NASS: How Wrong Is Obasanjo?

 By Tonnie Iredia

Once again, former President Olusegun Obasanjo (Obj), has visibly shown his disgust for the disposition of the nation’s legislators especially those at the federal level. The week before, Obasanjo told a team of six legislators who visited him in Abeokuta, Ogun State that many individuals currently holding public office lack the necessary character to lead the nation adding that some of them in the national assembly ought to be behind bars or even face the gallows. Exactly 10 years ago, the former president had alleged that the national assembly was ‘a den of corruption occupied by a group of unarmed robbers.’ 

*Obasanjo 

With the level of information that a former president can garner, it is probably time for the nation to begin to interrogate the rationale for the damaging comments Obasanjo keeps making about our lawmakers. Unfortunately, responses to the criticism from both the national assembly and some Nigerians who appear to have an axe to grind with Obj, cannot help the legislators.

#EndBadGoverance: Nigeria Must Stop Killing Its Rightly Aggrieved Youth

 By Olu Fasan

Nigeria is one of the few countries where the young far outnumber the old. The average age in Nigeria is about 18.6 years, and the youth, aged between 15 and 30, account for 70 per cent of Nigeria’s population. Unfortunately, at about 54 per cent, Nigeria has one of the highest youth-unemployment rates in the world with equally high rates of youth anxiety and depression.

That’s enough to frustrate young people anywhere in the world. Yet, whenever young Nigerians ventilate their grievances through public protests, the state is quick to clamp down brutally on them. Put simply, Nigeria kills its youth for daring to protest bad governance. There’s no better definition of barbarism. 

As Tinubu Redefines Protest To Mean ‘Movement To Effect Change Of Regime By Force’

 By Ikechukwu Amaechi

After quelling what, to all intents and purposes, was a peaceful protest by economically challenged Nigerians over insufferable high cost of living, President Bola Tinubu has moved quickly to consolidate his grip on power. Taking a page from the archetypical fascist playbook, he summoned a meeting of the National Council of State, NCS, on Tuesday, to pass a vote of confidence in him and the Council obliged.

*Bola Tinubu 

For those who may not know, the NCS idea, which was introduced by General Murtala Muhammed in a broadcast on July 30, 1975 after overthrowing General Yakubu Gowon, was to create an advisory body.  

“The structure of government has been re-organised. There will now be three organs of government at the federal level namely: The Supreme Military Council, The National Council of State, and the Federal Executive Council,” he said.

Nigeria: After The Protests Storm

 By Sunny Ikhioya

Let us call a spade by its real name. The address by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu fell far short of resolving the issues raised by protesters. It only helped to exacerbate the prevailing situation. But what can the cowed masses do? It ended as expected. So much senseless destructions, time and money wasted, avoidable deaths and the battle shifted to another auspicious time and, that will be the day.

 The protests exposed the high level of neglect in the North as evidenced by illiteracy and poverty. The people are hungry down there in the streets; that is the real situation. If government does not vary its strategies to address the scourge of poverty in the land, there will surely be another protest, because you cannot keep a hungry and angry man at home. What we have been offering is just palliative, and palliative is not a final solution to problems, it is ameliorative and temporary. 

Bola Tinubu And Our Oil Sector

 By Ochereome Nnanna

The #EndBadGovernment protests largely flopped partially because they demanded for the restoration of the petrol subsidy. In life, better be careful what you wish for because it might actually come true!

*Tinubu

If for any reason President Bola Tinubu acceded to this demand, the engine of his government would knock. Petrol is selling between N640 and N800 per litre, and it is still scarce. Imagine returning it to N180? All petrol stations will close shop, and we will be buying at the black market between N1,500 and N2,000 per litre. The train has left the subsidy station, and it will never come back.

‘The Igbo Must Go…’

 By Obi Nwakanma

The fact that I have to write this, makes me retch. It turns my stomach because this is the 21st century, and there are still many among us who still think in this brutally savage way about other people, who they have to dehumanize in order to feel alive themselves. That I have to defend the Igbo, and being Igbo, makes me doubly conscious, and it is a feeling that compels one to reexamine once more, the contradictions of being Nigerian. 

The new nations in Africa are creations of one of modernity’s most complex situations: colonialism. It brought many disparate cultural and political entities into filiations that in many cases have remained uncertain and fragile. That has always been one of the core criticisms of those who believe, and argue that Nigeria must end; divided, and each part pulling away towards its own sovereign goals. Nigeria was created formally in 1914, from the unification of three colonial administrations: the Southern and Northern protectorates and the colony of Lagos. But the history of the settling of Nigeria goes further back to the turn of the century when the Caliph of Sokoto was killed by the British in 1902, effectively bringing to the end, the Sokoto Caliphate. 

Shock Therapy? Tinubu Is insensitive To Human Suffering

 By Olu Fasan

Recently, the Financial Times interviewed me for a special report on Nigeria. The FT had interviewed me a few times before. So, when I received a call from David Pilling, the newspaper’s Africa Editor, I knew he probably wanted to interview me again. “I read your article on Tinubu’s economic reforms,” Pilling said. “I want to speak to you about it as I am writing a report on Nigeria.” We spoke. 

*Tinubu

About two weeks later, on July 10, the report titled “Tough times and tough measures” was published in the newspaper’s “Big Read” section. The FT said, rightly, that I described the economic reforms of Bola Tinubu, Nigeria’s president, as “half-cooked”, and criticised the excesses and profligacy of his administration. “You cannot say the economy is bad and spend money like a drunken sailor,” the FT quoted me. 

Peace Culture: A Book Bola Tinubu Must Read

 By Ikechukwu Amaechi

As indicated here last week, the book, Peace Culture: A Monumental Evidence for Global Co-existence, written by Prof Ola Makinwa et al, will be used to shine a light on our offering in this column today. Many have badgered me on why I “ignored” the ongoing #EndBadGovernance protest rocking the country.

*Tinubu and Sanwo-Olu 

The protest, now in its eighth day, has become violent and bloody and the security chiefs are still talking tough meaning that it may even get bloodier in the coming days. On Wednesday night, armed security operatives raided the headquarters of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Abuja, popularly called Labour House looking for only God knows what. Such raids will intensify as the government tries to overwhelm Nigerians and stifle dissenting voices.

Fix Food First And Fast Or Forget It

 By Dele Sobowale

“There are people in the world, so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in form of bread” – Mahatma Gandhi, 1869-1948

The great Indian leader and liberator made that remark before he was assassinated in 1948 at a time when his country, now divided into at least three nations, suffered from food scarcity worse than Nigeria is experiencing now. Certainly, it can also be said that there are millions of people in Nigeria today, so hungry that God cannot appear to them except either as a loaf of bread or a bowl of cooked rice. 

I was only four years old in 1948. So, I had to interview those far older than me to know how the food situation was like at the time – in addition to historical research. Surprisingly, Nigeria was then a net exporter of food at a time when almost 99 per cent of Nigerians were illiterates; when the University of Ibadan was just opening its doors to students.

Why Ethnic Profiling Must Stop!

 By Ochereome Nnanna

It would have been funny if it were not so DANGEROUS! When Muhammadu Buhari was in power, there was ethnic profiling of the Igbo people in the North. Some sponsored “youth coalitions” gave Ndi Igbo quit notice in 2017 because of Biafra agitations in the South-East, which arose from Buhari’s 97%/5% formula of Igbo exclusion.

*Sanwo-Olu, Tinubu and and his wife, Tinubu

Buhari and Bola Ahmed Tinubu co-founded the All Progressives Congress, APC, which has never enjoyed Igbo support.

Ndi Igbo constitute by far the second largest ethnic group in Lagos after the Yoruba indigenous residents. They control the commercial sector of Africa’s sixth largest economy, especially the markets and a sizeable slice of property ownership. They contribute a hefty chunk of the internal revenue that sets Lagos apart compared to the rest of the 36 states. Under a normal political atmosphere, the Igbo population in Lagos should be courted because of their electoral and economic values.

Smoking While Off-Loading Petrol

 By Owei Lakemfa

Heart surgeon, Masoud Pezeshkian, was sworn-in as President of Iran on Tuesday, July 30, 2024. His primary concern seemed to be about lifting the unilateral sanctions the United States, US, had imposed on his country. Reviving the economy is fundamental for the citizenry and the sure way of winning their hearts.

However, he would have been forced to have a change of heart within 24 hours. The first major challenge he is faced with now is how to react to Israel’s assassination of Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh. The latter had accepted Iran’s invitation to attend his swearing-in ceremony. At the occasion, Haniyeh who had been well received, flashed the victory sign. But the very next day, Israel assassinated him in Tehran.

Now That The Protests Have Begun

 By Adekunle Adekoya

“The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.” — Helen Keller (1880-1968)

As I write this, we were in the evening of the first day of protests tagged #EndBadGovernance, organised by several civil society organisations in reaction to the worsening economic situation in the country. The protests were to last from August 1 till the 10th. In the seven or eight days preceding D-Day, organisers of the protests were brought under immense pressure to abort the action, with every appointee of government at both state and federal levels issuing statements on why the protests are needless.

Appeal To Patriotism: Nigeria’s Future Must Not Be Left To Politicians

 By Olu Fasan

There is no shortage of talent in Nigeria. Yet, the country is so badly governed. Why? The answer is two-fold. First, the Constitution allows predatory politicians to gain power without a popular mandate and to capture the entire public realm. Second, Nigeria lacks a critical mass of patriots who can mount an effective rearguard action against bad governance. 

*Tinubu 

Take the first. Nigeria’s Constitution does not require a government of, by and for the people. Rather, it allows any self-interested politician to win a narrow victory through wedge issues and allows a determined government to do what it will without let or hindrance. 

Please, Ignore The Anti-Igbo Campaign – Gov Sanwo-Olu

 Press Release 

Lagos State Government On The The Call For Ndigbo To Vacate Lagos And The Southwest 

*Sanwo-Olu

The attention of Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu has been drawn to a post by LagosPedia, a social media handle on X (formerly Twitter) that calls on the Igbo to vacate Lagos and Southwest of Nigeria and brace up for a massive hashtag  #IgboMustGo protest from 20th to 30th August, 2024.

Yes, We Protest!

 By Obi Nwakanma

Chinua Achebe, the leading African writer of the 20th century, did write in his The Trouble with Nigeria, that Nigeria was a fractious nation. However, a shared fear and antipathy of the Igbo was the single thing that unites Nigeria. This situation persists. And this certainly, is the impulse that drives Bayo Onanuga, senior Special Assistant to Mr. Tinubu on Information and Strategy, to keep invoking the name of the Igbo in his enterprise as a hack, and a regime propagandist.  The Igbo, it is now clear,  are Onanuga’s nightmares. 

At every turn of event, he invokes the Igbo. When his world is about to fall apart, he invokes them. His masters love him for sticking it to the Igbo. But he does not seem to know or understand the Igbo. So, let me tell him a little bit about these people. They are democrats. It takes them a long time to arrive at a decision, because they talk, and debate and disagree, to the point sometimes, of distraction. They are slow to anger. They watch. They sniff the ground carefully. They are patient. They make sure that they are on the right they act. 

Bayo Onanuga's Recklessness

 By Valentine Obienyem

Besides the trending old lyrics from Mike Ejeagha, “gwo gwo gwo gwom”, another issue that gained traction on social media platforms was the trademark diatribes from Mr. Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu. In his statements, he portrayed Mr. Peter Obi as an incurable anarchist without any basis in fact. 

*Peter Obi 

The beginning of Onanuga’s release immediately sets the tone for the entire message: “Obi should be held responsible if the planned protest turns into anarchy.” By this statement, he is implying that Obi is behind the planned protest of 1st August. Even his response to the threat of court action shows that he is enjoying the furore caused by his media outburst, as sadists often do. 

Remake The World By Ending Colonialism: The Abuja Agenda

 By Owei Lakemfa

Expression of shock and incredulity were reactions from a number of persons and organisations across the world who were invited to the International Conference for the Eradication of Colonialism. The general question that followed was: “Are there still colonies in the world?” Indeed, there are 61 territories and peoples who list themselves as colonies or what the United Nations, UN, classify as Non-Self Governing Territories.

However, the UN officially recognises only 17 such territories. These are American Samoa, Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, French Polynesia, Gibraltar, Guam, Montserrat, New Caledonia, Pitcairn, Saint Helena, Tokelau, Turks and Caicos Islands, United States Virgin Islands and Western Sahara.  The 17th territory is called Falkland Islands by Britain and, Malvinas, by Argentina.

Judges Are The Biggest Bribe-Takers In Nigeria: Wow! What A Country!

 By Olu Fasan

IT is official! The judiciary is the most corrupt institution in Nigeria; judges are the biggest takers of bribes in this country. A few years ago, I wrote a piece titled “Lord, give Nigeria bold and incorruptible judges”, (Vanguard, April 25, 2019). When I said that Nigerian judges are fantastically corrupt, it seemed as if I was just making an assertion, as if I was just expressing an opinion as a columnist.

But now, we have an official confirmation. According to a recent survey conducted and published by the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, in collaboration with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, UNODC, Nigeria’s public officials received N721billion cash bribes in 2023, and judges topped the list of the recipients.

Bayo Onanuga: Spewing Ethnic Hatred As Weapon Against Mass Hunger

 

By Uzor Maxim Uzoatu

These are very dangerous days in Nigeria. 

“These are times that try men’s souls,” as the founding father of American independence, Thomas Paine, wrote in The American Crisis. 

In very recent history, people did not speak out in time until the Hutu/Tutsi mayhem overwhelmed Rwanda. 

It is incumbent on me to now call out Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, on his recent pathetic ethnic baiting that can only end up pitching one ethnic group in Nigeria against the other in an orgy of flagitious violence. 

Omolola Oloworaran: Financial Round Peg In PenCom’s Round Hole

By Ikechukwu Amaechi 

As Nigeria battles, unarguably, its worst financial crisis since independence, it is only apposite that the most pragmatic way to pull the country's chestnuts out of the raging economic inferno, to borrow a cliché, is to put round pegs in round holes. The appointment of Ms. Omolola Oloworaran as the new Director-General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom) ticks that box. 

To understand why her appointment matters, there is need to appreciate what is at stake and the centrality of the pension industry in resolving Nigeria’s extant economic quagmire even if not wholly, at least partially.