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Tag: integrity

  • BOBA Calls for Revival of Discipline, Integrity in Leadership at Murtala Muhammed Book Launch

    BOBA Calls for Revival of Discipline, Integrity in Leadership at Murtala Muhammed Book Launch

    The Barewa Old Boys Association (BOBA) has renewed calls for the revival of Nigeria’s founding values of discipline, integrity, and courage in leadership, drawing inspiration from the enduring legacy of former Head of State, Murtala Muhammed.

    The call was made at the launch of the book Murtala Muhammed: Unveiling the Ancestral Roots of a Nigerian General, where the President of BOBA was represented by Sarkin Shanun Kano, HRH Shehu Mohammad, FCA, FCCA, who described the occasion as “both an institutional privilege and a national obligation to celebrate a life of patriotic service.”

    Speaking on behalf of the Association, the BOBA President noted that, fifty years after his death, Murtala Muhammed’s name still resonates with urgency, courage, and deep patriotism.

    “Fifty years after his passing, Murtala’s name still carries the electricity of urgency, courage, and patriotism. Before he commanded troops, he commanded respect among his peers. Before he led the nation, he learned to lead himself,” he said.

    The Association traced the foundation of the late General’s leadership to his formative years at Barewa College, where he was admitted in 1952.

    The college’s strict discipline and leadership-oriented culture were described as crucial in shaping his character, instilling values of responsibility, courage, and excellence that later defined his national service.

    According to the BOBA President, three enduring lessons stand out from Murtala Muhammed’s life: that leadership begins early, discipline is the architecture of greatness, and courage is a moral decision before it becomes a public act.

    He reminded Nigerians that Murtala Muhammed’s famous declarations: “Nigeria will not tolerate indiscipline” and “Africa has come of age,” were reflections of convictions formed long before he assumed national power.

    “The story of Murtala Muhammed is not only a military story; it is an educational story. It proves that institutions matter and that the character we build in youth determines the destiny we reach in adulthood,” he added.

    In the press release authored by Stephen Ogboli, BOBA reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening schools and mentoring young Nigerians in values-based leadership, describing such efforts as “the truest memorial to the Murtala Muhammed legacy.”

    The Association further urged public officials and institutions to restore discipline, integrity, and urgency in national service, noting that Murtala Muhammed’s brief tenure in office remains a benchmark for courageous, people-centred governance.

    The solemn event attracted scholars, government officials, military representatives, and members of the Barewa community, and concluded with prayers for the late leader, asking Allah to grant General Murtala Ramat Muhammed eternal rest in Jannatul Firdaus.

  • CCLCA decries campaign of calumny against Gbajabiamila

    A civil society organization, Centre for Credible Leadership and Citizens Awareness (CCLCA), has condemned a campaign of calumny again the Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila from certain political actors who missed out on the ministerial and other lists.

    The group drew the attention of Nigerians to the acerbic attacks on the chief of staff to President.

    The group, coalition of 92 civil society organizations, through its Director General, Dr Gabriel Nwambu, decried that the political actors are hell bent on spreading falsehood against the Chief of Staff.

    According to him, they are blaming him for their inability to occupy appointive office at the moment, even though it is the president, acting in consultation with the leadership of the All Progressive Congress (APC), the Governors, and other key stakeholders in the polity, that appointed Ministers and Board Chairmen. 

    However, he stated that Nigerians are not buying the falsehood, and we have seen socio-cultural groups like Arewa Youth Forum and Ohaneze Youth Movement call on Nigerians to ignore the accusations thrown at Gbajabiamila over the constitution of boards of government agencies.

    He therefore, appealed to Nigerians to disregard the detractors, saying that the chief of staff is well experienced and capable of carrying out his duties.

    “This people do not care for the fact that positions came at the time destined, and that clearly, everybody cannot be a minister at same time.

    “Hon Gbajabiamila’s, antecedents as a public servant with a sterling record and a sticker for truth and fairness, and due process would entertain the absurdities ascribed to him for a second. 

    “As a Surulere, Lagos born politician cum technocrat, he comes to the present assignment fully qualified, having been in the house of Representatives for two decades (2003 – 2023), boasting record of unblemished service. 

    “Throughout his sojourn in public service, Hon Gbajabiamila has been a very close and loyal disciple of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Recall that as a speaker of the 9th assembly, it took his intervention to end the protracted and unending ASUU strike of the university lecturers. As the chief of staff, he had participated actively on resolving the disagreement between Government and the Nigeria Labour Congress”

    While passing a unanimous vote of confidence, the Director General of CCLCA, stated that President Tinubu, took into consideration Gbajabiamila’s track record and his commitment to the actualization the Renewed Hope Agenda.

    He further asked the political actors to cease the needles casting of aspersions and leave the chief of staff to do his job.

  • Advocates call for transparent measures in combatting sports corruption

    Sports enthusiasts have called on stakeholders in the sector to uphold the virtues of transparency and accountability in the fight against corruption in the industry.

    They spoke at a one-day International Conference on Corruption in Sport, Whistleblowing, and Transparency in Abuja on Saturday.

    The conference was organised by the Africa Centre for Media Information and Literacy (AFRICMIL), Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID), HEDA Resource Centre, and PLAY!YA Nigeria.

    Beverly Agbakoba-Onyeijanya, a Sports, Entertainment, and Technology legal practitioner, said that the sports industry had been so heavily politicised which has led to corruption in the sector.

    She said that member states of various Federations are involved in wars over who has the right to vote, with elections being a major source of contention and disputes in the sports industry.

    “We’ve seen the rancour that has torn apart the Basketball Federation in Nigeria with factions, and of course with this comes the possibility of bribery, corruption, and inducements,” she said.

    She said that given the amount of money involved in the prosecution of sports, there was a need for the anti-graft agencies to focus attention on financial crimes in the sports industry.

    According to her, the establishment of an anti-corruption sports desk in agencies such as the Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and ICPC, would checkmate the excesses of sports administrators in the country.

    In a remark, Usman Kaltungo of the EFCC explained that the commission’s powers to fight sports-related corruption cases in the country were been hindered by undue interference from International Sports organisations such as FIFA, FIBA, and others.

    Francis Obih, President, the Badminton Federation of Nigeria (BFN), said the issue of favoritism and sentiments must be stamped out from sports.

    “As far as I am concerned, it doesn’t matter where you are coming from, once you are going out to represent Nigeria, you are representing the country and not any ethnic group or a particular religion.

    “So, such things should be taken away from sports, it doesn’t matter whether you are my brother or not, it should be purely based on merit and competence.

    “Also one of the disturbing areas is also the sexual harassment of female athletes by their coaches.

    “This is a no go area for me and the height of indiscipline to have officials, the coaches or technical personnel to have any sexual relationship with their athletes.

    “We must do everything to stop it because it hampers the performance of the athletes,” he said.

    He said every stakeholder, be it administrators, ministry, journalists, must come together, join hands and set certain ethical standards.

    “These standards should guide the growth and development of sports in the country, in order to bring corruption to its barest minimum.

    “No one person cannot do it alone, all hands must be on deck and in agreement, even though in every group, there are always some bad eggs and that’s the truth.

    “However, we must find a way of isolating those elements and minimise the damage that they can do, so that the whole body is not seen in a bad light,” he said.

    Also speaking via Zoom, an Investigative journalist based in Germany, Grit Hartmann, said that journalists outside the shores of Africa were not ignorant of corruption stories from the continent, especially Nigeria.

    She called for synergy and transnational corporation among stakeholders, adding that the issue of corruption in sport in Nigeria and the African continent at large was a systemic problem.

    Stanis Elsborg, a Senior Analyst also based in Germany, said that corruption in sports was not limited to Africa.

    He said that Europe and other parts of the globe are also susceptible to corruption tendencies in the area of sports.

    Joshua Umeifekwe, a professor at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, said the essence of measuring and managing multiple sports governance crises was to maintain the credibility and transparency of the sector.

    “Transparency as you know, ensures trust and so what we are saying is that there is a need to measure the nature of the crisis that we have.

    “For one to talk about ways of managing the crisis, you need to have an assessment of these crises.

    “Some of the ways include; collecting qualitative data, running a survey, and interviews, to mention a few.

    “Having done this, we must ensure we manage the crisis by ensuring transparency and ethical standards are followed and maintained,” he said.

    Chido Onumah, Coordinator, AFRICMIL, and Oluwashina Okeleji, a sports journalist for BBC Sports, among others, said that the role of whistleblowers in the sector cannot be overemphasized.

    They said for sports to grow, there was a need to have whistleblowers to expose some of the ills and corruption going on in the sector.

    They also called for the establishment of legislation to protect whistleblowers, as well as investigative journalists in the country.