Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Matthew Kukah, has bemoaned the continuous persecution of Christians in the North, saying perpetrators are allowed to move freely without facing punishment.

He said regardless of the ill-treatment experienced by the church in the North in recent years, not a single individual had been charged to court for those incidents.

The bishop stated this virtually during the Silver Jubilee Anniversary of the Order of the Knights of St Mulumba Nigeria, Eko Subordinate Council, themed: ‘Christian Martyrdom in Nigeria…a Building Block or Stumbling Block to Salvation or Patriotism,’ held in Lagos.

He also decried the ethnic colouration that was being given to the Christian faith in Nigeria, stressing that such attitude must be jettisoned.

“If you look at our country – Nigeria, the issue is that, in Northern Nigeria, Christians constitute some of the groups that you can kill without consequences. You can ask yourself has anybody ever been charged for burning churches or for destroying Christian properties.

“A pastor was slaughtered openly in Adamawa. People, priests were killed in Benue. Priests have been killed in Kaduna.

“It seems as if killing Christians is the only thing the world can do without consequences. That means that if you are serious as Christians, Catholics, what happens to the church in Ikwerre, what happens to the church in Sokoto, what happens to the church in Onitsha, what happens to the church everywhere in this country should affect us.

“Tragically, you know, Christianity has become largely subordinated to ethnicity.

“Many people today still have a caliphate mentality that those who are not part of us must be against us. And this is the fate of Christians and Christianity in many parts of Northern Nigeria today, where Christianity is being tolerated.

“Christians are being denied lands to build churches, and it is not seen as a problem. In a place like Kenya, I have a problem of that nature right now as we talk.”

Speaking on, Bishop Kukah said they must preach the gospel, whether welcome or unwelcome, adding that it has no political and ethnic boundaries.

“It is not about friendship. If it is about friendship, Jesus would have said to Peter, get behind me. When we are confronted, martyrdom is not just about being killed. Because, of course, in the end, you are killed for speaking the truth.

“I remember in the days of Abacha, many times people used to say to me, oh Bishop, if you don’t keep quiet, you will be killed for nothing.

“I am saying so because we now need to come to terms with the essence that every day of our lives as Christians, we are challenged to martyrdom. Martyrdom because a sword is dangling before us,” he said.

[DailyPost]

The Police said no ransom was paid to secure the release of the 20 medical students kidnapped in Benue.

A statement by the Force Police Public Relations Officer, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi said: “Contrary to some tweets and unconfirmed stories that some money was paid, no kobo was paid to release them. They were actually rescued tactically and professionally.”

THE NATION reported the kidnap of the medical students on 15 August and their eventual release on Friday.

The police are yet to provide details of the rescue, including whether any of the kidnappers were arrested or killed.

A colleague of the kidnapped students told our correspondent the kidnappers demanded N50 million ransom.

Despite the public aversion some Nigerians have towards pornography, it has become an addictive pastime for many married men. This habit not only heightens their obsessive appetite for sexual exploration but also fosters unrealistic fantasies that can lead to extramarital affairs or cause physical and psychological problems, writes Victor Ayeni

On a restless night in 2019, Nicholas Onyeabor tossed and turned in bed, his mind flooded with intrusive thoughts as he struggled to find even a moment of sleep.

That night was just one of many for the 41-year-old, self-described former pornography addict, as he grappled with insomnia on his thorny path toward recovery.

On that night, his wife, Adaobi, slept peacefully beside him, unaware of the tangled psychological battles her husband faced as he fought to overcome his porn addiction.

Now a father of three, Onyeabor traced his addiction to Internet porn back to 2008, during his final year at one of the federal universities in the South-West.

The native of Abiriba, Abia State, who was raised in a strict, conservative Christian background, admitted that while he was hooked on porn, he firmly believed that his cravings would diminish as soon as he got married.

Alas, to his chagrin, Onyeabor soon found out that he was wrong.

“It all started one night in February 2008, when I was 25,” he told Saturday PUNCH with his brow furrowed.

“That Friday, I went to an overnight browsing session at one of the cyber cafés on campus to work on my final year project. After a couple of hours, I was done gathering the materials I needed for my research, but I came across a website that we now call a hookup site.

“When I clicked on one of the links, it took me straight to a porn site. Due to my upbringing, I was afraid and quickly closed the window. But an hour later, I returned there and began to view the images on the site. By the end of that night, I was entering certain sex-themed words into Google, which led me to different websites where I viewed explicit photos.”

As cyber cafés—once common across Nigerian cities—gradually disappeared, the rise of internet-enabled mobile phones provided many users with unrestricted access to explicit content that was previously more difficult to obtain.

This was the situation Onyeabor found himself in because accessing those sites was just at his fingertips.

“As of the time I got married in 2014, I was so addicted to porn that my phone and laptop had files dedicated to all kinds of adult material I saved from the internet, and I would pleasure myself almost daily.

“My wife knew nothing about this. I mean, how do you tell your loving wife that you get off to hardcore material online? It was a shameful thing to divulge. You see, we were a dedicated church-going couple, and things looked good on the surface,” he blurted.

Descent into addiction

Onyeabor revealed that his pornography addiction drastically altered the dynamics of his marriage, leading to a decline in his physical attraction to his wife.

He explained that for him, sexual intercourse became a dull routine—a mere obligation—that no longer excited him.

“I just went along with it, my mind was elsewhere,” he admitted to our correspondent. “I had cultivated an imagination of what ‘real sex’ was supposed to be like, and Ada wasn’t close to it.”

The 41-year-old said what made him start looking for a way to quit was when he realised he was having issues maintaining an erection, adding that he was in his late 30s at the time.

He said, “I tried a few suggestions someone gave me, but I soon found out that I could only get my ‘little man’ up if I looked at porn shortly before playing with madam.

“I think it was an article I read or a video that made me realise that I was addicted to porn and had to quit it. It took me more than a year of going ‘cold turkey’ on porn.

“I began to have sleepless nights, and sometimes, I had relapses too, but I finally kicked the habit. The other issue later resolved itself.”

Porn fuelling erectile dysfunction

The Addiction Centre, an online guide for addiction and recovery, defines pornography addiction as “a compulsion to watch porn and not being able to stop” and identifies one of its chief symptoms as having “cravings if you have gone without porn for any amount of time.”

A research work presented on July 16, 2020, at the European Association of Urology Virtual Congress, found that excessive pornography consumption was associated with a higher incidence of erectile dysfunction, a condition where males struggle to achieve and maintain an erection.

Some experts opined that while quitting pornography was not the easiest approach to take, they described it as a fast way for addicts to retake control of their lives and start feeling better.

Recounting how he became hooked on Internet porn, a married father of two, Kolapo Adigun, told Saturday PUNCH that a friend introduced him to a sexually explicit DVD collection in 2011.

Adigun said, “Back then in the early 2000s, when I was in secondary school, the only porn we knew were the ones in booklets with photos of nude models or the ones we snuck into cyber cafés to look at.

“I wouldn’t say I was addicted to those, though. It was when I saw all those multiple porn flicks burned on a DVD at a friend’s place that I got interested.

“From there, I began to download adult videos from different sites just to get off. At the time, I thought it was better than having multiple sex partners.”

When Adigun tied the knot with his wife in 2012, his cravings for explicit material continued unabated, and he eventually resorted to the very act he thought he would be safe from—having extramarital affairs.

“After we got married, I frequently indulged in it at the office where there was a free internet connection. On some evenings, I would be so charged that I would rush home to make love. After a time, I just got bored with the thing and had fun with hook-up girls who could spice things up. On some nights, I was still sneaking out of bed to indulge in porn.

“I will never forget the day my wife caught me touching myself in the bathroom while I looked at porn. She felt bad. It caused problems in our marriage. She no longer trusted me. For months after that day, whenever she saw me smiling alone at my phone or laptop, she would ask, ‘Are you watching your blue film again?”

‘I fell into porn after being sex-starved’ Our correspondent spoke to another married man, who disclosed that his descent into pornography and masturbation started after being sex-starved by his wife of four years.

The Ogun State indigene said, “I battled with pornography as a young boy in secondary school.

However, I stopped after I got married. At the initial stage of the marriage, I enjoyed sex with my wife and it was always fun.

“But suddenly, I discovered that she lost the desire for it, even though we don’t even any child yet. When I demand for sex, she tells me that she is tired. It really got me pissed off and before I knew it, I relapsed into porn and masturbation again just to relieve the urge. Now, I am hooked on it and I don’t even care whether she gives me sex or not. I just go to the bathroom and jerk off.”When our correspondent asked him if his wife was aware of the situation, he said no.

“She has no idea of it. I am also hoping to break off from it, but it has been difficult,” he added.

From soft to hardcore

Investigations by our correspondent showed that both the nature of pornography and its public accessibility in Nigeria have evolved significantly over the past two decades.

In the 90s, visual pornography entered the mainstream with soft-sell local and international magazines. Still, their circulation was often confined to certain social strata, and users had to contend with static erotica (sexually explicit content in a non-moving, still image format, such as photographs, drawings, illustrations etc).

While some of these materials were pictorial, others came in the form of lewd stories, which aided the user’s repertoire of fantasies about specific individuals, whom they considered objects of erotic desire.

At the time, X-rated movies were available to Nigerians only in the form of foreign home video cassettes and late-night cable channels, which were readily subscribed to by upper and middle-class citizens.

For the majority of other citizens, however, porn was inaccessible due to strict home video censorship.

But x-rated video cassettes were often rented at affordable prices from video clubs, which adorned virtually every street corner at the time.

In the early 2000s, the era of video cassettes rapidly gave way to the use of VCDs and DVDs, which provided porn users with upgraded and arguably more deviant forms of explicit content.

Unlike static porn, explicit media were more stimulating, and users quickly got bored viewing the same clip repeatedly.

To attract more customers, DVD marketers began selling dozens of explicit content packed in a single disc to cater to a growing demand for variety.

While their Western counterparts dug greedily for sexually explicit clips in adult bookstores, many Nigerian fans of hardcore porn would often patronise those VCD/DVDs hawkers in stalls and carts in public venues across cities.

During this time, cyber cafés flourished in Nigeria, with many patrons addicted to pornography booking overnight browsing sessions to fully satisfy their cravings.

Although much of this explicit online content was video stills and soft porn, many users resorted to sex webcams in chat rooms and slow video uploads, which in most cases, introduced viruses to the computers used by cyber cafés.

This changed in the late 2000s with the advent of high-speed internet, which introduced a new phenomenon: galleries of short porn clips.

These provided users with an endless stream of explicit videos, offering a few minutes of stimulation at a time, all accessible through a monthly subscription.

Starting in 2009, as more Nigerians gained access to internet-enabled mobile phones, porn tube sites became the go-to destination for many.

These sites allowed users to freely download hardcore content without the constraints of censorship or the fear of public disapproval.

Now, with the ubiquity of high-speed internet, smartphones, online photo-sharing services, social media sites such as X (formerly Twitter), and messaging apps like WhatsApp and Telegram, porn users have a wide variety of access to materials that invariably fuel their addiction.

Caught after the act

A banker and father of three, Peter Durojaiye, told our correspondent that he changed his mode of viewing porn after his wife found an explicit video on his phone.

He said, “That night, I had downloaded some porn videos and got off with them before hitting the bed. But I didn’t remember to cancel the last video I watched before sleeping.

“To cut a long story short, my wife took my phone, maybe to check something, and saw that video. It was our pastor that settled that matter.”

When our correspondent inquired if he had quit porn since then, he responded, “No. I only stopped downloading such videos on my phone. Now, I view them only via the X app so that it doesn’t show on my browsing history.”

‘My view of women changed’

A computer engineer, Wole Daudu, who described himself as a porn user rather than an addict, pointed out that the explicit content he often viewed online changed his general perception of women.

Speaking with Saturday PUNCH, he said, “I first came across porn when it popped up while working on my laptop, and out of curiosity, I clicked on it. For me, it opened a kind of window to sex in a way I didn’t see before. The way I talked and looked at women changed, my thoughts became focused on sex, hot girls, buttocks, breasts, and getting off. I began to see women as mere tools for pleasure.

“I tried to introduce some of the styles I was seeing to my wife and she was okay with them at first. It was one day when I was choking her as we were in bed and she shoved my hands away that I knew she wasn’t enjoying it. It made me feel some kind of guilt.

“If you look at porn, you will see the way the women are treated by men. They are slapped, punched, choked and spat upon. The temptation is for the viewer to emulate these with their partner or wife. That, for me, was where I drew the line.”

A married woman who gave her name as Efe, in a message published by The Cable in September 2016 complained that after she got married, she found out that her husband was addicted to pornography.

She added that the results of medical tests conducted to unravel the cause of their infertility revealed that her husband also had low sperm counts.

“Even when we try to exercise our conjugal rights, it is always frustrating, because he can hardly maintain an erection. I have been hiding this shameful secret and I have also tried justifying his action by thinking that all men are into pornography. He has stopped sharing our matrimonial bed with me altogether,” she wrote.

According to research published by the Utah State University and the Journal of Sexual Research, some of the negative effects of porn addiction include a loss of interest in real partners, decreased intimacy, a loss of erection, delayed ejaculation or complete inability to orgasm during sex, and alarming new sexual tastes due to porn fetishes.

Daily masturbation, extreme content

In a Facebook support private group named Sex, Porn and Masturbation, which our correspondent joined, a member, Richard (surname withheld) wrote, “I struggle with porn and masturbate every day. I watch porn even after sleeping with my wife.

“I don’t know what to do and I don’t even want to pray because I feel guilty inside. I confessed to her and now she is saying she wants to leave me, please help.”

Another member and father of one, who preferred to be known as Godson told our correspondent in a private message that he had viewed extremely explicit content.

“When you start you will think, ‘Okay this is enough, it’s time to stop,’ but it’s not that easy because your brain keeps demanding more of it. It’s like a drug that you keep returning to. I have seen terrible things on the internet while searching for something new to excite my fantasy.

“I have seen little girls being defiled by big men. I have seen bestiality videos and even rape porn. This thing messes up the mind. It’s better not to start it than pulling out of it,” Godson wrote.

Most visited websites

Although the Nigerian public spaces are largely conservative and pornography is openly frowned upon by religious and traditional leaders, there are indications that there is a high demand for sexually explicit material among citizens online.

Data shared by StatiSense in a post on X on July 25, revealed that two porn popular sites, ranked third and sixth, respectively, among the most visited websites by Nigerians via mobile devices.

In another data posted on the same day by StatiSense, a porn website  (name witheld) was the 12th most visited website by Nigerians.

The data for February 2024, also indicated that three popular porn pages are among 10 most visited porn sites in Nigeria.

Similarly, StatiSense data from 2019 showed that Xvideos and Xnxx were among the 10 most visited websites in Nigeria.

However, Saturday PUNCH could neither independently verify if the users, visited the sites more than once nor confirm the demography of the site visitors.

A review of one of the sites reveals a vast collection of both short and long videos, organised into 60 major categories to cater to a diverse audience with various fetishes.

Some of these categories seen by our correspondent include solo, anal, teen, teacher, doctor, office, missionary, virgin, brunette and blonde.

Other categories which users were expected to select from were Asian, Black, Arab, Indian, African, Nigerian, Naija, cam porn, lesbian, gay, AI, hardcore, and incest.

The site also features hundreds of registered users from around the world who upload amateur explicit videos and photos to attract views and hookups.

Conversely, the site appears to integrate literary, visual and graphic porn to appeal to its visitors.

The site has a genre section, which includes diary, essay, fantasy, fiction, news, poems, sex jokes and a plethora of explicit videos with over 140 themes.

Some of the listed themes on the site indicate extreme and violent content such as horror, domination, bestiality, rape, torture, monster, prostitution, aliens and slavery.

The dark web

Findings by our correspondent revealed that many internet users, both single and married, usually access extreme porn and sexually deviant content through what has been called ‘the dark web.’

 It was gathered that links to the dark web are placed at reputable sites or they might be targeted at users of an age through spam emails, fake notifications, or misleading ads, who through a click are redirected to a site they never intended to visit.

 Shedding more light on how the underground web operates, an SEO and AI for business tech expert, Ndubuisi Ubani, explained that the dark web is sustained by blackmailers who use sex video leaks, sexual content creators and cybersex enthusiasts.

 He said, “Cybersex enthusiasts are those who request and are willing to pay for or fund sexual content online including child porn, bizarre and customised sex content, sex parties and orgies.

“You also have on the dark web people with alternative sex needs – people in relationships (including married folks) who engage in threesomes, partner swapping, polyamorous relationships, swingers, etc. The darker corner of the web contains porn sites, child pornography sites, human and drug trafficking sites, dark markets for illicit/counterfeit goods, community forums, etc.

“Though the dark web was once hidden, it’s now easily accessible through mainstream social and communication platforms due to mobile dominance, private and untracked communication as opposed to messing around in real life, where users can be caught in action or mocked by others.”

Explaining further, Ubani revealed that dark web contents like porn are not only consumed on mainstream porn sites but also on social and private messaging apps like Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok, WhatsApp, Telegram, Snapchat, MonkeyApp, dating apps, video sharing and streaming sites, and AI apps capable of turning photos/videos into porn.

He pointed out that the porn ecosystem on the dark web is animated by people’s curiosity, escape from pressures of daily life such as marital problems, and exploration.

“Overall, the perceived discretion when using the dark web can be intoxicating, creating a false sense of safety. Over time, the hidden nature of these activities fuels addiction, making it harder to break free.”

Continuing, he said, “The more users indulge, the deeper they sink, isolating themselves in a shadowy world that promises pleasure but ultimately leaves them disconnected, vulnerable, and trapped in their private darkness.

“In the end, addiction to the dark web (porn) is a choice and a personal battle. While we can’t force anyone to change their habits, we can offer guidance and support. Ultimately, a combination of education, prevention, and treatment is essential in addressing this complex issue.”

‘Porn desensitises the brain’

The President, Association of Resident Doctors at the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Calabar, Cross River State, Dr Victor Essien, in a phone interview with Saturday PUNCH, highlighted the importance of recognising the complex interplay between watching pornography and its impact on the brain and behaviours of married men.

He said, “Recent studies suggest that excessive consumption of pornography can alter the brain’s reward circuitry, affecting emotional and relational well-being. One of the most significant effects of pornography on the brain is its ability to hijack the dopamine reward system.

 “Dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure and motivation, is released during the viewing of sexually explicit material. Over time, the brain adapts to this heightened stimulation by desensitising, leading to a need for increasingly graphic or novel content to achieve the same level of arousal.

“This cycle can result in a diminished capacity for experiencing pleasure from everyday activities and can negatively affect a married man’s emotional and sexual connection with his spouse.”

Essien further explained that frequent pornography use could foster unrealistic expectations about sex and intimacy.

“The scripted and exaggerated nature of pornographic content often fails to align with the realities of a committed relationship, potentially leading to dissatisfaction and unrealistic comparisons. This can create a barrier to genuine intimacy and communication, as a man might find himself less present or engaged with his partner.

“Additionally, some men may experience guilt, shame, or anxiety related to their pornography consumption, which can strain marital relationships. Addressing these feelings through open communication and seeking professional help can be crucial in mitigating its adverse effects on marriage.

“While not all men will experience negative consequences from watching pornography, its potential impact on the brain and marital relationship warrants thoughtful consideration. By promoting open dialogue and understanding, couples can navigate these challenges together,” he added.

 Divorces, incest linked to porn addiction

Speaking with our correspondent, a cyber-safety advocate and publisher of Internet Safety Magazine, Rotimi Onadipe, noted some of the negative consequences of porn addiction, which he said include divorce, irresponsibility, sexual abuse and incest within the family.

He said, “Porn addiction can destroy marriages because the man no longer enjoys sex with his wife. When a married man is addicted to porn, he will also be addicted to masturbation and this will prevent him from enjoying the marriage again, because he doesn’t need to persuade the wife again. He’ll just lock himself up in a room or a private place to get sexually satisfied.

“Now, this repeats itself each time he has a sexual desire and if there’s no place for him to do this, he could sexually abuse someone around him, even if it’s his daughter. Such an addiction also makes men irresponsible in the home because they spend most of their time, energy, data subscription and money invested in porn and masturbation, leaving the major things they ought to do at home undone.

“In some homes, this addiction in fathers also affects the children. There have been cases of married men exposing their children to porn, either knowingly or unknowingly and this is where incest starts within the home because the children too begin to practice it within themselves.”

Onadipe advised that husbands and fathers addicted to porn should not keep silent due to shame but opt for professional counselling to be helped.

‘Porn addicts need therapy’

An addiction counsellor and founder of the David Folaranmi Foundation, David Folaranmi, in an interview with our correspondent, faulted the widely believed notion that marriage was the escape route from pornography addiction.

He said, “I once felt that way too but having counselled several married men who opened up to me about their continuous struggles with porn, I can categorically tell you that marriage isn’t the solution.”

Folaranmi explained that research had shown that frequent consumption of pornography could alter expectations about sex and intimacy, leading to dissatisfaction, strained relationships, decreased sexual satisfaction and emotional distance between spouses.

He added, “Men who use pornography as a coping mechanism might become less likely to engage in meaningful conversations about their sexual needs or concerns. Pornography can lead to infidelity. Often, men who consume pornographic content, tend to have multiple sexual partners.

“If you are struggling with pornography and you want to come out of it, then you must acknowledge the impact of pornography on your life. Reach out for professional support from therapists specialised in addiction.

“Study educational resources on pornography addiction; be accountable to your spouse; build an inner circle of people who understand what you are going through and be accountable to them; avoid being alone or in lonely places; and address any underlying issues – emotional or psychological. Understand your triggers and come up with coping mechanisms to break the craving cycle, and finally, pray about it.”

[Punch]

Last week, the world was going to end! Or so we thought. Why?

When the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris concluded without any of the 82 Nigerian athletes returning with a medal around their necks, Nigerians were infuriated. They reacted vehemently. It was as if the world was going to end.

The anger was founded. This agonising process has become a recurring decimal in Nigeria’s sports history, a phenomenon described as ‘insanity’ by late German physicist, Albert Einstein in a famous but unverified quote – ‘doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting a different result’.

The world did not end, even as the anger across Nigeria was palpable. The people bayed for blood, demanding the scalp of sports officials. The media was awash with criticism, condemnation, rebuke and abuse. I believe there were no street protests only because the people had just gone through another national protest over hunger and poverty in the land. That protest that hardly took off the ground and yielded nothing, only promises. Any additional march for sports in the land would suffer from protest-fatigue.

So, with tails tucked between the legs, Nigerians, as is wont, gave up the ‘fight’, retired into the cocoon of their other interests and allowed the world to go on jeje, any further attention for the Olympics left in ‘suspense-account’ till June of 2028, one month to the next Summer Olympics in Los Angeles beginning 14th July, 2028!

That’s the way things are done here in Nigeria!

That was the situation last week.

This week, the vitriol, awash in most local media, vaporised. The only noise was the faint receding echo of the voice of the very humble and honourable Nigerian sports minister, the only official that publicly accepted responsibility, defended his ministry, and apologised to Nigerians for the unacceptable performance. He pledged to investigate and uproot the causes, identify the culprits and ensure that the heads of guilty officials roll.

The only proviso, however, is that the country will have to wait, and that nothing must disturb and distract the other contingent of Nigerian athletes participating in the 2028 Paralympic Games that start in Paris this week.

This set of Nigerians are expected to win Gold, Silver and Bronze medals in their usual tradition and further douse the receding anger, pain and disappointment, even though it is also an optical illusion of the true state of Nigerian sports development.

So, life goes on, the world will not end!

The EPL resumes

This week, the English Premier League and other European leagues that started last week take firmer root in the soul of Nigerians. The debates and the arguments about Arsenal, Man U, Barca, Real, and so on, dominate the senses, extinguishing the remnant of any lingering thoughts and concerns over Paris 2024. The embers of that fire will only be fanned again and rekindled in 2028 in an annoying cycle that repeats itself like a broken vinyl record every 4 years.

In short, this week, life for the Nigerian sports fan has returned to the status quo, just as football resumes with its all-consuming power, taking over the sports interest of the millions of Nigerians that patronise it.

There are now other issues on Nigeria’s sports radar.

Foreign Coach for Super Eagles

It is a done deal that the Nigerian Football Federation have settled for hiring another White man from Europe to handle the Super Eagles. Some of those that are close to the corridors have been mentioning two names as the most likely candidates. Why the announcement has not been made within a few weeks to the most crucial series of matches that will determine the country’s fate in the African Cup of Nations in 2025, and the World Cup of 2026, no one knows.

A good reason may already have been created for the Super Eagles should they fail to win.

My personal position on the issue of foreign or indigenous coach for Nigeria’s national teams has not changed. Hiring a foreigner to handle the Super Eagles is just postponing Nigeria’s days in football slavery. Until Nigerians with qualification and experience are trusted and given the opportunity to do the job, to gain invaluable experience in the process and to lead the country into international battles, the Super Eagles will continue to find it hard to soar to the highest pinnacle.

The return of Samson Siasia!

He was once acknowledged as FIFA’s coach of the year. That was when he led Nigeria’s Under-20 to the finals of the World Youth Championship in 2005, the Under-23 national team to the finals of the Olympics in 2008, and a third-place at the Olympics in 2016.

In 2019, Samson Siasia was suspended by FIFA for 5 years following unsubstantiated charges of corruption against him.

Having served the suspension, he is now free to return to football. He may have been pencilled down as part of an interim consortium of coaches headed by Director of the Technical Department of the NFF, Austin Eguavoen, to handle the Super Eagles should a foreign coach not be hired in the next week.

That arrangement is laden with danger for Samson.

Should the team fail to win, his name will be added to those of other ‘failed’ Nigerian coaches and the door to a future as head of the Super Eagles will be slammed in his face.

Nigerians are waiting and watching the unfolding drama with interest!

Sports Federation Elections

The elections into national sports federations (with the exception of the Nigeria Football Federation) will likely take place before the end of the year.

Everybody accepts that the present federation constitutions fall short of what are in Nigeria’s best sports interests. The documents have suffered the doctoring of critical articles that render them partial to fair process and inclusiveness of all stakeholders. Best practises have been blurred by ignorance, the absence of experienced administrators in the system as a result of high turnover of experienced personnel in the sports ministry, and the lack of courage by successive sports ministers to confront the inter-loping puppeteers controlling the strings of Nigerian sports.

The Sports Minister has promised reforms.

Nigerians are waiting and watching to see what will happen.

The National Sports Festival!

Nigeria’s National Sports Festival is Africa’s biggest, single domestic multi-sports event. It is designed to feed Nigerian sports with the best budding talents in all sports. It is also the biggest program of the Federal Ministry of Sports development,

The next edition is scheduled to take place in about 6 months’ time in Ogun State.

With the developments on ground now, it will be the greatest miracle since the conversion of water to wine in the holy books should the festival hold next January.

Why? The answer is blowing in the wind.

Nigerians are, however, waiting and watching to see what will happen.

For a man who once vowed not to abide in Nigeria should Asiwaju Bola Tinubu emerge as president of Nigeria it could have been tempting to discard the pledge by Chief Bode George not to serve in the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP Disciplinary Committee that was constituted by the national leadership earlier this week.

Just as the threat to relocate from Nigeria with the advent of the Tinubu administration, the pledge not to serve in the High Chief Tom Ikimi-led committee had sufficient reasoning, even if faulty.

As about one of the most vicious critics of the president who he regularly referred to as Bola or some other condescending names, it is now open to debate if Chief George really saw some truths that many of us did not see as concerning the capacity of the man that was adoringly referred to as the Pathfinder of good governance in Lagos.

His successor, Tunde Fashola was the Consolidator, and Akiwunmi Ambode was the Actualiser before he was blown away.

So, whether Bode George saw beneath the veneer of political erudition that Tinubu espoused in Lagos and the Southwest is now open to question.

However, his vow not to serve in the Disciplinary Committee recently empaneled by the Ambassador Umar Damagum-led National Working Committee, NWC of the party is another issue.

His reason was that Ikimi was his junior in the party and met him in the party having been the first elected National Vice-Chairman, Southwest of the PDP.

In an interview on Arise News Television on Friday, August 23, 2024, George who is generally reputed as a rich depository of the institution that is the PDP easily broke down the issues in the party that according to him project the twin moves of reconciliation and discipline as presently being out of place in the face of the internal dynamics in the PDP.

As he pointed out the crisis in the party that led to the humiliation in the 2023 General Election flowed from the management of the presidential primaries.

These problems that have now been generally summarized as the Nyesom Wike problem flow from the discourteous abandonment of the party’s principles and procedures leading to the emergence of the 2023 presidential candidate.

The stance of Chief George that the decision to go against the pattern of rotating all positions between the North and South every eight years is also widely held by many as the bane of the crisis in the PDP.

To the chagrin of many party stakeholders, the party after zoning the office of national chairman to the North failed to cede the presidential ticket to the South.

After eight years of the presidency in the North, the prospect of the presidency going to the same region for another eight years was one that was anathema to many of the stakeholders. Not least, Wike who contested the ticket with Atiku and former Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal.

As George said yesterday, the failure of the Northern chairman of the party, Senator Iyorcha Ayu to resign his position as promised to allow a Southerner take the position was seen as a serious snub of the South.

Unfortunately, Atiku who emerged as the presidential candidate was not proactive enough to persuade his ally, Ayu to step down.

Bode George did not say it yesterday, but it is generally known that a 20-man committee constituted by the party to find a running mate for Atiku after the presidential primaries recommended Wike by 17 votes. That recommendation was discarded after initial reports that emissaries of Atiku had offered him the position. The offer according to some sources was pulled back on the claim that Northern political leaders were not too comfortable having a personality like Wike so close to power.

However, few believe this given what is generally believed as the claim that even before the presidential primaries Atiku had already picked Senator Ifeanyi Okowa as his running mate.

That relationship was underlined by the fact that PDP delegates from Delta State voted for Atiku at the convention with the conviction that their man was set to become vice president.

So against the background of the claims of Bode George and the perceived betrayals Wike suffered at the hands of the party, the determination of the FCT minister to destroy the party could well be understood. That is besides the enormous handouts given to the party since especially 2019 when Wike was known to have projected Tambuwal for the presidency.

When Tambuwal on the convention ground turned his delegates to Atiku, it was seen as the ultimate betrayal.

As it is said, Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, so when Chief George implied the scorning of Wike and some other stakeholders one could well imagine the crisis the PDP is facing.

Even more, the party named a disciplinary committee that has two Atiku allies, Chief Tom Ikimi and Eyitayo Jegede as chairman and secretary. That certainly does not show the kind of sincerity that is expected of a party committed to correcting the errors that led it to the pit.

However, whether the betrayals are enough reasons for Wike to sink the party he this week vowed not to defect from is another matter. Better ask a woman who loved a man who has been scorned.

PDP’s candidate in last year’s Kogi governorship election, Dino Melaye has accused the party’s leadership of destroying it beyond redemption.

Specifically, he accused acting national chairman, Umar Iliya Damagum, national secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, and national organising secretary, Umar Bature, of being behind the bad fortunes of the party.

Melaye who was also a member of the National Assembly has kept a low profile since his loss and refused to challenge the outcome in court.

Taking to X, formerly Twitter, he wrote, “End of the road for PDP as Damagun, Bature, and Anyanwu irredeemably destroyed the party. We will talk about the commercialisation and privatisation of PDP. PDP is now once upon a time.”

Melaye’s comment follows an allegation by PDP lawmakers in the House of Representatives against Damagum and Anyanwu.

The spokesperson and member of the House of Representatives representing Ideato Federal Constituency, Ikenga Ugochinyere, had listed some events which he said were a calculated attempt by Damagum and Anyanwu to weaken the PDP.

The lawmakers alleged that the party leaders were plotting to sabotage the PDP by aiding defected former members of the Rivers State House of Assembly with legal backing.

According to them, this was an attempt to impeach the Rivers State governor, Sim Fubara out of office.

Damagum replied to the allegation, warning that nobody could intimidate him into resigning from his position.

[Vanguard]

Bolanle Austen-Peters, the Nigerian movie producer, has unveiled her film village in Epe, Lagos state.

In a recent post on X, the filmmaker revealed that House of GA’A, her latest movie, was shot at the BAP Film Village; which is 10,000 acres of land.

Austen-Peters also announced that the film village is open for commercial purposes — including recreation and movie productions.

“So many have asked where we shot House of GA’A. This is it! BAP Productions Film Village in Epe. Over 10,000 acres of land, rolling hills, huts, and other facilities. Open for biz to film makers and excursions,” she said.

“This what we started with, greenery, dense forestation, when we went the first time. Everything was just this large expanse of land and then I called Bisola. I wanted to give woman a chance. She had never done anything like this before. But I saw the fire in her eyes.

“She moved in, cleared the place, and started construction. Before we knew it, in a couple of months, we have all the buildings that you see now in place. And this is where took all these beautiful shots that you see in the movie. This is the BAP film village.”

She joins the list of filmmakers like Kunle Afolayan and Ibrahim Chatta who own film villages.

Afolayan unveiled his Kunle Afolayan Productions (KAP) film village and resort at Igbojaye, Oke Ogun, Oyo state, in 2022.

In 2023, Chatta announced the opening of his Africhatta film village in Oyo town.

The filmmaker said the production site is built on over 70 acres of land with facilities like horse riding and other recreational activities made available to the public.

[TheCable]

As the 2025 presidential election in Cameroon looms, one question that seems to be on the minds of many is: Why is Paul Biya, at 91(or 93) years old, still holding on to power? After over 40 years at the helm of Cameroon’s leadership, one would think that the time for a dignified retirement had long passed. However, Biya’s continued presence on the political stage raises concerns about the state of democracy in Cameroon and the apparent reluctance of the Cameroonian populace to challenge a leader whose reign has spanned generations.

Without a doubt, Paul Biya, who took office in 1982, has become one of Africa’s longest-serving leaders, a tenure that has outlasted numerous world leaders and seen the country through significant changes. Yet, despite this long tenure, the question remains: What has Biya’s leadership truly achieved for Cameroon? Under his watch, Cameroon has seen both periods of economic growth and stagnation, peace and conflict, particularly with the ongoing Anglophone crisis that has plagued the country for years.

Many Cameroonians have grown weary of the same old rhetoric that accompanies Biya’s campaigns and addresses. The promises of economic prosperity, stability, and development have become hollow to a populace that still grapples with poverty, corruption, and a lack of basic infrastructure. Biya’s continued grip on power seems more a testament to his political cunning and the lack of viable opposition than to any resounding success or popular support.

In his 90s, Paul Biya is not just an old man; he is a leader whose age raises serious concerns about his ability to govern effectively. This is as age brings with it inevitable physical and cognitive decline, which can impair judgment, decision-making, and overall leadership ability. Biya’s advanced age has sparked numerous speculations about his health, particularly as he has spent considerable time receiving medical care abroad.

In a country with a median age of just over 18 years, the stark contrast between the youthful population and their aging leader could not be more pronounced. Young Cameroonians, who represent the future of the nation, are increasingly disconnected from a leader whose experiences and outlook are far removed from the challenges they face today. The question then arises: Why has there not been a stronger push from the Cameroonian people, especially the youth, for Biya to step aside and allow for fresh leadership?

In fact, the reluctance to challenge Biya’s rule may stem from several factors, including fear of repression, political apathy, and a lack of viable alternatives. Biya’s government has not shied away from using force to quell dissent, and this has undoubtedly contributed to a culture of silence and submission among the populace. Additionally, decades of authoritarian rule have left a political landscape where opposition parties are weak, fragmented, and often co-opted by the ruling party.

However, the onus is on the Cameroonian people to demand change as a leader’s legitimacy comes from the consent of the governed, and it is within the power of the people to withdraw that consent if they believe their leader no longer serves their interests. The youth, in particular, must recognize the importance of their voice and their role in shaping the future of their country.

Cameroon, like any other nation, needs leadership that is attuned to the needs and aspirations of its people. It requires leaders who are not only physically capable but also mentally agile and open to new ideas. A nation led by a leader in their 90s, particularly one who has been in power for over four decades, is unlikely to embrace the innovation and change needed to address contemporary challenges.

Cameroon is at a crossroads. The country can either continue on its current path, with an aging leader at the helm, or it can choose a new direction, one that reflects the hopes and dreams of its youthful population. The choice ultimately lies with the Cameroonian people, but one thing is clear: It is time for a change.

As the 2025 election approaches, Cameroonians must ask themselves if they are content with the status quo or if they are ready to demand the leadership they deserve. After 40 years, it is not just Paul Biya’s age that is in question; it is the future of Cameroon itself.

At this juncture, it would have been logical to urge the leadership of ECOWAS to intervene by calling to order, particularly as he unarguably has a tight grip on power.  Unfortunately, Cameroon is not a member of ECOWAS as it identifies itself as central African.

The reason why African leaders need to intervene on behalf of the people of Cameroon over Biya’s hold on to power cannot be farfetched as his refusal to relinquish power after over four decades in office has set a dangerous precedent, especially at a time when democratic transitions are vital for the stability and development of the continent. In fact, his autocratic approach threatens to embolden other leaders in the region who may see extended rule as a viable path, thereby undermining democratic institutions and eroding the progress that has been made toward good governance in West Africa.

Despite the foregoing view, the distinction between Cameroon and West Africa, in terms of regional affiliation, does little to mitigate the broader implications of Biya’s “Tightism”. Even though Cameroon is part of the Central African region, the effects of his “Tightism” extend beyond geographical boundaries, affecting the political dynamics in West Africa as well. This underscores the interconnectedness of African politics, where the actions of one leader can have ripple effects across the continent. As ECOWAS continues its efforts to promote democracy and stability in West Africa, the specter of leaders like Biya looms large, reminding us of the persistent challenges to democratic governance on the continent.

The real enemy of that section of the Nigerian polity that is generally referred to as “The North” is not Tinubu. It is not banditry, or insurgency. It is also not political marginalization or the Governor of the Central bank of Nigeria (CBN), who directed that some departments of the CBN be relocated, as alleged by Katsina elders some time ago.  It is, instead, the failure of the Northern political, feudal, business and religious elites to address issues that are central to the region’s future in a 21st century world. It is as if there is a resolve by those who should know better to maintain deliberate insensitivity to the blinding gale of misfortunes sweeping through the region and burying everything that holds the prospect of a rebirth for the region.

Rather than focus on what really matters, the concern is about more political opportunities for those who are holding the region in an anti-development stranglehold at the moment. We hear some of them speak of how much of a menace “the North” will be in 2027 if President Tinubu does this, or fails to do that, in the interests of the region. And all of this chatter, presumably in in pursuit of the overall higher interests of the north, is going on in the comfortable abodes of a disconnected political elite. While they are at it, that is arguing for the “genuine” interests of the north, the place is being routinely decimated on a daily basis. It is steadily spewing out an ever-growing population of destitutes and budding criminals who are driven to social deviance by plain, naked hunger and nothing more.

We are speaking here of hunger and the search for food to eat, as distinct from the desire to use crime and criminality as a means of wealth creation. The cartel of criminals involved in the serious business of kidnapping for ransom, which is actually an elite investment platform that uses daredevil foot soldiers for its operations, make up less than one percent of the criminal population.

And it is apparent from the pronouncements and reflexes of the elite that no new lessons are being learnt. That is why today, all the issues raised and dramatized on this page on September 14, 2020, in a piece titled “Northern Nigeria: The Pretence Persists”, are still so alive and so painfully fresh. They are so relevant and roundly timely that the article can bear substantial reproduction here today. Here goes:

“A recent lengthy submission from the elder statesman, Ahmed Joda, rested on a telling conclusion: Northern Nigeria is not developing its human capital. It also does not have the time to do so anymore. Therefore, it is now ill-equipped to fit into either the knowledge-driven world of today or the new world of tomorrow. It needs at least 20 years to become significant in any way. But rather than wake up to this benumbing fact, there is the pursuit of the illusion of dominance.

The major point in Joda’s intervention is that the triumphalism of cattle rearers whose illusion of invulnerability is fuelled and sustained by a national security framework that is skewed to promote insecurity in specific regions of the country will go burst sooner than later. Since most of the northern states have many abandoned, ungoverned and even ungovernable spaces, its currently consumption-driven elite is really in no position to do anything, beyond maintaining a hollow swagger that is backed by nothing but the fact that they are living mostly in Abuja and floating on free state funds.

The above was penned four years ago. In the above-referenced article, I also took us back to and earlier intervention, also on this page, of April 17, 2019, “As the North Goes Under.” In this piece i spoke of a visit to Zamfara State in 2014. I pointed out that “The then Secretary to the State Government explained how he abandoned his farm and ranch because of cattle rustling and fear for his personal safety. I spoke of how he confessed that it was impossible to deploy law enforcement agents, even for himself, in any meaningful way because they were mostly outnumbered, ill equipped and answerable to Abuja”.

Even back then in 2019, five years after our visit to Zamfara state, I asked in the aforementioned article: “Have matters improved in Zamfara State today, or gotten worse? Just as the then Zamfara State governor complained that “the misfortunes” of his people centred around “derivation, as a lot of gold was mined in the state and carted away while his people were ravaged by poverty,” many other states are not faring any better. And Northern states with over 30% of their geographical space occupied by marauders have been drafting and implementing budgets and development projects covering these areas, where no one lives.

Elite myopia, leadership illiteracy and abysmal ignorance of both 21st Century leadership and cultural anthropology of the Nigerian state are working together here. Most of Nigeria’s poor are northerners, even when most high profile political and economically rewarding positions are held by Northerners. Yet, this very same north is being systematically wiped out. Unlike what happened during the mass massacre of Igbos in the 60s, no religion, ethnic, or political affiliation exonerates anyone today. For once, the North is actually giving the greatest evidence ever in its history of both political illiteracy and failure to follow the rules of self-preservation.

Are leaders of the North, and our leaders of various regions today generally, doing any form of costs/benefits analysis in their expenditures and use of public funds? I think not. No matter how generous you would like to be in evaluating the situation of the North today, you must come away with the painful conclusion that all might not be well with the people for a long time to come.

There is hardly any recent event (and I am talking about the last 15 years) in the home, or village, of most Northern politicians where the guests are not usually overwhelmed by at least 100 shabby looking youths, who are either prowling the vicinity, directly affronting guests, or raiding laid out tables. They are looking for nothing other than scraps of edibles and, not even a full meal. And the big men themselves are usually not embarrassed by the spectacle.

Has school enrolment or academic performance improved in the North, in the last ten years, even as all the governors are announcing massive “investments” in education? Has the region shown any real increase in the number of people registering for SSCE, NECO and similar competitive examinations? If no, then an inevitable implosion will yet come. As “their people” come from Chad and Niger, their own youths are begging in the streets; or are in the forests. Everywhere is turning into a no-man’s-land, where even revered traditional rulers and religious leaders are no longer safe. A backlash will come when the Sudanese, Chadians and North Africans will suddenly not be so welcome; especially after the Northerners discover that they are displaced in their very homes.

When foreigners are the ones with Nigerian ID cards in the North, when foreigners are voters in the North, when the total number of registered candidates for all competitive examinations from the 19 states of the north continues stands much lower than that of one particular state in the South, when even the cattle business is now in the hands of roaming bands who have no conception of a brotherhood, or the modern state, you will realize what the Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard, meant by his two books, “Fear and Trembling” and “The Sickness Unto Death.”

Relentless daily killings are going on in all the northern states. The northern political elite have allowed a new breed of wild youths, not sufficiently socialised even in line with the ‘Ranka dede’ culture to become dominant. Drugs, poverty, motiveless criminality and rapacious daredevilry have chased all the northern big men to Abuja. But for how long will they be in exile? Is Abuja itself still safe? Are some high-profile estates and exclusive neighbourhoods in Abuja not being quietly attacked these days?”

As property rates crash in the North, as investors flee, as local economies collapse, as re-desertification takes over many places, as farmlands and animal husbandry are abandoned, as the proceeds of crime become the new means for the unlettered, the threat to the children of the elite will multiply. The peace of mind of those who had the chance to make a difference but failed to do so will evaporate. The free-band society of cattle herders will collapse before their very eyes, as much of the North is taken over by degenerate marauders. I need not repeat the old observation that the late Abubakar Rimi would probably still be alive today if he had not encountered his ‘brothers’ on a lonely road in the dead of night. He spoke to them in Fulfulde and tried to remonstrate with them, but they did not listen to him. They robbed him, instead, and managed to spare his life after warning him to keep his preachment to himself. it was the trauma to Rimi’s existing heart condition, as well as the statement of his “brothers” that they were simply trying to “make a living” and feed their families, that saw Rimi out of this world a few days later.

The article, “Northern Nigeria: The Pretence Persists ended on this note: “A region that has the highest allocation from oil revenue, the highest earnings from tax mostly paid by other regions, the highest earning from bunkering and the highest earnings from the illegal mining of gold and other natural resources, is ravaged by poverty, underdevelopment and a burgeoning population of unemployable youths. Is this right? Is this normal? Is anyone paying attention – as the North goes under?

Today, matters have only gone beyond comprehension, in terms of finding a way out of the quagmire. The former leather works sites of many Northern states are not about to comeback. The textile factories and groundnut pyramids of Kano and Kaduna are tales from bygone times. Most leaders of the North, and also leaders of various regions today, do not seem to be doing any form of costs/benefits analysis in their expenditures and use of public funds.