Nigeria’s GDP ‘Growth’ Is Anaemic; It’s Nothing To Celebrate!

 By Olu Fasan

Trust Bola Tinubu, Nigeria’s self-assured yet bumbling president. He will claw at any piece of seemingly good news. Recently, when the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, reported that Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product, GDP, grew to 3.19 per cent in the second quarter of this year, from 2.51 per cent at the same period last year, Tinubu was overly exultant.

*Tinubu

His newspaper, The Nation, screamed on its front page: “Tinubu hails GDP surge, assures of stronger economic performance.” Surely, describing the anaemic and shallow GDP growth rate as a “surge” shows how Tinubu grasps at straws, denying reality. Interestingly, while Tinubu gloated about the GDP figure, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Nigeria’s two-time Finance Minister and current Director-General of the World Trade Organisation, WTO, lamented Nigeria’s perennially sluggish GDP growth rate at this year’s annual conference of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA. So, who is right?

Nigeria: A Council Of Chaos…And A Questionable Vote Of Confidence

 By Obi Nwakanma

A few weeks ago, newspapers in Nigeria reported that the National Council of State met, and the current president, Mr. Bola Tinubu, chaired it. For starters, I’m still unable to reconcile with the fact that a man of the quality of Tinubu would sit on a seat on which the giant Azikiwe sat. It is a travesty. Think about it dear country men, and you will see the incongruity; the tragic slide in our station as a people and as a nation. That picture alone tells us about the real tragedy of Nigeria. 

*Council of State Members during one of their meetings 

The quality of national leadership; the quality of aspiration; the quality of insight; the quality of presence and carriage; the depth of preparation – one a thoroughbred all-rounder that embodied the highest human ideals which nature stupendously endowed in one body, and the other with a very uncertain past. I’m ahead of myself. But it gets much worse. Take a look at those who came to the Council of State meeting. You would see the picture of Nigeria and why it has failed as a nation.

Nigeria’s Food Crisis Gets Worse, FG Confused

 By Dele Sobowale

“Drought: Kogi Govt; farmers seek divine intervention.”

“Despite harvest, food prices remain high in Taraba.”

“Food crisis may worsen as flood hits 10 states.”

“SEMA seeks govt help as drought dry up crops in four states.”

“Why grains importation won’t happen soon, by stakeholders.”

Like a sudden heavy downpour and thunderstorm, destroying everything, the trope of bad news published on Monday, August 9, 2024, by newspapers, paint a grimmer picture of Nigeria’s imminent food prices this year.

Bola Tinubu: The Unravelling Of A Bigot

 By Onyema Omenuwa

Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been unravelled. As a bigot, that is. Eventually, and completely, it needs to be added. And it is all due to the hypocritical kind of politics that he plays, particularly in Lagos State where he holds sway as the alpha and omega of politics. Significantly, his unrelenting and desperate quest to become the President of Nigeria led to his unravelling. Though he has succeeded in that regard, since he is today the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the success came at the great cost of shattering the façade of progressivism that has all along defined his politics.

*Tinubu and his wife, Oluremi

Tinubu projects progressivism as his political worldview. But presently in Lagos State, the “Igbo Must Go” hashtag has become something of a mantra across social media platforms for the Yoruba residents of Lagos and their supporters. That is starkly anti-progressive by any stretch of imagination, and it is happening in Tinubu’s Lagos. “Residents” is used advisedly in this context because not every Yoruba in Lagos is an indigene of Lagos State or a “Lagosian,” as the indigenes of the state delight in describing themselves. And that is the irony. 

Beyond The Seizure Of Presidential Aircraft

 By Ugo Onuoha

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

 

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

Only The Dead Protest In Nigeria

 By Kenechukwu Obiezu

Protests may be no pills for the dying, but in Nigeria, they pilfer the dead, or at least, their dainties.

On August 1, Nigeria erupted in protests. The protests which pinched many states of the country hard, some harder than others, were over bread, but quickly bared deep-lying issues, braiding together knots of anger and despair over the state of the country.

As Politicians In Power Lie And Cheat

 By Adekunle Adekoya

“Politics is the only profession where you can lie, cheat, and steal, and still be respected.” — Mark Twain (1835-1910)

Today, I am helplessly wallowing in self-pity and pity for my fellow compatriots as I ponder the state of affairs in our dear country. We don’t have another country, do we? Why are our politicians hell-bent on destroying this country as they pursue self-interest instead of the common good? 

Chinweizu: How To Make Igbos Leave Lagos

 

*Chiweizu 

Dear Igbo-must-go Campaigners,

“Yes, I agree with you that Lagos should be for its Yoruba indigenes. And the South-west should belong to the indigenous people of the region.

So, let’s get practical and cooperate and make our shared desire happen, peacefully and as fast as possible.

“Please, note that Igboland, to which Igbos would return from Lagos and the South-west, has a part in the South-south and a part in the South-east.

“Kindly get President Tinubu to facilitate the process by doing the following:

Joe Ajaero: NLC Presidency Under Tinubu’s Watch

 By Ikechukwu Amaechi

Five days after Comrade Joe Ajaero, former General Secretary of the Nigerian Union of Electricity Employees, NUEE, and Deputy National President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, made history as the first NLC President to be elected unopposed at the 13th National Delegates Conference in Abuja, on February 8, 2023, I sat down with him in Lagos for an exclusive interview.

*Ajaero

Still basking in the euphoria of his victory, he was hopeful and bullish as he discussed the labour movement, what Nigerians should expect of his presidency and the impending 2023 elections. He was analytical and measured.

MUSIC: "Let It Flow" By Ugochukwu Innocent Obi

 

Click On The Album Below To Listen To The Music 

This is what the artist says about this song:

“This is a deep spiritual worship song which unites the spirit of man with the Holy Spirit. The song will drench your soul and quickly link your mind to the Spirit where righteousness and many graces abound.…”

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Listen, Share and VISIT the Youth Page to listen to the previous albums. Then, Subscribe, so you would be notified each time a new album is released...

Nigeria Made Dangote A Colossus, It Must Now Handle Him Wisely

 By Olu Fasan

Aliko Dangote, the richest man in Africa, is a product of the Nigerian state. By deliberate policy choices, the state made Dangote Nigeria’s foremost oligarch with presidents on speed dial. However, recent rifts between Dangote’s oil refinery and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company, NNPC, as well as the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, not to mention the raid on his business headquarters by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, suggest that all is not well with the long-running relationship between Dangote and the state. Yet, having turned Dangote into a commercial Leviathan, the state must now wisely recalibrate and manage the relationship.  

*Dangote 

To be clear, Dangote was not born poor. He was born into wealth and became a millionaire very early in life. However, his transition from a millionaire to Africa’s richest man would not have happened without a leg-up from the state, without special favours and preferential treatment from the Nigerian state. To this credit, Dangote himself admits this. Before we come to the refinery saga, let’s tell the fascinating story, as Dangote himself narrated it.

Tajudeen Abass: A Dutiful Speaker At Work

 By Owei Lakemfa

As a young man, I quite often heard the Latin phrase: “Vox populi, vox dei”, meaning: “The voice of the people is the voice of God”. Democracy, whatever the brand, is supposed to uphold this.

*Bola Tinubu and Tajudeen Abass

But the Nigerian people might be too busy to speak; too hungry to talk. Under such circumstances, they need to remain silent. But who better to speak for the people than the National Assembly? That is why parliamentarians are assembled: to speak for their otherwise preoccupied constituents.

MUSIC: Ugochukwu Innocent Obi Drops Another Album!

 "You Alone" 

You Alone Are Worthy Of My Worship

...Very inspiring music that blesses the soul! Listen, Share and VISIT the Youth Page to listen to the previous albums. Then, Subscribe, so you would be notified each time a new album is released...

Tinubu And His Black Beast

 By Ugoji Egbujo

On his way to Equatorial Guinea, Tinubu rode in a gleaming new car to the airport, leaving tongues wagging. A glamorous, armoured black Cadillac Escalade reminded many of the NPN days. Such a show of opulence in the immediate aftermath of the hunger protests seemed an act of defiance. He startled the public. 

Tinubu preaches austerity, but makes no effort to curtail lavish public expenditure. A commentator said the car was the hardest evidence of his aloofness. But more patriotic people may argue that a man who leads 200 million people and who has just secured a vote of confidence from the people that matter is at liberty to thump his nose at disgruntled elements.

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.