frozen Chicken, etc. (Meat Class).”

    The alarmingly deteriorating cost-of-living crisis in the country is a bad advertisement for the Federal Government’s reforms. All levels of government are expected to urgently find solutions to the cost-of-living issues in the spaces they govern. 

    The Federal Government’s repetitive argument that the reforms negatively impacting Nigerians are a necessary means to a positive end can’t make sense to people who are unable to breathe because of the cost of living.

    The increasing prices of goods and services reported by the NBS continue to suggest that the reforms may well be counter-productive.  The people want falling prices, not prices that are rising and rising.

    •This article was first published on December 19, 2024

  • APC’s new found bride

    APC’s new found bride

    It’s amusing, isn’t it, seeing APC’s many elements flocking to former President Muhammadu Buhari’s Kaduna home! 

    The loyalists: two groups, one led by APC National Chairman, ex-Governor Abdullahi Ganduje; the other, a hodgepodge of leaders and party who-is-who, went to pledge renewed loyalty to PMB and the federal ruling party.  It was Sallah solidarity.

    Then, the rebels: the mercurial Nasir el-Rufai, had announced his defection to SDP.  Opportunistic Atiku Abubakar, ex-VeePee and ex-APC too, was in tow. They both came, bearing post-Sallah greetings.  But you knew both were fishing for propaganda value, in the northern streets at least, for their new political gambits. 

    Politicians!  Once again, the much vilified PMB is everyone’s dashing bride!

    It appears centuries now from 2023, when PMB became the devil — for bequeathing a “dead economy”!  Friend and foe crowed it at the mountain top, not minding its limited monetarist context.  How can a president with robust infrastructure record — when it was all decay he inherited from Goodluck Jonathan, in the most resource-tasking of eras — leave behind a “dead economy”?  Was that not a violent contradiction in terms?

    Anambra Governor, Chukwuma Soludo, owned that quip.  But wasn’t Soludo part of the Obasanjo-PDP old guard?  If his policies — as both national economic adviser and CBN governor — were so great, why was PDP soundly repudiated in 2015, to gift APC power?

    Well, the PMB gaffe is a symptom, with APC as case study.  The real disease is the crisis in Nigeria’s political party system. 

    If the party system was sound, across the board, the Tinubu Presidency would have annexed PMB’s remarkable records in infrastructure and agriculture, incorporated it into own tenure, and benchmarked the APC era — 10 years by May 29 — against PDP’s, and demonstrate with facts, figures and verifiable projects, how they had bettered PDP’s 16 years, blighted with Obasanjo’s futile empire-chasing!

    Read Also: APC under Tinubu will give us Anioma state – Senator Nwoko

    If they had done that, those now running from pillar to post to gather political moss, even as rolling stones, would have got less brazen lies to tell, even to the most gullible.

    Post-power, PMB continues to show how a responsible ex-president should be — non-intrusive, polite and gracious to his successors and definitely, non-hectoring! Compare and contrast that to the eternal grating of Baba Iyabo, just to veil his barren but loud power years!

    APC should learn to graft its past into its present, to power its future.  A folk hero like PMB — and he just restated his absolute faith in the party — is indispensable to that. 

    But that should have been from Day One.  You don’t just jerk awake and start dashing around as headless chickens at mid-term!  Still, it’s better late than never.

  • Borno’s security realities

    Borno’s security realities

    Governor of Borno State Babagana Zulum painted an alarming picture suggesting that state actors were failing in their security role when he addressed participants in a special expanded security meeting at the Government House, Maiduguri, on April 8. The attendees included the General Officer Commanding 7 Division, Maj. Gen. Abubakar Haruna, sector commanders, the commissioner of police, heads of other security agencies and traditional rulers.

    According to the governor, “The renewed Boko Haram attacks and kidnappings in many communities almost on a daily basis without confrontation signalled that Borno State is losing ground.”

     He noted that “the recent attacks and dislodgement of military formations in Wajirko, Sabon Gari in Damboa local government area, Wulgo in Gamboru Ngala, Izge in Gwoza local government area among other related killing of innocent civilians and security agents calls for serious concern, and it is a setback in the fragile state of Borno and the North-East region”

    Boko Haram insurgents had attacked two military formations in the state in March, an army base in Wajirko and another in Wulgo. Also, a convoy, including the Brigade Commander of ‘Operation Hadin Kai,’ struck landmines along the Maiduguri-Damboa-Biu road, resulting in fatalities.

    In another incident, suspected members of Boko Haram and the Islamic State’s West Africa Province (ISWAP) reportedly killed about 40 farmers in the Dumba community in Kukawa local government area of the state, in January. Many others were believed to have been kidnapped by the insurgents during the attack.

    Read Also: Tompolo predicts Fubara’s return as Rivers gov, calls for peace in Niger Delta

    Zulum called for “more efforts” by the security agencies “to stem the tide of renewed attacks bedevilling parts of the Sahelian Borno which shares international borders with three African countries of Chad, Niger and Cameroon.”

    The Shehu of Borno, Abubakar El-Kanemi, observed that Guzamala, Marte, Abbadam local government areas and some parts of Mobbar local government area were still under Boko Haram’s control.

    The governor and the traditional ruler are expected to be aware of the security realities in the state. Their narratives indicate that the country is far from winning the war on terror.

    It is disturbing that after over a decade of the Federal Government’s anti-terrorism efforts, terrorists can still attack military formations, invade communities, abduct students and others, raid farms, and even take over territories.

    The authorities should stop living in denial, promoting the narrative of victory over terrorism while the reality is so different. That is the import of these observations by the governor and the traditional ruler.

  • Misguided activism

    Misguided activism

    Some Nigerian activists – as they professed – in the United States are planning a demonstration in that country. This is to protest alleged violation of democratic principles in their native land and seek intervention by American President Donald Trump.

    The so-called activists, on a platform named the Democratic Movement, said they were unhappy with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s recent declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State and were seeking its reversal and reinstatement of suspended Governor Sim Fubara, his deputy Professor Ngozi Nma Odu, and members of the Rivers State House of Assembly. Towards this end, they said they hoped to invite Trump and some other world leaders, including those in the United Nations and the African Union, to pressure the Nigerian government.

    Reports cited the group’s president, Cosmos Collins Achief, saying the demonstration in Washington would seek to draw global attention to what his members perceived as “direct assault on democracy and the will of the people” in Nigeria. Speaking in a statement on Thursday, last week, Achief declared: “We cannot sit back while an elected governor is removed, an entire legislature is suspended, and an unelected administrator is imposed. These are dangerous precedents that threaten Nigeria’s democracy.”

    Read Also: First Lady flags off midwives’ kit distribution in Northeast

    The protest action, scheduled to be staged in the U.S. capital, would see demonstrators march towards the White House and the U.S. Department of State to submit petitions demanding international intervention. “The world needs to see what is happening in Rivers State… We are urging President Donald Trump to engage with Nigerian authorities and call for immediate restoration of constitutional order,” Achief said, adding: “The president (Tinubu) must understand that his actions could lead to serious diplomatic consequences. This move is a step toward dictatorship, and Nigeria risks facing international sanctions if democratic principles are not respected.”

    The proposed action is laughable, if not downright pitiable to say the least. The demonstrators had better be sure their residency papers can withstand the most rigorous scrutiny under the extreme immigration laws of the Trump administration, otherwise they would be on the next deportation flight out of that country that has become highly irritant towards immigrants under the current dispensation.

    Besides, it seems like the so-called activists do not know the difference between a country’s internal affairs, which the Rivers matter is, and issues for international mediation that it is making it out to be. In any event, America’s Trump is the last person to moderate the practice of democracy in the world today, considering his own disavowal of age-long fundamentals of democracy that his country had hitherto enshrined. It isn’t even likely he will be interested anyway, given his ultra-nationalistic focus on American interests. In short, the activists are running up a wall  

  • LP: Wages of electoral whoredom

    LP: Wages of electoral whoredom

    Remember that TV fiction of yore: “Fuji House of Commotion”? That’s Labour Party (LP) now!  But if Fuji House delivered thrilling commotion, its LP live cousin is delivering sinking political horrors!

    And all for what?  Soulless prostitution that traded away its ideological soul for electoral rolling stone, Peter Obi, who hardly believes in anything but his China stats, euphemism for numeric lies in hyperboles!

    Pronto, Obi, as arch-capitalist as they come, became beatified emergency comrade to romp LP into the nirvana of power of its socialist dreams dreams: clannish votes, rabid tapping into Christian votes, with lovely and moving “Yes, Daddy” holy lullabies!

    Less than three years later?  The LP House of Political Horrors!

    Alhaji Bashiru Lamidi Apapa, who had a long running battle with Julius Abure as LP national chair, just re-named himself new LP acting czar.  Abure, who would have sworn he had gamed his opponents with a Court of Appeal verdict, has found himself struggling anew.  The Supreme Court verdict shredded all that, but can’t put the LP humpty-dumpty together again!

    Joe Ajaero, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) president, who pulled all stops to make  NLC the electoral battling ram for Obi — he with Abure, before their song of mutual flattery become mutual caustic abuse — just declared a self-given mission to send NLC cells to flush out Abure and co in LP offices nationwide.

    O dear!  The revolution is consuming own children!

    The rather sedate Esther Nenadi Usman, who perches on the throne conjured by the LP patrician wing, waits in the wings!  She may have sole governor — Abia’s Alex Otti — and even the flighty Pitobi in her camp.  But where exactly is her palace — this burning furnace of factions and counter-factions?

    LP House of Horrors!

    Initial prostitution could quite be exciting.  It’s the long-term result that’s sobering — and shattering.  That, LP is finding out in cruel realtime.

    Even Governor Otti did a deal with Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), another LP offspring in opportunism, when he had Abia council elections to win but no sure platform to use.

    Read Also: INEC delineation: Uproar as Itsekiris shutdown 28,000 bpd facility in Delta

    Obi himself is a bird of passage.  He’s ideologically distinct from LP as night is distinct from day.  Now, the mutual opportunism that brought them together in 2022 is scattering them in 2025!

    Since LP as emergency platform landed its first sushi in 2007 — though Governor Segun Mimiko did not assume office until February 2009 after retrieving his stolen vote — LP has developed quite an expertise in crass opportunism, often lending itself to the highest election-time bidder.

    But even with Mimiko, it was use-and-dump.  After floating ZLP — whichever one came first — Mimiko too dumped LP for the leftover vomit he had left in PDP!

    Obi will do same in 2027 — and you don’t need a crystal to figure that out.  For LP, it’s the cruel wages of whoredom — and it’s thoroughly deserved.

  • Uzodimma and the voice of reason

    Uzodimma and the voice of reason

    Governor of Imo State Hope Uzodimma is expected to uphold law and order in the state. But his appointment of Justice Theophilus Nnamdi Nzeukwu as the acting Chief Judge of the state may well have upturned law and order.

    The National Judicial Council (NJC), in a statement by its Deputy Director (Information), Mrs Kemi Oxendine, said it “has not given approval to the governor for the appointment of the acting Chief Judge.” The council also said it “is not a party to the process of the purported appointment.”

     The NJC explained that the governor had earlier written to the council requesting its approval to appoint Justice Nzeukwu, “who is number four in the hierarchy of seniority,” as acting Chief Judge of the state. The council said he “gave reasons why in his own view, the three most senior judges are not appointable.” 

    However, the council stated that “the said letter is yet to be considered, as deliberation on the request is slated for the next council meeting, which is scheduled to hold on 29th and 30th April, 2025.” It stressed that “the governor’s request is yet to be considered by the council.”

    So, why did the governor jump the gun? He has a lot of explaining to do. The position became vacant following the removal of the then Chief Judge of Imo State, Justice T. E. Chukwuemeka Chikeka, based on the NJC’s recommendation to the governor.  According to the council, the recommendation was prompted by the findings that he “has two different dates of birth: 27 October 1956 and 27 October 1958.”

    Read Also: Easiest countries for Nigerians to gain citizenship in 2025

    If Governor Uzodimma had removed the former occupant of the position based on the council’s recommendation, why did he not wait for the council’s recommendation before appointing a replacement? The NJC is the body responsible for the appointment and discipline of judicial officers in Nigeria. The governor cannot choose when to respect its role and when to disregard it.

    Curiously, four of the five branches of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Imo State endorsed the rushed appointment.  The chairmen of these branches, Prince B.O. Amukamara (NBA Orlu), I.I. Iheonu (NBA Okigwe), Ndubuisi Uhuegbu (NBA Mbano/Etiti), and Chief Eze Ihekoronye (NBA Mbaise), stated “categorically” that the governor’s decision to appoint Justice Nzeukwu “is acceptable to the majority of NBA members in Imo State.”

    Interestingly, the Chairman of the NBA Owerri Branch in the state, Chief Chris U. Ihentuge, and the Secretary, Daniel O. Odiba, in a statement, took a different position on the issue. The governor “should immediately take steps to address this situation and reverse this action which is inconsistent with the Constitution,” they stated.  They also argued that “Failure to do so will further erode public confidence in the judiciary at a time when trust in our institutions is already fragile.” This is the voice of reason.

  • New face of America

    New face of America

    Enormously much has changed in the political character of the United States of America. Nothing illustrates this more pointedly, perhaps, than the touted third term bid by President Donald Trump. To be sure, it is a long way from late 2000s when former President Barack Obama tutored Africa about strong institutions and not strongmen being an invariable recipe for economic and political emancipation.

    On his first official trip as US president to the heart of Africa in July 2009, Obama sermonised to nations on the continent how to get out of the mire. “Africa’s future is up to Africans,” he said in a speech to the Ghanaian parliament that he expected to resonate wide. On political office tenure, he stated: “Make no mistake: history is on the side of these brave Africans, and not with those who use coups or change constitutions to stay in power. Africa doesn’t need strongmen, it needs strong institutions.” In 2015 during a tour of some African states in the closing months of his presidency, he revisited the issue. Speaking at the African Union (AU) headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, he called on the body to ensure leaders respect their respective constitution and step down when their term ends. “Nobody should be president for life,” he stated.

    Read Also: Edo moves to resolve dispute over ceding of oil wells to Delta state

    It is doubtful if Obama recognises his own country today with the bid by incumbent President Trump, who lately said he was contemplating serving a third term in the Oval Office, and that he wasn’t joking about it. Trump served as president from 2016 to 2020, and is currently into a second term from 2025 to 2028. But he made clear he wasn’t ruling out seeking a third term. “A lot of people want me to do it,” he said in a phone interview with an American news medium. “But, I mean, I basically tell them we have a long way to go, you know, it’s very early in the administration.” Asked whether he really wanted another term, the president responded, “I like working,” adding that he was “not joking” about trying to serve a third term

    The 22nd Amendment, added to the American Constitution in 1951 after President Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected four times in a row, says “no person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice.” Amending the constitution to scrap the two-term limit would require either a two-thirds vote by Congress or two-thirds of the states agreeing to call a constitutional convention to propose changes. Either route would then require ratification by three-quarters of the states. It is a tortuous road to such amendment, but Trump gave indication of having some jokers up his sleeves. “There are methods  by which you could do it,” he said.

    It’s Trump era in America. Who knows: Nigeria may sometime soon be in a position to teach the country one thing or two about democratic probity. Who knows!

  • Tsiga: The rich also cry 

    Tsiga: The rich also cry 

    At last, it is soothing relief that Brig-General Maharazu Tsiga (retd), former director-general of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), has regained his freedom.  He was abducted from his country home in Tsiga, in the Bakori local government area of Katsina State, on February 16.

    The retired one-star General was seized, with other unnamed persons, in that infamous raid on Tsiga; and marched into the kidnappers’ den.  The abductors were reported to have demanded a ransom of N250 million to free the General.  That was later negotiated down to N50 million.  It was not clear though, if any ransom was paid to effect his release.

    Again, it’s good news that the man has regained his freedom, ransom or no ransom. His fate, at least, does not belong to the category of captives, killed by heartless kidnappers, even after ransom had been paid, in the most gruesome of manners!

    Hardball wishes the General well in his post-captive life.  He is reportedly receiving therapy in a hospital.  The medics there should endeavour to give him the best of treatment.  He should also have access to the best psychological assessment care.  The trauma of being kidnapped by gun-wielding ruffians should not be wished upon anyone — not even the worst of enemies.

    Read Also: Ribadu handover, Gen. Tsiga, Amb. Yohanna, 17 other kidnap victims to families

    Still, it’s a biting irony that a seasoned man of arms, trained to secure other citizens; and even charged, by NYSC, to shape the lives of millions of young Nigerian tertiary graduates, should suffer capture and torture.  The rich indeed also cry!

    True, kidnapping unfortunately is the reality of many nameless Nigerians, even if the security agencies have upped their game in trying to checkmate these felons.  Yet, that a retired General could still fall a victim shows that the battle against this high crime is far from being won.

    Indeed, from that same troubled North West ring came the horrible news that Bello Turji, the notorious bandit, just killed 11 unfortunate farmers!  This is this same Turji whose days, the security agencies once said, were numbered!  What’s going on?  Is Turji getting getting stronger, and his co-bandits more brazen?

    The release of Gen. Tsiga is a good reason to refocus attention on this grave insecurity crisis, from which no part of this country is immune.  We joy at his release.  But it’s cold comfort that far too many Nigerians are still under the yoke of violent criminals.

    That is why the security agencies must redouble their efforts to smoke out these outlaws.