The Nation Newspaper

Category: Hardball

  • Trump’s epiphany

    Trump’s epiphany

    United States President Donald Trump is strongly opinionated, verging on bigotry. He is hardline in perspective and makes no apologies about his dispositions that contradict other people’s realities. And so, when he shifts ground – even if grudgingly so – it is a noteworthy recalibration of his worldview.

    For the first time since the American leader took interest in the challenge of insecurity in Nigeria, he recently conceded that Muslims are also victims of killings by bandits. Contrary to the reality on ground, he had repeatedly claimed that Christians were being targeted with genocidal attacks. Following his designation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern, he threatened to deploy US troops to the country, saying they would come in “guns-a-blazing to wipe out the terrorists killing our cherished Christians” amid repeated claims by some US politicians that Christians are subjected to systematic persecution in Nigeria.

    The Nigerian government and many Nigerians rebutted the allegations that Christians were being targeted for killing. Bandits have operated more virulently in the northern areas of the country where Moslems happen to predominate, and they attack their targets indiscriminately and without premeditation based on religious affiliation or ethnic consideration. The point Nigeria has strained to get across is that the challenge of insecurity in the country is cross-cutting and requires a sweeping counteraction, not selective remedying as Washington wanted to make it.

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    Trump had seemed impervious to Nigeria’s argument, even though his administration struck a working pact with the Nigerian government to hit at terrorist hideouts. On Christmas Day 2025, US forces launched missile strikes against Islamic State (IS) militants in northwest Nigeria in a “joint operation” with the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

    In an interview with the New York Times published on the newspaper’s website last week, the American leader was asked whether the missile strikes against the IS signalled the start of a wider military campaign, to which he responded that his country could launch additional military strikes in Nigeria if attacks on Christians persists. “I’d love to make it a one-time strike,” he said, adding: “But if they continue to kill Christians it will be a many-time strike.”

    In October, Trump’s senior adviser for Arab and African affairs, Massad Boulos, said extremist groups such as Boko Haram and IS were killing more Muslims than Christians in Nigeria. Asked about his adviser’s remarks, Trump responded: “I think that Muslims are being killed also in Nigeria. But it’s mostly Christians.”

    The American leader need be advised to face up fully to expert information about Nigeria’s reality from within his own orbit. Accepting that reality will not in any way demean the value of his country’s assistance to curtail Nigeria’s insecurity challenge. Rather, discounting the reality with bigoted inaccuracy complicates the motive for the assistance and detracts from its worth.

  • Another face of armed robbery

    Another face of armed robbery

    It’s bad enough that police extortion of innocent citizens is no news in the country; however, the experience of a Lagos-based plumber, Nifemi Oyerinde, who fell victim to gun-wielding extortionist officers, takes the issue to a disturbing new level.

    Oyerinde narrated his ordeal: “I was on an Uber ride when they stopped the vehicle while the driver was turning onto CMD Road by Otedola Bridge. They told me to come down and took me to where their vehicle was parked. They opened my bag and checked everything. There was nothing inside apart from my clothes, charger and perfume.

    “They collected my phone and asked me to call someone to verify that I’m a plumber.”

    He soon realised that identity verification was merely a pretext; the officers were intent on extortion, and his actual identity was irrelevant. According to Oyerinde, the person he called – his boss – confirmed his profession to the officers, stating he is a plumber and “not into fraud.”

    That wasn’t enough to secure his release, as the officers had other plans.  “They said I should bring N1m or they would take me to the station,” Oyerinde said. It is a common threat used by rogue officers; the “station” is wielded as a weapon for blackmail rather than a place of justice, implying a more permanent and dangerous detention.

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    He described a grim scene of bargaining for his liberty: “I told them I don’t have such money. They later reduced the amount to N300,000 and eventually demanded N70,000 after prolonged negotiations.”

     It was finally time to pay for his freedom. “After I transferred the N70,000 from my second phone – because of the gun they were holding – they gave me back my phone and even followed me to the car before letting me go,” he recalled.

    There was a clear threat of violence, underscoring that he didn’t pay because he was guilty, but because he was effectively at gunpoint.

    Notably, the Lagos State Coordinator of the Take It Back Movement, Taofeek Adekunle, issued a statement condemning the officers. He demanded their immediate identification, a refund of the extorted N70,000, and the prosecution of all those responsible.

    Interestingly, the state command spokesperson, Abimbola Adebisi, confirmed she was aware of the incident, stating: “The Complaint Response Unit is handling the matter.”

    The police must respond without delay; gunpoint extortion by police officers is, in reality, nothing less than armed robbery.

  • A hollow plea

    A hollow plea

    A stakeholder group, the Northern Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN), lately canvassed criminalisation of ransom payment to abductors to discourage the menace of kidnappings in Nigeria. The group called on authorities to strictly implement existing statute prohibiting payment of ransom in the country.

    Agency reports cited an open letter in which the group’s National President Isah Abubakar lamented the trend by which despite efforts by gallant security forces, kidnapping remains a profitable venture for criminal actors owing to ransom payments by desperate citizens. His plea, according to reports, was by an open letter addressed to National Security Adviser (NSA) Nuhu Ribadu. Dated January 3, 2026, the letter was copied to the Minister of Defence, Chief of Defence Staff, military Service Chiefs and the Inspector-General of Police.

    Abubakar said he was writing on behalf of not just NYCN, but millions of northern youths bearing the brunt of insecurity ravaging different communities. He called on authorities to take a strong stand by enforcing the law against ransom payment because, according to him, such payments have been the “oxygen of banditry”. Every ransom paid, he argued, enables bandits to buy weapons, fund logistics and recruit soldiers; hence, paying ransom inadvertently subsidises terrorism.

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    The youth leader urged immediate gazetting and publicisation of existing law criminalising ransom payment. He said such law must not be merely on paper but should be forcefully applied, as that is the only way to break the demand-and-supply chain. He also canvassed intelligence-driven rescue operations using technological tools in place of negotiating ransom payment for release of kidnapped victims. While he acknowledged the emotional trauma families face when loved ones get abducted, he argued that ransom payment create a bigger public challenge and called for criminal liability against families or societal groups that negotiate with kidnappers.

    Abubakar’s plea is persuasive but hollow. It is likely the legal framework he had in mind was a legislation processed in 2022 by the National Assembly, which prescribed a 15-year jail term for paying ransom to free abductees. Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, then chairman of the Senate’s judiciary, human rights and legal committee, told the red chamber that making ransom payment punishable with lengthy jail sentences should “discourage the rising spate of kidnapping and abduction for ransom in Nigeria.” The bill also prescribed the death penalty for convicted kidnappers where the abduction leads to loss of life, and life imprisonment in other cases. The House of Representatives, later same year, passed the legislation prohibiting ransom payment to free kidnap victims.

    The fatal flaw of the legislation, which it is doubtful ever became a law, is that it is double jeopardy for abductees and their families. You could not stop innocent citizens from being kidnapped, and now you want to hamstring relatives from securing their release from abductors. You could well go tell it to the birds.

  • Renewed strike 

    Renewed strike 

    It’s troubling that the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) is set to go on an indefinite strike from January 12. Following an expanded National Executive Council meeting, the group’s President, Dr Muhammad Suleiman, unveiled a renewed action plan, with the slogan “No Implementation, No Going Back.”

    The group is demanding the full implementation of nine minimum demands. These include the reinstatement of five doctors dismissed from the Federal Teaching Hospital, Lokoja; payment of outstanding promotion and salary arrears; and full implementation of the professional and specialist allowance tables, with arrears captured in the 2026 budget.

    Others include: resolution of house officers’ salary delays and arrears with issuance of a formal pay advisory; commencement of locum and work-hours regulation committees; and resumption and timely conclusion of the Collective Bargaining Agreement process.

    It is noteworthy that NARD had earlier declared a strike that started on November 1, 2025, and lasted for nearly a month. At the time, it was reported to have 19 demands. Its Secretary-General, Dr Shuaibu Ibrahim, had said: “With about 11,000 members, the strike will affect 91 healthcare facilities nationwide.”

    NARD is mainly made up of doctors in the public sector – federal and state teaching and specialist hospitals. Resident doctors have already received their medical degree, and are completing additional training in their specialty of choice. It is a stage of graduate medical training that lasts from three to seven years, depending on the specialty. 

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    Suleiman, in a statement after the last strike began, said the association’s demands “are not selfish, neither are they politically motivated.” According to him, “They are genuine, germane, and patriotic, centred on the survival of the Nigerian health system and the well-being of every citizen who depends on it.” He added: “This is not a fight between resident doctors and the government; it is a struggle for a functional, just, and humane healthcare system.”

     It’s disturbing that NARD is about to start another strike less than two months after the last one.  The union had suspended the strike after signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Federal Government, outlining seven outstanding issues the government must address. “If the outstanding commitments are not met within the specified period, we will resume the strike,” Ibrahim had said.

    Suleiman has provided a strong reason for the association’s decision to resume the strike: “Every issue is either at the point where the MoU was on the 27th of November, or we have even gone backwards.”

    The failure to resolve these issues – which prompted the latest strike announcement – has serious consequences for those relying on public healthcare. The situation demands an urgent resolution by the authorities.

  • Milking AJ’s misfortune

    Milking AJ’s misfortune

    Age-long cultural sensibility dictates that one does not feast on the misfortune of others. That is why a decent society would pull together in concerted support and consolation of any member befallen by tragedy, at least for the period it takes for that affected person to heal. It is the same underlying sentiment informing evil never being spoken of the dead. You might say it is more of an African taboo, but that is what defines our humanness. It detracts from the essence of humanity when people go on a spree to spice the misfortune of others, for whatever motive.

    Former world boxing champion with Nigerian roots, Anthony Joshua, has been treated to unsavory publicity over his recent experience of a car crash in which he lost two close buddies. Joshua had just won a fight against Jake Paul and was in Nigeria for the Yuletide when, on 29th December, a Lexus SUV conveying him and his friends rammed into a stationary truck on Lagos-Ibadan expressway. Joshua’s close associates — Kevin Latif Ayodele, his personal trainer, and Sina Ghami, his strength and conditioning coach — died in the accident, which left the boxer with injuries that landed him in hospital for a couple of days.

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    Freelance reportage of the crash left a big question on humanistic decency. In video clips circulated online, there was scant sensitivity to privacy – neither of the living nor the dead. Besides distressing sight of half-clad Joshua being pulled from the wreckage, pictures of mangled bodies of the dead victims were shared obviously with no thought for how it would impact on loved ones. It was a grim feast of unsightly ruin used to garner traffic.

    Joshua recovered enough to get discharged from hospital on 31st December. Only his condition left fans guessing whether he would remain active in his career. Joshua himself hasn’t spoken to the issue, but opportunists have latched on to misinform by way of an Artificial Intelligence-generated video showing the boxer announcing his retirement from professional boxing. In the clip that went viral on social media, a distraught Joshua appeared to wish he had died in the crash instead of his friends. “They have left this world because of me. Therefore, I have officially decided to step away from boxing,” he purportedly declared, adding: “Because the moment I step into the ring, their faces appear in my mind, and that grief completely crushes me.” The video shared on an online site has had over 220k views with at least 1.2k shares.

    A fact-checking platform, CableCheck, however, identified irregularities in the footage consistent with AI manipulation. It cited several features of the footage showing that independent clips of the boxer were cobbled together with AI-generated voiceover. Its verdict was that the viral video was fake news.

    It’s so sad that Joshua’s distress has become fodder for misinformation. Vultures!

  • Ebo Noah and deluge deferred

    Ebo Noah and deluge deferred

    Doomsday prophets seem never to tire, and they do not get dissuaded by serial failure of past predictions. The shocking thing is that they also seem to never lack gullible people who believe in their crackbrained predictions, no matter how improbable such prediction might seem to commonsense.

    The latest instance is a self-proclaimed Ghanaian prophet, labelling himself ‘Ebo Noah’ who predicted that the world would end through flooding on 25th December, 2025, and that only those who get on arks that God asked him to build would be saved. Only that he came up on the eve of the predicted doomsday to say the disaster had been postponed following what he described as divine intervention. He informed his followers the catastrophic flood would not occur on the day originally predicted after thousands from Ghana and elsewhere had traveled to the ark sites, preparing to board the vessels ahead of Christmas Day. Videos circulated online showed crowds gathering near the wooden structures in anticipation of the predicted event.

    Recent rainfall in Ghana intensified fears, with people taking the prophecy seriously enough to make preparations. When skeptics cited the biblical covenant in Genesis where God promised never again to destroy the earth with floods, Ebo Noah rejoined that even God can change His mind – referencing the account of King Hezekiah.

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    The 30-year-old first gained international attention in August when he began posting videos on social media showing himself constructing wooden arks and warning that God revealed to him there will be a three-year period of rain beginning on Christmas Day. He claimed flooding would devastate the earth like in the biblical days of Noah, and only those who get on any of his arks would be saved. Reports said Ebo Noah had built about ten wooden arks as at Christmas Day, though the exact number varied in different accounts. The vessels, built with the help of local fishermen, were significantly smaller than the biblical Ark of Noah and critics questioned whether they were genuine arks or adapted fishing boats.

    Ghanaian authorities arrested Ebo Noah earlier in December over concerns that his statements were causing public panic, particularly among residents living abroad. He was detained for 72 hours before being released, because officials determined that making religious prophecies does not constitute a criminal offence under Ghanaian law. Meanwhile, there were indications Ebo Noah profited from his enterprise. Days before Christmas, he appeared publicly in a newly acquired Mercedes-Benz while wearing his trademark burlap costume. He shared a message stating he had fasted for three weeks and prayed for Ghana and the world.

    In the latest video message, Ebo Noah said he received a fresh vision showing large numbers of people gathering to enter his arks, which are not enough to accommodate everyone. Thus, he had consulted with other religious leaders for intercessory prayers and God had granted additional time to construct more vessels.

    Some swindlers do have ‘em!

  • Don Pedro Obaseki’s ordeal

    Don Pedro Obaseki’s ordeal

    In a disturbing incident, the former Managing Director of Daar Communications and prominent Nollywood filmmaker, Dr Don Pedro Obaseki, was attacked on December 28, 2025 while playing football at Uwa Primary School in Benin City.

    A viral video showed assailants stripping him naked, beating him, and dragging him through the streets to the palace of the Oba of Benin over alleged disrespectful comments made during a public event in London. His attackers labelled him an ‘Oghionba’ (enemy of the Oba).

    Reports said he was later taken to Oba Market Police Station, and released after about five hours in detention.

    In a statement he issued after he was released, he narrated his ordeal: “The attackers, some of whom were armed and brandishing guns, forcibly kidnapped me. The individuals who led this attack identified themselves as Kapuepue Adun, Osayande Obakhavbaye, Osamede Nomoless Eriyo and Osamiefan (also known as ‘Sales Guy’).

     “I was severely beaten up, dragged along the streets and stripped naked. I was dragged along Igbesanmwan Road, taken to the front of Holy Aruosa Church and publicly paraded in my nakedness.

    “From there, I was further dragged around Ring Road and forcibly taken to the Oba’s Palace. The public beating, stripping and humiliation occurred over a distance of approximately five kilometres.”

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    Amnesty International Nigeria, in a statement, described the assault and public humiliation of Obaseki as “barbaric and unlawful,” saying it showed “complete disdain for due process.” It added that the police “must investigate the incident and ensure that all those suspected of involvement in this crime are brought to justice.”

    The human rights organisation also said what happened to Obaseki “is unacceptable in a free society. It is also prohibited under international human rights law and standards aimed at safeguarding human dignity and protecting people from violence.”

    Obaseki was reported saying he would pursue justice through legal means, adding that his lawyers were already putting a petition together. This is the right thing to do.

    Curiously, in response, Edo State Police Public Relations Officer Eno Ikoedem was quoted as saying the situation had been brought under control, noting that the Commissioner of Police, Monday Agbonika, had met with the parties involved.

    It is unclear if he meant the issue had been settled. Meeting with the concerned parties cannot be the end of the matter; the police have a duty to find the attackers and bring them to justice.

  • Gumi and his bandit ‘neighbours’

    Gumi and his bandit ‘neighbours’

    Any attack on terrorists who have troubled Nigeria for so long is attack on family. That is the new gospel according to Islamic cleric, Sheik Ahmad Gumi. He urged Nigerians to learn to live with armed herders, typically associated with terrorism and banditry, because they are “neighbours” and should not be treated as enemies.

    The controversial cleric made his apologia in a video post against the backdrop  of recent United States airstrikes on terrorist hideouts in Nigeria, which the Nigerian government said it authorised and actively collaborated with. He said the people being attacked were part of the country and were not going anywhere. His words: “They are going nowhere. They are a part of us, and we are part of them. We must learn to live together and should never become enemies with them.”

    Gumi said treating terrorists as enemies was detrimental to national security because “real enemies” could then use them against the nation. The cleric has often canvassed dialogue with, and amnesty for bandits, arguing they are driven by a sense of marginalisation and are more a “resistance movement” than violent criminals His latest intervention falls in line with that rhetoric of framing the activities of terrorists as a survival struggle and not a crime deserving of crackdown.

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    A day before the video post, Gumi called on the Nigerian government to stop all military cooperation with the US following America’s airstrikes on suspected terrorist hideouts in Northwest Nigeria. In a post on his Facebook page, he warned that any foreign military intervention, particularly by the United States, would exacerbate insecurity rather than remedy it. The cleric asked the government to instead seek military assistance from countries he termed more “neutral” like China, Turkey and Pakistan. “Nigeria should halt all military cooperation with the USA immediately because of its imperial tendencies worldwide and seek the help of those neutral countries mentioned.” He played what could be construed as a subtle blackmail card, saying: “Nigerians are too educated to be played with. This is going to be a 2027 campaign discourse.”

    While acknowledging that fighting terrorism is legitimate, Gumi believes that such efforts must not be outsourced to foreign powers that have ulterior motives. “The US involvement in Nigeria will attract the real anti-US forces, making our land a theatre of war. As a principle, no nation should allow its land to be a theatre of war, and no nation should allow its neighbours to be their enemies,” he argued.

    Gumi is always butting into national conversation to advocate for terrorists whenever they are being dealt a heavy hand. He should spare Nigerians the irritation of his advocacy and join the terrorists to be treated as one of them if he’s sufficiently passionate. Enough of this terrorism apology!

  • Unhealthy situation

    Unhealthy situation

    A recent report quoted the UK’s Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) as saying, “As on 30 September 2025, there were 16,156 nurses on the register who were educated in Nigeria.” It is the regulatory body in the UK responsible for registering qualified professionals and investigating concerns related to nurses, midwives, and nursing associates. Notably, as of March 31, 2025, the number of Nigerian-trained nurses was 15,421. These figures show a nearly five percent rise over the six months.

    Indeed, the 2025 Nigeria Health Statistics Report, released by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare in November, corroborated the continued large-scale medical migration. The report revealed the sheer magnitude of brain drain in the country’s health sector, describing the situation as “a significant challenge.”

    According to the document, 43,221 health professionals—including doctors, nurses, pharmacists and medical laboratory scientists—migrated out of the country between 2023 and 2024, relocating to countries offering better remuneration and working conditions.

    “External migration surged by 200 percent across all cadres between 2023 and 2024,” the report said. It further revealed that “In 2024 alone, a total of 4,193 doctors and dentists left Nigeria, with approximately 66 percent migrating to the United Kingdom.”

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     The report listed the top 10 destinations for Nigerian doctors and dentists in the 2023–2024 period: the United Kingdom (4,627), Canada (934), the United States (561), Australia (188), the United Arab Emirates (140), Ireland (113), the Maldives (77), Botswana (67), India (57) and Saudi Arabia (43).

    Nurses and midwives “are the most affected groups,” the report said, with more than 23,000 migrating abroad as of 2024. Pharmacists and medical laboratory scientists also joined the flight to foreign lands, deepening the loss. 

    Predictably, this exodus means fewer personnel are left to cope with the increasing demand for healthcare, posing a severe threat to the country’s system. Consequently, the report underlined the urgent need for policies aimed at retaining health workers and strengthening domestic capacity.

     It is noteworthy that the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Salako, also acknowledged the workforce crisis during the Joint Annual Report meeting of the health sector in Abuja.

    He said: “Our doctor-to-population ratio is 1:5,000 (against the WHO recommendation of 1:600), while the nurse-to-population ratio is as low as 1:2,000 (against the WHO recommendation of 1:300).”

    There is no doubt that the escalating exodus of healthcare professionals from the country is detrimental to its health sector.  The situation calls for urgent intervention by the authorities; the nation cannot afford to continue losing its healthcare experts by failing to provide an enabling environment for their work.

  • Cement blues

    Cement blues

    It isn’t news anymore that the cost of cement produced in Nigeria comes higher for local consumers than for consumers in countries to which same is exported. Now, we know why. Africa’s richest man and a major producer of cement in Nigeria, Aliko Dangote, attributed the higher cost locally to the country’s high taxes and regulatory burden.

    The industrialist said there is a price gap between cement in Nigeria and when it is exported because cement exports are exempt from multiple taxes and levies that apply within Nigeria. He explained that savings get made on exports from not paying income tax, education and health levies, value added and withholding taxes, thereby significantly reducing production cost. These exemptions, according to him, enable Nigerian cement to compete favorably with producers from countries like Turkey, Russia and China.

    The price disparity has often raised eyebrows as to why Nigerians aren’t enjoying the benefit of local production, especially since local manufacturing has often been touted as the way to achieving self-sufficiency and lower consumption costs.

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    In an interview with Business Insider Africa, Dangote said: “When you look at my invoice, the cement I export is cheaper than the one I’m selling domestically because that’s how exports work. In export, I’m saving a lot of money. I am not paying 30 percent income tax, I’m not paying two percent education, I’m not paying one percent health, I’m not paying 7.5 percent VAT, and I’m not paying 10 percent withholding tax.” He stressed that the consequence of the system is that domestic consumers end up shouldering the burden of structural inefficiencies, adding that local production alone cannot fully resolve the issue of high pricing for Nigerians.

    Concern over high cost of cement is not restricted to low level consumers among members of the public, it has also bothered government. Early this year, Works Minister Nweze David Umahi urged manufacturers to reduce the price of 50kg bag of cement to N7,000, citing improved economic conditions. According to him, the stabilisation of the naira’s exchange rate at about N1,400 to the dollar and reduction in petroleum prices should translate to lower cement costs. Umahi faulted then-prevailing price of N9,500 per 50kg bag, saying manufacturers had raised cement price when the dollar was nearly N2,000 and had not adjusted despite the naira’s recovery. Currently, the price of 50kg bag of cement hovers at N10,000.

    Dangote’s explanation of the pricing shows up two realities. One is that Nigerians are a captive market and producers do not need to bid for their share – with foreign brands, for instance – through competitive pricing. Another is that producers are passing on their regulatory commitments to consumers rather than innovate to shield vulnerable Nigerians from the burden. Neither reality is heartwarming.