For the first time since Independence in 1960, Nigeria’s economy expanded slower than its population between 2015 and 2020. Nigeria’s GDP per capita declined by 0.02 per cent, 4.16 per cent and 1.78 in 2015, 2016 and 2017 respectively; in 2018, 2019 and 2020, it declined by 0.68, 0.38 and 4.57 per cent respectively. Nigeria’s annual GDP growth rate also declined from 6.22 in 2014 to 3.10 in 2022. Under Buhari, Nigeria’s economy fell into recession twice. The exchange rate of Naira to US dollar in 2015 was N197 but today the rate on the black market where most Nigerians source their forex is well above N700 to the dollar. Merging the official and black market rates by the Tinubu administration has only driven the former to meet the latter upstairs! According to the Debt Management Office (DMO), Nigeria’s debt profile stood at N12.12 trillion as at June 2015 but now stands at about N81 trillion. On the Global Human Development Index (HDI), Nigeria ranked 152 out of 187 countries in 2014 but dropped to 163 out of 191 countries by 2022.  We can go on and on!

What the above statistics indicate – including maternal and infant mortality rate, out-of-school children figure and corruption index – is that in virtually every area, we fell backward under the Buhari administration rather than make progress. Were it possible to completely wipe out the Buhari years and take Nigeria back to where it was pre-Buhari, many Nigerians will smile! Return the price of petrol to what it was pre-Buhari era! Return the price of a bag of rice and other essential commodities to what they were in 2015! Return the price of a bag of cement to what it was in 2015! Return the exchange rate of the Naira and PHCN tariff to the pre-Buhari era! Return Nigeria’s debt profile, local and foreign, to what it was under Jonathan! Again, we can go on and on! Yet, this was the same Jonathan that Lai Mohammed at the head of the APC propaganda machine had described as “clueless and incompetent” and the same Buhari that had promised Nigerians CHANGE! For sure, Buhari proved more clueless and more incompetent than Jonathan!

What kind of president has Tinubu himself said he will make? If we must take the advice of MKO Abiola that you do not shave a man’s head behind his back, we should take a look at what Tinubu himself considers as the tasks before him. While campaigning for office and after his swearing-in as president and commander-in-chief, Tinubu, like the presidents before him, has promised heaven and earth! He has said he will fight insecurity and protect life and property; he will provide infrastructure, including regular power supply; run an inclusive government that will give everyone a sense of belonging; fight to keep the country united, strong and prosperous; govern according to the rule of law; revamp the economy and make it strong; create jobs; give agriculture a pride of place; maintain a robust foreign policy, etc, etc. There is hardly anything that Nigerians need that Tinubu has not promised. But will he walk the talk? Can he? Talk, as they say, is cheap. We have seen examples of that again and again. Will Tinubu be different? And will “they” let him? I am sure you know who the “they” are!

It is not every leader who leaves office as a failure that planned to fail. Many had lofty goals and great ideas but translating them into plans of action and following through with them was their Achilles heel. Running for office is tough but composing a good team afterwards is tougher. Ensuring that the team keeps focus and stays the course through thick and thin is even harder.

Here, then, are nine points that will be of help to President Tinubu if he must make a difference: 1. He must possess the political will to see his plans and policies through. Fickle-minded leaders have no chance of success in the Forest of a Thousand Demons that Nigeria is. 2. As a visionary leader determined to overhaul a decadent political and economic system, he must be ready to commit what the Marxists call class suicide because the greatest stumbling block on his road to success are the members of his own ruling class. 3. To avoid being blown off by the landmines of religious, ethnic and other chauvinistic tendencies, he must apply the biblical injunction of being wise as a serpent but gentle as a dove. Grandstanding or playing to the gallery will do him no good 4. He must understand that to succeed, a measure of authoritarian streak in the right direction is needed. If in doubt, ask Germany’s Otto von Bismarck or Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew.

5. Another biblical injunction he must take very much to heart is the one that warns that a man’s enemies are the members of his own household. Rein in your family members – wife or wives, concubines, children, friends, etc. Usually, they are the weakest link in the chain. 6. Ministers, aides and other officials who work for you are often the cause of your failure. Once they discover your template or weakness, they will exploit it for their selfish benefits rather than help you overcome them. Over time, they will barricade you in and cut you off from the very people you purport to lead, such that you no longer see the reality on ground. A leader who wants to succeed must design a way to get feelers and feedback from the grassroots outside and independent of those in the corridors of power. 7. A leader must understand that try as he may, he cannot possibly please everyone; neither can he solve all problems. Government is a continuum; no single administration can “finish” it, so to say. Government is like “soldiers come, soldiers go but barracks remain”. Government is the soldier that comes and goes while the country is the barracks that remains. Like William Shakespeare admonishes, the world itself is a stage where all of us as actors come in, play our part and leave the stage for others. May we know when to leave and may we leave when the ovation is loudest!
6. The purpose of government, as posited by Jeremy Bentham, is “the greatest happiness of the greatest number” In democracy, the majority will have their way but the minority must be allowed to have their say. The dividends of democracy must be spread evenly across board to promote inclusivity, justice and fairness and give everyone a sense of belonging. The cost of injustice and high-handedness in governance can be prohibitive. 9. Have an eye on history. If, like Buhari, you wait until you are on your way out of power before you begin to bellyache about your place in history, it will be too late. Understand that history is “pay as you go”

As expected, discussion at the lecture was not only robust but also offered hope that with prayers and the support of well-meaning Nigerians coupled with President Tinubu’s pursuit of the right policies quickly, the hope of Nigerians will be renewed in no time and the narrative, which is frightening at the moment, will give way to renewed and refreshed hope and Nigerians will begin to see the glimpses of light at the end of the tunnel. Data, statistics, and economic indexes may not look good at the moment but the consensus of opinion was that these are mere symptoms of deep-rooted malaise bedevilling the country and they will dissipate with the application of the right policies by the Tinubu administration.

A three-pronged approach was suggested: 1. As fast as possible, move Nigeria from a consumer economy, which has made it a dumping ground for all manner of adulterated and sub-standard products from all the nooks and crannies of the world, to an economy that produces what it consumes and consumes what it produces. Curb the unbridled taste for anything foreign; be proudly Nigerian. Restructure the country by returning/reviving the 1960 Independence Constitution or the 1963 Republican Constitution and make the various components of the country competitive and productive again. Find a way to reduce the prohibitive cost of governance.

Also, the manufacturing companies that have either collapsed or have voted with their feet should be encouraged to return. Provide an enabling environment for business through favourable and business-friendly policies and the provision of needed infrastructure. Where are the Oni and Sons, Exide batteries, Michelin and Dunlop tyres, the textile factories, Cable and Wires, Oluwa Glass to mention but a few?  Once we stimulate local production, jobs will be created, income will rise, inflation will go down, the “Japa” syndrome will abate; the Naira will firm up against other currencies when the pressure on it caused by the over-reliance on imported goods is relaxed with local production.

The second is that there is the need to fashion out an elite consensus that will see the need to reduce corruption to the barest minimum. It was not that there was no corruption in the First Republic, which Nigerians have remained nostalgic about, but there appeared to have been an elite consensus that corruption be limited to only 10 per cent of total contract sums; hence, the coup plotters of January 15, 1966 referred to the First Republic politicians as “ten per centres….who make the country look big for nothing” These days, however, the actual cost of contracts and services are not only scandalously inflated, huge percentages of contract sums are carted away. Some jobs are executed only on paper and the same projects keep resurfacing each budget cycle; allocations are shared with no work done and the cycle continues! Where the job is done at all, the quality is usually sub-standard and the cost of one project should, actually, deliver multiples of such projects.

The third is that deliberate and vigorous effort must be made to diversify the economy for the country to earn more revenue. For too long, we have paid lip service to diversification without much to show for it. A population growing at a rate faster than the economy is expanding is a sure recipe for disaster. In this way, we must do what other countries do: pay our taxes. Many of the developed countries that our children run to, run on taxes; the time has come for us to do similarly here in Nigeria. The Tinubu administration should ginger the religious leaders in this respect. The time is now when churches and mosques should not only encourage and pray for those who are faithful in the payment of their tithes and in giving of their offering or zakat but must also encourage and pray for those who pay their taxes and who also shun all vestiges of corruption. In a country made up mostly of those professing Christianity and Islam, how come that finding honest and conscientious leaders and followers has become a problem? Finding honest workers is like searching for a needle in a haystack; why? (Concluded)

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been receiving accolades for his initial, somewhat radical policy steps since he was inaugurated on May 29. Many economists, foreign media and, surprisingly, some Nigerian opposition figures are impressed with his speed in announcing the end of petrol subsidy, which he followed up by moving to eliminate the multiple exchange rates. The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are obviously incredulous that a Nigerian leader could do these two things in quick succession. The consensus seems to be that Tinubu is in the right direction and if he sustains the reforms, the Nigerian economy should be on sound footing in a couple of years.

On the other hand, the average Nigerian is not finding it funny. You can say whatever you like about the imperative of deregulating petrol pricing so that the downstream sector can attract investments and create jobs — while the budget for subsidy “to protect the poor” (about N4.5 trillion in 2022 alone) should be spent on areas that will be more beneficial to Nigerians. Very good point. But the biting reality is that petrol price has moved from under N200/litre to over N500. Transportation costs have gone up. Prices of goods and services are up. That is what Nigerians can feel instantly. The economic theories are good for classrooms only — until the people can see and feel the benefits.

You can argue convincingly that the multiple exchange rates regime was hurting the economy, sending discouraging signals to investors as well as creating corruption and insane arbitrage with the “official” and “black market” rates. You can argue that the “rotten system” discouraged the inflow of forex. Why would anyone bring $1 billion to invest in Nigeria and be forced to get the naira equivalent at the “official” N430/$ rate when the same sum was going for N750/$ on the streets? If you were sent a Western Union transfer, would you exchange for N430/$ or N750/$? Unification is a rational argument. But to Nigerians whose cost of living has gone up, that is no music to their ears.

As if things are not bad enough, electricity tariffs are set to go up again. Of course, you can make a compelling and logical case that the privatisation of the power sector means tariffs have to be commercially viable. Otherwise, the power companies would go bankrupt. Sound reasoning. After all, the multi-year tariff order (MYTO) allows for tariffs to be reviewed regularly to reflect inflation and exchange rate changes (remember gas prices and spare parts are also dependent on FX). We have often delayed or suspended MYTO “to protect the poor”. Between 2015 and 2020, we spent trillions of naira on the Nigeria Electricity Market Stabilisation Facility (NEMSF) “to protect the poor”.

But when you put the effects of Tinubu’s reforms together, what you get is harsher economic climate for the majority of Nigerians. Those that will be disproportionately affected are the low-income earners who are already struggling with high cost of living and low standard of living. Inflation — whether or not it is one-off — is an enemy of the poor whose disposable incomes are miserable. Even members of the middle class will also be impacted, although they may have overcome the Maslowian physiological needs: food, shelter and clothing. Still, they have to deal with higher payments for foreign education and medical treatment because of the unification of the FX rates.

Nevertheless, if we take a dispassionate look at the Nigerian situation, the conclusion would be that we have been living a lie for too long under the guise of “protecting the poor”. It is inevitable that the economy would come to this sorry pass with debts mounting, inflation unforgiving, and public finance in total mess. The economy is on its knees. For too long, we deceived ourselves that we were an oil-rich country. We lied to ourselves that we were a special breed of homo sapiens who should be treated differently from the rest of the world. Alas, the poor people we are “protecting” remain poor while those “protecting” them are busy flying private jets and acquiring mansions in Dubai.

Let us discuss energy prices, for a start. Nigerians who live abroad know for a fact that energy is not a cheap thing. Electricity, gas, petrol and other fuels are sold at commercial rates — in addition to energy taxes. That is their reality. When oil and gas prices go up or down, tariffs are adjusted accordingly. Our counter argument in Nigeria is that “but their government is doing something for them”, which is true, very true, but we have to ask ourselves what we want in Nigeria. Should the government go on pumping trillions into petrol subsidy yearly to keep energy prices low or spend the money on education and healthcare so that we too can say our Nigeria is doing “something” for us?

Nigerians who travel to neighbouring countries know that petrol is not sold for N200/litre. So, if our argument is that we want “to protect the poor”, are Ghanaians, Togolose, Ivoriens and Cameroonians poorer than Nigerians? Why were they paying the economic rates for energy and we were not? We also say because we are an oil-rich country, we should enjoy low prices. To be honest, I used to make this argument myself. But the reality today is that we are not oil-rich. A country that was producing 2.3m barrels per day in the 1970s when its population was 60 million is now producing 1.4mbpd with a population of 200 million. And our share of oil production is so pitiable — less than 400,000 bpd!

The sad truth is that our false confidence as an oil-rich country has ruined us for decades and we have refused to make the necessary adjustments. When oil prices nosedive, we continue to spend money and take debts hoping that the market would soon bounce back. We continue expanding government expenditure, creating agencies every week, building ultra-modern governor’s lodges, acquiring the best bullet-proof vehicles in the world for government officials, paying fraudulent commissions on dubious deals and all whatnot. The central bank kept printing money to fund public budgets. We kept digging holes in public finance. Well done, guys: we now owe over N77 trillion.

We are in a black hole. Something has to give. Can we continue to pretend we are oil-rich when we had to use our share of oil and even borrow barrels from the future to import petrol? Under the crude swap regime which we have now decided to ditch, we would exchange $1 billion worth of crude for $1 billion worth of imported petrol and sell for roughly $400 million “to protect the poor”. That was a hit of $600 million at a time we badly needed all the money. But some people even argue that there was no subsidy since it was trade by barter. I wouldn’t blame them. The Nigerian situation is so convoluted it is difficult to make sense of anything. Our economics is close to witchcraft.

Nigerians also feel entitled to cheap dollar. It is very common to hear people reminisce about the “good old days” when it was N1/$ and a return ticket to the UK was N250. In truth, there was a time it was 80 kobo to $1. We were having a ball. It was cheaper to import a bottle of water than to make it at home. Our problem was not money but how to waste it. This mentality comes with oil booms which result in an influx of petrodollars. It is called the Dutch Disease, coined from the experience of the Dutch who hit oil boom in the 1970s and started drowning in dollars. It killed their local industry. Oil windfalls make the local currency look strong until the wind stops falling and stark reality dawns.

Adjustment has been begging to happen to us since oil prices started falling in the late 1970s. But because oil prices kept rebounding, we got locked into the vicious cycle of boom and bust. We kept spending big and piling up debts when we were broke, believing that the next oil boom was just around the corner. The boom would come and go but our mentality never changed. Our budgets are eternally benchmarked against oil prices. It is bondage. Like the biblical Samson whose supernatural powers waned after Delilah’s betrayal, we have been unable to rise again since the oil power left us in 2014. It has been a sad story of low export and low revenue for us. Yet, we keep behaving rich.

Let me now make my arguments. One, while Tinubu’s steps so far may make economic sense in terms of taking the necessary adjustments to get Nigeria out of this sorry state of being, he has to address the reality that the burden will be borne disproportionately by the poor who spend most of their incomes on food and transportation. There must be real and accessible social safety nets to cushion the impact of these harsh economic realities. Nigerians are used to “audio” safety nets and do not trust the government. The president and the governors must address the trust deficit concretely, sincerely and transparently. Nigerians need to know they are not suffering for nothing.

Two, while I have nothing against the message of “let us sacrifice now for a greater tomorrow”, I regret to say it is very painful that our leaders are not doing anything to show us that the sacrifice message applies to everybody. The congregation of government cars that came to welcome Tinubu to Lagos on Tuesday was obscene. His media team tried to put a spin by saying that the cars were not in his convoy but those of the government agencies that came to receive him. Nonsense. Who is paying the N500/litre petrol for those cars? Is that the best way to spend public funds in these dire times? The best way to propagate sacrifice is for our public officers to practise what they preach.

I now conclude. I agree that adjustments come with pains. I agree that you can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs. I agree that economic hardship is not limited to Nigeria — many developed countries are also battling the cost of living crisis. I agree that we must stop underpaying for energy since we cannot afford the subsidies. However, I also insist that the poor must not bear these pains alone. Government officials must sacrifice as well so that Nigerians can be comforted that it is not a case of “them belly full but we hungry” — in the words of Bob Marley, the reggae legend. I have not seen anything in Abuja and the states yet to suggest that this message of sacrifice is for everybody.

AND FOUR OTHER THINGS…

POLICE BRUTALITY

We were reminded yet again that the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) urgently needs far-reaching reforms with the reported conduct of their officers in Ekpoma, Edo state, on Thursday. A man reportedly refused to allow them to go through his phone (we’ve been told several times by police authorities that officers have no right to randomly search our phones). In a viral video, the man was seen in handcuffs with policemen in a car apparently running over him. He sustained injuries but the good thing is that he was not crushed to death. We need to rid the police of bestiality to make them civil and Mr Kayode Egbetokun, the acting inspector-general, would do well to make this a priority. Brutal.

FIRST CUT

The Lekki Deep Seaport received its first trans-shipment vessel at 1pm on Friday — a landmark development in the maritime history of Nigeria. It is the only Nigerian port that can receive the world’s biggest vessels. In trans-shipment, goods are transferred from one vessel to another before being shipped to their final destination. The ship, operated by a French shipping and logistics company, was moving goods from the Far East to Cotonou, Republic of Benin. Lekki is the deepest in sub-Saharan Africa and that means Nigeria is on its way to becoming a trans-shipment hub for the region. It’s been long in the making and I look forward to greater things from the Lekki port. Cheers!

AFFIRMATIVE SETBACK

The US Supreme Court on Thursday ruled against the use of Affirmative Action for university admissions, thereby bringing an end to a decades-old policy aimed at encouraging inclusion of ethnic minorities, mostly blacks. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote: “Harvard’s admissions process rests on the pernicious stereotype that ‘a black student can usually bring something that a white person cannot offer.’” Sure, that is not Harvard’s point. But I have since realised that if you have never been a victim of discrimination or exclusion, you cannot really understand Affirmative Action. Interestingly, beneficiaries of Affirmative Action may also want to kick the ladder after getting to the top. Irony.

AND FINALLY…

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu appears to be a different person from the one that ran in the February 25 election. He was making gaffes before the poll quite all right, but he was portrayed more as someone who was seriously ill and had lost control of his faculties. Some said he could not stand on his feet for five minutes. However, the Tinubu I saw on TV on May 29 making a long speech at the Eagle Square, the Tinubu that has been holding meetings home and abroad, looks like a new person. I won’t be surprised if the Jibril movement soon comes up with another theory — like they did to President Muhammadu Buhari — that somebody from Brazil is impersonating Tinubu. Hilarious.

Cesc Fabregas ex-Arsenal star has announced his retirement from football at the age of 36.

The Spaniard will move into coaching with Italian side Como, which was the Serie B club he played for last season.

During his spell, he played for Arsenal, Barcelona, Chelsea and Monaco.

Fabregas said, “It is with great sadness that the time has come for me to hang up my playing boots.

“From my first days at Barca, Arsenal, Barca again, Chelsea, Monaco and Como, I will treasure them all.

“From lifting the World Cup, and the Euros, to winning everything in England and Spain and nearly all the European trophies, it has been a journey that I’ll never forget.

“All those who have helped me, my team-mates, coaches, directors, presidents, owners, fans and my agent. To all my family, from my parents and my sister to my wife and kids, I cherish your advice, mentorship and guidance. To my opponents who tried to knock me, thank you for making me stronger.

“It has already been more than worth it with all the great memories and friends that I have made on the way. I’ve also learnt 3 languages and became more compassionate and wiser along my travels. I lived experiences that I never thought in a million years I would even come close to.”

Fabregas joined Barca’s La Masia Academy in 1997 when he was 10.

He played Premier League matches for Arsenal between 2004 and 2011 and won the FA Cup before leaving for Barcelona.

After three years in Barcelona, he moved to Chelsea in 2014.

He won the European Championship in 2008 and 2012 and was part of the golden team that lifted Spain’s first World Cup in South Africa.

Lifesite News reported that Pro-life priest Fr. Fidelis Moscinski was sentenced to six months in prison for blocking access to a New York abortion facility in an attempt to save innocent unborn children. 

On Tuesday, the priest was dealt the punishment in a federal court, months after being found guilty of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act. Moscinski is frequently involved in Red Rose Rescues and “lock and blocks” — forms of pro-life advocacy in which volunteers enter the waiting room of abortion facilities, or block access to said facilities, in a final attempt to dissuade women from killing their babies. The “lock and block” in question took place on July 7, 2022, in Hempstead, New York. 

“It is almost surreal in these court rooms to listen to the prosecution and the judges,” pro-lifer Theresa Bonapartis, who was present at the sentencing, wrote in a statement shared with LifeSiteNews. “Father [Moscinski] is made out to be a career criminal while the slaughter of the innocent human life and the destruction of their mothers and families that takes place is never even mentioned or allowed to mentioned.” 

The judge reportedly claimed that Moscinski has a “criminal past” and must be given “deterrents from acting like this again.” Bonapartis shared that the judge rejected the prosecuting attorney’s request that the priest have “restrictions … placed on him with pretty much anyone who is pro-life” during his probation but “compar[ed] restrictions of a crime family not being allowed to associate with others in the mafia with pro-lif[ers].” 

“The prosecutors asked for the maximum sentence and unsurprisingly that is what he got. He is not in jail yet but will be waiting to hear when and where he needs to surrender,” Bonapartis wrote. “Of course, there is a basic misunderstanding of the reason and the sacrifice on a spiritual level to what Father (and others) do. No matter your views on rescue, please keep him in your prayers as he lays down his life for the moms and babies.” 

As previously reported by LifeSiteNews, Moscinski was charged and found guilty after he locked the gates of a Planned Parenthood facility, preventing cars from entering the driveway and the killing center. Federal charges were brought against the priest after local authorities only dealt him an ordinance violation immediately following the incident. 

In court on Tuesday, Moscinski told the judge that “my actions on July 7, 2022 were done because Planned Parenthood as an organization is in the business of killing. Every procured abortion that occurs on its premises constitutes the deliberate killing of an innocent human being.” 

Moscinski shared that “I was also aware of the evidence compiled by the House Select Panel on Infant Lives that Planned Parenthood, contrary to federal law, profits from the harvesting and selling of the body parts of unborn children. This grisly trade in human tissues and organs is deemed by many as revolting and sickening since it reduces human beings to mere objects that can be bought and sold.” 

The priest noted that, despite Roe’s reversal last year, “we are still sadly burdened with the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act,” further arguing that he is “not guilty of violating this law because this law cannot be seen as anything other than null and void since it attempts to give legal protection to actions which are intrinsically evil and unjust.” 

“I recognize that this view may not be shared by your Honor,” Moscinski continued. “I would like you to know that I find the pernicious error of legal positivism both logically incoherent and immensely destructive in practice” 

“Would it not be much better to acknowledge the truth that there must be a necessary and intrinsic connection between our civil laws and the natural moral law written on the human heart, knowable by human reason, and revealed authoritatively by God Himself in the Ten Commandments?” 

The sentence to imprisonment of this heroic priest is highly condemnable and an unjust law. Abortion is murder clear and simple and the Supreme Court’s Dobbs Decision has made it illegal in the US. Therefore, it is against the laws of God, nature, and man and so the priest is justified in blocking access to the murderous Planned Parenthood premises so that lives can be saved.

African pro-choice apologists should learn from the travails of the noble priest. If these liberals can punish their own, they will unleash ruthless venom on Africa in their avaricious bid to aggressively expand their blood-soaked empire on the world’s most raped continent. It is not worth it being their stooge – they should ask their non-biological ancestors cum chiefs who colluded with the Caucasians to sell their brethren into slavery for ridiculous gifts like gin, mirrors, guns, gun powder among other hilarious rewards. The leopard never changes its spots – the benefits of betraying Africa and opening up the wombs of women for their seeds to be slaughtered will always be smaller than Esau’s mess of pottage.

History repeats itself because man in his usual frailty learns the stories but never its salient lessons. It is high time the African pro-abortion lobby began to pay close attention to the lessons of history and not get caught up in the ‘frenzy’ of the ‘good life.’

Sierra Leone’s main opposition All People’s Congress (APC) has rejected results of the 24 June 2023 general elections and called on Sierra Leoneans “to play their part in resisting tyranny and fight for the restoration of democracy, civility and good governance” in the country.

Sitting President Julius Maada Bio of the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) has since been sworn in for a second term of five years after the Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone (ECSL) declared him winner of the presidential poll with 56.17% of the votes. 

The Commission said Dr Samura Kamara, the APC candidate came second with 41.16%.

In its latest statement issued on Friday in Freetown, “the APC unequivocally rejects the announced results of the recently concluded multi-tier elections in Sierra Leone, given the glaring irregularities and violations of established electoral procedures.”

“We demand the resignation of (Chief Commissioner) Mr. Mohamed Konneh and all the other commissioners of the ECSL based on demonstrated bias and failure to conduct their duties impartially,” the APC said, adding: “We insist on a rerun of the elections within six months to be overseen by credible individuals and institutions who will ensure a fair and transparent process.”

The party also “declares its non-participation in any level of governance, including the legislature and local councils, as the results have already been tampered with to give the SLPP an unjust majority at all levels.”

It further “demands the resignation of the following: Fayia Sellu, the Inspector-General of Police; Major General Patrick Lavahun, the Chief of Defence Staff; Abdulai Caulker, the National Security Coordinator; Francis Langumba Keili, the Chief of Staff of the Office of the ONS; and Desmond Babatunde Edwards, the Chief Justice,” alleging that “these individuals have shown a clear disregard for their constitutional duties and have instead aligned themselves with the undemocratic aspirations of (President) Julius Maada Bio.”

The APC also “urges international development partners to impose travel bans on key individuals who have played instrumental roles in stealing the mandate of the Sierra Leonean people,” including re-elected President Maada Bio and his wife, ministers of foreign affairs, information, internal affairs, Chief of defence staff, Inspector General of Police, Coordinator of the Office of National Security, deputy justice minister and the deputy Speaker of parliament.

“We call on all well-meaning Sierra Leoneans at home and abroad to play their part in resisting tyranny and fight for the restoration of democracy, civility and good governance in Sierra Leone,” the party added in the three-page statement.

The statement said the “stance of the APC in the last few days should not be mistaken as an acceptance of this obnoxious announcement of illegal electoral result but was an opportunity to document evidence and avoid falling into a mindless trap of violence that had been planned by this monstrous regime.” 

The ECSL has not released results of the parliamentary, mayoral and Local Council elections.

The APC statement said: “They have not only tried to steal the presidential election, but also are working assiduously to give the SLPP a 2/3 majority in parliament and take a comfortable lead in local councils across the country.”

Sierra Leone has remained largely calm since the announcement of the election results with International Election Observation Missions to Sierra Leone’s 2023 General Elections, including ECOWAS, AU, the Commonwealth as well as the West Africa Elders’ Forum in sustained engagements with major political stakeholders to exercise restraint and work together for national peace to prevent the country from relapsing into conflict after its 10-year civil war that ended in 2002. 

‘Forever’ and ‘till death do us part’ are not for every relationship. Some are destined to last. Many end even before they start. Others just get wobbly at some point. The going gets painful. Both parties know in their hearts of hearts that they are not going to go the whole nine yards but they continue to make the efforts anyway, patching and stitching. Sometimes, it is one of them carrying the two of them, which makes the trip more tedious until they both get to the point of no return. Whichever way the parting of ways happen in a relationship, the bottom line is that walking away is never easy. There is that temptation to make more efforts to make it work, to wait for another couple of months and see if the unserious guy would realize the errors of his ways and turn a new leaf, to see if he would stop being a leech and make something of his life. Shouldn’t he just bear with her, even pray for her and see if she would stop cheating on him? But too often too late, you find out that a player is always a player, cheaters hardly ever stop and that a leech will always be a leech.

If you have invested in an unprofitable business, the only sensible thing to do is to divest and move on to a more profitable venture. Holding on may look like you are brave, patient and long-suffering but please, must you suffer in a relationship that is going nowhere fast? There is a time to let go, time to walk away. My darling, take a good look at that relationship and ask yourself the hard questions. Are you happy, fulfilled? Do you wish you were somewhere else, with someone else most of the time? Does he make you cry so often you have forgotten how to laugh? Does that woman in your life make you feel less and less a man every day? Let go, dear, walk away. If it’s not working, it is not working. You can’t force a limp ‘third leg’ walk.

You can’t force anyone to love you. If you need to beg him or her to stay with you, what you feel is not love and it is time to stop fooling yourself. A man you blackmail not to leave you or you are considering trapping with pregnancy, real or fake, is not your man. Even if he stays, he’s only there in body not in spirit. If you are grabbing at straws to stay afloat while dating, how will you cope when the high waves of marriage arrive in a stormy weather?

Although it feels like it, but the end of a relationship is not the end of life. Love leaves you sometimes. It does not mean you are cursed or jinxed. Just learn the lesson and move on. The right person will come. It may take a while but the right person is always worth the wait.  As the saying goes, you must kiss a few frogs before your prince charming comes along.

If you are in a relationship where you are constantly having to sacrifice your happiness to please your partner, you are not on to a good thing. For instance, you have to pretend to be a teacher because his mum doesn’t want him to marry a lawyer. You have to hide all evidence that you have enrolled for your Ph.D because his ego is fragile and he’s thin skinned.  You have to pretend your brand new car is ‘tokunbo’ because it would make him ‘feel somehow’. You are in the wrong place. You may be managing it now but a few years down the road, you will resent him and what he has turned you into.

A woman who demands but supplies no value to your life is only good for a short ride. If you allow a girl to make more withdrawals than deposits in your life, you will be out of balance and in the red before you know it.  You must know when to close the account and take stock.  It’s always better to be alone with dignity than in a relationship that constantly requires you to sacrifice your happiness and self-respect. 

Is your relationship giving you more pain than joy? Do you wonder more why you are in it than wishing you had met your partner earlier? If all your relationship offers is great sex, something is wrong. If the only time you are not bickering is when he’s on top of or under you, you are in a dry pasture. Don’t be so blinded by the wild orgasms as to forget the real deal, the morning after. If that relationship leaves you frustrated, upset, unhappy, miserable more often than not; if it leaves you in tears every so often, perhaps this might not be the right person for you. The relationship you are in now should be one which brings you happiness now.  It is simple enough, in business the aim and objective is to make profit.  In a relationship it is happiness, and it has no substitute.

Any kind of abuse, physical or verbal, are definite no-nos. If he hits you, slaps you around, punches you to drive his point home, it is time to let him go. Forget the beautiful gifts and nice words he says after, there is clearly something wrong with him and you too for staying in there for this long. If her way of expressing anger is throwing the intercom at the flat-screen television, please start walking and keep walking. What those crazy moments show is something deep that needs addressing.

Perception is reality. Emotional abuse is even trickier because only the victim feels it. You have told yourself long enough that things will get better. It hasn’t. It won’t. Time to walk away is now.

Aunty, if he believes in God and you believe in science, the two of you aren’t heading in the same direction, so boarding the same plane will be a mistake. For any friendship or relationship to work out, the parties involved must share certain fundamental beliefs and values. The values you share are the big rocks which will hold the relationship in place and help you weather through even the toughest storms.  Of course, you know there are storms ahead, don’t you?

On the other hand, if your core values are fundamentally different, love or no love, when the storm comes, holding your union together will be like jogging uphill or trying to hold the ground together in a mud slide.

Are you both growing or this relationship is holding one of you down? Indeed if you will be true to yourself, this relationship has altered your plan and desire for your life. You have God’s calling on your life. You know you have special gifts for pastoral work but she has issued an ultimatum that the day you become a pastor is the day she leaves you but you are hanging in there hoping she will change her mind, praying on seven prayer mountains that God changes her. Bro, you are not married yet. If she’s God’s will for your life, why is she opposing God’s will in your life?

Sisi, you know your ultimate ambition is to become the first female Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) in your village but the man in your life has made it clear that no wife of his will ‘answer sir’ to any man because he makes enough to take care of his family. He told you his woman will not go out to work which is why you are learning cake-making. Take a step back and see the road ahead. Are you where you want to be and do you see a future where you will be happy making cakes? If the only reason you are doing what you are doing is to make him happy and keep him, then you need to think again.

He is mean and abusive. He is lazy and unambitious. But he has proposed and his nice ring is on your bruised finger. So you decide to wait it out expecting a better future. Wake up girl. You don’t live in the past, and the future is not yet here. Are you happy now? You need to make it to tomorrow. It is okay to hope for better days ahead but not in this situation. Take a good look at what you have, at him. He is what he is. She is fully formed. A one-day wedding ceremony will not change him or her. Wedding ceremonies are not designed to change fully-formed adults, trust me.

In all, when you give yourself to someone who doesn’t add value to you, you surrender pieces of your soul, pieces that you’ll never get back. 

Twitter Chief Executive Officer, Elon Musk, has set temporary limits on the social media platform to address extreme levels of data scraping and system manipulation.

Musk who made the announcement on his Twitter page on Saturday said Verified accounts are temporarily limited to reading 6,000 posts a day, adding that the unverified accounts and new unverified accounts are limited to reading 600 posts a day and 300 posts per day, respectively.

He said, “To address extreme levels of data scraping & system manipulation, we’ve applied the following temporary limits:
– Verified accounts are limited to reading 6000 posts/day
– Unverified accounts to 600 posts/day
– New unverified accounts to 300/day,” tweeted Musk on Saturday hours after the social media platform was suffering from a global outage.

His clarification came as millions of users across the globe suffered a major outage globally, which prevented thousands of users from accessing the social media platform.

According to the outage monitor website ‘Down Detector’, more than 7,000 users reported issues with Twitter.

Daniil Medvedev feels World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz will win up to five Wimbledon titles in his career.

The Russian No. 1 has had a terrific start to the 2023 season, winning five ATP singles titles before traveling to Paris for Roland Garros. However, since his first-round defeat at the Paris Major, Medvedev has struggled for form.

In a recent conversation with the ATP, Daniil Medvedev opined that Alcaraz could win up to five Wimbledon titles, given the way he operates on every surface. However, he also added that it is tough to say because grass is 'a tough surface'.

“In my opinion, the way Carlos plays on every surface, he can win maybe five Wimbledons, but you never know. It's a tough surface to play on," he said.

The Russian went on to recall playing against the Spaniard and said that this year the 20-year-old has improved on grass.

"When we played [in 2021], he was not the same player, so I managed to get the best of this match," Medvedev said. "Last year, I think he improved [on grass] already, played this four-setter against [Jannik] Sinner [in the fourth round]. I remember it was a great match."

The 2021 US Open winner mentioned that grass is really tough for the players, but he feels Carlos Alcaraz's potential is 'really high' on this surface.

“So I think his potential is really high on any surface, but grass is a tough surface for many players. Let's see how he handles this task," Daniil Medvedev added.

The two-time Australian Open finalist also expressed his admiration for Alcaraz for playing so well on grass despite the perception that his style of play does not suit the surface.

“Then there is going to be someone else [like Alcaraz], where you say in your mind that while his game is not really suited for grass — maybe he doesn't go to the net that often and stuff like this — and then he plays so well on grass, and he says it himself that it is his best and favorite surface. That's where it's surprising," he concluded.

Wimbledon 2023: Daniil Medvedev to play Arthur Fery in 1R; Carlos Alcaraz to lock horns with Jeremy Chardy

Daniil Medvedev will kickstart his 2023 Wimbledon campaign by taking on Britain's Arthur Fery in the first round. The Russian was barred from participating in 2022 due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In his last appearance in 2021, Medvedev reached the fourth round of the tournament, where he lost to Hubert Hurkacz.

Carlos Alcaraz, on the other hand, will play against France's Jeremy Chardy in the opening round of Wimbledon. The top seed recently won his first grass-court title at the Queen's Club Championships. In 2022, at Wimbledon, he lost to Jannik Sinner in the fourth round of the tournament.

[sportskeeda]

The Anambra State Government says it has commenced the installation of clock-in devices in public health facilities to curb absenteeism and ensure that health workers take their duties seriously.

The Commissioner for Health, Dr Afam Obidike, disclosed this in Awka while speaking at a meeting with administrators of public hospitals in the state.

Obidike observed that during some of his unannounced visits to hospitals, many health workers were absent while some health facilities did not open for services.

According to him, such an attitude has contributed to mortalities recorded in the state and hindered progress in the health sector.

The commissioner said the device would end absenteeism and indolence among health workers.

He said Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s administration takes healthcare seriously and wants residents to have access to quality health services at the primary health centres, general hospitals and tertiary health facilities.

“This is part of the reasons for the installation of the clock-in device in all government hospitals; it is to ensure that healthcare workers are at their duty posts to attend to the health needs of the people.

“The device will also be used to monitor the hours health workers put in each day and that will subsequently determine their monthly salaries and allowances.

“The goal is to eliminate maternal and infant mortalities, as well as restore the confidence of our people in the healthcare services we provide in the state,” he said.

The commissioner also said the government was digitilising healthcare services through telemedicine as well as strengthening the referral system among the hospitals in the state.

“We are establishing the ‘Hub and Spoke’ approach for proper networking among the hospitals. Telemedicine will also allow primary healthcare centres to have access to different doctors.

“We are strengthening at least one general hospital in each local government area so that primary health centres can refer patients when the need arises.

“The state government is doing all it can with limited resources and as healthcare providers, we cannot afford to fail,” he said.

Obidike urged the hospital administrators to hold weekly clinical and mortality reviews and report findings to the ministry for appropriate action.

NAN