The Nation Newspaper

Category: Commentaries

  • Redefining the business climate

    Redefining the business climate

    • By Mohammed Basah

    Sir: Entrepreneurs spend most of their lives chasing customers, managing cash flow, fighting uncertainty, and trying to squeeze progress out of a tough environment. What many do not talk about openly is how deeply their success is tied to the efficiency of public institutions. When systems work, businesses thrive. When systems collapse, entrepreneurs bleed silently.

    The passport reforms under the leadership of Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo may appear, on the surface, like a travel convenience upgrade. But beneath that surface lies something far more powerful: restored trust in the Nigerian state. Entrepreneurs have long lived in fear of government processes because those processes were unpredictable. You could plan around slow. You could never plan around confusion. Weeks of waiting, duplicated biometrics, extra payments, middlemen, missing files — small business owners suffered all of it. Every inefficiency translated to lost deals, altered timelines, and additional costs.

    Digital passport processing did more than clean up a service. It reintroduced predictability, a currency more valuable than oil when building an economy. Investors, both local and foreign, take cues from how a government manages the simplest things. If a passport system can work seamlessly, stakeholders begin to believe that bigger systems can work too. This is why the reforms matter: they quietly restore confidence in the promise of Nigeria as a functional environment.

    Efficient governance directly reduces the cost of doing business. Entrepreneurs understand this better than anyone. A document stuck on someone’s table can delay a client contract. A manual process can introduce corruption and inflate operational costs. A broken verification system can stall travel plans for an important business meeting. What looks like a “government problem” is always, eventually, a business problem.

    This is why digital processes in immigration, electronic correspondence, identity management reforms, and stricter accountability within agencies translate into real economic impact. They eliminate friction. They save time. They reduce stress. They help entrepreneurs redirect their energy from wrestling with institutions to building the businesses that create jobs.

    What makes the reform approach stand out is its simplicity. It does not rely on noise, ceremony, or the usual theatrics of public office. It focuses on results. It focuses on systems. It focuses on function. And this is exactly what entrepreneurs need: a government that stops being a hurdle and starts behaving like an enabler.

    Read Also: Federation Account inflows hit N56.4trn on reforms

    The truth is that Nigeria’s biggest growth hack is not another grant programme or motivational initiative. It is competent public administration. It is a government that understands that a thriving private sector needs stable systems the way a plant needs light. When reforms create clarity, entrepreneurs gain scale. When processes become predictable, business risks shrink. When accountability increases, investor trust rises. These are not abstract benefits; they are the conditions under which new industries are born.

    The average entrepreneur may never directly interact with the Ministry of Interior, but they will feel its impact in countless ways: faster travel, smoother documentation, less paperwork, better compliance systems, reduced operational bottlenecks, and a governance environment that supports rather than stifles ambition. Public service efficiency has always been the hidden foundation of a strong private sector. For too long, that foundation has been weak. What we are seeing now is a rebuilding effort that matters more than most people realise.

    Nigeria’s real economic engine has never been crude oil. It has always been people — the small businesses, the freelancers, the founders, the creators, the innovators, the hustlers who convert scarcity into new enterprise. When governance works well, these people lift at once. When governance improves, entrepreneurship expands. When systems are clean, the economy becomes easier to navigate and easier to trust.

    These reforms signal a new kind of social contract: a government that delivers and a citizenry that builds. If this model spreads across ministries, Nigeria will not need endless economic summits to debate growth. Growth will happen naturally because the environment will finally support it. Entrepreneurship will strengthen because the systems around it stop sabotaging it.

    At its core, entrepreneurship is a relay race. Government hands the baton. Entrepreneurs run with it. Investors cheer from the side-lines. Society gets the win. For decades, Nigeria dropped the baton before the race even began. But the reforms we are seeing now suggest that perhaps, for the first time in a long time, the baton is being handed correctly.

    And when government works, entrepreneurs win — every single time.

    •Mohammed Basah,

    <mobasah@gmail.com>

  • Reforming VIP policing and security inequity

    Reforming VIP policing and security inequity

    • By Lekan Olayiwola

    Sir: Over the last two decades, VIP policing has evolved beyond an operational task into an informal institution of political reassurance. It is not simply about providing security, but a mechanism for maintaining political cohesion, signalling loyalty, and sustaining coordination networks across government and business sectors.

    In a status-sensitive society, the visible presence of armed protection functions as a marker of office and authority, signalling power to constituents, rivals, and subordinates. For many citizens, the sight of an escort is an implicit confirmation that the officeholder commands respect and commands state resources, reinforcing social hierarchies.

    In Nigeria, escorts serves as a quiet signal of inclusion, assurance, or continuity. Their presence conveys political loyalty, protects against bureaucratic or partisan pressures, and signals that the officeholder is “connected” to influential networks. Their withdrawal, if not clearly explained and applied consistently, may be perceived as a political message rather than an operational adjustment.

    Past directives reveal predictable implementation barriers. Redeploying officers requires coordination across multiple commands, which introduces opportunities for uneven application. During this process, exemptions inevitably accumulate, stemming from legitimate security concerns, official travel schedules, or political events.

    Over time, these exemptions dilute the intent of reform, leaving only partial shifts and creating the appearance of compliance without substantive change. The lack of a robust monitoring framework further exacerbates this dynamic, allowing local commanders to maintain discretionary authority over officer assignments, often in response to informal pressures from powerful figures.

    Governors, judges, legislators, and other officeholders often face genuine risks from criminal gangs, political rivals, or communal conflicts. Their appeals for continued protection are rooted not in privilege but in experience. Without a transparent framework that allocates protection based on verified threat levels, a blanket withdrawal policy naturally encounters friction.

    Moreover, the complex interplay between federal and state security responsibilities in Nigeria where policing authority is shared but unevenly funded complicates enforcement. Reform must therefore contend with decentralised political authority, varying threat environments, and the legacy of informal practices that have become institutionalised over decades.

    The current directive can succeed where others stalled by reshaping the incentives that sustain VIP deployment. Welfare reform is foundational. When officers have stable, predictable compensation, access to health care, pension security, and improved working conditions, the economic case for VIP attachment diminishes. This strengthens the professional appeal of community policing roles, making officers more willing to serve in frontline deployments, including high-risk rural or urban areas. This reorients policing culture toward public service rather than elite accommodation, fostering professionalism, accountability, and equity.

    Read Also: We’ll mobilise all military assets against insecurity, says Tinubu

    A threat-graded protection model would further depoliticise decisions. Kenya applied such a framework after 2017, reducing VIP protection allocation by roughly 40 per cent while maintaining security for high-risk officials. South Africa uses periodic audits to review assignments, ensuring that escorts remain tied to specific events or verified threats.

    These examples demonstrate that rebalancing is possible when risk assessment is transparent, data-driven, and institutionalised. For Nigeria, such a framework would require integrating intelligence analysis, local policing data, and operational planning into a unified decision-making process, ensuring that resources are allocated rationally rather than arbitrarily.

    Centralising and digitising escort approvals would reduce pressure on police leadership and limit discretionary interference. A digital log recording each assignment, including duration, justification, and renewal introduces clarity and accountability. Standardised protocols reduce informal bargaining and patronage, while regular audits ensure deployments remain time-bound. Transparent reporting strengthens public confidence in fairness and impartiality.

    Equally crucial is strengthening community policing: visible patrols, faster response times, and consistent local engagement signal real improvements. Citizens who see tangible police presence are more likely to support reduced VIP-specific deployments, recognising equitable security delivery. Over time, trust in law enforcement grows, political pressure for symbolic protection diminishes, and community policing reinforces legitimacy, allowing officers to prioritise preventive and responsive tasks over status-driven assignments.

    Ending VIP policing does not mean denying legitimate protection. It means allocating safety rationally and transparently, rather than through informal norms, personal connections, or economic necessity. By aligning welfare reform, institutional design, risk-assessment frameworks, and public expectations, Nigeria can build policing where officials and citizens feel genuinely protected.

    Reforms must be phased and closely monitored, blending top-down directives with local accountability and active stakeholder engagement. Though transformation will take time, it is achievable. If implemented with care, the current directive could deliver lasting change. To ensure policing becomes a public good rather than an elite privilege, transparent, evidence-based reforms are essential—rebuilding public trust and shaping a system that serves all Nigerians for generations.

    •Lekan Olayiwola,

    lekanolayiwola@gmail.com

  • Truckers’ revolt on expressway

    Truckers’ revolt on expressway

    Movement by motorists on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway was grounded for some while last Wednesday when truck drivers blocked both lanes of the major artery at Ogere axis, Ogun State, with their trucks. They acted in solidarity with their colleagues who alleged being extorted by traffic officials.

    Reports said security agents earlier impounded three trucks for wrong parking on the Ogere-Sapade section of the busy highway. One of the truck drivers claimed that traffic officers seized his vehicle battery and, in protest, abandoned his truck right in the centre of the Ibadan-bound side of the highway. In seeming suggestion that the lone tuck disruption of traffic not enough, fellow truck drivers mobilised to further block the lane with articulated vehicles and extend the barricade to the Lagos-bound side of the expressway.

    Read Also: We’ll mobilise all military assets against insecurity, says Tinubu

    The Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Agency (TRACE) deplored bottlenecks often created by truck drivers who park at the roadsides while ignoring provided trailer parks – private and government-owned – resulting in traffic obstructions and gridlocks, avoidable road crashes and narrowing of the road corridor. The agency’s spokesperson, Babatunde Akinbiyi, confirmed that the Ogere division task force earlier apprehended three trucks for illegal double-parking. He further explained that one of the drivers whose truck was impounded, rather than follow required procedure for securing release of the truck, mobilised other drivers to protest the impoundment.

    According to Akinbiyi, the driver got unruly in his bid to retrieve the impounded truck. “(He) reported back at the task force office by 07:00hours, spitting fire and brimstone in a bid to secure his truck. The said driver exhibited high-handedness, irrational and uncompromising behaviour, threatening to cause chaos if he wasn’t attended to immediately, even though the time for proper documentation and enlightenment before release, which is 08:00hours, had already been communicated to him.” He added: “Unfortunately, he left in annoyance and went on to instigate his fellow truck drivers – a deliberate act intended to cause mayhem, obstruction and delay in travel time, and expose road users to risk and danger along the Ogere-Sapade road, all with the intent of embarrassing the state government.”

    On how matters got resolved, Akinbiyi said: “Orderliness (was) restored through the intervention of the Ogun State Commissioner of Police Lanre Ogunnowo, the Seriki Hausawa of Ogere, and the acting TRACE Commander-General Omonayajo Elias, who also ordered the release of the earlier apprehended trucks that were handed over to the Seriki Hausawa and other transport union representatives to douse the built-up tension along the axis.”

    The manner of resolution suggests the truckers were appeased, which could mean something wrong was done by traffic officials. Still, it was the height of lawlessness for these truckers to have barricaded the public highway to press a personal grouse. They should’ve been brought to justice.

  • Nnamdi Kanu, Omotosho and the rule of law

    Nnamdi Kanu, Omotosho and the rule of law

    Sir: Now that Nnamdi Kanu has been sentenced, we can see clearly that the sky did not fall. The most beautiful thing is that this is a big win for the rule of law in our democratic setting. Keeping him for so long gave the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) proponents a measure of legitimacy that they did not deserve. We must learn and prepare our courts to handle thorny and vexatious cases. The more we try these people, who are on the lunatic fringe of society, the more we have a clearer definition of who we are as a people.

    Throughout my writings, I have emphasized the rule of law as the pinnacle of our democratic society. The failure to try criminals leads to a culture of nihilism, vigilante justice and anarchy.

    We must build more prisons and update our criminal justice system. We must not allow criminals living on the fringes of our society to determine our ethos. Rule of law and justice must go hand in hand. One of the most puzzling things that troubled me is the way the proponents of Biafra were asking for a criminal to be freed without trial. Some trivialized the sins of Nnamdi as political as such; he should be set free using political methods to set a criminal free.

    Some even argued that there is nothing he has done that other people have not done. They used yellow journalism to tell us that Boko Haram members are being recruited into the Nigerian Army.

    The Biafrans were attempting to amputate justice by agitating for Kanu to be freed without trial.

    I sincerely believe that in Nigeria, all criminals should have their day in court. Calling it a political case does not make it less criminal.

    In politics, we are expected to disagree with each other on issues. The moment you slap someone due to this disagreement, you have left the realm of politics into criminality and you should be prosecuted for criminal assault. Politics is not a criminal enterprise even when unruly politicians use criminal methods to gain ascendency. It is this misrepresentation that made a swath of Southeast politicians to agitate for the release of a criminal without trial.

    Read Also: Akinnadewo urges Christian, Nigerian leaders to deepen humanitarian efforts

    Why didn’t they appeal to Norway to free Simon Ekpa on political grounds? At the end of the day, Nnamdi Kanu who was giving orders to summarily execute people had a fair trial that was denied to his victims.

    We must jettison the temptation to deny citizens of due process. We may not be happy with the outcome but that is not a reason to impugn the integrity of the judge. The right thing to do is to appeal the case. At the post mortem, one of Nnamdi’s lawyers regaled us with Nnamdi’s knowledge of the law. He said Nnamdi knows more law than the lawyers and the judge.

    Here we go again with stupid braggadocio. What is the knowledge of the law if you have no respect for our courts and the presiding judge? In what universe do these Biafrans exist? How come these Biafrans are so gullible that they will take the hallucinations of a sick person as ordained truth?

    I will advise them to plead that their client is impaired by reason of insanity instead of questioning this judgment which was based on sound legal reasoning.

    Court proceedings are public records. Those in doubt should get a copy of the transcript of the judgement instead of substituting their emotional tantrum for sound legal reasoning.

    •Dr Austin Orette, Houston, Texas, United States

  • Sailing through the hard times

    Sailing through the hard times

    Sir: Many households, weary from rising rent and stagnant income, are planning to return to their villages after the yuletide. For some, it is a temporary escape; for others, it is a permanent retreat. The truth is simple—Nigeria’s economic hardship has pressed heavily on the shoulders of her citizens.

    Young people, especially those unable to secure opportunities abroad, now fight daily battles against financial discouragement and emotional fatigue. Yet, paradoxically, the younger generation—the Gen Zs or Zoomers—also stand out with a new kind of hunger. They want steady progress, stable salaries, and real opportunities. They want dignity. They want a Nigeria that works—not for a few, but for all.

    Their voices, loud and unbroken, echo across social media platforms, workplaces, and political spaces. They are demanding the Nigeria their parents dreamed of but never fully saw. The Christmas and yuletide period, especially in Igbo and Southern Nigeria, is traditionally a time of celebration—family reunions, cultural festivals, weddings, dedications, and homecomings. But the festive season in 2025 carries a different tone. The harmattan has arrived earlier and harsher than usual. The dry winds bring not just cracked lips and dusty roads, but a fresh wave of expenses: skincare, warm clothing, more transport costs, and increased food prices.

    Sadly, many vulnerable Nigerians—sick elderly people, young men and women battling chronic illnesses, and families with little means—feel abandoned by a system collapsing under the weight of insecurity and inflation. Survival has replaced festivity. Kidnapping, killings, and banditry have become daily headlines. The recent abduction of 25 female students in Kebbi is a heartbreaking example of the insecurity tormenting the nation. Many religious leaders feel intimidated, while others press ahead, preparing grand end-of-year programs to rekindle hope.

    But in the middle of all this darkness, one truth remains: Nigeria has not reached her end. It is easy in times like this to point fingers—to blame the government, to blame leaders, to blame ourselves. But blame has never built a nation. Blame has never healed a wound. Blame has never lifted a man from poverty.

    Read Also: Akinnadewo urges Christian, Nigerian leaders to deepen humanitarian efforts

    Nigeria’s history has always shown one pattern: when things get tough, Nigerians become tougher. This is not the first time we have walked through fire. This is not the first time we have seen gloom before glory. This is not the first season where the future looked blocked, yet the nation moved forward. What Nigeria needs now is not a nation-wide choir of self-accusation. What we need is a collective return to courage, innovation, unity, and strong faith. We need to believe again—believe that our hands can still build, that our voice can still matter, and that our votes in the 2027 General Elections can redirect the ship of this nation.

    We must also remember something profound: Nations rise when individuals stop waiting for rescue and start taking responsibility for the little corners they can influence. Hope may feel thin, but it is not absent. The Nigerian spirit is too rugged to be defeated by one cycle of hardship. Across cities, states, and local communities, the signs of a new awakening are emerging:  Nigerians now know that leadership matters—more than tribe, more than party, more than slogans. And because of this awareness, a new Nigeria is not just a dream—it is a growing possibility. Hope is not a feeling; it is a discipline. It is the daily decision to believe that your life, your family, and your country can still change for the better. Yes, 2025 has been difficult. Yes, the burden is heavy. But storms have never stopped Nigerians from rising again.

    Let us enter the yuletide season with renewed strength—not because things are perfect, but because Nigeria is still a land of possibilities. Let us prepare for 2026 with fresh vision—not fear. And let us move toward 2027 with courage—not despair.

    •Obiotika Wilfred Toochukwu, Nkono-Ekwulobia Anambra State.

  • Way out of Nigeria’s housing challenge

    Way out of Nigeria’s housing challenge

    Sir: Housing is the second most essential basic need of man, after food. The impact of housing on health, welfare and output of man is profound. But the challenge of housing in Nigeria has been endemic. Unavailability of serviced plots that are ready for housing development, lack of necessary basic infrastructures that will facilitate smooth development, or a good title that will enhance the marketability of the land, especially after one might have developed or build houses on it are some of the factors inhibiting housing development in Nigeria.

    Finance is the major impediment to housing provision. No matter the standard and scope of work you want to do, housing is capital intensive. You need quite a lot of money to accomplish it.

    To compound the challenge of finance is the absence of efficient, comprehensive and organized mortgage finance system that would have granted easy access to housing. Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s initiative in collaboration with the World Bank in setting up the Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company Plc (NRMC) is expected to boost mortgage financing and home ownership schemes in the country, but it is yet to yield appreciable outcomes.

    Someday, I hope that the generality of our people would be able to access mortgage facilities.

    Read Also: Akinnadewo urges Christian, Nigerian leaders to deepen humanitarian efforts

    Going forward, housing sector must be properly regulated and its activities coordinated to address low quality of housing development and absence of mass and affordable housing. There should be regulations. We must checkmate infiltration of the sector by land speculators and non-professionals. There is need to identify professional real estate developers just as it is being done in other climes such as United Arab Emirates, America and United Kingdom.  There is also the need to address the challenge of ineffective housing finance, in as much as it would be impossible to segregate finance from housing. Failure to do these will continue to pose a challenge to housing in Nigeria.

    Government must strengthen its legal and regulatory framework for mortgages, including property rights, land registration, and foreclosure procedures to enable a virile and robust mortgage system. Clear and unambiguous property rights, fast land registration processes, and well-defined foreclosure procedures can give lenders and borrowers better security, perhaps leading to additional mortgage lending.

    The Land Use Act is another hindrance to housing development. In the interest of Nigeria and housing in Nigeria, we need to review the Land Use Act. That is why the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers have been calling for a review of the Act, or its removal from the constitution.

    •Oluronke Mary Ajayi,Lagos.

  • A politician and a prophet

    A politician and a prophet

    An interesting clash between a politician and a prophet gives insight into the things that happen behind the scenes in the pursuit of power. 

    The Minister of Power, Bayo Adelabu, a former governorship candidate who has his eyes on the 2027 Oyo State governorship race, alleged that Primate Elijah Ayodele of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church “had persistently approached him with unsolicited offers of “spiritual intercession” purportedly to guarantee electoral success.”

    In a petition to the Department of State Services (DSS),  he urged the security agency to “investigate the activities of the said Pastor Ayodele for extortion, blackmail, and deliberate dissemination of false and inciting information; compel him to retract his false prophecies and issue a formal written apology; and bring him under the force of the law, in accordance with relevant provisions of the Nigerian Constitution and Criminal Code, to deter similar fraudulent religious practices in future.”

    He said there was “documentary evidence, including recordings and message exchanges, which clearly show his repeated demands for money and other items under the guise of spiritual assistance.”

    Ayodele’s response: “I didn’t ask Bayo Adelabu to bring money for prayers.” His account: “He was the one who sent someone to me to talk to me on his behalf. He went as far as saying he was willing to give anything to become the next governor of Oyo State…

    “I told him that they won’t want to give him the governorship ticket, but if he wants it so bad, he should seek the mercy of God by buying the musical instruments for God, not even for my church, but he said he can’t do it. That’s all.”

    Read Also: Akinnadewo urges Christian, Nigerian leaders to deepen humanitarian efforts

    Why did Ayodele suggest the purchase of musical instruments for a church?  It is unclear how buying such instruments could bring electoral success for Adebayo.

    The minister’s grouse is that Ayodele had launched a campaign to demarket him, by prophesying his electoral failure, following his refusal to release money allegedly demanded.

     “I have been talking about how he won’t be made governor of Oyo State for years; this is why he called me to seek solutions… my subsequent prophecies after our discussion about his ambition aren’t because he failed to buy the musical instrument,” the cleric explained.

    Should Adebayo be troubled by such alleged demarketing? Should he be bothered by Ayodele’s prophecy of electoral doom for him?

    Adebayo said the cleric had demanded N150 million from him to make his gubernatorial dream come true.  The exchange raises questions about quality candidacy, the role of money, and the potency of spiritual intervention in the country’s electoral space.  

    How many politicians and spiritualists of various hues across the country are collaborating towards achieving electoral success as the 2027 elections draw near?

    In such a context, where is the place of the electorate, and how much power do voters have?

  • Why civics education and history are critical to nation-building

    Why civics education and history are critical to nation-building

    The educational system of any nation is the most fundamental bedrock of her development, enlightenment and progress. Nelson Mandela famously once said: “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” And one of those significant personages in the world who transformed the way we see the physical fabric of the universe, Albert Einstein, also said: “I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.” Education, in other words, instigates out curiosity to know more and to unravel the basis of live and the universe itself. A state that wants to transcends its own limitations and articulate a set of advantages that will activate civility, decency, progress and patriotism. Political leadership across the world therefore reads the pulse and impulses of development and adjust their educational system in ways that answer the peculiarities of their different contexts and needs. The wave of STEM—science, technology, engineering and mathematics—education curriculum that states all over the world are adopting is a testament to their consciousness about the place of science and technology education in the wealth and progress of nations.

    However, states are also conscious about how to build up a conscious, patriotic and historically conscious citizenry that is amenable to the project of nation-building which is the basis of political order and stability. Nations that have been considered in many indices as violent and unstable, from South Africa to South Sudan, are now paying the price for a citizenry that has become weaponized by greed and ideological fragmentation. We then begin to see the ideological and philosophical implications of education as the medium by which a state instills critical values, ideas and skills. And the more reason why the educational policies of states is one of the most potent expressions of the state’s philosophy of national development objectives. The educational policy pieces together in a coherent framework the objectives of education within the larger policy, governance and development focus of a state.

    READ ALSO: Dominant APC waits with bated breath

    This is exactly the ideological essence of the Nigerian National Policy on Education (NPE). The document states that Nigeria’s overall philosophy is two-fold: (a) live in unity and harmony as one indivisible, indissoluble, democratic and sovereign nation founded on the principles of freedom, equality and justice, and (b) promote inter-African solidarity and world peace through understanding. This philosophy is founded on achieving five national goals: a free and democratic society, a just and egalitarian society, a united, strong and self-reliant nation, a great and dynamic economy, and a land full of bright opportunities for all citizens. more fundamental is that Nigeria’s philosophy of education—based on developing the individual into a sound and effective citizen, te integration of the individual into the community, and the provision of equal access to educational opportunities—is meant to facilitate “self-realization, better human relationship, individual and national efficiency, effective citizenship, national consciousness, national unity, as well as …social, cultural, economic, political, scientific and technological progress.”

    This philosophy of education is even all the more cogent, fundamental and well-conceived given that Nigeria is a fractured postcolonial society where religion, ethnic affiliation, cultural membership, income inequality and sexual orientation constitute the centripetal variables that disunite and establish the basis for political instability. It therefore means that every educational blueprints, paradigms and curricula at the disposal of the Nigerian state must be geared towards articulating a framework that brings together an effective citizenry and national development. In other words, the objectives of national development and progress can only be well-grounded if left to the concerted and patriotic efforts of a citizenry that is well-equipped with the fundamental and foundational ethic, values and knowledges that the nation requires to make sense of its future.

    The NPE poignantly stipulated the significance of history and civic education from basic education to senior secondary school. However, given that visions are often undermined by reality and circumstances, vital documents crucial for Nigeria’s progressive development are often the victims of political miscalculation and misbegotten oversights. For a country with a vast demographics and ethnic divergences, the national and political leadership did not see the urgency for an immediate introduction of civic education into Nigeria’s basic, primary and post-primary education curriculum until forty-eight solid years after political independence. By 1982 when Nigeria switched to the 6-3-3-4 system, history was removed from primary and junior secondary schools, and downgraded into an optional subject at the senior secondary level. And then, in 2009, the FGN yanked history from the curriculum. The administration thought that the low enrollment and lack of history teachers was sufficient to remove a course that connects Nigeria to its past and the future. And so, while the governments have been trying to advance Nigeria’s future through investment in science and technology education, they have been paradoxically undermining that same progressive policy through the downgrading of those courses that could channel the curriculum of science and technology education into truly progressive development through civic awareness and development.     

    No wonder Nigeria has been assailed by all sorts of terrible national malaise that borders on a disjuncture between national ideas and ideals and the citizens’ understanding of these. That it took Nigeria more than four decades to come to the understanding of the place of history and civic education in Nigeria’s national development framework is a traumatic testament to Nigeria’s failure to deal with the fundamentals and basics of progress, development and national integration. The Nigerian Constitution and NPE are documents filled with philosophical concepts and terms—justice, equality, citizenship, self-realization, national unity, self-reliance, national integration, etc. These are philosophical fundamentals that demand serious national dialogue on how they could inform policy intelligence that integrate them into a coherent sense of policy development. They are not just mere words that make the national documents look really philosophically grounded and thick. They inform how Nigeria looks into the world and integrate herself into global development, like the emergence of the knowledge society, and the fourth industrial revolution.

    A nation needs values, memories and history. It needs her citizens to be able to connects past to present and reevaluate the future.

    Nigeria has struggled with decades of military regimes that contributed in no small measures to her disjointed historical, constitutional and political trajectories and dynamics. Now that a democratic experiment has been underway, it is high time we saw the place of values and ideology in Nigeria’s political destiny. The goal of national integration in Nigeria is to ensure that Nigerians at best forget their ethnic affiliation and at worst downgrade it into a secondary position behind a civic awareness of their identification with the Nigerian state and her national imperatives. As it is, national integration is not moving along because Nigerians have not learnt to live together. We are still struggling with the import and consequences of putting our religious, cultural and ethnic identities above what it means for us to be truly and genuinely Nigerians. This is why it is difficult for us to arrive at an electioneering campaign moment without generating serious hullabaloo around Christian-Christian/Christian-Muslim/Muslim-Muslim tickets. And this is also why Nigeria has a solid youth bulge that cannot be mined and harnessed for its generational and diversity capital because a significant portion of the youth population has no sense of what history signifies for them and for Nigeria. 

    Democracy needs education. A flourishing democratic ethos requires a significantly vibrant curricula on civic education and history. Civic awareness and civic engagement that keep feeding knowledge about government, its functions and its responsibilities to its citizens. Indeed, it is such a civic awareness that makes democracy and democratic sophistication possible in the first instance. It is civic engagement that serves as the vibrant path towards preserving the democratic spirit. We can say, without any need to hypothesize, that Nigeria’s democracy will not grow and succeed if civic education is not strengthened in Nigeria’s school system. In other words, if the Nigerian citizenry is not informed and civically aware, then it does not have the capacity to guard democracy. And it leaves the political space open for all forms of demagoguery and selfish political mobilization that continue to undermine political stability in a country where tension has become a normal thing.

    Civic education is inextricably linked with history. We cannot even begin to understand what type of democracy we need to grow into, and what we need to do with our democratic aspiration, if we do not have a sense of history. We cannot make any significant move towards nationhood if we lack a coherent sense of where we are coming from and where we need to be. We cannot put Nigeria’s political history into a democratic container if, to quote Chinua Achebe, we continue to obscure “where the rain began to beat us.” History is Nigeria’s window into those events, actions, errors and mistakes that nudged us into the wrong national path and determined our current national struggles for reckoning. We remember the axiom that those who neglect history are bound to keep repeating its errors and mistakes.     

    Civic education and history connect immediately with urgency of learning to live together; of curating educational curricula that have the objectives of national integration and democratic awareness at the core. Nigeria’s public sphere is the most enlightening and disturbing barometer for measuring the civic possibility. A browsing of the comment section of any newspaper, and on any national issue, will demonstrate that Nigerians are far from being united. It will also sadly reveal the level of ignorance about the basics of national history. Thus, while consecutive Nigerian governments have been concerned with the need to integrate science and technology education—or STEM—into the Nigerian school curricula, Nigeria’s civic potential keeps diminishing! The pupils and students are acing mathematics and basic science and technology, and yet we keep killing one another! This tells us the critical fact that STEM education can only yield a very narrow understanding of what it means to redirect technological progress along the path of humane development. It does not speak to the crucial necessity of learning to be compassionate, empathetic and humane within a national context of difference.

    Nigeria needs students—and a broad human capital development trajectory—that possess the unique and significant twenty-first century skills: the capacity for communication, critical thinking, creative innovation and confidence. They also need to be able to maneuver these skills within a space—communal, national, workplace—of diversity and difference. To be a genius in science and technology, or to be an Albert Einstein in Nigeria, without these skills and humane capacities is simply to be an educated robot. But more significantly, and within a postcolonial space like Nigeria, it is simply to be a dangerous and narrow-minded bigot who is pushed to divert his or her knowledge into prejudicial means that endanger others. History and civic education matter for Nigeria. And our political will should be channeled towards making them matter even more in our policy architecture beyond just injecting these subjects into the curricula.

  • Hope Uzodimma: Securing mandate to preach Renewed Hope gospel

    Hope Uzodimma: Securing mandate to preach Renewed Hope gospel

    By Sunday Dare

    When President Bola Ahmed Tinubu recently tapped Governor Hope Uzodinma to serve as the Director General and National Coordinator of the Nationwide Renewed Hope Ambassadors Project, it came as no surprise to discerning observers. For a man whose capacity to mobilize people, design functional structures, and drive strategic mobilization is well established, the assignment fits with almost mathematical precision. It is a role that demands credibility, composure, organization, and results — qualities Uzodinma has demonstrated over time

    Uzodinma’s political and governance trajectory has never relied on noise or theatrics. It has been defined by structured thinking, problem-solving, and a quiet resolve to deliver. As Chairman of the Progressive Governors’ Forum, he emerged as a steady hand in moments when the party and the country required calm, negotiation, and clarity. In tense transition periods and during sensitive internal realignments, he consistently played the role of mediator rather than agitator — a solution finder with a reputation for listening carefully, thinking strategically, and acting decisively.

    Yet, he is not just a negotiator; he is a builder. His work in Imo State reflects a deliberate focus on infrastructure, economic renewal, governance reforms, and investor confidence. One of the most visible pillars of his administration has been the aggressive rehabilitation and construction of critical roads. The reconstruction of the Owerri–Orlu and Owerri–Okigwe roads, for instance, has significantly improved connectivity, reduced travel time, and unlocked economic corridors that are vital to trade and commerce within and beyond the state.

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    In urban infrastructure, the delivery of the Assumpta Flyover at the Assumpta Roundabout in Owerri stands out as both a functional and symbolic achievement — easing congestion at a major traffic node and signalling a commitment to modern city design. Complementing this is the rebuilding and upgrade of the Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu International Conference Centre and improvements around the State House of Assembly complex, helping position Owerri as a credible destination for high-level dialogue, conferences, and institutional events.

    On the transport and logistics front, the revival and upgrade of the Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport has further anchored Imo as a gateway for commerce, investment, and connectivity in the South-East. These are not abstract projects; they are tangible assets that residents, traders, investors, and visitors can see and use.

    Most recently, Governor Uzodinma convened the Imo Investment Summit held last week — a strategic forum aimed at repositioning Imo as an investment destination of choice. The Summit brought together local and international investors, development partners, financial institutions, and private-sector leaders together.

    They gathered to explore opportunities in infrastructure, industry, tourism, energy, agriculture, and services. It was not an event for optics; it was an intentional effort to chart a pathway towards a more diversified, investment-driven Imo economy, with commitments and follow-up mechanisms embedded into the state’s broader development agenda.

    Beyond physical projects and economic initiatives, Uzodinma has also pursued governance and fiscal reforms: tackling legacy debt, improving internally generated revenue, prioritizing workers’ welfare, clearing pension backlogs, and advancing initiatives like “Light Up Imo” to support productivity and public safety. These decisions underscore a mindset that sees governance as a long-term management responsibility, not a short-term performance for headlines.

    There is, however, another layer to his profile that is often underappreciated — his intellectual and reflective side. Recently, Uzodinma authored and presented a book titled “A Decade of Impactful Progressive Governance in Nigeria”, a serious contribution to Nigeria’s contemporary political and governance literature. The work goes beyond partisan commentary; it situates the experience of progressive governance within a wider historical, institutional, and policy context. That a sitting Governor, takes the time to think, write, and document at that level says something important- Uzodinma views governance not just as administration, but as part of Nigeria’s unfolding historical narrative.

    It is this blend of strategic political skill, governance delivery, developmental ambition, and intellectual grounding that makes his appointment as helmsman of the National Renewed Hope Ambassadors (NRHA) Project both logical and instructive.

    He has been one of the most vociferous promoters of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s policies and programs- always exploring ways both the Federal and sub nationals can work together towards achieving good governance.

    The NRHA is not a campaign platform. It is not designed for electioneering or partisan sloganeering. Rather, it is a structured mass mobilization and public enlightenment architecture, conceived to bridge the gap between government reforms and citizen understanding. Its mandate is to translate policy into plain language, to carry accurate information down to the ward level, and to channel feedback from communities back up to the institutions that make and implement decisions.

    In many ways, the Renewed Hope Ambassadors framework is civic education meeting mass mobilization — a nationwide network of trained ambassadors, mission officers, and coordinators who will engage markets, communities, faith institutions, youth groups, traditional authorities, and other stakeholders with facts, programmes, and opportunities, not rumours and speculation.

    This project needs a leader with:

    •            Organizational intelligence – to design structures that work from the national level down to the wards.

    •            Strategic communication sense – to ensure messages are clear, consistent, and credible.

    •            Consensus-building skills – to align party structures, public institutions, and community actors behind a shared objective.

    •            Intellectual depth – to understand the policy content behind the messages and not just the sound bites.

    His Excellency, Hope Uzodinma fits this profile. His experience chairing the Progressive Governors’ Forum, his record of delivery in Imo, his convening of the Imo Investment Summit, and his authorship of that seminar governance work,, together project a public figure who is both practitioner and thinker.

    By assigning him this role, President Tinubu has sent a signal: the awareness of the Renewed Hope Agenda will not be left to chance. It will be systematic, evidence- based, and anchored on verifiable progress. The NRHA under Uzodinma’s leadership will function as a national interface — carrying government to the grassroots and bringing the grassroots back to government.

    In a season where misinformation travels faster than facts, where cynicism often drowns out genuine progress, and where citizens demand not just promises but proof, the choice of Governor Hope Uzodinma to “preach the gospel of Renewed Hope” is more than mere political patronage. It is a strategic deployment of a problem solver, a solution provider, and a capacity builder to the frontlines of national communication of policy outcomes.

    Renewed Hope, after all, is not just something to be said. It is something to be organized, explained, and demonstrated. And in that assignment, Uzodinma now carries a mandate that is as heavy as it is critical.

    God will help Nigeria to succeed.

    • Dare is a Special Adviser to the President

  • The violence we ignore

    The violence we ignore

    • By Joy Akunwa Nwajari

    Sir: Gender based violence affects everyone, and the numbers prove it. According to national surveys, one in three Nigerian women has experienced physical or sexual violence in her lifetime. Research also shows that one in ten Nigerian men has experienced emotional or physical abuse, though many never speak out due to shame and cultural expectations. And according to the National Human Rights Commission, more than 25,000 gender based violence cases have been officially recorded between 2020-2022,  yet these numbers represent only a fraction of the reality, as countless survivors remain silent. Statistics reveal the size of the problem, but lived experiences reveal its depth.

    Gender based violence appears in subtle, everyday ways: a partner checking a woman’s phone obsessively and calling it “love”; a man being mocked, insulted, or controlled but told to “be a man”; a girl touched inappropriately in public; a boy shouted into silence; a woman forced to hand over her earnings; a man physically harmed but too embarrassed to report it. These small wounds, repeated across thousands of homes, slowly weaken the emotional foundation of a nation.

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    The path forward requires honesty and courage. Nigeria needs support systems that protect everyone!  Women, men, boys, and girls with safe, trusted ways to seek help. Children must learn emotional intelligence early, so boys understand that expressing feelings is not weakness and girls understand that boundaries and dignity are their right. Men and women must be encouraged to seek counselling without shame. Harmful gender expectations must be challenged wherever they appear. Communities must stop looking away, because silence often fuels danger. And gender based violence laws must be enforced consistently and transparently, so protection is not just written on paper but lived in practice.  

    Nigeria is not without laws, but laws mean little when they are not enforced. The Child Rights Act (2003) guarantees the protection of every Nigerian child from all forms of violence, abuse, and neglect. The Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act (2015) outlaws physical, emotional, psychological, and economic abuse, yet many states have been slow to implement it fully. Some states, like Lagos, Ekiti, and Enugu, have domestic violence laws, but gaps remain in enforcement, funding, awareness, and accessibility. Laws on their own cannot save lives; only the courage to enforce them can.

    True peace begins at home. Until homes become places of safety, the nation will continue to struggle with hidden instability. Gender based violence harms women deeply, but it also harms men, boys, girls, families, and the country’s future. A generation cannot grow strong if children are raised in fear. A nation cannot be stable if its households are unsafe. Gender based violence is not a side issue; it is a national warning.

    •Joy Akunwa Nwajari (NYSC)

    Abuja.