The Nation Newspaper

Category: Comments

  • Nigeria: Time to reload

    Nigeria: Time to reload

    • By Matthew Hassan Kukah

    Dr. Reuben Abati is 60. This means he is much younger than our dear country Nigeria. However, his accomplishments in this very short period of time is one of the reasons why I am proud of what our country will still achieve, what my friend, Dr. Kayode Fayemi has described as Nigeria’s unfinished greatness. However, looking back, we must admit that standards have fallen in terms of what young Nigerians achieved before now especially in the area of the media. Remember the debonair, pacesetting Okpanam born, Chris Okolie who, at the age of 26, founded the scintillating Newbreed Magazine. Nduka Obaigbena followed by starting The Week at the age of 23. Peter Enahoro edited the Daily Times at the age of 24. Ernest Ikoli edited the Daily Times at a tender age. Anthony Enahoro was 26 when he moved the motion for Nigeria’s independence. Joseph Tarka entered the House of Representatives at the age of 26. So, when did the discount hunters come from? What happened? Today, an over 30 year old man or woman will have great difficulties becoming an Editor. Is the problem with the system or with the youths? Whatever it is, it is settled that a generation must seize its moment or lose history’s tide.

    Shakespeare says so in Julius Caesar:“There is a tide in the affairs of men,Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune; Omitted, all the voyage of their life

    Is bound in shallows and in miseries.” (Act IV, Scene iii)

    2: To reload is to start afresh. Nigeria’s “reload” must begin in the mind — a moral and imaginative renewal. In Milton’s Paradise Lost, we are told that “The mind is its own place, and in itself Can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven.” There are very many reasons why Nigeria must re-load. A marksman reloads for many reasons. First, he may have failed in his first attempt. May be the gun was not loaded. Maybe the gun was loaded but he was not good enough. Or, perhaps his object moved. Whatever may be the reasons for failure, you re-load and hope to correct the mistakes you may have made. You then go ahead to try again. Hitler was a lucky man. The 42 attempts to kill him all failed. No matter how many times we fail, we must continue to try.

    3: I encourage us to reload because missed targets offer us opportunities to rethink and recreate new options and opportunities. Francis Bacon said so: “He that will not apply new remedies must expect new evils; for time is the greatest innovator.” No matter how much one loves this country, we cannot explain away all the opportunities we have missed. Although we cannot turn back the hands of time, as they say, even a bad clock is right twice a day. However, we can at least attempt to journey together as pilgrims of hope, learning from the mistakes of the past and seeking to dream new dreams. National greatness lies in identifying and correcting past mistakes, not focusing on recrimination and self-flagellation.

    3. Nationalism, it is said, requires memory, and memory requires reverence. Nineteenth Century Canadian poet and journalist, Joseph Howe, had a counsel here: “A wise nation preserves its records, gathers up its monuments, decorates the tombs of its illustrious dead, repairs its greatest structures and fosters national pride and love of country by perpetual references to the sacrifices and glories of the past.” The Chinese celebrate their one-year long march that covered about 6000 kilometers. The Voortrekkers Monument in Kwazulu Natal, South Africa, stands as testimony of the victory of the 464 Afrikaaners who, on December 16th, 1836 (known as the day of the vow), defeated over 20,000 Zulus at the Battle of the Blood River and took over the land! July 4th is America’s independence day because that is the day that the Declaration of Independence was adopted. Thanksgiving Day celebrated on the last Thursday of every November, draws inspiration from the first action by the pilgrim fathers and their local Indian population way back in 1621. Normandy Day is marked every June 6th every year to remember the military operations that ended with the defeat of the Nazis. These events often re-enkindle memories that help to inspire and reinforce nationalism. Edmund Burke in ‘Reflections on the Revolution in France’ wrote that “People will not look forward to posterity who never look backward to their ancestors.” Nationalism is a tree that must be watered. Can you name one single event that Nigerians get excited about?

    4. Nigeria is a nation of paradox; a nation of greatly gifted people full of potential, yet we are a mass of people mired in disillusionment. Why? We look at our politics and we wonder, will we ever get it right? What stories, myths or memories does Nigeria have to inspire patriotism among us? Which sacrifices and labours of our leaders past can we draw inspiration from? Nigeria has become a country permanently on a boiler plate of self-doubt and almost self-abnegation. A country at war with itself. We think about the endless border wars, the severe fracture even in social networks and we wonder, when will we all live in peace among ourselves? When will we create minimum standards of welfare that will ensure that we can take the basic things of a good life for granted. For example, safe maternal and infant maternal environments, ending hunger and destitution, basic standard of education for all our children? We ask, when will the almost 60,000 abandoned projects spread across Nigeria ever be completed? Given the staggering rate and range of our economic hemorrhage through illicit financial flows, we ask ourselves, when will we achieve some level of economic equilibrium? With citizens retreating into the womb of ethnicity, with religion becoming the source of inspiration for violence and death, our questions are many and all-encompassing with very little answers. It is an open question whether can successfully reach a finishing line. Perhaps, in the end, we have to come to terms with the fact that there are really no final destination in the dream of nations. In the end, it is more a question of holding together and believing that no matter the turbulence, our eyes are still set on the dreams of building a united nation.

    5: Perhaps we may need to ask questions such as, where did all go wrong? Or was it wrong from the beginning? If so, which beginning? We know that every modern country today has its own peculiar history. None has been free from the savagery of conquerors, oppressors, or enslavers. If we are to start from the beginning, we will have to start from the Garden of Eden. Yet, even there, no sooner had God placed the first two human creatures Adam and Eve in the garden than trouble started over obedience to just one commandment. The first family had only two children, yet, with no external provocation from any neighbour, the first murder took place. Here, we draw the first lesson that, living together even as a family has its challenges. A peaceful Nigeria should be measured not by the absence of problems, rather, the existence of platforms that enable citizens to feel a sense of fairness.

    6: Nations live with the oxygen that they draw from the myths of identity, myths of great men and women who came before. The myths are often constructed around their struggles. They become the vehicles for legitimation and validation, their memories inspire sacrifice and pride. Telling and re-telling them inspires the next generation and they become embedded in memory and often form part of what is called, civil religion. These myths and the telling of them help to inspire the next generation which often passes them to the next generation. This is what Moses meant when he enjoined the people of Israel to remember the word of God; when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them on your hands, and between your eyes. You shall write them on them on the doorpost of your house (Dt. 6: 7-8). Every country today speaks about the dreams or the visions of its founding fathers, those men and women whose sacrifices brought them to where they are. Some of these men and women have been elevated almost to the status of demigods. Legitimacy of certain decisions has to be aligned to the thinking of these great men and women. Myths and anthologies are often deployed to ensure that their lives continue to inspire the nation. Today, think of the lessons of the great Nelson Mandela.

    7: When the United States of America speak of their founding fathers, they refer to; Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, John Adams, John Jay, Alex Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson. Despite his fame, Abraham Lincoln is not considered a founding father as he came much later. Their memories are sustained against the backdrop of the myths constructed about them over time. These founding fathers gave the country the Declaration of Independence (1776) and wrote the nation’s Constitution (1878. Independence came after almost a hundred years. However, the inspiration for what forms the foundations of America values derives from multiple sources.

    Read Also: Unending rape terror: Ochanya and other tales of abuse of Nigerian girl child

    8: Primarily, the Bible formed the furnace upon which all the inspiration of the founding fathers was hammered. Along with the Bible was the inspiration derived from philosophers like Plato, Aristotle, Jock Locke, Thomas Hobbes, Montesquieu, Immanuel Kant, Jean Jacques Rosseau, Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Thomas Paine among many others. These philosophers propounded different theories about life, death, society, government, peace, war and justice. They debated the role of the state, ensuring individual safety and the pursuit of happiness. Was society above or beneath government? People like John Locke believed that society was more important than government and that the business of government was to protect the freedom of the individual, hence the notion of limited government.

    9: Issues of freedom, the individual and government have dominated politics. For example, how much of human freedom can the state take from the individual and for what? Rosseau, due to the circumstances of his personal life, feared freedom and believed that more power should be in the hands of the state. Ceding much power to the people could lead to anarchy and mob violence. The Leviathan, as he called the state, should be given so much power that it can enjoy unlimited protection. Left on his own devices, Rosseau argued, individuals could descend to a state of nature where, unrestrained, life could be nasty, brutish and short. Philosophers like Immanuel Kant share Rosseau’s sentiments because he argued for total obedience to the state’s authority on the grounds that either way, it was better to have even a bad state with bad laws than to have no state and no laws! Successive governments in the United States have revolved around these values.

    10: The 1630 sermon of John Winthrop, first Governor of the Massachusetts Bay colony, an English Puritan lawyer provided the foundation for the development of these moral sentiments on which the founding fathers would continue to build. It was in the sermon that he conceived of the new colony as a city on the hill, drawing inspiration from the exhortation of Jesus that a city set on a hill cannot be hidden (Mt. 5:14). Drawing from Prophet Micah, he enjoined his people in the sermon to act justly, love tenderly and to walk humbly with our God. These sentiments account for the deep moral fibre of the American polity. Today, these sentiments formed the moral foundation for such expressions in the American public psyche as: In God we Trust, Manifest destiny, God’s own country,

    11: Subsequently, after the war, the Declaration of Independence evokes these emotions when it said: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Today, America holds these values and vision with near sacredness. They provide the guardrails for ensuring the preservation of the vision of their founding fathers. They account for the near sacredness attached to the Constitution. Taken together with the principles of separation of powers, they have made the country the most powerful nation on earth, whatever may be the controversies of the moment.

    12: The Chinese on the other hand have built their civilization and by extension the social and political fabric of their country around the philosophical teachings of Confucius, the 5th century Chinese philosopher. The Analects, the collection of some of his teachings read like the Book of Wisdom in the Bible. For example, in what sounds almost like the golden rule, Confucius says, Never impose on others what you will not choose for yourself. Drawing from Confucius, the Chinese have developed their politics around what is called, the Doctrine of the Mean. The philosophy of the mean enjoins people to avoid excesses and extremes, to seek balance and moderation. Using the pendulum as a model, this teaching assumes that extremism should be avoided while balance and equilibrium should be sought. Virtue is what helps to manage these extremes. This is why, even though China is a multiparty Democracy, it has ensured that its so-called Democracy functions within the boundaries of doctrine of the mean, seeing opposition as an extreme from the mean.

    13: Many people will be surprised to hear that China can claim to have a multiparty political system. Yes, they do. These parties are little surrogates who survive on the basis of what the Chinese Communist Party, CCP, calls, multi-party cooperation and political consultation under the leadership of the CCP. Yes, China is a multi-party country and there is even one party called, China Democratic League. The only right that these parties have is the right to accept the supremacy of the CCP. We can go on and on about other countries around the world. The point here is that every country has its history.

    14: So, coming to our country Nigeria, the question now is, who are our founding fathers? What was the founding philosophy? What is it about their lives that we can hold up to for inspiration today? As a former British colony, Nigeria’s history of growth and development reads quite differently. Written largely in the smoke-filled rooms of British subterfuge, some of these intrigues have been well documented in very many books. The Harold Smith Story: A Squalid End to Empire tells part of this gory story. Dele Ogun’s A Fatherless People demonstrates how Nigeria came to be an ideological orphan, lacking in a source of moral authority for its national development. Mr. Ogun speaks eloquently about things that might have been in our politics, had the British not done all they did to manipulate outcomes to favour northern Nigeria. We are still paying the price. “Who controls the past controls the future; who controls the present controls the past” (George Orwell:1984).

    15: In form and content, we have remained what the British sculpted of us. For example, while in the United Kingdom as a student, Mr. Obafemi Awolowo had fallen under the spell of Fabianism. This left-wing group made up of Socialists who congregated around its philosophy would later become the launch pad for the Labour Party. The Fabian Society founded the London School of Economics and Political Science in 1895. It inspired such legendary leaders like Jawaharl Nehru and Lee Kwan Yew, 50 former Heads of States and 20 Nobel Laureates. Such a man like Awolowo, inspired by the Labour Party would naturally have struck anxiety to Harold McMillan of the Conservative Party who was then the British Prime Minister as Nigeria prepared for independence.

     Mr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, having been exposed to the radical politics of the United States (itself a former British colony) posed a similar threat. These explain the maneuverings that ensured that neither of these two emerged to lead Nigeria after independence.

    16: Today, we all recall the anecdotal account of the imagined conversation between Nnamdi Azikiwe and the Sardauna regarding the future of the country. As it went, Nnamdi Azikiwe pleaded with Sardauna that they should sink their differences in other to build a united nation together. The Sardauna was said to have told Nnamdi Azikiwe that it was more important to understand the differences rather than forgetting them. The difference between forgetting and remembering still haunts us till date. Today, these three key leaders were unable to reconcile their differences and find areas of agreement beyond merely struggling for independence. Even at that, the famous crisis around the date for Nigeria’s independence between the three, the debate between the Sardauna’s as soon as possible position and the famous Tony Enahoro’s motion for independence in 1956.

    19: For example, in the case of India, the British bowed to pressure from the Muslim minority and decided to create Pakistan for the Muslims. Nigerians vehemently rejected this choice and pooh-poohed against what they called then, the Pakistanisation of Nigeria. The Minority ethnic groups in the Middle Belt and in Southern Nigeria were suffocating from the asphyxiating chokehold of the dominant ethnic groups in the north, east and west. In response to their pleas, the British set up what they called, a Minority’s Commission in 1958 to enquire into the fears of Minorities. Their brief was to listen to the fears of these minorities and figure out how to allay them. The creation of the Mid-West in 1963 was not done in good faith because the real idea was to reduce Chief Awolowo’s influence in the region. The fears of the northern Minorities over the threat to their cultural and religious identity were ignored because the northern region claimed that their fears would be addressed. When we look back now, we must ask, could things have been different from what they are today?

    20: As we prepare to re-load, what are the key issues for today? There will of course be as many answers as those that are asked. I will try to conclude by identifying just three or so key areas that I believe we need to focus on. First, is the problem of national cohesion which has remained, as I have said elsewhere, an illusion. Our coat of arms loudly proclaims, Unity & Faith, Peace & Progress. I leave you to rank which of these ideals we have been able to achieve. We have neither unity nor faith, neither peace nor have we made progress commensurate with our opportunities. I am not about to offer you the answers, but what I wish to do here is to say, if we are to re-load, what must we do differently? Our inability to successfully achieve any of these ideals is what we now call insecurity. To that extent, it is plausible to argue that our insecurity is the result of our lack of unity and faith which have made peace and progress impossible. To re-load, I propose we look at five key themes

    21: First, what is the future of our Constitutional Democracy? Ours has been a severely flawed Democracy by every stretch of the imagination. I do not know if we can find consolation in the fact that the crisis around Democracy is itself an international malaise. If it is any consolation, a recent Pew Foundation survey examined the state of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction with Democracy around the world. The revelations show that Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States, all registered a median of 64% adults saying they are dissatisfied with Democracy while 35% said that they were satisfied. Only two African countries are measured in the survey and they are, Kenya and South Africa which both registered between 58% and 63% dissatisfaction and against 42% and 33% satisfaction respectively. On dissatisfaction with Democracy, it is interesting that India ranks the highest with 23%, followed by Sweden which is 25%.

    22: In a Washington Times article on the 24th October, 2025, titled, Democracy Faces a Crisis of Faith, Dr. Fareed Zakarias concluded that: Fifty years ago, people doubted their governments. Today, they doubt each other. The next democratic revival will not come from clever managers or technocratic reforms. It will come from a rediscovery of trust—the invisible rule that makes all others possible. Until we can believe again that the referee is trying to be fair, we will keep shouting ‘Ref, you suck!’ at our own democracy— and then wonder why the game no longer feels worth playing.

    23: Democratic reversals should be seen as temporary and we must work hard to renew our peoples’ faith in it, despite its many flaws. With all its flaws, our commitment to Democracy as a people is irreversible as we can see from the cold reactions to the recent news of a purported military coup. This same coldness is seen in the lack of enthusiasm about the Sahelian states of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso. What we need to do is to think more seriously about the nature of the choices and the processes that drive Democracy. Here, I mean Political Parties and Electoral Management Bodies.

    24: There is a lot of talk about the need for free, fair and credible elections. It is however important to note that although free, fair and credible elections are necessary, they are not sufficient to guarantee or deliver on good governance and what we have come to loosely refer to as dividends of Democracy. For example, on July 29, 1981, the world stood still as millions around the world were glued to the television as they watched Prince Charles and Lady Diana get married at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. It was, you would say, with the pomp and pageantry, one of the greatest events of that year, and, a fairytale marriage made in heaven as they say. Fifteen years later, precisely on August 28, 1996, the marriage ended in divorce! So, outcomes are often not determined by processes.

    25: The challenge to our Democracy is the conduct and lack of honesty and sincerity by the political actors who have come to see politics as a ladder that can be used to ascend to higher office. Electoral malfeasance has been inserted into the process. Accountability still remains a serious problem. However, one of the most troubling problems is the issue of the culture of defections by elected officials who are often driven by a sense of opportunism and the need to be close to honey pot of power. We will not resolve these matters merely by moral appeal. Amendments to our electoral laws must go beyond merely tinkering with the laws. The amendments in the laws must identify, isolate and target certain remedies. I will use two examples from Ghana to illustrate the point.

    26: Under the Ghana Election Commission for example, once you cross the carpet, you lose your seat and elections in which the defector cannot contest, must hold within 42 days for a replacement. Second, the Speaker of the Parliament is appointed by the President not elected by the House. The appointment can come from even outside the political parties. In this way for example, the idea that defectors must write to the Speaker can be remedied.

    27: The second issue is what to do with the Constitution or the spirit of Constitutionalism, the secular scriptural text that must provide moral guidance for the affairs of state. Largely, Constitutional Amendment has become a project and a ritual of each National Assembly. In a provocative Memo, my friend, Olisa Agbakoba has likened the process as merely repairing a cracked foundation with patches. In his view, 25 years of Constitutional tinkering has produced no transformation. The result is that Elections occur, but power remains concentrated. Parties exist, but without genuine ideological differentiation. A Constitution governs but without federal substance. His proposals, he argues, if accepted can see Nigeria itself with a budget of N500 trillion Naira capacity. He proposes that his project should form the basis for interrogation of candidates in the 2027 elections.

    28: Although I am persuaded by the strength of the argument, his arguments focus on assumptions that do not address realistically, the nature of the field of play. The questions for the 2027 elections may not be exhaustive, but they mistake the cause for the consequence. We are supposed to ask all candidates, if they will deliver on the enlisted items. All the 10 questions start with, Will you…? It is like asking a groom on the altar, will you love this woman, will you be faithful to her? Of course this is the easy part and he will naturally simply tick yes in all the boxes. Elections are a process and they are different from governance. A wedding is a ceremony. It is not a marriage. The real part is living out the words uttered. And here, Agbakoba’s thesis should focus not on asking the “will you” question, but the “how” question. The text also does not address the resistant nature of the landscape that is suffused with such cultural anomalies as Democracy sitting side by side with traditional institutions, especially given that today, in the northern states, at least, they are already taking a chunk of local government resources. It is an exceptionally well written memo and should provoke a conversation. If it is not to be a mere talkshop, Dr Agbakoba must define the processes of his team selection.

    29: What leaders do we need, who do we need, where and when? It is tempting to ask if the age of the strong man, the dictator, the autocrat, the one who brooked no nonsense, the one whose word was law are gone. The answer is no, because in the words of Anne Applebaum in her book, ‘Autocracy Inc: The Dictators who want to Rule the World’, says, there is a network of dictators who share common interests and not common ideology. Nowadays, autocracies are not run by one bad guy but by sophisticated networks relying on kleptocratic financial structures, a complex of security services, military and paramilitary, police and technological experts who provide surveillance, propaganda and disinformation.

    30: We need a Judiciary that spends less energy on becoming what Chidi Odinkalu calls a Selectorate which topples the will of the people. In the book, ‘The Selectorate: When Judges Topple the People’, Prof Odinkalu argues that: “the judiciary has evolved from constrained arbiters over political disputes to unconstrained determinants of the location and site for the mandate of to rule…the Judiciary has relocated the site of electoral legitimacy from voters to judges and from the ballot box to the court room.”

    31: The judiciary needs to be extricated from the tangled web of politics. There is need to find the means to make the judiciary focus more on securing the rights to justice for our people. Nigeria needs another arm of the judiciary dedicated to delivering Justice to the politicians and their parties. We need a more robust engagement between the Bar and the Bench in extending the frontiers of Justice to our people. Bodies like the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People, NCAAP, and recently, the Black Lives Matter Movement have all demonstrated that with activist Judges of the Supreme Court such as Thurgood Marshall, the ‘Notorious’ Ruth Bader Ginsberg all of blessed memory, the frontiers of Justice can be extended.

    32: Nigeria needs a mapping programme that tries to use effective intelligence to forecast and geolocate its strategic place in the world. So far, we seem to have no roadmap for positioning ourselves and helping to lift up Africa. All this idea of government by marabouts, shamans, all this blood of sacrifice of protective gear against enemies, slaughtering of cross bred cows, donkeys, camels, cats with three legs, one eye, no tail, black tongue and so on will not cut it.

    32: Nigeria needs to address the issues of values, the kind of values that could have helped to find a moral balance in our chaotic social world. Asian politicians, intellectuals and businessmen have sought to embed these teachings in their fabric of their society. The Chinese, are inspired by the teachings of Confucius. These teachings focus on family, respect for elders, obedience to cultural norms, etiquette, moral uprightness and virtue and contribution to social harmony. Indians on the other hand, for the Indians, their moral orbit revolves around the Mahabhrata and the Upanishad which constitute some of the theology around Buddhism, Jainism and Hinduism. The Japanese concept of seppuku is based on the notion of shame. This is what drove Roh Myu-hun to take his own life in 2009 when he was accused of corruption. Asian scholars and statesmen such as Amartya Sen and Mohammed Mahathir have debated the idea of Asian values in contrast with those of the west. For example, some countries have argued that rather than dwelling on Gross National Product as a way of measuring development, they propose a measurement of Gross National Happiness, GNH as a basis of development. These debates are important for framing and laying down long lasting development strategies that ensure that mere infrastructures do not replace human beings.

    33: For us in Nigeria, our political life is bereft of African cultural input, largely because of the way we approached western civilization and modernity. Today, the idea of Ubuntu (I am because you are) has been bandied as a way of defining who we are as Africans. This is in sharp contrast to the xenophobia that has been the hallmark of life in South Africa. African politics has tended to shy away from a rigorous and scientific review of what we consider to be our culture. Rather than rigorous scholarship, African politics tends to lapse into the dark world of shamanism, sorcery, charms, where the marabouts hold sway through their incantations.

    34: To re-load our politics, Nigeria needs to rethink how to rescue our country from the clutches of the dark forces of all forms of extremist ideologies. If Nigeria does not confront the demon of weaponized religion, we may have no country because those who weaponize religion are a greater danger to the religion itself. Nigeria must be a country of one people under one law. To this end, I again appeal to the President. He went to court to cure the injustice that has encouraged corruption in regards to the funds of Local Government Councils. He should go to the Supreme Court to seek a proper interpretation of the implications of the adoption of Sharia Courts in the 12 northern states. Victims of the manipulation of religion constitute over 90% of believers. The encircling steps of the angels of death and doom are here. We have been calling and crying for years. Northern Christians raised these issues before independence, but political expediency by the British colonial state denied them fair hearing. Now, this demon has come back to haunt us. If Nigeria does not kill the dragon of religious extremism, it will be only a matter of time before we become a larger Gaza. Supremacists who hide under religion must have no place in our social and political life. The time to deal with this problem is now, the place to start is here. So, thank you, President Donald Trump for the blowout and throwing an unexploded hand grenade our way. I hope we have a chance to act before it explodes. All Nigerians must walk tall and confident through the length and breadth of this great land.

    •          Excerpts from keynote address delivered at the 60th birthday celebration of Dr Reuben Abati at the National Institute for International Affairs, Victoria Island, Lagos on 7th November, 2025.
  • Fiscalisation: How Nigeria’s digital invoicing can passively expand tax inclusion

    Fiscalisation: How Nigeria’s digital invoicing can passively expand tax inclusion

    • By Olanrewaju M. Lassise-Phillips

    Introduction

    When Nigeria introduced the e-invoice solution as part of its fiscalisation framework, public attention largely focused on compliance enforcement, that is, the ability of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to monitor transactions in real time and curb revenue leakages. But beneath that immediate compliance objective lies a more transformative potential: passive tax inclusion.

    The e-invoice platform does more than validate invoices; it brings visibility to the invisible economy, especially the informal sector that accounts for over half of Nigeria’s economic activity but contributes a fraction of the tax take.

    1. The Visibility Problem

    For decades, tax administration in Nigeria has been constrained by the opacity of the informal sector. Millions of micro and small enterprises transact daily without record, receipt, or reporting. Traditional enforcement methods such as audits, field registration drives, and information requests have proven costly, inefficient, and often adversarial.

    The e-invoice solution may have quietly or inadvertently changed this dynamic. Every time an invoice is issued electronically, the data travels (in real time or near-real time) to the FIRS system. This simple process creates a digital footprint for transactions that were previously invisible.

    2. Passive Inclusion through Data

    The system is “passive” largely because there is no need for intrusive investigations or taxpayer drives. Instead, visibility itself becomes a compliance driver. By mapping transaction trails, FIRS can identify:

    ✔         suppliers or service providers who have not registered for tax;

    ✔         businesses whose declared income is inconsistent with their invoicing volume; and

    ✔         sectoral turnover patterns that inform more accurate presumptive taxation.

    Each data point becomes a lead, not for punishment, but for gradual onboarding into the formal tax system.

    3. Why This Matters for Nigeria

    Nigeria’s tax-to-GDP ratio is considered one of the lowest in Africa. A major reason is the exclusion of informal operators. Yet, fiscal expansion cannot rely solely on new taxes or higher rates; it must rest on broadening the base. The e-invoice mechanism provides a non-confrontational path toward this goal by embedding fiscal visibility within everyday business operations.

    4. Building an Intelligent Tax Ecosystem

    The long-term potential lies in integration. When e-invoicing data connects with national identity numbers (NIN), bank verification numbers (BVN), and business registration databases, Nigeria will possess the infrastructure to administer a smart tax system. Such a system shifts the administrative burden from enforcement to analytics and behavioural nudging, identifying gaps, prompting compliance, and automating returns for small enterprises.

    5. From Compliance to Collaboration

    The e-invoice project also redefines the relationship between tax authorities and taxpayers. Rather than viewing fiscalisation as surveillance, it can be positioned as a trust-building tool where data transparency reduces arbitrary assessments, eliminates invoice fraud, and supports fairer taxation.

    Read Also: Coalition seeks inclusion in fiscal policy, tax reform

    A more transparent value chain benefits everyone as follows:

    ✔         government gains predictable, real-time revenue insights;

    ✔         businesses gain audit trails, credibility, and easier access to finance; and

    ✔         Informal operators gain a gradual path into formal recognition.

    6. The Way Forward

    To unlock its full promise, fiscalisation must be accompanied by:

    ✔         simplified onboarding for micro and small enterprises;

    ✔         awareness campaigns that highlight benefits, not just penalties; and

    ✔         integration with MSME finance initiatives to ensure visibility translates into opportunity.

    If properly implemented, the e-invoice system will not only seal revenue leakages but also quietly transform Nigeria’s tax landscape from coercion to inclusion, from opacity to transparency, and from enforcement to engagement.

    In essence, fiscalisation is not just about control. It’s about connection. The e-invoice solution offers Nigeria a chance to see and serve the informal economy, not as an enforcement challenge but as a fiscal partner.

    • Olanrewaju M. Lassise-Phillips, the Immediate Past Chairman, Tax Appeal Tribunal Lagos Zone 1 (2018 – 2024) and Partner, The Law Gates, writes in from Lagos.
  • The Trump challenge and a call for patriotic voices

    The Trump challenge and a call for patriotic voices

    • By Tunde Rahman

    In an age when the lines between truth and falsehood are getting increasingly blurred, I was nonplussed when President Trump labelled Nigeria a Country of Particular Concern on October 31. My incredulity was heightened given that his action stemmed from unproven allegations of genocide against Christians. Was it another deepfake facilitated through AI or simply a case of mistaken identity? 

    I was of the view that President Trump might have actually meant another country, and not Nigeria. He had, after all, adopted a similar approach in December 2020, which proved quite unsuccessful. President Biden, who succeeded him in office, rightly removed the designation barely a year later, in November 2021, convinced, as most had been, that Trump’s action was based on unverified allegations. 

    The US President has since doubled down on the labelling, threatening to take military action against Nigeria’s Islamists and terrorists. My scepticism derived from the premise that the facts on the ground, indeed the Nigerian situation, do not align with what can be termed a Christian genocide or genocide of any sort, as exemplified in the recent Israeli massacre of Palestinian people, including children.

    It is thus not surprising that top Nigerian government functionaries – from Foreign Affairs Minister Yusuf Tuggah and Minister of Information and National Orientation Idris Mohammed, as well as most commentators – have already debunked the claim of Christian genocide or wholly Christian killings in Nigeria. The country may still be having some security issues to contend with; however, they argue that there are no targeted killings of Christians, let alone a Christian genocide.  

    Indeed, a recent investigative report by the BBC Global Disinformation Unit has picked holes in the threadbare claims of a “Christian genocide” in Nigeria. In very stark details, the report highlights how the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) and allied Igbo ethnic advocacy and pro-Biafra groups circulated inflated figures and unverified narratives. 

    Titled “Are Christians Being Persecuted in Nigeria as Trump Claims?” the report was authored by Olaronke Alo and Chiamaka Enendu of the BBC Global Disinformation Unit, along with a Lagos-based journalist, Ijeoma Ndukwe. The writers examined the origins and veracity of claims that over 125,000 Christians had been killed and 19,000 churches burned down in Nigeria since 2009. 

    Apparently driven by some ulterior motive, when contacted by the BBC, Intersociety, which first disseminated the allegation of Christian killings,  failed to provide enumerated data or verifiable sources to substantiate its claims and demonstrate the integrity of the figures and their conclusions. Instead, the organisation accused the BBC of being politically compromised. Unfortunately, these unreliable data cobbled by Intersociety were the exact figures cited by the Conservative Media in the US, and prominent politicians like Senator Ted Cruz and Congressman Riley Moore. Sadly, these same figures were what President Trump relied upon in his designation of Nigeria as a CPC. 

    Read Also: Trump’s threat of war against Nigeria

    The point is: there is no  Christian persecution or mass killings in Nigeria. There are no state-sanctioned killings of Christians. The state does not condone it, as Nigeria has no state religion. President Bola Tinubu is a moderate Muslim who allows religious freedom in his household. He is not a religious fundamentalist. A man who so liberally allows religious freedom in his household cannot conceivably turn around and disallow the same in the larger society.

    Beyond that, however, and that piece of good journalism and useful revelation by the BBC, which laid bare the claim of Nigerian Christian genocide, the CPC labelling nonetheless offers a useful cautionary tale in crisis management. And this is why the government’s response to the challenge has been subtle and restrained. It is indeed the right thing to do, given the threat that it represents – albeit for the wrong reason. 

    It may sound paradoxical, but the best way to prove that an argument proceeds from a false premise is by continually pointing out the falsehood therefrom. It’s truly heart-warming that the government has continued to navigate the present critical situation carefully, handling the matter diplomatically and laying out the facts and proper position of things to President Trump, the US Conservative Media, the evangelicals and politicians. That way, they can see their mistake and make informed decisions.

    The ongoing momentum of the reforms undertaken by President Tinubu, which has engendered economic recovery, a slowdown in inflation, naira stability, and the gradual return of investors, must be maintained and carefully nurtured so that no development endangers it. The government must continue to stay on course. Remarkably, despite some fluctuations in the naira exchange rate over the past few days, the global investor confidence in the growing positive prospects of the Nigerian economy has remained on the rise. This is evident in the oversubscription of the country’s $2.3 billion eurobond last week.

     Reacting to the development, last Thursday, during the Federal Executive Council meeting in Abuja, as he inaugurated two new ministers appointed to fill the cabinet vacancies, President Tinubu disclosed that the Federal Government was engaging diplomatically with the world on the issue.

    “The most important thing is the fact that despite the political headwinds and the fear of our people, we will continue to engage with partners. The success of the $2.3 billion eurobond, which investors oversubscribed by 400%, is the most reassuring. So, the task ahead is immense; we are engaging the world diplomatically, and we assure all of you that we will defeat terrorism in this country.”

    With the recent rejig of the nation’s military and security apparatus, following the appointment of new service chiefs and a reshuffle within the intelligence circle, the battle against terrorism, banditry, and violent crimes will be reinvigorated. President Tinubu implored Nigerians not to succumb to despair, assuring that the government would defeat every form of terrorism and secure every part of the country.

     “Do we have problems? Yes. Are we challenged by terrorism? Yes. But we will defeat terrorism. We will overcome the CPC designation. Nigeria is one happy family, and we shall spare no effort until we eliminate all criminals from our society. We want our friends to help us as we step up our fight against terrorism, and we will eliminate it,” he said.

    What the nation requires now are patriotic voices. Our leaders must stand up to be counted, while politicians, too, must drop their divisive togas and don the patriotic cap in defence of the country. The present challenge is neither about Nigerian Christians nor about the war against terrorists. There are clearly some other underlying motives. The US President cannot possibly love Nigeria more than the people of Nigeria. Former Kano State governor and National Leader of the Nigeria National Peoples Party, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, and former Foreign Affairs Minister and ex-Jigawa State governor, who is also a top chieftain of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Sule Lamido, have seen through this unfair designation and have led the way in this direction.

    More Nigerian leaders need to speak up as statesmen. By presenting the facts to President Trump and the international community in a convincing and non-adversarial manner, we must demonstrate that we are not a disgraced people and that Nigeria is by no means a “disgraced country.”

    In all of this, though, we mustn’t fail to note the befuddling silence in the typically voluble quarters of our political space. So, it is fitting to ask: Where are former President Olusegun Obasanjo and his former deputy and defeated PDP 2023 presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, who is preparing for another presidential run in 2027, at this critical moment?

    • Rahman is Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Special Duties
  • Resolving youth unemployment crisis and skills mismatch in Nigeria

    Resolving youth unemployment crisis and skills mismatch in Nigeria

    • By Tunji Olaopa

    Convocation ceremonies that universities and other tertiary institutions hold to celebrate the achievements of their graduands are more than mere ceremonies. They are signifiers of a significant event about to take place. That event has to do with the need to reconnect the talents, ideas and theories that have been grown and cultivated within the higher education context to back up the societal base of that knowledge framework. When universities graduate students in all cadres, they are making a fundamental statement about the need to give back to the society that initiated the needs for those institutions in the first place. Universities and tertiary institutions cannot stand off the knowledge production objective that called them into existence in the first place. They exist not just as ivory towers generating knowledge for knowledge’s sake; rather, the knowledge generated is supposed to lead to emancipation of lives and the transformation of societies. Convocations are therefore testaments to significant achievements as well as statements of new and transformatory beginnings.

    This makes the 17th convocation ceremony of the Bells University of Technology (BUT)—the first private university of technology in Nigeria, a serious event for many reasons. The first is obvious. BUT is a specialized university—much like the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Federal University of Technology, Akure, University of Petroleum Resources, Effurun, the University of Medical Sciences, Ondo, etc.—that came into existence for specific developmental purposes in ways that is different from the conventional universities and tertiary institutions. The second reason speaks to the founding of BUT that connects vision and statesmanship to national development. This reason allows me to pay deep homage to one of the fathers of the Nigerian nation, an elder statesman emeritus, our living legend, and the visitor to this revered university, Chief Olusegun Okikiola Obasanjo, GCFR, PhD, and former president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. There are no enough words to capture the deep essence of a statesman, nationalist, and visionary, who sees far ahead of his time. Indeed, the founding of Bells University is one stroke of foresight that uniquely connects OBJ’s leadership vision, development insights and patriotic love to the greater Nigeria’s emerging future.

    The concern of BUT with youth unemployment and skills mismatch as the theme of its 2025 convocation lecture and its 20th anniversary, says a lot about its capacity to stay ahead of its vision and mission as a leading higher education stakeholder in Nigeria. In this piece, therefore, my objective is to connect Nigeria’s development challenges with the deficit and dysfunction of higher education, especially in terms of human capital development and the resulting unemployment and skill deficiency. I will explore several ways by which this challenge could be alleviated, especially by specialized universities like BUT and other conventional universities across Nigeria. I sincerely hope this reflection will be able to spur the universities and other tertiary institutions to an even greater efforts in pushing Nigeria towards sustainable development.

    The first crucial foundation to lay is the acknowledgement that the world has arrived at the knowledge society. This is a society that speaks to the importance and the qualitative role that knowledge has come to play in the defining of our time and its possibilities. It concerns the dynamic of how knowledge is efficiently applied to every facet of human socioeconomic life, from civil society and the economy to politics and the community. This society emerged, according to Peter Drucker, because “Knowledge is being applied to knowledge itself…. Knowledge is now fast becoming the one factor of production, sidelining both capital and labor.” It does not take any significant reflection to immediately see why education is a very crucial element in the making and functional reality of the knowledge society. Or why institutions of higher education, especially the universities, are key to generating knowledge that the society and state can deploy to generate wealth and make economic and developmental progress. In the knowledge society, Drucker insists that it is not only learning that is fundamental, but “learning how to learn.” In this sense, the universities become the critical space within which learning, education, innovation and information become mixed in a dynamic and strategic form that conduces to the benefit of the human society. The university then becomes not only a site for knowledge production, but also a space for fashioning the human capital that could be called upon to process the knowledge that is produced for the betterment and improvement of the society.

    The challenge for a state like Nigeria is that we have found it difficult to step into the knowledge society, except as a default event, because higher education is disarticulated from national development given that human capital development has failed to meet up with the creative innovation that many nations have fully recognized and invested in so heavily, in order to guarantee  sustainable progress. The higher education dynamics therefore become extremely significant in terms of their relationship with a nation’s productive force. Unfortunately, Nigeria has failed so far in tapping into its youth bulge—the number of Nigerians that falls within the productive age of fifteen to thirty-five years that makes up the productive age—which makes her the most youthful country in Nigeria, and one of the largest in the world. The human capital development dynamics are then compromised by a gloomy statistic of youth unemployment: According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the labour force survey for 2023 reveals, for instance, that youth unemployment increased from 6.9% in the first quarter of 2023 to 7.2% in the second. The youth not gainfully employed, in school or in any form of training amounts to 13.8%. the informal economy employs a whopping 92.7% Nigerians. Then there is a mass of unemployable and restive youth population that has transformed the youth bulge into a negative fact. In other words, Nigeria’s higher education has failed so far in tapping into the youth bulge to generate a creative, knowledge and innovative productive force that Nigeria can then harness for its developmental needs.

    Read Also: How Nigeria should deal with Trump’s military threat

    For me, there are three functions a university ought to pursue vigorously. The first is to connect students with their humanity—to make them more humane than when they stepped through the gates of the university. This, for me, is the crucial responsibility of the humanities, from History and Philosophy to Music, Religious Studies and Classical Studies. The second function of the university is to inculcate the best insights into citizenship in ways that enables the Nigerian polity to benefit from those who are able to achieve patriotism through a serious engagement with the body politic. I lay this responsibility at the feet of the social sciences, especially sociology and political science. The third function of higher education that the university embodies is to arm the students with relevant and cogent skills and competences that will not only tide them for life, but will also become the tools they need to move the nation forward. This is where the science, technology and management faculties come in. It is pretty difficult to disarticulate the functions of the university in this manner, but I will take the risk and examine the third function here.

    These three functions imply that a university like BUT cannot just be fixated on crunching ideas, paradigms and theories that are not grounded on praxis. This sensitizes us to the fundamental significance of the town-and-gown. Indeed, the town needs the ideas and theories of the gown, as much as the gown also require to reorient its theories by the practices of the town. This articulates the necessity of connecting theorizing to the imperative of industrialization and national development for a country like Nigeria. The paradox of the Nigerian developmental situation is that despite the millions of graduates that Nigerian universities churn out every year, she still could not manage an adequate industry-ready manpower that could qualitatively transform her development and productivity profile. This is the crux of Nigeria’s development predicament. There is a simple explanation for this predicament of the unemployed and unemployable: the education they got did not make them relevant as key elements of the development planning and even entrepreneurial process. There is therefore a skill mismatch when a student’s training and education fail to meet the requirements and needs of the country’s labor market and industries.

    There are three dimensions of this skill mismatch. One, there is the skill gap that is the consequence of the curriculum being oriented on too much theoretical rather than practical knowledge and skills that meet specific societal and developmental needs. Two, there is the field-of-study mismatch that is the result of graduates getting trained in disciplinary areas not needed by the Nigerian economy. And lastly, there is the qualification mismatch that implies that graduates are underqualified for available job or are even unemployable for them. This skills mismatch is aggravated by two factors. One, there is the incapacity of past reforms to restore the functional link between education, job creation and employability of graduates. Two, there is also an educational philosophy which is skewed in favor of formal education to the exclusion of technical, vocational education and training (TVET) as well as the more traditional apprenticeship and other non-formal training like the Igbo apprenticeship system as part of a larger framework for generating and consolidating a nationwide job creation and entrepreneurial dynamics that underlie human capital development.

    The objective therefore, going forward, is for the government to set a policy objective that connects higher education, industry and development. In order to match certification and qualification generated by educational and training institutions with employment opportunities available in the labour market, development policies need to not only connect the formal and informal education subsector, especially in terms of the students’ industrial work experiences, like SIWES. The recent and ongoing efforts of the Federal Ministry of Education to implement several programs that promote STEM education and foreground TVET is commendable. So also, is the decision of the African Development Bank (AfDB) to provide crucial support to 38 technical colleges, to enhance skills acquisition and vocational training. This significantly possesses the capacity to fully activate the national vocational qualifications framework (NVQF) as standardized certification for skills to promote employability and industry relevance.

    The federal government might need to consider declaring a state of emergency on the education sector especially in terms of the development imperative of generating new skills that matches the twenty-first century technology-driven transformation of the nature of work and the imperatives of productivity. Universities and other tertiary institutions must emphasize digital skills (i.e. machine learning and AI), technical skills (i.e. cloud computing), soft skills (i.e. critical thinking), lifelong skills (i.e. adaptability and resilience), vocational skills (i.e. data analytics, social media management), among others. These skills acquisition imperative draws the universities, especially specialized ones like BUT, into the larger reform framework. This involves (a) transforming the development nature of their governing councils in ways that affect the fundamentals of curriculum development and pedagogy; (b) strengthening the university-industry synergy and collaboration though the establishment of research and development hubs; (c) creating enabling atmosphere and programs that enable students develop creative start-ups and entrepreneurial innovation; (d) be a significant part of a tripartite labour arrangement involving ASUU and the government that function on a development rather than adversarial industrial relations dynamics.

    In concluding this piece, I like to digress to dwell a bit on why the government, industry and labour must come to a shared vision and purpose to create industrial harmony as growth enabler, in spite of the usual inescapable periodic conflicts which will of course play up from time to time between government and labour unions; conflict situations that must be seen to be managed and resolved within the framework of the rule of law and constitutional order, and not the disarticulated government handling and militancy-propelled unionism, a subsisting culture carried over from the era of military rule.

    The point is that the Nigerian industrial relation system is currently at a critical inflection point. It is one characterised by fragmentation, weakened institutional mechanisms and authority of responsible institutions as the ministry of labour and employment, Industrial Arbitration Panel and the National Industrial Court (NIC), whose authority are disdained with impunity by the unions, especially as such disdain seems to be the only language that unions have come to see as the one that moves government especially to take action in the heat of collective bargaining, This tradition having become a paradigm of worrisome zero-sum conflict prone incessant conflicts that leads to prolonged and unnecessary industrial disputes and the dishing out of morsels of token concessions that never add up nor address the fundamental welfare and deeply structural and systemic issues being pushed especially by ASUU.

    It is significant to note that there has been progress made to ratify and domesticate many relevant ILO Conventions that have direct impact on labour administration. Full compliance with these conventions will go a long way in shaping the future of work in Nigeria. Going forward, we however need a shared understanding among the tripartite, one rooted in commitment to Nigeria’s developmental progress, to drive a significant rethink and shift in conflict management practices around industrial disputes which currently yield itself to self-serving radical and ostensibly politicised activism and workplace disruptions by trade unions; and one at that which has become a culture. The fact is that there exist institutional mechanisms to deal with unavoidable and seemingly irresolvable disputes especially arising from the reading and interpretation of what constitute disputes of rights and disputes of interests among the tripartite. Clearly, if national progress is the ideological underpinning of actions, then conflict of interest should not always degenerate into zero-sum game, as such interests are not mutually exclusive.

    So, what lesson should be draw as policy makers, development workers and public managers from the ASUU protracted struggle, going forward: One, government should for no reason at all, sign an agreement that it cannot implement, as difficult as it is in view of the usually associated political expediencies. Two, governments in the bid to please unions and minimise heating up of the polity, should desist from taking decisions of far-reaching magnitude in a hurry, with full recognition that labour matters require diligence and technical correctness. It is better to agree to a reasonable agreement with short-term horizon and susceptible to reviews, than to make long-term commitments that hang on the neck of government like an albatross. Government should give life to veritable institutional mechanisms that will activate people with the right authority, skills and technical support to be those who will negotiate for government since they are ipso facto empowered to take decisions at negotiation table.

    It is in this regard, that advocacy around the need to strengthen the National Labour Advisory Council (NLAC) to play more proactive role in labour administration should be taken seriously by government. Indeed, an effective NLAC that transform into a tripartite body to handle periodic reviews as minimum wage, etc, rather than current recurring resort to ad hoc committees is critical to success going forward. It must also be pointed out that most Nigerian Labour Laws presently in operation which are carried over from the colonial and military era in Nigeria are obsolete, and no longer in tune with international standard. Happily, many of the revised versions of these laws are already before the National Assembly as bills for passage.

    It is expected that government will leverage the commitment of social partners to conclude legislative actions on the bills. In the end, the point cannot be overstated, that the health and sustainability of any enterprise (including the Nigerian enterprise) is the responsibility of all stakeholders. Indeed, we need a national economy that is thriving for most of what the trade unions are agitating for on behalf of workers to be realisable. We all therefore must invest in the productivity and sustainable development of the Nigerian enterprise as the overarching mission in all our struggles and campaigns,

    Overall, Nigeria’s development future depends on a higher education trajectory that grounds human capital development not merely on youths who graduate from the universities and earn certification, but on youths who keep learning and achieving skills that are contextual, developmental and lifelong. Proactive policy architecture is the point at which Nigeria meets the evolving society on a scale of skill acquisition that matters as knowledge and development leeway. This is when the Nigerian youth really begin to matter for Nigeria’s future. 

    • Olaopa is Chairman, Federal Civil Service Commission & Professor  of Public Administration, Abuja
    • (Being excerpt from the 17th Convocation Lecture of Bells University of Technology, Ota, Ogun State delivered in the BUT Auditorium on Friday, 31st of October, 2025)
  • Trump’s threat of war against Nigeria

    Trump’s threat of war against Nigeria

    SIR: Nigeria made global news headlines last weekend when she was not only designated as a Country of Particular Concern by the United States of America, US President, Donald Trump, took it a notch higher by threatening to invade the country “guns-a-blazing” in order to stop the killing of Christians by Islamic terrorists. As expected, Trump’s incendiary rhetoric against the country elicited a powerful rebuttal from the federal government amidst shock, alarm, and indignation from many Nigerians.

     This isn’t the first time that Nigeria has been designated as a Country of Particular Concern by the US. Nigeria was initially put on the repugnant list in 2020 during President Trump’s first tenure in the White House but her name was blotted out by President Joe Biden in 2021.

     Truth be told, Trump’s concern about the killing of Christians in Nigeria is not totally unfounded. However, it is not the full picture. Since 2011 till date, Islamic terrorism, banditry, insurgency, kidnapping, farmers and herders’ clashes, religious killings, and widespread criminality have plagued northern Nigeria. It is not only Christians that are being killed. As a matter of fact, more Muslims have been killed by these societal deviants because they are in the majority in the northern part of the country. According to the Vice President Kashim Shettima, the Boko Haram insurgency claimed over 100,000 lives. All killings are condemnable irrespective of the faith of its victims.

    Read Also: JUST IN: Court gives Nnamdi Kanu last chance to enter defence or forfeit same

    Even though Trump’s verbiage is totally condemnable and his proposed plan of action a violation of our sovereignty, my advice to President Tinubu is to avoid treating this issue with kid gloves. His current military intervention against Venezuela is a pointer to the gravity of the situation in our hands.

     It should be noted that in recent history, American military intervention, whether justifiable or unjustifiable, has never ended well for the target nations. They have always ended up destabilized and worse off than before the intervention. Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Pakistan, and Somalia are examples of countries currently in chaos due to American military intervention in one form or the other.

     What we need is collaboration with the Americans to stop the wanton killings of innocent citizens. This is where diplomacy and political will come into play. We need the latest arms, ammunition, military gadgetry, and intelligence from the Americans to help stem the rising tide of bloodshed in the land. Sharia law, which has fueled the rise of religious killings for incidents like blasphemy and desecration of religious books, should be abrogated. Those sponsoring Islamic terrorism should be apprehended and made to face the music. State police is a must if we are serious about curbing the rampant insecurity in the country.

    • Peter Ovie Akus, Ontario, Canada.
  • Trump’s war rhetoric and the contradictions within

    Trump’s war rhetoric and the contradictions within

    SIR: The United States military has reportedly developed a range of contingency plans for potential military action in Nigeria, following a directive from U.S. President Donald Trump. According to The New York Times, the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) has submitted a set of operational options to the Department of War at the request of Secretary Pete Hegseth.

    This development comes on the heels of Trump’s inflammatory accusation that the Nigerian government permits the “mass slaughter” of Christians—a claim that Nigerian officials have strongly denied.

    Earlier, Trump had designated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC), suspended U.S. arms sales, and halted technical assistance to the country.

    These actions follow months of lobbying by right-wing U.S. lawmakers and evangelical pressure groups. Their claims, however, ignore the complex, multi-layered realities of Nigeria’s security challenges—rooted not merely in religion, but in issues of poverty, inequality, climate pressures, and governance failures.

    The problem with such Western narratives is that they often reduce multi-dimensional problems into simplistic ethno-religious categories. This distortion fuels misunderstanding and invites foreign interference under the guise of humanitarian concern.

    The irony is that the United States, the self-appointed guardian of global democracy and human rights, has one of the world’s worst records of gun violence and racial discrimination.

    Recent data shows that over 117,000 people are shot annually in the U.S., leading to nearly 43,000 deaths—including homicides, suicides, and accidental shootings. Black children and teens face a four-fold higher risk of being killed by gunfire compared to their white peers. This simply means a person of colour or from minority groups is more likely to die from gun violence in the US than in war-torn Sudan.

    Read Also: JUST IN: Court gives Nnamdi Kanu last chance to enter defence or forfeit same

    Yet, no country has ever designated the U.S. as “unsafe for minorities,” despite its deep racial divisions and systemic injustices. No foreign government has proposed sanctions or “interventions” over the habitual violence of American police officers against Black citizens.

    Are we to ignore the fact that the Black Lives Matter movement emerged precisely from these enduring injustices? Or should we pretend that these problems have somehow disappeared just a few years later?

    Libya was not perfect under Muammar Gaddafi, but after the 2011 NATO invasion—led by the U.S.—it became a failed state, overrun by militias and slave markets. Iraq’s “liberation” produced sectarian war and ISIS. Syria’s civil war was prolonged by foreign meddling. Even Congo’s tragic history bears America’s fingerprints: the CIA orchestrated the assassination of Patrice Lumumba in 1962 and installed Mobutu Sese Seko, whose corrupt rule lasted three decades. Congo has never recovered.

    Still, beyond condemning Trump’s reckless rhetoric, Nigerians must confront their own contradictions. We must ask ourselves: are we truly a secular nation, or merely a country pretending to be one? Can a state that sponsors pilgrimages, funds religious institutions, and embeds faith in governance still claim neutrality?

    Can a government that refuses to prosecute religious violence credibly defend its commitment to equality before the law?

    Our hypocrisy has birthed impunity. It has allowed extremists to act with confidence, knowing there will be little or no consequences. If Nigeria is to withstand external pressures and assert its sovereignty, it must first fix the contradictions within.

    We must choose who we are: a secular democracy that protects all citizens equally or a divided federation where religion dictates policy and justice. Because until Nigeria resolves this internal struggle, it will remain vulnerable—to foreign exploitation, domestic chaos, and, as Trump’s latest posturing shows, the ever-present shadow of imperial arrogance.

    • Olalekan Adigun, Abuja
  • Unlocking the potentials in ‘little fishing industry’

    Unlocking the potentials in ‘little fishing industry’

    SIR: For too long, the vital yet often-overlooked world of small-scale fishing—what we might call the “little fishing industry”—has been left to drift. It exists in an unregulated limbo, treated less as a commercial activity and more as a free-for-all, resulting in a significant, self-inflicted wound on our national economy.

    Currently, countless individuals engage in this activity, taking advantage of the free nature of our fish resources. For many, what should be a formalized commercial pursuit has devolved into a simple hobby—an amateur or aquarium-style endeavour that yields personal satisfaction but generates virtually no quantifiable return for the state. This is not merely an oversight; it is a colossal waste of commercial potential.

    The time has come to shift our perspective on these domestic fisheries. By implementing context-specific efforts, the government can transform these informal activities into commercial enterprises. This transformation would involve developing licensing structures, offering technical training for sustainable harvesting, and facilitating access to commercial-scale markets.

    Formalizing this sector offers an immediate, measurable benefit: revenue generation. With appropriate development and regulation, the government could finally exercise its legitimate right to collect various taxes—from business registration fees to sales taxes—on an industry currently operating entirely off the books. This is money that belongs in public coffers, ready to be reinvested.

    Read Also: JUST IN: Court gives Nnamdi Kanu last chance to enter defence or forfeit same

    The real genius of formalizing the little fishing industry lies in creating a sustainable, self-funding cycle of growth. The money generated through taxation is not simply an administrative gain; it is the seed capital for the sector’s long-term health.

    These revenues could be strategically deployed to fund the development and facilitation of river systems. Investing in conservation, monitoring river health, managing water quality, and even expanding and maintaining the river environments themselves ensures the fish populations can continue to grow and expand. This investment directly supports continuing growth and safeguards the resources that the new, formal industry depends on.

    Developing the little fishing industry is more than just collecting taxes; it is a holistic approach to resource management. It converts neglected potential into economic power, secures public revenue, and ensures the environmental foundations of the industry—our rivers and water bodies—are robust enough to support prosperity for generations to come. The window of opportunity is open; we must act now to formalize this crucial sector.

    • Michael Adedotun Oke, Abuja.
  • Trump’s false alarm on Nigeria

    Trump’s false alarm on Nigeria

    SIR: The hypocrisy could not be more glaring. For decades, the United States and its allies have shaped, funded, or ignored conflicts that have devastated entire regions, yet they continue to lecture the world on morality and human rights. Now, former President Donald Trump adds a new layer to this irony by endorsing the baseless narrative of a so-called “Christian genocide” in Nigeria.

    Such a claim is not only ignorant—it is incendiary. It distorts the realities of a complex nation where Muslims and Christians have coexisted, often under strain but with remarkable resilience. Even prominent global Christian leaders, well aware of Nigeria’s nuanced landscape, have expressed surprise at Trump’s reckless characterization.

    This rhetoric does more than misinform; it endangers lives. It feeds a dangerous Western narrative that portrays Africa as a perpetual battleground of faiths, a trope that has long served political agendas rather than the pursuit of peace. The truth is far more intricate. Nigeria’s challenges—security breakdowns, corruption, and economic inequality—are driven by governance failures and socio-political factors, not by religious persecution.

    Read Also: JUST IN: Court gives Nnamdi Kanu last chance to enter defence or forfeit same

    By amplifying falsehoods, Trump and his echo chambers once again reveal the double standards at the heart of Western foreign discourse. They weaponise misinformation to divide and dominate, deflecting attention from the chaos their own policies have unleashed across the globe—from the Middle East to the Sahel.

    If the world truly seeks justice and harmony, it must look beyond the propaganda and hold accountable those who profit from discord while pretending to defend faith and freedom. The time has come to unmask the hypocrisy and confront the truth.

    • Aliyu Aliyu Dogondaji,  Shehu Shagari University of Education, Sokoto.
  • Future-proofing Nigeria against Trump’s bombast

    Future-proofing Nigeria against Trump’s bombast

    • By Lekan Olayiwola

    The urgent task before President Bola Tinubu in the face of President Donald Trump’s “guns-a-blazing” threat over what he called a “Christian genocide” is to build a Nigeria that no foreign bombast — Trump’s or anyone else’s — can destabilise. While critics dismissed it as another outburst from an unstable politician, beneath the bluster lies something far more consequential: Nigeria’s sovereignty, regional credibility, economic stability and internal cohesion are all on the line.

    This is not only about the United States or one man’s bombast. It is about how Nigeria defines itself in a volatile world, whether as a nation that reacts to others, or one that commands its own story. Beyond the noise, this episode offers a mirror on how secure Nigeria is and how ready are we to defend it without losing our balance.

    For decades Nigeria has been West Africa’s stabiliser, providing nearly 70 % of ECOWAS funding, leading peacekeeping missions from Liberia to The Gambia, and hosting over three million refugees and migrants from neighbouring states. But external narratives can redraw that leadership overnight.

    When a U.S. president describes Nigeria as a site of religious cleansing, the consequences ripple far beyond social media. Western investors read it as instability. Neighbouring states read it as risk. The average Nigerian reads it as insult or validation, depending on which side of the country they come from. Suddenly a careless sentence becomes a strategic earthquake.

    Nigeria’s neighbours are listening closely. In the Republic of Benin, where Christians form about 52 % of the population, Trump’s language stirs unease about Nigeria’s north-west insurgency that occasionally spills over their borders. In Niger Republic, which is over 95 % Muslim, the same statement feeds suspicion of Western “protection” narratives, reinforcing a pivot towards Moscow and away from Abuja.

    Trade and integration are also at stake. According to IntelPoint, Nigeria’s exports to ECOWAS countries nearly doubled between 2019 and 2025, rising from 34.2 % to 62.1 % of its intra-African exports. That progress depends on regional trust. If neighbours begin to see Nigeria as a potential flashpoint of faith-based conflict, they will quietly reroute supply chains, border cooperation and security partnerships. The damage would be silent but severe: lost jobs, weaker trade corridors and declining regional goodwill which are the very foundations of Nigeria’s soft power.

    Read Also: JUST IN: Court gives Nnamdi Kanu last chance to enter defence or forfeit same

    Pivoting East, losing leverage

    Whenever Washington threatens sanctions or military pressure, Nigeria instinctively looks East to Beijing or Moscow for leverage. But diversification can quickly become dependency in another form.

    Rebutting Trump’s “genocide” claim was firm and necessary. Yet, trust once lost is slow to rebuild. Development finance and security assistance may continue, but under tougher conditions. Human-rights clauses get inserted, aid becomes more conditional, and security intelligence flows slow down.

    Meanwhile, courting Russia or China may appear pragmatic, but it dilutes Nigeria’s bargaining power with the West and risks entanglement in opaque deals. According to Reuters, Nigeria posted a US$6.83 billion balance-of-payments surplus, signalling tentative recovery. That stability could unravel if geopolitical realignment spooks investors or complicates credit access. The lesson is simple: sovereignty without strategy is exposure. The goal should not be to swing between global powers but to act as a bridge guided by national interest, not reaction.

    Socio-economic and political fault-lines

    The more dangerous consequence of Trump’s rhetoric lies within Nigeria itself. The country’s unity already strains under unemployment, insecurity and mistrust. When the world’s cameras turn on Nigeria under headlines of “Christian genocide”, internal discourse fractures. Northern communities feel wrongly portrayed; southern Christians feel vindicated but exposed. Social media polarises instantly. Conspiracy theories thrive. Security agencies become defensive rather than preventive.

    Trust erodes further. In that vacuum, gangs, sects and vigilantes gain moral ground. What begins as rhetorical posturing abroad risks inflaming suspicion at home. This is why language matters. The careless importation of global narratives into Nigeria’s domestic fault-lines can ignite consequences that last far beyond any foreign statement.

    The economy bears the weight of perception. Investors loathe uncertainty.  When Nigeria’s image shifts from “emerging hub” to “potential conflict zone”, that fragile investor confidence trembles. Every rumour of instability translates into higher insurance premiums for traders, slower cross-border traffic and delayed factory expansion. What makes this dangerous is not the accuracy of Trump’s claims but their amplification effect. Words from powerful mouths can move markets faster than policies can correct them.

    Nigeria’s 2027 contest is already loading with identity politics. One camp will weaponise Trump’s claim as proof that Christians are under threat; another will denounce it as neo-colonial interference. Once identity eclipses policy, reform disappears. The conversation moves from schools, jobs and security to siege narratives and suspicion. Every statement becomes ammunition; every silence is misread as complicity. To protect democracy, the government and civic actors must re-centre public debate on dignity, opportunity and trust. Not fear. Not faith. Not foreign approval.

    Steps for a grounded response

    Nigeria’s challenge is not only to rebut Trump’s words, but to prove them irrelevant. That requires competence, transparency and moral authority at home. When the state protects all citizens fairly, foreign provocations lose traction. Nigeria cannot afford another reactionary cycle. It needs a proactive, dignity-driven plan that restores agency.

    Nigeria should use its ECOWAS presidency not merely as symbolism but as agenda-setting power. Define security cooperation, trade and migration frameworks that reflect mutual accountability. Let partners be partners, not puppeteers.

    Counter-terror efforts must be visibly inter-faith and inter-regional. When citizens across divides see themselves equally protected, legitimacy grows faster than resentment.

    Nigeria must replace the language of dependence with that of partnership. “We appreciate support” should never sound like “we await rescue.” Diplomacy begins in vocabulary.

    Beyond faith or region, every Nigerian must feel ownership of the republic. Institutions from recruitment boards to media should model inclusion, not tokenism.

    INEC, civil society and media must pre-empt inflammatory narratives. Elections should be about who can govern, not who belongs.

    In one breath, Nigeria becomes a stage for external agendas; divided at home, pressured abroad, dependent on both. In the other, Nigeria uses this episode as a clarifying moment: to strengthen regional diplomacy, reform its economy, and rebuild trust between citizen and state. The first leads to perpetual reaction; the second to renewed leadership.

    Which path Nigeria takes will depend less on what outsiders say and more on what Nigerians do next; how policymakers act, how citizens insist on dignity, how media frames the national story. Trump’s words will fade. But Nigeria’s response, calm, principled, forward-looking can define a generation. True power lies not in reacting to others, but in repairing ourselves.

    • •Olayiwola is a peace & conflict researcher/policy analyst. He can be reached via lekanolayiwola@gmail.com
  • Re: The Lagos Red Line: From euphoria to daily struggle

    Re: The Lagos Red Line: From euphoria to daily struggle

    • By Kolawole Ojelabi

    The Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) prides itself on being a responsible agency of the Lagos State government whose processes are subject to strict quality control and open public scrutiny. We have consistently ensured that press enquiries are responded to promptly and factually. It is therefore baffling that the article titled “The Lagos Red Line: From euphoria to daily struggle”, published in The Nation on Tuesday, November 4, contained numerous inaccuracies and misleading assertions.

    The piece, written by Ntakobong Otongaran was riddled with conjectures that a well-informed reporter would have avoided. Any journalist covering the sector in the last two to three years would appreciate the transformative impact LAMATA has delivered. Unlike the Blue Line which operates exclusively along its dedicated tracks and currently runs 90 trips daily, the Red Line shares tracks with the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) and is allotted a limited window of nine trips per day.

    At the launch of the Red Line, LAMATA made it clear that land acquisition challenges in Agbado, Ogun State, delayed construction of the dedicated Red Line terminal. As an interim measure, the service is co-located with the NRC at its Agbado Station, which currently accommodates three distinct services:

    1. The NRC Lagos-Ibadan Standard-Gauge Service

    2. The NRC Narrow-Gauge Service

    3. The LRMT Red Line Service

    Cowry top-up arrangement – not irregular

    The claim that Cowry Card top-ups done outside the Agbado Station are irregular is incorrect. The decentralization of Cowry top-up points is deliberate and follows global best practice. It allows commuters to recharge conveniently at agent locations and through digital platforms across Lagos similar to topping up an Oyster Card at any corner shop in London. This applies across all regulated modes: BRT, rail, First/Last Mile buses, and water transport.

    Clarification on paper tags

    The assertion that “paper tags were used to select sitting and standing passengers” is false. Metro systems worldwide are designed to accommodate standing passengers, with priority seating reserved for the elderly, pregnant women, and persons with disabilities.

    The temporary paper lags used at Agbado serve only two operational purposes:

    To distinguish Red Line passengers from NRC Intercity and Narrow-Gauge passengers; and, to prevent confusion on a shared platform by indicating that a commuter has tapped in and is authorised to board the Red Line service.

    The tags are not used to determine sitting or standing positions. They simply help ground staff manage access and maintain order within the constraints of a jointly used facility. Each tag is submitted to the ground staff at the point of boarding the train.

    Read Also: JUST IN: Court gives Nnamdi Kanu last chance to enter defence or forfeit same

    Claims of poor service management, inadequate shelter, and disregard for passenger comfort are equally untrue. LAMATA and the NRC maintain a strong collaborative framework for operational coordination and passenger flow management at Agbado Station. While the facility is owned by NRC and LAMATA operates as a co-tenant, both agencies have ensured orderliness, safety, and commuter support within the realities of the shared terminal.

    Operational limitations at Agbado are temporary and do not occur at other Red Line stations that are wholly managed by LAMATA. These limitations will be completely resolved when the dedicated LRMT Red Line terminal at Agbado is completed, offering a modern, commuter-friendly facility built to international metro standards. The station is projected to be completed by the second quarter of 2026.

    Access control and fare compliance

    The claim that passengers board trains without tapping in is incorrect. Access to all LRMT platforms, including Agbado Station, is controlled by automated turnstiles. No one can access the platform without tapping a validated Cowry card. Station staff and security personnel further enforce compliance and prevent tailgating.

    The Cowry Card system captures each passenger’s entry point and expected exit. If a passenger fails to tap out, the system automatically deducts the full fare for the journey. If the available balance is insufficient, the outstanding fare is settled at the next recharge.

    Three services currently operate at the Agbado terminal:

    1. LRMT Red Line

    2. Lagos-Ibadan Intercity Service (LITS)

    3. Narrow-Gauge Service (ljoko-Iddo)

    Because services 1 and 3 occasionally overlap, Cowry Card users and NRC ticket holders sometimes converge on the same platform. To maintain order, NRC ticketed passengers are allowed to board first, while LAMATA’s tag system ensures a safe, structured boarding process for Red Line passengers.

    Standing passengers are a normal feature of metro operations globally. Even so, the Lagos State government has procured additional rolling stock for the Red Line to enhance comfort and accommodate rising demand. These new trains are expected in the second quarter of 2026. LAMATA is also negotiating with the NRC for additional operating slots to enable peak-period intervals of 15 minutes.

    Software enhancements and multimodal integration

    Issues relating to alleged double-tripping on the Blue Line are non-existent. The upgraded Cowry software now delivers seamless validations, ensuring accurate entries and exits across all stations. If a passenger were to re-enter without tapping out, the system automatically applies the fare for a round trip-not a single one-way fare.

    The Lagos State Government’s vision of a fully integrated transport system is advancing steadily. Fourteen interchanges are planned across the state, with two currently under construction at Marina and Mile Two. Both will be completed in the second quarter of 2026. The Blue-Red Line integration at the National Theatre is another major step toward seamless multimodal connectivity across rail, road, and waterways. The Red line was planned to go over the lagoon into Lagos Island. The government has, however, shifted the plan to reduce cost and social impact to connect the Red to the Blue Line at the National Theatre. This approach is faster and economical.

    Maintenance and local capacity development

    LAMATA has instituted a robust maintenance structure supported by continuous local capacity development. This guarantees system sustainability, reliability, and the growth of Nigerian technical expertise.

    The constraints currently observed at Agbado are transitional and stem solely from the temporary co-location with NRC. They will be fully resolved once the dedicated LRMT Agbado terminal is completed.

    We would have appreciated it if Otongaran had sought clarification or requested an interview with LAMATA before publication. Such engagement would have enabled a more accurate, balanced, and professionally grounded report.

    • Ojelabi is Head, Corporate Communications, Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA).