The University of Ife of the 70’s was a melting pot of cultures, tendencies, fads, ideologies and proclivities. Despite the fact that Nigeria had only come out of the civil war in 1970, the general mood in various university campuses, especially in the University of Ife, was one of unity in diversity.

In the Ife that I met, it was the relationship of ideas that established kinship, not blood. And I dare say, with hindsight, that the country was much more united in those early post civil war years than today. So, when you heard shouts of “Okoro!” or “Ngbati!”, those labels were not tribal dog whistles but ‘joking relationships’ which allowed persons from one part of the country latitude to poke harmless fun at a person from another part. You could be an “Okoro” and be more favoured than an “Ngbati”, depending on the dynamics of relationships. 

That was the milieu in which I contested for the position  of Student Union Public Relations Officer. My opponent was Jika Attoh. We were friends. Close friends. We shared many mutual friends. We frequented the same joints, especially Iya Gbenga’s place, Yeye Kelvin’s Bar, Better Market Sells Itself, Sariyu’s restaurant and Iyawo’s place. The only place where I can’t remember seeing Jika was at Iya Ijesha’s shack where we fetched “Ribena” (the favourite brew of the Niger-Delta). But Jika’s friend, Emma, was game in any Ribena contest. 

Although I was older, he had entered the university before me and built up a network of friends. But I leveraged on the fact that I was his ‘senior’ in journalism. Our mutual friends held a meeting and suggested that one of us step down for the other because we were giving them unnecessary stress. We refused. The Electoral  Commission Chairman, Tola Badejo, was our mutual friend. He left us to our own devices as the elections came close. After the Manifesto Night, the verdict on campus was that the PRO contest was a draw. The cheek of it — Jika and I could be seen sharing beer at the SUB after the Speech Night. Many students wondered, what kind of contest is this in which the contestants are sharing beers? We were both upbeat on election day. It was all computerised, so there was no room for wuruwuru or magomago. Jika beat me by a lone vote!

The contest did not affect our relationship. It was not unusual for Jika to stop by and stop over at my room to— as he would playfully say, pay his respects. My room mates loved him; indeed, one of them confessed that he actually voted for Jika. I screamed, “There goes the deciding vote!”

Jika was one of the first enrolees in the WOLE FOR PRESIDENT campaign. He was the PRO of the Students Union but he was not shamed to identify openly with the popular clamour that I contest the next presidential election. The amorphous campaign team was not formed by anybody. It just happened. Ask those who should know about such things: Kunle Mabayoje, Rahman Mimiko, Emma Ekuwem, Leke Mamora, Mike Ozekhome, Yinka Ogunsakin, Joseph Effiong, Gbemi Onakoya, Yomi Gbolagunte, et al.

When I became president via a landslide victory, Jika always stayed near enough. With every achievement we recorded, he would say, bravo: The many demonstrations in Lagos; the Irikefe Tribunal on the missing $2.8 billion oil money; the first Students Self-Help Hostel built by any students union in Nigeria; the creation of Iva Valley; the intervention in medical students’ exam dilemma; the revival of Opa Dam; the introduction of students’ transportation service from the university gate to SUB; the introduction of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti into the lecture and Students Union Week circuit (students paid only two Naira to watch Fela live, from 11pm to 6am); etc. In his characteristic coy way, Jika would say, “Proud of you, my brother!”

After Ife, I went back to DRUM. As an Editor, I had so much free time on my hands and the University of Lagos was less than three kilometres away from our office at Onike. So, I enrolled for the MSc degree in Mass Comm. And who did I run into as I was signing in? Jika Attoh! We reinvented our Ife days in Akoka and even managed to instigate a litigation against the university authorities for trying to shut down the postgraduate hall during the long holidays against the rule which stated that PG courses were designed for a specified number of months, not semesters. I sought help from the ever reliable Chief Gani Fawehinmi and he argued our case brilliantly. We won.

After Unilag, Jika went back to his broadcasting beat. I visited him several times in AIT and he came over to my place a few times too. When he left AIT, he did not sustain the contact we had until I managed to dredge him out through a mutual friend. He called one day and feigned anger that I didn’t tell him that I had come to his native Onitsha to snatch his sister. “Jika, is that how you address an in-law?”, I asked. “Ah, Baba Wole, you caught me on this one!”, he replied.

After that period, a lot of water passed under the bridge on personal and professional fronts for both of us and I refuse to judge people if they react to their circumstances with cageyness. At a stage, I had to reach out to our mutual friend, BN, to ask where our brother was. Jika was such a good human being in the ordinary run of play that you would want him around you for all time. 

I didn’t see his demise coming at all. I spoke to him two months ago when Tony Eluemunor and Austin Izagbo were visiting. Tony called Jika and we spoke as if bridging the years of silence. He said he wasn’t fit to participate in the next Olympics, which was his way of hinting at an illness. I told him to shake it off and not dodge his responsibilities. He laughed— that conspiratorial kind of laughter with a wink. I could almost see him over the phone. We shared a coded lingo together, mostly based on Richie Pryor’s irreverent pieces which we both memorised and deployed whenever necessary.

Despite being an extrovert of sorts and a ‘people’s man’, Jika was coy, discreet and paradoxically reticent, but he was such a darling because he laced it all with that great sense of humour with which he disarmed all who knew him. Anyone who truly knew Jika would be gutted at his demise. None of us knew him better that his wife who wrote the following testament on his birthday several years ago: “?????, ?????????? , ?????? ?? ??? ??????????, ??????? ???? ?? ??? ????? ?? ?? ????, ???????? ?????? ?? ??? ?? ????? ???????? ???????! ??, ?? ????? ??? ?? ??? ????????? ?????, ?? ????????? ?? ???? , ?? ??????, ?? ? ??? ?????? ? ??????’? ?????, ‘???????? ?? ??? ????????, ??? ?? ??? ???, ??????? ?? ??? ????????’… ? ??? ?? ???????? ?????????, ??????????, ??????????, ??? ???? ?? ??? ? ?????? ??????? ???????, ?? ??????, ?????????, ???????, ??? ??????.” 

Fare thee well, Jix! Friends don’t say goodbye. 

My condolences to the Attoh family, especially to his wife, Violet Chizoba Agbakoba-Attoh, and their children. May the soul of Jika and the souls of all the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace.

Former Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, at the Annual Lecture of the TheNiche, with the Theme: “Why We Stride and Slip: Leadership, Nationalism and the Nigerian Condition”, on Thursday in Lagos, declared that the Nigerian Union as a nation remains imperfect. He noted that the country is still weighed down by prejudices of ethnicity, religion, regionalism and others.

The former minister stated that while out of government, people make noise for reforms, but when in government they become comfortable and remain silence on issues they wanted the government to change, noting that such elite were not doing so because of nationalism but personal interest.

Amaechi noted, however, that the military on coming into partisan politics, attempted to restructure Nigeria to stabilise the polity, and in the process centralized the federal structure.

The former Minister stated that geographical restructure of Nigeria began with the creation of 12 states by General Yakubu Gowon from the four regions.

According to him “Creation of states was adopted by the military as instrument of stability. The military set up command structure.”
Amaechi highlighted that the National Grid was established in Oshogbo, Osun State, from where electricity is being distributed to the various parts of the country. He listed other national assets that were centralised during the military regime, as well as the nationalisation policy of the military government.

Speaking on “Democracy, leadership and nationalism” Amaechi reiterated the exploitation of the masses by the political elite. He pointed out that the elite exploit religion to gain access to political power; adding that the same with ethnicity and regions.
The former minister also noted that the framework of civil democracy in Nigeria has not yielded liberal democracy, neither has it delivered the fundamental responsibilities of government to the people.

The former minister reiterated his pessimism about the framework of civil democracy in the country, declaring that “our democracy has not matured; votes are being purchased…” According to him, “the electoral system alienate the people.”

The consequences of the anomalies, he said, are the rising violence and crimes in the country.
The former minister said that people can no longer walk freely on the streets without fear of being shot or kidnapped. According to him, the only two cities where citizens safety can be guaranteed in Nigeria today, are Abuja and Lagos, saying that people have become imprisoned in the two cities, staying there for year without going home.

He maintained that the country has become plagued by militancy, upsurge violence, kidnapping, decrying that new forms and waves of crime have emerged across the country since the contemporary democratic dispensation.
Amaechi asserted that leaders have failed to tackle these problems.
The former minister was of the view that “the problem with Nigerians is Nigerians themselves.”
According to him, “Nigerians do not react to anything. There is nothing new. Nothing bothers you. Which politician is not a thief? “Nigerians take everything as it occurs and feel it does not matter.

“It is a hopeless situation.”

He reiterated that the people are the problem, saying people accept things that citizens of other countries would ordinarily rise to protest.

[NationalDaily]

Former Liverpool star, Mark Lawrenson has predicted the outcome of this weekend’s Premier League matches taking place across different grounds in England.

Manchester United will host Manchester City at Old Trafford on Sunday, while Chelsea will tackle Brentford at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

Arsenal will clash with Sheffield United at the Emirates Stadium and Liverpool will face Nottingham Forest at Anfield.

Providing his predictions, Lawrenson told Paddy Power:

Crystal Palace 1-2 Tottenham
Chelsea 2-1 Brentford
Arsenal 3-0 Sheffield United
Bournemouth 2-0 Burnley
Wolves 1-1 Newcastle
West Ham 2-0 Everton
Aston Villa 2-0 Luton
Brighton 3-0 Fulham
Liverpool 3-0 Nottingham Forest
Manchester United 0-2 Manchester City.

[Leadership]

The acting Inspector General of Police, IGP, Olukayode Egbetokun, has directed medical personnel across the country to treat gunshot victims without asking for Police report.

Egbetokun issued the directive while urging health workers to sensitize Nigerians about the issue.

The IGP’s directive, based on the Compulsory Treatment and Care for Victims of Gunshot Act, 2017, was contained in a Police internal memo dated October 25, 2023, and signed by the Force Principal Staff Officer, Olatunji Disu.

The memo was addressed to all Deputy Inspectors-General of Police, Assistant Inspectors-General of Police, Commissioners of Police and the Commandants of Police Colleges in Ikeja, Kaduna, Oji-River, Maiduguri and Enugu.

The memo reads, “I forward herewith a copy of letter HMSH&SW/IG/CTCV/ 10/2023 dated 3rd October, 2023, received from Federal Ministry of Health & Social Welfare on the above-underlined subject, and write to convey the directive of the Inspector-General of Police that you comply with and enforce the provisions of the Compulsory Treatment and Care for Victims of Gunshot Act 2017 without any hesitation.

“The Inspector-General of Police further directs that you make this a subject of lecture and circulate widely for the members of the public to be aware of our compliance with the National Law.”

[DailyPost]

The move to impeach the Ondo State Deputy Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, has taken a different turn as eleven lawmakers of the 26-member state House of Assembly have distanced themselves from the process.

Naija News reports that 11 lawmakers include the Minority Leader, Jide Oguntodu, the Assembly’s Spokesperson, Olatunde Oshati, Japheth Oluwatoyin, Fatai Atere, Gbegudu Ololade, Allen Oluwatoyin, Stephen Abitogun, Tope Komolafe, Felix Afe, Biola Oladapo, and Olawumi Fayemi.

Recall that the Assembly Speaker, Olamide Oladiji, had a few days ago directed the Chief Judge of the State, Justice Olusegun Odusola, to constitute a panel over the 14 allegations levelled against Aiyedatiwa, as he cited the expiration of an ex-parte order given by an Abuja Federal High Court. Justice Odusola had earlier declined the initial request of the Assembly based on the order.

But in a statement to journalists, the 11 lawmakers accused the Speaker of unilaterally writing the Chief Judge to set up a seven-man probe panel against Aiyedatiwa despite a subsisting court order.

According to the lawmakers, they got to know about the letter on social media, a move they claimed was uncalled for, with the subsisting ex-parte order of an Abuja High Court as well as moves by the national leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to resolve the political crisis in the state.

Oshati insisted that the eleven lawmakers have nothing against Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu.

Oshati disclosed that the development bothered on internal conflict and the need for the Assembly to follow due process.

“We wish to state further that the decision to transmit such a letter by the speaker, Rt. Hon. Oladiji Olamide Adesanmi, to the Chief Judge of Ondo State, is, in our view, the least unwarranted and uncalled for,” Oshati said.

“The order of interim injunction of the Federal High Court of Nigeria, Abuja Division, of the 21st day of September 2023, which has restrained the speaker and Ondo State House of Assembly, as 4th and 6th respondents, respectively, is still subsisting since it has neither been vacated nor set aside. For us to act in contravention of the subsisting order of the court will certainly be contemptuous.

“The National Leaders of the All Progressive Congress, on October 17, 2023, invited all the members of the Party, of the Ondo State House’ of Assembly, to the National Secretariat of the Party and pleaded for an amicable and political solution to the issue of the impeachment process initiated by the House against the Deputy Governor of Ondo State.

“Without hesitation, the request was acceded to, in the interest of the party and the peace of Ondo State, by the state chairman of the APC, Engr. Ade Adetimehin and Speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Oladiji Olamide Adesanmi consequently addressed the press immediately after the meeting. It will be untidy in our view to get back to Ondo State if we act otherwise.”

The lawmakers added that “the decision to transmit the purported letter of the Ondo State House of Assembly, dated October 23, 2023, signed by Rt. Hon. Oladiji Olamide Adesanmi, was taken without a formal sitting of the House and our knowledge as members of the 10th Assembly.

“It is our considered view that we should be honourable indeed by standing with our acceptance at the Abuja meeting to suspend the impeachment process and allow for an amicable and political solution to the issue for the benefits of governance and peace in Ondo State.”

[NaijaNews]

The naira within a span of hours appreciated by N166 to the dollar in the P2P market, as currency traders re-evaluate their strategies.

The naira peaked at N1279/$ on Thursday evening but settled at N1113/$ as of this writing.

Feelers across markets suggest the gains may be due to lack of buyers as very few people are inclined to pay around N1300/$ sensing a potential strengthening of the local currency.

Finance Minister Wale Edun also stated that the country was set to receive $10 billion in foreign currency inflows over the next several weeks to help improve liquidity in the foreign exchange market, which has stifled growth in Africa’s largest economy.

The minister of finance added that President Tinubu signed two executive orders permitting the issuance of domestic financial instruments denominated in foreign currencies as well as the transfer of all cash outside the banking system into banks.

The impression among traders especially speculators is that the exchange rate could gain against the dollar in the coming days and as such no avoid losing their shirts, they have to sell lower.

His remarks were made just after President Tinubu had assured summit attendees that he would clear the backlog and that he had taken action to address liquidity in the foreign exchange market.

He says that every transaction in the foreign exchange market, from the official to the money changers, where large amounts of arbitrage have regularly happened, will be closely watched, and those who transgress will be found out and dealt with.

He acknowledged that illiquidity is the reason Nigeria’s foreign exchange market isn’t operating efficiently, but the government is willing to take all necessary steps to alter the current situation.

The foreign exchange market will be streamlined and restructured so that all rightful and proper transactions will be covered by the government and take place in the official foreign exchange market. Anything beyond that will be punished, considered a criminal offense, and illegal, according to Edun.

Meanwhile the US. S dollar hit a near one-week high versus a basket of currencies on Wednesday as investors’ desire for riskier currencies decreased in the wake of disappointing corporate results that heightened concerns about the state of the economy and as Treasury yields increased.

Risk sentiment also took a hit as tech giant Alphabet fell after its cloud division failed to meet revenue projections, and other large-cap stocks also eased because of lower earnings and rising US Treasury bond yields.

Reaching its highest level in almost a week, the dollar index, which gauges its strength against a basket of six competitors, saw a 0.3%  increase to 106.05 points.

Fed Chairman Powell’s speech sent Wall Street into a tailspin. Powell largely agreed with other officials when he said that policy might not be “too tight” and that further rate increases might be required.

Although Powell’s remarks reinforce their long-term bullish mantra, they don’t go far enough to suggest that a rate hike in December is likely.

The Fed will attempt to persuade the market that more increases are possible until inflation declines significantly.

[Nairametrics]

Former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, is currently being detained in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

The PUNCH can confirm that Emefiele, who is currently being interrogated at the National Headquarters of the anti-graft agency, Jabi, Abuja, was picked up by EFCC operatives Thursday night, less than an hour after he regained his freedom from the dungeon of the Department of State Services.

An impeccable source revealed the development to our correspondent Friday morning, noting that the EFCC is probing Emefiele over alleged impropriety during his term as the head of the apex bank.

“Yes, Emefiele is currently in our (EFCC) custody; he was arrested last night less than an hour after the DSS freed him. He’s currently being interrogated at the headquarters, as he’s being investigated for alleged misappropriation of funds amongst other things during his term as CBN governor,” the source noted.

Our correspondent further gathered that fresh charges may be filed against Emefiele by the EFCC.

Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the EFCC, Dele Oyewale, could not be reached for official confirmation when contacted by our correspondent on Friday.

The PUNCH reports that Emefiele had been in the custody of the Department of State Services since June after President Bola Tinubu suspended him from office.

He was thereafter asked to hand over his responsibilities to Folashodun Shonubi, the then Deputy Governor, Operations Directorate at the apex bank.

A day after, the DSS announced that Emefiele was in its custody for ‘some investigative reasons’.

On July 25, he was arraigned on a two-count charge bordering on “illegal possession” of firearms at a federal high court in Lagos and was granted bail in the sum of N20 million.

The two-count charge was later struck out on August 17 after the Federal Government withdrew the same.

However, a fresh 20-count charge was instituted against him over an alleged conspiracy to carry out procurement fraud, among others.

The arraignment has been stalled twice, and Emefiele was reported to have proposed a plea bargain agreement with the Federal Government.

The proposed agreement required Emefiele to resign as CBN governor and ‘disgorge’ some assets.

However, on September 22, the CBN officially confirmed Emefiele’s resignation after Olayemi Cardoso was appointed as substantive governor of the apex bank.

[Punch]

Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez said he could start some key players against Real Madrid on Saturday who have been out injured in recent weeks, if they arrive 100 percent fit.

The Spanish champions have been without forwards Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha, midfielders Pedri and Frenkie de Jong and defenders Jules Kounde and Sergi Roberto in the lead-up to the match.

However all those players took part in training on Friday except for the latter, with Xavi saying he was surprised by their recoveries and determination to play against Real Madrid.

“I was surprised to see them in training too,” Xavi told reporters on Friday.

“Players that we had almost ruled out and they want to be there, they all want to play.

“They all feel very good and you’ll have to wait until tomorrow for the squad list.”

Barcelona’s only out-and-out striker Lewandowski has not played since going off injured against Porto in the Champions League on October 4 with an ankle problem.

“Evidently I won’t tell you the line-up or give clues, (but he’s) feeling very good, he’s well,” said the coach.

“They all feel good and want to be there — it’s a very important game.”

De Jong last played in September before he suffered an ankle sprain, while a hamstring injury has ruled Pedri out since August.

Winger Raphinha has been out with a thigh problem since September, while Kounde suffered a knee sprain against Granada on October 10.

Xavi said he would have no hesitance to start any of the returning players if they are fully fit.

“If they are 100 percent, I’ll play them, there’s no problem,” added the coach.

Barcelona have been forced to lean heavily on youngsters from their La Masia youth academy, with Fermin Lopez, Lamine Yamal and Marc Guiu all scoring important goals.

Xavi had some advice for the younger players who may feature against league leaders Real Madrid.

“Having homegrown players is a boost, it’s fantastic to have players from La Masia, they know about the rivalry, they know the importance of the game, it’s always fundamental,” said Xavi.

“(In the Clasico) there are always more nerves, more tension, controlling those nerves, controlling your character, the tempo of the game, it’s hard, because the heart is hot, but (you need) a cold head, I think that’s the key to these games.

“There is more emotion and desire than normal, but control is key.”

The coach noted Jude Bellingham’s impressive impact since arriving at Real Madrid from Borussia Dortmund this summer.

The England international has netted eight goals and is the division’s leading scorer.

“Bellingham is very important for Madrid with their change of system, he has freedom, and attacks well from deep,” added Xavi.

[Vanguard]

The judgment in Nigeria v P&ID is a fascinating read. There is +$10 billion at stake; findings of bribery in the procurement of the underlying contract and during the arbitration process; untruthful/misleading witness evidence regarding that bribery; the improper receipt and use of privileged documents of one party by the other; and the censure of participating lawyers.

As such the conclusion (i.e. that the challenge to the awards under s.68 of the Arbitration Act was successful in there being a ‘serious irregularity’ affecting the awards because they ‘were obtained by fraud and … the way in which they were procured was contrary to public policy’) should not be surprising.

However, many readers will focus on the four pages of reflections by Justice Knowles on the agreement, the arbitration process and the awards. Here he invokes the hope that ‘the facts and circumstances of this case may provoke debate and reflection among the arbitration community, and also among state users of arbitration, and among other courts with responsibility to supervise or oversee arbitration. The facts and circumstances of this case, which are remarkable but very real, provide an opportunity to consider whether the arbitration process, which is of outstanding importance and value in the world, needs further attention where the value involved is so large and where a state is involved’.

Such calls for the arbitration community to pause and reflect are welcomed. And indeed (at least in my experience) those involved in the practice of arbitration (both commercial and investor state arbitration) are working hard to improve and standardise practice and procedure and address concerns around transparency and legitimacy of process. Institutions are regularly promulgating new rules and guidelines and most days somewhere in the world there is an arbitration conference addressing such issues.

That said, there is always ground to be made and without such reflection and work there is real ‘risk … that arbitration as a process becomes less reliable, less able to find difficult but important new legal ground, and more vulnerable to fraud’. We must continue to evolve.

However, the calls for reflection need to be considered against the several unfortunate observations regarding the performance of Nigeria and its lawyers in the underlying arbitration (i.e., not those representing it in the English proceedings). While he found that they were not corrupt (as was alleged by Nigeria of its own lawyers), Justice Knowles also observed that:

‘the case has shown examples where legal representatives did not do their work to the standard needed, where experts failed to do their work, and where politicians and civil servants failed to ensure that Nigeria as a state participated properly in the arbitration. The result was that the tribunal did not have the assistance that it was entitled to expect, and which makes the arbitration process work. And Nigeria did not in the event properly consider, select and attempt admittedly difficult legal and factual arguments that the circumstances likely required. Even without the dishonest behaviour of P&ID, Nigeria was compromised.’

Justice Knowles also suggests there was an imbalance ‘in the contributions of the parties’ that lead to form of the agreement at the centre of the dispute. Inherent in these observations is the suggestion that Nigeria was, at least in part, the author of its own problems – Nigeria was compromised by its own inaction and inattention.

As a neutral observer, I however strongly agree with the observations made by Lord Wolfson KC (counsel to the defendant in the English proceedings) in submission during the case:

‘Section 68 [the provision of the Arbitration Act relied upon by Nigeria to challenge the awards] is not there to give you a remedy if you instruct an honest lawyer who makes a mess of it or doesn’t take an available point. That is just tough. You have made your arbitration bed and you lie on it’.

As Justice Knowles acknowledged, Lord Wolfson’s comment is ‘blunt and correct.’ In other words, we, the arbitration community, should be careful in attempting to build mechanisms into the arbitration process that protect against the negligence of one party in the pursuit of their case. Arbitration is a consensual process and once the rules of engagement are set in the arbitration agreement it is for the parties to participate in the manner they agreed. To provide protections in the event of inattention or neglect from one party or the other would be to ignore this fundamental premise.