SUNDAY 10TH NOVEMBER 2024

Oyedele: Businesses Will Suffer, Economy Would Retrogress If States Collect VAT

Oyedele, has raised the alarm that businesses will suffer while the economy would retrogress if state governments are allowed to collect

value-added tax (VAT).

Speaking on a live television programme at the weekend, Oyedele recalled that a similar

approach was attempted in the 1980s with sales tax, but the sub-national governments failed to generate significant revenue

through it. “By 1999, we were writing the constitution because we now have the 4th Republic. But what we

did was to just replicate the 1979 Constitution,” Oyedele said.

Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja

The Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has emerged the sole candidate for a second term

in office following the end of the nominations for the position, a clear signal for her to have a smooth sail for another four-year term. Chair of the WTO General Council, Ambassador Petter Ølberg

of Norway, informed the global body's members yesterday that no further nominations for the position of Director-General had been received at the expiration of the deadline of November 8,

adding that the incumbent DirectorGeneral, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, emerged as the only candidate for the position. Okonjo-Iweala confirmed her willingness to serve a second

four-year term in the role in a letter to the Chair on September 16. On October 8, the WTO formally commenced the process for appointing its next DirectorGeneral, with members given until

Chief Justice Kekere-Ekun: Few Judges are Tarnishing the Image of Judiciary

Insists Nigeria blessed with upright, courageous judges

Sanusi urges Supreme Court to administer justice with fear of God Fagbemi insists on fairness, integrity of Nigerian legal system Babalakin decries influence of political leaders over judges

Wale Igbintade

The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, has acknowledged that few judges were giving the Nigerian judiciary a bad name, insisting that the country’s judiciary is blessed with upright and courageous judges.

The Emir of Kano, His Royal Majesty Khalifa Muhammad Sanusi

II, also asked the Nigerian judges especially justices of the Supreme Court to administer justice with the fear of God, and also remember that they are accountable to God.

This is just as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Dr Wale Babalakin has lamented what he described as the deterioration of

Continued on page 5

HONOURING THE CJN…

L-R: Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun (left), and Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, at a dinner in honour of the CJN, at the Lagos House, Marina…yesterday

Ejiofor Alike

The Chairman of the Presidential Tax Reform Committee, Mr. Taiwo

Biden, Trump to Meet at White House Ahead of Historic Return

President Joe Biden will meet with President-elect, Donald Trump at the White House on Wednesday after the US leader pledged an orderly transfer of power back to the Republican he beat in elections just four years ago.

Trump, who never conceded his 2020 loss, sealed a historic comeback to the presidency in the November 5 vote, cementing what is set to be more than a decade of US politics overshadowed by his hardline right-wing stance.

Biden will join the tiny club of US presidents to return power to their White House predecessor — with a previous instance coming when president Benjamin Harrison handed back to Grover Cleveland in the 19th century.

The Democrat will meet Trump at the Oval Office at 11:00 am (1600 GMT), the White House said Saturday, with the clock ticking down to the ex-president’s return to power in January.

The 78-year-old ex-reality TV star won wider margins than before, despite a criminal conviction, two impeachments while in office and warnings from his former chief of staff that he is a “fascist.”

Exit polls showed that

voters’ top concern remained the economy and inflation that spiked under Biden in the wake of the Covid pandemic.

Biden, who dropped out of the race in July over concerns about his ability to continue at the age of 81, called Trump on Wednesday to congratulate him after his election win.

The Democratic leader urged Americans in a solemn televised address to “bring down the temperature,” in stark contrast to Trump’s refusal to accept his 2020 election defeat.

Trump has begun to assemble his second administration, naming campaign manager Susie Wiles to serve as his White House chief of staff.

She is the first woman to be named to the high-profile role and the Republican’s first appointment to his incoming administration.

“Susie is tough, smart, innovative, and is universally admired and respected,” Trump said of the steely 67-year-old Florida native. “Susie will continue to work tirelessly to Make America Great Again.”

The other frontrunners for a place in the Trump 2.0 administration reflect the significant changes it is likely to implement.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a

Tinubu Departs Abuja to Attend Joint Arab-Islamic Summit in Saudi Arabia

To address Israeli-Palestinian conflict during the summit

Deji Elumoye in Abuja

President Bola Tinubu will depart Abuja today for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to attend the Joint Arab-Islamic Summit, which will focus on the current situation in the Middle East.

According to a statement issued yesterday by presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, the summit would commence on Monday, November 11, 2024 and is being held at the invitation of King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman following last year’s summit in the same Saudi city.

During the summit, President Tinubu is expected to address the ongoing Israel-Palestinian conflict, emphasising Nigeria's

strong call for an immediate ceasefire and the urgent need for a peaceful resolution.

He will also advocate renewed efforts to revive the two-state solution as a pathway to lasting peace in the region.

Senior government officials, including the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar; National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu; Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris; and the Director General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ambassador Mohammed Mohammed are accompanying the president on the trip.

President Tinubu will return to Abuja upon the conclusion of the summit.

WTO DG: OKONJO-IWEALA CONFIRMED AS SOLE CANDIDATE FOR SECOND TERM AS DEADLINE FOR NOMINATIONS ENDS

Nigeria's two-time Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala assumed office as the seventh Director-General of the WTO on March 1, 2021, becoming the first woman and the first African to serve in such a capacity.

Her first term of office will expire on August 31, 2025.

The WTO is the only international organisation dealing with the rules of trade between

leading figure in the anti-vaccine movement for whom Trump has pledged a “big role” in health care, told NBC News on Wednesday that “I’m not

judicial independence in Nigeria occasioned by the increasing influence of state governors and other political figures over judges.

Justice Kekere-Ekun stated this yesterday at a public discourse on ‘Ethics, Morality And The Law’, organised by the Movement for Islamic Culture and Awareness (MICA) to mark its 30th anniversary and the elevation of Justice Habeeb Adewale Abiru to the Supreme Court.

She maintained that Nigeria was endowed with very hardworking and knowledgeable judges, warning however, that judges should remember that as "individuals we are accountable to ourselves and to God."

The CJN added that the perspective of the ordinary citizen, who observed and assessed the extent to which ethics, morality and the law co-existed harmoniously in the society must be taken into consideration.

She added that public acceptance of the law also hinged on its alignment with fundamental principles, the need for clarity, stability and independence of the judiciary, as well as the fair exercise of authority by law enforcement.

According to her, the foundations of justice were influenced by the Abrahamic faith prevalent in the society, adding that both Islam and Christianity preach morality uprightness, and righteousness.

She said: "The role of the legal practitioner within this framework, merits a particular attention.

“The lawyer, often seen as both antagonist and protagonist in the pursuit of justice, must navigate a terrain where law, ethics, and morality intersect.

"This dual role requires balancing the scriptures and the law with ethical constitutions, often containing moral and legal questions that may seem at odds. As a minister in the temple of justice, the lawyer's commitment to justice involves upholding legal standards, while advancing principles that follow society's ethical expectations.

"The degree to which this

going to take away anybody’s vaccines.”

The world’s richest man, Elon Musk, could also be in line for a job auditing government waste

alignment is achieved influences public trust in the judiciary and the law, affirming that our legal system should not only administer justice but also resonate with the community's moral convictions.

Justice Kekere-Ekun stated: "I will say we take notes of everything that has been said. As the Honourable Attorney General pointed out, and this happens in every sector of our society, it is unfortunate that by and large our judges are knowledgeable, upright, courageous, and hardworking but few ones are giving us a bad name.”

In his remarks at the event, the Emir of Kano, Sanusi II, asked Nigerian judges, especially the justices of the Supreme Court, to administer justice with the fear of God.

The Emir, who said his New Year resolution is not to be controversial, however, urged the judges not to allow hatred for people to make them do what is not right.

He said judges should focus more on substantive justice, and not rely on technicalities.

"Do not be an advocate for wrongdoers and do not be an advocate for those who deceive themselves, because Allah does not love sinful wrongdoers.

"When your friends come to you when the government comes to you, and you listen to them and you tilt judgment in their favour. Ask yourself, who will be your advocate before God, on the Day of Judgment?” Sanusi queried.

In his remarks, the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) underscored the importance of fairness and integrity in the Nigerian legal system, urging legal professionals to recommit to ethical values.

“First, you have to be good. On the inside, you have to be good,” he said.

“You have to be able to improve our personnel, our sister, our brother, our colleague,” he added.

Speaking on the theme "Ethics, Morality, and the Law - Christian Perspective,” the Very Reverend

after the right-wing SpaceX, Tesla and X boss enthusiastically backed Trump. Trump is expected to wield the axe on many of Biden’s signature

Professor Konyinsola Ajayi (SAN) condemned what he termed “lawlessness in the law” and urged Nigeria’s legal professionals to reflect on the role of ethics and morality within the judiciary.

Ajayi cited specific cases as examples of the judicial system’s failure, including the controversy surrounding the Emir of Kano, which he described as “an emanation of lawlessness.”

He questioned whether the rule of law truly underpins current judicial practices, adding that the decisions of the courts often confuse the public rather than provide clarity.

He said: “The law today is providing the greatest uncertainty you can think about. The Nigerian judiciary was one of the best in the world. Australia, New Zealand, and the Commonwealth referenced Nigerian court decisions,” he said.

The senior lawyer said today’s legal system suffered from an erosion of this reputation due to inconsistent judgments and a perceived lack of accountability among judges.

Addressing the religious implications of the judiciary’s role, Ajayi appealed to the moral and ethical responsibilities that judges bear.

“God is the author of morality and ethics. He created the law and requires it to be underpinned by these things.”

Ajayi called for all Nigerians, particularly those in positions of power, to examine their actions within the broader ethical framework of their faiths.

“Justice is the foundation of society, and we must be careful to ensure that it does not become what will bring the house down,” he concluded.

Earlier, speaking on the theme: “Ethics, Morality, and the Law -Role of Legal Practitioner,” a former Governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Fashola (SAN) said the greatest tool that humans invented was the law, adding that law separated humans from animals.

Also speaking, Babalakin (SAN) decried the deterioration of judicial

policies. He returns to the White House as a climate change denier, poised to take apart Biden’s green policies with his pledge to “drill, baby, drill” for oil.

independence in Nigeria. He condemned what he described as a "systemic collapse" of the nation’s judicial system, calling for urgent reform to restore its independence and integrity.

He noted that the declining autonomy of the judiciary was due to the increasing influence of state governors and political figures over judges.

He said: “The problem of the legal system is systemic. “We are trying to treat the consequences, not the causes of the problem.” He argued that the decline in the judiciary began in the mid-1970s, when “most eminent judges were arbitrarily retired without trial, without questioning, marking a turning point for the nation’s judicial standards.”

Reflecting on the past, Babalakin recalled the reverence once held for judges.

He recounted how Mobolaji Johnson, the former military governor of Lagos State, had reportedly invited the esteemed Justice JIC Taylor to a state function.

According to him, Taylor declined, “prioritising his judicial duties over the governor’s invitation. That was the end of the story.”

“There is no system that can have the judicial officers under a strong influence of the executive that can do well,” he said.

He condemned the practice where some governors referred to judges as ‘my judges’, adding that in those days, no governor would have had the audacity to refer to a judge as ‘my judge’. Babalakin further highlighted the financial challenges faced by judges, particularly in state courts.

Criticising what he called a “culture of mediocrity” that infiltrated Nigeria’s legal practice, Babalakin called on legal professionals to “reposition and rebuild” the profession from foundational levels, including law school and the bar.

He urged the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to step up and reclaim its historic role as a moral and legal force.

OYEDELE: BUSINESSES WILL SUFFER, ECONOMY WOULD

IF STATES COLLECT VAT

“In 1979, there was no VAT. So, there was no VAT in the 1979 Constitution.

“However, by 1999, we had implemented VAT for about five years. And it was becoming our top revenue tax. How on earth did we forget to put it in the 1999 Constitution? “Because it wasn’t stated in the 1999 Constitution, lawyers will state to you that it’s a residual matter.

“Because it’s a residual matter means it belongs to the subnational. That’s why Rivers State and Lagos State have been to court and won.

nations, regulating and facilitating global trade.

At its heart are the WTO agreements, negotiated and signed by the bulk of the world’s trading nations and ratified in their parliaments.

The fundamental goal of the WTO, as set out in the organisation's founding agreement, is to use trade as a means to improve people's living standards, create better jobs and promote sustainable development.

“If we get a judgment from the Supreme Court today, it will tell you that VAT should be collected and administered by the states. That will be chaotic.

“States will collect less, businesses will suffer, the economy will retrogress.

“On balance, the new reform is meant to treat everybody equitably. Try to get us out of the impression that when you start doing VAT at state level, you make so much money, which is not the case.

“In fact, today, the VAT on imports and international services is actually more than the VAT we collect in Nigeria, within our jurisdiction.

“And that amount that is collected from international services and import VAT is not attributed to any state. It goes into the pool and is shared.

“So, today we shared VAT between and among states based on derivation, 20 per cent; based on equality, 50 per cent; and based on population, 30 per cent we are proposing that correct derivation and share, 60 per cent based on derivation, 20 per cent based on population and 20 per cent based on equality,” he explained.

Oyedele also said another more attractive proposal by the committee is to allow the federal government to reduce its VAT share, and give room for states to have more.

“We thought it was going to be very difficult for the federal government,” he said.

“We asked the federal

government, can you please seed five per cent of your share to the state instead of taking 15 per cent, why don’t you take 10 per cent, now we have five per cent that can give us a buffer that we can use to do fiscal equalisation and actually writing the law to guarantee every state that as a result of our reform, you will not collect less than you would have collected under the old formula.

“I thought that should be good enough. It’s actually just saying to you as a state that your risk is zero, but the upside is significant.

“Your VAT revenue can double in less than two years if they allow this reform to go through, because it would also motivate states to take interest in the economic activities within their jurisdiction,” he added.

Oyedele further said the new tax reform bills under consideration at the National Assembly will halt revenue collection by federal agencies such as the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and the

Nigeria Customs Service (NCS). He said the bills aim to stop approximately 60 federal agencies from collecting taxes, allowing them to focus on their primary mandates.

The committee chairman added that the new measures will simplify tax collection across the country and enhance the operational capacity of the agencies.

President Bola Tinubu had on October 3, asked the National Assembly to consider and pass four tax reform bills.

The bills include the Nigeria Tax Bill, the Tax Administration Bill, and the Joint Revenue Board Establishment Bill. According to the bill, VAT would be increased to 10 per cent by 2025 and reduce Company Income Tax (CIT) to 27.5 per cent from an average of 30 per cent over the same period.

Under the proposed bill, Personal Income Tax (PIT) will be raised to 25 per cent for high earners from next year, from about 20 per cent.

PROMOTING THEATRE FESTIVAL...

briefing to formally announce the Lagos International Theatre Festival in Lagos…recently

I Do Not Belong to Any Political Party, Obasanjo Insists

Ex-president, Atiku laud Onyema Ugochukwu's loyalty, commitment to Nigeria at 80

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday restated that he is not a member of any political party.

This is just as the former president, and ex-Vice President Atiku Abubakar, eulogised renowned economist, journalist, and politician, Chief Onyema Ugochukwu for his sense of loyalty and total commitment to the development of Nigeria.

Speaking in Abuja at the 80th birthday ceremony of Ugochukwu, the first Executive Chairman of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Obasanjo who described himself as “a no-party statesman,” noted that throughout the period he worked with Ugochukwu, he could count on him to keep to his word on anything.

Obasanjo recalled that during the 1999 election when he (Obasanjo) competed against Alex Ekwueme, many people from the eastern region saw Ugochukwu as a traitor, while the Yoruba elements saw him as a spy.

He said Ugochukwu was never moved by the insinuations, and expressed his eternal gratitude to the celebrant, whom he described as

a man without bitterness in his heart.

“There are four things I would just want to say. When we came together, it was during the campaign. I know a little bit about you by reputation. Two candidates were competing: Myself and Alex Ekwueme. And right from the word go, you decided who you would be with. Some Yoruba elements in our campaign saw you as a spy.

“The Igbo elements on the other side saw you as a bastard. Why should you be with a Yoruba man when an Igbo man is contesting? And you stood your ground. You were unshaken and unshakable.

“You remained totally loyal. And I appreciate it. And you remained with me, not 99.9 per cent loyal, but 100 per cent loyal throughout my tenure. I will be eternally grateful to you,” the former president said at the Thanksgiving service.

Obasanjo noted that after Ugochukwu contested and won the governorship election in Abia State, but was removed by the Appeal Court, he never took revenge on anybody.

“Over the years, whether I am in or out, whether people are abusing me or oppressing me, I know your

NPA, APM Terminals Avert Major Fire Incident at Lagos Port

The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and APM Terminals at the weekend averted a major fire outbreak on a crane at the Lagos Port Complex Apapa.

The terminal operator said there were no injuries or fatalities as a result of the fire. It added that the incident did not disrupt operations at the port.

“We extend our sincere gratitude to the NPA management and NPA Fire Service for their prompt assistance in managing the situation.

stand. I know I can count on you. Not only as my supporter but for the party that we all built together.

“Even though now I’m a no-party statesman. I want to emphasise what the bishop said. At 80, what more do you want? Do you need it?

“All I will say is that you need to continue to serve humanity and serve God. And there’s no end to that. And the bishop said you should enjoy yourself. I will

concur with that.”

Also speaking, Atiku, who attended the reception ceremony, also described Ugochukwu as a peacemaker who never took sides unnecessarily during his altercation with Obasanjo while in government.

“We only met during our administration around 1998-99 and till now, we have been in contact with each other. But I want to say that during our administration even

when the president and I were having problems, Ugochukwu never took sides, rather he tried to be a conciliator and I want to say that all along I found him to be an extremely dedicated, passionate Nigerian.

Earlier, during the celebration which also saw the launching of two books: “Testaments and Testimonials” and “Galvanising Development in the Niger Delta”, edited by Tunde

Olusunle, the celebrant thanked his friends, family, and associates for honouring him with their presence.

“Ten years ago, when I turned 70, I was the first of my siblings to reach the age of 70. It should have been a very big celebration, but it wasn't because 2014 was a horrible year. I lost my two younger brothers in that year itself. My father, and then my uncle, and there was no need to celebrate,” he said.

Ondo Guber: APC Crisis Deepens as Support Groups Begin Mobilisation for SDP Candidate

The crisis rocking the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State shows no sign of abating as pro-APC groups under the auspices of Ondo Patriots have commenced mobilisation in support of the candidate of Social Democratic Party (SDP), Benson Akingboye, ahead of the November 16 governorship election in the state.

Governor Aiyedatiwa and the party approach,’ which was addressed to Ganduje.

The group said its decision was due to the “questionable” emergence of Aiyedatiwa as the candidate of the party at the primaries conducted in April 2024.

It added: “The leadership of the various organising groups within the party structure in the state for the umpteenth time hereby re-emphasise that it is going to be almost impossible to work with the party and the governor in the November 16 gubernatorial election.

“The voices of people in Ondo State-an appendages of the APC hereby condemn what it described as derailment and gross misconduct against the party ethics in line with the choice of Governor Aiyedatiwa if truly we are different from PDP and that we do to the latter what we preached before the 2015 general election.

silence and showcase total loyalty to the destiny wasters in our state. Otunba Benson Akingboye is more or less an APC family whose track and philosophy are similar to that of our dear President Tinubu.

“We are monitoring all the activities very closely from all quarters. We pray that in a bid to favour Governor Aiyedatiwa, some people will not set Ondo State on fire.

It said a thorough investigation would be conducted to determine the cause of the fire.

“We appreciate the support and understanding of our stakeholders during this time and remain committed to maintaining the highest standards of safety and operational excellence,” it added.

“We are pleased to confirm that all personnel are safe, with no injuries or fatalities reported. The safety of our employees, partners, and the surrounding community is our top priority, and we are proud that our stringent safety measures played a critical role in preventing any harm. Operations at the terminal have not been disrupted, and we continue to operate as usual,” APM Terminals said in a statement.

This is coming as the chieftains of the party in the state have warned the party’s National Chairman, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, against setting the state on fire in a bid to favour the party’s candidate, Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, in the governorship election.

The Coordinator of the group, Dele Oyewo, made this known in a petition titled: ‘Protest against

“But we discovered that the party leadership in Abuja is not in any way concerned about the wellbeing of citizens of Ondo State, rather they prefer their own choice of settlement over any form of resulting consequences.

“We, the major APC groups in Ondo State have decided to pick Otunba Benson Akingboye of the Social Democratic party as our choice.

“However silent mobilisation has been ongoing but we decided this time to inform our party because of the myriad of “I don care attitude” that the APC leadership in Abuja have been displaying to matters like this that concern the youth of Ondo State long before.”

“We cannot continue to die in

“Meanwhile, what would eventually remove Governor Aiyedatiwa from office is already cooking even when he is forcefully declared as the winner of the election. We have told our people not to waste their precious votes!”

The group warned Ganduje, against setting the state on fire in a bid to favour Aiyedatiwa, in the November 16 governorship election in the state.

Be Patriotic, Avoid Temptation of Seeking Greener Pastures Outside Nigeria, Tinubu Tells Graduates

Okon Bassey in Uyo

President Bola Tinubu has appealed to graduates of Nigerian universities to be patriotic and avoid the temptation of seeking greener pastures outside the country, stating that Nigeria can make its pastures

equally as green, or even greener.

The president made this appeal in his address at the 29th and 30th combined convocation ceremony of the University of Uyo, held at the institution’s permanent ground, Nwanniba Road, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State capital, yesterday.

Tinubu, who was represented by the Vice Chancellor of the University of Port Harcourt, Professor Owunari Georgewill, urged the graduands to be agents of change by utilising their knowledge and skills to solve societal issues for the betterment of the country

and the world at large.

“As you go into the world, I urge you to be agents of change, using your knowledge and skills to uplift our society and contribute to the growth and development of Nigeria and the world at large.

Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

L-R: Former Editor, Sunday Guardian, Mr. Jahman Anikulapo; Former Lagos State Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Mr. Steve Ayorinde; Actress, Joke Sylva; Chairman, Channels Television, Dr. John Momoh; Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Tourism, Mrs. Toyin Atekoja, Actor, Bimbo Manuel; Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu; Founder, LIFT, Mrs. Bolanle Austen-Peters; and Thespian, Yibo Koko, at the press

CELEBRATION OF A JURIST...

L-R: Professor Liasu Adele Jinadu; Chief Missioner, Ansar-Ud-Deen Society of Nigeria, Alhaji Abdul Rahamon Hammad; Prof. Konyinsola Ajayi (SAN); Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun; former Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN); Justice of the Supreme Court and Guest of Honour, Justice H.A.O Abiru; and Dr. Bashir Aliyu Umar, during a public discourse on Ethics, Morality and the Law to mark the elevation of Justice Abiru to the Supreme Court held in Lagos...yesterday

First Lady: Nigeria Can't Afford to Be Left Out of Global Digital Village

Flags off distribution of 45,000 u-lesson tablets to nine NDDC states Denies organising national prayer event

Wife of the President, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, has stated that for Nigeria to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs), Goal 4, which seeks to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all, students in schools across the country should be equipped with digital tools.

Mrs. Tinubu disclosed this yesterday at the Conference Hall of the State House, Abuja while flagging off the distribution of u-lesson tablets to primary and secondary schools in the nine NDDC states organised by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in collaboration with the First Lady's Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI).

This is just as she has dismissed rumours circulating on social media

and other platforms, suggesting she was organising a national prayer event, clarifying that she was not behind any such event.

Speaking while flagging off the distribution of the tablets, she noted that digital lesson devices were revolutionising education in underserved communities.

“These devices provide access to a wealth of educational resources that will empower students to learn at

their own pace and style, in addition to classroom teachings.

She added that the tablets were not mere gadgets of recreation, but powerful teaching tools that foster academic excellence, creativity, and innovation.

“By harnessing the power of digital learning resources, it will enhance students’ engagement, streamline curriculum development and accessibility, and ultimately

NCC Plans Consumer-focused Tariff Reforms for Telecoms Sector

James Emejo in Abuja

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has announced plans to introduce reforms aimed at enhancing tariff transparency in the telecommunications industry.

These changes, to be rolled out in the coming months, will require telecoms operators to provide consumers with clear, easily accessible tables outlining tariff plans, billing rates, and the terms and conditions associated with their services.

The Executive Vice Chairman and CEO of the NCC, Dr. Aminu Maida, disclosed this while speaking at the 93rd Telecoms Consumer Parliament in Abuja at the weekend.

He stated that the initiative was

part of the commission’s ongoing efforts to address consumer concerns over data usage and billing complexities, which have been prevalent in the industry.

According to DataReportal, there are now over five billion internet users worldwide, with Nigeria alone accounting for 132 million connections.

Nigerians spend an average of four hours and 20 minutes on social media daily, exceeding the global average, underscoring how deeply embedded digital interaction is in their lives.

In 2024, Nigeria’s daily data usage averaged 336 gigabytes per second, a 39 per cent increase from the previous year - a testament to the data-driven

lifestyle many Nigerians lead.

Despite this digital immersion, many Nigerian consumers feel their data depletes faster than expected, a sentiment often echoed across the nation.

“In addition, to address tariff complexity, the NCC issued Guidance on Tariff Simplification, requiring operators to provide clear, accessible information on data plans and pricing.

“This transparency will empower consumers to make better-informed decisions about their data usage and billing,” Maida said.

He explained that the reforms would require operators to implement this guidance, presenting consumers with tables detailing their tariff

plans, billing rates, and all terms and conditions associated with the plans they subscribe to.

Earlier this year, the NCC analysed consumer complaints, revealing data depletion and billing issues as the top concerns.

In response, the regulator directed Mobile Network Operators and Internet Service Providers to conduct audits of their billing systems, which reported no major issues.

Maida reiterated that operators would be required to present all tariff plans straightforwardly, with no hidden charges or ambiguous terms.

This move is expected to increase consumer confidence and promote fairness in telecom billing practices.

CDS Commends Human Rights Panel’s Verdict on Alleged Rape, Killings by Soldiers in North-east

Linus Aleke in Abuja

The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa, has hailed the outcome of the Special Independent Human Rights Investigative Panel into the alleged rape, systematic abortions, torture, and extra-judicial killings by soldiers fighting terrorism in the North-east.

boost student performance and achievement.”

Mrs. Tinubu commended the fact that the u-Lesson education software was well-tailored to align with the Nigerian educational system, ensuring relevance and effectiveness in our local context.

“One of the prominent features of this software is its offline video library, which allows learners to play, pause, and rewind educational content without the need for an internet connection.

“Additionally, the software includes parental controls and a long battery life of up to 18 hours, making it a reliable and safe tool for both students and teachers,” she said.

She noted that as the education software, services, and tablets are distributed, “we are taking a significant step towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, Goal 4, which seeks to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.

“By equipping our schools with

these digital tools, we are not only supplementing traditional face-to-face instruction but also empowering students to master their materials and perform better in their tests and examinations, as we believe that every student in Nigeria deserves access to quality education, and the government is dedicated to providing the necessary resources to make that a reality.

"In addition to the distribution of these tablets, the NDDC has also employed the services of a consultant to train teachers in the use of U-Lesson tablets for effectiveness across the nine mandate states and Nigeria in general.”

Earlier in his speech, the Managing Director of NDDC, Samuel Ogbuku, outlined the significance of this initiative. According to him, “This is just the first phase of our project. We recognise that there are more than 45,000 students in the Niger Delta who need access to these resources, and we will continue to engage U-Lesson to produce more tablets for our students.”

Osinbajo: With High Illiteracy Rate, Development will Be Elusive in Nigeria

Segun James

The seven-member panel, which was chaired by retired Supreme Court judge, Justice Abdu Aboki, includes a retired major general, a representative from the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), and an expert in obstetrics and gynaecology.

Reuters reported in 2022 that the military abortion programme involved terminating at least 10,000 pregnancies among women and girls, many of whom had been kidnapped and raped by rebel fighters. After two years of investigation, the panel on Friday indicted the military over alleged mass infanticide and other killings at Abisari in Marte Local Government Area of Borno

The NHRC had in February 2023 instituted a special investigative panel to probe a report by Reuters, that the military ran a secret abortion programme in its fight against terrorists in the North-east in the last 10 years, and another allegation by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) of mass killing by the military in Marte, Borno State.

State, in 2016.

It, however, absolved the military of allegations of mass abortion made against it by Reuters.

The panel said there was no evidence that the military ran a secret programme terminating at least 10,000 pregnancies of freed captives of Boko Haram terrorists as claimed by the news agency.

The panel recommended compensation to the victims of the killings in Abisare and prosecution of officers suspected to be involved.

NHRC Senior Human Rights Adviser, Hilary Ogbonna, said they interviewed 199 witnesses to get testimonies to arrive at their findings and conclusion.

Reacting to the report, General Musa commended the seven-man panel for “painstakingly carrying out a thorough job” since its inauguration by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).

In a statement issued yesterday, General Musa hailed the panel for exonerating the military from indictments by Reuters and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

He said: “No amount of false accusations will distract the Armed Force of Nigeria from exercising its constitutional mandate of protecting the territorial integrity of the nation.”

Former Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, has stated that with over 67 per cent female illiteracy in the North, and half of the country’s population socially and economically disadvantaged by illiteracy, Nigeria will find development difficult if not intractable.

He spoke as the keynote speaker at the 23rd Women in Business Management and Public Service (WIMBIZ) annual conference themed: ‘Dream. Dare. Do’, held in Lagos.

He remarked that there was a need for the elite to be an advocate for positive change, shaping the narrative and speaking up for those who are not of the same social class and educational background.

“My point is that the elite must be the mediator for these people. Alongside their concerns, they must fight for social welfare schemes; healthcare, and school feeding programmes for children

in public schools because these are matters that politicians are required to address but often do not and they don’t even have an elite that can put them under pressure. Your collective voice and action for the education of girls in the north for example can affect the destiny of our nation,” Osinbajo explained.

Speaking further, he said, “A society or nation rises or falls by the sense of responsibility of its elite. That elite could be political, business, religious, and anywhere in the world; it is this class that determines the economic, moral, and even the political direction of their nation. What they hold dear is what society considers important and what they disavow is what is rejected. They are the opinion moulders.”

Osinbajo highlighted the dangers of business owners trying to keep up an image of success that impacts the majority of startups or businesses, leading to the collapse of such.

Deji Elumoye in Abuja

KOLAWOLE ALLI

ECONOMY ON THEIR MINDS…

New Terrorist Group Kills 15 in Fresh Attack in Kebbi

Troops kill 70 ISWAP fighters in Lake Chad Bandits’

Francis Sardauna in Katsina and Onuminya Innocent in Sokoto

Tension has enveloped Mera town in Augie Local Government Area (LGA) of Kebbi State as the new terrorist group known as Lakurawa has attacked the town, killing at least 15 people.

This is just as the air component of Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK) has reportedly killed at least 70 ISWAP fighters in air strikes across the southern Lake Chad region.

Meanwhile, the Katsina State Governor, Dikko Umaru Radda, has revealed that the ongoing onslaught against bandits by security operatives has forced their leaders to seek a truce with his government.

A resident of Mera, Alhaji Bashir Isah Mera (Yariman Mera), who confirmed the attack, said the group struck while people were getting set for Jumuat prayers.

He added that the terrorist group made away with 100 cattle.

According to him, on receipt of the news people of the town

mobilised in hundreds and pursued them to the bush in a bid to rescue the cows which led to the exchange of gunfire between the people of the town and the bandits, and at the end, 15 people were killed while the group lost two men.

Yarima further explained that members of the Lakurawa group are hiding in Sokoto where they also coordinate their attack, saying initially they don't kill they confiscate cows and ask owners to pay Zakat which Muslims pay from their wealth that has attained the level of Zakat and it has been happening for almost two months.

“This is their first attack that involved killing in our town, Mera. The governor expressed worry because he phoned me twice when he heard about the attack and he quickly sent armed soldiers with gun trucks and armoured tanks to contain the siege on the town,” he added.

Yerima noted that the Commanding Officer of Dukku Barracks of the Nigerian Army,

Equatorial Guinea’s Baltasar Remanded in Prison over 400 Sex Tapes Scandal

Segun James

The former Director-General of the National Financial Investigation Agency (ANIF) in Equatorial Guinea, Mr Baltasar Engonga, has been remanded in Malabo’s Black Beach Prison, THISDAY has learnt.

The embattled former anti-graft chief, who was sacked Wednesday, was immediately arrested for allegedly recording over 400 sex tapes involving the wives of prominent figures in the country.

This scandal surfaced during a fraud investigation into the 54-year-old economist, resulting in an impromptu search of his home and office by ANIF officials, who reportedly discovered several CDs that revealed his sexual encounters with different married women.

As the footage leaked online, causing a media uproar, Equatorial Guinea’s President, Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, dismissed Engonga.

According to Decree No. 118/2024, dated 4th November, the dismissal was due to “irregularities committed

in the exercise of his functions, as well as inappropriate family and social conduct for the performance of public duties.”

A viral video surfaced on social media on Friday, showing Engonga handcuffed on both hands and legs during a court appearance.

Confirming the situation, the French online blog Afrikmatin reported that Engonga, who was officially removed from his role on November 6, 2024, was subsequently chained and transferred to Malabo Central Prison. He faces charges of corruption and embezzlement.

Additionally, an online newspaper UGStandard reported that the sex tapes began circulating on social networks while Engonga was already held at Malabo’s notorious Black Beach Prison on charges of embezzling public funds, as reported by state television, TVGE. In a fact-checking report published Wednesday, Dubawa verified that Engonga had indeed been taken into custody on corruption charges and was being held in Black Beach Prison.

the Director of the Department of State Services (DSS), the state Commissioner of Police, and combined security forces had mobilised to the scene of the incident and normalcy had returned.

The state Deputy Governor, Dr. Samaila Yombe Dabai; and the Emir of Argungu, Alhaji Samaila Mera, also visited Mera town to condole with the families of the deceased and assured the people of the state and Mera town of their safety.

Dabai said the governor is deeply worried about the attack and has pledged to ensure the protection of the people against further attack by the armed group.

Attempts to get the reaction of the state police command, the Public Relations Officers, and the Superintendent of Police, Nafiu Abubakar, were unsuccessful as his phone was not reachable.

Meanwhile, the air component of Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK) has reportedly killed at least 70 ISWAP fighters in air strikes across the southern Lake Chad region.

According to Zagazola Makama, a counter-insurgency publication focused on the Lake Chad region,

leaders seeking truce with Katsina govt, says Gov Radda

missiles were shot targeting camps led by Usman Russia, a “notorious ISWAP commander”.

Makama reported that the strikes hit camps in Kwallaram and Arainna Ciki, located near Jibilarram in Marte LGA of Borno State.

The report added that 79 casualties were recorded at the Kwallaram camp.

While the exact number of fatalities at Arainna Ciki remains unknown, the report noted that several militants were killed there as well.

“Meanwhile, following the strike, on November 7, reports emerged that ISWAP had mobilised additional fighters from its Sambisa wing, regrouping in the areas of Kusuma and Sigir in Gamboru Ngala Local Government Area,” the report reads.

“Both locations are within the territory under Usman Russia’s control, with mobilised fighters reportedly including elements from Sambisa Forest and northern border areas of Cameroon.

“The group’s intent remains unknown.”

In a related development, the

Katsina State Governor, Radda, has revealed that the ongoing onslaught against bandits by security operatives has forced their leaders to seek a truce with his government.

Radda, who stated this during the graduation and passing-out parade of the second batch of 550 newly recruited Katsina Community Watch Corps (KCWC), had vowed not to negotiate with the bandits.

But at the graduation ceremony held at the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) College of Peace and Disaster Management, Babbar Ruga-Katsina, the governor did not disclose whether his government would engage the hoodlums in negotiation or not.

He, however, said the war against insecurity by the community watch corps and conventional security personnel in the state has led to the neutralisation of several bandits’ leaders, and “many have sought negotiation with the government.”

He added that the ragging onslaught against the bandits has reunited “hundreds of kidnapped persons” with their families and communities hitherto plugged by

fear are now experiencing “peace and stability” in the state.

The governor said: “The gain of our fight against insecurity has reunited hundreds of kidnapped persons with their families. We have neutralised several bandits' cells with their leaders and many have sought negotiation with the government.”

He noted, however, that the 550-member community watch corps who were presented with 10 Hilux Vans and motorcycles for operations, were selected from 10 local government areas of Bakori, Danja, Dutsinma, Kurfi, Kafur, Matazu, Charanchi, Musawa, Malumfashi, and Funtua.

He reiterated that the state government had also recruited 6,652 ward heads across the state to complement the efforts of security agencies in the fight against insecurity in the state.

In his remarks, the Chairman of KCWC, Major General Junaidu SaniBindawa (rtd), said the personnel were trained in community policing, intelligence and information gathering, weapons handling, and patrols, among other security skills.

APC Has Borrowed Money for Okpebholo’s Inauguration, Obaseki Alleges

Adibe Emenyonu in Benin-City

The outgoing Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki, has alleged that the All Progressives Congress (APC) has borrowed money to fund the inauguration of the Governor-elect, Senator Monday Okpebholo, slated for November 12.

Obaseki who made the remark in Benin City during the inauguration of a caretaker committee for the state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), added that the inauguration will cost the APC between N2 billion and N5 billion.

The outgoing governor, who was sworn in on November 12, 2016, is due to hand over to Okpebholo on Tuesday, November 12. Okpebholo, candidate of the APC had defeated the candidate of the PDP, Asue Ighodalo, in the September 21, 2024, governorship election.

Obaseki stated that the APC did not carry his government along or invite him for the inauguration.

“We have almost N27 billion to pay for projects and obligations, but they have started blowing it, and they have gone to borrow money for the inauguration which is going to cost them N2 to N5 billion. That is the money they will first take from the treasury.

“In this holiday period, they will want to spend as much money as possible to confuse the people. They are going to struggle to change their perception.

“They are doing an inauguration and the governor is not even invited. It is like they are starting a brand-new government and a brand-new state,” he said.

He assured the party members that he would remain in the party to give advice.

“We will get our stolen mandate back for the sake of Nigeria because if we allow the APC to go with our stolen mandate, it will mark the end of democracy in Nigeria. This fight is not for our candidate but for the people of Nigeria and our nation’s democracy,” he said.

But a member of the APC transition committee, Prince Kassim Afegbua, dismissed Obaseki’s claim that APC was already spending part of the N27 billion Obaseki saved for the payment of ongoing projects.

“Is that not an indictment on his government that a government that is supposed to organise inauguration for us is running away?

“Is Donald Trump going to inaugurate himself? Is it not an outgoing government that should inaugurate an incoming one? Does it make sense that somebody coming

in is the one who will organise his own event?

“That they’ve been running away is not enough that we are not inviting him when they’re not forthcoming,” he said.

In a related development, Obaseki has dissolved the state executive council ahead of Okpebholo’s inauguration as the new governor of the state.

Obaseki dissolved the cabinet shortly after a valedictory at the Government House in Benin, the Edo State capital.

Speaking, the governor commended members of the council for helping him in driving the government’s vision of making Edo great again.

He also commended the people of the state for “supporting, praying, and collaborating” with his administration throughout his tenure.

L-R: Vice President, Finance, Nigeria Baptist Convention Mr. Biodun Oloyede; Keynote Speaker, Prof. Segun Ajibola; President, Nigeria Baptist Convention, Rev. Israel Akanji; Chairman, Nigeria Baptist Convention, Rev. Yusuf Gwadah; and Executive Vice Chairman, Verdant Zeal Marketing Communications Group, Dr. Tunji Olugbodi, at the first economic summit organised by the Nigeria Baptist Convention in Lagos…recently

hONOuRiNg thE DukE Of ShOMOlu…

Anambra Government Mum as FBI Arrests LG Chairman over Alleged $3.3m Romance Scam

David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka

The newly-elected Chairman of Ogbaru Local Government Area (LGA) in Anambra State, Franklin Nwadialo, has been arrested in Texas, United States (US), by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for allegedly running a $3.3million romance scam.

The state government has, however, said it would not speak on the development.

The US Department of Justice confirmed the arrest in a statement.

The statement noted that Nwadialo is facing a 14-count

charge and risks a 20-year sentence if found guilty.

FBI arrested the 40-year-old chairman on arrival in Texas.

He has been transferred to the Western District of Washington for arraignment.

“According to the indictment, Nwadialo used various versions of the name ‘Giovanni’ when he met his victims online on websites such as Match, Zoosk, and Christian Café,” the statement read. “Nwadialo used false images for his profile and typically told the victims that he was in the military and deployed overseas so he could not meet the victims in person.

the military for revealing his location to the victim. He asked the victim to help him pay the $150,000 fine. In all, that victim was defrauded of at least $2.4 million.”

The US Department of Justice cited another instance where the accused contacted a second victim in 2019 to help move funds from US accounts to accounts controlled by him and his co-schemers.

received from another victim was proceeds from her investments, and he had her “reinvest” the money in a specific cryptocurrency account that he controlled. The victim transferred at least $270,000 at Nwadialo’s direction.

state government said it could not speak or defend the allegations levelled against Nwadialo.

Twenty-five stage plays, including three international showpieces, will headline the Lagos International Theatre Festival (LITF) 2024 which kicks off on Thursday, November 14, 2024.

The festival, in its maiden edition, will run for four days between November 14 and 17 across four iconic venues in the sprawling Lagos metropolis.

The four-day line-up is designed to celebrate culture, creativity and community, promising an immersive journey through the vibrant world of theatre, live performances, workshops, and more.

With 25 plays lined up across the four venues at the Terra Kulture Arena, MUSON Centre, University of Lagos and Glover Hall, festival goers will also savour three international shows from the United States of America, South Africa and Zambia.

At a ceremony to formally announce the festival last week, at the Lagos House in Marina, Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, said the state was pleased and committed to partner the Terra Kulture team to give Lagosians a beautiful experience throughout the four days of the festival.

Sanwo-Olu said he nursed no hesitation in signing off as the lead sponsor of the festival, adding that he hopes the festival will assist the state in promoting the idea of an arts and culture calendar that will guide residents and visitors coming to the state on where to go and what to see.

“Our hope is to use this brilliant initiative to support theatre practitioners and to encourage listing art activities ahead so that visitors to our state can have an idea of what each month offers for them.”

The founder of LITF and celebrated film and theatre producer, Mrs. Bolanle AustenPeters, also said the festival would be an annual fanfare to celebrate talents, showcase authentic African stories and provide platforms for quality engagements.

She added that the maiden edition of LITF coincides with the 20th anniversary of the founding of Terra Kulture Group by her.

“After several world-class plays that we have promoted locally and internationally and after training more than 26,000 youngsters through the Terra Academy for the Arts, we are delighted to be using LITF to draw attention to live theatre, determined to continue to lead the charge that stage plays are alive and well in Nigeria.”

“Using these personas, Nwadialo invented many reasons he needed the victims to send him money.

“In one such case in 2020, he indicated he had been fined by

“In this instance, Nwadialo represented that he needed help moving money in connection with his father’s death. The victim transferred at least $330,000 to the accounts controlled by the defendant,” the FBI stated.

“A third victim was defrauded by Nwadialo when he told her that he was investing money for her.

“He claimed that a check she

“Finally, in August 2020, Nwadialo defrauded another victim who he met on an online dating site and caused this victim to transfer at least $310,000 by claiming he needed financial assistance, including help paying for his father’s funeral or his son’s school tuition.

“The 14 counts of wire fraud relate to the communications with Nwadialo and the wiring of funds from victims to the defendant and his co-schemers.”

The case is being prosecuted by Sok Jiang, an assistant United States attorney.

Responding to the arrest, the

The state Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Dr. Law Mefor, who spoke on the development yesterday, said Nwadialo was chosen by his people and the political party to which he belongs.

He added that the accused is not an appointee of Soludo, “therefore, I cannot speak for his conduct.” Mefor said: “He was chosen by his people and the political party he belongs to. He’s not an appointee of Soludo, therefore I cannot speak for his conduct.

“Those who elected him should answer such questions whether the offence is true or not because I only speak for the state government and not local government, autonomy has come now.”

Ukrainian War: Varsity Don Asks UN, Others to Stop Russia from Alleged Recruitment of Nigerian Women

Peter uzoho

An Associate Professor and Director of Global Health and Infectious Diseases Control Institute, Nasarawa State University, Dr. A.I. Akyala, has called on the United Nations and nations of the world to raise their voices in condemning Russia’s alleged illegal human labour violations and trafficking by recruiting young women in Nigeria into weapons manufacturing roles. A media report had recently

Michael Olugbode in Abuja

After six years without electricity, residents of Etomi community in Cross River State now enjoy reliable, clean, and affordable power through the European Union (EU)-funded solar mini-grid project.

The solar project, which provides 119.5kW of electricity

alleged that in an attempt to intensify its fight against Ukraine, Russia had started recruiting young women in Nigeria into weapons manufacturing roles.

The report alleged that Russia sought these young women from Nigeria and various other African nations to work in harsh conditions at factories responsible for producing drones intended for use in Ukraine.

The recruitment campaigns, according to the report, predominantly leveraged social

to over 600 households and businesses in the community, was implemented by GIZ.

Head of Green and Digital Economy Section, EU Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Inga Stefanowicz, explained that the grid is managed under a public-private partnership arrangement to ensure its sustainability and long-term

media, enticing women with misleading promises of lucrative careers, complimentary travel, educational opportunities, and the chance to forge new friendships.

Interested candidates only needed to pass a brief Russian language test and complete a computer programme to apply.

The report further alleged that women from Nigeria, as well as Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, South Sudan, and Sierra Leone, were being enticed with ads that presented them with these ambitious work opportunities and a chance for a new life in Europe.

The promises were all a ruse, the report stated, noting that instead, the women were transported to work in drone factories in Russia’s Alabuga Special Economic Zone.

The women, largely aged between 18 and 22, were allegedly drawn to the Tatarstan region of Russia following persuasive social media advertisements, some of which were backed by governmental and media endorsements.

maintenance.

A private company is overseeing the operations of the grid, in partnership with the Cross River State government.

Stefanowicz said the project is part of the EU’s Global Gateway initiative, and is aimed to ensure that Nigerians have access to clean, renewable, and affordable energy.

He said: “The provision of reliable, clean, and affordable electricity for domestic and commercial use will boost the social and economic development of the people. I am also glad to say that we are taking electricity to a cocoa-producing community. This will help their farming activities and processes greatly.”

L-R: Charter President, Rotary Club of Ikeja Alausa, Prince Adeyemi Asepere-Shonibare; District Governor, Rotary International District 9112 Nigeria, Mr. Femi Adenekan; Recipient of the club’s 2024 Humanitarian Service Award, Mr. Joseph Edgar; and the club’s President, Mr. Henry Akwara, at the celebration of the club’s fourth anniversary in Lagos… recently

DAn UKAnA

BUSINESS

Editor: Festus Akanbi

08038588469 Email:festus.akanbi@thisdaylive.com

From Luxury to Losses: How High Living Costs Impact Nigeria’s Hotel Industry

costs and dampening customer demand as many operators are either closing shop or cutting down

Like every other sector of the economy, activities in the hotel and hospitality sector in Nigeria have continued to nosedive as the unabated to frustrate many operators out of the business.

Although some operators with enough clouts to attract funding from banks and other strategic investors are breaking even, the success story cannot be replicated in other segments of the industry.

Reports however say that although some of these industry leaders are still posting impressive the mid-sized ones that are battling for survival amid the growing cost of operation and the falling purchasing power of the prospective customers. An industry source said performance these the hotels, explaining that while some hotels are battling a fall in patronage, those with connections with government are attracting patronage from government circles.

In January this year, one of the leading operators in Nigeria, Radisson Hotel Group announced a portfolio expansion plan across west and central Africa which was intended to see the hotel chain ramp up its presence in Nigeria to 12 hotels Hotels is maintaining its hold on its strategic some of its corporate customers.

While the former, which is 11% owned by the federal government and three-quarters owned

due to accumulated deferred tax expenses, but the hotel insists that the overall trend remains promising.

prices for essential goods and services, forcing hotel operators to absorb costs that they often cannot pass on to customers without risking

prices and inadequate infrastructure, further exacerbates the situation, as hotels are required to maintain constant power supply for operations, air conditioning, and other amenities.

competitive edge, and provide quality services to guests, leading to a complicated landscape for the hospitality sector amid economic uncertainty.

rising living costs, many customers are opting for budget accommodations or cutting out leisure stays entirely. Business travellers now stay for shorter durations, if at all, preferring virtual economical packages. As a result, the once-steady the middle-income customer base.

Although patronage was going down, nevertheless, the hotel’s overhead costs surged due to frequent electricity outages, which forced it to run diesel generators for extended hours. Diesel prices have skyrocketed, heavily impacting the have had to cut down on other services, like free breakfast or extended spa hours, diminishing the customer experience and satisfaction.

A supervisor in one of the hotels in Ikoyi said that due to the rising costs and lower revenues, workforce.

covering multiple roles and working longer hours, which has begun to impact service quality. Guests are experiencing longer wait experience and making it harder to attract repeat customers,” he said.

He pointed out that the high cost of imported

ability of key supplies, from high-quality linens to imported wines, saying the hotel has been forced to substitute or even cut out certain amenities, which previously attracted upscale guests.

like food vendors, drivers and maintenance

climate in the Nigerian hotel sector was aptly

the situation as “unbearable”.

He stated that hoteliers’ challenges date back administration.

He said, “You go to buy fuel, formerly you

closing their establishments. If somebody feels gets them a handful of customers, are they not going to close up?”

Anyanwu highlighted the high cost of electricity, worsened by an inconsistent power supply from distribution companies, which leaves

you assess it against the type of bills they are bringing, you will ask yourself, ‘when did you consume this?” he said.

His lamentation was corroborated by the

of high interest rates, and rising material costs to the list of the woes of industry operators.

operation, from high interest rates and rising material costs to exorbitant energy expenses,” he added.

the hotel business have been declaring unprec-

impacted the operational expenses of hotels, leading to elevated room rates.

which includes hotels, resorts, and other tourist increased operating costs.

age and a decline in investment within the sector, which has subsequently decreased its

has impacted the standard of living for many individuals across the country.

challenged our hotel business and our customers. Addressing these and other challenges is vital for sustaining progress and promoting economic growth.”

already most of the hotels are closing down as a result of their inability to purchase the diesel that they will use to power their hotels because level of patronage is low,” he said.

causing downsizing in most of the hotels. According to him, “You cannot keep the numa good image of the hotel. And you will reduce able to give optimal service.”

teeming youths in the country at the same time, it is absolutely necessary to wade into the energy and other crises rocking the hotel sector.

Transcorp Hilton Abuja

FINANCE

Tony Elumelu Champions Vision for Economic Empowerment, Sustainable Growth in Africa

As an undisputed advocate of Africa’s economic growth, Chairman of United Bank for Africa Plc, and the founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) Tony Elumelu, in his recent working visits to Saudi Arabia, Angola, and Congo Brazzaville stressed that Africa should not only be seen as a market of unprecedented opportunity but as a region in urgent need of partnership and support, reports Festus Akanbi

‘The Future of Africa is in our hands,’ Tony Elumelu never fails to quip at every opportunity he gets, and he seems to have taken this mantra personally as he has been putting words to action in driving the future of the African continent which he is ever so passionate about.

As the Group Chairman of Africa’s Global Bank - United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc and the founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), Elumelu has long been a passionate advocate for Africa’s economic growth. for African development, he has consistently pushed for investments that foster sustainable development across the continent.

The proponent of Africapitalism’s recent working visits to Saudi Arabia, Angola, and exploring and supporting strategic opportunities that can positively impact Africa’s industries, communities, and people.

At the Future Investment Initiative (FII8) Summit in Saudi Arabia, Elumelu captured the attention of global leaders and investors by highlighting Africa’s unique demographic advantage as well as its potential risks. He presented a compelling case for the continent’s untapped market potential, emphasising that Africa which is home to about 1.5 billion people, will see its population rise to 2.5 billion in the next two decades.

However, Elumelu acknowledged that without targeted investments, this younglenge. He painted a scenario where Africa’s rising poverty levels have already led to political instability and rising social discontent, as he pointed out that with over half of Africa’s population still lacking access to electricity, industrialisation and the job creation it fosters, remains elusive. “Without industrialisation, the jobs simply won’t be there,” Elumelu said, as he stressed that electricity remains the bedrock of Africa’s economic evolution.

Elumelu’s address at FII8 was not just a presentation; it was a call to action for global investors. He urged them to recognise Africa not only as a market of unprecedented opportunity but as a region in urgent need of partnership and support. By investing in Africa’s energy infrastructure, global stakeholders can play a Africa and stabilises global economies.

In Riyadh, Elumelu announced that UBA will establish its presence in Saudi Arabia, the largest economy in the Gulf and world’s largest exporter of crude oil.

New Africa Summit

Speaking to Arab News at the FII New Africa Summit in Riyadh, Elumelu, who also chairs Heirs Holdings, a family proprietary investment company, based in Lagos said that the Bank and his larger companies are exploring business opportunities within the Kingdom.

UBA in Saudi Arabia

UBA which currently operates in 24 countries across four continents believes that a presence in Saudi Arabia will further consolidate economic ties between the Kingdom and Africa.

“We are trying to open a bank in Saudi Arabia. We have applied to the Central Bank of Saudi Arabia, and we hope that will be successful soon. So that we can be the only

Saudi Arabia,” Elumelu is quoted to have said.

He continued: “You might ask me: ‘Why am I interested in having United Bank for Africa operate in Saudi Arabia?’ Because of the trade opportunities, because of investment opportunities, because we like what is happening in Saudi Arabia,” he was further quoted

The impending arrival of UBA in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia would double its presence in the Gulf, following the establishment of a subsidiary in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, two years ago.

His next stops are the countries of Angola and Congo Brazzaville, where he had extensive discussions with Presidents Joao Lourenco and Denis Sassou Nguesso.

In Angola, discussions with President Lourenco focused on extending his extensive investments in the banking, energy, and insurance sectors to the oil-rich former Portuguese colony. Elumelu’s interest in Angola is part of a broader strategy to drive economic and supporting energy development, which is critical for a nation seeking to diversify its economy beyond oil.

In Congo Brazzaville, Elumelu and President Sassou Nguesso talked about diverse issues and explored collabora-

tive opportunities to address local economic challenges. Energy, once again, emerged as a focal point in discussions. Access to reliable and

unlock opportunities in various sectors, from manufacturing to technology. These dialogues highlight Elumelu’s commitment to partnering with governments across Africa to promote private-sector-driven growth, create jobs and grow infastructure. Congo Brazzaville is one of the 20 countries UBA Group has subsidiaries in Africa.

Fostering Development

Elumelu’s commitment to fostering devel-

Through these discussions, he positioned UBA as more than a bank, but also as a driver of social and economic transformation, providachieve sustainable growth.

With its presence in 20 African countries, UBA has a strong Pan-African footprint and a deep-rooted mission to support economic empowerment across the continent. UBA’s key sectors, such as energy, infrastructure, and -

ing critical infrastructure, UBA is helping to build resilient economies throughout Africa. The bank’s commitment to these goals is seen in its recent initiatives. For example, UBA has

infrastructure, and partnered with governments to address pressing issues like poverty and unemployment. The bank has also been making expansions in countries like Senegal and the Ivory Coast, where the bank has introduced entrepreneurship and create jobs.

TEF: Providing Grassroots Approach to Empowerment

Elumelu’s work through the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) complements UBA’s initiatives, providing a more grassroots approach to economic empowerment. The foundation’sported over 18,000 African entrepreneurs with seed funding, mentorship, and training since its inception. By investing in young African business owners, TEF helps foster innovation and create job opportunities, empowering entrepreneurs to become engines of growth in their communities.

In Angola and Congo Brazzaville, Elumelu met with some of these entrepreneurs whotions reinforced his belief in Africa’s young business leaders as the catalysts of future prosperity. By empowering entrepreneurs, the TEF is addressing one of Africa’s most pressing issues: the need for sustainable job creation in a continent with a rapidly growing youth population.

projects across the continent. These projects range from small-scale renewable energy installations in rural areas to large-scale infrastructure initiatives aimed at powering cities and industrial zones The Chairman’s recent

vision for Africa - one that involves both local empowerment and global partnership. His call

Angola and Congo Brazzaville demonstrate a philosophy centred on sustainable development, which requires both private-sector leadership and public-sector collaboration.

His work with UBA and the Tony Elumeluing a self-reliant Africa where young people have access to jobs, businesses have the tools to grow, and governments are supported in their mission to provide sustainable development. His passion for Africa is clear: he sees the continent not as a place of poverty but as a land of opportunity. However, he understands that realising Africa’s potential requires strategic action. By focusing on sectors such as entrepreneurs, Elumelu is paving the way for a resilient, prosperous Afr ica.

As a well-rounded banker and philanthropist; he is a visionary leader with a deep-rooted commitment to Africa’s progress. His recent engagements underscore his belief that Africa’s development lies in the hands of its people, supported by collaborative investment and strategic partnerships. With UBA as a catalyst and the Tony Elumelu Foundation as a support system, Elumelu is building a legacy of empowerment across Africa one that holds the promise of a brighter, s elf-sustaining future for the continent.

Through his dedication, Elumelu is transforming the narrative of African development, reminding the world that Africa is not only rising but also ready to lead. The journey he envisions is one of hope, resilience, and prosperity, a journeyties at home and contribute to a sustainable global economy.

L-R: Elumelu and Republic of Congo President, Dennis Ngueso

www.thisdaylive.com

opinion@thisdaylive.com

TRUMP: A DATE WITH JUNE 2028?

IO. JASON OSAI raises many questions on the Trump Presidency

study the scriptures of all religions painstaking with my God-given intellect switched on. Consequently, I burrow beneath the parables, allegories, metaphors, symbolism and other “dark sayings” in search for the deeper truth. In other words, I go beyond sucking the milk like babies and eating the meat like adults to cracking the bones of obfuscations to savor the marrow of deep spiritual meanings in the scriptures of any religion I lay my hands on.

Informed by my study of the Book of Revelation (13) in the literature of JudeoChristian theology, I wrote an OP-ED titled “Trump in the Bible?” That was during the Trump presidency. I sent it to numerous newspapers including Washington Post, New York Times and major newspapers in Nigeria. As it turned out, only The Tide published it on December 4, 2017. The article took a critical look at the persona of Trump vis-a-vis the biblical description of the Beast with special reference to four elements of interest in Revelations 13:2 thus: (1) “like unto a leopard”, (2) “his feet were as the feet of a bear”, (3) “his mouth as…of a lion”, and (4) the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great of interest is thus: “and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.”

The article reviewed the global order and the idiosyncrasies of Donald Trump as President of the US. It then related the persona of Trump to the symbolisms of leopard, bear and lion; it furthered that the dragon under biblical reference is the Electoral College, which gave Trump victory over Hilary Clinton who won majority votes. Anchoring on the essence of verse 5, the piece projected that Trump will win a second term; that projection turned erroneous as Trump lost to Joe Biden.

When Trump won the GOP ticket, I wrote “Trump as 47th President of the US?” in which I projected Trump victory.

“power was given unto him to continue forty and two months”, I projected that Donald Trump will win the November 2024 presidential election and thereby emerge as the 47th President of the US and will “continue” for 42 months. This implies six months short of forty-eight months that make up the four-year term US President.

On Saturday, October 26, 2024, I wrote on Music Elders Forum (a social media

platform) thus: “something strange and inexplicable tells me Trump will make it”. After Trump won, I wrote again on the platform thus: “The same something strange and inexplicable tells me Trump has a date on June 2028 ”. That opinion, which draws from my reading of Revelation 13:5, informed the essence and title of this piece.

The number forty-two has diverse societies, cultures and belief systems. For Buddhists, numbers are not just mathematical symbols, they are considered as carriers of spiritual energy each with means that numbers are much deeper and more complex than ordinarily thought. period when a person reaches Nirvana or Christianity, the number 42 is associated with the 42 months that the Antichrist will rule over the world. Is Trump the anti-

Christ? That is not the trajectory of this piece. Given this view, it is believed that

even challenges a person faces in life. Many have searched for representations of the number 42 in order to unearth any hidden meaning it might possess. In some Spanishspeaking countries, there is a phrase that translates thus: “42 is the answer to the might help answer the greatest question of all, “What is the meaning of life?” Does a Trump presidency hold the promise of Without dwelling much more two, the following standalone questions are asked thus: does Donald Trump have a date with destiny in June 2028? If trigger-happy assassin? Given his age, incapacitate him? Will he die of natural causes? Will he be impeached, again? Since he will not qualify to run for another term, will he step aside after forty-two months and let James David Vance, the Ohio-born author of Hillbilly Elegy, preside over the US thereby availing Vance the power of incumbency to coast to the continuation of GOP presidency?

“end time” ministry and for more than two thousand years Christians have emphasized that thought. Is the human watching the beginning of the decline of the US as the numero uno world power? In other words, has the US peaked in global power play thereby marking the end of unipolarism?

Now that many world capitals have acquired the capacity for mass destruction from hitherto unimaginable distances, is humanity on the cusp? With Israel declaring war in the Middle East, can humanity survive a nuclear when he sang: “have no fear for atomic energy, for none of them can stop the time?” Is Donald Trump destined to lead the US and humanity to extinction? Or will our cosmic neighbors intervene? Of course, we have cosmic neighbors who are watching us very keenly and closely. Questions, questions, questions!!! And just one more: Am I paranoid?

Professor Osai writes from Rivers State University of Science and Technology, Port Harcourt

EFCC AND BATTLE AGAINST CORRUPTION

The EFCC deserves support, not condemnation, argues OZUMI ABDUL

APrime Time, where he

Such comments are all the more shocking, most respected legal minds, at a time when

such a sweeping attack on an institution that now.

facts, raised serious concerns about his corruption war. Rather than acknowledge theater. drawn significant public attention, are proof on internet fraudsters, labeling their crimes black nation before the outside world.

financial malfeasance that undermines the limit the expansion of this insidious crime, continue to suffer from the absence of basic few institutions committed to breaking this

It is important to remember that the

numerous prominent political figures, some of whom were once considered untouchable.

has broken new ground. successes, but his tenure was cut short after he

It is also critical to recognize the institutional highest echelons of power. will within the courts to hold corrupt figures corruption bodies, such as the Independent institution holding corrupt politicians to account. Despite these formidable hurdles, the been due to a lack of resistance but

OKELLO OCULI argues that the Democratic candidate is a victim of the system

KAMALA HARRIS AS MIRACLE CAMPAIGNER

PHarris lit the American and global political skies as a human Sputnik. Across Africa, the Caribbean and other African Diaspora, she beat

a troika of African, Indian and Caucasian Luo and Irish genes to run on. She lost the 2024 presidential election

Abdul Fnipr is a journalist. He can be reached via abdulozumi83@gmail.com

electoral marathon.

Donald Trump offered the information that his Vice Presidential candidate had

women in leadership positions. Her

dark-skinned Indians. produced 14 three-hour documentaries.

included African descendants with no the Indian Diaspora in America was presidential candidate without total Among her Afro-American men, she

would beat Donald Trump again. Like African-Americans, Irish immigrants suffered bitter discrimination. Their won in 1960. He was assassinated His brother Robert was assassinated killed in a plane crash under suspicious political circumstances. This is a dense

to America to campaign for Donald Trump for campaigning for him earlier.

applicants for admission to include their

husband. Dark skinned men were few. It

a sector where she had crashed out. their ears tuned to Prime Minister reward Trump for taking the American Qatar to make economic deals with despite his record of racism.

Prof Oculi writes from Abuja

Editor, Editorial Page PETER ISHAKA

Email peter.ishaka@thisdaylive.com

FAILING GRID AMID HIGHER TARIFFS

Despite recent astronomical hikes in electricity tariff, authorities in the power sector seem incapable of putting an end to the frequent collapses of the national grid. Within a period of 48 hours last week, the grid collapsed twice, plunging the entire country into darkness. That marked the 11th time since January that power generation in Nigeria would drop to zero! While the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) blamed the latest collapses on some ongoing repair works in the power sector, it is obvious that there are serious systemic issues across the power value chain. Addressing these challenges would require more than a cosmetic approach.

Today, electricity customers in the pay 209.5 per kWh, following the federal government removal of subsidies for that category. Although that 300% increase in the electricity tariff was supposed to guarantee a minimum of 20 hours of power supply daily, incessant collapse of the national grid has rendered that impossible. The situation is worse for other customers who have also had to pay far more. For almost three weeks last month, 17 states in the North were shut out of electricity supply problem. And just last week, Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, lamented the prevailing darkness in the state for over three months.

resilience of the grid,” said Mbah. “These efforts include both technical upgrades and strategic interventions.”

It is unfortunate that a decade after the privatisation of the power sector, majority of Nigerians have come to the inescapable conclusion that the process through which countries like India, Singapore and a host of other contemporary emerging economies successfully used to reset their electric power effectively on our shores. Instead of generating, transmitting, and distributing enough megawatts of electricity to homes and industries across the country, what we get almost daily are excuses from the authorities.

Many small and medium scale businesses have been crippled due to the prohibitive cost of generating their own power

SUNDAY NEWSPAPER

EDITOR DAVIDSON IRIEKPEN

DEPUTY EDITORS FESTUS AKANBI, EJIOFOR ALIKE

MANAGING DIRECTOR ENIOLA BELLO

DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR ISRAEL IWEGBU

CHAIRMAN EDITORIAL BOARD OLUSEGUN ADENIYI

Before now, the common excuse for grid collapse was always that the transmission lines could not wheel the power so generated by the generating companies (GENCOS). At some point, frequent grid collapses were attributed to vandalism of some transmission infrastructure. But when the national grid collapsed for the eighth time last month, the TCN and the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) blamed the incident on a transformer that exploded at the 330kV Jebba Transmission substation. In addition, according to TCN spokesperson, Ndidi several critical transmission lines and substations. “Efforts are being made to close the gaps highlighted in the report and to enhance the overall stability and

EDITOR NATION’S CAPITAL IYOBOSA UWUGIAREN THE OMBUDSMAN KAYODE KOMOLAFE

THISDAY NEWSPAPERS LIMITED

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GROUP EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS ENIOLA BELLO, KAYODE KOMOLAFE, ISRAEL IWEGBU

DIVISIONAL DIRECTORS SHAKA MOMODU, PETER IWEGBU, ANTHONY OGEDENGBE

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TO SEND EMAIL: first name.surname@thisdaylive.com

In a report published last year, the World Bank rated Nigeria as the poorest country in the world on power supply to citizens with 85 million people not connected to the grid, and a loss of $26 billion annually. With everyone supplying their own electricity, the country has indeed been one of the toughest places in the world to do business. Many small and medium scale businesses have been crippled due to the prohibitive cost of generating their own power. Even the big business ventures, particularly the manufacturing ones, feel the biting effect of energy poverty with consequences stretching to every part of the economy. Lack of electricity has also limited access to healthcare, education, and other opportunities for most Nigerians.

Compared to competing nations in Africa, Nigeria is in a dismal situation. South Africa with one-third of Nigeria’s population produces 44,000 Megawatts of electricity and recently celebrated seven months of uninterrupted power supply. Unfortunately, despite the billions of dollars spent since 1999 to increase the nation’s power supply, not much has been achieved. As it is, our frequent grid collapses can mostly be traced to an overload of demand in relation to a paltry power generation capacity. To salvage the power sector from total collapse, a more robust power generation strategy with a diversity of sources and wider international investment spread are necessary.

Letters in response to specific publications in THISDAY should be brief(150-200 words) and straight to the point. Interested readers may send such letters along with their contact details to opinion@thisdaylive.com. We also welcome comments and opinions on topical local, national and international issues provided they are well-written and should also not be longer than (950- 1000 words). They should be sent to opinion@thisdaylive. com along with the email address and phone numbers of the writer

LETTERS

THE TALIBAN AND MORTAL FEAR OF WOMEN

US-based Cable News Network (CNN) recently captured a desperately tarnished trade: the sale of Afghan girls by their families to survive.

In the video, a man old enough to be her greatgrandfather is seen dragging away a girl of about seven years after handing a wad of cash to her family. Girls as young as four have also been sold in the despicable trade. Their fate in the hands of depraved paedophiles posing as kindly guardians.

In 2021, after twenty years, the US decided to end all operations in Afghanistan. Until then, the US had helped maintain a fragile peace in the country, critically pinning depraved Taliban fighters to the rugged mountains from where they fantasized about young girls.

Withdrawing US troops in 2021, President Joe Biden had declared that he could no longer justify American involvement in the internal war of another country.

With US troops gone, the Taliban came triumphantly to town, immediately rolling out their trademark tactics of religious terror masked as statecraft. The return of the Taliban has meant full-blown terror for women in a country where women were finally beginning to cast off the veils imposed on them by religion and culture, to participate in rebuilding one of Asia’s most iconic countries.

When the group was in power before 2001, women had been subjected to all sorts of restrictions, targeting their bodies and identities. There were restrictions to education, appearance in public and participation in public life.

The Taliban’s return has marked a darker version of persecution and oppression of women. Women and girls older than 12 can no longer go to school. In August, the Taliban banned women from singing in public. Some days ago, the Taliban in its most obnoxious legislation yet decreed that women can no longer

speak to each other in public.

Why is the Taliban so afraid of women? Why is the terrorist group systematically creating the conditions that will keep women enslaved in Afghanistan? The answer is simple: in women, the Taliban cannot only sense its defeat, it can sense it.

No society has ever been able to shake off the chaotic chains of theocratic oppression without the full and forceful participation of women. In a world which insists on patriarchy very much to its detriment, keeping women in check has always been a favourite strategy of tyrants. This is because once women find their voice and muster their feet, the stable of the oppressed is dismantled, and finally, equality and equity without which no egalitarian society can be built are provided in abundance.

That is the power women have – the power to equalize society and birth the end of oppression and the beginning of freedom. Only women

can do this and that is why terrorism has always been about oppressing women.

With the Taliban tactlessly expanding its reign of terror in Afghanistan, families are being forced to make impossible choices. Families are having to sell off their pre-teen girls. Trade in human beings under any guise is not only exceptionable, it is unarguably the darkest brand of human depravity. When the human beings in question are girls as young as four, there are simply no words.

Women and girls are not commodities and should never be treated as such. Even in Nigeria, the failure to build a society where everyone is equal has led to the commoditization of women, especially in the North where religion and culture still impose back-breaking restrictions on women.

Abiola Laseinde Transforming Lives Through Technology

As the world grappled with the uncertainties of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Abiola Laseinde, a lawyer and a serial entrepreneur launched The Chief Information Officer Awards, recognising outstanding individuals who work tirelessly behind the scenes to drive digital transformation and ensure seamless organisational operations. Now in its fifth year and rebranded, Laseinde tells Vanessa Obioha why Africa is the next frontier for technology

The first thing that catches your attention at the office of Abiola Laseinde, a trained lawyer and serial entrepreneur, is her firm’s name, Edniesal Consulting. Is it an English name? Polish? German? Definitely not African. I pondered as I looked at the signage on the door.

The inspiration for the name came from a significant period in her career. It was in December 2019 that Laseinde decided to leave paid employment after 20 years in the workforce.

“But it felt like I have been working for 30 years; like I have been working all my life,” she began as soon as we both sat down that afternoon.

Her decision to retire was not driven by exhaustion but by a bigger goal: giving back to society. This desire to nurture and help others, she noted, has always been part of her. She recalled how a former classmate recently reminded her of how she would share her lunch with others in secondary school.

“He told me that back then I behaved like a mother.”

As she recounted those memories, Laseinde found herself speechless momentarily while reflecting on how she never realised those early traits would prepare her for a career in law. Even then, her passion for justice was always evident.

“Law was a platform for me to recognise myself,” she said. “I tell people that I was destined to study law from childhood. My passion for law stemmed from my desire to just want justice for my schoolmates. I’ve always felt like, as a lawyer, you have to defend the cause of the poor and the mistreated.”

However, she soon discovered that law was not her only calling. Raised by a serial entrepreneur mother, Laseinde developed entrepreneurial skills early, often helping her mother’s food business during school holidays.

“My mum was a food vendor and had multiple canteens. While working at her businesses, I didn’t know I was building entrepreneurial skills. That infused my passion for law such that when I even became a lawyer, people used to ask me if I was a business development professional or a lawyer.”

This natural pull toward business guided her career and led her to embrace multiple roles. Today, Laseinde is a seasoned lawyer and governance professional with over 20 years of diverse experience across industries in Nigeria, as well as a stint in Dubai, UAE. She is a certified IFC Corporate Governance Trainer and a member of the UK Institute of Leadership and Management. She serves on several boards, including SIB Insurance Brokers and the Beer Sectoral Group of the Manufacturing Association of Nigeria (MAN), and is the Chairman of NOKASH, a fintech company. Her impressive résumé includes roles at Cadbury (Ghana and Nigeria), UBA, and PZ Cussons.

It was while at PZ that she decided to retire from full-time employment. At that point, Laseinde wasn’t entirely sure what her next step would be.

“I just wanted to take time out, have a career break, relax a bit and have time for my boys.” Yet, the entrepreneurial drive persisted.

“In my core, I wanted to do some charitable work around corporate governance. I wanted to teach SMEs some of the things my mother missed while developing her business, such as structure and sustainability. I always had at the back of my mind to teach SMEs for free.”

Then COVID-19 hit, halting her initial

plans. Nonetheless, she found a way to share her message through webinars.

One morning in June 2020, three months into the lockdown, she woke up with pressing questions:

“Where are these guys who are helping us to navigate this disruption? How are we able to still work and nobody is appreciating them? Where are the heads of IT across all these industries? We’re still able to do a lot of things as if there was no COVID.”

Right there, she told her husband that she was going to find a way to appreciate these individuals, even if it’s just those working in the banking sector or making an impact through digital transformation. The reward platform was to be known as the Chief Information Officer (CIO) Awards, a first of its kind.

He reminded her of her current state of unemployment and how she was going to fund the idea. His words were like a wake-up call. Initially, she considered using her pension, but friends suggested reaching out to major firms for sponsorship. With her husband’s friend’s help, she connected with Ernst & Young (EY) Nigeria, who showed immediate interest. She also learned from EY that they had similar awards in India, and there have been other professionals who have been trying to

establish such awards but were unsuccessful.

With EY’s guidance, the first CIO Awards took shape. A partner was flown in to help articulate her vision. The first thing they did was to register her company, Edniesal Consulting Ltd, which was created by spelling their surname Laseinde backwards.

“Laseinde became Edniesal. It is the only Edniesal in the world.”

At the end of the day, Laseinde was able to get PwC and EY to offer their services pro bono, built a website, called for nominees and by November 2020, the first CIO Awards was held. It recognised and honoured dedicated leaders who worked tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure the seamless operation of organisations.

For that first edition, 11 awardees from different industries, such as education, FMCG, fintechs, banks, and insurance, among others, were honoured. The awardees were evaluated by a team of experts who looked at the value and sustainability of their products and services.

Recently, the CIO Awards expanded its scope to recognise excellence not only in IT leadership but across the entire C-Suite, hence the new name The CIO & C-Suite Awards Africa (TCCAA).

“By the third edition, we saw professionals

who don’t wear the IT toga, but they leverage technology, so that’s why we added the C-Suite,” she explained. “They are not the CIOs, but they are the brains behind the technology that we use. The C-Suite can be the CEO or the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) or even the Head of HR who have been using technology to control the narrative across the continent.”

Now present in 11 African countries, including Nigeria, Rwanda, Tunisia, and South Africa, TCCAA is building a community through the CIO & C-Suite Club Africa.

“We saw that each time we launched a call for entry, we received entries from different African countries,” she explained. “Of course, by year two, we started seeing the opportunity to launch a club, The CIO and C-Suite Club Africa, because, at the core of the vision, I believe that very soon Africans will compete with other IT professionals on the global stage. The club is a perfect platform to build towards that dream by building a community and at the same time, start brainstorming on how we can develop Africa digitally.

However, Laseinde, who hails from Lagos State, remains cautious about the continent’s digital progress. According to her, Africa is not yet seizing the moment to be digitally transformed.

“We are not capitalising on the resources that we have. Also, the issue of corruption breeds mistrust such that investors are hesitant to invest in startups. We are not harnessing our human capital. The brains behind some of the best companies in the world are Africans and Asians. With TCCAA, we are putting these leaders in the spotlight such that the governments of Africa can one day pick these technocrats to help them transition into a digital economy.”

Despite her concerns, she remains optimistic, believing that Africa is the next frontier for technology.

“Africa is going to do well in the future. We are more focused now. I see a lot of conversations around the digital economy at the front burner for us. Give us a maximum of 10 years; we will outpace other tech-driven economies because we are now intentional. If you attend 10 technology conferences today, about eight of them are discussing our digital economy and transformation agenda.”

Although Laseinde’s initial plan was to have the awards as a one-off, testimonials from winners have kept her pushing forward. She recounted a particular appreciation post from a past winner, the former CIO of Wema Bank, Richard Amanfoye.

“He posted on his LinkedIn page about how he had never seen any award that can be compared to ours. His words brought tears to my eyes. I read his post like 15 times. It was a defining moment for me that this is a lifetime mission.”

Looking ahead, Laseinde hopes to charterise the awards after the fifth edition on November 30.

As our conversation progressed, Laseinde’s passion for technology became clearer.

“I see technology as an enabler. It can be intimidating if you don’t know how to manage it. It’s like a monster in the womb but it’s actually a softie. If you allow it to scare you, you will be scared stiff and will not be able to grow.”

With her growing interest, she is equipping herself with more knowledge in fields such as cybersecurity and has become a sort of IT advocate.

“I have been telling everyone that if I can do it with my law background, then you can. You don’t have to be a technology professional to learn about technology. You can start by learning the basics and gradually gain more knowledge along the way. Don’t be afraid of it,” she concluded.

Laseinde

Ajowu’s Book Unites Art Enthusiats

As part of their commitment to enriching the conversations on art collection and creation, Professor Fabian Ajogwu (SAN) and Dr. Jess Castellote had an exclusive reading of the collaborative work, “Creating Art: Authenticity and Ownership in the Visual Arts” at an intimate gathering held at MILIKI, Victoria Island, Lagos.

The book represents the second instalment in their art series, following the successful “Collecting Art: A Handbook.” Skillfully moderated by Ms. Nabilah Usman, the event featured engaging discussions on art ownership, authenticity, originality, and the evolving landscape of digital art.

During the book reading, art enthusiasts, collectors, and industry professionals had the opportunity to engage with the authors through selected readings and discussions. The discourse encompassed crucial topics including artists’ rights, the originality of an artwork, questions on the complex nature of authenticity, particularly in the digital age, creation.

decade journey he and Dr. Castellote have meaning of art. He highlighted the book’s questions about artists’ rights, stating, “In ‘Creating Art,’ we were looking at the rights of the visual artist. Can we buy a piece of art and change its colours just because we prefer them? These are things we discussed as Dr. Castellote on his part, shared his motivations for co-authoring this work. “We wanted to address not just our disagreements about what art is, but to provide a valuable resource for both collectors and artists,” he explained. According to him, their practices, and with this second book, guidance to artists, particularly regarding the legal and contractual aspects of their work.

The authors also addressed emerging trends in the art world, including the unitisation of art ownership, digital rights, and the Professor Ajogwu noted, “Art is going to go beyond what you see hanging on your wall, to digital rights, to dealing with AI, to unitizing ownership, to dispute resolution when there are art disputes of that nature.”

He went further to acknowledge the essential contributions of institutions like the Yemisi Shyllon Museum of Art (YSMA) at Pan Atlantic University and the Society for Art Collection (SARTCOL), which play crucial roles in preserving and promoting the rich narratives of African art.

A renowned art curator, Sandra Obiago, underscored the importance of the book for stakeholders across the art ecosystem, stating, “The issue of authenticity and ownership is something that we grapple with on a daily basis... It’s a very important book for artists and collectors because we’re dealing with authenticity all the time and ownership as we look at a work that we want to acquire.” She emphasised the responsibility of collectors to ensure they invest in credible art, advocating for heightened awareness within the community.

The founder of the 1952 Africa Art Foundation, Ejike Egbuagu brought forth the perspective of young artists, expressing the need for targeted discussions that would equip them with knowledge about originality and value in a competitive market. He stressed that understanding the dynamics of the art market is crucial for emerging talents within the art community.

Book Review by Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Alfred Nnaemeka Achebe

‘Creating Art: Authenticity and Ownership in the Visual Arts,’ the second book in a series by Professor Fabian Ajogwu

and Dr Jess Castellote, builds upon the

book in Lagos…recently

The authors,

Art: A Handbook’, which provided valuable insights into the practice of art collection. This book comprehensively explores the legal and contractual issues faced by visual artists, art collectors, and intermediaries

in the visual arts world. The authors shift their focus and explore critical themes of copyright, authenticity, and ownership in visual arts.

The book explores the fundamental principles of intellectual property rights,

particularly copyright and trademarks, and their application to the visual arts. Through real-life case studies and practical examples, the authors demystify complex legal concepts, empowering readers to understand,

They address the nuances of copyright law in art, discussing concepts such as originality, authorship, authenticity and authentication, and artists’ and art owners’ economic and moral rights. The book also addresses the evolving landscape of digital art and its impact on authenticity and ownership.

The authors emphasise the importance of balancing creativity with commerce, providing artists and art owners the knowledge to navigate contractual negotiations, protect their work, and generate revenue from their creations. ‘Creating Art’ is an invaluable resource for visual artists, collectors, gallerists, and anyone involved in the art world. Itlenges and fostering an environment that respects and values creative contributions.

“Visual artists need to be proactive in preserving their copyright, to “exclude all others,” and to prevent unauthorised reproduction, distribution, or adaptation of their creations. In this digital age especially, where artworks can be easily reproduced and shared online without proper credit or compensation, it becomes increasingly important to have a thorough understanding of intellectual property rights.”

The event attracted distinguished guests including Mr. Atedo Peterside and Mrs. Dudun Peterside, Chairman of NSIA, Mr. Segun Ogunsanya, the CEO of Seplat Energy PLC, Mr. Roger Brown, Vice Chancellor of Pan Atlantic University, Professor Enase Okonedo, former Vice Chancellor of Pan Atlantic University, Professor Juan Elegido, Mr. Nero Asibelua, Ms Ngozi Edozien, both board members of SARTCOL, Mr Kailesh Patel and Mrs Anita Patel, Mrs Folashade Alli (SAN), Mrs Nkemdilim Uwaje-Begho, Dr Hala Daggash and Mr Muhammad from the art, business, and academic communities, all united by their shared interest in the arts.

The book, which is now available on Amazon and select local bookstores, including Jazzhole, Quintessence and Ouida, serves as an essential resource for artists, collectors, curators, and anyone interested in the complex intersections of art and the various rights of the artist, especially in contemporary times.

(SAN)

L-R: CEO, IPT Tech, Karam Chakhtoura; CEO, Hitel Comms, Mrs. Dikko, Ibrahim Dikko; Founder, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Atedo Peterside; Director, Guinness Nigeria Plc, Ngozi Edozien; Author, Prof. Fabian Ajogwu SAN; CEO, Narita Learning, Mrs. Dudun Peterside; CEO, Seplat, Mrs. Dudun Peterside; Roger Brown; Chairman, Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority, Segun Ogunsanya, gathered at the reading of the

L-R: Kailesh Patel; Anita Patel; Ifeoma Ajogwu; Professor Fabian Ajogwu (SAN); Megha Joshi; and Dr Jess Castellote, enjoy the cocktail reception following the book reading

Prof. Ajogwu and Dr. Castellote

A Radical Preacher Who Always Lives His Words

His journey to the top in evangelism is as interesting as his conversion to Christianity from a predominant Muslim background. The story is not different from his radical decision to switch from his first love, law, to full time ministry at a time when people were already looking up to him as a natural heir of Gani Fawehinmi’s world of activism. As this man of God clocks 70 this week, Raheem Akingbolu writes on the iconic Babatunde Gbolahan Bakare, the lawyer, the preacher and human right crusader

EDITED BY: VANESSA OBIOHA/vanessa.obioha@thisdaylive.com.

A Radical Preacher Who Always Lives His Words

Everything about Pastor Tunde Bakare seems shrouded in mystery but to an average person, he is like other General Overseers. On a closer look at his journey through life, one finds a man ordained from his mother’s womb, not only to be a preacher but to be a fighter - with a purpose to emancipate the society. By all means, his journey from cradle to becoming a septuagenarian clearly echoes his belief that ‘God is at work.’

Born a Muslim and equipped with the rudiments of Islamic education, Bakare had expanded his literacy to the level of being able to read the Quran effortlessly. Young Bakare had started leading the prayer and assisting the local mallams in his community during official Islamic engagement. While some of his mates took in everything unreservedly, young Tunde was curious and started asking questions about his faith. Then came the inspiration and he accepted Christ in 1974. The rest, as they say, is history!

No doubt, he is intellectually endowed and naturally motivated to pick interest in law. He gained admission to study Law at the prestigious University of Lagos and came out in flying colours. Bakare headed to Law School and qualified as Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria. His success at the bar threw his loving mother, Madam Eebudola Bakare, now late, and other members of his family into jubilation. At the time he became a

lawyer, everybody in the society regarded the noble profession as a key to immediate success.

“Almost everything I have done today that God has ‘graced’ me to do started from when I was young,” he recounted. “For example, it was in 1963 I knew I would be a lawyer. Again, God always guides me through dreams and that has reflected in how I became a Christian and other things in life.

“For instance, the dream I had on April 10, 1967, was what brought Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Gbenga Daniel and I together from my university days and he mentored us on how to handle state affairs – don’t put your hands in it till you go get a profession first or a career or a business so you will not have to steal.”

Within a short period of being called to the bar, Bakare’s brilliance and advocacy had distinguished him from others. After completing his one-year mandatory National Youth Service Corps programme, he started his professional career with the Gani Fawehinmi Chambers, Rotimi Williams & Co, and Burke & Co, Solicitors. Later on, he established his own law firm, Tunde Bakare & Co (El-Shaddai Chambers) in October 1984.

In all the chambers he worked in, his principals, including the indomitable Chief Gani Fawehinmi, were always happy that their hook had caught a big legal fish. In the courtroom, young Tunde Bakare was a beauty to behold because of the way he marshaled his points and argued his

Almost everything I have done today that God has ‘graced’ me to do started from when I was young

case. To journalists, he was a delight to interviewers and his take on issues were making the headlines.

At the time, some were seeing him as another Rotimi Williams in-the-making, Bakare dropped the bombshell: “I have received the call to serve God.”

With this declaration, Bakare dropped the wig for the cassock and started his ministry, The Latter Rain Assembly (EndTime Church). The church is now known as The Citadel Global Community Church (CGCC) and he currently serves as the Serving Overseer of the church. Precisely in May 1988, he was called into the gospel ministry of Jesus Christ and on April 1, 1989, he founded his own ministry.

From delivering a state of the nation’s address to bring an agent of social change, his trajectory speaks volumes on the link between his background as a firebrand lawyer and some of the actions he takes on issues.

“Let me for the sake of posterity state clearly here that I am not an agent of any individual,” he continued. “Up till today, whatever I have done for any government, past or present, publicly or behind the scenes, I have done pro bono.

“As for me, regardless of how I am perceived, I will continue to contribute my quota, as long as I breathe, to build an enduring and progressive nation.”

Looking back at some of the past steps that would have gone a long way in solving some of the country’s sociopolitical problems, he reflected on his advice to former President Goodluck Jonathan on the 2014 National Conference.

“I appealed to Mr. President not to ignore the report of the 2014 National Conference! God went ahead of you to provide a navigational map with which you can begin to steer the ship of state to a safe destination. The APC may have refused to participate in the 2014 National Conference, but the report of that conference is completely in tandem with the promise of the APC manifesto.”

To Bakare, being a pastor doesn’t make one an ever conformist individual. Not long after he started his ministry, Nigerians started seeing a different man of God: a practical Christian who says it the way it is; not minding whose ox is gored. Till today, Bakare speaks truth to power and walks where angels fear to tread. Many times, many people have described Pastor Bakare as a ‘noise maker’ but deep inside Nigerians, they know Bakare is speaking their minds. In a way, the assignment Bakare didn’t finish as a People’s Lawyer, he has spent a good chunk of his years in the ministry to do more in fighting for the people and lifting the poor.

In the light of this, he told this reporter his take on political and economic restructuring.

“Is it a coincidence that every state of the federation is endowed with mineral resources? Would it not be a better strategy for states to be empowered to manage these resources?

“Is it sheer coincidence that the nation’s bio-geographical features, including the vegetation belts and rivers, roughly divide the landscape into six geographical zones? Shouldn’t these zones provide a basis for economic mapping and development? Why were the regions in the days of our

founding fathers so economically viable to the extent of sustaining the federal government? Why can’t we begin a geo-economic path to geopolitical restructuring?”

Bakare is not one of those who believe Christians should be apolitical or see politics as the business of the sinners. To him, to change the affairs of your people or how they are being ruled is not by sitting on the fence. With this belief, Bakare threw the Nigerian Christian community into huge surprise when he announced his decision to throw his hat into the ring and swim in the murky water of politics. Yes, he was blackmailed and abused. But he stood his ground like a gospel warrior that he is and made his statement. Though he didn’t succeed in becoming the President of Nigeria, his participation changed the game and redefined the polity. Who will blame Bakare for not winning when the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, despite his populist ideology was frustrated at the poll? Who will blame Bakare when Chief Moshood Abiola, with his clout, deep pocket and promise of Africa emancipation, won and yet was humiliated, charged with treason for declaring himself as President and eventually died in detention?

Indeed, Bakare has, over the years, been using his personal resources, expertise as a lawyer, wide networks and various platforms like the Save Nigeria Group (SNG) to mediate in several inter-ethnic and communal clashes in some of Nigeria’s conflict hotbeds. Born in 2010, the SNG is a coalition of progressive political society, organisations and individuals noted for engendering significant political shifts.

PTB has demonstrated beyond measure that he is a man of conviction of steel. There are more than two dozen incidents like this but each time, he overcame; seeing them as a test of his character and his readiness to be a leader without greed and covetousness.

Bakare has shown over the years with his conduct, with his ministry and with his politics that he is a man of honour with the love of the people in his heart. He wants a change and he has continued to push for the desired change.

At the peak of the constitutional crisis engendered by the ill-health of the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua in 2010, Bakare deployed his Save Nigeria Group (SNG) to press for the installation of then acting President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan as the substantive President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He also used his platform to provide President Jonathan the framework to “Save and Transform Nigeria.”

Bakare was the running mate to the then General Buhari in the 2011 presidential election on the platform of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) during which he designed a framework to rebuild Nigeria and make Nigeria work for every Nigerian. The framework would later form the bedrock for the manifesto of APC.

In 2007, Bakare founded the International Centre for Reconstruction and Development (ICRD), a not-forprofit research-led propositional platform committed to the transformation of Africa.

As this man of God steps steadily into his 70th year on earth, the prayer that should be paramount in the lips of Nigerians, is that God should give Gbolahan Babatunde Bakare to live long with calm boldness, thriving wisdom and dignifying grace.

Bakare

HighLife

Peter Obi’s

Careless Histrionics

Politics really is a different corridor of business. So incredible is this particular corridor that it makes thespians even the most seemingly sober individual. Peter Obi, former presidential candidate, is one such person. Since this thing about being one of the voices of the opposition started, Obi has not held back on his histrionics.

Obi is certainly one of the most beloved public figures in Nigeria, ever humble and never caught pompous. At a time when one pampered lawmaker does not know who they are and goes around asking, “Do you know who I am?”, it is refreshing to have people like Obi speaking in the language of the people. But, he sometimes overdoes it. Recently, during his appearance on “The Honest Bunch” podcast which is hosted by comedian and actor Chinedu Ani Emmanuel (best known as Nedu Wazobia), Obi made some very startling comments. According to him, he is so committed to his wife that nothing will make him consider divorcing her.

Obi went on to add that even if she is disloyal, that is if she decides to go after another man in a romantic adventure, he would not care. And this is not because he does not care about her, but because he recognises that she is her own person and has her own business. And so does he.

It is the kind of comment that echoes in the mind, sounding different every time. It is also a careless comment, as many commentators agree. But it is the kind of comment Obi makes once and again, along with getting advice from a madman.

With Obi, this is somewhat expected. Others claim that he is pretentious and will do almost anything to get people on his side. The truth may be far more innocent than this: that this is really what and how Obi thinks. In his mind, it may not be as big a deal as it seems, which makes it even scarier in a way. But, it is what it is.

with KAYODE ALFRED 08116759807, E-mail: kayflex2@yahoo.com

...Amazing lifestyles of Nigeria’s rich and famous

Cracks in the Glass Towers: Gbenga Daniel in Unforgiving World of Capitalist Competition

For decades, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, former governor of Ogun State, has enjoyed an impressive run with Kresta Laurel, his elevator and escalator company. He is an industry stalwart who has consistently risen to the top of Nigeria’s urban landscape. But today, Daniel finds himself grappling with a force even political influence cannot sway: competition.

Mitsubishi Electric Shanghai Electric Elevator, a heavyweight in the global market, has entered Nigeria, and they are not here to play nice. In an era where the market is supposed to reward only the fittest, it seems Nigeria’s elite is struggling to adapt to the merciless logic of capitalism, exposed under the glaring spotlight of genuine competition.

Take the recent developments surrounding Daniel and Kresta Laurel’s loss of a significant Eko Atlantic contract to Mitsubishi. For years, Kresta Laurel had been a go-to for high-rise projects, a symbol of Daniel’s business acumen and a steady provider of income. Yet, with Mitsubishi in town, Kresta Laurel has been sidestepped.

The decision was not based on sentiment or loyalty but cold, hard economics - a reality that, for Nigeria’s elite, often remains elusive. Rather than

competing on equal footing, reports say Daniel tried to leverage political influence to sway the Chagoury brothers, who are helming Eko Atlantic’s development. But his attempts to reach President Tinubu were futile.

This trend isn’t isolated. We see it on a much larger scale with Aliko Dangote, whose oil refinery - long hailed as a solution to Nigeria’s energy crisis - has recently faced complications and controversies in its operations. While lauded as a visionary endeavour, the refinery is a stark reminder that large, politically-backed monopolies often stumble in the harsh realities of capitalist markets, where efficiency, costeffectiveness, and timing trump influence. Although the Nigerian market has long been tilted in favour of select titans like Dangote, the reality of competition has recently begun creeping in, revealing cracks in their onceimpenetrable facades.

Kresta Laurel’s struggle to maintain its hold in an evolving market mirrors the broader reality of Nigeria’s elite: accustomed to influence-driven success, they’re often unprepared for the pressures of genuine market forces. The Chagoury brothers’ decision to go with Mitsubishi - based purely on what would likely yield the highest value - serves as a reminder that economic merit, not political connections, ultimately defines market leaders.

For Otunba Daniel, like others, the reality check is overdue. The age of insulated,

privileged success is waning, giving way to a global economic reality that even Nigeria’s most powerful must learn to navigate - or risk being outpaced by those who already know how.

Pastor Idowu Iluyomade: From Pulpit to Bandstand

Pastor Idowu Iluyomade, the former prominent figure at RCCG’s City of David, has taken an unexpected turn in recent months. Alongside his wife, Siju, the pastor has delved into music, surprising many with a newly released single titled “No One Can Thank You Enough.” Clearly, the pair have a melodic side and may be turning to that now.The single release marked the couple’s return to the public eye after months of relative silence. Pastor ID’s Instagram countdown to the debut sparked speculation, so followers were already guessing that he was planning a church expansion. And then, voila! Here’s a musical unveiling instead.

He describes receiving “unsolicited Heavenly Invasions” filled with angelic melodies during sleep - songs he believes were intended not for his private enjoyment but for global worship. He recounts visions of being surrounded by a “Heavenly Angelic Choir” praising the divine, leading him to record and share these hymns.

This spiritual sensitivity seems almost ironic given that his suspension stemmed from perceived insensitivity to the loss of a

revered church member. While his “heavenly noggings” drive him toward musical evangelism, they contrast sharply with the events that led to his formal exit from RCCG leadership. Meanwhile, supporters within the Apapa Family, a well-connected group within RCCG, are rumoured to be encouraging Pastor ID to start his ministry. The group, known for its outreach projects, may be looking to back him in this potential new chapter outside RCCG.

Even as the RCCG governing council has yet to formally accept his resignation, some say this could signal the beginning of a new direction for Pastor ID. His next move remains uncertain, though his recent musical pursuits hint that he’s open to exploring more unconventional paths.

Whatever lies ahead, the public is intrigued by Pastor ID’s evolution from preacher to musician. His journey from the pulpit to the bandstand has undoubtedly added an unexpected twist to his story.

Abbo Finds Blessing in Retirement, Growing His Family Tree

Senator Ishaku Abbo, former representative of Adamawa North, recently declared his courtordered Senate exit a “blessing in disguise.” Abbo, now delightfully at home, claims that time off the matters – and more precisely, fatherhood. With two see his family tree start growing.

Abbo humorously attributes his newfound fatherly role to divine intervention, suggesting that “God used his enemies” to bring him this “blessing.”

The former senator, never one to miss a dramatic couldn’t buy time, they might have obscured his family’s needs – until fate stepped in, of course. his way into headlines. Readers might remember his assertion that senators’ salaries were too million monthly paycheck, he explained, often evaporated before meeting all the pressing needs of his constituency. One man’s reality, perhaps another’s exaggeration?

Known for bold claims, Abbo hasn’t stopped offering solutions, either. Recently, he pitched a plan to President Bola Tinubu to slash fuel prices

Certainly a godsend to Nigerians still reeling from rising living costs, except that it is the kind of grand promise that has become Abbo’s specialty.

Despite his “retirement,” the senator-turnedfather hasn’t lost his touch for colourful remarks. neglecting the state’s electricity potential, going ahead to urge a focus on power generation rather than more flyovers. Practical or not, the man’s commentary shows that he is never short on opinions.

missing his very imaginative outlook. Some might even miss the pep talks on “wardrobe allowances” and the burdens of a senator’s meagre millions. Others, however, might be more relieved that the gossip columns have inherited the delightful spectacle that is Abbo.

Whether he’s transforming “enemy” decisions into family blessings or proposing energy reforms from his living room, Abbo shows no signs of slowing down. With each colourful comment, he Abbo

Obi

Daniel

Iluyomade

At the recent lavish wedding of Afolasade Adenuga and Adebola Ogunsanya, Adesola Adeduntan, former MD of First Bank, arrived arm-in-arm with his radiant wife, Adebimpe. Their shared aura seemed to glow amid society’s finest. As they moved through the evening’s

Adeduntan and Adebimpe: A Glimmering Union in 2024’s Grand Finale

glamour, each exchanged glance and gentle touch whispered volumes about their bond. Where the crowd expected the sharp and commanding gaze of a finance titan, they found instead a man wholly captivated by his wife.

In seamless unity, the duo floated through the elite Lagosian scene and blended tradition with intimacy. Indeed, Adeduntan appeared as if he’d found a precious rarity in Adebimpe someone who balances and completes his life’s journey.

Beneath the glittering lights, they offered a gentle contrast to the city’s usual frenzy; they were a couple thriving not on ambition but on shared dreams and mutual admiration. Their subtle gestures added a new hue to the occasion, and painted a portrait of love that was rich yet unassuming. It showed that in Adebimpe, the mighty Adeduntan had discovered profound serenity.

As the elite whispered in curious

Kastina Billionaire, Dahiru Mangal, Stages Jaw-dropping Wedding for Daughter, Zainab

When Dr. Zainab, daughter of Katsina’s billionaire Dahiru Mangal, was set to wed her beloved, Atiku Ibrahim, the entire northern elite anticipated a grand affair. As he is already known for his influence and wealth, Mangal didn’t disappoint. The wedding celebrations spanned four days, and each event colourfully honoured family tradition and prestige.

The festivities began with a traditional henna party on Wednesday, October 30, followed by the Kamu celebration for Zainab the following day. By the time of the grand wedding, Fatiha, excitement had reached a fever pitch and drew dignitaries from across Nigeria.

Held at the Alhaji Dahiru Mangal Central Mosque, the wedding Fatiha was a spectacle of reverence and grandeur. Governors, former governors, and religious leaders gathered in respect. As expected, each attendee represented the power and respect that Mangal commands nationwide.

They say true wealth doesn’t shout; it simply makes a difference. Sholaye Jeremi, oil tycoon and philanthropist, embodies this principle perfectly, which explains why Delta State decided to honour him as a Role Model for 2024. His modest impact has left lasting marks on the community.

Jeremi’s recognition as a Role Model isn’t

Borno Governor, Babagana Zulum, among the dignitaries, extended warm wishes to the couple. His presence, like that of other highprofile guests, reinforced Mangal’s status and reflected the widespread hope that Zainab’s marriage would be as prosperous and dignified as her father’s legacy.

Senator Aminu Waziri Tambuwal and the Emir of Daura represented the couple’s families, adding a traditional element to the proceedings. High and mighty though these figures be, they humbled themselves to embody the union of two families with deep cultural and societal significance.

The wedding reception in Abuja, on November 5, took the celebrations to a new level. Set amid the capital’s luxury, the gathering brought together an exclusive guest list, once again signifying the power and influence of the Mangal family. For all attendees, the event was a blend of joy, luxury, and tradition fitting for a family of such stature.

speculation, many wondered if Adeduntan’s next chapter might be carved by new pursuits. Adebimpe is yet at his side, so he might trade in high finance for philanthropy, or venture into new corridors to champion human causes or float into the bright void of a happy retirement. Such wild imaginings filled the air that orange evening.

And for those who saw Adeduntan and Adebimpe that night, it was like seeing something improbable. This was the heart of an untouchable man in the first gaze; but, look again, it is now softened in the gentle embrace of love.

As the night shuffled away, the guests left with lingering thoughts of Adeduntan and his darling wife. It was a beautiful glimpse into the man’s life, leaving an indelible mark on those present. Then, it became a memory of love and grace in a world that often celebrates ambition over companionship.

Even for someone of Dr. Zainab’s stature, the wedding marks the beginning of a life shaped by both her family’s legacy and the deep bonds her father cultivated. As she embarks on her new journey, her father’s display of hospitality and reverence hints at a future grounded in tradition and lasting happiness.

Delta Confers Role Model Award on Oil Magnate, Sholaye Jeremi

just another plaque on the wall. It’s a nod to his ethical leadership in oil and gas—a sector where murky practices are all too common. His integrity and fair practices, much like his philanthropy, make him stand out, even among Nigeria’s business elites.

But this award goes deeper than just corporate ethics. Jeremi’s commitment to giving back, especially to youths and the underprivileged, has cemented his reputation as a man who walks the talk. It is no longer news that his influence and values are a rare blend, which makes this honour resonate with both local leaders and community members.

In a world driven by material gain, Jeremi’s grounded approach is refreshing. He doesn’t flaunt his wealth or power, choosing instead to invest quietly in people and local infrastructure. His philosophy is simple: wealth only has value if it serves a greater purpose, not just personal luxury.

New Lease of Life for Obat Oil

It is not news that Obat Oil and Petroleum Limited was established by Oba Fredrick Akinruntan, a true pioneer in Nigeria’s oil industry. Under his leadership, the company gained prominence, and that was how Obat Oil became a significant player in the national energy sector. Then he turned the reins over to his son, Prince Akinfemiwa, and things exploded.

It is well-known that, unlike the usual classic narrative, Prince Akinfemiwa embraced his father’s legacy with modern zeal. Recognizing the growth potential, he shifted the company toward digital transformation and thus brought Obat Oil up to world-class standards. So far, he has designed ambitious plans, like expanding retail outlets across Nigeria, which has certainly

as Akinruntan

For Jeremi, mentoring young entrepreneurs is as natural as running a business. His straightforward advice has resonated with many: success isn’t found overnight, but built slowly with discipline, ethics, and hard work. This dedication to guiding others played a big role in his selection for the Delta Role Model Award.

The award also comes at a time when the oil industry needs figures of integrity. Jeremi’s success story—built on honest practices— sets a powerful example. This recognition underscores the notion that ethical success is possible, a message both corporate peers and budding entrepreneurs need today.

As Jeremi accepts his award, it’s clear that this moment is about more than recognition. It’s a reflection of his journey and the lives he’s touched along the way. His dedication to both business and community speaks volumes, proving that true influence is measured in impact, not noise.

Changes the Face of Company

made the brand more of a household name than before.

His father operated in an analogue era and built Obat Oil’s reputation on reliability and solid operations. The son is introducing innovations that elevate Obat Oil’s competitive edge in the global market. The latter’s case is truly a forward-thinking approach uncommon in the industry.

The result of Prince Akinfemiwa’s efforts is the strengthening of the company’s infrastructure, including projects aimed at moving from downstream to midstream and even upstream operations. Through these initiatives, the young 47-year-old has not only sustained but also expanded his father’s vision to make Obat Oil increasingly multinational.

Folly Coker’s Ex-wife, Folake Celebrates 25 Years in Fashion

The buzz was palpable when Folake Folarin-Coker, a powerhouse in Nigerian fashion, recently celebrated 25 years of her brand Tiffany Amber with an anniversary fashion show that felt like a grand encore. It wasn’t just a show; it was a majestic nod to the brand’s influence, one that has defined African fashion.

Tiffany Amber is Nigeria’s first readyto-wear line. Launched in 1998, it blazed a trail in an industry that barely existed locally at the time. With bold designs, rich textures, and a dash of glamour, the brand set a high bar and quickly earned its place as a luxury leader.

Lady Folake herself is a marvel. From studying law in Europe to revolutionising fashion in Africa, her journey is as inspiring as it is unexpected. Her vision and unwavering drive have turned Tiffany Amber into an emblem of African elegance recognized worldwide, from New York to Milan.

The brand’s longevity in the fast-paced world of fashion isn’t just luck. Over two and a half decades, Tiffany Amber has managed to remain relevant by staying true to its roots while embracing global trends. This balance has made it both iconic and versatile—no small feat in fashion.

This 25-year milestone also shows Coker’s commitment to craftsmanship. Every piece is produced locally, employing some of Africa’s finest artisans. Her dedication to the continent goes beyond business; it’s about empowering communities and celebrating African creativity on a global scale.

It’s hard to ignore the accolades. Tiffany Amber has won multiple awards, including Fashion Brand of the Year and Designer of the Year. Folake’s groundbreaking showcases at New York Fashion Week made her the first African designer to appear twice in consecutive shows, a testament to her international appeal.

So, the recent Tiffany Amber anniversary show was a celebration of resilience, artistry, and vision. For Folake, these 25 years mark not just a professional achievement but a journey in redefining what African fashion can be. And judging by the energy in the room, her story is far from over.

In his business style, Prince Akinfemiwa mirrors his father’s resilience and commitment to excellence. Like Oba Akinruntan, he began from the bottom, learning each aspect of the business before assuming his current role. Yet, Prince Akinfemiwa brings a unique perspective and has leveraged global exposure and modern strategies his father could not have imagined in the early days.

As Prince Akinfemiwa transforms Obat Oil for a new generation, he continues his father’s legacy while charting a fresh path for the company’s future. This balance of tradition and innovation showcases a family that not only preserves its legacy but also builds on it. This truly is an example of growth rooted in continuity.

Dahiru Mangal’s daughter and hubby

Coker

Adeduntan and Adebimpe

Jeremi

Akinruntan

Femi Otedola: Renaissance Man Strikes

During the week, Oga celebrated his birthday and sent out a message: “Oh, I don’t want noise as I am low profile.” Mbok, there can be nothing low profile about the Renaissance man. From his massive philanthropic gestures which have remained almost unparalleled, to his strategic business moves, and eventually with the massive reforms he is pushing at FBN Holdings. Even if he puts charcoal all over his body and covers himself with Nigerian Army-issued camouflage, and walks around in pitch darkness, he would still be recognised and carried shoulder high for his activities and contributions to humanity.

DONALD TRUMP AND A TRUMPED-UP AMERICA

America has entered this one as they say on the streets. They threw all manner of things at this baba to stop his rampaging assault on the presidency. From sex scandals, criminal prosecution, various indictments, possible prison terms, various assassination attempts and even the kitchen sink but the man kept rampaging through until he claimed the hot seat once again.

I already knew he would emerge simply because of his “awolokan” politics. The man just identified the major issues that scared the vast majority of downtrodden supremacy people and which the sycophantic elites also aligned and boldly spoke their minds, and got their support.

He was very strong on curbing immigration and sending illegal immigrants back – this is very vital because at the pace immigration is going, the white Anglo-Saxons would be eventually eclipsed, so to them, Trump’s position on immigration is an escape.

Mbok, don’t let me go into the nitty gritty of it all but to say that the Democrats went and brought a woman with Indian and black blood - all shades of “fear” to the average “supremacist” who still has the votes. Her political stance eventually led to her trouncing.

My people, since they cancelled my 10-year visa without any reason since Trump’s first missionary journey, I have

Mbok, let me even just name what he has done at FBN Holdings. Did you guys see the recent result announced? $371m with all indices recording over 100% increase year-on-year and the “capture” of brilliant 30-year veteran Wale Oyedeji as the new Group Managing Director, thereby finally consolidating his hold on the group and thwarting the efforts of the old fox at a comeback. You will agree with me that there is nothing low profile about this egbon from Epe.

Happy birthday Mr. White and may God give you a longer life and many more years of this your type of low-profile life. Well done sir.

removed my mind from anything America except their porn movies which are now even being surpassed in terms of quality and relatability by Nigerian-made ones sef. Nothing concern me with them and their matter. If they like they should drop another Hiroshima or they should drive all the Nigerians back, na here I siddon. Na Tinubu and his tax initiatives are my real problems o, no be that one. Na them sabi. Thank you.

ATIKU VS TINUBU: REMI TINUBU HIT

You know how you will be going your own jeje and stray bullet, or should I say stray slap will just come from nowhere and hit you? That is what just happened to Mummy in this struggle between the Presidency and Alhaji Atiku who apparently, according to egbon Bayo, is still vexing at his “rejection at the last polls by Nigerians.”

Atiku, unlike Obi, has been very strategic and pungent in his criticism of this Awolokan policies and the debilitating impact on Nigerians. He even just said that you really cannot tax your way out of the economic situation your policies have thrown Nigerians into. This Atiku’s mouth is really bad o. You know that kind of mouth that you find on prostitutes. There is nothing he didn’t call the Tinubu administration. Na only Bole ka ja administration was what was left to call them o, and if he was still on good terms with Wike, he would have borrowed that one’s song – he dey pepper dem – to add insult to injury.

Well, as we have seen, the thing really peppered them o. So they woke up Uncle Bayo who had taken BP drugs and was wondering quietly if the thing would affect his erection to go and respond. The Baba did not really read Atiku’s position well when he replied that Nigerians had rejected him and his policies at the election. He did not know that Atiku was ready and was flying o. The Baba dropped figures of the economy during his time as manager of the economy and if you compare the figures with what we are seeing now, it is like comparing my maths result in Form 4 - the one that they told me to go and learn mechanic that book is not my own – with Bill Gates’ maths result.

Anyway, the one that concerns me today was the stray bullet at Mummy Remi Tinubu. Something is really wrong with this Atiku. In response, he threw in Mummy’s call for prayers and yabbed her.

Look, let me warn Mr. Atiku or whatever you call yourself. Mummy was just doing her own little continuations and you have seen the way she has been working from planting vegetables in her garden to help with the food crises to supporting Ankara to help our local designers, and now she has called for prayers since we are all mostly on our knees in the first place, and you are calling her name into something wey no concern her.

Please mind yourself o. You have been warned.

EGBETOKUN: THEY WEREN’T PRETENDING

Let me first say a big thank you to President Tinubu. Immediately, I saw the pictures of those malnourished little children in court and in different levels of fainting, I just knew that Daddy would order their release except he is not the Tinubu that I know.

One thing you people do not know about Mr. Tinubu is his love for mankind. I once went to his house at Bourdillon to beg him to allow me to write his biography and he offered me amala and ewedu. So it is not that kind of kind-hearted man that will see those images and still be playing ludo in his office.

So, when the Inspector General of Police was reported to have made the statement that was widely circulated, I pitied him and his communications advisers. Those images could damage the strongest of administrations, let alone an administration like this that is suffering severe image issues. So as a top official of the administration, it’s either you keep quiet or you make a middle-of-the-road assertion and move off very quickly.

In communications, women and children are soft areas which public officers use to shore up dwindling public images. You cannot see those little children in various states of anaemic disposition even if they were the ones who apprenticed for Lawrence Anini and still come out to make the kind of statement you were reported to have made – you notice that

Otedola

Egbetokun

Tump Tinubu and Atiku

I am not repeating the statement before somebody comes to beat me.

I think you should reform your communications team and if nobody advises you, then you should build a strategic communications team around you so you don’t misbehave like that again.

Now that the president has offered amnesty, hosted them at Aso Rock and all, how do you feel my brother?

GEN TAOREED LAGBAJA: A SAD BUT COLOURFUL DEPARTURE

Let me express my deep condolences not only to the family of General Lagbaja but also to President Tinubu and by extension, the larger Nigerian family for the loss of this very obvious patriot.

Thankfully, the authorities had moved in to block the vacuum very quickly with the announcement of a replacement although in an acting capacity. We thank God for that.

But let’s look at one thing sha. One person had announced much earlier on social media the passing and also even gave a reason for the passing. The information was denied and we were even told that the said General had even placed a phone call to the president intimating him of his welfare and that the president also had wished him well.

Then a few weeks later, the official statement was released informing us of the sad event.

Now let me state my mind and I could be wrong. I think that social media miscreants may have been correct to an extent but because of the sensitive nature of the information as it concerns national security, the information had to be managed and for that, I stand with the authorities.

You see, the responsible use of information is very important, especially information of this nature. A lot has to be taken care of before such information is released – loyalty, replacements, shifting allegiances and an assurance that the military high command are in one boat. So it’s not something that anyone because he may have stumbled on the information and has access to social media will now just blatantly just push it out just like that.

On this one, I stand with the authorities and do wish them well as they reorganise and rebuild a potent force, especially at this time of national strife. Well done guys.

BALTASAR EBANG ENGONGA: FROM GUINEA WITH LOVE

As a subject expert, I was amongst the very first people to see the videos. I first thought they were manufactured by the ever-growing porn industry and did not think anything of it. The next minute, I started seeing news reports from very serious mainstream media confirming what had just happened.

This top government official was attempting to overthrow the government with his manhood. Oh my God, this guy had taken the cabinet, his president’s daughter, the police IG’s wife, his sisters’ friends, all 15, his brother’s wife, his cousin’s wife and countless other women both married and single.

He was like a human ebola virus ravaging and spreading through all who came close to him. Mbok, this was phenomenal, we had just met the most viral man in human history. He has dusted such legends as the famed Casanova, Emperor Bokassa and Hugh Hefner who was now looking like a boy scout beside this fool.

The question on everybody’s lips remains why such high-profile women who were already married to highprofile men, even allowed themselves to be filmed and recorded during the act. This beats me and the rest of the world. If you know how difficult it is to convince a married woman to be a

secret liaison, and not only get them but get them to agree to be recorded while smiling during the act is nothing but a modern-day miracle.

Anyways, I send my condolences to the families affected and also to the people of Equatorial Guinea for such a tragedy because if for anything else, the rights to privacy as enshrined in all social justice ethos have been eroded by the alleged release of these tapes by the security agencies who discovered them. This is my only grouse on the matter since there was no evidence of underage liaisons or a forced participation or unwilling partner, a willing ebang kuku bang everybody. Let everybody go home and sort themselves out. Simple.

EDWIN CLARK’S METHUSELAH STRIKES

I have just seen a report that claims it was Chief Edwin Clark’s petition that may have moved the EFCC towards my brother, Ifeanyi Okowa.

Well, the EFCC has done their usual and has also thrown it all over the media. My issue in this whole thing and my constant worry each time Chief Clark’s name comes up for discussion na him age.

Mbok if this man was a Minister in the early 1970s, how come he is still very spritely and active now in 2024? The thing used to baffle me. Was he a minister at 10 years old? Because me that was born in 1969, I am 55 now and the daddy was already dodging bullets during the Civil War even before I was born.

I have googled to ascertain his real age and have come out with nothing. Can someone please assist me with his true age because I am really very curious as

BIANCA OJUKWU: ETERNAL BRILLIANCE AND BEAUTY

The recent cabinet reshuffle threw up the beautiful spectre of Bianca Ojukwu once again onto the national stage. The last we heard of her was during the slapping incident in her home state where she stood up and elegantly walked up to the First Lady and slapped her, adjusted her wig, put on her lipstick and sat back down like nothing happened.

That is the elegance and beauty that retired warlord Emeka Ojukwu saw that made him, instead of writing his memoirs on the Civil War, write a book on her which he termed ‘Because I Am Involved.’

His love for her was legendary. He wrote poems and exhorted her beauty at every turn. Ojukwu turned Nigerians into undying romantics as women wanted to

be loved the way Ojukwu loved Bianca and men were looking for such beauty and elegance to love like the way Ojukwu was loving her.

She has maintained that posturing even years after the passing of her warlord. She has remained our national flower. One that we all love to just stare at and worship from afar. Age did nothing to her luminous beauty to the point that senators were drooling in the mouth during her confirmation that the Senate President had to ask where in her resume was written that she is beautiful.

Be like make I do Play on this romance o? Kai, the thing is still shaking me. Congratulations Madam even as I wish you a successful tenure.

LOUD WHISPERS

to how someone who was that active from the First Republic still has time to be writing a petition and causing some confusion when he should be relaxed and playing god to us all?

Partisanship at that age, whatever it is, is just one kind.

CHIOMA UDE BRINGS DOWN LAGOS I have been hearing about this AFRIF thing for some time now and because they never invited me so I used to look from afar. But this year, my sister, Yvonne Victor Olomu of the HOW Foundation called me and I went.

Kai, I have been missing o, come and see o. Fine people, fine clothes, fine drinks, fine food but no afang sha and a coming together of all that is brilliant in the Nigerian entertainment industry. They screened the opening film ‘Headless,’ the one where the actor Gideon Okeke actually jumped down from the Falomo Bridge and into the Lagoon.

Governor Sanwo-Olu was given an award and I hugged him and I also saw my Chairman, Prince Nduka Obaigbena who coordinated the tribute session on the great Herbert Wigwe.

Chioma shone like a thousand stars, her dress was something else, tight but elegant and I saw a lot of Nollywood people o - Yibo Koko, Chioma Akpota, Segun Arinze and the rest. I also saw the British-Nigerian mega star John Boyega and also the biggest star of them all -Ayo Subair the Executive Chairman of LIRS, a great man.

Nigeria has come of age and thanks to people like Chioma Ude for leading the charge. Well done sis.

ADA OBAJE: THE LAGOS WOMEN’S MARATHON

Lagos big girls are doing the marathon this November o. Wait, let me list some that have agreed to run – Emem Usoro, the CBN Deputy Governor, Samira Adebiyi of AFEX, Bolanle Austen Peters, Folake Ani-Mumuney, Flora Fabyan, Dr. Adaobi Nwachuku, Ndidi Obioha, Ini Abimbola, among others. It is my sister, Ada Obaje, who is putting all of this together. I hear that over 500,000 women have done this run in its nine years of history. It continues to draw influence as it was designed to push healthy living, provide networking opportunities and push better bonding among women.

Me don go rent beach chair, buy pure water, buy dark glasses wey I go use siddon for roadsides and be watching the spectacle. You guys know that I don’t joke with women as I am a specialist in their affairs, hence my keen interest in this marathon. My main assignment is to help carry the ones who can’t make it on my shoulders past the finish line all for free. Thank you

OH MY GOD, WALE MACAULAY?

Oh my God! As I was rounding up this column, the news hit me that my brother Wale Macaulay is gone. I called around to be sure and confirmed that he had passed on after being ill for over a year.

Wale who was the great-grandson of iconic Herbert Macaulay was first introduced to public consciousness in his job as a sound TV producer and thespian. I met him while putting together my Play, ‘Oba Esugbayi’ which looked into the role the Oba played in the setting up of the Iju Water Works in the 1930s which is still serving Lagos, and for his efforts was exiled to Ibadan for seven years.

Wale was supposed to be Oba Esugbayi and one thing led to the other and we fought. Kai! Since then I have not seen or spoken to him only to be woken up by this rude shock of the news.

May his soul rest well o. God, the beautiful ones are really going ooooo.

Ojukwu

Olori Atuwatse’s History in London

Olori Ivie Atuwatse III, wife of the Olu of Warri, Ogiame Atuwatse III, has been a distinguished advocate for Africa’s development, a visionary and a trailblazer.

Through her initiatives with the Iwere Foundation and Elevate Africa, the Queen Consort of Warri has dedicated herself to creating sustainable pathways for growth, poverty alleviation, and social equity in her community and beyond.

Her leadership extends to initiatives that inspire resilience and promote innovation across the continent, reflecting her commitment to shaping a prosperous future for the African continent.

Barely a month after she was conferred with the United States President’s Lifetime Achievement Award —a prestigious honour conferred on her by Americorps and the office of the President of the United States— for her immense dedication to a life of purposeful service and impact, Olori Ivie has equally been conferred with the ancient illustrious award of the Honorary Freedom of the City of London during a ceremony held at Guildhall, United Kingdom.

The award is one of the United Kingdom’s most esteemed civic recognitions. It is a rare honour that celebrates the Olori’s transformative leadership and her commitment to amplifying Africa’s authentic narratives on the global stage.

She becomes the first African Queen to receive this accolade previously bestowed on select eminent personalities, such as Winston Churchill, Queen Elizabeth II, Nelson Mandela, Stephen Hawking, and Princess Diana.

“This honour and its weight have further entrenched my responsibility to God and my people to live a life of impact…It’s a renewed call to uplift others, represent my heritage with pride and use the platform to continue championing positive change within my community,” Olori Ivie said.

Freedom of the City of London Award, dating back to 1237, is one of the oldest surviving traditional ceremonies still in existence today, symbolising a unique bond between the City of London and its most distinguished recipients.

The award recognises individuals who have made exceptional contributions to society, embodying values of leadership, courage, and philanthropy.

Ogun 2027: Is Dapo Abiodun’s Body Language a Threat to Adeola Yayi’s Ambition?

The road to 2027 seems a long way to go, but to ambitious politicians, a journey of a thousand miles would begin with a single step.

All indications point to the fact that the political calculation for Ogun State’s number one job has commenced in earnest, behind the scenes though. Some of the candidates are already busy with consultations.

“Without ambition one starts nothing. Without work one finishes nothing. The prize will not be sent to you. You have to win it.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson.

The above quote seems to be the watchword of many serious-minded politicians; hence they decide to work assiduously round the clock to actualize their political ambition.

Of course, there are contenders and there are pretenders.

One of the most assiduous out of the pack for the governorship job is the incumbent senator representing Ogun West Senatorial District, Senator Solomon Adeola Solomon, otherwise known as Yayi. In the state, no one can feign ignorance of the fact that that is the most cherished ambition.

Many would recall how he caused a stir in 2019 when he tested the waters. However, he failed to realise this aspiration, but he was able to make a huge impact as he built a significant structure that eventually determined the winner of the governorship election of the state. Since then, he has become a household name in the state.

It was gathered that his major obstacle then was the incumbent governor of the state, Ibikunle Amosun, who never hid his abhorrence for him.

Initially, he remained unfazed. But when reality dawned on him, the Yewaborn member of the National Assembly chickened out from the race; and he hurriedly ran back to Lagos to retain his seat as Senator representing Lagos West as the odds against him grew.

As part of his tactics, in 2023, Society Watch gathered that he relocated to Ogun and contested to represent his ancestral district of Ogun West Senatorial District on the platform of the All Progressives Party, APC.

This was never easy at the beginning, it was tough. But for someone like Yayi, he had envisaged this: to beat

The Myth, Truth and Lies Against Sijibomi Ogundele

Sijibomi Ogundele, Group Managing Director of Sujimoto Holdings, has broken his silence over his purported arrest and detention by operatives of the Force Criminal Investigations Department (FCID) in Abuja.

Before now, Ogundele, who had remained silent over the matter because of its sensitive nature, eventually made up his mind to come out with his own side of the story in order to correct the wrong impression the story may have had on the innocent public.

As gathered by Society Watch, Ogundele was dragged to the FCID by human rights lawyer, Pelumi Olajengbesi, who accused him of fraudulently taking a sum of $325,000 from Kabiru Ibrahim over one unit of a three-bedroom flat at the upscale Leonardo Estate.

However, the invitation by the police presented a window of opportunity to the man behind several audacious projects, which include the most sophisticated building in Banana Island, LucreziaBySujimoto, the grandiose Sujimoto Twin Tower, the tallest twin towers in Africa; the regal Queen Amina, to explain in detail his side of the story, after which he was allowed to go home.

Ogundele, whose many innovative projects have etched an indelible imprint on Nigeria’s luxury real estate, said he honoured the police invitation with a “trove of evidence: the title documents of the Leonardo project in Banana Island, approvals from Lagos State

and all pertinent papers proving our utmost commitment to transparency with the audacious LeonardoBySujimoto project.”

It was clarified that there was nothing regarding the offences of obtaining money under pretence, fraudulent misrepresentation, and criminal breach of trust, and the only “offence” he committed was a delay, which was a result of

and pummel his opponents. That signified the beginning of a new chapter of his political trajectory.

It was gathered that he is currently facing another mountainous situation that would take him prayers to surmount. This time, it is the incumbent governor of the state, Prince Dapo Abiodun.

Sources confirmed that there is no love lost between the senator and the governor even though they are both members of the ruling party.

external economic forces affecting our nation.

“And also rising material costs, a plummeting currency, a cascading effect of inflation, and a shifting economic landscape have all conspired to slow down our ambitious endeavour to design and build a landmark property that not only surpasses the iconic 1979 Necom Tower as the tallest and most luxurious project in Nigeria but also sets a benchmark standard for luxury living across Africa.

“The past few days have been uneasy for me and my business, stemming from a transaction we undertook a couple of years ago involving the sale of an off-plan apartment to one of our valued clients. Despite securing the land and obtaining all necessary approvals, we encountered significant obstacles that have delayed our project delivery.

“After numerous conversations and negotiations, the client in reference demanded a refund for his payment, which was originally made in naira. At the time of the transaction, the exchange rate was 420 to the dollar; today, it has skyrocketed to 1,750, creating a staggering deficit of 1,330.

“This poses a critical question: who will absorb this loss? Although the volatility of the exchange rate is neither the client’s fault nor ours, it is a reality that profoundly affects our operational expenses, and capital expenditures, which are largely dollardenominated.

Prophetess Funmilola Lucas, wife of the presiding minister of Gospel of Fire Ministry, in Canada and Nigeria Bishop Femi Lucas, is undoubtedly a woman of class who is passionate about the work of God.

All her life, she has remained steadfast and dedicated to the teaching of her creator.

The Canadian-based woman oozes elegance and panache but is very humble despite her God-given wealth.

Regardless of her status, she has remained a delight for many within society, as her philanthropic strides and love for humanity have always put her in the cynosure of all eyes.

Last year, when she celebrated her 50th birthday with a class soiree at the Marriott Hotel, Ikeja GRA, she spared no cost to give herself and also thanked her creator for giving her the precious gift of life.

She feted friends, family and associates with sumptuous meals and assorted drinks. But in her quest to make a difference, due to the current economic situation in the country and the biting

economy with its numerous effects on the downtrodden, she chose to celebrate it in a new dimension this year.

The Convener of the Daughter of Zion Conference chose to celebrate it with the needy, widows, and the less privileged among others who truly need assistance.

She started the celebration on Friday, October 25 at her husband’s Ori-Oke Iyanu, Ilara-Epe, Lagos. The crusade ground filled up to the brim, with guest ministers like Evangelist Tope Alabi. The Ooni of Ife was also among the dignitaries who graced the service of praise to God for His benevolence in her life.

On Saturday, October 26, her DOZ Love Foundation hosted over 4,000 people, where she gave out edible items like bags of rice, noodles, groundnut oil, free medical checkups and drugs, cash, sewing machines, a pepper grinding machine, and clothes, after which, she hosted top dignitaries who came to celebrate with her.

Abiodun

Ogundele

Atuwatse

Bishop Femi Lucas, Wife, Funmilayo, Showers Love on Less Privileged Lucas

ARTS & REVIEW ARTS &

A PUBLICATION

A Curatorial Mission with an Inclusive Vision

With a passion for unearthing hidden histories, US-based Iheanyi Onwuegbucha is transforming the contemporary African art landscape, one exhibition at a time. Okechukwu Uwaezuoke writes

For Iheanyi Onwuegbucha, his guiding instinct—his pheromone of purpose, so to speak—can be summed up in one principle: giving credit where credit is due. Driven by this core conviction, he is on a quest to rebalance the art world’s narrative, shining a spotlight on its hidden gems—the unsung heroes who deserve their moment in the sun.

As a corroboration to this, all one needs is a cursory glance at his lustrous credentials. Acurator based at Princeton University in the United States, Iheanyi Onwuegbucha is the mastermind behind the Kindred Spirits exhibition at kó Gallery in Ikoyi, Lagos, conceived to highlight the Aka Circle of Artists—a group of innovative trailblazers who

Concurrent with the groundbreaking Kindred Spirits exhibition, still ongoing at kó Gallery in Ikoyi, Lagos, until December 21, Onwuegbucha is diligently working on a comprehensive, landmark book project on the Aka Circle, which he deems “a long-overdue tribute to their legacy.”

-ence of the Aka artists, providing the recognition they deserve and valuable insights for scholars, artists, and the public alike,” he adds.

Indeed, the works of this motley crew of 15 pioneering artistic young Turks have been hiding in plain sight while being woefully underappreciated. Spurred by this realisation, Onwuegbucha’s quest to right this artistic wrong, driven by his deepseated passion, had been years in the making. “I realised this gap (among many others) during my research for my doctoral dissertation at Princeton University, and this is my attempt at bridging the gap,” the 34-year-old further explains.

The Aka Circle, founded in 1985 by El Anatsui and Obiora Udechukwu, consisted of members, who were united by their love of material experimentation.Among its notable members were Tayo Adenaike, Chris Afuba, Chike Aniakor, Obiora Anidi, Ifedioramma Dike, Chike Ebebe, Chris Echeta, Nsikak Essien, Bona Ezeudu, Boniface Okafor, Chika Okeke-Agulu, Samson Uchendu, and Tony Umunna.

pushing boundaries with their inventive mediums. Operating from Nigeria’s southeastern region, their mark on the art world. “Artists like El Anatsui, Chris Echeta, Obiora Anidi, and Chris Afuba consistently demonstrated a restless curiosity in their exploration of three-dimensional forms,” Onwuegbucha continues. “They repurposed found objects, wood, metal, and often combined diverse

Beyond 3D innovations, Aka Circle members like Obiora Udechukwu, Tayo Adenaike, Nsikak Essien, and Chika Okeke-Agulu revolutionised two-dimensional media. Indeed, a retrospective evidence of African contemporary innovation rooted in local experiences rather than in Western traditions.

Also, the collective’s bold sociopolitical commentary, particularly on postcolonial Nigeria, cemented their trailblazing status. Tied to the Nsukka School, Aka artists tackled these chalview until December 21) honours their legacy, celebrating individual and collective achievements while uncovering the historical roots of material experimentation in contemporary Nigerian art. If tracking down works by deceased Aka

A glimpse of an exhibition at the Yemisi

artists turned out to be no cakewalk, it is not due to their obscurity but rather no of proper art documentation. Gathering all 15 members’ works is a monumental triumph, overcoming this hurdle to highlight the remarkable breadth and depth of their collective legacy.

“I hope this exhibition inspires younger artists to carry forward the legacy of the Aka group by boldly engaging with the world around them, using their art as a lens for commentary and change,” Onwuegbucha adds. “For other visitors, I hope it provides a space to appreciate the depth and range of creative and thematic exploration presented here. Ideally, they’ll leave with a deeper understanding of how Nigerian contemporary art today is connected to and informed by these foundational movements and voices.”

Onwuegbucha’s curatorial odyssey began during his undergraduate years at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka’s Fine

andAppliedArts Department. This was especially when it became evident that the absence of Western curators had left African artists in the shadows. “Back then, we often discussed how impactful it would be if Western curators visited our studio, opening doors for greater visibility and successful art careers,” he recalls.

However, Chika Okeke-Agulu’s visit and talk about his Who Knows Tomorrow initiative in Germany sparked Onwuegbucha’s passion. Rather than simply complaining about the dearth of African curators, Onwuegbucha saw this as a chance to promote emerging artists.

Under Professor Onuora’s mentorship at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Onwuegbucha’s curatorial skills bloomed. He curated the convocation exhibition, featuring Uche Okeke’s works alongside those of his classmates, earning himself the Vice Chancellor’s commendation.

He returned to the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, for an MAin art history after his National Youth Service Corps programme. This was while he was concurrently working with the Life in My City Art Festival (LIMCAF) in Enugu as festival

secretary.

It was during his time at LIMCAF that a neat weaving of fate crossed his path with that of the late Bisi Silva, who became a guiding light in his acclaimed curatorial journey. Professor Onuora would invite him again in 2015 to co-curate the notable exhibition Anya Fulu Ugo, organised in conjunction with an international conference of Nsukka artists, ElAnatsui and Obiora Udechukwu.

During his initial curatorial position at the Thought Pyramid Art Centre in Abuja, Iheanyi realised that curating entailed more than organising exhibitions; it also involved generating discourse and scholarship around the art. Recognising his need for further training, he pursued an MAin Art Gallery and Museum Studies at the University of Leeds with a prestigious Chevening Scholarship. Afterwards, Bisi Silva invited him to join the Centre for Contemporary Art (CCA), Lagos, as an associate curator. Because under Silva’s expertise, he seamlessly stepped into leadership of the Yaba, Lagos-based art space when her health concerns arose.

Concerned about the scarcity of accessible resources for African artists while at the CCA, particularly those active before the internet era, he decided to make his own contribution. Thus, researching Colette Omogbai became a pivotal moment. Now, he is driven to generate discourse, scholarship, and visibility for African artists, transforming local audiences from consumers to purveyors of information.

Museum of African Art’s predoctoral research fellow wishes he had focused more on art’s impact beyond galleries. His curatorial philosophy now prioritises artists as essential to understanding their work, making art accessible to a broad audience, artists’ experiences.

This approach begins with studio visits and extensive artist discussions, fostering a collaboraexhibition is a shared vision, where artists’ visions and societal impact take centre stage. By adopting this artist-centric approach, he aims to give late modern and early contemporary African artists their rightful place in history while making art meaningful and accessible to a broader audience.

Onwuegbucha

Installing a work at the Kindred Spirits exhibition at kó Gallery in Ikoyi, Lagos

A viewer at the Kindred Spirits exhibition

Shyllon Museum of Art, Pan Atlantic University, Lagos

Quincy Jones… the World Mourns…

Yinka Olatunbosun

Fifty years ago, the music genius Quincy Jones was prepared to die. He barely survived a brain aneurysm in 1974. Having been informed of only a one percent chance of surviving his surgery, he attended his own memorial service in the company of his neurologist at The Shrine in Los Angeles, USA, that year alongside Richard Pryor, Marvin Gaye, and Sydney Poitier. Jones had two brain surgeries, and after the second was warned to never play the trumpet again. Fast-forward to 2024, November 3, and the news of the death of this legendary record producer, songproducer, Quincy Jones Jr., swarmed the internet, Jones, who died at his home in Bel-Air Home

and artistry helped to shape music and breed a generation of musicians who set records in history. He was introduced to music by his mother, who always sang religious songs, and next-door neighbour Lucy Jackson. In his twilight, he boasted of a decorated career spanned over 70 years, with 28 Grammy Awards won out of 80 nominations, including a Grammy Legend Award in 1992. He is listed as the third person to have the most Grammy wins in history after Jay-Z and Beyonce, who hold He is famed for producing three of the most successful albums by pop icon Michael Jackson,

would later become the world’s best-selling album of all time, having sold 70 million copies worldwide. In 1985, he produced and conducted the charity song “We Are the World,” which helped to raise funds for victims of famine in Ethiopia. He worked withA-list musicians, including Frank Sinatra, Count Basie, and Celine Dion.

His publicist, Arnold Robinson, remarked in a Jones

TRIBUTE

press statement: “Tonight, with full but broken hearts, we must share the news of our father and brother Quincy Jones’s passing,” the family’s statement said. “And although this is an incredible loss for our family, we celebrate the great life that he lived and know there will never be another like him.” His impact will remain indelible in black history.can to be the musical director and conductor of the American to receive the academy’s Jean Hersholt HumanitarianAward. He is tied with sound designer Willie D. Burton as the second most Oscar-nominated African American, with seven nominations each. In 2013, Jones was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in the Ahmet Ertegun Award category.He of the 20th century by Time.

arranger and conductor before working on pop genres, producing pop hit records for Lesley Gore serving as an arranger and conductor for several

African American to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song for “The Eyes of Love” for an Academy Award for Best Original Score for

twice in the same year. Jones wrote the score for “The Streetbeater,” which is the theme song for the In the 1960s, Jones worked as an arranger for Billy Nana Mouskouri, Frank Sinatra, Sarah Vaughan, and Dinah Washington. His solo recordings included Walking in Space, Gula Matari, Smackwater Jack, You’ve Got It Bad Girl, Body Heat, Mellow Madness, In 1975, Jones founded Qwest Productions, for which he arranged and produced successful albums by Frank Sinatra and others. In 1978, he produced

and Diana Ross. In 1982, he produced Jackson’s

“Just Once,” and “One Hundred Ways,” both sung by James Ingram.

The Color Purple received 11 Oscar nominations that year, including one for Jones’s score. Jones, Thomas Newman, and Alan Silvestri are the only composers besides John Williams to have written scores for a

Additionally, through this picture, Jones is credited with introducing Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Jones was married three times and has seven

life was put under scrutiny in the biographical In the wake of his death, music stars and entertainers have expressed their grief in heartfelt social media posts.

for The Color Purple movie in 1985,” Oprah Winfrey wrote. “My life changed forever for the better after meeting him. I had never experienced, nor have I

“He walked around with his heart wide open, and he treated everybody as if they were the most important person he’d ever met. He was the light. No shadows.

He was love lived out loud in human form, and That’s how we signed all our notes to each other, “Unconditionally…”

80s pop classic Been Around the World, wrote: “He has been an incredible inspiration to myself, my husband, and so many other aspiring musicians through the beautiful music he’s given us. We were lucky enough to have met him once in New York City and share some time together. He was so charming

a mentor, a father, and a friend.’ Quincy Jones was one of the producers of the hit television sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, which served as a launchpad for Smith’s acting career.

“He pointed me toward the greatest parts of myself,” Smith wrote in a tribute to Jones. “He defended me. He nurtured me. He encouraged me. He inspired me. He checked me when he needed to. He let me use his wings until mine were strong Grammy-winning Beninese singer Angelique

“Your friendship and your constant supportcians to show the beauty of true African music to the world! Such a beautiful, funny, and inspiring soul. I’m sending much love your way.”

In London, Nigerian Artist Blends Contemporary with Classical Masterpieces

London-based Nigerian multidisciplinary artist Ken Nwadiogbu, renowned for his socially conscious art, was one of the shining stars of a

Absolut x Warhol: The Other Half showcase’ which was held at London’s Saatchi Gallery recently. -

tional artists selected by Hypebae and Absolut Vodka for the iconic exhibition, which provides a platform for diverse voices. Other exhibiting artists included illustrator Kelly Anna, fashion designer and illustrator Jade Pearl, London-based artist Xu Yang, and co-founder of 3D design practice XK, Alexa Sirbu.

The Nigerian artist’s original work is inspired by Andy Warhol’s Absolut 'blue', which was rediscovered in 2020 but ties back to the brand’s

Extolling the Virtue of Resilience BOOKS

-

Isome: Embracing and Becoming a Wholesome You,’ Dr. Omotola Bamigbaiye

most inspiring yet honest way. Page by page, she recounts stories of resilience, self-acceptance, and growth, citing her personal experiences of confronting life’s challenges head-on

At a recent book reading and signing session at RovingHeights, Landmark Event Centre Lagos, Dr. Bamigbaiye captivated her audience, reading in a warm and relatable tone that mirrored the book itself. She spoke freely about her childhood experience, festive seasons in her grandmother’s house, and balancing motherhood and a corporate career. Through each chapter, she shows how she turned life’s challenges—what she calls “lemons

and more lemons”—into opportunities for personal growth.

One interesting moment exists in memory of a short-lived romance with a man named Kabir.After a memorable dinner and weeks in a relationship, he suddenly told her, “I have been thinking lately, and for both of us if we end this relationship.” Quick to romantic dialogue alongside a sumptuous meal. society’s standards made her doubt herself. She reveals the pressures of trying to meet those expectations, especially as a black woman, and shares how she learnt to start each day by reminding herself of her worth. With her head raised high and a glance in the mirror, she reminded herself of who she is: “When I began to recognise my

EXHIBITION

1985 Absolut Art campaign. Paying homage to builds upon the legacy from a contemporary lens. His featured works at the exhibition are mainly oil and acrylic on canvas, and they include

on cardboard as an exception. His experimentation with a thermal-graphicits essence. With each brushstroke, the young artist from the backwaters of Lagos continues to deepen his artistic legacy on a global pedestal. Nwadiogbu’s artistic worldview had taken a new turn after bagging a Masters Degree in Painting from London’s Royal College of Art. Leveraging art, he continues to interrogate

such as migration, identity, and socio-politicalbral, but the underlying social consciousness is unmistaken.

Sharing his excitement, Ken Nwadiogbu said: “The exhibition was a truly special experience. Collaborating withAbsolut, a brand that’s worked with legends like Andy Warhol, Damien Hirst, and Keith Haring, and having my work shown a Nigerian, it gave me the perfect platform to tell my own story and share my perspective.” Ken Nwadiogbu’s participation in the “Absolut Warhol: The Other Half” exhibition marks his second collaboration with a Pernod Ricard brand. Back in 2022, he designed “The Blue Experience,” latest romance with global giant Absolut adds a brands that he has worked with, including the

she found a renewed sense of purpose and the courage to overcome limitations.

Yinka Olatunbosun

Yinka Olatunbosun

worth, I woke up each morning with a sense of purpose, knowing that I was the captain of my life.

L-R: Producer, Book on Review, Classic FM, Mr. Benjamin Okoh: Author, Imperfectly Awesome, Dr. Omotola Bamigbaiye; Friend of the author, Mr. Emmanuel Edi-Bala and Moderator, Mrs. Funmi Akinsola during a book reading and signing session with Bamigbaiye held at Rovingheights Store, Lagos

Nwadiogbu

SMS: 08066066268 email:ejiofor.alike@thisdaylive.com

IN THE ARENA

INEC Faces Another Integrity Test in Ondo

As the Ondo State governorship election approaches, the credibility of the Independent National Electoral Commission will face another litmus test, writes Davidson Iriekpen

Aprominent issue on the lips of many Nigerians as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) prepares for the Ondo State governorship election, which is just a week away, is whether the electoral body will use the opportunity to redeem its battered image or not. Despite assurances from the electoral body, skepticism lingers over its ability to conduct a credible election. This doubt stems from its perceived failure to meet expectations in the 2023 general election, the previous offcycle elections, particularly in Kogi, Imo, Bayelsa states, and the recent September 21 election in Edo State.

In these states, the commission’s record was worse as there were overwhelming cases of alleged malpractices at the polls.

Though the alleged malpractices truncated another dream of free and fair elections, the courts okayed the results of these states, except that of Edo that is still being contested.

In Edo State, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) alleged that the commission colluded with the All Progressives Congress (APC) to manipulate the process in favour of APC candidate. It alleged inconsistencies in the results recorded at the polling units, the ones entered into Form EC8 and the ones uploaded by officials of the commission on its IReV.

The party also faulted INEC for failing to invoke its powers under Section 65 of the Electoral Act 2022 to review any declarations and returns where results were not declared voluntarily. It is this baggage of distrust that the commission is carrying to Ondo State. INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, must realise that his reputation and integrity are at stake once again and must show that he has learnt from his mistakes.

Speaking last Monday in Akure while assessing the state of the commission’s readiness for the election, Yakubu said the commission would improve on two critical areas of logistics and results management in the election, adding that they have learnt some lessons not only from the last Edo State election but also from previous ones, and that correction would be made in the coming election.

Another thing Yakubu said that perhaps elated the people of the state, was that the commission is committed to ensuring a swift and transparent electoral process, which is crucial for maintaining public trust in the democratic system. He added crucially that the results of the poll could potentially be available on the same day. This has

always been a challenge and gives room for manipulation.

But assurances like this have become a cliché. Repeated delays, logistical challenges, and transparency issues have plagued past elections, dampening citizens’ confidence in their votes being accurately counted and their voices being genuinely represented.

Free and fair elections are the cornerstone of democracy. Without credible elections, the essence of democracy - government of the people, by the people, and for the people - loses its meaning. Any election that is fraught with fraud and violence is, therefore, a usurpation of the sovereignty of the people.

It is always curious to many Nigerians why INEC entangles itself with unnecessary controversies whenever an election approaches. This always creates unnecessary anxiety and doubt.

The first signs that the Edo governorship election would not be credible came with the revelation that the INEC’s Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Edo, Anugbum Onuoha, is a cousin to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike. The minister is a known political enemy of Governor Godwin Obaseki.

One would think that with the revelation made, the commission would promptly redeploy the REC to show transparency and maintain its integ-

rity. Even when the PDP in the state demanded that Onuoha be redeployed, it refused to act. And what happened during the collation of the results tainted the credibility of the poll and vindicated the party and observers.

For instance, the civil society organisations (CSOs) that monitored the election, issued a damning review of the poll, declaring that the results from several polling units were altered at coalition centres.

While the Situation Room said the conduct of the election lacked credibility, Yiaga Africa, one of the accredited observers, also declared the results as lacking integrity.

In the same vein, the PDP in Ondo is demanding the redeployment of the REC, Mrs. Oluwatoyin Babalola. In an open letter to Yakubu, signed by the party’s State Secretary, Oluseye Olujimi, the party said the REC had an alleged fraternity with leaders of the APC in the state and, therefore, unfit for the role of umpire in the election.

The party specifically stressed that Babalola was not qualified to be an umpire in the forthcoming governorship election in the state, because she has been a resident there for more than three decades.

Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State resonated the call during a recent governorship campaign in the state.

POLITICAL NOTES

But in its response, INEC, through the Chief Press Secretary to Yakubu, Rotimi Oyekanmi, rejected the request, saying that posting and redeployment of RECs were not influenced by political parties or partisan individuals. He argued that nobody has come up with any genuine, incontrovertible evidence of criminal or unethical conduct against Babalola.

An election and all the processes leading to it should be fair and transparent, but INEC has established a reputation for embarking on actions that erode the confidence of critical stakeholders ahead of every election and thus discredit its own elections before they are held.

Officials saddled with the responsibility of managing any election should not only be neutral but must be seen to be neutral by all the critical stakeholders.

It is imperative that the commission should address the concerns and complaints of critical stakeholders before it loses whatever remains of its credibility.

Also, recent statements attributed to the National Chairman of the APC, Abdullahi Ganduje, have cast doubt on the credibility of elections conducted by INEC.

For instance, while the PDP in Edo State and election observers were complaining about the September 21, 2024 poll, Ganduje while celebrating the victory of Monday Okpebholo, said his party would use its template in the Edo governorship election to win the November 16 election in Ondo and also take over Anambra, and other states in the South-east in future elections.

Even when he led members of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the APC to a stakeholders’ meeting in Akure recently, Ganduje said APC would capture Ondo and other South-west states, stressing that the strategy to be deployed to win the Ondo election would be kept under wraps.

He noted that taking over control of Ondo and Osun states would boost the reelection bid of President Bola Tinubu, who is from the region, in 2027.

“In this geopolitical zone, we must deliver 100 per cent in favour of APC. Therefore, Ondo State, you must be at the forefront, the two other states – Oyo and Osun – we will capture them, but I will not reveal our secret. We are strategising. Everything must be 100 per cent behind President Bola Tinubu,” he said.

These utterances, to many observers, are ominous signs that INEC will not deliver a credible election any time soon.

Onnoghen’s Illegal Removal as CJN

AfterframingaformerChiefJusticeofNigeria (CJN),JusticeWalterOnnoghentoremovehim from office illegally, the federal government has settled out-of-court with him.

Onnoghen was convicted under strange circumstancesbytheCodeofConductTribunal (CCT) on April 18, 2019.

In a brazen display of impunity and lawlessness, President Muhammadu Buhari’s administrationhadonJanuary11,2019chargedthe then-CJN with non-declarations of his assets between 2005 and 2016.

BeforeOnnoghen’sarraignmentonJanuary 23,2019,theCCTissuedacontroversialorder for his suspension from office.

Actingonapreparedscript,thethen-President Buhari on January 23, 2019 suspended him

from office to face trial.

While being prosecuted by the CCT, Onnoghen wasalsoundergoingdisciplinaryproceedingsatthe NationalJudicialCouncil(NJC).BeforetheCCTtrial ended,hetenderedhisletterofvoluntaryretirement. Despite his resignation, on April 18, 2019, the CCT still went ahead to convict him, ordered his removalfromoffice,barredhimfromholdingpublic office for 10 years and ordered the forfeiture of the undeclared assets.

In March 2021, Onnoghen spoke publicly about his illegal removal for the first time, saying he was framedwithfalseallegationofmeetingformerVice President Atiku Abubakar, who was Buhari’s main rival in the 2019 presidential election.

However,basedonatermofsettlementsubmitted to the court by the federal government and the

former CJN, which the court adopted, the parties were unanimousthattheCCTerredinconvictinghimwithoutfirst, resortingtotheNJC,thebodyconstitutionallyempowered to discipline judicial officers in the country. Consequently,theCourtofAppealinAbujalastMonday discharged and acquitted him.

In a judgment, the three-member panel of the court, presided over by Justice Abba Mohammed, ordered the release of his assets, including bank accounts, which the CCThadorderedtobeforfeitedtothefederalgovernment.

A man who rose to the peak of his career was unjustly disgracedoutofofficebyanadministrationwhosenotoriety for human rights abuses, impunity and lawlessness was worse than military regimes.

Any how it is viewed, Onnoghen’s illegal removal was one dark chapter in Nigeria’s history that should not be allowed to repeat itself.

Onnoghen

Yakubu

BRIEFING NOTES

Has Soludo Lost Grip of Anambra?

Despite Governor Chukwumah Soludo’s promise to transform Anambra State into Dubai and Taiwan, the state has become the epicentre of insecurity in the South-east with rampant incidents of deadly cult clashes, senseless killing of innocent residents by rampaging gunmen, and kidnapping for ransom, making it a high-risk business environment, Ejiofor Alike reports

Professor Chukwumah Soludo’s swearing in as governor of Anambra State in March 2022 was greeted with high expectations by both the residents of the state and other Nigerians given the track record of the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and his campaign promise to transform the state into Dubai and Taiwan.

Soludo’s campaign manifesto had also offered hope to the residents of the state and the entire South-east.

In his manifesto titled: ‘Soludo Solution,’ the world-renowned economist promised to design and enforce a template of minimum standards for infrastructure and other facilities in cities, markets, and communities in the state.

“Our goal is to become the most livable smart megacity. This requires planning, and enforcement of minimum best practices and standards for the ease of transport, communication, recreational facilities, public conveniences, etc. Anambra must be transformed into a mega-urban and industrial city-state with a sustainable mechanism. It is a vision that hopes to exploit the geographical advantage and the unique entrepreneurial capabilities of the people of Anambra State,” Soludo had stated in his manifesto.

During his campaign, he had noted that the state has all it takes to be Africa’s Taiwan, Singapore or Dubai.

Soludo had also revealed that his vision of transforming the state into Dubai and Taiwan was a well-thought-out process dating back to 2006.

Two months ahead of his March 17, 2022 swearing in, he raised public expectations further with his inauguration of 80-member committee headed by a former Minister of Education, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili.

Soludo also gave a strong indication that non-indigenes could be appointed into his cabinet.

“If a Pakistani will give us 24 hours of electricity, I will bring him and make him Commissioner for Utilities. What the people care about is the services they get and not necessarily who did it. We want to get good results here. What matters is the result. Accountability is a must here,” he told the transition committee.

To cut costs of governance, promote domestic brands and boost the local economy, he adopted vehicles manufactured by the Innoson Vehicle Motors (IVM) as official vehicles in the state.

Soludo’s preparedness to restore the lost glory of Nnewi and Onitsha as industrial hubs, and write the name of Anambra State on the global map was evident.

However, less than two years to the end of his first term in office, his campaign promises are far from being realised as deadly cultists, gunmen on killing spree and kidnappers have made the state the worst livable in the South-east, contrary to his vision of making the state the “most livable smart megacity.”

Many towns and villages in the state, especially those that share boundaries with Imo State have been deserted due to rampaging gunmen, cultists and kidnappers, who abduct the residents freely and either collect ransom running into millions of naira or kill their victims and harvest their body parts for rituals.

Commenting on the frightening level insecurity in the state, the Coordinator of the South-East Security Forum, Chief JohnBosco Odimegwu, was quoted in a media report as saying that the investigation conducted by the organisation showed that with 10 kidnappers’ camps, Anambra has the highest number of camps in the South-east, followed by

Imo State with nine camps.

“In Anambra State alone there are 10 camps, which include Tango 1 and 2 in Ihiala, Mother Valley in Nnewi, Nnewi camp, Burrow Pit Camp, Orsumoghu, Ogbunka Camp in Orumba South.

“Other camps are Ogwuaniocha/Osomala in Ogbaru Local Government Area, Uli/Lilu, Mbosi, Ihiala LGA, Nkwelle Ezunaka, Oyi LGA, Orsumogho-Ihitenansa through Ukpor camp, and Ihiala camp,” he explained.

According to him, while Imo State has nine kidnappers’ camps, Enugu, Abia and Ebonyi states have two camps each.

Also commenting on the situation, a retired Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG), Celestine Okoye, had also reportedly lamented the rate of kidnapping in Awka, the state capital, particularly in the Dubai Estate area.

Okoye had also raised the alarm that his life was under threat from suspected hoodlums for his refusal to help them secure bail for their members in police custody.

He alleged that some influential individuals in Awka were sponsoring cultists and kidnappers.

Apart from gunmen and kidnappers, cultists are also having a field day in the state.

NOTES FOR FILE

In one fell swoop, cultists in a black SUV had rained bullets on residents of Nibo community in Awka South LGA of the state, who were celebrating New Yam Festival and killed no fewer than 16 people on October 20, 2024.

The state police public relations officer, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, had in a statement, attributed the incident to cult activities.

Ironically, the crime scene was not far from the Governor’s Lodge, where Soludo resides.

In his reaction to the state of insecurity in the state, the Chairman of the United Nigeria Airlines, Prof. Obiora Okonkwo had also noted in media reports that the state was becoming a ghost state.

“We know there is a general security situation in the nation and majorly in some parts of Nigeria. However, we know that the security situation in Anambra got worse when Soludo took over,” he said.

“Do you remember the promises that he made? The Dubai, Taiwan, and Hong Kong promise… It is from that perspective that I assess his administration,” Okonkwo added. Soludo’s recent excuse that high level of illiteracy in the state was responsible for the delay in transforming the state to Dubai and Taiwan was a strong indication of his poor knowledge of the level of literacy in the state before he became governor.

To address the state of insecurity in the state, he recently swore in a former Commissioner for Works and Transport in the state, Mr. Ken Emeakayi as his Special Adviser on Security.

Coincidentally, Emeakayi’s Ihiala Local Government Area is the worst hit by the insecurity in the state as it shares boundary with Imo State. Emeakayi was commissioner under the late former Governor Chinwoke Mbadinuju’s administration.

However, he was accused of using the Anambra State Vigilance Service better known as the Bakassi Boys to hunt down Mbadinju’s political enemies.

In June 2003, Emeakayi; Onitsha Camp Commander of the Bakassi Boys, Mr. Chinenye Ihenko (alias Okpompi), and 10 others were charged with the murder of a former Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Onitsha Branch, Mr. Barnabas Igwe and his pregnant wife, Amaka, on September 1, 2002 in Onitsha.

The slain NBA chairman was critical of Mbadinju’s administration.

However, the court gave Emeakayi and others a clean bill of health.

Can Emeakayi help Soludo to rescue the state from gunmen, kidnappers and cultists? Events of the next few months will provide answers to this question.

Mamman’s Varsity Age Limit Trashed

With the sack of former Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, about three weeks ago, his successor, Dr. Olatunji Alausa, has reversed the 18 years age limit set for admissions into universities in the country.

Alausa announced this decision during a briefing last Tuesday after resuming office as the new education minister.

Mamman had in July directed the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and Nigerian tertiary institutions not to admit candidates below 18 years. He gave the directive in his address during the JAMB policy meeting with the heads of tertiary institutions on the modalities of the 2024/2025 admission.

Even though he maintained that it was a matter of policy and not his personal decision, his action had generated intense outrage, with parents and civil society organisations saying it was a plot to draw the southern part of the country backward educationally. Critics believe that the retrogressive policy contributed mainly to his exit. Last week, however, Alausa directed that the age limit be pegged at 16 years, saying the policy was detrimental to the federal government’s efforts to reduce the number of out-of-school children in the country. He added that exceptions would be granted for “gifted’ children, noting the government was working towards making the country’s education system more

practical than theoretical, especially in the tertiary institutions.

Alausa stressed that practical education would better address the unemployment crisis in Nigeria by preparing graduates for the job market. He also said the federal government would work with private sector operators for the training of students to unleash their potential.

What Mamman should have done when he saw the outrage his policy generated as a leader under a democracy was to quickly jettison it but he pursued its implementation in a manner that seemed like a personal agenda. He didn’t realise that he held the position to serve the people.

His sudden fall is a lesson to others who hold positions of authority and espouse obnoxious policies. Mamman

Soludo

As Insecurity Hits Retired Generals

Despite their several decades of exploits in warfare and other acts of gallantry, top retired military officers are not spared by the security challenges in Nigeria. Sunday Ehigiator chronicles a few unfortunate incidents of abduction and killing of top military officers

Nigeria’s political landscape has long been marred by ethnic tensions and the proliferation of militia groups, non-state actors and bandits, whose activities have over the years undermined the lives of Nigerians.

While hundreds of soldiers and their officers have been felled in battlefront in the course of taming the monsters giving making life miserable for Nigerians, many retired officers who were supposed to be enjoying their peace, have either been killed, tortured, harassed or forced to pay ransom.

Major General Idris Alkali

Major General Idris Alkali (rtd) was tragically abducted and killed in 2018 while traveling between Abuja and Bauchi states.

Reports had that on September 2, 2018, unknown gunmen attacked a shopping complex at Lafande community, Dura-Du district, Jos-South, Plateau State. During the attack, 11 people were killed, while several others were injured.

In the following morning, the youths in the area barricaded the roads in protest against the attack.

As General Alkali was travelling on his Toyota Corolla car from Abuja to Bauchi through the Jos road without his driver and orderly, the general was stopped by the protesting youths.

After he introduced himself, he was attacked and killed by the protesters, while his phones, cash and laptop were stolen.

His body was later found on October 31, 2018, in an abandoned well in Guchwet, Shen, Jos South.

Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh

A former Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh (rtd), was in December 2018 assassinated in an ambush.

The retired military officer was returning from his farm along the Abuja-Keffi Road when gunmen rained bullets on his vehicle.

Shortly before his retirement, Badeh had led onslaughts that led to killing of many members of the Boko Haram territory.

Major General Richard Duru

Since September 2023 that Major General Richard Duru was kidnapped till date, nothing has been heard about his whereabouts.

Duru was said to have been abducted along Bishops Court, Area 7 Orji/Uratta, Owerri North Local Government Area of Imo State, by gunmen who also snatched his black Mercedes Benz G.L. 450 car with registration number LND 826 NG.

Duru, a member of the 33rd Regular Course of the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), was reportedly killed by the gunmen after they

had collected a ransom of $50,000 from his family.

Major General Hassan Ahmed

Gunmen killed the former Provost Marshall of the Nigerian Army, Major Gen Hassan Ahmed on July 15, 2021.

He was killed when his vehicle was attacked by gunmen while travelling along Lokoja-Abuja road.

Until his death, he served as a director at the Army Headquarters in Abuja.

Major General Peter Ademokhai

After being shot by armed robbers on April 9, 1994, Major General Peter Ademokhai (rtd), ex-GOC 1 Division of Nigerian Army, and ex-member of the defunct Armed Forces Ruling Council (AFRC) was abducted at Iguoriakhi, Ovia North East Local Government Area of Edo State, April 23, 2009.

He paid ransom and was released after two days.

Major General Joseph Ayango Aondo

In June 14, 2007, Major General Joseph Ayango Aondo (rtd) was killed in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja

He had been chairman of the political campaign group, ‘Yar’Adua Associates’. He was seized at the entrance to his house, driven five kilometers on the Kubwa expressway, and shot dead in his car.

Major General Edet Akpan

A former Commandant of the Nigerian Army Education Corps and National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Major General Edet Akpan (rtd), was kidnapped inside a church at his village, Iwok, in Nsit Atai Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, on January 31, 2010.

He was held captive for five days, and was freed on February 4.

Major General Mohammed Shuwa

On November 2, 2012, former General Officer Commanding (GOC), 1 Division, Nigerian Army, Major General Mohammed Shuwa (rtd), who was also Federal Minister of Trade (1975 – 1979), was shot dead at his home in Maiduguri, Borno State, by suspected Boko Haram gunmen. He was aged 73.

Brigadier General Sylvester K. Iruh

In April 2012, Brigadier General Sylvester K. Iruh (rtd) was killed by persons suspected hoodlums at a ‘black spot’ near the Berger Bridge on the outskirts of Lagos.

His last posting was as the Commandant, Army Records, Lokoja,

and was retired in January 2009.

Major General Peter Unuode

On March 20, 2013, Major General Peter Unuode (rtd), aged 67, and CEO, Bayam Security Guards Limited, was kidnapped in Ekiugbo, Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State.

He was blindfolded, chained to a chair, and tortured.

Kidnappers had initially demanded N50million, but later reduced it to N5million.

He was freed after three days, but the police had insisted that no ransom was paid.

Brig. Gen. Umar Jafaru Uwuigbe

On September 20, 2011, Brigadier General Umar Jafaru Uwuigbe (rtd) was hacked to death, and his wife seriously wounded by armed men who invaded their home in Iragon village, Badagry area of Lagos State.

Police said the killers were from Benin Republic, who were working on the general’s farmland.

Brigadier General Harold Udokwere

A three-man armed robbery gang had in June 2024, killed the national chairman of the Retired Members of Nigerian Armed Forces, Brigadier General Harold Udokwere (rtd).

The retired general was killed during an attack on his house located in the Kubusa area of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The robbers who killed Brigadier General Udokwere, N/5575 15th Regular Course, according to his wife, requested for her jewellery and took his husband’s pistol.

The house security guard said he saw three of the robbers trying to force themselves into the compound.

He said upon hearing the disturbing sounds and movement of the robbers, Udokwere opened the door, came down from the top floor of the duplex where his wife and two children were, and was immediately attacked and stabbed.

Col. Samaila Inusa

Col. Samaila Inusa was killed in Kaduna in March 2016.

Investigation had revealed that he was likely killed the same day he was kidnapped because the body was found already decomposing around Ajyaita village off Eastern Bypass Kaduna, Kaduna State.

The abductors were said to have intercepted the officer’s personal car, and later dropped off his wife before leaving with him as they travelled along the Abuja-Kaduna road.

Alkali

Duru Shuwa

Udokwere

Shaibu

Badeh

Makinde: The Fear in APC’s Response

The All Progressives Congress’ recent attack on the Oyo State Governor, ‘Seyi Makinde, for openly saying the obvious, belies logic and could be the beginning of its major undoing, writes Shola Oyeyipo

Fear as an intelligent response to challenges could be situation specific. It is basic knowledge, and this ideology is rooted in human evolutionary biology.

In survival mechanism, for instance, fear is a natural response to danger. It triggers the fight-or-flight response, and prepares the body to either confront or escape from threats. This has been crucial for survival throughout human history.

In the event of risk assessment, fear helps the individual to assess risks and make informed decisions. Feeling fear when faced with the possibility of a financial loss could prompt someone to reevaluate investments or spending habits.

There’s the fear that leans to preventing Harm. In this case,fear could encourage caution in potentially harmful situations, such as not approaching a wild animal or avoiding dangerous areas.

This intuitive form of self-protection is essential for safety. Close to this, however, is the alertness to dangers. In unfamiliar environments, for example, fear heightens awareness, which allows individuals to notice overlook.

Many more instances that could explain fears as an intelligent response in their respective circumstances abound. But the interesting thing about intelligent response to fear is that it leaves an experience from which one could learn and ultimately live with, as one of life’s takeaways. It helps to see the reality of the situation and nudges the individual to doing better next time.

Unfortunately, what should have been the ruling All Progressives Congress’ intelligent response to the fear the Oyo State Governor, ‘Seyi Makinde, drew its attention to, ended up exposing its hypocrisy and innate intolerance for truth.

The brickbats between supporters of Makinde and those of the government of the APC at the centre had been everything but an interesting episode to follow. When the stark reality of the nation’s state of play stares everyone in the face, the APC still loathes to be confronted with the obvious.

Living a lie, many political observers have often argued, is the signature lifestyle of the APC. But how this is intended to corrupt patriotism and rob the unsuspecting of sincere leadership, is what a majority of the people have yet to comprehend, when indeed, this was meant to awaken the ruling party to the reality of all that is at stake.

Penultimate Saturday at the commissioning of the late Olusoji Adagunodo zonal secretariat of the party in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, Makinde, said the 2027 general election would be between the ruling All Progressives Congress and the Nigerian people. This is too simplistic to stir any controversy.

But he didn’t stop there, Makinde, who added that his next political agenda would be determined solely by himself, explained that, Nigerians would be the ones to determine the next leadership of the country, and therefore urged PDP leaders to look inward, work together, and salvage the country.

“The next election will be APC versus Nigerians. It is not even about APC versus PDP. So, let us do our bit to unite our party and our base, and let the people of Nigeria speak.Nobody apart from myself can set an agenda for my political career.

“People have been complaining. They have been talking. They have been making a lot of speculations. Let me say this again, and I will say it myself: nobody will set an agenda for me apart from myself.

“They have also been talking, the ruling party and other parties. Let me say this: if you are accusing the ruling party of interfering with other parties to prevent them from uniting and forming a strong opposition for 2027, my position is that there are certain things within our control.

“Whether Governor Adeleke and I will cooperate for the growth and benefit of our party in the South-West is beyond the ruling party. It

is between me and Governor Adeleke. So,please, let us work together and unite our base; that is all we need to do,” he said.

Without a doubt, the next election is not a walk in the park for any of the political parties, let alone the ruling APC. Nigerians, home and abroad, would determine who rules Nigeria next and that’s evident, based on the subsisting reality in the country today.

Yet, and typically, the APC didn’t receive this well. Rather than see it for what it was, it thought Makinde and his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) were about to set it up against the people for failure. In no time, the PDP went all out with its ballistic but failed missiles.

National spokesperson of the APC, Felix Morka, in his response, first asked Makinde to focus on his primary duty, adding that the governor and PDP leaders should take full responsibility for the party’s “implosion and decay.”

His words: “He should not point accusing fingers at APC for the rot in his party. Makinde has become the leading but rather shoddy drummer for his 2027 political ambition.

“While our democracy affords Makinde the liberty to pursue his political aspirations, however, engaging in reckless executive flippancy at the expense of the job he was elected to do as governor is a disservice to the good people of Oyo State.

“They should take full responsibility for their disgraceful failure to handle the party’s implosion and decay. Instead of prioritising the needs of Oyo people who elected him to tackle their local issues, he has chosen to divert his attention.

“Makinde must know that Nigeria’s scale and complexities demand more than his vain and self-indulgent ambition. He cannot even speak for the people of Oyo State regarding their future electoral choices or decisions, let alone speak for Nigerians.

“If Makinde knew how to keep APC’s influence at bay, then why has he not employed that strategy to ‘protect’ his party nationally? Like the proverbial bad workman, who blames his tools.

“Makinde’s unhinged 2027 ambition cannot be founded upon his unguarded and unjustified attacks against our great Party or the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu that has launched the boldest and most ambitious reform effort in history to transform our country’s economy and build a solid foundation for progress.”

Quite strangely, the PDP was not going to let APC get away with this, much less allow it engage any propaganda machine to weep up sentiments.

It was the national leadership of the PDP that first served a salvo, describing the APC as a party of “political vampires” that thrives on the suffering of Nigerians.

Dismissing the APC statement as an “arrogant and reckless” attack on Makinde, the party in its response by its National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, called on the APC to “end its charade, accept its failures, and prepare for political retirement.”

The PDP argued that Makinde had been an outspoken advocate for Nigerians, voicing the frustrations of citizens impacted by the APC’s

governance. It denounced the APC attack and characterised it as a desperate attempt to silence criticism of its policies.

The Oyo wing of the party also hopped on the fray in a statement by its acting Publicity Secretary, Michael Ogunsina.

While noting that democracy is about politicians meeting the people at the polls, he asked: “Why is the APC afraid of meeting the people at the polls in 2027? A party that has been doing the will of the people would thank Governor Makinde for pairing it with the people.

“But the sinner will run when nobody is pursuing them. The APC is that sinner. It shall not go unpunished. We believe that the APC statement was very unnecessary, wrongly directed and wrongly themed.

“If the APC and its federal government are doing well and the people are happy with them why would they see Makinde’s statement as an attack on their government? It is our belief that to whom much is given, so much is expected.

“Nigerians invested their mandate and hope in the APC in the 2023 elections. From what the people have seen so far, it is clear that the only thing dear to the heart of the APC is to inflict pain and more pain on the people while its leaders revel in unconscionable enjoyment.”

Interestingly, none of the back and forth has deterred the Oyo governor, who Thursday, came out again to urge PDP chieftains to ensure unity within the party by not allowing individual presidential ambitions to cause division.

“A lot has been said about the PDI (Peoples Democratic Institute) and its origins. But what do we want to be remembered for? This is the essence and significance of today. Abba Moro has said that since 1998, he has benefitted from the PDP.

“I, too, have benefitted since 2019. I want to thank our great party and all the stakeholders here today for giving me the opportunity to secure not one, but two mandates, back to back, under this umbrella.

“The only thing I can promise is that, having drawn from this well, I will not pollute it when it is time for me to leave office. The journey here has not been easy, but I am grateful that we have overcome many obstacles.

“However, since the 2015 elections, things have only gone from bad to worse. As we face the next level of economic instability and renewed troubles, the PDP must offer real hope for Nigeria. Our country needs direction, and Nigerians are looking to the PDP for an ideological foundation,” he said.

Makinde spoke during the official inauguration of the Board of Governors and the unveiling of the roadmap for the PDI at the party’s national headquarters in Abuja.

His appeal followed unceasing concerns from different quarters that the presidential ambitions of some people, including himself, could escalate internal divisions within the party, and potentially derail the ongoing reconciliation efforts led by the Olagunsoye Oyinlola-led committee.

Taken together, one critical takeaway from that PDI event is that the PDP has realised the strength in unity and seemed to have learned from its mistakes, especially of the recent past.

For a Makinde, who some people believed played a role in what led the PDP to where it is today, having leaned on the opposition presidential candidate against his party’s, it is understandable why he is taking the honourable path to mending paths with his party.

This does not mean the storm is automatically over, but the path to healing might have begun, and clearly so, particularly the willingness of the party to look away from the self-inflicted mistakes of the past and take advantage of its inherent strength through unity to seize the future it sees ahead of itself.

It’s okay if the ruling APC chooses to feign and see only what is now being referred to as borrowed confidence, but the fear in its response to Makinde has not only exposed it, but made its road to 2027 rough, dangerous, undulating and uncertain.

Makinde

Ganduje

Kemi Badenoch’s Lies About Nigeria

Femi Fani-Kayode

“Idon’t want this country to turn into the one I ran away from”- Kemi Badenoch MP.

The Right Honourable Kemi Badenoch MP, former Minister of Women and Equalities of the United Kingdom and the newly-elected leader of the British Conservative party deserves to be tarred and feathered for the sort of things she says about Nigeria.

Apart from her insulting categorisations about Northern Nigerian Muslims, which I shall come to later in this contribution, this woman had the impudence to describe Nigeria, her country of origin, as a “living hell”, a place where she had to “walk one mile to get running water” and a country where “lizards run out of the taps!”

She constantly launches heavy salvos against the Nigerian people and our ruling elites including politicians, legislators, members of the judiciary and those that are in the private sector calling us thieves and labelling us as being corrupt and inept.

She snubbed the federal government on two occasions by ignoring them when they attempted to reach out to her through Mrs. Abike DabiriErewa, President Bola Tinubu’s Special Adviser on the Diaspora, which provoked the latter to say that she was yet “to find the Nigerianess in her”.

As far as Kemi Badenoch is concerned Nigeria is a land of demons whilst the UK is a nation of angels.

She forgets that the country that she lives in has a long history of corruption, looting and barbarism and that London remains the world’s capital for money laundering.

Again, unlike the UK, Nigeria is not supporting the holocaust in Gaza and is not complicit in the genocide that has been unleashed on the Palestinians.

Sadly some of our people have not only applauded her for her offensive sentiments but have also become her loudest cheerleaders.

I suspect that those that do this may well be suffering from a disease known as “Stockholm syndrome”.

This affliction causes its victims to fall in love with their oppressors.

It compels them to cultivate an affection for those who seek to place them in servitude and who treat them with contempt.

The victims of this malaise are masochists whilst Badenoch herself is the female version of Marquis De Sade.

Her Nigerian cheerleaders have a chip on their shoulder. They are unpatriotic and have no honour. No matter how much she pisses on the graves of our heroes past and defecates on our flag they continue to worship her.

This is pitiful. It is a reflection of their malevolent disposition towards their own country and their low self-esteem.

We may have issues as a nation but we must never support those that denigrate our country for political gain.

Kemi sold her soul to the right wing of the British Tory party and sought to put to shame the land of her forefathers just to become their leader. Nothing can be more despicable than that. I have seen many attempts to rationalise her insolence and none make any sense.

Loving those that hate you and consider you to not only be their inferior but also sub-human, in my view, is not a virtue but a vice.

The demonisation of our country should not be a pre-requisite to winning a leadership contest of a political party in a foreign land and if it is one cannot expect any self-respecting Nigerian to applaud it.

Her victory in the contest for the leadership of the UK’s Conservative party does not in any way ameliorate my disgust and repugnance for her or the foul stench that trails her wherever she goes.

She reminds me of the creature that the black American leader, Malcom X, described as “a house n*gger”.

In order to comprehend her self-loathing and reprehensible mind-set I urge those that are interested to read the black French writer Franz Fanon’s book titled “Black Skin, White Mask”. The author had the likes of Badenoch in mind when he compiled this insightful masterpiece. Kemi is a vile, cunning, dangerous and willing tool of the colonialists, neo-colonialists and imperialists and she is everything that any

patriotic Nigerian and every Pan Africanist should despise.

Unless and until she purges herself of her contempt I shall continue to regard her in the same light as William Shakespeare’s character Brutus whose treachery and betrayal was heartreanching and whose cut was “the deepest of all”.

Again she reminds me of the character known as Richard Rich in William Bolt’s famous play titled ‘A Man For All Seasons’ who betrayed England’s most famous martyr Sir Thomas Moore and sent him to the gallows with his false testimony and lies in return for a title and landed property in the province of Wales!

It is in the same way that Kemi has betrayed, misrepresented and murdered Nigeria in return for her position as Leader of the Opposition in the UK.

Anyone that calls my country “hell on earth” is fair game and this is especially if that person does so in order to curry favour with members of her political party and win their support.

Such a person is nothing but a specious liar, an unconcioble opportunist, a bigoted racist and a cheap political hustler who will do or say anything, including selling her own people down the river, for political power.

Institutional racism is real in the UK and the worst type of racist is a self-hating black African who feels the need to rubbish his heritage, who believes that he must disparage the land of his forefathers and who consistently reinforces the negative stereotyping of Africa and Africans in order to be accepted into the highest echelons of the British political class.

The Bible asks, “what profiteth a man to lose his soul in order to gain the world”. I ask, what profiteth a woman to lose her dignity and selfrespect in return for the leadership of a political party in a distant land.

This is made worse by the fact that it is a political party whose star has dimmed, whose days of glory are over and which may not be back in power for the next ten years!

The truth is even if the Englanders proclaimed Kemi Badenoch as their Queen yours truly will continue to loathe her because she has contempt for my country.

250 million people live in Nigeria and she is not the dark, evil, beast-infested forest and wild jungle that Badenoch portrays her to be.

She is not filled with ignorant, grass skirtwearing, ape-looking, monkey-sounding, primitive barbarians and heinous cannibals that she would have others believe. We are not a land of sub-human creatures that have no decency, no decorum, no knowledge, no heritage and no history.

We are not uncivilised, we do not live in

that hates them with passion. Eventually she will turn around and bite them and they will curse the day that she was born.

The truth is that I fear for the plight of the Nigerian community in the UK in the unlikely event of her ever being elected Prime Minister. Permit me to end this contribution with the following.

In Kemi’s most graphic display of ignorance, mendacity, religious bigotry, tribalism and racism she said that she does not believe that Northern Nigerian Muslims should be allowed into the UK because they are, in her view, “Islamists”. She went on to say that Northern Muslims support terror and that an example of this are the ugly events in Chibok, Northern Nigeria ten years ago when over two hundred schoolgirls were kidnapped!

She also said that Muslims that do not support Israel in its relentless ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians and it’s genocidal acts in Gaza are “not welcome in the UK”.

The fact that she had to single out Nigeria and cast aspersions on the character of no less than 50% of our population describing them as “Islamists” and alluding to the malicious falsehood that they are terrorists speaks volumes. One is constrained to ask whether the sheer lunacy of this repugnant woman has any limits. On the quest for reparations for the slave trade Badenoch had the following to say.

trees, we do not behave like animals and neither are we godless, unruly, ignorant or incompetent. Just like any other country, including the UK itself, we are not infallible and we have our own fair share of flaws and challenges.

Yet that does not diminish us and I am not constrained to feel any sense of elation when a person that has displayed such disdain for our people achieves anything simply because that person has her roots in my country or in my ethnic nationality.

The fact that Kemi is of Yoruba descent does not absolve her of her rancid bigotry and does not constrain me to give her a free pass.

To those from Yorubaland who say we must celebrate her despite her foibles because she is Yoruba I ask the following: must we support a Yoruba who hates her ancestry, heritage, values and culture and who sees and says nothing good in our history?

Must we endorse the acts and words of an individual who has denied us before the world, who has nothing good to say about us and who has insulted and denigrated our forefathers?

Surely doing so would be the height of clannish and cultic behaviour and an inglorious display of a crude and primitive disposition.

We are far bigger and better than that. Even if she was a mass murderer those that think like that would still hail her because she is Yoruba. This surely is not our way and neither does it bring honour to our name.

We must judge her on what she says and does and not on the basis of her tribe, gender, nationality, religious faith or the color of her skin. Outside of that it says a lot about the values of the British Conservative Party when a vainglorious, dangerously ambitious, self-deprecating, Uncle Tom and Aunty Jemima-like figure could be elected as their leader.

This is a far cry from the Conservative Party of Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher. I have little doubt that they both turned in their graves upon hearing about Badenoch’s ascension in the firm knowledge that their party had been handed a poisoned chalice.

Those misguided Nigerians that celebrate her simply because she is from our shores are hugging a snake

“This is the past. We need to talk about the future. There are many countries now that want to use guilt to try and exploit the UK. They ask for reparations. I saw it as a Trade Minister. It’s not culture wars. I was at the WTO, I won’t name the Minister from another country and he was telling me that we needed to give up some of the things we were doing because of colonialism and because they needed time to develop. These arguments are a scam. Don’t fall for it. We need to make sure that we put this country first. We work well with our neighbours, we work with other countries but we have to look after ourselves too.”

Imagine this coming from a black African woman millions of who’s ancestors were enslaved and shipped off to the West!

She is dumb, deaf and blind to the fact that those advocating for reparations rightly believe that the UK and the rest of the West should make up for the damage that they did through slavery. @Africa.Echo put it well when they posted the following on X.

“Germany and the rest of the West continue to provide financial recompense to Israel but Kemi Badenoch believes Africans do not deserve reparations for decades of colonialism and centuries of enslavement”.

If Kemi’s views about the quest for reparations does not open the eyes of Badenoch’s Nigerian cheerleaders nothing will.

She also stands against multi-culturalism even though she is the Leader of the Opposition in a multi-cultural, multi-racial and multi-religious nation and she is married to a white English man. What a contradiction!

She says she believes that “not all cultures are equally valid” and from her divisive rhetoric it is clear that she also believes that not all races are equally valid either. An even greater contradiction is the fact that she is staunchly anti-immigration. She asserts that “Britain must not be a sponge for migrants” forgetting that she is a first generation migrant and a beneficiary of the British immigration system that she now seeks to discredit. These contradictions and asinine assertions betray a level of perfidy, deceit, intellectual bareness and scholarly ineptitude that beggars belief.

Another display of her crass ignorance is her assertion that Nigeria, a country that she was raised in, has been run by “socialist Governments”. This is arrant nonsense. I guess her definition of “socialism” is anything that does not share her fascist, ultra-conservative, neo-colonialist and neo-imperialist views.

The irony of it all is that despite her pretense at being more English than the English and more conservative than Enoch Powell, by the time the British right-wing finish using her they will flush her down the toilet like the turd that she is.

She deserves no better.

Badenoch

International Politics of the US 2024 Presidential Elections: QuoVadis Shithole Africa?

Every US presidential election attracts international attention for various reasons. It is mostly believed that the United States is the strongest country in the world, and by implication, its president is necessarily seen as the most powerful leader of the world. Secondly, the current global system is western world-dominated against which the proponents of the BRICS are pointedly militating. The Western world is led by the United States. As such, who becomes the leader of the United States cannot but also be of a major interest to European leaders.

And true enough, former President Donald Trump was re-elected the 47th President of the United States on Tuesday, 5 November 2024. The election was in spite of Donald Trump’s record of being a criminal felon and his indisputable racist personality of looking down on others, especially the people of Africa. What is more internationally disturbing is how a noble society like that of the Americans can afford the luxury of giving preference to criminality over dignity of purpose and other moral values.

Many Africans in the Diaspora, particularly in the United States, often argue that the more than 80 million people who voted for Donald Trump cannot but have vested interests justifying their choice. We cannot agree more with their democratic choice. However, why should an American society, purportedly the first society in the world, be preaching the gospel of a holier-than-thou lifestyle to non-Americans when it is condoning criminality? American law apparently condones criminality in political governance. Many countries similarly promote criminality through constitutional provisions on immunity and privileges for functions performed in official capacities. If the US presidential system is promoting criminality, why should the same system be accepted and promoted in Nigeria? The international politics of the election is another kettle of fish entirely.

Politics of the Election

At the US domestic level, there is no disputing the fact there are proponents and opponents of Donald Trumpism. The opposition is critical to the extent that some of them wanted and still want to take life out of Donald Trump. This is most unfortunate as politics should not be carried to the extent of killing one another for whatever reason. There were two attempts to kill him during his presidential campaigns. The supporters of Trump also exist in greater numbers. Kamala Harris scored about 70,357,568 votes (47.9%) and 226 electoral votes cast as against Trump’s 74,264,589 votes (50.5%) and 301 electoral votes cast.

The implication of this is that most American voters condone criminality and therefore care much less about nobility and integrity which the US followers expect in international relations. Americans most unfortunately send the signal to the world that they should no longer be seen as a country of moral values and should not be counted upon to provide leadership in the area of moral education. Perhaps most disturbingly, the best the American people can present to the world to lead the world is a criminal felon. This is most unfortunate because it not only lends credence to the rationales given by the sponsors of the BRICS organisation, but also why the United States will be great again in followership and no more in leadership. China is already bracing up to lead the world.

At the international level, the influence of the United States is declining globally and the election of Donald Trump can only further the decline. First, the whole world tends towards the promotion of multilateralism while Donald Trump favours bilateralism. This is a conflict of interest. Secondly, the world believes there is the question of climate change that has the potential to seriously undermine global security. Donald Trump does not believe in it. In fact, the United States of Donald Trump withdrew from the multinational agreements meant to mitigate the effects of climate change. With the withdrawal, the United States became the first country to withdraw and also the first to recognise its mistake by returning to the agreement when President Joe Biden replaced Donald Trump as US president in 2020. Thirdly, Donald Trump is

on record to have unilaterally pulled out the United States from the Iranian 2015 Nuclear Deal with the world powers. In the process, he engineered the killing of Qassem Soleimani Khamenei, an acknowledged anti-terrorism fighter, who not only revealed ‘the ugly face of western interferences,’ but also whose killing prompted the consideration that ‘the US is an impediment to the stability of nations.’ The killing made Soleimani Khamenei a ‘Living Martyr’ because he is seen as a patriot and a man of justice.

The 16th BRICS summit held in Kazan, Russia, lends credence to this observation because of the theme of the summit: ‘Strengthening Multilateralism for Fair Global Development and Security.’ Explained differently, the theme implies an existing unfair global development that needs to be nipped in the bud. The BRICS wants to strengthen multilateralism which is not consistent with the agenda of Donald Trump. The conduct and management of the so-called global development is largely and currently dominated by the United States, and more so as from January 20 by President Trump. The future scenario looks like a more powerful world versus a would-be weakened America of Donald Trump.

For example, following the election of Donald Trump, Franco-German Defence Ministers are talking about the need for a reinforced strategic autonomy and strengthened collective approach to responding to the heightening of security threats to the European Union. German Defence Minister, Boris Pistorius, and his French counterpart, Sébastien Lecornu, quickly saw the need to discuss the issue, particularly with the United Kingdom, and with Italy and Poland this week. In the words of the German Minister, ‘we have achieved a lot in Europe, but need to do more

All said and done, there is not much to learn from the 2024 US presidential election simply because the non-rigging of election, the pre-election day voting, the postal voting, the life-made-easy in voting, as well as the promptness in the release of election results, etc., were all overshowed by the American disregard of the criminal factors informing the choice of their leaders. If the US electoral law can condone the eligibility of Donald Trump who is on record to have been convicted, therefore, an exconvict, to be the US president, it means an ex-convict is US president. This should not be accepted in Nigeria. An ex-convict cannot be rightly qualified to be the world leader. The election of Donald Trump for the second time necessarily strengthens the position of China and Russia in their quest for global leadership. It clearly lends much credence to the BRICS which has complained about the double standard of the Western world in the conduct and management of global affairs. African leaders, especially Nigeria’s PBAT, were quick in congratulating Donald Trump. This means nothing for a President that has little or no respect for Africa. Africa’s foreign policy actors to have a policy of making haste slowly in diplomatic felicitations. What does Trump think about African leaders?

for the coming years. Franco-German unity is a major part of this. Europe’s freedom and security depend on whether we are able and willing to defend them credibly’ (vide @GermanyNATO; @Minister#Pistorius).

Without doubt, France and Germany have been committedly trying to unite Europe in the areas of economic development, regional security, and foreign policy. The establishment of the Iron and Steel Communities that dove-tailed to the signing of the 1957 Rome Treaty establishing the EEC of Six lends much credence to this point. In fact, it should be recalled that, as far back as 1963, France and Germany established a quarterly Franco-German Summit to address their bilateral issues with the aim of preventing disputes and strengthening bilateral ties, as well as ensuring that war between them can only be a matter of dream. The two countries, through their Foreign Ministers, Robert Schuman and Jean Monnet, first mooted the idea of the Communities on 9 May 1950 that Franco-German production of coal and steel be put under a common High Authority within the context of a joint organisation which would be open to accession by other interested countries in Europe.

However, this partnership was and still is subsumed under the NATO security umbrella. France, in particular, is on record to have been agitating for an independent European security platform that would be at par with the United States or with the NATO. This position got a fillip with President Trump’s call on all the US allies to increase their security and defence budgets so as to reduce the financial burden being carried by the United States. Now, with the renewed election of Donald Trump, it is expected that President Trump cannot but come back to compelling everyone to contribute more to the defence of Europe. It is against this background that the new suggestion of a strengthened strategic autonomy by France and Germany should be understood. This means that Franco-German ties with President Trump have the potential to be frosty in the foreseeable future.

As regards Russia, its foreign policy attitude towards the election of Donald Trump can be explained at two complementary levels. First, there are some insinuations according to which Russia prefers Donald Trump to any candidate of the Democratic Party. This is informed by the consideration of Trump as a confused man with archaic ideas of white supremacy, believing in talking tough as a solution, and Making America Great Again with the doctrine of ‘America First’ and idea of the 1823 ‘isolationism.’ The world cannot be going in the direction of multilateralism while Trump is treading along the parallel lines of bilateralism and isolationism.

The other level of analysis is the strong belief of Russians in Trump’s pronouncements. Donald Trump is on record to have said that he would restore and deepen ties with Russia if elected. It was on this consideration that President Vladimir Putin noted at the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi that former President Trump behaved ‘in a very correct way’ and that Trump’s ‘desire to restore relations with Russia, to help end the Ukrainian crisis… deserves attention at least.’ This statement should be particularly seen and understood. Donald Trump said he would help to negotiate an end to the Russo-Ukrainian conflict within 24 hours. Many observers, including the Russians are waiting for the type of magic to be performed to bring about peace in 24 hours. Donald Trump has already suggested the cession of territory by Ukraine to Russia in order to have a peace deal. Ukraine is vehemently opposed to the idea and President Joe Biden has not talked about that. However, since Trump believes in the possibility and he is reputed to be a man of his words, it can be expected that his approach cannot but be to encourage President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine to accept the idea or to stop aid-giving to Ukraine and encouraging the European allies to do the same. The challenge in this case is determining the extent to which the Franco-German leadership of the European Union would be prepared, without compulsion, to accept the suggestion. The extent of the EU also accepting Donald Trump’s leadership is a matter of debate because the EU is striving to be an alternative centre of power in international politics.

Quo Vadis Shithole Africa?

Grosso modo, in which way will Africa, in general, and Nigeria, in particular, be affected by Trump’s foreign policy attitude? In the eyes of Donald Trump, Africa is a continent of shitholes. It is a continent of people coming to the United States to kill domestic animals and eat. Does he hate Africa with this perception? Probably yes and probably no. Fela Anikulapo-Kuti told us in one of his songs that Africans did not know about shit carrying until the colonialists imported the shit culture to their colonies. Shit carrying was never the culture of African people. Africans had already developed themselves to the level of having latrines. In other words, Africans were not in any way indecent to be carrying shits. If Donald Trump is now talking about Africa of shitholes, he only needs to be reminded that those claiming to be developed today were after all at the origin of the shitholes. This is therefore not about friendliness or hatred of Donald Trump but about his poor knowledge of historical facts. We can pardon him by admitting that he made the speech as a result of ignorance which is not befitting of a president of a powerful country and leader of the world.

Edited by: Duro Ikhazuagbe

email:Duro.Ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com

Vinicius’ Hat Trick Returns

Real Madrid to Winning Ways

Vinicius Jr scored

hat-

trick as Real Madrid beat Osasuna 4-0 in a match overshadowed by Eder Militao’s serious knee injury.

The Brazilian centreback went down screaming in agony after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament when he jarred his right knee at a corner pitch on a stretcher with half an hour played, as 21-year old Raul Asencio replaced him for his Real debut.

A Real Madrid statement said that Militao “has been diagnosed with a complete tear of the anterior cruciate ligament with involve-

ment of both menisci in his right leg” and will have surgery “in the coming days”.

Speaking after the win, manager Carlo Ancelotti said: “Three injuries rare.

“The demands of the schedule do not allow players to rest and be fresh. The risk of injuries is higher. It is a general thing, not just for us.”

Vinicius’ goals helped ensure the hosts got back to winning ways after two successive defeats.

The Brazilian forward opened the scoring when he cut in from the left and slotted past Osasuna goalkeeper

Kano Pillars’ Rabiu

Ali Spoils Insurance’s Send forth for Obaseki

ano Pillars’ Rabiu Ali ruined what was to be a good Bendel Insurance send forth for Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State as the BeninArsenal lost 0-1 via an added time goal at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City yesterday. Gov Obaseki apart from reviving sports in Edo State life back to Bendel Insurance, returning the Pride of the Edo football after spell in the lower rung of the Nigerian football.

The veteran Kano Pillars minute penalty to earn the Sai Masu Gida maximum away three points.

It was Ali’s sixth goal in the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) this season.

A win or draw for Insurance would have been a perfect “Thank You” for the investment banker who will be stepping down as Edo State Governor on Tuesday, November 12 after eight years in charge. Sports thrived in Edo State under Obaseki’s watch.

The state’s women’s team, Edo Queens still have the

send forth today when they take on their Ethiopian counterparts CBE W in the CAF Women’s Champions League in Morocco this evening.

Elsewhere in the NPFL yesterday, Daniel Amokachi‘ s Lobi Stars defeated Abia Warriors adopted home. Sunday Megwo surprisingly gave the visitors Abia Warriors the lead four minutes before the hour mark.=

through goals from Segun Oloruntoba in the 62nd minute

Christian Nnaji conceded an own goal for Lobi’s second goal. The remaining eight NPFL Match-day 11 matches will be this evening.

far corner.

Jude Bellingham the season, latching on to Asencio’s super long ball from defence to

Vinicius found the net again after an hour thanks to Real goalkeeper Andriy Lunin’s tapping home.

Substitute Brahim Diaz

Boyomo and slide it across to Vinicius who his hat-trick.

Despite the emphatic win, Real injury problems continued to mount as Rodrygo wentcould not continue after the break.

Fenerbahce

Coach Jose Mourinho has been suspended for one match

the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) for criticising the performance of the Video Assistant Referee after a 3-2 Super Lig win at Trabzonspor.

Trabzonspor were awarded

Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt

Total Energies (EP) Nigeria Limited in partnership with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited Limited (NNPCL) has commenced its annual football tournament for host communities of Oil Mining Lease (OML58) in Rivers State.

The 2024 annual football tournament which commenced on Saturday, is the 21st edition of the competition which began in 2002, and is part of the Joint Venture measures to promote inclusiveness and foster harmonious relationship among youths in the communities.

The competition had 18 community participants in the past, but this year’s competition witnessed 22 communities competing for the main trophy. These include, Akabta,

two penalties in the second half following VAR interventions and with the scores level at 2-2.

Mourinho was incensed when a challenge on Super Eagles defender Bright OsayiSamuel went unpunished.

The Portuguese coach sugKaraoglan had missed the incident, adding that the Turkish league “smells bad” and that international fans had no

Akabuka, Amah, Ede, Egita, Elele-Alimini, Elele-Okinali, Erema, Eyekele, Ibewa and Idu.

Other communities were Ihuaje, Obagi, Obite, Obiyebe, Oboburu, Odiemerenyi, Ogbugu, Rumuekpe, Ubarama, Ubeta and Ubio. The communities cut across four local government areas of Rivers

reason to watch the league.

The TFF said in a statement yesterday that Mourinho’s comments were “contrary to sportsmanship, sports ethics or fair-play understanding,” reports Reuters.

The governing body added Mourinho’s remarks were “intended to damage the reputation of the TFF, to lower the value of Turkish football, to overshadow or discredit

State where the french multinational oil giant operates.

Defending champions EleleOkinali opened this year’s edition as they played against Ubio FC in the opening match at Elele-Okinali community on Saturday. Declaring the tournament open at Okeh Memorial Comprehensive Secondary

Ubio FC played the opening match against defending champions Elele-Okinali FC at the NNPCL/TEPNG JV 2024 football tournament for OML58 host communities, held in Elele-Okinali, Ikwerre, Rivers State...yesterday

the impartiality of referees and 600,000 Turkish lira ($18,000) for unsportsmanlike behaviour and 58,500 for his conduct towards the opposing team’s fans.

Fenerbahce Vice President for criticising the refereeing in a statement on the club’s website.

School, Elele-Okinali in Ikwerre LGA, the Deputy Managing Director, JV Asset, Mr Olivier Cassassoles said the competition is aimed at promoting peace and unity among the youths and the host communities in general. Cassassoles explained that, “In line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, SSG 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions”, the JV is determined to identify with the competition as a demonstration in promoting sustainable socio-economic development as well as empowerment. Represented by deputy general manager, communitygramme (CADP) of TotalEnergies, Okechukwu Obara, Cassassoles deputy general development programme (CADP) of TotalEnergies, the company’s satisfaction of the level of peace in the area of its operation.

Brighton Compound Man City Woes with Fourth Successive Defeat

that City have lost four in a

looked on

opening at Amex Stadium in the 23rd minute,

scoring at the second attempt from Mateo Kovacic’s pass. Brighton, however, held their nerve, taking complete control after the break - and it was only their poor finishing that prevented

them drawing level before substitute Joao Pedro pounced in a scramble 12 minutes from time. City, who had looked increasingly vulnerable, were on the rack and Brighton took a deserved lead

when Matt O’Riley, who has been out injured since his debut following a move from Celtic, burst through an exposed defence to beat keeper Ederson five minutes later.

Duro Ikhazuagbe

Pep Guardiola fell to a fourth successive defeat for the first time as Manchester City boss as Brighton came from behind to beat his Premier League champions. It is the first time since 2006

row.Manchester City

course to end their disappointing capped an impressive

Vinicius celebrating his second hat trick La Liga as Real Madrid defeated Osasuna 4-0 on Saturday

Rabiu Ali... grabbed winner for Kano Pillars

Obaseki to APC

“We will get our stolen mandate back for the sake of Nigeria because if we allow the APC to go with our stolen mandate, it will mark the end of democracy in Nigeria” – Outgoing Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki, assuring the APC that the PDP will reclaim the state through the courts

SIMON KOLAWOLE

To Pray or Not to Pray for Nigeria

The late Archbishop Benson Idahosa was once asked to comment on the “proliferation of churches” in the country. His rhetorical response was as cynical as it was clinical: “Why are people not complaining about the proliferation of beer parlours?” This came to mind recently when the old debate about whether or not we should pray for Nigeria was re-ignited. In a season when “Nigeria is doomed” and “Nigeria will never be great” have become the favourite sayings of so many people, why should anyone be so antagonistic to those who are praying for the country rather than those cursing it? A Yoruba adage says: “Whether it will come to pass or not, prayer is better than curse.”

On that note, I would like to be upfront that today’s essay is unusual. I am not an expert on religious matters, but I am weighing in on this prayer debate all the same. I think that we are being unfair to those who want to keep praying for the peace and progress of Nigeria. What is religion without prayers? Muslims are mandated to pray five times daily. Christians are asked to pray “without ceasing”. How can you tell them not to pray or dictate the topic? If you are not going to pray for your country, it is your choice. But if I decide to pray for my country, it is my choice too. No one should be attacked for choosing to pray — just as no one should be demonised for choosing not to pray.

Before I progress, though, I need to first confess my reservations about certain calls for prayers. For two reasons, I am sceptical when our leaders (or their wives) ask us to pray. One, there is the embedded element of hypocrisy (well, religion and hypocrisy enjoy each other’s company, don’t they?) I always feel the leaders are trying to pull the wool over our eyes. They know what they are doing to drag us down but rather than change their ways, they transfer the responsibility to prayers. It is called work avoidance. Two, politicians like to make an open show of religion because they know it appeals to the sentiments of Nigerians. We are a religious people, so they love to play the game.

I was especially enraged in 2017 when meningitis killed hundreds of poor Zamfara people and Alhaji Abdulaziz Yari, their governor then (who famously spent more time in Mecca and Abuja than Gusau) blamed it on fornication. Surprisingly (maybe unsurprisingly, on a second thought), many of them agreed with him. On a radio programme, a caller said “our sins are too many in Zamfara”. If fornication were to be the causative agent of meningitis, Las Vegas would be the most afflicted in the world (I hear many people say Ilorin, but let it be on record that I strongly object to that). Yari knew what he was doing: guilt-tripping his people by applying religious verses. It is called manipulation.

I, accordingly, object to political leaders sponsoring prayers or gathering us to pray. That is not what they were elected or appointed to do. There are enough pastors, imams, dibias and babalawos in the land for that purpose. I object to the use of prayers to siphon public funds. Nigeria is full of prayer consultants who charge huge appearance fees. Some people went on trial for allegedly collecting billions of naira in 2015 under the subhead of “spiritual warfare”. Billions of naira. Nigerians can transform anything to business; nothing is too sacred. Even many respected men of God are cashing out on the filthy lucre. I, therefore, oppose the commercialisation of prayers with public funds.

In the camp of the anti-prayer movement, I understand that they want to save religious people from themselves. They want people to take concrete action, such as holding their leaders accountable, instead of hiding behind prayers to dodge their civic responsibility. They want Nigerians to open their eyes, rather than close them, to the bad governance. They want people to speak out — or speak with their thumbs at the ballot. I understand the frustrations of

Tinubu

this movement but they are also assuming that “night vigils” and “night shifts” are word and opposite. You can do both. In fact, prayer could be the strength of one while action could be the forte of another. I think they don’t have to be at odds.

I have many friends who believe it is a waste of time praying for Nigeria. They are divisible into two groups. You have the religious and the irreligious. Some in the religious anti-prayer movement are saying God has given up on Nigeria and it is of no use praying for the country. Some in the irreligious anti-prayer movement are saying there is no God in the first place and any form of prayer is a waste of time. Let me make it clear here that I am a Christian and I believe in the power of prayers. Moreso, my Christian faith mandates me to pray for everyone and everything. In my church, praying for Nigeria is mandated at every Sunday service. We devote a couple of minutes to the assignment.

The anti-prayer movement says Nigeria does not need prayers to develop and that what we need are good leaders. Well said. They cite examples of countries full of atheists and how their quality of life is far better than that of many God-yelling countries. Very well said. In fact, one of my favourite countries in terms of development trajectory is Singapore, and Lee Kwan Yew, its founding father and moving spirit, neither spoke in tongues nor went for Umrah. In fact, I once spoke to a friend, a Christian, who said he almost stopped going to church when he relocated to the UK because what he used to ask God for while in Nigeria was now being made available by the British government. Word!

The logic, therefore, is that if countries are advancing without being religious and if they are recording remarkable development statistics without fasting and praying, then it should accord with common sense that there is something else driving their success stories. This view is held by both the religious and the irreligious and I don’t think we can minimise their argument. Even as a Christian, I am not averse to this line of reasoning, although I know at the back of my mind — based on the scriptures — that “the Father causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous”. I believe God cares for every creature of his, not just the religious.

But that is not even the point. As my pastor, Dr. Sam Adeyemi, would say, God created some basic principles and laws to govern the universe and no

matter who you are, they apply to you. The law of gravity, for example, applies to everybody: if you jump from a height, you are coming down — no matter how religious or irreligious you are. That is physics. If you mix two units of hydrogen with a unit of oxygen and add sufficient heat to provide the activation energy, you will get water. That is chemistry. It doesn’t matter if you are a Jehovah’s Witness or Ahmadiyya Muslim. If you add one to one, you will get two, even if you are a hired killer. That is mathematics. And so on and so forth.

Likewise, I would say the principles of national development are universal. Competent and patriotic leadership is the irreducible minimum. Any country lacking visionary leadership is heading nowhere. Any country blessed with good leadership is going somewhere. These are the laws and principles that govern God’s universe. I must quickly point out that contrary to the notion that most advanced countries are godless, some were actually founded on religious ethics. That they are in a living post-God age today does not mean it was atheism and agnosticism that catapulted them to greatness. This clarification is very necessary because some prayer critics are severely abbreviating history.

I hear people argue that we cannot have good leadership without good citizenship, that leadership is a product of citizenship and that citizens get the kind of leaders they deserve. This sounds quite plausible, but I am not aware of any country that developed without good leadership. There is a reason we have leaders, otherwise why bother? I believe leadership shapes citizenship. Good leadership begets good citizenship. Maybe I am wrong, but I have spent quite a number of years studying the development trajectory of several countries and one common thread I see everywhere is visionary leadership and good governance. That is the starting point. The rest is a matter of details.

I also often hear this argument that if Nigerians are not allowed to elect their leaders through credible elections, the country can never develop. It is argued that because people collect rice and vegetable oil during elections, they can never have the right leaders at the top. I am completely against vote-trading, but I also ask myself: even if voters don’t collect rice and vegetable oil, is that a guarantee that the people they will elect will automatically perform? How does a voter know who will do well in office? Is it from the campaign slogans, poster designs, eloquent debates or the glossy résumé? I don’t think voters have the capacity to see into the future. Voting is similar to gambling.

Moreover, what about countries where they don’t hold elections at all but still make progress? To be clear, I am an advocate of democracy (because I’m a sucker for civil liberties), but I am sane enough to acknowledge the bleeding fact that many countries are also making progress without democracy. The UAE is a praying country with visionary leadership — but without democracy. South Korea was developed under military rule. China is not your idea of democracy. Rwanda is not the home of free and fair elections. But one thing that these countries have going for them is visionary leadership. That is the driving principle behind the development of nations, whether or not they pray and fast.

What then? God forbid that I stop praying for my country. I will also pray for God to guide our leaders right. I believe that every ingredient to make Nigeria great is here, so I will pray for the right chefs at all levels — federal, state and local. The harvest is plenty but the labourers are few. Sadly, we have had promising chefs but when many of them eat the ogbono soup in office, their belly becomes their god. Still, I will keep praying. Is God answering our prayers? Well, praying is like planting a seed. The fruit doesn’t always show up instantly. A seed does not become an Iroko in one day. So, I will keep praying for good leadership that will build a great country. May God grant my heart desire. Amen?

And Four Other Things…

TRUMP TIME

President Donald Trump has staged a comeback as the “leader of the free world”, winning the US presidential election in a very convincing manner. I was not surprised that he won — there was a clear indication that most American voters are in love with his style and ideas. I am also not surprised that Trump always beats women — Hilary Clinton in 2016 and Kamala Harris in 2024. I am a bit worried about the impact of his polices on global trade, immigration, women’s reproductive health and world peace. But if the world survived Trumpism for four years before, it should survive him again. Now, will Trumpism be just a passing phase or become a global standard in politics? Worrying..

MINOR MATTERS?

Prof Muhammad Pate, the coordinating minister of health and social welfare, launched the Maternal Mortality Reduction Initiative (MAMII) on Thursday with a heart-warming announcement: that caesarean sections will become free for poor and vulnerable women. “No woman should lose her life simply because she can’t afford a C-section,” he said. This gladdens my heart. The reality is that all women hope to have normal delivery and hardly budget for C-sections. There is a lot to budget for already and it is not as if their resources are limitless. It is one thing to announce and another to implement, so I am hoping we will hold government accountable regarding this initiative. Positive.

STOCKHOLM SYNDROME

Mr. Stephen Abuwatseya, the cab driver who was assaulted by Hon. Alex Ikwechegh, a member of the house of reps, has apologised to his assailant. Abuwatseya accused himself of provoking Ikwechegh into saying things like “I can make you disappear anywhere in Nigeria and nothing would happen”. Abuwatseya said: “Please Nigerians let us forgive and forget.” Ikwechegh will now most likely escape justice as Abuwatseya himself said: “There is no justice than forgiveness.” He has even become a philosopher. I think I know what went down, but it is not in my place to speculate. Clearly, Nigerian prisons are meant for the unfortunate. The big men always have their way. Warped.

NO COMMENT

Mr. Baltasar Engonga, aka “Bello”, has sensationally put Equatorial Guinea on global map with his astonishing sexcapades. Engonga, now suspended as the head of his country’s antigraft agency, has been remanded in prison after it emerged he had allegedly slept with hundreds of women, including wives of relatives and VIPs, and recorded his activities. The legend was being investigated for something else — fraud, in fact — but over 400 pornographic videos were discovered in the process. He reportedly did not use any form of protection. That is a big danger to a country of 1.7 million people. People love to win trophies for their countries — but not this dubious one. Wonderful.