My Dangerous Encounter With T. B. Joshua

By Justus Nwakanma

Whatever you are going to read in this piece happened. I am putting this up in a very simple narrative that people will understand. I am not publishing this to condemn anybody or to praise anybody. 

*T. B. Joshua 

Every child of God owes it a duty to narrate his experiences to encourage others on this pilgrimage called life. 

I will keep the names of some of my senior editors and colleagues secret as I have no permission to use their names here. But many of them are my friends on Facebook and may be reading this piece.

From Buhari To Tinubu: Under-50 Disasters In Government

 By Adekunle Adekoya

A fortnight ago, I started this column lamenting that we always have one issue to contend with all the time. I had wanted to vent my anger on power supply providers, the ones we call DisCos here, following weeks of uninterrupted blackout in many parts of the country. 

*Tinubu and Buhari 

Then news of the well-choreographed killings in Plateau State broke. We all lamented the failures of a reactive, rather than proactive security architecture that failed, time and again, to anticipate and prevent the marauders from achieving their evil objectives.

As our leaders were mouthing the usual rhetoric about the Plateau killings, convincing very few of us that action will be taken to prevent recurrences, Betta Edu happened to Nigeria.

A memo, said to have been signed by the suspended minister directing payment of more than N585 million into a private account ruled the internet for days and dominated conversations on many platforms. Earlier, as we all know, the CEO of the National Social Intervention Programme, Halima Shehu had been suspended to pave way for investigations into how N44 billion of the agency’s funds found its way into private accounts.

To complete the picture, former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Poverty Alleviation and Disaster Management, Sadiyya Umar Farouq became a guest of the EFCC over some N37 billion of the ministry’s money that had vanished. 

My commentary will begin from the demographic angle. Please take note that Sadiyya Umar Farouq is the eldest of the trio, born in 1974. Halima Shehu was born in 1978, while Betta Edu was born in 1986, a confirmed millennial. By the way, millennials are people born between 1981 and 1996. None of the three is 50 years old yet, though Sadiyya will hit that milestone next November. By their conduct in office, they have sent the wrong signals and did incalculable damage to the school of thought that believes that Nigeria’s problems have to do with the old and ageing class of leaders that have refused to let go.

Once now and then, a president incubates a magician that is presented to the rest of us as a minister. Buhari had at least two of them. One tried to conjure a national carrier for us out of the thinnest air in Nigeria. The other, of course, is Sadiyya. If she isn’t a magician, how did she spend more than N500 million to feed schoolchildren who were in their parents’ houses during the COVID-19 lockdown? Another magical feat was how her ministry trained 177 youths on smartphone repairs, and spent N5.9 billion on that. I thought that N5.9 billion could be spent to open a factory or two that will manufacture smartphones!

It is somewhat surprising that Betta Edu could commit the offence she was accused of. What happened to her mind if education is what remained after one has forgotten what was learnt? She had been a cabinet commissioner in Cross River State, and must have been conversant with the proper procedures when it comes to spending government money. 

Or she was freewheeling on Cross River money and blind eyes were turned? Beats me how a beautiful, trained medical doctor could self-destruct this way. She could as well be one of Tinubu’s magicians, afterall she was said to have approved N2.5 million as air travel expenses for an aide to a state that has no airport. Was she trying to conjure an airport for the state?

I am equally disturbed by Halima Shehu’s predicament, given her educational background and work experience as a banker. At Inter-City Bank where she worked for about a decade, she  served as  Audit and Internal Control officer, among other duties. What happened to her experience when she came to work for government?

From their backgrounds, these women knew the right things to do, just simply opted to do what they wanted.

To the Federal Government and President Bola Tinubu, it’s reforms time. I propose that the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Poverty Alleviation and Disaster Management be scrapped without delay. My reasons are simple: there has been nothing humanitarian about that ministry since Buhari created it. 

The conditional cash transfer programme of the ministry was a failure, even from conception. What can N5,000 do for anybody in Nigeria, even before subsidy removal, not to talk of now. It is simply wasteful, and besides, unjust as nobody knows the criteria by which beneficiaries were chosen. 

What is worse is that the ministry seems to have become the ATM machine of some vested interests. Want some millions? So a proposal and take there. In addition, the ministry has failed to alleviate poverty; there is no initiative of this ministry that has the interest of masses at heart. But it has generated the disasters that these women have become. The ministry should be scrapped before it generates more disasters. 

*Adekoya is a commentator on public issues

Betta Edu And The Crime Scene Called Nigeria

 By Ikechukwu Amaechi

Dr Betta Edu, the vivacious and chirpy politician from Cross River State, must be introspecting now. Just yesterday, she had the world at her feet, literally, and Nigeria was her oyster, where, it seemed, she could achieve anything she wished.

*Betta Edu and Bola Tinubu

And she achieved a lot. Born October 27, 1986, Betta chalked up incredible attainments in only 37 years. Right from the time she completed her secondary education in 2001 at the Federal Government Girls College, Calabar and obtained her first degree in medicine and surgery from the University of Calabar in 2009, her rise to super stardom has been incredible.

How 2023 Will Affect Nigeria’s Political Stability For Decades

By Olu Fasan

Nigerians, it seems, have moved on from the political events of 2023. Some are already talking about, others planning for, 2027. But the thoughtful and perceptive will not easily forget 2023. For the events of that year will have far-reaching consequences that could unsettle Nigeria for decades. As someone who is heavily invested in Nigeria’s political development, my concern here is how the events of 2023 could deepen Nigeria’s instability, while hoping an alternative aftermath would avert that dreadful political trajectory. 

For a start, following the Supreme Court verdict, Bola Tinubu is now the de facto and de jure president of Nigeria, leaving aside the philosophical question about the nature of his mandate. However, his presidency sets Nigeria on an unstable political future on two key fronts, both regarding the management of Nigeria’s diversity. This may not matter now, it will at some point. But before we come to that, there’s the more imminent problem of the 2027 presidential election. In one sense, 2027 will be like 2015; in another, it won’t. In both senses, 2027 will be acutely challenging. Here’s why.

Ministry Of Humanitarian Resources Metaphor For Buhari/APC

 By Dele Sobowale

“All political parties die at last of swallowing their own lies” – Dr John Arbuthnot, 1667-1735.

*Buhari and Sadiya Umar-Farouk, former minister for Humanitarian Affairs
The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, is close to the graveyard; mostly because Nigerians got sick and tired of the unfulfilled promises and outright lies the leaders of the party peddled for sixteen years. In a saner society, former President Obasanjo should not find five people ready to listen to his self-righteous utterances after leaving N8 trillion expenditure unexplained and $13-16 trillion taken for 10, 000MW power generation without result.

Usual Sing-Song: Outrage Over Plateau Killings

 By Owei Lakemfa

In the 2023 Christmas period running from December 23-25, armed assailants in co-ordinated attacks wiped out 20 communities in  Magu, Bokkos and Bakin areas of Plateau State. They killed over 200, injured a minimum 500 and put  over 10,000 in flight.

The headlines  expressing ‘Outrage over Plateau killings’ are tragically, familiar and might  have as well been cast ten, fifteen years ago. The perpetrators are same; a trained, vicious, co-ordinated  bunch, some  assembled from  West and Central Africa states.

Jika Attoh: An Ovation!

 By Chuks Iloegbunam 

“From all indications,” said Jika Attöh. He was dark, and dapper. He spoke English with an uncommon fluency. We also communicated in Igbo, which made me wonder if he was of the ethnic group. It was in answer to my question that he said, “From all indications.” I failed to see the indications, for neither Jika nor Attöh was Igbo. The year was 1976. We were standing in line inside a hall at the Faculty of  Arts building of the University of Ife (Obafemi Awolowo University), all freshmen, waiting to register for our courses in the English Department. Jika told me he was from Onitsha, which was about 15 kilometres from my hometown of Abatete. His full name was Ifejika Michael Elvis Attöh. Of the Attöh surname, he explained that the origin was Ghanaian. He warned that it wasn’t spelt correctly unless two dots hung over the ö in it!  Our friendship started on that day.

When on October 25, 2023, Ikeddy Isiguzo called for my confirmation of the terrible news, I instantly told him to perish the thought. “I tagged Jika to a WhatsApp message I posted this morning,” I said. Then I spoke more sensibly: “Who told you?” The story had appeared on a WhatsApp forum. I advised that he played no part in spreading it without confirmation. I dialled Jika’s number, expecting to hear the usual Babandidi or Misti Shooks, but it rang out. The prospect of calling his wife carpeted me. I tried a mutual friend’s number in Enugu without connecting. Less than ten minutes later, Oseloka Zikora called. “Terrible news,” he said in a subdued voice. He was in Namibia. Jika’s wife had got him by WhatsApp and, could he please pass the message on to Babandidi? Suddenly, calls started pouring in from all over, to ask if it was true, or to express condolences.

Pogrom In Plateau: Why?

 By Ray Ekpu

It was an unmitigated disaster. As Christians were preparing to mark the anniversary of the birth of Jesus Christ, tragedy struck in three local government areas of Plateau State. Over 20 villages in Bokkos, Mangu and Barkin Ladi Local Government Areas of the State were attacked, almost 200 persons, men, women and children, massacred and 1300 houses set aflame while at least 88 persons were rushed to hospitals with varying degrees of injuries. About 10, 000 of the survivors have been displaced. They are now refugees in their own country, uncertain where their next meal will come from or whether the attackers will come to where they are to complete their devious assignment.

Those who survived the pogrom can thank Mother Luck but most of them lost their relations. Here are the wailings of some of the survivors. One of them said: “My entire 21 relatives were wiped out.” Another said that as they attacked “We pretended to be dead but as my son tried to crawl away the Fulani attackers noticed that he was not dead, they killed him.” One woman said: “While escaping with matchete cuts I didn’t know that my baby had fallen from my back.” 

2024: Governments As Our Enemy

 By Ugo Onuoha

A happy new year wish will be in order though it is certainly obvious this will be a thoroughly unhappy and extremely troubling year for a majority of Nigerians. From the 1960s, and especially since the return of democracy [read rule by civilians], governments at all levels, have steadily proved themselves to be enemies of the people. 

At least since 1999, the expectation has been that we will experience government of the people, by the people and for the people. No. That has remained an illusion. What we have had has been government of the rulers, by the rulers and for the rulers. The government as a force for good does not apply in our clime.

Killings On The Plateau: The Shame Of A Nation

 By Etim Etim

The brutal killings of over 160 Nigerians in three local councils in Plateau State on Christmas eve and Christmas Day by terrorists have once again illustrated the failure of the Nigerian State to protect its citizens. Over 20 villages across Barkin Ladi, Bokkos and Mangu LGAs were attacked in what has become a pattern of a failed or a fast-failing state. 

I am sad, pained and aggrieved by the flagrant failure of the security agencies to thwart the terrorists’ plots or arrest them after their heinous crimes. Many Nigerians, including a retired general who had once served as the Commander of Operation Safe Heaven on the Plateau, Gen. Henry Ayoola, believe that there are elements in the security agencies that collude with the terrorists and are complicit in these killings.

Nigeria: Birthday Drivels And National Celebration Of Inanities

 By Alade Rotimi-John

The provocative and obscene celebration of birthdays by public personages is fast becoming a rude national pastime. The general Nigerian audience has bemusedly endured a siege of insults for quite some time now respecting the intolerable mischief of a lewd and soulless parade of stunts. There is a total extinction of all taste even as the celebrants are vulgar, gross and illiberal.

*Mrs. Tinubu, Akpabio and his wife at Akpabio's 61st Birthday Bash

Aside from the moral contamination incident on the celebrations, their lessons are morbidly and intellectually degrading as they generally present a distorted or superficial view of the sordid Nigerian condition. Many of the ceremonies have laid bare the social insensitivity of the celebrants who are reputedly of high estate. Even as their object is to covet general praise and admiration, they have ironically received in large measure a backlash in contempt and in a free-flowing gnashing imprecations from their fellow men and women.

A Peep Into 2024 Nigeria

 By Owei Lakemfa

The  year 2023 held a lot of hope for Nigerians as the Buhari administration  which had put the country on autopilot, was programmed to end its tenure by mid-year. Indeed, the past year had begun as a traumatic one with a currency change   which impoverished the people as they could not readily access their  bank accounts or money.

The Naira, rather than be a means of exchange became a commodity traded in the streets. The local currency was  so  scarce that people paid as high as 15-20 per-cent as commission for Naira notes.  Unfortunately, in the first seven months of the Tinubu administration, governance has not changed in a fundamental way. If  anything, the economy for the people got worse with the ill-advised and ruinous increases in PMS prices and the water boarding of the of the Naira. These are the major factors   that  pushed inflation  to 28.2 per-cent. Also in 2023, the Tinubu government was unable to end the scarcity of the Naira leading to it being traded in the streets, sometimes at rates as high as 10 per-cent.

Let’s Bring Back The Short Story

By Banji Ojewale

Art is a lie which makes us see the truth—Pablo Ruiz Picasso (1881-1973) Spanish artist

To prepare for this short essay on the short story, I have had to rescue from my home library two old local magazines that, in an earlier generation, sought to offer vibrant voice to this literary genre. First pushed out as a monthly in March 1985, one of the publications was simply called Mc.Quick Short Stories, with a cover price of N2. If you were willing to part with that ‘pittance’ for that product, you were guaranteed an animating literary excursions with some of the greats in the industry.

So, I have in front of me Vol. 1 No. 1 1985 edition of Mc.Quick Short Stories. Wale Adeniran is the Publisher. Kole Omotoso is the Editor-in-Chief, and Femi Omowumi, Odia Ofeimun, Seun Ige and Labo Yari, in tow as Associate Editors. Graphic arts and illustrations are handled by Abiodun Araba, Victor Olusa and Akin Adejuwon. As you close-up on Mc.Quick, you run into the inner world of some of the eminent short story exponents of the age. Leban Erapu, the Ugandan intellectual, has an entry he calls, Guns and Books. He looks at Africa’s political scene, and intrigued by its internal rumblings, wonders why the problems they mischievously engineer remain unresolved. 

Tribute to Arákùnrin Rotimi Akeredolu, Aketi

 By Mogaji Gboyega Adejumo

It came as a rude shock to us in the Afẹnifẹre as the news of the passage of the Governor of Ondo State, Arákùnrin Olurotimi Akeredolu, filtered through the airwaves… Yet another illustrous, forthright and resolute democrat, passes on, in a land lacking leader that are deficient in audacity, bravery daring determination, endurance, fearlessness finesse, fortitude, gallantry, grit heroism, prowess spirit, spunk tenacity and valor.

Late Akeredolu

Aketi stood for what is right and just, a defender of the people and his people will forever appreciate his profound efforts that most often result in politically induced attacks on the people of Ondo State.

Who Dares Rechristen The University Of Ilorin?

 By Tunde Olusunle

Whenever I’m privileged to visit Ilorin the Kwara State capital, I include in my itinerary a visit to the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), as is popularly abbreviated. My passion, maybe obsession with the institution is informed by a number of reasons. Principal among these is the fact that I had two academic excursions to the revered school, during which I obtained a bachelors honours and a master’s degree in English, respectively.

I was graciously offered a place on the doctorate programme by the university but had to weigh up the cost of shuttling between my home in Abuja and Ilorin. This was years before information technology truly broke down physical hedges and activated the options of real-time, virtual communication. What with Skype, Zoom, video call, and similar possibilities?

New African Magazine Unveils 100 Most Influential Africans Of 2023

 

New African magazine released today its annual listing of the 100 Most Influential Africans of 2023. The list celebrates the achievements and contributions of Africans from various fields and sectors, who have made a positive impact on the continent and the world. The list features a diverse and inspiring group of men and women, who have demonstrated excellence, innovation, leadership, resilience, and vision in their respective domains. They include politicians, entrepreneurs, industrialists, environmentalists, creatives, scientists, educators, sports personalities, and more.

Nigeria: Survival Of The Fittest And Profligacy Of Government

 By Emmanuel Onwubiko

The English philosopher and psychologist, Herbert Spencer, coined the phrase “survival of the fittest” (1820-1903). He is famous for his doctrine of social Darwinism, which asserts that the principles of evolution, including natural selection, apply to human societies, social classes, and individuals as well as to biological species developing over geologic time.

*Akpabio and Tinubu

In Spencer’s days, social Darwinism was invoked to justify laissez-faire economics and the minimal state, which were thought to best promote unfettered competition between individuals and the gradual improvement of society through the “survival of the fittest.”

Pray, Nigeria Needs Patriotic, God-Fearing Judges: Where Are They?

 By Olu Fasan

A few years ago, I wrote a piece titled “Lord, give Nigeria bold and incorruptible judges” (Vanguard, April 25, 2019). That was when state security agents invaded the homes of some judges and seized bags full of foreign currencies, and an incumbent Chief Justice of Nigeria was sacked, arrested and arraigned before the Code of Conduct Tribunal on corruption charges.

Nearly five years later, I’m repeating the prayer, and I urge fellow Nigerians to join me in saying it. For the rot in Nigeria’s judiciary is deepening and there’s fear of endemic perversion of justice. Even normally reticent senior judges and lawyers are no longer silent!

African ‘Democrats’ Strangulating Continent’s Democracy

 By Olusegun Samuel

I am using the word ‘democrats’ in a guided manner in this article because our so-called democrats got elected, though some of them have spent decades in power and are all through constitutional means.

*Buhari and Museveni

With the current situation in Nigeria, some parts of Africa and the rest of the world, a strong central government might not necessarily be the solution. Neither do we need a powerful, all-knowing ‘monarchical’ ruler to oversee the affairs of a nation. This is certainly the scenario we find ourselves in Nigeria- my native country- despite being in a so-called democratic government.

Nigeria: What Goes Around Comes Aground

 By Banji Ojewale

The universal principle is that what goes around must come around. It’s not so in Nigeria. With us, when what goes around goes around, it does more than coming around. As it makes its return trip, it comes aground, grounding us, leveling us, merging us with the miry mud. That’s been our history, extinct and extant. We create institutions and leaders from this back-and-forth process to form an endless cycle of vulnerable links in governance that remind us of the late poet, Christopher Okigbo: AN OLD STAR departs, leaves us here on the shore, Gazing heavenward for a new star approaching; The new star appears, foreshadows its going Before a going and coming that goes on forever… (Path of Thunder).

*Buhari and Tinubu 

 It is a villainous star, a kind of abiku that gives short-lived joy to the home where it surfaces at birth. Our present is nothing but a horrid replay of our unpleasant encounters with the past. We sowed the wind yesterday; but today we’re reaping what’s greater than the wind. What goes around comes aground.