As Nigerians mark the country’s 63rd anniversary of independence on October 1, 2023, the national chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, has promised good governance under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.

In a goodwill message signed by his Press Secretary, Edwin Olofu, Ganduje urged Nigerians not to despair, noting that the APC-led administration had already taken steps to reposition the country for growth and development.

The APC chairman urged Nigerians of all ethnic and religious backgrounds to maintain a culture of peaceful coexistence in order to ensure the country’s unity and cohesion.

He restated that APC will remain true to its promises and pledges to the people, stressing that none of them will escape the party’s attention and won’t be treated lightly.

Ganduje said the present administration of President Tinubu was ready to live up to the Renewed Hope manifesto of the APC – to reposition Nigeria towards sustainable growth, development and economic prosperity.

Today is indeed an auspicious day as it marks an epoch in the life of our dear nation. Sixty-three years ago, on this very day, our beloved country was granted independence to chart its destiny and build a new nation!

Without a doubt, you will agree with me that the journey has not been without obstacles. It has been characterized by opportunities, prospects and challenges including a three-year civil war which has brought out the resilient Nigerian spirit of perseverance, industry and abiding faith in the country.

Under this administration, Nigerians can rest assured that it will be fine again, that their worries will be made a thing of the past, that both the youth and age will be well secured.

There will be sufficient jobs with decent wages, medicare, housing and other basic infrastructure that can guarantee the citizenry a better life.

At this juncture, let me recognise and appreciate the immeasurable contributions, efforts, sacrifices and patriotism of our founding fathers, their vision, courage and perseverance laid the foundation for the emergence of this great and inspiring nation called Nigeria, he added.

It was not surprising that the people of Egbaland rolled out the drums to celebrate His Majesty, Oba Aremu Gbadebo, the Alake of Egbaland, when he marked his 80th birthday on September 14.

Oba Gbadebo has been a stabilising force in Egbaland, despite the traditional cleavages of Abeokuta. He has been able to maintain the ancient protocols that bind the Egba people when they established the new state of Abeokuta as their novel response to the Yoruba Wars of the 19th Century. His reign has witnessed unprecedented development and the full transformation of Abeokuta into a modern, bustling megalopolis. In truth, he has earned his bragging right.

Gbadebo has inherited the political dexterity of his illustrious predecessor, Oba OyebadeLipede, who reigned for 23 remarkable years signposted by the rise of many Egba citizens into national and international prominence.

During his reign, Brigadier Oluwole Rotimi, an Egba man, became the military Governor of Western State and another Egba man, General Olusegun Obasanjo, became military Head of State.

Abeokuta became the capital of the new Ogun State in 1976, and when the Federal University of Agriculture was created, it became a university town. Therefore, when in 2005, Gbadebo ascended the throne, he had a tough act to follow. Since then, he has proven that he was more than equal to the task.

The new Alake became the Oba of the President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, the general-turned-politician, who was Gbadebo’s superior when they were in the army. Gbadebo, a graduate from the University of Ibadan, joined the army in 1969 and served in many consequential capacities.

He rose to become a colonel and Principal Staff Officer at the Dodan Barracks Supreme Headquarters office of Major-General Babatunde Idiagbon. When Idiagbon fell from power in 1985, Gbadebo too fell out of influence. But he was a lucky man and he left the military in controversial circumstances during the regime of General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida.

Kabiyesi’s serenity, his much-valued sagacity and his national and international network of friends and associates have been used for the service of his people. It is a testimony of that network that accounted for the alpha-list of guests that attended his birthday celebration. He is the monarch of Yoruba powerhouse, which has dominated and continues to dominate the politics and business of Nigeria.

Yorubaland has produced three Presidents for Nigeria, two of them, Obasanjo and the late Chief Ernest Adegunle Shonekan both have their roots in Abeokuta. Even the President-presumptive, Bashorun Moshood Abiola, was an Egba man.

Since 1999, the town has produced two governors, Chief Olusegun Osoba, the venerable former Managing Director of the old Daily Times and Governor Ibikunle Amosun, the wealthy accountant.

Which town in Yorubaland would claim to have in its fold the arrays of achievers that Egbaland has produced in every field, from the military, law, banking, (think of Fola Adeola) to Christian Pentecostalism (Pastor Tunde Bakare)?

Egba people have excelled in all! Gbadebo is the king of everyone. He is accessible, humble, gen
tle and wise. He takes his charge very seriously and he inhabits his majesty with aplomb and royal essence.

In truth, Egbaland is not as simple as it looks from afar. Abeokuta is a product of the turbulence of the Yoruba country in the 19th Century.

For generations, the Egbas have lived in small settlements in the Egba forest. Their princes were always contending with one another until their land laid prostrate before the ever-expanding empire of Oyo and the Alaafin, the sovereign prince of Oduduwa.

Worse was to come in the middle of the 19th Century when the Dahomian, having seized their independence from the Alaafin, decided to make Egbaland their new area of interests.

The wake-up call for the Egba came after the Owu War, when stranglers from the campaign, led by Lagelu, an Ife general, drove away the Egba from Ibadan, and proclaimed a new polity. The Egba then set up a new state in Abeokuta thanks to the sagacity and courage of three outstanding men, Okunkenu, the first Alake in the new settlement, Lisabi, the general and Shodeke, the statesman.

By the time the British proclaimed the Southern Protectorate in 1900, the Egba State, which was proclaimed in 1830, had asserted its independence. It has provided refuge for educated returning slaves and freemen, many of whom were of Egba origin.

Oba Gbadebo is an inheritor of the old protocols agreed upon by his ancestors. By that agreement, the principal obas of Abeokuta, each of which can trace his origin to the royal House of Oduduwa in Ile-Ife, have agreed to make the Alake, the ruler of Ake, their leader. That protocol has survived till today.

When Egba women in 1949, under the leadership of Mrs. Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, revolted against the authority of Oba Ademola and forced him into exile, no other Oba in Egbaland, challenged the supremacy of the Alake. Honouring the protocols of the past and ensuring its sanctity has been the bedrock of the Egba system.

Ironically, it is the inability to understand and appreciate ancient protocols and agreement among the ancestors that is causing unease and occasional turbulence in many parts of Yorubaland. The Ekiti, especially have a lot to learn from the Egba.

In many parts of Ekitiland today, newly manufactured history has been employed by newly manufactured obas, encouraged by politicians and the nouve-riche, to challenge ancient protocols and agreements among the ancestors. Like in Ikere Ekiti, the warring princes, no longer sure of what their ancestors did, or believing that the ancestors were foolish, have gone to court for arbitration and direction.

Laoye

It is that ancient protocols that would guide new entrants like our father, Oba Afolabi Laoye, Orumogege III, the new Soun of Ogbomosho. Ogbomosho was one of those towns that were seriously transformed by the Yoruba wars of the 19th Century.

The town was founded by Oyo people and over the years, it has welcomed new entrants from other places including, Nupe and Ibariba. This has given the people of Ogbomosho a certain cosmopolitan outlook and sophistication.

As a result of the wars, some major princes including, the Olugbon, became refugees in Ogbomosho. Agreement of those days have continued to guide the interactions of these senior Oduduwa princes with the principal ruler of Ogbomosho, the Soun. Because the Soun was not a direct descendant of Oduduwa, he was not allowed to wear the much-cherished bearded crown until 1978, when our father, Kabiyesi Oba Oladunni Oyewumi, Ajagungbade III, became the first Soun to do so.

Ogbomosho is lucky that another capable person is stepping into the large shoes of Baba Oyewumi. Some people, not really educated about the meaning of Yoruba kingship, are still referring to Oba Laoye as a pastor. He was a pastor. Now, he is a king. In Yorubaland, once a prince stepped into the Ipebi, the sacred sanctum for the training and fortification of the elect, he is no longer the old person.

In the original Ipebi, not the one constructed and invaded by politicians and renegade princes, the new king would be trained on how to behave as a king. He would have encounter with the Alale, the Eternal Continuum of the Yoruba Nation and he would commune with the spirit of those who have been kings before him. By the time he concludes his rites and his mandatory fortifications, the new Oba has become the living essence of the ancestors and The Continuum. Therefore, our father, Oba Laoye, is no longer the man they used to know. He is now Kabiyesi, the living ancestor and the Arole of the first Soun of Ogbomosho, Olabanjo Ogunlola Ogundiran.

At the heart of the Yoruba obaship system is the Arole theory. Arole means the heir-apparent or the person holding forth for the real owner. Therefore, the Alaafin of Oyo is also Oranmiyan, the prince of Ile-Ife, who travelled all the way to the bank of the River Niger, to establish a city and start an empire.

Every principal oba, including the old 16 Pelupelu obas of Ekiti, represents both himself and his ancestors.

His essence transcends the present epoch and unite times and space. It is the Arole theory that makes the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja II, both the Ooni and Oduduwa, the first king of Ile-Ife. The Ooni is baba, not just because of his age and present position, but because he was also the man there in the beginning when the princes left Ile-Ife at the dawn of time.

Therefore, Kabiyesi Oba Laoye is not the same person that entered Ipebi. He is different. Indeed, he is now born-again. He is the living representative of the Eternal Continuum. The difference would only be if the kingmakers have deceived him and led him into a fake Ipebi.

Settling into the new role can sometimes be challenging for a new Oba, but Laoye has a lot of precedents to assure him. Oba Babalola Akinyele, who was Olubadan of Ibadan, was a well-loved Christian leader of the 20th Century. Oba Adetoyese Laoye, the late Timi of Ede, was a Christian. Oba Oladele Olashore, the late Ajagbusin-EkunIloko-Ijesha, built a big church in his private palace at Iloko. The current Orangun of Oke-Ila, Oba AdedokunAbolarin, the founder of Abolarin College, Oke-Ila, is a member of the Seventh Day Adventist Church.

Therefore, Laoye should understand that history has prepared him well for this assignment. His duty is to serve all; regardless of faith, creed or religion, because there is only one Olodumare, and we, his children, are equal before him.

The Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, yesterday nullified the election of Miss Rukayat Shittu of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The 26-year-old Miss Shittu was declared winner of the Owode-Onire constituency of Asa Local Government Area in the March 18, 2023 state House of Assembly election.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Abdullahi Yinusa Magaji, had filed a petition over the victory.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the APC were respondents in the case.

In the lead judgement delivered by Justice Ademola Enikuomehin, a member of the three-man tribunal, a rerun was ordered in five polling units.

“The petitioners failed in 12 among the contested polling units while five have been proved. The results so far released are hereby cancelled and the election inconclusive.

“It is my belief that the election of the five units is not substantial enough to void the election of 66 other polling units.

“In sum, the petition succeeded in parts and in consequence. I hereby order a rerun of the election in the above polling units to be conducted within 90 days,” the judge submitted.

After the victory in March, Miss Shittu made headlines as arguably the youngest lawmaker in the country.

President Bola Tinubu warmly felicitates with the Speaker of the House of Representatives in the 10th National Assembly, Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, as the reputable public servant attains his new age of 60 on Nigeria's Independence Day.

The President shares in the joy of Nigerians and well-wishers from around the world as they celebrate the humble Prince of Zazzau Emirate on his special day, particularly in view of his landmark contributions to the nation's House of Representatives as the legislator who sponsored the highest number of bills in the 8th Assembly between 2015 and 2019, before sponsoring a record-breaking 74 bills, out of which 21 were signed into law, in the 9th Assembly between 2019 and 2023.

The President notes that the Iyan Zazzau had equally served in numerous Committees in the House, such as Commerce, Finance, Special Duties, Defence, Public Procurement, amongst others, before emerging as the House Speaker through an election which recorded the greatest winning coalition vote in Nigerian Speakership election history with an overwhelming majority of 353 votes out of 359 votes cast.

President Tinubu prays that God Almighty will continue to grant the respected academician greater wisdom and strength as the Speaker successfully sustains the worthy legacy of stable and productive leadership in the House of Representatives from the hallowed seat in determined pursuit of the actualization of the Renewed Hope agenda of the governing All Progressives' Congress-led administration of the President.

Chief Ajuri Ngelale

Special Adviser to the President

(Media & Publicity)

The FCT Command of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has impounded no fewer than 221 vehicles used by ‘one-chance’ robbers in Abuja.

The commandant of the FCT command, Olusola Odumosu, revealed this in an exclusive interview with THE WHISTLER at the weekend.

One chance robberies are perpetrated by criminal elements who disguise as commercial drivers to rob unsuspecting commuters of their valuables.

The criminals usually leave one seat unoccupied for a commuter and would rob their victim as the journey progresses.

Attacks on commuters by one-chance syndicates have continued in the federal capital, raising fears and concerns across the Federal Capital Territory.

Odumosu told THE WHISTLER that the NSCDC uncovered how the one-chance drivers use double plate numbers to avoid being detected by security agents.

“One of the major things we were able to achieve in the last operation which involved every agency, including civil defense, was this menace of one chance, where people are robbed while in motion. And it happens with all these useless drivers who claim to be commercial drivers, but in real sense, they are criminals.

“We discovered that a lot of vehicles that were used for such illicit operation carry a local plate number, meanwhile, they have foreign plate number underneath.

“And whenever their unsuspecting victims enter the vehicles, you see, even if you have written down the plate number, by the time they are in motion, they change the plate number to a foreign number, and they are untraceable.

“So, we’re able to clamp down on a lot of them. And a number of vehicles have been seized in this operation. About 221 vehicles were actually seized, impounded and arrested.

“How do you explain having two plate numbers, you know, for one vehicle, two different plate numbers, if you are not a criminal?

“So, we were able to launch out, and we raided the parks, we conducted stop and search on the highways, and we ensured that anyone with questionable vehicle particulars, even, aside from those with two plate numbers and different plate numbers were arrested,” he said.

Odumosu urged FCT residents to support security agencies by providing credible intelligence that will lead to the arrest of criminals perpetrating evil in the federal capital.

“I reactivated my critical national asset and infrastructure unit and my operations unit and since I’ve come on board, we have been conducting 24 hours patrol, day and night patrol, which of course have been giving us results,” he added.

In 2020, the Nigerian Army held a Spiritual Warfare Seminar to tackle Boko Haram and other associated insecurity issues in Nigeria.

While some attempted to scoff and laugh at the army, I was very fascinated by the acknowledgement of the then General Burutai led army that there is a spiritual side to armed conflicts. I noticed an army leadership that didn't care about the source of any solution to our security problems but just wanted results. Isn't that commendable?

Though I was also tempted to laugh the army to scorn at that time, I just couldn't, having myself read every material I came across on spiritual warfare during my sojourn and Christian theological quest to understand the meaning of life and the purpose of why some things happened.

So I have read and imbibed scores of books and materials on spiritual warfare by authors like Derek Prince, Rebecca Brown, Frank Perretti and many others like DK Olukoya whose I find very dramatic and pragmatic owing to his scientific approach yet very mysterious, terrific and alluring.

Nothing draws me to the mysteries of life like the prevalence of evil and the wickedness of man. I secretly find solace in mystery because it helps to explain to my simple mind the reason why the specie called man can be so wicked and why Nigeria is such a hard place to make better. Mystery helps me to sleep at night because it is easier to believe in God than to figure out why? Yet I dare not to ignore the bold assertions of Yuval Noah Harari, the new kid on the
atheist block.

While I have refused to comment on MohBad's death and the demonization of Naira Marley and Sam Larry, I cannot be quiet about the recent news of a young woman who has just died in an Abuja hospital because she was refused treatment owing to the absence of a police report. That is how low Nigeria has been and we know it.

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
- Chapter 6, verse 12 of Apostle Paul's Letter to Christians in Ephesus

While the above script is no longer fashionable among modern day Christians, it holds the theological key to understanding the manipulative interactions between the socio-political and economic forces that shape a society.

Based on the above position by Apostle Paul, nothing just happens. In fact, not everything is ordinary!

Have you noticed that there is more wickedness among the poor and those in the lower strata of the society? Yes spiritual wickedness in high places may be evil but nothing may be more evil than physical wickedness in low places.

Just check the attitude of ordinary Nigerians, many of whom have made money their god. They are so religious just to get God to give them money but they are extremely selfish and full of hate and envy toward others. They care less about others. That's why they may never be able to create a loving and compassionate society that values life above all else and to prevent suffering, pain and death. This has moved beyond an individual problem to an institutional crisis. Nigeria hates its humanity!

So Nigeria has again happened to that young woman that was robbed, stabbed and pushed from a moving vehicle. But worse still, Nigeria happened to her when she was brought to a public hospital still alive but was refused medical treatment and left to die right inside an hospital because there was no police report. Have you you tried get a police report even as a policeman or lawyer for you to know how hard it can be? What a wicked country!

A country that will never celebrate compassion with a Good Samaritan's Award but will readily debauch its youth with Big Brother Nigeria (BBN). It is crazy!

Young people would protest the suspicious death of MohBad but fail to see an institutional wickedness of the country that has just claimed a young woman's life because she may have been so ordinary like one of themselves. Why shouldn't the medical director of the hospital be arrested and put in prison by now?

Nigeria! Who is going to save this country from this curse of wickedness among themselves?

The Supreme Court is scheduled to resume the legal dispute between Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), and the Federal Government on Thursday.

Currently held at the Department of State Services (DSS) detention facility, Kanu faces charges of treason and terrorism brought forth by the federal government.

This court battle has persisted since 2015.

On October 13, 2022, the Court of Appeal justices dismissed all charges against Kanu, aligning with the arguments presented by Mike Ozekhome SAN, the lead counsel for the IPOB leader.

The Court of Appeal not only absolved Kanu of the 15 Counts charge but also prohibited the FG from prosecuting Kanu for the charges he faced prior to being forcefully brought from Kenya to Nigeria on June 27, 2021, by agents of the Nigerian government, citing that it violated international laws and extradition treaties.

However, the appellate court later suspended its judgment at the government’s request through the Attorney-General of the Federation, who urged the Supreme Court to overturn the lower court’s decision. Simultaneously, Kanu’s lawyer implored the apex court to affirm the Court of Appeal’s verdict and order his client’s release.

The apex court was scheduled to have continued hearing on the respective cases within September but it could not because of its vacation.

On Saturday, Ozekhome in a short WhatsApp message to THE WHISTLER disclosed that the apex court will resume hearing on October 5, Thursday.

“The following appeal has been slated for HEARING at the Supreme Court of Nigeria Abuja, on THURSDAY the 5TH, OCTOBER,2023 ( SC/CR/1394/2022, NNAMDI KANU V.FED.REP OF NIGERIA V; and SC/CR/1391/2023, FED. REP OF NIG VS NNAMDI KANU,” Ozekhome stated.

The Ogun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal has upheld the election of Governor Dapo Abiodun of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The Hamidu Kunaza-led three-man tribunal struck out the petition filed by Ladi Adebutu for being “incompetent”.

In a judgement read for 11 hours, the tribunal upheld Abiodun’s election while dismissing Adebutu’s petition.

In a unanimous judgement, the tribunal said “the petition lacks merit and it is hereby dismissed.”

He also described the testimonies of the witnesses brought by the petitioners as “industrially manufactured, mechanically produced and adopted” by them, thereby “proven to similar, too coincidental and unbelievable.”

In the court to witness the tribunal verdict proceeding include Ogun Deputy Governor, Engr Noimot Salako-Oyedel; Senator Solomon Adeola; his counterpart for Ogun Central, Senator Salisu Shuaib, Senator Gbenga Kaka, Minister of State for Environment and Ecological Management, Dr. Iziaq Kunle Salako.

Others were the former Speaker of Ogun State Assembly, Hon. Titi Oseni-Gomez, House of Reps member, Hon. Tunji Akinosi, Hon. Motunrayo Adeleye–Oladapo and former Woman Affairs Commissioner, Funmilayo Efuwape.

Also in court on the side of the petitioners are Hon. Oladipupo Adebutu’s running mate, Hon. Adekunle Akinlade, and the Ogun PDP chairman, Sikirulai Ogundele, among others.

In its bid to rid Poliomyelitis infection and secure a bright future for children, the Ogun State Government in collaboration with development partners flagged off the National Immunisation Plus Days NIPDs for children aged between 0-5 years.

 Flagging off the ceremony at Idofoyi Health Center, Ayetoro, Yewa North Local Government Area, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Dr. Kayode Oladehinde, represented by the Executive Secretary, Primary Health Care Development Board, Dr. Elijah Ogunsola stressed the importance of the NIPDs in the fight against polio, reiterating that the intention of immunization is to promote the growth of children and urged mothers to take their children to the nearest primary healthcare centres for vaccination and advocated that schools and markets across the State should be sensitized.

 The PS, according to Mrs. Fatimah Alatishe, the Press Officer, PHCDB, noted that the present administration is committed to the health needs of its citizenry especially the children, adding that the administration since inception has recorded no outbreak of poliomyelitis as it has put necessary measures in place to avert child mortality and deformity.

 In his welcome address, Yewa North Local Government Area, Hon. Gabriel Ogunyomi, represented by the Vice chairman, Hon. Bukola Omoyayi, thanked the state government for considering the council for the flag-off of the National Immunization Plus Days campaign, assuring full implementation of the vaccination exercise in the local government.

In their goodwill messages, state Coordinators, World Health Organization WHO, National Primary Health Care Development Agency NPHCDA, United Nations for Children Fund UNICEF, representatives of traditional rulers and community leaders lauded the efforts of the state government for supporting all healthcare initiatives by the Federal government and development partners.

See Photos Below:

The Supreme Court of Nigeria has slated for HEARING all Appeals on Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu's case before the Apex Court on Thursday, 5TH OCTOBER, 2023.

Recall that on the 13th day of October 2022, the Court of Appeal, Abuja Judicial Division, delivered a Landmark Judgment in an appeal filed by Prof Mike Ozekhome, SAN,CON, OFR, Ph.D, on behalf of Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, challenging part of the Federal High Court ruling, which had retained 7 counts out of the original 15 counts against Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, after striking out eight out of the 15 count charge. 

The learned Justices of the Court of Appeal, in allowing the appeal filed by our erudite Lead Counsel-Prof. Mike Ozekhome SAN, directed the Federal Government of Nigeria to immediately release Mazi Nnamdi Kanu unconditionally.The intermediate court in the Landmark decision, proceeded in the aforesaid judgement to prohibit the Federal Government of Nigeria from further detaining Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, or prosecuting him on any indictment or charge before any court in Nigeria. 

On the 5th day of October, 2023, Prof. Mike Ozekhome SAN, leading Sir Ifeanyi Ejiofor Esq., and others, will be exchanging the legal fireworks on behalf of Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, in urging the Supreme Court to dismiss in its entirety the frivolous appeal filed by the Federal Government of Nigeria against this landmark judgement of the Court of Appeal; and to further set aside the ruling of the Court of Appeal staying the execution of its earlier judgment.

We are very firm, and committed to our solemn belief that the wheels of justice,though grinds slowly, but grinds exceedingly fine and towards the attainment of justice at the end of the day.

Justice shall prevail,by the grace of God. And the hour is here .

We move. 

Thank you and God bless you all.

Signed 

Sir ifeanyi Ejiofor, Esq. (KSC)

IPOB’S Lead Counsel.

30th September, 2023.