My Blog

Category: Opinion

  • Tinubu’s contemptuous of Nigerians

     

    “Tinubu was a two-term governor of Lagos state from 1999-2007. At that time, he was ruthless and manipulative. The only person that mattered to him then, and now, was himself. His manipulative nature and self -centredness can be attested to by a faction of Afenifere, the umbrella Yoruba sociocultural-cum political organisation.”

    IN their heart of hearts even the most ardent supporters of Nigeria’s president know that Alhaji Bola Ahmed Tinubu is contemptuous of Nigerians. But in fairness to him, his contempt for the people did not just manifest after he was controversially and surreptitiously awarded the presidential election by the corrupt and inept ‘Independent’ National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the dead of the night on March 1, 2023.

     

    Tinubu was a two-term governor of Lagos state from 1999-2007. At that time, he was ruthless and manipulative. The only person that mattered to him then, and now, was himself. His manipulative nature and self -centredness can be attested to by a faction of Afenifere, the umbrella Yoruba sociocultural-cum political organisation. For his ruthlessness, those who have had to cross his path in his decades – long pursuit of his political and economic ambitions (which by the way cannot be separated), including survivors of the families of his rivals, have a tonne of tales to tell. They are not palatable stories. If Afenifere is today fractionalised it is down to the ruthlessness and selfishness of one man.

     

    A Legacy of Heist

    In the preceding paragraph we said that Tinubu ruled Lagos state for eight years. No. We were wrong. Until he was created as Nigeria’s president last year, Tinubu remained the de facto governor of Lagos. He still is. He is like the animal called ikiri among Ndigbo. Once this animal has its hands on a prey or its mouth in a cookie jar, it will never let go. Tinubu does not let go. Former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, alluded to this avaricious nature of Tinubu in his press statement last week. Atiku named two companies which have long been associated with the president – Alpha Beta and Primero – which he alleged constituted direct financial pipelines from the coffers of Lagos state government to an individual’s bank account.

     

    Atiku had alleged in a press release that “Nigeria is rapidly transforming into a government of Tinubu, by Tinubu, and for Tinubu”, and that the “future of Nigerians has been effectively mortgaged to President Bola Tinubu, his family, and associates “, so much so that even when Tinubu leaves office, it will be nearly impossible to break the shackles. He alleged that: “Just as Alpha Beta, Primero, and others act as Tinubu’s proxies in Lagos, managing critical sectors and generating revenues for him, and his family, he has begun to replicate this at the federal level”.

     

    The former vice president spoke in the wake of the shenanigans between the state oil corporation, NNPCL, its retail arm and a private firm, OVH. Wale Tinubu’s Oando is alleged to own 49% of OVH. Wale Tinubu is reportedly a cousin to Bola Tinubu who, in addition to being Nigeria’s president, is also the country’s petroleum resources minister. NNPCL has refuted the linkage.

     

    Whether the mounting allegations of governance malpractices against Tinubu are true or not, it has to be noted that the tell-tale signs of the proclivity of the man have been in the public domain for at least 25 years. The fear of a section of the population that the president will be tempted or disposed to making Nigeria a bigger specimen of Lagos was not diminished by the boasting of Mrs. Oluremi Tinubu, the president’s wife in 2023, to the effect that her family had been so blessed materially and financially that they would have no need to live off the paltry resources of Nigeria. Within 14 months her boasting which she reportedly made on the altar of God, a merciful Father and a consuming fire, has turned out not to be true. Oluremi Tinubu is said to be a pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God.

     

    Lies About Subsidy

    Tinubu’s contempt for Nigerians started the very day he took his oath of office and oath of allegiance. Before that day actually. Right on the podium at the Eagle Square in Abuja on May 29, 2023, the president decreed the immediate scrapping of petrol subsidy. By the time he made this weighty declaration, his regime as personified by a Cabinet was not in place. There was no evidence that he consulted anybody including stakeholders in that sector of the economy. His rationalisation was that the petrol subsidy would bankrupt the country, and that his rivals to the presidency had promised to do the same during the campaigns. Both were lies because the regime is currently paying more for petrol subsidy, and the presidential candidates may have promised to remove petrol subsidy but there was no unanimity on how to do it. Tinubu took that action not because he did not know the implications and dire consequences of the move. He knew but he proceeded to do it anyway because he holds Nigerians in disdain. He probably enjoys seeing faces contorted in pain. What a pervert! This same man had in January 2012, eleven years prior, warned President Goodluck Jonathan, in an open letter, of the inevitable deleterious effects of subsidy removal. He was then the leader of the opposition party. The very things he predicted would happen in 2012 if Jonathan scrapped petrol subsidy happened in 2023 when he went against his own counsel- prices spiked, the economy nose-dived, inflation rose, poverty heightened and despondency spread.

     

     The Devaluation Woes and Petrol Scarcity

    His statement of ‘subsidy is gone’ was made in May of 2023. The very next month, in June, he devalued the Naira, and left the value of the national currency to the so-called free market forces. Again, his rationalisation was that the federal government could no longer afford to defend the Naira. Did this sound similar to his excuse for petrol subsidy removal? Tinubu yet displayed a disdain for Nigerians, lack of empathy, unconcern for the privations citizens were grappling with on account of petrol subsidy removal, and little knowledge of basic economics. Nigeria virtually exports nothing of value except crude oil over which it has no control of the price in the international market. Tinubu prides himself as an accountant with global clout but failed to realise that the massive devaluation of the national currency would only be more beneficial if the country was a net exporter of goods and services. Naira devaluation succeeded only in creating employment abroad, driving remnants of manufacturers away, forcing domestic producers to close shop, and exacerbating the import of inflation. The tragedy is that Nigeria is trapped.

     

    And to imagine that in spite of the dizzyingly devaluation of the Naira, the central bank is still defending the currency. The Tinubu regime has continued with the Muhammadu Buhari style of using the foreign reserves and hot money (foreign portfolio investments) to prop up the value of the Naira. Nigerians now scoff whenever the government boasts about the accression to the reserves because they know that at any point in time a significant portion of the reserves is encumbered.

     

    In barely one year the exchange rate of the Naira to the dollar has plummeted from about N700/$1 to over N1,600/$1. And we have not seen the end of it. The situation is worse in the petrol subsidy sector. Before Tinubu, about N3 trillion Naira was claimed as subsidy in one year. In 2024 which will be the one full year under Tinubu after discounting May – December 2023, the central bank is projecting that about N5 trillion would be expended on the same subsidy that was scrapped last year.

     

    But the projected expenditures on the so-called subsidy on petrol is the least of the problems facing Nigerians. The greater concern is that while the erstwhile subsidy regime was riddled with brazen corruption, the extant government has further made its administration opaque. For a start, there was no provision for subsidy in the 2024 national budget. However, subsidies have been incurred since January, indeed since the second half of 2023. Presently, petrol is scarce in many parts of the country. This was supposed to be one of the ills that the regime said that the removal of subsidy will cure. But in the fifteen months since petrol subsidy was supposedly yanked off, the country has suffered at least four bouts of scarcity.

     

    One litre of petrol currently sells for anything between N700 and N1,200 in parts of the country. In some locations, one litre of petrol costs as much as N2000. But the official price ranges from between N620-N750 per litre. However, as at the last count the landing cost of the product was put at about N1,150. So going by the official selling price and the reported landing price, there’s a price difference of about 50%. In other words, the proclamation last year that subsidy was gone was a lie. The NNPCL which is a cesspit of corruption has said it is absorbing the difference and that it was not paying any marketer any kobo for subsidy. What this means is that NNPCL is the sole importer of petrol; it determines the quantity it imports; it is responsible for determining the number of litres we consume in the country; and, it calculates the amount of subsidy per litre. On this issue NNPCL is a monopoly. But who will query an agency which reports to President Tinubu who doubles as the petroleum resources minister. Some other Nigerian presidents appointed oil ministers but not Buhari, and so far, not Tinubu. If this arrangement under the successive regimes of the All Progressives Congress (APC) does not mirror corruption, then it will be hard to find what does.

    *Next week we’ll continue this interrogation with a different headline highlighting political malpractices and governance malfeasance.

     

    Ugo Onuoha
    Former Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief
    Champion Newspapers Ltd

     

     

     

  • Beyond the seizure of presidential aircraft

    “…what is currently happening to Nigeria through the tardiness of Ogun state in handling an agreement could be replicated at the local government level with what appears to be our misguided approach to make council areas part of the country’s federating units.”

     

    By
    UGO ONUOHA

    GRACIOUS and humane creditors? Or how else can we describe the gesture of Zhongshan
    Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Limited who are on the winning side, at least for now, of an arbitration dispute with Nigeria. The company has a standing Paris court order with which it impounded three of Nigeria’s presidential jets.

     

    They were grounded in France where two of the aircraft had gone for servicing. The third, a
    recently acquired Airbus, Nigerian president, Alhaji Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s latest luxury toy, was reportedly flown to France for retrofitting and sundry luxury upgrades to suit the status and taste of the ruler of the country which since 2019 has been designated as the global capital for the abject poor.

     

    There’s no evidence yet that our ruler who is reported by one of his array of official
    spokespersons, Chief Ajuri Ngelale, as denying himself of sleep and working his socks out since his accession to the presidency on May 29, 2023, to make Nigeria great had even taken a ride inside the Airbus before it was seized. What an insult! What temerity by the Chinese. Sorry.

     

    They are our creditors with sizeable credits in their favour and the disposition to lend us more, given our insatiable appetite for foreign loans.
    In their contests with some other countries, the Chinese are known to adopt the fearsome style of wolf warrior diplomacy. Somehow this Chinese company is adopting the stick and the carrot approach in its dispute with Nigeria. This is surprising because in China, companies that are big enough to play in the international arena enjoy subtle or glaring Chinese state backing. Indeed some of such firms are actually owned by the state.

     

    So it was interesting and curious when on Friday last week Zhongshan issued a public
    statement saying that it would grant a waiver by releasing the new presidential toy, the Airbus, to be flown to Nigeria to pick up Tinubu for a prior scheduled trip to Paris to meet with the French president, Emmanuel Macron this week. The statement was silent on whether it would be a short or long lease. And whether it would be a dry or wet lease. If it is a wet lease then the Chinese will provide the captain, the co-pilot and the crew. They will fly the bird into Abuja, pick up the president and his entourage, fly them to Paris, wait for them to finish the meeting with Macron and his team, and then ferry them back to Nigeria.

    “Furthermore, it should be concerning that a foreign, and probably a low level Chinese company, has fore knowledge of the travelling plans of the ruler of the ‘giant of Africa’. And to imagine that they knew about it well ahead of Nigerians, and I dare say, the kitchen cabinet and cabal in the Presidential Villa. This is staggering in its
    enormity. “

    The Chinese may not be that generous to indulge Tinubu with globe-trotting as he’s usually wont to during his frequent foreign trips in search of investors. By the way, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) which attendance is a jamboree for Nigerian government officials is afoot. Hopefully, Zhongshan will grant us the indulgence of using the Airbus to New York next month.

     

    The Chinese company had seized a Dassault Falcon 7X, a Boeing 737-7NG/BBJ, and an
    Airbus A330-243 belonging to Nigeria’s presidential fleet but were at the material time at Paris -Le Bourget and Basel-Mulhouse airports in France. If Tinubu actually travels this week to Paris in the Airbus aircraft it would mark yet another low in the life of this regime. It will be a humiliation no matter how much efforts his spin doctors will try to put a gloss to it as a diplomatic victory. Furthermore, it should be concerning that a foreign, and probably a low level Chinese company, has fore knowledge of the travelling plans of the ruler of the ‘giant of Africa’. And to imagine that they knew about it well ahead of Nigerians, and I dare say, the kitchen cabinet and cabal in the Presidential Villa. This is staggering in its
    enormity.

     

    Apparently determined to magnify its generosity and to leave no one in doubt about the gesture foreshadowing the release of the aircraft, the Chinese company wrote in part that it had “consistently sought to act reasonably and fairly in the course of a legal dispute with Nigeria which was not of its making”. In plain language the company was saying that Nigeria brought this predicament upon itself. It said that it has “now been made aware that an Airbus A330, currently detained in France as a result of a French court order obtained by Zhongshan, is needed by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Bola Ahmed Tinubu) to travel to a scheduled meeting with President Macron of France.
    “As a gesture of goodwill, Zhongshan has lifted the seizure of that aircraft immediately. This will allow it to be used for the President’s trip”. Nigerians would need to soak in this embarrassment of international dimension. A nondescript Chinese firm gloating over doing a favour to Nigeria’s president. This is choking. You will be in order if you feel like throwing up.

    How did we get here? And what are the deeper implications of what is currently playing out in the international arena in relation to the game we are playing with the status of Nigeria’s 774 local government areas. But first a rehash of how we got here will help us to understand how Nigeria as a country is setting itself up for future disasters and embarrassments in difficult contracts entered into by the sovereign or its sub nationals or the 774 councils which are being railroaded now as components of Nigeria’s federating units.

     

    The sequence of events that led to the seizure of the presidential jets started in 2001 when
    Nigeria and China signed a bilateral investment treaty. Nine years later Zhongshan, through its parent company Zhuhai Zhongfu Industrial Group, acquired rights to develop the Ogun
    Guangdong Free Trade Zone in Ogun state. In 2011 Zhongshan created Zhongfu International Investment (NIG) FZE to manage the development of the free trade zone. The Chinese subsidiary allegedly built roads, sewerage and power networks within the zone.

     

    In 2012, Ogun state appointed Zhongfu as the interim manager of the FTZ. Soon after, a joint venture agreement was signed between the state which reportedly gave Zhongfu majority shareholding and the status of permanent managers of the FTZ. But in 2016 things went awry and the state abruptly terminated the contract, got the federal government to revoke the immigration status of the Chinese, and then expelled them.
    Zhongshan claimed a breach of the bilateral investment treaty and triggered arbitration
    proceedings in 2017.

    Four years later, an arbitration tribunal found in favour of the Chinese, and awarded Zhongshan a total sum of about $70 million. Last year, after a fruitless effort to find an amicable resolution between the Ogun state government and the Chinese firm, Nigeria sought to use state immunity to shield itself from liability, but it was denied because Nigeria acted out of time. Nigeria lost again on appeal to a higher court in the UK.
    Then Zhongshan moved fast to secure charging and interim orders of forfeiture in various
    jurisdictions including the UK, the US and France, among other places. As in the UK, the US
    court of appeals for the District of Columbia this year affirmed the enforceability of the arbitration award. So Nigeria is entangled in a web. But it could get worse in the future given how we are structuring our federation.

    It could be dismissed as an exaggeration, but what is currently happening to Nigeria through the tardiness of Ogun state in handling an agreement could be replicated at the local government level with what appears to be our misguided approach to make council areas part of the country’s federating units. Apart from a few sane heads, many Nigerians appear to be giddy about the recent Supreme Court opinion on local government autonomy and direct funding from the federation account.

     

    Yes, the 1999 constitution as amended may have enabled the ruling of the court. But it needed to be restated that a political solution will be the right thing to do. On councils and other areas, the constitution is riddled with contradictions that should be untangled through clear-eyed amendments. Imagine a scenario where an autonomous council which is flush with money decided on a partnership with a foreign entity to deliver a big ticket project. And along the line something goes wrong, and gets to an arbitration. Then the local government loses, and Nigeria is held liable because of one treaty or the other. What will happen? There could be a case of multiple councils getting into such entanglements. If Ogun state with its legendary embarrassment of riches in human capital appear to have failed woefully in handling a contract divorce, then we can only conjecture what will be the outcome for a local government area.

    But we can save ourselves future ridicule by pulling back on this local government autonomy madness now that it is not too late. We have no evidence of anywhere in the world where local government areas are components of federating units. The framework for governance at that level should be the exclusive preserve of the states in Nigeria. They should create and fund as many councils as suit their fancies. The first step in this regard is to expunge the names of the current 774 local government areas from the constitution. It’s about time we stopped making simple things unnecessarily difficult.

  • The imperatives of creating Anioma state

    The agitation for the creation of Anioma state or autonomy for the people is not a fly-by-night struggle nor a new idea prompted by such other demands in the South East geo-political zone or in other zones. The Anioma issue has been raised at any given opportunity and at every appropriate forum in this country in the last 50 years, possibly more.

    By UGO ONUOHA

    FOR the life of Nigeria as an independent country, 1960, the history is fairly recent. Though the journey through time had been chequered, nothing these past 64 years, next October 1, had been so traumatic, including the chilling bloodletting of the Biafra -Nigeria war (1967-1970), and the challenge of reconciliation more than 50 years after the war, to erase our individual and collective memories.

     

    And because of this, it is likely that many adults amongst today’s Nigeria’s population of mainly young people will recall some fundamental events in the first republic between 1960-1967. One of such events was the creation in August 1963 of the defunct Mid-West region from the defunct Western region. Before the Mid-West region, there were the Northern region, Eastern region and the Western region which were in many respects the arbitrary creations of the British colonizers in the 1940s.

     

    So, historically, again if our memories do not play pranks on us, the Mid-West region was the first and sadly only self-governing territory within Nigeria that was created by popular demand and through a democratic process. The Mid-West region came to be essentially because of the political power play between the Eastern and Northern regions on the one hand, and the Western region on the other hand. But it was also founded to satisfy the political and developmental aspirations of the peoples of the Benin and Delta provinces of the Western region.

    In his private and public life, Nwoko has not been associated with tardiness. So it was no surprise that the contents of his bill for the creation of Anioma state appeared to be attended by forethought, political deftness, requisite consultations, rigour and vigour.

    It then means that since 1963 all the governing enclaves we have come to know now as states had been created arbitrarily by a succession of military regimes. And the last time states, six in number were created, was in 1996 by the former head of state, the late Gen. Sani Abacha. It’s instructive that more than 60 years after the creation of the Mid-West region through a plebiscite , the strongest candidate for state creation in our new democratic setting is the demand for Anioma state. The Anioma area was part of the Benin/Delta province which became the former Mid-West region. Ahead of the civil war it was reverted to a province, and later Edo and Delta states. The Anioma people are in present day Delta state.

     

    Early last month, Senator Ned Nwoko who represents Delta north in the Senate promoted and caused a bill for the creation of Anioma state to be tabled on the floor of the senate. In his private and public life, Nwoko has not been associated with tardiness. So it was no surprise that the contents of his bill for the creation of Anioma state appeared to be attended by forethought, political deftness, requisite consultations, rigour and vigour. The timing of his move was deft, and could in future provide a lesson for the masterclass for political gladiators. Senator Nwoko is on the cusp of using one pebble or stone to kill two birds at once. In my neck of the woods, and indeed his, Nwoko ‘choro iji ofu okwute/aku gbagbue nnunnu abuo’. That will be a feat in any clime and the possibility in this instance is rapidly unfolding before our eyes.

     

    The agitation for the creation of Anioma state or autonomy for the people is not a fly-by-night struggle nor a new idea prompted by such other demands in the South East geo-political zone or in other zones. The Anioma issue has been raised at any given opportunity and at every appropriate forum in this country in the last 50 years, possibly more. That may explain why during the 2014 National Political Conference (CONFAB), the need for the creation of Anioma state was raised, and it resonated with the majority of participants.

     

    The Conference was organised by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) government of President Goodluck Jonathan. He lost power to the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC’s) Muhammadu Buhari the following year. The APC and Buhari ignored the recommendations of the Conference which included creating at least one more state in the South East to bring it at par with other regions except the North West which has seven states.

    …there are presently nine LGAs in Delta state whose indigenes are Igbo and whose language is Igbo. Additionally, these council areas are by geographical proximity within the orbit of the so-called mainland Igbo states of the South East. In terms of culture, tradition and names the people of Anioma cannot be said to be less Igbo.

    As we stated above, Senator Nwoko has brought a new and refreshing angle to the demand for the creation of Anioma state. His argument is virtually unassailable to the fair -minded, and his deft linkage of Anioma to the predominantly Igbo states of the South East is a masterstroke. His argument that when created Anioma state will fill a yawning gap in the South East was thoughtful. Presently, state creation is skewed against the South East. It has five states. The South West, South South, North Central, North East and South West have six states each. The North West has seven.

     

    Nwoko argues in his bill for the creation of Anioma state that there are presently nine local government areas in Delta state whose indigenes are Igbo and whose language is Igbo. Additionally, these council areas are by geographical proximity within the orbit of the so-called mainland Igbo states of the South East. In terms of culture, tradition and names the people of Anioma cannot be said to be less Igbo.

     

    The creation of Anioma state and the inclusion of the same as part of the Igbo nation will cure a number of ills that have been afflicting this country for many years. First, it will be a homecoming for the Igbo in the present Delta state back to their kith and kin under a big tent. It will curb the lingering fear of marginalisation of the people in their current location. The Anioma people, with a state of their own, will feel safer in the midst of their brethren than elsewhere in spite of the scare-mongering by those who are committed to throwing a wedge between, and among, Igbo people.

     

    Furthermore, fairness and equity will be served when Anioma becomes the sixth state of the South East. It brings the zone at par with other regions bar the North West. Going by Nigeria’s extant geo-political structure, the South East with Anioma, will enjoy greater representation in terms of number in the federal House of Representatives, the House of Senate, the federal cabinet and sundry appointments that required the application of the principle of federal character.

                                   “Anioma state is a compelling proposition, an idea which                                 time is now. It need not be put inside the basket of other                               demands for state creation from other parts of the country.”

    Also, the issue of revenue allocation from the federation account will be positively impacted. If revenue drives development, then the expectation will be that the improvements in the provision of public infrastructure and human capital formation will begin to manifest at a faster pace in the emerging new South East. The sense of marginalisation and victimhood in the region will abate when the people of the area notice that all sections of the Nigerian society are being treated fairly and equally.

     

    Every argument that can be used against the creation of Anioma state is moot. When aggregated, the population of the Igbo people in the about nine local government areas that will be involved compares with the population of some states in our country. Furthermore, the population and landmass of the proposed Anioma state will be bigger than some standalone countries in Africa and in some other parts of the world. And, Anioma state cannot be denied on account of local government areas. It has more than enough. In terms of economic viability, Anioma state could rank among the top 10 in the country when created. Certainly, Anioma state will hit the ground running because there are already in existence, requisite infrastructural facilities and human capital for a smooth take-off.

     

    Anioma state is a compelling proposition, an idea which time is now. It need not be put inside the basket of other demands for state creation from other parts of the country. Senator Nwoko made a smart and commonsense proposal which should be supported by all people of good conscience. Multiple demands for new states can be considered when the country decides to move all Geo-political zones to be at par with the North West.

     

    Meanwhile, it’s 25 years and counting since the return to rule by civilians in our country. Yet, we are still grappling with the political and governing structures which were arbitrarily created by past military regimes. The states of the federation have remained as created by the military since 1996. Efforts by state governments to create local governments within their domains since 1999 have been shot down and declared illegal by the Supreme Court. Ekiti state was the latest victim.

     

    For how long will we hide under the 1999 Constitution to do wrong? Our federal system of government is distorted and looks more like a man with a hunchback. Every level of government is now being accorded the status of a federating unit including council areas. Relying on governing structures created by  military regimes which were driven by command and control should by now be concerning for Nigerians and their ruling elite. When people are concerned they take action.

  • A critical analysis of President Tinubu’s Post-Protest Speech to the Nation

     

    …the crafters of the speech made a fundamental mistake of relying on the president assuaging the pain of the citizens by regurgitating and enumerating the different policies his government has enacted to ease the pain his reform polices especially the removal of oil subsidy and floating of the forex has caused, when in fact empathy was needed.

     

     

    Compared to what happened recently in Kenya and the bombastic prediction by the planners of the “EndBadGovernance” protest, President Tinubu and our dear country just dogged a huge bullet. We are very fortunate to have averted what could have been catastrophic conflagration. Our country is still standing, thank God. So it was totally appropriate and expected that the president would address the nation. I listened to the president’s much anticipated speech, this morning as I was heading out to the airport relieved that my flight had not been cancelled by the protest.

     

    It was a beautifully crafted and well delivered speech with the right cadence. It included a laundry list of various policies that have been taken by the president’s government to reposition the economy for sustainable growth and to ease the the pain of some of his critically needed but painful reform policy like the oil subsidy removal. The president also provided the contextual underpinning for some of the painful policies he has had to implement

     

    However, the crafters of the speech made a fundamental mistake of relying on the president assuaging the pain of the citizens by regurgitating and enumerating the different policies his government has enacted to ease the pain his reform polices especially the removal of oil subsidy and floating of the forex has caused, when in fact empathy was needed. As great as some of those policies might be, their impact are probably longer term ame will not address the immediate needs of the populace for relief from the economic Armageddon that confronts them daily as they try to eke a living and survival in an economy that is close to comatose. Presidential speeches are usually not the best forum to discuss arcane complex policies that might not be understood by most citizens especially those who are hurting. What good does a government credit policy for nano and micro-enterprises do for a hungry man?

     

    The president’a speech was ended on the usual empathy, “I feel your pain” piece when it should have been front center from the onset.

     

    The president would have been better served had he started with the “I feel your pain” piece rather than at the end. It would have been great had the president stated the speech with “I heard your message loud and clear”. As your your president, I feel your pain and know daily struggles. While we have done so much to ease your pain, your protest tells us, we need to do more.

     

    The other missing piece in the president’s speech, was the failure of the president to tell the citizens, what he will do differently in response to protest! It would have been great has the president talked about what he would do to reduce the cost of governance, to make his administrative bureaucracy lighter, more nimble and more aligned to the the country’s economic reality and the sacrifice that the citizens have been called up to make. That was a big and regrettable omission in the speech.

     

    Yes, as commander in chief and the chief security officer, it was important that President communicated his commitment to maintaining law and order as mandated by the constitution. But his role as empathizer in chief could have been given more prominence than it was in the speech.

     

    Overall, it was a good speech, timely, much needed and well delivered.

  • Government by Cash gifts and palliatives: Ineffectual Tokenism to Citizens’ Miserys

    Media report has it that senate President Akpabio recently announced President Tinubu’s approval of 50,000 Naira monthly stipends for 10,000 youths in the Niger Delta area. I hope that news is not true, otherwise it would tone-deafness on steroid. It is a demeaning policy that reduces Nigerian youth to Pavlovian dogs in his classical conditioning experiments who can be taught compliance with food.

     

    Nigerian youths do not need cashgifts, nor bribes, nor tokenisms or palliatives, call it what you like. It is an insult to them. They need an educational infrastructure fit for human learning, not the filthy chicken pens in which they are packed like animals called schools. They need a functioning economy with modern infrastructure that stimulates economic productivity and job creation.

     

    As much as I am a supporter of President Tinubu, his alms-seekers’ pan-handling, hand-out tokenism palliative policy is like putting bandage on a cancerous bedsore. Sharing envelopes of bags of rice might work for vote harvesting during political campaign. It is not a sustainable model for governance. It is demeaning, belittling, insensitive, and an insult to us all.

     

    If today’s protest falls apart like some hope it does because of the suspicion that it may be a misguided ethnic and political conceptualization and branding as “day of rage” as an alleged attempt at upturning the result of a failed presidential bid. It is hoped that President Tinubu and his team see that as a temporary reprieve to give him a chance for course correction and a massive restructuring and pruning down the huge bureaucracy that has become part and parcel of the culture of government by political patronage with layers upon layers of special assistants to special assistants, with no portfolio nor value addition to governance in Abuja and all over the states and local government capitals. It must stop now.

     

    That is low hanging policy shift that does not need any legislative action, just executive order to send the signal to the populace of shared sacrifice and a listening presidency.

     

    The bubbling explosive tension in the country is palpable. You cannot pack megaton of explosive TNT in a hot combustible room and hope and pray that one day it would not detonate and bring down the house.

     

    The time for presidential action is now, not tomorrow. Like the explosion of the pile of ammonia fertilizer which eviscerated blocks upon blocks of Beirut taking with it the homes of the poor, the powerless the rich and powerful, will be a child’s play unless decisive action is taken is to avert the looming catastrophe.

     

    Our country is siting on a huge pile of TNT that is on the verge of explosion. Only quick and decisive action by all layers of government, federal, state and local government can save the country.

     

    May God bless Nigeria our country. May God bless our president Tinubu, our governors and all those who have willingly sought leadership positions of our country and have been honored with such huge responsibility. May He give them the wisdom, and prick their conscience and sensibilities if they still have any left, to do the right thing for the long suffering, long abused, long deprived Nigerian masses. If they fail to do so, they must be prepared for the spontaneous ire and rage of the people that is likely to sweep them off their exalted position of power.

     

    A word they say is enough for the wise. The clock is ticking and the day of reckoning is literarily at hand.

  • Hunger Protest: D-DAY in Nigeria?

    Hunger Protest: D-DAY in Nigeria?

    A blogger called it the “Ides of March in August.” Some called it the “Day of Rage.” Others have aptly described it as the “day to take back Nigeria.” Call it what you may but today is August 1, 2024 and what shall not be in doubt is that President Bola Ahmad Tinubu shall today play host to some not-too-August visitors, as Nigerians from all works of life pour onto the streets, if all go as planned, to demand better treatment from the leadership of their country.

    Operated under the hashtag: #END BAD GOVERNANCE, a group of Nigerians issued a notice to the Federal Government some weeks back with the intention to embark on ten days of mass protest, starting August 1-10, 2024, to demand reversal of economic polices that the current government had introduced. Some of these policies include the withdrawal of subsidy on petrol, hike in energy (electric power) tariff, further liberalization of the foreign exchange market.

    It is worth repeating here that these policies were dictated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, so called Bretton Woods Institutions, created in December 1945 to mastermind the implementation of the Bretton Woods Agreement of July 1944. Over the years, the two institutions have served “as important pillars for international capital financing and trade activities.” Unfortunately, their advises and the prescriptions contained in the Structural Adjustment Policies (SAPs) that they recommend, have always failed to serve the interest of needy Third World Countries.

    From countries of the Latin Americas to poor countries in Africa and the Asia, the one-size-fits-all policies that these two lending institutions propose to third world countries often lead to mass revolts, often because of the hardship that they cause. As for Nigeria, it is a deja vu as the current episode is Nigeria’s second attempt at implementing SAP. The first also ended in a fiasco as the country was thrown into a turmoil of mass revolt that is today remembered as the anti-SAP Riots.

    Same as now, the Anti-SAP Riots were a result of the government decision to implement the Structural Adjustment Program (SAP) in 1986 under the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in an effort to counteract the impact of declining oil revenue and devaluing the Naira, cutting back on social spending, implementing widespread layoffs, being measures taken to guarantee Nigeria’s eligibility for loans from the IMF.

    Public resentment to IMF Structural Adjustment Programmes are fueled by several factors. Apart from the very bitter pills that they prescribe, the failure of the ruling elite to subordinate themselves to the same lifestyle modification that they recommend to the mass of the people, spike most of the anger that drive the protests. In Nigeria, just as the ongoing episode in Kenya, while the people grapple with cost of living crisis, politicians and their families, supposed servants of the people, revel in obscene affluence.

    In Nigeria, the numbers tell all the story. Down by 370.55 percent, the local currency was so massively devalued that a US dollar today exchanges for 1,660 naira, instead of N448.0 by end of 2022. With this fall in the value of the naira, and Nigeria being import dependent, the price of all goods skyrocketed. Just to give an example, rice, Nigeria’s most staple food has become a luxury item in many family menus as a 50kg bag, hitherto sold at N7,500 in 2023 now sells between N85,000 and N100,000. Food inflation estimated at 40 percent. While interest rate hovers around 28-30 percent.

    President Tinubu, either wittingly or otherwise, it was, who set the tone and pace for the current harsh economic reality buffeting Nigerians when he announced that subsidy on petrol was gone while reading his inaugural speech. Even the most strident advocates of subsidy removal sharply disagreed with the method of withdrawing the very critical subsidy on petrol by the president. This was due to how he announced it without proper review and implementation plan.

    The rest, as they say, is now history. The country now tithers precariously by the edge of the cliff. Whether the people will troupe out to carry out the threat of a mass protest shall become manifest momentarily. What is of critical essence going forward is how the law enforcement agents contain the protest that the Federal Government and the sub-nationals can not be excused as having done enough to stave off.

  • Ndigbo in the Crosshairs of ‘Days of Rage’ (2)

    By Ugo Onuoha

    THE ‘Ides of March’ are now set for August. And that month is two days hence. Typical of Nigerians the ides of March have been re-branded and rechristened and restructured. Our own, if they actually happen, will not be for one momentous occasion. They are programmed to last for days, all of 10 consecutive days, from August 1. What a time to be alive.

    Nigeria, with its history of bloodletting and the highhandedness of its security agents, is on edge. The regime of this president, Alhaji Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is worried. Look beyond the tough guy posturing. Strategy meetings of its henchmen and security goons have become almost a daily affair recently. The truth is that no administration covets any demonstration or protest, not even the so-called peaceful variety. In every such situation, the line between peace and violence is thin, indeed blurred. And it is worse in Nigeria.

    In the case of the widely advertised ‘Days of Rage’ planned to begin in two days, the elements that could spark violence, destructions and deaths are embedded in the demands of the organisers and the inevitable highhanded and deadly reaction of a regime that has been struggling with legitimacy from the get go. The precarious position and hypersensitivity of the regime is not made any better by its struggles in many areas.

    As we know the two most important duties of any government are securing lives and property of citizens, and ministering to the welfare of the people. It will be a stretch even for the choristers of this regime to remotely claim that the administration is meeting the minimal expectations of people in the two cardinal areas of governance. It does not appear that the regime has made a dent in securing the country. Insecurity is actually becoming endemic. Its scorecard on the economic front is woeful. Worse still is that the prognosis is not looking good.

    Last week, the central bank of Nigeria raised its benchmark interest rate for the umpteenth time. Many more Nigerians are projected to slip below the poverty line. That should be concerning for a country that is officially designated as the poverty capital of the world. The monetary czars appear fixated with using only monetary tools to cure the ills of an economy that is afflicted in many sectors. There are no indications that there’s a consciousness to align monetary and fiscal policies.

    The confusion and desperation in the government circle is palpable. The evidence was writ large last Wednesday night when the national secretary of the ruling All Progressives Congress political party, Senator Ajibola Bashiru appeared for a programme on national television. He strained to deny the evidence of economic devastation before our very eyes even to the extent of disclaiming the inflation data published by their own government agency – the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

    It’s the in-your-face lies and denials of APC apparatchiks such as their national secretary that infuriate many Nigerians and that make the imminent ‘Days of Rage’ almost unavoidable. But danger looms. A regime marked by serial bungling is a danger to everyone. It is worse when that regime is populated by opportunists and pseudo democrats. And headed by a man incapable of hiding his dictatorial tendencies. ‘Days of Rage’ could be bloody and may end up achieving little or no results worth the potential losses. The inevitable is that when the cloud lifts, the Igbo people and the Igbo nation will bear the brunt. That has been the story of Ndigbo in Nigeria since the 1940s, and even earlier.

    Igbo -hating is a pastime for some Nigerians. In fact, sometimes the hating comes from inside of the Igbo themselves. For instance, long before the furious debates on the impending protests hugged the national media headlines, Joe Igbokwe, from Nnewi in the heart of Igbo land had affixed Ndigbo in the bull’s-eye of the protests. Two weeks ago, Igbokwe wrote a gratuitous letter to the Igbo in Lagos, warning that the authorities in the state will deal decisively with them if they participate in the August protests.

    “I am the leader of Ndigbo in APC Lagos… I know what I went through and what I experienced during the #Endsars protest in October 2020 which opened a can of worms that shook the long existing cordial relationship and understanding between (the) Igbo and the owners Lagos”.

    The summary of Igbokwe’s warning are that the Igbo were culpable in the #Endsars protests of 2020 and the destruction of public property in Lagos; that there are indications that Ndigbo are in the thick of the planned August protests; that relations between the ‘owners of Lagos’ and the Igbo are irretrievably bad; that the owners of Lagos had learned valuable lessons from the events of 2020 and will finish off the Igbo in Lagos if they dared to join the protests; and, that the Igbo who are unwilling to lay down and be trampled upon and rolled over had better leave Lagos.

    Joe Igbokwe may not be a fool, but he at times says patently foolish things.

    The leadership of the conveners and protagonists of the ‘Days of Rage’ are well advertised. It’s scanty on Igbo. How Igbokwe, therefore, conjures and dumped Ndigbo in the heart of the agitation can only be befuddling. The other day I happened on the same Joe Igbokwe arguing at the top of his voice in Igbo language that the Igbo do not like the APC. That encounter with his kith and kin appeared to have happened on twitter (now X) space and then exported to WhatsApp. His opponents, who were mostly female, were equally insistent that they would not approve of APC for as long as the party approximated maladministration beginning with the regime of Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria’s affliction. By his stance in the encounter, Igbokwe may have said that the Igbo political elite in APC, including himself, are charlatans who are not representing the yearnings and aspirations of Ndigbo. Could this be true?

    We have heard isolated but strident voices in the weeks leading up to the ‘Days of Rage’, many of them suggesting, without any shred of evidence, that the Igbo are orchestrating the August protests. There was a video about one unidentified Islamic teacher in the north who asked northern youths not to participate in the protests because Ndigbo were the people stoking the fire, and that they were using other means to attain Biafra by fueling the disintegration of Nigeria. He said that any protest is ‘haram’. Other sheikhs promptly shot him down.

    One fellow, Very Revd. Edward Obumneme Joseph who identified himself as president of the PFN youth wing offered different reasons why the protests should be shunned. He said that the protests were being promoted by sponsors of terrorism and the Igbo were the ultimate target of the fallouts.

    By last weekend all the security agencies have busied themselves with running political commentaries on the protests, the organisers, sources of their funding, the modus operandi, why the protests should be aborted, how deadly force will be used, and the resolve of the regime to protect life and property of Nigerians.

    The most comical of the running political commentaries came from the federal secret police otherwise called the Directorate of State Services (DSS). By last Thursday the Agency said it had identified the promoters of the protests, ignoring the fact that the names of the promoters had been in the public domain for weeks. It claimed it had identified the sponsors but provided neither evidence nor clues. It said it had unmasked how third parties were plotting to hijack the protests for regime change. It said that the protests were political and not economic. And that the claim about hardship was a ruse.

    It may not be entirely correct to say that the Nigerian secret police are the dumbest in the world, but they may be close to the bottom of the scale. Except in dictatorships the secret police in other jurisdictions are not known to be loquacious. They are usually taciturn. That code of not talking much was on display last week when the US director of the secret service, Kimberly Cheatle, appeared before lawmakers investigating the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump. It did not matter that it cost her job.

    If the DSS had iron-cast evidence that the protests were political with sinister motives, the expectation is that it will move fast, arrest the insurrectionists and let them have their day in court. Of course, the DSS was lying. It had no evidence that could stand up in court about its claims. Is this not the same DSS that was scheming to arrest the former governor of the central bank, Godwin Emefiele, last year on allegations of sponsoring terrorists? The same Emefiele has been in detention and restricted movement since June 10, 2023, yet the secret police have failed to charge him with terrorism.

    Even before the protests commence enough grounds have been prepared to make Ndigbo the fall guys. Whether they participate in the protests or not will count for nothing. For more than 70 years they’ve borne the burden of striving to be Nigerians by losing their lives, limbs and livelihoods.

    The truth is that the Igbo really do not have any stake or interest in the looming ‘Days of Rage’. The majority of them did not believe that Bola Ahmed Tinubu would make a good president for a country that was, and still is, in dire straits. And they rejected him at the ballot box in 2023. They also did not believe in 2015 that Nigeria’s affliction, Buhari would be a good president. They were vindicated after eight years of disaster.

    The Igbo are masters in diverse fields but their expertise in commerce is unequalled. Commerce thrives in a conducive environment, not in uncertainty, chaos and war. Protests, no matter their ultimate outcome, enthrone chaos and so bad for business. It is bad for Ndigbo. It is especially so for people who have been deliberately excluded from Nigeria’s governing structure at the centre since 2015. They are punished for voting their conscience.

    The danger for the Igbo during the ‘Days of Rage’ is that the government will, as usual, bus thugs to infiltrate and disrupt the protesters and cause violence. The situation will degenerate to arson and destruction. The regime will then order its security agencies including the army to move in, to shoot and to kill the unarmed marchers. In America the Conservatives say that when the looting starts, the shooting starts. But here at home it’s usually when the shooting starts, the looting starts. And the Igbo will be left to count their losses. Whether they participate or not, Ndigbo will lose from the ‘Days of Rage’. That’s the default button of Nigeria’s crisis for decades. No reason to believe it will be different this time.

  • Ndigbo in the crosshairs of ‘Days of Rage’

    By UGO ONUOHA

    IT’S less than 10 days away. That’s if the planned protests against hunger, poverty, bad governance etcetera, were to materialize. The protests are scheduled for August 1-10. The organisers have a name for it: Days of Rage. The protests are designed to happen simultaneously across the country for 10 consecutive days. Unless Nigeria has changed, this project and especially its duration looks like a tall order.

    Nigeria of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s appear to be a long gone era. The period has almost been blotted from our collective memories. During those epochs, Nigerian youths, led mostly by students of tertiary institutions were upfront in opposing any government policy or programmes considered not to be in the best interest of the country. They did so in 1962, just two years after Nigeria gained independence from Britain. They fought to ensure the scrapping of the obviously one-sided Anglo-Nigerian Defence Agreement.

    Alex Lennox -Boyd was the British secretary of state for colonies in 1958, two years before Nigeria was granted independence. In fact, by 1958 both the Eastern region and the Western region had
    attained self rule status from the colonizers. The Northern region, apparently fearing dominance by the more sophisticated regions of the south said it was not ready to govern itself and so opted to be under the suzerainty of Britain.

    The 1958 memo by Lennox -Boyd encapsulated the ingredients for the Anglo-Nigerian Defence Agreement which will be handed over to the government of an independent Nigeria to sign. There was no evidence that Nigerian nationalists who were jostling to replace the British made any input into drafting the so-called Agreement. But history has it that Chief Obafemi Awolowo, leader of the Action Group (AG) political party revolted against the pact when it came to his knowledge.

    So, in 1962 when Britain showed its hand for the execution of the pact by the leaders of our country, Nigerian students rose as one to march on their campuses and on the streets in the country’s major cities in opposition to the Agreement. They did not relent until Britain backed down and Nigeria backed out. There were not too many universities then nor higher institutions. And students’ leaders were not known to be acolytes of partisan politicians of the then dominant political parties such as the National Council for Nigeria and Cameroons (NCNC) and AG. The issues of ethnic or tribal affiliations were virtually non-existent.

    The vexatious issues in the pact were the granting by Nigeria to Britain overflying rights and testing by Royal Air Force aircraft; and whether Britain should still have any maintenance staff on ground in Nigeria. Nigerian youths said an emphatic no because they were persuaded that it amounted to an unequal relationship and moreover there was no evidence that Nigeria contributed in framing the so-called Agreement.

    Consequently, Britain and Nigeria were forced to release a statement abrogating the pact. The statement read: “The British and Nigerian Governments have been consulting together about the Anglo-Nigerian Defence Agreement. They have noted with concern that the scope and purposes of the Agreement have been widely misunderstood. In particular, fears have arisen that in consequence of the Agreement, Nigeria’s action might be impaired and that she might even be drawn into hostilities against her wishes.

    Continuing the statement said: “The text of the Agreement shows that these and other anxieties which have been expressed are wholly without foundation. Nevertheless, in order to end misunderstanding, the two governments have thought it wise to reconsider the need for a formal agreement.

    “As a result, they have decided to abrogate the Agreement. Each government will, however, endeavour to afford to the other at all times such assistance and facilities in defence matters as are appropriate between partners in the Commonwealth”. That was the Nigeria of the 1960s.

    By the 1970s, more higher institutions including universities had sprung up. And the win over the Anglo-Nigerian Defence Agreement had bolstered the resolve of youths and students that opposing real or perceived unjust policies of the government was right and winnable. And then came 1978. The regime of Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo who succeeded the assassinated Gen. Murtala Muhammed increased fees payable by students in the universities. Hell was let loose. Students would not take it and the military regime would not back down either. Col. Ahmadu Ali was the federal commissioner (minister) of education. He had the support of the hierarchy of the ruling junta to dig in. And he did. The protesting students were no less determined.

    The result was bloodshed on the streets, deaths and injuries mainly on the part of the students. The students revolt was appropriately tagged ‘Ali Must Go Protests’. The protests also known as the 1978 Students Crisis was for a long time regarded as one of the most violent student agitation in this country. It was also said to be responsible for the political crisis that dogged the Muhammed/Obasanjo military regime of 1975-1979.

    Apart from fees reversal, the protesting students who also boycotted lectures demanded return to democracy and rule by civilians; democratisation of government institutions; genuine independence of the country; and, the enhancement of the quality of life of the masses. Some commentators argue that the bloody confrontation ended in a stalemate but it must be noted that the military regime vacated office just 17 months after for democratically elected administration of President Shehu Shagari and Vice President Alex Ekwueme.

    ‘Ali Must Go’ was a turning point in relations between Nigerians and their rulers. A template was adopted by subsequent rulers to the effect that there won’t be any consequences in using brute force and deadly violence to put down protests of any type.

    Fast forward to October 2020. For decades, Nigerians were at the receiving end of the brutalities of the state security agents, particularly a branch of the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) called SARS- The Special Anti-Robbery Squad. SARS was notorious for bloodletting, visiting violence on hapless Nigerian youths, acting with impunity and as if its operatives were above the law.

    Any youngster they found with a laptop was automatically tagged as an Internet fraudster while those who wore braided hairs (dreadlocks) were treated as vagabonds and criminals. SARS dealt summarily with such young people by extorting or executing them. Even older people were not spared. Something had to give. And it did give from October 8, 2020 when the youths took a stand by protesting and demonstrating against police violence and brutality.

    The protests morphed into demands for good governance.By October 20, there was a repeat of the 1978 ‘Ali Must Go’ bloodletting but this time on a higher and unimaginable scale. There was a massacre. The world was repulsed. Voices of condemnation rent the air. Nigeria had finally perfected the art of killing its children who were protesting brutality, corruption and bad governance. They were only armed with patriotic songs, waving the national flag and singing the national anthem.

    First, the government, led by Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, the affliction, a military dictator masquerading as a civilian ruler used thugs and street urchins to infiltrate the hitherto peaceful protests, to instigate violence, looting and destruction of public property.

    Then under the cover of darkness on October 20, the mindless regime ordered soldiers to shoot and kill our children in cold blood. The ghosts of the children who were massacred in one of the killing fields -the Lekki, Lagos toll plaza- on that particular day are still haunting the place and hunting their killers.

    They can pretend but they will have no peace. I believe the Good Book which says that there’s no peace for the wicked and that those who kill with the sword will die by the sword. It’s just a matter of time.

    In the four years since the ENDSARS Protests in October 2020, there has been a strident campaign by a section of the Yoruba nation, an insignificant number it must be acknowledged, to hold Ndigbo responsible for instigating the protests and spearheading the looting and burning of public buildings in Lagos in the aftermath of the riots.

    As Nigeria moves almost inexorably towards a fresh round of confrontations which could result from the planned Days of Rage from August 1, the narrative about the Igbo being responsible for past protests is resurfacing and gaining currency. And these false and wicked narratives have always had consequences for Ndigbo.

    The Igbo paid with livelihoods, limbs and life in 1966 after the July counter coup. July was the crescendo of the persistent peddling of lies and propaganda that the Igbo were the mastermind of the January 1966 military coup during which some political and religious leaders of the north died. It did not matter that it was a lie because the Igbo paid a huge price.
    *To be contd.

  • Akoko-Edo: An Unmatched History of Loyalty

    Akoko-Edo: An Unmatched History of Loyalty

    By Comrade Mayor Samuel

    Akoko-Edo LGA of Edo State boasts an unparalleled history of loyalty, honesty, and peaceful coexistence. Despite its large population, abundant resources, and extensive landmass, we have consistently supported our neighbors in Edo North. We hold the likes of Etsako politicians, businessmen, and other influential figures in high regard, respecting their traditional institutions.

    In Edo Central, politicians and residents alike have our unwavering support. In Edo South, we have also shown wholehearted support. Yet, we have been unjustly treated by our closest neighbors, the Etsako. Under Oshiomole’s leadership, we endured humiliation through political appointments and party candidacies. As we are still reeling from these inhumane treatments, Philip Shaibu, Oshiomole’s blood brother, has continued the dehumanization of our people. What is our offense? This question remains unanswered, except by Rt. Hon. Comrade Philip Shaibu.

    I have always believed that loyalty pays, serving pays, and reliability pays. If there is any race, ethnicity, or group with the same heritage and geographical placement that has shown unwavering loyalty to the people of Etsako and Edo State in general, it is the people of Akoko-Edo.

    Even though we are not born as slaves or second-class citizens, out of love and respect, we have served the Etsako in Edo North and across Edo State. Why, then, would anyone continue to mistreat those who have refused confrontation, even when provoked? Why do Oshiomole and Philip Shaibu believe it is the birthright of Etsako to determine the destiny of Akoko-Edo, Owan, and Esan people? We have tolerated so much, and it is time to say, ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.

    Yes, we may not be as blessed as Estako, which has all the supposed decentralized government institutions spread across Owan, Akoko-Edo, and Estako, but all politically centralized in Etsako. You have reduced us to mere monkeys, throwing us bananas whenever you feel like it.

    You callously prevented Deacon Obende Domigo from going to the Senate when you, Oshiomole, was the governor, Philip Shaibu was in the House of Reps, and Estako had a minister, only to replace him with another Etsako man. As if that was not enough, you delivered the final blow, appointing Philip Shaibu as Deputy Governor, Senator, and Minister, all from the same LGA in Estako. Today, the same enemies of Akoko-Edo are senators and ministers, yet they are doing everything possible to strip us of the only remnant we have been left with by a benevolent power. This must stop. Nothing must happen to our brother. Akoko-Edo has long paid its dues, and we deserve to be happy, even if just once.

    At this critical moment, I call on all sons and daughters of Akoko-Edo, at home and abroad, to rise in defense of our son, our brother, and our first-ever executive position. I urge sociocultural and political groups to issue press statements. This is not the time to be party loyalists because, to see light in this provocative moment, we must come together, irrespective of party affiliation.

    Comrade Mayor Samuel
    Son of the Soil – Enwan
    Akoko-Edo LGA, Edo State.

  • Who is gagging Dr. Abati?

    Who is gagging Dr. Abati?

    The cat was let out of the bag mid-air on Arise TV this Thursday morning as a lead anchor person of the Morning Show, Dr. Ruben Abati screamed, “dont gag me on air.”

    Dr. Abati had started making his commentary on leading news stories when he called out the senate minority leader, Sen Ali Ndume, declaring, “Senator Ndume lied when he alleged that President Tinubu was being insulated from the Nigerian public.”

    Dr. Abati sounded like someone in a foul mood as he made very incendiary and unsubstantiated on the live breakfast show as he accused some prominent leaders from the northern part of the country whom he said were blackmailing President Tinubu.

    At some point, after ranting ceaselessly, he began to stutter, paused and then exploded, “please don’t gag me on air.”
    At this point, his co-anchors, Ayo Mairo-Esse and Rufai Oseni gazed at each other and turned their gaze to Dr. Ruben in awe.

    In their comments online, viewers of the popular breakfast show had expressed their frusteration and angst about what some referred to as Dr. Abati’s patronising commentary on the Presidency of Bola Tinubu even in the face of the cost of living crisis that the majority of Nigerians are passing through.