By Garba Shehu

On Sunday, the first day of the year 2023, honor is being conferred on one of the best brains in intelligence circles on the African continent, Ambassador Ahmed Rufa’i Abubakar, CFR as the Emir, Abdulmuminu Kabir Usman turbans him the third Sardaunan Katsina. The Sardauna is revered title made famous by the late Premier of Northern Region, Sir Ahmadu Bello, himself the Sardauna of Sokoto.

Before him, Katsina, his birth place had conferred the first Sardauna title on Ahmadu Coomassie, a former Inspector General of Police and a role model for the entire Force and lately, upon Senator Ibrahim Ida, an accomplished bureaucrat, businessman and politician who got promoted to the title of the Waziri, Prime Minister of Katsina.

Before they got to do this honor for him at home, Ambassador Rufa’i had received accolades and wide acceptance beyond the shores of Nigeria, most notably in the West African subregion where his intelligence capabilities are known and much respected, in continental Africa where he just finished serving as the Chairperson of the Intelligence and Security Services of Africa (CISSA) and in the global intelligence community in which he has become a veritable reference person on matters of counterterrorism and counter insurgency. He is well known to our European and Middle Eastern partners for providing deep insights about the threats faced by the country, West Africa and indeed the entire continent from within and from outside.

The Golden Fish, as the reference goes, has no hiding place.

Ambassador Rufa’i didn’t start this illustrious journey to the top by accident.

The polyglot (he speaks Hausa, Kanuri, a bit of Fulfulde, English, French and Arabic) was headhunted into the secret service from Katsina State civil service, which itself snatched him from the Bayero University, Kano where he taught French language and literature.

He had the distinction of being a product of an Arabic school who later joined the modern school system and proved his mettle at every level.

According to his official biography, the DG and the soon-to-turbaned Sardauna was born in Kofar Durbi area of Katsina into a respected family of Quranic scholars. “As was the tradition in Northern Nigeria and indeed, West Africa, Quranic scholarship took his uncle to Republic of Chad and he took the young Abubakar with him.

On his return to Nigeria, Abubakar attended Arabic Teacher’s College, Katsina where he obtained his Grade II Certificate. He later went to Bayero University Kano where he obtained a B.A degree in French Language and Literature, and an M.A degree in Francophone Maghrebian Literature. He worked as a Lecturer at Bayero University before taking up appointment with Katsina State Government. Later he transferred his services to the National Intelligence Agency, NIA in the 90s.”

At the NIA, he worked as an intelligence officer for many years during which he had served at the Nigerian Embassy Rabat, Morocco, before he quit on his own volition to join the African Union, AU Peace Mission in Darfur, Sudan.

After a meritorious service at the AU, he later joined United Nations as Director in Peace Support Operations, Mediation Process, Preventive Diplomacy and Good Governance office. He also worked as the political director of the UN Mission in West Africa in the course of which he, Ibn-Chambas and others supervised Nigeria’s successful election and transfer of power from an incumbent administration to an opposition winner, Muhammadu Buhari in 2015.

The published biography went on to state how, as a top official of the UN the new Sardauna “acquired extensive experience in peace support operations of the UN, mediation process, preventive diplomacy and good offices, while all along helping to promote good governance and respect for the rule of law and human rights.”

Shortly after leaving the UN, to come home and settle down in retirement, he was appointed as a Senior Advisor with the Multinational Joint Task Force, MNJTF formed by Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Benin Republics with headquarters in Djamena.

Not long after this appointment, President Buhari recalled him and placed him in the Office of the Chief of Staff as Senior Special Assistant to the President on International Relations where he supervised diplomatically and politically sensitive matters of the country’s foreign affairs.

Amid heightened tensions and fears within the intelligence service and in the West African subregion, President Buhari named him as the successor to the equally cerebral Ambassador Ayo Oke.

Ambassador Rufa’i hit the spotlight upon this appointment following succession battles launched by some in the organization who believed it was their turn. In appointments to top jobs like these, succession battles are not new but in the case of this one, it was very nasty.

But governments take the final call, the Head of Government decides who to appoint to the joy of some and disappointment of some; and to others, surprises. But it stays.

As the dust settled on the fire-and-brimstone succession in the NIA, Ambassador Rufa’i steeped himself in the job, introducing policies and measures that continue to change the  nation’s intelligence landscape for good.

He sought and obtained the support of most of his predecessors in office, some of whom had left very aggrieved and in a few cases in court against the organization that had nurtured their careers. Many of such cases have been discontinued.

Among the large turnout of ex-Ambassador this and ex-Ambassador that at the Polo event in Abuja to honor the DG on the attainment of the Sardauna title were men and women who in the past had sworn never to have anything with the intelligence agency. He has brought nearly everyone, serving and retired from the diverse sections of the country under the tent.

Internal staff matters concerning delayed promotions, lack of care and perceptions of unfair overseas postings were addressed and are still being paid attention to in a manner transparent and honest.

A lot is going on to have the field staff and those in headquarters updated through training on the current challenges facing the nation and our neighboring countries. Technology is being updated and made available and so are funds to carry out essential duties.

As the Boko Haram receive a battering, nearly 100,000 of them dropping their arms and accepting peace, the Islamic State-inspired terrorists have come knocking at the nation’s doorstep and NIA’s well trained spymasters, through effective coordination and collaboration with their domestic equivalent, the DSS and the armed forces and the police continue steer the country’s strategic and counter-intelligence efforts towards a safe direction.

With a style of management as put in practice by President Buhari, the nation’s security and intelligence agencies are achieving more with the little that is available.

Although essentially a secret service organization, the NIA was transformed into a veritable health hub when the nation fell into the grip of COVID-19 pandemic. They hosted the most qualitative and the most efficient testing laboratory in the Federal Capital Territory that became the choice laboratory/clinic to leaders in the country including the Presidency on coronavirus testing and treatment.

The agency, in collaboration with other partners is currently making a historic investment in health. Building is at an advanced state of a new mega hospital in Abuja that will house dedicated centers of excellence in cancer, renal sciences, orthopedics, trauma, mother and child care, and a hi-tech, fully-automated centralised laboratory.

A charming personality and highly popular in his network, the Sardaunan Katsina is destined to bring progress and development to his native state as well.

To commemorate this turbaning, he didn’t call praise singers to trumpet his ego and invite people to dance parties. Yes, there were Polo games, the signature sport of the royalty in Katsina played in Abuja and Katsina.

But the most notable thing he and the committee of friends who put together all the money through donations for the event are doing is a two-day seminar themed: Tradition and Modernity: Trends and Issues in the History of Katsina. The seminar brought together scholars and practitioners from several institutions to jaw-jaw on the traditional system of rulership and to suggest ways the institution will enhance national development. Whatever is left of the donated money will go into building a quality primary school that will serve only the children of the poor.

Many a prophet, goes the saying, ends up without an honor at home. For Sardauna (Ambassador) Ahmed Rufa’i Abubakar there is honor abroad and honor at home. 

·               Shehu is Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media and Publicity)

Promoters of the Yoruba Nation campaign may have lost steam owing to the resignation of the embattled leader of the self-determination struggle, Ilana Omo Oodua Worldwide, Prof. Banji Akintoye.

His departure ruffled some feathers. In the past months, the Akintoye-led Ilana Omo Oodua had been under intense pressure, struggling to co-ordinate the movement.

But General Secretary of the organisation, Tunde Amusat, denies Akintoye quit and left the struggle. The former leader only stepped down on account of old age, he insists.

Amusat, said the 87-year-old don handed the baton of leadership to his former deputy, Prof. Wale Adeniran. But the supposed successor, a former Commissioner for Education in Osun State, had resigned from his position “as a matter of principle” in November after the spokesperson of the group, Mr. Maxwell Adeleye, abandoned his position too.

Although, Adeniran had said he would remain a staunch member of Ilana Omo Oodua, the crux of the matter is how he would unite the body which he is inheriting in the face of protracted crisis and in-fighting.

It would be recalled that Akintoye who was one of the arrowheasd of the self-determination coalition, had also last year November, quit as chairman of the group known as the Nigerian Indigenous Nationalities Alliance for Self-Determination. 

The Ilana Omo Oodua led by Akintoye, is agitating for an independent Yoruba Nation. As the Alana (Pathfinder), Akintoye emerged as the Yoruba leader in August 2019. He became leader of the Yoruba Nation, courtesy of the Assembly of All Yoruba Groups Worldwide.

The Awoist and former senator believes that Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution was an imposed document that can no longer work in addressing the security and economic concerns of all interests in the country.

Despite his age, Akintoye, however, assembled new set of campaigners for the Yoruba Nation agitation. In the process, he brought in embattled activist, Chief Sunday Adeyemo, fondly called Sunday Igboho. With the support of Igboho, the Ilana Omo Oodua organised mega rallies, held in Abeokuta in Ogun State, Ibadan in Oyo State, Osogbo in Osun State, Akure in Ondo State, Ado-Ekiti in Ekiti State, Ojota in Lagos State, and other rural communities across the Southwest.

When Igboho joined the struggle the agitation for self-determination for Yoruba nation was pursued with renewed vigour last year, but it was short-lived.

They were beating the drums of secession. They held rallies across Yorubaland and hoisted a flag of the “republic” in some towns. Igboho’s metamorphosis into the proponent of the Yoruba self-determination struggle owed its emergence to the upsurge in insecurity in the Southwest occasioned by farmers-herders’ conflicts, persistent killings, kidnapping in rural communities.

Akintoye and the agitators hinged their struggle on grounds that there was a ploy by an ethnic group in the country to dislodge the Yoruba from their ancestral lands.

The agitation gained more public attention which eventually led to the ban on open grazing. It also strengthened the debates around ‘true federalism’ and restructuring which, among other things, will allow state governors to have control over state police. It further led to the formation of regional security networks, such as Amotekun corps in the Southwest.

Since Igboho’s confinement in Cotonou, Benin Republic, the Yoruba Nation struggle had witnessed some acrimony. Akintoye alongside Adeniran relocated to Benin to “legally rescue” Igboho. He, coordinated the activities of Ilana Omo Oodua from Cotonou for many months. He also mobilised Yorubas in the Diaspora to stage peaceful protest and demand for their own nation at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) held in New York, United States of America, last year.

But the discordant tunes and perceived division especially from those pushing the campaign from the Diaspora, created unending and unsettling reactions.

The Akintoye-led Ilana Omo Oodua had the arduous task of coordinating the campaign due to difficulty in bringing all the sub-groups under one umbrella. Series of virtual meetings from Diaspora supporters created different complications. Some had their loyalty to Igboho, others had theirs to Akintoye, while some others acted on their own volition. But the proliferation of different groups with underlying agenda made the campaign suffer setbacks.

Many, especially those in the Disapora, had accused the Akintoye-led Ilana Omo Oodua of trying to dominate the struggle, rather than advancing its goals. Meanwhile, the in-fighting laced with series of crisis especially with different faceoff from lead campaigners polarised the struggle. The inability of campaigners especially those in Diaspora to forge a common front complicated the struggle.

Crisis started when Mrs. Modupe Onitiri-Abiola under the auspices of Yoruba One Voice, announced reclaiming the Yoruba Nation struggle on December 18. This development unsettled a large number of campaigners. For some it was a clear act of usurping authority, while others believed that the Ilana Omo Oodua leaders were not doing anything concrete to promote the campaign.

Akintoye-led Ilana Omo Oodua attracted riposte from the Diaspora intelligentsia. Some perceived his leadership as a ruse.

The absence of concrete leadership heralded many caucuses within the campaign. Also, the drama over misappropriation of funds, betrayal and lack of co-ordination has resulted in the formation of subgroups. Many have their own hidden motives and selfish political ambition which had indirectly sabotaged the movement.

Now, the bubble has burst and the stench is inescapable. The Akintoye-led Ilana Omo Oodua may have been edged out of the struggle due to power play by lead campaigners. While there may be more dramatic actions to come, all eyes will be on Adeniran to see if he can unite the movement.

THERE were great expectations when Godwin Emefiele mounted the saddle as the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). However, eight years down the line, the received wisdom out there is that he may not have discharged the responsibilities expected of him well enough.

This is why: since inception he has literally leapfrogged into one controversy or the other, thus fueling snide remarks that he is not a good advertisement of his name. The literary interpretation of the name ‘Emefiele’ in Igbo language simply means ‘don’t err.’

Certainly, in the eyes of people in some quarters, the helmsman of the nation’s apex bank may have erred in some way.

For many Nigerians out there, another word to describe Mr. Emefiele is Mr. Controversy!

Indeed, the head honcho of the CBN honcho has been courting controversy in recent times. Lamentably, under his stewardship, the nation’s financial ecosystem has witnessed an unprecedented turn of events; the outcome of which led to some far reaching decisions and also left bitter taste on the lips of many.

With so many ugly developments the nation economy and financial sector have witnessed a lot of topsy-turvy turns under him.

Since his emergence as the CBN top echelon there have not been synergies between fiscal and monetary authorities, just as other serious macroeconomic issues, most of which miscarried, have shown him as someone out of focus and direction.

Signs that things were no longer the same with the Delta State-born technocrat became apparent after his failed presidential bid, a development, which further brought him to public opprobrium.

Fast-forward to almost three months after the failed bid, the CBN governor began to reel out different policies chief among which was the new naira redesign with a deadline set for January.

Just when Nigerians were trying to stomach that decision, he came up with the cash withdrawal limit policy regime, a development, which analysts have argued may be his swansong, if the chapter of accidents that has attended that decision is anything to go by.

Political expediency masked in anger by governors as well as sponsored protest matches ostensibly to make the CBN reverse the unpopular decision, especially the cash withdrawal limit has been total.

This is just as informed sources say certain members of the cabal in the corridors of power apparently unhappy with Emefiele’s antics tried everything within their powers to contain what they saw as his power-mongering tendencies.

At the National Assembly, for instance, some members raised red flags over the whereabouts of the controversial N89.1 trillion stamp duty receipts.

At issue is that a member of the House of Representatives from Jigawa, Gudaji Kazaure, in a viral video, had allegedly accused the CBN governor of attempts to cover-up facts surrounding the collection of the controversial amount.

He also alleged that he was deliberately being denied access to present a preliminary report of a committee set up by President Muhammadu Buhari to look into the alleged stamp duty funds being withheld by the CBN.

Also in the viral video, Kazaure urged the president to either allow him to present his report to him or immediately order a thorough investigation of the alleged stamp duty funds.

But the Malam Garba Shehu, the president’s Senior Special Assistant on media and publicity, described the Kazaure’s Committee as illegal, saying the committee was dissolved on the directive of Buhari.

In the statement which reads in part, Shehu said,”In the first instance, the committee on the alleged loss of stamp duty funds he is talking about is an illegal committee; it was dissolved on the directive of the president.

”Anyone familiar with our constitution will find it curious that a member of the Parliament is the Secretary of an Executive Committee.

”It suffices to say that the entire net worth of the nation’s financial sector, the assets of the banking sector put together are not worth N50 trillion, not to talk of the kind of money he is talking about.

”CBN assures that there is absolutely no problem, whatsoever, with money from Stamp Duties.

”There is a committee duly set up by the president in June 2020 chaired by the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice and the Secretary is the Chairman of the Federal Internal Revenue Service, FIRS that is currently reconciling the stamp duty accounts.”

 The presidential aide further revealed that earlier investigations carried out by govern ment departments and anti-corruption agencies on the stamp duty accounts indicated that nothing sensational had been discovered by them.

However, the last straw that may have broken the camel’s back was the allegations made against him by the Department of State Service, who have laid a manhunt for him over terrorism financing in Nigeria. 

To stave off the DSS, some human rights lawyers, civil groups including the Arewa Youth Consultative Movement raised the alarm over an alleged plot by the DSS to frame up the CBN governor on trump up charges.

The group, operating under the auspices of the Coalition of National Interest Defenders, alleged that to achieve the aim of getting Emefiele arrested, the DSS had secretly instituted a court action against him at a Federal High Court in Abuja.

Describing the alleged action of the DSS as a strange development in the history of the country, the group demanded the immediate sacking of the Director-General of the DSS to prevent him from setting the country ablaze.

The Convener of the Coalition, Tochukwu Ohazuruike, said the security agency filed a motion in court, accusing the CBN governor of terrorism financing and other crimes it described as economic crimes of national security dimension.

The group also accused the DSS of not informing the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), of the investigative report which showed them that Emefiele was a terrorist and faulted the agency for allowing Emefiele to travel out of the country with the President and had unrestricted access to the President.

Challenging the veracity of the claims of the DSS, the Coalition said if truly the Director-General of the DSS, Yusuf Bichi, believed his claims, he would not have allowed Emefiele anywhere near the President.

He added that by allowing Emefiele to travel with the President, it showed the DG of the DSS did not believe Emefiele was indeed a terrorist and this therefore meant that the claims of the DSS in suit no: FHC/ABJ/CS/2255/2022 between the State Security Service and Emefiele was made with the sole purpose of forcefully and wrongfully removing the CBN governor from office.

The groups therefore called on President Buhari and the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN), to set the process in motion to immediately suspend, arrest, investigate and prosecute the DSS DG, Bichi.

While the DSS is yet to back off his tail, the two legislative chambers of the National Assembly have also been unrelenting in their plan to put Emefiele in his place.

For the umpteenth time, the lawmakers have been sending him invitations for a meeting with them to make clarifications on economic issues, as well as re-visit the CBN Act, most of which he has continued to fob off, and fueling fears that the CBN governor may be a sacred cow after all and untouchable.

The Office of the CBN had justified the absence of the governor last Wednesday, saying that he was out of the country on health grounds.

Again, the lawmakers insisted on meeting with him on Thursday thus forcing the CBN Deputy Governor, Aisha Ahmad.

But in a move described as both confusing, the bank, a few hours to the session with members of the lower legislative chambers on Thursday did a slight review, raising the weekly limits for individuals to N500,000 and N5million for corporate organisations.

The lawmakers who grilled Ahmad, who represented Emefiele on the new cash withdrawal policy of the apex bank, said the newly introduced withdrawal limit was not done for political reasons.

While Emefiele may have succeeded once again in avoiding physical scrutiny and coming under the radar of the NASS but using a proxy, it is however not clear if the plausible explanations made by his deputy would sway them or literally calm the frayed nerves at the upper and lower legislative chambers.

Not many Nigerians, especially close watchers of Nigeria’s political space, will be surprised with the recent actions of Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, who was inaugurated on Sunday, November 27, 2022.

While there may be more dramatic actions to come, all of his actions sum up that power must be exercised with caution, discipline and responsibility.

As Adeleke settles into office, all eyes are on him with many stakeholders already spelling out their expectations of the new governor. His entry means the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) now has two of the six governors in the Southwest geo-political zone.

Indeed, Adeleke has an arduous task ahead, especially considering the lean resources of the state amid the issues that he inherited from his predecessor. Citizens of the state are earnestly looking up to him to fulfill the promises he made while campaigning.

On his first day in office, videos of the governor dancing energetically and vigorously to Kizz Daniel’s popular song ‘Buga’ to the admiration of the people went viral.

He was once called the ‘Dancing Senator’ but has now transformed into the ‘Dancing Governor.’ But beyond the energetic steps and unconventional style, he still has to prove to Osun citizens that he won’t entertain just them with just dancing skills but real governance.

Read Also: VIDEO: Adeleke dances to Buga on First Day as Gov

Adeleke had unveiled a five-point agenda that would drive his policy as governor to meet his people’s yearnings. The first on the list is to clear the state’s backlog of salaries and pensions. He also promised to boost the economy; a people-focused social policy through skill-based education, affordable health care, state security, and social security support; and agro-based industrialisation for wealth and job creation for youths and women.

But his recent actions are nothing to gloat about. It is something to groan about. His actions indicates that he is walking an unfamiliar path. Indeed, Adeleke has stepped into big shoes, but did he put in the wrong foot?

A day after he was sworn in as Osun governor, he issued six Executive Orders including sacking all the workers employed by his predecessor, Gboyega Oyetola, after the latter lost his re-election.

The orders signed by Adeleke covered chieftaincy matters, appointments issues, setting up of review panel, staff audit and employment matters.

In his inaugural speech he accused Oyetola of taking actions that were detrimental to the interest of Osun, especially the recruitment of hundreds of workers into the civil service even when there was no budgetary provision for them.

He also suspended three monarchs and allegedly ordered the withdrawal of the certificate of return of local council chairmen elected under the APC in the October 15 local government elections conducted by the State Independent Electoral Commission. He has since backtracked on some of these actions, claiming that he had only initiated a review of appointments.

The governor abolished the ‘State of Osun’ appellation, which was promulgated by one of his predecessors, Rauf Aregbesola, froze the state accounts, reversed the appointment of 30 permanent secretaries by Oyetola, while promising to correct past injustices, corrupt acts, and bad policies of the immediate past administration.

In the wake of Adeleke’s latest actions, pundits are divided along conflicting lines of thought. Some observers condemned the new governor for reversing appointments and job recruitments made by Oyetola, noting that he should draw the line between politics and real issues.

Beyond the political issues, Adeleke appears to be putting up personal quirks, which may offend some and amuse others. Osun people should be worried by this. But does he even care? No, he does not, it appears. If politicians were to be impaled on the cross for their often outrageous behaviour, not many of them would be left standing.

With Adeleke just beginning beginning his journey as governor of the state, he will certainly experience many political battles. But question then is: will he be consumed or hurt by self-induced controversies? Maybe, maybe not. All of that may yet be moot if the legal challenge of his predecessor succeeds at the tribunal and higher courts. If he emerges from it all unscathed, then the people of Osun should fasten their seat belts for a bumpy ride of controversies.

In the space of three weeks, the belching smoke and rumblings from the temple of justice caught up with some high-profile personalities namely the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Usman Alkali Baba; Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. Gen. Faruk Yahaya and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa.

The famous dictum that the law is no respecter of persons has been made evident with the recent rulings. Clearly, the orders are a signal that the institution must be insulated from unfair criticism and prevent a fall in the judiciary’s reputation in the public eye.

Contempt of court is any action that disrespects the authority of the court and brings the judge into disrepute. All of the latest episodes have controversy and triggered different reactions. For some observers the outcomes could impact the legal profession one way or another.

Some might be tempted to see contempt of court as a trivial matter. Lawyers understand the impact of disobedience to orders but many citizens may not. Contempt is a legal word that has existed for thousands of years, traceable to the Mosaic Law. Wherever judiciary exists this infraction must exist.

The frank debate about the court’s decisions not only acts as a check on our judiciary, but also contributes to informed and vocal public scrutiny, which in turn can promote accessibility and effectiveness of the judiciary.

For the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba, he was sentenced to three months in prison by the Federal High Court in Abuja, for flouting a 2011 court order. The backstory hinges on the appeal made by Patrick Okoli, a former police officer who was forcefully retired from the Nigeria Police Force. He filed the suit to reverse the action.

Read Also: Three high-profile contempt rulings in weeks

The presiding judge, Mobolaji Olajuwon, said Baba should be committed to prison for a period of three months, or until his office implements an order made by the court since 21 October 2011. Olajuwon further said despite the Police Service Commission’s recommendation reinstating Okoli into the Force, the IGP flagrantly declined to obey the order.

But Olumuyiwa Adejobi, spokesperson for the police explained that Okoli’s case dates back to 1992 after the IGP joined Force.

“The most recent judgement on the matter was given in 2011 which should ordinarily not fall under the direct purview of the current administration of the Force. Thus, the news is strange and astonishing,” he said.

In the case of the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Faruk Yahaya, a High Court sitting in Minna, Niger State, had issued a warrant of arrest and subsequent remand of the army boss and the Commandant, Training and Doctrine Command, Minna, Major Gen. Stevenson Olabanji, for alleged contempt.

The case was said to between one Adamu Makama and 42 others, versus the governor of Niger State and seven others. Counsel for the plaintiffs, Mohammed Liman, had prayed the court to send the army chief and commandant to the custodial centre for disobeying an order made on October 12, 2022.

Recently, the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Maitama sentenced to jail the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Abdulrasheed Bawa, over contempt.

But days after, Judge Chizoba Oji of the Federal High Court, Abuja, vacated the committal order made against Bawa. In nullifying the ruling, the judge said the evidence before her showed Bawa had complied with the court’s order, directing the EFCC to return a Range Rover Sport vehicle valued at N40 million, which it confiscated from Ojuawo, a former Director of Operations at the Nigerian Air Force.

Contempt of court is a very serious matter. Arguably, the courts can not only bark, they can also bite. While this appears to be true, the Judiciary cannot enforce its own judgments and orders. It relies on the Nigerian Police Force,which is controlled by the Executive arm of government.

Many judges in the past has refrained from making rulings which they considered unenforceable. For instance, is it really conceivable that the some surbordinate would attempt to arrest either the Inspector-General or the Chief of Army Staff.

The undeniable truth, however, is that contempt of court is not aimed at upholding the dignity of a court or a judge, but at enabling the administration of justice to operate without undue obstruction or interference.

Nigeria needs courageous and incorruptible judges. The judiciary must assert its authority by ensuring that court orders are obeyed to the letter. After all, it can be really conforting to believe that no one is really above the law – even if they are police or army chiefs who in the normal scheme of things are the arresters – not targets of arrest.

The Special Assistant on New Media to the President, Lauretta Onochie is in the news yet again. In that role, she has proven to be a bit controversial.

No wonder an avalanche of criticism greeted her nomination as chairman of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). It became a matter of debate in the court of public opinion.

Her initial nomination as INEC Commissioner representing Delta State (and by extension, the South-South) in 2020 triggered widespread outrage because her critics viewed her as glaringly partisan.

There were concerns that she is a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), but the presidential aide said she had resigned her membership of the ruling party in 2019. The Senate, however, rejected her nomination. Many heaved a sigh of relief following her rejection.

Observers have always accused Onochie of employing harsh language against those who aired critical views about the Buhari administration.

These critics believe some of her errors may deny her this second time.  But the subject of all the fuss is unperturbed.

While Onochie may likely be confirmed as fifth chairman of the board, some observers are finding it difficult to understand what really is the motive behind the President’s submission of her name for the NDDC position.

It appears she is in the good books of President Buhari, and apparently appeals to those who are her strong supporters. Apart from Onochie, the president sent the names of 15 other nominees as board members of the commission.

Ordinarily to some observers, there is nothing intrinsically wrong in the president appointing persons with whom he is comfortable, or those he trusts. Working with persons with whom one has familiar fundamental and rationally grounded interests makes the job relatively easy

Onochie’s nomination is coming three years after the last chairman of the board, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba was dropped by the president on January 25, 2019. The senator was appointed in 2016.

To some persons, it is unfathomably strange that Onochie’s nomination for NDDC headship is seen by stakeholders as a sort of political compensation for her travails since was turned down by the Senate for the INEC job.

The NDDC was established in 2000 by the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo to fast-track development of the oil rich Niger Delta region.

Despite the hue and cry, Onochie, who hails from Delta State, is about to make history as the first female chairman of the agency.

THE conspiracy has collapsed. The conspirators were united by their miscalculations, disrespect for reality, propensity for controversy and shortfall in foresight.

But, the two collaborators and heroes of division are now at each other’s throats. Truth, the big caterpillar, has bulldozed the household of falsehood and treachery, to the consternation of pompous elements who sought to manipulate religion to further divide Nigeria, ahead of next year’s presidential election

What would now be the reaction of All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftains, Babachir Lawal, former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, and Yakubu Dogara, lawyer and erstwhile House of Representatives Speaker, whose outbursts, following the adoption of same faith ticket by the party, have fanned the embers of disunity?

On Thursday, the coast was clear. The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), after a deep reflection, aptly dissociated itself from the political tirade. The apex body made a categorical statement that affirmed the rights of Christians to make partisan choices devoid of religious colouration as legitimate citizens.

Put succinctly, CAN separated religion from politics, urging Christians to vote for candidates of their choice, and not based on religious leanings.

The clarification instantly doused religious tension and cemented the bond of fraternity between Christians and Muslim leaders, who have been working assiduously to consolidate the atmosphere of religious peace and harmony in the country.

The adoption of the same faith ticket was not beyond expectation. The APC presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, is a Muslim from Christian-dominated South. Many believe that his choice of Senator Kashim Shettima, a Muslim from the Muslim-dominated North, was strategic and understandable. The preponderance of opinion in the ruling party is that the option will pave the way for victory at the poll.

However, the two chieftains disagreed with the popular opinion. They hurriedly put together a group, ‘Aggrieved APC Northern Christian Leaders,’ to press for the rejection of the Tinubu/Shettima ticket, in utter insensitivity to the public mood. Members of the group, led by Lawal, are former Kogi State Deputy Governor Simon Achuba, Albert Atiwurcha, Doknan Shena, Mela Nunge, Ishaya Bauke, Ibrahim Harun and Leah Olusiyi.

To observers, although they may parade seemingly intimidating credentials in their professional callings, there is no evidence to show that they have strong political weight.

Justifying his opposition to the ticket, Dogara said the ticket was antithetical to nation building. In his view, APC has adopted a same faith ticket in a country that has never attained nationhood.

Echoing him, Lawal said the same faith ticket was a plan designed to divide the North, adding that it should never stand.

An APC stalwart, Senator Abu Ibrahim, disagreed with him. He said Lawal was part of the process that threw up Shettima as running mate.

The chieftain from Katsina added:”Babachir was part of the process. He ought to have sensitised the Christian community about the consideration that led to the emergence of Kashim, instead of inflammable sectarian passion.”

Party sources hinted that the duo of Lawal, who hails from Adamawa State, and Dogara, who represents Tafawa Balewa Constituency, Bauchi State, in the Lower Chamber of the National Assembly, were fighting personal battles.

Since many Northern APC chieftains anticipated Tinubu’s emergence as standard bearer, they started bidding for the vice presidential ticket, which landed on Shettima’s palm, after considering many factors.

In a television interview,Lawal never hid his interest in the slot, saying that if he was offered, he will consider it. The ticket became elusive, following Shettima’s choice. That also triggered indignation, increased resistance and greater hostility by the duo.

Also, the two chieftains, who have earned respect in the party, based on their past commitment and loyalty, which later became doubtful, have decided to alienate themselves from the APC.

Many observers said the turn of events is worrisome. Over two years ago, Lawal had declared his support for Tinubu, who he described as the best man to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari, based on his competence, capability, experience, profile as bridge builder, feats as former governor of Lagos State, and pathfinding role during the APC’s  formative stage.

As Lawal and his co-travellers continued their rebellion against the ruling party, CAN, the umbrella organisation of Christians who they claimed to be fighting for was locked in introspection.

The Christian body invited frontline presidential candidates, including Tinubu, Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP). Led by its president, Archbishop Daniel Okoh, CAN threw tough questions at the flagbearers and assessed them, based on their blueprints and responses to questions.

In addition, the body also handed to each candidate its charter of demands and expectations, if they are elected.

CAN has taken a neutral position, which may have weakened the battle of the emergency Christian leaders crying more that the bereaved, and the indecorous anti-party activities they have embarked upon without let and hindering in the last three months.

According to CAN, it is better for Nigerians to vote in accordance with their conscience a candidate “who will best lead the nation into a new  a era of peace, security, prosperity, and collective progress.”

Having vigorously campaigned against the Tinubu/Shettima ticket in the media, but without success, the Lawal/Dogara gang is not only hit by fatigue, a crisis of confidence has also polarised the group.

Lawal, the arrowhead, has endorsed Obi, saying that APC and PDP are the same. He has now been isolated and deserted by other members of the group, who have objected to his unilateral decision.

Dogara, who has distanced himself from Lawal’s move, said:”The decision to endorse a particular candidate and the statement credited to the chairman are solely the decision and views of the chairman, which he is absolutely entitled to, but not that of the group.”

But, what is the gang up to? Can the members of the group spring any surprise in their respective states? In fact, their strength lies in their active membership of the ruling party, and not as critics and internal opposition leaders.

Currently, Lawal and Dogara appear to be battling with fading political influence at home.

Lawal’s Adamawa State is under the control of the PDP, which installed Ahmadu Fibtiri as governor in 2019. The outcome of the December 2019 local government poll in his native Hong local council showed that he could not prevent the defeat of APC.

In the previous 2019 presidential poll, Atiku and PDP defeated Lawal’s APC. PDP scored 412,266 to defeat Buhari, who scored 377,488, a difference of 34,778. Buhari only won 11 of 21 councils. It was a departure from 2015 when APC won by over 100,000votes.

In Hong Council, where Lawal came from, PDP, with 23,039 votes, defeated APC, which garnered 29,471 votes.

In Adamawa, many supporters of Lawal are rooting for Tinubu because the former SGF has not been able to convince them to turn their back at the ruling party and the candidate, despite his campaign of calumny in the media.

Also, in Bauchi State, where PDP Governor Bala Mohammed holds sway, Dogara, a serial defector from a minority enclave, is no match for the governor.

He is a Christian from a predominantly Muslim state, where he needs the votes of Muslims and Christians to make a headway. Despite being in PDP, APC still won the presidential poll in Bauchi in 2019. It scored 798,428 to defeat PDP, which got 209,313. Indeed, APC won 14 local governments.

It therefore, meant that the state deliberately wanted former Governor Mohammed Abubakar out of office. His defeat never affected the fortune of the APC at the presidential poll.

Dogara’s Council, Bogoro’s contributions to periodic poll is often narrow, in relation to the general popular votes in the state. Although he is popular in Bogoro, he needed the support of Dass and Tafawa Balewa councils to survive as a federal legislator.

The former Speaker was re-elected in 2019. He defected from PDP to APC later. In April, the defection became a subject of litigation.

The question is: what is the former Speaker up to?

will Dogara defect? Will he retrace his steps to PDP? If he remains in APC, what manner of havoc can he wreck? Will he still reconcile with APC?

One thing is certain: their campaign against Tinubu has been derailed by the position of CAN.