SUNDAY 24TH OCTOBER 2023 by THISDAY Newspapers Ltd

Finally, Emefiele Meets Bail Conditions, Regains Freedom Michael Olugbode in Abuja Former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, has been released from the Kuje Correctional Centre after fulfilling his bail conditions. Emefiele’s release was

confirmed yesterday by the spokesperson for the Kuje Correctional Centre, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Adamu Duza. He said: “I can confirm to you that he (Emefiele) has met his bail conditions, hence he has no reason to remain in

our facility. “He met his bail condition and was released past 2p.m. yesterday (Friday).” Emefiele, who is being tried for alleged procurement fraud, was granted N300 million in bail by the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court

in Abuja. Justice Hamza Muazu granted the bail with two sureties in like sum. According to the judge, the sureties had to possess titles and certificates of occupancy for homes located in Abuja’s Maitama District.

In addition, he mandated that Emefiele stay inside the Abuja Municipal Area Council and also surrender all his travel documents to the court registrar. The judge, however, ordered that Emefiele should remain in Kuje Correctional Centre till he meets the bail conditions.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had objected to Emefiele’s bail application, but Justice Muazu rejected their argument that the ex-CBN governor was a flight risk who might breach bail, Continued on page 6

Report: Cost of Transportation Soars 64% as Fuel Prices Skyrocket… Page 8 Sunday, December 24, 2023 Vol 28. No 10483

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Babangida: I Have No Regret Fighting in Nigerian Civil War… Page 8

Titan Trust Bank Faults CBN Investigator, Says No Fraud in Acquisition of Union Bank Obazee accuses Emefiele of using proxies to buy Union Bank through Titan Trust Bank and Keystone Bank without payment Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja Titan Trust Bank (TTB) yesterday

reacted to the special investigative report by the Jim Obazee panel into the activities of the Central

Bank of Nigeria (CBN) under Godwin Emefiele, insisting that there was no fraud in the

acquisition of Union Bank. Obazee, had on Wednesday submitted the report of his

investigations into the acquisition of Union Bank and Keystone Bank to President Bola Tinubu

in two separate letters dated Continued on page 5

2024 Will Be a Glorious Year for Nigerians, Remi Tinubu Declares NLC wants concrete measures to reduce hardship, not handouts Seeks platforms to enable people create wealth Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja The First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, yesterday said the year 2024 would be glorious for Nigerians. This is as the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has told the federal government that Nigerians want concrete actions to reduce the nationwide hardship and not handouts. The union called on the government to create effective platforms to enable the people to unleash their robust energies for wealth creation, stressing that impoverishing the people insults their sensibilities. Meanwhile, the first lady made the declaration at the State House in her Christmas message after she held an elaborate Christmas party for the children of Nana Berry Orphanage, Abuja. She also advised parents to Continued on page 5

A NEW FRIEND OF NDIGBO… L-R: Senator representing Anambra South Senatorial District, Senator Ifeanyi Ubah; Vice President Kashim Shettima; Businessman, Prince Arthur Eze; and Imo State Governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma, when vice president was conferred with the chieftaincy title of ‘Enyi Ndigbo’ by the traditional ruler of Ukpo Dunukoﬁa in Anambra State, Igwe Robert C. Eze, during his 32nd Ukpo Ofala celebration... yesterday

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SUNDAY DECEMBER 24, 2023 • T H I S D AY

DECEMBER 24, 2023 • T H I S DAY, T H E S U N DAY N E W S PA P E R

NEWS

Tension Hits Kano as APC, NNPP’s Supporters Await Supreme Court Judgment Francis Sardauna in Katsina There is palpable tension in Kano State as people are divided ahead of the Supreme Court judgment in the governorship tussle between the All Progressives Congress (APC)) and the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP). The polity is heating up daily. The legal battle is between Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of the NNPP and the APC candidate, Dr. Nasiru Gawuna. Yusuf, with his supporters, and Gawuna, with his, are keen to make history in the court. Some supporters have gone spiritual over to guber battle. Yusuf, along with his backers, and Gawuna, with his own supporters, are eager to create

a historic moment in the courtroom. It was gathered that some supporters have turned to spiritual practices in the gubernatorial battle. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Yusuf as the winner of the March 18 poll. But Gawuna and the APC petitioned the poll outcome. No fewer than nine appeals and counter-appeals have been thrown up since Gawuna lit legal fire. A five-member panel of the apex court, presided over by Justice John Okoro, reserved judgment after hearing at the weekend. The court said its decision

in the appeal heard was to be applied to others because the issues are similar. After lawyers in the case adopted their written briefs and made the final submissions, Justice Okoro said the judgment had been reserved till a date to be communicated to parties. Yusuf is by his appeal, seeking to upturn the November 17 judgment of the Court of Appeal, which affirmed the September 20 decision of the Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal nullifying his victory in the March 18 poll. But lawyer to the APC and its candidate in the election, Nasir Gawuna, Chief Akin Olujinmi (SAN), is urging the court to dismiss the appeal and affirm

the concurrent findings of the two courts below. Olujinmi cited Section 42 of Electoral Act and Regulation 19 of INEC Electoral Guidelines, arguing that INEC ought to have stamped, dated, and signed the ballots that were being disputed. He faulted Olanipekun’s claim that only 1,886 votes were not signed and stamped by INEC. The APC lawyer cited Section 177 (c) of the Constitution, arguing that the Court of Appeal has the jurisdiction to hear and determine Yusuf’s membership of the NNPP. He recalled that the NNPP produced its membership register but Yusuf’s name was conspicuously absent, adding that Yusuf did not address the

court on that issue. The appeal lapses on January 14, 2024 and the Supreme Court must deliver judgment on the suit within the statutory 60 days it has to determine appeals on governorship election disputes. The tribunal had voided Yusuf’s victory after declaring 165,616 of his votes were invalid, a decision the three-member panel of the Court of Appeal that sat in Abuja affirmed. The police are saving the day. Political hoodlums plotting to take advantage of the legal battle and cause mayhem are being neutralised by the police and other sister security agencies. A joint security operatives, including Army, Police, Civil Defence, vigilante and other

security personnel have been manning major locations in the state capital to ensure no riot breaks out. According to the state Commissioner of Police, Hussaini Gumel, in the week foiled an attempt by some persons to burn the Government House and the APC secretariat in the state. Dr. Ilyasu Musa Kwankwaso, an ex-Commissioner for Rural and Community Development, has asked the NNPP to “stop wasting Kano’s meagre resources and wait for the Supreme Court judgment. He accused Governor Yusuf of bankrolling “stage-managed protests designed to create tension in the state and make it look like all is not well.”

2024 WILL BE A GLORIOUS YEAR FOR NIGERIANS, REMI TINUBU DECLARES continue to give hope to their wards, saying “As we go into the year 2024, our message should be how to transform the lives of the young ones. “Whoever we are, we should stop talking about poverty in front of our children, we are not a poor nation, the wealthy ones should also take care of the poor ones and make them wealthy, that is all it takes. “We have taken the issue of poverty out of contest and it is really polluting the hearts of the young ones, but we have to give them hope and show them a positive attitude. “We are entering a glorious year and those who believe that it is going to be glorious will enjoy it,’’ she said. The first lady, during the party, told the children a bible story and advised parents to also imbibe the habit of teaching their wards good morals for them to become great adults.

“Parents are supposed to tell the children Christmas stories, that is what we all grow up with, for this year's Christmas, we have decided to change the trajectory of what Christmas represents in the State House. “For us in this dispensation, I think we have to adopt a home per year, next year, another orphanage home would come so that the children can have a sense of well-being and also to give them a sense of belonging. “They are all Nigerians, as you can see, they all have dreams like every one of us, bringing them here is for them to know that nothing is impossible, they too can become the person whom God will put in place of power like this.’’ She advised parents to also start training their children in the ways of the Lord because children learn very quickly; one of the things that has given me drive while growing up even

from a humble beginning is what I have seen. “This year's Christmas celebration is also to remind them about the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ, and how the love of Christ has made him lay down his life for mankind. “Also, that is what we have to do as a nation, to continue to make the necessary sacrifice for a lot of people to benefit, it is not about us but for the generation that is coming after us. “We have to give them a good foundation because we believe that their lives will be better than ours.’’

NLC Wants Concrete Measures to Reduce Hardship, Not Handouts Meanwhile, in NLC’s Christmas message titled: ‘At Christmas: May Our Hope Be

in Christ’, its President, Joe Ajaero, called on President Bola Tinubu and other political leaders in the country to use the festive period to seek creative measures to lift Nigerians out of the present humongous suffering and hardship. Ajaero said: “Despite the difficulties that many of us have faced and continue to endure, let us remember the essence of Christmas – a time of reflection, gratitude, and the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. His teachings emphasise love, compassion, and the enduring power of hope even in the face of adversity.” He said just as Jesus Christ served his followers selflessly leaders at all levels should emulate this and serve Nigerians selflessly. “We must do everything to love ourselves as workers and as a people. It is only in dwelling in unity that we can

TITAN TRUST BANK FAULTS CBN INVESTIGATOR, SAYS NO FRAUD IN ACQUISITION OF UNION BANK December 20, 2023. The report of the special investigation had accused Emefiele, of using proxies to acquire Union Bank for Titan Trust Bank Limited, as well as Keystone Bank without any evidence of payment. In his letters to the president, Obazee said he had completed his investigation into the illegal acquisition of Union Bank by Titan Bank, and was on the verge of recovering the two banks for the federal government. “We were able to secure some documents and investigation reports will lead to the forfeiture of the two banks to the federal government. We have completed our investigation on this acquisition and have also held meetings with the relevant parties except for Mr. Cornelis Vink, who is currently hospitalised in Switzerland. “Otherwise, we are on the verge of recovering these two banks for the federal government,” Obazee reportedly said. But in a swift reaction, Titan Trust Bank said in a statement issued yesterday from the its Corporate Communications Department that the acquisition was conducted in the most professional, open, and transparent bidding process. It added that the deal was funded by a combination of debt of $300 million and an additional equity injection of about $190 million, which was contributed by TTB’s two major shareholders – Magna International DMCC and Luxis International DMCC. Besides, TTB noted that it sought and obtained all necessary regulatory approvals from its primary regulator – the CBN, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Nigerian

Exchange Limited (NGX), and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), among others. Following TTB’s acquisition of 93.41 per cent controlling interest in Union Bank on June 1, 2022, the statement noted that a change in control was effected with the dissolution of the former board and the reconstitution of a new board with a new leadership. "The attention of the board and management of Titan Trust Bank Limited has been drawn to the widely circulating report of the special investigation into the activities of the CBN wherein, among other things, an allegation of illegal acquisition of Union Bank of Nigeria Plc by Titan Trust Bank Limited has featured prominently. "We are aware that our customers, shareholders, employees, and other stakeholders of the two banks will naturally be troubled by this allegation," the bank stressed. Consequently, TTB said it was important to clarify the goings-on to set the records straight. It recalled that on December 18, 2021, it signed a Share Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA) with Atlas Mara Limited, Union Global Partners Limited, Emeka Emuwa, Standard Chartered Bank, Montane Partners West Africa Limited, among others. According to the acquiring bank, the bulk shareholders together owned 93.41 per cent of union bank’s issued ordinary share capital. The SPA, it said, was the product of a long and tortious due diligence process that involved leading financial and technical advisers. "Titan Trust Bank engaged reputable firms like PricewaterhouseCoopers Limited (PWC) for the financial due

diligence, Drey Law Practice (DLP) for the legal due diligence, Norton Rose Fulbright (NRF) UK as Legal Advisers and Citibank London as Financial/Transaction Advisers. "The bulk shareholders engaged a prominent UK Law firm, White & Case, as their Legal Advisers on the transaction. The acquisition was conducted in the most professional, open, and transparent bidding process," it maintained. The bank noted that the Certificates of Capital Importation (CCI) for both the debt and the equity financing evidencing the receipt of the funds into Nigeria by legal means had been made available where requested. In addition, the management of Titan Bank said that the $300 million acquisition facility was sourced from Afreximbank and was priced with a margin of 6.25 per cent and a moratorium period of 30 months. TTB explained that it had paid interest on the loan for three interest periods, that is, 18 months so far. "TTB sought and obtained all necessary regulatory approvals from its primary regulator – the CBN, SEC, NGX, and FIRS, among others," the bank insisted. Following TTB’s acquisition of 93.41 per cent controlling interest in Union Bank on June 1, 2022, a change in control, it stressed, was effected with the dissolution of the former board and the reconstitution of a new board with new leadership. "TTB proceeded to conduct a Mandatory Takeover Offer (MTO), which was legally triggered by the acquisition of 93.41 per cent of Union Bank by TTB, bringing the percentage float of union bank shares to less than 20 per cent. "The purpose of the MTO was

to give the minority shareholders the opportunity to offer their shares on the same terms as was offered to the bulk shareholders. The MTO was conducted after all due regulatory approvals were obtained," it added. Furthermore, it explained that the slow pace of TTB’s acquisition and ultimate merger with Union Bank had been because of TTB and the regulators’ determination to ensure that the process remained fully compliant with extant laws, met best global practices, and was conducted in an open and transparent manner. During the special investigation, the board and management of TTB and Union Bank, the statements said, had made all representations to the investigation team. “There is no illegality or fraud in the acquisition as alleged. We insist that this acquisition can vie for one of the most professional and transparent in the history of this country,” TTB said. On allegations relating to the ownership of TTB, it stated that the board and management provided the special investigators with the share ownership structure in TTB, including the holdings of Magna International DMCC and Luxis International DMCC owned by Mr. Rahul Savara and Mr. Cornelius Vink. “These individuals are prominent global entrepreneurs and have thriving businesses in Nigeria and several countries around the world. The shareholding structure is also verifiable at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC). “Therefore, we urge our customers, shareholders, and stakeholders to remain calm as we do everything legal to ensure that the current misunderstanding is clarified,” the bank said.

build the needed strength for a better nation. “However, one of the best ways to demonstrate love is to have an understanding that we are one. We are workers and we are the masses. We are bound together by oppression, fear, deprivation, misery, poverty and helplessness. “This perception will become so powerful that it moulds and builds us into a powerful force that cannot be broken which can then be used to create liberty and free ourselves from the shackles of the forces of retrogression.” Ajaero said that it is only in dwelling in unity that Nigerians can build the needed strength for a better nation, adding that such disunity has allowed unpatriotic elements to hijack the governance which they have continually used to negate the interests and desires of the masses. "We must, therefore, not allow ourselves to be divided along any lines at all be it ethnic, religion or communal lines. This season must teach us that we are one!" “That is why in the spirit of Christmas, let us come together as a nation, transcending our differences, to spread love and goodwill. It is in these moments of unity that we find the strength to overcome challenges and build a brighter future for ourselves and generations to come. “Nations are built when the people decide to stand together and work in unity and love. It is difficult to build the kind of nation we want if we continue seeing ourselves as different in any way or form. “This is what has allowed unpatriotic elements to hijack our levers of governance which they have continually used to negate the interests and desires of our people and our nation. “This season must lead us to resolve to build a new nation by mending every crack that has allowed the enemies of the people to take undue advantage of us and hold down the nation perpetually in the morass of underdevelopment. While emphasising the need for unity amongst Nigerians, Ajaero said that one of the best ways to demonstrate love is to have an understanding that Nigerians are one.

“As we gather with family and friends to celebrate, may the mind of Jesus Christ guide our thoughts and actions. Let His teachings inspire us to be kinder, and more compassionate, and to extend a helping hand to those in need. “Christmas is not only a time for festive joy but also an opportunity to reflect on our blessings and share them with others. We cannot love others if we do not love our nation. The love of the nation must be tied to loving others and ourselves. If we love our nation, we must then be led by those principles upon which great nations are built. “To those who have faced hardships this year, we offer a message of hope. Remember that even in the darkest hours, there is a glimmer of light. Together, we can overcome challenges and build a more resilient and compassionate society. Let hope be the beacon that guides us into a brighter and more promising future. “We urge those in government to also allow the spirit of Christmas to lead them in all their policies and actions. Jesus served his followers selflessly and we hope that our leaders at all levels will emulate this and serve Nigerians selflessly. “Instead of heaping a heavy burden on the people, it is important that they seek creative measures that will lift the present humongous suffering from our shoulders. Instead of handouts, Nigerians expect concrete actions with solid results. “Nigerians should be allowed to win by the teachings of Christ because it is the essence of leadership. It is only by allowing transparency and good conscience in governance that effective results can be delivered to the people. “Beggaring the people insults their sensibilities but creating effective platforms to enable the people to unleash their robust energies for wealth creation is what the people are asking for and this to our minds is not rocket science. “Our leaders should therefore seek to put a smile on our faces and pursue things that offer hope to the people and not policies

FINALLY, EMEFIELE MEETS BAIL CONDITIONS, REGAINS FREEDOM endanger the nation’s security, or jeopardize an investigation if released on bond. After granting the bail application, Justice Muazu adjourned till November 28 for the commencement of trial. Emefiele is standing trial on six counts bordering on procurement fraud to the tune of N1.2 billion. One of the counts read, “That you, Godwin Ifeanyi Emefiele, male, adult, sometime in 2018 within the jurisdiction of this

Honourable Court did use your position as Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria to confer a corrupt advantage on Sa’adatu Ramallan Yaro, a staff of the Central Bank of Nigeria by awarding a contract for the supply of 37 Toyota Hilux Vehicles at the cost of N854,700,000 only to April1616 Investment Ltd, a company in which the said Sa’adatu Ramallan Yaro is a director and thereby committed an offence.”

T H I S DAY, T H E S U N DAY N E W S PA P E R • DECEMBER 24, 2023

NEWS

IN THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS… Wife of the Vice President, Hajia Nana Shetima (second left); First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu (middle); and Proprietress of the Orphanage Home, Mrs. Aisha Kwalmi, ﬂanked by some children of the home cutting the Christmas cake at a luncheon with theme: ‘The Christmas Story’ by First Lady with the children, at the Banquet Hall, State House, Abuja…yesterday

Medical Profession is Service to Humanity, MDCN Tells Doctors Urges medical graduates against relocating abroad Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt The Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) has reminded doctors in Nigeria that medical practice is a service to humanity, hence the need for them to always think of how to contribute to the Nigerian medical system. The Registrar of the council, Dr Tajudeen Sanusi, disclosed this during the maiden induction and oath-taking ceremony of the pioneer set of students of PAMO University of Medical Sciences, Port Harcourt, Rivers State into the medical profession. A total of 40 medical graduates of the institution were inducted into the medical profession by the council after taking their Hippocratic Oath. Sanusi, who also warned the newly-inducted medical doctors against running away from the country to practice abroad, advised the inductees to strictly adhere to the ethics of the medical profession. He also admonished the new doctors against leaving the country without doing their house-manship. While cautioning the new doctors to shun strike, Sanusi urged them to shun vices and negligence that would bring the medical profession

into disrepute. The Registrar, who commended the university for maintaining one of the best standards in the training of medical practitioners in the country, said he cannot recollect when a university graduated medical students in a record time of six years. He noted that at a time when public universities were graduating medical students after 10 to 13 years of training, PAMO University of Medical Sciences did its training within the recommended six years. Sanusi urged other schools to go to the university and copy their model and curriculum and emulate them. He said: “It is true; we owe the society that responsibility of keeping them in good health, not minding whether you are better paid or not. That’s why I said today’s ceremony is a call to service and that service is service to humanity. “Having said that, there’s this syndrome of ‘Japa’. I’ll tell you the truth; initially, it might look rosy, but in the long run, it’s usually not profitable. Some of us have had the opportunity of having some of our training abroad, but let me tell you the truth, there’s no place like home.

“No problem if you want to ‘japa’, but if you must go, go well, make sure you do what is right before you go. Make sure you complete your housemanship before you leave and make sure you upgrade your career if you get over there.” “Don’t you think you should give something back to this country? Yes, we don’t have enough doctors, but the ones we have, we should be able to utilise them to the benefit of society. In the Western world, their children are no longer going to school, and they don’t even have the money to train, that’s why they are looking up to the third world to poach, let us be patriotic and think of what we can give to this system.” “Today’s induction is a call to service. You owe your parents and the government a duty of care. Shun strike actions. Discharge to duties well. If you think you can commit an offence and run to another jurisdiction and will not be detected, you have lied. We will fish you out because we communicate with ourselves.” In his remarks, the ViceChancellor, Professor Michael Diejomaoh, said with the training the new medical doctors received

from PAMO University, he has no doubt that they will make Rivers and Nigeria proud anywhere they find themselves. He commended the entire management of the school for the efforts put into training the students of the institution. The Pro-Chancellor of the school and former governor of Rivers State, Dr. Peter Odili, urged the medical doctors to distinguish themselves anywhere they find themselves. Odili equally said with the training they received, they would excel and urged them to always let their good conduct and job give them away as doctors who received the best training. The guest lecturer at the occasion and Professor of Medicine and Consultant Gastroenterologist, Bayero University, Kano and Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital Kano, Prof. Musa Muhammed Borodo, decried the shortage of medical practitioners in the country, disclosing that Nigeria needs at least 300,000 additional qualified doctors to meet the standard set by the World Health Organisation (WHO). Borodo said in Nigeria there were a total of 30,000 medical practitioners to serve the over 230

Expect Three-day Dust Haze, Sunshine, NiMet Tells Nigerians Advises airline operators to get updated weather reports Chinedu Eze The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMeT) has forecast haziness and sunshine from yesterday to Monday across the country. It advised airline operators in the country to get updated weather reports from it for effective planning in their operations. NiMet’s weather outlook released in Abuja predicted moderate dust haze yesterday with horizontal visibility of two kilometres and five kilometres over the northern

region during the period. According to the agency, a sunny sky in a hazy atmosphere is expected over North-central cities and the inland cities of the southern part of the country. The agency anticipated partly cloudy skies in a hazy atmosphere over the coastal belt of the country. It expected some prospects of localised thunderstorms over parts of Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Cross River states later in the day. The agency noted that: “for Sunday, moderate dust haze with horizontal visibility of 2km to 5km

is anticipated over the North and the North-central regions during the forecast period. “Sunny sky in a hazy atmosphere is expected over the inland cities of the South during the forecast period. Patches of clouds in hazy atmosphere are expected over the coastal cities throughout the forecast period. “Also for Monday, moderate dust haze with horizontal visibility of 2km to 5km is anticipated over the North, North-central and the inland cities of the southern part of the country during the forecast

period.“ According to NiMet, few cloud patches are expected in the hazy atmosphere over the coastal cities throughout the forecast period. The agency urged the public to take necessary precautions as dust particles were in suspension. It urged people with asthma and other respiratory issues to be cautious of the present weather situations. “Airline operators are advised to get updated weather reports from NiMet for effective planning in their operations,” it added.

million population of the country giving a doctor/population ratio of 1:7,700. This, he said, was far short of the recommendation of the WHO of a 1:1000 ratio for developing countries. While commending PAMO University for its intervention in medical education, the professor also called on private proprietors of medical schools to emulate the institution. He stressed the need for

responsible leadership, and professionalism from stakeholders of medical training for enhanced quality of medical graduates. To improve student motivation in learning, Prof. Borodo recommended the introduction of an improved student selection process to undergraduate medical training positions using additional relevant eligibility criteria, as is done elsewhere, rather than relying on the current use of exam scores alone.

CDS Urges FG to Take Diplomatic Action against Finland-based Simon Ekpa Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa, has urged the federal government to take decisive action, including exploring diplomatic options to curb the menace of the factional leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mr. Simon Ekpa. He made the appeal during a courtesy visit to the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris in Abuja, aimed at fostering partnership on information dissemination. The defence chief warned of the danger of ceding the airspace to Ekpa, who is based in Finland, for him to continue spreading utterances capable of setting the country on fire. Musa said Finland should not for whatever reason be offering protection to the IPOB leader. “I want to bring up this issue of Simon Ekpa. I still don’t know why we are not doing anything much about him. We can’t allow him to get the airspace against us. The country Finland is offering him and is giving him refuge. They should not do that for whatever reason and we have the diplomatic means of going through those things. “I think the Ministry of Information can do so much to mitigate all these challenges we are facing. We want you to come in because you will help us a lot.

We can pass this message across to Nigerians why every Nigerian should take ownership of what is going on. It will assist us in also achieving much because the cooperation will now come with the understanding and confidence which are critical aspects for us to be able to achieve our goals,” Musa said The CDS called for the support of the public in the war against insurgency, terrorism, and banditry, stressing that the war is a collective endeavour of all Nigerians to defeat criminal elements challenging the sovereignty of the country. In his remarks, Idris said the federal government was already reviewing the situation about Ekpa saying: “What I want to tell you is that we are reviewing that situation very well. There are things we don’t want to reveal in public. We uphold freedom of information”. The minister asserted that the promotion of patriotism and nationalism was a strategic approach to curb violent crimes such as banditry, kidnapping, and terrorism in the country. “The concept of nationalism, nationhood, and patriotism must return, for us to have the unity and prosperity that all of us seek. We have seen a gradual erosion of our values - those values need to be reclaimed and we have to recover our senses as Nigerians," Idris said.

SUNDAY DECEMBER 24, 2023 • T H I S D AY

T H I S DAY, T H E S U N DAY N E W S PA P E R • DECEMBER 24, 2023

NEWS

HURRAY! MAMA IS 80… L-R: Wife of Lagos State Deputy Governor, Mrs. Oluremi Hamzat; Celebrant, Alhaja Nimota Shittu Ajileye; Wife of the Lagos State Governor, Dr. Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu; Senior Special Adviser to the President on SDGs; and former Lagos Deputy Governor, Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire; foremost Industrialist/Chairman Eleganza Group of Companies, Chief Rasaki Akanni Okoya; Daughter of the celebrant/Managing Director of Eleganza Industrial City Limited, Mrs. Folashade Okoya; and Lagos State Deputy Governor, Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, at the 80th birthday celebration of Alhaja Ajileye at Oluwanishola Estate, Ajah, Lagos yesterday MUBO PETERS

Report: Cost of Transportation Soars 64% as Fuel Prices Skyrocket Says petrol price rose by 220% in one year

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja Nigerians have continued to bear the weight of rising energy prices nationwide, with the latest data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), showing an overall increase in transport fares paid by commuters by over 64 per cent year-on-year in November. The NBS transport fare watch for November 2023 covered bus journeys within the city per drop;

bus journeys intercity charge per person; air fare charge for specified routes; journeys by motorcycle (Okada) per drop and waterway passenger transport. Specifically, on a year-on-year basis, bus fares rose by 64.44 per cent from N637.10 in November 2022, the report said. The average fare paid by commuters for bus journey intercity per drop was N6,206.53 in November 2023, indicating an

Rivers Statesmen Tackle Tinubu over Wike, Fubara Peace Deal Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt As the peace agreement between the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike and Rivers State Governor, Sim Fubara, which was brokered by President Bola Tinubu continues to trigger reactions, a group under the aegis of the Opobo Elder Statesmen4Sim has rejected the accord in its entirety for lacking legal basis. The group expressed their position yesterday in a communique at the end of an emergency meeting held in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital. They explained that President Tinubu, within the constitutional framework, lacked the authority to meddle in the internal affairs of a state. In the communiqué jointly signed by the Chairman, Board of Patrons of the group, Alabo Reuben Saturday-Jaja and Chairman of the group, Alabo Adonye Cockeye-Brown, as well as members of the executive council, the elders emphasised that Tinubu’s primary role is to oversee federal appointees and not to dictate terms to a governor. On the constitutional limitations, the elders insisted that the president’s agreement cannot supersede court rulings, particularly, those relating to legal proceedings such as impeachment or legislative

matters. They challenged the directive to withdraw court cases, highlighting the constitutional provision that mandates vacant seats for legislators who decamped without adhering to party division or merger protocols. The Opobo elders insisted that only members of the Edison Ehie-led House of Assembly should be acknowledged as authentic representatives. The group faulted the positions of decamped legislators led by Hon. Martin Amaewhule. The group contested the necessity of reappointing commissioners who resigned and stressed the importance of local government autonomy, asserting that interference from higher authorities infringes upon elected officials’ rights to administer local affairs. In a resolution, the elders said they unequivocally rejected the purported agreement, vowing to fervently challenge any attempts to implement its contents within Rivers State. They, however, called on “Mr. President to retract this purported agreement, as its execution risks plunging the state into a constitutional crisis. "Should this request go unheeded, we are prepared to contest its constitutionality in a court of law as a necessary measure," the elders added.

increase of 5.45 per cent on a month-on-month basis compared to N5,885.68 in October 2023. On May 29, President Bola Tinubu announced the removal of the petrol subsidy, immediately raising petrol prices nationwide. The situation has been further compounded by the skyrocketing diesel, jet fuel and gas prices. However, to ameliorate the situation, Tinubu during the week announced a slash in public transport fares by 50 per cent and declared free train services for 15 days, covering the Christmas and New Year holidays. The NBS data for November further indicated that on a yearon-year basis, for air travel, the average fare paid by air passengers for specified routes single journey was N81,334.05, as against N73,270.27 in November 2022. Also, on a year-on-year basis, waterway passenger

transportation increased by 34.42 per cent from N1,006.33 in November 2022. With the removal of the 7.5 per cent Value Added Tax (VAT) on diesel yet to take effect, the average retail price of the product paid by consumers increased by 30.50 per cent on a year-onyear basis from a lower cost of N808.87 per litre recorded in the corresponding month of last year to a higher cost of N1,055.57 per litre in November 2023. But on a month-on-month basis, an increase of 5.03 per cent was recorded from N1,004.98 in the preceding month of October 2023 to an average of N1,055.57 in November 2023. “Looking at the variations in the state prices, the top three states with the highest average price of the product in November 2023 included Benue State (N1,280.00), Kaduna State (N1,183.45) and Sokoto State (N1,183.33).

“Furthermore, the top three lowest prices were recorded in the following states namely: Rivers State (N875.00), Abia State (N900.77) and Bayelsa State (N920.00). “The zonal representation of the average price of diesel showed that the North-central zone had the highest price of N1,123.75 while the South-east zone had the lowest price of N959.69 when compared with other zones,” the NBS report added. Besides, the average retail price paid by consumers for another energy source, petrol, for November 2023 was N648.93, indicating a 220.49 per cent increase when compared to the value recorded in November 2022, which was N202.48. Likewise, comparing the average price value with the previous month, that is October 2023, the average retail price increased by 2.90 per cent from

N630.63. “On state profile analysis, Kebbi state had the highest average retail price for petrol, at N691.00. Jigawa and Akwa Ibom states were next, with N677.67 and N675.00, respectively. “On the other side, Taraba, Kaduna and Lagos States had the lowest average retail prices for petrol, at N618.00, N620.29 and N623.12 respectively. Lastly, on the zonal profile, the Southsouth zone had the highest average retail price of N663.59, while the North-east zone had the lowest price of N632.75,” the report stated. For other energy sources, the average retail price for refilling a 5kg Cylinder of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) or cooking gas increased by 5.82 per cent on a month-on-month basis from N4,562.51 recorded in October 2023 to N4,828.18 in November 2023.

Babangida: I Have No Regret Fighting in Nigerian Civil War Laleye Dipo in Minna Former military President, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (rtd), yesterday said he had no regret fighting in the Nigerian civil war from 1967 to 1970. Babangida, who made the remarks while speaking on Search FM, the radio station of the Federal University of Technology Minna, said he was convinced he was fighting for the unity of Nigeria. "The purpose (civil war) was to unite the country, to keep it one, not to break it, so that’s the uniquely sad aspect of a civil war and I pray it never happens again," he said.

Babangida added that fighting in the civil war was not a very nice experience because he fought with his friends, coursemates, classmates and others. "Fighting in the civil war was not a very nice experience I must say. First of all, you had people you went to school with, people you trained with, people who were your friends, suddenly as a result of the war you find yourselves facing each other on opposite sides. It is not very comfortable but then we had to do it.” Babangida said he served Nigeria to the best of his ability. "I served the country the best I could; it may not be to your

satisfaction but to the best that I could; I leave that to history to judge and I related fairly well with the people of the country. I had no problem with them and I got to know the country more as I was well travelled. I made friends all over the country and I thought that was one of the greatest achievements." On his leadership style, the former military president said: "You develop a situation where people look up to you to provide certain solutions to their problems or their fear, whatever it is and you stand out as the person who will be able to do that. So, you have to study human beings, you have to read about them and you

have to be very compassionate. "Sometimes you have to be ruthless to get things done but there are a lot of ways you have to develop so that you'll be able to achieve certain things. Others you plead with, some you coerce and so forth". He advised Nigerian youths "to try as much as possible to know and understand the country that you are going to lead in the future. You have an opportunity now as young people; to get to know the country, study the country, the people and if ycan to do that or to understand that, basically I think that will go a long way to prepare you for the eventual leadership of the country.”

SUNDAY DECEMBER 24, 2023 • T H I S D AY

T H I S DAY, T H E S U N DAY N E W S PA P E R • DECEMBER 24, 2023

NEWS

PAMO INDUCTION CEREMONY… L-R: Vice Chancellor, PAMO University of Medical Sciences, Prof. Michael Diejomaoh; Guest lecturer at the occasion and Professor of Medicine and Consultant Gastroenterologist, Bayero University, Kano, Prof. Musa Muhammed Borodo; Pro-Chancellor, PAMO University of Medical Sciences, Dr. Peter Odili; and Registrar, Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, Dr. Tajudeen Sanusi, at the induction of the ﬁrst set of medical students of the university as doctors in Port Harcourt…recently

Ex-CJN, Onnoghen Heads Committee to Address Spate of Conflicting Court Judgments Wale Igbintade In its bid to halt further exposure of the country’s legal system to ridicule, the Body of Benchers has set up a high-powered committee headed by a former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen, to look into the spate of conflicting court judgments in the country, and other related problems that affect the courts. This was disclosed by the representative of the Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria (BOSAN), Chief Emeka Ngige (SAN), at the Special Court session held recently in honour of the late Justice Edith Nneka Neolita Agbakoba. Ngige, who is the current Chairman of the Council of Legal Education, disclosed that members of the committee include heads of federal and state courts, including the President of the National Industrial Court, Benchers drawn from BOSAN and some retired judicial officers

who are Benchers. The Body of Benchers is the legal body of practitioners of the highest distinction in the legal profession, which is responsible for the formal call to the Bar of persons seeking to become legal practitioners as well as disciplining of erring lawyers. The body is currently chaired by a retired Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Mary Peter Odili According to Ngige, the Body of Benchers decided at its last meeting held on Thursday, November 30, 2023. He added that the issue of conflicting judgments emanating from the courts reached an embarrassing level in the pre-election and post-election litigation in the various courts and tribunals in the country. According to him, the issue of conflicting court judgments has continued to weaken the settled doctrine of stare decisis. Ngige noted that without

precedents, there would be no certainty in the law, as everybody within the judicial hierarchy would be entitled to render a decision or give a judgment as he or she thinks or wishes. He commended the Body of Benchers for its timely intervention and expressed the hope that a lasting solution would be worked out to arrest the ugly trend. He stated that the committee’s work should be widely publicised to enable members of the Bench and Bar, including members of the public who have useful suggestions on how to arrest the ugly trend to have the opportunity to make their inputs. “We shall not conclude this speech without commenting on the troublesome and recurring issue of conflicting judgments emanating from our courts. “This ugly trend has reached its crescendo in the pre-election and post-election litigation in our various

courts and tribunals. “This trend continues to weaken the settled doctrine of stare decisis in our courts. It has become a matter of grave concern to many practising lawyers and a large extent, to members of the Bench. “Concerned legal icons like Dr. Olisa Agbakoba have spoken about it. It should stressed that the entire legal profession in Nigeria, and indeed, globally, flourishes and prides itself with the doctrine of stare decisis, otherwise known as precedents. “Without precedents, there would be no certainty in law; everything would be fluid; while everybody within the judicial hierarchy would be entitled to render a decision or give a judgment as he thinks or wishes. Good enough, the entire Nigerian legal profession keys into this ancient doctrine of stare decisis and our legal system is firmly anchored on it. “This ugly trend did not start today and the Body of Senior

Catholic Bishops in Africa Oppose Blessing of Same-Sex Marriages Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja Catholic Bishops across Africa have unanimously maintained the church's opposition to homosexual unions. While reacting to the document Fiducia Supplicans - issued recently by the Vatican, the Bishops said there is no possibility of the church blessing same-sex unions and activities. The Bishops are from Nigeria, Cameroun, Malawi, Zambia, Burkina Faso, Niger, Ghana, Uganda, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Botswana, and Eswatini, Congo and Madagascar. The position of the Catholic Bishops Conference in Africa was revealed by Rev Fr. Okhueleigbe Osemhantie of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN) Media. According to Osemhantie, the Bishops Conference of Cameroun said it remained faithful to the constant teaching of Ecclesial Tradition, which declares acts of homosexuality intrinsically disordered and contrary to the natural law as contained in the Catechism of the Catholic Church n. 2357. "We, the Bishops of Cameroon, reiterate our disapproval of homosexuality and homosexual unions. Consequently, we formally forbid all blessings of homosexual couples in the Church of Cameroon." In Malawi, the Catholic bishops

said blessings of any kind for samesex unions are not permitted in the country. "We direct that for pastoral reasons, blessings of any kind and for same-sex unions of any kind, are not permitted in Malawi," said the bishops. On their part, Catholic Bishops Conference in Zambia said: “To avoid any pastoral confusion and ambiguity as well as not to break the law of our country which forbids same-sex unions and activities, and while listening to our cultural heritage which does not accept same-sex relationships. The guidelines in Fiducia Supplicans are for further reflection and not for implementation in Zambia.” Similarly, Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) said there is no possibility of the Church blessing same-sex unions and activities, adding that permitting such blessings would go against God’s law, the teachings of the Church, the laws of our nation and the cultural sensibilities of our people Catholic bishops in Burkina Faso and Niger said the church doctrine on marriage does not change, adding that the Catholic church does not approve of irregular or same-sex unions. Also, the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops argued that the Fiducia Supplicans document

does not in any way approve of ‘Same-sex Marriages’ nor try to give a back-door recognition of such a union. "It does not seek an alternative ‘union blessing’ to substitute a Sacramental marriage.” “This document does not change in any way the understanding of Marriage as a Sacrament in the Church, an indissoluble union between a man and a woman, for life.” In the same vein, Catholic Bishops of South Africa, Botswana, and Eswatini said the suggestions offered by the declaration may be taken as a guide with prudence. "We will guide further on how such a blessing may be requested and granted to avoid the confusion the document warns against". Catholic Bishops in Ghana said the Vatican Declaration does not permit Catholic priests to bless same-sex marriages. They said the document defined marriage as an “exclusive, stable, and indissoluble union between a man and a woman, naturally open to the generation of children. Zimbabwean bishops said that based on the respect of the law of the land, culture and for moral reasons, they have instructed pastors to desist from actions that may be deemed as the blessing of same-sex unions bringing confusion and even scandal to our people

However, the Ugandan Catholic Bishop Conference tried to clarify the Vatican document, saying that the blessing that the Declaration said could be given to everyone referred to prayers that people may request. "For those in the state of sin, the prayers are meant to lead them to conversion. Therefore, the prayers for persons in same-sex relationships are not intended to legitimise their way of life, but to lead them on the path of conversion,” they said. While also reacting to the controversy generated by the Vatican statement, the President of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM), and Cardinal Ambongo of Congo said: ‘The ambiguity of this declaration, which lends itself to many interpretations and manipulations, is causing much perplexity among the faithful. I believe that we need to speak out clearly on this issue to give clear guidance to our Christians". Africa is home to 265 million Catholics or nearly a quarter of the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics. Many of those Catholics live and their churches operate in societies where homosexuality is condemned and outlawed. Out of the continent’s 54 countries, 31 have laws criminalising homosexuality, more than any other continent in the world.

Advocates of Nigerian (BOSAN) had cause to set a committee on the issue after our emergency meeting held in January 2019 at the Nigerian Law School Lagos. A letter signed by our then Chairman, Prof. Ben Nwabueze (SAN) (now of blessed memory) containing the summary of the committee’s work and recommendations was later sent to the then Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen, in the same January 2019. Unfortunately before the then Chief Justice of Nigeria could act on the letter and recommendations, he was forced out of office. “The situation remains as it was in 2019 and has now taken a dangerous turn with the spate of conflicting judgments emanating from trial courts and tribunals, the Court of Appeal and even the Supreme Court. “Concerned with this turn of events, the Body of Benchers under the leadership of Hon Justice Mary Peter-Odili (rtd) at its last meeting held on Thursday the 30th of November 2023 resolved to set up a high-powered committee to look into the issue of conflicting judgments and other related problems in our courts. “The committee is incidentally headed by a past Chief Justice

of Nigeria, Justice Walter Nkanu Onnoghen, with different heads of federal and state courts, including the President of this honourable court, Benchers drawn from the Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria and some retired judicial officers who are Benchers. “We wish to use this medium to commend the Body of Benchers for its timely intervention and hope that a lasting solution will be worked out to arrest the ugly trend. “We suggest that the committee’s work should be widely publicised so that members of the Bench and Bar including members of the public who have useful suggestions on how to arrest the ugly trend would have the opportunity to make their inputs," Ngige explained. Earlier in his speech, Ngige had described the late Justice Edith Agbakoba as a dedicated judicial officer who proved her mettle with the various judgments she delivered. He noted that the late Jurist dispensed justice with fear of God and was never hindered by rules of technicality, adding that she belonged to the school of thought that believed that justice should be dispensed by recourse to substantial justice rather than on mere technicalities.

ACF: Promises Made to Tudun-Biri Community Must Be Redeemed Quickly John Shiklam in Kaduna The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has stated that all promises made to the Tudun Biri community in Kaduna State, especially the victims of the drone attack, should be fulfilled without delay. ACF, in a statement issued yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Prof. Tukur MuhammadBaba, explained that strong measures should be put in place to ensure that reliefs get directly to the victims, adding that corrupt elements must not be allowed to divert any relief materials meant for the victims. The statement read in parts: “ACF wishes to express satisfaction with the response of the federal, Kaduna, and other state governments, organisations, and the general public to the plight of victims of the December 7, 2023, bomb attack on Tudun Biri community, Kaduna State.” “Particularly commendable has been the various visits by various delegations of the federal government, including the vice president, relevant members of National Assembly committees, the National Security Advisor (NSA), Ministers of Defence, governors under the aegis of the Northern Governors’ Forum, the Chief of Army Staff, and other key

or notable public functionaries to the Tudun Biri community to condole families of the deceased and to commiserate with injured victims receiving treatment in hospitals across Kaduna metropolis.” “Equally commendable was the promise of compensation, free treatment to the injured by the Kaduna State Government, and other actual or promises of donations by many in cash and kind to victims. It has really been a day-after of sorts for the Tudun Biri community. Moving on, ACF will welcome further steps as follows: “All promises made to the Tudun Biri community and especially victims of the attack should be fulfilled in the shortest time possible. Strong measures to be put in place to ensure that relief gets directly to the victims.” “Corrupt, unscrupulous, or unsympathetic elements must not be allowed to corner or divert any relief materials meant for the victims, as is often the case in the aftermath of disasters. No one should be allowed to benefit from the misery of Tudun Biri and other bomb blast victims. ACF will, through its Kaduna State chapter, closely monitor and comment on the matter as may become necessary from time to time.”

SUNDAY DECEMBER 24, 2023 • T H I S D AY

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R DECEMBER 24, 2023

NEWS

END OF THE YEAR PARTY… L-R: Deputy Managing Director, Access Bank, Mr.Victor Etuokwu; Chief Executive Officer, Post Assurance Brokers Limited, Mr. Lekan Ajisafe; Lagos State Commissioner for Commerce and Investment, Mrs. Folashade Ambrose-Medebem; Senate Majority Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele; and Chief Executive Officer, CheckOut Comms and Policy Advisory, Mr. Lekan Fatodu, at Post Assurance Brokers Limited’s end of the year party in Lagos…weekend ETOP UKUTT

FG Probes Misconduct of Immigration Personnel at Seme Border Michael Olugbode in Abuja The Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tinuji-Ojo, has expressed sadness over the alleged unprofessional activities and misconduct of personnel of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) at the Seme border. The government therefore has directed that immediate investigation and action be taken to ensure that such occurrences are stamped out. The personnel were said to have behaved in manners that

were not in tandem with the Standard Operating Procedure of Service. Also, the Comptroller General of Immigration, Caroline WuraOla Adepoju, has declared that if the allegations against the personnel were proven to be true, the service would mete out severe consequences on the culprits. Adepoju insisted that such misconduct is not reflective of the values and standards upheld by the NIS. According to a statement

Makinde: Only Supreme Court Can Make Me Pay Sacked LG Chairmen Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has said he will not pay the sacked local government chairmen until the Supreme Court orders him to do so. Makinde said this in Ibadan yesterday while commenting on the garnishee order on state government accounts recently secured from an Abuja Federal High Court by the local government chairmen he sacked in 2019. JusticeA.O.EbonghadonDecember 15 issued an order attaching the state government’saccountsin10commercial banks in the country. Ebong gave the order while ruling on a garnishee proceeding initiated by the local government chairmen sacked by Makinde on May 29, 2019. The Supreme Court had on

May 7, 2021 voided the sacking of the chairmen and councillors, as pronounced by the governor on the day of his inauguration for his first term in office in 2019. The sacked council chairmen however got a N4,874,889,425.60 judgment against the state governor and other officials and agencies of the state. About N1.5billion had been paid, leaving a balance of N3.5billion. Makinde in his reaction to the court ruling said his government would not bow to pressure to pay the state’s money into wrong hands until all legal means were exhausted. He insisted that the sacking of the former council chairmen in 2019 was justified because their elections were not constitutional.

2023 French Week: FNCCI Organises Job Fair, Workshops for Bilingual Nigerians Yinka Olatunbosun In celebration of this year’s French Week, the French-Nigerian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) hosted a remarkable job fair, workshops, and panel discussions aimed at strengthening the business ties between France and Nigeria. The job fair featured the participation of nine prominent companies, including Access Bank, Leadway Insurance, andAir France, who presented exciting job opportunities to attendees. The majority of the attendees were French undergraduates from the University of Lagos (UNILAG), alumni of Alliance Française Institut, and

bilingual Nigerians. Participants were also treated to engaging in French language workshops, where they discovered the professional sectors in which France excels. They learned valuable skills such as crafting appealing CVs and cover letters, which are essential in today’s competitive job market. Speaking on the theme, “French Up Your Career,” Marc Brebant, the Director of Alliance Institut Francais, emphasised the importance of the French language and environment in opening doors to numerous opportunities for Nigerians.

endorsed by the Public Relations Officer of Immigration, Dr. Dotun Aridegbe, the CG expressed dismay at the behaviour of the personnel and therefore assured the public that immediate steps are being taken to investigate the matter thoroughly. Aridegbe said: “The NIS is committed to upholding the highest standards of professionalism, integrity, and service to the nation. “In response to these allegations, the NIS is implementing

changes at our borders to ensure the smooth passage of migrants without compromising national security. “The Comptroller General is personally overseeing these changes to address any shortcomings and to reinforce a culture of accountability within the Service. “The NIS acknowledges the importance of public trust and wishes to encourage the general public to report any unprofessional conduct or provide feedback through the following

official platforms: X (Twitter): @Nigimmigration Instagram: Nigimmigration NIS Contact Center: 09121900655, 09121556359 and 09121477092. “The Service assures the public that all feedback and complaints will be thoroughly investigated, and appropriate action will be taken to address any misconduct. “The Comptroller General is confident that, with the continued support of the Honourable Minister of Inter, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, and his dedication

to fostering a disciplined and effective workforce within the NIS, the Service will overcome challenges and strengthen its commitment to professionalism, accountability, and public trust. “We remain committed to our mandate of ensuring the security of our borders and facilitating the smooth movement of people. We appreciate the cooperation of the public in helping us maintain the highest standards of professionalism and accountability.”

LASG Directs Lekki Residents to Open Street Gates Segun James The Lagos State Government (LASG) has urged residents of Lekki Phase I, Phase II and the environs to open all street gates from the hours of 6.00am to 11.00pm daily during this yuletide season. This directive was issued by the state Commissioner for Transportation, Oluwaseun Osiyemi. Osiyemi noted that opening the gates would ease movement of vehicular traffic with a view to reducing traffic congestion that

may arise due to the holidays. He said: “By opening the gate, seamless and convenient movement can be made possible during this period for residents and visitors. “It is important to note that strict compliance is necessary as contravention of this directive will warrant sanctions from the state government. “Residents are assured of the necessary architecture for the Also, the Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Tokunmbo Wahab, has announced the removal of

illegal gates that are permanently closed along the Lekki Phase 1 axis. In a post on his official X page yesterday, he wrote partly: “Following several days of traffic snarl, which residents connecting Lekki were experiencing due to the inability to access connecting roads due to the indiscriminate mounting and multiplicity of the gates in many parts of the state, defacing the aesthetics of the environment and causing unnecessary traffic in the major roads. “Lagos State Government

through the Enforcement team of the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources has commenced the removal of illegal gates that are permanently closed around Lekki 1 axis.” He further added the areas where these removals will take place include: “Sir Rufus Foluso Giwa Road, Theophilus Oji Road, Osaro Isokpan Road, Abike Sulaiman Road, Ben Okagbue MBA Road, Olubunmi Rotimi Road, Olanrewaju Ninalowo Road, Dele Adedeji road, Abayomi Sonuga road, Siji Soetan and Rasheed Alaba Williams roads.”

that corrupt elements must not be allowed to divert any relief materials meant for the victims. The statement read in parts: “ACF wishes to express satisfaction with the response of the federal, Kaduna, and other state governments, organisations, and the general public to the plight of victims of the December 7, 2023, bomb attack on Tudun Biri community, Kaduna State.” “Particularly commendable has been the various visits by various delegations of the federal govern-

ment, including the vice president, relevant members of National Assembly committees, the National Security Advisor (NSA), Ministers of Defence, governors under the aegis of the Northern Governors’ Forum, the Chief of Army Staff, and other key or notable public functionaries to the Tudun Biri community to condole families of the deceased and to commiserate with injured victims receiving treatment in hospitals across Kaduna metropolis.” “Equally commendable was the promise of compensation,

free treatment to the injured by the Kaduna State Government, and other actual or promises of donations by many in cash and kind to victims. It has really been a day-after of sorts for the Tudun Biri community. Moving on, ACF will welcome further steps as follows: “All promises made to the Tudun Biri community and especially victims of the attack should be fulfilled in the shortest time possible. Strong measures to be put in place to ensure that relief gets directly to the victims.”

Another Two Imo Communities Set to Abolish Osu Caste System As human rights activists and organisations intensify efforts to abolish Osu, Ohu, Ume, and Diala caste systems in the South-east, another two Imo State communities, Amurie Omanze and Oboro Amurie in Isu Local Government Area have also set January

4, 2024, to abrogate the appalling, disgusting, detestable, repulsive, reprehensible and repugnant caste systems that marginalises a section of the people regarding them as an outcaste. A statement by the Executive Director of Pillars of Hope

Africa Initiative (POHAI) Mrs. Chinyere Oge-Kalu, said the abolishment of Osu, Ohu, Ume, and Diala caste systems in the duo communities was a fruit of years of advocacy by the National Human Rights Commission (POHAI), G’naira Family Foundation (GFF) and

Kemdi Chino Opera Foundation (KCOF). She expressed confidence that more communities, the entire Imo State and Igboland will soon abolish these reprehensible caste systems which dehumanises fellow compatriots as slaves/ outcastes.

SUNDAY DECEMBER 24, 2023 • T H I S D AY

THISDAY, The SUNday Newspaper • December 24, 2023

Business

Editor: Festus Akanbi 08038588469 Email:festus.akanbi@thisdaylive.com

Despite Challenges, Nigeria Remains Profitable Route to Foreign Airlines

Despite the recent threat by the International Air Transport Association that its members may leave Nigeria because of their trapped funds in the country, the reality is that foreign airlines are still making a brisk business in the country because it is a profitable destination, writes Chinedu Eze

omeforeignairlineshaveleftNigeria due to factors bordering on the issues of unstable exchange rates and trapped funds, but most of the 25 foreign airlines that operate in the country have continued their operation despite the hiccups they complain of. Nigeria is beset with poor airport infrastructure, policy inconsistency and charges that are multiple and outrageous, but many foreign airlines have operated in Nigeria for about 70 years. Foreign airline officials at different fora admitted that Nigeria gives airlines profit per passenger despite the challenges encountered while operating in the country and one major disadvantage Nigeria has is the lack of state-of-the-art airport facilities. That after transiting through the best airports in the world, airline crew would go through the Nigerian airports, which some describe as riding a 1970 Opel Kadet after riding a 2023 model of Mercedes Benz. But the latest challenge foreign airlines face is the issue of their trapped revenue, which the federal government has not been able to liquidate completely. Trapped Fund Recently the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Regional Vice President Africa & Middle East, Kamil Al-Awadhi, during a media presentation with African journalists at the IATA Global Media Day in Geneva, reiterated that Nigeria is yet to pay foreign carriers and called on the Federal Government to take the matter seriously. He listed Nigeria as the country with the highest amount of airlines’ blocked funds at $792m followed by Egypt, $348 million, Algeria, $199 million, AFI zone, $183 million and Ethiopia, $128 million. He said: “It is getting to a breaking point for the airlines. They are contemplating stopping operations. Nigeria should look into this to resolve the issue. The airlines don’t have the cash to expand their operations”. “Ethiopia is seeking a way to resolve this issue even though the blocked fund is rising. The first step for us to solve these blocked funds is for both parties to engage. If parties don’t engage, it is very difficult to move forward.” High Fares To avert the continuous piling up of unremitted revenue, foreign airlines instead of contemplating leaving the country have decided to charge high fares that would enable them to change their revenues at the parallel market and still make a profit, instead of channelling their earning through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), as stipulated by most of the Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA) and commercial agreements Nigeria signed with the countries that own the airlines that operate in Nigeria. This explains why Nigerian travellers pay about N2.7 million for economy tickets to most European destinations, while travellers from Ghana, Ivory Coast, Togo, and Benin Republic among other countries in the sub-region pay less than that. Foreign airlines said that why they charge Nigerians more because they spend more money operating in Nigeria compared to other destinations. They pay their officials extra allowance for operating in Nigeria, they pay extra for security and pay multiple taxes in addition to the fact that the currency value is unstable against major currencies in the world.

Contribution of taxes to High airfares in Nigeria Speaking on taxes and high charges, the President of the National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA), Mrs. Susan Akporiaye said that Nigeria needs to have tax policy advocacy in the aviation industry. “Why is the cost of airfare becoming very expensive? When you put airlines on the spot, they will tell you that they cannot discuss fares. If you look at every fare, there is what you call the base fare and taxes. The base fare is one of the smallest in the entire ticket, so you ask yourself, how come the total is still expensive? You have a local ticket where the base fare is N10,000 for instance and after all the taxes, the total is N60,000, meaning that taxes alone is

N60,000. There are some taxes we see on tickets and we have been asking questions about it for as long as we can remember and no one can explain to us what that tax is for. “Once you ask the question, the airlines will tell you that they are not allowed to discuss fares. If you notice, from history, every last quarter of the year, local airlines increase fares for absolutely no reason. Did anything drastic change? Why have the tickets gone up? It means that the airlines deliberately increase fares every last quarter of the year starting from November but by January, the fares will come down. I want to look at it as an issue of demand and supply. They know that there is high demand during the last quarter of the year. They are not the only ones that do

this, international airlines also do it because there is demand during peak periods and all the airlines add to their fares. They would tell you they are following the law of demand and supply,” she said. Secretary of Aviation Round Table, Olu Ohunayo said that various charges add to the tickets in the local and international flight service and foreign airlines take advantage of it to charge outrageous fares to Nigerian passengers. “We need to have this interface with the policymakers and if we do not, we will continue to have these problems of multiple charges, some of which are extortions that come under the name of charges. This is not something that we can handle alone, everyone must have to join hands to make the sector work. I can assure you that the ART under the leadership of our president and other stakeholders will be able to come together, move to the Ministry ofAviation and make a bold decision for the industry so that we would not have to come back next year and still be talking about these problems. “As of today, it is so sad when you look at the high cost of ticket fares and how Nigerians are going to other countries to get lower fares is a situation that we need to reverse. We have heard about the millions in trapped funds, devaluation of the naira and we know how aviation products are delivered in dollars and for you to get anything, you have to get it in dollars which definitely affects cost of operation and in turn also affects the cost of ticekts. The easiest way is take care of the issue of high cost of ticket fare is to increase competition. Nigerians have a high demand and taste, we must go for graduation, we must go for capacity building, but then, if our bilateral agreement gives provision for reciprocity and we cannot reciprocate using Nigerian airlines, increase the frequency of other airlines. If we keep on rejecting and we are not participating, then Nigerians will suffer. Whether it is private, flag carriers or national carriers, we would need to step up and use the BASAagreements. I am happy that Emirates is returning, but Emirates is not a Nigerian airline and the benefits are not coming to besides a possible reduction in fares,” he said. Ohunayo expressed the hope that high fares charged by foreign airlines could be controlled if Nigerian airlines effectively joined the international travel market. “We need Nigerians to be able to lead this process. Air Peace, United Nigeria and all other domestic airlines must see how they can work together to produce a very strong flag carrier that can take up this position. We can’t keep waiting. We can’t keep bringing in others and our own airlines are not going out. Nigerian airlines should be supported by the government because what has been happening is that after designation, everyone goes back and the airlines are left alone. But when you designate and you follow through, it would be more effective. If the Ministries of Aviation, Foreign Affairs and Justice stand strongly and protect them and say ‘This is our flag carrier’, there would be a difference. Our airlines should not be carrying files around offices alone and they should not be looked down upon and say, this airline belongs to Mr. A or This airline belongs to Mr. B, so you will not help them. It should not be so.” So, instead of leaving the country, foreign airlines are devising ways to become less dependent on the federal government when it comes to repatriating their funds. They have resorted to selling their tickets at the prices that when they exchange their naira through the I and E window, it will give them the equivalent amount they ought to sell their tickets

DECEMBER 23, 2023 • THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

COMMENTARY

A TORRENT OF TROPHIES

Tunde Olusunle pays tribute to Isa Kutepa, banker, politician, serial entrepreneur and chairman of Waltersmith Petroman Oil Ltd

ȱ ȱ ¢ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ¡ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱŘŖŗŗǰȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ǰȱ ǯȱ ȱ ȱ ǰȱ ȬĚ¢ ȱ ȱ ǰȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ¢ȱ ǰȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ¡ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ Ȭ ȱ ȱ ȱ ǯȱ ȱ ¢ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ę ȱ Ȭ ¢ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ¡ ǯȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ǰȱǻ Ǽǰȱ ȱ ȱ Ȭ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ǯȱ ȱ ǰȱ ǰȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ę ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ǯȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ǰȱ Ě ȱ ¢ȱ ȱ ǯȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ Ș ȱ Ȭȱŗȱ Șȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ǰȱ ǰȱ ȱŘŖŘŘǰȱ ę ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ǯȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ę ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ǯ Beyond its endowments in solid minerals and petroleum, Kogi State is blessed with swathes and stretches of fertile lands across the state capable of sustaining a plethora of crop species. The state is home to scenic touristic sites and iconic monuments. Lokoja the FDSLWDO RI .RJL 6WDWH IRU LQVWDQFH LV WKH FRQÁXHQFH RI 1LJHULD·V WZR ODUJHVW ULYHUV WKH 1LJHU DQG WKH %HQXH 7KH FRQMRLQLQJ RI ERWK rivers is a sight to behold from atop *Mount Patti* in the Kogi State FDSLWDO &RORQLDO HUD *RYHUQRU *HQHUDO RI 1LJHULD )UHGHULFN /XJDUG VXSHULQWHQGHG RYHU 1LJHULD IURP WKH ÁDWODQGV DQG KLJKODQGV RI Lokoja. This was before the amalgamation of the northern and southern FRPSRQHQWV RI FRQWHPSRUDU\ 1LJHULD LQWR ZKDW PDQ\ KDYH GHVFULEHG DV D IRUFHG PDWULPRQ\ LQ /XJDUG·V HUVWZKLOH ZRUNVSDFH WRGD\ hosts the seat of administration in Lokoja. Added to all of these is the super-abundance of highly, multi-dimensionally educated, skilled and FHUWLÀHG KXPDQ FDSLWDO IURP .RJL 6WDWH 7KH\ DUH LQ VXFK DQ RYHUÁRZ of numbers that most have opted for addresses elsewhere, within DQG RXWVLGH 1LJHULD , KDYH DOZD\V EUDJJHG IRU H[DPSOH WKDW ZLWK DOPRVW D GR]HQ PRVW GHVHUYLQJ 6HQLRU $GYRFDWHV RI 1LJHULD 6$1 from the Okun sphere in Kogi State, some whole states elsewhere and geopolitical zones may not be as endowed. Kutepa had with him a diligently articulated masterplan to assist Kogi State in leveraging this bouquet of endowments, capabilities and competencies for its upward socioeconomic ascent. The document was safely in his pouch before he stepped into the political fray in the UXQ XS WR WKH SULPDU\ RI WKH RͿ F\FOH JXEHUQDWRULDO HOHFWLRQ RI He pitched his tent in his bid for the governorship ticket with the 3HRSOHV· 'HPRFUDWLF 3DUW\ 3'3 WKH SDUW\ WR EHDW WKRVH GD\V 7KH primary election which was to produce a successor to the incumbent JRYHUQRU ,EUDKLP ,GULV DW WKH WLPH DWWUDFWHG VRPH RI .RJL·V EHVW DQG brightest, including Kutepa. $SDUW IURP KLV FUHGHQWLDOV DV D ERQD ÀGH KRPHER\ .XWHSD KDG LQ SUHYLRXV WLPHV VHOÁHVVO\ GLVSHQVHG WR KLV FRQVWLWXHQWV LQ SDUWV RI WKH VWDWH ÁLFNHUV RI KLV RZQ ´FRUSRUDWH VRFLDO UHVSRQVLELOLW\ µ LQ KLV SULYDWH FDSDFLW\ :KLOH VRPH SROLWLFLDQV ÁDXQWHG SODWRRQV RI XUFKLQV they had recruited as deviants and thugs, Kutepa had already made a huge statement about the projected educational slant of his agenda, if he scaled the primary. He had built, equipped and donated classroom blocks, laboratories and similar facilities in parts of the state to VFKRROV IUHHZLOO WR XQGHUVFRUH KLV VSHFLÀF SUHIHUHQFH IRU HGXFDWLRQ DV key to the future.

HIS ISA KUTEPA FOUNDATION HAS WORKED OVER THE YEARS WITH THE UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN’S FUND IN THE PROVISION OF POTABLE WATER IN RURAL COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE STATE, TAKING UP PART RESPONSIBILITY OF WHAT IS ORDINARILY THE SCHEDULE OF THE GOVERNMENT

7KH .RJL 6WDWH 3'3 JRYHUQRUVKLS SULPDU\ ZDV KHOG WZLFH WKDW \HDU ,W ZDV ÀVFDOO\ SK\VLFDOO\ HYHQ HPRWLRQDOO\ GUDLQLQJ IRU WKH contestants and their supporters alike. Whereas some of the aspirants ZKR SDUWLFLSDWHG LQ WKH HDUOLHU SULPDU\ KHOG LQ -DQXDU\ ZLWKGUHZ IURP WKH 6HSWHPEHU VHTXHO .XWHSD DEO\ SDUWLFLSDWHG in both. He diligently acquitted himself as the proverbial macho man in Yoruba lore who dared to sleep bare-chested in the open in the freezing temperatures of numbing harmattan. This underscored KLV GHHS VHDWHG JULW DQG UXJJHGQHVV +H HPHUJHG LQ D SKRWR ÀQLVK second position on both occasions, a most commendable showing for a self-propelled aspirant with neither a godfather or state backing in DQ\ IRUP +H ZDV SLWFKHG DJDLQVW WKH ´DQRLQWHGµ FDQGLGDWH RI WKH LQFXPEHQW JRYHUQRU ,EUDKLP ,GULV ,GULV FRQIHVVHG WR WKRVH ZKR WRRN him up on the subject that he was doomed to produce his kinsman as successor or risk being ostracised by his kinsmen, maybe neutralised. That is the variety of politics played in our clime. Kutepa wasted no time brooding over the outcome of his attempt DW WKH .RJL JRYHUQRUVKLS 1RW IRU KLP WKH ORXQJLQJ DURXQG WKH FRUridors of State House, Aso Villa, Abuja prospecting appeasement with D ´FDQG\ EDU µ LQ WKH QDPH RI VRPH QHEXORXV FRPSHQVDWRU\ SROLWLFDO appointment. He dusted his boots, made an about turn and headed for his primordial habitat in the skyscraping boardrooms of Victoria ,VODQG DQG ,NR\L ERWK KLJKEURZ GLVWULFWV LQ /DJRV DW WKH YHU\ KHDUW RI WKH QDWLRQ·V HFRQRP\ %DFN LQ KH KDG FR IRXQGHG :DOWHUVPLWK Petroman Oil Limited, an indigenous upstream oil and gas company, GHGLFDWHG WR WKH H[SORUDWLRQ DQG SURGXFWLRQ RI RLO DQG JDV UHVRXUFHV 7KH FRPSDQ\ RSHUDWHV WKH ,ELJZH ÀHOG LQ ´2LO 0LQLQJ /HDVH µ ,PR 6WDWH ZKLFK ZDV DFTXLUHG WKURXJK D FRPSHWLWLYH ELG LQ :DOWHUVPLWK 3HWURPDQ VXFFHVVIXOO\ EHJDQ FRPPHUFLDO H[SRUWV IURP ,ELJZH ÀHOG LQ JURZLQJ SHDN SURGXFWLRQ WR EDUUHOV SHU GD\ ESG 7KH FRPSDQ\·V ESG PRGXODU UHÀQHU\ ZDV FRPPLVVLRQHG E\ IRUPHU 3UHVLGHQW 0XKDPPDGX %XKDUL LQ DQG FRQWULEXWHV DOPRVW PLOOLRQ OLWUHV RI UHÀQHG SURGXFWV DQQXDOO\ :LWK WKH DGGLWLRQDO DZDUG RI WKH $VVD PDUJLQDO ÀHOG WR :DOWHUVPLWK LQ WKH PRGXODU UHÀQHU\ LV EHLQJ H[SDQGHG WR KDYH D UHÀQLQJ FDSDFLW\ RI ESG :DOWHUVPLWK LV DOVR GLYHUVLI\LQJ LQWR SRZHU JHQHUDWLRQ DQG KDV SURFXUHG D PHJDZDWWV SRZHU JHQHUDWLRQ OLFHQVH ,Q FROODERUDWLRQ ZLWK WKH 8QLWHG 1DWLRQV ,QGXVWULDO 'HYHORSPHQW 2UJDQLVDWLRQ 81,'2 .XWHSD·V RUJDQLVDWLRQ LV GHYHORSLQJ DQ LQGXVWULDO DQG innovation park. Such has been the fairytale of the ascendancy of .XWHSD·V YLVLRQ RYHU RQH GHFDGH DIWHU WKH .RJL SROLWLFDO H[SHULHQFH The development of Kogi State also remains very dear to his KHDUW DV GHPRQVWUDWHG E\ KLV XQIDLOLQJ JHQHURVLW\ RYHU WLPH 'HVSLWH QRW FOLQFKLQJ WKH JRYHUQRU WLFNHW LQ .XWHSD UHPDLQHG YHU\ VXSSRUWLYH RI WKH DGPLQLVWUDWLRQ RI ,GULV :DGD WKH YHWHUDQ DYLDWRU ZKR HYHQWXDOO\ JRW WKH WLFNHW )RU KLV FDUULDJH DQG FRPSRUWPHQW WKURXJK WKH PRWLRQV FXOPLQDWLQJ LQ :DGD·V HPHUJHQFH .XWHSD ZDV assigned the prerogative of nominating a running mate to Wada. He never dithered before forwarding the details of Yomi Awoniyi, son of the historic personage, Sunday Bolorunduro Awoniyi, elder statesman DQG UHWLUHG ´VXSHU SHUPDQHQW VHFUHWDU\µ RI SRVW LQGHSHQGHQFH 1LJHULD .XWHSD KDV D UHODWLRQVKLS GDWLQJ EDFN WR WKH ODWH V DQG HDUO\ V ZLWK WKH \RXQJHU $ZRQL\L ZKR UHDG DUFKLWHFWXUH ZKLOH KH .XWHSD VWXGLHG VRFLRORJ\ DW WKH $KPDGX %HOOR 8QLYHUVLW\ $%8 =DULD <RPL $ZRQL\L LQGHHG VHUYHG DV GLUHFWRU JHQHUDO RI .XWHSD·V campaign, ahead of the primary.

Olusunle, PhD, poet, journalist, scholar and author is a Fellow of the Association of Nigerian Authors, (FANA)

CATHOLIC BLESSING FOR SAME-SEX COUPLES

ȱ ȱ ę ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ Ȭ ¡ȱ ȱ ǰȱ ȱ ȱ ěǰȱ ȱ ǰȱ ȱ £ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ Ȭ ¡ȱ ǯȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ¢ȱ ȱ ¢ȱ ȱ ȱ £ ȱ ȱ £ ȱ ȱ ¢ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ǯȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ǰȱ ȱ ȱ Ȭ ¡ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ǯȱ ȱ Ȭ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ¢ ȱ ȱ Ȭ ¡ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ǯȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ǰȱ ¢ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ǵ The rights of gay people have been a widely debated issue as African public and parliamentarians battle and resist a supposed attempt by Western countries to impose the gay rights agenda. The discussions have been very intense in countries such as Uganda, Kenya, Nigeria, and Ghana, where some anti same-sex marriage bills have been introduced or passed. In these debates, churches, including the Catholics have largely been in support of the move to criminalize same-sex marriage. These churches claim that gay marriage is unAfrican. More specifically, churches claim that homosexuality is unbiblical and have vowed to resist any move within or without the church to sanction this unchristian and ungodly lifestyle. Meanwhile, there are concerns that the issue of

What do African churches gain by sanctioning gay hate and abuse? asks Leo Igwe same-sex marriage would result in a schism; that it would drive a wedge between the African and Western churches as many African church groups have vowed to break away if their European and Western establishments decide to solemnize gay marriage. In a quick reaction, the catholic church in Malawi has stated that it would not abide by the papal directive. And there are indications that many catholic churches in other African countries would likely not comply. It is important to ask, how long will African churches, catholic or noncatholic, resist the recognition of gay marriage? How long will African church leaders continue to sanction and sanctify gay hate and abuse? A closer look at the situation reveals an emerging pattern: a Western church that supports same-sex marriage and an African church opposed to gay rights. Although there are churches in Europe and America that are against same- sex marriage, western Christianity has largely accepted homosexuality. Western churches have witnessed a shift in their position on gay marriage and relationships. In other words, while many Western churches now consider same-sex relationships as Christian or Biblical, as compatible with 21st century Christianity, their African counterparts regard homosexuality as unchristian, sinful, and criminal. Now if I may I ask: What do African churches gain by sanctioning gay hate and abuse? What do African churches know about Christianity or the ‘Word of God’ that Western churches and

theologians do not know? Is it not the West that introduced Christianity to Africa and Africans? African Christians should see a shift in the position on gay rights as a development that they should embrace and not detest or deplore. This shift demonstrates leadership, moral and theological leadership. African churches should abide by this directive. Persistence in opposing such progressive developments, such as the sanctification of gay marriage, has a lot of unpleasant consequences. African Christianity risks become a religious throwback. African churches will likely get caught in a trap, the trap of the Western Christian past. This resistance will turn African churches into theological and liturgical backwaters. African Christianity will become embodiments of outdated, archaic, and primitive Christian ideas and practices. Already, African churches are notorious for witch hunting. They are the lead perpetrators of modern-day witch hunts. Witch hunting ended in the West centuries ago. Today, western churches are regretting their role in this horrific episode. But contemporary African churches are hotbeds of witchcraft accusations, witch trials, and persecutions. African churches cannot afford to add to this already ugly trend and become hotbeds of gay hate, persecution and abuse. However, there is a reason to be optimistic and hopeful about the future. It is unlikely that this dark prospect would materialize. There are chances that African churches would eventually join the rest of the world in upholding the rights of gay

people. This sense of optimism is rooted in the fact that African churches have in their ranks some progressive, open and liberal-minded clerics who would work with Pope Francis and other Western leaders to free African churches from the bondage of gay hate. One such cleric is the Ghanaian cardinal, Peter Turkson. In a recent interview, Turkson spoke out against the anti-gay bill in Ghana. He said that homosexuality should not be made an offence against the state; that the issue of gay sex needed education and understanding, not criminalization. The statement was thoughtful and timely, and hopefully would contribute to killing Ghana’s anti gay bill. In conclusion, from all indications, African churches are out of step with 21century humanity and Christianity. And as Turkson stated, it’s time to begin educating Africans and helping African people understand and make a religious and cultural shift. African Christians should realize that homosexuality is not a crime. That homosexuality is human and natural. And that gay rights are human rights. With better education and awareness, the African church resistance would fizzle out. African Christian homophobia will be defeated. The stiff opposition to homosexuality in African churches would turn into a groundswell of support for gay rights in the region. Igwe holds a doctoral degree in religious studies from the University of Bayreuth in Germany

DECEMBER 23, 2023 • THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

INSIGHT

Bracing the hardship...

In Praise of Isa Yuguda

Lift Ban on Okada

witness the progressive stabilization of reat leaders not only have vision, they also share it with others and inspire he decision to ban motorcycles our region, the time has come to restore many others to create their own. Leadership is simply about understanding ȱȃ Ȅȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ this essential mode of transportation. The ȱ ȱ ȱ ¢ȱ ě ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ undoubtedly made in the return of motorcycles would not only ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ¢ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ Ĵ ȱ ȱ ǯȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ¢ȱ ȱ ȱ aid in revitalizing the local economy but ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ǰȱ ¢ȱ ¢ȱ ǰȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ¢ ȱ tumultuous time when insurgents also alleviate the struggles faced by those ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ¢ȱ ǰȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ǯȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ who have been adversely affected by the ȱ ȱ ǰȱ ȱ £ ǰȱ ȱ ǰȱ ȱ ǰȱ chaos. However, as the situation in our ban. ȱ ȱ ǰȱ ȱ ǰȱ ǯȱ ǯȱ ǰȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ¢ȱ ȱ ę ¢ȱ ȱ ȱ Governor Zulum, I implore you to ȱ ȱ ȱ ǰȱ ¢ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ Ȃ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ě ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ¢ ȱ ȱ ¢Ȃ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ¢ȱ ȱ ¢ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ consider reinstating motorcycles in Maiduguri metropolis under a carefully ǰȱ Ȃ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ hood. structured framework that prioritizes prohibition and its impact on the lives After them, many others have followed their footsteps. In the cause of time, safety and regulation. Implementing ȱ ¢ ¢ȱ £ ǯ Nigeria has had leaders whose footprints on the sands of time are indelible. The stringent guidelines, including licenslate Gen. Murtala Ramat Mohammed and the late Umaru Musa Yar’Adua are, The ban on motorcycles, while initially respectively, remembered for both their anti-corruption posture and drive for meant to safeguard our community, has ing requirements, mandatory safety national unity. In the same vein, Mallam Isa Yuguda, an economic czar, Nigeria’s inadvertently led to severe disruptions measures, and strict adherence to traffic former minister of transport and aviation respectively, and erstwhile Bauchi state in the lives and livelihoods of countless regulations, can ensure responsible governor, is celebrated for making immense contributions in the development of individuals. For years, motorcycles were operation of motorcycles within the city. Nigeria’s banking sector, transforming the nation’s transport and aviation sectors as not just a mode of transport but a means Hamza Ali Usman, Dept of Mass well as raising Bauchi state to a higher threshold of development. of survival for many families. They faCommunication, Borno State University, Last Saturday, 16th December, 2023, in its maiden combined convocation cilitated access to work, schools, markets, Maiduguri ceremony, the Sa’adu Zungur University, Gadau, Bauchi state, awarded Mallam and healthcare services, enabling people Isa Yuguda an honorary Doctorate Degree in Management. At the ceremony, 7,543 to lead productive lives. graduates from six academic sessions were presented for the award of graduate I understand the delicate balance and postgraduate degrees. At this juncture, it’s instructive to note that the point of between security concerns and the need interest is not that Isa Yuguda received an award or that the university has thus far for economic stability. However, as we graduated more than seven thousand students. Rather, what is most fascinating is the fact that Mallam Isa Yuguda established the University recent news item discussed the use back in 2010 when he held sway as Bauchi ȱ ȱ ¢ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ state governor. Thus, through his visionary to see how they react to swooping T H E SAT U R DAY N E W S PA P E R EDITOR OBINNA CHIMA leadership, the erstwhile governor established ǯȱ Ȃ ȱ ȱ ȱ ǰȱ ¢ȱ DEPUTY EDITOR AHAMEFULA OGBU what has become a prestigious center of ȱ ǰȱ ȱ ¢ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ MANAGING DIRECTOR ENIOLA BELLO excellence in learning. not in the next minute or so and having that DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR ISRAEL IWEGBU At the time the University was established, on screen repeat is not very nice. CHAIRMAN EDITORIAL BOARD OLUSEGUN ADENIYI EDITOR NATION’S CAPITAL IYOBOSA UWUGIAREN there was the problem of many Bauchi There are times when the world of science THE OMBUDSMAN KAYODE KOMOLAFE state indigenous students not being able confuses me and even disappoints me and to gain admission into federal universities that is after 40 years of telling students largely because of quota system and distance, how wonderful science is and that they especially for female students. But education should follow it as a career. There have been T H I S DAY N E W S PA P E R S L I M I T E D is so important that at whatever cost, it must discoveries that have arisen from unusual EDITOR-IN-CHIEF/CHAIRMAN NDUKA OBAIGBENA be gained. And given that one of the primary experimental results including that magic GROUP EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS ENIOLA BELLO, KAYODE KOMOLAFE, responsibilities of government is to ensure the purple pill, Viagra, but many left field ISRAEL IWEGBU, EMMANUEL EFENI security, safety and well-being of the citizenry experiments should be left out in the field. DIVISIONAL DIRECTORS SHAKA MOMODU, PETER IWEGBU, ANTHONY OGEDENGBE through upholding law and order as well Perhaps if scientists concentrated on some DEPUTY DIVISIONAL DIRECTOR OJOGUN VICTOR DANBOYI SNR. ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR ERIC OJEH as providing healthcare services, education, of the big issues, stopping cancer, improved ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR PATRICK EIMIUHI etc., the Isa Yuguda administration thought food production and stopping climate CONTROLLERS ABIMBOLA TAIWO, UCHENNA DIBIAGWU, NDUKA MOSERI of building the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa change we would have a better world and DIRECTOR, PRINTING PRODUCTION CHUKS ONWUDINJO University Teaching Hospital, a new Specialist more regard for those scientists. TO SEND EMAIL: ﬁrst name.surname@thisdaylive.com Hospital and the Sa’adu Zungur University. Dennis Fitzgerald, Melbourne, Australia Mukhtar Jarmajo, Wuse 2, Abuja

Mice Can’t See What’s Coming

SUNDAY DECEMBER 24, 2023 • T H I S D AY

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R DECEMBER 24, 2023

GLITZ FOCUS

Pastor Ifeanyi Adefarasin during Project Spread

A busy Lagos market

Christmas Without Jingle Bells Amidst the biting economic hardship that has cast a shadow over this year’s Christmas season, Vanessa Obioha reports that the spirit of the holidays persists in the unwavering acts of philanthropy towards the less-privileged

hristmas season in Nigeria is often marked by the unmistakable presence of harmattan which signals a familiar frenzy in the air, transforming both marketplaces and thoroughfares into bustling arenas of festive activity. In this spirited atmosphere, individuals immerse themselves in the age-old tradition of gift-hunting, whether it be for cherished family members or personal indulgence. The local salons, too, become lively hubs as women stream in and out, eager to adorn themselves with what is colloquially known as their ‘Christmas hairdos.’ Amidst this fervour, those planning visits to elderly parents in villages find themselves entangled in the hustle, acquiring an array of essential foodstuffs and other necessities to bring the warmth of the season to their loved ones. Even transportation companies are swept up in the holiday rush, with both airwaves and roads abuzz with the heightened energy of Christmas preparations. Yet, the Christmas air this year carries a different weight, a dryness unrelated to the typical harmattan season. Instead, it mirrors the harsh reality of escalating economic challenges that cast a pall over the season, amplifying the financial burdens on countless families. Inflation and the depreciation of the Naira paints a grim picture that adversely affects every stratum of the economy. The festive spirit contends with the formidable forces of economic strain, leaving many grappling with the increased cost of living and the poignant realisation

that this Christmas bears the weight of financial hardship for far too many. “There is no Christmas in the air. Only the rich can afford to celebrate Christmas this year,” laments John Ezekiel, a commercial motorcyclist, echoing the sentiments of those grappling with the harsh economic realities. Even in the bustling salons, where Christmas makeovers are customary, a hair stylist named Valerie Eghove notices a stark difference this time. “Unlike in the past when people would book their hair appointment ahead of time, this time, there is nothing like that,” she says, pointing to an array of weaves and braids she had bought for the season. “All they want me to do is to revamp their wigs.” Nigeria’s economic landscape has been grappling with formidable challenges since the removal of the fuel subsidy under President Bola Tinubu’s administration in May. The stark reality is reflected in the escalating inflation rates, as per data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). In October, the inflation rate surged to a new high of 27.33 per cent, a notable increase from the preceding month’s 26.72 per cent, marking the country’s highest inflation rate in nearly two decades. The latest NBS data for November 2023 paints an even more pressing picture, with a year-on-year inflation rate of 32.84 per cent. Furthermore, the month-on-month basis reveals a food inflation rate of 2.42 per cent in November 2023, a 0.51 percent increase from October 2023’s rate of 1.91 per cent. These figures underscore the profound economic challenges facing the nation.

As inflation continues its upward trajectory, the repercussions are starkly felt in the soaring prices of essential food items. For instance, a bag of rice ranges from N55,000 to N60,000 while a single de rica cup surpasses the N1,000 mark. These exorbitant prices paint a challenging picture for low-income families, forcing them to confront difficult choices this yuletide season. The popular Nigerian dish, jollof rice, a festive staple, now leaves holes in the pockets of some. For many within the low-income brackets, the dilemma lies in either stretching their budgets to accommodate this cherished tradition or reluctantly forgoing it altogether. A mother of three, speaking anonymously, reflects on the dire situation. “Prices of food items have increased so much that I have told my children to make do with whatever I give them during this Christmas season.” For a modest family of four embarking on a journey to the South-eastern part of the country, the financial landscape demands a significant budgetary commitment. A conservative estimate for the travel expenses would necessitate allocating at least N100,000. Christmas celebrations hold a significant place in the traditions of many Christian homes worldwide but in these difficult circumstances, the gaze of those struggling turns towards the compassion of charitable organisations. Families like that of Chidinma Umeh, a young widow left to care for five children since losing her husband four years ago, find solace in the generosity of entities such as Zion Widows Care.

Such organisations play a pivotal role by providing not only essential foodstuffs like rice and vegetable oil but also muchneeded financial support. Chidinma’s story is emblematic of the countless individuals and families who, during the holiday season, depend on the benevolence of these charities to bring a glimmer of warmth and joy into their challenging circumstances. Beyond individual efforts, churches play a significant role in extending a helping hand during the yuletide season. Notably, Harvesters International Christian Centre channels its goodwill through Project Smile, distributing essential foodstuffs to impoverished communities in select locations. This initiative stands as a testament to the collective commitment of the church to bring joy and sustenance to those in need during the festive period. Similarly, House on the Rock has, for over a decade, been a beacon of hope through Project Spread. Going beyond the conventional, this initiative goes the extra mile by not only donating foodstuffs but also orchestrating delightful parties for children. These events serve as a vibrant reminder that the Christmas season is indeed a time for celebration, even for those facing challenging circumstances. According to the Senior Pastor of the church Paul Adefarasin, the impact of Project Spread goes beyond tangible support—it has cultivated a profound sense of belonging among more than 500,000 families since its inception. Despite the economic challenges, the call to action remains clear: let the generosity of Christmas prevail. In the echoes of the 1984 charity song penned by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure, ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’—let’s collectively ensure that the warmth of the Christmas air is felt by all, regardless of their circumstances.

T H I S D AY SUNDAY DECEMBER 24, 2023

EDITORIAL

Editor, Editorial Page PETER ISHAKA Email peter.ishaka@thisdaylive.com

EPIDEMICS OF COUNTERFEIT DRUGS

N A F DAC s h o u l d r i s e u p t o t h e n e w t h r e a t a g a i n s t t h e we l l b e i n g o f N i g e r i a n s

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What seems to have heightened the challenge DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR ISRAEL IWEGBU SURGXFWV 0DQ\ SHRSOH DUH LQWR WKH EXVLQHVV RI LOOHJDO VDOHV is the closure of some multinational drug companies in CHAIRMAN EDITORIAL BOARD OLUSEGUN ADENIYI Nigeria due to the operating environment. 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LETTERS

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WEEKLY PULL-OUT

24.12.2023

OLUSOLA AWUJOOLA The Black Jeweller A watch often surpasses the mere task of telling time, just like a mobile phone extends beyond the basics of calls. For phones, the complexities lie in the interplay of operating software and hardware, while timepieces can be a mosaic of complications like moon phase, equation of time, tourbillon, or minute repeater. What changes is the technical design, the combination of different complications to create luxury items of refined craftsmanship, something Malivelihood founder, Olusola Awujoola, who is fondly called The Black Jeweller of Africa, is quite adept at, writes Lanre Alfred

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R DECEMBER 24, 2023

COVER

His Stirring Trajectory as a Celebrity Merchandiser

Awujoola

n a bygone era, jewellers employed synthetic rubies and sapphires instead of real gems and set huge semiprecious stones into rings and necklace centrepieces. Then faux motifs became a thing, comprising fabric-like gold designs in the form of jewellery, mobile phone cases, watch straps, bows, knots, ribbons and tassels. The semiprecious stones also attained prominence and became a way to ornament most luxury items. Enter Olusola Awujoola. Awujoola’s birth, 39 years ago, signalled the coming of a grand jeweller, crisp in the dazzle of his luxury renaissance. The luxury designer and founder of the multi-million naira designer company, Malivelihood Luxury, has sculpted, embellished, bejewelled and ennobled the finest timepieces, mobile phones, jewellery and other valuables, with diamonds and other gemstones for celebrities at home and abroad. Fondly addressed as “Malivelihood,” Awujoola is the brain behind most of the designer gold-coated items owned by several celebrities. His fundamental reinvention of designer watch ornamentation glowers like an expensive and timeless art, especially his panoptic elevation of the horological craft as a Nigerian art with global appeal. His works have firmly established him as one of the greatest jewellers cum luxury artists of our time. There is no gainsaying that Awujoola stands among the most influential Nigerian entrepreneurs, doubling as a prominent figure in the luxury merchandise industry with an estimated net worth of $30 million. He gained widespread recognition as a jeweller, renowned for his expertise in redesigning watches, jewellery, and phones, embellishing them with exquisite diamonds and pearls. A creative force and artistic visionary, he has been anchoring breakthroughs in local and international luxury spaces, something very clearly exhibited in the intricate dazzle of his futuristic designs. One aspect of Malivelihood’s appeal is that his designs mesh well with the luxury items he is contracted to embellish. This luxury fashion enthusiast comprising both the old and youthful, fashion-savvy collectors, who gravitate toward luxury jewellery patronises him. Whether the luxury items are modern or futuristic, whether they are old or

retrospective, leaning backwards to bold gold jewellery from other eras, such as the chunky gold jewellery from the ’80s, particularly hoops and chains, Awujoola emblazons them so well and expertly with his genius. Awujoola notes and respects with careful detail each client’s appreciation and taste for the boldness or less delicate nature of the finest luxury brands. Through his craft, he displays his understanding that each period has its unique charm; and that the styles of retro work, for instance, differ from the widest range of modern fashion trends for any time of day. According to Black Jeweller, as he is fondly called, when he was asked how he started the business, “Malivelihood started as an entertainment company. Formerly, known as Livelihood Entertainment which was an international music booking agency. We booked shows for Bad Boy Records, Def Jam and some other record labels. However after spending a couple of years in the music industry in the US, I stepped into the luxury business which has always been a talent of mine. And with prayers and dedication, it’s been moving so well.” There is no contest that Awujoola’s Malivelihood designs are the preferred choice of luxury connoisseurs. He brilliantly etches his insignia into luxury item ornamentation, material selection and decorative techniques, as well as the fashion styles and artistic movements of each decade. Having appended his craft into a series of brands over the years, like a veteran master of time, he has impressed and won the respect of many jewellery makers, mobile phone brands and haute-horlogerie houses’ whose founders and managers enthuse about his ability to enrich their signature brands without ruining their historical significance and reputation. If you ask, Awujoola would tell you that his method of bejeweling the greatest items coincides with and embellishes the phases of their social and scientific evolution, which allowed the owners to manufacture increasingly reliable products that were also in tune with changes in customs, social needs and aesthetic canons. In selecting which brands are worthy of his craft, he looks for models that changed the history of luxury branding, introducing technical or style innovations.

Awujoola

Another important criterion is the history and storytelling linked to a specific luxury item, and its relevance in a given historical moment, for specific icons and connoisseurs. Often, a watch goes a lot further than simply telling the time and a phone goes a lot further than simply making or answering calls. With phones, complications such as operating software and hardware matters; with timepieces, complications such as moon phase, equation of time, tourbillon, or minute repeater, which were developed in the past, are still among the most interesting key features of modern high-end horology. What changes is the technical design, the combination of different complications to create mobile and timepieces of refined craftsmanship, Awujoola would tell you. Diamonds and precious stones are prominent aspects of his designs. These

are expertly used to reflect his understanding that the luxury trend of the 1990s and 2000s is defined through the use of precious stones on the dials and bezels, in combination with traditional materials such as platinum or white gold, but also new ones such as titanium and aluminium. It’s amazing to contemplate what he accomplished in just over a decade, including how relevant his art has become for celebrities, aristocrats and the rich upper class. Awujoola has a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and a Masters degree in Global Management and LLM Commercial Law. He also attended a Luxury Branding and Jewellery-making training/course in New York. He is married to Deola Smart, a lawyer and businesswoman who is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Tuvia Mobile. She is also into the hair business.

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R DECEMBER 24, 2023

HighLife

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

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

Aisha Babangida Becomes Life Member of CIoD

Kuku

Ripe for Greatness: Bunmi Kuku as First Female MD at FAAN Greatness is seldom coloured in blue or pink, but leadership positions regularly fall to men. This tide has started to change in Nigeria’s civil and corporate space but did not reach the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) until now. With Bunmi Kuku taking up the FAAN Managing Director position, she has broken the record and is considered the first female MD at the agency. Where radical changes are needed, radical decisions have to be made. Because President Bola Tinubu expects great things out of FAAN, he has committed its future to the fair and competent hands of Kuku. With the latter’s expertise, the agency is expected to evolve from mediocrity and routine aspirations to become an authentic arm of the aviation industry. Kuku’s commitment to her new position fits these expectations. According to her, her game plan for FAAN exceeds the usual narrative of building and fixing infrastructure. Instead, she intends to rejig the agency and reduce all waste in favour of phenomenal revenue generation, and an efficient, safe, and satisfying passenger experience. Kuku’s emergence at FAAN follows President Tinubu’s retirement of Kabir Mohammed as the agency’s MD. This seemingly ordinary decision has led to record-breaking with the suspension of the gender trail of male leadership at the agency. Kuku’s appointment is clearly impartial since she is an experienced hand in all things aviation. Between 2011 and 2014, she made her contributions to the industry as the Special Assistant to the Honourable Minister of Strategy and Infrastructure Development at the Federal Ministry of Aviation.

Excellence remains that strong denominator between great people and ordinary people. In light of her many achievements over the years, Aisha Babangida is certainly one of the former. Helping her to close 2023 in grand style, one of the most distinguished corporate governance institutes in Nigeria has conferred life membership status on Aisha, identifying her as one of the big positives for the year. During the annual Directors Dinner and Awards Ceremony by the Chartered Institute of Directors (CIoD), Aisha was recognised as a life member of the institute. Indeed, the CIoD dinner and awards ceremony had only the most prestigious individuals in attendance. Enjoying the joyous atmosphere, these icons of industries and top decision-makers in Nigeria bore witness to Aisha evolving from being a committed citizen to an influential member of the institute on account of how much value she has added to Nigeria’s corporate

Birthday shindigs in Lagos are always glamorous. They often serve as the gateway for eminent individuals to come running out of their cocoons, ready to be assimilated into a loving society. Things have reached this point for Senator Iyabo Obasanjo, daughter of former President Olusegun Obasanjo. With her reemergence from a hiatus, one is reminded of her background and history. The birthday bash of popular Lagos man, Lekan Ogunbanwo, made headlines. Taking place at Whitestone Event Centre, Oregun Ikeja, Lagos, this 60th birthday celebration of the socialite had big people in attendance. Among these

Babangida

Good Times are Here for Abisola Ajimobi-Daisi

Ajimobi-Daisi

There is such a thing as paying dues forward. The family of the former governor of Oyo State, the late Abiola Ajimobi, continues to benefit from his dissemination of goodwill. The latest among these fortunate ones is Ajimobi’s daughter, Abisola Ajimobi-

Iyabo Obasanjo Out of Her Anonymous Cocoon

Obasanjo

corridor. CIoD is only the most recent organisation to recognise the merits of Aisha. But this is a given considering her commitment over the years to charity and the reinforcement of hope for the underprivileged inNigeria and abroad. Whether it is in her capacity as the Chairperson of the Better Life Programme for the African Rural Woman (BLPARW), the humanitarian outreach initiative founded by her late mother, Maryam Babangida, or her Tasnim Foundation which grants scholarships to young girls in rural areas, Aisha’s marks are visible everywhere. As much as she might want to hide away from public eyes, Aisha is one of the most radiant pillars of humanity in Nigeria. Her continued efforts to harmonise the dreams of the underprivileged with prospects of a good life and opportunities will continue to be recognised.

individuals, Senator Iyabo cut a dazzling figure, reminding one of someone munching on goodness and grace in her secret place. It has been a while since the good senator from the Obasanjo family made the headlines. In the past, she was known for her power displays, especially in the direction of her father’s political legacies. But the years are counting, fitting her into the picture of a demure dignitary, respecting herself and respecting others. The Senator Iyabo who arrived at Ogunbanwo’s birthday was quite different from the one that disappeared into thin air a few years ago. The current one is luminously chubby, well-rested from opposing the powers that be and resigned to let things take their course. She no longer looks like the lady who would write a scathing public letter to her father, sniping at his inadequacies and excesses. Time indeed does wonders to the obedient mind. Before, every move of hers was accompanied by political deliberations. Yet, upon deciding to decamp from the public limelight, she has regained that humble disposition. So lowprofile is she now that she donated several classroom blocks in Ogun in July and very few people knew about it. So, the anonymous cocoon has its good points. For Senator Iyabo, it has polished her, turning her into a treasure for everyone who knows her.

Daisi (fondly called Abi-KD). For her, the sun’s glow is growing progressively radiant with time. Abi-KD, the lovely wife of Kolapo Kola-Daisi, is in the best of places at the moment. Having only stepped into her 40s (she’s 43), Abi-KD has much going for her, including a husband completely enamoured of her and two different families that adore her. But included in this list of Abi-KD’s lovers is her new appointment at the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning. Specifically, she was recently appointed the Special Adviser to the Honourable Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Atiku Abubakar Bagudu. With her appearance on the scene, things have already taken a more radiant glow, reinforcing the fact

that Abi-KD is no longer the lady of leisure as she was tagged some years ago. Before finally settling down with Kola-Daisi, Abi-KD was a hot cake in every sense of the word. Inheriting her father’s breadth of mind and her mother’s depth of beauty, AbiKD had everything she needed. As a result, she befriended luxury and made fun-seeking her better half. Those times have passed. While she is still easygoing and relaxed, Abi-KD’s vision has grown sharper, enough to be considered a budding replica of her father’s. Therefore, this position at the Budget and Economic Planning ministry is a good opportunity to remove the proverbial baby fat and show AbiKD for what she is and has always been in secret—her brilliant father’s brilliant daughter.

Opportunities in Official Diplomacy for GTBank’s Co-founder, Fola Adeola Fortune favours the fortunate; bravery often enters into the picture late. The tango of GTBank’s cofounder, Afolabi Adeola with the current federal government, is a case in point. After many ups and downs, reports hold that Adeola’s name could be announced any day now for an ambassadorial role. The current government is indeed very diplomatic with appointments. Strategically placing competent individuals in fitting positions, this government has doubtless offended many others. Allegedly, Adeola is one such person, one whose narrative in this regard is on the cusp of welcome change. Once it arrives, every offence will be wiped out, forgotten. President Bola Tinubu is reportedly considering Adeola for an ambassadorial position. Finally recognising his abilities, the president’s alleged consideration is a welcome development for the GTBank’s boss, something he desired for a long time.

According to sources, Adeola was once very sure that he would be included in Tinubu’s dossier of ministers. Believing himself fit for the role of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Adeola supposedly prepared charts to dazzle subordinates and colleagues alike—until the president ignored him and chose someone else. Perhaps this story would have taken a different tone if not for these recent tattles that Tinubu’s interest in Adeola has returned. Therefore, GTBank’s co-founder will not have to send money to anyone to remind Mr. President that he is still very much committed to serving him (Tinubu). Meanwhile, Adeola’s 70th birthday is just around the corner. Perhaps the president has grown so mindful of him that he intends to appoint him to a diplomatic role as a birthday gift. Should this happen, Tinubu would have effectively wiped out Adeola’s disappointments of being ignored before.

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R DECEMBER 24, 2023

HIGHLIFE

Julius Rone’s UTM Offshore Signs Major Deal with NNPC, Delta Govt

Rone

The idea of a new bride comes from the attractiveness that such a new addition connotes. For a corporate giant like Julius Rone,

being a new bride is nothing new. Nevertheless, seeing as he has been able to get institutions like the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and the Delta State Government to sign a deal with him, Rone is the latest bride in Nigeria. With Rone and his UTM Offshore Ltd, standing out among peers has become a way of life. Recently, Rone demonstrated his outstanding quality of farsightedness by signing a shareholders’ agreement for the development of Nigeria’s first Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) with the aforementioned NNPCL and Delta State Government. Knowing Rone’s business strategy, having the Delta State Government and NNPCL bear some of the weight of UTM’s FLNG is to grant them opportunities to benefit from the anticipated outcomes in terms of revenue generation. Given that, it

is not too much to ask that his home state, particularly, get involved in the development process. Based on the report from the dealsigning ceremony held at the NNPC Towers Abuja on Tuesday, December 19, 2020, UTM will own 72 per cent share of the project, NNPCL will own 20 per cent, while the remaining eight per cent will go to the Delta State Government. From the excited speech of Delta State governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, this distribution scheme is fine. Indeed, one needs to hail Rone for his civil and corporate commitments. Never letting one be outdone by the other, Rone’s contributions to UTM as the boss have only grown progressively over the years. Simultaneously, Rone has not neglected his identity as a son of Delta or a citizen of Nigeria.

Hakeem Muri-Okunola Bows Out in Style Perhaps there is something about being bespectacled, excellent and highly esteemed. Hakeem Muri-Okunola (alias HMO), former Lagos state Head of Service and current Principal Private Secretary to President Bola Tinubu fits these attributes. Recently, when he formally bowed out of the Lagos council of decision-makers with his former principal, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, this bespectacled spectacle became more obvious. Even though the ceremony came four months after his actual departure, it demonstrated HMO’s value in the eyes of subordinates, colleagues, and superior, Governor Sanwo-Olu. After all, it was the latter that insisted on the event to honour him. During the event held at the Adeyemi Bero Auditorium, HMO enjoyed the salutations of all and sundry. With even the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) and Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, in

attendance, it became evident that Sanwo-Olu was committed to letting all know that HMO served him well. Referring to HMO as his “brother, worthy partner, and confidant,” Sanwo-Olu did not hold back from mentioning many of HMO’s accomplishments. With such gracious words, HMO officially stepped down from the position of Lagos Head of Service, moving to Abuja to serve President Tinubu as the chief of all his secretaries. There is a sense of completion in HMO’s public service. Before he became a powerful force in the Lagos State government, HMO served as Tinubu’s personal assistant, starting him off on an adventure to greatness. Now, HMO is back at Tinubu’s table, ready to serve him to the best of his ability. It is a golden ending for HMO in Lagos, but also the start of something new at Abuja. Perhaps, the future would see him return to Lagos in one public capacity or another.

Olusanya

Segun Agbaje Gifts Miriam Olusanya a Lifetime Achievement Award Muri-Okunola

Until then, the good people of the Center of Excellence can only wave goodbye to an illustrious son.

Sanwo-Olu’s Sterling Stewardship Puts Lagos on Global Map

Sanwo-Olu

Sterling outcomes often come from sterling leadership. On this front, Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu is matchless. Since 2015 until now, the man’s dedication to putting Lagos on the global map has not waned, evidenced by his progressive commitment in

the form of timely infrastructural development projects and social initiatives taking the nation by storm. Few Nigerian governors at any time can be compared with Sanwo-Olu in terms of sheer vision and grand accomplishments. At the beginning of his tenure, the bespectacled governor took things slow and steady, only starting to gain some momentum after the first year of governance. But by the second year in office, Sanwo-Olu was winning the hearts of the people and his detractors were drooling in shock at his achievements. At this point, one might think that there is very little that Sanwo-Olu can do to amaze or astound. But that is exactly it - he continues to do so. The latest of his projects, the Ikeja Flyover, has people talking in excitement since it is generally recognized as a key component of the Red Line

Rail Project. At the inauguration of the project, even the Speaker of the Lagos House of Assembly, Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, was carried away with emotion at the prospects of Lagos. Given the completion of this project, the anticipated Red Line Rail has become more tangible. For Sanwo-Olu, every aspect of the Lagos economy has seen some action. Transportation became the loudest with the Blue Rail Line. But before that, there was education and initiatives such as the Eko Digital project. What about the agricultural sector or health? Which one has not felt the golden transformation brought on by Sanwo-Olu? With Sanwo-Olu, it is first-class leadership indeed, the kind that steers economies from mediocrity and affixes them on a summit for the world to see.

Is Senator Jimoh Ibrahim’s Guber Game Plan for 2024 Feasible? Political ambitions are always a joy to watch because of how long-lived and futile they can be. Whether or not the gubernatorial ambition of Senator Jimoh Ibrahim will ever amount to anything, time will tell. But before that happens, he is very interested in forming alliances, settling factions, and buying allegiances. The race towards governorship in Ondo State has started. Since the health condition of the incumbent governor, Rotimi Akeredolu became critical, several aspirants for his mantle started intensifying their efforts. Ibrahim is one of these and his current position as the senator representing Ondo South senatorial district gives him a unique advantage. To be governor of the Sunshine State, all methods are acceptable. This is the vibe that aspirants like Senator Ibrahim are giving off. The business mogul’s recent moves have

extended to Ondo East and West from where he expects a harvest of supporters. Although he hasn’t started mobilising his supporters in these regions, he is confident that things will turn out for good for him. Before this meeting with All Progressives Congress (APC) party executives in Ondo East and West, Senator Ibrahim’s gubernatorial aspiration was not considered a serious venture. Despite his first attempt in 2003 on the platform of the All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP), it does not appear as if the National Mirror Newspaper publisher has strengthened his influence across the state. Furthermore, Senator Ibrahim’s history with agencies such as the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) should be enough reason for intending loyalists to stop and consider. But such things have never stopped political figures from stepping forward and claiming victory.

Ibrahim

Altogether, Ibrahim’s determination to be Ondo governor is not an issue, neither is his ability to establish wellsprings of mobilisation resources. The question is whether or not the good people of Ondo will trust him enough to hand over the destinies into his hands. Only they can collectively answer this and decide the feasibility of his game plan.

It’s December, that time of the year when peerless individuals are celebrated for 12 months of commitment and hard work. Miriam Olusanya, the MD of Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) has gotten a recognition nod from her boss, Segun Agbaje, the Group CEO of Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO PLC). Celebrating her, Agbaje handed her a Lifetime Achievement Award. Neither GTBank nor the higher-tier company, GTCO, does things in small ways. During the GTCO party for the year 2023, held on Tuesday, December 19, 2023, names were named and achievements pointed out. Among these names and achievements, Olusanya stood out for her sterling leadership, leaving the way of excellence open for others to tread. Olusanya’s outstanding merits did not entirely come as a surprise. For one, being the leader predisposes her to the obligation to dominate the summit of merits distinctly. However, even in this expected quest, Olusanya did marvellously well. Olusanya’s time at the GT group of businesses has been marked by a graciousness only visible in deliberately cultivated business executives. But Olusanya is widely recognised as a graduate of Pharmacy from the University of Ibadan, one that only holds an MBA (Master of Business Administration) degree from the University of Liverpool. So, where did she learn enough about business management to dominate her peers at GT? Olusanya’s tale is one of dedication and diligence. Since joining the organisation in 1998, she has remained one of its assets, unflinchingly committed to its development and progress. Seeing that it is with this award that Olusanya closes the year 2023, one wonders what she has in store for GTBank in 2024. Perhaps, at the end of next year, Agbaje would hand over to her something superior to a lifetime achievement award.

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R DECEMBER 24, 2023

LOUD WHISPERS

with JOSEPH EDGAR (09095325791)

Where is General Richard Duru?

Duru

I am not really in any mood to write anything today. The only thing that is making me write is the very strong possibility that someone in authority will see the write up and do something. Please, where is General Richard Duru? The retired general has been kidnapped and held in very strange custody for over two months now with nothing really structural being done to release him. At least, from where I am seated, I have not seen any press release from the Army High Command or even the Chief of Defence Staff saying anything meaningful. I mean, even our President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces should have even come out to address the nation. But instead, life continues while this well decorated gentleman wallows in stupendous suffering in the den of kidnappers. Why the full weight of the Nigerian

Oba Olaoye

Adesina

OBA GHANDI OLAOYE: UNEASY LIES THE HEAD Last time I spoke about these issues, they were asking me questions o. They asked me what concerned me o, “won’t you go and keep that your afang eating big head somewhere?” So, I decided to refrain from all cultural matters that concern my Yoruba brothers. But this latest one, e go hard make I keep quiet cos the matter cuts across so many lines in this our country, I swear. So, I stumbled on the picture of the new Soun of Ogbomoso, Oba Ghandi Olaoye on his knees with the highly respected Pastor Adeboye laying his hands on his head and praying. You see, Pastor Adeboye always used to sha run into these controversies. From presidents to presidential aspirants and sitting vice presidents, all going to kneel to him. You see, the need to separate church from state remains highly critical and this is not about or against Pastor Adeboye who I would have expected that even if those going to kneel down there -no too get sense,

he with all of his training and exposure should know what to do by reminding them that they carry with them the full weight of 200 million people and as such, should not be kneeling down for any mortal no matter who or what the mortal represents on this earth. This Oba Ghandi own is of a different colouration. It belies the confusion that besets the Oba personally and the continued demystification of our traditional ethos by modernity. That picture of the Oba on his knees and the man of God touching his head in my estimation is a major slap on the cultural institutions’ the Oba represents. You cannot serve mammon and God. You cannot represent a position and now go and be subservient to another master and after that, you now go back to where you were coming from. That picture showed very clearly the bridging of lines instead of the partnership that should be between tendencies. It showed a significant “inferioritisation” of our culture, a “do bale ing” of our traditions and a gross humiliation of what we

Armed Forces have not been thrown into the matter beats me. I am just sitting down here and wondering just once again, “what exactly do we owe this country?” I am very much interested in this matter because General Duru, apart from having served this country for over 35 years, throwing himself into many theatres of war and performing exceedingly and brilliantly well, his situation throws up a very discouraging ethos for the soldiers currently serving. They will be wondering just how this can happen to a full General, retired or not, leading to low morale amongst the rank and file. General Duru was my senior in secondary school, a perfect gentleman and a man who loves this country. In my various encounters with him,

Mmobuosi

culturally stand for. I am sorry that I have to be this harsh, but I think the new Oba should kinda apologise to all traditionalists in the country, and not only to the great stool and people of Ogbomoso, and he must make sure he doesn’t do that again. Yes. KAYODE FAYEMI’S POWERFUL SUBMISSION When brilliant people speak, you relish in their intelligent positions. The other day, Dr. Fayemi in an outing at a book launch was reported to have said that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) should be in a position to give honest feedback to our President. My people this statement in its simplicity is the very chore of the issues our successive leaders face. They are imprisoned by the selfish interest of their handlers and made to see only things they want them to see. I tell you as far as Tinubu is concerned, everything is going well in the country o. Let me tell you guys something. The other day I was ensconced

his patriotism stood out and as such he cannot be treated like a mangy dog. He must be accorded his full respect and honour. The authorities must, as a matter of urgency, throw every soldier they have, every armoured tank, every war plane into securing his release. Do you guys even know the extent of damage his being held by renegades would constitute to national security if he breaks from the mental and physical torture he would have been subjected to? I think very strongly that if his release is not secured within the next five days, I will call on the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces to call for the resignation of all the heads of his security architecture because at that point, they would no longer deserve their epaulettes. This is shameful. Period.

Abiola

in a hotel room in Abuja for five days. I did not go out o, I was just there on standby and watching only NTA. The hotel had only NTA. My people, from the constant gibberish NTA was spewing at me, I began to ask myself why were people complaining. Everything was working o. Power was perfect, employment grew, corruption ebbed, the roads were beautifully paved and the armed forces were very happy. I even saw videos of customs officers singing and dancing the praises of their oga. Everything was perfect o. When I got to the airport and the hustle and bustle of that mad house hit me, I got culture shock. That was me o, talk less of a whole president surrounded by an army of aides and others who will block any “unfortunate” news and allow only what they feel is “good for oga” to pass through him. So, you see the very seminal nature of Dr. Fayemi’s position and this is why he remains amongst the very few that I truly do respect within the cabals that make up that contraption- APC. Come and beat me anybody, I have said my own.

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R DECEMBER 24, 2023

FEMI ADESINA: WHO THE BLOODY HELL CARES This is what Femi was quoted to have written in his upcoming book as President Buhari’s reaction to Bukola Saraki’s cross carpeting or something like that. So, I have also decided to borrow the phrase as a direct and very serious response to his upcoming book. Mbok, who bloody cares about what he has to say. The man went there and lost his mind, justifying and explaining all sorts of antipeople policies. The wickedness that pervaded that “regime” and the insensitivity as perfectly illustrated by the photograph of his master with a toothpick in his mouth will continue to haunt this generation of Nigerians. The wickedness that heralded that administration can almost be equated with the despotism that was General Abacha’s unfortunate journey into power and in all of that madness, Adesina was there explaining, cajoling, persuading and justifying all for a morsel or to keep a job that even eunuchs will not touch with a long stick. Today, the tsunami is over and he now wants to come and write a book. Which “yeye” book, please he should just let us be so we can continue to lick our wounds. Kai! Buhari’s tenure was crazy. It was mad in its insensitivity, in its lack of engagement with the people and in its arrogance especially in the way the leader treated us. As the crazy policies tore into us, he went on international jaunts which didn’t make sense, he continued in his nepotistic flow which further divided us and Mr. Adesina was there doing what he knew best – whitewashing it all. Oga, you no go leave us make we still dey cry our cry. Book ko, book ni. INCOMPETENT NAFDAC: BLAME IT ON THIS WOMAN The rash of kidney and renal challenges Nigerians are facing can be directly dropped at the table of the NAFDAC as headed by this lady – Prof Adeyeye. Nigerians are now consuming more fake products and medicines than ever before and this is blowing up our kidneys, leading to death and maiming. The NAFDAC remains ineffective in its role and have just thrown up their hands in utter surrender as counterfeiters and purveyors of fake medicines and products continue to hold us to ransom. The other day, over 240 shops in Aba were raided and we saw in true colour the extent of damage these people are doing not only to the economy but our health. Almost 70 per cent of drugs being taken today are fake, a rash of beverages, fake. Even bottled water, all fake. I guarantee you that if you buy bottled water of any brand in any of the far flung areas in Lagos like Ikorodu or Ikotun, the chances that it will be fake is very high. It is in this regard that I hereby call for the resignation of the NAFDAC Director General, Prof. Moji Adeyeye and replace her with either a member of the law enforcement body with experience in that area so that we can now have a much more structural approach to this problem. Na wa, just go to Gbagada General Hospital and see the number of Nigerians in need of dialysis.

SIM FUBARA’S LACK OF COURAGE UNDER FIRE One of the key strengths of a godfather is his ability to secure the services of the weakest in his circle to either succeed him or be given a strategic appointment. That is rule 101 of godfatherism, a rule President Tinubu has used to maximum effect. Shebi you see when he went against the rule with Fashola, and Ambode where it got him. Wike, a master in the game, followed that rule to the letter. This Sim is seamless. Even his demeanour is that of a man lacking in spine, a man without the courage to look into the eyes of the demon and say “You know what, get thee behind me.” Even while watching him speak, you can sense the fear. It is almost like sending a chicken to a fight with a bulldog. The outcome will be very very predictable. Wike is a bully, one of the worst you can ever find. It is for this reason; he will never go against anybody with the same level of strength. Check his political career, apart from Amaechi, every other person he has gone against have been very weak people. Weak by body constitution or weakened by circumstances like Atiku in the last elections. Sim is the weakest of them all. Even me sef, can chance this Sim. Wike is just slapping that one up and down the place and running the state like we do not have a chief executive. I used to wonder how a whole state governor with all the constitutional backing and the full access will not open the vault and fight this Wike to the end even if it means after the fight, submitting himself to EFCC for prosecution. If Wike could open the Rivers State Vault to disgrace himself in a very

Fubara

harried and ego-driven meaningless Presidential campaign, then why can’t Sim also open the same Vault and fight Wike to the end? Anybody who is supporting Sim is just wasting his time, because this is not the Ondo Deputy Governor who fought everybody to a standstill, or a Fayose or even a Wike. This is a jelly who will still, I am very sure, be sending people to be begging Wike at night. Abi, how do you explain attending a meeting in Aso Rock? A meeting called by a very involved President who has not shown any ounce of statesmanship on this matter or any matter for that matter, and a Chief of Staff who provided office space for Wike to be dancing and singing – on your mandate? What exactly was Sim expecting to come out of that kind of meeting? The question to be asked is would Tinubu have dared to invite Wike to that kind of meeting if Wike was Sim? We all know what Wike would have told Tinubu if he had dared. This Sim no be am o. Just sad that Wike had won this war, even before the war started and that Fayose had warned us o. For me, I am already standing at Sim’s impeachment. Do not kid yourself, it will happen. I swear on my mother’s grave, Wike will still impeach this boy scout. We came to this fight with a spineless sim. Seriously. The only hope is if Tonye Cole can manage an upset through the Supreme Court and where that fails, we will continue to have Rivers under the absolute control of an unpredictable political bully – Nyesom Wike. Sad.

Madam, abeg just go, you don try. UNSETTLING REVELATIONS ABOUT DOZY MMOBUOSI Dozy, for those of you who do not know, is the Nigerian businessman who wanted to buy Sheffield United, the British premiership team. He runs the Tingo enterprise, an agrictech firm with interest in Nigeria and quoted on one of America’s stock exchanges. He is my friend and brother but it seems that he may have run afoul of the many rules that guide his business. During the week, the US SEC released a report which went viral. They claimed in the report that Dozy has been very “magical” in his reporting. In fact, they stated that in a report, he had filled that over $400million was in his Nigerian bank accounts but a search showed just $50, meaning that even me, I get money pass Dozy. Well, my colleagues at the BGL Alumni group took me to task immediately when the damning report came out. They fired, “Edgar you get emotional. You supported him when the Hindenburg report came out, now what do you have to say?” Yes, I did say that we had to be patient because when that first terrible report came out, Tingo had come out, debunking it and also went ahead to hire a very expensive and prestigious law firm to defend it. So, I asked for patience. But if the SEC report is anything to go by, it looks like my brother may have overreached himself. Kai, as I read this report, I started sweating. Dozyyyyyyyyy!!!!! Kai. This is not good na. Millions of peoples dollars toyed with, the international reputation of Nigeria once again destroyed? My brother, a part of me is praying and hoping that all of this is not true o and that you would come out with a credible position but something in me just feels like this may just be the end of the road. Why the brilliance was parlayed negatively when it could have been used for more societal positive ventures continues to beat me. Disappointed. KOLA ABIOLA AS THE LATEST FATHER-IN-LAW IN TOWN Nothing beats it much more than nurturing a child from birth to the point where you finally hand her over in marriage to a suitable suitor. This was what made Kola Abiola, my egbon grin from earto-ear last Monday at the Five Star Lounge in Oniru. The crowd was superlatively up market o. I saw everybody o, from the Sarakis, to my egbon Aigboje, to even Fash who is still smarting from the article I wrote about our encounter even though I didn’t mention his name. The hall was well decorated and the food was plenty. I could not stop eating o. As better people were dancing to the wonderful tunes of the evergreen King Sunny Ade, I was flirting with the beautiful hostesses who made sure that the food kept coming my way o. I ate o. Kai, and drank like a sailor while the festivities went on. Kola took me to his beautiful wife who said, “Your dreadlock gave you away.” Then I stole a glance at the very beautiful bride and said to the groom, “you got yourself a pearl there, well done.” Congrats bro.

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R DECEMBER 24, 2023

Adebayo Adeoye bayoolunla@gmail.com; 08054680651

SOCIETY WATCH

Onasanyas’ Matriarch’s Grand Journey to an Eternal Rest

Ajulo

Kayode Ajulo’s Love for the Less-privileged Rewarded A good deed does not go unrewarded. This simple phrase captures the life and essence of popular constitutional lawyer, Olukayode Abraham Ajulo, SAN. The outspoken and fiery lawyer was among the 58 lawyers who were recently elevated to the enviable rank of Senior Advocates of Nigeria. All his life, Ajulo has eaten and drank law. From his father’s popular bookshop in Akure, capital of Ondo State, young Kayode had his first understanding of law as he would bury his head into the various law books on the shelves. It is a well-kept secret among legal luminaries that when a law firm commands not just the respect of its peers, but the kind of briefs which yield huge sums that make bankers drool in envy, such a firm has landed in the top-tier league. While barristers earn their stripes by the number of cases won in court, solicitors only get to play in the big league based on the quality of legal advisory services, corporate and commercial transactions as well as impressive legal skills they wield in a wide range of practice areas. But for Ondo State-born Ajulo, large doses of selfless and pro bono cases, coupled with God’s blessings have ensured his smooth ride to prominence and opulence. “Almost 90 per cent of his cases are pro bono. You have many people suffering unjustly simply because they cannot access legal services. So, whenever such cases are brought to his notice, He makes sure that he makes a lawyer available to them,” a source revealed to Society Watch. Ask around about him, and many would surely have good testimonies to tell about his good deeds and selfless services, particularly to the less privileged. His mastery of constitutional law has most times confounded even his ardent critics.

Those we love never truly leave us. There are things that death cannot touch. This is consolation for folks like the former Managing Director of First Bank, Dr. Bisi Onasanya, following the passing of his mother, Mrs. Selimot Elizabeth Onasanya who peacefully transitioned to glory on November 16, 2023, at 88. Although heartbroken, the banking wizard found solace in the fact that his mother indeed lived an amazing life. He believed that she should be celebrated for raising a wonderful family and for providing him alongside his siblings a solid foundation that enabled him to become a successful businessman, prominent banker and a real estate colossus. Onasanya believed his mother deserves to be remembered for her radiance, the joy and legacy of integrity she brought to her family, hence the need for a befitting celebratory burial for the matriarch. So on Thursday, December 14, Onasanya, who is also a real estate guru, gathered top eminent personalities to bid farewell to his late mother.As gathered by Society Watch, it was an honour to the life and legacy of his beloved mother. According to the obsequies, the final burial proceedings commenced with a burial service at late mama’s church, Abundant Life Baptist

Church, Ijede, Ikorodu, Lagos State. Following the church service, a private interment ceremony was held at Ikoyi Cemetery. The reception was held at Harbour Point, Victoria Island, Lagos. As revealed, the colourful event was another concrete proof that Onasanya’s preeminence in the business world is not a fluke, given the array of guests that honoured his invitation. And trust The Address Homes founder, he doesn’t do things in half measure. He gave a befitting and deserved grand goodbye to a worthy matriarch. It was obvious that he had a commanding sense of hospitality. It was upscale and the finest in all ramifications. Expressing gratitude on behalf of his family, Onasanya conveyed appreciation for the outpouring of support through visits and messages during this challenging time following the death of their mother. He acknowledged the overwhelming display of love and kindness, underscoring the impact it has had on strengthening their faith in God. Among the guests that graced the premium party are Zamfara State Governor, Dauda Lawal; First Bank GMD, Mr. Sola Adeduntan; Ms Ayo Ali Balogun, President Chartered Institute of Directors, Tijjani Borodo; Mrs. Dele Belgore, Mr.

Onasanya

Timi George, Miss Bunmi Aderonmu, Pastor Idowu Iluyomade and wife Siju, Mrs. Omon Okpere, Mr. Akin Denton and wife, Mr. Wole Fanimakun, Chief Tayo liori, among other eminent personalities.

Babatunde Omotalade Revolutionising the Fashion Industry

Omotalade

One common problem that has persisted over the years in the ever-evolving world of fashion is the sourcing of quality materials. This challenge has left many fashion enthusiasts and designers frustrated. But one can now heave a sigh of relief as Babatunde Omotalade, boss of Talade Bespoke Clothiers, has

found the solution. For years, fashion designers and brands grappled with the issue of obtaining highquality materials. In Nigeria, where Talade Bespoke Clothiers is based, the fashion industry often faced limitations due to the quality of materials available locally. The lack of access to top-notch fabrics and raw materials hindered the industry’s growth and innovation. Babatunde recognised this challenge and decided to take action. He embarked on a mission to source the finest materials and fabrics from around the world. His extensive travels to countries like the United Kingdom, Dubai, Italy, and Spain availed him the opportunity to establish connections with international suppliers renowned for their quality textiles. It was revealed that his commitment to quality is unwavering. He understands that fashion is not just about design; it’s also about the materials used. So, his goal is to bring the world’s best materials to Nigeria. Talade Bespoke Clothiers quickly became a game-changer in the Nigerian fashion scene. Designers and fashion enthusiasts finally

had access to top-notch materials that allowed them to bring their creative visions to life. The impact was felt not only in Nigeria but also on a global scale. Babatunde proudly stated that his clients, including prominent figures like Bukayo Saka and Gboyega Oyetola, experienced a transformation in their fashion choices. “Our pieces made from premium materials gained recognition and appreciation worldwide,” he said proudly. We also gathered that he has invested in ensuring quality control throughout the production process. Despite challenges like erratic power supply and access to quality machines, the company has maintained a commitment to excellence. Babatunde’s commitment to excellence and global sourcing has not only solved this issue but has also elevated the fashion industry, making it a force to be reckoned with on the international stage. So, it wouldn’t be out of place to say that the Nigerian fashion industry’s ageold problem of material quality has met its match with Babatunde’s innovation and ingenuity.

Kemi Adeosun Remembers Father In-law Olaoluwakitan Babatunde High profile personalities including former President Olusegun Obasanjo, his wife, Bola and Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State graced the 25th remembrance anniversary of Chief Christopher Adeosun, the father-inlaw of former Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun. The calibre of people at the ceremony testifies to the legacy of Pa Adeosun, who was a foremost banker and community leader. The event which held at Asero in Abeokuta, Ogun State, also had in attendance the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Wale Edun; Senator representing Ogun Central, Shuaib Afolabi Salisu; Secretary to the Ogun State Government, Tokunbo Talabi, and the Speaker of the Ogun House of Assembly, Olakunle Oluomo. The former Managing Director of First Bank, Mr. Bisi Onasanya also joined the Adeosun family, children, grandchildren and descendants at the remembrance of the late banker who was among the first indigenous managers of Barclays Bank. Governor Abiodun, in his remarks at the event, praised the Adeosun family whom, he noted, is associated with finance. Pa Adeosun was born on May 4, 1922 into the royal family of Adeosun Sotue in Olodo, 30 kilometres from Abeokuta, in modern day Odeda Local Government Area of Ogun State. He was the last born of six children, an Idowu,

being born after twins. His education began at Otere Baptist Primary School, Olodo, where he excelled, gaining admission to the famous Baptist Boys High School (BBHS) in Abeokuta. He later transferred to Ibadan Grammar School, where he completed his secondary education. Pa Adeosun’s career started with his employment in 1947 by Barclays Bank Dominion Colonial Overseas (D.C.O.) Dugbe Branch in Ibadan. His aptitude for numbers and thoroughness saw him rapidly promoted and selected for training in the United Kingdom. He became one of the first cadre of indigenous management staff of the bank, alongside Mr. Samuel Asabia, Mr. G.O. Nwankwo among others. Such roles had been the traditional preserve of expatriates. Among the junior accountants in the bank was Moshood Kashinmawo Olawale (MKO) Abiola whose talent stood out and whom C.A. Adeosun, encouraged to pursue professional studies overseas. Many years later the two had an emotional reunion in Lagos. While in Ibadan, the young and always dapper Pa Adeosun, known as ‘Broda Yellow’ was introduced to a Miss Josephine Molake Abatan by the late Mrs. Ogunmuyiwa, wife of Justice Ogunmuyiwa, then a customer of the branch. The match was supported by late Chief Mr. and Mrs. Odunjo of the Alawiye House fame. The then Miss Abatan hailed from the noble family of Ologbowon, her siblings included Mrs. Jibogun, Chief Soji Edun, and Mrs. Oyewole, all of blessed memory.

Former President Obasanjo (left) with the former Minister of Finance, Adeosun at the remembrance anniversary of Pa Adeosun

The young couple married in 1950 and were blessed with six children, three boys and three girls. Their first, Christopher Abiodun was born in 1952, followed by Olajumoke, Abimbola, Adewale, Adeniyi and finally Tolulope. By 1966, Pa Adeosun had been promoted to Manager to head the newly opened Shomolu Branch in Lagos which meant relocating from Ibadan where he had already built his own house. After retirement, Pa Adeosun dedicated

himself to serving God and watching over his family. At Emmanuel Anglican Church, his dedication and philanthropy saw him conferred with the title of 4th AgbaAkin of Keesi Christians. His community philanthropy had been a constant part of his life, sponsoring many young people to pursue education overseas and within Nigeria. Always modest and reluctant to mention his accomplishments, review of his meticulous records showed that he was the financial support to many Professors, Engineers and other professionals in various fields excelling within and outside Nigeria today. He also invested in the education of his own children to the exclusion of other opportunities. It is to his credit that those children have excelled in their various fields of endeavour. He and his wife were the nucleus of their respective extended families. Despite his dedication to his work, he had an affable personality Some of his nicknames included, “Cee Aaa”, and “King of Boys.” The late Pa Adeosun was an avid sportsman and lover of Lawn Tennis. He was a foundation member of many clubs including Ibadan Tennis Club, Yoruba Tennis Club, Lagos, Island Club and Abeokuta Sports Club. He was a highly principled and meticulous personality who practiced critical selfexamination at every stage of his journey.

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ JUNE 24 2012

ARTS & REVIEW A

PUBLICATION

24. 12. 2023

$ 6HDVRQ V &XOWXUDO 2;HULQJV ,QWURVSHFWLRQ Despite the prevailing economic challenges in Nigeria this year, the yuletide period remains a kaleidoscope of cultural oﬀerings on stage, writes The Kuti trio, Seun, Made and Femi Kuti Yinka Olatunbosun Saro the Musical at 10

he resounding sound of drums and voices inside Terra Arena Victoria Island Lagos is rekindling the memories of ten years ago when Saro the Musical ÀUVW KLW WKH VWDJH LQ /DJRV 7KHDWUH EXͿV KDYH EHHQ FRQYHUJLQJ DJDLQ WR relish the rich theatrical experience delivered by the award-winning Bolanle Austen-Peters 3URGXFWLRQ %$3 In commemoration of those 10 years of Saro the musical, a seven-day run starting from Dec 22, 2023 through to Jan 2, 2024 has been activated to return sparks to Lagos, 1LJHULD V FXOWXUH FDSLWDO A scene from Kakadu the Musical Set in Lagos, the story explores the life of three talented boys, Azeez, Laitan and Efe who hail from the humble village of .XWXZHQML ZKHUH WKH\ ZHUH ORFDO VHQVDWLRQV Driven by their passion for music and the desire for success, the trio embarks on a OLIH DOWHULQJ MRXUQH\ WR WKH FLW\ RI /DJRV Broadway-styled, Saro the musical is produced by Bolanle Austen-Peters and has travelled beyond Nigerian shores to -RKDQQHVEXUJ DQG /RQGRQ 7KLV LPPHUVLYH musical is created to transport the audience through the struggles, triumphs and drive RI WKH FKDUDFWHUV Many believe that Saro the musical is WKH ÀUVW PXVLFDO WKHDWUH RQ WKH 1LJHULDQ stage but that is not totally accurate judging E\ KLVWRU\ /RQJ EHIRUH 6DUR WKH PXVLFDO Nigerian theatres domiciled in university environments had seen several musical GUDPDV %XW LQ D UHYROXWLRQ RFFXUHG A scene from Saro the Musical in theatre culture in Lagos when theatre production houses owned by private individuals cultivated the interest of the public governmental organisation to give LQ ODUJH FDVW PXVLFDOV +HLJKWHQHG E\ WKH \RXQJ SHRSOH D YRLFH« use of costumes, tech-enabled scenic designs and beautiful choreography, the narrative Travelling Through Time with PXVLFDO WKHDWUH FKDQJHG VLJQLÀFDQWO\ DQG Kakadu the musical LPSUHVVLYHO\ WRR )RU WKH ÀUVW WLPH LQ WKH Known as Playhouse Initiative, this post-democratic era, theatre attracted top youth-centred organisation champiJRYHUQPHQW R΀FLDOV FRUSRUDWH ERGLHV oned the return of musical theatre expatriates, international visitors and to MUSON Centre in 2013 with the IRUHLJQ HPEDVVLHV performance of Kakadu the Musical, This change all started with the pioneering a period play set against the Nigeriamove by a production driven by a non%LDIUD ZDU VLWXDWLRQ

Jo’burg, staged for almost two weeks at the Nelson Mandela Theatre, considered as the ELJJHVW VWDJH LQ 6RXWK $IULFD The musical returns to stage again at MUSON Centre, Lagos from December 28 to 30, 2023, as the executive producer and playwright, Uche Nwokedi brings EDFN PDJLF RI WKLV PXVLFDO H[SHULHQFH Kakadu set a high standard that even its ZULWHU IHDUV WR VKDWWHU %H\RQG EHLQJ DQ entertaining piece, Kakadu is at the core of FRQYHUVDWLRQV DERXW WKH 1LJHULDQ VWDWH 0RVW of the issues raised in play have become HYHQ PRUH UHOHYDQW WRGD\ $W WKH PRPHQW Nigeria seems to create a sense of Deja Vu similar to post-war economic hardship in WKH HDUO\ V 0RVW EXVLQHVVHV DUH VWUXJgling while some multinationals are closing RSHUDWLRQV 7KH PLGGOH FODVV DUH OHDYLQJ LQ GURYHV LQ VHDUFK RI JUHHQHU SDVWXUHV /LNH the period before the war, Nigerians are using content creation vis-a-vis social media memes and Afrobeats as escapism from the PRUH FULWLFDO LVVXHV ,Q WKH HUD RI .DNDGX PXVLF ZDV DOVR WKH ÀOWHU WKDW PDVNHG WKH deeply fractured nature of the Nigerian VWDWH +RZ VRRWKLQJ :HOO RQH FDQ HQMR\ Kakadu the Musical without the baggage of emotion just because it's purgative!

7KH )DWKHU 7KH 6RQ DQG 7KH 8QFOH The New Afrikan Shrine in Lagos will witness the performances by the Afrobeat PXVLF IDPLO\ )HPL $QLNXODSR .XWL KLV VRQ Made Kuti and brother, Seun Anikulapo-Kuti would be performing tonight in a concert WRXWHG DV RQH RI WKH PRVW DͿRUGDEOH LQ WKH FLW\ ,Q WKH KHDUW RI ,NHMD WKLV QLJKWFOXE LV the most consistent on the mainland and has secured a multi-generation audience RYHUWLPH Greater Lagos Fiesta Looms… Perhaps in response to the need to reposition our cultural products as export-worthy, Lagos State Ministry for Tourism Arts and Culture has been in a hyperactive mode VLQFH WKH EHJLQQLQJ RI WKH \HDU :KLOVW most state theatres are still existing as under-utilised installations in their various locations across the state, the Ministry is looking for an opportunity to thrill tourists and Lagos residents with this year’s ´*UHDWHU /DJRV )LHVWD µ +ROGLQJ IURP 'HFHPEHU WR VW January 1st, 2024, the festival is created to UHJHQHUDWH FXOWXUDO OLIH LQ /DJRV ´:H DUH WDNLQJ WKLV \HDU·V ÀHVWD WR D ZKROH new level, with three days of non-stop H[FLWHPHQWµ 7KH /DJRV VWDWH +RQRXUDEOH Commissioner for Tourism arts and culture Mrs Toke Benson-Awoyinka declared at a SUHVV FRQIHUHQFH LQ /DJRV ´:H KDYH SXW D ORW LQ SODFH IRU VHFXULW\ ZH are working actively with all security apparatus of the state, the Nigeria Police, DSS, &LYLO 'HIHQFH /DJRV 6WDWH 7UD΀F 0DQDJHment Authority, LASTMA, Neighbourhood :DWFK DPRQJ RWKHU VHFXULW\ RSHUDWRUV LQ Kakadu is far from being a graphic war WKH VWDWH :H DUH PDNLQJ VXUH WKDW WKH HQWLUH documentary with visuals of bloodied space is secure, we are ensuring that our ZDUULRUV ,Q IDFW LW LV D JOHHIXO WDOH RI OLIH children are well taken care of and secure in Lagos, love and friendship beyond the DV ZHOOµ The Lagos Countdown 2024 #Greater ZDU LQWHUIHUHG ZLWK OLYHV DQG OLYHOLKRRGV Built around the character of a club owner, /DJRV )LHVWD KDV EHFRPH DQ DQQXDO WUDGLMr Darocha, the moving tragic-comic story tion, of celebrating, culture, music, and in Kakadu is laced with existential themes entertainment, among tourists visiting the alongside the subject matter of national state and the citizens during the Christmas/ XQLW\ QHZ \HDU FHOHEUDWLRQV ,W KDV D WUDFN UHFRUG Since its debut in 2013, Kakadu has trav- of safety and orderliness- but don't mistake elled to Calabar, Davos in Switzerland and WKLV IRU D SLFN SRFNHW IUHH ]RQH

EDITOR OKECHUKWU UWAEZUOKE/ okechukwu.uwaezuoke@thisdaylive.com

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER DECEMBER 24, 2023

ARTS & REVIEW\\POT POURRI

Bestraddling Painting and Sculpting in Debut Solo Show Stories by Yinka Olatunbosun

iyin Koko born Fiyinfoluwa Tunde Onadele has enjoyed painting since childhood. But while propelling her luggage out of her Nigerian home to study in North Carolina State 8QLYHUVLW\ VKH KDG D GLͿHUHQW LGHD LQ PLQG WR REWDLQ D ÀUVW GHJUHH LQ international relations and environmental dcience and perhaps return for a Master’s degree. Some life-changing events would later change her career course. One of them was the COVID-19 pandemic which imposed isolation on everyone. ,W ZDV D WLPH IRU VHOI UHÁHFWLRQ IRU )L\LQ .RNR 6KH recalled how she was working with plastic as a child with support from her mother who is also an artist. After graduating from the university, she had a stint in marketing before deciding to work as a full time studio artist. %H\RQG WKH PDWHUQDO LQÁXHQFH KHU ORYH IRU travelling paved the way for conversations that informed some of the subject matters raised in her body of works as showcased this Christmas season till early next year. As a child, she relocated from Lagos toAba where she stayed for almost six years. This move created D FURVV FXOWXUDO RXWORRN WKDW LV UHÁHFWHG LQ WKH XVH of language in her works. Some titles are drawn from Yoruba and Igbo languages while some are in English. ´, IHHO OLNH D ORW RI RXU FXOWXUH VKRXOG UHÁHFW LQ RXU art,” she began. “Art is meant to tell our stories and if we don’t show that now, we can get lost somehow. And I use Yoruba more than other languages. I went

Some of the sculptures at the show

EXHIBITION to Benin earlier this year to do research. I wanted to create works that have Edo names as well.” Inside Yenwa Gallery in Victoria Island, Lagos, )L\LQ .RNR·V ÀUVW VROR VKRZ ´:DWHU 0Hµ FUHDWHG D refreshing atmosphere away from the bustling city life. The fountain of water installation at the centre of WKH JDOOHU\·V JURXQG ÁRRU VHUYHV D YLVXDO PHWDSKRU for the show’s overarching theme of growth. 2Q WKH ULJKW DQG OHIW ÁDQNV RI WKH H[KLELWLRQ ZHUH paintings that featured motifs of gleeful women. The artist explained why the representation of women in her work is so important.

“I don’t think people tell our stories they way they should. I think when i was younger, i would always see African art and having some type of burden on the woman. It is either they are pounding yam or carrying some load on their heads or pregnant or carrying a child on her back. Even today, when you go to art markets in the cities, the art that women are featured in always create this image of bearing burden. There is more to women that the society needs to know and project.” From deconstructing negative stereotypes of women, she began to explore other materials different from acrylic, oil and impasto. A friend of hers had a leftover of a clay and during a studio session, they played around with it. That experience

UHNLQGOHG DQ ROG ÁDPH LQ .RNR 6KH XVHG EHQG SODVWLF LQWR GLͿHUHQW IRUPV WR FUHDWH VHYHUDO REMHFWV This time around, she made the clay more than just a play thing. “I went to Bruce Onobrakpeya’s Harmattan :RUNVKRS LQ 'HOWD VWDWH WR VWDUW WKH FOD\ MRXUQH\ That’s how I got here.” Although a self-taught artist, she consolidated her natural talent with research and skills taught by her clay teacher and began working with the potter’s wheel. Sometimes, she would travel all WKH ZD\ WR %DGDJU\ WR JOD]H DQG ÀUH KHU ZRUNV :KLOH RQ D UHVHDUFK RULHQWHG MRXUQH\ VKH ZRXOG meet women, take their photographs and engage them in simple conversations about their well-being. “Learning is one of the gifts of life. I believe that there is a lot that is hidden in conversations,” she said. :LWK ´:DWHU 0H ·· )L\LQ .RNR WHOOV D VWRU\ RI SHUVRQDO JURZWK 8VLQJ ÁRZHU SODQWLQJ DV DQ example, she told a visual story of nurturing and expressed this in a series of work that replicated the ones in 3-dimensional art forms. Made of terracotta, glazed in silver, the pieces are reminiscent of Benin bronzes in the way they allude to African forms. “It was important for me to challenge myself after doing 11 group shows within that time,” she added. For her solo exhibition, she attempted over GLͿHUHQW VNHWFKHV 2QH RI WKHP LV WLWOHG ´0\ Happy Place.” Capturing joyous moments, Fiyin Koko’s textured landscape painting paraded sisters exemplifying blood ties as well as energetic female dancers thus contrasting the image of overburdened African women. 6SHDNLQJ RQ WKH VLJQLÀFDQFH RI WKH EOXH FRORXU in her works, she recounted how her childhood dreams had been rendered in blue.

At the Music Minds Legacy Project Competition, Winners Take All

aba may be known as a tech hub and a home of many institutions of learning but to the cultural community, it was an epicentre of cultural life and now, on its way to retaining the title. A case in point would be a recent thrilling session that showcased talent, passion and a zeal to excel. Called Music Minds Legacy Project Competition, the pre-yuletide event saw the emergence of 10 lucky winners RI WKH JUDQG ÀQDOH RI WKH 0XVLF 0LQGV <RXQJ Geniuses Talent Hunt leaving the audience in awe of the incredible performances. The competition was a platform for grooming young talents aged 18 and below to unleash their skills and pursue their dreams in the music industry. It is an incredible opportunity for these aspiring musicians to gain exposure and guidance from experienced professionals. For the Keyboard category,Adetomiwa Omololu showcased his exceptional skills and emerged as the winner, while Oyedokun Mercy and 2ZRODEL *LGHRQ FODLPHG WKH WLWOHV RI ÀUVW DQG second runner-up. Oyedokun Victor proved his mastery of the Lead Guitar and was crowned the winner in that category. Meanwhile, in the Drums category, the talented Idowu Christianah stole the show and became the winner, while Elijah Divine and Oladejo Caleb secured the SRVLWLRQV RI ÀUVW DQG VHFRQG UXQQHU XS ,Q WKH Saxophone category,Alaba Praise was announced as the deserving winner, with Oyebamire Nifemi

A scene from Kakadu the Musical

TALENT HUNT and Osho Oluwaseyi securing the positions of ÀUVW DQG VHFRQG UXQQHU XS UHVSHFWLYHO\ Though a few weeks shy of Christmas celebrations, the event was an opportunity to give the budding talents an early Christmas gift. Aside from the cash prizes, the winners would

be recommended for career management deals with reputable talent management organisations. Additionally, the winners would be privileged to receive internships and mentorship from renowned entertainment personalities. Prince Yemisi Shyllon, Chairman of Music Minds Legacy Project Group, speaking on the novel project, at the eighth Annual Music Minds “Meet/ Greet” andYoung MaestrosAward Night,

said before now it was only a social gathering where they come to eat, drink and enjoy good music. This year, they decided to make it more productive. ´:H KDYH GHFLGHG WR EH PRUH SURGXFWLYH SURductive in socialisation. In other words, we are building a new crop of young people in the music industry. Giving back to society, and regenerating the music industry by introducing new talents that are below 18 years old, and you will be surprised DW RXU GLVFRYHU\ :H KDYH D EOLQG ER\ ZKR FDQ play the drums and other instruments. ´:H ZDQW WR KDYH \RXQJHU FKLOGUHQ ZKR ZLOO PDNH D GLͿHUHQFH LQ WKH ORQJ UXQ DQG ZH DUH discovering them while they are still very young. And in the process, we will expose them to the music industry through the media. Some of us decided that we should evolve this get-together, QRW MXVW FRPH WR FRQVXPH DQG VRFLDOLVH :H VKRXOG make it a good productive socialisation.” On hand to please the audience was the Yinká Alákijà Prime Qwest Band. They serenaded the likes of Taiwo Ajai-Lycett, Yinka Davies, and Dele Adetiba in attendance. Akin Fatunke, Member of the Board of Trustees, of Music Minds Legacy Project Group in his remarks noted that the Music Minds Legacy Project Competition aims to annually discover and nurture the exceptional abilities of young PDOHV DQG IHPDOHV LQ SOD\LQJ ÀYH VSHFLÀHG PXVLFDO instruments. The competition was divided into ÀYH FDWHJRULHV .H\ERDUG /HDG *XLWDU 'UXPV Trumpet, and Saxophone.

)RU &DSDFLW\ %XLOGLQJ /XIRGR $FDGHP\ RI 3HUIRUPLQJ $UWV 3DUWQHUV ZLWK 1HWÁL[

Joke Silva and Soji Jacobs

uoyed by the need to build capacity in creative arts, Lufodo Academy of Performing Arts instituted an innovative collaboration with the world’s leading streaming entertainPHQW VHUYLFH 1HWÁL[ Talented actors for the screen and experienced screenwriters will undergo training through this initiative with the goal to improve the local talent pool and promote Nigerian stories on WKH JOREDO VWDJH )XQGHG WKURXJK WKH 1HWÁL[ Fund for Creative Equity, this programme is dedicated to help identify, train and provide job placement for the next generation of talent from underrepresented communities around the world. This collaboration is indeed a milestone for LufodoAcademy, which has been developing and

PARTNERSHIP nurturing young talents in the Nigerian entertainment industry for over a decade. 7KH $FDGHP\ ZLOO OHYHUDJH 1HWÁL[·V JOREDO reach and industry expertise to produce TXDOLW\ FRQWHQW WKDW UHÁHFWV WKH ULFK FXOWXUH and diverse stories of Nigeria. Joke Silva, the co-CEO, Performing $UWV VDLG ´:H DUH H[FLWHG WR SDUWQHU ZLWK 1HWÁL[ RQ WKLV JURXQG EUHDNLQJ initiative. Lufodo Academy has always been committed to promoting the Nigerian arts and entertainment industry and this SDUWQHUVKLS LV D VLJQLÀFDQW VWHS WRZDUGV achieving that aim.” The Nollywood vetHUDQ DGGHG ´:H DUH FRQÀGHQW WKDW WKH

selected actors and writers will gain invaluable skills and experience through this program, and we look forward to seeing them contribute to the growth and development of the industry.” The selected actors and screenwriters will receive hands-on training and guidance from industry professionals throughout the duration of the programme. They will also have the opportunity to be part of a local production, which will give WKHP H[SRVXUH WR QHZ DXGLHQFHV 7KH ÀUVW RI this series of training commenced in July. Thespian Ronya Man Art and Accelerate TV are part of the technical and creative sponsors for the grand collaboration. Their expertise and creativity support will help ensure the success and quality of this ground-breaking project. Expectedly, the audition panel was made up of industry greats like Ajoke Silva, Femi Odugbemi, Ronya Man and Omonor Somolu.

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER DECEMBER 24, 2023

CICERO

Editor: Ejiofor Alike SMS: 08066066268 email:ejiofor.alike@thisdaylive.com

IN THE ARENA

ICPC’s Damning Corruption Report The recent revelation by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Oﬀences Commission that corruption in Nigeria’s three arms of government is 42 per cent has raised concerns on the eﬀectiveness of the anti-corruption war by successive administrations, Wale Igbintade writes

n a frightening revelation, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) last week unveiled staggering statistics, highlighting the pervasive extent of corruption in Nigeria’s three arms of government – executive, legislature and judiciary – between 2022 and 2023. The Provost of the Anti-Corruption Academy of Nigeria, Tunde Babawale, disclosed the alarming findings during the validation meeting of the Nigeria Corruption Index (NCI) Survey in Abuja. These revelations underscore a deeply ingrained culture of corruption that permeates both the country’s governance structures and private enterprises. In the NCI Survey aimed at assessing the grand corruption impact in Nigeria, exploring sectors predominantly affected by corruption and gauging the societal perspective on this critical issue, Babawale revealed that corruption has become so pervasive and has also permeated the Nigerian society to an extent that it demands a collective change in mindset, behaviour, and intolerance to curb. According to him, the survey conducted between 2022 and 2023 portrayed a dire scenario, with the corruption level identified within the legislative, judiciary, executive, and private sectors hitting a 42 per cent level. He expressed concerns about the findings of the NCI, which discovered that people had trivialized corruption and that the private sector had fuelled corrupt practices in the public sector. Babawale said the NCI focused on corruption in high places, especially the three arms of government and the private sector. He noted that there had been other surveys on corruption by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), largely based on perception devoted to identifying the problem of petty corruption. Drawing attention to the disconcerting revelations, Babawale revealed how the private sector’s involvement in corrupt practices, often disguised as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), has fuelled corruption in public institutions. He called for stringent measures to eliminate such unethical practices and advocated for the government’s intervention in scrutinising legislative oversight, often misused to extract bribes from both public and private sectors. He said: “One of the things we found out is that people have built the concept of Corporate Social

Tinubu Responsibility fraudulently; they have used it to disguise the perpetration of corruption between the private and public sectors. “What I mean by that is private companies sometimes bring out the concept of corporate social responsibility as real corporate social responsibility, when it is actually perpetuating corruption by giving officials bribes and even equipment. All the sectors have been found culpable and found to be highly corrupt; the legislature, the judiciary, and the executive; all of them have been found to be corrupt. Although at the level of the state, the score differs from one state to the other, the bottom line is that there is an overall score that we found and it is that over 42 per cent in our own scale is highly corrupt for the entire country.” Babawale highlighted a significant distinction between this survey and previous assessments conducted by entities like the National Bureau of Statistics and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. He said that the NCI zeroed in on the implications of grand corruption, particularly within the government’s arms and the private sector. “The difference in what we are doing is that we are surveying the impact of the effect of grand corruption and we are also looking at it from the perspective of different sectors of society, the legislature, the executive, the judiciary, as well as the sub-national government. So, the thinking that it is better

for us to talk about grand corruption because of the greatest impact on the living conditions of Nigerians when policemen collect bribes on the roadside – that has effects, but not as much as somebody stealing N109 billion. We want to weigh the impact of such on society, how it differs from one sector to the other, and the ultimate objective is also to ensure that we are able to advise the government on policies that should be put in place in order to develop anti-corruption initiatives and interventions,” he said. Pervasive corruption has always been identified as one of the greatest problems of Nigeria, stagnating growth and development. Many had predicted that if corruption was not tackled in Nigeria, the malaise could kill the country. This has made successive governments pledge to tackle and eradicate the menace when they assume power only for them to completely fail. For instance, former President Muhammadu Buhari ascended to power in 2015 on the promises to save Nigeria’s ailing economy, secure Nigeria and fight corruption. Even when he claimed in 2022 that Nigeria was better off than he met it in 2015, this has proved to be incorrect, especially in the three focus areas of the administration. Unfortunately, all the Transparency International Corruption Perception Index (CPI) reports during his regime ranked Nigeria high in corruption. For instance, in 2021, Nigeria was ranked 154th out of 180 nations assessed. In the report released in January 2022, the country scored 24 out of 100, a point lower than its performance in the previous 2020 CPI report. Apart from Nigeria’s unimpressive ranking on Transparency International (TI), under Buhari’s watch, several cases of corruption were believed to have been swept under the carpet. His administration had also ignored actionable intelligence offered to law enforcement agencies in the Panama Papers and Pandora Papers with revelation on Nigeria’s past and serving officials who allegedly breached the country’s code of conduct. Besides, Buhari also pardoned two former governors – Joshua Dariye of Plateau State and Jolly Nyame of Taraba State – who were convicted and jailed for corruption, which many saw as a huge rollback of the gains of the fight against corruption. During his campaigns, President Bola Tinubu promised to fight corruption by focusing more on preventive measures if elected as president in the 2023 election. He noted that part of his strategy

would be putting a system for effective wealth redistribution in place, to greatly reduce the temptation to commit corruption. He also vowed that his administration would support the existing anti-corruption institutions, and also address the underlying issues of corruption in the oil industry. Tinubu promised to strengthen existing transparency mechanisms in the areas of public procurement, fiscal responsibility and whistleblower policy as preventive strategies against corruption. Additionally, he pledged to ensure that Nigerian workers had appropriate access to mortgages and other credit options. This, he said, would prevent them from paying from salaries in lump sums, which encourages corruption. Supporting Babawale’s observations, Elijah Okebukola, a lead researcher on the NCI project, highlighted the comprehensive nature of their findings. “Our survey has underscored the prevalence of corruption at every level and in every sector across Nigeria. It’s an alarming indicator that demands immediate and effective intervention,” Okebukola asserted. The Secretary of the ICPC, Mr. Clifford Oparaodu, echoed the sentiment, highlighting the insidious impact of corruption on the nation’s fabric and the urgent need for collective action against this societal menace. The validation meeting intends to shed light on critical areas outlined in the NCI data, aiming to formulate robust strategies to combat corruption across government and private sectors. Instances of controversial court judgments in recent times have added fuel to these concerns. The court decisions have faced criticisms from various quarters, for alleged biases, lack of transparency, and alleged involvement of financial interests. The judiciary, often considered a bastion of justice, has witnessed public scepticism due to rulings perceived as favouring political affiliations or powerful entities. These instances have reinforced the narrative of corruption’s permeation across the country’s systems, compelling an urgent reassessment of Nigeria’s governance structures to restore trust and integrity in the nation’s judicial mechanisms. What is obvious from the survey is that corruption has become so pervasive that Nigerians need to embark on a change of attitude, change of mindset and change of behaviour if the anti-corruption war is going to succeed

P O L I T I CA L N OT E S

Fayemi’s Challenge to APC, Ganduje

Uzodimma

Fayemi

Former Governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi, last week challenged the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and its National Chairman, Umar Ganduje, to inform President Bola Tinubu about the genuine status of Nigerians. Fayemi, who stated this at the public presentation of the book: ‘APC & Transition Politics’, authored by a former Vice-Chairman of the party in the North-west, Salihu Lukman, in Abuja, said President Tinubu truly needs the feedback to know what Nigerians are going through under his administration. Since President Tinubu assumed power on May 29, 2023, Nigerians have

faced hardship more than ever. Whether it is in area of the subsidy that was removed from petrol that has taken the price of the important commodity from N165 to about N600 or the high exchange rate, inflation, unemployment, bad roads and insecurity. Fayemi who feels that the president is properly briefed on what Nigerians are going through daily, noted that the party should fulfill its manifesto and not be “a spectator” in policy making. He lamented that praise singers have made it difficult for those at the Presidential Villa to know the true feelings of Nigerians. He said: “I am happy that our chairman

is here. This is the party that should not be a spectator in policy making. This party should be the one to project the manifesto of the party. This party should be the one to tell Mr. President that this is the feedback from the communities and constituencies out there, not what he is hearing in the villa where he is locked up.” All a dumbfounded Ganduje, who helplessly watched as a prominent member of the party pummelled it, could say was that the Tinubu’s government is doing everything within it powers to ensure that the suffering of Nigerians is addressed in all ramifications.

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER DECEMBER 24, 2023

BRIEFINGNOTES

As Fubara Gets Short End of the Stick With the widespread condemnation of the agreement between Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State, and his predecessor and Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, the agreement may not engender permanent peace, Blessing Ibunge writes

ormanywhohavecloselybeenfollowing the political crisis in Rivers State, if the Monday’s peace deal between Governor Siminalayi Fubara, and his predecessor, NyesomWike, is expected to bring an end to the political crisis in the oil-rich state, it has made a mockery of democracy. Recall that since October, there has been tension in the state over the feud between Fubara and Wike, who is also the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). In the wake of the crisis, the Rivers State House of Assembly commenced impeachment proceedings against Fubara, which the governor’s loyalists kicked against. Thereafter, 27 lawmakers defected from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress (APC). Subsequently, the factional Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Edison Ehie declared the seats of the lawmakers who defected vacant. On Monday, Fubara and Wike agreed to end the political feud between them in a meeting with Tinubu. According to the resolutions reached at the meeting, all parties to the crisis agreed that the factional Speaker of the state assembly, Martin Amaewhule, and 24 other lawmakers whose seats were declared vacant following their defection from the PDP to the APC, should return to the assembly with their remuneration paid, and that Governor Fubara should henceforth not interfere with the funding of the assembly. As part of the deal, the pro-Wike lawmakers would drop their impeachment plot against the governor. Fubara is also to immediately withdraw all court cases he and his camp instituted in respect of the crisis, and that the lawmakers shall choose where to sit and conduct legislative business without interference or hindrance from the executive arm. To further spite the governor, the names of all the pro-Wike commissioners who resigned from the state executive council would be resubmitted to the state House of Assembly for confirmation as commissioners. On the issue of the 2024 budget which was passed and signed into law, Fubara was asked to present it again to all the lawmakers, including the ones whose seats had been declared vacant. But immediately the terms of the agreement were leaked to the public, many Nigerians who were sympathetic to Fubara’s cause were outraged. They described Tinubu’s second intervention in the crisis as one-sided and an attempt to perpetuate Wike’s constant interference in the affairs of the state. While there were speculations on whether Fubara actually signed the peace deal, those who spoke to THISDAY alleged that the president imposed

Fubara agreement on the governor. They therefore urged the people of the state to rise up to salvage their state. For instance, member of the Rivers State Elders and Leaders Forum, David Briggs, who said he was present during Tinubu’s intervention, said the agreement was imposed on Governor Fubara. Briggs, who appealed to patriots in the state and across the country to take steps to ensure that the president’s action did not belittle the constitution, disclosed that contrary to impression that an understanding was reached at the end of the meeting, the president walked in with the controversial peace terms already drafted. While noting that the president not only flashed the document in obvious attempt to intimidate the governor and the entire sitting, he claimed Tinubu actually declared it a presidential declaration that no one could afford to undermine. This is why former governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido, said the president did not broker peace in Rivers, but merely used his office to enhance the fortunes of his party, APC.

He accused the National Working Committee (NWC) the PDP of docility, adding that it was inconceivable that the party allowed its arch-rival, Tinubu, to intervene in the dispute between Fubara and Wike. But while Governor Fubara has said no amount of sacrifice was too much for peace, and pledged to continue to make sacrifices for peace in the state, many have maintained that the agreement is not binding on him to implement. They appealed to him to resist any attempt by any force to interfere in his government. First to criticise the deal was human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mr. Femi Falana, who said President Tinubu “has no constitutional role” to resolve the political crises in Rivers and Ondo states. In a statement, Falana said: “The seats of the cross-carpeting members have been declared vacant by the Speaker known to law. To that extent, the Independent National Electoral Commission is mandatorily required to conduct the by-election once the ex parte order issued by the Federal High Court last Friday is quashed,”

the statement reads. “The 27 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly who decamped from the PDP to APC have lost their seats because the PDP that sponsored them is not fictionalised or divided as stipulated by the Constitution. “Even if all the cases in the Rivers State High Court and the Federal High Court are withdrawn in line with the advice of the President, it is submitted that all actions taken by the Speaker recognised by the Rivers State High Court, remain valid, including his pronouncement on the vacant seats of the 27 cross carpeting members of the House,” Falana argued. In its reaction, a group of Rivers political leaders, under the aegis of the Rivers State Elders and Leaders Forum, said although it solicited Tinubu’s intervention in the crisis in the state, it was at loss as to whether the president’s intervention had solved the problem or escalated it. It argued that the directive to re-present the budget passed and signed into law is an attempt to ridicule and denigrate the office of the governor and the good people of the state, including the judiciary. The Rivers’ elders, in a communique signed by a former governor of the state, Rufus Ada-George, on behalf of members of the forum, said the directives unilaterally suspended the Nigerian Constitution by virtue of an attempt to reverse the court order which recognised Ehie as the speaker of the assembly. They said the directives contravene the doctrine and practice of separation of powers particularly as it affects the responsibility of the judiciary. The communique read: “That the directive also contravenes the hallowed doctrine and practice of separation of powers, particularly as it affects the responsibility of the judiciary. Can the president or the executive arm of government overrule the decisions of courts of competent jurisdiction? This portends executive rascality which undermines our constitutional democracy, rule of law and good governance. “The directives to the parties were one-sided in favour of Chief Nyesom Wike, and at the detriment of the Governor, Siminialayi Fubara, and the good people of Rivers State. “In the eyes of the law and due process, as evidenced by the Rivers State High Court decision, Martins Amaewhule and his team have ceased to exist in the state House of Assembly having defected to another political party, and therefore cannot be reinstated and remunerated through the back door.” With the governor holding the short end of the stick, many are waiting to see if the implementation of the agreement will bring permanent peace in the state.

NOTES FOR FILE

Time for FG to End Killings in Benue and Taraba

Tinubu

Though terrorism has spread across many states in Nigeria, the cases in Taraba and Benue states are becoming increasingly worrisome to the extent that terrorists from Cameroon enter Nigeria and kill in the two states unchallenged. What happens in most cases, is that these terrorists cross the borders, enter Nigeria’s territory, kill locals, destroy their homes, rape their women and cart away their foodstuffs and cattle almost on a weekly basis. Residents of the affected areas have become so helpless that one wonders if they are still part of the country, especially with the federal government’s silence over their plights. When President Bola Tinubu promised

during his campaign that he would continue from where President Muhammadu Buhari would stop, many Nigerians had expressed shock in view of the poor handling of insecurity. Buhari administration failed in the area of security. He had helplessly watched killings in the two states, and even in Plateau to a point that fingers were pointed at him as being complicit. For instance, the then governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, had strongly believed that the killers had a big brother in Aso Rock. He was furious about the federal government’s lackadaisical attitude to the carnage in Benue that he employed harsh words against Abuja. He was consequently

declared a person-non-grata at the Presidential Villa. Since Buhari left office, the killers have continued in their bloody campaign. Since President Tinubu reconstituted and reconfigured the nation’s military architecture which many see as a sign of seriousness to put the people’s enemies to rout, not much has been achieved in the two states. What is difficult to determine at this point is whether or not he would allow the non-challant attitude of his predecessor to the killings to subsist in the two states. This is why many are calling on President Tinubu to confront the hoodlums head-on. The federal government also need to employ diplomacy with the Cameroonian government to stop them from using that country as a base to launch deadly attacks on Nigerians.

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER DECEMBER 24, 2023

INTERNATIONAL Nigeria’s Foreign Policy and Global Challenges under President Bola Tinubu: The Threats to National Security

he environment largely conditioned the formulation of Nigeria’s foreign policy before and after Nigeria’s accession to both national and international sovereignty on Saturday, October 1, 1960. The first foundational principle of Nigeria’s Foreign Policy (NFP) was reciprocity. It was formulated in reaction to France’s first two atomic bomb tests carried out in the Reganne area of the Sahara Desert in February and April 1960. Colonial Nigeria then protested through the Colonial Master, Great Britain, to France but to avail. Following the second test, Nigeria promised to deal appropriately with countries which disregarded Nigeria. Nigeria made it clear that she would not accept any further French atomic bomb test in the Sahara desert because of the radioactive effects believed to be blowing southwards, and therefore inimical to the health of the people of Africa. And true enough, but most unexpectedly, France carried out another atomic bomb test on December 27, 1960, otherwise about three months after Nigeria’s independence, which prompted Nigeria to strain her diplomatic ties with France on January 5, 1961 in the spirit of reciprocal treatment. This was the background to reciprocity as the first foundational principle of NFP. The environment also dictated the adoption of the principles of non-interference and non-intervention in the domestic affairs of other countries, friendly and peaceful coexistence in the foreign policy statements of Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa on August 20, and October 7, 1960. The policy of ‘no compromise with Apartheid’ in South Africa followed in 1963. Today, under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (PBAT), it is not the environment that first conditions the making of foreign policy, but political will. It is political determination that prompted the adoption of the doctrine of the 4-Ds and not environmental necessity. While the adoption of reciprocity was reactive in character, the 4-Ds policy doctrine is programmatic. The problem, however, is that the implementation of the 4-Ds cannot be possible without reckoning with the environmental global challenges which are also threatening Nigeria’s national security interests the exegesis of which is hereinafter provided.

VIE INTERNATIONALE with

Bola A. Akinterinwa Telephone : 0807-688-2846

e-mail: bolyttag@yahoo.com

Tinubuplomacy since May 29, 2023 On August 21st, 2023, Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Yusuf Tuggar, said PBAT’s foreign policy, which we have always associated with Tinubuplomacy, would be guided by 4-Ds: Development, Democracy, Demography, and Diaspora. The 4-Ds Diplomacy was unveiled in Abuja on the first day in office of the Minister. And true enough, the 4-Ds are important critical issues in international relations. Development is an important objective in global governance. It is as important as the quest for the quest for international peace and security which is generally believed to be a sine qua non for meaningful development. The problem, however, is the determination of the extent to which any developed country wants any developing country to be developed and qualified to be among the countries of the First World. Additionally, the international community is much interested in democracy, demography in Nigeria, and Nigerians in Diaspora. The interest in democracy is best explained by the fact of its having been internationally made a conditionality for grant of development aid. Based on the explications given by the Foreign Minister, particularly in India, the 4-Ds cannot be rightly described as a doctrine but as diplomacy. The Oxford dictionary explains a doctrine as a synthesis of various rules, principles, norms, interpretive guidelines and values. The 4-Ds have been conceptualised to be means rather than as strategic objectives. They are indeed diplomatic tools. It is useful to note that there is no known or acknowledged foreign policy principle known as doctrine within the context of Nigeria’s foreign policy. The only foreign policy doctrine known so far in Nigeria’s foreign policy lexicon is the Bolaji Akinwande Akinyemi Doctrine according to which any country seeking the understanding and support of Nigeria must

Tinubu first consult with Nigeria in order to carry Nigeria along. The consultation must be prior, not during or after. The doctrine was propounded at the 1986 Foreign Policy conference in Kuru, Jos. Without whiff of doubt, democracy, development, demography, and Diaspora, when considered as diplomacy, are critical and controversial questions in international relations to which no meaningful answers have been given. The 4-Ds are therefore of great scientific value in interpreting and understanding how PBAT intends to utilise them in the operationalisation of Nigeria’s foreign policy objectives, because none of the 4-Ds is an objective per se. The 4-Ds are basically instruments of national security and survival. And unlike the biblical doctrines (Christology, which is the study of Jesus Christ; Ecclesiology, the study of the church; Eschatology, the study of the end times; Pneumatology, study of the Holy Spirit, Soteriology, the study of salvation, etc.) which can be as instructed by God and by God only, foreign policy doctrines are generally man-propounded, man-interpreted, and man-implemented. The 4-Ds are pillars of economic diplomacy the nitty gritty of which is now being queried by some scholars in its area of investment drive. Besides, doctrine has a programmatic character as a policy. Whereas, diplomacy as an art or science, generally underscores tact, finesse as a method of negotiation and strategic objective. In essence, the 4-Ds is a tactical foreign

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A sixth threat is the continuing brain-drain saga. The 4-Ds diplomacy underscores the role of the Nigerian Diaspora. In fact, PBAT has called on all qualified Nigerians in the Diaspora to please return home to help in nation-building. Why should anyone expect them to come home when the environmental conditionings of work in Nigeria are, at best, very inclement? David Cameron sees Nigeria as a fantastically corrupt country. Who says that Nigeria is not? Is Nigeria not a country where a snake will swallow billions of naira and nothing happens? Is it not in Nigeria where a Minister of trade and Industry can budget N1bn to attend a conference in Geneva and nothing happens? Has the Ministry of Trade and Industry any record of Nigeria’s balance of trade? The dialogue between Senator Adams Oshimhole and the Minister of Trade and Industry, Mrs Anite Doris Uzoka, last week, speaks volumes. Indeed, host countries of Nigerians in Diaspora cannot be much interested in facilitating the return of leading Nigerians in Diaspora to Nigeria. This partly explains why the very scientific and entrepreneurial ones are frequently honoured with positions to discourage them from returning to Nigeria. Last week, Dr. Olusimbo Ige was appointed the first black female Commissioner at the Chicago Department of Public Health. Another Nigerian-born Professor Ijeoma Uchegbu, was appointed the President of the Wolfson College at the University of Cambridge last week. With Nigeria’s financial profligacy and unnecessary large official delegations, can Tinubuplomacy bring them back home?

policy design. It is against this background that PBAT’s foreign policy strategy should be interrogated. As the Foreign Minister put it, ‘through this doctrine centred on development, democracy, demography and Diaspora, we hope to find modern solutions to address complex contemporary problems… And by the special grace of God and with your support (Foreign Service Officers), I am sure that we can place Nigeria where she belongs, at the pinnacle of visionary and global decision-making.’ This statement clearly shows that the 4-Ds are tools of diplomacy. His explanation on development gave further credence to the 4-Ds as diplomacy rather than as doctrine: ‘like India, Nigeria’s mobile phone penetration is phenomenal and financial inclusion is an area we aim to improve. India’s Jan Dhan Yojana program is not dissimilar to Nigeria’s Agent Banking for financial inclusion. The success of Fintech such as Kudi, testifies to the enormous potential for private sector investors in this space in Nigeria. Indian entrepreneurs can relate to this and easily seize the opportunities therein.’ And perhaps most importantly, Ambassador Tuggar underscored the issue of Nigerian Diaspora in India and Indian Diaspora in Nigeria, emphasizing that ‘many of us in Nigeria grew up watching Bollywood movies and had Indian math, physics, and chemistry teachers and were acculturated to many things Indian at an early age. This exchange must continue through our schools, both physically and virtually. Nollywood and Nigeria’s film industry could benefit from closer collaboration with Bollywood, especially behind the camera-lighting, make up, cinematography, and sound.’ Additionally, on the margins of the 18th G-20 Leaders Summit in New Dheli, India, Ambassador Tuggar also said that ‘we are constantly seeking ways to strengthen our democratic institutions to enhance the quality of life for our citizens by improving services provided by our governments and fostering an environment for the private sector to thrive.’ On demography, the Minister had it that ‘we are after all the largest country in Africa and projected to become the third largest in the world after India and China. To achieve SDGs and similar human-centric goals and avert global financial and economic crises, India and Nigeria need representation at decision-making tables in G-20, BRICS and UNSC. There is much to gain from each other in technology, agriculture, health, and energy.’ From the foregoing, there is no disputing the fact that the 4-Ds are more than a doctrine. They are diplomatic tactics for attaining foreign policy strategies, especially in terms of attraction of foreign direct investments. In this regard, PBAT has embarked on several foreign trips to campaign for foreign investments in the spirit of economic diplomacy. But to what extent has economic diplomacy been helpful to entrepreneurial creativity in Nigeria? A school of thought has considered alternative approaches to the investment drive. For instance, Dr Olatunji Olateju, the immediate past Head of Department of Political Science at the Achievers University, Owo, Ondo State, explained during the question-answer session on the ‘Issues in the News programme of the Radio One 103.5FM News and Current Affairs’ last week Tuesday that ‘the formulation and implementation of realistic economic policies will make more meaning to the economic development of Nigeria than merely clamouring for foreign investments’ (vide the report of Malachi Ugwo, Radio One). The various suggestions on how to go about it are what the PBAT can begin to consider within the 4-Ds diplomacy, which is what we consider appropriately as Tinubuplomacy to make it quite different from the general economic diplomacy in Nigeria’s foreign relations.

The Challenges to Tinubuplomacy The first threat to Tinubuplomacy and threat to Nigeria’s national security interest is how to address the new decision of the Abdourahamane Tiani’s to begin crude oil export through Benin’s Cotonou port. The Niger-Nigeria relationship which has been the warmest since the time of independence now appears to be weakening, especially following the showing of unfriendly attitude by Nigeria to the military junta in Niamey. Nigeria cut off electricity supply to Niger which Nigeriens do not see as an ECOWAS-driven decision but as an unfriendly Nigerian decision. Nigeriens do not want to accept that PBAT is not only Nigeria’s president but also the Chairman of the ECOWAS Authority. General Abdourahamane Tiani, Niger’s military leader, announced last week on the state television that Niger would begin to export its first barrels of crude oil through the NigerBenin pipeline as from January 2024. The pipeline, which was constructed with the help of the giant PetroChina and which links Niger’s Agadem oilfield to the Benin port of Cotonou, was officially completed in November 2023. It is expected that 90,000 barrels of oil per day will be exported and Niger will have 25.4% share of it. Niger has a refining capacity of about 20,000 bpd to satisfy domestic needs. More importantly, Niger’s leader made the objective very clear: the ‘goal is not simply to sell crude oil. We want to move towards a refinery that will process Nigerien crude within our own borders’ because of the need to take maximum advantage of the country’s resources. How does Tinubuplomacy want to address the implications for NFP? Read full article online - www.thisdaylive.com

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THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER DECEMBER 24, 2023

ENGAGEMENTS

with ChidiAmuta e-mail:chidi.amuta@gmail.com

Silence in Bethlehem, Wailing in Gaza

he raging war between Israel and Hamas will not end before tomorrow’s Christmas is over. The unfortunate war has instead yielded two principal casualties: the first is the nativity festivals of Christmas which have made Bethlehem a favourite destination for Christian pilgrims. Home to the historic shrines and places of the Christian faith, Bethlehem has from time immemorial been the only authentic destination for Christian pilgrims. Those who want to see the birth place of Christ, the place where Christ was born, where he died and was entombed, return endlessly to Bethlehem every year for that spiritual atonement that all peoples of faith perennially long for. Bethlehem has over the centuries become for Christian faithful what Mecca and Medina is for Moslem faithful. The city used to receive an annual influx of 2 million pilgrims. This steady deluge of pilgrims powered the economy of the city and contributed to the revenue of the Israeli nation itself. The hotels, the restaurants, the tour operators, the bus and coach companies, the tour guides with their worn out narratives and the thousands of youth employed in all the pilgrim service enterprises have over the years taken on a life of their own. In the fog of this season’s raging war in Gaza, all that seems to have come to a screeching halt. This year, the previous traffic is down to almost nothing as the festivities and tour sites have been shut down. Most of the activities and festivities that used to make Bethlehem the “go to” place in Israel have either been drastically scaled down or totally cancelled. No one knows when these events and venues will reopen and normalcy return. The bustle of pilgrimage events and faith holiday activities have yielded to an ominous quiet and silence. This is not “the silent nights” of the Christmas song. It is the real eerie silence of a silent foreboding, the whisper of something devious and sinister lurking in the dark street corners. It is perhaps only the presence of young hooded operatives of Mossad and Shin Beth and the uniformed police that reassure people that no one will detonate a bomb or hurl a missile at the holy sites. When the hostilities recede or stop, the mentality of war and siege will not easily depart. Loss of hotel revenues, the silence of shuttered restaurants, the barricaded memento shops and deserted bus routes may yet endure for a while. Both faith and the economics of faith have been badly injured by the silence imposed by the war and the fear of terrorist attacks even in this holiest of places. The second victim is the uneasy calm of Gaza, the home of nearly 2.5 million mostly Palestinians that has perennially been besieged by the vigilance of the overlord next door. Gaza before this war was a city besieged by the hope of freedom and an eternal longing for the Palestinian homeland. In Gaza, an uneasy calm has been replaced by the boom of guns and the reality of death and blood in unusual places. In hospitals, schools, playgrounds and residential apartments, the guns of war have devastated the peace and left behind an endless trail of the blood of the innocent. Women, children, the elderly and the infirm have all fallen victims to this war. At the last count, over 20,000 non -combatant deaths and still counting have been recorded in Gaza. The infrastructure that supports life has been devastated as streets have been replaced by endless heaps of rubble. Homes have been shattered and reduced to rubble. The basic things that support life: water, food, medicine, infant formula and basic conveniences have all become luxuries for which people have to wait for aid trucks to arrive so that they can scramble for supplies. Life in Gaza has become in Hobbesian terms, “ short, nasty and brutish”. Death and tragedy have become the permanent certainty and companions of the widows, orphans and destitute of Gaza. The harvest of death in Gaza did not cause itself. It is unnecessary and uncalled for. Hamas invited this holocaust on innocent

Netanyahu Palestinians. On the 7th of October, Hamas staged a foolish attack on Israeli Kibuths and border towns. In addition to hurling thousands of rockets into Israeli territory, Hamas sent fighters into Israel to kill, maim and kidnap innocent people as hostages. Over 1,700 innocent Israelis at a Jewish festival were killed. Another 200 or more were taken hostage. The world cried in anguish. Hamas was triumphal at its opportunistic attack. The magnitude of Israel’s response was perhaps beyond the imagination of Hamas and its friends. This under estimation is evidence of the poverty of strategic thinking among Hamas and its handlers and backers. It is perhaps true that terrorists never factor in consequences when they strike. They only think of the immediate impact of their disruption. On this occasion, the miscalculation was epic. How come Hamas has spent years preparing for war against Israel without understanding the basic psychology of its adversary? Israel was born out of necessity, nurtured in adversity and has been sustained by a group psychology of unrelieved siege. Of all the nations of the modern world, Israeli is the one nation that was forged in the furnace of war and has spent all of its existence fighting wars of varying intensity, preparing for emergencies and literally readying for the next war. To date, a total of nine wars since its founding in 1947 including The war of independence( 1947-49), Sinai War (1956), Six day War (1967), First Intifada, Second Intifada, Yum Kippur war etc. Prior to the founding of Israel as a modern nation state by UN Resolution, there had been the Holocaust in which over 6 million Jews were incinerated in gas chambers in Germany during the Second World War. The totality of these wars and the memory of the Holocaust have left in the collective unconscious of the Jewish people of Israel a permanent imprint of hurt that resolves into the phrase NEVER AGAIN as an expression of national survival. Any hostile action that minimally reminds Israel of any hurt to its people is an act of war that can only invoke vicious reprisals. Israel is therefore perennially ready for war at the shortest possible notice. War is the national reflex of the Israeli nation. This has of course led the country to

develop one of the most sophisticated military and intelligence capabilities in the Middle East if not in the world. It has a deliverable and proven nuclear weapons capability as well. Therefore, the Hamas attack of October 7th is the latest act of war against Israel in recent times. It has naturally upset the precarious balance of hostile forces in the region and invoked obvious partisanship among nations both in support of and against Israel. The most signiﬁcant ally of the Israelis has of course been the United States with open military support. As a counter force, the solidarity of Arab states like Iran has bolstered the support for Hamas. The Hamas war is a major diplomatic setback for Israel and by extension moderate states in the region. It has come at a time when an increasing number of moderate Arab states were reaching accommodation with Israel under various guises of the US initiated Abraham Accord. Major economic cooperation agreements between Israel and the major economic players in the region like UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar had begun to signal a new benign alignment of forces that could transform the region from a cauldron of hostility, terror and war to a zone of peaceful coexistence and peace through the pursuit of collective prosperity. Then came the Hamas attack and the war of reprisal still raging. After nearly three months of hostilities and devastation, Gaza has virtually been razed to the ground. The greatest humanitarian disaster in recent world history has raged uncontrolled. Casualties from among civilians, children, women and the aged have been recorded in astronomical proportions. Yes, Israel was badly hurt and disarmingly surprised by the 7th October attack. But the reprisal war has been disproportionate. On a headcount basis, the 1,700 Israelis killed on October 7th do not match the over 20,000 Palestinian deaths in Gaza. Not to talk of the devastation of

infrastructure and livelihoods. Current international diplomatic efforts up to the United Nations are still focused on how to stop the shooting and begin the talking. Food, medicines, water and the necessities of life need to get to the needy and distressed. Hospitals have been wiped off the landscape of Gaza. No one has as yet begun to discuss the crucial long standing political issues at stake between Israel and the Palestinians. The matter of peace and security between Israeli and its Palestinian neighbours remains largely unaddressed. No one knows what fate awaits Gaza politically after the guns go silent and the rumble of bulldozers subside. Israel insists on garrisoning the territory after this war. Everyone else rejects that apartheid colonialist arrangement. Hamas remains unrepentant about its terrorist reputation and the attendant routine hurling of rockets at Israel as well as the casual taking of hostages that look like either Israelis or Americans or indeed anyone that looks strange in the vicinity. International diplomats keep sounding like broken vinyl records on the desirability of peace between Israel and its Palestinian neighbours. We all know that peace in the region would be a function of guarantees of Israel’s security in return for freedom and independence for a Palestinian state next door. The bitterness of the present hostilities do not make the prospect of peace any brighter. If indeed this goal were unanimously agreed upon, what stops the United Nations from creating the independent Palestinian state by a UN resolution as was done in the case of Israel? Such a state created by UN fiat should be recognized by a cross section of the international community beginning with Israel, the United States and the Arab states both radical and moderate. It could be governed on an interim basis by a mandated UN government of collaborating Palestinians, Arab members, Israeli representatives and other UN observers for an agreed period. Peace eternal would come upon this region and the world can heave a sigh of relief from these ever so frequent wars and random terror strikes and eruptions. For us in Nigeria, the war between Israel and Hamas has reignited an unfortunate ignorance and misinformation about Israel in the religious mindset of the ordinary Nigerian. In the popular imagination of Nigeria’s Christian half, Israel is held as the bastion nation of Christianity, the abode of God’s ‘chosen’ people with a divine mission and destiny to triumph over persecutions on earth. Therefore a confrontation between Israel and its Arab neighbours is couched as a clash of the two dominant faiths in the world and in our country. At the onset of the current war between Israel and Hamas, prominent Nigerian pastor and faith entrepreneur proprietor of The Redeemed Christian Church, Mr. Adeboye, publicly prayed in congregation that God should deliver victory to Israel in its then impending confrontation with Hamas. Underlying that unfortunate misrepresentation is a notion that pervades Nigeria’s Christian population. Israel is mistaken as a Christian nation. Far from it. The Jewish nation of Israel is not a Christian nation even though it is home to the significant shrines and holy places of classical Christianity- the tomb of Christ, the major venues of Christian history as recorded in the Old Testament of the Bible. It should be instructive that among the infrastructure that have been destroyed by Israeli air strikes are Gaza’s oldest church, St. Porphyrius, where 16 worshippers were killed in an earlier Israeli air strike. Since the war started, the Christian population of Gaza has continued to decline as the faithful have continued to flee from the violence of Israeli attacks. The ultimate reality of the Israel-Hamas war is still the ancient struggle by a powerful nation state to suppress a weaker vassal neighbor for the purpose of its security and regional pre-eminence. The solution can only be an international rebalancing of forces. That is the best way to make peace enticing and further violence unattractive.

DECEMBER 24, 2023 • T H I S DAY, T H E S U N DAY N E W S PA P E R

B AC K PAG E C O N T I N UAT I O N WILL THE NAIRA EVER RISE AGAIN? averagely $3 billion cash monthly. Occasionally, it was as high as $5 billion. We were also receiving steady foreign investment inflows. The CBN could meet every FX demand. Manufacturers could order raw materials without hassles. Airlines could access official market to repatriate their ticket sales. Our naira cards could dispense foreign currencies abroad. The gap between the official and parallel market rates was roughly N2. You really didn’t need to go to a bank to buy PTA or BTA. The N2 difference was not going to hurt you. This is what happens when you have enough forex reserve to play with. Everything goes like clockwork. But it also comes with a problem: you start wasting your foreign reserves. You spend on unnecessary items, especially in a country with a preponderance of warped mentality. Only God knows how much we have burnt on importing petroleum products since our refineries stopped working decades ago. Every dollar we spend on importing products weakens the naira. A country that should be exporting petroleum products (and earning more forex) is spending its forex income from crude oil exports to import petrol, diesel, kerosene and other products. This is in addition to the billions of dollars we traditionally spend every year to “revive the refineries”. More dollars will not give you more sense. Two — and this is closely related to forex

shortage — there is an unrelenting FX demand. The demands of a country with over 200 million who rely on foreign goods and services are better left to the imagination. We import textiles, foodstuff, drugs, shoes, phones, and so forth. A friend estimated that the 43,482 Nigerian students that emigrated to Canada between January and June 2023 alone needed $1.3 billion to cover tuition, tickets and proof of funds. That is just Canada and that is just half year. All these are legitimate demands. Nigerians of means are relocating their families abroad and sending “upkeep” every month. The inescapable fact is that FX demand will continue to grow. The CBN under Buhari tried to use “demand management” to contain the haemorrhage by restricting eligibility for forex to scores of items. Advocates of free trade would never support this option for many reasons, particularly as it stifles a major economic activity. Trade is the livewire of economic activities. I would argue that while restricting trade is not the best option, some desperate times require desperate measures and such situations can prompt you to look inward and discover your capabilities and capacities. The “demand management” policy did not work and has now been discarded. All items — including incense, rice and private jets — are now eligible for forex. I’m out of space, but I will make my third

and final point: currency substitution. There are two parts to this. The first is that the currency of corruption in Nigeria is the dollar. Before the introduction of BVN, corrupt money could easily go through the banks. Government officials would open accounts and operate them anonymously, some using the names of their drivers and cooks. BVN disrupted this. Cash became the solution. The dollar readily replaced the naira in this dirty business. Although not new, it is now the order of the day. Rather than drag bags of Ghana Must Go full of naira notes, you can keep the dollar equivalent in your pockets. This is how political bribes are shared. The second part of currency substitution is that the unstable condition of the naira has created a vicious circle caused by hedging. People want stability and even better value, and the dollar is the currency of choice. Why keep the naira when it keeps losing value? Moreso, speculators trade in the dollar as a commodity. This raises the FX demand pressure. A social media user recently joked that if you owe someone N120,000, you could give him $100 to hold and tell him that the money would be complete “soon”. This was when it was, I think, N950/$. In weeks, it jumped to N1300/$. In such a situation, it would be very difficult to persuade some people to keep their monetary assets in naira. Finally, if you are reading this and saying,

“Well, let me buy and keep the dollar then,” you are part of the problem — but you are only making a rational decision. I wouldn’t blame you. It is because of the nature and structure of the Nigerian economy. When militants were attacking the pipelines in the mid-2000s and the oil companies started moving offshore, we did not realise it would affect Nigeria’s share of oil revenue someday. When we neglected our refineries and took to full-scale importation of petroleum products, we did not calculate the impact on our FX reserves. When our education and health care services were going down, we did not realise that the naira would pay the price one day. In the final analysis, what we are dealing with is not much of a demand ailment but a supply disease. The lasting solution is for us to earn enough forex to meet our needs. Simple. If demand is $5 billion and supply is $10 billion, we would be fine, trust me. A shortcut to improved supply would have been another oil windfall, but that was when we were getting a decent share of oil production. These days, high oil prices do not mean much to us. Gone are the days when we were earning $3 billion monthly. Meanwhile, other sources of forex would be an exponential growth in non-oil exports and massive inflow of investments but it doesn’t happen overnight. In other words, the naira needs a miracle.

And Four Other Things… NAFDAC ARISE The issue of fake and substandard products, including imitations, trended on social media last week. There was no lack of evidence to prove that these dangerous products are all over the markets. The sad part, though, is that we do not seem to be winning the war after making tremendous progress in the past, especially when Prof Dora Akunyili was the DG of NAFDAC. We are faced with a present danger that is ruining kidneys and livers and we cannot get stuck in the past and keep reminiscing over what used to be. NAFDAC needs to launch an all-out oﬀensive against these enemies of progress. It’s not a war to be won easily but NAFDAC must turn on the heat aggressively. Imperative.

PROXY WAR Maybe I am overthinking things, but the crisis between Chief Nyesom Wike, former governor of Rivers state, and his handpicked successor, Mr Sim Fubara, appears to be a continuation of the politics of the 2023 general election. The way people are queuing behind the combatants has shown a pattern: if you supported President Bola Tinubu, you are more likely to be rooting for Wike; if your sentiments were with Alhaji Atiku Abubakar or Mr Peter Obi, you are very likely to be for Fubara. I have noticed that many of those who opposed Fubara because he was Wike’s “boy” are now ﬁghting for him. Politics is a sweet thing to watch — especially if you don’t have a dog in the ﬁght. Interests.

UJU COMEDY President Bola Tinubu appointed an impressive number of comedians and comediennes into his cabinet, but Mrs Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, minister of women aﬀairs, and Dr Betta Edu, the one in charge of humanitarian aﬀairs and poverty alleviation, stand out. Kennedy-Ohanenye, who recently threatened to sue the UN, is my favourite. She has come up with another banger: that women should be excluded from paying taxes. This is what happens when you put people in a role that they don’t understand. The exclusion of women from performing certain civic duties was one of the strategies men used for millenniums to keep them subjugated, voiceless and powerless. Ignorance.

NO COMMENT Nigerians started the year suffering currency scarcity as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recoloured the naira purportedly to stop vote buying in the general election. It was one of the most traumatic experiences inflicted on Nigerians on record. We were using naira to buy naira in the absence of cash. Electronic channels were obviously restricted as well. It was pure hell. Some reportedly died unable to pay for emergency medical treatments. Yet, votes were still traded for naira. We suffered for nothing. The year is coming to an end and we are suffering naira scarcity again, with the CBN accusing whoever of hoarding. Is there a country like Nigeria anywhere else in the world? Incredible.

REVISITING HOW NIGERIA’S SUPER AGENCIES ARE FUNDED Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI). Others include: N263.59 billion as 3% of VAT, 10% of Ecology and Derivation and 10% of FAAC allocation for the North East states to the North East Development Commission (NEDC); N324.84 billion as 15% of FAAC allocation to NDDC states to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC); and N672 billion as 2% Education Tax (minus cost of collection by FIRS) to the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND). In the third category of super agencies are those that derive internally generated revenue from fees, levies and fines. According to Section 22 of the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007, these agencies are expected to keep 20% of their operating surplus (excess of revenue over expenditure) in their general reserve fund and remit the remaining 80% into the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) of the Federal Government. However, the key here is how expansive expenditure can be. The 2020 Finance Act, followed by a Finance Circular of 20 December 2021, disaggregated the revenue-generating agencies and put a cap as follows: organisations fully funded from the budget should remit 100% of their IGR while those partially funded by the government should limit their expenditure to no more than 50% of their IGR and remit the remaining to the CRF, and agencies that are fully self-funding should limit their expenditure to no more than 50% of their IGR, keep 20% of their operating surplus and transmit 80% to CRF. From the above, it is clear that there have been some attempts to straighten out this last set of super agencies, and that is assuming compliance has been total and uniform. But there is still more work to be done. And for this we should be grateful to Mr. Babatunde Irukera, the CEO of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), for his recent rich insight. According to Irukera, FCCPC generated N56 billion as IGR in 2023, 90% of which came from penalties against businesses and companies. Out of the N56 billion, FCCPC generously remitted N22.4 billion to the Federal Government. This has earned him some PR points. But the difference between income and remittance indicates that the agency retained N33.6 billion or 60% of its IGR. Based on the assumption that FCCPC is now fully self-funding, the N33.6 billion retained was probably arrived at as follows: N28 billion representing 50% of revenue retained to cover expenditure plus 20% or N5.6 billion of the operating surplus of N28 billion also retained. The

Tinubu rub, however, is this: in 2017, according to Irukera, FCCPC received only N1 billion from the FG and raised N154 million as IGR, totalling N1.154 billion. So, in what planet should a public organisation’s revenue go from N1.15 billion to N33.60 billion within six years, an increase of 2,812%? This naturally leads to why drowning a few government agencies in cash creates more problems than it solves. The first issue is that of perverse incentives. Once agencies are allowed to keep a portion of the revenue they generate, they, rationally, put all their energies on revenue maximation no matter the cost to others and even if this is at the expense of their overall effectiveness. This has led to a situation where the first impulse of regulatory agencies is to impose hefty fines, and with little or no opportunity for redress. The concept of light-touch and growth-enhancing regulation, pronto, goes out of the window. Regulators begin to terrorise, extort and stifle businesses, increasing the cost of doing business in the country and invariably abbreviating consumers’ welfare. Relatedly, intense focus on revenue crowds out other key mandates of such institutions. For example, trade facilitation and border patrol are important functions of customs services all over the world. But

the only thing that NCS has the incentive to focus on and talk about is how much it has contributed to the Federation Account. Also, anti-trust was added to the remit of the former Consumer Protection Commission (CPC) to give it more heft. That’s how FCCPC was born. As redefined, the agency should be undertaking serious studies and taking consequential actions on monopolies and abuse of market power, especially in sectors prone to limited competition on account of natural or structural issues. For example, FCCPC will be more useful to consumers and to the economy by addressing market power in the monopoly-prone cement sector than by beating its chest about how much money it has raked in from imposing fines on businesses and how much it has kept and remitted. There is something fundamentally wrong about conceiving of regulatory institutions in revenuegenerating moulds. Regulation, an important state function designed to address different forms of market failures, suffers under such a warped conception. Some of our regulators also get a cut of the utility rates that they set. This amounts to a conflict of interests. It will be important to decouple financial incentives from regulation. Let regulatory agencies focus strictly on the technical aspects of regulation, without an eye on possible returns. The second major issue is that these cash-saturated agencies become founts of mind-blowing profligacy and sleazy vehicles for patronage and rent-extraction. A variant of Parkinson’s Law states that expenditure always rises to meet income. In short: more money in this form leads to more expenses, not more sense. And this is exactly what happens to these agencies. Like typical nouveau riches, they splurge their extra cash on frivolities and white elephant projects, including on gleaming headquarters and regional offices, official cars, local and foreign trainings and sundry projects of dubious value. Appointive, supervisory and oversight authorities and current and prospective heads of such agencies see such agencies as juicy postings which must translate to jobs, contracts, and slush funds. The ‘juicy’ agencies are thus usually theatres of internal and external distractions, instability and graft. In most instances, such agencies easily get special salaries and allowances approved for them, with the usual line that such would be funded from their IGR and thus would be of ‘no financial implication to the Federal Government.’ In short order, the existence and fortunes of super agencies thus create two additional sets of issues: one, a segregated public sector where most civil servants are paid peanuts and where a few earn so much,

sometimes even more than those in the private sector; and two, the quest to create more super agencies as every agency and its enablers strive to contrive some IGR or corner a percentage of some revenue handles. For example, NASENI had a budget of N4.45 billion in 2021. NASENI’s budget ballooned by 900% to N44.5 billion the following year because it got some statutory earmark. That same NASENI is on line to receive N130.84 billion in 2024. Such otherworldly transformation has happened to some other super agencies before our very eyes, including the former Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), which got a presidential fiat to earn 4% cost of collection of some oil revenue, a largesse that subsequently got formalised as DPR got incarnated into NUPRC via the PIA. That is the third problem: the unending quests by other agencies to get into the super league. The fourth problem is that of opportunity cost: the sumptuous sums going to and being frittered away in these super agencies and their wannabes are the resources that could have been used to reduce our reliance on borrowing to fund our budget and are resources not available for other parts of the public sector, especially to finance basic public services (including at the subnational levels). There are estimates of trillions that could be more prudently and accountably managed floating around and leaking out of these super agencies. For the reasons and examples cited above and others, there is an urgent need to reform how these agencies are funded. One option will be to drastically reduce the percentage charged as costs of collection or to cap the absolute amount paid to these agencies. The Finance Act or amendment to the laws of the agencies can easily take care of this. Another option will be to abolish the concept of operating surplus or agencies receiving a fixed percentage of CFR and other revenue handles and to bring all agencies within appropriation and ensure that all expenditure lines are justified based on absolute need and national priority, not on the dodgy principle that money has been earned and can be spent because ‘it has no financial implication for the Federal Government’. And yet another option will be to have a minimally incentivised central revenue-collection agency that is also funded strictly through the budget and based on need. There won’t be shortage of options to address this issue, if there is the will to tackle it. Do not for one minute assume that political authorisers are not aware of the problem or that these organisations are the way they are by accident.

SUNDAY DECEMBER 24, 2023 • T H I S D AY

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER DECEMBER 24, 2023

SUNDAYSPORTS

Edited by: Duro Ikhazuagbe email:Duro.Ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com

CAF Snubs Nigerian Referees Again, Lists 68 Ofﬁcials for AFCON 2023 Duro Ikhazuagbe

he Confederation of African Football (CAF) has released 68 names of match officials for the Africa Cup of Nations

holding next month in &RWH G·,YRLUH ZLWKRXW D single Nigerian arbiter on duty. 2I WKH PDWFK UHIHUees, 30 assistant referees and 12 Video Assistant Referees (VAR) listed by CAF, all Nigerian referees, including our FIFA badged officials were

PREMIER LEAGUE Arsenal Maintain Top Spot After Thrilling Draw at Anﬁeld

rsenal maintained their place at the top of the Premier League after a thrilling draw with Liverpool at $QÀHOG Victory for either side would have put them top of the table at Christmas but they had to settle for a share of the points in an entertaining encounter. Arsenal delivered the perfect start when defender Gabriel headed home from 0DUWLQ 2GHJDDUG·V IUHH NLFN after only four minutes. However, Liverpool re-

grouped and were level after 29 minutes when Mohamed 6DODK WKUDVKHG D ÀQLVK KLJK past Gunners keeper David Raya at his near post after collecting Trent Alexander$UQROG·V UDNLQJ SDVV In between, Liverpool looked to be denied a clear SHQDOW\ ZKHQ 2GHJDDUG handled and after that Jurgen .ORSS·V VLGH KDG WKH EHWWHU RSportunities, although Arsenal were always a threat. Substitute Harvey Elliott grazed the outside of the post whileAlexander-Arnoldwasted the best chance of the half when he blasted against the bar after Liverpool swamped Arsenal on the counter-attack.

conveniently ignored. This is not the first time CAF is overlooking Nigerian referees for continental duties in the last couple of years. They simply were found not good enough for the premier football tournament in Africa. Interestingly, while

Nigerians were ignored, 0RURFFR $IULFD·V ILUVW country to play in the semi final of the last World Cup in Qatar, featured prominently in the three tiers of officiating. The Moroccans have three of the 26 referees, two of the 30 Assistant Referees and two of the

12 VAR officials totaling seven. Egypt also have two referees, two assistant referees and also, two 9$5 RIILFLDOV 2VWHQVLbly, the VAR officials are drawn from the African countries where VAR is operative. VAR is currently not in

RSHUDWLRQ LQ 1LJHULD·V domestic games. According to a release by CAF, all selected referees are expected to DUULYH LQ &RWH G·,YRLUH RQ January 5, 2024 for a refresher course which will be inclusive of physical and theoretical testing of all officials.

Osimhen’s New Napoli Deal Ruined by Red Card Against Roma

igerian international VWULNHU 9LFWRU 2VLPhen, has signed a new Napoli deal that runs until 2026 with the Italian club. The new deal has a release clause of €130million. +RZHYHU 2VLPKHQ GD\ RI MR\ ZDV UXLQHG by two yellow cards he received in the tempestuous clash with Roma, thus leadLQJ WR KLV VHQGLQJ RͿ LQ WKH JDPH 1DSROL

VXͿHUHG D GHIHDW DZD\ The 24-year-old scored 26 Serie A goals in 32 appearances in 2022-23 as he helped 1DSROL ZLQ WKHLU ÀUVW OHDJXH WLWOH LQ years. 2VLPKHQ ZKR PDQDJHG JRDOV LQ DOO competitions last season, was crowned WKH ,WDOLDQ IRRWEDOOHUV· DVVRFLDWLRQ SOD\HU of the year earlier this month. He also named as the African Footballer of the Year for 2023.

2VLPKHQ VDLGLQ 1RYHPEHU WKDW KH PDGH a decision that was “good for his career” after being linked with a move to Saudi Arabia in the summer. His previous contract was scheduled to expire in 2025. 1DSROL FRQÀUPHG WKH H[WHQVLRQ WR WKH IRUZDUG·V FRQWUDFW RQ VRFLDO PHGLD ZLWK a post that read “together until 2026” and D SLFWXUH RI 2VLPKHQ DQG FOXE 3UHVLGHQW Aurelio De Laurentiis.

NFF, Shaibu Commiserate with Sunshine Stars’ Over Dosunmu’s Death

heNigeriaFootball Federation (NFF) and the Deputy Governor of Edo State, Philip Shaibu have expressed sadness and deep sorrow over the death on Friday of the Assistant Kit Manager of Sunshine Stars Football Club of Akure, Taiwo Dosunmu, from complications arising from bullet wounds when the team was waylaid by armed robbers earlier this month. 3OD\HUV DQG R΀FLDOV RI 1LJHULD Premier Football League club, Sunshine Stars FC were on their way to a scheduled league match against Bendel Insurance FC of Benin City on Thursday, 7th December when their bus was attacked, with Dosunmu hit by a bullet in the process. President of NFF, Alhaji Ibrahim Musa Gusau said yesterday: “This is a very sad development, but God is all-knowing and we can never question His wisdom. “We appreciate the prompt response and kind gestures of His Excellency, Governor Godwin 2EDVHNL DQG WKH (GR 6WDWH *RYernment as a whole following the unfortunate incident, even as we are deeply saddened by 'RVXQPX·V GHDWK ´2XU SUD\HU LV WKDW $OPLJKW\ God will grant the late Dosunmu eternal rest, and also grant his immediate family, relations and the Board and Management of

Sunshine Stars FC, as well as the JRRG SHRSOH RI 2QGR 6WDWH DQG the Nigeria Football fraternity the fortitude to bear the loss.” A release by the club said Taiwo Dosunmu breathed his ODVW DW WKH ,QWHQVLYH &DUH 8QLW RI 8QLYHUVLW\ RI %HQLQ 7HDFKLQJ Hospital after a series of surgeries by consultants at the facility. The release described the late Dosunmuas“averyhard-working individual who took his job with all sense of seriousness.” Similarly, Edo State Deputy Governor, Rt Hon Comrade Philip Shaibu, mourned the passing of Dosunmu. In his condolence message he personally signed, the Deputy Governor stated: “It is with rude shock that I received the sad news of the demise of Taiwo Dosunmu, Assistant Kits Manager of Sunshine 6WDUV )& RI $NXUH 2QGR 6WDWH “His passing is a huge loss not only to his immediate family, but the management and players of Sunshine Stars FC, the JRRG SHRSOH RI 2QGR 6WDWH DQG the Nigerian football family in general. “It is disheartening that Taiwo lost his life in the line of performLQJ KLV OHJLWLPDWH R΀FLDO GXWLHV “For me, every profession has its own hazards. That our great friend and brother succumbed to the cold hands on account of the activities of evil doers in our midst is a testament that he died a hero”.

Victor Osimhen (left) and Napoli President, Aurelio De Laurentiis signing the new contract papers yesterday in Naples, Italy

Joshua vs Wilder Possible Championship Fight Slated for March 9

T A

wo successful boxers with Nigerian ancestry, Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder may possibly do a world champion bout on March 9th, 2024. Both are past heavyweight champions.

7ZR LPSRUWDQW ÀJKWV ZLOO GHWHUPLQH LI WKH WZR ER[HUV ZLOO ÀJKW IRU ZRUOG KRQRXU in March next year. $QWKRQ\ -RVKXD ZLOO ÀJKW 2WWR :DOOLQ and Deontay Wilder will battle Joe Parker at 2am this Sunday morning (December 24, 2023) in Riyadh, Saudi on the show called “Day of Reckoning”.

Should both Joshua and Wilder win, then they could be treated to a mouthwatering never before observed titanic battle between two sons with common Nigerian heritage for a world championship clash on March 9, 2024. 7KH YLFWRU FRXOG ÀJKW WKH ZLQQHU RI 7\VRQ )XU\ Y 2OHN 8V\N ODWHU LQ

Samuel Peters, Ekufu-Patra Empowers Para Athletes

ctivities marking the 2nd edition of the annual Diamond Superstars Para-Powerlifting and Wheelchair Tennis events ended at the National Stadium Gym and Tennis Courts midweek with over 20 Para athletes

in attendance. Powered by World Kickboxing Female Champion, Loveth Ekufu-Patra and former World Boxing Champion, Samuel Peters, the event which is the second in the series was aimed DW HQFRXUDJLQJ 1LJHULD·V SUHVent special athletes and giving them a sense of belonging. It is also another form of making the special athletes realise that

their diaspora colleagues have not abandoned them. Event Coordinator, Coach Jude Iduh, commended Loveth Ekufu-Patra and Samuel Peters for always remembering their root and giving back to the society that made them. Some of the athletes that featured at the programme include, multiple award winning gold medalist, Bose

2PROD\R UHLJQLQJ :RUOG and Paralympic Champion, current Commonwealth and African Champion as well as reigning Nigerian Champion), )DKRGXQ 2PRWROD 0DULD Chikaodi Anigbogu, Komo, 2ODLWDQ ,EUDKLP $EGXOD]HH] Ibrahim, Ahmed Gbadamosi, 2ODQL\DQ $KPHG 7ROX 7DLZR and Kure Thomas among others.

Sunday 24 December, 2023

UT H

& RE A S O

Price: N400

MISSILE

Agbakoba to Supreme Court

87 +

5( $ 6 2

\HDUV

“I was the first, accompanied by my brother, Wole Olanipekun, who applied because we thought we were qualified to sit at the Supreme Court. The mafia there threw us out” – A former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Mr. Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), has said that the current Supreme Court is the ‘worst’ in his 45 years of legal practice.

4*/$&

SIMONKOLAWOLE Will the Naira Ever Rise Again? SIMONKOLAWOLELIVE!

simon.kolawole@thisdaylive.com, sms: 0805 500 1961

omeone recently said on social media, and I agree in toto, that the exchange rate has the biggest impact on the costs of goods and services in Nigeria — far more than the price of petrol. I somehow never dwelt on this fact, even though it is bleeding obvious that movements in exchange rates have direct impact on the cost of living in an import-reliant country such as ours. All along, I had been more concerned about the price of petrol, maybe because transportation costs react instantly to the pump price. The impact of exchange rate changes can take weeks, even months, to reflect on prices. We can understand this from the catastrophe that followed the recent attempt to float the naira. Conventional wisdom is that if the gap between the official and parallel markets is bridged, there would be a semblance of market-determined rate. It was optimistically projected that while the official rate may move up, the parallel rate would come down and the unidentical twins would meet somewhere in-between and live together happily ever after. When President Bola Tinubu was inaugurated on May 29, 2023, the official rate was around N460/$ and the parallel rate — that is, on the streets — was around N750/$. The experts said if the official peg was moved, or removed, the exchange rate would find its level around N650/$ by December 2023. They cannot say that again. Ladies and gentlemen, as the official rate moved forward, the parallel too kept leaping ahead — as if singing “you cannot catch me”.

CBN governor, Olayemi Cardoso As I write this, the open market rate is around N1,230/$ while the national currency is officially N844/$. There are a million and one reasons for this downward journey, so I am forced to wonder: will the naira ever rise again? Ex-President Muhammadu Buhari was known for opposing devaluation. His argument, at least in private,

was that no currency ever recovers from it. He also thinks Nigeria does not stand to benefit from devaluation, maintaining that only exporting economies enjoy an advantage because their exports would be cheaper. But Buhari didn’t countenance one other thing: there is a difference between when devaluation is voluntary to encourage exports and when it is compulsory in response to changing economic realities. You can voluntarily decide to lose weight because you think it is good for your body and soul, but your doctor can also ask you to lose weight because you have or may have medical issues. By 2014 when the Nigerian economy started a downward journey largely because of a drop in oil revenue, devaluation was no longer optional — it was inevitable. Instead, we chose to start drawing down on our FX reserves to “defend” the naira. By the time we woke up, we were running on empty. While I still disagree with those who see devaluation as a magic formula to the FX crisis, I also admit that holding tight to the exchange rate is not a solution either. I have heard many Nigerians reminisce again and again about the “good old days” when “our economy was very strong” and 80 kobo exchanged for $1. A new car was N5,000, a return ticket to UK was N200 and so forth. Ironically, it was not that “our economy was very strong”, as some people tend to argue, but we just had a sustained inflow of petrodollars and started drinking ourselves to stupor. The windfall dramatically altered our collective IQs and gave us a false sense of prosperity. We’re

still paying the price. In the 1970s, there were about 70 million Nigerians feasting on an oil output of about 2.4 million barrels per day. Today, we are over 200 million while the oil that made “our economy strong” has dropped to 1.2mbpd. I will be surprised if Nigeria’s share of this is up to 300,000bpd. Years ago, we were getting up to 800,000bpd from onshore production alone before the oil companies started relocating offshore to avoid host community issues and other stories that touch the heart. I would be shocked if NNPCL has remitted one dollar to the federation account in three years. Rather, it has mortgaged our share of oil production to import petrol or do all kinds of “fiscal support” deals. If you are expecting the naira to recover or stabilise anytime soon, you may have to calm down. There are many reasons for my plea. One, the major problem is severe shortage of forex. We simply do not earn enough forex to meet our needs and wants. For a country that depends heavily on imports — raw materials, finished products, medication, and intangibles, etc — the demand for forex is not going to reduce soon. In a good month, we need maybe $5 billion. I doubt we earn up to $1 billion in real cash (not the book figures). We were taught in O’Level economics that when demand outstrips supply, price will rise. For every $1 we earn, we maybe need $5 to spend. Do the math. Pre-2014, the NNPC (without the L) was remitting Continued on page 61

WAZIRIADIO POSTSCRIPT

Revisiting How Nigeria’s Super Agencies are Funded

he road to hell, indeed, is paved with good intentions. To ensure that some strategic parastatals and agencies have adequate and predictable financial resources, the Nigerian government allows some of them to take a portion of the revenue they collect on behalf of the federation or to be assigned a percentage of some key revenue handles or to have the powers to charge fees and fines, most of which they keep. This has unwittingly created a few super agencies—aptly described as governments within the government. These super agencies are awash with more cash than they actually need and they are largely disposed to capture and profligacy. Most times, some of these organisations prioritise revenue-generation at the expense of more important parts of their mandates or they impose unnecessary costs on businesses, costs that are ultimately passed on to the final consumers, and at the expense of national competitiveness and economic growth. Perverse incentives sit cheek-by-jowl with unintended consequences. In trying to solve a legitimate problem, we have created a myriad of illegitimate others. This suboptimal and leaky arrangement needs to be revisited for many reasons, especially because of the urgent need to boost public revenue, block revenue leakages, reduce budget deficits and borrowing, and spend public resources more prudently. In the first category are agencies that are allowed

to charge costs of revenue collection. Three agencies fall into this category: the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), which keeps 4% of non-oil taxes; the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), which takes 4% of oil and gas royalties, signature bonus and others; and the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), which charges 7% of duties, excise, fees and some federation and non-federation levies. From the recently approved 2024 to 2026 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), these three agencies will get the following as costs of collection in 2024 alone: NUPRC will receive N266.24 billion; NCS will earn N277.27 billion; and FIRS will collect N317.58 billion (this is after removing N75 billion for FIRS tax refunds). In 2024, the three super agencies will receive N861.49 billion as against the N528.75 billion kept for them in 2023, an increase of 63%. For context, each of these executive agencies, in 2024, will receive more than the statutory allocations for the National Judicial Council (NJC) and the National Assembly (NAss), two distinct arms of government, which in 2024 have been allocated N165 billion and N197.93 billion respectively. In 2024, NUPRC is scheduled to receive 134% of the allocation to National Assembly and 161% of NJC’s. Also, the NCS is going to earn 140% of the allocation to the National Assembly and 168% of NJC’s provision. On its part, the FIRS is billed to collect 160% of the funding for National Assembly

and 192% of the amount earmarked for the NJC. For context also, these super agencies—NUPRC, NCS and FIRS—are three individual agencies, not even whole ministries in the executive arm. (Some ministries, such as the Ministry of Women Affairs and the Ministry of Tourism, will receive just between N10 billion and N11 billion in 2024, each less than 5% of the allocation to each of the super agencies.) NNPC Limited is another organisation that can be put in the first category. Following the passage and signing of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) in 2021 and NNPCL’s incorporation same year, the national oil company will receive the following for the responsibilities it carries out on behalf the Federation: 30% of the profit oil from Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs) as management fee, 35% of profit oil from Joint Ventures (JVs) for reinvestment, and 20% of the dividends of the federation’s 49% equity in the Nigeria Liquified Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited. According to the MTEF, NNPC Limited received a total of N191 billion from the federation in 2023. In 2024, the company is scheduled to receive N776.45 billion, an increase of 306%. What NNPCL is expected to receive in 2024 is 393% of the statutory allocation to the National Assembly and 470% of the allocation to NJC. It is still worth reminding ourselves again that the last two are whole arms of government: the legislative and the judicial arms respectively.

For extra context, it might be worth noting that NNPCL’s expected take in 2024 is almost double of 2024 average state budget of N442.17 billion. (According to StatiSense, 36 states have presented a total of N15.918 trillion as budgets for next year, ranging from N159.5 billion in Ekiti State to N2.25 trillion in Lagos State.) Interestingly, NNPCL’s commission is projected to reach N911.4 billion in 2026. Important to bear in mind that the cuts to the company are separate from the federation’s JV contributions and other fiscal deductions (put at N4.49 trillion in 2024 in the 2024 to 2026 MTEF), and are not inclusive of subsidy deductions since petrol subsidy “is gone.” In the second category are agencies that receive whole or a portion of specific revenue they don’t even collect or generate. In 2024, some of these agencies are scheduled to receive the following amounts: N27.35 billion to the National Information Technology Development Agency; N29.45 billion as 5% sugar levy to the National Sugar Development Council; N121.26 billion as gas flared penalties to the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), this is less NUPRC’s 4% cost of collection from gas flared penalties; and N130.84 billion as 1% of FG’s share of the Federation Account and some portions of other revenue handles to the National Continued on page 61

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