As Nigeria celebrated its 63rd independence anniversary on Sunday, 1 October 2023, there seemed to be a consensus that we are not where we ought to be either in the nation-building process or with respect to economic development. While many wondered whether there was anything to celebrate at all (other than that we have somehow managed to be together all these years despite the challenges), others felt we would have fared better if the different nationalities that were brought together to form the Nigerian State in 1914 were allowed to continue on their autochthonous path of development.  

The idea that there is nothing else to celebrate other than our managing to be together for these past 63 years is to take pessimism too far. Certainly we have made some progress on all fronts – from the revolution in telecoms to a Nigerian firm (Dangote) achieving the status of a multinational corporation, to the emergence of an indigenous motor manufacturing company (Innoson Motors), to the country having a Nobel Laureate in Literature and to the global mainstreaming of the accomplishments of our entertainment artists in music and films.

On nationhood, the rate of inter-ethnic marriages and friendships have continued to grow. In fact, the idea that the separate nationalities that were agglomerated into one entity in 1914 could have done better if they had continued on their individual paths to development is purely academic. The truth however is that if these nationalities were as powerful and successful as we often make them to be, they would not have been easily conquered and pacified by a few White men as was the case in most pre-colonial entities that fused to become Nigeria. Besides, that a nation has a homogeneity of culture and language is no guarantee that they will build a successful nation-state as the case of Somalia illustrates.

I align myself with the position that despite modest gains on several fronts, we are not where we ought to be. This leads logically to what is really the problem with the country.

In a Daily Trust article of 30 July 2015, I interrogated four popular diagnoses of the Nigerian condition – corruption, leadership, weak institutions and insecurity and concluded that neither of these was the fundamental problem of the country.  On the corruption mantra, I argued that while I accept that corruption is a serious issue, it is merely the symptom of a more fundamental malaise and that it would be wrong to elevate the institutional manifestations of a problem to its defining characteristic. I contended that corruption is a systemic problem that is exacerbated in climes where the nation-building process has manifestly failed – as in Somalia or engulfed in deep crisis – as in Nigeria and several other African countries.

My opinion was that if we were right about our diagnoses of the causes of corruption and prognoses for action, then the incidence of corruption would be reducing and not be increasing as it seems to be doing now despite the existence of institutions like the EFCC and the ICPC and the fact that every government in the country has made fighting the malaise one of the cornerstones of its administration.

I also interrogated the ‘failure of leadership’ argument, which was popularized by Chinua Achebe’s slim booklet, The Trouble With Nigeria, (originally published in 1983). In that booklet, Achebe argued that the “trouble with Nigeria is simply and squarely a failure of leadership.” In essence for Achebe and others who argue within this framework, Nigeria has continued to underperform simply because she has been unfortunate to be cursed by a recurrent blizzard of mediocre and corrupt leadership. I pointed out that one of the problems with the ‘failure of leadership’ argument is the neglect of the influence of environmental variables – what we call the ‘Nigerian factor’ or political scientists would call system dynamics. I pointed out that there is often a wrong assumption that the environmental variables will lend themselves to whichever way the leader wants to manipulate them. There is also the problem of how this ‘good leader’ would emerge in an environment where one’s ethnic and other primordial identities already condemns everyone as a suspect.

On the ‘Africa needs strong institutions, not strong men’ rhetoric, I argued that since institutions necessarily have to be built by people, and since the environmental variables seriously constrain leaders, building strong institutions in a country like Nigeria will be akin to the chicken and egg argument.

On insecurity, my position was that while no one should trivialize the security challenges in the country, it cannot be the fundamental problem of the country. I felt it was an overstatement to say that insecurity inhibits foreign direct investment because capital smells opportunity for accumulation and often moves into areas where it can reproduce itself – often regardless of the security situation there.

My main contention was that the fundamental problem in the country is the crisis in the country’s nation-building. This perspective assumes that diversity is not inherently antithetical to nation-building because many of the most successful nations of the world were in fact built from an agglomeration of different ethnic nationalities. As the experience of Somalia teaches us, ethnic and cultural homogeneity does not necessarily guarantee the success of nation-building – defined as a deliberate use of state instruments to build trust and create a sense of community among the nationalities that make up the ‘new’ states in the ‘developing’ countries.

I argued that the nation-building process in Nigeria appears to have stalled, if not in severe crisis, and that this feeds into the crisis of underdevelopment to create an existential crisis for many Nigerians. For many people, a way of resolving the consequent sense of alienation appears to be to delink from the Nigerian state into primordial identities – often with the Nigerian state as the enemy. I have elsewhere called this phenomenon a de-Nigerianization process. I strongly believe that unless the crisis in our nation-building is resolved, any solution thrown at any of the country’s multifarious problems will end up becoming part of the problems.

I feel that the nature of our politics, (in which elections are conducted every four years), exacerbates the crisis in our nation-building process. Not only is politics seen as a veritable vehicle of wealth accumulation, there is also a pervasive fear that whoever captures state power will use it to privilege his or her in-group and disadvantage the others. For this, politics tends to be anarchic and almost a warfare, in which all forms of primordial identities, including ethnicity and religion, are mobilized in a simplistic binary of ‘we versus they’ dichotomy. Elections therefore deepen the chasms in our fault lines and the wounds from one election cycles are not given enough time to heal before another election cycle beckons. For this I strongly feel that the Western brand of liberal democracy is unlikely to work in our environment and that we need a uniquely African solution. This is where I feel that we need to urgently re-imagine our politics. I do not agree with those who argue that our problem is fundamentally the economy because economic policies themselves are decided through the political process.

Since the fear of being excluded and marginalized is at the heart of the contentious nature of our politics, I will recommend a collegial presidency in which one candidate is elected from each of the six geopolitical zones, with each of the six persons elected into the College taking turns to serve as president of the College for two non-renewable years, while others become Vice Presidents responsible for constitutionally specified duties. I will also recommend proportional representation at the State level and a College of Governors, one person from each of the Senatorial Districts. The three will take turn in being governor for two years while the others become Deputy Governors.

Given that we are still living in the shadows of the Civil War and that war propaganda on both sides (with its distortions and embellishments) have apparently been swallowed as the naked truth by the descendants of the parties to the conflict, there will also be a need for a new historiography which will focus on reconciliation, forgiveness and giving proper context to some of those war propagandas. I will support the criminalization of group profiling as is the case in countries like the United Kingdom.

Having a collegial system of presidency with a single tenure of twelve years, will give us a long break from presidential elections (which, besides the cost, have lost their value as credible vehicles for leadership recruitment).

The Chairman of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa has said that the government must play its part in providing a favourable environment for its residents.

Dabiri-Erewa stated this on Monday from Paris during an appearance on Channels Television’s Empowering Tomorrow: A New Vision for Nigeria, a special programme on the 63rd anniversary of Nigeria’s independence celebrated on October 1.

According to her, it is impossible to completely halt the mass exodus of Nigerians popularly referred to as Japa.

She said, “You can’t stop this migration, legal or illegal, but the question is: Why are you migrating? Are you migrating to a better place? Are you migrating to bigger dreams?

“Here is a quick thing, government needs to play its own role of [providing] a conducive environment. The Tinubu administration has talked about job creation, SMEs, digital transformation, and digital truth for our younger people, and a lot of that conversation is going on here in France.”

Speaking further, the NIDCOM boss opined that moving to another country has no inherent flaws, but it must have a clear goal.

“There is nothing wrong with migration, but migrate to a better place. Migrate to become a better person; don’t migrate to get into trouble. A lot of people we deal with are looking for jobs but they don’t get the jobs when they go abroad.

“Why are you migrating? Are you a better person by the time you migrate? But again, government must play its role and do what it has to do,” she added.

The West African Examinations Council has initiated the 76th meeting of the Nigeria Examinations Committee to deliberate on cases of malpractice and irregularities arising from the 2023 West African Senior School Certificate Examination for school candidates.

The body disclosed this on Tuesday via its official X handle.

Earlier on Monday, WAEC appointed Dr. Amos Josiah Dangut as the Head of the Nigeria National Office, The PUNCH reports.

“The 76th Meeting of the Nigeria Examinations Committee (NEC) to consider & decide on the malpractice/irregularity cases arising from the conduct of WASSCE for School Candidates, 2023 begins today.”

In August, the examination body initially released the 2023 WASSCE results, but the outcomes of 262,803 candidates were put on hold due to instances of examination malpractice.

However, the body has assured candidates that information about their results will be communicated after the NEC meeting concludes its deliberations.

“The 76th Meeting of the Nigeria Examinations Committee (NEC) to consider & decide on the malpractice/irregularity cases arising from the conduct of WASSCE for School Candidates, 2023 begins today,” the post read.

The Federal Government may incur additional N315bn in wage bill in the next six months for the newly introduced allowance for federal workers, findings by The PUNCH have shown.

This came as Organised Labour agreed to suspend its proposed nationwide strike for 30 days, following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Federal Government after a marathon meeting that ended around 11pm on Tuesday.

The resolution followed over five hours of deliberations between the Federal Government and Labour at the Chief of Staff Conference Room of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Announcing the outcome of the meeting to State House correspondents, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Simon Lalong, said “The NLC and TUC accept to suspend for 30 days the planned Indefinite Nationwide strike scheduled to begin, Tuesday, the 3rd of October, 2023.”

Lalong said the memorandum shall be filed with the relevant court of competent jurisdiction within one week as consent judgment by the Federal Government.

However, the NLC President, Joe Ajaero, said the unions would revisit the agreement if the FG failed to fulfil their demands.

According to the agreement, the Federal Government grants a wage award of N35,000 only to all Federal Government workers “beginning from the month of September pending when a new national minimum wage is expected to have been signed into law.”

The agreement further read in part, “A minimum wage committee shall be inaugurated within one month from the date of this agreement.

“Federal Government accepts to vote N100 billion for the provision of high capacity CNG buses for mass transit in Nigeria. Provisions are also being made for initial 55,000 CNG conversion kits to kick start an auto gas conversion programme, whilst work is ongoing on state-of-the-art CNG stations nationwide. The rollout aims to commence by November with pilots across 10 campuses nationwide.

“The Federal Government should urge state government through the National Economic Council and Governors Forum to implement wage award for their workers. Similar consideration should also be given to local government and private sector workers. A joint visitation will be made to the refineries to ascertain their rehabilitation status.”

Meanwhile, the Federal Government had on Sunday said that the provisional wage increase announced by President Bola Tinubu for all low-income workers for six months would cut across all treasury-paid workers.

The Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, revealed this to State House correspondents at the end of a four-hour marathon emergency meeting with the leaders of Organised Labour.

The compromise was reached to avert the proposed indefinite nationwide strike declared by the organised labour.

The meeting came hours after the President in his Independence Day broadcast announced the approval of a N25,000 provisional wage increase for a certain category of federal workers for the next six months.

However, The PUNCH gathered that labour leaders rejected Tinubu’s N25,000 provisional wage increment for low-grade workers.

As a result, the Federal Government raised the wage award to N35,000.

“The Federal Government has announced N35,000 only as provisional wage award for all treasury-paid Federal Government workers for six months following further consultation with President Bola Tinubu,” according to a statement by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mallam Mohammed Idris.

Earlier in August this year, the Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Ben Akabueze, said the Federal Government’s personnel cost was over N5tn, with 1.5 million workers under the Federal Government’s payroll.

He disclosed this to an Ad-Hoc committee of the House of Representatives, seeking to investigate the mismanagement of personnel recruitment, employment racketeering and gross mismanagement of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System.

Akabueze said, “Not only have we not redrawn, we have significantly reduced our numbers and managed the cost of the government, which as of 2015, was about N1tn. Today, it is over N5tn and as much as we desire to depopulate the growing number of unemployed people in the country, the reality is that the government is not really a direct job creator.

“The role of government is to create an enabling environment for the private sector to create jobs. The total number of people in the employment of the federal government nationwide, including all of the security services, the military and all of that, is under 1.5 million people.”

This likely means that 1.5 million federal workers will benefit from the proposed N35,000 monthly palliative proposed by the Federal Government to cushion the effects of the removal of subsidy on the Premium Motor Spirit, popularly known as petrol, for a period of six months.

The Federal Government is expected to spend N52.5bn monthly on 1.5 million federal workers.

This means that a total of N315bn will be spent in six months, with each civil servant getting a total of N210,000.

The President General of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, Adewale Adeyanju on Monday, directed that all members of the union to resume work on Tuesday (today) instructed by the Nigeria Labour Congress.

Working-class Nigerians

However, The PUNCH observed that many people of working-class age will not benefit from this Federal Government’s new allowance (N35,000)

Earlier, The PUNCH reported that about 88.2 per cent of working-age Nigerians have no salary-paying jobs.

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed that only about 11.8 per cent of working-age Nigerians were engaged in wage employment in the first quarter of 2023.

According to the asksource.info site, wage employment includes any salaried or paid job under contract (written or not) to another person, organisation, or enterprise in both the formal and informal economies.

The NBS also disclosed that there was a decrease of 1.6 percentage points in the percentage for wage employment from 13.4 per cent in Q4 2022 to 11.8 per cent in Q1 2023.

The Nigeria Labour Force Survey (4th Quarter 2022 and 1st Quarter 2023) report by the NBS read, “The share of wage employment was 13.4 per cent in Q4 2022 and 11.8 per cent in Q1 2023.”

It means that 1.6 per cent of working-age Nigerians either resigned or lost their salary-paying jobs between Q4 2022 and Q1 2023.

However, the NBS did not provide a value for the total number of working-age Nigerians, unlike in its previous report.

In 2020, the NBS placed Nigeria’s working-age population at 122 million.

Using the figure of 122 million, the N35,000 monthly will not cover up to one per cent of working-age Nigerians.

However, the Federal Government announced that it would commence payment of N75,000 to 15 million households at N25,000 per month for a three-month period from October to December 2023.

The PUNCH earlier reported that at least 42.69 million poor Nigerians were excluded from the N5,000 monthly cash transfer since its inception in 2016.

Also, the Senate earlier approved Tinubu’s request to borrow $800m loan from the World Bank. It also amended the 2022 Supplementary Appropriation Act to accommodate the provision for N500bn for palliatives to mitigate the effect of petrol subsidy removal on poor Nigerians.

According to Tinubu, the $800m loan will be used to cater for the welfare of the vulnerable and poor households in the country under the National Safety Net Programme, while the sum of N8,000 will be transferred monthly to the bank accounts of 12 million poor and low-income households for six months.

However, findings by The PUNCH showed that not less than 3.7 million poor households would be excluded from this new cash transfer programme.

Urban poor

The Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, has stressed the need for the government’s palliatives to focus on those in the urban poor.

Oyedele did this on Monday at The Platform, a bi-annual good governance conference hosted by Poju Oyemade, the Senior Pastor of Covenant Christian Centre in Lagos.

He noted that the urban poor are the most affected by the government’s policy, which has made life almost impossible for them.

“Since fuel subsidy removal, it is a painful sacrifice that Nigerians are making… If you are an urban poor, life is almost impossible. When the subsidy was removed, the price of PMS at the pump went up by more than 200 per cent. You know what happened? Traffic in Lagos disappeared.

“One of the reasons it disappeared was because a lot of people could no longer maintain buying fuel to be on the road and then they park their cars. Do you think those are the upper-class people? No! The upper-class people will just complain briefly, they will pay and move on. They drove exactly the way they drove before, after the removal,” Oyedele said.

He further noted that the policy is necessary, but the government needs to commit every saved amount from this policy to helping those who really need it.

He also said that the most impacted by the subsidy removal policy are not in the villages.

“Many villages have no idea that they have removed fuel subsidy. But if you are an urban poor, you commute to work; you pay rent; you buy food. We produced our foods in the village. In other words, we must make sure that we are able to attend to these problems where it is most painful,” Oyedele said.

He further advised Nigerians to stop praying for the country’s refineries to work. Rather, they should channel such energy into demanding their sale.

The Nigeria Police Force said the Monitoring Unit of the Inspector-General of Police had commenced an investigation following a petition by a Delta State-based rights advocate, Israel Joe, over alleged extortion of N80 million from a surveillance contractor, Atubi Davison, by an Assistant Commissioner of Police, in charge of the State Criminal Investigation Department, and two other officers.

The police said it is currently interrogating the policemen who according to the petitioner, claimed that they would give the sum of N30 million to IG Egbetokun, and N16 million to the Rivers State CP, Polycarp Abonyi, out of the booty.

The petitioner also alleged that the policemen also collected a gold necklace from Davidson worth N4 million.

In an official correspondence yesterday, the Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi noted that to ensure fairness and impartiality, the complainant who made the allegations will be contacted to come forward and cooperate by providing more relevant information regarding the matter.

Meanwhile, Joe, in the petition dated September 21, which was duly stamped by the office of the IG, said the police on September 14, 2023, busted Davison’s residence at Peace Avenue Road, Egbelu, in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of the state, searched the house and discovered local and foreign currencies totaling N100 million meant for payment for men securing pipeline facilities in Niger Delta.

The activist said the police took away the money, two cars, and gold necklace, and arrested four persons seen in Davison’s house, including a female. He said that despite an investigation showing that the money was for payment of securing an oil facility the money was not returned.

Joe said, “I met with the Assistant Commissioner, State CIID, and asked him what are you investigating the man for, the ACP told me that is an alleged kidnap case that he doesn’t know if somebody will come and report that his money is missing or is a ransom money, that all they need to do is to see how they can manage the situation that the money is about N100 million.

“A major part of the money is in dollars. I told the ACP they should charge him (Davison) to court if the man committed any offence. When they saw that calls were coming from different angles, they called us – called the father that they were going to release the two cars to him and any amount they release to him (Davison), he should manage it, that they are going to send N30 million to the IG, N16 million to the state Commissioner of Police.

“At the end of the day, they (the policemen) released the two cars, they released the Chevrolet and Toyota Camry car to him, released only N12 million to him and took away a whopping N80 million along with his gold chain valued about N4 million, the two plasma Television, shoes and clothes they carried from his house.”

Continuing, he said, “The IPO even told us to leave Port Harcourt that criminals may come for us, that we should leave Rivers State. I know one CP called him (AC) and he confirmed that they took away almost N100 million from the man’s house. They released only 12 million naira for the man.

“The 12 million was in dollars. The other people who were arrested with the man bailed themselves, some with one million naira, two million naira, just like that.

I am calling for a proper investigation. The money should be refunded and all officers involved should be brought to book. If the surveillance workers are not paid, people will go and break the pipeline and the man has nothing to do and it will tell on the economy of the Federal Government of Nigeria”.

Officer

Reacting to the development in an official correspondence on Monday night, Adejobi said, “Following allegations of unprofessionalism, kidnapping, name-dropping, extortion, and illicit enrichment against some officers of the Rivers State Police Command, and the swift intervention of the acting Inspector-General of Police, Olukayode Egbetokun, the officers fingered in a petition by one Israel Joe on behalf of one Mr Atubi Davison are being interrogated by the IGP Monitoring Unit as part of ongoing investigation to unravel the allegations and ascertain its veracity for further necessary action.

“As previously stated, the Nigeria Police Force views these allegations with the utmost seriousness and is fully committed to conducting a comprehensive and transparent investigation. To ensure fairness and impartiality, the complainant who made these allegations will be contacted to come forward and cooperate by providing more relevant information regarding the matter.

“The Inspector-General of Police, therefore, cautions the public about fraudulent individuals who always attempt to exploit the reputation of the Inspector General of Police and other senior officers for personal gain.

He urges members of the public to exercise caution and verify the authenticity of anyone claiming to represent Senior Police Officers in any dubious activities while reporting such to the NPF and the Force Public Relations Officer or the Complaint Response Unit desk in any state of the Federation.”

A pregnant woman and a soon-to-be by bride were among those who perished in the explosion that hit an illegal refining site in Rivers state.

Within Nigeria had reported that an inferno engulfed the oil bunkering site in Ibaa community, Emuoha Local Government Area of the oil rich southern State.

The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps confirmed the tragedy in a statement on Monday.

Among the dead victims, according to the NSCDC, are a graduate and a lady whose wedding is billed for next month.

According to the statement issued by the spokesperson of the NSCDC, Rivers State Command, Olufemi Ayodele, 18 persons died in the inferno.

Ayodele disclosed that 25 persons were rescued by operatives of NSCDC.

On the cause of the incident, he said preliminary investigations on the Sunday night inferno show that it was caused by a local refinery cooking pot constructed close to an oil reservoir that contained combustible materials.

He said the burning temperature eventually became too high and caused the fire.

The statement reads, “Thus, the fire disaster which occurred in Ibaa community is highly condemnable and uncalled for.

“There is a need for conscious effort and stronger collaborations with the traditional institutions, community youths, and religious leaders amongst others to fight against oil bunkering activities in our various communities and this begins with giving credible intelligence and information to the NSCDC, the lead agency in the fight against vandalism of oil pipelines and protection of critical national assets and infrastructures in Rivers State”.

“The state NSCDC Commandant, Basil Igwebueze, hinted that information gathered suffice that the fire incident started at a very late hour hence 18 victims were burnt beyond recognition while 25 injured persons were rescued.

“From our preliminary findings, it was gathered that the inferno was caused by a local refinery cooking pot constructed close to an oil reservoir which contained combustible materials, the burning temperature eventually became too high and the environment gutted fire.”

Continuing, he said, “We also gathered that the cooking pot belonged to one Mr. John Bodo who sustained severe fire injuries while his son, Uche Bodo, a fresh graduate, died on the spot.

“It is also lamentable to relay that most of the victims were youths; then a pregnant woman and a young lady getting ready for her marriage ceremony next month were all casualties.”

While condoling with the affected families; the NSCDC state helmsman warned against the activities of illegal local refineries in communities across the state.

Igwebueze further said such negative activities cause huge damage to the environment and ‘irreparable loss’.

“Therefore, critical stakeholders must align and vehemently fight against illegal oil bunkering activities in Rivers State,” he said

The N30 billion lawsuit filed by the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria against Meta Platforms Incorporated (the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp) and its agent AT3 Resources Limited is scheduled for a hearing at the Federal High Court, Abuja Judicial Division in October.

ARCON’s Director-General, Olalekan Fadolapo, revealed this information during an interview with The PUNCH.

ARCON aims to secure a declaration, asserting that the ongoing publication and dissemination of advertisements targeting the Nigerian market via Facebook and Instagram by Meta Platforms Incorporated, without prior vetting and approval, are in violation of Nigerian advertising laws, illegal, and unlawful.

The regulatory body has emphasized that Meta Platforms Incorporated’s unvetted adverts have resulted in a loss of revenue for the Federal Government.

He said the decision to serve the company at its corporate headquarters became necessary after Meta claimed that it did not have any physical office in Nigeria.

He said, “The case is coming up this October, because the level of shenanigans that is happening in that place (Facebook) is too much. But trust me, we will use all legal means to sanitise that space.

“What we are saying is that what they are showing to the Nigerian audience, which is our territorial space is indecent. We will not go and regulate the media in the US, but what we will do is regulate the media space here in Nigeria.

“They said they don’t have an office in Nigeria, but they are doing business in Nigeria. So, we are not concerned about their office, we are concerned about the business they are doing in Nigeria. If you are doing business in Nigeria, you are supposed to abide by Nigerian laws.”

Several policemen in Anambra State are facing disciplinary action after a disturbing video emerged showing them brutally beating two sisters over alleged failure to pay security levies.

In the viral video, about five policemen and a civilian accomplice are seen punching and hitting the two young women outside their apartment despite protests from shocked onlookers.

According to reports, one of the victims had just undergone an appendectomy surgery a week earlier, making the assault even more egregious.

The Anambra State Police Command has expressed regret over the incident. Spokesperson DSP Tochukwu Ikenga confirmed the officers had been identified and arrested.

“They are currently facing disciplinary actions for acting unprofessionally and inability to control the situation,” he noted.

Ikenga explained that the man in civilian clothes seen repeatedly punching one victim in her stomach and face is not a policeman but the original complainant in the case.

He revealed the suspect’s relatives called in the complainant when police arrived to make an arrest, sparking the violent confrontation caught on video.

While conceding the officers erred, Ikenga stressed that the initial altercation was between the complainants and the suspects’ family members.

“The police officers failed to manage the situation professionally even as they struggled to control the fighting parties,” he added.

The video, shared widely on social media, shows the policemen intermittently hitting one of the victims on her back and face as she tries to shield herself.

Onlookers can be heard protesting that the girl just had surgery and questioning what offense warranted such brutal treatment.

The incident has sparked public outrage across the state, with many demanding disciplinary action against the officers involved for excessive use of force.

The police command says it does not condone such conduct and the affected officers will face sanctions to serve as a deterrent.

The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Fetus Keyamo, has weighed in on the release of President Bola Tinubu’s academic results by the Chicago State University, CSU.

Keyamo said the 2023 Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, embarked on self-humiliation odyssey.

In a post on X, the minister asked Atiku to tender unreserved apology to Tinubu and Nigerians.

According to Keyamo: “From the responses by Chicago State University, ATIKU’s journey to Chicago and back has been a journey to nowhere, a fruitless exercise and an odyssey in self-humiliation. President Tinubu and Nigerians deserve an unreserved apology from him.”

In the result released, CSU confirmed it found three diplomas matching the certificate Tinubu presented to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, after a diligent search.

Atiku obtained victory at the court in his fierce legal battle to probe into the academic qualification of Tinubu in the February 25 presidential poll.

Tinubu had supplied certificates from the Chicago State University, CSU, to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to secure eligibility to participate in the election.

A United States of America court on Saturday ordered CSU to release Tinubu’s academic records for verification and in support of Atiku’s petition challenging the result of the 2023 presidential poll.

Justice Nancy Maldonado in a judgment dismissed the objection raised by Tinubu against Atiku’s request and expressly ordered that the CSU must submit the academic records to Atiku.

CHAIRMAN of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Mr. Taiwo Oyedele, and the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Mr. Bosun Tijani, yesterday, declared that strong institutions and investments in manpower are key to building a great country, adding that the country’s youth are its biggest asset.

Oyedele and Tijani spoke during The Covenant Nation’s non-political and non-partisan national development fair, known as The Platform.

Oyedele, in his address, cautioned those leaving Nigeria not to wish others staying back evil.

He argued that strong institutions and investments in manpower are key to building a great country, adding that governments must, at all levels, pay attention to these areas.

Oyedele urged them to create an enabling environment for businesses to thrive, saying that way, people would not be eager to leave the country.

His words: “There is nothing wrong in leaving, don’t get me wrong. But if you leave, don’t wish the rest of us bad.

“And while you are here and continue to be here, don’t wish us evil. If you have citizens, who are actively working against their country, there is no amount of prayers you will pray, that country will not succeed.”

“Even if you are planning to leave, just remember, there are 95 per cent of us who cannot go anywhere.”

While noting the importance of patriotism, he said no foreigner can develop Nigeria.

“All the countries that were developed were developed by their people,” he added.