If the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Ex-Governor Yahaya Bello tango were a contest, the latter would have won in a knockout blow that sent the anti-corruption agency to the canvas, hitting so badly that it may never recover, at least not soon. However, while the EFCC reels from this misadventure, the joke is on the nation and all who had invested emotionally in the agency, hoping it would stamp out or at least reduce corruption in the public sector and give Nigeria a better global image. This latest debacle has further exposed the current government’s inability or…
Author: Zainab Suleiman Okino
For the Nigerian political class, all roads seemingly lead to China and other countries worldwide, often in pursuit of foreign direct investments, vain pleasure, or international conferences. Indeed, their charity begins away from home. For business opportunities in particular, China attracts Nigerian leaders like a magnet. The Asian giant also appeals to the Nigerian business community, who love to import everything from matches to pencils and brooms. China’s influence permeates Nigeria: in infrastructure (especially roads and railways), production, project funding through loan finance, telecoms, manufacturing, construction, mining, IT, and even in our kitchens. China simply holds the ace. President Muhammadu…
Whether we accept it or not, all is not well with the engine room of Nigeria’s economy. The petroleum industry sector, like other public sector administrations in Nigeria, remains shrouded in opacity and subject to meddling, contrary to established global protocols. From all indications, there are obvious contradictions in the inner workings between the presidency and the managers of the nation’s cash cow, leaving a stunned nation in the dark. For ordinary Nigerians, it’s hard to accept that fuel subsidies have returned, even at the exorbitant official price of N617 per litre (before the new hike) that unfortunately was never…
On July 18, the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) held its 2024 policy meeting to determine modalities for admissions into tertiary institutions. However, the process was overshadowed by an age controversy. It began when the Minister of Education, Professor Tahir Mamman, reiterated his concern about underage students writing exams preparatory to becoming undergraduates, a point he had raised during the last Unified Tertiary and Matriculation Examination (UTME). Almost all the tertiary education administrators at the event unanimously opposed the minister’s suggestion of an 18-year minimum age, forcing him to temporarily reverse and defer the proposal. Ultimately, a minimum age…
Critics of the Dangote Refinery might be called “deniers.” Their scepticisms stem from Nigeria’s history of failing its citizens, making it difficult for them to believe that an individual could succeed where the country has faltered. Building a refinery of such magnitude seems impossible, yet it becomes achievable when driven by forces greater than mere wealth, passion, or fame. The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), led by Farouk Ahmed, had initially made disparaging remarks about the upcoming refinery. The resulting accusations and counteraccusations have tarnished the optics of what should be a collaborative effort in the national…
UK Labour vs. Nigerian LP A day after the UK election, results were announced, and the Labour Party gained the majority. The government transition moved swiftly. Ex-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak took responsibility for the Conservative Party’s devastating blow, moved out of 10 Downing Street, and that same day, Keir Starmer, the new leader, moved in. Both visited King Charles for ceremonial blessings, as tradition demands. There was no drama, no committees, no dissenting voices, no daggers drawn, no open expressions of blame, and no threat of legal battles. Such an elegant and simple system based on understanding—Britain has no written…
Whether the national workforce is 720,000 at the federal level and about 90,000 at sub-national level, the number of public servants (constituting the labour force) represented by Organised Labour that the Nigerian government must contend with over the new minimum wage is grossly insignificant in comparison with the number of angry Nigerians thrown into existential agony over government’s unfriendly policies. If we argue over Labour’s so-called selfish demand for just two percent of the Nigerian populace, it becomes even more appropriate to fault the government’s recalcitrance in their negotiation with such an “insignificant number” in contrast with the possibility that…
As part of activities to mark (not celebrate) the one-year anniversary of the Bola Tinubu administration, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris initiated ministerial sectoral briefings to update Nigerians on the activities of the government in the last one year. He also used the opportunity to launch the Nigerian National information Portal, the “official digital gateway to comprehensive information about Nigeria”. The portal, he said, would serve, as “centralised source for both local and international audiences providing reliable and up-to-date information on various aspects of the nation, including the government, the people of Nigeria, their cultural heritage…
As soon as their four-convoy cars arrived the premises, residents started trickling out from their make-shift abodes called homes. In no time the excitement and jubilation that rented the air soon turned into a one-line song: “Mama oyoyo, Baba oyoyo, blow the trumpet” in reverence for their benefactor-couple (Mr Bede and Maureen Okafor) that the residents have known over the years. The “trumpet”, when blown alerts on their arrival (and invariably on food availability). On this day again, residents of the camp came out, and almost immediately conversations and throwing of banter started. An atmosphere of conviviality and familiarity enveloped…
This is not the best of time for the embattled APC chairman, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje. It is also not the right time to be in opposition in a place like Kano state. We know politics is an endless cut-throat battle, but the intrigues and volatility of Kano politics is something else. However ever since the two former governors of the state, Rabiu Kwankwaso and Ganduje parted ways and started their political roforofo, Kano has never been the same. Everything around and about them are politicised and twisted to fit certain narratives. Ganduje was recently suspended from his ward, and…
Ordinarily, doctrinal issues of religion concerning confession and testimony are private spiritual affairs of parties involved, but when a publicly funded educational institution is dragged into such a matter, it becomes germane to interrogate the issue. Penultimate week, the social media went wild over an incident that occurred at Dunamis Church with far-reaching implications for the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN). A graduate of the university, Vera Anyim had come into the open church auditorium to testify about her sojourn and graduation from NOUN, despite all odds, and especially being the first to have a university degree in her…
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) must have been taken aback by the outpouring of condemnations and criticisms over their proposed “improvement and efficiency” accompanied by 231 percent electricity tariff hike even from unlikely quarters. Neither the Band A customers who will “enjoy” 20 hours of electricity and pay more nor Band E customers to be supplied only fours of electricity, is excited about the social divides, new status and classification.. As a matter of fact, what binds them (electricity) is perpetually in a state of flux, uncertainty, unavailability lately, and now unaffordable. The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu at…
Sharing of palliatives to cushion the effect of extreme deprivation and hunger is Nigerian government’s answer to their self-created hardships engendered by subsidy removal, devaluation of the Naira and the effect of existential security challenge. However, in place of food and other essentials, death and maiming of citizens have trailed the exercise. Palliative sharing is not sustainable; it is ad hoc and a stop-gap measure that can never replace the permanent needs of individuals – three square meals and other essential provisions. The bureaucracy and logistics involved in buying, stocking, planning, and arranging such palliatives alone are herculean. Yet, sharing…
To the chagrin of many citizens of Nigeria, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, like his predecessor’s, constantly demonises the previous government of President Muhammadu Buhari to justify the negative effects of their harsh and unbearable economic policies, such that you would be forgiven to think they belong to different political parties. We don’t know whether making a scapegoat out of the past administration was part of the ruling party’s mantra. Blaming ex-President Goodluck Jonathan was a familiar refrain that characterised the Buhari presidency for eight years. In those early years, it was excusable, considering Jonathan’s below average performance and their…
Like every other human endeavour, it is now time for the world to critically scrutinize and assess the administration of Alhaji Yahaya Bello (GYB), the immediate past governor of Kogi state. In the state’s peculiar form of political landscape, an objective evaluation of the governor’s legacy is not likely because of primordial sentiments and the image of GYB in the minds and eyes of many people, his towering political influence in the governing All Progressives Congress(APC) and the way he projected himself in that context in the last eight years. It is debatable if the governor’s stewardship was more about his kind of politics and style of governance…
Since 1994 after the end of apartheid, South Africa’s foreign policy has been decidedly robust, developmental, and principled without being isolationist. Described as a “middle-ranked power in Africa”, South Africa has been able to “punch above its weight” to possibly “influence world affairs”. This is apparent in the way SA manages its complex relationships with opposing world powers such as USA, China, and Russia even as it continues to take bold decisions in respect of Ukraine-Russia and Israel-Palestine wars, such that anybody with a passing interest in world politics can easily recall SA’s posture. On the contrary, South Africa’s former benefactor and big brother, Nigeria is taking either baby steps or none on these issues. In the 70s and 80s, Nigeria’s foreign policy focus was easily discernible. Our forebears set a standard right from independence…
Nigeria has become a vast scam zone, demanding urgent action. Just when it seemed we had reached the peak of scams and scandals with the revelation of certificate racketeering from neighboring Cotonou in Benin Republic, allegations of outright stealing and money laundering surfaced from the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Eradication. However, whether by coincidence or design, the female gender bore the brunt of a scandal involving the triumvirate of former minister Sadiya Farouq, suspended minister Betta Edu, and suspended National Social Investment Programme Agency, (NSIPA), boss Halima Shehu, all linked to an N84.1 billion fraud in the same…
The Former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele finally got a respite last Friday when he was released from Kuje prison after meeting his bail conditions, but not before his alleged atrocious and unfathomable heist was made public, to his eternal disgrace. Emefiele was arrested by the Tinubu led government and spent 195 days in detention, while investigations into his tenure at the apex bank were ongoing. Though the media decried his and EFCC former chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa’s long detention without trial in line with the country’s laws, by the time his trial commenced, it is obvious we…
The lingering political crisis in Ondo state over Governor Rotimi Akerodolu’s health appeared to have thawed last week when President Bola Tinubu waded in to find an acceptable and amicable settlement. Despite the “good intentions” behind the president’s engagement with the warring parties, some of the clauses in the adopted resolutions might elicit, or even fuel more feuds in no distant future. What the president achieved in the temporary truce was basically to uphold party supremacy under “one family” and keep the crisis off the prying eyes of the opposition, at least for now. However, the issue is not even…
The governor of Niger state, Alhaji Umaru Bago recently expressed his concern over the country’s revenue sharing formula. The state he governs, Niger is called power state. It is no fluke; it hosts hydrocarbons worth 6000 installed capacities from Shiroro, Kainji and Jebba hydro power stations) as contributions to the national grid, yet the state has remained largely undeveloped. For giving much to the nation, and receiving virtually nothing, the governor said his state is being shortchanged and is determined to right the wrong. The governor, who also threatened to go to the Supreme Court over inadequate compensation for his…
Anger seems to be welling up on the Plateau over recent judicial pronouncements in respect of the last elections. The outcomes of the Benue and Plateau elections were hailed as examples of enduring political legacy of loyalty to, and influence of godfathers because of the return of Jonah Jang of PDP and George Akume of APC. Their candidates were victorious in the governorship election and the incumbents lost out while a substantial number of lawmakers also emerged from their camps. However, while those gains are being consolidated in Benue state, in Plateau state, the initial successes and victories have been…
Two things happened recently that should make us rethink the direction Nigeria should go with regards to the laws that govern us as a nation and the electoral law that guide the conduct of elections in the country. Former INEC chairman, Prof Attahiru Jega’s opinion that the electoral laws should be amended and the revelation that Federal Executive Council would now hold only at the instance of the president, in addition to the long-forgotten agitation for restructuring and true federalism form the fulcrum of this article. Until the last eight years, the agitation for restructuring of the federation had been…
Since their creation, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), have always been mired in controversy and blemished by political influence. From the appointment of the heads to their activities, the anti-graft agencies are also troubled, as much as they trouble alleged offenders, in addition to subtle institutional rivalry between them and the Attorney General’s office. The recent appointment of a new substantive chairman of the EFCC in person of Olanipekun Olukoyede has once again put the agency on the spotlight of national discourse over issues surrounding his qualification, competence,…
The governor of Imo state, Hope Uzodinma recently took political propaganda to an unenviable and embarrassing level when he promised to buy air tickets for Imo youth after being employed by European Union companies, whatever that means to him. In a viral video, the governor revealed that he was in discussion with European Union and Canadian companies for a partnership that will ensure the employment of Imo youth. “I have gone further to negotiate with European Union and Canadian companies that are sending specific areas of skills, which our youth will also learn and by December this year, 4,000 Imo…
In all ramifications, it appears the euphoria and excitement that greeted President Bola Tinubu’s assumption of office are gradually ebbing away. Quite expectedly, having started with the tough decisions of fuel subsidy removal and floating of the forex, the President now needs to do more and urgently too. Both policies have since worsened the woes of the Naira and Nigerians. From accusation of being surrounded by “Lagos boys”, (his cabinet as Lagos State Governor between 1999 to 2003), to policy somersaults to somehow nepotistic appointments (and vengeful dismissal of some CEOs), questions are being asked about Tinubu’s pro-people and pan-Nigerian…
The most experimental leader in Africa in contemporary time is former Nigerian military leader, General Ibrahim Babangida. He ruled between 1985 and 1993. But while he was in charge, he toyed with many innovative ideas on leadership recruitment —from the political bureau, new breed-grassroots politics, option A-4 to a form of diarchy, where political power is shared between civilians and the military. Love or hate him, the General’scontribution to the political development of the country, even if ignored, has remained a reference point especially in the light of recent happenings around us in Africa. Although, it is safe to assert that despite his best efforts and only stepping aside, his later effort at political engineering was unable to bring…
Nigeria has always been about influence peddling, nepotism and favourotism, with an insignificant mix of tokenism, which the authorities brandish to prove the point that merit matters. However, in the last eight years of the Buhari presidency, even that infinitesimal proportion (of tokenism) was supplanted by the influence of more money to buy jobs. Hence all available jobs at MDAs and even key political appointments were offered and bought at the highest bidders. It was an open secret. It became a topic for discussion at elite gatherings and relaxation spots. It was public knowledge that those close to power were…
A seeming innocuous incident, but of utmost importance, happened on the day, the Niger Republic military adventurists announced the closure of the country’s airspace in a show of force or to rebuff the condemnation that trailed their coup. A British Airways Airbus A380 from Johannesburg to London Heathrow was reported to have gone on a 10-hour “flight to nowhere”, when Niger’s airspace was suddenly closed after the plane had taken off. And because airspace of Sudan and Libya is already closed, coupists’ action means 2,600 miles of Africa’s airspace from Western Niger to the Red Sea is blocked to flights. Other flights from Cape Town…
The eight-year administration of ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, was amongst others, characterized by indulgence and generosity to state governors in form of bailouts to their states. Variously called salary arears bailout, bridge financing facility, budget support, recession and excess crude facility, the previous government, as at 2021 had doled out N1.7 trillion to states. However instead of the funds being utilised to improve lives and provide massive infrastructure, much of it is alleged to have found its way to the private accounts of state governors as it became another window for their profligacy and lavish lifestyle. The outcry and complaints that trailed the mismanagement of the bailout once prompted the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission…
By now, it should be clear to all that no one is safe from bad government policies, including its cheerleaders. The effects of wrong-headed approach to governance is evident in every home, every plate of food (if any), quality of living; even on Abuja’s now near empty streets, and near collapse of small-scale businesses. We all bear the brunt of ill-advised and ill-timed policies as recently enunciated by the new government of President Bola Tinubu. In contrast, the over 100 convoy of cars in the president’s movement in Lagos, the almost 50 SUVs seen earlier during his triumphant return to…
