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  • Hospitals as slaughter slabs

    Hospitals as slaughter slabs

    Reported deaths from medical procedures in recent times freshly raised concerns about the quality of healthcare delivery in Nigerian hospitals. Bitter experiences that people had ranged from wrong diagnoses of ailments and errors in surgical processes to delayed treatment even in emergencies and poor post-surgical care, resulting in loss of loved ones who entered hospitals seeking help and never returned home. Allegations are rife that many of the patients might have made it, but they were speeded onto their death by indiscretions or utter negligence of medical personnel in healthcare facilities who, for most part, deny responsibility.

    Early last week, there was the report of a school headmistress in Ibadan who died because hospitals in the Oyo State capital declined response to her emergency situation. Relations said the headmistress of the Nigerian Army Officers’ Wives Association (NAOWA) Model Nursery and Primary School, Letmuck Barracks in Mokola, Mrs. Ajayi Omowunmi Fajuyigbe, gave up the ghost after being rejected by several hospitals to which she was rushed in critical condition. A relative was cited saying Fajuyigbe, on Monday, 13th January, was moved at night between hospitals in Mokola, Adeoyo, Oluyoro and Basorun areas of the capital city, but was denied admission on sundry grounds until about 1:00a.m. when a private hospital in Idi-Ape took her in after a hefty payment.

    Even then, according to the relative, an urgent surgery that was required for the endangered patient was not carried out by the hospital that finally took her on admission, until she went into coma and eventually died. “It is painful that hospitals appear more interested in money than saving lives,” she lamented, wondering why hospitals would turn away emergency patients at night. “My sister’s life could have been saved if she had received prompt attention,” the relation added.

    A particularly sensational case was the death on 6th January in a Lagos hospital of 21-month-old Nkanu Nnamdi, one of the twin boys of internationally renowned Nigerian author, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Nkanu and his twin brother were born to United States-based Adichie and her spouse, Ivara Esege, a doctor, by surrogacy in 2024 – eight years after the birth of their first child, a girl. He died at Euracare Hospital, a private medical facility, following a brief illness.

    Nkanu’s death occurred a day before he was due for medical evacuation to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, not far from the couple’s US home. He had been referred from another Lagos hospital to Euracare for a series of diagnostic procedures that included an echocardiogram and a brain MRI. The parents, in a legal action filed against Euracare, alleged lapses during the child’s admission and lack of basic resuscitation equipment, amounting to medical negligence.

    In a WhatsApp chat to family members that was leaked to social media, Adichie said a doctor confessed to her that the resident anaesthesiologist administered sedative overdose on Nkanu. Despite efforts at his resuscitation and being put on a ventilator, the boy suffered cardiac arrest that led to his death. Adichie described the anaesthesiologist as having been “fatally casual and careless.”

    In response to the leak, Euracare expressed its “deepest sympathies” over the loss of the child but denied administering improper care, saying its services were “in line with established clinical protocols and internationally accepted medical standards.” According to the hospital, it is inaccurate to suggest that medical negligence caused Nkanu’s death, but rather that its personnel provided standard care upon admission of the toddler who was brought in “critically ill.”

    Lagos State Government ordered a probe of the matter, saying it “places the highest value on human life and has zero tolerance for medical negligence or unprofessional conduct.” Special Adviser to the State Governor on Health Matters, Dr. Kemi Ogunyemi, added: “Any individual or institution found culpable of negligence, professional misconduct or regulatory violations will face the full wrath of the law.”

    Meanwhile, a 30-year-old Lagos father, about the same time Adichie’s bereavement became news, took issue with government’s own facility, accusing a primary healthcare centre in the state of causing the deaths of his nine-month-old twin boys whom he took for routine immunisation. Samuel Alozie, known as Promise Samuel on TikTok, alleged that the twin boys died same day after being administered immunisation at Ajangbadi primary health centre in Ojo council area.

    Alozie said in a social media post that he took the children for immunisation on December 24, 2005, and they died on Christmas Day. According to him, the immunisation made the boys very weak and inflamed their body temperature such that they had to be given paracetamol as advised by the nurse. “My wife and I, after we left the health centre, went home and gave the two of them paracetamol, but it didn’t solve anything. We even bathed them in cold water,” he recalled.

    The distraught father dismissed explanation by the health facility that food bacteria was responsible for the infants’ death: “The nurse said it was food bacteria that killed my children… Food that I’ve been giving them from one month to nine months, and it didn’t kill them?” Alozie accused the health centre of having possibly administered expired or fake vaccines, or an overdose on the twins for which he held government liable. He noted that while an autopsy had been conducted, he has reservations about the possible outcome: “The reason I’m scared is that I don’t know if government will give me justice because this is government-to-government. The primary health centre is government’s, and the people running the case are government people.” The Lagos State Ministry of Health and the Primary Health Care Board had yet to issue an official statement on the alleged incident or release autopsy findings.

    Easily the most scandalous of medicare miscarriages was the case of Aishatu Umar, who died as a result of surgical implement being forgotten in her bowel after surgery. The 33-year-old mother of five lost her life 12th January, 2026, not from a sudden ailment but what family members described as drawn-out medical negligence that began with a surgery she underwent at Abubakar Imam Urology Centre (AIUC), Kano, in September 2025 after doctors diagnosed her with a kidney cyst that caused her frequent abdominal pain.

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    That surgery was projected to bring her relief, but the contrary was the case. Aishatu began having chronic pain that, upon complaining to the hospital, she was repeatedly assured was a normal post-surgery experience that would soon fade out. Unknown to her and her family, something had gone terribly wrong in the operating theatre: a surgical implement was forgotten in her bowel by doctors before sewing her back. Aishatu’s husband, Abubakar Mohammed, said he got a distress call from her on 9th January that she could no longer bear the excruciating pain. Upon being referred to Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH), a series of scans and other diagnostic tests revealed the object left in her abdomen during the earlier operation at AIUC. “Immediately the result came out, she was prepared for emergency surgery. Around 11p.m. on January 12th, Aishatu was taken into the theatre, but she did not come out alive. Before they even started operating, we lost her,” Mohammed recounted.

    The Chief Medical Director of AIUC, Balarabe Muhammad, was reported denying claims that a scissors was forgotten in Umar’s bowel: “It was an artery forceps that was forgotten in the patient and not a scissors. An artery forceps is not as sharp as a scissors.” He added: “I am not denying that a medical implement was forgotten in her system, but I can say that Aishatu didn’t die as a result of the forceps that was in her system. Rather, she died from anaesthesia administered on her at AKTH.”

    For his part, AKTH’s Chairman, Medical Advisory Committee, Suwaid Abba, rebuffed the claim that anaesthesia killed Aishatu.  “It is very unfair to push the blame on AKTH. If a medical equipment wasn’t forgotten in her system, she would not have been here in the first place,” he argued, adding: “She died before our doctors operated on her. It is unfair that anyone will blame us for the death.”

    The problem is largely the ecosystem of healthcare delivery in this country. Besides inadequacy of facility in hospitals, available doctors are overwhelmed by a high volume of patients amidst severe “brain drain” of medical professionals – with nearly 19,000 doctors having emigrated over the past couple of decades and a record 3,974 leaving in 2024 alone. Over 50 percent of licensed doctors have left, with more than half of those remaining actively seeking ways to leave. Official data show that Nigeria currently has roughly 3.8 doctors per 10,000 patients, significantly below World Health Organisation prescription. Government must find a way of stimulating reverse personnel traffic – i.e. “brain gain” – to remedy the situation.

    •Please join me on kayodeidowu.blogspot.be for conversation.

  • S. L. Akintola: Thethunder of history

    S. L. Akintola: Thethunder of history

    • By Sunday Dare

    On Thursday we gathered in Ibadan not  merely to remember the man SL Akintola but to reverence the enduring spirit of courage, intellect, and sacrifice of the Sage, Akintola. 

    Sixty years after his passing, the name Samuel Ladoke Akintola still evokes strong sentiment and resounds—not as an echo of the past, but as a mirror of the present. Chief Akintola was a man of many parts:

     A man of great intellectual acumen,

    A mind swift, fearless, incandescent.

    A speaker who did not lean on notes, because his convictions were already written in his soul.

    A statesman whose wit disarmed, whose candor stirred, whose charm persuaded, and whose vision unsettled complacency.

    He was not merely a politician- he was an idea in motion.

    Chief Akintola was a nationalist in the purest sense—one who believed that leadership was not comfort, but burden; not privilege, but sacrifice. He lived standing. He spoke standing. And he died standing—in service to his fatherland.

    Chief Akintola occupies a permanent place in the architecture of modern Nigeria. As Premier of the defunct Western Region and Aare-Onakakanfo of Yorubaland, he governed at a time when political leadership was not ceremonial, but consequential—when decisions shaped the economic, social, and cultural foundations of entire regions.

    His administration pursued development as a matter of urgency: industrial growth, regional self-reliance, education, and the strengthening of public institutions were not abstract ideals, but measurable goals. In the Western Region, governance was understood as a tool for building prosperity, not merely exercising power.

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    Akintola’s political philosophy was rooted in pragmatism, not sentiment. He believed that leadership must confront reality as it is, not as it is wished to be. His vision of federalism recognized the importance of strong regions contributing to a strong nation, and he championed the idea that economic progress, social cohesion, and national stability must rise together. His ideals were shaped by an unshakable confidence in the Nigerian project, even when that project was fragile and contested.

    These ideals are still valid today.

    His tragic death during Nigeria’s first military coup was not just the loss of a leader, but a turning point in the nation’s democratic journey. It marked the end of a formative era and the beginning of a long national struggle to define the relationship between power, unity, and governance. Yet, six decades later, the questions he wrestled with remain strikingly relevant: How do we manage diversity? How do we balance regional strength with national unity? How do we reform systems without tearing the fabric of the nation?

    Today’s Nigeria still echoes these debates. In our search for economic renewal, social cohesion, and institutional reform, we are once again reminded that progress requires courage, clarity, and a willingness to challenge the status quo. Chief Ladoke Akintola’s life stands as a mirror to our present—urging us to govern with vision, to lead with conviction, and to remember that the true measure of leadership is not popularity, but impact.

    I hold  Late Chief Ladoke Akintola in the highest admiration.  I reflect often on the political school of thought from which he emerged—the same lineage of vision, reform, and resilience that Akintola championed.

    Draw a line from late Akintola

    to President Bola Tinubu you will learn  a profound lesson: that leadership is not about safety, but about purpose; not about applause, but about posterity. This is what President Tinubu is about.  

    Chief Akintola’s life reminds us that the path of reform is never smooth—but it is always necessary. Today, as Nigeria continues her journey of renewal, his ideals still speak. 

    That unity must be nurtured, not assumed.

    That courage must guide policy.

    That progress demands sacrifice.

    And that leadership must be anchored in service.

    Sixty years on, we gather not in mourning, but in gratitude.  Gratitude for a life that burned bright, for a voice that dared to speak, for a legacy that refuses to fade.

    Chief Samuel Ladoke Akintola did not live too long—but he lived well and looms large. He did not die in silence—he entered eternity in the thunder of history.

    And today, Nigeria remembers.

    May his ideals continue to guide us.

    May his courage strengthen us.

    May his sacrifice remind us that nationhood is worth every price.

    Adieu. SL

  • Implications of AI for public service codes of practice

    Implications of AI for public service codes of practice

    • By Tunji Olaopa

    In June 2024, and in the Gumi City Council of South Korea, a service robot—or Robot Supervisor—was alleged to have committed “suicide.” This event is just one of the many bizarre and chilling incidences that herald the consequences of the unraveling of artificial intelligence and robotics in contemporary human affairs. In the same South Korea in November 2023, another robot deployed in a vegetable plant fatally crushed a man to death because it could not differentiate between the man and the boxes of vegetables. Some seven years earlier, in 2017, Sophia—the first humanoid robot—became the first robot citizen of Saudi Arabia and an innovation ambassador for the United Nations Development Program. All over the world, and due to the increasing deployment of AI and robotics in various professional fields—from engineering to surgery and the public service—we will never know the statistics of fatalities that might have resulted due to robotic malfunctions.

    Two significant facts about South Korea will bring the two earlier incidents into clearer relief. One, South Korea has the highest robot density in the whole world. Statistics claim that there is at least one robot for every ten people in the country. To put it clearly, robots have been deployed almost everywhere in South Korea. Most importantly, robots, like Sophia, have become not just administrative assistants but effectively civil servants working tirelessly in state and city councils. The second fact that connects with the so-called robot suicide is that South Korea has the unenviable record of being one of Asia’s most overworked countries. South Koreans work fifty-two hours per week, from 9am to 9pm every day. The total of 1915 hours per year is 200 hours more than the average clocked by any countries within the OECD nations. It was inevitable that the South Koreans would invent a name for death by overwork: gwarosa. The Japanese call it karoshi.

    It is therefore no surprise that even a service robot would “feel” the fatal pressure of the overworked workplace, and develop a glitch that plunged it to its death. This facts about South Korea allow me to draw specific correlations and implications for public administration and the public service in postcolonial Nigeria, especially in terms of institutional reforms and what we can call the imperative of technological modernization, public service ethics, productivity and democratic governance that can make the public service a genuine backstop for launching a developmental state in Nigeria. The Asian countries are notorious for the template of their work ethic. This ethic connects working longer hours with the value of diligence and perseverance which translate to a productive persona. The Robot Supervisor was integrated into the (over)work culture, working from 9am to 6pm daily.

    There is a similarity between the workplace pressure in Asia and in Africa. In 2025, the ten most hardworking countries in Africa, ranked by an average weekly work hour, are Sudan (50.8), Lesotho (50.2), Republic of the Congo (48.7), Sao Tome and Principe (48.2), Liberia (47.5), Egypt (45.6), Burkina Faso (45.3), Cape Verde (45.3), Zimbabwe (45.0), and Senegal (44.9). Even though work hours do not always automatically translate into productivity, Nigeria, at 39.6 hours per week, does not qualify as a hardworking nation. This work hour might actually reflect a work culture that is less than salutary within the context of what Nigerians usually call the ‘Nigerian Factor”; a key dimension of which is the indolence that attends working in a government institution. This plays into the overall fabric of institutional dysfunction, especially in the over-bloated and ineffective public service, where too many people doing nothing, too many doing too little, and too few people doing too much.

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    A significant dimension of institutional reform and modernization of the dysfunctional public service in Nigeria is the imperative of open and transparent government that demands the deployment of technological creativity and innovation in fast tracking efficiency in government business, and ultimately productivity. This technological imperative lies beneath the need for computerization, digitization and automation of the public service to increase and deepen efficiencies. Given the furious development in AI and robotics, and the demonstration of their efficiency in assisting government to achieve their administrative goals, we can say that Nigeria is grossly behind in creating an efficient workplace where the robotic and human civil servants can work side by side in energizing the public service workplace for efficient and effective service.

    And yet, the level of our anxiety with being behind in the AI deployment race must be directly proportional to the level of our carefulness in learning from the technological experiences of other countries in ways that will feed Nigeria’s institutional reform trajectory. Experience, and definitely example, is the best teacher, as they say! The Gumi City Council AI incident says and teaches significant lessons. At the fundamental level, the incidence calls to the fore the context of interaction between human and machines, and the ethical framework that ought to guide that interaction. This implies that reflections about AI and its reality must first be grounded within the sociocultural circumstances of those who are deploying it. AI, when it begins to function, is a reality within a specific milieu. And so, it is not a phenomenon that must be taken as an unconscious default adaptation process. When South Korea adopted and adapted it, it was within a specific demographic, administrative and cultural context. Any thought that goes to the need to deploy AI must be thoughts that consider the context within which it is to be deployed and those that it will affect, positively and negatively.  

    The constant evolution and modifications to AI is due to the fact that it is developed by humans for humans. AI affects people in their various social and professional endeavors. And it is only within these contexts that we can adjudge AI to be functional and successful, or ineffective and failed. It is these contextual dynamics of deployment and use that provides the accurate data that enables us to think about the regulatory frameworks that can help us make AI more adaptable for societal, institutional, organizational and ethical use. The worries about AI are critical ones. There is the worry about the increasing autonomy of AI and the challenges that poses for how humans perceive themselves and their worth. But more immediate is the worry about the societal disruptions of the deployment of AI, especially in the workplace—displacement, alienation, security, death. Thus, AI is not just a panoply of technical issues. It is also fundamentally a human-centered phenomenon that must be adequately understood if we are to better enjoy its functional innovation and creativity. 

    These issues take on some sinister conceptual and practical directions when situated within Nigeria’s dysfunctional context of public administration. Africa has the unsavory reputation of being the most difficult administrative context in the world. And this translates into a lot of implications and repercussions for individual states like Nigeria. One of the implications is the lack of efficient connection between the public service and the state. It is difficult, for instance, to point to any functional developmental state—in the mold of the Asian Tigers—on the continent. And this speaks volume about the capacity of individual states to deliver on the promises and dividends of good governance for their respective citizens. It is also a damning indictment on the effectiveness of the trajectories of institutional reforms in Africa.

    This is the context that demands, as a matter of urgency, the AI revolution in the service of productivity for a citizenry that have been waiting a long time for good governance. And yet, this is where caution is most required in proportion to the level of urgency. In other words, if the malfunctioning of robot assistants and supervisors can generate such a huge global hoopla within a work and administrative context—like South Korea—that is highly efficient and productive, what would happen if they are deployed within a highly difficult administrative environment? Or, even more fundamental, how do we relate the deployment of AI to a context that less than effective, efficient and productive?      

    Is it enough to automate, computerize or digitize when the system and processes being improved have not been mapped, reprofiled for reengineering; does it not amount to engrafting technology on a challenged system and what results should we expect? This is the current direction of the institutional and administrative reform dynamics in the Nigerian public service. And it calls for a critical pause for reflection. Two issues are fundamental for resolution. The first is: Can the AI efficiency dynamic be tacked on to a deficient system to achieve efficiency and effectiveness? Yes, it can; but then it becomes another supposedly “innovative” recipe for deepening existing inefficiencies and deficits. First consideration: we need to start the reflection from the perspective of the self-motivated, hardworking but extremely frazzled and demotivated Nigerian public servant who is compelled by so many factors to work within a highly toxic, inefficient and highly politicized workplace. This is the first and most significant context that AI is to be deployed. How will this pan out in practice? What regulatory frameworks can such a system deploy? What safety measures can the system afford that will not compromise the human well-being?

    Second, how do we ethically mediate the relationship between the robot assistant and the human civil servant not just in terms of emotional connection but fundamentally of ethical relationship. If the existing public service is flawed in mediating human-to-human ethical relations, how do we hope to situate the human-AI component and achieve even a measure of success? The workplace is a context that must be configured to protect and enhance human dignity, self-worth and welfare which cannot be sacrificed to structural efficiency that AI deployment is meant to address. What accountability structures and standards are then in place to safeguard human self-worth? This also goes beyond the workplace to, for example, the sanctity of data collected by AI. How is the system to ensure data privacy? How about the ethical oversight function of the system to monitor AI autonomy and deployment for critical use? This also affects the way the system manages public perception and public trust with regard to the functional effectiveness of AI. 

    A challenged system does not need more innovation; rather, it needs a moment to rethink and reengineer and get right the institutional basics. The effectiveness of AI in the workplace is not in doubt; it has been demonstrated all across the world as the harbinger of efficiencies and productivity if properly managed and grafted effectively into a functional system. AI is meant to enhance an already functioning system rather than serving as an instigator for a deficient one. This implies that to adopt, adapt and deploy AI into the Nigerian administrative workplace must be preceded by an urgent imperative of reflecting on, rethinking and reengineering the administrative and institutional basics that can make the public service genuinely and efficiently worldclass. And the most fundamental question in this regard is: what change management mechanism can yield a government business model that is efficient?  

  • Europe finds its balls in Davos

    Europe finds its balls in Davos

    • By Timothy Ash

    People are asking me for big takeaways of Davos this week, beyond Ukraine, so here goes.

    Actually, after years of Davos appearing to have exhausted its use and having been the “it” place to be for global executives and power players, it had become a bit naff, smeared with an aura of being an elitist party for intellectually bankrupt globalistas.

    Trump’s Commerce secretary, Lutnick, seemed to signal that his own appearance was to read an obituary for Davos and those same global elites, but the carpet was kind of taken from under him by Trump, who seemed to want to use the same stage of global elites to announce his Peace Board. Lutnick cannot quite see the wood from the trees, and that he has long been one of the global elites, that he seems now to be whinging about. And if anything, Trump is making the world even more elitist with his bunch of cronies, sycophants, and tech bros.

    Net net, Trump breathed new life into Davos, only it became even more elitist – who, amongst even the Davos elite, could get the invite for the Trump show?

    Look and an admission here, I have been twice to Davos, this year and last, invited to speak on Ukraine, immobilized CBR assets, and Ukraine recovery. Topics close to my heart, and I thought worthy of selling my soul and making the trek to Davos. But I did not get admission to any of the other events. It’s just too expensive to hang around, hotels and restaurants are overpriced, so I commuted from Zurich, which is still pretty expensive.

    Greenland, Trump, Carney, and Zelensky were however center stage in the side discussions I had.

    On Greenland, the MAGA guys are trying to sell the eventual deal done – if it was a deal – as some huge win for Trump. The line is that Trump again read the riot act to Europe, that they are not doing enough on the NATO front, and through his tantrum over Greenland, they are now focused on Arctic security.

    Actually, I don’t see it that way at all. From what I can make out, no concessions we made to Trump, and whatever deal was done is essentially just a restatement of the existing 1951 Treaty with Denmark.

    My take is that Trump’s ego made him want the win from stealing Greenland and he thought, that with the threat from the recent successful US military operation in Venezuela, the weak Europeans would roll over. This was not about Arctic security, albeit in seizing Greenland for the US, I think Trump likely thought there was big money to be made then on various minerals deals. But this was ego – Trump planting the US flag, perhaps renaming Greenland eventually to Trumpland. It was all about Trump, as it always is. Keeping Donald on the front pages, satiating his enormous ego, above all else.

    But Trump misread Europe. He could not quite get into his head that Europe, facing an existential threat from Russia, and with a torrid history from great powers changing borders by force, that sovereignty and territorial integrity matters for Europe. This idea of great powers taking what they can is existential for Europe.

    Mark Carney summed it up in his seminal speech this week as well, as it’s all as important for Canada as for Europe. Canada does fear that after Greenland, Canada would be the next target for its southern (and northern) neighbor. Europe, I think regretted rolling over to Trump in tariffs last July with the Turnberry agreement. Europe surrendered back then, accepting a wholly unfair trade deal as the price for buying off Trump, and for what they assumed would assure the US security backstop for Europe. How wrong they were then with Trump’s push then to try to grab Greenland.

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    So the thought processes in Europe moved to what’s the point rolling over to Trump, when he screws you anyway. And if we cannot rely on the US security backstop, then why be nice to Trump and the US on tariffs et al? So the Turnberry deal was stalled, and threats then of the €93 billion tariff hit, plus the much worse ACI. I think Rutte et al also confronted Trump with the stark reality that if he took Greenland by force or coercion, NATO would be dead, and would Trump want to be the US president to take down the most successful defensive alliance in history?

    I think markets also did their thing – the Danish pension fund threatening to sell, and a German bank amplifying the risks of dollar selling ensured TACO. Trump blinked, backed down, and moved on to his next big shiny thing, the Peace Board, to shift the narrative from a humiliating defeat for Trump at the hands of the weak and feckless Europeans, even then signaled in his speech by Zelensky.

    Iran also looks set to be the next big Trump distraction, as he moves US forces from the Caribbean to the Gulf – expect another decapitation exercise which might be a little more challenging than Maduro when it comes to Khamenei. No one is focusing on the huge Trump strategic blunder in moving those forces away from the Gulf in the first place, which meant that when opposition demonstrations kicked off in Iran, US forces lacked the critical mass to respond, and thousands of demonstrators died in vain answering Trump’s call to the street and that he would protect them.

    But going back to Greenland and Davos, is NATO stronger because of all this?

    Absolutely not.

    As if Trump’s threats to steal Greenland were not enough, Trump could not help himself, his ego and mouth know no bounds. He went on then to denigrate NATO allies for never having come to the US defense, and doubting whether they would in the future.

    This was a total insult for the thousands of Europeans, and Canadians, who died answering the US call, after the triggering of NATO’s Article 5 defense after 9/11, and who died or were injured in Iraq and Afghanistan.

    Forty-odd Danes dies, over four hundred Brits, and the list goes on. What an absolute insult from bone spur Donald, pissing on their graves. If anything has damaged the core integrity of NATO, it is this.

    Imagine what the answer of European service families will be on the next 911 like event, and another US call for support? What does Trump think their answer would be? Not only did Trump not acknowledge their sacrifice, but he did not even seem to know that the only time NATO’s Article 5 response was triggered was in defense of the US. And I would argue that Russia’s attack on Ukraine, and its malign actions against Europe are a similar event, and what has the US under Trump done? He has sided with Russia, if anything, cut arms supplies and financing to Ukraine, which is the front line for Europe’s defense. And to add insult to injury, he has invited Putin to his own peace board, and now seems willing to let Putin draw down on CBR immobilized assets, which were supposed to be earmarked for Ukraine, for Putin’s membership in the Peace Board country club of autocratic leaders.

    So my take on all the above is that NATO is now fundamentally weakened by events over the past couple of weeks. And European leaders might not say it out loud, but they are looking for alternatives to the US backstop – actually, they continue to be nice, and call Trump “daddy” as they are buying time, to keep the supply of US weapons going until a time when they can break free from the US. And in the interim, they will work overtime to build an autonomous defense capability.

    Actually, on this autonomous European defense capability, Europe probably has enough capability now to defend against the one big existential threat – Russia. Imagine the combined military capabilities of the UK, France, Germany, Finland, Türkiye, Poland, the Balt, plus the Ukrainians. That is surely enough to hold off the

    Russians, without the US. And that is the future. But Europe does need to fast track arms production and the deployment of its military industrial complex to be independent of the US. It also needs to do much more to bind both Türkiye and Ukraine into the European security architecture, and that will mean concessions on EU accession – interests outweigh values at this stage, when Europe is in an existential battle for its survival.

    Notable this week the number of mainstream UK, and European military, political, and opinion leaders – even the right-wing Andrew Neil, ex-editor of the Times, questioning the US as an ally, even suggesting it as an enemy of Europe. Quite extraordinary, but a reflection of the hugely damaging actions of the Trump presidency, which has ruptured the international order and the Western alliance.

    So I think from Davos I read that Europe finally got the message – the US is no longer a reliable partner, it’s even an “enemy” if Neil is to be believed, and it needs to fast track the development of its autonomous defense capability, diversify strategic defense relationships, with Ukraine, Türkiye, the Gulf, and perhaps even with China. That was the message this week from Carney. Imagine that the US is so frustrated with what it sees as Europe’s free-riding on it for defense, that it’s bull in a China approach actually encourages a depending in ties between Europe and its own hegemonic rival, China. So, the one big winner from the week in Davos was Beijing.

    Great result, Donald Trump, see you next year!

    •             This article was originally published in www.kyivpost.com
  • 2026: Dissecting Nigeria’s boom year

    2026: Dissecting Nigeria’s boom year

    • By Omoniyi M. Akinsiju

    We recall our quick rebuttal of the International Monetary Fund’s forecast of Nigeria’s economic growth in April 2025 when it projected that the economy in 2026 would grow at a miserly 2.7 per cent.

    We were riled by that projection, which the global lender predicated on projected lower global oil prices.

    We made it clear in that statement that the Nigerian economy under the current administration had engendered a paradigm shift from perennial dependency on crude oil earnings to policy-driven economic facilitation.

    This refers to the deliberate use of governmental policies, regulations, and institutional frameworks to reduce obstacles, lower costs, and speed up economic activities, particularly in trade and investment.

     The facilitation, in this context, aims to foster sustainable, inclusive growth by improving efficiency and reducing red tape.

    Seven months after that questionable projection, we have seen a volte-face in the offensive projection. In an epiphany-like realisation, the IMF now speaks of a resurgent Nigerian economy as reflected in the global multilateral institution’s revised Nigerian economic outlook to a projected 4.4 per cent economic growth for 2026.

    This is the highest GDP growth projection by IMF over the last 17 years, a real expression of confidence in the Nigerian economy.

    Global and Domestic Consensus Around Nigeria’s Higher Growth Prospects

    Beyond the IMF’s new GDP projection, we have observed a consensus around a higher than 4 percent economic growth performance expectation of the Nigerian economy by virtually all known individual and public economic commentators. While the Nigerian Government projected 4.68 percent growth in 2026, the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) projected a massive 7 percent, 1.5 percent higher than the Nigeria Economic Summit Group’s 5.5 percent for the year. PwC sustained the conservative threshold by projecting a 4.3 percent growth conditioned on higher oil price while the World Bank also revised its earlier 3.7 percent projection to 4.4 percent.

    The agglomeration of these positive economic growth outlooks by domestic and global institutional players points to an emerging economic paradigm that emphasizes increased production and productivity momentum, foreign exchange stability, dis-inflation, galvanized foreign direct investment and inflow, and unobtrusive regulatory environment, anchored in policy-driven economic facilitation.

    Available data indicate that this emerging economic paradigm and the new policy-driven economic facilitation environment are consequences of the economic reforms conceived and implemented by the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led administration.

    2026 GDP Projection

    However, our analysis of available economic data indicates that all things being equal, the Nigerian economy will grow to a 5.5 percent threshold. This projection is based on available data and economic trends in the Nigerian economy between 2024 and 2025.

    To put things in proper context, in our January 2024 Policy Statement, after an objective analysis of the implementation of the Federal Government’s flagship reform policies headlined by the removal of fuel subsidy and liberalisation of the foreign exchange window, we declared without any doubt that Nigeria would emerge economically and socially prosperous and stronger in the medium to long term on the back of the policy reforms and other subsidiary policies devised to transform and transit the nation’s old economic order to market-driven economic management template.

    In an exemplification of our predictive analysis, we said in that Policy Statement: “From the conceptualisation and deployment of policies across multifarious sectors by the federal government, we are convinced that President Tinubu is putting in place new building blocks to serve as the bedrock of a new model for national economic growth and socio-political development.” (IMPI Policy Statement 001 issued on 30th January, 2024).

    So, for us, understanding the background to the current developments and the philosophical underpinning of the economy, we submit that the year 2026 would be Nigeria’s boom year yet.

    We did not arrive at this projection lightly.

    First, as now attested to by global and domestic economic players, the Nigerian economy has been a well-managed affair since the reforms kick-started in 2023. We commend the Federal Government for staying the course despite the initial economic headwinds. These storms were the result of the economy adapting to the hypodermic impact of the reforms.

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    Increasing Capital Acquisition by Corporates

    A major indicator of an expanding economy is the increasing capital acquisition by private sector operators. Nigerian companies, particularly in the oil, gas, telecoms, banking, industrial goods and agricultural sectors, are actively acquiring property, plant, and equipment to expand operations and strengthen market positions.

    Key 2025 transactions include MTN Nigeria Communications Plc, which topped the list with N539.6 billion, Presco Plc’s 10,000-hectare plantation acquisition in Cross River and Ellah Lakes Plc’s acquisition of over 11,700 hectares across four states, among others.

    Large-scale investments are aimed at building capacity to meet consumer demand and reduce reliance on imports. This has direct consequences on production.

    More impressively, Nigeria has moved up 15 places to 4th in Africa for foreign exchange accessibility according to the Absa Africa Financial Markets Index 2025.

    FX accessibility is a major bulwark in the measure of ease and convenience of doing business especially for foreign direct investors. The country has made one of its biggest improvements over the years in terms of how easy it is for investors to get and use foreign exchange. This achievement is a result of the sweeping FX reforms by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

    Developments in financial account also supported the overall economic outcome with Foreign Direct Investment inflows rising to $720 million in Third Quarter 2025, while portfolio investment reached $2.51 billion, reflecting a stronger non-resident participation in domestic debt and equity markets.

    We see a further rise in foreign direct investment in 2026 along with increased access to FX.

    Macroeconomic Stability and Enhanced Manufacturing Output

    Macroeconomic stability is the cornerstone of any successful effort to increase private sector development and economic growth. Cross-country regression analysis using a large sample of countries suggest that growth, investment, and productivity are positively correlated with macroeconomic stability. Macroeconomic stability exists when key economic relationships are in balance, for example, among domestic demand and output, the balance of payments, fiscal revenues and expenditure, and savings and investment. Nigeria continues to venture near this equilibrium. The impact is reflecting in the manufacturing sector amongst others. Firms that are backward integrated and better aligned with domestic input sourcing are expected to benefit immensely from the nation’s improving macroeconomic fundamentals.

    Basic to this is the fact that for Nigeria import dependent manufacturers, FX stability alone offers meaningful relief on input costs and planning certainty. In line with this, the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) forecasts that the country’s manufacturing sector will grow by 3.1 percent while contribution to real GDP is expected to rise to an impressive 10.2 percent in 2026, underscoring renewed optimism in the domestic manufacturing outlook.

    These projected attainments would be accomplished through the incentives being channeled to the manufacturing sector through the new tax laws, regulatory adjustments, and the operationalisation of the National Council on Industry, Trade and Investment (NCITI) and other policy frameworks.

    CBN Re-engineering of its Operations Playbook

    The Central Bank of Nigeria’s decision to re-engineer its operations’ playbook to strict orthodoxy has signaled increased optimism with exchange rate stability and the prospect of easing interest rates. The result has been a huge contraction in the gap between the official and parallel market rates. Foreign capital inflows are expected to grow further in 2026 as awareness heightens around the Non-Resident BVN and as Nigeria begins to reap the benefits of its exit from the grey list of the Financial Action Task Force and the European Union’s removal of the country from its list of high-risk jurisdictions on Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT). Nigeria exiting the two global financial restraining bodies’ list has signaled a major restoration of confidence in the country and eases compliance frictions for correspondent banks with tangible benefits of an estimated $30 billion in potential investments in the country in 2026.

    NGX Listed Companies Declaring Higher Profits

    The country’s biggest firms have been recording strong profit growth. After years of foreign exchange volatility that eroded corporate earnings, a more stable naira in 2025 is restoring profitability across NGX listed firms. An analysis of NGX 30 listed firms shows that twenty-six of the firms recorded a 72.7 percent increase in after-tax profits to N7.6 trillion in the nine months of 2025 from N4.4 trillion in the same period of 2024.

    This reflects a broad-based profit recovery, particularly among those companies with domestic production bases and moderate import exposure.

    The surveyed firms include BUA Foods, MTN, Dangote Cement, BUA Cement, Geregu Power, Transcorp Power, Nigerian Breweries PLC, Lafarge Africa and International Breweries.

    Others are Transcorp Hotel, Nestle Nigeria, Presco Plc, Okomu Oil, Dangote Sugar Refinery, Oando Plc, Transnational Corporation, Access Holding Plc, and Fidelity Bank.

    The overall data shows that as the naira steadied in 2025, corporate Nigeria began to regain balance after years of volatility-induced distortions. Companies’ profit margins are improving, cost management is firmer and financing plans are clearer. Companies that are yet to resume dividend payments are expected to do so sooner than later.

    For instance, the telecom giant MTN Nigeria rebounded strongly, posting a N750 billion profit in the first nine months of 2025, reversing a N513 billion loss a year earlier. Revenue soared 57 percent year-on-year to N3.73 trillion, driven by data and fintech growth.

    In the energy sector, Seplat Energy’s profit rose sharply to N146 billion, up from N52 billion in 2024, while Oando Plc earned N201 billion after several volatile years.

    Power companies such as Geregu and Transcorp Power benefited from stable naira-denominated financing and improved energy demand from industries resuming expansion.

    Agricultural firms, notably Presco and Okomu Oil, posted strong earnings growth of 116 percent on the back of export competitiveness and efficient operations. The near-profit explosion across listed companies is indicative of prospective performances of the listed companies on the NGX with implications for production expansion, employment and wealth creation in 2026.

    New Tax Laws and Nigeria’s Economic Buoyancy

    The tax reforms, which took effect on January 1, 2026, are projected to improve Nigeria’s tax mobilization. The federation’s revenue is expected to strengthen further, driven by the phased implementation of tax reforms, tighter compliance enforcement, expanded use of digital revenue systems, and improved remittance discipline across revenue-generating agencies.

    In addition, Nigeria’s tax reforms will redefine how manufacturers operate, invest, and plan for growth. The law signals a clear policy shift towards a more coordinated and incentive-driven fiscal environment, particularly for the manufacturing sector.

    At the centre of the reforms are the newly-introduced Economic Development Tax Incentives targeting priority sectors such as manufacturing. Under the scheme, eligible companies can obtain an Economic Development Incentive Certificate, granting a five percent annual tax credit on qualifying capital expenditure for up to five years. Firms that reinvest profits may access longer incentive periods, while some manufacturing-related transactions are exempt from stamp duties. The incentives are intended to tilt investment decisions in favour of local production and industrial expansion, particularly at a time when manufacturers are under pressure from import costs and foreign exchange volatility. These hold strong momentum potentials for increased production and productivity growth in 2026.

    Beyond incentives, the Tax Act revises capital allowance rules, providing clearer guidance on how manufacturers can claim deductions on plant, machinery, and industrial buildings. This could ease pressure on cash flow by allowing businesses to recover capital costs more quickly during the early stages of operation or expansion and further encourage increased PPE acquisition across sector.

    The Act also introduces research and development deductions. It permits manufacturers to deduct up to 5 percent of turnover from taxable profits where spending is linked to innovation. This provision could encourage product development and technology upgrades, areas where many local manufacturers have historically lagged behind, due to funding constraints.

    Another production bolstering factor is the clearer rules on input VAT credits, which are expected to reduce disputes and prevent the accumulation of unrecoverable taxes on raw materials and capital equipment with manufacturers operating within the agriculture and agro-processing value chain standing to gain further advantages. These include income tax exemptions for the first five years of operation, zero-rated VAT on selected inputs such as animal feeds and fertilisers, and duty-free importation of machinery for agricultural production. Taken together, the measures could strengthen margins and free up resources for expansion, workforce development, and technology investment, improving the competitiveness of locally-made goods.

    Key pro-poor provisions in the tax laws include full exemption from Personal Income Tax for individuals earning ₦800,000 or less annually (covering minimum wage earners). Progressive taxation shifting more burden to higher earners. Elimination of numerous “nuisance taxes” that disproportionately affected small businesses and low-income households. Expanded reliefs, such as increased tax-free compensation for job loss or injury (from ₦10 million to ₦50 million) and incentives for agriculture and small enterprises. These changes will harmonize levies, reduce multiple taxation, boost revenue without borrowing dependency, and stimulate economic growth.

    Nigeria’s Emerging Supply Chain Sub-sector

    In the realm of global commerce, supply chains are the backbone of economic activities, especially in emerging markets like Nigeria. These networks encompass all stages of production, from raw material sourcing to the final product delivery. Nigeria’s integration into the global supply chain is advancing through a $2 billion logistics sector, driven by e-commerce, infrastructure investments, and AfCFTA, with growth expected to reach $3 billion by 2029.

    Key sectors include oil, agriculture, and manufacturing, though challenges remain in infrastructure, with logistics costs exceeding $29 billion annually.

    We also see a geographical relocation of industry as a result of cheap labour. Nigeria offers significantly lower labour costs compared to China and other Asian economies, making it an ideal location for cost-conscious manufacturers particularly with AfCFTA providing access to 1.54 billion consumers while approximately 47 percent of Nigerian businesses have adopted digital solutions to optimize supply chain operations.

    Nigerian Banks’ Credit to Real Sector to Increase

    The challenge for Nigerian banks in the post-recapitalization era starting March 2026, is the operational compulsion to move from defensive balance-sheet positioning to carefully priced lending. This will facilitate entrepreneur financing across strategic sectors of the economy. At the household level, pressure on consumer wallets should continue to ease, as inflation is expected to fall below the long-run average and the CBN inflation target.

    Conclusion

    The year 2026 promises to be a standout season for the Nigerian economy despite the tensions that usually characterize election season. Though Nigeria’s federal and state elections are to hold early in 2027, however, all maneuvres, intrigues and intense politicking that usually precede the election year and endanger the business of governance will rear their ugly heads this year.

    However, from our readings, the Federal Government of Nigeria has shown substantial capacity to manage an economy that is transiting from populism to policy-driven facilitation. The economic atmosphere so engendered has variously enabled independence and effective decision-making process for the critical private sector sphere of the economy. This has given fillip to economic momentum and is now the reason we are decoupling GDP’s growth prospects from the budget of the Nigerian federation as it used to be.

    Without doubt, the President Tinubu-led administration is successfully driving the economy away from the doldrums of uncertainty that used to distort the growth paths of the national economy. This gives us utmost confidence in the robust and positive trajectory of the national economy.

    • Omoniyi M. Akinsiju, PhD, Chairman, Independent Media and Policy Initiative (IMPI) , writes from Abuja
  • 70 years journey of Nigeria’s Platinum Navy

    70 years journey of Nigeria’s Platinum Navy

    • By Babajide Fadoju

    In 2026, the Nigerian Navy will officially turn 70, having come into existence on June 1, 1956, as the Nigerian Navy Defence Force (NNDF). The middle child of Nigeria’s Armed Forces—younger than the Army but older than the Air Force—the Service is approaching a platinum jubilee milestone.

    For the Navy, and for the nation as a whole, this anniversary is a moment to celebrate and honour an enduring legacy of courageous service. It is also an opportunity to reaffirm the Navy’s unwavering commitment to safeguarding Nigeria’s maritime domain and protecting the country’s vital economic lifelines at sea.

    Platinum, as a metal, symbolises strength and durability. It is resistant to wear and corrosion, widely used across industries, and is, in fact, the most ductile of all pure metals—able to be stretched into thin wire without breaking.

    It is a fitting metaphor for the Nigerian Navy: resilient under pressure, adaptable in form, and enduring in purpose.

    The man who will lead the Service through its 70th anniversary and into the next phase of its journey is Vice Admiral Idi Abbas, the 56-year-old 25th Chief of the Naval Staff, who assumed command on the penultimate day of October 2025. Since taking office, the highly decorated Above Water Warfare specialist has signalled his determination to preside over a defining era for the Navy.

    For his command, 2026 will be a pivotal year—an opportunity to present to the world a Nigerian Navy that is at its most capable, most motivated, and most formidable in its history, and to demonstrate fidelity to his inaugural pledge to “uphold the proud traditions of excellence and service that define our Navy,” while leading from the front, listening attentively, and keeping personnel welfare at the heart of command.

    As the new year gets underway, preparations are gathering momentum, under Abbas’ leadership, for the anniversary celebrations, which will take place within the symbolic window between May 29 and June 12—two of the most significant dates in Nigeria’s democratic calendar. That symbolism should not be overlooked. The Navy, like the rest of the Armed Forces, occupies a special place in Nigeria’s democracy: protecting national sovereignty, preserving territorial integrity, and projecting Nigerian power and influence beyond its shores.

    Planned events for the platinum jubilee include an International Maritime Conference and Exhibition, as well as an International Fleet Review (IFR). Of all the Services, the Nigerian Navy is perhaps the most intrinsically international in outlook, given the multinational nature of the maritime environment in which it operates. It is therefore no surprise that navies from around the world will converge on Nigeria in the first week of June to participate in the celebrations, underscoring the Service’s growing global partnerships and standing.

    It is not an exaggeration to say that the modest force that began in 1956 with a handful of patrol, training, and survey vessels would barely recognise today’s Nigerian Navy. What now exists is one of Africa’s most formidable and respected maritime forces, equipped with modern platforms, improved infrastructure, and a more professionalised corps of officers and ratings.

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    Even compared to the Navy that marked its 60th anniversary in 2016, today’s Service represents a significant leap forward. The past decade has seen sustained investment, doctrinal refinement, and operational improvement. The results are evident. This is the Nigerian Navy that has kept Nigeria off the global list of piracy-prone nations for four consecutive years, maintaining a clean slate since that historic achievement in 2022—no small feat in one of the world’s most complex maritime regions.

    This is also the Nigerian Navy that, in 2025, concluded an agreement with the African Union to provide strategic sea lift services in support of AU humanitarian operations across the continent. Central to this capability is NNS KADA, one of the most modern and capable warships in Africa today.

    Indeed, it is KADA’s advanced capabilities that positioned the Navy to credibly offer such support to the African Union.

    The Navy’s elite Special Boat Service (SBS) has further strengthened its reputation as a top-tier special forces unit, and is now complemented by a newly established Special Operations Command (SOC), strategically located along the banks of the River Benue in Makurdi, Benue State.

    Beyond defence, the Nigerian Navy has increasingly asserted itself in humanitarian assistance and community impact. Through dozens of infrastructure projects nationwide, as well as high-risk rescue and evacuation operations, the Service has saved countless lives that would otherwise have been lost to maritime accidents and flooding.

    In August 2024, all 59 crew members of the dredging vessel MV Ambika 4 were rescued during a ten-hour naval operation—an operation that tragically claimed the life of Lieutenant Commander Gideon Yashim Gwaza, who led the mission and paid the ultimate price in service to others. More recently, on December 22, 2025, Nigerian Navy personnel rescued 20 crew members from the burning MV Chimba Express along the Calabar waterways.

    Nigeria was also recently in the news for the military intervention that helped preserve democracy in the Republic of Benin following an attempted coup on December 7. Less widely known, however, is the Nigerian Navy’s quiet but crucial role in strengthening Benin’s maritime security. Just two weeks before the attempted coup, the Naval Dockyard Limited formally handed over a fully refitted Benin Navy ship, BNS Matelot Brice Kpomasse, as part of an agreement to repair and upgrade six Beninese naval vessels signed in 2024.

    The Nigerian Navy has also become a valued partner in the global effort to fully map the world’s ocean floor. In May 2023, it entered a historic partnership with the Nippon Foundation–GEBCO Seabed 2030 Project, reflecting the significant advances the Service has made in oceanographic research, hydrographic surveying, and technical expertise. These advances have delivered tangible local benefits, with the National Hydrographic Agency—formerly the Nigerian Navy Hydrographic Office—producing updated and more accurate charts of Nigeria’s waterways.

    These achievements outlined above represent only a fraction of what defines Nigeria’s platinum Naval Force. Like every other Service, and the entirety of Nigeria’s security architecture, the Nigerian Navy has been able to count on the unwavering support and commitment of the Commander-in-Chief, His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. With this level of support, there is no doubt that the best is yet ahead; that fair winds and following seas are already assembling to usher the Nigerian Navy into an even more rewarding next chapter.

    • Fadoju writes from Ondo State
  • Awakening rail transport business opportunities

    Awakening rail transport business opportunities

    • By Olufemi A. Oyedele

    Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of mobility through wheeled vehicles running on tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel rails, the spacing of which is called gauge. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of land transport, next to road transport. The government of United Kingdom has described transport as “not just how you get around” and that “the effects of transport are felt much more widely” because “it is something that fundamentally shapes our towns, our cities, our countryside, our living standards, our health, and our whole quality of life. It can shape all these things for good – or for bad”.

    Rail transport is used for about eight percent of passenger and freight transport globally, thanks to its energy efficiency and potentially high speed. In UK, rail transport represents two percent transport means of an average resident. In Nigeria, it represents less than 0.01% of transport means of an average resident caused basically due to limited networks of rails across the nooks and corners of the country.

    Whereas, there is no airport that is not connected by train in UK, only Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport is connected by train in Nigeria. Rail transport is comparatively the safest means of transport! The rail track spreads the weight of the train which means larger amounts can be carried than with trucks on roads.

    The revitalization of Nigeria’s railway sector presents significant business opportunities in passenger service, freight logistics, and infrastructure development, driven by modernization projects like the Lagos-Kano and Port Harcourt-Maiduguri lines. Opportunities include private sector investment in rolling stock, cargo services, and station management, aimed at transforming the country into a regional logistics hub. Elite nations consider rail transport as a critical factor in their mobility as a service (MaaS) program.

    President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in his stride to modernise train transport in Nigeria, appointed Kayode Opeifa as the managing director of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) in early 2025, based on his experience in the transport sector with the belief that there will be monumental improvements in the rail transport sector in the country. Some years before his assumption of office, NRC was operating below global average, intermittently on odd days of the week. Now, the transport service provider is operating daily, though there is still room for improvement.

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    Watching AMTRAK coaches transiting from the north-side to the south-side of Chicago, USA, with, at times, over 178 coaches in a journey leaves much to be desired about rail transport in Nigeria. The concourse of the Iddo Terminus needs to be rehabilitated! Grand Central Terminal, located at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York, is a world-famous, historic commuter rail hub that opened in 1913. As the southern terminus for Metro-North Railroad and home to the Grand Central Madison Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) station, it is one of the world’s busiest, largest stations, featuring iconic Beaux-Arts architecture, a celestial ceiling and a $20 million opal-faced clock. The terminal boasts over 70 shops and restaurants, including the upscale Grand Central Market and the Apple Store on the east balcony. 

    Though there is improved trust of travellers in the over 113 years old corporation (formally established on October 3, 1912), there is still wide room for improvement. The sour story of NRC is changing gradually with new man at the helm of affairs. Opeifa’s transformation agenda is anchored on five strategic initiatives of (1) legal enabling architecture, (2) rehabilitation and optimisation of railway assets, (3) railing with the states and track access policy, (4) a freight revolution and (5) the ambitious Vision 2-5-10-20 roadmap.

    Watching the enormous growth of the rail transport service providers is a thing of joy. But rather than celebrate, we still need to go into the drawing room and strategise on how to become the biggest rail transport provider in Africa and make rail transport the backbone of Nigerian economy. South Africa, with a population of 65,453,084 people (2026), has the biggest rail system in Africa. Nigerians’ perception of rail transport service has not changed much. There is need for nationwide engagement of stakeholders; especially the travellers on rail about their experiences and what they will like to see improved (feedback management). Within six months of assuming office, there was the flag-off of landmark freight collaboration with terminal operators which signalled a deliberate shift toward rail-led logistics and trade facilitation. The percentage of freight service being covered by NRC is ridiculously low to that of South Africa. Rail can no longer be treated as a ceremonial public service but as a commercial backbone of the economy. Transnet owns South Africa’s railway, seaports and pipelines infrastructure. Transnet covers all six major rail corridors in South Africa to transport commodities for export, regional and domestic markets.

    NRC has unacceptable number of abandoned assets due to many years of neglect! In this wise, asset optimisation should be adopted. Asset optimisation is the strategic process of maximising the value, performance and efficiency of an organisation’s physical and intangible assets throughout their lifecycle. It balances operational costs, risks and performance to improve return on investment (ROI), reduces downtime and extends asset life. It relies on data-driven insights to achieve maximum utilisation. Asset optimisation of a corporate organisation is best handled by a professional estate surveyors and valuer who will identify all critical assets, create an asset register, tag all the assets for easy tracking, carry out valuation of the assets and regularly evaluate the values with performance of the assets to determine the point of retention, overhauling and disposal. NRC will definitely benefit from this exercise.

    Rail stations are now used as commercial hubs, malls and centres of attraction. Liverpool train station in London is a site to behold for tourists. It serves as a meeting point for those who like good foods. Victoria Station in Central London has 24 retail outlets including restaurants, pharmacy (Boots), luggage sales, pubs, boutiques (Holland & Barrett, Marks & Spencer, WHSmith) etc and Barclays Bank. Public engagement can best be made through corporate social responsibilities (CSR) by NRC.

    NRC, under directives from the federal government, has consistently implemented, and in some years, upgraded, discounted or provided free train travel during major festive seasons (Christmas/New Year and sometimes Sallah). To better humanise the rail experience and subtly reposition train travel as dependable, reliable and culturally relevant, more promotions of the train services need to be done. Within Opeifa’s first year in office, the NRC headquarters experienced scores of sector-wide engagements. Inland container operators have also expressed confidence in the corporation to move their cargoes from Lagos to the northern hinterland. More patronage of rail transport by freight operators means less pressure on our congested highways.

    Security of life of customers and NRC staff and asset protection challenges are a big test of the young administration. There are many cases of incidents of vandalisation of rail tracks by vandals, and attacks by terrorists, especially in the north. This led the managing director to warn scrap dealers, iron smelters and collaborators to steer clear of railway assets, and to partner with Nigerian Army to strengthen rail security.

    •Oyedele is an estate surveyor and valuer. He writes from Lagos.

  • Ukwuani mandamus: Why local governments remain captive

    Ukwuani mandamus: Why local governments remain captive

    • By Chukwunalu Eke

    By the time Justice S. L. Okeleke of the Delta State High Court granted leave for a mandamus action over the finances of Ukwuani Local Government, the matter had already transcended its immediate parties. What initially appears as a dispute between a councillor and a council chairman is, in reality, a mirror reflecting Nigeria’s long-standing and systemic strangulation of local government autonomy. At its core, the case is not merely about undisclosed financial records or hurried budgetary processes. It is about the growing audacity of public officials who treat constitutional and statutory obligations as optional, reducing the third tier of government, the one closest to the people, into little more than an executive fiefdom.

    A writ of mandamus exists to compel public officers to perform duties imposed on them by law. In functional democracies, it is rarely invoked. In Nigeria, however, it has become a last resort after persuasion, internal checks and civic engagement have failed. That a serving councillor in Ukwuani in the person of Chukwuemeke Kenneth, a councillor representing Ward 19, Ezhionum Kingdom, Ukwuani LGA had to approach the court to access basic financial information is both troubling and revealing. Local government treasurers are custodians of public funds, not private accountants. Council chairmen are not feudal overlords. Legislative arms are not ceremonial appendages. The deliberate withholding of financial records revenues, expenditures, and wage bills is not administrative oversight. It is an assault on accountability and an erosion of democracy at the grassroots. Mandamus exists precisely to confront such impunity and compel obedience to the law.

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    Nigeria has long maintained the fiction of autonomous local governments. The reality is less flattering. Councils remain tightly bound to state executives, their finances pooled into joint accounts, their legislative arms weakened, and their leadership often operating under invisible but firm control. A chairman may be elected, but rarely governs independently. Decisions are taken behind closed doors. Legislators are side-lined. Citizens are excluded. The Ukwuani case reflects this dysfunction: a legislature allegedly bypassed, a budget allegedly rushed through within two days, and financial records reportedly withheld for over a year. These are not procedural lapses. They are mechanisms of control.

    Local government autonomy rests on three pillars: fiscal independence, institutional checks, and public accountability. Remove one, and autonomy collapses into rhetoric. The alleged failure to publish monthly revenue and expenditure reports from July 2024 is not mere negligence. It represents a breakdown of governance. Without transparency, councillors cannot legislate responsibly, citizens cannot evaluate performance, and corruption thrives unchecked. Autonomy begins where transparency begins. Where disclosure is absent, local governments cease to be developmental institutions and become extraction points for political interests.

    Budgets are not simple technical documents. They are moral statements that reveal priorities and values. A budget passed without scrutiny, allegedly combining expenditure items from different local governments, undermines legality and public trust. Such practices hollow out representative democracy. A budget is not an executive convenience; it is a covenant with the people. When that covenant is broken, cynicism replaces civic faith, and governance loses legitimacy.

    One of the most significant aspects of the Ukwuani case is the court’s affirmation that a councillor has sufficient legal standing to demand financial disclosure. This matters. For too long, councillors across Nigeria have been treated as decorative accessories, elected, but disempowered. By invoking the courts, the Ukwuani councillor has reasserted a fundamental truth: local government is not private property. Councillors are not subordinates of chairmen; they are representatives of the people.

    The national debate on local government autonomy often fixates on direct allocation from the federation account. While fiscal independence from states is essential, it is not sufficient. Autonomy without accountability merely decentralises corruption. True autonomy requires empowered legislatures, transparent accounting, internal audits, and active civic oversight. The Ukwuani case demonstrates that even within existing constraints, institutional accountability can be asserted especially when the judiciary plays its constitutional role.

    Perhaps the most dangerous feature of Nigeria’s local governance is the normalisation of secrecy. Requests for information are treated as rebellion. Oversight is framed as hostility. This culture corrodes trust and entrenches impunity. Where secrecy thrives, democracy withers quietly. Legal actions like the Ukwuani mandamus disrupt this norm, reminding public officers that legality is not optional.

    Nigeria’s governance failures do not originate in Abuja alone. They begin in wards and councils. When local governments fail, schools’ decay, health centres collapse, rural roads disappear, and citizens disengage from the state. Conversely, accountable local governments deliver essential services and stabilise the polity. The struggle for local government autonomy is therefore not administrative—it is central to national cohesion and democratic survival.

    Courts should not govern, but they must guard governance. Where political accountability collapses, judicial intervention becomes indispensable. By granting leave for mandamus proceedings, the Delta State High Court has reaffirmed this role. While the substantive issues remain before the court, the message is clear: public office carries obligations, and violations invite scrutiny.

    What is unfolding in Ukwuani is not isolated. Similar patterns exist across Nigeria’s 774 local governments. What makes this case noteworthy is its insistence on public accountability. It forces a national reckoning: Do we accept local governments as instruments of patronage, or do we insist they function as genuine democratic institutions?

    Local government autonomy is not bestowed; it is asserted. It is claimed by councillors who insist on oversight, by citizens who demand disclosure, and by courts willing to enforce the law. The Ukwuani mandamus suit is more than a legal dispute. It is a challenge to a broken status quo. Until transparency becomes non-negotiable at the grassroots, local government autonomy will remain constitutional text without democratic substance. Autonomy begins where secrecy ends. And until Nigerians insist that governance is a right not a favour democracy will continue to falter, council by council, ward by ward.

    •Eke, a concerned Ukwuani citizen writes via <cex9ja@gmail.com>

  • Fruitful journey of Yakubu Mohammed

    Fruitful journey of Yakubu Mohammed

    • By Dare Babarinsa

    I am happy that Oga Yakubu Mohammed was able to publish his highly readable memoir before his final call on Wednesday January 14.  The last time we met was when I visited him on August 12, last year and he presented me with an autographed copy of Beyond Expectations, his memoir of 422 pages.  The book expectedly bristles with humour and vignettes of wisdom.  It is Mohammed’s testament about journalism and public service.  It is his offering to the coming generations. 

    In November last year, Dan Agbese, his co-traveller and a principal character in Beyond Expectations, died.  Now Mohammed has joined him.  Three of the four founders of Newswatch magazine are now dead.  The only survivor is the durable Ray Ekpu, the iconoclastic columnist who ruffled the feathers of the Nigerian establishment for generations.

    Mohammed came to prominence in journalism early.  He bagged a degree in Mass Communications from the University of Lagos at 25 in 1975.  In 1980, barely 30 and almost four years after his compulsory national service, he was already associate editor of New Nigerian, one of the most powerful newspaper houses in Nigeria. It was at New Nigerian that he and Dan Agbese met as colleagues. Agbese and Ray Ekpu, who was editing the Nigerian Chronicles, Calabar, were of the Unilag Mass Communication class of 1973.  Destiny joined the three of them. 

    The same destiny brought Mohammed to the Concord Group of Newspapers founded by the larger-than-life businessman, Chief Moshood Abiola.  It was in Concord that Mohammed met Dele Giwa, an American-trained journalist, who was the pioneer editor of the Sunday Concord.

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    I first met Mohammed at the National Concord.  When I completed my NYSC in July 1982, many of my classmates would not apply to Concord because the paper was rabidly partisan in favour of the ruling National Party of Nigeria, NPN. I and many of my friends were beneficiaries of Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s Free Education Programme in the old Western Region and we viewed with resentment Concord hostility to Papa Awo.  Then, Abiola suddenly left politics and the NPN and the Concord changed its music.  My friend, the late Olawale Oladepo, who was working with Gbolabo Ogunsanwo’s magazine, Nation, said we should apply to work for the Concord.  “The paper has changed,” Wale said with enthusiasm.

    By this time, I had fallen under the spell of some bigwigs in journalism who were my superiors at the Drum Publications Ltd, which I joined immediately after my NYSC in 1982.  Among these seniors were Prince Adetule, our editorial director, Olaseinde Lawson, our editor, and Matthew Faji our photo editor.  Among my colleagues in Drum were Wole Olaoye and Dayo Omotosho.  Then I followed Oladepo to Concord where we met Yakubu Mohammed and our lives changed.

    We submitted our letters to his secretary and once he was told who we were, Mohammed invited us into his office.  He was warm, communicative and he asked us many questions. We let down our guards. We did not know he was already interviewing us for the job! We thought we were just having a general gist with a big man.  I told him that apart from my Drum experience, I had a very busy service year as the editor of the Ogun State NYSC newsletter and other assignments as the Ogun State NYSC Public Relations Officer.  He offered Oladepo and myself employment.  Another classmate of ours, Ifeanyi Ubabukoh, was to join us later.

    Mohammed was a formidable leader of men.  He had succeeded the iconic Doyinsola Abiola as the editor of the Concord newspaper in 1982 and it was to his credit that circulation soared during his tenure. 

    He was not afraid to take risk with young subalterns like us. One day, two emissaries came from Surulere saying the great Aminu Kano, leader of the Peoples Redemption Party, PRP, would like to be interviewed by the Concord.  All the big journalists were out on the beat and it was only Oladepo and I that were in the newsroom.  Mohammed said we should follow them.  We did with trepidation for despite our bravado, we were seriously green.  Our interview with Mallam Aminu Kano was to become our first story to hit the front page of the Concord.  I later served as the National Assembly correspondent before being posted to Akure as the chief correspondent for Ondo State (including the present Ekiti State) where I was destined to cover the 1983 general election riot.

    We followed Mohammed and his colleagues to Newswatch in November 1984.  Our leaders in Newswatch; Dele Giwa, Ray Ekpu, Dan Agbese and Yakubu Mohammed showed us what a first-class newsmagazine ought to be.  They had able lieutenants who were giants in their own right; Dayo Onibile, Soji Akinrinade, Dele Omotunde, Lawson Omokhodion, Nosa Igiebor, Kayode Soyinka and others.  It was a great team. We produced a magazine noted worldwide for its depth of investigations and deft of language.  No one exemplifies our competence more than Oga Yakubu Mohammed.

    Mohammed was an artist with words.  He wrote with simple elegance and with facts.  Verbosity was not for him, nor the flowery language of some of his colleagues.  He laid out his facts devoid of accoutrements.  He was approachable because he was one of us; members of the Editorial Street.  We exchange books, especially memoirs and biographies. He was never afraid to lose an argument if your facts outweigh his.  He was a gentleman and a nationalist. 

    But success brought problems and jealousy.  He and his colleagues at the helm of Newswatch had high social visibility and their pens were mighty.  The devil found them attractive and it came for them in the forms of military jackboots. The worst happened in 1986 when Giwa was assassinated with a parcel-bomb. Detention, harassments, proscriptions and constant trailing by security agents were to follow.  Once, Ray Ekpu wanted to board a plane for Lagos at the Calabar airport.  He was arrested on the tarmac by security agents, bundled into a van and driven to Lagos by road. When we published what the military regime did not like, they locked up Ray Ekpu and company.  When the big man at Dodan Barracks is unhappy or had a poor digestion, they locked up Ray Ekpu and company. 

    It was such incremental punishments that made Yakubu Mohammed and company our heroes.  Mohammed was willing to suffer for the good of all so that our country can be free from military rule.  I am happy that he was able to show his mettle during his tenure as the pro-chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. His attempt to serve the people of Kogi State as their governor was frustrated by the complexities of that peculiar state.

    Mohammed lived a good and productive life.  He loved freedom, not just for himself, but for our country.  Now he is free forever.  God compensated him by blessing him with good and successful children.  I commiserate with his wife, Hajia Rabi, and family.  May his valiant soul rest in peace.

    •Babarinsa, CON is chairman, Gaskia Media Ltd.

  • Sanwo-Olu’s ‘Lagos Light Up’ idea

    Sanwo-Olu’s ‘Lagos Light Up’ idea

    By Luqmon Balogun

    One of the major pieces of urban infrastructure that impact positively on public safety, economy, as well as wellbeing of any community is street lighting.  In every developed world, street lighting plays a significant role as a preventive mechanism for road accidents, crime reduction, and ensuring energy savings. In the same vein, social interaction and community engagement increase when places like parks, highways and walkways are lit, and this invariably enhances a stronger sense of belonging and neighbourhood cohesion.

    In the past years, there have been hues and cries by residents of Lagos, alleging that the state government had left the streets in darkness and made it pervious to social menace. The House of Assembly, at a point, also reprimanded the executive arm for neglecting roads and highways across the state.

    On December 3, 2024, Governor Sanwo-Olu signed the Lagos State Electricity Bill 2024 into law, thus setting the stage for a power supply system aimed at providing reliable electricity to residents. During the signing, he expressed his administration’s resolve to lighting up Lagos.

    “The bill is not about us; it is about the whole market and the entire system. So, it is important that the system is fully carried along, and they should see it as a win-win. We want, at the end of the day, Lagosians to be the full beneficiaries of what the bill is about. We all want to see affordable and accessible lights all around our state.

    “We all have a common objective, which is to develop and improve the energy infrastructure of our state, and once we do that, we know it will transform into economic benefits for citizens so that people can have a better security network in terms of making Lagos a true 21st Century economy, and not being scared or worried about night or illumination in some parts of the city. We want to light up Lagos. We want our citizens to feel the benefit and effects of this legislation”, he had said at the occasion.

    In addressing this concern, the administration aligned with the evolving smart and LED lighting to replace the old orange-glow streetlights, while building on the existing components. The administration also ensured improved operations with fresh installations and decommissioning of old fittings on major routes across the state.

    Previous administrations had adopted numerous initiatives to light up the streets, with the use of diesel- and gas-powered lighting, but this, as it turned out, was not economically and financially sustainable, as most of the major streets could not be covered.

    With the new installations, the government, through the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, has since restored nightlife to areas like Iddo, Eko Bridge, Ikorodu Road, Jibowu, Fadeyi, and all the way down to Maryland and Ojota. Others include Marina Bridge, Western Avenue, Gbagada-Oshodi Expressway, Muritala Muhammad International Airport Way, Governor’s Road, Alausa, Old Toll Gate-Olusosun, Alapere-Ogudu, Lekki-Ikoyi Link Bridge, Agric Ikorodu, Ikorodu Road, Lekki-Epe Expressway, with many of them completed while others are ongoing.

    The Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, said that the project is a continuous exercise across the state.

    “What you are seeing today on the streets is the answer of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to the question of unlit, dark streets. Today, so many streets in Lagos are well lit, and the job is not complete. It is not done; it is something that is ongoing, and we will continue to do it.

    “In the first phase, we are going to fix 20,000 lamps while the second phase is about 22,000…the streetlights have really brightened up the streets. And there are so many implications, such as reduction of crime, safety, and security on our streets.” he said 

    Omotoso also spoke on the efforts so far by the Sanwo-Olu’s administration to light up the city.

    “When Mr Sanwo-Olu came in, we felt it was not reasonable and was not sustainable for us to spend about N600 million every month to power, repair and fuel generators, and to do all of that.

    “Besides, the world is running away from emissions but towards clean energy. And that Lagos should not be left behind in that kind of conversation. So we decided to go solar. We tried so many, until we got the right specification, which we are doing now. In all, this is a testament to the fact that we are also advancing technology, sustainable energy, in the beautification of our streets and communities,” Omotoso stressed. 

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    Technically, an improved visibility allows drivers to see road hazards ahead, as study shows that a well-lit intersection can drastically reduce night-time crashes by roughly 30% to 40%, and proper illumination has been shown to reduce pedestrian-related crashes by up to 50%.

    Sodiq Omotayo, a commercial driver who plies Ikorodu to Lagos Island daily, shares his experience on the road, particularly at night: In the past, we usually had journeys laced with fear whenever we were returning home, because of the dark spots and fear of the unknown. But since the administration of Babajide Sanwo-Olu fixed these solar powered lights, it has become interesting to drive in the night, because now, you can see what is ahead of you.”

    The idea of solar light retrofitting, according to Morenike Ladega who sells goods at Ikorodu bus stop, is transformational to the business environment.

    “We the market people in Ikorodu are the only ones that can explain the magnitude of what Governor Sanwo-Olu did for us with these new solar installations. It has improved our sales greatly. Before now, we used to light up our stalls with rechargeable lanterns and others, but now Sanwo-Olu light up is the real light,” she said

    It is a truism that areas with modern, consistent lighting are often perceived as more luxurious, thus increasing the value of property in the area. This audacious move by the government to light up major highways will no doubt bring about development and impact the environment positively, reduce the city’s carbon footprint, electricity costs, and enhance the city’s overall development.

    The government has also assured that the solar street light installation and retrofitting is a continuous exercise and areas that are yet to be illuminated would soon be lit up.

    For the Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s administration to sustain the accolades, all major roads across the state must be touched and, from there, the greater Lagos that is rising can be felt at all nooks and crannies of the state.

    •Balogun is a journalist and writes from Lagos.