The Nation Newspaper

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  • Uduaghan’s suspension and gender equity

    Uduaghan’s suspension and gender equity

    By Ray Ekpu

    The storm at the senate involving Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing Kogi Central has for some weeks now become the staple of daily conversation in Nigeria. Akpoti-Uduaghan, had a few weeks ago, accused Akpabio of sexual harassment. Akpabio has denied the accusation and has said that he respects women as a matter of course. However, Akpoti-Uduaghan, has been suspended by the senate for six months for gross misconduct.

    In a statement dated March 8, the Leader of the Senate, Senator Bamidele Opeyemi has given five reasons for the suspension of the senator from Kogi Central. The reasons given are:

    1. Refusing to sit in the assigned seat during plenary on February 25, despite multiple pleas from the minority leader and other ranking senators, an act of open defiance and disorderly conduct.

    2. Speaking without being recognised by the presiding officer in clear violation of parliamentary practices and procedures on February 25.

    3. Engaging in unruly and disruptive behaviour, obstructing the orderly conduct of senate proceedings

    4. Making abusive and disrespectful remarks against the leadership of the senate.

    5. Defying and refusing to comply with the summons of the Senate Committee on Ethics and Privileges mandated to investigate cases of misconduct. The suspension for six months involves the loss of her salary and allowances for the period, the withdrawal of her security details and the non-accessibility to her office or the senate premises.

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    Some weeks ago I was in full admiration of Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan, not because I want to harass her sexually because she is beautiful. I admired her when I saw the advertisement on television of big projects that she had executed in her constituency. I thought she was very dedicated to the well-being of her people and I wished that all senators were like her in project execution in their constituencies. But on February 25, I was compelled to have a different impression of her.

    Conflict is a natural state of affairs in every organisation but when it occurs, common sense demands that we manage it with civility and decency. On that day she displayed a waspish countenance, making bitter, bitchy remarks against the senate leadership. She would stand up, rave and rant and some senators would beg her to calm down, she would sit down and continue to rave and rant, then she would stand up again and continue yammering, showing the impatience of a challenger.

    It was like a sight from hell, a product of untamed anger; her ugly behaviour was a sharp contrast to her beautiful face and lovely light green attire. At the other end was Akpabio, cool and calm, an epitome of self-control, who managed exceedingly well the anger that hung in the air between them like an invisible dagger. For several minutes the fire of her anger refused to go away in a hall that people regard as the paragon of upper society, the upper chamber of our iconic legislative arm. Her temper tantrum lowered the reputation of the senate in the eyes of self-respecting people.

    In the matter between Akpoti-Uduaghan and Akpabio there are two law suits in Abuja Courts. Akpoti-Uduaghan was the first to slam a N100 billion suit against Akpabio and his Senior Legislative Aide, Mfon Patrick for publishing a post on his Facebook platform accusing her of thinking that being a senator was all about wearing make-up and transparent outfits to the chamber. Unoma, Akpabio’s wife, has risen in defence of her husband. She says that her husband is a great respecter of women and is not a sexual harasser. She, too, has slammed a N250 billion lawsuit on Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan for defamation. The cases are yet to be heard.

    In all of these, two things bother me. One is the image of the Nigerian Senate which Akpabio confirms bothered him too. There are lots of legislative duties to be done such as the enactment of the Tax Reform Bill, the review of the Electoral Act and the Constitution Review which has defied a resolution for many years. I urge stakeholders to wade into the matter and get it resolved expeditiously so that the senate can devote full attention to its legislative duties without any further distraction by this matter.

    My second worry is that the women are not making any serious impact on law-making at the National Assembly. In the present senate of 109 senators, there are only four female senators. They are Senator Ireti Kingibe representing FCT Abuja, Senator Ipalibo Banigo representing Rivers West, Senator Idiat Adebule representing Lagos West and Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan representing Kogi Central. In the House of Representatives there are only 16 female members out of 360 Representatives. With such a very poor representation of women in the two chambers of the National Assembly, women stakeholders need, to work out a series of strategies to take care of issues of gender equity at the National Assembly. I doubt whether that is going on.

    In the past sessions of the National Assembly, about six bills affecting the welfare of women were thrown out by the male-dominated past National Assembly even when there were more female senators than what we have now. Politics is a tough and dangerous game in Nigeria. It is a do-or-die affair and many women are scared of going into it.

    It is also capital intensive and many women do not have the large sums of money needed for campaigns and elections so without being pessimistic, I do not think there will be a situation of female domination of Nigerian politics in the near future. What that means is that women must work with the men who run the affairs of the National Assembly if they hope to improve the lot of women generally. This Uduaghan-Akpabio controversy is a deterrent to such cooperation that can improve the lot, in legislative terms of the female gender.

    Many men in Nigeria are very conservative when it comes to giving women more opportunities in decision-making positions whether in the public or private sector. The other reason why women are not having more opportunities even in appointive positions is that the men also want these positions for themselves or their family members or cronies. What that means is that women need to cooperate with the men folk who are decision makers in various situations.

    Confrontation is not the answer. For example, there are many issues that touch the lives and well-being of Nigerian women which need to be legislated upon. Such issues include but are not limited to, under age marriage, female genital mutilation, inheritance for women, widowhood, education for the girl-child, period poverty for the girl child, sexual violence against women, gender parity or equity in appointive offices.

    In Rwanda, there are equal women and men in the government’s cabinet. In Nigeria, the gap is still very wide between men and women in the federal cabinet. The Uduaghan-Akpabio matter will have very negative effects on gender issues because the male-dominated, senate has taken a decision that gives the impression that a woman senator had shown utmost disrespect to the leadership of the National Assembly. If she apologises for her alleged misconduct, the senate should consider a review of the punishment given to her especially since she is a first timer at the senate and a first offender. In order to avoid more distraction, the leaders of the senate should consider an appeal to both parties to withdraw the cases in court and allow peace to reign in the hallowed chambers.

  • Ribadu: Standing tall against malicious attacks

    Ribadu: Standing tall against malicious attacks

    • By Abdulrahman Usman Leme

    The dilemma of leadership in a system where compromise is the currency of the day is that integrity becomes a burden. Those who refuse to bend to the whims of corrupt power players or stand on their principles find themselves the target of campaigns to undermine them. This has been the test before the National Security Adviser, Malam Nuhu Ribadu, in the past few weeks. Yet, once again, his record of service has proven to be his greatest shield. This is the price to pay for being a man in the arena, only that he’s not there to fight his detractors. His job is one that doesn’t even afford him the luxury of shifting his gaze away from his target—those who undermine Nigeria’s security.

    These distractions are, at best, a calculated strategy to create tension and systematically target President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s key men. The futility of this reflects in the triumphs the NSA has been recording in national assignments, particularly his coordination of the armed forces. The sustained degradation of bandits and terrorists, for instance, has forced them into retreat, while stability in the Niger Delta has improved through strategic dialogue and consultation. Another key example is the recent engagement with Ogoni leaders, which signalled the long-awaited resumption of activities in Ogoniland after years of stagnation. Similarly, in the Southeast, a gradual return to stability is evident. Nobody who does his job has the luxury of partaking in politics.

     It’s easy to tell those who don’t truly know Ribadu’s track record. He never buys into the showmanship that could keep his gaze away from his target. This is why it was easy for Nigerians to call out the Binance executive, Tigran Gambaryan, who had alleged that Ribadu sought a bribe from him and even made a ridiculous claim that the pay-out was to fund his political ambition. The allegation was met with scepticism and absolute refutation from objective and non-partisan Nigerians—not only because the accuser lacks a shred of evidence but also because he fundamentally misjudged the character of the man he sought to malign.

     Ribadu is a name synonymous with anti-corruption efforts in Nigeria. He has spent decades demonstrating an incorruptible commitment to public service. His reputation is not built on propaganda or media manipulation but on a long record of verifiable actions, including his well-documented rejection of a $15 million bribe from former Delta State governor, James Ibori while serving as pioneer chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). That moment, etched in Nigeria’s anti-corruption history, was not an isolated event but a reflection of Ribadu’s principles.

     So, imagine believing that a man who rejected a $15 million bribe in his 40s—when he was supposedly more vulnerable—would now solicit a bribe from an employee of a foreign company during a highly publicised trial with the entire world watching. The absurdity is staggering. Only the gullible would fall for the desperate fabrications of a drowning man whose company has been caught red-handed sabotaging Nigeria’s financial security and infrastructure. Malam Nuhu Ribadu’s record speaks for itself, but as he once said, “When you fight corruption, corruption fights back.”

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     Even staunch critics of the government have found the allegations laughable. Professor Farooq Kperogi, a well-known public intellectual and an uncompromising critic, put it succinctly: “There’s plenty to critique about Ribadu (who among us is a saint?), but believing that a man who once turned down a literal $15 million cash bribe—and who, as a security expert, knows his words will be dissected like a crime scene—would casually shake down a detainee for billions and helpfully explain what the money is for?”

    Kperogi’s assessment reflects the incredulity of discerning Nigerians who understand the difference between genuine whistleblowing and a clumsy attempt to deflect accountability. What we are witnessing is not an exposé of corruption but a desperate stunt by an executive whose company, Binance, has been implicated in financial crimes both in Nigeria and globally. This was why solidarity with Ribadu, even from unusual quarters, has been swift. The Coalition for Transparency and Economic Reforms (COTER), representing over 250 civil society organisations, categorically denounced the accusations, rolling out Binance’s long history of financial misconduct across multiple jurisdictions. The company, already banned and fined billions of dollars in other countries, is hardly a paragon of credibility.

    Notably, one of his most recent critics, who attacked him over a comment he allegedly made in 2006, later campaigned for him in 2011 when he ran as the ACN presidential candidate—five years after the alleged remarks—under the very platform of the person he supposedly criticised. This pattern is not uncommon; as seen with that woman and many who followed her lead in stirring controversy, those with questionable records often seem to be the loudest voices in our political landscape today. Their inconsistencies and constant flip-flopping are familiar patterns and should not come as a surprise—they are best ignored.

    The battle ahead for Ribadu isn’t these inconsequential attempts at distraction as corruption fights back. The battle is his patience in resisting the bait from local actors who have misjudged his character and seek to drag him into unnecessary controversies. This was made clear in his statement reacting to an interview by Malam Nasir El-Rufai. Rather than dignifying the claims with a lengthy rebuttal, Ribadu emphasised his focus on his national assignment and his refusal to be drawn into petty media battles. This response typifies his personality because the enemies are not those who assume they are his target. The enemies are the bandits, terrorists, and their accomplices and enablers who threaten the entire nation.

    Ultimately, Ribadu’s greatest defence is not in rebutting these baseless allegations from estranged friends and proxies but in the weight of his own history. His non-response to Malam El-Rufai is inspired by his conviction that the smear campaign against him is bound to collapse under the weight of its own contradictions—just as others before it have. This is a strong message to all.

    •Leme, a project management and development consultant, writes from Abuja.

  • A two-pronged approach to electoral credibility

    A two-pronged approach to electoral credibility

    • By Opatola Victor

    Elections serve as the cornerstone of democracy, providing legitimacy to governments and ensuring the active participation of the electorate in governance.

    As emphasised by Sarah Birch in her work, Electoral Malpractice (2011), free and fair elections devoid of manipulation of rules, manipulation of voting and manipulation of voters are not merely procedural requirements but fundamental conditions for a functioning democracy.

    However, beyond the act of casting and counting votes, the processes that precede elections are equally crucial in safeguarding electoral integrity. Among these processes is the meticulous documentation of sensitive electoral materials, a legal requirement enshrined in electoral laws worldwide.

    In the Nigerian context, Section 73(2) of the Electoral Act, 2022, mandates that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) record the quantity, serial numbers, and other particulars of result sheets, ballot papers, and other sensitive electoral materials before elections commence. Section 17(c) of the INEC electoral guidelines also provides the same thing.

    These statutory provisions are designed to prevent electoral malpractices such as ballot stuffing, multiple voting, and the unlawful substitution of result sheets. Failure to comply with this requirement raises significant questions about the transparency and legitimacy of an election.

    The obligation placed on INEC by Section 73(2) of the Electoral Act, 2022 and Section 17 of the INEC Guidelines, is neither optional nor discretionary. The Supreme Court, in multiple decisions, has underscored that the statutory provision governing electoral processes must be strictly adhered to.

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    In Augustine v. INEC (2024)10 NWLR 409, the apex court reaffirmed that the requirement to document electoral materials before the commencement of voting is a fundamental safeguard against post-election disputes. The principle that emerges from this and similar decisions is that non-compliance with this provision is not a mere technical irregularity but a substantive defect capable of invalidating an election.

    Further reinforcing this legal position, it is trite law that where the law mandates a public body to perform an act in a particular manner, failure to comply with that directive renders the act legally questionable.

    This principle, derived from the Latin maxim expressum facit cessare tacitum (express mention of one thing excludes the implication of another), shows that where the law explicitly requires a step to be taken, failure to do such raises legal issues.

    While courts have consistently emphasized strict compliance with electoral laws, the doctrine of substantial compliance remains a central consideration in determining the validity of elections.

    Section 135(1) of the Electoral Act, 2022, provides that an election shall not be invalidated by non-compliance unless such non-compliance substantially affects the outcome. This principle, famously articulated in Ojukwu v. Yar’Adua (2009) 12 NWLR (Pt. 1154) 50, ensures that trivial deviations from procedural requirements do not disrupt democratic processes.

    However, the jurisprudence surrounding substantial compliance has evolved to recognize that some procedural breaches strike at the very heart of electoral integrity. In Agagu v. Mimiko (2009) 7 NWLR (Pt. 1140) 342 the Supreme Court held that certain statutory infractions that goes to the root of the election itself cannot be mitigated by the doctrine of substantial compliance.

    Thus, the failure to document sensitive electoral materials prior to voting raises significant concerns, as it creates uncertainty about the legitimacy of the materials used during the election.

    Another aspect of the electoral Act that has been interpreted strictly by the Supreme Court is the issue of IREV. In recent electoral disputes, the role of the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IREV) in verifying election results has become a contentious issue. The Supreme Court, in Lawal v. Matawalle (2024) 12 NWLR (Pt. 1951) 33 provided clarity on the matter. The court held that Clauses 38(i) and (ii), 48(a), and 93 of the Regulations and Guidelines for the Conduct of Elections, 2022 expressly provide for IREV as part of the election process, particularly for verifying the correctness of INEC’s hard copies of election results.

    The Court of Appeal erred in declaring that IREV was not part of the election process, contradicting earlier decisions such as Oyetola v. INEC (2023) 11 NWLR (Pt.1894) 125 and Atiku v. INEC (2023) 19 NWLR (Pt. 1917) 761. By reaffirming IREV’s role, the Supreme Court underscored its importance in ensuring electoral transparency and accuracy.

    This decision aligns with international best practices. In Raila Odinga & another v Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission & others [2017] KESC 31 (KLR) the Supreme Court of Kenya nullified a presidential election on the basis of procedural irregularities, holding that “electoral integrity is not merely a function of outcomes but of processes leading to those outcomes.”

    This judgment emphasized that an election conducted in violation of prescribed procedures cannot be deemed valid, regardless of the margin of victory.

    The failure to record and mark sensitive electoral materials before elections has significant legal and practical consequences. One of the most critical implications is the compromise of electoral transparency, which is a fundamental pillar of democratic governance.

    Transparency ensures that electoral processes are free, fair, and credible. As Larry Diamond noted in The Spirit of Democracy (2008), the legitimacy of democratic institutions is fundamentally weakened in the absence of transparency. Also in his popular article, The Democratic Rollback: The resurgence of the predatory state, Larry Diamond emphasised that before democracy can spread further, it must take deeper root where it has already sprouted.

    For democracy to triumph, the natural predatory tendencies must be restrained by rigorous rules. These predatory tendencies mentioned by Larry Diamond are what the section 73 of the Electoral Act, section 17(2) of INEC guidelines and IREV seeks to tame. When the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) fails to mark electoral materials properly, it creates opportunities for manipulation and fosters distrust in the electoral system.

    This distrust and lack of transparency eventually leads to low participation and low turnout, and with low turnout, low participation, and low public engagement, our democracy will eventually become what Bernard Manin in the Principles of Representative Government (1997) called “audience democracy.”

    Beyond transparency concerns, the absence of prior documentation significantly increases the susceptibility of elections to fraud. Without a proper record of electoral materials, it becomes easier to introduce unauthorized ballot papers and result sheets, a situation that has historically plagued Nigeria’s electoral process.

    Allegations of ballot stuffing and result tampering have frequently surfaced in past elections, further reinforcing the need for strict documentation and security measures. Legally, non-compliance with electoral laws can have severe consequences, including the nullification of election results. Nigerian courts have consistently held that substantial non-compliance with electoral laws can render an election invalid. In Buhari v. INEC (2008) 19 NWLR (Pt. 1120) 246, the Supreme Court underscored the principle that any non-compliance affecting the sanctity of votes could warrant the annulment of election results.

    Failure to adhere to statutory requirements, such as those outlined in Section 73(2) of the Electoral Act, exposes elections to legal challenges and increases the likelihood of judicial intervention.

    Another major consequence of failing to document electoral materials is the erosion of public trust in electoral institutions. A strong democracy relies on citizens’ confidence in the fairness and competence of electoral bodies. Scholars all over the world have posited that the strength of democratic institutions is measured by the trust citizens place in the electoral process.

    When INEC fails to meet its statutory obligations, it creates perceptions of bias, inefficiency, and possible misconduct, ultimately undermining the credibility of elections and weakening democratic stability.

    In the end, democracy dies not necessarily in the hands of dictators with guns, or generals or corrupt elites, but democracy dies through failure of rule of law and adherence to stipulated rules and electoral guidelines. The duty on INEC is a sacred obligation not only to itself but to the country, because its duty is a major guardrail protecting our democracy.

    For the foreseeable future, INEC needs to be alive to this obligation by obeying its own regulations and the Supreme Court judgement concerning the role of IREV as a critical part of the election process; and their inescapable duty to defend the integrity of elections by ensuring they record in prescribed forms the details of sensitive election materials.

      •Victor is a legal practitioner and writes from Abuja.

  • Celebrating unrecognized African women

    Celebrating unrecognized African women

    • By Phebe Ejinkeonye-Christian

    We celebrate women every March 8, but what happens on March 9? The truth is, recognition means nothing if it doesn’t translate into real action. What happens when women stop asking for a seat at the table and start building their own? When we stop waiting for opportunities and become the architects of change? This year’s IWD theme challenges us to rewrite the narrative—and that we must do.

    Every year, we gather on International Women’s Day to discuss how women can break barriers, lead industries, launch businesses, and claim our space in technology, politics, and boardrooms. We applaud those who reach the top, those whose names make the news, and those whose victories are measured in numbers—how many women got elected, how many start-ups received funding, how many policies were changed.

    But let’s pause for a moment and ask a few deeper questions: What if some of the most powerful forces driving women’s progress aren’t the loudest? What if true acceleration doesn’t always look like viral speeches, million-dollar ventures, or global recognition? Can it also be found in the unseen, the unrecognized, yet glaring actions women take every single day?

    The truth is, progress isn’t only built on what we see. It’s built on what we don’t see.

    We celebrate women who break glass ceilings, but we often forget those who clear the broken glass so others can walk through safely. Not every battle for progress is fought in the public eye. Some of the most powerful revolutions happen in small, quiet, everyday choices and actions.

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    Think about it: Have you ever noticed how women often carry the invisible weight of emotional labor? Or the mothers, aunts, and sisters who raise girls to be confident and teach boys to respect women? How about the workplace mentors who guide younger women behind the scenes, even when no one is watching? And the women who stand up for colleagues facing discrimination, even at the cost of their own career growth?

    These actions don’t get awards, but they shape futures.

    Many women don’t set out to pioneer anything—they’re just doing their jobs, following their dreams, or refusing to accept exclusion. Yet, by simply existing in certain spaces, they force change.

    Consider the first female plumber in a town where plumbing is “a man’s job.” Or the woman who confidently wears her natural hair in a corporate setting, unknowingly shifting beauty standards. What about the market woman who teaches her daughter financial literacy, planting the seeds of future entrepreneurship?

    These women don’t always make headlines, but they make history. We often think change happens through policies and protests. But sometimes, it happens in the small, everyday conversations that slowly shift culture.

    We’re conditioned to think that change-makers are the ones on magazine covers and conference panels, receiving multiple awards and recognitions. But what about the woman who hires other women in her small business, giving them financial independence? Or the community leader who advocates for girls to finish school in a place where early marriage is the norm? What about the grandmother who tells her granddaughter, “You don’t have to endure what I endured”?

    That is action. That is impact.

    Not all impact is loud. But every impact drives progress.

    You don’t have to be a CEO, politician, or activist to be an agent of change. You don’t need millions in funding or a massive platform. You just need intentionality.

    In 2025, women all over the world are charged to accelerate action, to accelerate impact, and to drive change—not just in boardrooms or politics but in the unrecognized areas that form the foundation for every successful woman.

    Every woman, regardless of her background, can take action by speaking up in her circles. We must stop tolerating disrespectful comments about women, both in private conversations and public spaces. And that means we must also stop making those comments ourselves. The narratives we allow shape the culture we live in.

    Every woman must support women-owned businesses. Real change happens when we put money where our advocacy is. We must buy from women, refer women, collaborate with women, and amplify their work. Many women-owned businesses struggle not because of a lack of skill, but because of a lack of support. We must put an end to tearing down other women’s hard work because it’s “beneath us”.

    It is time to be a mentor to at least one woman. Every experienced woman must take at least one younger woman under her wing. Helping one woman navigate a space she’s unfamiliar with is real action. It doesn’t have to be formal—it could be as simple as offering guidance, sharing knowledge, or opening doors. I can tell you that this is a huge accelerator. Over the years, many of the young ladies I’ve mentored come back with gratitude for the investments made in them, bearing evident results.

    Women must challenge outdated norms at home. If we want to see generational change, we must start where it matters most: the home. Let’s raise daughters to be not just good wives but also strong leaders. Let’s raise sons to respect and support women. Let’s normalize ambition in women without questioning their femininity.

    Lastly, we must invest in our personal growth. If we must be accelerators, we cannot pour from an empty cup. Women must read books, take courses, expand skills, and prioritize personal development. The more you rise, the more women you pull up with you.

    We’re used to measuring progress by numbers—how many women got into leadership, how many businesses were started, how many policies were passed. But what if the real speed of change is determined by something deeper?

    What if progress is found in the daily choices we make, the conversations we have, the boundaries we set, and the courage we show?

    Progress is not just policies and programs. It’s culture. It’s mind-set. It’s the ripple effect of millions of women deciding that change starts with them.

    So this year, as we celebrate International Women’s Day, let’s recognize the silent, powerful, every day work of women. It may not always make the news, but it makes history.

    •Ejinkeonye-Christian, a life coach, and business educator writes from Nsukka, Enugu State.

  • Prayers and forgiveness for Chief Justin Olabode Emanuel

    Prayers and forgiveness for Chief Justin Olabode Emanuel

    • By Bashorun J.K. Randle

    Death is a debt.  With the demise of Chief Justin Olabode Emanuel on Saturday, 4th January 2025 the prayers that came to mind were:

     “I believe in the Holy Ghost:  The holy Catholic Church.  The Communion of Saints:  The Forgiveness of sins:  The Resurrection of the body, And the life everlasting.  Amen.”

    After several postponements of the funeral arrangements, the final hour was at10 am on Friday 21st February 2025 at the Holy Cross Cathedral, Catholic Mission Street, Lagos.

    While he laid in state, he was decked out in his tuxedo with the regalia and medals that reflected his rank within the CFS (Catholic Fellowship Society).

    The irony of it all was in plain sight.  His darkest hour was also his finest as he bade the world farewell.  The penny had dropped.  Everything had been settled.   Is there a life after death or is that the end?  Finito.  Or is it the beginning of another cycle?  In any case, the judgement had been delivered by the Almighty.  I caught a last glimpse of the Chief.  He was resigned to his faith and his fate.  Not a wince.  He strode forward without a backward glance.  He is not dead.  We are the ones left with the deadly burden of poverty, ignorance, insurgency, inflation, darkness etc.  He was buried as a Catholic but his mother Alhaja Nusiratu Amope Shonibare was a devout moslem.  She died in 1992 and her son ensured she was given a befitting burial.  The grand reception afterwards was at City Hall, Catholic Mission Street, Lagos.

    Also, when in 2007, Ansarudeen College, Isolo; Ansarudeen College, Randle Road, Surulere and Ansarudeen Girls College, Surulere launched an Appeal Fund, the Chairman of the occasion was Alhaji Femi Okunnu S.A.N.  The venue was Yoruba Tennis Club, Onikan, Lagos.  The entire hall was stunned when the highest donation N10,000,000 (ten million naira) was announced.  It was from Chief Olabode Emanuel.  Alhaji Okunnu donated N7,500,000 (seven million five hundred thousand naira).  The total raised was a staggering N120,000,000 (one hundred and twenty million naira).

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    From the avalanche of tributes paid to Chief Olabode Emanuel, it is easy to discern the recurring decimals:

    • business acumen

    • integrity

    • generosity

    • resilience.

    From the “Trustees’ Friday Night” table at the Lagos Motor Boat Club the roll call of mourners has Prince Olu Awogboro; Professor Theo Ogunbiyi; Dr. Charles Hammond; Chief Kola Jamodu; Chief Raymond Ihembe; Dr. Arinze Agbim; Chief Kehinde Smith; Chief Yomi Edu; Chief Bintan Famutimi and Sir Steve Omojafor.  We lost Deji Akintilo three years ago.

    For almost two decades, we would insist on teasing Chief Justin Olabode Emanuel (ex-St. Gregory’s College, Obalende) by proposing a toast “Up Greg’s” and proceed to spend the rest of the evening slagging off St. Gregory’s College.  He would insist with remarkable vigour that the real culprit for ruining Nigeria were the  “KCOB’s (the old boys of King’s College, Lagos) who had been groomed for leadership but failed to grasp the nettle.  The slug feist would last till well after midnight only to resume the following Friday evening.

    Every now and again His Royal Highness Oludotun Gbadebo, the Alake of Egbaland who was Chief Emanuel’s brother-in-law would show up with his entourage and sit at the table next to ours.  If he felt that there was a lull in the slug feist  he would deliberately remind us that two of his children – one a doctor and the other a Chartered Accountant attended King’s College and were pursuing very successful careers abroad.  That was enough to ignite matters.  We were never quite sure whether His Royal Highness was taking sides with his brother-in-law (“the Gregorian”) or King’s College (the “Floreats”).

    As then Colonel ‘Dotun Gbadebo he was the Principal Staff Officer to Major-General Tunde Idiagbon who was Chief of General Staff Supreme Headquarters during the Buhari/Idiagbon military regime 31st December 1983 to August 27 1985. The Chief of Army Staff, Major-General Ibrahim Babangida (IBB) toppled the Buhari/Idiagbon regime. 

    The last time His Royal Highness joined us at the Motor Boat Club, Lagos with his in-law still very much hale and hearty, he did not mince words.   According to him if the IBB coup had failed, I would have been roped in.  He was not joking !!  Apparently, when I as the Chairman of Eko Hotels Limited invited IBB to deliver the “Eko Hotel Gold Medal Lecture” it brought him into the public limelight.  That did not go down well with Buhari and Idiagbon.  To further compound matters, Bashorun M.K.O. Abiola; Professor Jonah Elaigwu and I were the three civilians present at the Chief of Army Staff conference held in Minna, Niger State.  That was where the plans for the coup d’etat were finalised.  I had no inkling that those military guys were planning a coup. 

    Chief Justin Olabode Emanuel was the archetypal “jolly good fellow” but he fought epic legal battles against some of our mutual friends such as Asiwaju Alex-Duduyemi; late Chief Bode Akindele; late Dr. Dan Awani; late Aremo Fola Awoboh-Pearce; and late Chief Layi Ajayi-Bembe. 

    There was no way I was ever going to be dragged into those disputes beyond pleading for amicable settlement.

    Chief Emanuel had a great sense of humour which was typical of the part of Lagos where both of us grew up – “H” Ward which straddles a swathe of Campos Square at the centre with borders stretching right up to Amuto Street; Omididun Street; Great Bridge Street; Glover Street; Tokunbo Street; Ricca Street; Igbosere Road; Bamgbose Street; Ita Faji market; Odunfa Street; Oke Popo Street; Obadina Street.

    The names of the families which occupied that space range from Agbabiaka; Akerele; Alagemo; Adu; Anibaba; Ashimi; Augusto; Abayomi; Afolabi; Akesode; and J.K. Randle to Makanjuola; Shittu; Berkerley; Coker; Okunowo; Carena; Sanwo-Olu; Oyekan; Abisogun; Oshodi; Faramobi; Smith; Reis; Soares; McGregor; Tresize; Duncan; Da Silva; Martins; Kekere-Ekun; Dawodu; Jinadu; Odumosu; Adams; Emanuel; Domingo; Oki; Danmola; Salvador; Grillo; Bickerseth; Soetan; Dabiri; Pearse; Wilson; Braithwaite; Oseni; Scott; Olukolu; Aka-Bashorun; Tinubu; Iginla; Kenku; Oshode; Gansalo; Lawrence; Lawson; Johnson; Williams; Bank-Anthony; and Ishola-Bankole.

    Chief Justin Olabode Emanuel had an amazing sense of loyalty.  A case in point was his friend and schoolmate at St. Gregory’s College, Chief Festus Remilekun Ayodele Marinho who was born on December 30, 1934 and died on January 18, 2021.  He was considered to be the “Father of Nigeria’s Oil and Gas”.

    He was the first and only Managing Director of the defunct Nigerian National Oil Corporation (NNOC) – the forerunner of NNPC (Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation).  He was the pioneer and two-time Group Managing Director of NNPC (1977 – 1980 and 1984 – 1985).

    When Chief Marinho lost his job (under the military government with immediate effect), it was Chief Justin Olabode Emanuel who ensured that a man of impeccable character and his family (wife Chief (Mrs) Yetunde Oreoluwa and five children) was not humiliated and traumatized.  He was caring and ever so generous to his childhood friend.  Both Chief Emanuel and Chief Marinho grew up on the same street – Glover Street, Lagos.  This was Chief Emanuel at his stellar best.

    For some curious reasons, Chief Emanuel was very disdainful of the NESG (Nigerian Economic Summit Group).  What was even stranger was that his bosom friend Chief Ernest Shonekan was the brain behind NESG.  He was privy to the fact that NESG was actually my idea borne out of my experience in the United States of America where one of our Partners at KPMG had, out of patriotism, become an adviser on economic and financial matters to the President of America.  His main focus was to ensure dialogue between the President of America and the captains of industry and commerce.  I felt it could be replicated in Nigeria.  Shortly after  my return to Nigeria, I was a guest at a cocktail party hosted by the then British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Sir Mervyn Brown.  I mooted the idea and the High Commissioner immediately dragged me over to where Chief Shonekan was so we could brief him.  There and then Chief Shonekan who was then the Chairman of Nigeria’s largest conglomerate – U.A.C. of Nigeria Plc, bought the idea.  The rest is history.

    Chief Emanuel really had it in for old boys of King’s College, Lagos (KCOB’s).  He would often remind me that when cash was being freely shared as bribes within the hallowed halls of the National Assembly, the KCOB’s did not refuse to participate or even protest by walking out.

    Again, when on April 22, 1990, Colonel Orkar in his ill-fated coup d’etat announced the existion of some of the Northern States – Sokoto, Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Niger, Taraba, Yobe from Nigeria, he took a swing at KCOB’s  for not protesting that King’s College had students from all over Nigeria – hence, the country must remain one.  It was difficult to fathom whether he spoke in earnest or in jest – just to needle the old boys of King’s College.

    Perhaps I should add that Chief Emanuel could be unpredictable.  I remember when I contested the gubernatorial election of Lagos State in 2011 on the platform of SDP (Social Democratic Party) with Mrs. Gbemi Kufeji who was his sister as my running mate, he bluntly refused to contribute a dime to my campaign fund.

    Even more amazing was that during the crisis over my chairmanship of MUSON (Musical Society of Nigeria), Chief Emanuel was very much in the opposite camp !!  At the EGM (Extra-ordinary General Meeting) of the association, he moved the motion for my removal.

    It was an unforgettable experience.  I simply glossed over it and made sure it did not damage our relationship.

    Perhaps I should add that when I retired as Chairman and Chief Executive of KPMG in 2004 after thirty-four years in the firm, I set up my own firm – J.K. Randle & Co. Chartered Accountants.  I was cock sure that Chief Emanuel would patronize my firm.  I did not get a single introduction/recommendation to any of the thirty-odd companies where he was the Chairman or Director.  On the contrary, he gave assignments to my detractors.  It was a wake-up call for me.  I had no right to claim entitlement.  Fortunately, my firm and its associated companies have weathered the storms and prospered regardless of formidable challenges and unsolicited adversities.  Truly, the Almighty has been faithful and steadfast.

  • IBB in the annals of civil service reforms in Nigeria

    IBB in the annals of civil service reforms in Nigeria

    The autobiography is a most delicate, complex and indeed disruptive art form. It is the autobiographer’s authorial insistence to be heard in terms of his or her narrative addition to a historical discourse. In fact, it is the autobiographer’s narration of the historical event from his or her own perspective. And more often than not, when the autobiographer is a fundamental participant in the event, the complexities of that event and the circumstances surrounding it is multiplied. Only very few autobiographies enjoy global approval. And that is because the art form is seen as an ego trip. That sentiment is summed by the English biographer, Humphrey Carpenter: “Autobiography is probably the most respectable form of lying.” This is even made worse if the protagonists are critical individuals whose lives have affected national trajectories. General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB) is one such critical protagonist, and his autobiography has arrived.

    A Journey in Service has since started generated lots of furors in all strata of the Nigerian public space, online and offline. Lots of opinions have tied IBB to several significant historical moments in Nigeria, especially the annulment of the June 12 elections, and the demise of MKO Abiola. What many have conveniently glossed over, and a case I have consistently made, is that personal narrative in the forms of autobiography and memoirs serve a unique function in terms of their historical import. If A Journey in Service had not been written, we will all be gasping within the yawning silence of the political and administrative gaps that ought to have been filled with whatever the autobiographer has to say. But now it has been written, and we can then commence the journey of unraveling how the narrative fits or fails to fit in with the existing accounts of Nigeria’s political development.

    This personal narrative has a critical import for me as a historian of Nigeria’s administrative and reform trajectories. The Babangida administration played a very fundamental role in articulating a significant portion of Nigeria’s administrative reform architecture. And so, that portion of the trajectory, and the entire institutional reform agenda of the Nigerian state, will not be complete without adding the voice and perspective of the key protagonist to the understanding of how the reform policy emerged. No matter what anyone thinks, the imperative of national history demands that such an account be added to the stock of what we already know, and to flesh out a better understanding of what we already know. The idea therefore is to see how the protagonist, no matter the groundswell of national opinion for or against him, fits into a larger picture of the political and administrative frameworks that enable us to see where the nation is coming from and where it is headed. This is a task every institutional reformer must long for without getting sidetracked by sentimental opinion that accords blame and sling mud. This is part of what makes IBB and A Journey in Service such a delight for me. Unfortunately, the head of the historic administration does not consider that irreducible reform agenda that distinguishes his administration so significantly as to celebrate its conception, elements and operation, as well as its limitations, in a significant autobiography. That responsibility has been passed to posterity. This piece rescues that fundamental omission.

    The pre-Babangida administrative reform narrative must always revert back to the 1974 Udoji Commission. That Commission is singular because it was the first to attempt an alignment between Nigeria’s reform efforts and the emerging managerial revolution in public administration across the globe. The Udoji Commission took its immediate inspiration from the Lord Fulton Committee of 1968 in Britain. The task of the Fulton Report was to inquire into the capability readiness of the British civil service to confront the modern British society and its technological complexity. Fulton’s most significant recommendation was the displacement of the cult of generalist amateur civil servants in an approaching administrative dispensation that requires a critical mass of new managers who possess the professionalism and specialist expertise to harness the talents needed to make the civil service economic, effective and efficient.

    By the time the Udoji Commission was inaugurated, Nigeria had also reached the critical juncture where it became imperative to ask whether the Weberian assumptions underlying the British administrative legacy were capable of tackling the urgent governance requirement of a postcolonial society. The wage impasse which the system had been confronting before independence, for the Commission, was a symptom of a deeper administrative malady represented by a bureaucratic culture that had arrested innovation and entrepreneurial creativity in the analysis and implementation of policies. Managerialism therefore provides the most timely and perfect means of making the civil service system align with the goals of national development. The Udoji Commission went on to leverage the global good practice of the time that calls for a new style public service that deploys new management techniques of Planning, Programming and Budgeting System (PPBS), Management by Objectives (MBO), the precursor of what is today called the performance management system, project management system, among others, that was totally alien to the Nigerian public service, at the time. The new management architecture that the envisioned management system would have institutionalized would obviously have been inadequate but would have laid a critical substructure that would have set Nigeria on the new productivity paradigm that assisted Malaysia, Singapore, the Asian Tigers and many other developing countries that are within Nigerian global ranking at the time.

    Read Also: IBB’s journey of revisionism, the Nzeribe saga

    The most devastating blow that the civil service suffered were those created not by it but the governance tradition that militarism and “New Federalism” of the post-civil war years created where the rigorous analytical frame that governed development investment got replaced with the unreflective “with immediate effect” command and control governance tradition which created huge process, policy, capacity, performance and resource gaps. The Udoji Commission and its limitations, as well as the succeeding Phillips and Ayida Commissions, could be understood only within this military tradition of which IBB was a significant part. When he assumed office in 1985, one of the most immediate decisions was, according to his admission, the need to “strengthen the practice of the presidential system with clear economic, political, and social reforms to strengthen the nation as a constitutional democracy based on the presidential system.” Assuming the title of a “President” was therefore more than a mere nominal gesture to narcissism. Rather, he said, it was “a summation of our consensus on the need to preserve and strengthen the presidential system and make it work better for the nation.”

    But a nominal title was not enough. A commitment to the presidential system, IBB insisted, defined the necessity of “structuring a reform programme around institutions to make it work.” And given the tension that already was prevalent in the heated polity, IBB surmised, the reforms that must make any significance must be as comprehensive as the administration could make it. And the first act of symbolic gesture was negative: the urgency of the need “to review the various draconian decrees, convictions, and pending cases that bordered on human rights violations.” The Exchange Control (anti-sabotage) Decree 7 and Decree 4 (Public Officers Protection Against False Accusation) had to be significantly reviewed. This was followed by the real positive task of reforming the economy and governance in ways that go beyond “knee-jerk populist reflexes.”

    The task, in governance and economic terms, was therefore to “Remove the government from the role of an enormous money changer to that of an enabler of the appropriate economic environment. We also needed to let the economy, in general, breathe more freely.” It was to liberalize the economy and make government an able enabler rather than occupying the ‘commanding heights of the economy.” Unfortunately for us all, IBB fails to dwell on what could have been a defining dimension of A Journey in Service, the civil service reform framework of the Babangida administration. This is shocking but revealing in itself. One possible reason is that the author subsumed the civil service reform under the broader political reforms: “Our political programme targeted the critical areas of political and socio-cultural restructuring highlighted by the Political Bureau report: the party system, the electoral process, including election administration, the federal structure, the civil service, and the problem of succession, including political leadership.”

    And yet, this fails to do justice to the significance of the Babangida administration and its inheritance of the Dotun Philips Commission from the Buhari-Idiagbon administration. The Phillips Study Team is significant because it had the task of re-organizing the operations of the civil service in terms of professionalism that will eventually align it with the managerial revolution recommended by Udoji. And that reform effort alone cements his administration’s significance in the annals of administrative history in Nigeria, and a fundamental contribution to the cumulation of reform knowledge in Nigeria. IBB already gave the significant intellectual basis of the restructuring that was an imperative: to achieve “national rebirth and future greatness,” there is a need for political and economic restructuring that free up the national space for transformation. And one way to do this, according to him, was cultivate intellectuals: “We needed the input of intellectuals to enlighten the business of government.” There was also the crucial need for the public service as the engine of government business. It beats me how IBB did not see that.

    The Dotun Philips Study Group was constituted by the Buhari-Idiagbon administration in 1985, with the objective of undertaking an interrogation of the structure, mode of operation and strategy of the civil service in the light of contemporary administrative situation, as well as finding means by which the eroded professionalism of the system could be restored. After the 1985 coup, Babangida inherited the study group and transformed it into a full-blown commission whose task was to keep up with the objective of aligning the spirit of managerialism and a professionalized civil service with the form and spirit of presidentialism. This was to be incorporated into the total package of the Civil Service Reforms through a Civil Service Reorganisation Decree No. 43 of 1988. Given the administration’s concern with the rigid Soviet-styled centralization of the economy and the need to open the economy up to market forces, it was only logical that the administration would adopt the critical managerial principle of letting managers manage by having greater control on critical resources. This possesses the capacity to inspire a wholesale decentralization of the HRM function to MDA. The policy choice here is between centralized resource governance for example where the civil service commission wields constitutional powers for recruitment, promotion and discipline exercised at top management levels by the Commission while delegating the powers to MDAs at middle to lower levels.

    The Philips reform was compromised essentially because (a) it took the issues involved in professionalism too far (for instance, by attempting to make a professional out of everybody within the civil service); and (b) its own unique managerial thrust was directed towards integrating the civil service into the presidential system of government, with one unintended consequence being that professionalization turned into politicization through an attempt, for instance, that turned an administrative post (permanent secretary) into a political one (director-general). And yet, this is not a failure because it was a logical reform complements to the short-circuited Udoji Commission recommendation of a public service founded on performance management, and its underlying managerial philosophy was significant in getting the Babangida administration its governance template for transforming national development.

    I insist that an administration is only as good as its reform agenda, both in design and implementation. The Babangida administration gave Nigeria’s reform trajectory one of the key moments in the protracted attempt to translate the gains and efficiencies of a managerial opportunity to a bureaucratic system.

  • Day Olanipekun enriched Babcock University

    Day Olanipekun enriched Babcock University

    • By Sunday Saanu

    When in July, 2024, Babcock University, a private university located in Ilisan Remo, Ogun state decided to confer an honourary degree of Doctor of Law and Administration on one-time President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, the management of the institution probably did not know that the decision would eternally enrich the institution as it has done. Shorty after the ceremony, Chief Olanipekun who has become an amazing phenomenon in Nigeria’s firmament, by assisting various universities and institutions with infrastructure, had according to him, “dropped a token”, which he instructed should be used to buy books for the law library of the university.

    However, what this great man of means described as a token was marvelous in the eyes of the university management, therefore pleaded with this legendary philanthropist  to let them use the donation to build the auditorium for the use of the students.  Chief Olanipekun disclosed that he had wondered how the university would be able to achieve this lofty dream, given the size of his token gift. But the university, in a deft resource husbandry, under the leadership of Prof. Ademola Tayo, creatively deployed available funds and built a 250 seater lecture theatre called Wole Olanipekun Law Auditorium (WOLA), befitting the taste and standard of the legal icon.

    Impressed by the ingenious mindset of the university, Chief Olanipekun graciously agreed to refund the total cost of the architectural masterpiece to the university, praising the management for its prudent and judicious fund utilization as well as its resourcefulness. The WOLA was thereafter commissioned at a colourful ceremony attended by dignitaries, including Akarigbo of Remoland, His Majesty, Oba Babatunde Adewale Ajayi; the Orogun of Okenla, Oba Dokun Abolarin; the Olofin of Ilisan, Oba Michael Sonuga; Oba Sikiru Adeyega; Archbishop Olusina Fape, the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in Ogun State, Oluwasina Ogungbade, SAN; and Prof Roland Otaru, SAN among others.

    A university system rests on three pillars to succeed: the faculty, the facility and the finance. There’s no gainsaying that the major problems confronting the university system, particularly in Nigeria are the issues of facilities and finance which have caused incalculable damage to the system with attendant countless industrial face off between the workers and the government particularly in federal and state owned-universities. Chief Olanipekun, whose physical frame disguises the giant strides he has recorded in his public life seems to have decided to take the two pillars of facility and finance upon himself as he keeps donating infrastructure to various universities.

    Read Also: Babcock University hosts lecture on youth development, others

    Recall that when he was the Pro Chancellor and Chairman of Council at the University of Ibadan (UI), he donated a lecture theatre at Ajibode, UI second phase in a strategic way to open up the fast-developing vast land. Shortly after serving out his tenure in UI, the Anglican Church, the owner of Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo pleaded with him to serve as Chairman of Council, the role he played with amazing grace and candour. He ended up building the Vice Chancellor’s lodge for the university where Godly intellectuals are being raised. Recently too, at Bamidele Olumiluwa University of Education, Science and Technology, Ikere Ekiti (BOUESTI) where he is the Chancellor, this highly respected and revered legal luminary built and donated a Senate Building, even as he promised to do more for the university.

    Chief Olanipekun ; in Nigeria today, is one of the very few of whom it can be truly said that their lives bring blessings to their generation. It hardly needs to be said that he is a Godsend to this generation with the way he goes about, like Jesus Christ, doing good. I am of the opinion that God in His grace, does endow a country with such a rare leader at intervals. This great man who carries greatness lightly with his infectious smiles, is indeed an angel in human flesh, a problem solver, and a burden carrier. This much was attested to by those who spoke at the Babcock University unveiling ceremony.

          University is the resource base of the nation. Whether it is federal, state or private, it is a place where sufficient resources must be channeled. Chief Olanipekun knows that almost all the universities in the country are hamstrung by infrastructure deficit, hence, his determination to keep assisting in his little way. Perhaps this was the reason he called on the wealthy to come down to the aid of these ailing institutions. Hear him, “I am not from Ilisan Remo in Ogun State before donating this for the university, but I am mindful of what the history will say about me. “So generally, as Nigerians,  all these attitudes of grabbing and stealing what we don’t even need or can’t even spend in our lifetime does not make sense, we must do away with all of these terrible attitudes.  People should learn that they will not be remembered for the depth of their wealth,  but for the impact left behind long after they had exited this world and should therefore prioritise supporting humanity above other world inanities”

    Nothing could be more profound than this assertion. University system should be restored to the age long tradition as a place for the untrammeled generation and contestation of ideas, free flow of thoughts, cradle and crucible for the vigorous commerce of the human mind and its restless traffic of imagination and intelligence. This is from where developmental ideas are generated. But it is collapsing! Chief Olanipekun has made a sacrifice. It is a sacrifice that speaks volumes about his selflessness. Can we have more people like him? We need more Olanipekuns to change the narrative. Other well-to-do individuals should emulate him. Here is a humble man who stands out among the outstanding with his uncommon kindness.

     His humility and philanthropic humanism are almost unparalleled in this part of this world where obscene display of wealth and class haughtiness is the crass second nature of moneybags. Here is a man whose strength of character is a beacon of hope and inspiration to everyone around him. Chief Olanipekun is enormously gifted in empathy and sympathy. He deserves public appreciation for his altruism.

    Back to Babcock, the VC disclosed that the School of Law and Security Studies which started from a humble beginning of 25 students in 2003 now has about 500 students across all levels, while the products of the school have continued to excel both at home and abroad. Good report. More of that. However, other dignitaries on the occasion were  Chief Olanipekun’s wife, Princess Erelu Omolara Olanipekun, the Dean of the School of Law and Security Studies, Prof Dorcas Odunaike, as well as academic and administrative leaders (past and present) such as Prof Isaac Oluwole Agbede; Prof Pius Deji Olanrewaju; Prof Bankole Sodipo, SAN; Prof Zac Olomojobi; Prof  Philemon Amanze; Prof Olugbenga Idowu; Prof  Ilesanmi; Prof  Efe Ehioga; Dr Sunday Audu and the School’s Bursar, Dr Folorunsho Akande, among others.

    • Saanu (08034073427) is with the University of Ibadan
  • NAHCON’S forward March to 2025 Hajj

    NAHCON’S forward March to 2025 Hajj

    Suddenly, the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, NAHCON, almost became the centre of activities in  Abuja in the month of February, 2025  This was after a rather sluggish break, rife with unpleasant misgivings by naysayers. The rumour mills keep rolling once there seems to be unclear status of certain expectations.

    The NAHCON leadership had been busy perfecting strategies for Nigeria’s grand showing at the world’s biggest annual rendezvous of muslims from all regions, the Hajj. First came the good news that the Chair, Prof Usman, personally flew all the way to the holy land to append signatures where necessary even as duty pressures at home kept on mounting. But the consolation was the success of the journey and the quick return to activate the entire system for the final phase of the preparations. All eyes had been on Prof Usman, the leader whose type NAHCON never had coming to confer both intellectual prowess and administrative sagacity on the nation’s Hajj sector.

    It was no mean honour that the high performing governor of Bornu State, Prof Zulum, sought out Prof Usman for a visit in Abuja, the first by any governor since Prof Usman assumed office perhaps. Governor Zulum acknowledged the good work of Prof Usman and wished him further success to the delight of the NAHCON management. It’s a grand acknowledgement of their collective efforts.

    The situation report today is that as the 2025 Hajj season approaches, the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has been proactively implementing strategic measures to ensure a seamless pilgrimage experience for Nigerian Muslims. From revising service contracts in Saudi Arabia to appointing a new secretary, these initiatives underscore NAHCON’s commitment to enhancing operational efficiency and pilgrim welfare.

    Read Also: Lent/Ramadan: Pray for peace, unity, Olu Alo urges Nigerians

    Duly asserting his intellectual authority, in preparation for Hajj 2025, the NAHCON Chair, Prof Usman, has successfully revisited and amended its contractual agreements with Saudi Arabian service providers. On February 22, 2025, for instance, the commission signed a revised contract with Mashariq Al Dhahabia, a Saudi-based company responsible for providing services to Nigerian pilgrims at the holy sites of Mina, Arafat, and Muzdalifah. This amendment was necessitated by the realization that Nigeria would not be utilizing its full allocation of 95,000 pilgrim slots for the year. Consequently, the contract was adjusted to cater to 52,000 pilgrims, aligning services with the anticipated number of participants. NAHCON Chairman/CEO, Professor Abdullahi Saleh Usman, emphasized that this adjustment ensures resources are appropriately allocated, preventing overextension and enhancing service quality.

    The decision to amend the contract appears to have derived from operational challenges identified with Mashariq Al Dhahabia. To mitigate potential disruptions, NAHCON engaged an additional service provider to supplement pilgrim services during the critical five-day Masha’ir period. This move aimed to ensure that all Nigerian pilgrims receive adequate support during their stay in Mina, Arafat, and Muzdalifah. While Mashariq Al Dhahabia expressed concerns over this development, citing a potential breach of contract, NAHCON maintained that the engagement of supplementary service providers was imperative to uphold the welfare and satisfaction of pilgrims.

    Not given to underestimating devolution of powers as well as the invaluability of complementarity of peculiar strengths of individuals, the Prof Usman-led NAHCON has also recognized the need to strengthen its administrative framework. 

    NAHCON has since appointed Dr. Mustapha Muhammad Ali as the new Secretary of the Commission on February 26, 2025. Dr. Ali’s appointment came after the voluntary resignation of the former secretary, Dr. Abdullahi Rabi’u Kontagora, and the interim tenure of Alhaji Alidu Shutti. Dr. Ali emerged as the successful candidate after a rigorous selection process that assessed his qualifications and experience.

    Hailing from Yerwa in Borno State, Dr. Ali brings a wealth of experience to his new role. He holds a Doctorate and Master’s degree in Islamic Studies, a Postgraduate Diploma in Education and Administration, and a Diploma in Computer Application and Internet, among other qualifications. His academic journey has seen him attend prestigious institutions such as the University of Maiduguri, Bayero University Kano, and the University College for Islamic Call in Tripoli, Libya.

    An obviously heavily credentialed Dr. Ali has served in various capacities, including being the Director of the Centre for Kanuri Ajami and Qur’anic Studies at Borno State University, Chairman of the Care-taker Management Committee of Maiduguri Metropolitan Council, and Deputy Provost at Muhammad Goni College of Legal and Islamic Studies in Maiduguri.

    As Secretary, Dr. Ali’s responsibilities encompass maintaining records, conducting correspondence, and serving as the secretary at all NAHCON meetings. He is also tasked with ensuring effective reporting of the commission’s activities to relevant authorities, maintaining the register of licensed Hajj operators, facilitating the publication of the commission’s regulations, and coordinating performance standards. His tenure is set for an initial four-year period, with the possibility of renewal based on performance.

    Recognizing the importance of collaboration, NAHCON has been engaging with state governments to bolster support for Hajj operations. A notable example is the recent meeting between Professor Abdullahi Saleh Usman and Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Zulum. During this meeting, Governor Zulum pledged his commitment to supporting NAHCON’s initiatives and assured the mobilization of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum to assist pilgrims across various states. This partnership aims to enhance the overall experience of pilgrims by ensuring that state-level resources and support systems are effectively integrated into the national Hajj framework.

    Transparency and accountability remain at the forefront of NAHCON’s operations. In light of recent contractual adjustments, the commission has been forthcoming about the challenges and rationale behind its decisions. For instance, the engagement of an additional service provider was a strategic response to operational challenges identified with the initial contractor, ensuring that the welfare of pilgrims remains uncompromised. NAHCON has consistently communicated these developments to the public, reinforcing its commitment to upholding the trust placed in it by Nigerian Muslims.

    As the countdown to Hajj 2025 continues, NAHCON’s proactive measures reflect its dedication to facilitating a hitch-free pilgrimage. The strategic amendments to service contracts, bolstered by the appointment of a seasoned administrator like Dr. Mustapha Muhammad Ali, underscore the commission’s resolve to address challenges head-on and optimize the Hajj experience for Nigerian pilgrims.

    Through collaborative efforts, transparent operations, and a steadfast commitment to excellence, NAHCON is poised to lead Nigerian pilgrims on a spiritually fulfilling journey during the 2025 Hajj season.

    Interestingly, the current Ramadan season avails all muslims to wish everyone prospecting to perform Hajj this year’s hajj and by implication the entire NAHCON team, all the best.  

    •Akanni, PhD is a veteran Hajj writer based in Lagos.

  • Nigeria and the opportunity of China ‘Two Sessions’

    Nigeria and the opportunity of China ‘Two Sessions’

    By Charles Onunaiju

    During this week, a pivotal and significant event in China’s political calendar would hold in the capital Beijing. It is the full sessions of the country’s top advisory body, the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the National People’s Congress (NPC), the country’s top legislature and supreme organ of the state. Both bodies serve five-year terms and hold a plenary session each year. It is the convocation of these two bodies, which meets separately but almost at the same time that has become known as “Two Sessions”.

    As strategic partners with the intent to build “high level China-Nigeria community with a shared future”, it is only natural that both sides strive to understand each other better, using the tool of mutual learnings to deepen strategic knowledge sharing. The opportunities of each other would be understood and explored if both sides understand the unique nature of each other, more comprehensively and proceed from this understanding to enhance bilateral ties.

    The annual convocation of China’s “Two Sessions” is the grand display and structural expressions of China’s inclusive, participatory and consultative political process. The Chinese People’s Political and Consultative Conference is the first institution of modern China in which the governing Communist Party of China (CPC),  eight political parties, and other social forces including ethnic nationalities, persons without political affiliations, women, youths and even overseas Chinese deliberate on key national issues and forge consensus. Until 1954 when the supreme state organ and the country’s top legislature, the NPC was established, the CPPCC filled the legislative gap.

    Because of its historical significance as the key platform of all Chinese people across all walks of life, the CPPCC was retained as a top advisory body and with the passage of time, its role as the classical expression of China’s consultative democratic process has further deepened and its advisory roles in China’s political life and has become emblematic of the country’s whole-process democracy that combine procedures with substantive deliverables, ensuring that governance is not only defined by rules but by the actual delivery of material dividends that contributes and adds to the well-being of the people.

    The National People’s Congress (NPC) is the China’s highest organ of state power, which means that in addition to its responsibility as the country’s top legislature, it exercises the powers to elect national leaders, approve government budgets, national development plans among other functions.

    The “Two Sessions” offers a glimpse to China’s economic direction and it is important as a key partner of China, Nigeria pay attention and to examine the outcomes of the meetings. The government will deliver a report to the NPC which would contain such vital economic priorities as the annual growth target. Alongside the GDP target, the government work report would contain other major economic indicators including the deficit-to-GDP ratio and inflation target and also set development priorities for the year.

    Further vital issues in the government work report will include a plan for national economic and social development of the year and the government budgets would also be reviewed. These would provide a clear picture of China’s policy priorities, development goals and challenges. In addition to offering clarity to a range of issues, which is of interest both to the Chinese and the rest of the world, the NPC would also enact or amend laws particularly those that add momentum to the country’s modernization efforts in the new era.  These include the constitution, the civil code, the supervision law and the foreign investment law.

    In addition to those broad issues, the annual legislative plan would be unveiled as lawmakers review the work report of the NPC standing committee. The standing committee is the permanent organ elected by the full session of the parliamentary body to oversee its routine legislative function for the five-year period of the legislative term.

    In addition to the work report of the government, the Heads of the Supreme People’s Court would deliver its work report detailing the performance of the judicial bodies. Both the NPC and the CPPCC are vital indispensable and effective tools in China’s governance structure and both their supervisory, advisory and legislative roles constitute the core of the country’s consultative democratic process in which inclusivity and consensus-building enables the condition for sustainable national development.

    As a major partner, Nigeria can appreciate better the policy outlines, directions and implications for trade, investments and other issues of cooperation with a better understanding of the vital roles of the key institutions in China’s political and economic process. The advisory role and outcomes of the National committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) are not taken lightly and its representation and composition reflects the inclusive and broad nature of the CPC led multi-party consultative political trajectories whose outcomes includes forging consensus on national goals and priorities and commitment to attain them.

    The unique nature of China’s political system is in the framework which institutions function not only as the structural expression of broadly shared values within the society but governance is epitomized in the shared values and in the common consensus and aspirations for better life for all, enabling both citizens participation and leadership responsibility and accountability. When institutions and its functions emanates from a broadly shared values, obtained through a historic trajectory of deliberate inclusion, it coalesces into an unbreakable national will and becomes a potent force for national development.

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    The Communist Party of China (CPC), opened the way and clarified the path for the construction of China’s national will by building a framework of inclusion through broad and extensive consultation, cooperation and collaboration. The national template of accommodation, inclusion and cooperation in a CPC-led process have proved its viability by the phenomenal growth in China’s national aggregates, influence and global reach but more importantly in the wellbeing of the Chinese people who crossed the historic line of ending extreme poverty.

    The “Two Sessions” may elucidate and clarify contemporary issues of China’s economic directions, crucial targets and figures but it is also a demonstration of China’s national initiative and wisdom to design, own and uphold its institutions established from its own experience, national conditions and social realities.

    As Nigeria is patently troubled by institutional dysfunction, structural ambiguities in its organization and has therefore, historically punched far below its potential, it has become important to reform the existing institutions and reconstruct the institution to reflect the broadly shared values while integrating the values to their fabric and essence.

    China’s political process is uniquely Chinese but it offers ample lessons that political institutions are not articles of commerce lifted out of the shelf to be just taken and transplanted to any place. The viability of any political institution and the processes that enables and sustains it, is a direct consequence of any particular country’s own historical experience, existential national condition and social reality.

    Nigeria and China’s strategic partnership prioritises economic cooperation, governance experience-sharing and international cooperation among many others. However, vigorous mutual learning would help to uncover vital truths that would mutually enrich each other’s perspectives and mutually strengthen their collaboration in their respective struggles for modernization, especially in the new era.

    •Onunaiju contributes this article from FCT, Abuja.

  • Reflections on Trump’s ambush on Zelenskyy

    Reflections on Trump’s ambush on Zelenskyy

    By IfeanyiChukwu Afuba

    United States’ President Donald Trump got the shock of his life on Thursday, February 28, at the White House. He had prepared an agreement allowing the US access to Ukraine’s minerals in exchange for America’s military aid and presumed help in brokering a ceasefire with Russia.

    Volodymyr Zelensky refused to sign the draft agreement pointing out that it offered no security guarantees for Ukraine against Vladimir Putin’s obsessive territorial expansion. Despite efforts by Trump and the American vice president, J. D. Vance to bamboozle Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian leader stood his ground. Not even the duo’s subtle and pointed blackmail achieved the intended result of brow-beating Zelensky into submission. He left the White House without according the extortionist document a tinge of respectability. He left a hero.

    Take a sample from Trump’s harassment playbook: “We’re trying to solve a problem. Don’t tell us what we’re going to feel, because you’re in no position to dictate that… You’re in no position to dictate what we’re going to feel. We’re going to feel very good and very strong.”

    Every of Zelensky’s moves to speak is blocked with non-stop talking and pitched voice: “You’re right now not in a very good position. You’ve allowed yourself to be in a very bad position. You don’t have the cards right now. With us, you start having cards.” And when the composed guest manages to chip in – “I’m not playing cards,” Trump retorts: “You’re gambling with the lives of millions of people. You’re gambling with World War 3.”

    The drama executed by Trump and Vance at the Oval Office was in bad taste. Diplomatically, it was snobbish, almost contemptuous of Ukraine’s sovereignty. The superiority complex was overflowing, suffocating and revolting. The refusal to accord the Ukrainian leadership the rights, protocol and respect of an independent state was all too glaring. Trump’s display was nothing short of a headmaster – pupil drill. The rule of equality of states was lost on the American President. Trump and Vance were conveniently blind to the reciprocal basis of bilateral relations. The fact that Ukraine needed help from the United States did not take away her corporate personality in the comity of nations with inherent rights of recognition and respect. Zelensky as the embodiment of that defining status had immunity from harassment which Trump trampled upon. In their fixation with deal, deal, and deal, the presidential pair disregarded Ukraine’s authority. Zelensky was the visible victim but the affront ultimately was against the state and people of Ukraine.

    Socially, Trump’s attitude was unfriendly, if not hostile. Hosts are supposed to be welcoming of their guests. Good hosts do not harangue their visitor. The atmosphere pervading the reception was tensed up by Trump’s rhetoric. It was incumbent on the US President to set – induct the tone and mood necessary for cordial engagement. Where did Zelenskyy breach the protocol of friendly visit? Was there a problem with his simple, folksy carriage?

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    Whoever talks down on their invited guests? And in the full glare of the press and cameras? No two ways about it. Donald Trump was discourteous, rude and impolite to his guest. He lacked the patience and tact to steer the conversation to a productive end. And probably because he had gotten away with many outbursts in the past coupled with superpower consciousness, he couldn’t care about offending social etiquette.

    Politically, Trump’s behaviour was a disservice to the quest for a just world order. He reduced Russia’s aggression on Ukraine to an opportunity for America – Russia geo – political influence on the world stage. Trump’s alarm about a world war was cheap blackmail. Ukraine’s military responses to Russia attacks have largely remained defensive, not offensive. Besides, what happened to the deterrence strategy in conflict management? Zelenskyy was only seeking incorporation of protective and safety designs in cooperation agreement with the US. But Trump and his team would not admit they wanted the easiest route, which was appeasing Vladimir Putin’s empire complex. At what price? At the cost of slashing away Ukraine’s territory and encouraging other Putins to follow suit. Indeed, if Putin gets away with Ukraine today, why would he not annex parts of Poland tomorrow? And invade Norway next, and so on and so forth?

    Trump’s recipe for peace is worrying; as worrying as his own weird interest in Greenland and Canada becoming part of America. And the suspension of America’s military aid to Ukraine on Tuesday, February 4, shows how seized Trump is with his plan.

    Aside administration circles and traditional partisan support, Trump’s disruptive disposition was roundly condemned. CNN quoted American Senator Jack Reed as calling the Trump-Zelensky meeting “a political ambush and a shameful failure of American leadership. The day’s cruel and callous display does great harm to US standing in the world.”

    Speaking on Sky News, former British ambassador to Ukraine, Simon Smith, said the Ukrainian leader was “set up for torture.” He expressed concern on the pressures Ukraine’s leadership has faced in contrast with the deference to Russia’s Putin. “There is a really worrying question here about where the U.S. is going under Trump on this issue.”

    Weighing in on the controversy, Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau wrote on X: “Canada will continue to stand with Ukraine and Ukrainians in achieving a just and lasting peace.” Germany’s Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock harped on Trump’s disingenuous elevation of might: “Unfortunately, what we witnessed was not just an unsettling episode… We’re facing a new era of ruthlessness, the rule of brute force. No one longs for peace more than the Ukrainians. While diplomatic efforts remain crucial, peace must be built on justice and stability.”

    Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese was perhaps, the most eloquent. Reuters, March 1, quoted his dismissive view of Trump’s bullying. “The people of Ukraine are fighting not just for their own national sovereignty; they are fighting for the international rule of law. We will continue to stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes because this is the struggle of a democratic nation versus an authoritarian regime led by Vladimir Putin, who clearly has imperialistic designs not just on Ukraine but throughout that region.”

    Mercifully, at its London summit of February 2, the European Union intervened decisively on the side of international law and order. The bloc pledged billions in defence investment for Ukraine while advocating for substantial peace. On its own, Britain which gave Zelenskyy a rousing welcome at Downing Street, pledged thousands of air defence equipment. The solidarity with Zelenskyy and Ukraine is the path of responsibility and commitment. Although Zelenskyy has subsequently re-notified Washington of his readiness to align with their peace move, his flexibility is understandable in the light of Russia’s ferocious attacks. Zelensky has shown great leadership in the face of very difficult challenges.

    Putin never believed that the war will drag more than one year. But here is three years of unsparing violence by a military superpower against a small country and Ukraine, though bruised, is still standing. All thanks to the courage and sacrifices of Ukrainians and Zelenskyy. Support from the Joe Biden administration and other governments dedicated to the cause of freedom have been helpful. On account of the invaluable price of freedom, it is relieving that much of the civilized world has come out strongly to oppose Trump’s willingness to reward belligerence.