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Disservice, Impunity, Dysfunction And Life In Nigeria

2026-10-16T17:28:53.194+01:00

By Adekunle Adekoya

I am sure that not a few people, like me, keep wondering just what is happening in our country. The state of affairs leaves one wondering whether we won’t have to go to outer space to get aliens who may love us enough to run the society for the betterment of all.

*Tinubu

Of course, it is always easy to blame government, but that is inescapable because fish starts rotting from the head. If the government stinks, then the whole society is undoubtedly a cesspit from which issues forth the most offensive odours.

As a result, this week, I am shifting focus to the provision of essential services — basics. Permit me to get personal. One of the services that state governments render is the Vehicle Inspection Service, VIS, staffed by people who wear white on black uniforms, the ones we call VIOs, or vehicle inspection officers.

The VIS issues what is called the roadworthiness certificate to motorists. And that is where I have repeatedly generated issues. In the recent past, not a few aggrieved citizens have sued the VIS in their states to court, and secured various judgements barring the VIS from impounding vehicles or imposing fines. Many states have pushed back against these verdicts, opting for impunity instead.

That is not my immediate problem. If government can issue roadworthiness certificates, shouldn’t the roads also be car-worthy? I live in a suburb of Lagos, from where I transport myself to Apapa to work everyday. The nearest carriageway to me is the LASU-Iba Expressway, and after that a two-lane carriageway from where it is the wilderness (in terms of roads) to the residential areas. These roads are simply horrible.

Almost without exception all of us who drive on these suburban roads visit our mechanics every weekend for one repair or the other. What goes for roads in the suburbs are tracks pock-marked by deep gullies, and in the season of rain, become long stretches accommodating pools of brown, muddy water of different sizes.

In some areas, vehicles sink in the mud, requiring extra effort and cost to retrieve. Inevitably, shock absorbers, tie-rods, stabilizers, and other units in the suspension of vehicles get damaged and have to be repaired, almost on weekly basis.

I recall several months ago, there was a fire incident in the building next door to the one I live in. Fearing it could spread to us, I called the fire service. They responded, but couldn’t get to our location. The driver of the fire truck, looking at the endless number of muddy swimming pools on what we call roads, declined to drive further.

The firemen then came to the burning house on foot! By then, the entire neighbourhood had turned out with buckets of water mixed with detergent and battled the fire successfully. Yet, government’s revenue agents never fail to turn up, handing out demand notices for land use charges.

But government, state and local, never remember to do anything about the roads in these suburbs. That is disservice to the people, and dysfunction on the part of governments that are supposed to look after the well-being of people.

Equally bad, perhaps worse is the status of electricity supply. We all looked on helplessly as the electricity distribution companies, DISCOs, segregated the supply market into BANDS. The area where you live determines how much electricity you get per day. So we have Bands A, B, C, and D.

In my part of Lagos, which I consider a GRA (Government Rejected Area), we are supposed to be on Band D. But we are actually band-less. If you get less than four (4) hours of electricity in 48 hours, what band is that? What is worse is that the distribution infrastructure there, from poles to cables and transformers were all purchased by self-help, not installed by any NEPA, PHCN, or DISCO.

When transformers get faulty, you’re in for a grind, and a very long spell of darkness. It usually takes the DISCO a minimum of six months to fix a bad transformer. And while that is being done, extortion pranks are launched. Executives of the community development associations levy every resident, collect huge sums of money, which disappears into the pockets of DISCO technicians.

Otherwise, you just won’t get your transformer back. It is spiritual wickedness to feed fat on the misery of fellow human beings, but do they care? Impunity, flowing from a dysfunctioning system rules life and living here. Consider this scenario: a transformer gets faulty, DISCO officials come, inspect it and give a verdict — we’re taking your transformer to our workshop for repairs.

Knowing that means being without light for at least six months, they offer to nominate a contractor that can repair it in days if you can generate the sum of N2 million. Wow! If a contractor can repair in days, why can’t the DISCO, with the power of its institution behind it? What this shows is that our dysfunctioning system has bred and sustained a culture of disservice and impunity that is simply anti-people.

Several months ago, the Lagos State Water Corporation tried to levy people who have boreholes in their homes. If not for pushbacks, it might have succeeded. An organisation with a mandate to provide water fails woefully, and now seeks to levy people for generating alternatives.

It’s like DISCOs trying to levy people and companies that own and run generators! I have gone this length on the issue of disservice and impunity to recall our attention to the fundamental question underpinning the failure of governance in our country. The sooner we deal with these issues in our favour, the better.

*Adekoya is a commentator on public issues

Tinubu Can’t Handle Insecurity: Why Does He Want Another Term?

2026-10-14T18:47:23.479+01:00

By Ugoji Egbujo

A nation that conscripts its graduates cannot lose them on a federal highway, allow exchange of ransom, and call the aftermath a rescue.

*Tinubu

A few days ago, thirty prospective corps members left Oyo for the East. Twenty were taken near Owerri, on the Owerri–Onitsha road at Umunoha. Ten escaped. The local people who witnessed the abduction could not stand the apathy of the security agencies, so they blocked the road to force a chase. The situation borders on hopeless.

When the police woke from their slumber, they announced that their drones had located the hostages and their abductors. The impression sold to the public was that they had them surrounded. Perhaps the corps members would be luckier than the Chibok girls, who were taken away without the government knowing which way the terrorists went with them. The Owerri police said they could not immediately extract the hostages because the area was mined. The story did not instill any hope. The nation listened with resignation.

Youth corps members are supposed to be the babies of the federal government. The government cannot conscript youths into a compulsory national service in far-flung places and fail to protect them. The mass abduction of citizens, let alone corps members, should provoke any responsible government. But perhaps not a government that cares more about optics than substance, about politics and retaining power than purposeful leadership. The real tragedy is that the government has lost sense of shame .

A few days after the kidnap, the government announced triumphantly that it had rescued the corps members, crediting the rescue to the joint security team and emphasizing that no ransom was paid. While the government was basking in glory, pictures emerged of the abducted, frazzled corps members moving furtively on a village street, all alone. Could they have been rescued and allowed to walk bush paths?

The parents then went on television. They had scraped, borrowed, and paid. The demand opened at ₦50 million a head and was bargained down to about ₦5 million or ₦6 million, some of it in dollars. The government that said it was watching captives and captors by drone had not noticed the families negotiating, gathering the money, and flying to Owerri to deliver it. It had not seen the captives leave. The Imo commissioner of police says he is not aware of any ransom. Claiming a rescue while the people who paid are on television is worse than silence. It is complicity.

Orire followed the same script. Only with a worse ending. Forty-four pupils and teachers were taken from Oriire in Oyo on 15 May and held for fifty-six days. The presidency said security forces rescued them, arrested eight, killed some, and paid no ransom. A surviving teacher, Zaccheaus Olatunde, told a different story. Two teachers were killed . Sone negotiation happened. No fighting took place. The survivors were shown the way home. No public accounting has yet matched the official version to a captured camp. Yet another ‘miraculous’ release passed off as military rescue .

The terrorists who carried out the Orire abduction are not ghosts. The Oyo government insinuated as much. In the case of Owerri, two species of bandits operate in the neighbourhood where the kidnapping happened. Unknown gunmen have a camp and control the left side heading into Owerri, while rogue Fulani herdsmen operate in the forest on the right side.

The security agencies are aware of the presence and identity of these groups. The Governor of Zamafara said the same thing. That was why the local people at Uumnoha went irate when the corps members were abducted and the agencies hesitated to give an immediate chase. What exactly is Tinubu’s strategy against the rampaging insecurity?

What, then, is the strategy? Mass kidnapping is now followed by a release, and the release is claimed as a rescue. The exchanges are mediated by ransoms. Kidnappers keep the money and the camp. Security agencies have not learned hostage work, and the public is asked to applaud a story the payers have already contradicted. A trade conducted on those terms can only fatten the crime. Ransom is not rescue. The scourge is festering.

Recently it was reported that NNPC booked ₦11.2 trillion as receivables from the federation for advances and the cost of protecting oil and gas assets. We pay local mercenaries and shadowy folks ungodly sums to do the basic work of the police and the military, which are massively underequipped and miserably understaffed. Why have we made being an outlaw so rewarding? Why is the nation-state so weak? We can’t live by random ransoms.

Tinubu’s first tenure has been marred by insecurity. But Tinubu wants a second term even though he has no clue how to tackle it. Nothing in the first term shows a strategy. Mass abduction, a week of tales, a release, a denial of ransom, no convictions: that is the operating model.

Tinubu met this model. He has not broken it. The South-east unknown gunmen and north-west bandits are known to local security agencies. But they are not cleared. The police are too thin for the territory. The army is spread across internal duties it was not built for. The pipelines are hired out to mercenaries who are paid hundreds of billions and who it appears are helping the reelection effort. What new idea has Tinubu got?

Tinubu wants a second term anyway. Nothing in the first has shown a plan that would make the second different. Kidnappers cannot keep walking away with the ransoms while the government blows its trumpets. What, exactly, would he come back to do?

*Dr. Egbujo is a commentator on public issues

Ohanaeze At 50: AI-KO’s Insider Story

2026-10-14T16:20:29.147+01:00

By Ochereome Nnanna

I first met Russia-educated Agbeze Ireke Kalu Onuma (AI-KO) in 2002 when I went to an Ohanaeze Ndi Igbo event in the Enugu residence of retired Justice Eze Ozobu. He had just emerged as the President-General of the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation.

I was pleasantly surprised to see a young Abiriba man involved in the affairs of Ohanaeze. Usually, it was the elderly ones such as retired Commodore Okoh Ebitu Ukiwe, Prof Anya O. Anya, Dr Mang Egwuronu and a few others that mingled with the leadership of the group. On getting acquainted, Agbeze and I immediately became friends. We later went to the residence of his uncle, Dr Egwuronu, a Russia-trained pharmacist and avid historian. They come from a prominent Abiriba family.

Not long after, Agbeze moved to Lagos and became a protégé of retired Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu, a passionate Igbo leader, NADECO chieftain and former Military Administrator of Lagos and Imo States (1976–1979). Unfortunately, we lost Admiral Kanu, one of the best of humans, to COVID-19 in February 2022.

*Onuma

Agbeze, building on his experience under Ozobu, took charge of the Ndi Igbo Lagos secretariat in Admiral Kanu’s plaza on Kofo Abayomi Street, Victoria Island. It was in these vantage positions that Agbeze was primely positioned to write about events and people that have shaped the Igbo umbrella organisation into what it has become today. The book: Ohanaeze at 50 – the Burden of Memory, the Politics of Relevance is both a critical biographical presentation and the meditation of a deep, authoritative insider.

If you want to read this seminal work, don’t be in a hurry. Every one of the 577 pages is an excursion into the inner sanctums of organised Igbo history, struggles and steady growth despite all the odds deliberately and sinisterly placed on their paths by colonial Britain and their post-independence Nigerian vassal state establishment.

You will learn how Ohanaeze was born in 1976, just after the Igbo nation came out of its worst nightmare experience of a gang-up war, foisted on its people as a result of living in a country with other groups with which they shared very little in common.

*At the public presentation of the book in September 2026

Ohanaeze grew from the ashes of the defunct Igbo State Union, which towered above other pre-independence ethnic unions so much that it was blamed for the perceived domineering attitude of Ndi Igbo. This appeared to plant a common resolve to cut the Igbo nation “down to size” during the war.

As a result, Ohanaeze adopted the principle of treading with caution (ako na uche), and this has put it out more as a toothless bulldog. AI-KO’s book analyses how Ohanaeze manoeuvred through the politics of 1979 to the return of the military, which seemed to pointedly target the Igbo nation’s economic recovery and full political reintegration.

This has continued long after the military vacated power. Chapters 5 to 7 focus on the internal storms that threatened the organisation’s existence, funding challenges, internal betrayals and selfish pursuits by those who came to ride it to achieve personal goals. Because of its largely conservative nature and the need not to overly irritate the state, Ohanaeze over the years became a cult of the elderly, mostly the victims of the Biafra War. They lost grip of the youths, who became radicalised due to the continued Igbo marginalisation from regime to regime.

Renewed separatist agitations pushed critical power into the hands of radical groups like Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), who began to see Ohanaeze as part of their Nigerian problems that must be overcome. AI-KO’s book tells the story partially like an eyewitness and in part like a reporter with privileged access to the main figures and records of an organisation that was revived and modelled when he was a mere boy. The tone is more of a poetic, narrative meditation than haranguing criticism or protective apologia. AI-KO’s smooth, big but gentle baritone voice is reflected on the pages of this book. It is so readable; no surprise from a seasoned, active writer.

There is no easy life for an organisation like Ohanaeze advocating for a fiercely independent, republican-minded people like Ndi Igbo, whose situation has been complicated by the hostile attitudes of the Nigerian state and their ethnic rivals.

One good thing that must be said for it is its ability to bring Igbo-speaking parts of Rivers State and Delta State into their right place in the Igbo mainstream, offering them opportunities to lead the organisation. The Igbo identity crisis among some non-South East Igbo groups remains strong but not as it used to be in years past. Igbo unity is benefiting from the impetus of the internet and social media, as more and more non-South Eastern influencers have embraced Igbo unity evangelism.

Also, Ohanaeze has succeeded in quenching the fires lit by the Eze Ndi Igbo craze, which has often raised tensions outside Igboland and even outside Nigeria. In truth, Eze Ndi Igbo is not an Igbo cultural heritage. It was borrowed from Hausa culture by some misguided elements. Ndi Igbo operate with unions and elect officials, not “kings” in other people’s cultural domains. Recent experiences are forcing its proponents to comply with Ohanaeze’s abrogation of the practice.

One area that Ohanaeze cannot lead from the front is the question of the possibility of the Igbo nation outside Nigeria. With Islamic jihadists knocking on doors, Ohanaeze has absolutely failed to speak out strongly against killings in Igboland by armed Fulani groups.

Ohanaeze never said anything when the regimes of Muhammadu Buhari and Bola Tinubu primitively loaded their governments with their ethnic elements and thus marginalised Ndi Igbo in contravention of the constitution. Perhaps such matters are best left for the radical arms of the Igbo nation to do the needful.

Congrats, Chief Agbeze Ireke Kalu Onuma (Utuagba-Igwo II of Abiriba). Well done!

*Nnanna is a commentator on public issues

NYSC Kidnap Story: Burden Of Public Trust

2026-10-12T19:35:39.421+01:00

By Tonnie Iredia

Twenty (20) prospective members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) on their way to the Southeast for orientation and service year were kidnapped on October 1, 2026. Following their release some 6 days later, our traumatized country was greatly relieved.

A report by the Imo state police command claimed that the corpers were rescued by a combined team of security operatives. Bearing in mind that such rescue operations had reportedly happened recently, many people praised our gallant forces. But a few days later, media reports surfaced suggesting that the rescue story was not completely reliable.

In fact, within 2 days of the first report, a concerned parent disclosed that their family paid a ransom of six million naira (N6, 000, 000) for the release of their son by the abductors. If a public institution issues a categorical statement that is controverted by an individual who should the public believe?

Ordinarily, an official statement by a public authority especially the one under whose mandate the subject falls ought to be taken more seriously, but in Nigeria and indeed, in most emerging societies, history tells us that people have scanty faith in public bodies. In other words, if a poll were to be conducted on the subject, not many would support the official version.

Even those who may decide not to formally respond to the poll would use sign language to indicate lack of faith in government. It is difficult to blame such people because the prevailing culture in which public authorities take delight in misinformation has been virtually institutionalized. To start with, the colonial government from which Nigeria learnt the process of modern government was based on deceit.

Till today, no one knows the language that was used to get indigenous leaders to sign agreements with colonial officers. The story of the amalgamation of Nigeria has gotten more ludicrous with the realization that Nnamdi Azikiwe and other early educated leaders were infants when the treaty was signed.

During the military era, our people surprisingly found that our soldiers were as corrupt if not more than the civilian leaders they toppled on account of corruption. The civilian administrations that we have had over the years have unwittingly established that any truth in whatever a politician says is based on luck.

Why should anyone trust government? In the case of security, trust for government would be essentially tenuous. For example, although the highest law of the land says the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government, people in authority have since changed it to mean that security is everybody business.

During the Buhari administration, General Bashir Magashi the then Minister of Defence stated openly that the reason insecurity had become unbearable was because Nigerians were too cowardly in their response to kidnappers and other criminals. He didn’t think it was because government had failed in the task of confronting criminals.

Since then, what has become established is that the higher the amount of money budgeted for security, the greater the level of insecurity. In reality, criminality would drop if those whose primary duty it is, to deal with the problem become more responsible and sincere in handling every type of insecurity. But because many people in power have come to believe that the best way to handle insecurity is to deceive the public through misinformation, people are killed daily without consequences. All that follows is governance by condolences.

This culture of everyone remaining silent when things go wrong had for long been extended to other spheres of life making it common place for no one to believe what is said. But in August 2026, a joint security operation reportedly freed as many as 308 Nigerians kidnapped in separate attacks across Kwara and Niger states.

They were all said to have been found inside the Kainji Lake National Park Forest in New Bussa Local Government Area of Niger state. 163 of them had been taken from the Woro Community in Kaiama Local Government Area of Kwara State, while the remaining 145 were abducted from Niger state. The nation stood in applause of our gallant forces. Exactly one month earlier, Nigeria’s Armed Fores had announced the rescue of more than 40 kidnapped victims and the arrest of over 20 suspected terrorists, collaborators and other criminal elements in coordinated operations across the country.

Other reports of hope made by the Director of Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. Michael Onoja, disclosed that the military operations, conducted between July 10 and July 16, had led to the killing of several terrorists and the dismantling of criminal networks in different parts of the country. He also announced the rescue of a school principal, a National Examinations Council official and two students abducted during an attack on an examination centre in Dekina Local Government Area of Kogi State. Most importantly, Onoja explained that sustained pressure from security forces compelled the kidnappers to abandon their victims.

The General ended his report with what he called the intelligence-driven collaboration among security agencies, that led to the now famous rescue of 44 pupils and teachers abducted in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State. The number rescued, the location and methodology were all explained thereby giving credence to the reports.

As detailed as these reports on the rescue of abductees in different parts of the country looks like, there are cynics who doubt the veracity of the stories. If so, how does anyone expect Nigerians to believe the story of the rescue of 20 members of the NYSC in Imo state which has been instantly controverted? As far as the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) is concerned, there is need for the Federal Government and security agencies to explain how the 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members abducted in Imo State regained their freedom.

HURIWA is of the opinion that Nigerians deserve to know whether the corps members were rescued by security forces or released following negotiations and payment of ransom. According to its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, whereas the safe return of the young Nigerians is a welcome development, the circumstances surrounding the release had raised questions that require clear answers from the authorities.

The questions the group is asking include the following: a) were the 20 prospective corps members “actually rescued by the security forces, or were they released after the payment of ransom?” b) was any suspected kidnapper identified, arrested, captured or neutralised in connection with the abduction? c) was there any negotiation with the abductors and if so by whom?

HURIWA is bothered by the possibility of government presenting one narrative to Nigerians while concealing material facts about how citizens were actually freed, stressing that it is curious for a rescue operation to end with the victims returning safely while the perpetrators are left completely untouched. Nigerians according to HURIWA “are not asking for operational secrets. They are asking for the truth.” Telling the people the basic truth is at the heart of good governance. Once people have cause to suspect that some truths are concealed by government, every official statement faces the test of trustworthiness.

There are analysts who are not likely to believe the aspect that said the rescued victims were immediately taken to the Department of State Services (DSS) facility in Owerri, for medical attention. Why were they not taken to public facilities like the Federal Medical Centre? One report also said that the NYSC Director-General, Brigadier General Olakunle Oluseye Nafiu, was also at the DSS clinic in Owerri to address the rescued victims. What did he tell them?

In addition, the NYSC-DG was said to be in the company of the Imo State Commissioner of Police, the Director DSS and Brigade Commander, 34 Artillery Brigade, Obinze, Imo State, but none of them said anything. It was only the Imo state governor, Hope Uzodimma that was humane enough to react to the rescue. Could it be because the kidnap happened in his territory?

In a statement personally signed by him, Uzodimma praised the security agencies for a job well done while also acknowledging the collaboration between the Oyo and Imo State governments in securing the release of the victims. Interestingly, Governor Seyi Makinde, the governor of the state of origin of the abductees said nothing. For a politician seeking to contest the forthcoming presidential election, Makinde’s silence is uncommon. Well, if the publicity was not good enough perhaps, we should, as usual blame the media.

This is because in Nigeria, those in government do not trust our media professionals and although the constitution mandates the media to make government accountable to the people, our powerful leaders usually harass journalists who criticize government.

*Dr. Iredia is a commentator on public issues

Independence Address, Endless Promises No Specifics

2026-10-12T18:15:27.681+01:00

By Dele Sobowale

Bayo Onanuga, the Senior Special Adviser to the President, accused critics of writing their responses without reading Tinubu’s address. That is certainly not true about me. In fact, the address was read to me by Uncle Sam, the Publisher of Vanguard, in his house – while asking for my comments on a few statements.

*Tinubu

Unknown to Uncle Sam, at least until I told him, my team was out from 6am monitoring the situation with transport fares in several bus stations in Lagos State. By the time three of us reached Uncle Sam’s house, reports from thirteen popular bus stations were in.

So, I can state authoritatively that the address was read from start to finish. And, it was underwhelming. Silence is better when a leader has nothing important to say. But, before commenting on the address, here is what we observed on October 1, 2026 at bus stops.

Reports from most of the Northern states were most disappointing. Obviously, a state without any gas station cannot possibly crash transport fares.

In search of gas fueled buses

“CNG application” States fail to implement Tinubu’s low fare directive” – Report, October 2, 2026.

Tinubu’s government has been characterized by talking first and thinking later since he announced “fuel subsidy is gone”. His Minister of Transport, if he has a competent one, should have told him the truth and saved him from self-embarrassment. Nigeria is not ready for the massive introduction of CNG which would reduce transport fares significantly. Now, he has another unfulfilled promise charged to his account.

Apart from being on the road early on October 1, 2026, , three bus drivers operating on six major routes were recruited to report on the introduction of gas-fueled buses and the expected crash in transport fares arising from their introduction. President Tinubu promised Nigerians to crash transport fares on October 1. Nothing like that happened in most of Lagos. I was not surprised. Talking first, thinking later is FG policy.

FG was unprepared for October 1, 2026

Permit me to recall what I wrote last week before October 1 about the promise made to crash transport fares nationwide. President Tinubu must have been deceived, once again, by his Ministers and advisers. Given the number of gas stations and vehicles available, even Lagos State could not have felt the impact.

Promise of cheaper transport on October 1

“If you believe that, you will believe anything”. That is my usual response to any government promise made in panic and which cannot possibly be redeemed on time. Dreaming is not bad, as long as the dreamer(s) wake up to reality. Weekend Trust, September 26, 2026, exposed the false promise with its report titled “Nigeria’s Oct 1 Transport Deadline: Vision vs Reality”. Before that report, I have searched in vain for a new CNG station in Lagos Island and Mainland.

The research was outsourced to friends living in Ikorodu, Epe, Magodo, Mushin, Ajegunle and Festac. The reports were uniformly depressing. But, I still kept hope alive. In the few places where CNG outlets were available, the queue and the cost of conversion to gas is discouraging potential customers.

In Lagos, which has 15 gas stations, motorists in Eti-Osa, Epe, Agbowa, Lagos Island, Ikorodu, Yaba, Orile, Ajegunle etc would have to travel over 40 kilometres, one way, to buy gas for their cars. Then they will have to stay in the queue for hours as additional hardship. Obviously, most of Lagos State will not be ready for the announced cheaper fare promise on October 1.

“No CNG facility in Taraba, Benue, Plateau” – Weekend Trust, September 26, 2026.

It is difficult to imagine how Nigerians living in the three states will experience any relief on October 1 without a single gas station in sight. That is official propaganda at its worst. A little better are Rivers and Kogi States with three stations each.

Less fortunate are: Gombe, Adamawa, Katsina, Ondo and Zamfara having one station for states which are twenty to fifty times the size of Lagos. There is no need to list all the states of the federation and the number of stations servicing each of them. The roll out is obviously too little, too late and will be followed by excuses after its failure.

Predictably, the FG has remained silent on the failed promise to crash transport fares. Elsewhere in the world, heads would have rolled. Those who misled Tinubu and exposed him to ridicule would have been shown the way out. We wait to see what would follow another failed promise.

Nothing said about insecurity

“28 killed despite curfew in Plateau” – Daily Trust, October 5, 2026.

“Mambilla’s descent into violence” – Daily Trust, Editorial, October 5, 2026.

“Kidnappers slash ransom to N100m as outrage mounts” – PUNCH, October 5, 2026.

As President Tinubu was speaking, urging Nigerians to glue their eyes to the dark tunnel in search of light, evil men were operating in every corner of Nigeria. On October 1, two buses conveying Youth Corpers to Abia and Akwa Ibom States were waylaid in Imo State in the South East. They were eventually rescued; but, not without lasting psychological traumas. The incident, now a recurring occurrence, now threatens the existence of the National Youth Service as never before.

Early in the year, Tinubu vowed that the genocide in Jos would be the last on the Plateau. Several more have occurred since then. On October 4, 2026, gunmen proved the presidential promise worthless once again; 28 Fulanis reportedly paid the supreme price of living in a country where the government is failing in its primary duty.

From the North Central the attention moved to the Northeast. The Daily Trust Editorial summarised for Nigerians the recurrent mayhem on the other Plateau – Mambilla.

“Last week, a fresh clash between Mambilla residents and Fulani Pastoralists reportedly left at least seven people dead, 186 livestock killed and more than 340 homes burnt, forcing 1000 residents to flee their communities…”.

Left unmentioned were acts of mindless violence committed elsewhere on October 1 alone. President Tinubu glossed over the leading cause of our slow development – insecurity. Only two explanations are possible. He is bereft of solutions; or he just hoped nobody would notice the omission. Yet, without security nationwide, rapid growth, which will actually light up the tunnel will remain a pipe dream.

A few words on the address

“Goals are dreams with deadlines” – Albert Einstein, 1879-1955.

The address was replete with promises about the future but short on specific dates for accomplishment. There were significant achievements based on monetary policy and subsidy removal – exchange rate stability, tremendous rise in external reserves, vastly increased revenue collection and allocation, as well as 4.5 per cent GDP growth.

But, these positive results have not reflected in improved social welfare for the masses of Nigeria. Virtually all the gains have accrued to the wealthy, the petroleum and financial sectors and telecommunication networks. Manufacturers are hanging on the ropes.

Right now only the President, his appointees and party members can see the light at the end of the tunnel – when 4000MW guaranteed per day is still a mirage.

*Dr. Sobowale is a commentator on public issues

66 Years On, Nigeria Must Escape The Fragility Trap

2026-10-09T15:51:46.358+01:00

By Olu Fasan

How fragile is Nigeria? That is one question Nigerian leaders don’t want to confront. Indeed, it irks them when anyone says that Nigeria is a fragile state. What’s more, some Nigerians, out of sheer romantic or sentimental patriotism hate it when the word “fragility” is used to describe Nigeria.

*Tinubu

It is unpatriotic, they reckon, for anyone to suggest that Nigeria is a fragile state. But this is not a subjective matter, rather it is an objective reality, based on rigorous assessment of key political, economic and social indicators. Nigeria may choose to be the judge and the jury in its own matter and declare itself strong and stable, the world simply does not see it that way, and the evidence points to a deeply fragile state.

In their seminal report on state fragility, published in 2018, Professor Sir Paul Collier, from Oxford University, and Professor Sir Tim Besley, from the London School of Economics, provided a useful analytical framework for understanding state fragility.

They came up with what they called the Six Symptoms of State Fragility. They are 1) the prevalence of organised non-state violence; 2) a government lacks legitimacy in the eyes of many citizens; 3) a state has a weak capacity for essential functions; 4) the environment for private investment is unattractive; 5) the economy is exposed to shocks with little resilience; and 6) deep divisions in the society. Anyone who examines these symptoms carefully would admit that they perfectly describe Nigeria.

Think about it. Is there anyone who would say there is no prevalence of organised non-state violence in Nigeria when, according to media reports, there were at least 4,326 civilian deaths between January to March in this alone? Or can anyone say that the Nigerian government has the capacity to provide essential amenities for its citizens? Or is the environment attractive private investment when several long-term foreign investors are deserting Nigeria and the country is only attracting volatile portfolio investment? What about cohesion?

Is Nigeria united? The truth, except for the self-deluded, is that Nigeria is a deeply fragile state. Indeed, international indexes show it. For instance, in the 2024 Fragile States Index, published by The Fund for Peace, Nigeria was ranked the 15th most fragile state out of 179 countries. Nigeria has also been ranked the 15th most fragile state in the 2026 Fragile States Index, published by the World Population Review. In both indexes, Nigeria is more fragile than other African countries except six: Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, Chad, Ethiopia, Mali and Libya. This is a deeply depressing picture for Nigeria, Africa’s third largest economy and its most populous and most endowed nation.

Now, how could a country that is so blessed with abundant human and natural resources be the world 15th most fragile state? How could a country whose citizens provide global leadership, running major international organisations, be unable to govern itself well? How could a so-called “Giant of Africa” be more fragile than most African countries?

But what happened? Well, while some see Nigeria’s problems as economic in nature, I see them as political and institutional, because Nigeria’s economic and social challenges have their roots in the failure of politics and political institutions. One of the greatest insights came from the famous book Why Nations Fail, written by Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson, both economics Nobel laureates. In the book, the authors said: “While economic institutions are crucial for determining whether a country is poor or prosperous, it is politics and political institutions that determine what economic institutions a country has.”

For instance, it is politics and the political process that produce leaders that Nigeria has had and thus their economic and social policies. If President Goodluck Jonathan had been re-elected in 2015, he would not have implemented the misguided economic policies and the divisive political and social policies that his successor, President Muhammadu Buhari, implemented. Similar, if President Bola Tinubu loses his re-election bid next year, his successor will almost likely reverse some of his economic policies.

Furthermore, it is Nigeria’s political institution, or, if you like, its Constitution that allows someone to become president with only 36 per cent of the popular vote, gained by deploying the wedge issues of ethnicity and religion, and yet control 100 per cent political power under a “winner-takes-all” political process. What about the 64 per cent that did not vote for him? Such a perverse political system causes a government to lack legitimacy in the eyes of many citizens.

Let’s face it, Nigeria’s deeply flawed political and governance structure is the root cause of its fragility, characterised by political instability, economic inequality, ethnic tensions, religious intolerance and social divisions.

No country that faces those multiple challenges can be described as anything but fragile because such a country cannot achieve the unity and stability needed to transition from poverty to prosperity, from chaos to order, and from extractive political and economic systems to inclusive ones. Yet, Nigeria is too structurally fragile that it cannot achieve any meaningful progress unless it breaks free from its deeply flawed Constitution, governance structure and democratic practice. For instance, the Nigerian Constitution tells three lies. First, the Constitution starts with the declaration that “We the people … Do hereby make, enact and give to ourselves the following Constitution.”

But the people of Nigeria did not enact the Constitution, the military did, and they did not, as with most constitutions, submit it to the people for popular ratification. Unfortunately, thanks to path-dependent institutional development, the civilian leaders have refused to give Nigerians a genuine people’s Constitution. Until Nigeria gets a people’s Constitution, the words “We the people” in the 1999 Constitution are oxymoron.

Then, the Constitution describes Nigeria as a “Federal Republic”. But Nigeria is neither a true federal state nor a true republic. According to the Encyclopaedia Britanica, a true federal system must have three essential features: non-centralisation, local autonomy and elements that promote common nationality.

But Nigeria has one of the most centralised political systems in the world, with a constitution that has an “Exclusive Legislative List” that reserves 67 items and “any matter incidental or supplementary to them” to the centre. Most constitutional lawyers say that no other federal constitution has such many items concentrated at the centre.

Second, there is no genuine local autonomy in Nigeria, the kind that exists in genuine federal systems where the subnational units can pursue policies that are completely different from those of the centre. But even in the Concurrent Legislative List, which contains matters on which both federal and state governments can legislate, federal laws trump state laws in the event of a clash. That’s not true federalism; it’s a unitary system!

What about the third characteristic: elements that promote common nationality. Tell me, how can the mismanagement of Nigeria’s diversity promote common nationality. President Buhari was accused of a Fulanisation agenda because he put his fellow Fulanis in virtually all critical security positions, completely excluding Igbos.

Bola Tinubu ran for president on a Muslim-Muslim ticket, and, in power, he has been accused of a Yorubanisation agenda by putting his fellow Yorubas is virtually all economic, security and justice positions. It’s as if people from other ethnic groups are not smart enough to hold such pivotal roles.

Now, let’s come to republicanism. Is Nigeria a true republic. Of course not. In his book The State We’re In, Will Hutton argues that, in a true republic, “political power and authority are firmly rooted in the people, with the state ruling for the people rather than over them”. But in Nigeria, power flows from the top down, not bottom up. Elections are frequently rigged, and governments never act as the agent of the people.

Nigeria is not a true representative democracy because it does not have a social contract. What’s more, Nigeria’s president is one of the most powerful and yet most unaccountable in the world. He rules like an absolute monarch. Truth is, with such deeply flawed political and governance structure, Nigeria risks being trapped in fragility. Only root-and-branch restructuring can help it escape the fragility trap and unlock its potential.

*Dr. Fasan is a commentator on public issues

As INEC Reassures Nigerians

2026-10-09T15:38:34.093+01:00

By Ikechukwu Amaechi

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has reassured Nigerians still smarting from its 2023 shenanigans of its readiness, this time, to deliver credible elections in 2027.

*Amupitan
The reassurance came from the INEC chairman, Joash Amupitan, a professor, whose great skill and knowledge in law earned him the prestigious rank of a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) who appreciates that democracy being a rules-based game should be governed by constitutional rules, laws and institutional norms.

Speaking at a strategic workshop for editors in Abuja this week, Amupitan noted that “democracy is a journey, not a destination,” which requires constant care, vigilance and institutional courage. Reiterating that its strength depends on the quality of the partnership between those who manage the vote, those who monitor the vote, and those who report the vote, the INEC boss made a solemn vow: “As the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, my commitment to Nigeria is firm: our allegiance is to the Constitution and the law, and our sole obligation is to the Nigerian electorate. We have no preferred candidate, no preferred political party, and no agenda other than guaranteeing a free, fair, transparent, and credible election.”

Ideally, that is how it should be. But many are skeptical. And the reason is simple – precedence. Amupitan’s predecessor, Mahmoud Yakubu, made the same vow and wilfully violated it. In November 2022, Yakubu, claiming independence as Amupitan is doing now, assured that election results from polling units across the country would be uploaded in real time to the commission’s portal. “The commission will upload polling unit level results and citizens will have access to those results in real-time as we upload your polling units,” he crowed, adding: “This innovation was introduced by the Commission and the Commission cannot turn around and undermine itself. So, this technology has come to stay.

We will upload polling unit level results from the polling units and citizens would have the right to view these results. After all, who are we serving? The citizens. How can we deprive the citizens from having access to the results of the process conducted by them at the level of polling units? We are committed that the votes cast by Nigerians will determine the outcome of the election. Nothing more, nothing less.”

But when it mattered most, he failed spectacularly to make good his vow. Results from polling units were not uploaded to the INEC portal in real time as promised. When some political parties demanded temporary suspension of the presidential election result collation, Yakubu demurred. Instead, on February 28 when the agitation grew louder, he adjourned collation till the next day. Surprisingly, like a thief in the night, he sneaked back to the International Conference Centre (ICC), Abuja, the National Collation Centre, on March 1, at about 4am to announce Bola Tinubu winner.

So, if Nigerians are questioning INEC’s integrity, there is a reason. Is INEC really independent? How realistic is it to expect the empaneling of an independent umpire by a president who told Catholic Bishops on July 28, 2026, that he would not make it easy for his rivals in the 2027 presidential election? Is it possible for a president who unabashedly declared that: “Those who want to unseat me will try, I won’t help them tie a rope around my neck, we will wrestle till the end.

All is fair in politics,” to champion the cause of free, fair and credible elections by creating a level-playing field for all? Many Nigerians doubt the possibility. In the last one month, I have had cause to lament the slow, albeit steady descent of the country into the arena of political intolerance and violence as we march towards the 2027 elections. On September 10, I lamented the show of impunity and political rascality in the article, “2027, APC and merchants of political violence.”

I called out APC because there was ample evidence all over the country that rather than persuading voters, the ruling party’s stalwarts – Kuje Area Council chairman, Danjuma Shekwolo, warned residents in August to either vote for the APC in 2027 or leave the council area; Ebonyi local government chairman, Paul Ituma, warned opposition politicians to steer clear unless they were willing to suck up to Governor Francis Nwifuru; Nwifuru himself threatened to remove any council chairman who fails to deliver his council area to the APC in 2027; Senator Francis Fadahunsi issued a fatwa ahead of the August 15 Osun governorship poll, when he told APC supporters to “kill” members of the rival Accord Party; Muhammad Gadaka urged married Yobe women to divorce their husbands if they prevented them from voting APC in 2027; the two governors constricting the inalienable rights of citizens to freedom of association and movement – Monday Okpebholo of Edo State and Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia of Benue State – are all APC members. Also in September, Sainna Buba, Borno Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, an APC chieftain warned critics of the Babagana Zulum administration that those who “raise” their fingers against the government would have them cut off, at a campaign inauguration organised by the City Boy Movement, a political support organisation backing Tinubu’s second-term bid.

Recently, I wondered aloud why there was no national outrage when Jarrett Tenebe, Edo State APC chairman, made a reference to firearms while speaking about Okpebholo’s promise to deliver 2.5 million votes for Tinubu in 2027. “Those who do not wish us well, who want to create an obstacle for us, I have a prayer for you. So, anybody who refuses, who wants to stand in our way, for us not to have those votes that we intend to give to Mr. President, AK-47 fire,” he declared.

I wondered what will happen to convince us that politicians are dangerously spinning out of control and the Nigerian state has the duty of reining them in. Well, that national outrage seems to be here at last. But what triggered it is instructive. A viral video surfaced a few days ago showing a Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) Kano State House of Assembly candidate, Aminu Warkal, displaying a pump-action rifle and allegedly firing shots into the air during a political rally. Nigerians are enraged. And rightly so.

The Kano State Police Command has invited him for questioning, as it should. And even INEC is outraged. Prof Amupitan called out the thuggish behaviour of Warkal as he addressed editors in Abuja and vowed that the Commission would have zero tolerance for campaign violence and hate speech.

“As electioneering intensifies across the country, I must sound a clear note of warning to all political parties, candidates, and campaign managers: INEC will not stand by and allow political competition to devolve into violence, intimidation, or inflammatory rhetoric. Democracy thrives on the clash of ideas, not the clash of weapons or the proliferation of hate speech,” he said, promising further that “any political party or candidate implicated in inciting violence, disrupting rivals’ rallies, or deploying armed thugs will face direct statutory sanctions and swift prosecution.

No political office in this country is worth the blood of a single Nigerian.” Well said! But the question that has concentrated my mind in the last couple of days is this: Does it take an infraction by a member of the opposition for INEC and the police to react? I ask this because Tenebe is no less a thug than Warkal. So, why is he being treated with kid gloves while the police are holding Warkal to account? Is it because Tenebe is an APC chieftain and a supporter of President Tinubu while Warkal is not?

As condemnable as Warkal’s conduct is, we should not lose sight of the lesson, which is: No individual, no matter how powerful, and no political party – ruling or opposition – has the monopoly of violence. While one thug is in Benin promising AK-47 fire, another thug is already firing the shots in Kano in what has become an existential threat to Nigeria.

Any society where a citizen’s capacity for violence and terror determines level of political ascendancy will unravel sooner than later. Such a society’s political progression is doomed. If these dogs of war are not reigned in no matter their political affiliation, ethnic origins and religious inclinations, Nigeria will be worse for it in the long run.

*Amaechi is the publisher of TheNiche (ikechukwuamaechi@yahoo.com)

Living In Denial With Loans And Unimplemented Budgets

2026-10-09T13:43:39.527+01:00

By Adekunle Adekoya

On October 1, the President made a broadcast to the nation about the state of the Nigerian state. In summary, the president said that “reforms are over, foundation laid for prosperity.” The president’s assertions have never been interrogated, except for sporadic attacks from leading opposition figures about specific items.

*Tinubu

I want to ask: What was reformed? As far as I can see, what has been drummed into the ears of Nigerians, and which some multilateral institutions have bought into is the removal of subsidy on fuel energy, namely diesel, petrol, and Jet-A1, and flotation of the Naira. The argument advanced for subsidy removal was that government would conserve resources, increase revenue and have more funds to run the country.

I think, in restrospect, these are not reforms, just a deliberate action by the faction of the power elite in government to throw the masses of Nigeria under a moving train that crushed them on its rails of cost of living crisis, mass impoverishment, and an uncertain future. The future is made even more uncertain by the fact that the present administration has completed only one budget since it assumed office.

That budget was not its own, it was the one inherited from the outgone Buhari administration — Budget 2023. The capital component of Budget 2024 is yet to be fully implemented, and was rolled over into the 2025 appropriation. That too was not completed, and as usual rolled into Budget 2026, whose implementation started just recently. So, the capital components of Budgets 2024, 2025 and 2026 will be rolled over into Budget 2027.

Here is what many Nigerians do not know: it is the unimplemented capital budgets that will affect their life and living in the immediate, medium, and long terms. Projects that are supposed to have been implemented, to bring succour to the people have been left unimplemented, and most Nigerians are living just for today, which is why it is only the recurrent components of these budgets that have been implemented — salaries are being paid, official cars are running, estacodes are being drawn, etc, etc. That gives the impression that all is well. But they are not!

What baffles me is the pleading of inadequate funds, especially juxtaposed with the quantum of loans taken by this administration.

Let’s take some samplers: On the 9th of June, 2023, government took a loan of $750 million from the World Bank., followed on the 22nd of June, 2023 by another $500 million from the same World Bank.

Between July and December 2023,government raised about N3.66 trillion in domestic borrowings. That was followed, in the first quarter of 2024, by another N2.81 trillion raised in fresh domestic borrowing.

By June 2024, government was back at the World Bank with a begging bowl, and obtained another $2.25 billion. The following month, July 2024, the African Development Bank approved a $500 million loan for Nigeria. This was followed, in September 2024, by a $500 million raised through the Domestic FGN US Dollar Bond. Same September, the World Bank approved another $1.57 billion loan. As the year ended, $2.2 billion was borrowed through Eurobonds on December 2, while the World Bank followed that with another $500 million loan on December 13.

2025 saw the Federal Government, on March 31, getting the world Bank’s approval for another $1.08 billion loan, which was topped on August 7 with another $300 million approval for the SOLID project. In October 2025, the World Bank approved another $750 million loan, while government, on November 5 , raised $2.35 billion through Eurobonds.

This year, on March 30, the World Bank approved another $500 million loan, followed by a $200 million facility for the digital infrastructure project from the African Development Bank, AfDB.

The list is endless, and only God knows which loans are being negotiated from where at this moment.

As of December 2025, total public debt owed by government stood at N159.28 trillion, according to the Debt Management Office. That figure, I surmise, may not include loans taken by the state governments. Some of them are accumulating debt in competition with the Federal Government. And you wonder why the exchange rate is what it is?

You can’t owe that much and still have a strong currency, with the main source of your income denominated in the currency that you are also owing in. And it is this same Nigeria that Obasanjo and Dr. Ngozi Oknonjo-Iweala struggled to get out of the debt trap! Late economist, Dr. Pius Okigbo, in a public lecture before he died, remarked that the debt trap is like a cemetery which only takes, but never gives.

There is a Yoruba proverb, which, freely translated reads: “If you’re being deceived, do not deceive yourself.” If the president is telling us about coming prosperity, we will believe him when we see it, and live it, when every family man stops treating hypertension over how to make ends meet at home.

Unless famed magicians — Harry Houdini and Professor Peller take charge of the economy, there is no silver lining on the economic horizon, a little over 100 days to the next election. With unimplemented budgets and a deepening debt trap, it is deliberate disinformation and living in denial to tell people that prosperity is on the way. Or there are different markets for and petrol stations for members of the ruling party and their people in government?

*Adekoya is a commentator on public issues

Nigeria: A Case For The “Igbo Ranch”

2026-10-07T16:48:55.639+01:00

By Ochereome Nnanna

This is a necessary sequel to my article last week titled: “Owo Ranch: Attention, Gov. Peter Mbah!” You may have, like me, wondered why Governor Mbah would carve out over 10,000 hectares for the ranch project at his hometown, Owo, in Nkanu East LGA of Enugu State.

*Gov Mbah

Since his government has remained mute on the many issues surrounding the project, we are free to speculate. If he actually intends it for corporate, professional ranching, all I need to add is that he should ensure that the youths of Enugu State are strong stakeholders for their ownership, empowerment, and security.

But if he has Fulani herdsmen in mind to appease the Sultan of Sokoto, it will be the greatest sell-out of all time. He would be creating a colony for ISWAP jihadists, who sometimes masquerade as Fulani herdsmen and bandits to target non-Muslim areas like the Middle Belt, South East, South-South, and Christian-majority South West states, Ondo and Ekiti.

Mbah’s unacceptable “peace” gesture to the sultan has given rise to the thinking that the Owo Ranch is part of the “peace” offering to the chief jihadist of Nigeria. This speculation is not far-fetched. Some Igbo politicians believe that their political ambitions are greatly enhanced when they prostitute themselves to Fulani interests.

Mbah is very ambitious beyond his quest for a second term. Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s sickening theatrical displays against Peter Obi are linked to post-gubernatorial ambitions of being considered as Vice President to the next President from the North. Mbah could also be eyeing the same thing, what with his rising profile as a top performer.

It was the same motivation that pushed Senator Orji Uzor Kalu who, as governor of Abia State, gave away a huge parcel of land in Lokpanta, Abia State, to northerners. They went on not only to turn the place into a Northern city; it also became an arena of barbaric crimes such as kidnapping for ransom and the slaughtering of victims, mostly travellers and abducted locals. It took Governor Alex Otti to neutralise that crime scene. During Muhammadu Buhari’s regime, the killings in that axis were officially attributed to IPOB and ESN.

It is a well-established fact that many Igbo politicians are ready to sell or even sacrifice their mothers on the altars of their political ambitions. I am not accusing Governor Mbah of selling out Owo, Enugu, and the Igbo people to Fulani jihadist expansionists for ambition. I am only hoping aloud that he does not do so. These articles serve to call for vigilance to ensure that the Owo Ranch project remains strictly for ranching, and not a giveaway for a Fulani Ruga.

We all (not just Enugu people) must strongly resist any attempt to invite our violent, sworn enemies to take their place among us. After last week’s article came out, a friend and colleague from Enugu State wrote to me and opined that Gov. Mbah should scrap the ranch project and instead convert it to a farm estate for the cultivation of crops. Mbah’s administration already has a robust vision for agriculture, of which the ranch is a part. I am not opposed to the ranch per se.

We in the East need them, for several reasons. Our years of dependence on the North for food have imposed an existential threat on us. The jihadists in the North have devised many insidious strategies to poison and rapidly depopulate the South, especially the Christian-majority Eastern Region.

Almost every food item produced in the far North, especially beans, fish, and fruits, is poisoned with dangerous insecticides, particularly the killer poison known as “Sniper”, before they are trucked down to Southern markets. Some fruits are deliberately injected and sold to unsuspecting consumers. Those who do this either do it for profit or as part of their demonic religious agenda. There are countless stories of how some herdsmen have sex with their animals, which are later slaughtered in abattoirs and sold to unsuspecting buyers. Most of them were born and raised in the bush and have little to zero exposure to ethics of any sort.

It is high time that Southerners, and the Igbo in particular, retook full control of their agricultural resources. We must encourage our youths to abandon urban poverty and return to farm the land and practise animal husbandry as we used to do before the Civil War. We have our local varieties of goats, chicken, cows, peppers, tomatoes, groundnuts, and fruits, which are even more delicious and nutritious than their Sahel counterparts.

If we cultivate our lands with modern farming techniques, we will end food dependence on the North. We have arable land in abundance. Indeed, with the Chinese now given free entry to dump their cheap goods on us by direct retail, agriculture offers a viable alternative.

The massive involvement of our youths in agriculture will come with many benefits. One of them is the full control of our security. Over 50 years of rural–urban drift created a lot of ungoverned spaces which the herdsmen and their armed kinsmen, the jihadists, now occupy and with which they threaten our communities, with very little challenge.

We must change that situation. We must reclaim our lands and prosper from them. Only fools depend on their self-sworn enemies for their food supply. When we return to our land, we will be able to restore our genuine culture, not the fake occult trends that fraudsters now peddle as Omenala. We will ranch with improved varieties of livestock on an industrial scale.

This will include breeding the dwarf native Muturu cows, which give organic prestige to the Ogbuefi title. You cannot kill a long-legged Sahel N’dama cow and call yourself Ogbuefi. People are only doing it because of the scarcity of the right kind of cow. It is scarce because we abandoned breeding it. Let us bring Igbo ingenuity into the livestock business, and show them how it’s done!

*Nnanna is a commentator on public issues

Fear Of Electoral Violence In 2027

2026-10-06T16:49:01.178+01:00

By Tonnie Iredia

Since December 12, 1959 when the first national pre-independence elections were held in Nigeria till today, we have had no election without citizens losing sleep and remaining exceedingly anxious over electoral violence. Even the June 12, 1993 Presidential election internationally recognised as the nation’s best had its own tension.

Indeed, the 1993 election was the first to be annulled in the nation’s history. Nigerian elections have always been subjected to a plethora of electoral malpractices featuring political intimidation, vote buying and collusion of the electoral body with interest groups to rig our polls. These anomalies have greatly discouraged citizen participation in elections leading to sequential decline in voter turn-out.

With the introduction of technology and flashes of occasional above average performance of the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC voters started nursing the hope that perhaps failed elections were soon to end – an enthusiastic feeling that was dashed by the inexplicable technical glitch that marred the 2023 Presidential contest.

Painfully, the National Assembly that should have rekindled the hope of citizens by redressing the loopholes in the Electoral Act lost the golden opportunity of making history. Its members rather than holding the bull by its horn through a seamless reform of enthroning real time electronic transmission of results decided to play politics.

They used a tiny thread to tie the bull’s horn allowing the people to believe that their votes may not count in 2027. Since then, everyone has chosen to embrace self-help. While those in the ruling party are busy intimidating others because they happen to be in control of the instruments of coercion, the opposition parties are tidying up arrangements to muster enough courage to meet force with force. Already, the vow of the opposition parties that the 2027 elections will be won and lost at the polling centres gravely throws a spanner into our democracy with the suggestion that there is nothing just about the official framework for justice delivery.

The summary of what we have said so far is that in 2027, there will be fierce fighting between two elephants which will result in the deaths of not the combatants and their families but the poor and ordinary masses of society. In which case, there is already fear and anxiety among our people over heavy political violence in 2027.

Anyone who is in doubt should go back to our media records that are replete with reports of preparations for violence by our political class. One report for example, will show that Nigeria has become the first and most likely the only country where massively voting can kill some contestants.

A senator of the federal republic Francis Fadahunsi (Osun East) who said it insisted that he didn’t say anyone should be killed through inflicting bodily harm or physical attack but through massive voting that can easily send Osun politicians into untimely death. Nothing was done to the senator to whom such an unacceptable rhetoric was credited.

In Kuje, an area council of the federal capital territory, the people were lucky that they got an early signal that anyone unwilling to support the APC should just quit the council area. If a leader like Samuel Shekwolo or his type assumes the chairmanship of Kuje Area Council or indeed any of the FCT council areas, then elections in such location would be based on the import of the directive of Shekwolo to citizens that “It’s either you are doing APC or leave the area council.”

What would happen to those not supporting the ruling party is more specific in Borno state where the Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development Sainna Buba reportedly used threatening language while addressing an APC-linked political gathering. On the occasion, Buba was quoted to have said that those who “show us a finger” would have their fingers broken and those who refused to follow the government would be “flogged.”

Whether in Kuje or Borno, nothing was done to those who have used their might to breach the Nigerian constitution which guarantees to every citizen, freedom of association as well as freedom of expression.

The several pleas by political analysts to higher authorities to call their supporters and officials to order are simplistic because in many cases the same higher authorities are behind the threats. In Kebbi State, the chairman of Gwandu Local Government Area, Alhaji Atiku Ahmad Mandiya, was captured in a video telling supporters that anyone who spoke against Governor Nasir Idris “should be dealt with.”

As if to confirm that the message came directly from above, Mandiya also specifically promised to secure the release of any supporter arrested for confronting the governor’s opponents. In Ebonyi State, it was the governor himself, Francis Nwifuru who warned newly inaugurated local government chairmen that they could be removed if they failed to deliver their councils to the APC in 2027.

In a swift response to allegations that APC members were harassing and intimidating political critics, Nwifuru said “any chairman who fails to win his council will be removed from office and replaced with a councillor. I want this information to be on the headlines of newspapers because, as politicians, we will not speak in secret.”

The above explains why the newly sworn-in Chairman of Ohaukwu Local Government Area, Eze Paul Ituma, warned residents in his area who were unwilling to align with the APC to stay away from the area. The media had indeed reported Ituma’s pledge to implement governor Nwifuru’s directive after his warning that opposition elements who wanted to challenge Nwifuru or reject the ruling APC should stay away from the council area. Ohaukwu according to the LGA chair has no room for individuals opposed to the governor or the APC, stressing that such persons would be treated as “enemies” and declared “persona non grata” in the council area.

In nearby Enugu state, the situation was not different. Gunmen allegedly associated with the ruling party had disrupted a meeting of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Akpugo Ward 3, Nkanu West Local Government Area. According to media reports, ‘canopies, chairs and several other items brought for the meeting were shattered or destroyed by the attackers, while those attending the meeting were said to have fled to safety.’

What other type of evidence do we need to appreciate the fragility of our nation where a set of contestants can determine what their opponents are allowed to do in a supposed democracy where everyone is equal before the law and where there is a level-playing field for all the recognized teams.

To make matters worse, none of those intimidating others has been sanctioned for refusing to play the game by the rules. The only person who is on record to have apologised for his act was the Yobe state chairman of the APC Alhaji Mohammed Gadaka, who had told women at a rally to divorce their anti-APC husbands if they prevented them from voting for the APC. Gadaka made the statement while addressing hundreds of new defectors to the APC in Nangere town.

He reportedly promised to personally pay the “new bride price” for any woman who ended her marriage because of her loyalty to the party. The remark as usual attracted widespread condemnation from residents, including Islamic scholars, who described it as provocative and capable of undermining family values.

Following the backlash, Gadaka released a 42-second video on the Facebook page of Mamman Mohammed the Director General, Press and Media Affairs to Governor Mai Mala Buni, in which he withdrew the statement. He said his comment had been misunderstood and was merely a “joking banter” based on a long-standing tradition of playful exchanges between his Ngamo people and their Kare-Kare-speaking neighbours.

In Gadaka’s words, “my statement was just a usual joking banter and does not in any way represent the ideals I stand for or intended to encourage divorce among married people.” How come all others who threatened opponents or members of the public had never been questioned?

With the atmosphere that has been painted above, many leaders and relevant institutions deserve blame. The Police for instance are yet to make public statements concerning those who intercepted Peter Obi in Makurdi. They have also been silent over cases where one group disrupted the rallies of another thereby pushing those offended into looking out for revenge.

The Abdulsami Peace Committee may not have had a force of law behind it to sanction breaches but having held meetings with political party leaders, it is not too much if it writes letters to offending parties to remind them of the tacit agreements reached. Where such counselling is done the media should be briefed. In all, Nigeria needs to avoid elections where some citizens have to die so that others can be elected.

*Dr. Iredia is a commentator on public issues

Obi Versus Soludo: Unnecessary Political Cannibalism

2026-10-06T16:36:57.667+01:00

By Dele Sobowale

"I stand by my words"– Governor Soludo on Peter Obi leaving money for Anambra – Daily Post Nigeria.

*Obi and Soludo

It was not my intention to get involved in the controversy between presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and a former governor of Anambra State, and incumbent Governor Soludo. Granted, I have always wondered what Soludo hopes to gain by working against the ambitions of a fellow Igbo man – when he is not a candidate himself.

It is even more surprising because everybody in this country knows very well that Obi’s success, in his quest, will be the best thing for Igbo people since independence. Nobody, since Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, has been able to attract the national interest and following of an Igbo politician till now. I would have thought that Igbo leaders like Soludo would either support Obi or stay silent.

Granted, Obi used the APGA ladder to climb to the top before decamping to the PDP, LP and now NDC. But, there is hardly anybody at the top of Nigerian political parties who is not a party hopper. This is the new norm in Nigerian politics and Soludo himself is not innocent of that development.

Governor Otti’s intervention changed my mind because fiscal prudence, while governor of Anambra State, had been one of Obi’s best selling proposals to Nigerians in his quest for the presidency in 2027. Many Nigerians are alarmed about the rising debt at federal and state levels.

They want to see it halted – if possible. Expectedly, a former state governor, claiming to have met debts on arrival and to have left none on departure, deserves our audience. We need to know how he did it; because that might reveal to us how he will preside if elected.

Soludo challenged that claim; without providing convincing evidence. For me, the dispute called for a credible third party. Governor Otti, to me, is that witness. In a television interview, he not only confirmed that Obi left money for Anambra, he went back in history by saying: “What I documented in 2020 is factual”. That leads to the question: What is Soludo’s motive in all of this? Is he trying to keep Obi out of Aso Rock in order to become the Igbo candidate for the 2031 presidential race?

If that is the long term strategy, it will only make sense if two things happen. One, Tinubu must be re-elected. Two, Tinubu must support him as the preferred successor. The first is a distinct possibility, but not guaranteed. The second is fraught with many problems; mostly, Tinubu might not be willing to impose another Southerner on the nation after his eight years in office.

IS ENVY THE MOTIVE?

“You’ll find envy wherever there’s good fortune. There are always people who will envy you if you are happy” – Aleksander Solzhenitsyn, 1918-2005

People can also envy you if you achieve what they thought impossible. Obi’s political rise to national prominence was just short of a political miracle. Few people expected it. Today, he is the most prominent Igbo politician in Nigeria. By comparison, Soludo commands very little followership – even in the South-East.

There might be another reason for the open hostility. While Soludo has had two major appointments – Governor of Central Bank and governor of Anambra, Obi has only been the governor of Anambra State. Any comparison between the two can only be on their performance as Anambra governors.

Altogether, Soludo’s tenure as CBN Governor was a disaster. In 2005, he inherited 73, admittedly, weak banks; hastily embarked on banking consolidation which reduced the number to 25 licenced banks; “into which Nigerians can put their funds and go to sleep with their eyes closed”. By the time he left in 2009, N6 trillion, public funds, was deployed to purchase toxic loans from the banks Soludo said were sound. Till today, less than N3 trillion has been recovered out of the N6 trillion paid out to prevent total collapse of Nigerian banking.

Soludo was at his best when contesting for governor of Anambra State for his first term. He would turn Anambra into the Dubai of Africa. Some of us smiled. It was vintage Soludo hyperbole. I was in Anambra briefly last year, Nnewi specifically, and nothing suggests Dubai could be achieved by the time the second term is over. That leaves only the undeniable accomplishments to be assessed. But since this is still work-in-process, no attempt will be made to do that now. The airport might still end up reaching global standard; and the public hospitals might be attracting foreigners. Nothing is impossible.

Obi’s legacy, however, is finished business. Furthermore, he had drawn attention to his enviable achievements when running for the presidency in 2023 – without any rejoinder from Soludo at the time. The obvious questions are: Why now? And why present evidence which is, at best, dodgy? Soludo, like anybody else, is free to choose his friends and enemies. Let me close this article by reminding Soludo: “A man cannot be too careful in the choice of his enemies” (Oscar Wilde, 1856-1900).

*Dr. Sobowale is a commentator on public issues

When Hypocrisy And Doublespeak Define A Nation

2026-10-05T17:05:27.440+01:00

By Ikechukwu Amaechi

On October 1, 66 years ago, Nigeria gained flag independence from Britain. Within these years, the country reached another milestone – 27 years of unbroken civilian rule, which many confuse as democracy. Ours is not yet a democracy.

*Tinubu during the 66th Independence ceremonies

It may well be with time, but democracy and civilian rule are poles apart. In a civilian rule, power is concentrated and recklessly abused by the political elites without public oversight but the idea of democracy calls for something more fundamental: it requires popular participation, free and fair elections and strong institutional checks and balances.

Democracy is not just the absence of a military junta, it specifies how leaders are chosen through competitive, transparent and regular elections; protects human rights and ensures accountability of the government to the people.

Above all, it demands functional separation of powers among the three arms of government and independence of the judiciary. Except for those who have wilfully chosen to lie to themselves, well-meaning citizens agree that Nigeria, even after 27 years of unbroken civil rule, does not meet any of these conditions.

The 1999 constitution is whimsically abused and the government is anything but accountable. In fact, the president considers himself far above the Nigerian state. Just like King Louis XIV of France, who magisterially declared L’État, c’est moi – I am the state – President Bola Tinubu holds, without any scintilla of doubt, absolute legislative, executive and judicial authority without any checks.

The Godswill Akpabio-led National Assembly exists at Tinubu’s pleasure. The judiciary interprets his body language in making consequential rulings. There is total concentration of state power in one individual – the president – so much so that state governors who are constitutionally guaranteed some measure of independence from the federal government are falling over themselves to be in Tinubu’s good books.

Even those in opposition political parties are the loudest in singing “on your mandate” chorus. But come to think of it, why wouldn’t they when Tinubu, despite the fact that he has no constitutional power to unilaterally suspend, remove, or replace a sitting state governor, nevertheless suspended Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara, who, after serving out the suspension, went back to the president to thank him for his benevolence.

Tinubu’s power has become so absolute that opposition governors routinely go to Aso Rock to present their certificate of return and to thank him for his benevolence. Of course, they know that such a pledge of loyalty is the beginning of political wisdom in Nigeria. But it is even worse.

Civil society organisations are not left out in the mad race to kiss the monarch’s ring, which explains why Mrs Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, SAN deemed it fit to pay a courtesy visit to President Tinubu even before she was sworn in as the president of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA). And that is what presidential aides mean when they tell whoever cares to listen that Tinubu can rule Nigeria from any part of the world and for as long as he chooses.

So, Nigeria is 66 years today but rather than rolling out the drums, it calls for sober reflection. Sixty-six years after flag independence and 27 years of civilian rule, can Nigeria finally make the consequential leap from civilian rule to democratic governance in 2027? That is the hope of millions of long suffering citizens. But I doubt if that will happen considering the cloak and dagger politics that is ashore.

Rather than telling the people what they have done in the last 40 months to make their lives better, officials of the Tinubu-led administration are engaged in a frenzy of name-calling. Expectedly, their main target is the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr Peter Obi because the tree that has fruits attracts the most stones.

But it is bordering on obsession. In an election where there are 18 presidential candidates, the focus on Obi is abusive, to say the least. It is as if there is a presidential award for anyone in government who will insult Obi the most even when the man visited with so much negativity continues to insist on issues-based campaign. With everything else failing, the latest campaign of calumny is to label him a liar.

Leading the charge are Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, and Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Media. Even those who don’t know the meaning of fact-check are now on a deliberate mission of wrong-footing Obi. The easily excitable Keyamo, who is a merchant of lies himself, was on a voyeuristic mission last week when, while defending the insane focus on Obi, wrote on X: “I see some suggestions that everyone is ‘obsessed’ about Peter Obi because we are always talking about him.

I am sorry, but they miss the point. When someone lies per second, you also have to fact-check him per second. Therefore, to put it simply, the amount of time we talk about Peter Obi is directly proportional to the amount of lies he tells.”

Onanuga was equally unsparing and caustic. Accusing Obi’s supporters of giving him a “licence to lie,” the presidential spokesman wrote on X: “No one blames Obi for being a pathological liar… Those who love H.E. Peter Obi should advise him to stop lying as a habit so as to avoid the constant embarrassment of confronting inconvenient facts and truth.”

But Dr Nonye Soludo, First Lady of Anambra State, whose husband, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, is supplying the ammunition with which the presidency intends to shoot down Obi’s high-octane political performance, takes the cake in this game of idiocy. Speaking last week at the 22nd All Nigeria Editors Conference in Enugu, Obi, in his usual pacifist politics, reiterated that he was not quarrelling with Soludo and in emphasising how close the two families are, told the audience that he and his wife are godparents to one of Soludo’s children, a claim which Mrs Soludo rebutted.

Hear her: “Mr Peter Obi is not a godfather to any of the children of Professor Chukwuma and Dr Nonye Soludo. The facts concerning the godparent relationship between the two families are as follows: Dr Nonye Soludo, First Lady of Anambra State, is the confirmation ‘godmother’ to Peter Obi’s daughter. Mrs Margaret Obi, wife of Mr Peter Obi, is the baptismal godmother to one of Prof Chukwuma Soludo’s daughters. Neither Mr Obi nor Professor Soludo has served as a godparent to the other’s children.”

What a shame! Many people are still scratching their heads after reading the statement. What was the idea? Did Soludo’s wife actually authorise it? Is she so dim-witted? Little wonder no one bothered to dignify the Soludos with a response. The irony is that the people accusing Obi of fibbing are the real pathological liars, who have elevated wantonness, depravity, whoopla and deceit to governance tools.

It is only in Nigeria that those who have neither verifiable certificates nor school mates are probing the academic records of a man who not only has certificates but verifiable school mates and teachers. It is only in Nigeria that those with questionable NYSC discharge certificates are calling someone’s authentic discharge certificate fake because it was allegedly signed on a Saturday.

In 1999, Keyamo filed a lawsuit against the Lagos State House of Assembly to challenge their powers to investigate and clear Tinubu of historical certificate allegations. Today, the self-same Keyamo says the president did not attend traditional primary and secondary schools but instead studied and passed examinations from home arguing that studying independently at home used to be the norm.

But he is being smart by half. The question is not whether some exceptional children have studied independently at home with excellent results, the issue is that in Tinubu’s case there are no certificates. Besides, Keyamo is lying because in 1999, according to his Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Form CF 001 filed to contest the Lagos State governorship election, Tinubu claimed to have attended St. John’s Primary School, Aroloya), Lagos; Children Home School; Ibadan and Government College Ibadan, for his primary and secondary education.

Yet, these lie merchants who are defending Tinubu’s sundry malfeasance have the effrontery to accuse others of being pathological liars. Little wonder the ‘Obi is a liar message’ is not resonating. It is dead on arrival.

*Amaechi is the publisher of TheNiche (ikechukwuamaechi@yahoo.com)

Tinubu’s Disappointing October 1 Message

2026-10-02T14:21:46.644+01:00

By Adekunle Adekoya

Not a few Nigerians, especially me, expected that there would be something to hold on to when the President made his speech commemorating our National Day, October 1, yesterday morning.

*Tinubu

As a newspaperman, I read the message more than three times, looking for that strand of a message that could give hope that at the end of the tunnel in which we have been thrown, there would be a glimmer of light, signalling hope that things would begin a turnaround for the better.

Alas, like so many other countrymen and women, numbering in scores of millions, it was not to be as the president opted to grandstand on what he thinks are achievements. The same old chorus, now sounding like a broken record, was recited to us — necessity of reforms, NELFUND, Credicorp, and all that. There was no talk about how we would soon pay less for petrol, diesel, cooking gas, or electricity.

Let me backtrack a bit. When Nigeria was Nigeria, we eagerly looked forward to October 1. As schoolchildren in the glorious 60s and 70s, every October 1, our teachers told us to come to school with our plates and spoons. Everyone of us got a plate of rice and a chunky piece of meat, with a bottle of mineral drink to drown it in.

Government worked so well in those days that the headmasters of primary schools got the funds with which to prepare these meals for their pupils well ahead of time. And it was a time when there was nothing like bank transfers, internet banking. The POS operator was an alien figure. Yet, things worked. If it were now, the funds will never get to the school headmasters, and the children would never get any food.

That time too, was when Nigeria was arguably the most secure country in the world, compared to what now obtains. A little over 50 years ago, in April 1976, I was in Class III in secondary school. Our Geography teacher, Mr Bayo Ogunnupe, decided to organise an excursion. That excursion took us to Kainji Dam in today’s Niger State.

Each of us paid 30 kobo — three 10 kobo coins for the trip, from our school, Remo Divisional High School in Sagamu, Ogun State. We went safely and returned safely, four days after we set out. If it were now, we would probably have been kidnapped, taken hostage, and ransom demanded for our return. In any case, no teacher would dream of such an excursion today, and no parent would allow his/her child/ward to participate. That is how bad things have turned out.

And talking about how bad things have turned out, one had hoped that the president would tell us a little of the good things he has done or plans to do to make things better. In particular, I expected a response to the threat of a warning strike by the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council, JNPSNC.

The JPNSC is made up of eight public sector unions — the Nigerian Civil Service Union, NCSU; Medical and Health Workers Union, M&HWU; Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, ASCSN; and National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives, NANNM.

Others are the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Employees, AUPCTRE; Nigeria Union of Public Service, Reportorial, Secretarial, Data Processors and Allied Workers, NUPSRAW; National Union of Printing, Publishing and Paper Products Workers, NUPPPPROW; and the National Union of Agriculture and Allied Employees, NUAEE.

On September 21, the public servants wrote to the president, beseeching him to find ways to bring the price of petrol down to N500, and also demanded a wage award, and commencement of negotiations for a new minimum national wage.

I support the demands of the unions, because it might make government really take action that will benefit all of us, including the insensitive ones in the corridors of power. If somehow petrol can be made to sell for N500, that would be a huge relief to all of us, rich or poor. If a new national minimum wage is negotiated, it means more cash in the bank accounts of workers and increased purchasing power, which will translate to reduced industrial inventory and other benefits to the economy.

But there was no word from the president on this issue. Maybe because he had been away from the country in the last three weeks. But if it was really the working vacation we were told it was, it means the president was getting information about the things that needed his attention on a daily basis. Or the threat of strike by public servants did not need the attention of the president? In all, the optics of government’s performance, as it relates to the welfare of the governed, is rather disappointing.

The disappointment is even deeper when you consider that we are in election season, a period when normal politicians should be doing anything within their power to please the people. Not so here. The contempt that those in government have for those they are governing is so thick and heavy one can almost feel it the way a porter feels the weight of a load.

If not, roads would not remain potholed for months and streets get clogged with garbage for months as is the case in Lagos. Is it because these people know they will be back in office after next year’s elections, whether we vote or not? If that, why not some eye service, which will be better than no service?

*Adekoya is a commentator on public issues

Soludo’s War On Obi: To What End?

2026-10-02T13:28:19.595+01:00

By Olu Fasan

The ferocity, persistence and intentionality of Professor Chukwuma Soludo’s attacks on Peter Obi must strike many as inexplicable, even abnormal. Soludo is the current governor of Anambra State; Obi is a former governor of the state.

*Obi and Soludo

While both belong to different parties and have divergent political interests, it’s hard to fathom why Soludo is traducing Obi so ferally, even using state machinery. Indeed, the fact that the Anambra State government itself is fighting Obi makes the attacks more damaging.

The governor and his administration are calling Obi a “liar”, striking at the hearts of the values of character, integrity, honesty, truthfulness, etc., that Obi claims define him and on which he anchors his presidential ambitions. Clearly, Soludo and his government are “demarketing” Obi, telling Nigerians he’s not what and who he claims to be. But what’s Soludo’s endgame? To what end is the animus?

As far as I can tell, there’s little evidence that Obi has openly antagonised Soludo. That said, as I wrote last week, Obi’s behaviour at Soludo’s one-year anniversary celebration, when he arrived late and received a rockstar-like reception from the whooping audience during the governor’s speech, was provocative.

Watch the video and you’ll see Governor Soludo looking flummoxed and flustered, telling the audience “It’s OK! It’s OK!” as they kept screaming “Obi! Obi! Obi!” Governor Soludo’s wife, Nonye, barely acknowledged Obi’s greetings, her arms folded in apparent defiance. Clearly, all was not well between the Soludos and the Obis.

The family nature of the feud became more glaring last week when Mrs Soludo denied Obi’s claim that he and his wife, Margaret, were godparents to the Soludos’ children. Obi had said: “People might not know, my wife and I are godparents to the Soludos’ children.” But Mrs Soludo swiftly ordered her media aide to issue a statement denying that Obi was a godparent to any of her children.

According to the statement, Obi’s wife was the “baptismal godmother” to one of the Soludos’ daughters, while Mrs Soludo herself was the “confirmation godmother” to Obi’s daughter. The statement then went on to say that Obi’s wife being the godmother to the Soludos’ daughter did not make her husband a godparent to that daughter, based on “the canon laws of the Catholic Church”.

But that “logic” is perverse and ridiculous. Think about it. Doesn’t the fact that Mrs Obi is the godmother to the Soludos’ daughter make her husband, de facto if not de jure, a godparent to that daughter? Can Mrs Obi be an effective godmother without her husband being somehow involved and supportive?

Do the canon laws of the Catholic Church seek to separate husband and wife in matters of baptismal parenthood? Isn’t Mrs Soludo “first lady” simply because her husband is governor, even though the Constitution doesn’t recognise the office of “First Lady”? So, why is Mrs Soludo hiding behind the legalism of “the canon laws of the Catholic Church” to violate conventional wisdom just to feed the narrative that Peter Obi is a “liar”?

But let’s leave aside the mundane issue of “baptismal parenthood”. The real fight is political. The family dimension is only collateral damage. Since Obi declared his presidential ambition in 2022, Soludo has viscerally opposed his aspiration and viciously attacked his personality. Truth be told, Soludo is a ruthless fighter; he fights dirty!

Professor Soludo’s brutal barbs against Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala in 2015 prompted the former finance minister to describe him as a “so-called intellectual without character and wisdom”. Soludo prides himself on “always saying it as it is” and “not shying away from a good fight”. But he lacks the ability to be persuasive without being offensive, a trait he has demonstrated in his “good fight” against Obi, first before the 2023 presidential poll and now ahead of 2027!

Let’s start with 2023. Soludo penned a piece titled “History beckons and I will not be silent.” It was steeped in utter disdain and vitriol. He viciously attacked Obi’s economic management record, disparaging his “claimed investment” and “so-called savings” as Anambra State governor from 2006 to 2014.

Then, he poopooed Obi’s chances as a presidential candidate, saying: “Let’s be clear: Peter Obi knows that he can’t win and won’t win.” He even predicted that Obi would “only get 25 per cent in just four states”. But, in the end, Obi won 12 states outright, including Lagos and Abuja, and got 25 per cent in 17 states. And he won 6.1mn votes nationally.

Given that a person can become president if he gets 25 per cent in just 24 states, being two-thirds of 36 states, and secures a plurality of the votes cast nationally, it’s clear that, with 17 states and 6mn votes, Obi nearly won the election, and even probably won but for INEC’s mysterious “technical glitch”. Soludo betrayed an air of omniscience and intellectual arrogance in his predictions and assessment of Obi’s presidential chances and yet refused to apologise when he came a cropper; instead, he doubled down on his rhetoric!

Which brings us to 2027 and the toxic anti-Obi climate. To be sure, Obi is partly guilty of self-immolation. As I wrote last week, he is wrong to stake his presidential ambition on his performance as Anambra State governor some 12 years ago, and on setting himself up as a paragon of integrity and an exemplar of good governance.

Perversely, Obi vowed to quit the presidential race if anyone could show he owed any salary or left any debt when he left office in 2014. Why should he put himself in such a situation, thereby becoming a legitimate object of attack?

No governor in Nigeria could sensibly claim he owed no salary or left no debt. Obi allowed Soludo, his arch-enemy, to go digging to prove him wrong. And that’s what Soludo, a former CBN governor, did, digging out “evidence” to discredit Obi’s claims.

In a document titled “Governor Peter Obi and Record of Public Debt in Anambra: Facts Beyond Propaganda and Lies”, published on its website, the Anambra State government said Obi left eight different external loans and owed “verified salaries, gratuity and pensions to retired teachers and staff of Water Corporation”, in addition to leaving a state with “dead public schools and dead public hospitals with grossly inadequate teachers and medical personnel.”

The government’s position is that Obi could not brag about the investment and savings he claimed to make while there’s so much poverty, insecurity and decrepit infrastructure in the state. But what struck me more about the document was the language the government used throughout, such as “You obviously lied” and “You blatantly lied”. Of course, Obi refused to quit the race, questioning the Anambra State government’s narrative. But clearly, Governor Soludo and his government are determined to shred to smithereens Obi’s image of Mr Prudence, Mr Integrity and Mr Good Governance!

But why? First, Governor Soludo is supporting President Tinubu’s re-election; therefore, destroying Obi politically is fair game. That’s why Bayo Onanuga, Tinubu’s media aide, always amplifies the Anambra State government’s attacks on Obi’s credibility. Second, there’s potentially something in it for Soludo.

During Governor Soludo’s one-year anniversary celebration, former President Obasanjo told him to see the governorship as an “appetiser”, saying the “main course” was a national role. “Use this governorship as an appetiser,” Obasanjo said, “and then the main course will come later”, suggesting Soludo should aim for the presidency.

Well, there’s a snag, a big one! By the time power returns to the South in 2039, after Tinubu’s second term, assuming he wins next year, and the North’s eight years, Soludo, now 66, would be 79. Unless he mimics Atiku Abubakar, he would be too old to run.

However, he could join the APC next year; after all, he’s already saying that APGA and APC are kindred spirits. Once in the APC, he could seek to be running mate to the party’s northern presidential candidate in 2031, presumably with Tinubu’s support. Is that the endgame? Is that why he’s aligning with Tinubu? Is that why he wants to destroy Obi politically? But Obi may then be his nemesis. Beware the law of karma!

*Dr. Fasan is a commentator on public issues

Babafemi Ojudu Writes An Open Letter To Bola Tinubu

2026-10-02T12:40:17.594+01:00

Open Letter To President Bola Ahmed Tinubu

My dear brother,

Welcome home. Today, as Nigeria marks the anniversary of her independence, we are reminded that the promise of freedom must find meaning in the dignity, security and well-being of our people. I hope your time away has brought you some rest and renewed strength.

*Tinubu

The months ahead will test you as a leader and as a candidate seeking another mandate. More consequentially, they will test our country.

I write because I believe you need to hear, plainly and from someone who wishes you well, how difficult life has become for many Nigerians.

I have wrestled with the decision to make this an open letter. Our relationship has been strained, and we have not seen each other since 2022. I made no secret of my decision neither to work for your election nor to vote for you in 2023. Some will therefore question my motives. I cannot control their interpretation. I can only tell you that I write with affection for an old friend and with concern for our country.

Two recent sermons finally persuaded me to put pen to paper. In different churches, the clergymen spoke at length about hunger and poverty. One was Bishop Felix Femi Ajakaiye of the Catholic Church, a respected cleric not given to theatrics. He spoke during the funeral of our mutual friend, Senator Tony Adeniyi.

His words, and those of the other clergyman, stayed with me. These are men who encounter people in distress every day. What they described is also what one hears in homes, markets and conversations across the country: people are struggling to afford food, medicine, rent, school fees and transport. Many have adjusted their lives as far as they can and still cannot make ends meet. For those who earn anything at all, their earnings buy less and less.

You and I go back a long way. We knew each other in the struggle against military rule, through your campaign for the governorship of Lagos State and through some of the trials that followed. You have stood by me at times, and I have stood by you.

I remember one night shortly before your election as governor. I took you to the home of a senior security official, Mr Ibrahim Solomon, in Ikoyi, because we feared the election might be rigged against you. A decent and patriotic public servant, he assured us that the security apparatus would ensure fairness, and he kept his word.

On our way back, at about 1.30 a.m., your driver, the late Mustapha, fell asleep at the wheel on the Third Mainland Bridge. The car struck the railing. We were fortunate to escape with our lives. You asked me to drive us on to Alausa, although I had never driven a car with an automatic transmission. Somehow, I got us there.

I recall that night because it speaks to the length and nature of our association. After your victory, I helped manage the transition committees and your inauguration programme. When you asked what position I wanted in your government, I said I would return to journalism. I believed you should have at least one person outside government who could come to you and speak honestly, without sycophancy or the pursuit of personal advantage.

During your eight years as governor, that was the role I tried to play. I did not come to you seeking an appointment or a favour for myself. Alhaji Lai Mohammed, then your Chief of Staff, would sometimes see me at your office and joke, “Our opposition has come. What have we done wrong again?”

It is in that same spirit that I write today.

Asiwaju, hardship has become the defining experience of too many Nigerians. You may hear that difficult measures were necessary and that the figures now show progress. Even where some indicators are improving, the question you must ask is whether that progress can be felt in an ordinary household. A parent who cannot pay school fees or buy medicine cannot live on a projection of future relief. Progress must mean food on the table, a child in school, treatment for the sick and a reasonable chance to earn a living.

I ask you to review your policies with that household in mind. Examine the cumulative burden of fuel prices, transport costs and the rising cost of basic food. Direct your team to identify where government can bring prompt, measurable relief, and ensure that every intervention reaches those for whom it is intended. Nigerians need both a credible path out of hardship and evidence that their government understands what they are enduring now.

Security requires the same candour and urgency. In communities where people fear travelling, farming or going about their business, promises of prosperity ring hollow. No farmer should have to choose between tending a field and staying alive. The anxiety people feel about their safety compounds their economic distress.

So, too, does the suspicion between communities. At a time like this, the President’s words, choices and appointments must reassure Nigerians that they belong equally to this country and are equally entitled to its protection and opportunities.

Please widen the circle of people you listen to. Seek out Nigerians of goodwill from every part of the country, including those who disagree with you. Invite them to speak freely about what is working, what is failing and what needs to change. A leader gains little from advisers who shield him from unwelcome news. He gains much from those willing to tell him the truth while there is still time to act on it.

You have always valued opinion research. Commission a serious, independent assessment of how Nigerians are living and what they think of the government’s response. Let it reach beyond party meetings and official briefings. We used such evidence together in the past. Sometimes the findings were uncomfortable, but you listened and adjusted course. I urge you to bring that openness to this moment.

There is another duty that rests especially on you as President. As the election approaches, ensure that the institutions of government carry out their responsibilities freely and impartially. The security services must protect every voter, candidate and election official, and safeguard the process without favour or intimidation. INEC must have the independence, resources and space to conduct the election and declare its outcome according to the law and the votes cast.

You are a candidate in that election, but you are also the President entrusted with protecting the process for everyone. A credible election will serve Nigeria well, whatever its result. Respect and uphold the independence of the judiciary so that the courts can adjudicate impartially, guided by the facts and the law, free from pressure or interference.

These democratic principles brought us together. You fought for them and repeatedly risked your life in their defence. Remember, dear brother, the days you spent beneath the stairs at Alagbon, the dreaded police headquarters in Lagos, lying on a thin piece of foam alongside your then Senate colleagues, Abu Ibrahim and Ahmed Ebute. Remember why you endured those indignities and what you hoped our country would become. The freedom to choose our leaders was at the heart of that struggle. It must remain sacred today.

The forthcoming election will give Nigerians their opportunity to judge your stewardship. How you govern in the months ahead, and how you uphold their right to choose, will help define your legacy.

You have every right to ask for a renewed mandate. The Nigerian people have every right to weigh that request against their lived experience. Your most persuasive campaign in the coming months will therefore be the decisions you make as President: whether you hear their concerns, change what needs changing and ease the burdens they carry.

Should Nigerians renew your mandate through a free, fair and credible election, it would be an affirmation of their confidence in your leadership and the course you have set.

And if, after giving all you can, the people choose another course, accept their verdict with grace. There is honour in serving one’s country and in respecting its democratic choice. Either outcome must rest on the freely expressed will of Nigerians.

My dear brother, God has been good to you, and you have devoted much of your life to public service. I remember the risks you took, the sacrifices you made and the long nights of political struggle, sustained by cups of black coffee and your determination to serve your country. I want you to finish well. I want Nigeria to come through this difficult period stronger, more secure, more united and more democratic.

That is why I ask you, with sincerity and without malice: listen closely to the people, reconsider what is causing them pain, and act while you still have the power to bring them relief.

Happy Independence Anniversary.

Yours sincerely,

Senator Babafemi Ojudu, CON

Where Did This Hatred Between Igbo And Yoruba Come From?

2026-10-01T13:33:27.072+01:00

By Funlayo Ademola-Adefolaju

It wasn't like this when I was growing up in the 60s, 70s.

This deep hatred I see now between Igbo and Yoruba on Facebook breaks my heart, because this is not the Nigeria I knew.

In those days, we were friends to Justice Ibekwe's children - Maureen, Cecilia, Vivian, Dan and the others. We were friends to Ambassador Matthew Mbu's children. The Ekwemes, the Ewenrems, Nwanbueze, Collins Obi, Sir Azikiwe, Chief & Mrs. Grace Ezeife, the Njokus in OPEC, the Abbeys, the Oguguas, the Akpakas, the Nwachukwus, the Ojukwus at Queens Drive, Ikoyi etc. We visited each other's homes freely. We ate together. We played together. We laughed together. Nobody taught us to ask "are you Igbo or Yoruba?" We were just one.

My sister and I still bear Igbo names till today. That's how close we were. Our parents loved each other like family.

So I keep asking myself - what happened? When did this deep-seated hatred take over Nigeria?

I think this is what happened to us:

1. Politicians divided us for votes. It became easier to win elections by telling Yoruba to fear Igbo, and Igbo to fear Yoruba, than to campaign on real development.

2. We never truly healed after the Civil War. We said "No Victor, No Vanquished" but we never really sat down to forgive, to heal, to tell our children the truth with love.

3. Struggle over Lagos and survival. Lagos welcomed everyone and everyone built it. But economic hardship has made people turn that shared success into a fight over who owns what.

4. Social media amplifies the worst of us. In the 60s, tribal sentiments were whispered. Now, anyone can write a hateful post about Yoruba or Igbo and thousands will share it. The loudest, angriest voices now look like the majority.

But they are not the majority.

The average Igbo trader in Alaba and the average Yoruba trader in Ibadan want the same thing - peace, good business, and a future for their children.

I am a proud Yoruba woman. I am also proud that my sister and I have Igbo names. I will not hate my childhood friends to satisfy politicians.

Igbo is not my enemy. Yoruba is not the enemy of Igbo. Bad leadership and poverty are our common enemies.

I still believe in that beautiful Nigeria where Justice Ibekwe's children were my own brothers and sisters.

We can find our way back. We must. Biko nu.

God bless Nigeria.

*Princess Funlayo Ademola-Adefolaju, FIIM Public Administrator|Child & Youth Advocate

Dave Umahi And His Lies!

2026-10-01T12:40:54.695+01:00

By Nchee Nwabunnia

Dr Akanu Ibiam from present day Ebonyi State was the Governor of the Eastern Region of Nigeria. That was made up of the entire South East, Rivers, Bayelsa, Cross Rivers and Akwa Ibom states. He was the Governor from 1960 to 1966.

After the military interjection came the second republic, Jim Nwobodo came in 1979 followed by C.C Onoh in 1983 as Governors of old Anambra State. Both were from current day Enugu State. The military struck again.

Abia was created and Ebonyi became part of it. The third republican Governor of Abia was Ogbonnaya Onu from current day Ebonyi state. The military interjected again.

Ebonyi was created and country eventually returned to civil rule, the fourth republic.

Since the fourth republic, these were Governors of Ebonyi and they are all from Ebonyi; Sam Egwu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) became the first elected governor and served from 1999 to 2007. He was succeeded by Martin Elechi (2007–2015), Dave Umahi (2015–2023), and Francis Nwifuru (2023–present).

How has Ndi Igbo dominated Ebonyi people as alleged by Umahi. At the national level, Pius Anyim emerged senate president. Umahi is current minister for Works.

Umahi's false allegation against Ndi Igbo will be kept in the safe until that day when he will need Ndi Igbo the most. Ebonyi people cannot be decived by a man who had the opportunity to build people but chose to build empty flyovers instead. Ebonyi has been ruled by Ebonyi people since their days as part of Abia but yet has not brought them out of poverty and the associated menial job. Who is to be blamed?

The very man who has been in the saddle of the state's power as a deputy governor, a governor and now a god father to the governor/federal minister over an accumulated period of about 16 years is passing the blame of Ebonyi backwardness to others. He is the most appropriate man to be blamed for Ebonyi backwardness. His pushing that blame to anyone else is being clever by half. Umahi is an agent of darkness that Ndi Ebonyi must avoid.

How Long Can Nigeria Go Under Tinubu?

2026-09-30T18:41:06.161+01:00

By Promise Adiele

I have always been fascinated by a phrase in the marital vows of Christians during wedding rituals: “till death do us part”! My candid understanding of the submission is straightforward – husband and wife accept that the only thing that can come between them, to put them asunder, is death, that final arbiter of human existence.

*Tinubu

Another marital expression that amuses me is: “what God has joined together, let no man put asunder”. The big question is – how many marriages did God join together? Many times, the speed with which some couples abandon the “till death do us part” vow bewilders my critical mind.

Some marriages last a few months before they hit a rock. Others last a few years, and some collapse psychologically while the couples continue to window-dress, presenting a façade of order as chaos rules their homes. Those who abandon their marriages recall the proverb by King Odewale – “the tortoise likes water but not when it is hot”. When a marriage becomes a threat to life, when the life of a partner is imperiled, then holding on to “till death do us part” becomes foolhardy. Even without any threat to life, some people walk away from marriages at the slightest excuse. That is a topic for another day.

My interest is to examine governance as a social contract, a kind of marriage where the leader and the led share mutual understanding and expectations. But when the life of any party in the social contract is threatened, then it is time to end the contract.

To continue to stay in a contract where life is threatened with a clear prognosis of death is to commit suicide – an unforgivable moral crime in Eternity. The social contract between Nigerians and the government of President Bola Tinubu since 2023 has become a threat to Nigerians, and the prognosis is ominous, tragic, if you like. There is no better way to say it.

The million-dollar question is – how long will Nigerians endure the current macabre dance of survival in their land of plenty? How long are Nigerians willing to endure the daily strangulation of their windpipe as they gasp for air? We may pretend all we want, we may form big boys and girls all we can, but the truth is that Nigerians are dying gradually. Never mind the optics or the many soothing spiritual gradualisms from our pulpits. There is fire on the mountain in millions of homes in Nigeria. That is the truth.

True leadership requires presence, empathy, and accountability, especially during periods of national crisis. When a nation is stable, a leader’s absence may pass as routine administrative business. However, when a country faces deep economic distress, widespread hunger, and deteriorating public welfare, a leader’s prolonged absence becomes a serious concern.

President Bola Tinubu’s trip to Europe was at a very wrong time, when Nigerians are roasting in the implacable furnace of economic hardship heaped on them by the government. The absence of the president and vice president from office for a prolonged period highlights a disconnect between Nigerians and the presidency. While millions of Nigerians endure severe economic hardship, the presidency operates with a level of detachment never seen in Nigeria’s corridors of power.

For how long will Nigerians endure a social contract that obviously does not have their interest at heart? For how long will Nigerians endure these escalating levels of anguish, poverty, inflation, and infrastructural decay? Schools just resumed, but millions of children are at home because their parents cannot afford their school fees. School owners increased school fees because they must pay bills and meet salary increases as demanded by the teachers.

Today, a primary concern for millions of families is basic nutrition. Yet, while the country grapples with food insecurity and extreme poverty, the President spent nearly a month abroad in major European capitals, distant from the inflation, gridlock, and everyday struggles facing the people.

The president’s absence highlights a deeper issue within the administration – he is impervious to the sufferings of Nigerians. For how long will Nigerians tolerate him? The government frequently asks citizens to make sacrifices for a better future, but the political elite rarely matches that rhetoric with their actions.

Public resources continue to fund large entourages, expensive vehicle fleets, luxurious renovations, and costly foreign travels. Data from the public expenditure tracking platform GovSpend shows that the presidency spent overN37.6 billion on travel-related expenses between June 2023 and early 2026. This includes massive allocations for foreign exchange purchases, maintaining the presidential air fleet, and funding unconstitutional offices like the Office of the First Lady, which consumed over N700 million in forex for foreign travels.

Governing an economy in crisis while allocating tens of billions to executive travel is simply wicked. The administration recently highlighted the signing of a $700 billion mining agreement with the United States on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly as a major economic success. However, a closer look reveals the gaps in the government’s economic strategy. The $700 billion figure is not an immediate cash investment or a direct economic rescue package. It is simply an official estimate of the potential value of Nigeria’s untapped solid minerals, such as lithium, gold, and iron ore, still buried underground.

Signing non-binding Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) in foreign capitals does little to address immediate economic challenges. While officials celebrate future resource exploitation, the domestic mining sector remains troubled by insecurity, unsafe conditions, and illegal operations that often escape government regulation. Relying on potential future revenues while ignoring current economic instability is unsustainable. Theoretical mineral wealth does not lower the price of food, stabilize a fluctuating currency, or provide immediate relief to families struggling to afford basic necessities.

The structural problems of the Renewed Hope agenda are further worsened by a severe fiscal crisis. According to available reports, Nigeria’s public debt reached N144.67 trillion by late 2024 and climbed to N159.28 trillion by 2025. As at June 30, it stood at N166.79 trillion according to the Debt Management Office. The prognosis does not look good. Aggressive domestic and external borrowing, combined with the sharp depreciation of the naira, has pushed the country into a corner where over 53.7% of federally retained revenue is swallowed by debt servicing.

This means virtually every naira earned by the government goes toward paying interest on loans, leaving core sectors like healthcare, education, and national security entirely dependent on further borrowing. Currently, Mr President is in talks with the World Bank to borrow another $1.5 billion. At the risk of sounding fatalistic, Nigeria is in trouble under President Bola Tinubu, but for how long?

For a democracy to function effectively, citizens must use their votes to demand accountability and bring this obnoxious social contract to a deserved end. Major opposition figures and political groups have criticized the administration’s reckless fiscal behaviour and poor economic management. They point out the contradiction of spending billions on executive travel while vital ministries, such as the Federal Ministry of Health, receive small fractions of their capital allocations in actual releases.

The opposition’s proposed economic alternatives focus on a shift from consumption and executive luxury to production and fiscal prudence. It sounds plausible, and we must give it a chance. With broken promises on all fronts, the current administration has failed abysmally to fulfil its part of the social contract, and Nigerians must walk away. Nobody’s political ambition is worth the lives of millions of Nigerians.

The upcoming 2027 general elections provide Nigerians with a constitutional opportunity to assess the current administration’s performance. Voting should look past ethnic, regional, or political ties, and focus instead on clear governance metrics – the reduction of poverty, the stability of the national currency, the affordability of fuel, and the accountability of leadership.

If an administration consistently prioritizes its own comfort over public service, voters have the responsibility to seek alternative leadership. Leaving a country in crisis for extended periods is a significant political misstep. When leaders isolate themselves from the daily realities of their citizens, they lose touch with the urgency needed to fix systemic issues.

As Martin Luther Jr. rightly observed, “unearned suffering is redemptive”. Nigerians have undeservedly suffered since 2023, and the redemptive process must start in 2027. The governance model under President Tinubu, marked by high spending, corruption, a reliance on borrowing, and a distance from local struggles, strains the relationship between the government and the public. As the country moves toward 2027, the choice for the electorate becomes clearer.

Continuing with the current path, the present marriage, risks further economic decline. Demanding change through the ballot box offers a chance to restore accountability, fiscal discipline, and responsible leadership. It is not up to the INEC to decide. It is not up to the judiciary to decide. It is for the impoverished, deprived, and misgoverned millions of Nigerians to decide.

social contract that has left Nigerians drained, bruised, and battered must end in 2027. We should not wait until we are all dead, eyeball to eyeball, buried in one grave, while the presidency celebrates.

*Adiele Ph.D is a commentator on public issues

An Open Letter To President Bola Ahmed Tinubu

2026-09-30T17:24:00.006+01:00

By Stephanie Shaakaa

Gboko, 24 September 2026

Mr. President,

I am writing to you from Gboko, where government is not experienced through communiqués or presidential briefings. People meet government when they go to the market, when they travel to the farm, when they pay school fees, when transport fares rise and when they have to decide which household expense can wait until next month.

*Tinubu and Macron

But that is not the whole story of what it means to live here.

I am also writing from a place where fear is not an abstract word. In Benue, news of another attack is no longer something people encounter only in newspaper reports. Communities have been attacked, families have lost relatives and farmers have been forced to think carefully about whether it is safe to return to their fields. On September 10 and 11, an attack on Ayilamo in Logo Local Government Area left four police officers and seven civilians dead. Four days later, two more police officers were killed in an ambush while returning to the same community.

So when I write to you from Gboko, I cannot write only about the price of food, the cost of transport or the hardship created by economic reforms. There is another question that sits underneath all of them: whether people are safe enough to live, work and farm in their own communities.

That is the country I am thinking about as I look at your latest stay in Paris.

There is nothing wrong with a Nigerian president travelling to France. Nigeria needs France, just as France needs Nigeria. We need diplomatic relationships, investment, technology, trade and cooperation with countries whose decisions can affect our interests. A president should be able to sit across the table from another head of state and negotiate for Nigeria.

But there is a question that ought to follow every presidential journey: what comes home with the President?

On September 18, French President Emmanuel Macron received you for a private dinner at the Élysée Palace. The Presidency described the meeting as reflecting the enduring relationship between Nigeria and France and a shared commitment to strengthening bilateral cooperation. You also met Vincent Bolloré in Paris, where his group announced plans to deepen its investment and localisation in Nigeria’s creative and digital economy, including film, entertainment and fibre-optic infrastructure.

Those are legitimate areas of engagement. But Nigerians should be allowed to ask what these meetings mean beyond the photographs and official descriptions. What commitments were made? What does Nigeria stand to gain? What obligations, if any, has Nigeria assumed? What should Nigerians expect to see from these conversations, and when?

What do you bring back for us after these meetings?

Those questions are not hostility to France. They are the ordinary questions citizens should ask of their government.

They are even more reasonable because Paris has become one of the most frequent destinations of your presidency. The PUNCH reported this month that you had spent more than 270 days abroad since assuming office, on 51 trips covering at least 30 countries, with more than 50 days spent in Paris across official, working and private visits.

The number alone does not prove that every journey was unnecessary. Your administration has maintained that you continue to receive briefings, issue directives and oversee government while abroad. The Presidency has described the current European stay as a working vacation and has pointed to official engagements conducted during it.

But governing is not only the ability to issue instructions from another country.

There is a difference between being informed about Nigeria and being physically present in the country whose problems you are being briefed about.

That difference matters.

From Gboko, the question is not whether the President is permitted to travel. Of course he is. The question is whether the frequency and length of those absences are proportionate to the condition of the country he leads and the sacrifices Nigerians are being asked to make.

And this is where the picture from Paris becomes difficult to separate from the picture at home.

At the Élysée Palace, there was a table laid for a presidential dinner, polished glasses, fine surroundings and two heads of state seated together in one of France’s most important rooms. In Nigeria, displaced families are still struggling with food, shelter and the basic necessities of life after losing their homes.

The contrast does not mean that the President should not sit down to dinner with the French President. It means that a country should be able to look at both pictures at the same time. One shows Nigeria represented at the highest level of international diplomacy. The other shows Nigerians who need their own government to remember what life looks like when a person has lost the security of home.

A presidential dinner can last a few hours. Hunger does not keep diplomatic time. For a displaced family, an empty plate is not a metaphor, and there is no communiqué that can make it less empty.

The table in Paris is important. So is the Nigerian who has no table at all.

And while Nigeria is being represented abroad, Nigerians at home are asking a more immediate question: will we be safe tomorrow?

That question deserves the attention of the presidency as much as any foreign investment deal does.

Nigeria was never a French colony. That history matters, not because Nigeria should keep France at arm’s length, but because it should remind us of the basis on which the two countries meet: sovereignty.

We should trade with France. We should welcome French investment where it serves Nigerian interests. We should cooperate with France on security, culture, technology and diplomacy. We should also disagree with France whenever Nigeria’s interests require disagreement.

A sovereign country should be able to do all of that without the psychology of dependence.

Our relationship with France should therefore be a relationship between countries with interests to negotiate, not between a former colony and a former colonial power. Nigeria does not need to approach Paris with reverence. It needs to approach Paris with clarity about what Nigeria wants.

And whatever is negotiated in Paris in Nigeria’s name should eventually be understandable to Nigerians at home.

That is where transparency becomes important.

The Presidency has told Nigerians what happened at the Macron dinner. It has told us about the meeting with Bolloré and the investment interests discussed there. But an official account is not the same thing as public accountability. Where important national interests are involved, Nigerians deserve to know enough to understand what their government has agreed to pursue on their behalf.

This becomes particularly important in a presidency that has asked Nigerians to accept painful economic changes

The petrol subsidy was removed. The naira was allowed to adjust sharply. Transportation costs rose. Food prices became harder for ordinary households to absorb. Businesses were forced to confront higher operating costs. Your administration has argued that these reforms were necessary to correct structural weaknesses and put the economy on a more sustainable footing.

That argument can be made.

But the people making the sacrifice are entitled to ask what the sacrifice is producing.

A family in Gboko does not experience economic reform as a policy paper. It experiences it when the same amount of money buys less food, when transport consumes a larger part of household income and when a young person with qualifications still cannot find work.

If Nigerians are being asked to endure the immediate pain of reform in anticipation of a better future, government must be prepared to show them the road from one to the other.

Otherwise, what exactly was the sacrifice for?

The same principle applies to the continuing dispute in the United States over access to investigative records involving you. Your legal team has challenged the release of records sought through a Freedom of Information Act case, while the Presidency has stressed that the proceedings are a civil records-disclosure dispute and that no US court has found you guilty of criminal wrongdoing.

That distinction matters and should not be erased.

An allegation is not a conviction. A record is not automatically proof of wrongdoing. A court dispute over access to documents should not be presented as though it were itself a criminal judgment.

But transparency has another side.

When questions about a public official persist, citizens are entitled to ask whether as much information as the law permits should be available to them. Public confidence is not strengthened merely by telling people that a matter is complicated. It is strengthened when the facts that can lawfully be disclosed are placed beyond unnecessary doubt.

The same standard should apply to public contracts, government honours and access to state opportunities.

Whenever the government gives an individual or corporation a significant public benefit, Nigerians should be able to ask what due diligence was conducted, what qualifications justified the decision and what the country received in return. That is not an attack on business or investment. It is what accountability looks like when public resources and public institutions are involved.

Mr. President, this is why I am writing from Gboko.

The concern is larger than Paris.

It is about the relationship between the places where presidential decisions are made and the places where Nigerians have to live with their consequences.

Here, insecurity is not a line in a briefing. It is the community wondering whether another attack will come. It is the farmer calculating whether returning to his field is worth the risk. It is the family that hears the news of another killing and wonders how long before its own community is mentioned.

Here, economic reform is not a policy argument on television. It is the household trying to make the same income stretch further.

Here, unemployment is not merely a statistic. It is the young graduate who has spent years looking for a job and is beginning to wonder whether there is any place for his education in the country.

These are realities that official reports can describe but cannot fully convey.

You may conduct government from abroad. You may meet presidents, investors and international business leaders there. Some of those meetings may produce agreements that eventually benefit Nigeria. That is precisely why Nigerians should insist on knowing what those agreements contain and how their benefits will reach the country.

The world will continue to invite the Nigerian President. Paris will continue to receive you. Investors will continue to request meetings. Foreign governments will continue to seek Nigeria’s attention because Nigeria matters.

But none of those audiences is the final audience of your presidency.

That audience is here.

It is in Gboko and Makurdi, Kano and Maiduguri, Lagos and Enugu, Port Harcourt and Kaduna. It is the Nigerian who wakes up every morning and has no choice but to live with the consequences of what government decides.

Mr. President, you do not need to stop travelling.

You need to make every journey answerable to the people whose country you are travelling on behalf of.

Engage France. Engage Europe. Engage America. Bring investment home. Negotiate firmly. Build partnerships. Open markets. Pursue opportunities

But do not allow the foreign capitals where Nigeria’s President is received to become more familiar to the presidency than the Nigerian communities where the consequences of presidential decisions are endured.

The people of Gboko do not have the luxury of stepping away from Nigeria when things become difficult. They stay. They work. They struggle. They adjust. They wait.

They are entitled to expect the government that asks them for patience to remain close enough to understand what that patience is costing them.

Nigeria is a sovereign country. Its resources belong to its people, and its institutions are supposed to work for the public. Those principles should not become less important because the President is dealing with foreign governments, investors or powerful individuals.

The presidency, too, exists because of the Nigerian people. It should never become so removed from their daily reality that the country being governed begins to look different from the country being represented abroad.

Whatever is discussed in Paris, whatever is negotiated abroad and whatever is committed in the name of Nigeria must eventually be capable of being explained to Nigerians.

That is not too much to ask.

It is the minimum owed to the people whose country you lead.

From Gboko, that is the question I leave with you:

After all the journeys, all the meetings and all the conversations abroad, can Nigerians still see themselves clearly in the government being conducted in their name?

Nigeria belongs to Nigerians.

Please govern accordingly

*Shaakaa is a commentator on public issues

The Case For Renaming My State Capital (Port Harcourt)

2026-09-29T17:16:44.140+01:00

By Donu Kogbara

This thought-provoking and slightly edited article, which first appeared in a publication called NewAfrican, was written by my friend and former BBC boss Onyekachi Wambu, a distinguished London-based author and filmmaker.

Why do we continue to cling to the colonial names bestowed on our towns and cities? We do this even when the officials after whom these names given later disgraced themselves. The issue around Port Harcourt is a classic test case.

What would you do if one of your most important cities was named after a paedophile? Change the name, surely, or continue wearing it as a sordid badge of honour?

I asked that same question in the November 2015 issue of New African

(Harcourt Must Fall. – Free Online Library) about Port Harcourt, my birthplace, capital of Rivers State, and the important oil city of the Niger Delta. Remarkably, eleven years later, Port Harcourt is still there. Now Kio Amachree, an Old Etonian, a Kalabari (an Ijaw subgroup) son of the Delta and indefatigable anti-corruption campaigner, has taken up the cause. Amachree has written repeatedly demanding that Rivers State remove the name of Lewis Vernon Harcourt, the British Colonial Secretary, after whom Frederick Lugard, British imperialist and first Governor General of modern Nigeria, named the new port in 1913.

The history is almost comical in its colonial arrogance. Lugard wrote that, “in the absence of any convenient local name”, he wished to call it Port Harcourt. Yet local names existed. Indeed, Lugard’s own correspondence referred to Diobu or Iguocha. Harcourt, who never visited Nigeria, graciously replied that it gave him pleasure to have his name attached to the port. Some pleasure. More than a century later his name remains attached to one of Nigeria’s great cities.

And who was Harcourt? A Colonial Secretary from 1910 to 1915 and a man whose sexual behaviour towards the young was notorious within his social circle. Historical accounts record allegations involving both girls and boys. Harcourt died in 1922 after taking an overdose of sleeping medication, amid rumours of suicide as allegations concerning his abuse of one child threatened to become public. But Nigeria, which owes Harcourt absolutely nothing, continues to honour him. Why?

Amachree’s recent campaign identifies something even more disturbing than a colonial hangover. Local communities who know the name should go cannot agree upon what should replace it. The Ikwerre people have their claims and names. The Okrika and other Ijaw communities have theirs. Arguments over Iguocha and other competing historical claims quickly become arguments over ownership, indigeneity and ethnicity.

And so, disgracefully, the competing groups achieve the one result none presumably intends: Harcourt wins. The dead English aristocrat remains on his pedestal because living Nigerians cannot agree who should replace him.

Amachree’s sensible proposal is therefore to separate the two questions. First decide whether Harcourt deserves the honour. Remove the name. Then debate the replacement. Why should agreement on the second question be a prerequisite for doing the obviously necessary first, he asks? There is something here which goes far beyond Rivers State.

It symbolises a peculiar African stasis. We complain about colonial inheritances, yet when the moment comes to replace them we sometimes discover that an African alternative requires agreement between Africans – and that proves more difficult than leaving the European inheritance untouched. The wider country, Nigeria itself, offers the grandest example.

English remains the official language, not because Nigerians lack languages of their own, but because choosing one indigenous language nationally would immediately raise profound questions among a country containing hundreds of languages and powerful competing ethnic identities. The colonial language consequently becomes the supposedly neutral meeting ground.

Even the country’s name follows us from colonial rule. ‘Nigeria’ was proposed in 1897 by British journalist Flora Shaw, girlfriend, and later the wife of Frederick Lugard, as a convenient designation for Britain’s territories around the Niger.

There is an extraordinary irony here.

Lugard could find “no convenient local name” for Port Harcourt, so an Englishman’s name survived. Nigeria cannot readily substitute English with an agreed indigenous national language, so English survives. And the country itself continues under a name devised in London for administrative convenience.

This lack of seriousness was itself challenged in 1959 by the great activist and social reformer, Tai Solarin, who suggested a change of name for Nigeria as the country edged towards independence on October 1, 1960. Recalling how the Gold Coast next door was rebranded with the name of a great West African empire, he wanted Nigeria to be called Sabo-Songhai. Sabo means new in Hausa.

According to him, “The name ‘Nigeria’ is a twin brother (or sister) of the word ‘Nïgger’ and the fumes are too suffocating. I therefore suggest that as soon as possible after October 1, 1960, we have our rebirth in the compound name, ‘Sabo-Songhai.’

Of course, as we know, nothing happened. The problem in Nigeria is no longer simply what Europeans imposed. After more than 60 years of independence, the question is what Africans choose to retain.

In the case of Port Harcourt, Amachree has particular standing in making that challenge. He invokes his father’s involvement in the struggles surrounding independence and the creation of Rivers State, and now campaigns relentlessly against what he regards as the corruption and institutional paralysis afflicting Nigeria.

His Port Harcourt campaign therefore asks a deceptively simple challenge to his people? Can Rivers State agree on nothing except inaction? He agrees that the Ikwerre, Ijaw, Okrika, Kalabari and everybody else should argue passionately about the eventual name. That argument belongs to them and should be settled by them.

But Harcourt does not. The truly humiliating outcome would be for every community to agree that Lewis Harcourt has no business possessing their capital, yet remain so divided that they continue honouring him indefinitely.

My 2015 article ended by asking why Nigeria continued to keep Harcourt on his pedestal. Eleven years later, Kio Amachree is pressing the same point. Perhaps the greater scandal now is not that the British put Harcourt there. It is that Nigerians still cannot agree on how to take him down. Exposing, in its own small way, how they were conquered in the first place.

*Kogbara is a commentator on public issues

Is Rivers State Wike’s Cattle Ranch?

2026-09-28T12:21:34.104+01:00

By Ugoji Egbujo

Wike is boastful. The temptation is to take his claims with a pinch of salt. But unlike other loud and garrulous politicians, friends and foes alike say it is perilous to ignore Wike’s rants, even when he sounds inebriated. Who would have believed he was bred by a pastor? He is brash and ferocious. And outstandingly cunning.

*Wike

On television a few days ago, Wike claimed that the G5—a flock of former governors he shepherds—made Tinubu president. This latest chest-beating was provoked by governors of the ruling party, who all but labelled him a political chameleon: hiding under a rainbow flag to trumpet support for Tinubu while sabotaging the larger APC in furtherance of his personal ambitions.

They accused him of sponsoring candidates of other parties against those of the ruling party, perhaps with resources from his parasitic relationship with the federal government. Wike’s coat of many colours, they warned, would confuse their voters. That was a polite way of telling Tinubu that the romance was selfish, not for the good of the party.

In an attempt to prove the usefulness of that duplicity, and to dismiss the charge of voter confusion, Wike described a dubious horse trade which critics heard as a confession that he rigged the 2023 elections. He said they used Obi to stop Atiku. In his words: we allowed Obi to take Edo. We allowed him to take Cross River. In Rivers, we said No. We stopped him because it would send the wrong message. So we delivered Rivers to Tinubu.

In 2023 , Yiaga Africa and the EU observer mission reported massive electoral malpractices in Rivers. The BBC said its tally of INEC results, drawn from polling-unit sheets display on Irev, showed Obi winning the state by a wide margin—contrary to the official declaration. So how did Wike stop Obi in Rivers?Why didn’t Wike stop Obi in Lagos?

It was in Rivers that a BBC investigation found that the collation officer for Oyigbo LGA who submitted false figures to INEC was an impostor. The man, one Dr Ariaga, presented himself as a lecturer at the Federal College of Education, Omoku. Live at collation, he announced APC (Tinubu): 16,630 and LP (Obi): 10,784. The BBC’s tabulation of the same INEC sheets gave Tinubu – 2,731 and Obi – 22,289. Dr Ariaga multiplied Tinubu’s votes by six and more than halved Obi’s. That was one local government. That was how Obi was “stopped” in Rivers.

In the states Wike claims he gifted Obi, Obi was already miles ahead on the polls. His simplicity and philosophy of prudence had captured the imagination of the young across the country. The South-South and the South-East were his surest bets. So perhaps Wike “gifted” him those states only by refraining from the kind of gross manipulation that took place in Rivers. He gave Obi Edo by allowing votes to count.

The governors of the ruling party know their victory in Rivers was a ruse. They are not falling for the tales, or for the rainbow mathematics, because it fetched Tinubu no genuine votes. They know how the party was declared winner in Rivers. And now that they have fuller control of INEC, they no longer need an outsider’s genius for forging outcomes.

Back to Rivers. So the state is not Wike’s ranch after all. The electorate is not his herd. If thugs and policemen had not gone through Obio/Akpor and other places snatching ballot boxes and writing fake results, Wike would not be talking about G5 strategy and rainbow arithmetic today. The poor masses have done their bit.

The people of Rivers are fed up with state capture. That was why, when Fubara showed even a flicker of manliness, they rallied round him—though they knew he had the spine of a puppet. The freedom did not last. The state and its institutions failed them. The powers in Abuja would rather keep Rivers in the pocket of a political merchant.

If elections could be guaranteed free, fair and credible, Wike would not even bother campaigning. The problem is not the ignorance of the electorate. Last time, they didn’t even sell their votes. The votes were stolen. The people know they are in bondage. The bondage Fubara sketched when he dared to yelp.

Wike may treat the people like cattle and speak of their mandate as if they were his bondservants, but it won’t be for long. The stranglehold is not magic. It is facilitated by a compromised INEC and a pliant judiciary. Add a reputation for ruthlessness. That is still not all. The ultimate enabler is elite apathy.

Rivers is not alone in this affliction. Most states across the country have fallen into the hands of cowboys who, with public funds and state’s coercive force, can buy or bully almost anyone into submission.

The situation is only thrown into bold relief here because Wike is as cunning as he is brutal, and because Rivers has a ton of cash. Without moral stamina, in an atmosphere where all that matters is the short-term calculation, the elite who should be the bulwark against the nonsense queue behind him to swallow his droppings. Filled with those droppings, they brag about belonging. All hail the leader.

All hail the leader. Every month, journalists sit at his feet to gulp gibberish and, gossiping, ask him inane questions. At their next outing, they will let him lie about how he gifted Obi Edo, Delta and Cross River, and they will smile knowingly in admiration of another wonder. The elite are culpable. The only public corrective jolt he has ever received was from a young soldier. The political landscape is full of charlatans, but this man’s growing influence is bound to leave a lasting disastrous impact on the political culture.

Hear him again: in Rivers we said No. We stopped him. Because it would send the wrong message. We gave it to Tinubu.

All hail the leader. The riverine god of small things.

*Dr. Egbujo is a commentator on public issues

Peter Obi: Let's Begin To Give Dignity To Human Lives In Our Land

2026-09-25T19:35:39.205+01:00

The death of 37 persons in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Minna, Niger State, is a deeply troubling tragedy that demands urgent answers.

These were persons who had been arrested as suspects. Whatever offence they were suspected of committing, they were still human beings, and the responsibility of the State was to keep them alive, safe, and treated humanely while due process took its course.

It is particularly disturbing that so many people could die within a place of detention in such a short period. While investigations are ongoing into the actual cause of these deaths, including reports concerning disease, overcrowding, and inadequate ventilation, Nigerians deserve a transparent, independent, and credible investigation that establishes exactly what happened.

This tragedy also reminds us that security is not merely about arresting people. Security is about protecting lives, upholding the dignity of every citizen, and ensuring that the institutions entrusted with our safety operate within the law.

A nation cannot claim to value human life when people can enter government custody alive and emerge dead without immediate, transparent, and credible accountability.

I extend my deepest condolences to the families of the deceased and urge the authorities to ensure that justice is done. Nigeria must become a country where the rule of law protects every citizen, not only those who are free but also those who are in custody.

May God grant the families the strength to bear this painful loss.

Peter Obi: On The Anambra Debt Question

2026-09-25T19:30:14.751+01:00

*Peter Obi and Charles Soludo
I have remained silent over the past few days because I have been grieving the loss of my very dear elder brother and friend, Chief Okey Ezeibe. However, the time has come for me to address some of the matters that have occupied public discussion in recent days.

I respectfully urge everyone to concentrate on the existential challenges confronting Nigeria and the hardships endured by its citizens, rather than on the needless distractions that have become widespread in our politics.

I wish to assure the public that I have no disagreement with my dear elder brother, Governor Soludo, or with any governor in Nigeria. I am not seeking the office of governor in any state, and I will not seek that position again, even if the Constitution is amended.

Accordingly, I appeal to governors to support whichever presidential candidate they choose while also permitting and assisting other presidential candidates and contenders for other offices to campaign freely and without interruption in their states. Ultimately, voters should be allowed to determine whom they wish to serve them.

Regarding the multilateral funding inaccurately described as “debt owed by Peter Obi” in Anambra State, I wish to state unequivocally:

As Governor of Anambra State, I did not approach any financial institution to borrow funds or issue a bond on behalf of the state. Indeed, at his farewell ceremony, the then Director-General of the DMO, Abraham Nwankwo, appointed me chairman and declared that, during his 10 years in office, I was the only state governor who had not approached him for a loan facility.

When I left office, the Anambra State Government owed no unpaid salaries, gratuities, or pensions. Neither did it owe any contractor or supplier who had completed work that the government had verified and certified.

Regarding development financing from the World Bank, these are concessionary development-support funds secured by the Federal Government for states selected by it to address specific needs. Repayment is spread over 25 to 30 years.

The Anambra State Government must therefore differentiate among three separate figures: the total amount approved for the multiyear development program; the amount Anambra State actually drew during my tenure; and the funding balance outstanding when I handed over on 17 March 2014.

The government has combined these distinct categories, added them together, and described the resulting US$123.77 million as “loans left by Peter Obi.” That is an incorrect application of public-sector accounting.

The eight facilities identified were primarily World Bank and IFAD development programs negotiated by the Federal Government, with participating states receiving access to the funds through subsidiary arrangements. They were not conventional commercial loans that I personally secured during my tenure.

This does not suggest that Anambra had no repayment responsibilities; rather, each facility must be examined in light of its approval, effectiveness, drawdown, and repayment record.

The clearest contradiction appears in the government’s own figures. It states that the original facilities amounted to approximately US$123.77 million and that US$92.35 million remained outstanding in June 2026. However, the DMO’s published records showed Anambra’s total external debt at approximately US$18 million when I began my tenure in March 2006, about US$30 million in March 2014, when I left office, and approximately US$45.15 million as of 31 December 2014, nine months after my departure.

The Anambra State Government must therefore clarify how a state whose recorded external debt was about US$30 million in March 2014 and US$45.15 million in December 2014 could supposedly have inherited US$123.77 million from Peter Obi, who left office in March of that same year.

On the day I left office, I left more than US$150 million as the dollar component of my investment in Anambra State as governor. I hereby provide documents that can be verified with the various banks. Had it remained untouched, this investment was expected to provide Anambra State with approximately US$10 million in annual income.

Even if their assertion were accurate—which it is not—that Anambra owed US$123 million, the government could have used the US$10 million generated annually from my savings to reduce the debt. It has now been 13 years since I left office, which would amount to US$130 million. The debt should have been fully settled by now.

Had they retained the funds I left in the bank, including the compound interest on the principal and the additional income, the total would be approximately US$335 million today. If they had chosen to repay the US$92.35 million funding, the entire amount would have been covered, leaving approximately US$242 million to be reinvested. That sum would have generated about US$20 million annually for Anambra State.

Let me reiterate that, when I left office, I left Anambra State in a strong financial position—the strongest of any state in Nigeria—and I stand by that position.

Through this clarification, I wish to state categorically that I will neither engage nor trade words with anyone regarding my tenure in Anambra State. My focus will now be on issues affecting the suffering Nigerian masses, which is the reason for my presidential ambition.

A new Nigeria is POssible.

*Peter Obi is the presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC)

Lagos Pollution Is Becoming A Public Health Crisis

2026-09-25T16:11:50.121+01:00

By Bertram Nwannekanma

For millions of Lagos residents, pollution is something they encounter every day without necessarily seeing it.

It is in the exhaust fumes that hang over a busy road during rush hour. It is in the smoke from a generator powering a shop, office or home. It rises from refuse being burnt in a neighbourhood. It comes from construction sites, industrial facilities and poorly maintained vehicles. And unlike a dirty canal or overflowing dumpsite, there is often nowhere to point to and say: this is the pollution.
Yet Lagos residents breathe it all the same.That is what makes air pollution different from many other environmental threats confronting the state. Nobody can choose not to breathe. A resident may avoid a polluted canal, refuse to live beside a dumpsite or decide not to drink contaminated water. But wherever he lives, works or travels, he must breathe the air around him.

For Lagos, one of Africa’s most densely populated and economically active cities, that makes air quality more than an environmental statistic. It is increasingly a public-health concern.

The World Health Organisation identifies air pollution as a major health risk, with fine particulate matter capable of penetrating deep into the lungs and, in the case of the smallest particles, entering the bloodstream. Prolonged exposure has been associated with cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, stroke and lung cancer.

The challenge is that some of the most dangerous pollutants are invisible.

A heap of refuse can be seen. Noise can be heard. Dirty water may be recognised by its appearance or smell. But microscopic particles suspended in the air can enter the human body without warning.

This is why monitoring matters.

The Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA) has increasingly incorporated air-quality monitoring into its environmental regulatory responsibilities, providing Air Quality Index information to indicate conditions in different parts of the state.

In 2025, LASEPA, working with partners including the University of Lagos, the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) and AirQo, brought stakeholders together to validate a Pan-Sectoral Air Quality Management Action Plan for Lagos State. The emphasis on a pan-sectoral approach is important because Lagos cannot clean up its air through environmental regulation alone.

A city that runs on combustion
The sources of pollution are woven into the everyday life of the megacity. Transport contributes to emissions. So do generators, industrial operations, construction, waste burning and other combustion activities.

In August 2025, LASEPA’s General Manager, Dr Babatunde Ajayi, said vehicular emissions accounted for an estimated 70 per cent of the choking smog affecting Lagos. He also disclosed that more than 12,000 vehicles had been checked under the state’s emissions-control efforts during the year.

The figures raise a larger question: what kind of city does Lagos want to become as its population, traffic and economic activities continue to expand?
It is difficult to separate the quality of the air from the quality of the city’s transportation system.

A poorly maintained vehicle that belches smoke into a traffic queue is not merely a nuisance to the driver behind it. The fumes are inhaled by pedestrians, roadside traders, traffic officials, transport workers and other motorists.

The same is true of thousands of generators running simultaneously because homes and businesses need alternative sources of electricity. Every unnecessary hour spent idling in traffic has an environmental cost. Every vehicle emitting excessive smoke adds to the burden. Every open-air fire releases pollutants into an atmosphere shared by everyone in the neighbourhood.

This is why the fight for cleaner air cannot be reduced to enforcement exercises. It must also involve better public transport, improved traffic management, cleaner energy, stronger emissions standards and more efficient urban planning.

The power of data
Perhaps the most important change in Lagos’ approach is the growing recognition that pollution must be measured before it can be effectively controlled.

For years, environmental policy in many developing cities has been constrained by inadequate data. Authorities may know that pollution exists, but without reliable measurements, it becomes difficult to determine its concentration, sources, trends and impact. Air-quality monitoring stations and sensors therefore serve a purpose far beyond producing an index on a website. They can help identify pollution hotspots, establish patterns and provide evidence for regulatory decisions.

Instead of merely asking whether there is smoke in a particular location, authorities can begin asking more precise questions: What pollutant is present? Where is it concentrated? At what time does it peak? What is its likely source? Which communities are most exposed? And what intervention would produce the greatest improvement?

Those questions are essential in a city as complex as Lagos. They are also important because exposure is not evenly distributed. The trader who spends 10 hours beside a congested road does not experience the same environment as someone who drives past the same road in an air-conditioned vehicle.

A traffic officer standing beside a busy junction, a bus driver navigating Lagos’ notorious congestion and a child playing near a heavily trafficked road may all experience different levels of exposure.

Air pollution is therefore also an issue of inequality. Those with the fewest options to escape polluted environments may be the ones carrying the greatest burden.
From enforcement to consciousness

LASEPA’s regulatory role remains critical. Facilities that violate emissions standards must be held accountable, just as vehicle owners whose cars release excessive smoke should understand that the problem goes beyond the condition of their engines.
But enforcement alone cannot produce lasting behavioural change. Clean air must become a shared responsibility.

Lagos residents should eventually become as familiar with the Air Quality Index as they are with weather forecasts. Schools should understand when outdoor activities could expose children unnecessarily. Industries should regard emissions compliance as a normal cost of doing business, not an inconvenience imposed by regulators.

Transport operators must recognise that vehicle maintenance is also an environmental responsibility.

Government, meanwhile, must continue investing in reliable monitoring while making air-quality information easier for ordinary residents to understand and use.

The wider policy choices matter too
Cleaner buses, stricter emissions testing, improved traffic flow, controls on industrial pollution, discouragement of open burning and a gradual transition towards cleaner energy should not be treated simply as climate-change aspirations. They are public-health interventions.

The ultimate measure of success, therefore, should not only be the number of vehicles tested, facilities sanctioned or monitoring stations installed. It should be whether the air that enters the lungs of millions of Lagosians is becoming cleaner.

There is a tendency to measure environmental progress by what the eye can see: cleaner streets, better drainage, greener spaces and improved landscapes. But perhaps one of Lagos’ most important environmental achievements will be something nobody can see.

Cleaner air leaves no monument. It builds no bridge. It cuts no ribbon. But every Lagosian breathes its benefits.

*Nwannekanma is a Lagos based journalist.

Rising Fuel Prices And Insensitivity To The Peoples’ Plight

2026-09-25T15:25:41.350+01:00

By Adekunle Adekoya

Again, I am still on the matter of rising prices of fuel energy, particularly petrol, which is heading towards N1,500, automotive gas oil, AGO or diesel, which is heading towards N2,000, and cooking gas, which is selling at above N22,000 for a 12.5 kilogramme cylinder. That sold for N3,500 BC, Before Change in 2015.

It is trite to begin to repeat how the rising prices of these fuels have inflicted a cost of living crisis on all of us. There are very few Nigerians left who are able to save for the rainy day; almost all of us spend everything we earn on food, transportation, and accommodation.

As things stand, the more fortunate among us are those with kongi (extremely strong) make-up, who don’t fall sick. It now costs a fortune to treat ordinary malaria or typhoid fever. If you come down with anything more serious than that, you’d probably need crowd-funding to meet healthcare costs.

As if these are normal, some not so normal people keep defending the deleterious effects of these policies as if they live in outer space where things are cheaper and only fly in to work here. Many of them, particularly government appointees, keep using metrics from saner climes to explain why we should suffocate to death. But we must remind them that they are damned wrong; as the conditions are not the same at all.

The only thing common to us and the countries they are fond of referring to is that we also have crude oil. The major difference between us and these countries is what their leaders used their oil wealth to achieve, versus what could not be done here. Let’s take some samplers:

As at now one litre of fuel in Iran costs the equivalent of N38.

In Lybya, one litre of fuel sells at the equivalent of N32.

Saudi Arabia, where both leaders and followers troop to for pilgrimage, one litre sells at the equivalent of N823.

Comparatively, minimum wage in Iran is the equivalent of N165,000, while in Libya it is about N210,000.

In Saudi Arabia, minimum wage is the equivalent of N1.4 million.

We all know how much minimum wage is here, comparatively, a paltry N70,000.

Let’s take it further: minimumwage in Iran will buy 4,342 litres and in Libya will buy 6,562 litres.

In Saudi Arabia, the minimum wage will buy 1,700 litres.

All four countries referred to here, alongside Nigeria are all oil producing nations.

In the four countries aforementioned, there is no road uncompleted like the East-West Road. Also, they don’t have a road like the Benin By-Pass on which travelers spend three days for a journey that should take no more than six hours.

In those countries too, their citizens do not suffer electric power outages as we do here; neither do they routinely go abroad for medical treatment. Schools are running, hospitals have drugs and doctors. While they each have issues they are contending with, they have managed successfully to insulate the masses of their people from the deleterious effects of these issues.

Here, we remain exposed to everything.

It is worth repeating that despite the damages suffered by Iran as a result of the conflict with US/Israel, life is still predictable for most Iranians. Despite fears of aerial bombings and rocket as well as drone attacks, children are going to school and hospitals continue to function normally.

Right now, nobody knows who is in charge of Libya since Gaddafi was ousted and killed. But the joke is on Nigeria and her peoples as thousands of Nigerians are working in that country virtually as slaves. Have you heard that the daughter of the woman next door, who has not been seen in the neighborhood for months is now a “shagallah” in Libya, or other Arabian Emirates like Omañ, or Kuwait? Or that many more of our youths are planning to “japa” to these countries to b come shagallah?

I am not saying all the issues that cumulated to what we are seeing today began with the current administration. No. The issue is that this government campaigned with the Renewed Hope slogan. From day one, May 29, 2023, it was anything but renewed hope. In fact, most Nigerians are currently wallowing in renewed hopelessness. Insecurity has worsened, and the economy is now working in favour of the common man. That is the issue. What we hoped to see since May 29,2023 was redoubled efforts to improve our lot, not what we are going through now, which is the reverse of what we hoped for

This is what triggered the promise of a section of the political class to return to subsidy if it wins next year’s election.

Whether that was wise or not is not the issue at the moment; what is clear is that we, the people of Nigeria need lifelines, and now. The Almighty US, with the largest economy in the world, operates 14 different types of subsidies. Why should ours be different?

Going forward, government and its leaders must stop being insensitive to our plight. In this election season, it is insouciant to continue carrying on as if all is normal. No, sirs; things are not normal with us and the ruling party and its cohorts must do everything possible to restore normalcy. No be so?

*Adekoya is a commentator on public issues