THEWILL NEWSPAPER, January 21, 2024

Supreme Court: How Abiodun, Sule, Oborevwori, Others Retained Seats

VOL 4 NO. 03 • JANUARY 21, 2024 21, 2024 VOL 4 NO. 03 • JANUARY

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Breath in Film With Every Makin g A Mark g A Mark Makin in Film With Every Breath

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FROM HIGHWAYS TO HOMES

Kidnappers Lay Siege to Nigeria It is the most audacious move yet of bandits, kidnappers, terrorists forsaking highways for homes in the FCT and elsewhere in Nigeria. From their forest hideouts along the highways where they snatch people in transit, the criminals are moving into homes where they surprise victims Gestapo-style thus giving a literal meaning to Francis Bacon’s jibe that “if the mountain will not come to Muhammad, Muhammad must go to the mountain.” The reward is huge for the bandits but tragic for families losing loved ones.

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Photo: Kola Oshalusi @insignamedia Makeup: Zaron

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Onah Nwachukwu Editor, THEWILL DOWNTOWN

O

ur cover talent this week, Chimezie Imo, has come a long way from his days at MTV’s Shuga Naija. From Shuga, he went on to play a role in Nimbe, which earned him an African Movie Academy Award nomination and Choke, which got him his first nomination at the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards (AMVCA).

Imo gives it his all when he is on set, putting everything else on pause until he finishes a project. His role as Elijah in Breath of Life was the same process.

Speaking of giving it his all, for one of the scenes in Breath of Life, he had to be underwater for about 60-90 seconds uninterrupted, and even though he could swim, he couldn’t hold his breath for that long, so he had to train for three weeks.

The result is what you see on screen.

You might ask how a young man such as Chimezie Imo stays grounded. He surrounds himself with the right people— a supportive network of peers and mentors, and he practices mindfulness techniques. This upcoming star’s story is quite an interesting read. You’ll find it on pages 8 to 10.

VOL 4 NO. 03 • JANUARY 21, 2024

Picking an outfit to wear to the movies on date night can be hectic. But don’t worry; we’ve got you covered. Pages 4 and 5 guide you on what to wear. It will surprise you that you can dress according to the movie genre you will see.

Dating in your 30s is more challenging than dating in your 20s. For one, you are more independent when you are in your 30s. Page 7 discusses navigating the unique challenges of dating in your 30s.

We also have a couple of other exciting articles in this week’s issue. Simply click on the page title on page 3 to take you to your desired article.

IMO CHIMEZIE

Making A Mark in Film With Every Breath

Until next week, enjoy your read.

OnahNwachukwu @onahluciaa +2349088352246

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COVER

FROM HIGHWAYS TO HOMES

Kidnappers Lay Siege to Nigeria It is the most audacious move yet of bandits, kidnappers, terrorists forsaking highways for homes in the FCT and elsewhere in Nigeria. From their forest redoubts along the highways where they snatch people in transit, the criminals are moving into homes where they surprise victims Gestapo-style thus giving a literal meaning to Francis Bacon’s jibe that “if the mountain will not come to Muhammad, Muhammad must go to the mountain.” The reward is huge for the bandits but tragic for families losing loved ones. ..

BY MICHAEL JIMOH

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he kidnappers arrived at the Ariyo household in Sagwari Layout Estate in Dutse Abuja on a day and time everyone would be home. It was a Sunday, after church, after the Sunday rice and roast. That time when families sit and watch television together or troll news on their Android or I-Phones alone.

It was the interval between a weekend of lounging and a busy week ahead, when parents and wards look forward to going to work and school the following workday.

It never got to be for the Ariyos. What happened instead was a surprise visit by some armed men in military uniform who raided their house around 7.30pm. By the time they left, the household was short by several people – Ariyo’s wife and daughters.

The kidnappers departed as stealthily as they

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came, arousing no suspicion whatsoever in a neighbourhood where Oladosu Folorunso Ariyo has lived with his family for many years. Nothing of such had happened before in the estate, not even house breaking by a famished rogue looking for a leftover lunch.

This was a big time crime and the perpetrators meant business. They wanted N60m in ransom money to free his wife (also a lawyer) and daughters otherwise...

Of course, the lawyer didn't have that kind of money and the kidnappers didn’t wait to find out. They killed his 13-year-old daughter Michelle Folasade Ariyo and left her body along Kaduna Road where her father retrieved the corpse.

Now, his wife and remaining daughters are still in captivity, reason for Ariyo making a supplicatory

submission to his colleagues and, by extension, Nigerians last week.

“The kidnappers called and demanded 60-millionnaira ransom, out of which through generous donations from friends and family, I’ve been able to raise the sum of several million naira which they have vehemently refused to collect."

Four days later, another father and resident of Abuja was facing the same crisis as the Ariyos.

Kidnappers had gained access to the home of Alhaji Mansoor Al-Kadriyar in Zuma 1 of Bwari Town Abuja.

The head of the house was home with his daughters, six of them. The criminals herded all of them, including their father, to their hideout from where they released Mansoor to look for a ransom of N60m.

The man was still at it when, just like Ariyo, news got

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...Siege to Nigeria to him that one of his daughters, Nabeeha, a 400-level student of Biological Sciences at Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, had been murdered by the bandits.

Her corpse was dumped somewhere near a military barracks. What was the reason for the bandits killing Nabeeha?

“Delay in providing the ransom,” they said, and then threatened to kill Mansoor’s remaining daughters if…

The kidnappers have now raised the ransom to N100m per captive, which ought to have been paid last Wednesday. As of press time, the distressed father is asking for donations from well-meaning Nigerians so his daughters can regain their freedom.

“Kidnapping has become a business model in Nigeria,” said Ambassadoe Oamen Roy Okhidievbie, a security expert and member of U.K based Africa Security Forum, adding, “people even kidnap themselves, and collaborate with elements to kidnap loved ones and others. We have kidnap for ransom, ritual, vendetta and radicalisation.”

In a note obtained by THEWILL, Okhidievbie contended that the situation is so bad that “insurgents now lay claim to entitlement mentality.''

He said: "They declare ownership of a geographic region and cultural identity and religious beliefs.

What either one is, it’s spurred by perceived marginalization, weaponization of political differences and extreme external incursions by ISIS, and others. Worst case is the United Front of criminality against the mineral resources of the country and creating distractions whilst mining and bunkering illegality persists.”

ABDUCTION EPIDEMIC SPREADS The Ariyo and Kadriyar families are not the only ones beholding to criminal gangs abducting people randomly and holding them hostage. Similar stories were a daily staple for Abuja residents from the month of December 2023 till Thursday last week, even after President Bola Tinubu met with the Service Chiefs the previous day, following repeated pleas from distressed and hapless Nigerians in the face of the abduction epidemic across the country.

Like a contagious virus spreading from the Centre of Unity, the atrocities of the bandits are seeping through the pores of every available Nigerian land space, ravaging the occupants into stupefied submission and confusion.

The North Central, North East and North West geopolitical zones have been home to peripatetic gunmen who not only sack and occupy far flung communities in the Sahel but also take them hostage.

Apart from the bombing of the Nigeria Police Force Headquarters in 2002, for which Boko Haram claimed responsibility, the FCT has been a relatively safer place than the combustible towns and cities to the north. Not anymore. The FCT has become a special target of bandits, sowing seeds of despair and destruction among the residents.

Residents of other towns and cities in Nigeria are equally feeling the heat from kidnappers.

Three days after the surprise invasion of the Ariyo household in Abuja, a home in faraway Gusau was similarly raided by bandits. The target? Mallam Bello Janbako, Director of the Centre for Research, Federal University, Gusau in Zamfara State, where he is also a lecturer of Islamic Studies.

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The armed bandits appeared in the dead of night, scaled the fence and landed in his Damba home in Gusau at 2am. Mallam Janbako could do nothing but follow his abductors.

From the North down to the South-West, it is the same grim story of abductions, particularly in Lagos and Ogun states.

In Lagos State, for instance, Miracle Adereti, a 13-year-old schoolgirl, was on her way home from school with her sibling when some unknown men, who must have tailed her for days, accosted her and took her away with them in a vehicle. Her parents quickly reported to the police that she had not been seen since then. It was early last December. In mid-December still in Lagos, a car dealer was also whisked away by gunmen somewhere from his plaza near Spare Parts Market, Ladipo in Mushin.

The man, aka Ejike Conversion, was said to be taking inventory in his warehouse when gunmen ambushed him and his boys around mid-day. Shots fired by the attackers dispersed his boys, leaving the startled Ejike alone. The gunmen dragged him into a waiting vehicle and then zoomed off.

Another victim was similarly abducted somewhere in Ago Palace Way this January. The kidnappers are demanding N500m.

A resident of Lagos and project architect, Daario Naharis, would also have been a victim of kidnapping in the same Ago Palace Way when passengers in a Toyota Camry double crossed him along the road.

Reacting to his flight response, Naharis got out of his car then hoofed it as fast and far as he could from the criminals.

Neighbouring Ogun State has also had its fair share of kidnappers on rampage. Pa Adeife Ifelaja, 70, a pig farmer and elder of a parish of the Redeemed Christian Church of God in Ijebu, planned to spend

“

Apart from the bombing of the Nigeria Police Force Headquarters in 2002, for which Boko Haram claimed responsibility, the FCT has been a relatively safer place than the combustible towns and cities to the north of the FCT. Not anymore. The FCT has become a special target of bandits, sowing seeds of despair and destruction among the residents

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the crossover from December 31, 2023 with his family and members of his church, thanking God for His mercies and hoping for the good things to come in the following year. It never happened, as bandits invaded his residence and then took the unwilling guest to their hideout. They held him hostage for more than a week and then demanded N50m ransom to free the old farmer.

Neither is the South-East free from marauding bandits who have been hard at work, seizing victims on the road and at home. On December 15, 2023, gunmen ambushed and captured 10 travellers along Ette–Umuopu /Enugu-Ezike Road in Igbo Eze North Local Government Area of Enugu State. Earlier in that month, gunmen kidnapped Kingsley Eze, a Catholic priest chauffeured by his driver in Imo state.

They held his driver hostage as well.

FIGURES TELL THE STORY In its December 2023 security Intel report dated January 16, 2024 and made available to THEWILL, a foremost security consulting firm, Beacon Consulting, highlights a surge in violent criminality by Non-State Armed Groups (NSAGs) and security-triggered events as a result of socio-political developments.

The case for abductions, Beacon Consulting’s report noted grimly, is stark for the country.

“Our report shows a surge in abduction cases resulting in 11.85 percent increase compared with the November report. A total of 519 persons were abducted across 229 local government areas in 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, which came first in the states with the highest number of abductees with 67 civilians and one government official.”

Borno and Sokoto states, the report also stated, came first and second, respectively, with 122 and 75 abductees in December 2023. In their overall analysis, Beacon Consulting showed that for January 1 – December 31 2023, Nigeria recorded 6,525 security incidents including security operatives’ actions as opposed to 5375 in 2002 representing a 21.40 percent increase.

In a previous report covering the same period, Beacon Consulting reported that bandits killed no fewer than 9,754 out of a total of 4,049 abductions across the country. Since families of victims are averse to disclosing how much ransom money they paid, there is no record yet of the total sum paid to criminals during the same period.

“We can only guesstimate how much money families of victims paid to kidnappers and never know the exact sum,” a security expert told THEWILL. He concedes, however, that it must be in several millions of naira, if not billions.

How true! It is the same big money, non-taxable money that is fuelling hostage taking in Nigeria now.

And more than anything else, the families of victims are ever so willing to pay, if only to secure release of their loved ones. But then, there’s the rub: paying kidnappers to keep victims from harm provides them with funds to better arm themselves to strike again.

In the Reporter at Large section of The New Yorker of July 6, 2015 by Lawrence Wright headlined “Five Hostages,” a U.S. government official suggested that paying kidnappers and terrorists ransom only fuels their criminal escapade. “Ransom payment lead to future kidnappings, and future kidnappings lead to additional ransom payments,” the official said.

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...Siege to Nigeria “It all builds the capacity of the terrorist organisations to conduct attacks,” insisting that “the U.S. Government estimates that, between 2008 and 2014, radical Islamic groups collected more than two hundred million dollars in ransom payments, which allowed those groups to spread. ISIS might not exist in its present form without the funds that kidnapping provided.”

In that sense, kidnappers in Nigeria today would have gone out of business if it wasn’t for those paying ransom. It is true that rather than lose their sons, daughters, parents, uncles, aunties or cousins, families of victims will readily pay ransom fees. Possibly alluding to the fact that families of victims keep kidnappers in business following the recent abductions, Mohammed Badaru, Minister of Defence, urged Nigerians to stop paying kidnappers.

“We all know there’s an existing law against payment of ransom,” Badaru said. “So, it is very sad for people to go over the internet and radio asking for donations to pay ransom. This will only worsen the situation; it will not help.”

PRESIDENCY, MINISTER OF FCT, IGP REACT Predictably, President Tinubu not only condemned the fresh wave of attacks on innocent Nigerians but also had a special meeting with his service chiefs to brainstorm on the disturbing trend.

“We will not rest, I promise you, until every agent of darkness is completely eliminated,” Tinubu later said of the abductions at the presentation of two books on his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari, at Transcorp Hotel, Abuja.

However, security expert, Chidi Omeje, panned the Federal Government for not doing enough concerning the abductions.

“The issue of kidnapping in this country is just incredible. People who travel by road are in fear. The government does not seem to understand that there is an issue. I am perplexed because every day there is a kidnapping incident in one state or the other. ''We have the NSA, Service Chiefs, Police, and NSCDC and they are doing nothing to address the situation. The Minister of FCT, Nyesom Wike is more interested in travelling to Rivers State for rallies and campaigns. Nigerians are traumatised. People cannot travel safely. It is unfair,” Omeje said.

But Wike did hold crucial meetings with security chiefs in the Federal Capital Territory in the wake of the attacks. Also, at the meeting were area council chairmen, traditional rulers and heads of communities.

Wike told his listeners: “All of us are aware of the security situation in the Federal Capital Territory, particularly Bwari and some other areas that have witnessed security challenges. Our concern is that for the Federal Capital Territory that has virtually every Nigerian, we owe a duty to make sure that this place is safe, to do all we can, and we assure Nigerians who reside here that there is no need for panic.

“We are taking every step to make sure that those challenges are things that we must resolve. So, this meeting is practically to look into such challenges and see how we can resolve the problems. And that is why we invited all the council chairmen because they also have a responsibility in their various area

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councils. We will put our heads together and come up with solutions. For the press, it is just for you to know that we are not sleeping, security agencies are also not sleeping.”

The Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, was fully awake at just about the same time, meeting with his senior officers, subordinates and ordering a complete “decimation of insurgents across the country, especially in the Federal Capital Territory.”

With Force Management Team, tactical squad and squad commanders in attendance, Egbetokun set up a Special Intervention Squad (SIS) to be drawn from the Mobile Police Force to seriously tackle the menace of terrorism and opportunistic crimes in the country.

“Envisioned to include a thousand personnel in each state, the SIS is launched today with officers and men from each tactical unit of the Force, supplemented by a formidable arsenal of operational assets, including sophisticated arms, drones, and vehicles.

These assets, some of which are displayed here, are ready for deployment to counteract the security threats. This deployment symbolises our unwavering commitment to the safety and security of our people, sending a clear message that criminal elements will find no sanctuary within the FCT and, by extension, Nigeria,’’ Force Headquarters Police Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, said.

SOLUTIONS TO THE INTRACTABLE PROBLEM To be sure, abductions are not new in Nigeria.

Restive youths in the Niger Delta once made it their pastime in settling grievances with multinational oil companies operating in their respective communities. That time is history now. Now in its place is the opportunistic, masterfully conceived and well executed abductions in homes and highways.

So, what is to be done to solve the problem of abductions?

“

This deployment symbolises our unwavering commitment to the safety and security of our people, sending a clear message that criminal elements will find no sanctuary within the FCT and, by extension, Nigeria,’’ Force Headquarters Police Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, said

In the study sent to THEWILL, Dr Kabir Adamu, Managing Director of Beacon Consulting, said, “an improvement of the criminal justice system, including a reinvigoration of the traditional justice system and restorative justice, is one of the ways forward. Also, the security agencies should ensure compliance with the existing national security framework and enhance cooperation, collaboration and coordination, if they are to meet the imperatives of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu Administration as contained in the presidential priorities.”

To say that solutions have not been proffered in the past is to tell a lie. One-time Minister of Defence, Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (retd), urged Nigerians to arm themselves to repulse possible attacks by nonstate aggressors anytime, anywhere.

The first time Danjuma made that appeal was in 2017. In 2022, he sounded the bell of alarm again when bandits and terrorists laid siege to parts of the country, especially in the North and Middle Belt.

The military brass exhorted Nigerians back then, “Today in the country there is evidence everywhere; the foreign bandits are killing and taking over lands in all the places. I will not give you arms. You have to find out how the bandits got theirs and find yours too.”

The inference is that if armed men know for certain that you are equally armed, perhaps with more sophisticated weapons at home or anywhere for that matter, they are more than likely to forgo their surprise attack on the Ariyos, Kadriyars and many households where they have now sown seeds of despair and destruction.

Ambassador Okhidievbie calls for what he refers to as a “double barrel” approach.

According to him, the personnel that will carry the equipment must be trained, retrained and well -motivated, cared for and respected by the public and the government they serve. He suggests a sustainable system of community policing governance: The people and the police is a workable suitability.

He said: “If and when this begins to happen, the real neessities for equipment and training will surface, it will be cheaper for the government and implementation will be seamless. One factor to consider in procurement of equipment is the ability to maintain and sustain its operational capability.

Too many “buy and dump” happens. Equipment and gadgets must be solutions driven. They must have considerable survival potential to weather, geographical conditions and terrains.

“Lastly, crimes, criminals, threats and vulnerabilities are variable factors for consideration too. We should know what we are protecting against? Kidnapping?

Cybersecurity? Insurgency? Armed robbery?

Terrorism? “ On Friday evening, the news broke that many persons were kidnapped between Ikere Ekiti and Iju in Ondo State. The victims were said to be travelling in two vehicles, a Toyota Corolla and a white Highlander.

Eye witnesses said the heavily armed men led their victims into the bush before the Police and men of Amotekun, the local security outfit, spread across the South-West states, except Lagos, could get to the scene of the incident.

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NEWS

L-R: Anambra State Governor, Professor Chukwuma Charles Soludo, hosted former SecretaryGeneral of the Commonwealth of Nations, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, on his 91st birthday and the official commissioning of the Emeka & Bunmi Anyaoku Foundation Centre, comprising of Museum, Library and Philanthropy in Anambra State on January 18, 2024.

Aviation Unions Back Relocation of FAAN Corporate Headquarters to Lagos

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viation unions have expressed support for the relocation of the corporate headquarters of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to Lagos.

THEWILL reports that the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, SAN, had on Thursday, directed the relocation of the FAAN corporate headquarters from Abuja to Lagos.

The Aviation Authority, in a statement, said the decision was effected because the airport authority has no office space at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Expressing it's support for the decision, Aviation unions, including Air Transport Service Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN), National Union of Air Transport Employee (NUATE) and Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals (ANAP), in a joint statement on Friday, recalled that they had on several occasions expressed concerns over the hasty manner in which staff were relocated to Abuja when no adequate arrangement was made in the areas of office accommodation, infrastructure and other logistics for smooth relocation.

Signed by the Secretaries of ATSSSAN, NUATE and ANAP, the statement noted that senior management staff were left stranded without an office and working tools while junior staff were helpless with no provision for documents and working files while they were in Abuja.

The statement reads: "The recent instructions for redeployment of staff relocated to Abuja is a welcome development.

"It could be recalled that the unions have on several occasions expressed our concerns over the hasty manner in which staff were relocated to Abuja when no adequate arrangement was made in the areas of office accommodation, infrastructure and other logistics for smooth relocation. Senior management staff were left stranded without an office and working tools while junior staff were helpless, no provision for documents and working files and most worrisome absence of backup for data.

"It is our hope that if such a movement is required in future, all necessary infrastructure must be in place.

"We are also of the opinion that staff who have collected relocation allowance even though not sufficient should not be paid for this redeployment.

"We, however, urge the management to make Lagos offices convenient enough for staff to operate."

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Kano Emirates’ Issue Ogun APC Applauds Will Be Revisited Supreme Court Verdict – Kwankwaso

BY AYO ESAN

FROM ABDULLAHI YUSUF, KANO

T

he former Governor of Kano State and leader of the Kwankwasiyya Movement, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has said that the issue of Kano Emirates will definitely be revisited.

Recall that former Governor Abdullahi Ganduje split the Kano emirate into five and later dethroned the then Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi II. Following the victory of the New Nigerian People’s Party in the 2023 governorship election, Kwankwaso said the government of Abba Kabir Yusuf would review the dethronement and balkanisation of the emirate.

Speaking in an interview granted to select radio stations in Kano, the NNPP leader said, "Honestly, it is one of the things that nobody has sat with me to discuss so far but I am sure we are going to sit and see how to go about it.

"Is it going to be allowed, demolished, corrected or whatever? It will be revisited; what’s supposed to be done will be done.

“There were a lot of things and this was a trap. All these things were not done in good faith or intention.

It was brought with some bad intentions, which every one of you here and our listeners are aware of.

“Sometimes you come with things that are good and they turn out to be bad while sometimes you bring things that are bad and they turn out to be good.

"So, all I know is that I was not consulted as of now but definitely we will come to discuss and see what should be done.”

It has been observed that after the Supreme Court validated the victory of Governor Yusuf, there have been intensified calls for the reinstatement of Sanusi.

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he All Progressives Congress (APC), in Ogun state has applauded the judgment of the Supreme Court, describing it as a long-awaited judgment.

The part said that the judgment “served the course of justice and sounded the death knell on the vaunting and forlorn serial governorship ambition of Ladi Adebutu.”

A statement issued in Abuja by the Publicity Secretary of APC in Ogun State, Tunde Oladunjoye, quoted the party Chairman, Chief Yemi Sanusi congratulating Governor Dapo Abiodun and his Deputy, Engr Noimot Salako-Oyedele, “on the landmark judgment by the apex court.”

The statement reads in part: "We salute the incorruptible and courageous justices of the Supreme Court for upholding the concurrent verdicts of the lower courts. They have shown that true justice lies with the judiciary.

"We also want to congratulate our gentleman and hardworking Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun (CON) and his Deputy, Engr Noimot Salako-Oyedele, on this sweet landmark judgment. It has been long in coming but well-deserved.

"Now that the matter has been finally laid to rest, we urge our amiable Governor and his team to increase the tempo of their transformational governance in our dear Ogun State.

"And we again, for the umpteenth time, urge the losers to purge themselves of their illusions (if they ever will) and join hands with His Excellency, Governor Dapo Abiodun (CON), to take our dear state to greater heights. They should stop the politics of bitterness and offer constructive criticisms and ideas on how to make our state a better place for all.

"We also wish to congratulate the good people of Ogun State for their steadfastness and support for the APCled administration in spite of the needless distractions and antics of the opposition."

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POLITICS

Supreme Court: How Abiodun, Sule, Oborevwori, Others Retained Seats

BY AYO ESAN

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he Supreme Court on Friday in its determination of several appeals from the Court of Appeal affirmed the position of the governors of Delta, Gombe, Kebbi, Ogun, Nasarawa and Kaduna States.

Delivering a unanimous judgment, the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal brought before it by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its governorship candidate, Ovie-OmoAgege, against the election of Governor Sheriff Oborevwori on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The Apex court, in the lead judgment delivered by Justice John Inyang Okoro, held that Omo-Agege, failed woefully to establish that the election was invalid for alleged corrupt malpractices.

Justice Okoro said that none of the allegations against the March 18, 2023 election was established as required by law.

The Supreme Court rejected the plea by Omo-Agege that the election be nullified on the allegation that the election was not conducted in substantial compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act. Justice Okoro also rejected Omo Agege’s claim that the results of the governorship election were not properly

“

The Supreme Court rejected the plea by Omo-Agege that the election be nullified on the allegation that the election was not conducted in substantial compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act

recorded in some polling units and the allegations that the forms that contained some of the recorded results did not have serial numbers.

The apex court therefore affirmed the judgments of the Delta State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal and the Court of Appeal which had earlier dismissed OmoAgege’s petition for want of merit.

In another judgement, the Supreme Court upheld the election of Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State.

A five-member panel of the Supreme Court, led by Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, dismissed the appeal filed by David Umbugadu of the PDP who challenged Governor Sule’s victory.

In the judgement, Ms Kekere-Ekun said, “The issues in this appeal are resolved against the appellant. The appeal lacks merit and it is hereby dismissed.”

She said the Court of Appeal in Abuja was right to have “set aside the decision of the tribunal” which had declared Umbugadu the winner of the poll.

“The appeal is frivolous, vexatious and lacking in merit.

It is hereby dismissed,”Tijjani Abubakar, a member of the THEWILLNIGERIA

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... Abiodun, Sule, Oborevwori, Others Retained Seats Supreme Court panel, said while contributing to the lead decision.

THEWILL recalls that the Court of Appeal had, on November 23, overturned the decision of the Nasarawa State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal.

In its ruling, the appellate court said the tribunal was wrong to have concluded that Governor Sule of the All Progressives Congress (APC) did not win the majority of lawful votes cast at the polls.

In the lead judgement given by Uchechukwu Onuemenam, the appellate court held that the record before it established that the tribunal relied on legally inadmissible evidence to declare the candidate of the PDP, Ombugadu, as the winner of the governorship election.

It explained that under section 285(5) of the Nigerian constitution, section 132(7) of the Electoral Act 2022, and paragraphs 4(5) (6) and 14(2) of the First Schedule to the Electoral Act, every written statement on oath must be filed alongside the petition within the statutorily allocated time.

The appellate court struck out all the evidence and exhibits that were tendered before the tribunal by the eight witnesses.

It further held that the tribunal acted wrongly when it recomputed votes and made the declaration that returned the PDP candidate as the winner of the election.

In another decision, the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal filed by Ladi Adebutu of the PDP challenging the election of Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State and validated the election of Abiodun as governor of the state.

“In the end, this appeal is unmeritorious and deserves to be dismissed. It is hereby dismissed,” Justice Tijjani Abubakar, who led the five-member panel, held.

The state election petition tribunal and the Appeal Court had earlier affirmed Governor Abiodun as duly elected. The judgement finally put an end to the governorship election dispute in Ogun State.

The Supreme Court also same Friday upheld the election that produced Uba Sani of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the Kaduna State Governor in the 2023 election.

The apex court gave the ruling after dismissing an appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Mohammed Ashiru.

According to the apex court, the election petitions tribunal and the Appeal Court were right to have dismissed Ashiru’s appeals as lacking merit.

INEC in March 2023 declared that the APC candidate, Sani, received 730,001 votes to defeat the PDP candidate, Ashiru, who polled 719, 196 votes.

However, dissatisfied with the result of the election, the PDP and its candidate approached the tribunal to challenge it.

The petitioners claimed that Governor Uba was not duly elected by a majority of valid votes cast in the election.

They also said the election was marred by corruption and noncompliance with the Electoral Act 2022, adding that the results of some polling units were wrongly annulled.

But the tribunal led by Justice Victor Oviawie said the PDP and its candidate failed to file their pre-hearing application within the time frame provided by law. The Court of Appeal had earlier dismissed the appeal in November.

The Supreme Court affirmed his election victory and thus gave him peaceful atmosphere to govern the state.

A five-member panel of the apex court, in a unanimous decision, held that there was no merit in an appeal that the PDP and its candidate, Mohammed Ashiru, filed to challenge the outcome of the governorship election that was held in the state on March 18, 2023.

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The Supreme Court also same Friday upheld the election that produced Uba Sani of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the Kaduna State Governor in the 2023 election

In the lead judgement delivered by Justice Abubakar, the apex court held that the petition the PDP and its candidate filed to challenge Governor Sani’s election was incompetent.

It held that since the originating petition was incompetent, no relief could be granted to the appellants in the matter.

Consequently, the apex court upheld the earlier judgement of the Court of Appeal, which dismissed the case for being devoid of merit.

“The appeal is frivolous, vexatious, and irritating. It therefore deserves to be dismissed, and it is hereby dismissed,” Justice Abubakar held.

The Supreme Court on Friday affirmed the elections of Governors Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe State and Nasir Idris of Kebbi State, respectively. Both governors belong to the All Progressives Congress (APC). Their elections were disputed in court by their challengers after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared them the winners of the 18 March 2023 elections in their various states.

The Supreme Court affirmed their elections in separate judgements.

In its decision on the Gombe case, a five-member court panel led by Kudirat Kekere-Ekun dismissed the appeal filed by Jibrin Barde of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) challenging Governor Yahaya’s election.

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Barde questioned the outcome of the March 2023 polls, alleging electoral malpractices and perjury against Governor Yahaya.

But affirming Yahaya’s election in the Supreme Court’s lead decision, Ms Kekere-Ekun said, “Having critically considered the concurrent decisions of the lower court and the Court of Appeal, I find no merit in this appeal. The decisions of the courts below are hereby affirmed.”

The Court of Appeal in Abuja had in November last year affirmed the election of Yahaya as governor of Gombe State.

At the appellate court, Theresa Orji-Agbadua, who delivered the lead decision of the court’s panel of justices, said Barde’s case lacked merit.

The court, in a unanimous decision by a five-member panel, dismissed as lacking in merit, an appeal that was brought before it by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and its candidate, Aminu Bande.

The court, in a unanimous decision by a five-member panel, dismissed as lacking in merit, an appeal that was brought before it by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and its candidate, Aminu Bande.

The Supreme Court, on Friday also upheld the election of Governor Nasir Idris of Kebbi State.

In the lead judgement which was delivered by Justice Uwani Abba-Aji, the Court held that it found no reason to set aside the concurrent verdicts of the Court of Appeal and the Kebbi State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal, which declared Nasir of the All Progressives Congress, APC, as the valid winner of the gubernatorial poll that was held in the state on March 18, 2023.

THEWILL recalls that the INEC, declared the Kebbi State governorship election inconclusive owing to massive vote cancellations and over-voting in 20 of the 21 LGAs in the state.

The Commission subsequently conducted a supplementary election on April 15, at the end of which it declared that Governor Idris of the APC polled 409,225 votes to beat Bande of the PDP who got 360,940 votes.

However, dissatisfied with the outcome of the election, the PDP and its candidate approached the tribunal to challenge the result.

In its judgement, the Justice Ofem Ofem-led tribunal dismissed the petition as lacking in merit.

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JANUARY 21, 2024 T H E W I L L N E W S P A P E R • www.thewillnews.com

POLITICS

Edo 2024: APC Adopts Direct Primary as PDP’s Ighodalo Formally Declares Intention

BY AYO ESAN

T

he All Progressives Congress (APC) will conduct its governorship primary election on February 17. The election will serve as a forum for the party to pick its governorship candidate for the September 21, 2024 poll.

The party says it plans to use direct primaries for the selection of its candidate for the 21 September Edo State governorship poll.

The Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Duro Meseko, made this known in Abuja. He said it was part of the resolutions at the end of the National Working Committee (NWC) consultative meeting with Edo stakeholders.

He urged the stakeholders to unite in trimming down the number of aspirants already in the race.

Meseko urged aspirants to play by the rule, advising them to explore internal party dispute resolution mechanisms, instead of dragging the party to court at the slightest opportunity.

“It was resolved that for the smooth running of the party, all members should ensure strict compliance with their financial obligations to the party in line with its constitution.

“The NWC also resolved that for want of time, the e-registration for fresh members be conducted after the primaries in order not to derail its smooth conduct.

“The stakeholders were urged to promote unity within the ranks of the party in order to go into the election as one family bound by progressive ideals and fully geared to reclaim its mandate in Edo,” he said.

Ighodalo said, “No part of Edo will be left behind. From the high plains of Kukuruku to the lush vegetation of Ilushi; from the rich, red sands of Sakponba, to Esanlands’ incredible biodiversity.

As part of the preparation towards the primary election and in conformity with the directive from the party’s headquarters, there was a screening and pruning of aspirants by the Hon Julius Ihonvbere-led panel.

“We have all that is needed to make our State a mesmerizing destination for progress and wealth.

The panel set up for the purpose of recommending aspirants for participation in the scramble for the party ticket.

About 29 aspirants had initially set sail for the party’s ticket, even though not all of them had procured the expression of interest and nomination forms before the party temporarily suspended the sale of forms to explore the possibility of a consensus candidate.

Ighodalo’s Declaration Former Chairman of Sterling Bank Plc, Dr Asue Ighodalo, on Wednesday, formally declared his intention to contest the 2024 Edo governorship election under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

At the official declaration at the Edo PDP Secretariat in Benin City, the Edo State capital, reassured that if elected, he will rejuvenate the economic fortunes of the state to the benefit of all Edo people.

Leaders of the PDP at the declaration include Edo State PDP Chieftain and past senator representing Edo Central Senatorial District, Sen Clifford Ordia; Secretary, Edo PDP Senatorial Caucus, Central, Barr. Luckson Ogendengbe; National Leader of the PDP, High Chief Tom Ikimi; Edo PDP Senatorial Vice Chairman, Central and Senatorial Caucus Chairman, Archbishop Anthony Okosun, and Deputy Speaker, Edo State House of Assembly, Hon Marie Edeko.

Others are former House of Representatives member representing Esan West, Esan Central and Igueben Federal Constituency, Hon. Joe Edionwere; past Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly and serving House of Representatives member, Rt. Hon Marcus Onobun and former Speaker, Edo State House of Assembly and member of the House of Representative, Hon. Friday Itulah, among others.

Dr Ighodalo noted that he is running for Governor to deliver real solutions that can unleash the promise of a new future for Edo people, having in the past advised in various capacities on how to resolve some of these problems.

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“Across each administrative zone, in Edo North, Edo Central and Edo South, we will create practical and focused economic development teams that will harness each area’s unique potential to create wealth for all our people.”

Ighodalo, who until recently was also the chairman of Nigerian Breweries, said “My policies as governor — if you will give me your mandate - will be focused on unlocking this promise, for all of us, in key areas.

“My ultimate objective is to lead a government that eliminates deprivation in all its forms, and makes Edo the best place to live and work in Nigeria.

“Our economic policies will uplift the poor, support the hard-working men and women of this state, and encourage entrepreneurship and innovation.”

While reassuring the education sector that it would receive top priority, Ighodalo noted, "I strongly believe that education is the gateway to opportunity.

“So, we will continue to invest in education as a priority from primary schools to secondary and tertiary institutions — throughout the state.

“We will ensure that our educational system becomes a beacon of hope and a ladder to opportunity. We will make Edo State’s educational system our key to ending generational poverty, for good, in our great State.”

Ighodalo, who is the former chairman of the Alaghodaro Economic Summit, noted that with his 16 years of involvement in the governance of the state at the advisory level, he has identified areas of focus to achieve success with governance.

He stated, “These are the reasons I am here today, with the greatest humility, to formally declare my intention to run for the office of the Governor of Edo State on the platform of our great Party, the People’s Democratic Party, PDP. “And to respectfully seek the support of all Edo State people everywhere, male and female, old and young, those at home and those in the Diaspora without whom true progress is

“

At the official declaration at the Edo PDP Secretariat in Benin City, the Edo State capital, reassured that if elected, he will rejuvenate the economic fortunes of the state to the benefit of all Edo people

impossible.

“Let us shun the narratives that seek to divide us, and come together, as one, to build the bridges that will lead us to prosperity. Let us strive to be the best, because only the best is good enough for us all.

“While, in the past, I have advised our leaders on how to resolve some of these problems.

“But today, I am here to ask you for the opportunity to act beyond giving advice - to deliver real solutions that can unleash the promise of a new future for all of us.

“As governor, by the grace of God, my mission will be to create an Edo where quality education is accessible to all, where hard work is rewarded and where our talented youth can turn their dreams and aspirations into reality.

“I believe in the promise of an Edo where every person, regardless of their start in life, can write their own story of success -if we take the right steps, together.

“I am particularly excited at the opportunities that we will be able to unlock, to engage the passion and ingenuity of our youth, who are the shining lights of this State.”

“My greatest desire is for their creativity and latent energy to be unleashed positively upon our country and world,” the frontline PDP aspirant added.

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JANUARY 21, 2024 T H E W I L L N E W S P A P E R • www.thewillnews.com

POLITICS INTERVIEW

Tinubu Has Good Intention For Nigeria – Iniama A former governorship aspirant on the platform of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) in Akwa Ibom State, Mr James Iniama, congratulates Governor Umo Bassey Eno of Akwa Ibom State on his victory at the Apex Court. He also pays tribute to former governor Udom Emmanuel and his wife, Martha, as well as PDP chieftains and stakeholders in the state, for their efforts at ensuring the success of the party at the 2023 general election in an exclusive interview with UDEME UTIP in Uyo. Excerpts:

T

he Supreme Court, in a conclusive judicial pronouncement, recently affirmed the Akwa Ibom State Governor, Pastor Umo Eno, as the duly elected, after dismissing three separate appeals by the YPP, APC and NNPP governorship candidates. What does this mean to you as a patriotic Akwa Ibom citizen?

It is by far more important to consider what the ruling of the Supreme Court means to the people of Akwa Ibom than what it means to a single citizen of the state. You must have felt an assured peace and tranquillity in the streets as soon as that declaration was made.

The decision of the apex court was very well received.

It is not far from what any educated mind would have expected. The decision is an invitation to all of us in Akwa Ibom to now come together and build this state. We don't have another state. So, we congratulate the Apex court of the nation. We congratulate Governor Umo Bassey Eno. He is our Governor. There is a Governor for every season.

We congratulate Deacon Udom Gabriel Emmanuel, the godfather of all of it.

It is time for us to pat each and every Akwa lbom person on the back. Now is the time to reflect on the sacrifices of my friend, Chief Ambassador Assam Ekanem Assam, SAN. He was the DG of the campaign. He is the "eldest" of all the elders of the state, that's what we've called him. He led the campaigns with sincerity. We would have to acknowledge the sacrifice, commitment, diligence and sincerity of men like him for the leadership he provided the political party throughout the stormy and very trying seasons of the rather peaceful campaign.

There is no limit we can stretch to appreciate what the decision of the apex court means to us. Our secretary to the state government was secretary of the campaign. I remember that for many of the campaign sessions, there would be a seat reserved for him but he never sat down until the end of the rally. And it was in the days leading to a rally.

He worked tirelessly. You could have seen the commitment of men like that. I don't want to talk of my friend Akparawa Obong Godwin Ntukudeh.

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Shortly after that victory, those whose appeals were dismissed came out to throw their weight behind the governor and congratulate him. Will you see that as loyalty on their part, knowing that they had to wait for the Supreme Court?

It is not to talk of loyalty, it is to talk of patriotism. In fact, one of the congratulatory messages states that he did it because he is a democrat. There is an end to everything. Litigation cannot be forever. The campaigns cannot be forever. We cannot become a fractious group of people in the present state of the economy of our nation. What they did was the best to expect from leadership. It was the best to expect in the spirit of godliness which the Akwa Ibom people are known for. So, I commend them on their part for taking that step. They are bold. I congratulate them and believe they will stretch out their hands to ensure that they bring the relative advantages that each and every one of us has on the table to guarantee the success of this administration.

Don't forget, we're not talking of Pastor Umo Bassey Eno or talking of PDP. We are talking about Akwa Ibom State and this is the time to make all the difference.

All of them have their roots in PDP. Interest pushed them that far. As a politician, do you foresee them returning to PDP? I believe it is only God who can speak with certainty as to the intent of their hearts, even at the time they sent out the congratulatory messages. But, for me with all sense of responsibility, their messages of congratulations, their declaration of support to the government of Akwa Ibom State was done with sincere intent. We cannot question them. It will be unfair to question them. I would suggest that everybody should bring whatsoever they have to the table. If you are a technologist, if you are in the financial services sector, if you're in the property sector, whatsoever it is, We need to make Akwa Ibom State Special. Akwa Ibom State will stand out distinct from every other state in this country. I say this with authority because I know that there are men and women who had and are still labouring to pray for the state. I say this with certainty because I know the things God has spoken about Akwa Ibom State. Akwa Ibom State is unique and special in the heart of God. I can add to say to you that there was a time in this state when intercessors in the prayer project of Akwa Ibom State prayed that God will give us a leader with the heart of a father and the spirit of God and that is what we see unfolding. I believe that everything that is coming in the way of Akwa bom State and the people is in accordance with the counsel of God and I pray that we will not truncate any of those processes.

I want to congratulate the Akwa Ibom people. That is part of what the victory means to me. It says to me that we are evolving as a society. We are developing. What it means to me is that our democracy is also getting grounded. It tells me that our people are becoming politically and intellectually developed to desire to have their rights on contentious issues resolved through civilised legal processes. It tells me that our judicial system is getting more and more established in accordance with the law. It tells me that there is a rule of law to celebrate.

I would say that the decision of the apex court has shown that it is time for us to reflect on our lives as a people, the engagement of each and every one of us, the labours of our heroes past and the labour of the present leadership. When we talk of the present leadership, I want to congratulate Deaconess Martha Udom Emmanuel. I have never seen a quiet and tireless campaigner-in-chief as Deaconess Martha Udom Emmanuel. This woman sacrificed every moment through the campaigns. She was at every rally. She spoke for the triumph of our candidates with the commitment of a mother.

So, there is a lot that the victory means to me and the people of Akwa Ibom State, but ultimately, it means to me that we have come effectively to the end of politicking and litigations. We have all got to return, set our hands on the plow and develop this state which is the only state we all have.

“

I would say that the decision of the apex court has shown that it is time for us to reflect on our lives as a people, the engagement of each and every one of us, the labours of our heroes past and the labour of the present leadership. When we talk of the present leadership

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Pastor Umo Eno has been on the saddle as governor of the state for the past eight months. How will you rate his administration so far judging from his ARISE agenda?

When you read the ARISE agenda, you will find that it is a comprehensively articulated development agenda for Akwa bom State. Governor Umo Eno didn't stop there. He convoked an Akwa Ibom Dialogue where various experts were brought together to digest and analyse the ARISE agenda and come up with an implementable document for governance.

The programmes of this administration stem from the collective resolution of the Akwa ibom people developed from the ARISE Agenda document. So, every step Pastor Umo Eno takes is deliberate and intended to fulfil the promises enunciated in the ARISE Agenda. Just yesterday, the Minister of Aviation was here to inspect the facilities at Victor Attah International Airport, respond to applications of the state government geared towards the full operation of international flights and operations of other services.

Won't it be a blessing to us that Akwa Ibom State will be open to the world? It will not only increase commerce and investment but also increase our knowledge economy. It will boost tourism. So, he is putting down bits and pieces that will come together to form a beautiful Akwa Ihom State. He is talking about Ibom Ferrys in partnership with the Nigerian Navy. You see, everything that is beginning to unfold is steered towards the actualisation of the ARISE Agenda.

We are talking of model primary schools, one in each local government area for a start. We will pray for wisdom to actualize it in such a manner that in each Local Government Area, we will have a primary school where our sons and daughters will be proud to be taught in. Everything is falling in place. *Continues online at www. thewillnews.com

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EDITORIAL

JANUARY 21, 2024 WWW.THEWILLNEWS.COM

Bandits, Kidnappers in Renewed Onslaught

H

ell seems to have been let loose with the recent upsurge in criminality and banditry across the country as daredevil bandits and kidnappers appear to be stepping up their wicked activities across the country.

The harrowing experience of some families in the hands of kidnappers in the past few weeks is enough evidence that all is not really well, especially with situations getting worse and really unbearable for the average Nigerian

As if in a renewed rage against innocent and vulnerable Nigerians, these criminals now attack soft targets and innocent Nigerians with ease, mostly without much resistance from their victims, as they demand crazy and unimaginable ransom for their release.

Nowadays no part of the country is safe or immune from the renewed onslaught by these bandits and criminals as fundraisers are now being organised by helpless Nigerians, not for the training of their children and loved ones, but to meet the ridiculous demands of the kidnappers.

More unfortunate is the fact that raw cash, which is not even available to hard working Nigerians in the banks across the country, is now being mopped up in millions to meet the deadlines given by these bandits and criminals as ransom.

Recent attacks on soft targets in Abuja and neighbouring states have also sent shock waves to residents of

NIGERIA BUREAU: 36AA Remi Fani-Kayode Street, GRA, Ikeja.

Lagos, Nigeria. info@thewillnigeria.com / @THEWILLNG, +234 810 345 2286, +234 913 333 3888 EDITOR: Olaolu Olusina @OLUSINA LETTERS/OPINIONS: opinion.letters@thewillnews.com

the Federal Capital Territory. Indeed, all is no longer well as they can no longer sleep with their eyes closed.

The recent upsurge in criminality has triggered the fear that Abuja, being the seat of power, has been infiltrated and encircled by these bandits in preparation for a massive attack which could be deadly. This fear made the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, to swing into action, in collaboration with the police authorities, to map out a special security plan for FCT residents. President Bola Tinubu also summoned security chiefs to work out a plan to nip this ugly and embarrassing development in the bud.

A 2023 security and intelligence report from Beacon Consulting obtained by THEWILL in fact indicated a grim and stark reality for the country.

“Our report shows a surge in abduction cases resulting in 11.85 percent increase compared with the November (2023) report. A total of 519 persons were abducted across 229 local government areas in 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, which came first in the states with the highest number of abductees with 67 civilians and one government official,'' the report stated.

Borno and Sokoto States, the

report also stated, came first and second, respectively, with 122 and 75 abductees in December 2023.

In their overall analysis, Beacon Consulting showed that for January 1 – December 31 2023, Nigeria recorded 6,525 security incidents including security operatives’ actions as opposed to 5375 in 2002 representing a 21.40 percent increase.

However, one question that is being asked by observers of the development is: How did we get here? It is unfortunate that despite the assurances from official quarters, things are not getting better as Nigeians still live in fear and panic, not knowing who the next victim will be.

The harrowing experience of some families in the hands of kidnappers in the past few weeks is enough evidence that all is not really well, especially with situations getting worse and really unbearable for the average Nigerian.

We therefore call on the Federal Government and the states to move into action to protect Nigerians instead of the usual rhetorics from government officials. Non-state actors must not be allowed to hold Nigerians to ransom for too long as a government that cannot guarantee the safety of lives of the people has no business being in power.

THEWILL NEWSPAPER TEAM Publisher/Editor-in-Chief

Business Editor – Sam Diala

Photo Editor – Peace Udugba

Austyn Ogannah

Copy Editor – Chux Ohai

Head, Graphics – Tosin Yusuph

Editor – Olaolu Olusina

Cartoon Editor – Victor Asowata

Deputy Editor – Amos Esele

Entertainment/Society Editor – Ivory Ukonu

Circulation Manager – Victor Nwokoh

Politics Editor – Ayo Esan

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Guest Art Director – Sunny Hughes

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OPINION

JANUARY 21, 2024 WWW.THEWILLNEWS.COM

Beyond The Armed Forces Day Parade

BY MAXIM UZOATU

I

t does appear to me that Nigerians are yet to grasp the deep meaning of the Armed Forces Remembrance Day celebrated on Monday, January 15. Nothing better calls for sober reflection as Nigerians remember and celebrate our fallen heroes in the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Police who died in the line of duty.

The launching of the Armed ForcesRemembrance Day Emblem, the Jumat Prayers by the Muslims and the Church services of the Christians underline the sacredness of the cause. The wreath-laying and parade ceremony at the Eagle Square, Abuja served as the climax of the patriotic commemoration of the heroism of the gallant forces who stood up to be counted toward the successful conclusion of the Nigerian Civil War on January 15, 1970.

IT NEEDS REITERATION THAT THE NIGERIAN MILITARY HAS ACQUITTED ITSELF QUITE CREDITABLY IN ENSURING GLOBAL PEACE SINCE THE COUNTRY’S ATTAINMENT OF INDEPENDENCE IN 1960

When Nigeria was a British colony, the Remembrance Day was celebrated on November 11 as Poppy Day in honour of the end of the First World War, but the end of the Nigeria-Biafra war has accounted for the change of the date in Nigeria.

To pay the supreme sacrifice for the country is the ultimate test of faith in nationhood. It is crucial to laud the Nigerian Armed Forces that had been in the forefront of ensuring peace in not just Nigeria but globally.

The veterans being celebrated today have left a solid legacy for the Nigerian Armed Forces of the present day in continuing to guarantee internal and global peace. It needs reiteration that the Nigerian military has acquitted itself quite creditably in ensuring global peace since the country’s attainment of Independence in 1960. Nigeria’s standing as the Giant of Africa owes a lot to the exploits of the Nigerian military in global peacekeeping.

The very first contingent of Nigerian peacekeepers arrived at the Congo on the heels of Nigerias attainment of independence in 1960 and the concomitant admission into the United Nations.

Lebanon (UNIFIL). Nigeria’s participation in UNIFIL from April 1978 to January 1983 represents the longest involvement of the Nigerian Army in a UN peacekeeping operation. It also became the first time Nigerian troops were deployed outside the African continent. Some 43 Nigerians died prosecuting UNIFIL, while about 120 others were wounded. We shall never forget them and that is why the Remembrance Day is so crucial.

Nigerian troops also led the charge when 900 soldiers were sent to Slovenia in 1992 to be part of the United Nations Protection Force in the former Yugoslavia (UNPROFOR), the first European peacekeeping operation of the UN in which the Army of an African country participated.

In 1993, Somalia became Nigeria’s next port of call. Also, Nigerian forces played acclaimed roles towards ending the carnage in Rwanda through participation in the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR) set up by the Security Council in October 1993 in order to assist Rwandan forces to demobilise, enforce the peace agreement and create a unified national army.

Nigeria upped the ante with the setting-up of the ECOWAS Ceasefire Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) to save Liberia from total ruination. On a personal note, I lost my journalist friend, Krees Imodibie of The Guardian alongside his compatriot, Tayo Awotusin of The Vanguard, in the ECOMG struggle in Liberia.

Sierra Leone also enjoyed the peacekeeping intervention of Nigeria. Nigeria’s commitment to global peacekeeping also gained worldwide acclamation in Darfur, Sudan.

I have highlighted these instances to showcase the fact that peacekeeping is one area that Nigeria rubs shoulders with the very best in the entire world. We shall forever remember and celebrate our gallant troops who lost their lives in the arduous battle to give peace to the world.

The Armed Forces deserve continuous commendation for their dogged fight against terrorism, insurgency and armed banditry all over the country. It is so reassuring and praiseworthy that our men and women of the forces are not resting on their oars, but are instead extending the worthy legacies of the veterans. But the fight must be redoubled now that the terrorists have Abuja within their ungodly gunsights!

Our esteemed ex-servicemen and women may be retired,` but they are definitely not tired because they continue to lend their experience and service toward maintaining internal security all over Nigeria.

In line with the words of our National Anthem, the labours of our heroes past shall never be in vain.

Newly independent Nigerias first contribution to the UN Operations in the Congo (UNOC) was commanded by then Lt-Col JTU Aguiyi-Ironsi and was made up of 26 officers, 640 soldiers and four British Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs).

It is incumbent on us all to continue to give honour to our heroic soldiers, for as the great American President John F. Kennedy said, “Word to the Nation: Guard zealously your right to serve in the Armed Forces, for without them, there will be no other rights to guard. The great American Army General Douglas MacArthur offered the advice: No man is entitled to the blessings of freedom unless he be vigilant in its preservation.

Nigeria lost just a soldier, Lt. Ezeugbana, while six others were wounded. The Nigerian contingent was in the Congo from November 10, 1960 to June 30, 1964, reaching its maximum strength of 1,703 and thus becoming the third largest command after India and Ethiopia.

We can never as a people take for granted the great sacrifices of our fallen heroes. In dying for us to live, the heroes are etched forever on the pages of our history. The great task of protecting the territorial integrity of our country is one duty that can never be countermanded.

In commemorating this years Armed Forces Remembrance Day, let us also remember that Nigerian troops were in 1978 deployed to war-torn Lebanon as part of the United Nations Interim Force in

The everlasting memories of our men and women of valour shall never die, as this Armed Forces Remembrance Day celebration evinces.

Ugwuh’s EFCC Invitation And Facts of The Matter

BY ORI MARTINS

T

wo globally acclaimed political philosophers of two different generations and spheres, Aechylus of Greece and Hiram Johnson of United States of America, were quite emphatic when they submitted that “The first casualty of war is the truth”.

Another war philosopher of international repute, Joseph Goebbels, graphically outlined in unmistakable terms what Aechylius and Hiram meant in their submission.

In his phenomenal contribution to the devastation of war and lie on humanity, Goebbels frankly observed that “If you tell a lie big enough, keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.”

Taken together, the established philosophers of note had, for decades before now, predicted the current reckless assault on humanity and the public by these marauding failed politicians and political jobbers.

The failed politicians and political jobbers have many things in common: using lies, blackmail, backbiting and backstabbing, cooked up falsehood and distorting of facts, as well as the torpedoing of every noble and good intentions made by fellow associates, party or group members, to foster the growth and development of their professional bodies, political parties or social associations.

These politicians from hell and their infinitesimally gullible few followers have no other goal than to destroy institutions and very important personalities.

Nothing practically showcases the unimaginable descent into the abyss of inanity nay immorality of this set of failed politicians and their allied political jobbers than their unsuccessful attempt at painting white black and black white, characterised by mindlessly adopting Engr Charles Ugwuh’s invitation by the Economic Financial Crime Commission, EFCC, as a dramatised crime scene.

Nigeria (MAN) president had yet to pay off.

As it turned out, EFCC got its tentacles and investigated the matter and came out with the fact that Fidelity Bank truly converted the N2billion sent to Ugwuh via the CBN. As a first step, the Fidelity Bank director who brought the petition was quizzed by EFCC, just as the antigraft agency equally invited Ugwu in order to dig to the roots of the matter.

Afterwards he was detained.

THOSE CALLING UGWUH UNPRINTABLE NAMESARE POLITICAL MISCREANTS AND THE MAN’S POLITICAL OPPONENTS WHO WON’T STOP AT NOTHING TO TARNISH HIS HARD EARNED LOCAL, NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL IMAGE

Rather than report the matter as it is, these agents of destabilisation who about one month dived into the ocean blindly by wrongly drafting an illegal and unconstitutional sack letter to Ugwuh, the chairman, Imo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, have gone into another wicked action of calling for an innocent man’s imprisonment when he is not involved in any proved or known scam. This is not the way to go about it.

Since they have failed abysmally and have no followers other their few belligerent and cranky supporters who shamelessly assist them in propagating their destructive brand of politics in which they brutally employ all manner of disingenuous means to get at their targets, these men and women stop at nothing to pull their imaginary political enemies down.

The situation at hand is never a fraudulent act. Even EFCC had yet to make its findings public. Moreover, Ugwuh has yet to talk on Fidelity Bank’s 2011 claims. Eventually the matter will ultimately be charged to court. And until then the Imo PDP boss is still innocent both in the public opinion and before the law. Therefore, Ugwuh is not a scammer. He is a businessman turned politician who approached a credible financial institution for a loan.

If not for envy and crass ignorance, how can a business transaction involving Central Bank of Nigeria’s grant of an Agric Loan in 2015 through Fidelity Bank to Ugwuh’s company, known as Ebony Agro to produce rice, be now made to appear as a crude financial scandal?

If there are failed or unfulfilled agreements about it, EFCC is in order by inviting Ugwuh for explanation. Therefore, blackmailing him is an atrocious deed that does more national harm than good.

After the CBN credited the money to Fidelity Bank, it was alleged that the bank converted the N2billion into its equity. Ugwuh complained by informing the apex bank of his inability to access the funds.

Thus, those calling Ugwuh unprintable names, particularly in the social media platforms and Imo State based local newspapers, are political miscreants and the man’s political opponents who won’t stop at nothing to tarnish his hard earned local, national and international image.

Swiftly, CBN responded and wrote to Fidelity to recall the N2billion. The bank took the matter to a different level by petitioning Ugwuh to EFCC, claiming that he had appropriated the sum for a previous transaction in 2011 which the former minister and erstwhile Manufacturers Association of THEWILLNIGERIA

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For the records, Ugwuh is a man of integrity, honour and dignity who cannot deliberately get himself involved in any of criminality or scandal.

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N47bn

Abia Records Highest Investment Inflow Under Gov Otti

NCAA Withdraws Services From Debtor Airlines Over N47bn Debt / PAGE 34

N87.9trillion Fitch Ratings Laments CBN’s Forex Backlog

EDITOR Sam Diala

A

bia State attracted the highest foreign investment within four months of Dr Alex Otti’s tenure as governor. Dr Otti was inaugurated on May 29, 2023 as the 4th governor of the 32-year-old subnational since the return to democracy in 1999.

NIGERIA CAPITAL IMPORTATION: Q1 2020 - Q3 2023 ($'bn)

Q1 6BN 5BN

Although Abia is among the few Nigerian states that attract foreign investment to their economies on a fairly regular basis, the state never attracted capital inflow to the tune of $150.09 million within three months, as was the case in Q3 2023.

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C C

1,060

2,187

2021

.654

B

1,159

1,461

B

1,731

he expansion drive by Aiteo A 2020 Group, Nigeria’s foremost independent energy operator, Source; NBS to establish presence in the Central and Southern Africa territory signposts strategic move towards global competition.

Like Nigerian banks, which are combing the nooks and crannies of Africa’s financial landscape, in the mood of multinational engagement, indigenous Nigerian energy firms are braving the odds to establish in the bowel of the continent.

The foremost Nigerian energy independent, Aiteo, has bought a stake in a Mozambique gas block, Mazenga. With this development, the Nigerian company is now the operator of the block which contains some of the biggest onshore gas reserves in sub-Saharan Africa.

Announcing the spectacular feat, Aiteo revealed that the acquisition deal places it in charge of the block. According to reports, the deal was formalised through farm-in arrangements with Mozambique's National Hydrocarbons Company (ENH).

The continental expansion drive marks the stepping out of the Nigerian energy major towards making an impact that will position it for global competition. This is an actuality that derives from the aggressive human capital development plan of the firm, which will position it to deploy its exceptional professionalism in the exploration of gas in the area.

Coming at a time that gas business is caught up in the web of intense geopolitical crossfire between the West and the East, Africa has become the beautiful bride, as far as the commodity is concerned.

According to industry experts this gives Aiteo an edge.

With a corporate vision of ‘Tackling Africa’s energy challenges’

1,030

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A

.875

BY SAM DIALA

1,535

Continues on page 33

0

1,294

Commenting on Imo’s potential energy wealth, former Minister of State for Petroleum, Chief Timipre Sylva, said Nigeria has nearly 300 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves, ranking 9th in the world, with Imo holding the largest reserves amongst all.

1BN 1,132

Among the five South-East states, Anambra and Abia achieved a total of $51.48 million and $210.12 million, respectively in four years (Abia received a cumulative of $60.03 million from 2020 to 2022.) .

Q3

2BN

.905

The NBS reports showed that, after recording $3 million in 2019, Imo had no dime to its name by way of investment inflow to the state during the four years. Imo was also the only oil-producing state that attracted no foreign investment for the period.

3BN

1,573

That of Imo was most disappointing.

Despite housing the largest natural gas reserves in West Africa, and significant crude oil deposits, Imo attracted zero foreign investment in four years, between 2020 and 2023.

Q2

4BN 5.854

The report further revealed that Abia and Anambra remained investment destinations among the South-east states, while investors shunned the other three – Imo, Enugu and Ebonyi.

/ PAGE 34

Aiteo’s Continental Drive Paves Way For Global Competition

This actuality emerged from the latest Capital Importation Report of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) for the third quarter (Q3) of 2023, released last December.

By that outstanding feat, Abia came third after Lagos and the Federal Capital Territory (FTC) Abuja in capital importation destination during Q3 2023..

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scripted on a tablet of commitment, which says Aiteo aims at ‘unlocking energy by looking where no-one dares to look’, the Nigerian energy company has moved ahead for practical ‘grabbing’ of the vast opportunities in Mozambique and beyond.

According to reports, after closing the deal, Aiteo started a rigorous development programme that included extensive fieldwork, aeromagnetic and gravitational geological research, as well as the reprocessing and reinterpreting existing data. This shows that Aiteo did not enter the deal unprepared.

Commenting on the agreement, Aiteo’s Chief Executive Officer, Benedict Peters, said: “We aim to elevate our profile and expand our global gas resources to meet industry-leading standards within the continent.

“Our proven track record gives us confidence in our ability to develop these assets, benefiting Mozambique and all stakeholders.”

As a believer in the local content policy, Aiteo will deploy its ready trained professionals to move to the Southern African country and do exploits.

On the strength of its resources, Mozambique is reputed to be Southern Africa's most important energy producer and exporter – an opportunity that Aiteo’s highly professional team will handle expeditiously.

The Mazenga assets, nestled in Mozambique’s rich sedimentary basin, span approximately 23,000 square kilometers. They are estimated to THEWILLNIGERIA

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BUSINESS WEEKLY ...Drive Paves Way For Global Competition contain a substantial gas reserve of 19 trillion cubic feet, highlighting the block’s significant potential company, Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos (ENH), positioning Aiteo as the block’s operator.

Peters said, “The assets we are investing in are situated in a region with some of the highest gas production potential in Mozambique. Our approach is rooted in our strategy of actively engaging with unique energy assets across Africa.

“We aim to elevate our profile and expand our global gas resources to meet industry-leading standards within the continent. Our proven track record gives us confidence in our ability to develop these assets, benefiting both Mozambique and all stakeholders.”

THEWILL found that Nigerian firms are spreading the Central and Southern Africa collaborating with major and small businesses in the energy ecosystem.

The expertise acquired by the Nigerian operators in Engineering, Procurement, Installation, Operation and Maintenance (EPICOM) space equips them to undertake a wide range of technical jobs in the regions.

These include installation and servicing of the metering system, construction of loading bay, LPG installation, tank farm construction, installation of actuators, colons, mechanical seals, valves, steam trap and other process equipment.

At present, Aiteo contributes more than five per cent of Nigeria's daily oil production, producing around 100,000 barrels daily which involves exploiting associated and nonassociated gas.

Mozambique is home to some of the world’s largest natural gas reserves, particularly in the Rovuma Basin, estimated to hold over 100 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. The country is currently developing several large-scale liquefied natural gas projects with the involvement of international oil companies like Total, ENI, and ExxonMobil. These projects are focused on extracting and exporting liquefied natural gas, with notable initiatives, including Total’s Mozambique LNG project and ENI’s Coral South FLNG project.

Aiteo, as Nigeria’s largest indigenous oil producer may not find operating outside the shores of the country challenging because of the peculiar experience in Nigeria’s community and operational experience.

With its expansion into Mozambique, Aiteo is aggressively pursuing exploration and production opportunities across Africa and beyond, adding to its existing assets in the Niger Delta basin and the Benue Trough.

Experts believe that the continental expansion of Nigeria’s indigenous firms is a stepping stone towards global competition which will expose them to the opportunities that the multinationals enjoyed in exploiting our environment.

The ultimate beneficiary is Nigeria whose foreign reserves will receive a boost from the profits that the indigenous firms operating outside the country will repatriate. It will augment the decline in capital importation which has been the trend for some time now. and help in shoring up the value of the naira.

On the strength of its resources, Mozambique is reputed to be southern Africa's most important energy producer and exporter – an opportunity that Aiteo’s highly professional team will handle expeditiously

...Highest Investment Inflow Under Gov Otti “Imo state with 200 trillion cubic feet of gas deposits should be set for economic boom”, Sylva said during a visit to Governor Hope Uzodinma in Owerri in April 2019.

“Governor Otti is on a fast lane and has proved in practical terms that he has not come to tell stories like what his predecessors in office did. Matching words with action is the way to go. You will soon see Abia and Anambra ahead of the other South-east states” said Clifford Okoro, a Lagos-based investment analyst from Abia.

Governor Otti on January 18, 2024, inaugurated the Abia Global Economic Advisory Council, with a charge to evolve initiatives that are focused on identifying, capitalising and showcasing the state’s area of comparative advantage.

Speaking during the event, Otti said the calibre of individuals that make up the council speaks to the state’s vision.

The governor added that this development had sent a strong signal to potential investors that “Abia is poised to become the next big thing.”

Otti said the government was desirous to make Abia a preferred investment destination for global businesses, hence the move to set up a council of “intellectual giants” that would work closely with the government to turn the vision into reality.

He also said the council would work with the government and others, including the local chambers of commerce, industry, mines and agriculture, to bring these opportunities to the attention of the investing global community.

He expressed optimism that the council can help the government achieve its vision in the next 24 months.

Otti said: “We are not just seeking to attract a few big manufacturing outfits in the state to score cheap political points.

“Our ultimate goal is to re-make the entire state into a robust enterprise ecosystem with clear pathways to bigger global and regional markets.

“We are keen to transform our traditional agro-economy to become a major player in the global agricultural value chain, producing sufficient output to feed the local population and then for export.

“In Aba, we do not just make quality footwear and clothing; given the right support, our shoemakers and fashion designers can compete with the best anywhere in the world.

“Aba is also very strong in metal fabrication, wood works and mechanical construction.

Sadly, the immense potential of our people has stayed hidden and under-utilised for far too long.

“The good thing is that we now have an effective machinery to create a new era of prosperity, employment and layers of opportunities for these resilient and creative individuals.”

Those appointed to the council include Arunma Oteh, former Director-General, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Co-Chairman; former Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II, Co-Chairman, and Bolaji Balogun who would also serve as a Co-Chairman.

Others are Ifueko Omoigui Okauru, Mr. Chidi Ajaegbu, Mr Uche Orji, Ndidi Nwuneli, Mr. Chika Nwobi and Olugbenga Adesida.

The rest are former Nigerian Minister of Finance, Mrs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and President, Afreximbank, Benedict Oramah who would serve as honorary advisers to the economic council.

Maida Unveils Strategic Regulatory Blueprints For Telecoms Industry

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he Executive Vice Chairman/CEO of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Aminu Maida, has unveiled key drivers for the telecoms industry.

This was part of activities to mark his first 100 days in office following his appointment as the new boss of the nation’s telecom regulatory body

by President Bola Tinubu.

Maida, who unveiled the strategic blueprints on Thursday at an interactive meeting with the media in Lagos, also stressed his commitment to driving a good total customer experience for telecoms consumers in the country.

Maida said the Commission would work with the blueprint of the Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, unveiled by the Minister, Bosun Tijani.

According to him, all efforts will be deployed to ensure that the sector contributes more, especially in terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to the economy, job creation and more revenue to the government, adding that he would need the support of the media to be able to achieve that.

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He noted that one of the key things “we have to recognize is that within the digital economy space the NCC plays a very huge role, because the communications infrastructure especially in this digital age is the backbone of the digital economy and of course the backbone of any nation noting that today when one talks about dispute and conflict between countries you cannot doing without mentioning cyber wars.”

He disclosed that the NCC, under his watch, will focus on key areas, such as collaboration, Data centric administration, compliance and monitoring and digitisation, working closely with the three major stakeholders in the industry namely the Operators, government and the consumer.

According to Maida, the consumers are the major stakeholders that the NCC would be addressing their needs, promising to end the era of telecom subscribers carrying multiple phones or having multiple SIM cards, by ensuring good QoS, empowering them to make the right choices while at the same time making the tariff very simple and transparent for the consumers. He added that the NCC will carry out

enlightenment campaigns to ensure consumers understand and have good services.

Noting that it has become necessary to reposition the sector and push it forward, the NCC helmsman said that going forward, telecommunications sector licensees will be held more accountable for all their deeds in the sector.

Maida said the commission would hold all industry licensees accountable for all their deeds in the sector, stressing that operators must honour agreements.

The NCC, he said, is also working on reviewing the standard of operations for the telecoms operators to ensure corporate governance and international best practices from the operators adding that the Commission would also be doing more advocacy and will be very concerned about compliance.

“Everybody including industry licensees in the value chain shall be held accountable.

Regulations will come in and there will be consequences,” he stated. *Continues online at www. thewillnews.com

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JANUARY 21, 2024 T H E W I L L N E W S P A P E R • www.thewillnews.com

BUSINESS NEWS

L-R: General Manager, Showmax Nigeria, Opeoluwa Fulani; Executive Head, Content and West Africa Channel, MultiChoice, Dr Busola Tejumola; Head of Marketing, Showmax, Arinola Shobande and Executive Head, Corporate Affair, MultiChoice Nigeria, Caroline Oghuma, during the press conference to announce the new Showmax in Lagos on January 15, 2024.

Photo: Peace Udugba

NCAA Withdraws Services From Debtor Airlines Over N47bn Debt

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he Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has declared a ‘no pay, no service’ sanction on defaulting airlines as part of measures to recover over N47 billion that the airlines owe it.

Acting Director General of the agency, Chris Najomo, said it was time to put in place strict sanctions against the defaulters, stressing that hence all the debtors “shall cease to receive services from the authority.”

Addressing journalists in Lagos to unveil his plans for the agency, Mr Najomo disclosed that plans were afoot to set up a debt recovery Joint Task Force to implement NCAA’s recovery drive.

He also noted that the agency was not oblivious to the illicit activities of private jet operators operating commercial flights without commercial licences, stressing that anyone who wants to do commercial or charter operations must apply for a commercial licence A recent preliminary report by the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau revealed that Flint Aero aircraft, which crashed at Ibadan Airport in November last year while carrying the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, was operating illegally.

Highlighting the regulatory framework, Mr Najomo said that only holders of Air Transport Licence (ATL) and Airline Operating Permit (AOP) with a valid Air Operator Certificate (AOC) were authorised to conduct charter operations.

He maintained that the NCAA will implement a robust risk-based surveillance system to close any potential gap opened by the increased validity period of Air Operator Certificates (AOCs) for unscheduled and scheduled operators.

The surveillance, which encompasses safety, security and economic monitoring, will be extended to all service providers, Mr Najomo added.

He stated further that the authority will intensify efforts in enforcing airlines’ compliance with the Nig Cars 2023 part 19 on Consumer Protection Regulations.

“In line with the assurance by the Minister of Aviation that air passengers get value for their money, NCAA would ensure that airlines provide timely care to passengers for service disruptions, that consumers receive quality services in the aviation industry and that their rights are always protected,” Mr Najomo said.

The acting DG reiterated the commitment of the agency to implementing a simplified certification and licensing system to streamline the approval process. He hinted that this will be extended to other authorisations, approvals and permits.

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Fitch Ratings Laments CBN’s Forex Backlog

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redit ratings agency, Fitch, has said that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) continues to face a shortage of foreign exchange to clear the forex backlog.

The country’s high debt-service-to-revenue ratio is also contributing to a challenging sovereign credit rating.

Gaimin Nonyane, Fitch’s Director of Middle East and Africa Sovereigns, expressed that the ongoing foreign exchange shortages in Nigeria would exert pressure on the naira. Currently, there exists a 30% disparity between the official and parallel exchange rates.

She said, “We think that the central bank is still very well short of the amount it needs to be able to clear the foreign exchange backlog and also meet the extremely large external financing by the private sectors,” Nonyane and Toby Iles, Fitch’s Head of Middle East and Africa Sovereigns, cautioned that Nigeria’s interest payments to revenue ratio, surpassing 40%, poses a significant weakness for its credit rating four times higher than the median for B-rated sovereigns.

Iles pointed out that interest-to-revenue ratios across Africa have more than doubled since 2014, driven by heightened borrowing and increased costs due to global interest rate hikes.

The CBN has begun clearing a backlog of forex forwards to companies looking to repatriate the cash abroad. The Governor of the apex bank estimates the total backlog in the range of $7 billion.

The apex bank stated recently it has cleared around $2 billion of the backlog in the past three months and would ensure there is liquidity in the forex market.

Fitch rated Nigeria at B- with a stable outlook despite a cornucopia of macroeconomic malaise- record-level inflation, wobbling naira, and limping crude oil production.

Nigeria’s debt levels have been a cause of concern to many in recent times.

In the first quarter of 2023, the debt service to revenue rose to 183%.

Nigeria’s total public debt as of Q3, 2023 stands at N87.9 trillion.

In the 2024 budget proposal presented to the National Assembly, the federal government intends to borrow N7.83 trillion to address a budget deficit of N9.18 trillion. Despite this borrowing plan, there is a concerted effort by the federal government to diminish reliance on debts and increase revenue through the Committee on fiscal policy and Tax Reforms.

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BUSINESS NEWS

L-R: Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, with Chairman, Dorman Long Engineering, Dr. Timi Austen-Peters, after a courtesy visit to the Board in Yenagoa Bayelsa on January 17, 2024 to announce plans to celebrate the company’s 75th anniversary in Nigeria.

Otedola Acquires N6bn Worth of Dangote Cement Shares

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illionaire businessman, Femi Otedola, has racked up shares worth N6 billion of Dangote Cement Plc in his name, according to market reports.

Africa’s large cement maker Dangote Cement recently outpaced telecommunications powerhouse Airtel Africa to become Nigeria’s biggest company by market capitalisation, currently valued at N8.35 trillion.

Dangote Cement has returned 81.4 per cent in the last 52 weeks and has 17.04 billion outstanding shares.

Dangote Industries Limited, the conglomerate is controlled by Africa’s richest person, Aliko Dangote, who holds 85.8 per cent of the company’s shares.

To shore up the valuation of its stock, Dangote Cement completed two tranches of share repurchases between 2020 and 2022, during which it bought back 166.9 million shares.

Mr Otedola holds the majority stake in the power-generating company Geregu Power Plc, whose market value currently stands at N1.2 trillion.

In 2021, he acquired huge volumes of the shares of FBN Holdings, the parent company of Nigeria’s oldest commercial bank First Bank, in piecemeal via a series of off-market trades to become the biggest shareholder of the financial services group.

Mr Otedola holds 5.57 per cent of the shares of FBN Holdings where he is a director, according to the lender’s 2022 audited earnings report.

FBN Holdings recently surpassed the N1 trillion mark in market value before easing to N967.4 billion on Thursday, shedding 2.53 per cent.

Last April, Mr Otedola purchased the shares of Transnational Corporation of Nigeria summing up to 2.6 billion units in various trades, translating to a substantial shareholding of 6.3 per cent, putting him on track to become the top shareholder of the conglomerate.

However, Tony Elumelu, the biggest shareholder of United Bank for Africa, swiftly accumulated more shares to increase his stake in the company from 2.07 per cent to 25.9 per cent to retain his place on the top spot of Transcorp’s ownership ladder.

Mr Otedola would later sell his stake to Mr Elumelu, giving up the top ownership race.

Furthermore, Nigeria’s stock market is now world’s best after Wednesday’s (January 17) positive close helped the market to beat Argentina, a country it was trailing last week.

Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) All Share Index (ASI) rose by 2.38 percent on Wednesday, surpassing 90,000 mark as bulls dominate trade.

The market has risen this year by 20.45percent, amid a week-to-date (WtD) rally of 8.45percent.

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‘FG Not Opposed to Shell’s Assets Sales’

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he Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources said the Nigerian government is not averse to Shell asset sales.

Nneamaka Okafor, the special adviser on media and communication to the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, disclosed this in a statement in Abuja.

The Nigerian unit of London-based oil supermajor Shell Plc had announced last week that it struck a deal with a consortium of five companies, setting the scene for the latter to acquire its onshore business in the country.

The deal was sealed after years-long setbacks met by the company in its efforts to rid itself of the assets.

In the statement, Mr Lokpobiri affirmed the Nigerian government’s commitment to fostering a business-friendly environment in the country’s oil and gas sector.

Speaking on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the minister commented on Shell’s decision to sell its onshore assets to a consortium of five Nigerian companies.

Mr Lokpobiri emphasised that the Nigerian government will not impede legitimate business transactions in the oil and gas sector.

“On the part of the government, once we get the necessary documents, we will not waste time to give the necessary considerations and consent,” the statement quoted the minister as saying.

Responding to concerns about international oil companies (IOCs) diversifying their onshore assets, the statement said the minister highlighted the positive aspects of the diversification.

He noted that Nigeria loses nothing as such moves create opportunities for indigenous companies with the capacity to acquire and professionally manage these assets, leading to increased profitability and the maximisation of their potential.

Addressing potential negative impacts on the country, Mr Lokpobiri reassured that the diversification would not adversely affect Nigeria.

He emphasised the government’s engagement with IOCs regarding the decommissioning of non-productive assets and abandonment issues.

Mr Lokpobiri stated that concerns raised by IOCs, particularly with Nigerian banks, have been addressed.

“As a government, we will adhere to the law without jeopardizing legitimate businesses,” he added.

Responding to questions on preventing IOCs from diversifying their upstream operations, he clarified that companies have not left their upstream deepwater assets.

Instead, he said, they are diversifying their onshore assets, creating opportunities for local companies with developed capacity and financing to acquire and profitably manage these assets.

He reiterated the government’s commitment to addressing sector concerns, including insecurity and ageing infrastructure, such as pipelines.

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BUSINESS WEEKLY

Nigeria’s Economic Crises: Before it is Too Late

BY AKPAN H. EKPO

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he Nigerian economy is at its lowest since Independence.

All macroeconomic fundamentals have been moving in the wrong direction even the performance of various sectors is nothing to write home about. The eight years of President Mohammadu Buhari with the All Progressives Congress (APC) mantra of ‘Change’ was a disaster in terms of economic performance.

The rate of unemployment averaged 40 percent from 2008-2022, with inflation rate trending at double-digit and approaching run away level. Lending rates averaged 26 percent with the misery index standing at 86 percent in 2022.

Since independence, the manufacturing sector has never contributed more than 10 percent to GDP. Broadly, the Nigerian economy remains at the primary stage of development in spite of an average growth of 6 percent between 2017 and 2022 notwithstanding two economic recessions of 2016 and 2020. The economy has been in s stagflation phase from 2010; recession are common features in economic systems that depends heavily on the market, that is, market capitalism.

The Buhari administration approved a development plan of 2021-2025 and an Agenda 2050 economic blueprint. The New administration of President Ahmed Bola Tinubu in assuming office on May 29, 2023 came up with a 7 point priority within the Renewed Hope Agenda. Most of the priority areas are embedded in the approved economic development Plan 20212025. Moreover, the same party, APC is in power.

There seems to be a disconnect between the APC of President Buhari and that of President Tinubu. My concerns centre on the pieces of advice given to President Tinubu in implementing his renewed hope agenda under the so-called ‘Bold Reforms’.

The implementation has resulted in untold hardship to millions of Nigerians who were already suffering under President Buhari. The entire reforms rest on market fundamentals coated with neo-liberalism and the Washington consensus.

Let me argue upfront that neoliberal policies will not solve the economic problems of Nigeria. It should be stated that countries such as those in Asia rejected neo-liberalism garnished with pieces of advice from the World Bank and the IMF in order to leap-frog into sustained growth and development. The newly industrialized countries of Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and China rejected the World Bank/IMF prescriptions. These countries conceptualized, formulated and implemented home grown solutions to escape from backwardness and underdevelopment.

The World Bank and the IMF have become too visible in our appetite for advice. Their one-size fits all policies must be rejected if Nigeria is to make progress. Let us not forget history. We implemented Bretton Woods model of Structural Adjustment Programme from 1986 and the Nigerian Economy was in disarray up to 1988 and beyond.

It took Chief Anthony Ani, Honourable Minister of Finance under General Abacha to salvage the economy by conceptualizing and implementing the philosophy of guidedderegulation.

During the period of Chief Ani, macroeconomic fundamentals such as exchange rate, unemployment and inflation rates moved in the right direction prompting some observers to label the period the Abacha Miracle. I will suggest that the present economic team seeks the wise counsel of Chief Anthony Ani. On May 29 2023, it was wrong for the President to pronounce that “oil subsidy is gone”. It was unnecessary for after all, there was no oil subsidy (which was s scam) from June, 2023.

Economists call such a situation an “announcement effect”.

That single error sent the entire economy into panic buying of petrol and all prices as I predicted in 1996 went up by more than 400 percent exhibiting structural inflation. The Nigerian

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economy depends structurally on the export of crude petroleum.

The country would have seen better off with the refineries functioning, finding better ways of intervention as well as punishing those who benefitted from the oil subsidy scam.

It is important to state that those who are against subsidy do benefit from subsides of all kinds, for example, the IMF, World Bank and the United States economy have different kinds of subsidies. The elites in Nigeria benefit from all kinds of subsidies too numerous to mention.

Another area of concern in which the President was not properly briefed is the exchange rate regime.

It was wrong to open up the foreign exchange market and merge the so-called I & E window with the street rate(s). In the Nigerian context, the foreign exchange market is not a competitive market. The supply of forex in US dollar, Euro and pound sterling (including the market of

The eight years of President Mohammadu Buhari with the All Progressives Congress (APC) mantra of ‘Change’ was a disaster in terms of economic performance access) is never enough to meet the demand. The supply curve of forex is not a well-behaved one.

The main source of forex supply is through the export of crude petroleum whose revenue is used to import refined products (makes no sense!).The domestic country, Naira, is not a convertible currency so its depreciation/devaluation would bring no benefit to the economy.

All things being equal, the depreciation of the naira should make our exports cheaper and thus the economy can export more to

earn forex. However our main export is crude petroleum whose price and output are exogenously determined.

Our economy is both not developed and industrialised hence forex is not earned through the manufacturing and exporting non-oil goods and services. The economy is more of a consuming one. Hence, the depreciation of the naira has resulted in rising inflation through the exchange rate pass through. Inflation now stands at 228 percent with food inflation at 30 percent thus compounding the already unbearable hardship on millions of Nigerians.

The Nigerian economy is for now not a normal one. For now, the appropriate exchange rate regime should be a managed float with emphasis on managed. The regulatory authority must watch both the supply and demand side of the forex market and make adjustments accordingly.

Opening the forex market would result in distortions and shocks which the economy cannot absorb. The competitive market model is only a benchmark – all markets must not be competitive.

Let us not forget that equilibrium in competitive market must exhibit stability, existence and uniqueness -these are impossible in reality, not to talk of the forex market in Nigeria given the structure of the economy.

Nonetheless, the long-run is to have a productive economy which is diversified, manufacturing non-oil goods and services for exports and earning foreign exchange.

The recent trade data from the NBS cements the argument.

The trade surplus was driven by export of crude petroleum (83 percent of total trade); manufacturing imports (42 percent of total imports); manufacturing export (about 2 percent).

Clearly, why the GDP is diversified (46 sectors), the economy is not.

Nigerians have been told to tighten their belts, to be patient and that soon the economy will recover. The ‘reforms’ are not in the interest of the working people and other vulnerable groups.

Trickle down economics is inappropriate in an economy that is at the primary stage of development. How long is the long-run – in the long-run, we are all dead!

The private sector may reap some of the benefits from the current intervention by government. However, while the private sector is one of the engines of growth, it is not an engine of development. The primary objective of the private sector is to realize returns on its investment. Development is the main objective of government.

Consequently, President Tinubu’s economic team should not allow, as it is happening, businessmen and their various pseudo organizations to become policy-makers. Their motive is essentially profit making and accumulation for themselves and their families by capturing the State.

There is too much emphasis on raising/increasing revenue.

The government plans to raise the tax/GDP ratio to 18 percent within three years. The country’s problem is not from the revenue side if more taxable persons are brough into the tax net. In addition, if all the subsidies given to the rich are withdrawn and paid into the treasury, there would be enough revenue to run the government.

•Akpan Hogan Ekpo is Professor of Economics and Public Policy at the University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

•Continues online at www. thewillnews.com THEWILLNIGERIA

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SHOTS OF THE WEEK Photo Editor: Peace Udugba [08033050729]

L-R: Former vice president, Yemi Osinbajo; Former Senate President, Ahmed Lawal and Senate President, L-R: Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu, congratulating an Elder Godswill Akpabio, at the book launch, titled: "Working with Buhari"(written by Femi Adesina, former Statesman, Pa Bisi Akande, on his 85th birthday, as he received a delegation of Peace In South East Project (PISE-P) in Abuja on January 16, 2024.

Media Adviser to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari), in Abuja on January 16, 2024.

L-R: President, Women Support Community Network (WOSCONET), Mrs Amaka Nweke and the L-R: Controller of Strategic Policy and Planning, Nigeria Customs Service, Mohammed Yahaya; DG, Chaplain, Resurrection Anglican Church, ESUT Parklane Hospital Enugu, Rev. Canon Chikere Anusiem, Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR), Arabi Ibrahim-Dasuki and representative of the Secretary to the during a re-dedication of WOSCONET Church Service, at the Chapel in Enugu, Enugu State on January Government of the Federation, Simon Tyonyu, during a workshop on Strengthening Capacity of BPSR 14, 2024.

Focal Officers in Abuja on January 18, 2024.

L-R: Vice President, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Sir Ladi Smith; Director General, LCCI, Dr Chinyere Almona; President of the Chamber, Mr Gabriel Idahosa; Deputy President, Leye Kupoluyi and Vice President, Mrs Olajumoke Fashanu, during the first quarter news conference of the LCCI in Lagos on January 18 2024.

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L-R: Managing Partner, Sahel Consulting, Mr Temitope Adegoroye and representative of the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security (FMAFS), Alhaji Ibrahim Tanimu, during the Sahel Consulting maiden National Animal Health Forum, theme "Building Partnership for Animal Health and Livestock Productivity in Nigeria" in Abuja on January 18, 2024.

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JANUARY 14, 2024 WWW.THEWILLNEWS.COM

Omosedei Igbinedion Joins Edo Governorship Race

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ENTERTAINMENT &SOCIETY WEEKLY EDITOR Ivory Ukonu

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ntil recently, Loretta Ogboro-Okor was the only female aspirant ready to slug it out with the growing number of male aspirants angling to occupy the Edo State government house as governor. Since she declared her intention, the number of women who have joined the race has increased by four with the latest entrant being Continues on page 42

JUMOKE ADENOWO, KEMI DASILVA IBRU MAKE FORBES LIST OF '50 OVER 50 EUROPE, MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA'

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merican financial magazine, Forbes recently released the third edition of its annual '50 Over 50 Europe, Middle East and Africa' list which honours women who have achieved Continues on page 43

EMMY COLLINS

The Designer's Critic THEWILLNIGERIA

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JANUARY 21, 2024 T H E W I L L N E W S P A P E R • www.thewillnews.com

ENTERTAINMENT &SOCIETY WEEKLY

I'm Not in Competition With Anyone – Emmy Collins London-trained fashion designer, Emmy Collins, may be different things to different people: Eclectic, avant-garde, highly opinionated and overly confident. Call him what you like, but his contribution to the fashion and style industry cannot be over-emphasised. He speaks with IVORY UKONU about his passion for fashion, his defunct controversial blog and what he thinks of the ongoing revolution in the industry.

Excerpts:

Y

ou have been away from the Nigerian fashion scene for about 10 years, preferring to operate in London where you are based. Now you are back with a bang. Why did you decide to come back?

I have always had Nigeria at the back of my mind. The first time I had an opportunity to sell my brand in Nigeria was in 2007. My brand was just about three years-old but because of my love for Nigeria, I grabbed the opportunity to open up shop here when it presented itself. In fact the money I used to open up shop was a loan I got from the bank which I should have used to grow my brand back in London, but I decided to invest it in Nigeria. And then I left. But I never stopped thinking about the country. I knew I was going to come back and so I followed up keenly on what was happening in the industry.

I came back in 2019, but had issues with the owner of the service space I got who reneged on our agreement after spending almost N20 million.

That wasn't inspiring for me. I was like a girl who had been raped and had to keep seeing her rapist every single day. It almost became a court case. It was too much for me to handle and I had to pack my bags and go back to London.

I would say that was the toughest but the best decision that I ever made because I didn't leave in anger and it gave me time to realise certain things that I needed to do to project the Emmy Collins brand and so I worked towards it for my eventual return. At the end of the day, the negative aspects of 2019 turned out to be immense blessings on my return.

So are you back for good?

I will be going back and forth, but I will eventually get to a point where I will confidently say Nigeria is my base.

How have you settled in since your return?

Very well. Coming back, I told myself that I have to make Nigeria work for me because eventually, like I said earlier, Nigeria is going to be my base.

You don't feel deterred by the peculiarity of the environment?

Not a bit. For a lot of us who are returning home, it is all about the mindset. If you step in with a wrong mindset, you will be overwhelmed by that peculiarity, but as far as I am concerned, there isn't much difference between Nigeria and the United Kingdom. Whatever works there, works here as well, it depends on how you apply them here. We have laws in Nigeria, just as we have in the UK. The only difference is that the laws are not applied here. There is no repercussion for certain actions.

Besides, I am here with the mindset that regardless of what is happening in Nigeria today, I am here to stay.

Since you left, there has been an upsurge in the number of young designers challenging the status quo. Aren't you afraid of competition?

No. I actually encourage young designers. Back in the day, I floated what was called the Free Fashion Workshop in Lagos, focusing on the quality of tailoring, business of fashion and other nitty-gritties of fashion. I did it with my money and contacts. I eventually got Aero Contractors to sponsor it because I wanted these young guys to grow. I have never felt that I am in competition with anyone because I am on a different lane totally. You THEWILLNIGERIA

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cannot see what Emmy Collins is doing to any person, anywhere in the world or in Nigeria. I can categorically tell you that because I have searched. But that doesn't mean that Emmy Collins is better than everybody. I am simply saying that I am in my little zone all by myself. If you like any Emmy Collins design, you can only get it at my place or at a stockist’s because no one has the nerve to do what I am doing.

Everyone has their own design which I respect, but I have never been afraid of competition because I have never towed the line or latched on to trends. I am anti-trend. When fashion goes in a certain direction, I am going in the opposite direction.

Are you saying nobody can replicate your design?

People can copy, but if you are not Emmy Collins, you are not Emmy Collins and people will find out sooner than later.

What do you offer different from what others are offering?

I am particular about the form of an African, with a Nigerian in mind. A lot of foreign brands do not bear us in mind when they design. They design for the European market. That is all they care about. But when I design, I think about the shape and form of the average Nigerian Collins man or woman. I know how we are built and that is why you can enter an Emmy Collins show room, it doesn't matter what size you are, we will clothe you and give you what is known as the illusion of a curve, which is what makes people want to wear their clothes tight. But you don't have to do that with our clothes because the curve that you're looking for has been incorporated into the shirt. The shirt will be loose, but the curve will be there. In addition, I pay so much attention to detail, quality stitching in particular. In Nigeria, I think we pay less attention to detail and the quality of stitching and that is what lets us down every day. If Nigerian designers desire to be respected outside Nigeria, we need to fix that and we must fix it now.

How would you compare the evolution of the Nigerian fashion industry now with what it was 10 or 15 years ago?

It hurts me to say this, but the only way I believe we can help the

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Collins industry is to look it in the face and say it as it is. The industry is like a passion. Without passion, you can’t move forward. A lot of money is being invested in the industry, especially with shows here and there, but the return on investment is too minimal. Imagine that we pay to invite people from outside the country and we put them in top hotels. This costs a lot of money, in dollars (we don't pay with naira). And what do we get from this? Individual success.

When we start winning individually, no country moves forward like that because we have to win collectively. In all these years that the shows have been going on, what major structure has been put out there to encourage the next generation? How have we moved from point A to point B? Nothing tangible. We are just going round in circles, doing the same thing every single time. People see shows as improvement, but, hell no, it is not.

Well, some will argue that shows are for visibility and presence Now when it comes to visibility, one thing I have learnt is that if you do not have what to showcase, that is something that has quality, then don't showcase anything. Take your time and wait until you have it. We bring in the foreign media to see what we have to showcase, which isn't necessarily of good quality, and they will take this out of Nigeria with the impression that we are not big on quality. I mean, we pay top dollar for people to come into Nigeria and they take their negative impression about us out of the country and run with it in their press.

That is not good. The only advantage that I will say I have over a lot of people in this industry is the fact that I have gone through training as a fashion designer. I have a Bachelor of Arts degree in fashion from London

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ENTERTAINMENT &SOCIETY WEEKLY always been my mantra. But if you ask me where my inspiration comes from, it is from the style of the late Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, Jimmy Hendricks, Marvin Gaye, etc. Basically my inspiration comes from the style of black musical artists of the 1960s and 70s which I transform and make to look modern.

Metropolitan University and I have a diploma in fashion business management from Portabeleu Fashion Business Centre, South-West London. What I am trying to say is that a lot of these people do not know how the industry works.

You know sometimes when you criticise, it is always good to do so from the inside. So I then got involved with one of these shows. I was contracted, put in one of these fancy hotels. And with me was an Australian buyer with one of these top online stores. So, one of those mornings when we met for breakfast, we began a conversation and he was telling me about a certain fashion brand, which was part of the show, inviting him to come over to their show room. The guy refused to go. He told me that what the brand had was 'rubbish'. Those were his exact words. Imagine how I felt. He was talking about my fellow Nigerian fashion designer and I couldn't even look him in the face and tell him that he is full of crap because I knew he had a point. And this guy left Nigeria with that impression and the owner of the brand is someone I know personally. Each time I see this person. That is all I remember.

Will you be offering the womenfolk something from the Emmy Collins brand?

I am working on it. When it comes to women's wear, it is actually borderline laziness on my part because it takes more energy for me to come up with women's designs. But what many don't know is that for every single Emmy Collins piece, there is a feminine wear in it, meaning that I can easily transform a typical Emmy Collins piece into a womens wear in a jiffy even without changing the fabric.

Does this explain why you are very colourful with your fabrics?

I have always been about colour. I have always been bold back in the day, even when it was not fashionable to be so in Nigeria. But things have since changed in this landscape as I now see more colours and more boldness in people's design. In that regard, I will say the fashion industry has evolved.

Don't you think you should have told this individual about the buyer's opinion?

Why? I have had that kind of conversation in the open in the past. I am having that same conversation now so if the brand owner wants, now is the time to key in. I don't have to go to people individually. And you know how we are, we take offence for being told the truth. So, moving forward, I decided I wasn't going to allow myself to be used in that manner. It is not worth my time and emotion. It is not helping the industry and Nigeria.

In other words, you don't think the industry has evolved much?

The good news is that it will take just a little time and effort for us to get to our destination. Until we have people with passion in the fashion industry, we are not going to evolve as fast as we should. We can't keep forcing round pegs in square holes. We can do all the fashion shows that we can, but that will not provide the jobs that the teeming youths in the industry needs The UK is just about 80/90 million people.

We are over 200 million people, in Nigeria but the fashion industry in the UK employs about 1 million youths directly.

That is because the UK government is also involved in the fashion business. Here, the government doesn't in any way Well, yes, you can say that, but the industry work with people with passion for the craft, people who cut their teeth in the industry and invested in the industry with their own personal money. What I am trying to say is that the fashion industry needs people who will invest in it not those who want to take out of it because there is not much to be taken out.

It is nauseating to say this, but we seek validation from people who should be seeking validation from us. What I know, having been around the world, is that everyone is stylish in Nigeria in their own way. We need to be doing our own thing and do it very well. The world is a global village so they (developed nations) will find us as long as the quality of what we are providing is good. I am of the opinion that we should service our local market first before paying top dollar to seek validation from Europe and America. The population of Nigeria is half the size of Europe, imagine having access to that number.

Yes we have the numbers but our fashion designers prefer to be called luxury designers out of the reach of the common man. How do you service over 200 million people who cannot afford luxury?

That is why the Emmy Collins brand is thinking about a diffusion line in Nigeria. I have never believed that fashion should be above the reach of anybody. I don't believe one needs money to be stylish. As long as you know how to put things together and style your body frame, then you are good to go. So when you say Nigerian designers put outrageous price tags on their brands, it still boils down to that training I talked about, fashion business management, because all they are doing is pricing themselves out of the market.

How would you define the Emmy Collins brand?

It is a brand that doesn't believe in following trends. It is about authenticity, cuts, designs and originality.

I want to believe that your personal style is incorporated into your brand Oh, very much so.

So the Emmy Collins brand is your style personified?

Yes and no. Yes because anything I cannot wear, I cannot sell. That has

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Do you plan to incorporate native attires to what you offer?

The thing about fashion is that one can't be the same thing to everyone at the same time. The mistake I see being made is that we try to move from one thing to the other without consolidating at one thing and then gradually moving on to the next and that is why you see a new brand doing virtually everything and they suffocate under it because it requires a lot of resources. So back to your question. At some point, I might, but I need to be inspired to do so in the Emmy Collins way.

“

Collins

How long has your brand been in existence?

This year will make it 20 years, but to be honest, if I must be factual, it has been in existence since I was nine years-old.

What would you say has kept you going?

Passion. There have been times I left the industry to take up menial jobs to raise some money and return to designing. The only reason I could have done that is passion. When I was trying to return to Nigeria, people

It is nauseating to say this, but we seek validation from people who should be seeking validation from us. We need to be doing our own thing and do it very well. The world is a global village so they (developed nations) will find us as long as the quality of what we are providing is good. I am of the opinion that we should service our local market first before paying top dollar to seek validation from Europe and America. The population of Nigeria is half the size of Europe, imagine having access to that number Collins THEWILLNIGERIA

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JANUARY 21, 2024 T H E W I L L N E W S P A P E R • www.thewillnews.com

ENTERTAINMENT &SOCIETY WEEKLY Do you belong to any fashion body in Nigeria?

No.

thought I was crazy, especially with the crazy dollar exchange rate. But I didn't care, it had to happen, now or never. That is fueled by passion.

When I began my brand, there was a place called Florentia Clothing Village in London. Some of us designers were quartered there by the London Development Agency. Because we were new designers, we couldn't afford the real rent, but they believed that we would grow and do great things in the industry. So they were willing to invest in us with part rent for the studios. Of the 12 of us then, I am the only one still in the industry today.

Why not?

I don't even know how I should register. Besides, I disagree with a lot of them because I would give a limb to find people who genuinely want to move the fashion industry forward. If these fashion bodies were actually doing their job, I don't think the industry will be where it is today. That being said, I am a member of the British Fashion Council.

You once ran a blog, 'diarybyemmycollins' which is now defunct. It was noted for its 'vicious' attack, so to speak, on celebrities both home and abroad, regarding their style and choice of clothing. Do you plan to revive it?

The blog was simply an avenue to voice out my opinion on anything but mostly about fashion and offer alternative views. It was born out of frustration. I was frustrated by the things I was seeing on the fashion scene. That blog might just be one of the reasons I am here today because Nigerians communicated with me inbox rooting their support for me. And just recently, I got a message asking when I would be reviving it because the fashion scene needs to be sanitised. It wasn't set up to correct anomalies or to personally attack individuals like most people thought.

Of course, I am aware that Nigerians are not used to someone voicing out their opinion, so will always misconstrue opposing views for personal attacks or what the politicians call 'political attacks'. That is the oldest trick in the book, and I am well experienced enough to recognize that and I must categorically state that I am not fazed by that all. So, it may not come back the way it was set up, but the meat of the matter will still be the same. What creatives in Nigeria do not understand is that we need to have critics around us or else we will end up thinking that we are all that and then you no longer grow because for every single piece created, one can do better with the designs.

Designers in Nigeria complain about a legion of problems that prevent them from operating optimally. From power to staff, to taxation, forex, etc. Which of these has a strong choke on you?

Power. The noise alone that emits from the generating set is unsettling. I cannot work with the noise because I need that tranquility to be able to articulate designs which I do. I do not leave the job to my staff to do.

What would you say has been your greatest achievement?

My third coming. For the first time, I am actually in control of everything from design to production and that is what I have always wanted. I vet and employ tailors and expect them to do what I ask them to do. So if anything comes out of my Lagos factory that is below par, I am wholly responsible for it. In the UK, I create my samples and I have to work with the factories and when you work with the factories, you have to be careful what you complain about. I have been thrown out of factories in the past. I have been banned from factories because if the end product is not good, it is not good. Emmy Collins will not accept any inferior work.

What is the story behind the Emmy Collins brand, how did it really start out?

Like I told you earlier, the Emmy Collins brand has been ongoing since I was nine years-old. Three of my sisters were seamstresses. By the time I was 10 years-old, I could tell the sound of a Singer sewing machine from others. My godfather used to have one of the biggest fabric supply stores in Umuahia, Abia State then. So my mum would send me to him on festive periods to get fabrics. Since the place was always busy, he would take a while before attending to me, but he would let me go in and just play with fabrics. So I have had a relationship with fabrics right from that young age. When it comes to choosing the right fabric, I have been making such decisions for a long time. Many designers have a problem deciding the best fabric to work with and which design fits which fabric. It is a difficult decision to make because back in the UK when I order for swatches, I get swamped with about 5,000 swatches and I need just about 10 or less to work with. So how do you choose 10 out of 5,000 swatches? So when I eventually get these fabrics for my mum, I would take mine to the tailor's. Other kids would go with their mothers, but I was the only kid who would tell the tailor exactly what I wanted. I fell out a lot of times with the tailor but he eventually came around.

Some other designers would probably not have bothered to go through formal education if they had to learn all about designing and sewing from their seamstress sisters. But you did. Why? Let me shock you. I do not believe that you have to be formally educated to become a world class designer. Actually, formal education is overrated.

There is an apprenticeship school if you are not cut out for formal education. I went to the university to study fashion because I wanted to and in fact, it was a later decision. I believe in learning because you stagnate when you don't learn about new skills in your field. And these days, the internet is right there to acquire these knowledge. It is all about what the individual wants.

In the fashion business, there are designers, tailors and fashion entrepreneurs. Which category do you fall into specifically?

I am all of them. You have to be all of them to know exactly what you are doing, especially if you do not have a bottomless pit of money. But regardless of if I have a bottomless pit, I am a micro manager.

Do you plan to replicate your Fashion Workshop project to transfer your wealth of fashion knowledge to up and coming designers?

Sure, I will. I am going to set up a proper fashion school in Nigeria in conjunction with a couple of my guys in the UK. For me, coming back home isn't to make money but to make a serious impact because I have been in the industry long enough. I should be giving something back.

Nigeria gave me nothing, but it doesn't matter.

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“

Collins

The blog was simply an avenue to voice out my opinion on anything but mostly about fashion and offer alternative views. It was born out of frustration. I was frustrated by the things I was seeing on the fashion scene. That blog might just be one of the reasons I am here today because Nigerians communicated with me inbox rooting their support for me. And just recently, I got a message asking when I would be reviving it because the fashion scene needs to be sanitised. It wasn't set up to correct anomalies or to personally attack individuals like most people thought

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How do you unwind?

Observing people. I know it sounds weird, but it is actually inspiring to me. The strangest people have actually inspired my pieces in the past. I also like to eat out.

Collins

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ENTERTAINMENT &SOCIETY WEEKLY STORIES BY IVORY UKONU

IYORCHIA AYU GIVES OUT DAUGHTER IN MARRIAGE L ast weekend, the immediate past National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Iyiorcha Ayu, was forced to come out of hibernation to throw a befitting wedding party for his daughter, Wanger Mbalumun, who tied the knot with her lover, Oluwagbotemi Olugbenga.

The white wedding took place in Abuja. But quite unlike a man of his calibre, not many prominent people, let alone members of the political party he was chairman of, were present at the low key wedding party.

Ayu’s biggest supporter, Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the PDP was conspicuously absent as he was far away in Dubai felicitating with another member of the party who added another year.

However, Ifeanyi Okowa, the immediate past governor of Delta State and Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State were on hand to lend him their support.

The Olugbengas

L

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Ghana, Rwanda, Gambia and the Former Minister of Tourism in Seychelles, Alain St Ange, to Lagos for the event.

A travel promoter, tourism development expert, media consultant and author, Ikechi Uko is also the organiser of Akwaaba African Travel Market, the first international travel fair in West Africa; Abuja Bantaba, Accra Weizo and Port Harcourt Bantaba.

Some of the guests in attendance at the event include former Minister Tourism, Civil Aviation, Ports and Marine, Seychelles, Alain St. Ange; Wanda Ibru; High Commissioner of Trinidad and Tobago to Nigeria, Mr Wendell Vincent Carlton De Landro; immediate past DG, National Council for Arts and Culture,

Omosedei Igbinedion Joins Edo Governorship Race

Kolapo

How Tourism Enthusiasts Celebrated Ikechi Uko's 60th Birthday ast weekend, Africa's tourism ambassador, Ikechi Uko, clocked 60 and to celebrate his new age, as well as the things he has done to promote tourism in Africa and beyond, about 42 people contributed money to renovate the Nigerian National Museum in his honour.

They decorated the walls with an installation art tagged ‘Naija Seven Wonders’ at the National Museum in Lagos.

‘Naija Seven Wonders’ is a project put together by some Nigerian tourism promoters, led by Uko, to highlight and showcase the huge tourism resources in the country.

After an exhaustive search and public voting, the project team announced the seven wonders of Uko Nigeria in 2012 which was expected to lead to the recovery and greatness of the tourism industry in Nigeria.

The ‘Naija Seven Wonders’ are Obudu Mountain Resort in Cross River State, Sukur Heritage Site in Adamawa State, Osun- Osogbo Groove in Osun State, Kano Walls, Oke Idanre Hills in Ondo State, Benin Moat in Edo State and National War Museum, Umuahia, Abia State. The surprise event also included the installation of a huge African cooking pot to signify Uko’s role in making jollof rice popular globally with the jollof wars that he began with the Ghana Tourism Authority in 2016.

They covered the walls with Uko’s pictures. They also organised a surprise party and brought in his friends from South Africa, Kenya,

Continued from page 38

Otunba Olusegun Runsewe; Chairman, Cross River State Carnival Commission, Gabe Onah; President, National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA), Susan Akporiaye and MD/CEO, Tour Brokers International Uloma Egbuna.

Others are the COO, IBOM AIR, George Uriesi; Sen Florence Ita Giwa; NATOP President Imeh Udo; CEO Experts Travel Rwanda Fifi Rurangwa and former Lagos Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Steve Ayorinde.

A little over a year ago, Uko was appointed Head, Aviation, Cargo Road Map Development Committee, an aviation cargo roadmap inaugurated by the Muhammadu Buhari-led government.

Considered one of the best to ever do it on this side of the divide when it comes to travel and tourism conferencing and events, Uko's appointment has been applauded by many as putting a round peg in a round hole. A travel enthusiast, publisher of Africa Travel Quarterly Magazine and several others, he is a recipient of many awards and recognitions who has been appointed by successive governments both within and outside Nigeria to head various arms of the travel, aviation and tourism industry, as well as to boost it for development, promotion and revenue generation.

YEMI KOLAPO INSTALLED AS IYALODE MUSULUMI OF EGBALAND

Y

emi Kolapo, the publisher of 'The Point' Newspaper, has been installed as the Iyalode of Egba Community of Muslims.

The installation ceremony took place last weekend at the Central Mosque, Kobiti, Abeokuta, Ogun State.

While congratulating her, Kolapo’s wellwishers thought it was a well-deserved honour and a testament to her life of service as a devout Muslim with strong morals. They noted that the Egba Muslim community would benefit from the Iyalode’s invaluable contributions and unwavering commitment to service. They also expressed confidence that her wealth of experience will equip her to discharge her duties accordingly.

The epoch-making event was attended by the crème dé la crème of the society from all walks of life, including the governors of Ogun and Kogi States, Dapo Abiodun and Alhaji Yahaya Bello, respectively, senators and commissioners from Kogi State, the immediate past Nigerian Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Sharafadeen Isola; Secretary to the Kogi State Government, Dr Ayoade Folashade; the wife of a former Nigerian President, Olusegun Obasanjo; President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Chris Isiguzo; media gurus, Muslim clerics and scholars across the country, among other dignitaries.

A graduate of Economics from the University of Lagos, Yemi whose father is grassroots politician and a former National Vice Chairman of All Progressives Grand Alliance, Alhaji Tayo Sowunmi, started her journalism career straight out of school in 'Punch' Newspaper. She would later rise to become the newspaper's first female Group Business Editor. It was, therefore, not surprising that the then Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga, appointed her Senior Special Assistant on Communications and Strategy. Although the job took her away from mainstream journalism, she remained in good touch with the profession and her colleagues and even launched a book while in office.

When Aganga left office in May 2015, she returned to her base in Lagos and floated 'The Point' Newspaper.

Omosedei, the daughter of the Esama of Benin Kingdom, Chief Osawaru Gabriel Igbinedion.

Omosedei isn't ready to quit politics having failed to return to the House of Representatives to represent the people of Ovia Federal Constituency, both in 2019 and 2023 after her first termmin 2015.

Omosedei who plans to actualise her ambition on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, made a big show of her announcement for the number one seat in Edo. She mobilised over 500 women and supporters all clad in similar ankara material and marched them to accompany her to inform her father of her intentions. She received her father's blessings while also wishing to be the first Edo man to father two governors in his lifetime, should his daughter become successful at the polls.

The other women who have signified their interest in the

race are Victoria Amua Amu, an occupational therapist trained in the United States and a philanthropist. She is the sole female aspirant within the All Progressives Congress (APC).

There is also Asha Emily Okojie, a dedicated humanitarian and philanthropist who holds a bachelor’s degree in health information management and a master’s degree in business administration (MBA). She is the second female aspirant in the Labour Party.

Angela Aburime-Asom, a medical doctor from Edo Central Senatorial District, is running for the position under Labour Party as well.

Some of the men include Olumide Akpata, a former president of the Nigerian Bar Association; Asue Ighodalo, a lawyer and board room guru; Philip Shuaibu, the current deputy governor and serial gubernatorial candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu.

Hope Uzodinma on Demolition Spree

Uwazuruike

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arely a few weeks after Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State demolished the business enterprise of his former friend, socialite, Myke Ikoku, for falling out with him over his governorship style, another popular figure in the state has fallen victim to the governor’s bulldozers.

Uzodinma allegedly sent his bulldozers to demolish the palatial home of activist, Ralph Uwazuruike, the leader of the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), a group canvassing for the secession and sovereignty of Eastern Nigeria.

The MASSOB leader alleged that Uzodinma connived with Archbishop Lucious Ugorji of the Catholic Diocese of Owerri to demolish and bomb his

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house to rubles using explosive devices.

Uwazuruike said he had been living in the house since 2012, adding that he was singled out for punishment.

He alleged that the cleric once called him and indicated interested in the parcel of land on which he built the house.

In 2016, he alleged that some people came up to him and said that the land where he built his house belonged to them. So, last year, he claimed they obtained a fake judgement from a court without any notice to him.

He would later appealed the said court judgement and questioned the veracity of the judgement.

Uwazuruike also claimed that Uzodinma sent Prof. Maurice Iwu, a former Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to him asking that he should discuss and dialogue with the Archbishop. According to him, despite sending copies of the order of the Court of Appeal to the governor, copying the Director of Security Services, DSS, and the Imo state Commissioner of police, his home was demolished.

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ENTERTAINMENT &SOCIETY WEEKLY STORIES BY SHADE WESLEY-METIBOGUN

Gbenga Daniel Immortalises Late Father

Continued from page 38

Jumoke Adenowo, Kemi DaSilva-Ibru make Forbes list of '50 Over 50 Europe, Middle East and Africa' significant success at the age of 50 and over.

The women on the list hail from 29 different countries and territories and work across various industries. From founders, CEOs, humanitarians and vanguards across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the 50 members of the third annual 50 Over 50 list are not only shaping the future of science, fashion and finance but also the Catholic Church, Forbes said.

Of the 50 women listed, only two were Nigerians: Olajumoke Adenowo and Kemi DaSilva- Ibru.

Jumoke is an architect and the founder of AD Consulting, which she established at the age of 25. AD Consulting has designed and constructed more than 114 projects—including institutional buildings, offices, and residential homes, all of which have launched Adenowo onto architecture’s global stage. Her latest project is the development of a $880

million housing complex in South Africa.

Kemi on the other hand is an OB-GYN physician and founder of Women at Risk International Foundation (WARIF), a nonprofit aimed at combatting rape, sexual violence, and trafficking affecting young girls and women in Nigeria. She has 18 full-time staffers and 200 volunteers.

Her nonprofit has impacted the lives of over 3,000 survivors of rape and sexual violence. Kemi is currently pursuing a PhD in gender-based violence at the London School of Hygiene and DaSilva-Ibru Tropical Medicine.

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ormer governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, last Sunday hosted the 19th Annual New Year's Thanksgiving and 12th Memorial Anniversary Service of his late father, Reverend Abraham Adebola Daniel, at the Baptist International Worship Centre, aka Abraham’s Tabernacle, in Sagamu Ogun State with several eminent Nigerians in attendance.

The service, themed 'Thanking God for total victory, recovery and restoration,' was conducted by a group of clerics led by Rev Jonathan Olaojo. It attracted the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Ogun State, Ladi Adebutu, his father and business mogul, Sir Kessington Adebutu; the immediate past High Commissioner to the United Kingdom,

Daniel

DON JAZZY CLARIFIES SALE OF MAVIN RECORDS

Dino Melaye Waltzes Into 50s Club

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ontroversial politician, Dino Melaye recently waltzed into the 50s club.

Despite not being in the country on the said day, the birthday celebration was a success to say the least. Currently hibernating in Dubai where he has been holed up since last year following his woeful performance at the Kogi gubernatorial polls, Dino ensured the celebration was as spectacular as it would have been if it had taken place in Nigeria. He started off the celebration with a pre birthday spa treatment where he got a complete gentleman's treatment and then some of his Middle East friends threw him a mini birthday party after bombarding him with all manner of gifts including 67 spectacularly decorated cakes. On the birthday proper which was an evening affair, the venue of the party was Melaye decorated in gold and black. There was a belly in the 2023 general elections. dancer to thrill the guests and Days after his birthday, gifts and there were speeches eulogising cakes have not stopped arriving at his doorstep. But what has Dino's personality. One of the got people talking the most is highlights of the party was the many wondering if he has now presence of Atiku Abubakar, the relocated to Dubai fully like his presidential candidate of the political mentor, Atiku and his Peoples Democratic Party, PDP THEWILLNIGERIA

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Ajereh

M former brother in-arms, Timi Frank, a former Deputy National Publiity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, APC, who has remained holed up in Dubai since former President Muhammadu Buhari took over power in 2015.

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Sarafa Tunji Ishola; the daughter of the late sage, Dr Tokunbo Awolowo-Dosunmu; the Akarigbo and paramount ruler of Remoland, Oba Babatunde Ajayi; the Olu of Ilaro and paramount ruler of Yewaland, Oba Kehinde Olugbenle.

Others are socialite Abba Folawiyo, Ireti Asemota, Modele Sarafa among others.

The Bishop of Lagos North Diocese of the Methodist Church of Nigeria, Rt Reverend Gboyega Ohu, delivered the sermon, while harping on thanksgiving and love for one another in the society.

The highlight of the thanksgiving was the commissioning of a Mausoleum, the unveiling of a statue of Jesus Christ with the cross and another statue of his late father.

The latter two were erected right in front of Baptist International Worship Centre.

ichael Collins Ajereh, aka Don Jazzy, has set the records straight about the alleged sale of Mavin Records, a record label he founded in 2012 following the closure of Mo' Hits Records, a record label owned by him and his former partner, Dapo Oyebanjo aka D'Banj.

Last year, it was rumoured that Don Jazzy was considering selling Mavin Records or seeking external investment. The rumour brought to the fore, no doubt, discussions about the future trajectory of the label considered to be one of Nigeria's most influential music brands. According to reports, there were bids from major players like Universal Music Group (UMG) and HYBE with valuation estimated between $125 million and $200 million with Shot Tower Capital, an independent investment bank facilitating the negotiation process.

But clarifying the issue, Don Jazzy revealed that the

label had had investors for five years, but they were leaving and that would naturally open the doors for other interested investors. He said investors were bidding because they possessed valuable assets.

Mavin Record is home to recording artists, such as Divine Okubor, aka Rema; Oyinkansola Sarah Aderibigbe, aka Ayra Starr; Charles Chibueze Chukwu, aka Crayon; John Ighodaro, aka Johnny Drille; Ladipo Eso, aka Ladipoe; and Alexander Adelabu, aka Magixx. It also houses producers such as Don Jazzy himself and five other in-house producers.

In 2014, Nonso Temisan Ajufo, aka DJ Big N, became the label's official disc jockey. Tiwa Savage, Oluwatobi Wande, Ojosipe aka Wande Coal, Ayoleyi Hanniel Solomon, aka Reekado Banks and Iyanya Onoyom Mbuk were all formerly signed to the label.

In 2019, Mavin Records secured a multimillion dollars investment from Kupanda Holdings, a subsidiary of Kupanda Capital and TPG Growth. The label has received numerous accolades, including the MTV Africa Music Award for Best Record Label in 2013 and 2014.

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POLITICS XTRA

Day Plateau Residents Rejoiced

BY UKANDI ODEY

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n the eve of January 12, Plateau State, yet to get over the trauma and threnody of the recent Christmas Eve genocide, was a heavily impregnated socio-political and economic destination, with a huge, combustible potential that the next day, which would be judgement day between the wish of the people and the voice of God on the one hand, and an army of fortune speculators on the other, could go either way - between peace and crisis.

or scarf as appropriate by gender, emptied into the Heipang Airport as early as 9am, as initial information indicated that the Flight conveying Governor Mutfwang and some of the robbed national Assembly members, some cabinet members and protocol staff would touch down at 11.30am penultimate Saturday.

By 12.30pm when the Flight eventually hit the runway and taxied to the embrace of a crowd that was irresistible to any winning politician, and unstoppable by size, force, and intent, it was also obvious that celebration was in the air and everywhere. Security and protocol were humbled and overwhelmed by the weight, extent, and the ubiquitous character and scope of the forging crowd. Adhoc protocols took over, as Governor Mutfwang only managed to acknowledge cheers and address the crowd from the alighting position of the plane before security manoeuvred him into what was going to start and birth the longest official motorcade to pull out of the Heipang Airport since the restoration of democratic rule in 1999!

The pre-judgment day brought raging sentiments, permutations, speculations, expectations, gossips, political bad blood and ethnic stereotypes and all, to a feverish pitch.

There was palpable and precipitate tension heightened by bitter and vociferous exchanges between the camps of the PDP that had approached the Supreme Court in search of justice, and the APC that was bestriding the same court questing for a judicial approval for a technical knockout in an election it deservedly and genuinely lost.

No time had the community of Plateau State been engaged in such intense and prolonged conversation and debate? The situation saw its demographics splintered into incendiary and tendentious clusters and concentric circles defined by various and varying degree of interest and awareness since November last year when the Appeal court rained its objectionable verdicts on the last elections in Plateau. It was both like the night before the Passover, or, the night of a possible invasion by an enemy and aggressor gang on an unmistakable mission to kill, destroy, and eventually usurp and occupy a people’s heritage. Either way, suppositions and surmises – including uninformed analyses, arm-chair commentaries, jaundiced prognostications, and unschooled constitutionalism and citations, pointed to a possible frenetic ending of a litigation that had stoked as much as it stirred tempests and trepidations.

It was indeed a night of longevity and tendencies before the inevitable and unavoidable morning. At about 2pm of Friday January 12, once Emmanuel Akomaye Agim, JSC, reading the lead judgment in the appeal filed by Governor Caleb Mutfwang and the Peoples Democratic Party against the Appeal Court judgment that quashed his election on the amorphous ground of “no structure”, pronounced that “the appeal is hereby allowed”, proMutfwang celebrations erupted in the Three Arms Zone area of Abuja city centre and in Jos, the Plateau State capital.

In the ensuing moments, a sustained, co-ordinated, collaborative, and corroborative pandemonium dominated by a cacophony and symphony of doxologies and tunes in favour of Mutfwang and the PDP, and acknowledging God for His Hand in ensuring justice and upholding the wishes of the people through the Supreme Court judgement.

At the Heipang Airport in Jos, protocol and order collapsed as the Airport facility was overrun by the surge of supporters and admirers who thronged the Airport to welcome the governor as he made a ‘triumphal entry’ from Abuja after the Supreme Court judgment that affirmed his election as the Executive governor of Plateau State.

From all the seventeen local government areas of Plateau State, loads of lorries and trucks of jubilation clad and chanting supporters apparelled in white and green cap

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Beginning at about 1:05pm when the Governor’s pilot vehicles blared their way towards the exit of the Airport, the gates stayed akimbo for upward of one hour thirty five minutes, as a nearinfinite convoy was unfolding sluggishly from the Airport and fading reluctantly into the tricky and intriguing geographical cast of Jos, amidst a weather that was intricate and poetic with fluctuating temperatures.

“

The January 12 decision of the Supreme Court that affirmed the victory of Governor Caleb Mutfwang apparently stopped push from getting to shove in Plateau State. For Plateau people, it is a landmark judgment because it is in sync with the decision, feelings and emotions of the people

Between Heipang and Jos Town, not more than twenty minutes of business drive, The convoy was in halting mode: intermittently, the convoy would stop to behold in and acknowledge the warmth, good will, and fervour of people who had positioned themselves at junctions, roundabouts, bus stops, and shopping centres along the Heipang-Jos Road to catch a glimpse – or, if need can, have a feel and celebrate with the peoples’ governor who just over came the unpopular and anti-people onslaught of the APC at the Supreme Court.

That was the pervasive mood in Jos and the larger Plateau State penultimate Saturday and for most of last week.

Different individuals and groups sponsored celebrations that snowballed into all-night vigil, chanting choruses, chorusing prayers, and invoking the power of Him on the Throne to vacate all evil on the way of the governor, and to guide him to continue and conclude on the impressive note he has begun. Mutfwang put a sober spanner into the works of the subsisting celebrations when he mobilized contractors back to the sites of abandoned projects last Tuesday, in an urban renewal and upgrade programme.

The January 12 decision of the Supreme Court that affirmed the victory of Governor Caleb Mutfwang apparently stopped push from getting to shove in Plateau State. For Plateau people, it is a landmark judgment because it is in sync with the decision, feelings and emotions of the people. For many in Plateau and beyond, it was an unnecessary litigation sparked by the greed of the petitioner and speculative and dubious sense of representative democracy. For many more, it was even more unnecessary because of the manner it threatened the Plateau Project, and exacerbated emotions and primordial sentiments that are the bane of growth, security, and prosperity of the State. The litigation process also exacted integrity and fame from professionals, professors, old Editors, Ambassadors, technocrats, and other stakeholders who sought name-calling and other guile compromises to pervert truth and justice.

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Onyibe Unveils New Book M

agnus Onyibe, a former commissioner in Delta State (2003-2007), media columnist and democracy advocate, has released a book titled, "LEADING FROM THE STREETS. MEDIA INTERVENTIONS BY A PUBLIC INTELLECTUAL (1999-2019)". The book is a compilation of compelling articles written and published in the mass media by the author, spanning the entire range of Nigeria's socio-economic and political life. The foreword to the book is written by former military Head of State, Gen Yakubu Gowon (retd).

As General Gowon, Nigeria's war-time head of state, noted in the foreword, the book is more than just a collection of past articles but rather a compilation as well as an expression of passionate intellectual effort aimed at getting leadership in Nigeria to be more considerate and inclusive of the views, opinions and concerns of those outside the corridors of power. This is “in order to help guide policy makers in their work of policy formulation for the good of Nigeria, Africa and the world at large."

Continuing, the former leader of Nigeria stressed: "In this book, Onyibe has made compelling contributions and given sound ideas and possible solutions to many burning national and global issues.

Reading through the articles, it is obvious that Onyibe, as someone with composite work experience as a broadcaster, insurance man and banker, as well as in the public sector as a commissioner in the government of Delta State, Onyibe is very familiar with the various issues that our country has had to deal with since independence 1960. As a way of proffering solutions to these seemingly intractable challenges, he wrote these articles as interventions from someone who does not function from the official government circle. Nonetheless, he has deep insight about the challenges that we face as a nation and how we could possibly successfully resolve them.

Typical with the opinion pieces and editorials in these essays, they go to the heart of many of the issues over a span of 20 years since the return of the country to democratic governance in 1999."

Thereafter, the war-time leader of Nigeria reached the following conclusion: "The issues were usually incisively analysed, and possible solutions proffered. If only the successive leaders, since 1999, had leveraged the good pieces of advice given in those presentations, one wonders how better off the country would have been."

One of the unique features of the book is that each of the seven (7) chapters contained have an afterword writer who is an authority in the topic focused.

Invariably, owing to the insightful and invaluable perspectives brought to bear by the eight (8) afterwords writers, the book can be said to have eight co- authors because the chapter with the theme: "Ethnic Nationalism, Separatism and Religious Insurgency" had both Christian and Muslim clergymen as co-writers, which was done in order to strike a balance in our country that is very religion sensitive.

By and large, the collection of 77 articles in the book is very profound because it features essays that dwell on the core and relevant issues concerning the existence of Nigeria as a country and what needs to be done to make her flourish. Some of the topics focused on in the 7 chapters are: democracy and governance, politics and practice of politics, business and economy, leaders and leadership, and ethnic nationalism, separatism and religious insurgency, corruption and graft – the unending fight against it, and our country’s relations with other African countries and the rest of the world.

“

As the afterword writer, on the chapter: "Business, Economy and Development," the renowned accountant Mr J.K. Randle pointed out: "He (Magnus) has adopted a prose style that is both elegant and incisive to the point that we are entitled to ask: what else is to be done to bend the ears of those whose responsibility it is to make crucial decisions on our behalf? " In essence, the book serves as a vital lesson in civic engagement and history. It provides an in-depth exploration of how power has been wielded and sometimes misused in Nigeria between 1999-2019 which is during the reign of presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Yar’Adua, Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari; and the consequent impact of their leadership on the masses who depend on THEWILLNIGERIA

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As the afterword writer, on the chapter: "Business, Economy and Development," the renowned accountant Mr J.K. Randle pointed out: "He (Magnus) has adopted a prose style that is both elegant and incisive to the point that we are entitled to ask: what else is to be done to bend the ears of those whose responsibility it is to make crucial decisions on our behalf?

them for direction.

Finally, the book is both prophecy and an explanation in the same breath. That is because some of the fears that Onyibes had been expressing in the media interventions about looming policy disasters that the actions and inactions of leaders in government could trigger or elicit way back in the days, have come to pass.

Although it is a whopping over 600 pages tome, it is worth the reading effort.

Finally, the title: ‘‘Leading From the Streets......’’ accurately captures the book's essence because, in our little ways, all of us human beings are leaders. Whether we are public office holders in the executive, legislative or judicial arm who influence public policy or we are regular citizens such as teachers in our schools, pastors and elders in churches, imams or alfas in our mosques, sports coaches in our schools or communities, career professionals or corporate executives, we are leaders as long as we exert influence on other people.

To that extent, when formulating public policies, public office holders ought to take into account the opinions of all-particularly the advocacy of media columnists and other opinion leaders who are purveyors of the voice of the people, which is the voice of God-vox populi vox dei.

Coming at this point in the life of the new administration led by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the book serves as an appraisal of the leadership strength of past leaders since the return of multi-party democracy in Nigeria in 1999 and a guide for the incumbent leadership to improve upon for the greater good of Nigerians.

The book has been published on Amazon for both the paperback and Kindle versions. It would soon be in leading bookshops nationwide.

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JANUARY 21, 2024 WWW.THEWILLNEWS.COM

Super Eagles Profligacy Raises Concern as AFCON Intensifies

BY JUDE OBAFEMI

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n emerging inability to ruthlessly convert goalscoring opportunities has sparked concern over Nigeria’s capacity to claim a fourth Africa Cup of Nations trophy. Specifically, deficiencies in clinical finishing and penetration in the final third hindered the Super Eagles across opening Group A draws with Equatorial Guinea (1-1) and a subsequent solitary goal victory over hosts Ivory Coast (1-0).

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The Super Eagles wasted a raft of opportunities in an ultimately disappointing 1-1 stalemate

Coach Jose Peseiro’s initial tactical approach against Equatorial Guinea sought to implement high pressing and swift vertical passing sequences to put Nigeria on the front foot. This produced some early promise, as left wingback Zaidu Sanusi squandered a prime 11th minute chance from Victor Osimhen’s cutback.

Osimhen himself then dragged wide with time and space on the edge of the box soon after.

However, Peseiro’s chosen 4-1-4-1 system, which was planned for the midfield to sufficiently supply penetrative passes for the forward line, did not pan out as envisaged.

This enabled Equatorial Guinea’s deep-lying double pivot to disrupt promising interplay between Frank Onyeka Iheanacho and the advanced midfielders of Moses Simon, Alhassan Yusuf, Alex Iwobi and Ademola Lookman.

Consequently, Nigeria resorted to speculative

efforts as attacking momentum kept fizzling out and the lack of cohesion began to frustrate the frontline.

Equatorial Guinea capitalised on Nigeria’s stunted buildup by grabbing a shock 36th minute lead through Ivan Salvador's pile-driver. This scenario highlight concerns over the imbalance in Peseiro’s setup, with its lofty pressing approach leaving no shield against exposure on transitions. An immediate response was expected and the Super Eagles swiftly replied as Ademola Lookman’s pinpoint 38th minute cross was emphatically headed in by Osimhen. Lookman and substitute Ola Aina both tested outstanding Equatoguinean goalkeeper Jesus Owono in subsequent passages of play.

In the second period, despite Nigeria's resurgence and greater share of possession, further clear openings were still squandered. Most glaringly, Osimhen spurned two more opportunities from close range in the final quarter hour that should have secured victory. Instead, flaws in clinical edge meant Nigeria failed to defeat the 94th ranked football nation, despite controlling territory and chances.

Shifting to a ultra-conservative game plan, Peseiro set his side up in a 3-4-2-1 shape for a crunch clash with tournament co-favorites and hosts Ivory Coast four days later. Inserting Samuel Chukwueze into the starting XI lineup for a link-up pairing with Lookman and supply Osimhen signalled the priority was not simply avoiding defeat but scoring as many goals as possible. This was necessary because the Ivorians had shown they were ready to perform in front of home fans, finishing their opening tie two unreplied goals to the good against Guinea Bisaau.

Yet, despite neither managing a shot on target

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SPORTSLIVE

...Raises Concern as AFCON Intensifies themselves, Nigeria’s defensive strategy worked initially to stifle the Ivorians' creativity. However, as the game wore on, Ivory Coast's enterprising midfielder Frank Kessie increasingly stretched the overworked Ola Aina. This gradually pushed Nigeria deeper, allowing the Ivorians to construct threatening situations around the box. Yet, wayward finishing meant the deadlock endured late into the tense encounter.

The breakthrough finally came courtesy of captain William TroostEkong, who slotted home a 55th minute penalty controversially awarded for Osimhen’s tussle with an Ivorian defender in the box. While scrappy, it proved the decisive moment as Nigeria clung on to claim a vital 1-0 victory. Still, concerns remain over Peseiro’s tactics and his team’s capacity to produce cohesive attacking play. With a potential knockout tie against already knocked-out Guinea Bisaau looming, significant improvements converting chances will be vital if belief in Super Eagles’ title credentials is to be restored and qualification to the knockout stages guaranteed.

The openness and unpredictability of this expanded 24team Africa Cup of Nations has been reiterated through a series of shock results and underdog successes in the early stages. Particularly, limited pre-tournament fancy Cape Verde ambushed four-time champions Ghana 2-1 to provide the competition's biggest upset thus far.

Despite an encouraging start, Ghana were made to pay for failing to take full advantage of their early chances.

Cape Verde deservedly led at halftime courtesy of Jamiro Monteiro’s calm finish. Even after Alexander Djiku

headed in an equaliser from a set piece, the Atlantic archipelago minnows showed resilience to fight back again. Garry Rodrigues crushed Ghanaian hopes by prodding in a 91st minute winner to spark rapturous celebrations. The surprise result means Ghana's early elimination prospects now appear extremely high ahead after drawing against giants Egypt in their next encounter.

Perennial nearly men Namibia also celebrated a first ever AFCON finals victory by edging past 2004 champions Tunisia 1-0. Winger Deon

Hotto stooped to head home an 88th minute winner and reward the underdogs’ enterprise. The loss instantly cranks up pressure on Tunisia ahead of tricky clashes with Mali and South Africa.

Indeed, Nigeria were themselves arguably fortunate to avoid defeat against Equatorial Guinea.

The Super Eagles wasted a raft of opportunities in an ultimately disappointing 1-1 stalemate. It highlighted how no team, however vaunted in reputation, can simply arrive and sweep

Continued from Back Page

Oyo Tragedy: Regulatory Failure or..?

to combat threats. Federal and State governments must make these investments, not just as lip service but as an unwavering commitment to supporting those sworn to protect Nigerian lives and property. Their vigilance and sacrifice are instrumental to public safety and welfare.

Our collective neglect has brought us yet again to the brink of disaster. Yet, out of adversity must come the resolve and mandate for change and accountability at all levels. As we support victims in Oyo State to rebuild, pursuing justice swiftly and transparently is paramount. State and Federal authorities must ensure no stone is left unturned in identifying the location from which the explosives were taken alongside the supply chain that allowed these dangerous materials into civilian spaces. All those found culpable whether directly or indirectly must face the highest penalties possible to signal the government's unwavering commitment to protecting innocent lives. Justice delayed is justice denied.

Additionally, gaps identified in explosive regulations and monitoring must be addressed THEWILLNIGERIA

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promptly nationwide to prevent another catastrophe. Rules safeguarding lives must be stringently enforced without excuse, negligence by oversight bodies punished and hazardous materials' access severely curtailed. Explosives must be stored in fortified zones far from civilian spaces. Surveillance systems must be tightened to account for every ounce of explosive material including inventory tracking and transportation mechanisms to halt diversion. Loopholes allowing illegal mining must also be plugged with those caught facing prosecution as clear deterrents are urgently needed.

The bodies buried and tears shed in Oyo state plead for us to build from this tragedy, the framework for a safer Nigeria. Half-hearted measures cannot suffice and business as usual attitudes must end. We owe it to those lost and devastated by the explosion to bring the perpetrators to justice while enacting enduring reforms so such incidents do not recur destroying other families. Their lives lost must not be in vain. The time for deep reflection, accountability and change starts now.

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opponents aside in this year’s hugely expanded and unpredictable tournament.

With Cape Verde showcasing giant killing credentials and Nigeria misfiring, the AFCON’s lesser heralded sides now have further grounds to harbour hopes of springing more upsets. As the group phase continues, fans can expect many more unexpected twists and turns before this captivating edition crowns a surprise champion on February 11. Pre-tournament favourites Egypt endured a testing start as they struggled to break down a stubborn Mozambique in their Group B opener. Despite the Pharaohs dominating the ball and deservedly leading through Mostafa Mohamed’s early strike, they were stunned as Mozambique turned the game on its head in the second half.

Witi and substitute Clesio Baque netted to put the sizable underdogs on the cusp of an immense scalp before Mohamed Salah coolly converted an injury time penalty to rescue a 2-2 draw. The stalemate still represents an early setback for new coach Rui Vitoria’s side, who face critical games with Ghana and Cape Verde next. In the group second tie, which Egypt drew again against Ghana, Salah was taken off injured and that will be worrying news for both the Pharaohs and Liverpool.

On the other hand, reigning champions Senegal issued an ominous statement of intent by comprehensively dispatching 10-man Gambia 3-0 in their Group C return.

Sadio Mane laid on midfielder Pape Gueye to rifle them ahead early on, before late strikes

by Lamine Camara sealed a comfortable opening day result. Up next is a mouthwatering clash with Cameroon that could determine who claims top spot.

Fellow pre-tournament favourites Morocco smoothly negotiated their opening test by easing past Tanzania 3-0 courtesy of goals from Romain Saiss, Azz-Eddine Ounahi and Youssef En Nesyri. Their efficient performance positions them strongly to advance as Group F winners ahead of games against Zambia and DR Congo.

After four straight goalless draws coming into the tournament, Algeria needed an 18th minute Baghdad Bounedjah goal to secure a 1-1 draw with Angola in Group D. Bounedjah clinically finished an early opening but Algeria failed to capitalise on their dominance.

Angola grew as the game wore on and equalised through Job Mabululu's 68th minute penalty.

As the AFCON group stage approaches its climax, familiar heavyweights face testing moments while less fancied sides harbour hopes of springing further surprises. For Nigeria, addressing glaring deficiencies in attack that undermine title aspirations is paramount.

South Africa, which lost by two goals to Mali, Egypt, Ghana and Algeria must also rediscover cohesive rhythm swiftly.

Meanwhile, the likes of Cape Verde and Namibia have already showcased giant-killing credentials to confirm this expanded, unpredictable edition as truly up for grabs heading towards the February 11 final. Whichever nation handles the pressure cooker moments best now stands to etch their name into AFCON folklore.

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www.thewillnews.com January 21, 2024

Oyo Tragedy: Regulatory Failure or..?

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he deafening explosion that ripped through a bustling neighbourhood in Ibadan, Oyo State on January 16 has again left the nation grieving. As families mourn their loved ones lost in the blast, urgent questions emerge: How could such a devastating tragedy have occurred in a residential community? Why were explosives that claimed innocent lives so easily accessible? And most distressingly, how many more must perish before our law enforcement and regulators do their jobs? How many more deaths before those responsible for such catastrophes are finally held accountable?

Overhead images and first-hand accounts provide sobering evidence of the sheer force of the blast and the scale of destruction. Official reports state that at least five lives were lost, with over 70 injured and hundreds displaced as homes came crashing down. Yet, we cannot capture in statistics alone the true impact of this tragedy – the lives cut short, livelihoods destroyed, dreams dashed and childhoods scarred as a vibrant community found itself transformed into a scene from an apocalyptic nightmare.

Survivors have recounted the harrowing moment when the explosion occurred and there is not a single experience that is not heart-wrenching. Rescuers found some in dire need of medical assistance, which possibly saved their lives. Scarred by tragedy and uncertainty, they now face the uphill battle of rebuilding their lives from the ruins.

Many families have been rendered homeless, with some left with only the clothes on their backs.

The state governor, Oluseyi Makinde, has promised to be of assistance as they rebuild their lives from scratch. But material support alone is insufficient for true rehabilitation. There must also be a restoration of the shaken sense of safety and security that comes from seeing justice served.

Preliminary police investigations indicate that the Ibadan blast was caused by explosives stored by illegal miners operating in the area. The apparent ease of access to materials capable of such catastrophic destruction is profoundly disturbing, indicating grievous gaps within our security and regulatory frameworks. Commercial explosives designed for mining and construction in the wrong hands can wreak untold havoc.

Dynamite sticks, for instance, can explode with pressures exceeding 600,000 pounds per inch, enough to raze buildings and cause human bodies to disintegrate.

How was such a lethal payload allowed into a bustling residential zone, placing thousands at risk? How were they procured in the first place?

Were they legally sourced? Why were these dan-

gerous materials not securely stored in fortified bunkers, far from human habitation? Where was the necessary oversight mechanism to ensure public safety severely compromised? We cannot afford to brush aside these glaring security lapses. Reforms to governance frameworks regulating explosives must be prioritised as a national imperative, especially with our living experience of terrorist acts. Stringent guidelines, swift enforcement mechanisms and robust surveillance systems are needed to detect threats before innocent lives are endangered.

The heart-wrenching scenes from Oyo State echo previous tragedies signalling a recurring cycle of disaster, mourning and impunity nationwide. In March 2020, a gas explosion occurred at Ado Soba in the Abule-Ado area of Lagos, leading to carnage and despair. The explosion resulted from an alleged truck accident and caused immense destruction with 23 citizens

losing their lives and hundreds of buildings damaged across several kilometres.

Before then in Nembe, Bayelsa State, pipeline explosions linked to neglect and inadequate maintenance led to hundreds of fatalities and loss of property estimated in hundreds of millions of naira. Relatives speak of rescuing charred remains and entire families perishing as raging fires spread unchecked.

In January 2013, an explosion in a building storing fireworks set off a major fire and killed at least one person in Lagos. More than 40 people were reported to have been injured.

The incident took place in the Jankara Market area of Lagos Island, a particularly densely populated part of the city, and the ensuing blaze spread to 15 other buildings.

With every devastating blast, the same troubling pattern persists – strident government pledges of investigation, which yield no definitive outcomes and no definitive accountability from responsible entities, whether state or private, a lack of requisite policy changes to forestall future occurrences and bereaved families left with an enduring sense of injustice.

Promises from authorities fade back into seeming indifference, while victims desperate for closure find none. This endless cycle of tragedy, pledges and inaction cannot continue unchecked. The deep scars of the latest Ibadan explosion provide yet another pressing opportunity for reflection, accountability and rectification so lives are preserved and destruction curtailed.

As rescue efforts continue, appreciation goes to the emergency response agencies at the frontlines managing the difficult aftermath. But while these agencies carry out their tasks, gaps within Nigeria’s wider national security framework persist, including challenges of inadequate funding, resources and delayed wages which strain even the fiercest commitment to duty.

Energised, empowered and accountable security forces are pivotal to national stability and safety.

As such, budgetary allocations for all agencies involved in emergency response, counter-terrorism and public safety must be bolstered. More so, these disbursements must happen regularly to assure the welfare of our protectors. They in turn must reciprocate with a renewed commitment to duty devoid of corrupt influences.

Additional counterterrorism and emergency response training alongside advanced technical capacity will further consolidate their readiness Continues on Page 47

Our collective neglect has brought us yet again to the brink of disaster. Yet, out of adversity must come the resolve and mandate for change and accountability at all levels PAGE 48

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