As Americans head to the polls to elect their next president, the world is reminded of the far-reaching implications of this election outcome. From the Russo-Ukraine war to conflicts in the Middle East and the geopolitics of Africa and Asia, the election outcome will shape events far beyond the shores of the US.

With most polls suggesting razor-thin margins between Trump and Harris, this election is turning out to be one of the most closely contested elections in American history. Undecided or hesitant voters have become critical in breaking the tie between closely matched support bases on both sides come 5th November 2024. The race to the White House is driven by an intense war of words, where rhetorical framing is the key weapon being deployed by both sides to shape opinions and influence voting decisions. Here are my thoughts on how Trump and Harris are employing rhetorical framing to tip the scale in this neck-to-neck race.

Issue salience and selection
Both candidates assigned prominence to issues that they believe will resonate with their audiences. Kamala Harris emphasised the significance of economic support for the middle class and working families, framing her vision for reform as an “opportunity economy” that serves ordinary Americans. She also focused on themes of unity and inclusivity, pledging “to be a president for all Americans,” and stating that regardless of differences, Americans “all have the same dreams and aspirations.” Additionally, Harris’ campaign rhetoric always essentialises her commitment to protecting reproductive rights, and the need to “chart a course for the future and not go backward to the past.”
On the other hand, Trump prioritised illegal immigration, crime, and economic decline rhetorically framing the situation as one of severe crisis. He often employed emotive rhetoric to project fear of “criminal immigrants” stressing that “millions of people pouring into our country from prisons and jails, from mental institutions and insane asylums” were taking jobs meant for Americans. By framing immigration and crime as national crises, Trump aims to rile up his base and discontented voters against the political establishment.

Identity and Personal Framing
Both Trump and Harris rely heavily on identity framing to connect with voters. Kamala Harris often frames herself as an advocate for middle-class and working families. Referencing her childhood during her live debate with Trump, she said, “I was raised as a middle-class kid. And I am actually the only person on this stage who has a plan that is about lifting up the middle class and working people of America.”
Throughout her campaign, she has consistently amplified her experience as a prosecutor and her capacity to unify America in contrast to Trump’s leadership. She said: “Americans see in each other a neighbour…they don’t want a leader who is constantly trying to have Americans point their fingers at each other.”

On the other hand, Donald Trump positions himself as a strong leader fighting against the political establishment to protect American borders and restore its greatness on the global stage. During his debate against Harris, he touted his strong relationship with world leaders to underscore his influence on the global stage. Trump boasted, “He (Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orban) said the most respected, most feared person is Donald Trump. We had no problems when Trump was president… China was afraid of him. North Korea was afraid of him.” Trump often refer to his political opponents as ‘weak.’ By framing himself as a strong leader, Trump seeks to amplify the contrast between his image and the characterisation of weak leadership he ascribed to Harris on fundamental issues like immigration, crime, and the economy.

Oppositional Framing
Trump and Harris regularly employ oppositional framing to diminish the credibility of the opponent. Harris frames framed Trump as a failed, divisive, and self-serving leader unfit to lead America. She stressed that ”Trump will not talk about people’s needs, dreams, and desires” and that America deserves a leader who “puts them first” positioning herself as such a leader. Harris also consistently framed Trump as dangerous to American democracy, referencing the January 6th Capitol riots as Trump’s attempt to upend the will of the American people. Furthermore, she repeatedly referred to Trump as a liar, warning their debate audience from the start of the debate to expect “a bunch of lies” from Trump, in a pre-emptive tactic to undermine his credibility. In the last few weeks leading to the election, Harris’ campaign has ramped up rhetoric that frames Trump as mentally unstable.

Trump’s framing of Harris is equally pejorative, often using rhetoric that frames her as weak and incompetent on the economy, crime, immigration, and foreign policy. He has also characterised Harris as unintelligent, mentally unfit, a radical leftist, and a Marxist, who would confiscate guns, stop fracking, and allow “transgender operations on illegal aliens.” By framing Harris this way, Trump reinforces the portrayal of Harris as a radical leftist who has lost touch with American values.

Rhetorical Appeals
Both Trump and Harris often employ a range of emotional, logical, and credibility-based appeals. Harris uses vivid imagery to emphasise concerns about women impacted by restrictions on reproductive rights. She rhetorically painted an image of “pregnant women…bleeding out in a car in the parking lot” to connect with the emotions and struggles of American women and underscore her commitment to their plights. She also uses fear rhetoric to describe a potential Trump presidency for the second time.
Trump, on the other hand, employs fear and a sense of urgency to drive emotional appeal. He frequently uses hyperbole and repetition to amplify issues and frame them as major crises. For example, he regularly claims that “millions of criminals, and terrorists are pouring into America and destroying the country.” By invoking fear and a sense of urgency, he seeks to play on people’s anxieties about national security.
In terms of logical appeal, Harris’ rhetoric regularly seeks to drive persuasion by presenting logical arguments. She cited Goldman Sachs’ endorsement of her economic plan to suggest that her policies are supported by independent expert evaluation. She also employed logical appeal to discredit Trump’s economic plan, arguing that reputable entities like Goldman Sachs’, Wharton School, and 16 Nobel Laureates all declared that Trump’s plan would worsen the US economy.

Trump, in contrast, appeals to logic whenever he declares that he “created one of the greatest economies in the history of America” and that he would do it even better again if given a second chance.
Applying credibility-based appeal, Harris repeatedly emphasised her credentials as a prosecutor to demonstrate her capacity to fight crime and maintain the rule of law. Similarly, Trump appealed to credibility by consistently highlighting his achievements as a strong leader on the global stage, touting his ability to negotiate and stop what he alleged to be a rip-off from China, Europe, and NATO.

Conclusion
Overall, this US election looks set to be decided by swing or undecided voters, the majority of whom will not conduct granular scrutiny of each candidate’s policies. Instead, they will respond to key soundbites and rhetorical framing that collectively shape their view of the candidates and consequently, their voting decision. While some argue that campaign rhetoric has limited influence on core voter bases, the rhetorical framing of arguments and counter-arguments that resonate with swing voters will ultimately tilt the scales towards Democrats or Republicans.

Ogbe is a Strategic Communications consultant and an academic whose research focuses on rhetorical leadership.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has faulted the court order barring financial allocation to Rivers state.

On Wednesday, a federal high court in Abuja restrained the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from further disbursing financial allocations to the Rivers state government.

Joyce Abdulmalik, the presiding judge, ruled that funds from the federation account should not be released to the state pending the passage of a lawful appropriation act by a validly constituted house of assembly.

The suit was filed by Martins Amaewhule-led Rivers state house of assembly.

Abdulmalik held that Siminalayi Fubara, the Rivers state governor, erred in presenting the 2024 Appropriation Bill to a “not properly constituted” five-member assembly.

Reacting in a statement on Wednesday by Paul Ibe, his media adviser, Abubakar warned that the judiciary’s actions could “destabilise” Rivers state.

He said it was appalling that “elements loyal to the federal government were pulling strings” from behind.

He questioned Abdulmalik’s decision to issue an injunction while Rivers state’s legal challenge was still underway at the court of appeal.

“Last week the Court of Appeal declared that the Rivers State budget was illegal because it was passed by an inchoate assembly,” the statement reads.

“The court ordered Governor Siminalayi Fubara to present the budget afresh — the Rivers State Government has already filed a notice of appeal so that the Supreme Court can hear the matter.

“However, some elements in the Bola Tinubu administration have procured a judgement intended to undermine the Supreme Court.

“Even before the judgment was delivered, legal luminary, Femi Falana (SAN) had alerted the Chief Justice of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho of possible compromise after house gifts had been presented to judges in Abuja. Sadly, Falana’s warning was ignored.”

Atiku said the country has “descended into the theatre of the absurd” since President Bola Tinubu administration took office.

He added that the “courts play a more ignoble role in fostering political crises within political parties and even in states.”

“From the emirship tussle in Kano State to the Rivers imbroglio where courts are going as far as preventing elections from holding, taking Nigeria back to the dark days of June 12, 1993 where polls were annulled,” he said.

“Sadly, under the leadership of those who claim to have fought for Nigeria’s democracy, the country is descending into chaos with conflicting orders from courts of coordinate jurisdiction flying all over the place while judges are being induced in the name of empowerment and provision of houses.

“The result is that Nigerians are gradually losing confidence in an institution which prides itself as the last hope of the common man.

“Foreign investors will avoid any place where judgments can be bought by the highest bidder.

“Nigeria should not descend to the Hobessian state of nature where life is short, nasty and brutish, where citizens opt for self-help. Rivers State accounts for almost 25% of Nigeria’s oil assets.

“For a country facing an economic crisis worsened by vandalism and banditry, Tinubu should put his 2027 ambition aside and put Nigeria’s interest first.”

Atiku, however, commended Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, the chief justice of Nigeria (CJN), for summoning judges handling Rivers state cases.

He asked the CJN to discipline errant judges to restore the judiciary’s integrity.

BACKGROUND

In December 2023, Fubara presented an N800 billion budget estimate to the Edison Ehie-led faction of the house of assembly.

The presentation of the budget titled: ‘Budget of Renewed Hope, Consolidation and Continuity’, took place at the government house.

In July, the Rivers house of assembly and Amaewhule, the factional speaker, instituted the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/984/24 against the CBN and nine others.

The assembly has been polarised following the rift between Fubara and Nyesom Wike, minister of the federal capital territory (FCT).

The Amaewhule-led faction of the legislature is loyal to Wike.

The plaintiffs listed the CBN, Zenith Bank Plc, Access Bank Plc, and the accountant-general of the federation (AGF) as first to fourth defendants.

Fubara, accountant-general (AG) of Rivers state, Rivers Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC), chief judge (CJ) of Rivers, chairman of RSIEC, and government of Rivers state were listed as fifth to tenth defendants.

The Amaewhule faction of the assembly sought an order of interlocutory injunction restraining the CBN, the commercial banks, and the AGF from honouring any financial instruction from Fubara.

The court had dismissed all the objections raised by the defendants.

Delivering the verdict, the judge held that Fubara’s decision to implement an “unlawful budget” was a gross violation of the 1999 Constitution he swore to protect.

The judge, therefore, restrained CBN, accountant-general of the federation, Zenith Bank and Access Bank from further allowing Fubara access money from the consolidated revenue and federation account.

[TheCable]

A Kuje Magistrate Court in the Federal Capital Territory has adjourned to Friday, November 8, to begin hearing on the charges brought against a member of the House of Representatives, representing Aba North and South Federal Constituency of Abia State, Alexander Ikwechegh, after granting him bail in the sum of N500, 000.

Ikwechegh, who was arraigned on Wednesday, before His Worship, Abubakar Umar Sai’id, for allegedly assaulting a Bolt driver, Stephen Abuwatseya, at his residence in Abuja, pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against him.

 The Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, arraigned Ikwechegh on three counts bordering on abuse of office, assault and threat to life.

 After taking his plea, the lawmaker’s counsel proceeded to make an oral application for bail, which was granted by the court.

 The magistrate said, “The court will grant the defendant a bail set at N500,000, with two sureties in like sum. The sureties must reside within the court’s jurisdiction and provide utility bills as proof of residence.”

 The court proceeded to adjourn the hearing in the matter till November 8.

 A video of Ikwechegh allegedly assaulting the Bolt driver had gone viral on social media on Monday.

In the video, Ikwechegh can be seen repeatedly slapping the driver. Aside from the slaps, the lawmaker can be heard threatening the driver and assuring him of how he can make him disappear without a trace.

 Meanwhile, a civil society organisation, Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre, in a statement, on Wednesday, condemned Ikwechegh’s action and described it as “a glaring example of abuse of power” most common with politicians.

 The statement signed by RULAAC’s Executive Director, Okechukwu Nwanguma, said the lawmaker’s action was a shame not only on him but also on every member of the House of Representatives.

 He stated, “The recent incident involving a federal lawmaker, Alex Ikwecheghi’s brutal treatment of Uber driver, Mr Stephen Abuwatseya, is a glaring example of the abuse of power that permeates Nigeria’s political landscape. Ikwechegh’s actions, including verbal and physical assault, as well as intimidation of the victim, reveal a profound lack of humility and respect for the rights of others that should be expected from someone in a public office.

 “This incident not only shames Ikwechegh but also reflects poorly on the House of Representatives, the police, and the broader political system. The indiscriminate use of power to silence and control vulnerable citizens showcases a troubling trend among officials who seem to operate above the law. The complacency of the police in this matter raises serious concerns about their integrity and commitment to justice, as they appear more willing to serve influential individuals than to uphold the rule of law.

 “While the House of Representatives’ decision to investigate this behaviour is a positive step, it remains to be seen whether meaningful accountability will follow. Historical precedents suggest a risk of sweeping the issue under the rug once public outrage subsides, which would do little to repair public trust in governance.”

 Nwanguma noted that the societal implications of the incident were dire as it “transcends the individual and speaks to a culture of impunity that must be addressed,” imploring that justice must not only be served for Abuwatseya but also the many unnamed victims of similar abuses.

“This case must serve as a catalyst for change, leading to reforms that prioritise respect for human rights and the rule of law in Nigeria”, he stated.

[Punch]

Many Yoruba people voted for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar or the Labour Party candidate, Mr Peter Obi, during the 2023 general election. This despite knowing that the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, is their kinsman. It is on record that Tinubu lost Lagos State to Obi and Osun State to Atiku. It is also on record that people from other ethnic groups voted for Tinubu. In fact, a few of his supporters outside the Southwest were almost violent in their endorsement of the man who is now our president. Former Niger Delta militant leader, Mujahid Asari-Dokubo is one of such people. 

However, in a viral video last week, Asari-Dokubo claimed to have deployed his resources to campaign for Tinubu but feels ‘betrayed’ by the recent rechristening of the Ministry of Niger Delta. Rather than blame his (former) friend for that decision, it is the Yoruba people that should be held accountable. “I apologise to our fathers because they were not wrong in forming an alliance with the North, and as young men, we will now start that same alliance. From today, I will work and form an alliance with the North,” Asari-Dokubo said. “We will take this message across that only the Northerners can work with the Ijaw people. We can’t work with Yoruba people; they are a betrayer (sic) to us. We risked our lives by voting and doing everything, and this is what we get?”

Asari-Dokubo is not alone in pointing accusing fingers at Yoruba people on account of real or perceived transgressions by Tinubu. It is the latest game in town, although some are more subtle about it. There is a piece being circulated widely on WhatsApp titled ‘Is Tinubu settling scores?’ written by a Dr Ugoji Egbujo. “Tinubu has become an unabashed chauvinist. It’s a hard watch. It doesn’t bode well for national unity. Tinubu’s critical appointments have become the most lopsided in the history of this country,” the author wrote while reeling out the list of positions, especially in the security and economic sectors, now occupied by Yoruba people—despite Tinubu’s history in Afenifere, the socio-political group that used to be “the conscience of the Yoruba nation and Nigeria.”

While accusing the president, “an Afenifere apostle and NADECO evangelist” of “installing an ethnic hegemony” in the country, the author is at least fair minded enough not to place all the blame on Yoruba people. As Egbujo correctly surmised, most Yoruba people “are embarrassed by Tinubu’s antediluvian antics.” He went on to eulogise Yoruba people as not only most welcoming, empathetic, culturally and religiously tolerant but also “the loudest and sincerest champions of equity and meritocracy. So, this ethnic hegemony that Tinubu is weaving is patently not Yoruba. They didn’t send Tinubu on this errand.” The author then added: “President Tinubu knows that in a fractious multi-ethnic third world country, the concentration of the levers of the criminal justice system, economy and security in the hands of one ethnic group will feed the system with disenchantment and paranoia and corrode cohesion…”

There is a Yoruba adage that says if you want a deaf person to understand your message, relay it to his child. I counted the number of prominent people who forwarded the article to me last Saturday. They were 13. While they must be aware I am not working for this president, they were invariably telling me, “This is what your kinsman is doing.” I ignored them. Until the same post was forwarded to me by a respected scholar from the North on Sunday. I had my reason for responding to him: “The reality is that the president is appointing his loyalists (mostly from Lagos), including those whose grandfathers had their placenta buried in other Southwest states where nobody knows them. But I have also written about this issue.” The response was instant: “Your article escaped my attention. It has to be recirculated.”

Now, this eminent northern scholar supported Tinubu before and during the election. But he would not take responsibility for the choice he made at the polls. He is holding me accountable because I am Yoruba. For the record, let me cite three of the interventions I have made on this issue. Barely three weeks after his inauguration, on 20th June 2023 to be specific, I wrote ‘Tinubu and the Buhari Error’ where I rehashed a similar counsel his predecessor failed to heed. “Of the several columns I wrote on the lack of sensitivity in critical appointments by President Muhammadu Buhari, one stands out. I used a Yoruba word, ‘Amunibuni’, to situate my intervention,” I recalled in the piece, following the first set of appointments by Tinubu which I considered lopsided. I then excerpted from the March 2021 column: “That making strategic concessions is beyond Buhari administration is an embarrassment, even for many northerners. That is because they are also aware that the appointments being cornered by a tiny clique is not to promote any ‘Northern agenda’ (whatever that may mean) but rather in pursuit of the personal interest by those who nominate these individuals. This explains why they go for their in-laws, kinsmen, friends, and the like. Yet nepotism in critical appointments engenders collective insults in the manner of ‘Amunibuni’”.    

I offered a disquisition on what the Yoruba term means and the message it embeds within the context of Nigeria’s political arrangement before I concluded with an admonition for Tinubu: “Even when he did nothing to improve the material condition of the average Fulani man, the damage President Buhari did to people of that ethnic stock in eight years was enormous. And as a Yoruba man, I wouldn’t want President Tinubu to do that to me…That is why presidential handlers need to be circumspect lest they attract insults to Yoruba people who have always advocated for a peaceful and secure Nigeria that works for all citizens and where there is equity and justice in the distribution of opportunities…In making critical appointments, I hope the president will be mindful of the ‘Amunibuni’ syndrome. His appointments must be inclusive and reflect all our diversities. I shall be watching!”

In another column last October (2023) titled, ‘Where is Abdulrasheed Maina?’ I wrote: “In case the president is not aware (a Villa disease, especially under his predecessor), most Yoruba people I know are becoming increasingly embarrassed by a number of his appointments. I have received many of those WhatsApp messages that list critical offices in the economic/financial sector and the ethnic affiliation of appointees. There is already a whispering campaign in Abuja of a budding ‘Republic of Oduduwa’, based on these appointments. I hope someone will bring the issue to the attention of the president.”

That was one year ago. Yet, in another piece I wrote in the early weeks of the administration, ‘Shall We Tell the President?’, I recalled welcoming a friend from Lagos to my office with a joke, ‘Eyinlokan’ (meaning it’s your turn). “Uncle Segun, you are in the old; the slogan now is ‘awalawanbe’”, (meaning, ‘we are now fully in charge’ or to put it in pidgin, ‘we full ground remain’). “My concern is that under the current dispensation ‘Awalawanbe’ can connote either service for the public good or hubris,” I wrote before sending another warning on this same vexatious issue. And in a recent column, ‘Tinubu: No Place to Hide’, I wrote about how the president and his handlers continue to display a behaviour the Yoruba would describe as “tani o mu mi” (impunity that carries a certain sense of hubris).

It is evident that nobody in the Villa paid attention to these interventions. But how does it make sense to allocate three junior ministers out of five to the Southeast while you allocate nine ministers to the Southwest, eight of them with senior portfolios? Let’s not even go to critical appointments in the security sector and revenue-generating agencies that have been ‘cornered’ by people from one ethnic group. Meanwhile, what the president ignores is that when a leader creates a poisonous atmosphere and suspicions around emotional issues like appointments, it is difficult to build a national consensus for crucial policies as we are already seeing with the pushback from the North over the Tax Reforms Bill.

Ordinarily, with hunger and starvation biting hard in the country, there are far more pressing issues that should engage our attention. For instance, on 8th July 2024, the federal government announced a 150-day duty-free import window for food items which include maize (the ‘agbado’ we were told was enough to satiate our hunger during the presidential campaign), husked brown rice, wheat, and cowpeas. Four months after, this has turned out to be another of those audio promises for which this administration is fast becoming notorious. Figures from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on food inflation are not only scary, but some locally grown items like beans have also experienced close to 300% inflation within one year!

However, while hunger has become the real staple for Nigerians, regardless of which language they speak, one should also not pretend that equity in appointments and distribution of opportunities is not important or that a leader can succeed without taking such into account. Beyond giving emotional satisfaction and sense of belonging, equity is good for social capital, national cohesion and development. While some may have ignored the fact that the economy has been handed over to the Lagos crowd on the pretext they have the expertise, the evidence of the last 18 months undercuts that concession. Maybe Nigerians would not have minded if these Lagosians (many of whom throw themselves around in Abuja with incredible arrogance) were performing. Unfortunately, most don’t even appear to know what they are doing. And the president himself seems detached from reality.

Meanwhile, for those sending me ‘coded messages’ because I am a Yoruba man, I also have a question for them: When former President Olusegun Obasanjo was being acclaimed as an “apostle of meritocracy and a detribalized Nigerian” for most of his critical appointments which went to people outside the Southwest, did they extend the credit to me as a Yoruba man? Why should anybody now guilt-trip me because Tinubu is appointing his Lagos loyalists in a manner that is embarrassingly sectional? The interesting thing is that the Abdullahi Gandujes, the Godswill Akpabios, the Benjamin Kalus and others (who are ‘eating’) will most likely defend this same president despite their ethnic affinity. But that is the cross Yoruba people will have to carry for as long as Tinubu is president. That is the way we roll in Nigeria.

There is a paragraph in my 2021 admonition to Buhari which I rehashed for Tinubu last October. It is still most relevant: “…Yoruba loses its flavour when you translate into English, but ‘Amunibuni’ is better explained in the complete idiom: ‘Amunibuni ewure ibiye. Ibiye f’oju otun, ewure re fo t’osi’. Crudely interpreted, it means if a goat is blind on the left eye and its owner is blind on the right eye, any discussion about the goat would always bring into focus the condition of the owner. As one scholar expanded on the idiom, the real message is in the ambiguity that could come from describing the goat as ‘ẹran olójú kan’ which could be interpreted either as a ‘one-eyed goat’ or ‘the goat of a one-eyed person’. Both definitions are correct, but the latter brings the owner into the conversation. Today, any discussion about killings by ‘herdsmen’ brings attention to the inequity in the distribution of opportunities in Abuja by President Buhari. The result is that when you encounter cows on the highway, you look at the poor herder just trying to eke out a living and you blame him for all the problems of Nigeria!”   

I wish there was someone who can whisper to President Tinubu that this reporter keeps raising this issue because he wants him to succeed—in the manner of the proverbial child of the deaf. No matter the attraction, surrounding himself only with Lagos loyalists at the expense of fairness to other Nigerians will not help his cause. I have said my own!

The Shopping Cart Theory

In an article published in 2017, Krystal D’Costa, an American anthropologist who works in digital media, posed the question, ‘Why Don’t People Return Their Shopping Carts?’ This question has continued to provoke attention as people ruminate on why, either at the airport or in shopping malls, returning trolleys to their original places, is not always an easy thing to do. One response to the question has been dubbed ‘The Shopping Cart Theory’. It is as inspiring as it is profound. Said to have been first posted online in 2020 (with no proper attribution), the message was amplified on Monday by @elonmusk on his X platform with a crisp post of his own: ‘Trust those who return the shopping cart’.

And here goes the message: “The shopping cart is the ultimate litmus test for whether a person is capable of self-governing. To return the shopping cart is an easy, convenient task and one we all recognize as the correct, appropriate thing to do. To return the shopping cart is objectively right. There are no situations other than dire emergencies in which a person is not able to return their cart. Simultaneously, it is not illegal to abandon your shopping cart. Therefore, the shopping cart presents itself as the apex example of whether a person will do what is right without being forced to do it. No one will punish you for not returning the shopping cart, no one will fine you, or kill you for not returning the shopping cart. You gain nothing by returning the shopping cart. You must return the shopping cart out of the goodness of your own heart. You must return the shopping cart because it is the right thing to do. Because it is correct. The Shopping Cart Theory, therefore, is a great litmus test on whether a person is a good or bad member of society.”

There was a carnival-like celebration Wednesday as members of the political class, business leaders and ordinary folks from Akwa Ibom State turned out in large numbers in Victoria Island, Lagos, for the groundbreaking ceremony of Ibom Towers – a 19-storey residential complex developed by the Akwa Ibom State government. The complex comprises 32 residential apartments of various sizes and business offices. Amenities include swimming pool; gym; games room; car park and six elevators. It’s designed to offer a luxury lifestyle for the upper middle class, but for the government, it is an investment opportunity that should diversify its sources of income and expand its portfolio. Akwa Ibom currently earns a yearly IGR of about N43 billion with the expectation to to drive it up significantly from the proceeds of this investment when the project is completed in 2026. It is the single largest investment undertaken by another state government in Lagos since its creation in 1967. On completion, Ibom Towers will be one of the most modern apartment buildings in the commercial city. Said Gov. Umo Eno: ‘’Just as the purpose-driven visionaries who built the Nigeria House in New York City, we are gathered here to break the grounds for the construction of what promises to be an iconic building that signposts our determination to play in the bullish real estate market of one of the most vibrant cities in Africa’’.

The property is located on Bishop Abayode Cole Street and sits on over 2,000 sq. meters of land acquired by Akwa Ibom State government in the early 1990s. The apartments would be sold using pre-sale flexible payment plan, and the realized income ‘’would be channeled into other development projects’’, according to Enobong Uwah, Secretary to the State Government. Ibom Towers lies in close proximity to other landmark buildings like the KPMG Head Office building; the Civic Center; Mobil House; Dream Plaza and a short drive from Radisson Blu Hotel. ‘’The government is pursuing a programme of redemption, remediation and repositioning of landed property for better economic use and spread of prosperity. We are currently working on recovery and development of other landed properties of the state in choice locations in Uyo, Abuja and Lagos’’, said Mr. Imoabasi Jacob, chief executive of Akwa Ibom Investment Corporation (AKICORP), the government agency that drives its investments.

Other Akwa Ibom leaders like Obong Victor Attah (governor between 1999 and 2007); Secretary to the State Government, Enobong Uwah; Speaker of Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly, Udeme Otong and the Chairman of the state’s Traditional Rulers Council, Dr. Solomon Daniel Etuk who spoke at the event stressed the importance of the project. Mr. Tony Ndah, a well-known quantity surveyor from Akwa Ibom State, who runs a big practice in Ikoyi, said an investment in Lagos property market is a sure guarantee for stable income over a long period of time. The Chief Executive of Akwa Ibom Investment Corporation, Mr. Imoabasi Jacob said the investment is part of a long-term strategy to prepare the state for a life without crude oil. Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State who was the special guest of honour commended Gov. Umo Eno for the investment and confirmed that Lagos offers very high rate of return for property investments. He spoke of his admiration for Akwa Ibom people for their industry, honesty and integrity and assured that his administration will do all it can to ensure the success of the project.

Back in Akwa Ibom, there has been a lively debate among the people on the desirability of the investment, with some arguing that the government should have built another hotel in the state, preferably in Eket, to position Akwa Ibom as a key tourism destination. But the Umo Eno administration seems too focused on real estate development to be persuaded by such an argument. The government is currently developing six different housing estates in the state, in addition to plans to convert a dilapidated government facility in Abuja to a hotel.

Among the dignitaries at the event were Mr. Udom Emmanuel, former governor of Akwa Ibom; Chief Don Etiebet, former Petroleum Minister; Obong Umana Umana, former Niger Delta Affairs Minister; Mrs Akon Eyakenyi, deputy governor; Senator Aloysius Etok; Senator Ita Enang; Aniekan Umanah, former House of Representative member; Senator Emmanuel Ibok Essien and Senator Efiong Bob. The two serving senators, Ekong Sampson and Aniekan Bassey were also present. From the construction industry came Engr. Bassey Ekanem, Chief Executive of Base Engineering and Mr. Tony Ndah, chief executive of Cost Link Associates.

Following renewed cult-related killings in Edo State, a group, Benin United Forum has called on the Oba of Benin, Omo N’Oba N’Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Ewuare II to invoke curses on those involved in cult-related killings like he did when human trafficking assumed an embarrassing dimension in the kingdom.

Also, the Edo State Police Command has confirmed the death of one person in a renewed cult war in the state.

However, a source close to the area where the clash took place in Upper Sokponba said that eight people have been killed.

The latest clash is said to be between the Eiye and Vikings confraternity.

Though the cause of the clashes is not yet known, it was gathered that the issues escalated when some of the people believed to be leaders of the groups tried to resolve the crisis in a meeting called at Tipper Garage in the Idogbo area of Upper Sokponba Road.

It was said that the attempt to settle issues did not work out after, which some ‘Eiye men’ attacked the Vikings members and inflicted injuries on them with knives but no life was lost.

The source said, “The Vikings went back in their numbers and killed one of the top members of ‘Eiye’ which led to an escalation of the crisis and killing spree. The challenge in this is that one of the groups does not accept apology and the other does not apologise,” the source stated.

Meanwhile, a group, Benin United Forum has called on the Oba of Benin, Omo N’Oba N’Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Ewuare II to invoke curses on those involved in cult-related killings like he did when human trafficking assumed an embarrassing dimension in the kingdom.

A press statement by Benin United Forum signed by the President and Secretary of the group, Iyamu Culture, and Osayuki-Osa Benson, on Tuesday, read, “We humbly appeal to Omo N’ Oba N’ Edo, Uku Akpolo Kpolo, Oba Ewuare II, to direct our Ohens (Chief Priests) across the length and breadth of Benin Kingdom to immediately place curse(s) on those who are hiding under cultism to kill themselves in parts of Benin City which have consumed the lives of countless youths especially at Upper Sakponba Axis which is often seen as the center ground for the barbaric act, followed by Egor/Uwelu, Ugbowo/Uselu, part of GRA.”

Another group, the Network of Civil Society Organisations has called on the police to lift the ban on vigilante groups in the state to help combat the menace of cult groups.

A statement by the president of the organisation, Ogbidi Emmanuel said the cult clash is largely blamed on the porous nature of security in the state, following the “needless ban on the Edo State Joint Security Network earlier trained by the Police.

“The ban, which was pronounced by the Inspector General of Police Mr Kayode Egbetokun have since brought about great increase in crime to an alarming rate, especially within the locals.”

The statement called on the police to investigate the cult-related killings and bring perpetrators to book.

When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, Moses Yamu, said one person has so far been killed in the renewed cult clash in the state.

“I don’t know if there were cult killings, but I can confirm one corpse was picked on Monday around the pipeline,  I have the picture on my phone. As of Tuesday, I don’t have any information that anything has happened,” he added.

[Punch]

THE 16th BRICS summit was the first since the group transmuted from BRIC to BRIC+ following its expansion at the 15th Summit held in South Africa in August 2023. The Summit which was held from October 22 to 24,  2024, in the Tatarstan city of Kazan, Russia was themed: “Strengthening Multilateralism for Fair Global Development and Security”. The Summit formally welcomed into their fold five new members – Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, UAE.  

During the Summit, leaders and representatives from over 20 countries came together in what must have been an embarrassment to the West which has sought to turn Russia into a pariah state following its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Apart from the optics that the Russo-Ukraine war has not affected normal life in Russia, the Summit also passed a coded message that Russia still has powerful friends, especially in what is often called the Global South, despite the West’s attempts to isolate it over the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

In line with its avowed objective of creating an alternative to the current Western dominated global and financial governance systems, the BRICS Kazan Declaration at the end of the Summit endorsed the reform of the United Nations Security Council and the full participation of the State of Palestine in the United Nations – contingent upon an agreement on the two-state solution.

The Declaration also agreed to explore the feasibility of creating an autonomous cross-border settlement and depository system, (away from the current Western-driven SWIFT system) as well as the possible utilisation of national currencies, payment tools, and platforms. There were also proposals for the invigoration of the group’s New Development Bank, NDB, which was established in 2014, with the aim of providing member countries with greater financial autonomy and resilience against external shocks.

For many Nigerians, the exciting news from the Summit was the announcement that Nigeria, along with 12 others –  were named partner countries to the BRICS+.  The other 12 were: Algeria, Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam.

But what does it really mean to be a partner country to BRICS+?  While it is not clear what it means to be designated as a “partner country”, especially as the group does not have criteria to be met to qualify countries for membership –  as some supranational entities like the European Union do –   we can surmise that they are countries that have either applied to become members or are being considered for membership.  In the last expansion at the 15th Summit, geopolitical and strategic considerations seemed to be a key determinant of which countries were invited. For instance, the admission of Ethiopia, one of the fastest growing economies in Africa and the permanent seat of the African Union, was symbolic.

It was the same for Egypt, which connects Africa to the Arab world. Saudi Arabia joining BRICS means that the world’s largest crude oil exporter now finds itself in the same economic bloc as the world’s biggest oil importer, China. Also, both Russia and Saudi Arabia are members of OPEC+, a group of major oil producers. Similarly, the invitation to Iran, home to around a quarter of the Middle East’s oil reserves and which shares the burden of Western sanction with Russia, seems, again, to be carefully thought through, not just in terms of oil politics but also for its influence in the Middle East. It is not yet clear the strategic thinking behind the invitation of the 13 countries as partners besides the idea that the group wants to increase in size to be an effective counter weight to other groupings like the G20, which in September 2023, admitted the African Union as its 21st member.

In international politics, being located in a number of powerful supranational organisations, if well leveraged, is indicative of power. But can Nigeria leverage on this to regain the initiative it has since lost to countries like South Africa and Egypt? 

Nigeria has had a number of promises that were aborted. A clear example was in late 2013, when Jim O’Neil, the same Goldman Sachs analyst who created the BRIC acronym, popularised another one: MINT. MINT was a neologism referring to the economies of Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey. What was instructive about the four countries listed in the MINT club was that they were all members of the Next Eleven (also known as the N-11). The N-11 were eleven countries – Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Turkey, South Korea, and Vietnam – identified by the same Jim O’Neill in a research paper on December 12, 2005, as having the high potential of becoming, along with BRICS, the world’s largest economies in the 21st century. MINT simply meant that Nigeria was given South Korea’s spot in MIKT. To add to the wave of Nigeria-optimism at that time, Filipino billionaire, Enrique Razon, was quoted as declaring during the closing activities at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland in 2014, that Nigeria was the best place to invest in that year. 

Essentially from 2005 (the Obasanjo years) until Buhari took over in 2015, the international optimism that Nigeria would be a breakout economy persisted. But in just eight years of the Buhari government, the optimism about Nigeria evaporated and the country became infamous for being pronounced the poverty capital of the World. Under the Tinubu government, the situation has grown worse. So including Nigeria as a partner country, for whatever it is worth, is another opportunity for the country to redeem itself.

To be able to leverage on this new designation, Nigeria needs to know clearly what it wants from the grouping. The sense of entitlement it exudes by calling itself the ultimate investment destination in Africa and literally cajoling potential investors to jump in or miss the train, is crude hubris. The fact that the President of the country globe trots in the name of seeking foreign investment contradicts that arrogant postulation because capital, by its nature, smells opportunity for accumulation and reproduction from a long distance, and therefore does not need to be cajoled or persuaded to come to invest.

Similarly, your population is no indication of your power or even the size of your market, especially a population where the overwhelming majority of the citizens suffer from multidimensional poverty. In the same vein, grandstanding about our oil lose sight of the fact that virtually every other African country is now an oil producer. Nigerians are hugely talented, resourceful and resilient. The world knows that, and what is needed are right policies that will help to unlock the creative energies of our people.  It is wrong when our leaders go outside the shores of the country, with a begging bowl on one hand, and hubris of being the next investment destination on the other.

So what should be Nigeria’s strategy as it seeks to become a full member of both BRICS+ and G21? We can take a cue from India. For instance, while India and China are powerful members of BRICS+, India is at the same time a member of the Quad, a strategic partnership with the United States, Japan, and Australia, whose primary, though unstated purpose, is to prevent Chinese hegemony in the Indo-Pacific.

India and China, each with 1.4 billion inhabitants, are engaged in fierce geopolitical rivalry in Asia—and, increasingly, globally, over which of the two is better positioned to serve as a natural leader of the Global South. They use the often overlapping organisations they are members of to promote their own agenda. But they command respect in whichever organisation they belong to primarily because of what they have been able to accomplish technologically.  

The Federal Government has said that the four toll gates along the 260km Abuja-Keffi-Makurdi expressway is in conformity with the requirements of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC).

The Minister of Works, David Umahi, while responding to questions on the tolls in Abuja, explained that the law establishing ICRC prescribes the minimum and maximum requirements for tolling of roads on concession.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports Umahi was reacting to a question on concerns raised by some commuters on the number of tolls on the newly delivered expressway.

Although the toll gates are yet to be operational, the commuters along the route have raised concerns that four points for payment of tolls on a 260km stress of road will be burdensome.

They, however, commended the federal government for the timely delivery of the project.

“The total length of that road is 260 kilometres, and it is dualised, which means you are talking about 520 kilometres, and I don’t think that we have more than four toll gates on that road.

“There is a law establishing infrastructure concession regulatory commission, and they have the minimum requirements and maximum requirements for tolling.

“We have followed that law and we have also set up a committee because we are doing a cashless collection on the road.

“The committee members are meeting with us next week, and they will tell us how to go about that, because, there are a lot of people who do not know how to read and write, when it comes to ICT.

“It may be difficult for them to understand what we are talking, in terms of electronics payment of tolls.

“So, we are trying to ensure that we carry such people along,” the minister explained.

NAN recalled that the minister on Oct. 17, inaugurated the committee on the implementation of cashless tolling system on the road.

According to Umahi, cashless tolling system is a strategic programme under the Highway Development and Management Initiative aimed at promoting strong and sustainable transportation ecosystem.

The committee’s tasks included, designing the cashless system, establishing relief stations with essential services such as supermarkets, clinics, and security outposts, and ensuring improved security along the highway.

Umahi had stressed: “Within 10 minutes of any incident along the route, security people will be able to respond.”

NAN reports that the Abuja-Keffi-Markurdi road project was procured under the Engineering, Procurement, and Construction–Finance (EPC+F) model.

The road, executed by the China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd (CHEC) was funded up to 85 per cent by China Exim Bank, with the 15 per cent counterpart funding from the federal government.

The project cost 542 million Dollar, and with CHEC handling it, China Exim Bank provided 85 per cent (460.8 million dollar) of the funding in the form of Preferential Export Buyer’s Credit.

A section of the agreement states that the company will toll the road and then recoup the money for the government to pay back the loan segment of the project.

[Vanguard]

President Bola Tinubu says the oil sector will experience stability with the implementation of naira-for-crude transactions.

Tinubu spoke during a review meeting at the State House in Abuja on Tuesday. 

On October 5, the federal government officially announced the commencement of the sale of crude oil and refined petroleum products in naira.

Three weeks later, Dangote Petroleum Refinery received four cargoes of crude oil from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited under the naira-for-crude sale agreement.

The president said using the naira was conceived to remove the exchange rate hurdle.

“Whatever solution we proffer in crude oil and refined products sales in naira should not take us back to our experience in the last 40 years,” Tinubu said.

“There can be cost and revenue adjustment in the oil sector, but the issue is that the government will not have to go back to the old way of doing things.”

Tinubu also commended the implementation committee on the crude oil and refined products sale in naira and asked the members to resolve any teething problems.

He urged the various players in the oil sector, including the NNPC and the Dangote refinery, to collaborate to improve the economy and livelihood of Nigerians.

The president urged stakeholders to look inward and consider supplying enough petrol and petroleum products for local consumption to stop the persistent reliance on importation.

Tinubu said it would enable the channelling of foreign exchange into the development of the real sector.

‘USE AFREXIMBANK TO RESOLVE NAIRA PRICING’

Tinubu also advised stakeholders to use the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), being the financial adviser on the deal, as a settlement bank to resolve the naira pricing for crude and refined products.

“The market must determine what we are doing. Once you allow the market to determine the profit and loss, independent marketers and the government side can meet on the worksheet,” he said.

“I want the issues resolved without future waste of time.

“We can have energy security, and the motivation for Alhaji Aliko Dangote will not be defeated. It will be more predictable on a medium and long-term basis.”

At the meeting, Wale Edun, minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy, said the administration’s groundbreaking steps to sell crude in naira would not be reversed.

He said the government would not be involved in determining the rate of exchange for the oil sector.

Aliko Dangote, president and chairman of Dangote Group, told Tinubu that Dangote refinery had more than 500 million litres of petrol in reserve.

Dangote said the refinery could collaborate with the other refineries managed by NNPC to meet an estimated 32 million litres of local petrol needs.

Those who created the T-Pain label for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu must be grinning from ear-to-ear for the phenomenal success they have recorded! Not that they said anything new or that Nigerians were not familiar with the phenomenon they graphically painted but because the Tinubu government allowed it to get under its skin. When you respond to certain attacks, you give it traction. There are occasions when silence is golden!

Besides, grandma taught me that if you begin to remove the twigs and leaves on your head and clothes before you finally exit a bush, you have one more clean-up to do when eventually you hit the road. Failure is an orphan but success has many fathers. President Tinubu's administration is at the moment marooned at the dreary juncture of failure. Except the situation improves, and quickly too, nothing he says will interest anyone. Is there pain in the land? Of course, there is!

Have things been this bad before? Of course, not! Has anyone seen the light at the end of the tunnel that Tinubu and his men console and comfort us with? Not really! So, until he succeeds, no one will believe him. What he needs to do right now is put his head down and work his arse out to achieve the success he envisions. Otherwise...! He has to learn from the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, who said he stoically took all insults and wore them like badges of honour. Apostle Paul on his own said he counted all adversity as gain. May Tinubu not fail!

There was a point in my life when I was at that juncture. I left secondary school with one of the four best results in my class; for lack of mentoring, I rejected a scholarship offer to study in the then Soviet Union by my school principal, the inimitable Pa Michael Adekunle Ajasin, who later became governor of old Ondo State and NADECO leader. From my wide reading even as a secondary school student, I had become aware of the Black Rights Movement in the United States of America and of notable Black American activists and the school that produced many of them - Howard University (founded on 2 March, 1867); so, it was Howard or nothing! Dad was financially capable but wouldn't allow his only son leave (two had died in quick succession) but he wouldn't say so clearly. He kept posting me, as they say, using unfavourable financial climate as a smokescreen.

Up to a point I believed him because he had recently lost a hefty sum to robbery that everyone suspected was an insider's job. But as time wore out, I made my own plans. I joined up with a friend who owned a pools betting house and, for years, I "permed two from four", "permed three from five", "napped three, four or five" and even played "treble chance" hoping after hope to hit the jackpot and win enough money to send myself to Howard University, USA. I pored over pools forecast books - Willy Akinlude, Ehi Obiyan and many others! I had a notebook that contained up to a hundred "formulas" that were meant to produce "banker draws". As if by providence or bad luck, formulas that worked before I knew them failed once I knew the secret!

So did I waste years - and the pocket money Mama gave to sustain me. Everything I had went into pools staking such that I literally became destitute. At a point, I had only a pair of trousers and two shirts. My only sandals were torn all over and I had to drag them on the floor when I walked. When Yakubu Gowon wasted Nigeria's oil money on the extravaganza called Udoji award in 1974 and my mates reaped thrice the usual salary for auxiliary teachers, I spent day and night at Sammy Pools House opposite Oja Ojomo (Ojomo's market) in Owo. One day my uncle advised my Mom to bundle me into a vehicle and deposit me at Aro (mental hospital, Abeokuta), reckoning that I must have run mad. My mother wept and wept!

Many thanks to my elder sister who pressured me to change location from Owo, first to Ede (to reside with her and her husband) and later to Osogbo after my in-law had helped me secure a teaching job at Osogbo Grammar school as an auxiliary teacher. From there, I proceeded to llesa Grammar School for my Higher School Certificate. It was while there that I wrote the first JAMB and got admitted to the then University of Ife in 1978. When I went home to relay the good news with my letter of admission and ID card as incontrovertible evidence, my uncle was the first to eat the humble pie. He called me and said: "Ojo, I did not know you knew what you were doing!"

To God be the glory! I am also grateful to my elder sister and her husband. Listen to wise counsel! If I hadn't listened, my story would have been different today - possibly for the worse. Few people believe in you when you are yet to arrive at the port of success. Trying to convince anyone with mere words is like pouring water on a rock. Try as they may, there are very few people Tinubu and his spokespersons will convince today that he is not as they have labeled him because, truth be told, there is pain in the land like never before. Only those who spend government or company money may not know this for a fact.

A wise counsel which Tinubu needs is that himself, his family members, close aides and top government functionaries must feel the pain of the people - not just in words but also in action for, as they say, action speaks louder than words. Those of them in government cannot live large while preaching to hapless citizenry to "f'okan ba'le". They will not!

It irks me these days when people who know the truth pretend otherwise just to score cheap political points. All they seem interested in is calling a dog a bad name to hang it - the dog may not be totally blameless, though! I also feel offended when the people who are the grandmasters of the turmoil we go through have the temerity to come to the open to justify their ruinous rule and even try to shift blame! Such audacity!

Did you hear the World Bank say all the gains of 18 years spanning three presidents (Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Yar'Adua and Goodluck Jonathan) were wiped off by Muhammadu Buhari's eight-year ruinous rule? That was where the rains began to beat us heavily. The eight years of Buhari were years of the locusts. You expect such a person, if he will not be brought to book, to at least leave us alone; not that he, together with his second-in-command, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, will start to run their mouths in public. That is tantamount to rubbing salt on our injury!

But if anyone thinks this country can survive where there is no consequence for bad behaviour, such a person lives in a fool’s paradise.
Must we always leap before we look?
I hope the concern expressed by top military chiefs at a recent security summit will be treated as patriotism and not as high treason or insubordination. This is how a news medium reported it:
"Service chiefs have expressed concern over security challenges linked to the construction of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway at a recent dialogue. A new dimension was added to the controversy trailing the construction of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway... when service chiefs raised concern that Nigeria might be open to new security challenges when the road is completed and (becomes) operational".

What were the concerns raised? One: "That there is no consideration for security architecture to protect this 700-kilometre stretch of road. But what we see is that when this project goes live, there will be attendant security challenges that would not have been catered for throughout the whole project. I think that as a nation we need to address this. When projects that have significant bearing on national security are being conceptualized, it is important to bring security agencies on board from the beginning... This road (coastal highway)... will also provide access to miscreants and other people that we do not intend to have access into our country" Two: That "both in its conceptualization and ongoing implementation, the military were not involved"! They did not say, 'don't have the road'; they only said, 'make it safe' - which makes sense!

Excluding military experts must have been an oversight. So, quickly involve them. As they say, better late than never! Let the "security experts bring in their own input so that we will have that road and it wil be secure for business". I agree! Why spend so much money on a road only to end up creating additional security problems for ourselves? Our plate is more than full already!