According to Fabrizio Romano, Chelsea are not in negotiations with any club over the sale of Andrey Santos. The player has recently returned from his loan spell at Vasco da Gama and has been attracting a lot of interest.

Barcelona were among the clubs keen on securing the services of the youngster this summer. Although the Catalans were interested in Santos even during the January transfer window, Chelsea beat them to the chase and loaned the player back to Vasco da Gama until the end of last season.

With Chelsea undergoing many changes this summer, Barcelona have re-ignited their pursuit of Santos, hoping that the youngster might consider leaving Stamford Bridge in favour of a more sporting prospect in Catalonia.

The club’s new sporting director Deco is a great admirer of Santos, while Xavi Hernandez himself had given the approval for the move. Barcelona had even started negotiations to sign the youngster this summer, reports Lucas Pedrosa.

Chelsea, though, appear to have no desire to negotiate with any clubs. Their new coach Mauricio Pochettino wants to assess the 19-year-old youngster during pre-season. The club also believe he is the future of the team.

Following the departure of Sergio Busquets, Barcelona are desperate to sign a replacement this summer. Barça’s late pursuit of Santos hinted that the club are looking for alternatives to top target Oriol Romeu, who is set to cost €8 million in the market.

Given his age and the potential he has shown in his native Brazil, Andrey Santos fits the bill well. But with Chelsea unwilling to sanction an exit, Barcelona must continue to look at other options in the transfer market.

The Blaugrana have been recently linked with a move for former youth team player Gerard Gumbau, who is currently a free agent. But the Spaniard does not have much experience at the highest level, which makes him a risky target for the club.

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Southampton midfielder Romeo Lavia continues to be linked with a move to a number of Premier League clubs this summer.

According to Florian Plettenberg, the 19-year-old defensive midfielder is a target for Liverpool and manager Jurgen Klopp is a big fan of the player.

However, he might face competition from Barcelona for the talented young Belgian.

Barcelona are reportedly keeping tabs on the youngster as well but they are unlikely to be able to pay the asking price. They need a quality long-term replacement for Sergio Busquets.

The midfielder is valued at £50 million and it will be interesting to see if Liverpool are willing to shell out that kind of money for him.

Liverpool have already signed Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai this summer.

Although there is no doubt that Lavia is a prodigious young talent with a massive future ahead of him, £50 million does seem like a steep asking price.

Southampton will probably have to lower their demands in order for the transfer to go through.

Liverpool need to bring in a quality defensive midfielder who can compete with Fabinho for the starting spot. The Brazilian regressed massively last season and competition for places will help the squad improve.

Governor ‘Seyi Makinde of Oyo State re-opened the record earlier set by late Governor Abiola Ajimobi, five years ago in the state by elevating the status of members of the Olubadan-in-Council to crown-wearing high chiefs (kings).

Saturday Vanguard recalls that the then Olubadan, late Oba Saliu Adetunji and some of his chiefs, among whom were the then Otun Olubadan (now Olubadan), Lekan Balogun; Balogun of Ibadan land, Owolabi Olakulehin and others who are also members of the Olubadan-In-Council had been engaged in a conflict.

The crisis reached its peak in August 2017 when late Governor Ajimobi, presented staffs of office to about 21 chiefs who were promoted to the status of kings.

The crises between late Oba Adetunji, and his High chiefs was put to rest when Ajimobi’s successor, Makinde withdrew their crowns as part of the condition to settle out of court.

The Court of Appeal in Ibadan had on August 23 last year, referred parties in the controversial coronation to a lower court.

Meanwhile, Governor Makinde about four months ago, sought the approval of the state House of Assembly to amend section 28 of the Oyo State Chieftaincy Law 2023 to allow traditional heads to wear beaded crowns based on the requests to the state government by the high chiefs.

The governor said his request to seek the approval of the assembly to review the chieftaincy law was in order to further improve the process.

He said the proposed amendment, when fully effective, would empower him as the sole authority without consultations with the Chiefs to grant approvals for wearing of beaded crowns.

By this move, Ibadan has one Olubadan that becomes the imperial majesty and ten senior ranking obas.
The ascension line to the Olubadan remains unchanged as the Otun and Osi lines continue in the historical path to oba.

The installation witnessed a mammoth crowd which was held at the ancient Mapo Hall, Ibadan on Friday, with the presence of traditional rulers from neighbouring Ogun and Osun States who stormed the city to rejoice with the new kings.

At the installation, Makinde said: “We are not changing the history but promoting and elevating the Ibadan traditional hierarchy. The coronation of the new Obas will not undermine the authority of the Olubadan nor alter the Olubadan succession arrangements in anyway. Our administration is rather consolidating and elevating the status of Olubadan.”

With a stiff resistance from one of the High Chiefs in the Olubadan-In-Council, Rashidi Ladoja who opposed the development, not a few residents and indigenes of Ibadan had also voiced their opposition to the re-enthronement of more obas in Ibadan, with the former Governor Ladoja challenging Makinde’s move. Makinde noted that the consenting authority is the Olubadan and not the governor.

He added that the elevation was in line with what the people of the ancient city requested.

He said, “We are here for one thing, the Olubadan of Ibadan is crowning his High Chiefs as Obas. It is not the government that is giving the High Chiefs crowns. I am not in the line. What is happening today is internal. If the royal father said there is a need for reform, me, as the governor, will support them. Out of the 11 High Chiefs we have in Ibadan, 10 of them have been crowned today. Even in a democracy, the majority will have its way while the minority will have their say and we have had them, and anyone that is not satisfied can go to Court.”

Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke did not include the name of his daughter nor uncle in the commissioner nominees list forwarded to the State House of Assembly.

This was disclosed by the Governor’s spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed in a statement issued to dismiss rumours that the governor’s daughter and uncle were included in the list.

According to Rasheed, Mrs Adeleke is the daughter of Chief Omidiran of Osogbo Land and wife of the late Executive Governor of Osun State, Senator Isiaka Adeleke.

It reads; “The attention of Governor Ademola Adeleke has been drawn to a fake news alleging that the state chief executive has appointed his supposed daughter in person of Adenike Folasade Adeleke and his alleged uncle, Prof Maroof Adeleke into the State cabinet.

“There is no truth whatsoever in the report as neither of the two nominees are daughter or uncle of the Governor. Prof Adeleke was born at Ilesa and hails from Osogbo, the state capital. Mrs Adeleke is the daughter of Chief Omidiran of Osogbo Land and wife of the late Executive Governor of Osun State, Senator Isiaka Adeleke.

“We had expected those pushing the fake news to engage in basic investigative journalism if they have any altruistic motive. If however the goal is to malign the state Governor, the truth can not be hidden as the nominees are bona-fide indigenes of Osogbo Land.

“We therefore urge members of the public to ignore those merchants of fake news. No biological member of the Governor’s family is included in the cabinet list. Governor Adeleke is committed to fair distribution of appointments based on competency, spread and sectoral representation”.

For leaders, essential communication strategies in the public sector help ensure a message or programme is understood and gets through to the target audience with as much clarity and conciseness as possible. These strategies can directly impact different elements of a programme’s success and operation, making them vital to develop as best as possible, this is participatory governance and is the order of sane and working democracies across the globe.

The more informed the citizens are about the policies of their government, the more they develop an interest in participating either in support or against it. So many policies of government have been attacked by the masses simply because they were not well informed or involved in the processes that led to the formulation and implementation of those policies. After all, it is a common parlance that what people do not understand they tend to ignore or attack. Thus it is of utmost importance for the masses to ‘flow’ with their government and this is something the presidency of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has promised to take seriously.

Renewed hope in itself is a message. According to Woodrow Wilson: “The ear of the leader must ring with the voices of the people” and vice versa. Apart from being explicit about programmes and policies, it is also very crucial to reach out to the masses with messages of hope and inspiration whenever the pulse of the populace indicates a trust deficit even though this must be beyond rhetoric. For instance in 1984, under the military, there was a television commercial by NTA featuring a character called Andrew who bemoaned the hardship occasioned by lack of basic amenities like power, roads and water and wanted to leave Nigeria for greener pastures abroad saying to his listeners: “I’m checking out” but he was persuaded to stay back that there was hope. The jingle became the most popular back then in what will be referred to today as “viral”. It was such that whenever anyone experienced some frustrations about life in Nigeria then, what usually followed was, “I’m checking out” in what is today known as ‘japa’. That commercial in itself was not just a tool for mass enlightenment but for awakening patriotism and belief in one’s country.

The government of the day must attempt to constantly match communication with real-time actions as the policies roll out because the world today is over-informed from various sources 24/7. So our own government must be alive and deliberate at pushing through the necessary and productive awareness to its citizens. This means public leaders must communicate the concerns, needs, and goals of all constituents, even to those who may not embrace a certain programme or initiative at first. Public policy leaders can construct effective policies by building this mutual path of understanding through strong communication, not just about stating facts but conveying facts in a manner that fosters a sense of trust and responsibility to the public, so it doesn’t come off as manipulative spins.

Our government need to design a clear two-way relationship with an effective engagement strategy which can yield several benefits, for instance, proper representation through direct engagement with people within heterogeneous communities can ensure policies are shaped holistically and not geared toward a smaller but vocal communal segment. Secondly, with a better understanding of needs, our leaders can more effectively dive into the minutiae of public policy issues based on hearing how they specifically impact people within a community. Thirdly, with a deep sense of community ownership, more engagement with a community can allow its members to provide a deeper insight into a proposed policy based on a community’s historical and cultural context since informed and engaged citizens are better partners.

Our nation has experienced some turbulence in the past decade due to improper management of information leading to crisis. Going forward, the occurrence of such must be curtailed to the barest minimum through swift and strategic dissemination of information by the most capable hands in the land in synergy with relevant security agencies. This not only involves getting the word out at the earliest possible outset of a crisis but also constantly and clearly communicating data to the public as the crisis evolves.

Effective public leaders will fully understand how to adjust their communication strategies to directly address different situations. Regardless of the goal or situation, good public leaders have the leadership and critical thinking skills to build a strategy that optimises information. Once this crucial data is gathered, leaders need to pare it down in a way that conveys the most essential information to the public in a clear, unambiguous manner even in languages that are native to citizens. Doing so gives the public its best chance of fully grasping the information that can impact them the most.

It’s all about information dissemination, engagements and buy-in/ building trust between the led and the leader after all according to HE Luccock ‘No one can whistle a symphony. It takes a whole orchestra to play it.’

In conclusion, since “the art of communication is the language of leadership” according to James Humes, this government under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is aimed at getting it right because as a leader whose backbone is the people and whose message of renewed hope resonates with where the citizens are as they look forward to a prosperous nation.

Bello (PhD), a publicist, policy analyst, and a member of the public affairs directorate of the 2023 APC Presidential Campaign Committee writes from Abuja

A Federal High Court in Kano has restrained the Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission (PCACC) from inviting or harassing former governor of the state, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje over the alleged dollar bribery videos.

Recall that the PCACC on Thursday announced that it had invited the former governor to appear before it to answer questions in relations to its investigation on the viral videos allegedly showing him stuffing US Dollar notes in his pockets allegedly received as kickbacks from a contractor.

But in an ex-parte motion filed before the court on Friday before Justice A.M. Liman, the former governor asked the court to restrain the eighth respondents in the motion from “harassing, intimidating, inviting, threatening to arrest, arresting, detaining the applicant or his children or any member of his family or any appointee who served in his administration or forcefully taking over the applicant’s properties or his children’s or any member of his family…”

Those listed as respondents in the suit are: Nigeria Police Force; Inspector General of Police; Commission of Police, Kano; State Security Service; Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps; Attorney General of Federation; Attorney General of Kano State; and Kano Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission (PCACC).

Upon hearing the application as argued by Ganduje’s counsel, B. Hemba, the presiding judge granted the prayers and ordered as prayed.

The judge also ordered that “the interim order shall operate pending the hearing of the motion for enforcement of Fundamental Right which is fixed for the 14th of July, 2023.

The judge also ordered that the Respondents shall be served with the Motion 36 hours from Friday.

The family and friends of Barrister Ahmad Muhammad slaughtered by terrorists in Zamfara State on Tuesday are still in shock. One of the numerous bands of terrorists ravaging the North-west invaded Muhammad’s home in Kwatarkwashi, Bungudu LGA, abducted and later killed him. His offence? He was actively involved in the resistance against terrorism in Kwatarkwashi.

Let’s flip to last week’s daring abduction of seven residents of Yewuti village in Kwali Area Council of Abuja. They were snatched from the house of the late Chairman of Kwali Council, Alhaji Mohammed Gimba. The terrorists are demanding a N7 million ransom. As at press time, the abductees had not been freed.

These are just a few recent pieces of evidence showing that terrorists are still very much active nationwide. They are moving around freely in the South-east, North-west, North-east and the North-central, killing, abducting and maiming, notwithstanding the emergence of a new government, with new security chiefs. The most traumatic was the killings by Fulani militias in Barkin-Ladi and Riyom LGAs of Plateau State last June. Over 120 people were sent to early graves.

I’m worried that within the first 30 days of the Tinubu government, no fewer than 237 persons were killed in different attacks across the country by terrorists. This is an average of eight people per day. I’m talking about human lives here; and these are the reported cases. There are scores of unreported cases during this period under review. Tinubu has been silent about killings under his watch. He did not deem it fit to even visit ravaged communities and families in Plateau, Sokoto, Zamfara and the rest. This is a story for another day.

Today’s piece is directed at the Chief of Defence Staff, Maj. Gen. Christopher Musa; Chief of Army Staff, Maj. Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja; Chief of Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla; Chief of Air Staff, AVM Hassan Abubakar and the Acting Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun. These new guys need to note that the biggest drawback to the war against terrorism in the last 14 years is the unending lies by their predecessors. These precursors, whose opinions would have helped this country to tackle terrorism, became merchants of lies, rolling out imaginary security achievements. They also showed frightening ineptitude and enjoyed showboating while the country was on fire. That was why killings and abductions by terrorists became a daily occurrence under them with no part of Nigeria spared.

Terrorists are very much alive and kicking all over Nigeria. This is the truth that must be told. It is the truth that must be faced head-on by these new service chiefs. Only this truth can set Nigeria free from the servitude of terrorists. All the lies by previous security chiefs that terrorists had been degraded must be pushed aside by our new security chiefs. Even in Borno State, ISWAP and Boko Haram are very much alive. Just three weeks back, the terrorists killed eight youths across communities in Mafa and Jere LGAs. Fifteen farmers were also killed in Molai and adjacent communities in Konduga LGA of the state. This war against terrorists can’t be won with lies.

Our military lacks the capacity to end the war against terrorists but previous service chiefs refused to face this fact. It is pertinent to state that technology, intelligence, quality equipment and quality manpower are necessities for taming terrorists. Use of drones for intelligence gathering and attacks is also vital. Our security agencies lack these. They obviously lack the capacity to effectively monitor the movement of terrorists. This is why these guerrillas move around in hundreds undetected.

The advanced world is in an era of fighting with drones. The drone that destroyed late Muammar Ghadaffi’s convoy was fired from a station in Alabama, United States. Our security agencies are not in any way close to this. Our gallant soldiers are doing their best but they need to be assisted. So, this country needs help from climes that can provide these military necessities and manpower. Nigeria’s previous security chiefs won’t admit this because of ego and personal gains.

The immediate past Chief of Defence Staff, retired General Lucky Irabor, left me depressed with his rejection of the clamour for the engagement of foreign military contractors (mercenaries) to support the military in the fight against the terrorists. The fact that he completely ruled out engaging military contractors shows there are things we are not being told about this unending war. Irabor presented mercenaries as an army of occupation. This is not true. They are engaged by countries for specific purposes, with deadlines. It is not a crime to have military contractors joining a standing army to tame terrorists.

Even the United States engaged military contractors for its war in Iraq and some other locations. Is Irabor not aware of this? A people-oriented government will seek help from anywhere to protect its people against terrorists. We can all see the sloppy result of Irabor’s claims that the military can do the job alone.

The new service chiefs must seek help from climes that have successfully tamed terrorists. This country must seek assistance from private military contractors from these climes. I will always recommend Israeli military contractors. This is the way forward for Nigeria.

The killings of soldiers by terrorists without consequences have persisted for so long; the new security heads must tame this. There are so many examples of such killings. I can’t forget how terrorists in 2022 killed 30 soldiers in Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State, a direct assault on Nigeria, without repercussions. The then Commander-in-Chief, Muhammadu Buhari vowed that the attackers would not go unpunished. The killers were never apprehended.

Also last year, terrorists killed 22 soldiers when they ambushed the convoy of the then Kebbi Deputy Governor, Sama’ila Dabai in Kanya, Danko/Wasagu LG of the state. Nothing happened in terms of ensuring the killers pay a heavy price.

One of the deadliest massacres of Nigerian soldiers by Boko Haram took place in Metele, Borno State, in November 2018. Scores of soldiers were killed at 157 Task Force Battalion in the town. The exact casualty figure is still a closely-protected secret. The commander of the battalion, Lt. Col. Ibrahim Sakaba was also killed during the attack. The terrorists that carried out the operation were never smoked out and slaughtered. I will also not forget the massacre of soldiers in places like Sasawa, Magumeri, Malam Fatori, Gashigha, Rann, Kanama, Gamboru-Ngala, Mafa, Kunduga, Pridang-Bitta and the rest. The leadership of the military did not respond lethally.

The new service chiefs must consistently avenge the killing of Nigerian soldiers. When terrorists kill security agents, the standard is for commanders to send forces after them and take their heads off. By this, they will drive a clear message to the terrorists that there is no room for nonsense. This will also hinder the remaining guerrillas from further atrocities. This is what I’m expecting from our new service chiefs.

The new IG must do the same for his men. Scores of policemen have been killed by IPOB/ESN in the South-east without consequences. Similarly, early in 2022, the Divisional Police Officer of Nasko Station in Magama LG of Niger State, CSP Umar Dakingari, and six of his men were killed by terrorists without consequences. About the same time, the terrorists attacked a tomato processing company in Ngaski LGA of Kebbi State and killed four policemen. These happenings are really depressing and must be stopped.

Morale is evidently low among officers and men on the war fronts. They often struggle for allowances and equipment. Many of them have overstayed on the war front, contrary to the rules of engagement, yet, they are not rotated. The new service chiefs must end these negatives.

I also expect the new service chiefs to improve response to distress calls from communities when terrorists strike. Sometimes soldiers respond after the deed must have been done. In most cases, they don’t respond at all. For example, when terrorists attacked Kagoro Chiefdom, Kaura LGA of Kaduna State in December last year, they spent almost a whole day in Malagum and Sokwong communities, killing and maiming.

These two communities are supposedly covered by a special military task force called Operation Safe Haven. But the terrorists were not in a hurry to leave because they were very sure they would not be repelled by security agents. By the time they eventually left, 39 people had been killed and the two communities left in ruins. The military failed to respond to distress calls. So, the terrorists confidently burnt almost all the buildings in Sokwong. These failings must be addressed by the new security chiefs.

Still on Calamity Governor Yusuf

Abba Yusuf was sworn in as Kano State Governor exactly 41 days ago today. Yet, we are not seeing moves to address pressing challenges of the state. There are challenges of child begging, drug abuse, illiteracy, poverty, maternal mortality and unemployment. It’s a long list. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, this state has over three million out-of-school children, the highest in Nigeria. No fewer than 10.5 million residents, representing 66.3 percent of the population, are poor. I thought Yusuf would, from day one, frontally start tackling these diverse problems confronting Kano State. It is depressing to note that nothing is happening in this direction.

Yusuf is only interested in destroying anything and anybody with links to former governor Abdullahi Ganduje with his Executive lawlessness. That was why the Kano governor, fresh from his inauguration, revoked ownership and allocation papers of buildings overnight without due process. He was not interested in anything called the rule of law. Yusuf was reckless. I was shocked that in his inaugural speech, he directed the police to immediately take over all land and properties supposedly illegally sold to “cronies and agents” of Ganduje. Instantly, he started demolishing private and public property.

My dear Yusuf, we are in a democracy which is anchored on law and due process. You must act within the laws of our land. Besides, these demolitions can’t add any value to the lives of the good people of the state. All demolitions must end. I will like to see you concentrating on the pressing problems of the state listed earlier in this piece. A word is enough for the wise.

Tajudeen Abbas and His 33 Aides

There is so much pain in the land; we are regularly told to stomach it. Nigerians are constantly told to endure the pains of President Tinubu’s economic policies and cut expenses. Unfortunately, those in government are living big amid the burdens of Nigerians. They are not expected to cut any cost to help this country but to add more. One of such is the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abass. This man cares less about cutting the cost of governance.

Abbas has so far appointed 33 aides with all sorts of comical portfolios. He says the appointments are for effective delivery of his legislative agenda. What nonsense! This is why Nigeria is rated one of Africa’s worst-governed countries (based on the cost of governance), ranking 37th of 52 countries on the Mo Ibrahim Index of African Governance. This waste must not continue. Abbas must drastically trim this huge retinue of aides in order to reduce the cost of governance.

Over the last few days, I recoiled in horror and disgust as the fairly straightforward case of JAMB exam result fraud by 19-year-old Mmesoma Ejikeme of the Anglican Girls Secondary School in Nnewi, Anambra State, unwarrantedly intensified Nigeria’s preexisting primordial fractures, deepened a sense of persecution complex among a demographic group, and hardened phobias and hate on social media. It didn’t have to be that way. Here are three lessons from this saga.

One, evidence-free imputation of ulterior motives to the declarations of non-political, non-partisan institutions like the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) is always a slippery slope that will lead to both real-life and rhetorical wrecks. There was no logical reason to presume that JAMB as an institution had a vested interest in denying the genuine claims to a superlative performance by a poor, unknown candidate like Ejikeme. 

 If the West African Examination Council, for example, says a result that some nondescript person parades is fake or genuine, it’s best to assume that it probably is—until we have firm, indisputable evidence to doubt the truth of its declaration.

A Facebook lawyer friend by the name of Dorcas Amina Miango (who goes by Ciroman Miango) captured this sentiment best. “If an institution says a document is not theirs, there is a presumption of authenticity in their favour until it is proven otherwise,” she wrote. “That is the law, it is simple. You can make moral arguments but that is not the law.”

The second lesson flows from the first, and it is that not everything is reducible to the politics of ethnicity and religion. It was starkly obvious that the ballyhoo over Miss Ejikeme’s Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) result was refracted through the prism of ethnicity, religion, and partisan politics. Most of the people who threw logic, evidence, and caution to the wind in defense of an obvious fraud by Ejikeme did so because they share the same ethnicity, religion, and region with her.

The enduring divisions in the polity in the aftermath of the last presidential election also influenced how certain people approached the young lady’s exam result fraud. People who have been persuaded that a candidate with some political presence in only 16 of Nigeria’s 36 states (and almost zero presence in 20 votes-rich states) won a national electoral “mandate” that was “stolen” extended their delusions to Ejikeme’s fraudulent claim.

 It didn’t matter that the actual best student whose feat JAMB had announced weeks ago shares the same state of origin as Ejikeme. Or that Ejikeme isn’t the only one whose false claim to superior performance in the UTME has been impeached by JAMB.

 JAMB’s spokesperson Dr. Fabian Benjamin told the gripping and audacious story of a candidate by the name of John Ifesinachi Chinedu, 19, from Enugu who, in 2021, also claimed to have scored 380 when he actually scored 265.

Like Ejikeme, he falsified his result, accused JAMB of altering it, and hired a well-heeled Enugu lawyer by the name Ikeazor Akaraiwe who demanded that JAMB set a fresh UTME for Chinedu and pay him 1 billion naira in restitutive damages. After JAMB unfurled unimpeachable, foolproof evidence against him, he collapsed like a pack of cards, confessed his fraud, and asked for forgiveness. He was handed over to the police.

Premium Times of July 5 reported other cases such as Kingsley Unekwe, 18, who, in 2019, altered his score from 201 to 269 but was outed by a JAMB investigative panel; an Adah Eche, 18, who fudged his UTME score of 153 to 290 and wrote to JAMB demanding it “correct” his score; a Cletus Kokowa who changed his score from 162 to 206 and later confessed to having paid N10,000 to a crime syndicate to help him electronically alter his score; and a Rejoice Mordi, 19, who changed her score from 164 to 264 and later confessed to getting help for her fraud from WhatsApp through someone identified as Iyanu Oluwa.

Had the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ) not convincingly shown in a July 4 investigative piece how Ejikeme used a free Google Play app called “JambFun-Fake Jamb Result Maker” to simulate the UTME result she paraded as hers, the debate over her “innocence” and JAMB’s villainy would probably still have been raging. 

Unfortunately, even after FIJ has shown how you can create a fake UTME result in a few minutes— and several hilariously fake UTME scores have proliferated on social media using the JambFun-Fake Jamb Result Maker” app— former minister Oby Ezekwesili who stuck out her neck in defense of Ejikeme, tweeted on July 5 that “it should be clear to any reasonable person who cares about Exam Integrity in Nigeria, that more needs to be done to unearth how she obtained the 362-score result which @JAMBHQ disavowed. The Public needs to know these facts through an Independent Technology Investigation.”

An “Independent Technology Investigation” (whatever in the world that means) to find out how Ejikeme downloaded the “JambFun-Fake Jamb Result Maker” app on her phone to generate a fake UTME result? Ha! And this lady was an education minister! It’s true what they say: prejudice distorts what it sees, deceives when it talks, and destroys when it acts.

Ejikeme clearly only forged the UTME result because she wanted to deceive individuals and her state government into funding her university education. No investigation is needed to unearth that. We learned that after getting Innoson Automobile Company to award her a ₦3 million scholarship, she approached the Anambra State government to demand both a recognition of her “feat” and a scholarship.

This was a low-level fraud that had the blessing of her parents—and later the witting and unwitting support of millions of people who share her primordial characteristics. It’s exactly why corruption will be difficult to stamp out in Nigeria.

The last lesson in this, for me, is to learn to never make judgements solely on the basis of surface impressions. A lot of people assumed the innocence of Ejikeme on the basis of her age and looks. Several people also presumed the guilt of JAMB on the basis of their preconceived prejudices about JAMB registrar Professor Is-haq Oloyede.

Oloyede is a professor of Islamic Studies whose first degree is Arabic. This fact became like a red rag to a bull for a lot of commentators. But the truth is that Professor Oloyede, by all accounts, is the most transformational registrar JAMB has ever had in its existence. Throughout his tenure as registrar, he has ensured that the conduct of UTME every subsequent year is invariably better than the preceding year.

I have never met the man. I am also always reluctant to vouch for people in public office because the intoxication of power and authority can cause people to change without notice. But most people who know the man attest to his unflinching commitment to fairness and justice for everyone irrespective of their faith, ethnicity, or politics.

I have also been told that he is a compulsively methodical, organized, self-critical, and forward-looking person. That was why he had a successful tenure as Vice Chancellor of the University of Ilorin even though he is from Abeokuta in Ogun State—in a time when “outsiders” are not allowed to be VCs of even federal universities. His tenure saw the dramatic rise in the profile of the University of Ilorin. 

He has brought that same spirit to JAMB. I am sure he has his foibles, like everyone else, but to judge him on the basis of what he studied and taught and ignore his record is both unfair and unproductive.

Northern leaders have rejected a call by former governor of Zamfara State, Malam Yerima Sani, asking President Bola Tinubu to negotiate with terrorists and bandits in the country and grant them amnesty as it was done for Niger Delta militants by the late Umaru Yar’Adua’s administration. In their separate views, they argued that such negotiations will continue to fail because the bandits do not have a central command of leadership and they never kept the agreements reached with some of them in the past by some states and communities in the north.

President General of Mzough U Tiv, MUT, worldwide and Chairman of the three sociocultural/ethnic groups in Benue state, Chief Iorbee Ihagh said: “there is no way President Bola Tinubu’s government will negotiate with bandits and terrorists. These were people who were brought into this country from parts of West Africa to prosecute elections for some persons in 2015. After they won their elections they failed to keep to the agreement they entered with the criminals and that is why they took to banditry and terrorism and tormenting the North. Those who brought them into the country know themselves. They should be made to go and clean up the mess they created for Nigerians.

“I am happy that President Tinubu has brought in people who can tackle insecurity in the country unlike what we had in the last government when nepotims beclouded them. They had wanted to turn Nigeria into a Fulani state but God came to our rescue as a people. So, there will be no bargaining, President Tinubu should never accept that. He has started well and we are praising him, but if he does that, nobody will be behind him again. Government cannot go and beg criminals, they should come and surrender. More so, armed herdsmen should be made to go back to their respective places so that the millions of Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, scattered in our state and other parts can go back to their ancestral homes.”

On his part the State Vice Chairman of APC Benue South District, Bishop Pinot Ogbaji said: “When I heard of the proposal of the former governor of Zamfara state advising President Tinubu to negotiate with terrorists and bandits, I was shocked. I know that in everything there is negotiation and dialogue but negotiation means that we encourage that attitude and character. Then when you negotiate with a deadly group in the North another group would probably surface in another part of the country seeking negotiation. Let me ask, what manner and kind of negotiation is he talking about? Is it to grant them amnesty or what? Or true repentance. We don’t even know the extent to which the negotiation will go, we do not know their demands. For me, negotiation is not an issue at all. Of course there could be amnesty which is not negotiation. It entails that somebody volunteers to repent, then he is brought back to the the society of normal beings and re-orientated”.

Also the National President of the Middle Belt Forum, Dr. Bitrus Pogu said: “Unless he is one of them and he is trying to protect them, otherwise who negotiates with terrorists. The problem we’ve had is a northern problem. People from the North took this Boko Haram and banditry as their own game. We have somebody there, though his election is till in dispute, but it appears that this person will not tolerate a situation where people will be serving some parochial interests rather than the Nigerian nation. And that is what I believe Tinubu is trying to achieve. To negotiate with terrorists means to endorse criminality and encourage non state actors to have the courage to come up and start something again in the future. The way forward is to crush them, to take them out of existence.

So, deal with them in such a way that henceforth somebody who will want to rise for whatever reason will think twice before he does something. It should even go beyond that, those who are involved in propagating this thing should be fished out and dealt with decisively because Nigerians have suffered enough and any call by such characters should be questioned and queried. And if you remember it is the same Yerima who started the Sharia thing under the then President Obasanjo. To me he is a suspect any suggestion from him should not be taken seriously.”

Chairman, Birnin-Gwari Emirate Progressives Union (BEPU) Ishaq Usman Kasai, in his view explained that Yerima’s call reflected the lack of understanding of the structural formation and divergent goals of the armed bandits in their forests who have been causing mass destruction, deaths, and destabilization in the country. He argued that, “to successfully bring an end to armed banditry business in Nigeria, all bandits’ camps in our various forests must be dislodged as anything short of this will only be a window-dressing that will not bring lasting solution. Engaging in negotiations with armed bandits will never yield significant positive outcomes because past experiences have demonstrated that criminal elements such as armed bandits, often exploit negotiations as a means to buy time, regroup, and strengthen their positions.

They view negotiations as a sign of weakness of the government, which emboldens them to continue their violent activities. We recall that many of such negotiations were carried out with bandits by many state and local governments and individual communities in the Northwest region of the country. Past experiences from areas where this type of negotiation was carried out show that the bandits only exploited the opportunity to receive more money, easily trafficked illicit drugs, acquired more arms and raped women including teenagers and married ones. In fact, all the communities and governments that entered such negotiations with the bandits later regretted it.

Negotiating with the bandits will also send a dangerous message to Nigerians particularly rural dwellers signaling government’s incapacity, weakness and official acknowledgement of parallel governments within the Nigerian State. Our question to the advocates for negotiation is – which bandits’ group or leadership is the Federal Government going to negotiate or dialogue with? Are those bandits groups’ leaderships in Zamfara, Katsina, Sokoto, Niger, Plateau, Benue, Nasarawa or Kebbi State? This is because, we are aware that, the armed bandits in Nigeria lack a centralized leadership structure, making it difficult to ensure compliance with negotiated terms. We could recall that Zamfara and Katsina States as well as various local governments and individual communities in the North West region tried the said approach.

“The Zamfara State Government, then under Abdulaziz Yari agreed that, for the peace deal to be perfected, the bandits must surrender their arms and never invade or attack any person or community. To ensure commitment to the peace deal, we are aware that, five Solar Boreholes were constructed by Government for the Fulanis in Subulu, Fakai, Maniya, Gangara and Manawa villages in Shinkafi Local Government Area with artificial ponds for feeding livestock. This was to show the bandits sincerity of purpose and commitment of government towards respecting the terms of agreement.

Huge amount of money was also alleged to have been given to appease the bandits to drop arms and accept peace deals. The Zamfara State Government then also came up with the idea of establishment of Ruga communities within the state for Nomads with the first Ruga project sited at Maradun Local Government Area which was almost completed. So much resources have been spent in that regard.

But the bandits didn’t respect the agreement thinking they were doing the government and the people favour. We want the President to be aware that, even in Zamfara State, where the negotiation was tried in 2016, it failed. Some of the bandit leaders who dropped arms and received monies from government used it to purchase additional arms. Negotiating with armed bandits in Nigeria will continue to fail because the bandits lack central command/leadership and common goal.

It will be difficult to bring them to a common negotiation table and any agreements made with one group may not be binding on others”.

Dr. Mikailu Barau, a northern leader and an academic from Zamfara State, lampooned Yarima for contributing to the escalation of the crisis while he served as Zamfara State governor. He however said “the issue is really controversial. The last thing that an average person from Zamfara would want to hear is making negotiation with the bandits. But from what we have seen so far, all attempts to use force against them have not been fruitful as they now reach out for support beyond the borders of Nigeria. The truth of the matter is that if you find a sincere leader who will speak to the warring parties and ensure that the bandits keep their own part of the agreement the problem would be solved. In Zamfara for instance, the past governments were not sincere in their approach as they would fail to monitor the bandits after reaching an agreement with them believing that they have dropped their arms.

There is no conflict that ends with the power of guns. People have to sit at a round table and negotiate to reach an agreement at one point or the other.