The mutinous soldiers who overthrew democratically elected Niger President Mohamed Bazoum announced a raft of measures over the weekend that analysts say are aimed at strengthening their grip on power while preparing to defend against any military attempt by regional leaders to reinstate Bazoum.

The junta led by Brig. Gen. Abdrahmane Tchiani ordered the Nigerien armed forces to go on maximum alert over “threats of aggression to the national territory” and asked the military-led governments of neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso to send troops to help defend them. It also issued a Monday deadline to the French ambassador to leave the country and held a rally to gather support to force French troops out.

France President Emmanuel Macron said Monday that the country's ambassador will remain in Niger. Macron spoke out firmly against the coup leaders while insisting that France is not Niger’s enemy.

“Our policy is the right one. It depends on the courage of President Mohamed Bazoum, the commitment of our diplomats, and of our ambassador on the ground who is remaining despite pressure,” Macron told a gathering of French ambassadors in Paris.

Seidik Abba, a Nigerien researcher and president of the Paris-based International Center for Reflection and Studies on the Sahel, said the junta is trying to reinforce its position and rebuff attempts by West Africa's regional bloc, ECOWAS, to pressure the military government to reverse the coup.

“The risk of a war (between Niger and the regional bloc) is still pretty high,” said Nate Allen, an associate professor at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies. He said the junta is aligning with the regimes in Mali and Burkina Faso in “a very strong anti-Western and pro-authoritarian orientation.”

ECOWAS has said it must reverse the coup in Niger to “halt the spiral of coups” in West Africa. At a meeting Saturday with Molly Phee, the top U.S. diplomat for African affairs, the bloc’s chairman, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, accused the Niger junta of trying to “buy time” after failed talks to reinstate Bazoum, who remains in detention.

“The ECOWAS consensus is that we will not allow anyone to insincerely buy time,” Tinubu said, adding that he has been holding the bloc back “despite its readiness for all options” that could include military intervention in Niger.

Before Bazoum's ouster last month, Niger, a former French colony, was seen as the West’s last major partner against jihadi violence in the Sahel region below the Sahara Desert rife with anti-French sentiment. The cutting of ties with the French, as occurred after the military coups in Mali and Burkina Faso, shows "a new world order that is emerging in the Sahel and in a way marks the end of the post-colonial state in a lot of these countries” colonized by France, said Abba, the Sahel researcher.

ECOWAS has not provided details of what a military intervention would look like, other than that it would be led by a so-called standby force. Mali and Burkina Faso are both battling with internal security challenges, while Nigeria, which also faces deadly violence, constitutes roughly half of about 450,000 combined military personnel in the bloc’s remaining 11 member states. Guinea is also among the countries that have sided with Niger.

The bloc is in a challenging position with the Niger-Mali-Burkina Faso alliance and with its past interventions often reliant on international support, said Allen with the Africa Center for Strategic Studies.

The coup leaders in Niger “are planning on staying in power for the long term," he said. “That is a typical pattern we have seen in military regimes ... they overstay their welcome often for a very long time.”

[ABC]

I had visited Niger for the first time in the early 1980s when it was covered by our Embassy from Ivory Coast (Cote d’Ivoire). Ivory Coast was governed by one party rule of Papa Boigny ( Houphouet Boigny) the last strong man and a pro French leader in Francophone Africa . It was also the beautiful show window of French assimilative culture which allowed them control over 83% of overall decision making in the government through a Directeur du Cabinet ordinarily a French man. I know how difficult it was to break the glass ceiling if you wished to penetrate the Francophonie markets . Country was modern and broadly stable even though poverty reigned supreme. But after Boigny, the country faced civil wars and an economic crisis .

Niger , rather poor yet somewhat stable , had the marked French influence as its Uranium remained a formidable attraction for the colonial masters as well as wannabe’s like Pakistan who had an embassy there . Same was the story in the rest of the French speaking world. I always thought that the French, due to their efforts to socialize and assimilate with the local populations ,would be better placed than the British whose racist segregation made them hated by the countries they ruled . In my hometown Nainital on the Mall Road , during the British Times placards indicated that “ Indians and Dogs are not allowed’. Some reactions in the western media and commentariat on India’s exceptional Lunar Chandrayan 3 success still smacks of the colonial mindset. But the French smarter approach has run its course .

As such in Africa there is a greater realization that ‘Africa is for Africans ‘and they will decide their own destiny. Unfortunately, Corruption, coups and conflicts have continued to mark the continent often with the connivance of the erstwhile or neo colonial masters. Very often their leaders have failed them. Niger, which became the latest victim of the coup, is neither an exception nor it is the last one. Unless the gains of democracy and governance percolate to the most underprivileged and the last man on the ladder such recurrences will continue to happen. Democracy is simply a better form of governance but if it does not yield to the expectations of masses and works only for the few, it is as bad as autocracy. After 63 years of independence from France, Niger remains the 7th poorest country in the world ranking 189th among the 192 countries in the HDI rankings of the World Bank with a mean age of about 15 years – all this is a heady mix for frustration and conflict of the youth.

In Niger the military coup (July 26) and its mass based support and protests against the colonial power has become a convenient tool to justify the overthrow of the government of Mohamed Bazoum by General Abdurrahman Tchiani who was accused of working for the French and it was to prevent the country from ‘ the gradual but inevitable demise’. Bazoum had apparently decided to relieve Tchiani of his duties two days ago. In fact while I was in Nigeria , a senior army officer claimed that many military officers are convinced of their final destination as the Head of the Government one day . French nuclear power plants get more than 20% of Uranium from Niger and that supply is threatened .No wonder French President Macron said that he will not tolerate any attack on his country or its interests . Now that Putsch leaders have given 48 hours for the French Ambassador to leave and mission closed as their 2000 strong military base has been contained by the Niger military. Although the French government refuses to acknowledge the legality of the order by an unrecognized military government, the fate of the mission hangs in balance. The French also refused to give the agreement to the new Nigerian Ambassador while their Ambassador refused to meet the new Junta Foreign Minister . Junta has also cancelled all military and other cooperation agreements with France which Paris has declined to recognize.

This time the situation has further been worsened and complicated as the ECOWAS which has a standing force broadly led and manned by Nigeria to be deployed in such situations, has threatened to restore ‘constitutional order’ and the deposed President by force , if the coup leaders did not agree . Timelines have passed. In fact, the Nigerian Senate did not accord approval to the proposal of new Nigerian President Tinubu to send the Nigerian contingents as part of ECOWAS to restore order in Niamey. ECOWAS does have a good track record but Nigeria itself is going through its own financial and domestic problems which the polity does not want to be compounded by the invasion of Niger. Coup leaders have warned against any misadventure and are ready to give a fight if attacked by any outside power. What is challenging the African Unity and efforts to restore democracy by taking decisive action against military coup leaders is the fact that this time two other military leaders of Mali and Burkina Faso in the Sahel have also joined the warning by Niger and are coordinating their joint military plans to defend Niger, if the Ecowas or any other power intervened. This has called into question the reliability and capability of the regional organizations to take action in such situations except suspending their membership and cooperation at the African Union (AU) and other regional organizations.

The Sahel stretches from the Atlantic Ocean eastward to Sudan and Eritrea. It cuts through Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, north-eastern Nigeria and Chad. There have been five coups in the Sahel and six in the broader West African region in the last three years. Military Coup d’état is becoming fashionable and frequent. Destabilization of Libya, post NATO invasion, has added the greater threat of terrorism and extremism especially Jihadis and Islamic extremists and AQ, ISIS and Boko Haram in the Sahel and beyond who will have a field day in the current situation. Niger has been a partner in fighting against radical outfits which will surely be compromised. Mali has also asked the UN Peacekeepers to leave by the year end while asking foreign forces to move out.

Chad President also tried to intervene with coup leaders in Niger, who want three years for transition to civilian rule which is a challenge difficult to entertain by the AU and ECOWAS at least for now. With these Sahel countries’ shared opposition to France and its western allies and a growing preference for Russian partnership and Wagner presence despite the death of its leader Prigozhin in an air crash, Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger are merging into a de facto anti-west francophone faction within Ecowas. This further complicates the issues even more and will undermine the ECOWAS’s credibility and efficacy for good.

These fissures and confrontations will also have a major impact on the cross border projects. Niger is an important transit country for Nigerian pipelines like the $25 bn Nigeria- Moro gas project for supply of gas to Europe . Moreover , Nigeria ‘s Water and Power exchange agreements with neighbouring countries including Niger has been threatened ,which also explains Nigeria ‘s proactive efforts supported by the West and AU and larger international community .

Russia , although has asked the coup leaders to allow the return of Bazoum, will not yield the vacated strategic space and has invited several leaders for the Russia-Africa St Petersburg Summit . During the pro-coup demonstrations “ Down with France and Long Live Putin’ and Russian flags were a common sight .Therefore it is a country that western countries cannot afford to lose because of who will win: Russia. As a result ,the Sahel will turn into a fertile turf for more global superpower confrontations. Meanwhile an ECOWAs delegation finally met Bazoum and Tchiani last week but an acceptable resolution is not in sight. Eventually dialogue and accommodation might be the only way out like elsewhere .

Economics has its own logic and for the common man it is also their predicament. Humanitarian crisis is there for every one to see as more than three million people are facing food insecurity and a large number of Nigeriens have become internally displaced. While it is difficult to predict the way it will all unfold, for the French the writing on the wall is clear as Niger becomes more destabilised. Macron, last March himself had admitted that the age of ‘Franc Afrique’ is gone ( Passe) while advocating a new era in relations, whose trajectory only time will tell.

But then late French President Jacques Chirac acknowledged that “without Africa, France will slide down into the rank of a third [world] power.” Voila …

Chicago Bears offensive tackle Roy Mbaeteka has always considered himself a patient person with an ability to see the bigger picture. Thus, as he paced the sideline at Soldier Field during Saturday’s preseason finale against the Buffalo Bills, he suppressed his restlessness with a double dose of football curiosity.

For 3 hours and 9 minutes, with the Bears running 59 plays on offense and 27 more on special teams, Mbaeteka waited to see if he’d get another brief opportunity for in-game action. But his call never came. He saw only two snaps across the entire month of NFL preseason games — as part of the Bears field goal team.

But why would Mbaeteka pout or check out when his education in the sport where he is trying to build a career remains elementary?

“I don’t like to dwell on negative thoughts,” he said. “Even standing there and watching, I’m still learning a lot about this game and observing other people to see how they operate. There’s a big learning curve for me.

“Do I want to be out there? Yes. But I still believe that on this journey, there will be perfect timing.”

Maybe now is the perfect time to mention Mbaeteka’s entry into football came just a little more than five years ago — in his late teens in Nigeria as he and others interested in the sport practiced with rudimentary understanding picked up through YouTube.

Maybe here is the spot to emphasize Mbaeteka has played in only four football games. In his life. At any level. (And they have all been in the NFL preseason.)

Maybe this is where we pull back the curtain on Mbaeteka’s trek through the league’s International Player Pathway program and wonder whether this driven, humble, curious 6-foot-9, 320-pound giant has a real chance to take what has already been a dream and turn it into a riveting fairy tale.

“I take my journey as it comes. Day by day,” Mbaeteka said. “This is all part of a bigger plan.”

Mbaeteka wasn’t exactly all-in on the day his football journey truly accelerated. He was just being agreeable in the summer of 2021 when a buddy, Sodiq Muhammed, urged him to come along to the Uprise camp in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria.

Mbaeteka was 20 years old, living in Lagos and pushing to figure out what he was going to do next. For three years, he had pursued basketball. And why wouldn’t he? He had rare size plus attention-grabbing dexterity and grace. Yet no matter how much talent he possessed or how much promise he showed, every time he attended a camp with hopes of making a life-changing breakthrough, he’d fall just short.

“There was always something, some reason,” Mbaeteka said. “I was always getting right to the finish line but never getting across.”

So Mbaeteka wasn’t expecting anything momentous when he agreed to drop in at Uprise, the talent-discovery stage that former New York Giants standout and fellow Nigerian Osi Umenyiora had set up in Abuja. Mbaeteka certainly wasn’t expecting to essentially teleport to the NFL, where he broke in with the Giants last season and is now looking to further his career with the Bears.

When Muhammed urged him to attend Uprise, he was simply agreeing to take a swing. First, though, Mbaeteka and his friend needed to navigate the 470 miles from Lagos to Abuja. They had no vehicle and limited funds, instead leaning on a “What the heck?” spirit when they decided they’d somehow hitch a ride.

“Mind you,” Mbaeteka said, “this was immediately after the COVID-19 lockdown had lifted. Nobody was giving anybody a ride.”

In some respects, Mbaeteka resigned himself to the most likely outcome.

“In my mind, I’m thinking, ‘I’m just going to stand here by the road for a couple hours and when nothing happens I’ll go back home.’ Just making it look like, ‘Hey, I gave it a shot.’”

Nevertheless, at a gas station in Lagos, a stranger noticed Mbaeteka and Muhammed lingering — each with just a lightly packed travel bag — and was genuinely curious about what they were up to. The man was a fan of American football and headed in the direction of Abuja, offering to take Mbaeteka and Muhammed most of the way.

The ride? Just a quick 11 1/2-hour field trip — full of dreams and imparted wisdom. “Fatherly advice almost,” Mbaeteka called it.

“It was almost like he was sent to us,” he added.

When the driver reached the end of his trek, he dropped the two football hopefuls off and gave them money to grab a bus for the rest of the way.

At the Uprise tryout, Mbaeteka caught the eyes of Umenyiora and co-director Ejike Ugboaja, showing enough athleticism and promise to receive his proverbial golden ticket. That was it right there, the twist of fate that gave Mbaeteka his invitation to the NFL’s International Combine in London which then pushed him on to a 10-week training program in Arizona as part of the International Player Pathway program.

From there, he received his first professional contract with the Giants, spending 2022 on the team’s practice squad before re-entering the NFL’s IPP and being assigned to the Bears in May.

At this point, Mbaeteka projects as a 10,000,000:1 long shot to make the 53-man roster by Tuesday’s deadline. Even that might be generous. More likely, he will be asked to see general manager Ryan Poles in the next two days and told he is being cut. Still, there is a strong possibility his fall will be cushioned with an invitation to the practice squad this week.

“Hopefully,” Mbaeteka said.

The Bears essentially hold a no-risk exemption with an extra practice squad spot as part of the league’s International Player Pathway program guidelines.

Offensive line coach Chris Morgan is eager to continue aiding Mbaeteka’s development. “Every day he’s just, ‘I’m going to get a little bit better. Every day I’m going to gain a little more understanding.’ He wants to learn,” Morgan said.

That’s been part of the book on Mbaeteka since he began this journey two-plus years ago, fueling the ride with intelligence, focus and diligence. Combine that with his size, length and agility, factor in his lack of playing experience, and it’s easy to imagine what he could one day become.

“Like, Roy has not played football,” Morgan said. “So yes, there’s a lot of regard put into that, seeing where he’s at with absolutely no track record. It’s pretty impressive when you think about it.”

A year ago, former Pro Bowl offensive lineman LeCharles Bentley, now the NFL’s senior adviser of player performance and development, called Mbaeteka “by far the most physically advanced athlete I’ve worked with at his current stage of growth and development.”

“My knowledge is now miles from where I started,” he said. “But I still have a million miles to go.”

He laughs when he reflects now on how surface-level his YouTube introduction to the sport was.

“We would do drills based on what we watched. But it was completely simple. We never went into game concepts. It was more, ‘This is pass blocking. This is run blocking.’ It was just entirely a broad concept thing, like ‘Just run and block that guy.’ And all the defensive guys did was come at you or bull rush or try to beat you (around the edge). Everything was made simple.

“It’s different playing checkers than it is playing chess.”

Now, as Mbaeteka continues to understand and embrace the complexity of the game, he has understood why the Bears have limited his exposure to game action.

“As much as I want to be out there,” he said, “I don’t want to jump in when I’m not ready yet and then butcher things up for everybody else.

“This is a true team sport. And if I’m not ready to help my team, I’m just going to be a loose end that is messing with the whole thing.”

That’s been part of football’s draw to Mbaeteka, the way everything must fit together for success to materialize. On Saturday, as he again played the role of observant onlooker, Mbaeteka found himself marveling at his teammates.

“I appreciate the level of effort,” he said. “It’s amazing watching a bunch of guys go out there and play for something bigger than themselves. Every time I watch, I see these guys playing in a way where they’re making sure the person next to them can do well also.

“It’s always amazing. Every time I see that, I say to myself, ‘Man, I really want to do this. I really, really want to do this.’”

Mbaeteka will continue trying, hoping this week the Bears will further his opportunity for another developmental season that will be, in so many different ways, dizzying.

“I don’t think my head will ever stop spinning throughout this journey,” Mbaeteka said. “That’s fun for me. I don’t think I want it to stop spinning. I want everything to keep happening like this is a big story. And with every step that passes, a new chapter is unfolding.”

[chicagotribune]

President Bola Tinubu spent the months since his victory at the February 25 election setting clear goals for each sector in the country and will not tolerate failure from either of his recently inaugurated ministers, presidential spokesman Ajuri Ngelale said Monday.

“The President has set the benchmarks,” the Senior Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity noted on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily.

“The question now is about enforcements and the President has shown, as he did during his time in Lagos State as governor, that he is not someone that is afraid to fire anybody.

“He is not somebody that is afraid to levy quick sanctions to ensure that they get the results that he wants ’cause, ultimately, if this administration fails, they will not say a minister failed or a set of ministers failed. They will say President Bola Tinubu failed, and he will not accept failure.”

According to Ngelale, the President used the interim period between his emergence as the president-elect and his inauguration on May 29 to set up “a series of reform committees across all the sectors”.

Presidential spokesman Ajuri Ngelale appears on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Monday, August 28, 2023.

“[Tinubu] basically looked at exactly what His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari has achieved and said, ‘This is what we want to do to build on all these achievements,” Ngelale explained.

“We’re going to effectively implement a plan within a certain amount of time based on time-based benchmarks that when a minister has come in, we would be able to measure their performance against.’

“Every minister coming in absolutely knows what they have to achieve within the time frame that’s been given to them by the President and that’s something in the history of Nigerian governance we’ve never seen before.”

President Bola Tinubu has convened the inaugural Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting of his administration at the State House in Abuja.

The meeting comes 92 days after his official inauguration as Nigeria’s 16th president on May 29, 2023.

The meeting is taking place on the heels of the recent swearing-in of 45 ministers as members of Tinubu’s cabinet and is being attended by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, and National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, among others.

The FEC meeting serves as a platform for the president to share his plans and receive expert advice and diverse perspectives from his cabinet members.

The president is expected to use the inaugural FEC meeting to set the agenda for his administration and to outline his priorities for the country in terms of policy direction and approach to various challenges facing the nation.

The areas will range from the economy, security, infrastructure development, healthcare, education, and foreign policy.

In terms of the economy, Tinubu is expected to give his ministers and other aides a detailed presentation on his plans to address the country’s economic challenges and the impact of the recent removal of fuel subsidy, among others.

Rep. Amobi Ogah (LP-Abia) has pleaded with President Bola Tinubu to release Nnamdi Kanu as a gift to the people of South Eastern Nigeria.

Ogah, a member representing Isuikwuato/Umunneochi Federal Constituency of Abia in the House of Representatives, made the appeal in a statement in Abuja on Monday.

According to him, the insecurity in the South East region is due to the prolonged detention of the proscribed IPOB leader; the president should release him as a show of love to N’digbo.

Ogah said Kanu’s release would expose criminal gangs using the detention to cover their act of terrorism in the South East.

He noted that the president had done so much, but added that the only point of disagreement was the issue of giving only five ministers to the entire South East.

He appealed to the president to balance it, to show he really loved N’digbo as well as release Kanu, so that insecurity in the South East would reduce.

“The issue now is that we don’t even know those who are behind the insecurity in the South East.

“IPOB will tell you they are not the one, Eastern Security Network will tell you they are not involved.

“But some will say the reason is because they are holding Nnamdi Kanu. So my prayer to Mr. President is that he should give him (Kanu) to us as a gift,” he said.

Tony Elumelu, CFR, Chairman of United Bank for Africa Plc has emphasised the need to empower the private sector to transform Nigeria.

He made this remark at the 63rd Annual General Conference of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) held on Sunday 27th, August 2023 in Abuja. He said:

• “Transforming Nigeria is a journey that demands our collective dedication, building across political affiliations, ethnic differences, and socioeconomic differences.
• One that is not the responsibility of our government alone. Great nations start with great people, not just great leaders.
• Our private sector, our philanthropies, our civil society, all citizens must be brought together and be empowered – as real, valued and executing partners for this national renewal, this nation building.”

Elumelu also talked about the need for youth empowerment in aspects of entrepreneurship citing the work of Tony Elumelu Foundation in championing this cause. He stated:

• “Investment in our youth – we need to renew our commitment to our youth, provide them with the means to succeed in Nigeria – not beyond Nigeria. This means not just investment in our education system but in our entrepreneurial culture.
• Nigeria is a nation of entrepreneurs – you know me as an investor and champion of entrepreneurs – I know the social and economic returns entrepreneurship creates.
• Let us create a joined-up government task force to champion at the highest level, our young and our entrepreneurs. When entrepreneurs succeed, we succeed as a nation. If they don’t, we all fail.
• In my engagement with fellow private sector leaders, my message is simple: We must see ourselves as the engine of innovation, the source of investment, and the creators of jobs.  This is exactly what we have achieved at the Tony Elumelu Foundation.”

In terms of private sector investment, Mr Elumelu also gave insights on how the Federal Government can further improve the power sector. He spotlighted Transcorp Group’s TransAfam Power Plant’s 1000MW capacity.

• “Let us invest in our power sector – let us create regulatory structures that reward success, that deliver to our people, our schools, our hospitals and our industries, the sustainable, robust power supply that our country so urgently needs.
• “Is it not ironic that a country with abundant gas resources cannot optimally operate its power plants due to a lack of gas?
• “I have seen, the beginnings of what we can do. Let me give you an example: The TransAfam Power Plant that belongs to Transcorp Group has an installed capacity of 1000 megawatts. 
• “The Federal Government of Nigeria made a significant investment to acquire 240 megawatts of fast power turbines from General Electric (GE).
• “For context, 240 megawatts of electricity can power about one million homes in Nigeria.”

Senior Advocates of Nigeria and other senior lawyers yesterday spoke in unison on the controversy that trailed the appointment of Hannatu Musawa as minister of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy, by President Bola Tinubu.

According to them, there is no iota of illegality in her appointment.

There has been controversy over her appointment, with many claiming that Musawa cannot be appointed as minister while still undergoing the mandatory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme.

A senior official of the NYSC had confirmed that the minister is a serving corps member.

Musawa was appointed minister by President Bola Tinubu about two weeks ago.

Shortly after her inauguration, some Nigerians disagreed with her appointment, saying she can’t observe her mandatory one-year youth service programme and still serve as minister of the federal republic at the same time. 

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Abdul Balogun (SAN), said no law under the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria bars her from taking up appointment as a minister while observing youth service.

According to him, there is nothing illegal about her appointment.

He said, “There is absolutely nothing illegal in the appointment of the minister. She can serve as a minister and at the same time observe her youth service. For me, I don’t think any issue should be made out of her appointment. If this controversy is allowed to linger, it will amount to distraction for the minister and the Federal Executive Council (FEC) where she will be serving. I think we have more issues to deal with than this because there is nothing to debate about on this, the 1999 Constitution is clear on this”.

Another learned silk, Kunle Adegoke (SAN), maintained that the controversy over Musawa’s appointment was unnecessary because appointment into a political office is a call to service and should not be seen as employment for personal gains.

Adegoke said the appointment is a continuation of her duties as a youth corps member under the Act and should not attract any remuneration beyond what is payable to an average youth corps member until the expiration of her period for youth service.

The rights activist said, “The NYSC Act, in Section 12 thereof, requires every prospective employer to ask for the certificate of discharge or exemption of any person who is eligible for youth service under the Act before such a person is offered employment.

“It means that no person shall be employed without producing such a certificate as required by the Act. However, the provision in this regard does not mean that no person can be appointed into a political office without having completed the youth service.

“Appointment into a political office is a service that cannot be seen as employment for personal gains. It is this wrong perspective that an average Nigerian harbours that makes us to be thinking that a political appointment should be seen as a career or an opportunity for self-enrichment like an average employment.

“I do not subscribe to the criticism of the appointment of Hannatu Musawa in this regard. Do we see the appointment of a minister as an opportunity to serve the nation? Hannatu should be regarded as carrying out her obligation to serve the land since she had enrolled for youth service before the president appointed her as a minister.

“She was already undergoing the youth service before she was appointed. The appointment in this regard should be seen as re-deployment from wherever she was serving before.

“It is a continuation of her duties as a youth corps member under the Act and should not attract any remuneration beyond what is payable to an average youth corps member until the expiration of her period for youth service.

“The only instance in which she could have committed an offence contrary to the NYSC Act is if she had claimed that she had completed youth service before her appointment as a minister.

“I believe that rather than creating a storm in a tea cup, this matter should be treated as stated herein,” he maintained.

In his view, a retired lecturer, faculty of law, Lagos of University, Prof Gbenga Ojo, said the legality of the appointment is debatable.

Ojo said on whether it is lawful or not, it is a debatable point.

“It is unprecedented but I don’t think that it is unlawful. It is an appointment and not employment. The condition precedent to getting employment in Nigeria is that you must have completed the one-year mandatory youth corps service to the nation. That is the law.

“Though it can be argued that this is appointment at the prerogative of the president and not employment and, therefore, not within the contemplation of the law.

“The draftsman would not have contemplated that a serving member of the programme will be appointed as a minister or given any appointment for that matter.

“It might be difficult for her to get employment in the future unless she goes back to complete the programme by which time, she will not be eligible. It is a youth programme for graduates of 30 years and below.

“Furthermore, she definitely does not have any experience at all. If she must be appointed, it should a special adviser and not even senior special adviser. How she passed through the screening by the Senate is difficult to understand.

“If it is to appeal to the youths, there are other youths with experience.  It is not right. To think that nobody or organisation has raised this issue before now is another disturbing issue.

“On whether it is lawful or not, it is a debatable point. It is unprecedented but I don’t think that it is unlawful. It is an appointment and not employment,” he said.

On his part, Ahamed Raji (SAN), said there appears to be some fine distinction between being employed and being appointed.

The learned silk stated: “Discharge certificate may be a condition for employment.  I am not sure (and of course barring any misrepresentation), the discharge certificate may be a condition for appointments.

“It is however doubtful if some appointments can be combined with service.  Where such may not be combined, the lesser one may be suspended”.

Another Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mahmud S. Abdulahi, said once she meets the pre-conditions in Section 147 of the provisions of the 1999 Constitution.

According to him, Section 147 (5) of the 1999 Constitution says, “No person shall be appointed as a Minister of the Government of the Federation unless he is qualified for election as a member of the House of Representatives.

“Section 106 of the 1999 constitution says you must be a citizen of Nigeria; you must have attained the age of 25 years, and you have been educated up to at least a school certificate level, or its equivalent. You must be a member of a political party and you must be sponsored by that political party.

“The question to ask at this point is, did she meet all these conditions? If she meets all these conditions, then, no reason to raise any issue about her appointment.”

Another senior lawyer, Barrister Paul Ezemadu, said wondered why Nigerians love to raise unnecessary controversy.

“I dare say that the controversy over the minister’s NYSC status is out of joblessness or idleness. Some persons just want to make issues out of nothing. There is no issue here. The minister is eminently qualified for the appointment”, he said.

Also, a constitutional lawyer, Barrister Audu Belau, called on the minister to ignore those calling for her sack’ saying it is a distraction which she should not allow.

“It is not enough to call for a public officer’s sack. You should look at the law backing the appointment of such public officers before talking.

“My advice for the minister is to ignore those noise about her status as regards NYSC and concentrate on the work she has been appointed to do”, Belau said.

Musawa Debunks Statement On NYSC Status

Meanwhile, the minister of Art, Culture, and Creative Economy, Barrister Musawa, yesterday refuted claims circulating in a piece titled: “My Personal Statement on My NYSC Status as a Serving Minister.”

The minister clarified that the piece inaccurately associated her with the ongoing discussion about her National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) status.

The minister, in a statement signed by the deputy director of Press at the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation, Suleiman Haruna, yesterday in Abuja categorically stated that she has not issued any official statement on the matter in question.

She urged the public to exercise caution and refrain from spreading unverified information.

Expressing gratitude for the support and understanding of the Nigerian people during this time, Barrister Musawa reiterated her position, saying, “I deeply value and appreciate the support, solidarity, and understanding of Nigerians in these times. For clarity, I wish to state that I have not issued any statement on the current issue.”

The minister added that she has not released any official statement regarding the aforementioned matter and kindly asks the public to be cautious of unverified information.

Niger military leadership has cut off electricity and water supplies to the French Embassy in the capital Niamey with no food deliveries allowed, Turkish news wire, Anadolu reports citing multiple social media sources.

Reports say the military junta has also taken similar action at the French consulate in Zinder, Tera, Oualam, Ayorou, Dosso, Niamey, Filingue and everywhere else.

The President of the National Support Committee for the CNSP Elh Issa Hassoumi Boureima asked all partners of the French bases in Niger to suspend all fuel supplies of water and electricity and food products.

“We ask Nigelec and SPEN (SEEN)) to cut off water and electricity in the French Embassy, in the French consulates of Zinder and Niamey,” he was quoted to have said.

In addition, any partners who continue to help the French in the process of supplying the goods and services will be considered enemies of the sovereign people.

The reports come after a two-day deadline given by the military administration to the French ambassador, Sylvain Itte, 48 hours to leave Nigerien territory expired Sunday.

Relations between the new regime in Niamey and several Western powers, and the West African bloc ECOWAS, have soured since the coup on 26 July.

However, authorities in Paris were quick to reject the order against its ambassador by Friday evening, repeating that France did not recognise the military rulers’ authority.

Niger was plunged into turmoil on July 26 after Gen. Abdourahamane Tchiani, a former commander of the presidential guard, led a military intervention that ousted President Mohamed Bazoum.