Category: Sunday magazine

Tragically, this was a many-sided tragedy.  It was a tragedy not only because a spectacular high-rise under construction in a highbrow neighbourhood was reduced to a lowly status. The 21-storey giant on Gerrard Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, had a great fall on November 1.

It was a tragedy not only because many people who were at the site, for one reason or another, died.  The number of fatalities was 46.  Each death was a tragedy in its own right. Luckily, 15 others were pulled out alive from the rubble.

It was a tragedy not only because the dead included the ambitious builder of the ambitious residential tower and CEO of Fourscore Homes, Femi Osibona. He was aged 55.

He had a grand architectural dream. The fallen tower was one of three towers, collectively known as 360 Degrees Towers.  He painted a picture of the project in an interview three months before the tragedy.  “We are actually building a seven-star hotel,” he explained.

“They are flats, but we make it feel like you are living in a seven-star hotel. Everything that is in a seven-star hotel, you will have there. But the only difference is that you own the property. We have not advertised and we have sold more than 50 per cent…Here in 360, we have security, exceptional view, offices, clubhouse, and open recreation area. Practically everything you have in a seven-star hotel.”

It was a tragedy not only because the building collapse raised questions about structural integrity and the builder’s integrity. The project and the builder attracted attention in 2020 when it was reported that Osibona had tried to prevent officials of the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) from sealing off the building in question. The agency was said to have observed some “anomalies.”

The agency’s general manager, Gbolahan Oki, was quoted as saying Osibona “got an approval for a 15-storey building and he exceeded his limit…and the materials he used are so inferior and terrible. The materials he used, the reinforcement, are so terrible. He got approval for 15 floors but built 21.”

There was a controversy over the number of floors he got approval to build. It was confusing that some high-level state officials claimed the builder got approval for 21 floors.

The tragedy was heightened following the release of the outcome of a “preliminary investigation” by the Nigerian Institution of Structural Engineers (NIStructE).   Significantly, the body said what it found out would “give a general indication of what likely led to the unfortunate incident.”

“The building that collapsed was initially designed for just six floors, and later to 12 floors, before this was further changed to 15 floors,” according to NIStructE president Kehinde Osifala.

He said in a statement: “It could not yet be established the adequacy of any properly designed and documented further revision to the eventual (and tragically, final) 21 floors that was being implemented and which collapsed.”

The professional body said the preliminary investigation “also revealed some evidence of structural inadequacy in the construction and that signs of some structural distress had already started to show within certain elements of the building.”

Whatever measures the builders took to address the observed defects were futile, the body noted, because “the method of implementation of this was not in accordance with sound structural engineering practices.”

This picture suggested that disregard for building standards, poor workmanship and materials, and a lack of official oversight were to blame.

It is incomprehensible how a building allegedly designed to have six floors became a 21-storey tower.  Nobody needs building engineering expertise to know that such a building, without appropriate intervention, was a disaster waiting to happen.

It was a tragedy not only because the disaster was avoidable. It was a tragedy not only because the crumbled tower was said to lack insurance cover.  After the tragedy, the Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA) highlighted the importance of respecting building rules, and having insurance to minimise losses.

Perhaps predictably, the Lagos State government set up a panel to investigate the tragedy.  The public awaits the result of the probe. It remains to be seen whether the outcome of the probe will help prevent avoidable building collapse, which has become tragically familiar.

Self-determination is a fundamental right…that cannot be subjugated – Justice Akintola

Agitations for self-determination are not new. They started long ago as people who speak the same language and perhaps share the same faith and boundary resolve to come together as one. Their common affinity is the sole determinant of their struggle for a common entity. The struggle is usually long and tortuous wherever this set of people seeks to quit a nation state. In some cases, the state labels them as rebels and go all out to kill their struggle. At times, the agitators too pay with their lives. Is there anything wrong in agitations for self-determination? No, says Justice Ladiran Akintola of the Ibadan High Court, in his verdict on the case of Yoruba Nation agitator Chief Sunday Adeyemo popularly known as Sunday Igboho against the Federal Government.

Nigeria was virtually drowned in the wave of such agitations in the outgoing year. Groups and people rose in some parts of the country, demanding that they be allowed to go. The agitations were pronounced in the Southwest and Southeast. That of the Southeast, however, took a different bent. The arrowhead of the campaign, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, wanted secession. Having travelled that road between 1967 and 1970, the elders, who witnessed the three-year civil war during which a million people were killed, did not want the region to go that way again. Yet, Kanu, who is in custody facing treasonable felony trial, found support in the youths, who have been holding the region down, with a weekly sit-at-home order enforced every Monday.

Are self-determination and secession the same thing? A thin line runs through them. Self-determination is a peaceful agitation to leave a country, while secession is forceful separation from an entity. People resort to secession where they are oppressed or the government is illegitimate. This is where Kanu and Igboho are different. Igboho hit the limelight with his exploits in Igangan, a community in Oyo State, in the heat of the herders and farmers skirmishes. He took sides with the farmers to chase out herders said to be wreaking havoc on the community. Igboho, who is battling for his release from custody in Cotonou, Benin Republic, ran into trouble with the government, which saw him as an existential threat.

His home in Soka, Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, was invaded by security operatives in the wee hours of July 1. Some of his properties, including vehicles, were destroyed. One of his cats was also taken away by the security agents who believed that it was Igboho who turned into a cat! Igboho fled the country, but he was arrested in Cotonou on his way to Germany. His arrest and detention over there did not stop him from challenging the legality of the invasion of his home. He also sought the determination of the propriety of the Yoruba’s struggle for self-determination. He won on both counts. Justice Akintola declared the agitation for self-determination as legitimate.

According to him, ‘’Chief Sunday Adeyemo and his group have a right to self-determination and are free to hold their rallies as long as they are peaceful. Self-determination is one of the fundamental human rights of the citizens that cannot be subjugated’’. His finding was premised on Igboho’s request for:

 

• A declaration that he and his Yoruba indigenous people have unquestionable and/or inalienable fundamental right to peacefully campaign and seek self-determination of Yoruba tribe in Nigeria and lobby the legislature to amend the 1999 Constitution as guaranteed by Article 20 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Right (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, Laws of the Federation 2010, and Articles 3, 4, 7 & 18 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of the Indigenous People, thereby insulating campaign for self-determination from criminal culpability.

 

• A declaration that the respondents’ resolve to prevent the applicant from propagating his belief in association with other like-minds in creating a Yoruba Nation and/or Oduduwa Republic for his Indigenous Yoruba People and hunting him with gun with a view to arresting him dead or alive when he has not called for war in achieving same is against his fundamental rights to freedom of thought, conscience and association since campaign for self-determination is recognised by law and international treaties of organisations to which Nigeria belongs.

It is a landmark decision on a vexed issue which has been threatening the fabric of society.

One controversy that Nigerians will not forget in a hurry when reviewing 2021 is the Value Added Tax over which the Federal Government and State Governments literally fought over who should collect and how it should be shared among the tiers of government. The heated debate was not a straight one between the federal and sub-national governments, the Organised Private Sector, lawyers, Civil Society Organisations, the academia and many others joined in the spar. Yet, it is one controversy that has refused to go away as it is yet before the judiciary for adjudication.

The governor of Rivers State, Mr. Nyesom Wike, took the bull by the horn by approaching a Federal High Court in Port Harcourt to resolve who, under the law, has the right to collect and expend the Tax that is basically a consumption tax. He contended that consumption tax is a residual responsibility over which the federal government has no control and that the Federal Inland Revenue Service that has been performing the function is merely an interloper acting ultra vires.The Rivers State governor equally argued powerfully that the constitution that is the grundnorm in the country does not list the tax among those that the federal government whether exclusively or concurrently with states could collect and share.

The state was later joined by Lagos that generates the largest amount given its population, relative prosperity and strategic location. The states won at the High Court, but the battle still rages. The Federal Government has since decided to take the matter to the Court of Appeal, with Oyo State joining the fray.

Where would this lead? Is the federal government being greedy in seeking to have the FIRS take charge? This may not be exactly so. Under the existing formula by which proceeds of the Tax is shared, the federal government only retains 15 per cent, while the states share 50 per cent, and the local governments are allowed to use 35 per cent. But, the issue is deeper than the amount actually retained by the central government. At stake is control and proprietary right. Also, the states think the federal government is already controlling so much of the national wealth through its share of the Federation Account, mining of solid minerals aviation, railways and waterways, among so many others. The states believe that the national government has its knees on their necks and they are unable to breathe. It took a similar grim fight for the Lagos State government to win control over sales tax from the hotels. Until 2019 when the court awarded control to the state government, the federal government had controlled proceeds from the sector.

The major difference in the current dispute is that the states are not unanimous. States that generate very little in terms of Value Added Tax are in support of the Federal Government. Many of them have argued that the relatively richer states should be their “brothers’ keepers”. The inequity and injustice in distributing the proceeds is at the heart of the judicial contest. While, in the first eight months of this year, Lagos State raked in N429 billion, it received N139 billion. Rivers generated N90 billion, but was allocatedN47 billion, behind Kano that generated N24 billion and got allocated N47 billion. Oyo State was allocated N18 billion, despite bringing 64 billion into the coffers.

More stupefying, perhaps, is the case of Zamfara that got an allocation of N59 billion despite generating less than one billion Naira. This has been described as grossly unfair and the basis for demanding that states should take full charge of the process. Contrary to the contention of some, it is not a geo-political contest. The South East States collectively generated about N22 billion, while Kano, as earlier indicated generates N24 billion.

Over the years, the VAT that was first introduced under the Babangida administration has grown to become a major funding source for state governments. In the past four years, about N10 trillion was generated as VAT and shared. It has therefore been argued that withdrawing the feeding bottle could lead to asphyxiation of some states. The contest has become intractable, essentially because at the heart of it is inequity, injustice, opaqueness and suspicion of the federal government. There are tributaries of the central contention such as who controls import duties. In 2020, this accounted for 22.7 per cent of the VAT, while foreign non-import VAT amounted to 27.4 per cent. That is another battle ahead.

As the country looks forward to 2022, it is in the interest of the stakeholders to resolve the matter amicably to protect all. But, in all, unless equity and justice prevails, there will be no resolution.

Nigerians will not forget in a hurry, the scandals involving music diva, Tiwa Savage, and widely acclaimed ‘super cop’ DCP Abba Kyari. Both of them are celebrities in their own right but they were in the news for the wrong reasons. First was music diva, Tiwa Savage, whose sex tape set cyberspace agog. Social media pulsed with outrage as fans of the music artiste and her critics went to war soon before and after the release of a sex video featuring Savage.

The artiste hinted in an interview with American radio host, Angie Martinez, of Power 105.1 that she was being blackmailed with the sex tape and would rather release it than succumb to the designs of her blackmailer. The prior warning by the Afrobeats singer, predictably, set tongues wagging.

At the heel of her disclosure during the interview, the divorced mother of one revealed that the video features her and her current partner and that her blackmailer commenced his threats immediately after it was mistakenly uploaded online by her partner.

Savage claimed that although the latter promptly deleted the video soon after he accidentally posted it on Snapchat, in error, it was too late.

She said, “Yesterday, I was leaving a radio station and I was in my car when my road manager sent me a message. She said I should check my phone. I checked it and there was a video, and I was just like ‘Wow!’,” she told Martinez.

“I asked him where he got it from and he said he received it about 20 minutes earlier. The video was sent to him and it is a tape of me and the person I am dating right now. The first thing I did after I got off the phone was that I sent it to my manager and asked what we should do.

“The person is asking for money now. The person I am dating is going crazy too. My manager asked how much the person is asking for.”

But the singer said she had decided not to pay the blackmailer because blackmailers usually come for more.

“I decided I was not going to pay the person because if I do, two months from now, three months down the line, or even two years later, you are going to come back again. Who knows, if I send the money, the person will probably release it. I am not going to let anyone blackmail me for doing something natural.”

The singer further stressed that she will not give a dime to her blackmailers. Savage stated that she could release the video herself because she is ‘that crazy’.

The news caught the attention of her fans in Nigeria and across the world. When the video was later leaked online it sparked conversation both online and offline.

Just before Savage’s sex debacle, Nigerians stirred to the shocking news of popular supercop and head of the Nigerian Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT), Abba Kyari’s alleged complicity in fraudulent transactions involving suspected internet fraudster, Abbas Ramon, aka Hushpuppi.

The United States (US) crime fighter, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in investigations made the declaration indicting Kyari in a $1.1m fraud case alongside five others, including United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based Abbas.

The FBI had reportedly filed a criminal complaint at the United States District Court in California listing Abbas Ramon, aka Hushpuppi; and Kyari among others indicted in the $1.1m international fraud conspiracy.

Other suspects include AbdulRahman Juma (Abdul); Vincent Kelly Chibuzo (Kelly); Rukayat Motunrayo Fashola

(Morayo); and Bolatito Tawakalitu Agbabiaka (Bolamide).”

Until his indictment, Kyari was seen as a fearless crime fighter and outstanding officer presumably honest and committed to his work.

He was particularly notable for arresting the dreaded billionaire kidnap kingpin, Chukwudumeme Onwuamadike aka Evans, and ending the reign of terror of armed robbers and kidnappers in the southeast, among other numerous heroic exploits.

At his indictment, Kyari’s critics emerged from the woodwork claiming that he had always been a suspicious cop whose association with questionable characters were red flags that ought to have been taken cognizance of.

Kyari, according to an FBI affidavit is “alleged to have arranged for Vincent, Abbas’ rival in crime to be arrested and jailed at Abbas’ behest, and then sent Abbas photographs of Vincent after his arrest.

“Kyari also allegedly sent Abbas bank account details for an account into which Abbas could deposit payment for Vincent’s arrest and imprisonment.”

But in a swift rebuttal on Facebook, Abba Kyari denied the allegations claiming the only monetary transaction between him and Abbas was the N300,000 sent by the latter to him for onward payment to his cloth vendor. Kyari said he introduced the tailor to Abbas after the latter expressed the desire to buy some native attires he (Kyari) shared on his Facebook page.

Further allegations held that Kyari abandoned his official duty post in September 2019, and flew to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to frolic with the most wanted internet conman,s according to the FBI.

At just 29-years-old, David Adedeji Adeleke aka Davido has inked his name in gold as not only a successful Nigerian-American singer but one with an uncommon and unusual heart of gold. After registering himself as one of Africa’s most prominent artists over the last decade and the African artist with the highest number of followers on Instagram, Davido sealed his status as an entertainment idol in the minds of his fans.

Three days before his 29th birthday on November 21, 2021, Davido stunned the world by raising a staggering $600,000 (N200 million) from Nigerian entertainers, sportsmen, nightclubs, lounges, and friends.

It all began with a tweet seeking colleagues to send him funds to clear his recently acquired Rolls Royce Cullinan valued at $330,000.

“If u know I’ve given you a hit song .. send me money,” Davido tweeted in what has become a historic point in his life.

Davido went further to post his bank details online and requested for the funds to raise 100 million Naira ($243,000) to clear his Rolls-Royce from a port.

The response from friends, colleagues, and institutions produced a total of N200 million in less than 48 hours. The rush to credit Davido’s account became a race with almost all the Nigerian celebrities donated generously aside Wizkid, Burna Boy, and a few others.

A day before his birthday, Davido announced the full amount he received from fans and celebrity friends totaled over $485,000 and would be used for charitable purposes.

“In my usual playful manner, I requested a few days ago that my friends and colleagues send money in celebration of my birthday,” Davido wrote in a statement. “The response and outcome exceeded my expectations.”

Davido returned to his social media accounts to express how emotional he got after over N100 million were donated in less than 32 hours. “I’m actually crying. I really love you guys man.”

So much was the hype around the donation that a Nigerian Bank, Alat – an arm of Wema bank, had to sign an undisclosed fee as an endorsement deal between the budding banking arm and the established music act.

In his official statement after the sum of N200 million was deposited into his account, Davido said, henceforth, he aims to raise funds annually to celebrate his birthday and give back to people in need.

In his usual style, Davido also made a personal donation of N50 million and named a disbursement committee that will identify orphanages that need funding, and distribute the funds accordingly.

This gesture not only wowed his colleagues but the entire world. However, it’s public knowledge that Davido’s benevolence is in the same measure as his love for a luxurious lifestyle.

Not that friends, colleagues, and others didn’t know of his generosity, he took it a notch higher after the feat he pulled off just before his 29th birthday. From going on a shopping spree for his crew to bettering the lives of his immediate staff, Davido has continued to be in the news for all the right reasons.

It’s almost impossible to hinge appreciation of his gesture on the N250 million giveaway because that would appear either being deliberately unfair to him or exhibiting very poor knowledge of his rather mysterious nature. Born into sweeping wealth and affluence, Davido has never for a fleeting second experienced poverty or suffering. Yet, he gives with compassionate empathy. For one, who has given so much without expecting in return, it is believed that he stands tall among his peers, who might try to come close to him in terms of giving.

Though his third studio album, A Better Time, which was released in November 2020 didn’t win him an award in 2021, one of his biggest hits, ‘If’ attained an enviable height when it was certified Gold in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

The father of three has continued to wow fans, showbiz practitioners across the world after making impeccable feats winning awards – national and international.

His name is Victor osimhen, the 22-year-old Nigeria International striker  who currently  plies his trade in the Italian Serie A, is essentially  not an ordinary   football player ; and even  more so  in this out-going  Year 2021 following  his virtuoso performances  for both club and country. Indeed , this lad plays  his football with an uncommon  gusto  because he justifiably  gives his all  on the pitch  just  to ensure   victory  for his side. But  what else do you expect  when  Victor  wears his surname, Osimhen , like an amulets?

Some onomastician explained  that  the name  Osimhen  represents :‘intuition, enlightenment, dreams, incoherence, anxiety, charisma and a timid persona.’

Perhaps  such description  is not   farfetched   especially for anyone that has followed  the trajectory of this particular player. Victor , is  certainly an embodiment  of  Osimhen , having had  to fight his way  from  grass to grace;  from obscurity  to stardom  and even more so from the dusty streets of Lagos where he eked a living  hawking satchet  water in traffic to the hallowed turf of the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona-the home of Italian Serie A side, Napoli where he’s now turning the eyes  with  his scoring feats.

After a difficult start at Wolfburg, Osimhen would soon bloosomed at Belgian club Charleroi as well as Lille in France.

Now in his second season with Napoli, Osimhen joined the Blue Azzuris  for a club-record fee of $96 million USD from French Ligue 1 side Lille which currently makes him the costliest  African player in history.

In his first season , Osimhen  scored just  10 goals  in 24 appearances  in  all competitions  for the then  Gennaro Gattuso-led Napoli as he was hampered  by a shoulder  injury  and COVID-19 restrictions  following that infamous  birthday party in Lagos.

But he has been on the bounce  since his return to action in January  when he  made a cameo  appearance as  Napoli  won the  Coppa Italia  for  what  was the side’s first major trophy since 2014.

In  the on-going 2021/2022 campaign,  Osimhen has shown  his  typical adventurousness  in front  of the goal post  very much so to the delight  of new manager Luciano Spalletti, who consequently  likened the former  starlet  from  Lagos-based Ultimate Strikers Academy to football greats George Weah and Marco van Basten.

“He is similar to Weah, probably not as strong technically, but with the same quality. He also reminds me of Van Basten. Osimhen is young and he can reach those levels,” Spalletti said.

There is no disputing such  positive comments  about  Osimhen as he has  allowed his  puritanical  approach  on the pitch  do the talking  for  him.  With nine goals  in 14 matches  across  the Serie A  and  Europa League , Osimhen  is  certainly  heading for the skies.

Undoubtedly,  he   is  arguably  at the head of Nigerian strikers that  have massively hogged the headlines across  the major leagues of Europe including  the English Premier League, Spanish La Liga, German Bundesliga, French Ligue 1 as well as Italy.

While the likes of Union Berlin’s Taiwo Awoniyi, Nantes’ Moses Simon, RC Genk’s Paul Onuachu shared the spotlight with Osimhen in the European football circuit, the record-setting  FIFA  U-17 World Cup top scorer left no one in doubt as the man of the moment with a  far better scoring tally  with the Super Eagles.

In 2021, the Super  Eagles embattled  German coach Gernot Rohr  played  eight international  matches  including  two  Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers  and six  Qatar 2022 World Cup qualifiers  with an impressive 13 goals  with the ‘gangling’ Osimhen contributing a healthy five goals of the lots.  And was  2021 AFCON  qualifying tournament’s joint top scorers with Zambia and Leicester City’s striker Patson Daka with five goals.

Yet tragedy  struck Osimhen  on November 21 when he  fractured  his cheekbone during a clash of heads with Inter defender Milan Skriniar as Napoli suffered a first league loss going down 3-2  against The Black and Blues at the Guiseppe Meazza.

He would later  missed  four Serie A matches including Napoli’s 3-2 home defeat to Atalanta last weekend.

The outpouring of  sympathies across all divides  partly underlined  the  impact  of Osimhen’s  goals  for both  club and country. While Napoli  without their talismanic Osimhen  lost their summit position  in the Italian league , Nigeria  in the meantime, are sweating  on his availability  for the forthcoming  delayed   2021 AFCON to be held in Cameroon in January.

“ He (Osimhen) is strong mentally,” Rohr told The Nation after  initial news that the player might even  miss the AFCON following a successful  operation  on his fractured cheekbone.

Rohr’s sentiment was equally echoed  by Spalletti ahead  of Thursday’s crucial 3-2 win against  Leicester City  saying inter alia: “We will urge him every day and see what answers he gives. Recovery times will be defined on the basis of his reaction,” the former Inter Milan  manager reportedly said.  “Knowing him well, we are confident that recovery can take place as soon as possible.

“ It is clear that the situation will need to be protected, but we will try to do it anyway and shorten the times as much as possible.”

Yet in Osimhen’s footballing lexicon , impossibility is nothing ; no wonder his  quick recovery rate  after what was  described as a ‘nasty injury’  did  not come as a surprise to his keen  followers.

Emmanuel Amuneke  who discovered  and nurtured Osimhen  to world acclaim  as a youngster  with the Golden Eaglets  once  described his metee as a fighter  with extraordinary  courage.

Such outstanding quality has seen him won  individual accolades including  the  2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup Golden Boot as top scorer with a record 10 goals; 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup Silver Ball winner as the second Most Valuable Player ; the  2015 CAF Youth Player of the Year; the Ligue 1 Player of the Month of  September 2019; the  2020  Prix Marc-Vivien Foé: 2020 and the  Lille Player of the Season:  for the 2019/20 season  en route  to Napoli.

The boardroom tussle, board and management changes and reinstatement, the multi-billion naira shares acquisition and the didactics of largest single individual shareholder and majority or controlling shareholders at Nigeria’s oldest financial services group-FBN Holdings (FBNH) Plc, were some of the highpoints of corporate governance issues in 2021.

FBN Holdings, the holding company for First Bank of Nigeria Limited (FirstBank) and its former subsidiaries, is not only Nigeria’s oldest financial services group, it also holds strategic socio-economic and political importance. It is privately-owned publicly quoted company with strategic national importance. Although it has lost considerable influence in the aftermath of its epoch elephant-strolling public offer, FBNH remained a reference financial group. Categorised euphemistically as “too big to fail”, first tier or national interest, FBNH’s historic and current implications have continued to shape discussions around the group.

So when billionaire businessman,  Mr Femi Otedola, through his professional agent, announced that he has acquired material stake in FBNH, the news swiveled beyond the financial markets to the socio-political decision corners. Otedola initially acquired 5.07 per cent equity stake in the holding group and while the market was still expecting a formal pronouncement on the statutory regulatory review of such investment, he increased his equity stake to 7.57 per cent.

Otedola acquired additional 2.5 per cent equity stake to increase his previous 5.07 per cent stake to 7.57 per cent. He now has about 2.72 billion shares in FBNH including direct personal shareholding and indirect interests in five other firms. These represent 7.57 per cent of FBNH’s total issued share capital of 35.895 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each.

With this, Otedola is ahead of the declared 5.36 per cent equity stake held by Mr Tunde Hassan-Odukale. However, the final confirmation of the current shareholding structure of the group will be determined after the filing of statutory notification by the board of directors.

In what signposted the dogged nature of the boardroom struggle, technicalities of secondary market transactions and the uncertainties still around the contentious implication of Otedola’s holding, the board of FBNH only reported acquisition of 200 million ordinary shares by Otedola to the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), contrary to the more than 900 million shares indicated under the additional 2.52 per cent equity stake.

But it is also the first formal acceptance of Otedola as a major shareholder. According to the regulatory filing, the insider disclosure was filed because Otedola was as a “significant shareholder”. Material or significant shareholding, under the Nigerian capital market rules implies five per cent or above. Such material or significant shareholding must be declared to the company and the relevant regulatory authorities.

Trading rules at the NGX also consider such significant shareholders as insider whose trading activities on the company’s shares must be publicly declared. It was in compliance with the rule on insider trading disclosure that Otedola’s recent acquisition was formally reported. According to the regulatory filing, Otedola bought 200 million shares at an average price of N11.52 per share between December 6 and 8, 2021.

In another twist, Otedola last week reportedly dispelled insinuations that he was angling for chairmanship of the board of FBNH. Then, is he building up portfolio as a passive secondary-market investor or it is in response to the intrigues and the challenges of external takeover of a long-entrenched group like FBNH?

In what was apparently not an ordinary coincidence, an existing director and chairman of First Bank of Nigeria (FBN), Mr. Tunde Hassan-Odukale had in the wake of the Otedola’s acquisition increased his shareholdings to 5.36 per cent. Odukale is a long-standing, generational insider in FBNH. A financier and recognised operator in the financial services sector and as such, he and other directors have been profiled and cleared.

On the other hand, Otedola’s initial acquisition had triggered a regulatory review of his shareholding by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Rule 4.1 of the Guidelines for Licensing and Regulation of Financial Holding Companies in Nigeria stipulates that where shares amounting to five per cent of a holding company are acquired through the secondary market, such holding company shall apply for approval from the CBN within seven days of the acquisition. The apex bank has not made public any formal report on its approval review of Otedola’s acquisition. However, weighing in on the contention around ‘majority shareholder’ and ‘largest shareholder’, CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele stylishly said First Bank is too big to be owned by a person.

With about 1.2 million shareholders, FBNH has been ran by a longstanding, time-tested traditional alliance of several shareholders with major shareholdings, who traditionally pool their holdings through proxies to sway major decisions including board and management appointments. That alliance was tested recently during a boardroom squabble and it fended off what was described as “undue” influence.

The latest audit of the group, released two weeks ago, showed that 42 shareholders hold 36.01 per cent equity stake. When extended upward, 239 shareholders own 51.74 per cent while the 440 shareholders hold the critical mass of 77.44 per cent equity stake. But according to the audit dated September 31, 2021, no shareholder held more than 5.0 per cent. This underlined the alliances needed to make major changes in FBNH and the collective, democratic nature of its corporate governance, arguably the most unique in the financial services sector.

FBNH is still the most-traded stock at the NGX, underlining the continuing contest for the control of the group. FBNH closed weekend as the most active stock for the week with a turnover of 185.09 million shares worth N2.23 billion in 1,069 deals. So, FBNH is not only a defining business issue of 2021, but the ramifications may be more pronounced in the next few months.

Naira’s fall in the last 12 months has left deafening sound in the ears of local, foreign businesses and investors.  Many businesses and investors expecting the local currency’s speedy recovery to pre-pandemic era  were disappointed at how low it nosedived in the course of the year, hitting N485/$ at the parallel market in mid-July from around N465/$ at the beginning to the year.

At the Investors & Exporters  window, (the official market),  the naira depreciated by 7.7 per cent from N380/$ to N410/$.

The misfortune of the naira came from diverse occurrences,   with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) fighting back with policies, including naira-for-dollar incentives for diaspora remittances beneficiaries.

For instance, in a similar fashion to the January 2016 episode, the CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele,  at the end of the July 2021 Monetary Policy Committee meeting placed a ban on forex sales to Bureaux De Change (BDCs) and suspended the issuance of new BDC licenses over allegations of forex  racketeering.

The bank were directed by the CBN to set up an forex teller desk in all branches to meet retail-end forex demand.

In the last 20 months, the CBN had expanded its list of banned items from accessing forex to 45 (maize, fertilizer, milk, and sugar being the new additions), while foreign capital inflow declined 61.1 per cent year-on-year in first half of 2021 to N2.9 trillion.

With sustained dollar scarcity,  banks came under  under pressure in meeting their clients’ demands in funding dollar-based transactions.  Currently, banks are rejecting dollar-related transactions while businesses and consumers are in search of alternatives that would enable them replace imported raw materials and products with homegrown substitutes.

Deputy Managing Director, Afrinvest West Africa, Victor Ndukauba explained that these and many other measures helped to put the local currency on the recovery path.

The naira now exchanges at N565/$ at the parallel market and N410/$ at the official market while the foreign reserves stood at $40.97 billion last week.

Looking ahead, market dealers have given insight on the future of the local currency.

Trading Desk Manager, AZA, global forex dealers, Murega Mungai, projected that the naira is likely to regain more lost ground in the coming weeks on the back of increased remittances during the festive season and a slowdown in business imports as the year closes.

The naira crisis had worsened following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic leading to significant reduction in the demand for, and price of crude oil, Nigeria’s main source of forex receipts and fiscal revenue.

The price of crude oil fell by more than 70 per cent from a high of $68 per barrel in January 2020 to $24 per Barrel in April 2020.

As of April 20, 2020, the price of some streams of crude oil fell below zero dollars per barrel, as producers were forced to pay buyers for overwhelmed storage facilities.

The global travel and tourism sector lost about $4.5 trillion from the effects of the travel restriction, quarantines and other related measures.

The global financial conditions also tightened as investors withdrew over $120 billion in portfolio flows from emerging and frontier market countries in the first half of 2020, leading to revenue drop for Nigeria.

Supply was also affected by massive outflow of foreign portfolio investments from emerging and frontier Markets including Nigeria in 2020.

Emefiele said these occurrences had adverse implications on the supply of forex into Nigeria, as well as on government revenues.

“While flows began to recover in the early part of 2021, financial flows to emerging markets like Nigeria, are constrained by expected tapering by the Federal Reserve Bank in 2022, which is likely to affect global financial conditions,” Emefiele told bankers at the 2021 Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) dinner and awards night held in Lagos.

The resulting outflow has further heightened pressures on the currencies of major emerging market countries like Nigeria, leading to the adjustments of the naira exchange rate.

Go and kill (joro, jara, joro)

Go and die (joro, jara, joro)

Go and quench (joro, jara, joro)

Put ’em for reverse (joro, jara, joro)

– Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, Zombie.

Soja Idumota (erected 1935), at its Idumota commercial hub cenotaph, was a culture icon, much revered by the scurry-dart-and-dash Lagosians. With immense pride, even those hurried denizens gawked at Lagos own that perished, far-away at the European wars, tagged World War 1 & 2.

That pair of foot soldiers – Soja Idumota – was never more iconic: in them, Lagos was well pleased; and called foreign tourists and domestic travellers to share their thrill!

In 1978, Head of State, Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo, shunted the beloved Soja, with storied heroism from India and Burma, from their Idumota home, to the former Race Course, Lagos.  In 1990, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida would move them to Abuja, the new federal capital – a move not a few Lagosians still resent.

However, a new sole figure, symbolizing Nigeria’s composite blues at World War 1 (1914-1918), World War 2 (1939-1945) and the Nigerian Civil War (1967-1970), found a new home at the Remembrance Arcade, Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS), Lagos.

The vast TBS grounds, built in 1972, complete with a 50, 000-capacity stand, office suites and shops, a cricket mini-stadium, aside from the Remembrance Arcade, stood on the former Race Course – colonial Lagos’ national high shrine for horse jockeys and horse races.

With that new home came a new name: Lone Soldier.  But with that new name came less love and awe:  long years of military rule had filled the military class with hubris. That blinded them to the disdain the Nigerian on the streets held the prancing men in khaki and jackboot.

The military’s fashionable impunity found the generals looting the nation’s till with patriotic relish; and the foot soldiers preying on “bloody civilians” – their street game – with patriotic gusto.

Those street ruffians came in many forms: “staff” to many commercial shuttle operators who must transport them free because of their khaki and jackboots; a riotous mob in uniform that reserved the right to storm any place at the slightest excuse; and unruly rascals, dishing out spicy slaps – or worse.

Indeed, in his book Honour for Sale, Debo Basorun, a retired Major of the Nigerian Army, relived being a victim one of such soldiers’ invasion of an Idi-Oro, Lagos hotel, and the imperious snatching of civilians’ fun-catching girlfriends.  That made him to virtually hop into the Army during the Civil War, just to call the bluff of those rampaging rascals.

By the time Fela released Zombie in 1976, the soldier in the street had become a near-scum.  Fela himself bore the scars of the so-called “Unknown Soldier” that tossed his old mother, the venerable Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, from the first floor of his Idi-Oro “Kalakuta Republic” home, burned the place and sacked his band.

So, a vigorous dance to the electrifying Zombie was merry contempt for the foot soldier; and even more caustic scorn for the corrupt officer corps, who the colourful Chuba Okadigbo once dismissed as “coup heroes” – opportunistic, cant-spewing parasites that grabbed public arms, to corral public office, for ultra-selfish goals.

The old Soja Idumota had turned full circle – from hero to zero, in that catchy street lingo.  Popular imagination, which it once fired, had turned popular indignation, which it had now earned!

Yet, in Nigeria’s long-running terror war, these same foot soldiers are making a huge difference in uncommon bravery, rare gallantry and supreme sacrifice.

Major Debo Basorun confessed he self-blundered into the Civil War: untrained and unarmed; and with virtual bare arms to war with the Biafra rebel forces.

On the contrary, these foot soldiers were not without training.  Yet, they were once near-canon fodders to the rampaging Boko Haram Islamists, in the slaughtering fields of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa.

Under President Goodluck Jonathan, there were allegations that the velvet ranks just tossed these expendables into battle with little or no fitting armour.  Yet, they held firm; with not a few, nameless and thankless, prematurely dispatched to their maker, in the cause of motherland.

Indeed, since the Boko Haram Islamist resurrection started on 26 July 2009; to 2013/2014 when it ramped up its murderous blitz, seizing territories and planting flags; to the present ebbing fortunes, of rare military ambushes and cowardly hits on soft targets, the foot soldier has borne much of the brunt.  Yet, he appears fated to being nameless; and even much less appreciated.

All-night on December 3, Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists, the latest Islamist strain after the death of Boko Haram leader, Ibrahim Shekau, rained mortar thunder on Maiduguri, the Borno capital.

But the actual battle ground was Kala Balge town, from where ISWAP had hoped to steal into Maiduguri.  The troops, though suffering seven fatal casualties – two officers, five men – pegged back the terrorists, dispatching no less than 26; and having many more scamper off with bullet wounds.

“In the fierce battle for Kala Balge, troops defended the town and neutralized 26 BH/ISWAP terrorists,” Brig-Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, director of Army Public Relations gushed. “The gallant troops also captured terrorists’ combat vehicles, 18 AK 47 rifles and one M-21 rifle, with large quantity of ammunition.”

But beyond the Army Headquarters’ general serenading of “troops”, the fallen five foot soldiers and the tens of others that triumphed were destined to be known-less.

Three weeks earlier, the ill-fated Brig-Gen. Dzarma Zirkusu and his three soldiers snared in an ISWAP ambush, while racing to reinforcement duties in Borno’s Uskira Uba local government area, also fell.  Of the lot, only the brigadier-general made the headlines.

The foot soldier, a study in stoic heroism, has been the game-changer in this anti-terror war.  Yet he is seldom celebrated; and his welfare near-military apostasy.

That is why he has breasted the tape as second runner-up in The Nation Person of the Year 2021 – who, irony of ironies, is Nobody!

It is sad that this is our First Runner-Up, but it only mirrors the Nigerian society

Until November 25 when a Federal High Court in Abuja declared the activities of Yan Bindiga and Yan Ta’adda bandit groups as acts of terrorism, Nigeria, more specifically the Federal Government, had been treating the two groups as ‘mere bandits’. It was therefore treating them with kid gloves. Many Nigerians cried foul, and asking that the Federal Government apply the big stick against these so-called bandits as it has been doing to Nnamdi Kanu and members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), and Sunday Igboho, the protagonist of the Yoruba self-rule agitation movement. After all, what is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.

This official dichotomy between ‘bandits’ and ‘terrorists’ did not help the cause of the war on terror. Even the military took a cue from the body language at the top and refrained from dealing severely with the bandits. The Federal Government however shocked Nigerians when it instituted a suit against the two bandit groups, and, by extension, others like them that have been the source of sleepless nights to law-abiding citizens, particularly in the northeast, northwest and north central parts of the country.

According to the government, the groups, based on security reports, are responsible for the growing cases of “banditry, incessant kidnappings for ransom, kidnapping for marriage, mass abductions of school children and other citizens, cattle rustling, enslavement, imprisonment, severe deprivation of physical liberty, torture, rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, forced pregnancy, other forms of sexual violence, attacks and killings in communities and commuters and wanton destruction of lives and properties in Nigeria, particularly in the Northwest and Northcentral states in Nigeria are being carried out by Yan Bindiga and Yan Ta’adda groups and other groups associated with or engaged in the same or similar activities as Yan Bindiga and Yan

Ta’adda groups in Nigeria.”

“The activities of Yan Bindiga and Yan Ta’adda groups and other similar groups constitute acts of terrorism that can lead to a breakdown of public order and safety and is a threat to national security and the corporate existence of Nigeria,” the government added.

But why this volte face on the party of the Federal Government? Could it be that the bandits at a point stole too much for the owner to notice? Did the government change its mind on redefining the bandits due to widespread criticisms that it was being lenient with them because of the part of the country they hail from? As a matter of fact, some speculated that the government changed its mind and eventually took the matter to court to get judicial imprimatur for its planned onslaught against them as terrorists. The speculation is that the Federal Government sorely needed this judicial pronouncement in view of its agreement with the United States which sold some Super Tucano military jets to the Nigerian Armed Forces not to deploy the jets arbitrarily.

Whatever the case, the court agreed with the government that the groups are terrorist organisations, proscribed them as well as similar organisations, and restrained people from participating in their activities.

The court message sank. Even Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, who used to serve as

intermediary between the bandits and government has said he would stop his self-appointed role. Since the court judgment, he has been less visible in making a case for the criminals or disclosing publicly that he met with them in the jungle, intimating us with what .he often referred to as their demands from the Federal Government.

Perhaps the redefining of bandits began to gain more currency when groups that have been otherwise described as ordinary bandits brought down a military jet. Even Nigerians who had previously taken casual interest in their activities began to reflect more deeply on the needless dichotomy between terrorists and the bandits when, on July 18, 2021, a Nigerian Air Force (NAF) fighter jet was brought down by the so-called bandits on its returning from a successful air interdiction mission between the boundaries of Zamfara and Kaduna states. Although this was the fourth military jet to come down in about seven months in the course of prosecuting the insurgency war, it was the first that the military admitted was actually brought down by bandits.

However, beyond this, the judgment is significant in that it has brought into bold relief the fact that there is hardly any difference between both bandits and terrorists. After all, what do terrorists do that bandits do not do? All of the allegations used by the Federal Government to secure the judgment against the bandits are true of both categories. Bandits and terrorists have something in common: they come to rape, to kidnap, to steal, to kill and to destroy.

Their activities almost made nonsense of food security in the country.

So far, bandits’ known in local  parlance as armed gangs had kidnapped more than 1,000 students and school children between December 2020 and July 2021, alone. Some of them never returned alive while ransom had to be paid to secure the release of many others. As a matter of fact, payment of ransom to guarantee the release of abductees alive would appear to be the mildest of the punishments by the bandits. Their criminal activities have led to many being displaced from their homes, many maimed and many more cruelly separated from their loved ones in what could pass for some of the worst social dislocations of our time. Even at the definition of bandits as “a  robber or outlaw belonging to a gang and typically operating in an isolated or lawless area.”, would someone who wants to steal others’ property mind if the owner dies in the process? So, wherein lies the difference between them (bandits) and the terrorists?

Now that the Federal Government has got the court’s nod to deal with the so-called bandits as terrorists, there is no excuse not to be ruthless with them, at least within permissible limits in fighting such insurgency. The court’s declaration would be meaningless if there is no significant reduction in their capacity to wreak havoc.

All said, it is better for the Federal Government and particularly the governments in the northern part of the country to address the underlying causes of banditry. Here, we are talking about ignorance, poverty and illiteracy. Some of the ancient practices in the region, like the concept of Almajiris have to be re-tweaked to reflect modern trends.

It is regrettable that the bandit has been named as first runner-up in our Person of the Year categories. But it is a reflection of the Nigerian reality. And the earlier the Federal Government in particular realised this all importent raison d’etre of government, the better.

This country has lost too much  to banditry (insecurity). It is time to stop the hemorrhage.