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  • Ayobo-Ipaja LCDA inaugurates projects

    Ayobo-Ipaja LCDA inaugurates projects

    The Chairman of Ayobo-Ipaja Local Council Development Area (LCDA) of Lagos State, Otunba Ladi Oluwaloni, has inaugurated four projects, marking a significant leap in the council’s infrastructure, health care and economic development.

    The event underscored the Oluwaloni administration’s commitment to inclusive progress under the Ajumose philosophy—‘Let’s Progress Together’.

    Leading the inauguration was the unveiling of newly-built and furnished Legislative Building, named after Chief Mrs. Bola Shobowale, the former chairman, symbolising respect for the council’s history and a commitment to effective governance.

    This was followed by the handover of the LCDA’s first-ever ambulance to the council’s health centre, a historic step toward improving health care access for residents. A modern toilet facility was also inaugurated at one of the LCDA’s major markets, addressing critical sanitation needs for traders and visitors.

    The event was rounded off with the opening of Kuffo Street, a vital road project designed to ease movement and stimulate local economy.

    “These projects are seeds of progress, ensuring Ayobo-Ipaja thrives as a hub of opportunity and well-being,” Oluwaloni said during the ceremony attended by community leaders, residents and council workers.

    Elder Joseph Olokede, the Community Development Council (CDC) chairman, praised the LCDA chairman’s rapid impact, saying: “In less than a month, Otunba Oluwaloni has delivered unprecedented infrastructure. These milestones will shape our community’s future.”

    The day also featured a Labour Day address, during which the chairman celebrated the council’s workforce as the “driving force behind our progress.”

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    He highlighted workers’ welfare initiatives since assuming office on April 3, including cleared outstanding allowances, renovated office spaces, provision of essential tools and N250,000 financial support to 10 Community Development Associations (CDAs) across the LCDA’s five wards, to foster community collaboration.

    “Your dedication inspires us,” he said, promising enhanced training, better incentives and recognition for excellence.

    Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) Chairman, Aromire Oluwaseun, expressed appreciation, saying: “The improved work environment and cleared allowances show we are valued. We’re motivated to contribute more.”

    These inaugurations and welfare efforts follow the recent Ajumose Season 1 programme, which empowered 1,000 entrepreneurs with N100 million in grants.

    A resident of the LCDA, who preferred anonymity, said: ‘’Otunba Oluwaloni’s dynamic leadership continues to position Ayobo-Ipaja LCDA as a model of grassroots development and community empowerment.’’

  • From headwinds to tailwinds – under Tinubu, Nigeria propels forward

    From headwinds to tailwinds – under Tinubu, Nigeria propels forward

    By Sunday Dare

    Two years into President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, Nigeria is undergoing a bold recalibration. A country once caught in the inertia of subsidy politics and policy hesitancy is now charting a new course, marked by structural reforms, fiscal reengineering, and renewed international engagement.

    From the outset, President Tinubu signalled an intent to stabilize Nigeria’s economy and fundamentally reset it. As Nigeria arrives at the halfway mark of this administration’s tenure, early evidence suggests that this pivot is not only well underway – it is beginning to deliver.

    The conversation is shifting: from managing crisis to managing opportunities; from firefighting to future-proofing; from legacy burdens to long-term strategy.

    With a deliberate macroeconomic overhaul unfolding, Nigeria is positioning itself— not only as Africa’s largest economy by GDP—but also as one of its most reform-minded jurisdictions, willing to tackle its most entrenched distortions head-on.

    Macroeconomic Reset: A Realignment with Market Reality

    When the Tinubu administration took office in 2023, it inherited an economy under siege—one heavily reliant on fuel subsidies, riddled with dual exchange rate inefficiencies, weighed down by debt service pressures, and struggling with dwindling investor confidence.

    In response, two politically risky but economically necessary reforms were immediately enacted: the removal of fuel subsidy, which had consumed up to $10 billion annually, and the liberalization of the naira, ending a system that long distorted trade flows and incentivized arbitrage.

    The results are starting to crystalize:

    •GDP growth currently stands at 3.46% year-on-year, a significant rebound from contractionary trends and a sign that reform headwinds are giving way to recovery momentum.

    •Net foreign reserves have increased to $40.1 billion, bolstering Nigeria’s external buffers and increasing its ability to defend currency stability in the near term.

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    •The debt service-to-revenue ratio has fallen sharply, from 97% in 2023 to 65%, easing fiscal pressure and allowing for more capital investment in growth sectors.

    •As of December 31, 2023, the total public debt was $108.23 billion. However, as of December 31, 2024, the total public debt was reported as $94.23 billion. This indicates a decrease of approximately $14 billion over the one year—a signal that prudent debt management amidst a strong dollar environment is now in place.

    •Domestic debt of Nigeria’s 36 states decreased by 32%, while their external debt grew by only 4%, reflecting improved subnational fiscal discipline and better debt structuring.

    Currency markets are beginning to respond positively. After months of volatility, the naira has shown signs of stabilization, aided by robust monetary interventions from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The apex bank has adopted tighter monetary policies, improved liquidity controls, and recalibrated its intervention posture—moves that have enhanced credibility in the eyes of market participants.

    Investor Confidence: Measurable Signals, Not Rhetoric

    What distinguishes this phase of Nigeria’s economic reform is the data-backed credibility it brings. For years, international investors and multilaterals were told reform was coming.

    Under Tinubu, it has arrived – and it is quantifiable.

    •The Nigerian Stock Exchange has posted strong returns over the last year, with market capitalization expanding and foreign participation gradually recovering.

    • Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), long stymied by policy inconsistencies, is showing encouraging signs of a turnaround. Nigeria is streamlining business registration, simplifying tax codes, and reducing bureaucratic friction – factors that directly influence capital allocation.

    •Oil production has risen to 1.7 million barrels per day, with operational improvements in the Niger Delta, and upstream investments resuming in marginal fields.

    •Non-oil exports are growing through enhanced trade facilitation, duty incentives, and export financing schemes, driven in part by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) opportunity.

    Nigeria posted a $6.83 billion Balance of Payments Surplus in 2024, signalling economic Resurgence. According to the CBN, a Balance of Payments surplus of $6.83bn is expected for 2024, marking a sharp turnaround from deficits in 2023 and 2022.

    Corporate profits and revenues for giant companies operating in Nigeria are on the increase. Examples: MTN Nigeria’s Revenue hits N1 Trillion, Nestle posts N295 billion in Record Revenues, Zenith Bank’s quarterly income of N837.6 billion.  Seplat’s threefold surge in pre-tax profit by 203.97 per cent (314.646 billion). There are many more similar stories of profitability. 

    Inflation remains high at 24.43% as of February 2025, yet forward indicators suggest a decline as food supply chains improve and monetary tools take effect. Investors are monitoring not only the headline inflation figure but also the central bank’s policy coherence and ability to guide disinflation.

    New institutions like CreditCorp and NELFUND are laying the groundwork for expanded access to finance – particularly for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and students. These are long-term bets on inclusive growth, digital literacy, and workforce productivity—essentials for a modern, innovation-ready economy.

    Security, Stability, and

    Institutional Credibility

    Security reform—often underestimated in economic forecasts—has also gained traction. According to official data, Nigeria has recorded a 30% reduction in violent crimes nationwide over the past year, thanks to improved intelligence coordination, better equipment for security agencies, and community-based peacebuilding initiatives.

    Infrastructure upgrades are reinforcing this progress: road and rail networks are being expanded, energy access is improving, and digital infrastructure is enabling fintech and e-commerce growth, particularly in underserved regions.

    Regulatory reform is also part of the story. The Tinubu administration has prioritized commercial court efficiency, contract enforcement, and investor protections. Nigeria’s arbitration environment is being strengthened in line with international best practices, enhancing the country’s attractiveness to institutional and sovereign capital.

    Nigeria remains a market of extraordinary scale—over 200 million people, a median age of 18, and one of the most vibrant tech and fintech ecosystems on the continent. But scale alone is not strategy.

    What’s new and globally relevant is execution.

    President Tinubu’s administration demonstrates that difficult reforms can be implemented with discipline and followed up with measurable outcomes. This is not reform as a slogan; this is reform as operational clarity. There is a clear direction of travel – toward market openness, fiscal consolidation, and private-sector partnership.

    To global investors, sovereign wealth funds, multilateral lenders, and institutional capital allocators: this is a market where the risks are better understood—and the rewards are increasingly aligned with reform outcomes.

    Nigeria is not asking the world to take a chance. It is showing that it has taken one on itself, and it is beginning to pay off.

    •Dare. is SA. Media and Public Comms. To Mr. President

  • Boosting Nigeria’s real estate with strategic initiatives

    Boosting Nigeria’s real estate with strategic initiatives

    By Ayo Olamoju

    Real estate can rightly be described as the driver, enabler and sustainer of wealth and economic development, not only in Nigeria but across the world. Nigeria’s real estate market and performance, known and widely acclaimed for dynamism, lucrativeness and resilience, has unfortunately been low in the past few years as a result of the economic hiccups the nation had gone through, and perhaps still going through.

    Nigeria is currently experiencing harsh and chronic economic challenges, occasioned by reforms introduced by the present administration to remodel the economy. Two key government policy decisions of ending the long-standing fuel subsidy, and floating of the naira, leaving the national currency to the market to determine its strength against the dollar, on the basis of demand and supply, though capable of attracting foreign investment and boosting the economy, have in the meantime shot up prices of all kinds of items, as a result of increased exchange rate volatility, shot up the rate of inflation, cost of living, pushing millions of Nigerians below the poverty line.

    These and other problems have huge effects on the economy and real estate. This is because real estate performance is linked to the economy, and assessment of the real estate sector is basically an assessment of the economy. Real estate business follows the economic circle.

    It is not surprising therefore that the real estate sector, real estate business and activities has been challenged. Activities went down generally; property prices went down, revenue was not coming as originally projected, and companies had to relocate from high end to medium and low-end areas because of the need to cut cost. Meanwhile, prices of building materials did not come down to the level of income, as a result of which we have few development activities, oversupply of commercial real estate, and a lot of vacancies.

    It is heart-warming to note that nation’s economy is assuming a better outlook, with growth picking up gradually, but steadily in the last quarter of 2024.  As expected, and projected by the government, withdrawal of subsidy on petroleum products have incentivized domestic refineries to produce more of petroleum products, reduced dependence on fuel importation, while spurring exportation of the product.

    Public funds are being freed and made available for infrastructure development (Lagos/Calabar Coastal Road is a typical example), industrialization stimulated, as the industrial sector is waxing stronger, while activities in the manufacturing and construction sectors also recorded appreciable increase. Jobs are being created, as well as economic growth and prosperity.

    The economy is expected to gain further momentum in the current year with the president signing into law a budget of N54.2 trillion in a renewed effort to revive the economy, and give it a robust growth.

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    Against the background of the aforementioned improvement in the nation’s economy, it is expected or projected that real estate sector would have a better performance in 2025. In other words, real estate sector is expected to ride on the back of sustained investment in public infrastructure, agriculture and other sectors of the economy, improvement in the nation’s micro environment and other strides. The sector is expected to put in a better performance than the previous years, in view of signs of improvement in the economy, in addition to a measure of political and economic stability in the land.

    However, the government must be more forthcoming and more proactive in taking more strategic initiatives and decisions. Government must be more strategic with policies to assuage the concerns of investors and the operators of the economy, because the more the uncertainty; the less will be the willingness of companies to commit to medium and even long-term programmes, and vice versa.

    Government must sustain employment and productivity generating investments because if there are no such investments, you can’t expect other sectors of the economy to behave as if they are not affected.

    Government must come out with a more visible, clear-cut and well-articulated policy direction that would be able to promote and sustain investment in the economy. In other climes, when you have challenges in the economy, what the government does is to invest massively in infrastructure, create jobs, and stimulate economic activities that would ensure that people have means of livelihood. Government should step up its efforts in this direction. When the people have means of livelihood, they will be able to pay tax, which is also used to refinance the economy and you have multiplier effects, and individual businesses thrives on the back of that.

    A major impediment to affordable housing in Nigeria has remained the mortgage rates. Findings reveal that typical mortgage interest rates in Nigeria range from five to 10% for Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria) and 15 to 25 % for commercial mortgage institutions, and 7- 10 % for National Housing Fund (NHF) making it one of the highest in the world.

    The government should be the major driver of the mortgage sector.  It is imperative for the government to maintain the macro-economic variables by employing disciplined fiscal and monetary policies for stable growth and low inflation to support low interest rates. 

    In as much as its direct interventionist role to promote liquidity of the mortgage industry at single digit interest rates via the Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Corporation (NMRC) and Family Home Fund (FHF) is critical, it must be emphasized that the core focus of government should be on how to control inflation in the long run to allow for single digit interest rates. The private sector via mortgage banks should retain the role of underwriting mortgages directly and the will to boost effective demand for homes, which may be far lower than the 21 million housing shortfall being touted.

    A peep into the future would inform us that oil would not remain the major source of our income; the time has come to look inwards strategically at other options such as the real estate and make it thrive better. The federal government must demonstrate more commitment to making the real estate sector drive the nation’s economy. And of course, professionals in the sector, particularly estate surveyors and valuers, must be actively and optimally engaged.

    Until we do take these strategic initiatives, we might be waiting for a fairly long painful journey to sustainable economic development and prosperity.

    •Olamoju is a Lagos based Estate Surveyor & Valuer

  • PBAT and School Feeding Initiative – Transforming the lives of Nigeria’s poorest children

    PBAT and School Feeding Initiative – Transforming the lives of Nigeria’s poorest children

    By Abubakar S. Yakub

    Through Strategic School Feeding Initiatives under the visionary leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the federal government is rewriting the narrative for millions of vulnerable children. As part of the president’s Renewed Hope Agenda, the country is witnessing a bold, results-driven approach that goes far beyond delivering meals. It is delivering hope, dignity, and opportunity. This isn’t just a feeding programme; it’s a lifeline. It’s a strategic national development tool that’s tackling malnutrition, boosting education, supporting local economies, and reinforcing national security, all at once.

    From the design of multi-sectoral interventions to field-level execution, the programme being closely supervised by the Senior Special Assistant to the President (SSAP) on School Feeding programme, Yetunde Adeniji, has delivered a gold-standard model for feeding, empowering, and uplifting communities that need it most.

    Good nutrition is crucial for children’s healthy growth and development, supporting everything from physical strength and bone health to cognitive function and academic performance. A balanced diet provides the necessary vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients to build a strong foundation for a child’s future health.

    Previously, the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP) aimed at providing nutritious meals to primary school students, faced significant challenges top of which was corruption. The issues undermined the programme’s effectiveness in achieving its goals of improving child nutrition, boosting school enrolment, and supporting local farmers. 

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    A notable case occurred during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020 when the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) reportedly found that N2.67 billion meant for school feeding in federal colleges had been deposited into personal accounts of a minister. This was particularly concerning as schools were closed at the time.

    Similarly, in October 2022, the Nasarawa State government uncovered 349 “ghost schools” listed as beneficiaries in the feeding programme. These were non-existent schools or schools not participating in the scheme, indicating potential fraudulent claims. There were reports of food vendors disappearing after receiving payments without providing meals.

    Indeed, allegations frequently surfaced regarding the poor quality and insufficient portions of meals provided to students. This suggests that funds allocated for adequate and nutritious food may have been misappropriated, leading to compromised meal standards. 

    Delays and inconsistencies in payments to food vendors were also reported across several states. Also, there have been concerns about the transparency of procurement processes, with potential cost inflation and contract awarding under questionable circumstances.

    The situation has changed no doubt. A shining example of its impact can be found in Plateau State, where the SSAP’s office, in partnership with HELLO International, launched a targeted pilot programme in Jos East and Bassa LGAs. At LGEA Kihang, and LEA Ashi-Teng enrolment jumped following the introduction of nutritious school meals. Children enjoyed meals like jollof rice with eggs and vegetables, beans and sweet potato porridge, and rice pudding with moi-moi meals that have improved classroom focus, energy, and enthusiasm.

    In Oyo State, children are being fed in Ajagba, Alagbon, Igbo-Olose and Oluwatedo, in the Ibadan North Local Government Area with plans to increase feeding in other communities of the state. International Non-Government-Organisations, (INGO)s like Maple Leaf Early Years Foundation has since 2018 provided healthy school meals in its Transitional Learning Centres in displaced settings in states like Zamfara, Cross Rivers, Edo, FCT-Wassa, Imo and Bauchi States. With support from partners like the National Commission for Refugees, Theirworld U.K, Life USA and individuals, CCRATA Learning Initiative is in partnership with the government through the office of the SSAP, feeding children in Lagos, Oyo and Osun states. International Centre for Economic Development ICED has already kick-started plans in Zamfara by starting off in each senatorial zone of the state.

    Teachers, parents, and traditional leaders have hailed this programme as one of the most meaningful interventions in their communities in decades. This success story is being amplified by strategic collaborations with international and local partners: Maple Leaf Early Years Foundation, CCRATA, HELLO International and ICED International are helping scale the programme in states like Plateau, Zamfara, and Oyo bringing real change to communities most in need.

    Through a landmark collaboration with Imperial College London’s Partnership for Child Development (PCD), and backed by the Rockefeller Foundation’s BIG BET initiative, the federal government through the office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on School Feeding conducted a ground-breaking Value for Money Study. The study carried out across multiple subnational regions revealed that every N1 invested in school feeding returns N10 in economic value, from healthier children and better school outcomes to stronger local economies and national growth. This is more than charity—it’s smart economics.

    In light of this, the government is partnering with multiple local NGOs to reach deeper into marginalised clusters, IDP camps, and underserved settings, feeding the children most at risk and most in need. President Tinubu’s administration has shown unwavering commitment to collaborative, high-impact solutions that prioritise the early development of Nigeria’s future leaders.

    At the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 2024, President Tinubu declared Nigeria’s bold ambition to double the school feeding reach from 10 million to 20 million children. This bold vision positions Nigeria as a continental and global leader in child-focused development. Nigeria has since become a proud, full member of the School Meals Coalition, joining nations across the globe in the fight for universal access to school meals.

    Yes, challenges remain: Those of logistics, inflation and access to remote areas. But the federal government is working tirelessly with relevant ministries to tackle these hurdles head-on with innovative, data-driven solutions. As we look ahead, we are expanding our reach with new non-governmental partners, and we invite all well-meaning NGOs working in marginalised areas to join this national call to action.

    Together, we will feed more children in rural and vulnerable zones across the country. Hope is no longer a slogan—it’s a warm plate of food, a full classroom, a thriving farmer, and a smiling child.

    •Yakub is a public affairs analyst.

  • Osinachi: Does killing a killer kill justice?

    Osinachi: Does killing a killer kill justice?

    By David Bassey Antia

    The recent judicial pronouncement sentencing Peter Nwachukwu, husband of the late gospel singer Osinachi, to death by hanging has reignited the perennial debate surrounding capital punishment in Nigeria. Citizens, scholars, and legal minds have waded into the fray with varying degrees of moral and legal fervour, yet the discourse continues to swing like a pendulum—between vengeance and virtue—without adequate analytical depth or jurisprudential clarity. While abolitionists have spared little effort in introspective concession, the retentionists have shown equal reluctance to critically engage the merits of their counterparts’ propositions.

    This pendulum, in my view, swings with too great a momentum to permit repose at the median of reason. At one extreme lies the call for vengeance, where retributive justice is exalted; at the other, a demand for virtue and moral transcendence. Yet I contend that the claim made by abolitionists—that the eradication of the death penalty is the litmus test for a society’s passage from primal instinct to civilization—is a progressive fallacy, a label I assert without equivocation.

    Empirically, more lives are lost to homicide than to war. According to the United Nations, approximately 464,000 people were murdered globally in 2017, far exceeding the 89,000 deaths attributed to armed conflict within the same period. The execution of a convicted murderer sends a resounding message that the sanctity of the innocent life taken makes the ultimate sanction both warranted and symbolic. No indulgence must be granted to euphemisms that diminish the sacredness of life under the guise of moral posturing.

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    Punishment, in this context, is not a barbaric relic but a societal response to the catalytic instinct to offend. It serves to slow the instinctual metabolism that spurs the commission of crime. It operates as a neutral but potent force, imposed to assuage the public’s moral indignation and to mark—visibly and unequivocally—the collective revulsion towards heinous conduct. Thus, capital punishment, while partly deterrent, is fundamentally retributive. He who takes life must forfeit his own.

    But before I cast my philosophical net around the abolitionist argument and allow it to drown in the sea of insignificance, it is prudent to offer a jurisprudential exposition on the legal architecture of the death penalty.

    Capital punishment, by definition, is the legally sanctioned execution of a person as punishment for a crime deemed capital in nature. According to Section 36(12) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, only offences defined in written law may attract penal consequences. Offences attracting capital punishment include those stipulated under Sections 37 and 319 of the Criminal Code Act (Cap C38, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004), and Sections 221 and 411 of the Penal Code (Northern States) Federal Provisions Act (Cap P3, Laws of the Federation, 2004). These offences include murder, armed robbery, and treason.

    Exemptions exist. Pregnant women, under Section 404 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, and persons under 17 years of age, as reaffirmed in Madupe v. State (1988) 4 NWLR (Pt. 87), are constitutionally and judicially shielded from capital punishment. The Supreme Court in that case held that it is legally impermissible to sentence to death anyone under 17 at the time of the offence.

    Further, the courts have consistently upheld the constitutionality of the death penalty. In Adeniji v. State (1998) 14 NWLR 584, the Court of Appeal declared that the death penalty is expressly provided for in Section 33(1) of the 1999 Constitution. The Supreme Court reaffirmed this position in Kalu v. State (1998) 13 NWLR 531 and Okoro v. State (2000) 49 NWLR 356, holding that capital punishment and its method of execution remain lawful and valid, sanctioned by both Sections 33(1) and 34(1)(a) of the Constitution.

    Hence, it is imperative to clarify that the death penalty has not been abolished in Nigeria. Its legality stands assailed, unmoved by the abstract arguments of those who deal in normative wishfulness. Capital punishment remains an integral feature of Nigeria’s criminal justice system.

    It is also critical to emphasize the procedural role of the executive in the administration of capital sentences. In Ajulu & Ors v. Attorney General of Lagos State, the Federal High Court restrained the execution of five condemned inmates, noting that execution warrants must be duly signed by the state governor.

    For a conviction in a murder trial that carries a death sentence, the prosecution must establish the following elements: (a) That the deceased is dead; (b) and (c) That the death resulted from the act or omission of the accused.

    And that the act or omission was intentional and calculated with the knowledge that death or grievous harm was a likely outcome. See Okeke v. State (1999) 2 NWLR (Pt. 590) 273.

    The standard of proof remains “beyond reasonable doubt” as required by Section 135 of the Evidence Act, 2011. As held in Isah v. State (2018) 8 NWLR (Pt. 1621) 346 and Itodo v. State (2020) 1 NWLR (Pt. 1704) 1, the evidence must leave no room for reasonable doubt—not all doubt, but any doubt that a reasonable person could entertain.

    Historically, the African worldview—including Nigerian customary traditions—has recognized the death penalty for murder, notwithstanding the formal abolition of customary criminal offences by Section 36(12) of the 1999 Constitution. The lex talionis principle (“an eye for an eye”) finds its roots not just in tradition but in sacred texts such as Exodus 21. Immanuel Kant himself affirmed the necessity of capital punishment for murder, arguing that punishment must be proportionate to the crime—and death is the only proportionate response to the taking of life.

    It is a judicial safeguard, not anachronism, that murder is distinguished from manslaughter in order to ensure that the death penalty is not blindly applied. Cases where intent is lacking are rightly spared from the noose.

    To assert, therefore, that capital punishment is archaic is to yield uncritically to the tides of liberal modernity. One might ask: if capital punishment fails to eliminate crime, should we then abolish all punishments, since theft, rape, and fraud persist despite criminal sanctions? Such reasoning collapses under its own weight.

    Amnesty International reported 579 executions in 18 countries in 2021, a 20% increase from 2020. As of that year, 56 countries still retain capital punishment; 111 have abolished it entirely. That global diversity reflects not backwardness but sovereignty of moral judgment rooted in unique legal traditions and societal needs.

     I submit unequivocally—that Nigeria should retain the death penalty within her criminal jurisprudence. When an innocent life is extinguished, a crime against humanity has been committed. Though the victim cannot demand justice, society can and must. Justice, as Aristotle would say, is giving each their due. And due process, as ratified by constitutional jurisprudence, demands that the ultimate crime warrants the ultimate punishment.

    Not all practices of our ancestors are to be discarded. Let us not be too eager to embrace liberal idealism at the expense of introspection. The emotion of vengeance, often caricatured, is in fact foundational to the rule of law. It is what prevents self-help and underpins the legitimacy of state-sanctioned justice. If the state monopolizes coercive power, it must wield it justly—and sometimes, justly means finally.

    The abolition of the death penalty would not mark an evolution of justice, but its asphyxiation.

    •Antia is of Topfaith University, Mkpatak, Akwa Ibom State.

  • The benefits of six geo-political zones

    The benefits of six geo-political zones

    SIR: Geographically, Nigeria is divided into six geo-political zones that have become the hubs of power and influence. Those erudite scholars who propounded the theory of six geo-political zones for the country are great thinkers, and have to a great extent, solve one of Nigeria’s major national questions, especially as regards federal appointments.

    Faced with national exigencies, the Yakubu Gowon military administration collapsed the existing four regions into 12 states, based, not on tribal or ethnic congruence, but on geographical congruity.

    The present 36 states of the federation followed this vogue. And even current agitators for creation of more states seem to be guided by this indubitable wise counsel. Protagonists of geo-political zones seem to have taken a step further by grouping a minimum of five states that share affinity, historical and geographical affinity to form a geo-political zone.

    Under this current political arrangement, Kwara State falls into the north-central and Kwarans irrespective of ethnic and tribal leaning have their loyalty and allegiance to this political zone.

    Ditto for the other five zones of the federation; thus when a Kwaran is given a federal appointment, it is politically wrong to regard such appointment as a southerner because the person involved is a Yoruba.  There is no zone in the country that has solely one tribal or ethnic group. Rather, all the zones are composed of multiplicity of tribal and ethnic groups. Moreover, those ethnic and tribal groups have been born, bred and have their roots and those of their forebears there.

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    Before the creation of Kogi State out of Kwara State, the late Chief Sunday Awoniyi was the leader of the apex northern socio-cultural group – the Arewa Consultative Forum and his leadership was overwhelmingly accepted and respected. He could not have been regarded as a southerner and be so appointed or accepted to lead the group. Even when the British colonialists created 24 provinces 12 at par, Ilorin Province was one of the 12 provinces in the North.

    This perhaps is the context to see the recent appointment of Bayo Ojulari as CEO of NNPC after the exit of Mele Kyari. Ojulari is from north-central while Kyari belongs to the northeast. It is a gross negation of state and geo-political creation to see any tribe or ethnic group in Kwara State as belonging to anywhere else other than north-central geo-political zone.  Using geo-political zones as basis for federal appointments seems to carry more merit than the federal character that has unduly been enmeshed in controversies as a result of poor performance.

    • Sunday Olagunju, Ibadan, Oyo State.
  • Much ado about Nigeria’s security budget

    Much ado about Nigeria’s security budget

    SIR: To many Nigerians, the figures earmarked for security in national budgets often appear inflated. Year after year, billions are allocated to the military, defence procurement, intelligence operations, and internal security initiatives. Yet, the level of insecurity across the country continues to raise eyebrows. The common question remains: “Where is all this money going?” It is a valid concern.

    But beyond the budget lines and official pronouncements lies a more complex reality—one often lost on the average citizen: The true cost of warfare and intelligence operations is not just steep—it is staggering.

    Take air operations as an example. Military insiders have long noted that flying an Alpha Jet for a single mission can gulp up to a million naira in aviation fuel alone. This figure excludes routine maintenance, spare parts, logistics, or crew allowances. Multiply these flights across days and theatres of operation, and it becomes easier to understand why security efforts are financially demanding.

    On the ground, the story is similar. Armoured vehicles, patrol vans, and tanks require constant fuelling, often idling for hours during missions. Soldiers deployed to remote areas need to be fed, clothed, and armed. Medical support must be on standby, and when fatalities occur, families of the fallen deserve compensation. These are not occasional expenses—they are daily operational necessities.

    Still, beyond the financial weight of military engagement lies an even more fragile dimension: intelligence gathering.  But intelligence is no miracle tool. It relies on actionable information—gathered, processed, and relayed with accuracy. In many of Nigeria’s conflict zones, such information is scarce. Rural and forested areas remain difficult to monitor due to the absence of surveillance infrastructure.

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    Intelligence work is not the sole burden of the military. It requires seamless coordination among the police, DSS, NSCDC, and even vigilante groups. Where this collaboration falters, intelligence fails. Technology, including drone surveillance and satellite imagery, must be embraced. But more than anything else, there must be political will to treat intelligence not as a side note, but as the beating heart of our national security strategy.

    Nations like the US and Israel have built theirs over decades with enormous financial commitment. Nigeria, by contrast, is still trying to build its base. Still, quiet victories exist—many of them deliberately kept from the public domain for strategic reasons.

    Terror plots have been foiled, camps dismantled, and lives saved through intelligence-led operations. These successes rarely make headlines. Yes, we must keep asking questions—but with an understanding of the context. Accountability, yes, but also support, reform, and renewed trust. National security is not a spectator sport. It is a shared duty.

    • Abdulhamid Abdullahi Aliyu,  Centre for Crisis Communication, Abuja.
  • Constitution amendment must address environmental rights

    Constitution amendment must address environmental rights

    SIR: The National Assembly has begun the constitutional amendment process, and as usual, all sorts of areas in the constitution have been proposed for amendment. One area that is often ignored but critical for Nigeria’s survival is the environment. The environment is not just an abstract policy area but the foundation upon which the economy, public health, and social stability rest.

    Nowhere is this more evident than in the Niger Delta region, where decades of oil pollution have created one of the world’s most severe environmental crises. Since oil’s discovery in 1958, this once-pristine ecosystem has endured systematic degradation, with conservative estimates indicating between nine and 13 million barrels of oil released into the environment. Recent data from the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency shows that between 2020-2021 alone, 822 separate oil spills released 28,003 barrels of oil into sensitive ecosystems.

    The human cost of this environmental devastation is immeasurable. Communities across the Niger Delta have seen their water sources contaminated, agricultural lands decimated, and fishing grounds destroyed. Health concerns, including respiratory diseases, skin conditions, and increased cancer rates, plague residents exposed to pollutants. The United Nations Environment Programme has concluded that remediation would require the world’s largest ever environmental clean-up operation, potentially lasting 30 years and costing over $1 billion.

    Yet, despite this catastrophe, oil companies frequently escape liability due to a critical constitutional loophole. Section 20 of the Constitution states that “the state shall protect and improve the environment,” but its placement within Chapter 2 (Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy) renders it non-justiciable under Section 6(6)(c) of the Constitution. This means affected communities cannot directly enforce this provision in court.

    Nigerian courts have attempted to bridge this gap through creative jurisprudence. In the landmark case, Jonah Gbemre v. Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd & Ors, Suit No. FHC/B/CS/53/05, the Federal High Court held that the constitutional rights to life and dignity “inevitably include the right to a clean, poison-free, pollution-free and healthy environment.” The Supreme Court affirmed this approach in Centre for Oil Pollution Watch (COPW) v. Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (2019) 5 NWLR (Pt. 1666) 518), explicitly recognising that oil spills violate the constitutional right to life.

    However, these judicial efforts face significant limitations without explicit constitutional backing. Courts must perform interpretative gymnastics to establish that oil pollution violates fundamental rights. Oil companies continue to exploit constitutional ambiguity by arguing that environmental protection remains a non-justiciable policy objective rather than an enforceable right. Communities bear excessive evidentiary burdens to demonstrate how specific instances of pollution directly violate their constitutional rights.

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    The solution is clear: Nigeria needs a constitutional amendment that explicitly establishes environmental rights, particularly protection from oil pollution, as fundamental human rights directly enforceable under the constitution. This would involve relocating Section 20 from Chapter 2 to Chapter 4 of the constitution, with language clearly stating that oil pollution and other forms of environmental degradation constitute direct violations of fundamental rights.

    This would not be a radical departure from global practice. South Africa, Kenya, Ecuador, Portugal, and Brazil have all incorporated environmental rights into their constitutions’ fundamental rights chapters. These models have proven effective in enhancing accountability for corporate polluters.

    As Nigeria confronts multiple challenges requiring constitutional solutions, the environmental crisis in the Niger Delta demands equal attention. By amending the constitution to explicitly establish oil pollution as a violation of fundamental rights, the National Assembly can deliver long-overdue environmental justice to millions of Nigerians while creating a sustainable framework for the country’s future. Without constitutional protection for the environment, Nigeria’s development will remain fundamentally unstable and unsustainable.

    • Collins Okeke, Lagos.
  • Advocating a sustainable MSME ecosystem

    Advocating a sustainable MSME ecosystem

    • By Akintunde Maberu

    It is incredible that a whopping sum of N1.3 trillion could be raised by 600,000 Nigerians over nine months that CIBEX lasted. If the scam had lasted for another nine months, perhaps the sum of N3.9t would have been involved by 1.8m Nigerians because such scheme is always designed to run in geometric progression and not arithmetic addition. Is it because there is no productive endeavour where such amount could be channelled?

    The answer is no. Many of the participants were gainfully engaged but prefer to seek fortune where none exist. What draws them together was greed. Yes, greed is the common denominator that attracted the like minds like moths attracted by deceptive light.

    Unfortunately, five years from now, another set of greedy Nigerians may also fall victim to such scam of fortune hunting. The greedy will always attract their senior cousin – swindlers. True, swindlers exist in all societies but their scamming activities are often curtailed with strict regulation by government and its agencies which make them harmless. Therefore, CIBEX will not be the last if nothing is done by government agencies responsible to intervene appropriately otherwise the cyclical nature of such scheme will continue to reoccur.

     There are guided investment outlets, financial markets and exchanges regulated by government agencies in most developed jurisdictions where those who seek alternate income or additional income can make wealth for themselves. If Nigeria’s CIBEX participants were introduced to such outlets, it is doubtful if 20% of them would be satisfied with the return profile of such investment. Though, few of them might give it a shot. It is because of this few that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) should come in and provide the needed framework for such.

    It is instructive that many of CIBEX participants are youths and quite a number of those who trade digital currencies and crypto are also youths. Today’s youth live literarily in the sky and SEC should meet them at their space by developing or encouraging stockbrokers to come up with digitally regulated software that will enable youths to trade equities and bonds in their digital space.

    Create micro stockbrokers just as we have microfinance, micro insurance, micro pension etc. I suggested this idea in 2017 in one of SEC training programs in their office. You will be surprised what creativity and innovation can bring about. Let us help the youths to help themselves in seeking wealth through genuine and government regulated investment outlets.

    Since we also have a number of the participants who complained about the difficulties they face in the entrepreneurial endeavours, the government agencies particularly the ministries that have responsibilities for trade, commerce, agriculture and economic policies should do more by removing inhibitors to productive endeavours. There should be data as useful resource material that makes planning easier. Such data should provide us with the estimate of the number of start-ups that grew up to the next level of scale-up in their businesses particularly those who have been financially supported by government. It is unfortunate that successive government at the centre and at the state levels make the same mistake of not providing follow-up and monitoring of those who have benefitted from government loans. Government-generated entrepreneurs who are beneficiaries of helpful programs are not monitored to know how they are faring.

    Many state governments provide handouts in terms of funding, tools, equipment and sometimes machines as empowerment after some form of skill acquisition and training. But as laudable as such programs are, they lack the key aspect which is follow-up, monitoring and technical support. This is why many start-ups die before their third year in Nigeria. 

    How many of the government-generated entrepreneurs successfully move from the informal sector to the formal sector where they are able to provide returns to the same government in terms of payment of taxes? Why is it that supportive programs for the Micro, Small, and Medium enterprises (MSME) that works well in other countries tend to totter and most times fail in Nigeria? Are we to continue the copy and paste models of developed world instead of fashioning what is indigenous to us?

    Let us take just one amongst the supportive programmes – Access to finance for the MSMEs. A lot of special funding institutions that work elsewhere and still do till today, failed in Nigeria. Examples are Peoples’ Bank, Community Bank, Co-operative Bank etc. – though we are happy now that the microfinance model has come to stay after innovating it to our environment. The microfinance banks provide short-term fund for existing businesses and it is not suitable for start-ups. Again, the Development Bank of Nigeria and the proposed MSME Development Bank being proposed by the African Development Bank through Akinwunmi Adesina, is laudable and commendable.

    To create jobs and grow our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to an enviable level, attention must be turned to the MSMEs; they are the bedrock of any economy in the world. As employers of labour, the MSME contribute 96% of the total work force in Nigeria while the global figure of their contribution is 70%. They stimulate investment, encourage technological development, earn foreign exchange from export etc. Government needs to establish cottage industrial parks, hubs, business clusters and incubation centres.

    The challenges associated with MSME is not limited to Nigeria but are often eased off gradually in other climes with intervention projects. The known business inhibitors in the country aside access to funds and access to market, are difficulty in getting approvals from regulatory agencies, high cost of doing business, unstable government policies, irregular power supply and lack of access roads for agro-allied products.

     The MSME is also the economic renaissance for most developing nations of the world. How each country then approaches its development is dependent on the growth trajectory it wishes to attain over a specific period of time. In the United States during the tenor of President Barrack Obama, 8.1m jobs were created in a period of eight years which translates to 84,375 per month – a record in US history. The government employees that facilitated this in the US is about half of our own civil service workers. Civil service employees in the UK as at 2022 is about 430,750 compared with 720,000 in Nigeria in that year.

    The amount of jobs that we need to create annually, given our population size of 220m and a growth rate of 2.5% is about 4.4m. For each state including the Federal Capital Territory, it is about 118,918 per state or 5,684 per local government. We can meet this milestone with proper planning of MSME as our bedrock.

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    The phases of entrepreneurship are (1) Ideation (2) Start-up, (3) Scale-up, (4) Grow-up and (5) Blossom. The phase between start-up and scale-up is what needs the most attention. Government support that is needed is in two folds: The first is development loans of single interest rate for a period of five years. The second and most important is technical support to be provided by government licensed Business Development Services Provider (BDSP) with expertise in related field. The BDSP consultant is to give mentorship/coaching, follow-up and monitoring. His job provides ready source of empirical data. An entrepreneur that has scaled-up has attained a breakthrough and would grow into other phases progressing into light industry.

     In the US, BDSP has grades just as in South Korea. The Koreans even went further that no business should fail when they assist tottering business by changing its BDSP with a higher grade BDSP. In Nigeria, what constrained us is attitudinal. That is our peculiarity which demands a shift in thinking, a re-orientation of the mind-set in our approach to issues that confound us. We should grow to share values and not to self-value.

    • Maberu is an investment banker and BDSP expert. He writes via abusiventures2013@gmail.com
  • Insecurity and the scourge of a nation

    Insecurity and the scourge of a nation

    • By Mike Kebonkwu

    Until the lice are completely eliminated from the head, the thumbnail will continue to bleed.  We cannot cease to talk about insecurity until citizens can live and travel in safety without being kidnapped or killed on our roads.  We cannot stop discussing insecurity until our children can go to school and return in safety and all those in captivity are released.  We will continue to nag on security until farmers can go to farm and return home with their harvest in safety. 

    The nation failed our children, and the girl child’s right to education denigrated when the Chibok Girls and Leah Sharibu are left in the lair of the Boko Haram insurgents since captured from  their school hostels. 

    Today, the famished earth has turned crimson; the land is bleeding and saturated with blood; blood of the innocent citizens; women, children and the elderly.  From the desert to the savannah land of the Northeast and Northwest to the Middle Belt, and the Creeks down to the forest of the south and Southwest, we are losing our country to political bitterness, religion, ethnicity and greed.  There is an eclipse of fear and violence across the geo-political zones without exception. 

    That the country is under relentless and sustained siege is restating the obvious; it is not to create panic or alarm; the evidence is everywhere.  The tempo and intensity of insecurity is rising and spreading like a plague.  It is a constitutional duty incumbent on the government to provide safety and security to every citizen and protect our territorial integrity.  Armed men and non-state actors, terrorists, bandits, kidnappers and “unknown gunmen” are terrorizing and sacking communities.

    The government has been unable dominate and exert sphere of influence and control across our land space. They have left ungovernable space and no-man’s-land which have been taken over by insurgents, bandits and other criminal elements from where they unleash violence on the people. 

    The argument that security agents cannot be everywhere is a dumb argument and balderdash.  Government has not chosen to administer only the city centres and state capitals.  Security agents do not need to be everywhere to be able to secure lives and property.  No country has ever deployed security agents in every inch of its land. We have surveillance cameras and satellite launched into the orbit for intelligence gathering.  It is not enough to invest huge sums of money in defence and security; the investment must be smart and targeted. The criminals terrorizing Nigeria are not so sophisticated that local intelligence gathering and use of informants cannot expose; after all they live and do business in our midst.  There is rather misplacement of priority, lack of commitment and professionalism, corruption and profiteering.  

    People can no longer ply their trade and do their businesses with freedom.  On the roads from Zamfara to Katsina, Sokoto, Kaduna, Plateau and Benue states, there is desolation, blood and tears.  People are kidnapped, ransomed and killed.  Many communities are known to be paying protection fees to criminal gangs and bandits, including in the Southeast.   On the Lokoja road to both Southeast and Southwest, the daily experience is terrifying as kidnappers and bandits abduct travellers in their numbers with frightening audacity into the bush.  It gets so bizarre when the victims are still killed after collecting ransoms, with their bodies displayed on the internet without consequences.  We have become savages trading on human parts. 

    There has to be a national conversation beyond the usual political statement of giving marching orders that are not followed through; we cannot continue like this. The government has to come clean and unmask the masterminds and merchants of insecurity in Nigeria.  Are they foreigners masquerading as herdsmen with local sponsors and protection? What is their motive; is it political, for the purpose of annexation of territories or land grabbing, or just pure criminal enterprise by gangsters? 

    Are the government and security agencies doing enough in the fight against insurgency and criminality in the country?  One will score the state and the security agencies low; they can do better.  In this era of smart tracking devices, it is a shame that the security agencies cannot geo-locate the position of a bunch of criminals terrorizing the country.  In this age of un-manned aerial surveillance vehicles and drones, we are still complaining about foreign partners not helping us to expose and fight local terrorists.  

    The government has to do well to first identify these criminals and their sponsors; they are not from the outer space.   Government should also get serious about fighting insecurity in Nigeria instead of the cosmetic approach of appeasement.  If the government makes it its business to negotiate and rehabilitate criminals and insurgents, it is an admission of failure to adequately police our state.  It should never be the business of the security forces to provide training and rehabilitation to criminals levying war on the state and killing its troops who are martyred in the lines of duty, and innocent civilians. The security forces are not equipped with the Bible and the Quran as their tools of trade. Our armed forces is not a seminary training  ground for winning souls; it is an institution trained and equipped with lethal weapons to fight the enemies of the state. 

    Why would a serious government sew national dress for insurgents and provide them with food and money for start-up when the victims are still agonizing in IDP camps and cannot return to their communities to farm because the activities of the insurgents and bandits are still active? The ability of the state to provide security and protect lives and property is waning and receding by the day. We cannot continue to call on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to prosecute our leaders for alleged political offences and other malfeasance.  We should take responsibility and reform our judicial system and insist on accountability by government and everybody should be subject to the rule of law.    Nobody is going to fight our battle for us; we either save our country or we sink! 

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    If the government is saying that its security forces and police cannot be everywhere to protect our territorial integrity, we should be ready for unbundling the federation by restructuring the federation into manageable units and sizes; including allowing people agitating for self-determination. It is now beyond any controversy that there are some elements and forces bent on destabilizing Nigeria for both political and economic reasons. These forces are both internal and external with close nexus.  The state has to scrutinize some politicians that are providing oxygen to insurgents and bandits for selfish interest.  If we say that the invaders are foreign herders, how did they find their way into our communities and deep into our forest? We should also be ready to finger the security and intelligence communities for dereliction of duty. It is a huge mistake to embrace a leper because he is your brother; just the same way to proselyte for a terrorist or bandits because you share cultural affinities. 

    Insecurity is driving ethnic tension and tribal clashes in Plateau, Benue and Kaduna states down to the states in the south like Edo/Delta, Ondo and Oyo states in the Southwest.  Can we continue to sustain the Nigeria’s demography as presently constituted with very hostile and bellicose attitude between the ethnic nationalities?  Our constitution is the supreme law of the land but it must be understood that it is not cast in stone or iron.  If it can no longer sustain those lofty aims and objectives of our founding fathers, it behoves on us to invoke the appropriate doctrine and change it to allow the different nationalities to decide whether they want to live together.  We made the constitution and so we can also amend or repeal it. 

    There is now an exigency to have a national dialogue to deal with the burning issues of insecurity which is tied down to our corporate existence. The forces behind the destabilization plot are not only the insurgents and bandits, kidnappers and unknown gunmen.  The rogue politicians and godfathers with corrupt and compromised security agents are the scourge of the nation.

    • Kebonkwu Esq writes from Abuja.