48 persons have been given mass burial after a petrol tanker explosion in Agaie Local Government Area of Niger State.

The incident occurred in the early morning of Sunday when the petrol tanker had a head-on collision with a trailer truck loaded with travellers and cattle from Wudil in Kano state.

The Director General of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency, Abdullahi Baba-Arab who gave the update on Sunday, also confirmed that 48 persons whose bodies were burnt beyond recognition had been given mass burial in the local government.

According to him, following further search and rescue operations 18 more bodies were recovered from the 30 bodies earlier reported.

“Following further search and rescue operations, my agency discovered 18 more bodies which were also burnt to death and all the dead have been given mass burial,” he said.

Baba-Arab made the accident known on Sunday in a statement in which he said the incident happened on Sunday at about 12.30 am along Lapai-Agaie, 2km from Dendo Community in Agaie LG.

He also disclosed that over 50 cattle were also burnt alive and two other vehicles, a crane truck and a pickup van were caught in the inferno.

The NSEMA statements read, “NSEMA has received a report of a deadly tanker explosion that occurred on Sunday, the 8th of September, 2024, at about 12.30 am along Lapai-Agaie, 2km from Dendo Community in Agaie LGA.

“The incident occurred when a petrol tanker loaded with PMS collided with a trailer truck loaded with travellers and cattle from Wudil in Kano State heading to Lagos, two other vehicles, a crane truck and a pickup van were also caught in the incident.

“Over 30 people are already confirmed dead, with over 50 cattle burnt alive. NSEMA’s Rapid Respond Team (RRT), in conjunction with LGEMCs, is still on the scene of the incident conducting search and rescue operations as more corpses are still trapped inside the trucks.”

[Punch]

Nigerian para-powerlifter Folashade Oluwafemiayo clinched a gold medal at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris, shattering two world records in the process.

Her remarkable lift of 167kg not only broke her previous world record in the women’s 86kg Para-Powerlifting category but also made her the first Para-athlete in history to achieve such a feat.

Her performance secured Nigeria’s second gold medal at the Paralympic Games.
The 39-year-old, who had previously won a silver medal at the London 2012 Paralympic Games, has now become a two-time Paralympic champion.

Oluwafemiayo’s accomplishment follows a series of strong performances by Nigerian athletes at the Paralympics. Flora Ugwunwa secured a silver medal in the women’s javelin F54 event, while Onyinyechi Mark won gold in para-powerlifting with a record-breaking lift of 147kg. Esther Nworgu also claimed silver in the women’s 41kg Para-Powerlifting event, setting two new Paralympic records.

Eniola Bolaji made history as the first African to win a medal in badminton at the Olympic or Paralympic Games, achieving a bronze after defeating her Ukrainian opponent in straight sets.

Overall, Nigeria’s medal tally at the 2024 Paralympics stands at seven: two gold, three silver, and two bronze. These accomplishments are a testament to the hard work and dedication of Nigerian para-athletes, who continue to excel on the global stage.

Nigeria’s first gold at the Games came from Onyinyechi Mark in the powerlifting finals on Friday.

Esther Nworgu added a silver medal in the women’s 41kg Para-Powerlifting event on Wednesday, and Bose Omolayo also secured a silver medal in the 79kg Para-Powerlifting category.

[BusinessDay]

Over 30 people have been confirmed dead following a petrol tanker explosion in Agaie Local Government Area of Niger State.

The incident occurred when the tanker collided head-on with a trailer truck carrying passengers and cattle from Wudil, Kano State, en route to Lagos.

Abdullahi Baba-Arab, Director General of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA), confirmed the tragic event in a statement on Sunday. The explosion happened around 12:30 am along the Lapai-Agaie road, approximately 2km from Dendo Community.

The NSEMA statement read: “NSEMA has received a report of a deadly tanker explosion that occurred on Sunday, 8th September 2024, at about 12:30 am along Lapai-Agaie road, 2km from Dendo Community in Agaie LGA.

“The incident happened when a petrol tanker loaded with PMS collided with a trailer truck carrying travellers and cattle from Wudil, Kano State, heading to Lagos. Two other vehicles, a crane truck and a pickup van, were also involved in the incident.

“Over 30 people have already been confirmed dead, with more than 50 cattle burnt alive. NSEMA’s Rapid Response Team (RRT), in conjunction with LGEMCs, is still at the scene conducting search and rescue operations, as more bodies remain trapped inside the vehicles,” the statement read.

Meanwhile, the state Governor, Mohammed Umaru Bago has expressed sadness over the loss of lives and properties from the explosion.

In a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Bologi Ibrahim, the Governor says he is pained by the unfortunate incident and the colossal loss incurred.
The Governor called for calm by the residents of the affected area and also enjoined road users to always be cautious and abide by road traffic regulations to safeguard lives and property.

The Governor prayed for the repose of the souls of the departed and grant quick recovery to those injured.

[Vanguard]

Gbenga Adeyinka has praised some of his colleagues’ comedy expertise, arguing they can host shows better than Trevor Noah.

Noah is an award-winning South African comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, and television host. He is best known for hosting The Daily Show, an American news satire program, from 2015 to 2022.

Adeyinka, who has built an illustrious career that has endured for decades, spoke on the recent episode of TheCable’s ‘Our Two Kobo’ podcast.

The show host said comedians like Basketmouth, Okey Bakassi, Bovi, and himself “could outshine” Noah in anchoring international shows.

Adeyinka cited the lack of opportunities as the primary obstacle hindering Nigerian entertainers’ global recognition.

“Trevor is amazing. He is funny. I think there are Nigerians who can do what he is doing better. Basketmouth will do the daily show better. Bovi, Okey Bakassi, and I will do it better,” he said.

“… what we do not have is the opportunity. But I think Kenny Blaq has it. But a lot of people need that. That international connection of doing things the right way.

“I still see a lot of Nigerians travelling out of Nigeria with tourism visas. It is the biggest insult you can do to your brand.

“Work permit is the easiest to get. Anyone who wants you to come perform for you should invest in getting you a work permit.

“There are a lot of entertainers who cannot enter the United States or the United Kingdom. They will not tell you.”

Before the end of his tenure in 2007, former President Olusegun Obasanjo sold two of the nation's four refineries at a paltry sum of $751 million to a local consortium. Many concerned citizens, including the workers in the oil industry, kicked against the illegal privatisation of the two refineries. 

President Umaru Yaradua probed the sale and found that the sale was singlehandedly carried out by former President Obasanjo in utter breach of the provisions of the Privatisation and Commercialization Act. Consequently, the sale of the two refineries was cancelled and set aside in the national interest. 

Former President Mohammadu Buhari resisted the pressure of neoliberal ideologues in and outside his government to sell the four refineries as scraps. Based on the advice of patriotic forces, the Federal Executive Council approved the rehabilitation of the two refineries in Port Harcourt for the sum of $1.5 billion.

In line with the terms of the contract awarded in March 2021 to an Italian company, Tecnimont SPA, the rehabilitation of the 210,000-barrel capacity refineries was required to be carried out in three phases of 18, 24 and 44 months. In particular, the first phase of the contract was to be completed in 18 months, which would take the refinery to a production of 90 per cent of its nameplate capacity.

Furthermore, on August 6, 2022, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved the award of contracts for the rehabilitation of Warri and Kaduna refineries to the Italian company Saipem for US$1.5bn. The installed capacities of Warri and Kaduna refineries are 125,000 bbl/d and 110,000 bbl/d, respectively. The project was required to be completed in three phases of 21, 23, and 33 months.

The two contractors that are said to be international experts in refinery maintenance and rehabilitation have not been allowed to explain the breach of the $2.9 billion contracts. Instead of calling the contractors to order for embarrassing the Federal Government, the Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Mr. Mele Kyari has been shifting the dates for the completion of the rehabilitation of the four refineries. 

Let Tecnimont SPA and Saipem speak out!

Instead of relying solely on the Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical Company Limited to solve the crisis of fuel scarcity and hike in the pump price of PMS, the federal government should ensure that the September date for the completion of the rehabilitation of the nation’s refineries of 445,000-barrel capacity is not further shifted. If the contractors fail to honour the new completion date, the federal government should not hesitate to sue them for a serial breach of the contracts.

Let the public refineries and private refineries, including the Dangote Refinery, flood the market with refined petroleum products including PMS. 

When that happens, there will be no justification for the incessant hike in the pump price of PMS. 

Femi Falana SAN,

The Chair,

Alliance on Surviving Covid-19 and Beyond (ASCAB)

I have been laughing at the back and forth between the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited, NNPCL, and the Muslim Rights Concern, MURIC.

The leader of MURIC, Professor Ishaq Akintola, clearly does not understand anything about the oil and gas industry and only succeeded in advertising his ignorance on a topic he knows next to nothing about when he picked his needless fight with our national oil company.

One very talkative woman has been all over social media, similarly broadcasting her low intelligence conceptualisation of the matter.

What Nigerians need to understand is that the only way Dangote's fuel can howsoever be affordable for the average Nigerian is for NNPCL to be its sole offtaker, at least of the component of his product meant for local consumption.

That way, NNPCL will more or less do what it has been doing thus far with the Federal Government to make it available to consumers below its actual cost.

Dangote, on his part, is obviously reluctant to tell Nigerians what his fuel costs per litre because it could even be as high as ₦1300, if not way more!

Indeed, nothing would alarm Dangote more than for NNPCL to refuse to be his middleman because he would then have to sell directly to independent marketers who would in turn dispense to Nigerians at such a high price that he would immediately become miserably unpopular contrary to his posturing that he has come to save the day.

NNPCL is not forcing Dangote to sell exclusively to it; it is rather Dangote that is begging NNPCL to be the sole buyer of his products.

If you know, you know.

If you don't know, just keep quiet for once, for God's sake.

Contrary to the crass ignorance being displayed by Professor Akintola, no marketer would ever go directly to Dangote to load up fuel when they know they will get it far cheaper from NNPCL as an offtaker.

Ignorance is not bliss; it is a disease in need of a cure called "knowledge".

Social media, particularly X (formerly known as Twitter), has always been a platform where individuals can express themselves, share ideas, and grow their influence by gaining followers. However, a concerning trend has emerged: some users, instead of requesting others to follow them honestly, resort to deception to expand their follower base. These users are not necessarily scammers in the traditional sense, but their deceitful tactics are creating a nuisance on the platform.

The strategy is simple but underhanded. A user creates a post, often pretending to give away something, offer financial help, or share a prize in celebration of a personal milestone. In reality, there is no giveaway or assistance, only an intent to deceive. The goal is to attract attention, spark engagement, and ultimately gain more followers by luring people into interacting with the post.

For example, users may post things like: “Send your account, and I’ll give away N5,000 to five people!” In some cases they go as far as deceptively posting something like, “Follow me and retweet this for a chance to win a brand-new phone!”

While the language may vary, the purpose remains the same: to exploit the curiosity or hope of other users in order to drive up engagement. In some cases, users will even follow through with minimal giveaways to maintain the facade, but the overwhelming majority of these posts are just tricks to inflate their follower count.

You may have asked in this context, “Why Do They Do It?” The answer to your question cannot be farfetched as the primary motive is to quickly and efficiently boost their following, as social media metrics are often viewed as a form of credibility. With a higher number of followers, users can: Increase their social influence, attract potential business opportunities, gain attention from brands looking for influencers to promote products and elevate their status within the X community.

For these users, the ends justify the means. Instead of organically growing their followers by offering valuable content, they resort to deception, prioritizing follower numbers over genuine interaction and trust.

At first glance, this follower-gaining tactic may seem harmless compared to financial scams. However, this deceitful behavior can have long-term negative consequences for the platform and its users. This is as it erodes trust. In fact, social media platforms thrive on trust. When users start questioning every interaction or doubting the authenticity of every giveaway or offer, the very fabric of the platform weakens. People become less likely to engage with others, limiting the sense of community that X aims to foster.

In a similar vein, the deception wastes the time and energy of innocent users of the platform. This is as many users, lured in by the promise of rewards, spend time interacting with these deceptive posts, only to end up disappointed. This wastes their time and adds to the growing frustration many feel on social media.

Also is the false metrics the deception generates. Despite the allure of their posts, the followers these deceptive X users gain are often not genuinely interested in their contents. This creates a distorted picture of their actual influence. Brands or businesses looking to collaborate with influencers based on follower count may find that these users offer little real value in terms of reach or engagement.

The reality is that growing a follower base organically on X requires time, effort, and authentic interaction. Instead of posting valuable content that engages the community, these deceptive users take shortcuts, exploiting the algorithms and the trust of fellow users. By masking their intentions with fake offers, they can generate more shares, likes, and follows than they would through legitimate means.

The allure of a quick follower boost can be tempting, especially when follower count is often seen as a status symbol. But what isgained through deception does not last. Eventually, many followers realize the truth, and the trust deficit created by such deceit can harm the user’s reputation in the long run.

While the number of followers might seem crucial in the social media landscape, genuine engagement should be the goal. X users should focus on cultivating real relationships with their audience by providing authentic content and meaningful interactions. It is better to have a smaller, loyal follower base than a large, disinterested one gained through deceit.

To those using deception to grow their follower count: consider the value of trust and authenticity. There is no harm in openly requesting followers or promoting content honestly. Social media is meant to be a space for connecting and sharing, not tricking others into following for non-existent prizes.

Deceitful users on X may not be scammers in the traditional sense, but their tactics of deception for gaining followers are undermining the platform’s integrity. Instead of fostering genuine relationships and building a community of engaged followers, they prioritize quick, artificial growth. As users, it is essential to be aware of these tactics and promote authenticity, both in our own behavior and in our expectations from others. Social media should be a space for real connections, not one filled with tricks and false promises.

Fiction writer James Hadley Chase famously titled one of his popular novels, “The Vulture Is A Patient Bird”. That title often reminds me of the Yoruba anecdote which denounces the carnivorous bird as a cheat because it feeds on human carrion but man cannot (would not) feed on it. Thus, the vulture prospers from man’s misery without any risk of a backlash or revenge.

I don’t know of any culture where vulture is part of the menu. There are too many cultural taboos hanging around the ‘Dracula-hooded’ birds. They feed on carrion. Carry disease-bearing pathogens. Their relatively tasteless meat in comparison to chicken, cooks forever and is never tender. They are classified with evil or apocalyptic evocations in many cultures.

Human Vultures

Those are the vultures in the animal kingdom. In our real human world, we also have human vultures whose menace we grudgingly acknowledge but still tolerate under a barrage of excuses. Enter Boko Haram, ISWAP, cattle rustlers, armed herdsmen, unknown gunmen and other rogue elements who have totally demystified the government’s claim of exclusively controlling the means of coercion!

If the principal aim of the government is to protect its people and maintain order and stability, the Nigerian government has failed spectacularly in the last 15 years. Swathes of Nigerian territory are under the control of criminals. The government and its security forces continue to lie about the severity of the situation.

Over the years, instead of a frontal attack on the problem, the government and its security agencies were pussy-footing under a number of convenient excuses. The political elite in the affected northern states started playing ethnic and religious cards. When the government decided to end the embarrassment once and for all, the move was sabotaged through blackmail and a campaign to turn the people of the region against the government as if the fight against terrorism was an anti-north agenda.

Foreign terrorists were recruited to add an even deadlier dimension to the terrorists’ capabilities. Issues of the expansionist ambitions of some of the bandits which, in the last 10 years, have tried to colonise the Middle Belt region were quickly dismissed as farmers/herders clashes. Historical carryovers, such as unacknowledged unfinished ethnic wars were dismissed as non-existent.

When illegal mining of minerals in the North was a small-scale affair being run by the locals underground, it did not attract the level of organised violence that it currently enjoys with the involvement of the traditional and political elite. Now mining gangs have their own private armies. The government claims to be in charge of granting mining concessions but we all know that the bandits run the roost in many areas.

In the South where bandits come disguised as herdsmen and routinely waylay motorists on inter-state highways, the government continues to deny what is obvious. Even in cases where the locals have adduced evidence of some of the terrorists being foreigners, the government continues to tell the convenient lie of herders and farmers at loggerheads. That lapse has led to the generalisation in the South that all terrorists operating from the forests are Fulani.

Because of all these acts of omission or commission, as the case may be, we watched from the gallery of nonchalance as terrorism became a lucrative industry, especially after bandits in many states of the North started collecting taxes and protection levies from the people. Up till now, there are parts of the North where farmers have to pay terrorists to access their farms safely. In those places, the government is a distant memory.

The new fad is for the terrorists to issue video recordings of their domination of rural communities and their dispensation of their warped notion of justice — ranging from public floggings to more serious forms of physical torture. Some have even been turbaned by emirs! They are entrenched. They are the de facto government.

Government Abdication

It used to be embarrassing to those in government. Now, it seems that even the people have come to terms with the reality of Boko Haram and the other terrorists controlling territories outside the purview of the Nigerian constitution. We have, through a mixture of neglect, subterfuge and incompetence legitimised terrorism, insurgency, hostage-taking and allied crimes.

Enough of the shameless excuses! There is really no big deal about fighting terrorism if you have the will. Granted that we have lost a lot of ground in the years of complete lethargy, it is never too late to reclaim our space and rid the land of terrorism completely, once and for all. And I truly mean once and for all!

Granted that security is a specialised subject with its own esoterica and technicalities, I wager that what we have before us does not exclusively deserve the formal or conventional wisdom of the usual “experts” and their textbook analyses and fixations. If a band of largely illiterate brigands can outwit and overwhelm our entire security agencies, it is time we weaponise our collective cerebral muscle and deploy the same accordingly. We must out-think them!

We have heard, ad nauseam, about the introduction of “non-kinetic” tactics in the fight against terror. New terms are being introduced daily by the growing army of “security experts” doing the rounds on national television regularly. Nobody – least of all the terrorists – is impressed by all the technical jargon.

Nigerians don’t care whatever tactics you deploy to rid the country of terrorists. All they want is for their government to live up to what it claims to be — an authority in charge. If a government cannot protect its people from any kind of aggression, then it has lost its reason for being called a government.

Between July 2023 and June 2024, kidnapping alone accounted for 1,056 deaths in 1,130 reported incidents. According to the research document, “Economics of Nigeria’s Kidnap Industry”, Zamfara State recorded 1,639 kidnap victims and 146 civilian deaths with about N1.048 billion being deployed as ransom nationally.

Just Do It!

To put an end to all this nonsense, the authorities first have to agree that, among other things, anyone who takes up arms against Nigerians or against the country is a terrorist, no matter under what guise. All terrorists, no matter where originated or based, are equal. Any non-authorised civilian group carrying weapons should be treated as terrorists. After all these years, there shouldn’t be anything like “repentant terrorists” anymore. Any terrorist that hasn’t repented by now does not deserve to live.

Government should map out the territories currently being controlled by terrorists. Security contractors should then be contracted with specific targets, deliverables, expected outcomes and mutually agreed Standard Operating Procedures. Security contractors should concentrate on taking out terrorist kingpins remotely through drones and other digital devices while our police and armed forces are adequately armed to mop up. With the lion’s share of the 2024 budget allocated to Defence and security, we ought to be able to finance this without any problem. State policing is imperative.

The reason for the current spate of insecurity is that the government is not yet ready to stamp it out. When those in government are sufficiently conscientised to end the scam, we will all breathe easy; but not a moment before then.

If Providence grants the collective invocations of Nigerians, the government will regain its consciousness and declare that all birds of prey are equal; that what is good for the hawk is good for the abominable vulture.

Forget the taboo. We shall barbecue the vulture!

A former national vice chairman, North West of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Salihu Lukman, has said former vice president Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso inability to commence proper political negotiations was emboldening President Bola Tinubu to continue with what he termed “his crazy impulsive visionless governance experiment” unperturbed with the harsh realities it had created for Nigerians.

Lukman in a statement yesterday said somehow, unknown or unaware to key political opposition leaders, the strength or confidence of Tinubu was derived from their inability to open themselves and honestly commence negotiations to build a united front ahead of 2027.

He said key opposition political leaders, Atiku, Obi and Kwankwaso had paid their dues and were still actively nursing ambitions to become president.

“To be fair to them, they all agree that the performance of President Tinubu since his assumption of office has been disastrous. Unfortunately, their agreement falls short of making them accept to work together towards building a common platform capable of mobilising and uniting Nigerians to defeat Tinubu and the APC in 2027.

“It is quite worrisome that notwithstanding the dangers before the nation, our key opposition leaders believe in business-as-usual approach to politics whereby the most important thing in politics is the management of their personal ambitions to become president.

Lukaman appealed to the key opposition leaders to wake up and try to be compassionate and appreciate the gravity of the dare-heart situation facing citizens and work to dislodge the APC-led administration of Tinunu in 2027.

[Leadership]

The Police Command in Edo says it has commenced a mop up of illegal arms and ammunition ahead of the Sept. 21 Governorship Election in the state.

SP Moses Yamu, the spokesperson of the command, quoted the state’s Commissioner of Police, Nemi Iwo, as saying this on Saturday in Benin.

Iwo said, during a meeting with the chairmen of political parties and their respective governorship candidates, that the aim was to ensure the security of the electoral process.

The commissioner appealed to them to prevail on their supporters to shun all forms of violence during the forthcoming election.

He assured them of adequate security to ensure that people go out to exercise their franchise without fear of harassment or any form of intimidation.

The commissioner, however, reassured them that the police and sister security agencies would ensure that all stakeholders, including electoral materials, were protected for a peaceful election.

He solicited for information that would assist the police to ensure an enabling environment for the election process.

(NAN)