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  • Return of Katsina Sallah fiestas

    Return of Katsina Sallah fiestas

    • By Ibrahim Kaula Mohammed

    Under the blazing sun of northern Nigeria, hooves thunder against the earth as thousands of horsemen, clad in vibrant robes and turbans, parade through Katsina and Daura ancient streets. The air thrums with the beat of Kalangu, Algaita drums and the cheers of crowds gathered to witness a spectacle not seen in decades: the full glory of Hawan Sallah, a cultural jewel nearly lost to time.

    This year, however, the festival carried more than just local significance. Ambassadors from 10 nations—Bulgaria, Belgium, Finland, Portugal, Mexico, and beyond—stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Katsina’s elders, traditional rulers and government functionaries, their presence a powerful rebuttal to critics who once labelled the state “unsafe.” For Governor Dikko Umaru Radda, the moment symbolized a dual triumph: the revival of Katsina’s heritage and the restoration of its global reputation as a Home of Hospitality.

    Hawan Sallah, a post-Eid procession dating to the 14th-century in Katsina Kingdom, once drew visitors from across West Africa and beyond. By the 2010s, however, economic hardship and insecurity had reduced it to a skeletal event. “My grandparents spoke of its grandeur, but I’d never seen it,” lamented 28-year-old local artisan Aisha Usman.

    Governor Radda, a traditional title holder in the legendary Katsina Emirate is the Gwagwaren Katsina. He made revival of cultural heritage a cornerstone of his 2023 campaign. Collaborating with royal custodians like the Emir of Katsina, Alhaji Abdulmumini Kabir Usman and the Emir of Daura, Alhaji Faruk Umari Faruk, the administration rebuilt the event piece by piece. Artisans were commissioned to recreate intricate regalia; horsemen from rural communities trained for months; and media campaigns reignited public interest.

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    Having said that, the 2024 Hawan Sallah stunned sceptics, drawing not less than 50,000 sons and daughters of Katsina both at home and in the diaspora. But 2025 marked a historic leap, 10 ambassadors including the EU’s Gautier Mignot and Mexico’s Juan Alfredo Miranda Ortiz, among other tourism experts and investors who arrived to witness the spectacle. “This isn’t just a festival—it’s diplomacy in motion,” said Belgian Ambassador Pieter Leenknegt.

    The ambassadors’ presence answered a lingering question: How could a state once plagued by insecurity host such an event? Critics had pointed to media reports questioning Katsina’s safety, but Governor Radda countered: “No nation risks its envoys lightly. Their trust in us speaks louder than headlines.” In Katsina, our excitement knows no boundary to have hosted such a historic event.

    Community-led security initiatives played a key role in this regard. The C-Watch, originally formed to protect villages, now partner with police to safeguard cultural sites. At this year’s festival, security drones buzzed overhead while children waved Nigeria flags—a stark contrast to past anxieties.

     “Fear ruled us before,” admitted farmer Musa Ibrahim from Funtua. “Now, seeing foreigners celebrate with us? It heals.”

    Another thrilled experience at the Sallah fiestas is the economic ripple effect. Artisans like Usman Baba who crafts traditional kola drums, report a 300% surge in demand. “Before, I sold maybe two drums a month. Now, orders come from the nooks and crannies of Katsina, even Europe,” he said.

    Hotels in Katsina City recorded high occupancy, while food vendors near the Emir’s palace and the old government House earned a month’s income in just two days.

    At the Katsina Equestrian Training Centre, 19-year-old Hassan Sani—once unemployed—now teaches horseback artistry. “My grandfather was a horseman. Now I’m paid to keep his legacy alive,” he grinned.

    According to the government’s guided mouths, tourism revenue has injected over N500 million into the state in the second quarter of 2023 and now, with projections doubling next year. I was reliably intimated that plans are underway to expand the festival into a week-long cultural expo featuring craft fairs and academic panels.

    Back to Daura – Hawan Magajiya where history meets the future. Daura is Nigeria’s oldest emirate, Governor Radda doubled down on cultural preservation at the Hawan Magajiya fiesta. Before ambassadors and 22 district heads, he pledged to “defend the dignity of our emirates” while wooing investors to Katsina’s agribusiness, commerce and education sectors.

    The Emir of Katsina , HRH Alhaji Abdulmumini Kabir Usman at the Hawan Bariki praised Radda infrastructural strides, notably, the Katsina-Dutsinma Road and Kofar Kaura Roundabout. “Leadership isn’t blueprints—it’s the laughter of children biking safely,” the Emir remarked.

    Moving forward, the festivals’ success has drawn international interest. Finland’s Ambassador Sandra Selin called the events “a masterclass in cultural storytelling,” while Bulgaria’s Yanko Yordanov noted, “Katsina’s hospitality rivals its heritage.” UNESCO is now considering designating Hawan Sallah as an Intangible Cultural Heritage—a move that could unlock global funding in the years to come.

    Governor Radda, however, remains focused on sustainability. “Climate change threatens open-air events like ours,” he admitted. “But our ancestors adapted to harsh lands; so will we.”

    Katsina’s story transcends tradition—it’s a lesson in resilience. By reviving Hawan Sallah, Governor Radda didn’t just resurrect a festival; he rekindled communal pride, spurred economic growth, and rebuilt international trust.

    As the EU’s Mignot observed, “Culture isn’t a relic here. It’s the heartbeat of progress.”

    For Katsina’s youth, the impact is visceral. At this year’s procession, 10-year-old Fatima Suleiman sat atop her father’s shoulders, eyes wide as horsemen paraded past. “I want to ride like that someday,” she whispered. In a state once overshadowed by strife, her words echo a renewed hope: that heritage, when honoured, can gallop boldly into the future.

    The Hawan Bariki and Hawan Magajiya fiestas in Katsina and Daura respectively spurred excitement and thrilling moments with the historic participation of 10 global envoys, over 50,000 attendees and tourism experts from within and outside Katsina and Nigeria. Without iota of doubt, Katsina’s cultural heritage is getting a new shape under Governor Radda whom lovers and admirers of progress and development regard as Future Builder.

    •Mohammed is Chief Press Secretary to the Governor of Katsina State.

  • Why NAPE at 50 must lead the next energy revolution

    Why NAPE at 50 must lead the next energy revolution

    • By Benard I. Odoh

    As the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE) celebrates its 50th Anniversary, the golden jubilee offers more than a moment of pride—it presents a historic opportunity for introspection, renewal, and vision. For half a century, NAPE has been at the intellectual and professional core of Nigeria’s petroleum industry, shaping policy, nurturing talent, and advancing the science of exploration. But at this pivotal juncture in global energy history, NAPE must now position itself not only as a steward of its past achievements, but as a strategic leader in defining Africa’s energy future.

    That future is already being written in the sands of disruption and possibility. Africa remains one of the most energy-poor regions in the world, with over 600 million people still lacking access to reliable electricity. Yet, paradoxically, it is also the most promising frontier for clean, decentralized, and innovation-driven energy systems. With its abundant solar potential, vast human capital, and accelerating urbanization, Africa stands on the cusp of an energy revolution—one that will not replicate the fossil-fuelled past of the global North, but instead forge a new model rooted in sustainability, resilience, and equity.

    In this landscape of transition, NAPE’s role must evolve. The association’s deep legacy in petroleum exploration must now be leveraged as a platform for broader energy leadership. Geoscientists—armed with subsurface expertise, data analytics, and environmental insight—are uniquely positioned to guide the continent through this next chapter. From geothermal energy and carbon capture to critical mineral development and responsible land use, the skills honed in the oil and gas sector are not obsolete; they are foundational to the energy systems of the future.

    At 50, NAPE has the authority, network, and intellectual capital to catalyse this shift. Its anniversary must be more than a celebration; it must be a turning point. It must mark the association’s redefinition—from a body focused solely on petroleum exploration to a convener of pan-African discourse on energy access, climate resilience, and inclusive innovation. The association should become the bridge between traditional energy expertise and the new imperatives of sustainability, digital transformation, and community-centred development.

    Read Also: NRC suspends Warri-Itakpe train operations as engine develops fault

    Central to this evolution is NAPE’s burden of responsibility to retool and recreate the educational and professional curriculum that shapes the next generation of African geoscientists and energy professionals. The curriculum that once trained petroleum engineers for oil rigs must now be expanded to train clean energy technologists, sustainability analysts, and energy transition strategists. Africa’s future energy security will depend not only on its natural resources but on its human capital—and it is NAPE’s role to ensure that capital is fit for purpose in a radically changing energy landscape.

    Crucially, the energy transition in Africa must be contextually designed. It cannot be an imported template, but must emerge from the realities of the continent—its infrastructure gaps, informal economies, and climate vulnerabilities. NAPE’s members, rooted in local knowledge yet connected to global trends, are best suited to shape such home-grown solutions. They must embrace the dual mandate of expanding energy access while reducing environmental harm. They must lead with science, but also with empathy and vision.

    To embody this new orientation, the theme of NAPE’s 50th Anniversary should reflect bold ambition and clarity of purpose. A theme such as “NAPE at 50: Redefining Energy Leadership for Africa’s Sustainable Future” would signal a profound shift—from backward-looking commemoration to forward-thinking action. It would align NAPE with the great challenges and opportunities of our time and place the association at the heart of Africa’s energy transformation.

    Leadership today is not simply about technical knowledge—it is about moral clarity, institutional courage, and a willingness to confront uncomfortable truths. It is about guiding nations through complexity, building coalitions, and shaping the policies and technologies that will determine the destiny of future generations. If NAPE can rise to this moment—if it can see its 50th Anniversary not as a culmination, but as a commencement—then its next 50 years will be even more consequential than its first.

    Yet, if NAPE fails to seize this moment—if it clings too tightly to a fading petroleum paradigm while the world advances into a new era—its relevance in the coming decades will become highly unpredictable. The profound frontiers being explored in clean energy, from solar-based transport to battery storage and integrated smart grids, are no longer theoretical. Visionaries like Elon Musk are not merely innovating—they are fundamentally reshaping the global energy architecture. The disruption is here. The shift is underway. And if NAPE does not actively insert itself into this unfolding future, it risks becoming a footnote in the very energy story it once helped to write.

    This is Africa’s energy moment. And it belongs to those with the foresight to seize it. NAPE has the history. It has the talent. Now it must summon the will to lead.

    •Odoh, a professor of Geophysics is the chairman, LOC, Africa Raw Materials Summit, 2025.

  • Ndubuisi Ugbeide at 70

    Ndubuisi Ugbeide at 70

    Today, activities marking the 70th birthday of Ndubuisi Ugbeide, journalist, teacher and pastor, climax with a reception at the Nigerian Institute of Journalism (NIJ), Ogba, Lagos. Ugbeide is an Old Boy of the Daily Times, Nigeria’s foremost newspaper which in its heyday ruled the roost. Daily Times was everything a paper should be and more. Unfortunately, it was killed by those who should have ensured its survival as a legacy of its founding fathers.

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     I am nostalgic whenever the issue is Daily Times, but today belongs to Ugbeide, a former editor in the Times, as well as one-time deputy director and later director of Times Journalism Institute (TJI), Iganmu, Lagos. Ugbeide’s deployment to TJI was part of the company’s deliberate policy of making astute managers of its top journalists in preparing them for higher responsibilities. Ugbeide, who clocked 70 on April 1, worked well with his director, Chief John Araka, who he succeeded when the latter became editor of the Daily Times.    

    The DVC and later VC (for deputy vice chancellor and vice chancellor) as we used to call Ugbeide brought his editorial skills to bear on his work at TJI where he left his mark. Happy birthday, VC.

  • Trump presidency and global political economy

    Trump presidency and global political economy

    • By Lekan Olayiwola

    Relations among various nations of the world and the right to shape or determine how the world is organized ultimately depends on a nation’s ability to acquire or project its power over its counterparts either coercively in terms of military show of force, or persuasively through diplomatic, commercial or other soft influence.

    The notion of “great power” does not exist in a vacuum. Like authority, power derives from certain sources which are universally recognized and indisputable. Otherwise, it is challenged only at some great cost or reprisal. Social scientists have variously identified such definitive sources of power in the global political economy.

    Essentially, there are three broad ways to determine what a great power in the global political economy is. The first one is the possession of a quantitative power base or the ability to control outcomes. While the former relies for its validity on factors such as monetary reserves, trade as a proportion of Gross National Product (GNP), share of world trade, share of world GNP, production of raw materials or manufactures, the latter can only be inferred from historical evidence.

    However, there is a second view of what defines a great power in the global political economy. This view argues that prestige, rather than power, is the decisive factor. The geopolitical competition between China and the United States of America is an example of the struggle for the top place in the hierarchy of prestige in the international system.

    Still, there is a third concept of transnational movements that act as a social force. These non-state actors are neither measured in terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) nor do they lay claim to territories or large populations, yet they impinge on national governments and the international order leveraging individuals of considerable international stature including the richest men in the world like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, etc, public concerns over social issues, control of international capital, environmental activism or advocacy networks etc.

    From the foregoing sources of national power can be formulated using one of two key metrics: in the first instance, a great power in the current global political economy is that state that has an enormous balance of international trade advantage through its state-owned enterprises (SOEs) which enable it to limit export/import activities with grave economic or strategic consequence to international trading partners.

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    In the second instance, a great power is that state that has unilaterally succeeded in or is capable of, dominating the structures that shape international political and economic order through its leadership in four critical areas of global dominance, namely: security, means of production, finance and credit and knowledge and information.

    A case could also be made for non-state actors (including NGOs, IGOs etc.) that make efforts to compel repressive states, for instance, to comply with standardized human rights principles or to mobilize states and international organizations for social or environmental issues of public concern. However, the capacity of transnational movements or global activists to muster states or international organizations to achieve their objectives presumes that an international standard to which it could hold its targets already exists. Otherwise, these non-state actors seek to establish norms, especially at the early stage of their campaign.

    Looking at the current landscape of the global economy, four states qualify as a great power: United States of America, China, Russia and India. But a critical analysis shows America’s position relative to the other three.

    China

    During the Cold War, the pattern of trade correlated with the political relationship between states and powerful states used economic statecraft to manipulate their powerless trade partners. Today, however, despite the global trade agreements of the World Trade Organization (WTO) to curtail trade wars, China in flagrant disregard for WTO’s non-discriminatory rules continues to bully its international trade partners at home and around the world with impunity. A few instances will make China’s great power status apparent. China leverages the vulnerabilities that interdependence creates to prey on its trade partners. For example, in 2010, China cut off exports of rare earth’s minerals to Japan over some territorial disputes.

    Also, China hurt the Norwegian economy by banning its export of Salmon and forcing Norway’s market share of salmon in China to plummet from over 90 percent in 2010 to under 30 percent in 2013. This was a retaliatory move against the award of the Nobel Prize to a Chinese dissident, Liu Xiaobo. China’s predation extends even into the sporting arena: its ban on broadcast of NBA’s games to China’s middle class over what it deemed an unfavourable tweet by Houston Rocket’s coach over the gagging of Hong Kong cost the NBA millions of dollars.

    China’s market size, production capabilities, huge military budgets, rising influence in global political economy, ownership of state enterprises and the increasing interdependence in international trade enables it to deal with its partners in a predatory fashion. Yet no one is predicting the demise of China’s global influence based on its decades-long protectionist stance on its local economy and aggressive (and sometimes dubious) march on international trade. On the contrary, China is touted to take over from the United States as the world’s superpower.

    United States of America

    Measured against the backdrop of its declining GDP which stood at about 25% over the last decade and other economic indicators like balance of payments deficits, the United States of America would appear to have fallen short of what could be defined as a “global power.” However, it should be noted that the standard that held true in the mid-twentieth century is no longer tenable in the twenty-first. The data on the transnational corporations (TNCs) emanating from a state rather than the state’s economic performance per se reveal where a state’s real power base lies. The rise of TNCs along with the proliferation of transnational modular production networks and the globalization of corporate ownership has cast in a shadow, if not obliterated the relevance of national accounts such as balance of trade and GDP.

    The notion that America’s hegemony is waning on the basis of its dwindling GDP and other economic metrics alone is misconceived. Even with Trump’s bull in a China shop trade policies, America still effectively controls the four aspects of the structural power that enables a state to choose and to shape the structures of the global political economy within which other states, their political institutions, their economic enterprises, and (not least) their professional people have to operate.

    Three-quarters of the industrial world’s assets are denominated in dollars. U.S banks hold the lion share of these assets. This confers enormous advantage on the U.S. as a great power to move global markets, control the supply of credit and, set agenda for global economy as American privately or publicly held enterprises continue to dominate access to the largest and most innovative capital markets in the world.

    In terms of security, the U.S. dominates the arsenal of both nuclear and conventional weaponry even if China is aggressively trying to outdo the U.S. American educational institutions continue to lead the world on the knowledge frontier. Finally, U.S. still accounts for the largest ownership of TNCs in the world with marked dominance of even Chinese market.

    Besides China, Russia and India are two other prominent state actors that also wield considerable power in the global political economy. For now, however, they only exercise great influence on a regional level. Russia, for instance, uses its control of vast oil and gas reserves and supply to bully some European countries, most notably Ukraine which it eventually invaded in 2021 and continues to occupy its sovereign territories after almost four years of a war of attrition. However, its power is greatly checkmated by sanctions by the U.S. and European Union.

    India, on the other hand, exerts some of its economic powers on countries that look to it for credit by deciding whether or not its Export-Import Bank would grant such credit based on how that country has voted on issues which India is most interested in at the United Nations.

    Although there has been speculations that President Trump’s combative “Liberation Day” global tariff announcement as well as the dismantling of America’s soft power foreign policy mechanisms, the United States will remain the foremost great power for a while and China will continue to be a strong challenger based on some structural criteria.

    •Olayiwola is a peace and conflict researcher and practitioner.

  • The Road to 2027

    The Road to 2027

    • By: BAMIDELE ADEMOLA-OLATEJU

    In “The Road to Wigan Pier”, George Orwell, the English essayist and political satirist, analysed the currents of social and economic discontent in the United Kingdom at a time of great social change and disequilibrium. However, socialism, the solution he recommended, caused a major ideological divide within the British political establishment. The ongoing jockeying for political power and influence in 2027 fits into the Orwellian framework. Pitifully, though, unlike the heated factional infighting in the British Labour party at the time, the ongoing twists and turns in the Nigerian political firmament are not based on ideological disagreement, but on the desire to drink from a shrinking national trough.

    A few weeks ago, Governor Nasir el-Rufai stirred the political brew, but it is difficult for anyone with a good understanding of the Nigerian political firmament to see el-Rufai as an ideologue, motivated by a game changing political manifesto or tendency. The motley crowd he is busy assembling seems to be about a hustle for relevance and piece of the action. With this in mind, what is happening today is likely to end in an anticlimax, and whichever way we look at it, it is not in the interest of the country.

    The Presidential system is very much unlike the Parliamentary framework. It does not have in effect, a formalized “opposition”. What a presidential system has is the coalition of people outside government, in political and civil society, proffering alternative positions consisting of a rigorously costed economic template, exposing the flaws in the present arrangement. The goal would be to build a momentum to create a new national majority, propelled by the program on offer. El-Rufai is clearly not at the fulcrum of a movement to redefine the conventional wisdom.

    This is why what we have at the moment will be a temporary bounce rather than something developing into an unstoppable movement for change. It is bound to fizzle out amidst rancour and clashes of ego. Already, within the SDP, his newly adopted political platform, disagreement has developed between old timers and newcomers. This is to be expected as the current jostle looks more like self-preservation and self-interested agenda, rather than a thoughtful exposition of an alternative program geared towards making life more abundant.

    The government should have responded to the disinformation, distortions, and lies of the gathering motleys of worn politicians, by reiterating its own reforms, which would eventually reboot the economic base and build a productive framework, thereby pulling millions out of structured poverty and towards making life more abundant. In this way, the government would have shown the crass opportunism of the present maneuvers as nothing but a naked power-grab. If the government explained the medium- and long-term benefits of current reforms, el-Rufai and company, without an alternative program, would have been shown to be true power grabbers.

    A good example of a government programme worth promoting is the plan to recapitalise the Development Finance Institutions, such as The Bank of Industry and The Bank of Agriculture, which would lead to the creation of millions of jobs, increases in income, and a pathway to sustainable development. The initiative would receive great applause. Let us recall that the idea of cultural hegemony, derived from Antonio Gramsci’s concept of hegemony, holds that a key strategy in politics is to direct the discourse in favour of one’s own position and projects. Since the motley crowd do not a have any tangible programme on offer, the government must direct the current of political discourse in its own direction.

    The government of former British Prime Minister, James Harold Wilson, did this very successfully in 1964, when in the face of an economic crisis, it appointed an economic spokesperson who could explain the crisis as well as the solutions on offer in language that lay persons could easily understand. Two years later he won an astonishing landslide victory, when his party presented him for reelection. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s spokesperson would do well to learn from this.

    A week is a long time in politics according to Harold Wilson. However, seasoned political watchers can reason out the electoral calculus for 2027. To be sure, 2027 is not 2015. It is difficult to see how the motley crew jostling for power can form a popular front with the intention of midwifing a government of popular unity. It should be expected that President Tinubu would sweep the Southwest this time around. There will be sympathy for his policies, because the zone has an instinctive empathy for reforms, dating back too the Awolowo days when progressivism was implanted as the region’s political ideology.

    Southeasterners have become circumspect, and turnout will be low, because the Peter Obi phenomenon has burnt itself out and cynicism has set in. The unending saga over leadership may have put the Labour party in tatters by the next election. The All Progressives Congress (APC), which has been benefitting from continuous defection, will make striking gains in a zone suffering from electoral burnout, fatigue and collective anomie. The Northeast will stick with Shetima in expectation that he is the heir, helped by Nuhu Ribadu in the Adamawa Axis. Expect a shift towards Tinubu in the South South, where the PDP is in big trouble. Immediate past Edo, Delta, and Cross River state Governors seem to have gone underground. In preparing for reelection, current Delta Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, is said to be in the middle of a move to join the APC. The fragmented middle belt will vote for Tinubu whom they supported overwhelmingly in 2015.

    So, where is the alternative? The Northwest? The Northwest is a fertile ground for El-Rufai and company, but I believe NNPP will cut a deal with Tinubu to hold on to Kano State. Ethnic and religious affinity may help El  Rufai in this zone, but that will not be enough to win in Kaduna State where Kaduna South has gone big for APC and where El Rufai is loathed.

    What does the current stir mean for Nigeria as a nation? Without a doubt, a strong opposition is needed to grow a strong and virile democracy. However, the current maneuvers are not the way to grow a viable opposition. Nigeria today is at a critical juncture. To be worth any attention at all, any opposition group or party must come up with a clearly defined alternative position, on social and economic reforms to be put on the table for the consideration of a hard-pressed populace. Very sadly, El-rufai and partners are not remotely interested in offering such a much-needed perspective. For, as Gramsci again pointed, at a time of crisis there must be a striving to find a way out of the logjam.

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    This is where the government should have taken control of the political narrative, by pointing out that its economic policies were meant to address the prevailing economic crises when Tinubu came on board. It should assure a restless populace that, despite initial hardships, the policies are already working. Inflation is coming down. Exchange rate is coming down. Petrol and food prices are coming down. The changes may be uneven across the country; but they are happening. Their medium- and long-term benefits are worth waiting for.

  • Why NAPE at 50 must lead the next energy revolution

    Why NAPE at 50 must lead the next energy revolution

    • By Benard I. Odoh

    As the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE) celebrates its 50th Anniversary, the golden jubilee offers more than a moment of pride—it presents a historic opportunity for introspection, renewal, and vision. For half a century, NAPE has been at the intellectual and professional core of Nigeria’s petroleum industry, shaping policy, nurturing talent, and advancing the science of exploration. But at this pivotal juncture in global energy history, NAPE must now position itself not only as a steward of its past achievements, but as a strategic leader in defining Africa’s energy future.

    That future is already being written in the sands of disruption and possibility. Africa remains one of the most energy-poor regions in the world, with over 600 million people still lacking access to reliable electricity. Yet, paradoxically, it is also the most promising frontier for clean, decentralized, and innovation-driven energy systems. With its abundant solar potential, vast human capital, and accelerating urbanization, Africa stands on the cusp of an energy revolution—one that will not replicate the fossil-fuelled past of the global North, but instead forge a new model rooted in sustainability, resilience, and equity.

    In this landscape of transition, NAPE’s role must evolve. The association’s deep legacy in petroleum exploration must now be leveraged as a platform for broader energy leadership. Geoscientists—armed with subsurface expertise, data analytics, and environmental insight—are uniquely positioned to guide the continent through this next chapter. From geothermal energy and carbon capture to critical mineral development and responsible land use, the skills honed in the oil and gas sector are not obsolete; they are foundational to the energy systems of the future.

    At 50, NAPE has the authority, network, and intellectual capital to catalyse this shift. Its anniversary must be more than a celebration; it must be a turning point. It must mark the association’s redefinition—from a body focused solely on petroleum exploration to a convener of pan-African discourse on energy access, climate resilience, and inclusive innovation. The association should become the bridge between traditional energy expertise and the new imperatives of sustainability, digital transformation, and community-centred development.

    Central to this evolution is NAPE’s burden of responsibility to retool and recreate the educational and professional curriculum that shapes the next generation of African geoscientists and energy professionals. The curriculum that once trained petroleum engineers for oil rigs must now be expanded to train clean energy technologists, sustainability analysts, and energy transition strategists. Africa’s future energy security will depend not only on its natural resources but on its human capital—and it is NAPE’s role to ensure that capital is fit for purpose in a radically changing energy landscape.

    Crucially, the energy transition in Africa must be contextually designed. It cannot be an imported template, but must emerge from the realities of the continent—its infrastructure gaps, informal economies, and climate vulnerabilities. NAPE’s members, rooted in local knowledge yet connected to global trends, are best suited to shape such home-grown solutions. They must embrace the dual mandate of expanding energy access while reducing environmental harm. They must lead with science, but also with empathy and vision.

    To embody this new orientation, the theme of NAPE’s 50th Anniversary should reflect bold ambition and clarity of purpose. A theme such as “NAPE at 50: Redefining Energy Leadership for Africa’s Sustainable Future” would signal a profound shift—from backward-looking commemoration to forward-thinking action. It would align NAPE with the great challenges and opportunities of our time and place the association at the heart of Africa’s energy transformation.

    Read Also: Why I manhandled NAPEP rider who bumped my vehicle – Tacha

    Leadership today is not simply about technical knowledge—it is about moral clarity, institutional courage, and a willingness to confront uncomfortable truths. It is about guiding nations through complexity, building coalitions, and shaping the policies and technologies that will determine the destiny of future generations. If NAPE can rise to this moment—if it can see its 50th Anniversary not as a culmination, but as a commencement—then its next 50 years will be even more consequential than its first.

    Yet, if NAPE fails to seize this moment—if it clings too tightly to a fading petroleum paradigm while the world advances into a new era—its relevance in the coming decades will become highly unpredictable. The profound frontiers being explored in clean energy, from solar-based transport to battery storage and integrated smart grids, are no longer theoretical. Visionaries like Elon Musk are not merely innovating—they are fundamentally reshaping the global energy architecture. The disruption is here. The shift is underway. And if NAPE does not actively insert itself into this unfolding future, it risks becoming a footnote in the very energy story it once helped to write.

    This is Africa’s energy moment. And it belongs to those with the foresight to seize it. NAPE has the history. It has the talent. Now it must summon the will to lead.

    •Odoh, a professor of Geophysics is the chairman, LOC, Africa Raw Materials Summit, 2025.

  • Trump presidency and global political economy

    Trump presidency and global political economy

    • By Lekan Olayiwola

    Relations among various nations of the world and the right to shape or determine how the world is organized ultimately depends on a nation’s ability to acquire or project its power over its counterparts either coercively in terms of military show of force, or persuasively through diplomatic, commercial or other soft influence.

    The notion of “great power” does not exist in a vacuum. Like authority, power derives from certain sources which are universally recognized and indisputable. Otherwise, it is challenged only at some great cost or reprisal. Social scientists have variously identified such definitive sources of power in the global political economy.

    Essentially, there are three broad ways to determine what a great power in the global political economy is. The first one is the possession of a quantitative power base or the ability to control outcomes. While the former relies for its validity on factors such as monetary reserves, trade as a proportion of Gross National Product (GNP), share of world trade, share of world GNP, production of raw materials or manufactures, the latter can only be inferred from historical evidence.

    However, there is a second view of what defines a great power in the global political economy. This view argues that prestige, rather than power, is the decisive factor. The geopolitical competition between China and the United States of America is an example of the struggle for the top place in the hierarchy of prestige in the international system.

    Still, there is a third concept of transnational movements that act as a social force. These non-state actors are neither measured in terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) nor do they lay claim to territories or large populations, yet they impinge on national governments and the international order leveraging individuals of considerable international stature including the richest men in the world like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, etc, public concerns over social issues, control of international capital, environmental activism or advocacy networks etc.

    From the foregoing sources of national power can be formulated using one of two key metrics: in the first instance, a great power in the current global political economy is that state that has an enormous balance of international trade advantage through its state-owned enterprises (SOEs) which enable it to limit export/import activities with grave economic or strategic consequence to international trading partners.

    In the second instance, a great power is that state that has unilaterally succeeded in or is capable of, dominating the structures that shape international political and economic order through its leadership in four critical areas of global dominance, namely: security, means of production, finance and credit and knowledge and information.

    A case could also be made for non-state actors (including NGOs, IGOs etc.) that make efforts to compel repressive states, for instance, to comply with standardized human rights principles or to mobilize states and international organizations for social or environmental issues of public concern. However, the capacity of transnational movements or global activists to muster states or international organizations to achieve their objectives presumes that an international standard to which it could hold its targets already exists. Otherwise, these non-state actors seek to establish norms, especially at the early stage of their campaign.

    Looking at the current landscape of the global economy, four states qualify as a great power: United States of America, China, Russia and India. But a critical analysis shows America’s position relative to the other three.

    China

    During the Cold War, the pattern of trade correlated with the political relationship between states and powerful states used economic statecraft to manipulate their powerless trade partners. Today, however, despite the global trade agreements of the World Trade Organization (WTO) to curtail trade wars, China in flagrant disregard for WTO’s non-discriminatory rules continues to bully its international trade partners at home and around the world with impunity. A few instances will make China’s great power status apparent. China leverages the vulnerabilities that interdependence creates to prey on its trade partners. For example, in 2010, China cut off exports of rare earth’s minerals to Japan over some territorial disputes.

    Also, China hurt the Norwegian economy by banning its export of Salmon and forcing Norway’s market share of salmon in China to plummet from over 90 percent in 2010 to under 30 percent in 2013. This was a retaliatory move against the award of the Nobel Prize to a Chinese dissident, Liu Xiaobo. China’s predation extends even into the sporting arena: its ban on broadcast of NBA’s games to China’s middle class over what it deemed an unfavourable tweet by Houston Rocket’s coach over the gagging of Hong Kong cost the NBA millions of dollars.

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    China’s market size, production capabilities, huge military budgets, rising influence in global political economy, ownership of state enterprises and the increasing interdependence in international trade enables it to deal with its partners in a predatory fashion. Yet no one is predicting the demise of China’s global influence based on its decades-long protectionist stance on its local economy and aggressive (and sometimes dubious) march on international trade. On the contrary, China is touted to take over from the United States as the world’s superpower.

    United States of America

    Measured against the backdrop of its declining GDP which stood at about 25% over the last decade and other economic indicators like balance of payments deficits, the United States of America would appear to have fallen short of what could be defined as a “global power.” However, it should be noted that the standard that held true in the mid-twentieth century is no longer tenable in the twenty-first. The data on the transnational corporations (TNCs) emanating from a state rather than the state’s economic performance per se reveal where a state’s real power base lies. The rise of TNCs along with the proliferation of transnational modular production networks and the globalization of corporate ownership has cast in a shadow, if not obliterated the relevance of national accounts such as balance of trade and GDP.

    The notion that America’s hegemony is waning on the basis of its dwindling GDP and other economic metrics alone is misconceived. Even with Trump’s bull in a China shop trade policies, America still effectively controls the four aspects of the structural power that enables a state to choose and to shape the structures of the global political economy within which other states, their political institutions, their economic enterprises, and (not least) their professional people have to operate.

    Three-quarters of the industrial world’s assets are denominated in dollars. U.S banks hold the lion share of these assets. This confers enormous advantage on the U.S. as a great power to move global markets, control the supply of credit and, set agenda for global economy as American privately or publicly held enterprises continue to dominate access to the largest and most innovative capital markets in the world.

    In terms of security, the U.S. dominates the arsenal of both nuclear and conventional weaponry even if China is aggressively trying to outdo the U.S. American educational institutions continue to lead the world on the knowledge frontier. Finally, U.S. still accounts for the largest ownership of TNCs in the world with marked dominance of even Chinese market.

    Besides China, Russia and India are two other prominent state actors that also wield considerable power in the global political economy. For now, however, they only exercise great influence on a regional level. Russia, for instance, uses its control of vast oil and gas reserves and supply to bully some European countries, most notably Ukraine which it eventually invaded in 2021 and continues to occupy its sovereign territories after almost four years of a war of attrition. However, its power is greatly checkmated by sanctions by the U.S. and European Union.

    India, on the other hand, exerts some of its economic powers on countries that look to it for credit by deciding whether or not its Export-Import Bank would grant such credit based on how that country has voted on issues which India is most interested in at the United Nations.

    Although there has been speculations that President Trump’s combative “Liberation Day” global tariff announcement as well as the dismantling of America’s soft power foreign policy mechanisms such as the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), United States Institute for Peace (USIP), Voice of America (VOA) and withdrawal from initiatives of several multilateral organizations would erode the status of America in the global economy, the United States will remain the foremost great power for a while and China will continue to be a strong challenger based on some structural criteria.

    Whereas China’s power rests on the vulnerabilities of global interdependence and its advantages in the world’s modular production systems, the strength of the U.S. is more fundamental, pervasive and manifests in dominance of the global security, financial, production and educational systems.

    • Olayiwola is a peace and conflict researcher and practitioner. He can be reached via lekanolayiwola@gmail.com
  • AI and fintech revolution in Nigeria

    AI and fintech revolution in Nigeria

    • By Ameh Jacobson

    Artificial Intelligence has emerged as the defining force of technological advancement in the last two years, fundamentally reshaping industries, economies, and even geopolitical power structures. Across the globe, major technology firms are locked in an unrelenting race to lead in AI development. However, beyond corporate competition, AI leadership has become a national strategic priority. The United States and China have been engaged in a high-stakes contest, investing billions into AI research, infrastructure, and talent to secure their dominance in what many consider the new frontier of global economic and military superiority. This geopolitical rivalry underscores a broader truth: the digitalisation of technology is the cornerstone of 21st-century economic and military dominance. As AI reshapes the global landscape, nations and companies alike are scrambling to stake their claim.

    Amid this global upheaval, the Trump administration announced last week a bold plan to digitise the U.S. economy, targeting a fully paperless transaction system. For American policymakers, this represents a leap into the future, promising efficiency and transparency.

    Yet, Nigeria has been living this reality for over 14 years, propelled by fintech trailblazers like Remita, a wholly indigenous technology firm founded by tech luminary John Tanimola Obaro in 1991.

     Remita has been a linchpin in Nigeria’s payment revolution. It has bridged the gap for millions of unbanked Nigerians, integrating them into the digital economy and streamlining business operations with remarkable agility.

    Remita’s track record is a litany of pioneering achievements. In 2012, it was selected by the Central Bank of Nigeria to orchestrate the Treasury Single Account (TSA), a transformative policy consolidating all government revenue into one account to enhance transparency and curb financial leakages. Competing against internationally acclaimed Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) systems, Remita’s home-grown solution emerged victorious after a rigorous evaluation, a testament to Nigeria’s capacity to rival global standards. Its implementation was a masterstroke, managing billions in public funds with precision and earning accolades from former Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed.

    In 2016, Mohammed praised the TSA, powered by Remita, for saving Nigeria billions in naira by plugging systemic inefficiencies, a lifeline for an economy battered by mismanagement. This wasn’t just a technical win; it was a national triumph, spotlighting Remita’s role as a catalyst for fiscal accountability.

    In its latest move, Remita has unveiled a comprehensive white paper, “Unlocking the Power of AI in Nigeria’s Fintech Sector,” cementing its leadership in yet another innovation cycle. This isn’t a cursory glance at AI’s potential; it’s a deep dive into how Artificial Intelligence can revolutionise financial ecosystems, offering actionable strategies for enhancing efficiency, security, and customer engagement. The report explores AI’s practical applications, from fraud detection powered by machine learning to predictive analytics that sharpen financial decision-making, and conversational interfaces that simplify transactions. For Remita, this white paper is more than a thought leadership piece; it’s a continuation of its two-decade mission to redefine Nigeria’s financial landscape.

    Nigeria’s fintech sector is a continental titan, and Remita’s report underscores the urgency of embracing AI to sustain this dominance. It cites compelling data: Five of Africa’s eight fintech unicorns are Nigerian, and in 2024, the country secured 52% of Africa’s fintech venture funding, part of a 29% share of total start-up capital across the continent, per Disrupt Africa’s 2025 report. With over 433 fintech firms employing 8,700 professionals and handling 11.2 billion transactions worth N1.07 quadrillion last year, Nigeria is the epicentre of Africa’s fintech surge. Remita has been a driving force in this ecosystem, and its white paper amplifies the call for AI adoption as a competitive necessity, not a luxury.

    The report positions AI as the next frontier for financial services, thriving on Nigeria’s tech-savvy population, progressive policies, and robust talent pool. It outlines five pivotal areas where AI can transform fintech: customer satisfaction, operational efficiency, fraud management, product innovation, and business expansion. These aren’t theoretical musings; they’re backed by real-world applications, many drawn from Remita’s own playbook.

    The white paper also addresses AI’s broader implications. It highlights how AI can personalise financial services, drawing parallels with global examples like Klarna, which reduced repeat enquiries by 25% using AI assistants. Remita’s own Product Knowledge Assistant mirrors this, cutting customer queries by 19%, proving that local solutions can hold their own on the world stage. This blend of practicality and ambition positions Remita as a leader not just in Nigeria but in the global fintech conversation.

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    Over the years, Remita’s innovative solutions have empowered organisations to integrate multiple bank accounts for effortless transaction management, while its digital approval systems streamline processes, eliminating cumbersome manual workflows. Merchants leverage Remita’s expansive payment collection network, spanning over ten digital channels, and enterprises rely on its automated payroll, pension remittances, and vendor disbursement capabilities to enhance financial efficiency.

    Beyond these, the report indicates that Remita’s reach extends far beyond domestic transactions, maintaining an active global partnership network and processing an estimated N65 trillion (US$42 billion) annually. As a trailblazer in Nigeria’s fintech space, it continues to redefine digital payment experiences, reinforcing its status as an industry leader driving secure, seamless, and scalable financial solutions.

    Remita’s white paper stands as a landmark contribution, a meticulously crafted document that not only charts the course for AI in Nigeria’s fintech sector but also elevates the national conversation on digital transformation. Its detailed exploration of AI’s role in enhancing payment solutions, from fraud prevention to operational streamlining, offers a masterclass in strategic foresight. Business leaders within the fintech ecosystem would do well to study this report, not merely as a theoretical exercise but as a practical guide.

    For over two decades, Remita has been a pioneer, consistently leading Nigeria through cycles of financial innovation. From the TSA’s transparency revolution to its latest AI-driven advancements, the company has proven its ability to anticipate and shape the future of payments. This white paper reinforces that legacy, positioning Remita as the vanguard of a critical dialogue on AI’s transformative potential. Its significance lies not just in its insights but in its timing: as global players scramble for AI dominance, Remita ensures Nigeria’s voice is heard, loud and clear. Fintech leaders can draw inspiration from its proactive approach, adopting AI to stay competitive in an increasingly digital world.

    With AI reshaping global finance, Nigeria stands at a defining juncture. The momentum is undeniable, and the choice for fintech players is stark: embrace AI-driven innovation or risk fading into obscurity. Remita’s white paper is a clarion call, backed by a track record of excellence that spans government reform to private-sector empowerment. Business leaders must heed its lessons, leveraging AI to enhance payment solutions and drive growth. The future of Nigerian fintech is unfolding now, and Remita, with its pioneering spirit, is scripting its next chapter with AI as the ink.

    • Jacobson, a tech analyst, is based in Lafia, Nasarawa State.
  • Unfinished battle for local government autonomy

    Unfinished battle for local government autonomy

    SIR: In countries where governance works in favour of the people, citizens always look forward to progress and innovation. In contrast, Nigeria often clings to nostalgia, with many—including those who never lived through certain eras—romanticizing what they fondly call the “good old days.”

    Believing that the past was always better than the present, some advocate for a return to free education and overseas scholarships. Others yearn for the days of kobo coins, arguing that Nigeria’s economy thrived when they were in circulation and the naira held strong against the almighty dollar.

    The era of Native Authorities, which largely financed themselves through poll taxes and prioritized education, is also missed. Back then, local administrators ensured students were transported to and from school dormitories at the beginning and end of each term, reinforcing a system that valued structured governance and community welfare.

    These administrative units, established under British colonial rule, eventually gave way to local governments (LGs). Initially, the LGs performed well, maintaining orderly markets, paying teachers’ salaries, and addressing essential grassroots needs.

    However, over time, they lost autonomy and are now seen as mere appendages of state governments. Recognized as the most crucial level of governance due to their proximity to the people, successive administrations have made efforts to grant LGs full autonomy.

    Yet, these efforts have consistently faced resistance. In 2012, former President Goodluck Jonathan declared his commitment to local government autonomy, emphasizing that meaningful national development was impossible without functional local councils. He argued that empowering LGs would have mitigated the rising insecurity at the time. Jonathan also opposed the state-local government joint account, insisting that councils had a pivotal role in his administration’s “Transformation Agenda.”

    At one point, he took legal steps to actualize this vision, but the dream of autonomy remained unrealized. Former President Muhammadu Buhari also pursued this goal. In May 2020, he signed an Executive Order granting financial autonomy to the judiciary, legislature, and local government councils.

    Experts hailed this as a landmark move toward a more people-centred governance structure. Buhari’s rationale was grounded in Section 7 of the 1999 Constitution, which mandates LGs to oversee primary, adult, and vocational education, develop agriculture and natural resources (excluding mineral exploitation), and maintain key public services.

    Their responsibilities also include street naming, house numbering, waste disposal, public convenience maintenance, and the registration of births, deaths, and marriages—basic yet crucial civic functions that remain poorly executed in today’s Nigeria.

    Additionally, LGs are tasked with assessing and collecting tenement rates, regulating outdoor advertising, and overseeing public health and alcohol control. However, despite Buhari’s efforts, his administration’s push for LG autonomy, much like Jonathan’s, ultimately failed.

    Now, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu finds himself at the centre of this enduring struggle. He successfully secured a Supreme Court victory affirming LGs’ constitutional rights and their role in advancing grassroots governance. He hailed the judgment as a win for democracy. However, what initially appeared to be an achievement is beginning to feel like a setback. Many believe that state governors—who have long controlled local government resources—are deliberately frustrating the implementation of this autonomy for personal gain.

    The requirement that LGs must conduct elections to receive direct allocations has further complicated the issue, as state governments continue to manipulate the process to maintain dominance.

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    Local government, by its very nature, should be the most accessible level of governance, open to all—from the ordinary citizen who walks barefoot to the community leader who mobilizes residents for communal projects.

    Yet, it has become a political chessboard where governors install their loyalists as council chairmen or caretakers, reducing them to mere appendages rather than independent administrators. Governors have historically played a decisive role in shaping Nigeria’s presidential politics.

    With the 2027 elections already casting a long shadow, party defections and quiet coalition-building are well underway. This leaves President Tinubu in a precarious position: will he stand firm on his commitment to full LG autonomy for sustainable economic development, or will he yield to political pressures and look the other way as 2027 approaches?

    The battle for local government autonomy remains unfinished. The question now is whether Tinubu will see it through or let history repeat itself.

    • Lawal Dahiru Mamman, Abuja.
  • Governor Otti’s local economy agenda

    Governor Otti’s local economy agenda

    SIR: On Monday, April 7, the Abia State Government announced plans to roll out a new economic and business policy framework that will promote Made in Abia products. According to the Commissioner for Information, Okey Kanu, the policy, grounded in the state’s local content law, will mandate that all goods and services needed by the state to be sourced locally, wherever available. While the full policy details are expected in the coming weeks, its central principle is clear: if it can be made or done in Abia, the government won’t pay for it elsewhere.

    On paper, there is much to admire in this direction. This policy insinuates a vote of confidence in local enterprise, from tailors and shoemakers in Aba to agro-processors in Umuahia and Ummuneochi, and artisans in Ohafia and Nkpa. It has the potential to stimulate massive local economic growth by redirecting government spending back into the local economy. It can lead to job creation, increased demand for local raw materials and finished products, and most importantly, renewed pride in the Made in Aba brand.

    But as with any ambitious policy, the difference between success and failure will come down to execution. Without careful planning, this well-intentioned plan could stall, or worse, backfire. It must be implemented with pragmatism and flexibility

    We must be cautious not to box ourselves into a corner by enforcing a blanket no-outside-procurement rule. What happens when local suppliers, knowing the government has no choice but to buy from them, start charging inflated prices? What happens when contractors cut corners because competition has disappeared? What happens when demand far exceeds the current capacity of local producers?

    I hope it won’t be a rigid “Abia-only” rule, as this could create a protectionist bubble where local vendors, knowing they have guaranteed demand, stop innovating or improving. The result will be monopoly and mediocrity. The approach should be “Abia first”-prioritizing local businesses but allowing exceptions when products aren’t yet available at competitive quality or scale. The goal should be to grow local capacity, not trap Abia in a protectionist dead end.

    It should go without saying that the issue of quality is addressed. The truth is, Made in Aba brand lost its prestige in the first place because of inconsistent standards. If the government forces ministries to buy local without guaranteeing quality, we’ll just entrench the same problems. Setting up a real, functioning quality control agency should be non-negotiable. We don’t want to end up with a policy that becomes an expensive exercise in distributing shoddy goods.

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    But perhaps the biggest hurdle is supply. I’d like to be kept righteous, but I think Abia businesses simply aren’t equipped enough to handle large government contracts, whether due to outdated equipment, lack of financing, or gaps in skills. For this policy to work, it must come with serious investment-access to low-cost loans, upgrades to industrial clusters, and training programs tailored to high-demand sectors. Otherwise, the government’s demand will outstrip what local producers can deliver, and the policy will collapse under its own weight.

    Still, if these challenges are met, the upside is enormous. Governor Alex Otti isn’t just proposing a procurement rule; he’s testing a model for how other states can turn their economies inward and grow from the ground up. Done right, this policy could do more than restore Made in Aba- it could redefine it. But that will require building an ecosystem rooted in excellence.

    • Chiechefulam Ikebuiro, chiechefulamikebuiro@gmail.com