The last time we checked, Lagos State was supposed to be the ancestral home of our President Bola Tinubu. Some dispute that, insisting he is from Osun State. But none, to the best of my knowledge, has ever linked himto Ogun State. Yet, it seems the gods of Ogun River and the ancient gods of Lisabi have adopted him as their son. Ina mystical and deeply spiritual way, Ogun State played a prominent role during the run-in to the Presidential election.

It was during one of his ‘pilgrimages’ to Ogun State, that he received the courage and clarity to make the famous ‘Emilokan’ statement. To the uninitiated, I confess I am one of them, that statement seemed a sign of a meltdown – an apocalyptic meltdown to quote a mutual friend. As the English would say ‘What was he smoking? Or sniffing? Or drinking’? It however turned out instead to be a coded message to those he had a pact with, a succession pact of sorts. I still have a problem with the ‘Emilokan’ statement though.

It suggests entitlement. It suggests a high-stake, turn-by-turn alliance, it suggestshorse trading with Nigeria as the prize. Whatever. Those to whom the coded message was sent understood it.The message unlocked their hearts. It reminded them that the time to pay back some I.O.Us for old favours and promises was nigh. As a result, the many obstacles strewn on his path during the journey to the party’s primary began to clear. He won the primary with a clear margin. It was an important victory no doubt, but not the main prize.

The Kingmakers and pretenders to the throne would however not let go easily. They threw everything including the kitchen sink to stop him from attaining the much coveted crown. He too counter strategized, stoking the discord within the main opposition party. When the odds were mountingand it seemed the anti-people policies of the ruling party were meant to cause disaffection among the electorate towards him, he made another ‘pilgrimage to Ogun State.

Again, he received courage and clarity to pitch a fight with some State and non-State actors in the presidency. After all, ‘if the gods cannot help you, they should leave you as you are’ according to the saying among his people. (Orisa bi o le gbe mi, se mi bi o se ba mi). It was there that he denounced the contrived fuel scarcity and the currency swap. (‘Whether you hide fuel or hide money, we will vote and we will win’ he said). It worked, again. Immediately after the statement, help came from some powerful State actors and the strictures were eased. He did not exactly coast to victory thereafter but he did enough to win the coveted crown.

After a month in the saddle as President, it was time for another ‘pilgrimage’ to the Ogun gods. This time it was a celebratory one. The race has been won and it was proper to thank the gods. After all, gratitude is the food of the gods. But this didn’t stop discerning minds and attentive ears from expecting another defining statement; another moment of courage and clarity. What I heard though was a little disconcerting. It was self-adulation. Like a lizard which, after performing a feat, nods its head as if to say ‘if no one praises me, I will praise myself’.

In the case of the President, many Nigerians had praised the courage and clarity he had shown in the past month to take difficult decisions. He didn’t need to praise himself and in the process, throw some brickbats at his predecessors as if they were weaklings. Removal of fuel subsidy was a decision whose time had come. Simple. It wasn’t that much a question of weakness or courage any longer. After all, the three main presidential aspirants promised to remove the subsidy.

Eight, ten years ago,it was a different proposition and we all know the side he was on and the role he played during the subsidy removal agitations at the time. Besides, it is not the time to gloat for as long as the consequences of subsidy removal have not been addressed let alone, ameliorated.(And if he doesn’t do something soon to ease the growing hardship in the land, he might need another visit to the gods of Ogun State).

But what jarred my listening ears was the absence of inclusion in his Ogun State speech. Most leaders would use the ‘royal we’ when referring to policy decisions and projects. It is deferential. It is inclusive. What I heard in places was the pronoun ‘I’ which to me sounds exclusive, arrogant and even imperial. Worse, it suggests a dictatorial, rather than a collegiate mentality which is contrary to what I hear about him. Everybody knows where the buck stops in the presidency and Nigeria needs a strong President at this time who will have the courage of his conviction and be able to resist the self-serving demands of Kingmakers.

President Bola Tinubu scaled many hurdles on the way to the presidency. Outside the court, the last important hurdle now is himself. The times call for simplicity. They call for empathy. I don’t see enough of both. As necessary as they have become, his major policies in the past month are painful. They have further depleted the already meagre earnings of the people. That is the truth and they in no way call for chest beating of any kind. The purpose of governance is to raise the living standard of the people in a secure environment. Until that is done- and the welfare needle begins to inch northwards- the times call for sobriety and self-effacement, not hubris. It is certainly not the time to preen.

Liverpool legend, Graeme Souness has predicted the position Chelsea will finish next season on the Premier League table under their new manager Mauricio Pochettino.

Chelsea finished in the second half of the Premier League table last season.

The Blues will not play European competition this 2023/24 season.

However, Souness, who believes the 2023/24 season will be difficult for Pochettino, expects Chelsea to maintain the same position this season like last term.

“It’s a very difficult job for the manager at Chelsea this year,” Souness told the Sky Bet Fan Hope Survey.

“I look at that club, and the direction they’ve gone – it just seems to be a mismatch of players that were available and very expensive.

“Chelsea was paying a premium, because of their reputation and standards. I don’t see them doing any different than they did last year.”

[DailyPost]

Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu, wife of the governor of Ondo, has shared the photograph of her husband in a medical facility amid death rumours.

Betty posted the picture on Friday across her social media handles.

The picture shows the ailing governor sitting on a motorable chair while his wife posed beside him. The background of the picture shows the picture may have been taken in a medical facility.

“Aketi dey kampe!. Victory for us!” Betty captioned the picture.

Coincidentally, today is the 67th birthday of the Ondo governor, who was born on July 21, 1956.

Earlier, Akeredolu posted a picture on his Twitter handle to celebrate his 67th birthday.

“Which of the Favour of the Lord can I deny? Chapter 67. To God be the Laud, Honour and Glory!!!” the Ondo governor tweeted.

Over the past few weeks, the health status of Akeredolu has been making the headlines.

Akeredolu had embarked on a 21-day leave on June 7 and was expected to return on July 6.

The governor had directed Lucky Aiyedatiwa, his deputy, to act in his stead. However, Akeredolu wrote to the state house of assembly, extending his medical leave when he did not resume work at the initial date of resumption.

Meanwhile, Abdullahi Adamu, the former national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), stirred another controversy when he said Akeredolu was hospitalised and in a state of “extreme incapacity”.

The Ondo government had countered Adamu and assured residents of the state that the governor will resume duties soon.

[NationalDaily]

Hinata Miyazawa scored twice as former champions Japan smashed Women’s World Cup newcomers Zambia 5-0 in a rampant start to their campaign on Saturday.

Japan were a class above the 77th-ranked Africans, creating a slew of chances with their sharp movement and passing in a performance that will have the tournament heavyweights on alert.

Three of the goals came through sweeping upfield movements as Japan scored more than twice in a World Cup game for the first time since the 2011 tournament in Germany, when they lifted the title.

Midfielder Miyazawa bagged her first midway through the first half from an Aoba Fujino assist to put the Nadeshiko a goal up at the break.

Mina Tanaka doubled the lead from Jun Endo’s cross, bringing some relief to the forward, who found the net twice earlier in the match, only to have both strikes ruled out by belated offside rulings.

Tanaka turned provider for Miyazawa’s second goal and Endo drilled home the fourth in front of a crowd of 16,111 in Hamilton.

Substitute Riko Ueki scored the final goal from the penalty spot after she was brought down by goalkeeper Catherine Musonda in the final minute of stoppage time.

It resulted in a second yellow card for Musonda, whose replacement Eunice Sakala made a spectacular save from the spot but was ruled to have moved too early.

Ueki made no mistake with her second attempt as Japan moved to the top of Group C ahead of Spain, who beat Costa Rica 3-0 in Wellington on Friday.

A youthful Zambian side entered the tournament with high hopes after beating Germany in their final warmup game.

However, the lowest-ranked side at the 32-team tournament didn’t create a single clear chance, capping a miserable week in which key attacking midfielder Grace Chanda was ruled out of the tournament with illness.

[Vanguard]

Data is the new oil, it runs economies, gives sense to policies, and provides the foundation for planning. Data is the mother lode of civilization as we know it. For these and several other reasons, a slap-dap approach to data gathering, preparation, cleaning, storage, and analysis is unacceptable. The recently released headline inflation numbers by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the June 2023 headline inflation rate of 22.79% up from 22.41% in May 2023, smacks of a bold but unusual decoupling of clarity and reality.  While physical blindness is a limitation it does not define success or lack of it, whereas data blindness brings countries, corporations, and people to ruin. 

The inflation figures for June which the NBS in a tweet noted reflected only two weeks of subsidy removal impact have left analysts scratching their heads in confusion as they attempt to comprehend why two consecutive sample data for a month provide a description of the average monthly inflation estimate. Indeed, according to one economist in government circles who requested anonymity because he was not officially permitted to make public comments, ‘We appear to have gotten ourselves in a right old mess. We have chucked credibility out of the window, broadened the fronts for the attack on Nigerian data integrity, and generally made ourselves the butt for drunken pub conversations amongst foreign investors. How do you trust real return adjustments for financial assets, when inflation figures appear to come from somewhere between Pluto and Mars?’, he asked rhetorically. 

According to the public servant, ‘Playing chess with national economic numbers cannot be smart after years of building credibility in our national statistics seen as emblems of institutional integrity, burning all this on the altar of expediency is unacceptable’, he insisted. Indeed, an economist in one of the country’s big four Consulting firms noted that ‘In addition to the conceptual problems associated with two consecutive weeks of no survey data within June, there is a broader problem with the weights assigned to the components of the inflation basket. It was almost completed between 2019 and 2020, but it appears that the review exercise was suspended, and what we see now is Grandma’s shopping list being handed over to her grandchildren.  Few Gen-Zers would be pleased with their grandma’s list of vegetables and fruits, and would be asking, where in heaven’s name is the pizzaz, French fries and chicken?! ‘, the analyst insisted that even a review of the country’s inflation basket at the moment may be inadequate as the country has since had a focus-induced recession which could have changed consumer spending patterns. He argued that the composition of the items in the country’s inflation basket needed to be reviewed every five years. 

Reactions have continued to trail the June CPI Inflation report released by the NBS. Although, according to the Bureau, annual inflation rose to 22.79%, a new 17-year high, analysts have been bothered by the integrity of the June print. The numbers, which unexpectedly came in lower than the 25% earlier forecast by several economists, failed to capture the impact of the removal of the PMS subsidy. This decision President Bola Tinubu announced in his inauguration speech at the end of May. Analysts had pencilled in higher inflation on the back of a 150% increase in PMS prices, a 32.7% y-o-y rise in Broad Money to N65trn and a 45% devaluation of the Naira. 

In this light, the importance of credible data, according to stakeholders, cannot be over-emphasized; the country is at a point where it is courting foreign investors to unlock opportunities in critical sectors, and this becomes difficult where the integrity of official data is in question. Independent estimates of inflation range between 40 and 45%.   But the reason why the recent numbers have been widely criticized is a statement published by NBS through its social media handle on Twitter. The statement, which prompted criticism by economists and statisticians, suggested that ‘the June Consumer Price Index (CPI) numbers may not fully capture the impact of the fuel subsidy removal and the unification of the exchange rate. According to the Bureau, this is because the data collection for computing the rate for the reference month typically stops around the middle of the month, meaning that the June numbers only reflect approximately two weeks of the policy impact on consumer prices.

While the NBS statement seemed to have been aimed at saving face, it did very little to salvage the institutional reputation. This is because even a two-week survey should have captured the 150% increase in the pump price of premium motor spirit (PMS) oil or petrol. While it is understandable that subsequent months would more fully capture the rise, it would typically take between 3 and 6 months for the impact of the price adjustment to be fully absorbed by the economy, the initial impact is expected to be greater than as presented by NBS. Moreso, analysts believe that a 28 basis point increase in headline inflation (Y-O-Y) and a seven basis point decline in monthly core inflation more than underestimate the combined impact of all of the price changes which occurred in June, namely a 40% increase in import duties, Naira devaluation and the PMS subsidy removal.

The choice of the first two weeks in June 2023 is difficult to rationalize. What seems to be a newly introduced approach by the NBS has served by default or design to underestimate inflation. Moreso, it neither captures the increase in the ex-depot price in the final week of June nor grasps the removal of value added tax (VAT) exemption on diesel which kicked in around the same time. The approach distorts the reality of a significant indicator. Inflation numbers not only guide the inflation-adjusted returns expected by investors, but it also meant to paint an accurate life picture of the cost of living of households, the operating cost of businesses, and the project completion cost of the public sector. When inflation numbers are underestimated, reality is altered, and planning is impossible.

The only way inflation rise between May and June 2023 could have been limited to just 38 basis points as contained in the NBS CPI report is if there was a base effect. However, this would not be tenable, as there was no high base effect last year. Moreover, such a base effect would not affect m-o-m figures in such a circumstance. A more substantial base effect last year will also presume that there were factors between May and June 2022 that induced a stronger push than the 200% subsidy removal we saw in June 2023, the like of which is difficult to identify. 

Methodological Mysteries
The composition of the 2003/2004 basket surveyed is outdated and it ought to have been reviewed to reflect the changes in the consumption pattern, likewise, the weights assigned to the 740 items surveyed require a review of reliable sources have it that the process had been initiated two years ago we are unsure of whether this process has been completed. This adjustment becomes even more important given that the country has recorded two recessions in 2016 and 2020. The change in spending patterns and consumption baskets is marked enough to cause a lot of expenditure rationalization. The Bureau’s dysphoric or unhappy estimates may be attributable to its failure to meet global standard practice which requires that the basket ought to be updated each half-decade.

The controversy generated by the NBS estimate of inflation in June is unfortunate but it raises a fundamental question of Data credibility and integrity, a problem which transcends the NBS and extends to all governmental agencies. Credibility is at the heart of proper planning and policy making and when the data is wrong the decisions premised on It would most certainly be erroneous. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meets next week for its fourth policy meeting of the year, Analysts believe that inflation has bombed the purpose of the 700bp hike by the MPC since May 2022. The expectation from most analysts is that the absence of a substantive head at the CBN would be a reason why only a cautious rate hike or a hold would be considered at the next meeting.

In the broad scheme of things, June’s inflation numbers still pour rainwater on the MPC’s hopes of moderation of prices and a dovish monetary policy direction. Burying the impact of the depreciation of the naira and subsidy removal on the domestic price index is a lavish indiscretion. 

Awoyemi is the current CEO, Founder and Chairman of Proshare Limited, Nigeria’s foremost financial information hub.

If the recent report on the investigation by the Department of State Security (DSS) into the discharge certificate feud between the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State surprised anyone, it wasn’t me. Even though I was of the view that both parties should be given the opportunity to prove their respective case, NYSC’s story never looked straight to me, especially knowing the ineptitude, underhand practices, endemic corruption, shoddiness, and the poor and analogue record keeping that have become the hallmarks of most of our public institutions.

As a psychologist, my field of study teaches me that there is always a motive for every crime. And I have been wondering what the motivation could be for Mbah. If his profile is anything to go by, then he was already a multimillionaire before heading to the UK to study Law. So, he was never in the unemployment market where he needed the NYSC to secure a job.

Two, it is settled by the courts that one doesn’t need an NYSC discharge certificate to hold a public office. Section 177 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) spells out the qualifications for the office of the governor, and NYSC discharge certificate is not one of them. So, I wonder why he would submit a supposedly forged NYSC discharge certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) when, in fact, he didn’t need it.

Furthermore, Proverbs 28:1 says the righteous are bold as a lion. The audacity with which Mbah has faced the NYSC and its DG, Brig. Gen. Yusha’u Ahmed, does not suggest one who has something to hide. Rather than shop for the proverbial soft landing, Mbah has instead slammed a N20bn lawsuit on the NYSC. In the lawsuit marked FHC/ABJ/09/611/2023, he seeks a declaration that he participated in the NYSC scheme for one calendar year and that NYSC and its Director of Corps Certification, Ibrahim Muhammad “conspired by fraudulent design, suppressed and misrepresented facts in supposition” that his discharge certificate with serial number A808297 is fake. He also seeks a declaration that the predominant purpose is to inflict damages in his legal profession, politics, and business.

One interesting fact about Mbah’s lawsuit is his meticulousness in record keeping, even far better than the NYSC. Mbah kept and filed everything: his call-up letter and deployment to Lagos State, meal tickets in the camp, posting letter to the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), rejection letter by the NPA, reposting letter to Udeh & Associates, his letter to NYSC DG seeking a suspension of his service to go for his Bar Final programme, DG’s approval letter, his handwritten letter seeking to return to complete his service year after the programme, pictures, and letter dated 7th May 2003 (with reference number NYSC/DHQ/CM/27/20) directing the Lagos State Director of the agency to “re-instate the corps member to continue his service year from where he stopped, with effect from May 2003”. To “reinstate” instead of “remobilise” means that his service number remains unchanged.

Curiously, rather than cease the opportunity to nail Mbah, the NYSC resorted to a preliminary objection. It told the court that Mbah should have petitioned thepresidencyy first to seek a resolution before approaching the court. However, Section 20 of the NYSC Act clearly doesn’t apply to Mbah since he is neither a serving Corps member nor an employee of the NYSC. Section 20 is afollow-upp to Section 19, which refers to members of the service and other persons employed or undertaking any project for the NYSC.

Also, NYSC’s evidence at the Enugu State Governorship Petition Tribunal ended in anti-climax because it ended up affirming virtually everything Mbah had said about his national service and discharge certificate. In his Statement on Oath and evidence before the tribunal, the subpoenaed witness and Director of Corps Certification, Ibrahim Muhammad, averred the following: “That Mr. Mbah Peter Ndubuisi was actually mobilised and deployed to Lagos State by the NYSC for the compulsory national service vide a call-up letter dated 7th January, 2002, with Serial No. 0134613 and Reference No. NYSC/FRN/2001/890351.

“That in Lagos, Mbah Peter Ndubuisi, upon completion of his orientation course, was initially posted to the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) for his primary assignment, but was rejected.

“That the NYSC Office in Lagos reposted him to the Law Firm of Udeh & Associates, Lagos.

“That by letter dated 20th June, 2002, Mbah Peter Ndubuisi applied to the Director-General of the NYSC for deferment of his service, to enable him attend the Nigerian Law School.

“That after completion of his Law School Programme, Mbah Peter Ndubuisi applied to the DG of NYSC vide letter dated 03/4/2003 for re-mobilisation for national service, to enable him complete his NYSC programme.

“That by letter referenced NYSC/DHQ/CM/M/27/20, dated 7th May, 2003, the DG NYSC wrote to the Lagos Director of the NYSC to reinstate Mbah Peter Ndubuisi to continue his service year from where he had stopped, with effect from May, 2003, to terminate in September, 2003.

“That upon return, Mbah Peter Ndubuisi was posted to the Law Firm of Udeh & Associates, Lagos again, for completion of his primary assignment, with probable date of discharge on 15th September, 2003”.

NYSC’s major point of departure is at paragraph 14 (i) where it states that “there was no record of the completion of Mbah Peter Ndubuisi’s primary assignment, because he stopped attending the compulsory weekly community service in Lagos, which is one of the cardinal programmes of the NYSC”, adding that he “was consequently not cleared as having completed the NYSC programme and therefore no Discharge Certificate was issued to him”.

But, guess what, NYSC didn’t tender any register where other Corps members signed and Mbah failed to sign. Besides, what other record is more reliable than the monthly clearances issued by Mbah’s place of primary assignment, Udeh & Associates that qualified him for his monthly allowances, and which, ironically, were paid by the NYSC?

Some people in Mbah’s shoes would have simply proceeded to the Law School and still come back to pick their discharge certificate without any hassles. But Mbah, in this case, he diligently applied to be excused and applied to be reinstated. It doesn’t make sense to say that he ended up forging a discharge certificate after the who trouble.

It has also emerged at the tribunal that even though he was appointed Chief of Staff to Enugu State Governor in July 2003, he only accepted the offer at the end of his national service on 7th September – just like Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, who was appointed Chief of Staff to the President while still in office, but only resumed at the end of his tenure.

Meanwhile, any doubts rot in the NYSC were all laid to rest by the Statement on Oath and evidence by the Department of State Services (DSS) at the Enugu Tribunal. According its Deputy Director, Operations and Strategy Department, Mr. Yahaya Isa Mohammed, consequent upon Mbah’s petition dated 8th February 2023, the agency diligently investigated the matter, taking statements and documents from both parties.

He said it was found that “there were exchanges of correspondences between Mbah and the NYSC at every stage of their interactions. Mbah did not take any action without the NYSC’s approval; that Mbah’s file with the NYSC got missing at some point in , and NYSC started using temporary file for him. For instance, in NYSC response to his application for deferment, the file number was LA/10/1532, while in their response to his remobilization application, the file number was LA/01/1532/T; that there was a mix up in his record as a result the of missing file; that the difference in Mbah’s certificate number compared to others that were mobilized at the same time, is due to inability of NYSC to trace the initial file where the first certificate A678 was; that from the documents presented by NYSC regarding certificate numbers, about twelve (12) certificate numbers (A808297-A808308), which includes that of Mbah, remained unaccounted for in the eight (8) series by the NYSC; that the law firm, Udeh &Associates where Mbah served, cleared him for his monthly clearance for eleven (11) months covering January-June, 2002 and May to August, 2003 as well as his final clearance in September, 2003 covering the period of his first mobilization and re-instatement indicated that he served, hence no need for him to forge certificate; that NYSC did not do a thorough job before concluding that the certificate Mbah presented is fake; that the Director Corps Certification (Ibrahim Muhammad) failed to exploit all available avenue to ensure that due diligence was done before issuing statement on the matter; and that against NYSC claim that ‘8 Series’ Certificates were not issued in Lagos State, upon insistence by the Service (DSS) for them to check their records properly, certificates in that series were discovered to be issued to some Corps members who served in Lagos State”.

The DSS said it further discovered “that NYSC did not have a proper record. This resulted in the misplacement of Mbah’s initial file by NYSC and the use of temporary file for him as well as its inability to trace whom or which State(s) 12 of its certificates (A808297 to A808308) were issued; that all through Mbah’s service year, from the first mobilization to his service re-instatement after his Bar Final examination, Udeh & Associates where he did his primary assignment, issued him clearance letter on monthly bases; that all certificate series including the ‘8-Series’ were issued in all the States of the federation as against NYSC’s claim that its certificates series are State-based; that the claim by Muhammad (NYSC Director of Corps Certification) that Mbah’s supposed ‘6-Series’ certificate was part of the certificates shredded/destroyed by the NYSC negates the claim that he did not serve, as it is impossible to produce the said shredded certificate for Mbah, if he did not serve; That the failure of the NYSC to maintain a proper record keeping system was the cause of its inability to trace Peter Ndubuisi Mbah’s initial certificate; and that it would be wrong for the NYSC to blame Peter Ndubuisi Mbah for its own failure in record keeping”.

Consequently, the DSS recommended that the “the NYSC should retract its initial letter that Peter Ndubuisi Mbah’s certificate was not issued by it, as it has failed to trace its records for twelve (12) certificates (A808297-A808308), inclusive of Peter Ndubuisi Mbah’s”. It also wants the NYSC to be made to explain how twelve (12) certificates with serial numbers (A808297 to A808308) are still unaccounted for and also be made to trace the said certificates. One cannot agree more.

But in addition, all taken, the NYSC represents the shame that most of our public institutions have become. Brig. Gen. Yusha’u Ahmed should not have remained in office a day after the DSS testimony. He should immediately resign or be booted out.

Mefor, PhD, is a  senior fellow of the Abuja School of Social and Political Thought – TAS, Abuja; email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; Twitter; @drlawson

It used to be that, like all normal human beings, ordinary Nigerians chafed at policies that choked and squeezed the life out of them, and leaders feared for and strategized over the anticipated forceful pushback of citizens in response to anti-people policies. That dynamic has died in the last eight years.

Sadomasochism, that is, pleasure in inflicting pain on others and on oneself is the new cool currency in Nigeria. Leaders are unashamed sadists (i.e., people who derive contentment from seeing others writhe in pain) and the followers are unthinking, self-immolating masochists (i.e., they obtain joy from the suffering inflicted on them by leaders, which is encapsulated in the current sterile canard that “it gets worse before it gets better,” which I’ve heard government officials utter in defense of boneheaded policies since the 1980s).

There is nowhere in the world where the destructive forces of sadism and masochism reinforce each and stroke each other’s passions with as much harmony as in today’s Nigeria. To demonize subsidies for the poor (while turning a blind eye to the extortionate subsidies for the rich) has now become intellectually and politically fashionable. It’s irrelevant that it’s wholly senseless, impoverished, illogical, and destructive. What matters is that it’s trendy because it has been repeated by IMF/World Bank-groomed opinion leaders in Nigeria.

I’ve seen otherwise intelligent people regurgitate with pride the utterly contemptible wish-wash about subsidies being bad for the poor. It’s now like an unquestioned, ill-digested religious dogma. The unjustified pride people take in repeating this stupidity flows from the faith they have invested in the thoughts, perspectives, and opinions of the thought leaders that they respect. But these thought leaders are paid poodles of the World Bank and the IMF. 

These racist, neo-imperialist institutions have had tough luck everywhere in the developing world encouraging leaders to embark on programs of mass pauperization of everyday folks. Countries like Kazakhstan, Ecuador, Bolivia, Indonesia, and Brazil have backtracked and re-instituted subsidies that the IMF had forced them to remove because of the deleterious effects of the removal of subsidies on the poor.

The Structural Adjustments Programs (SAPs) that they force-fed countries in the 1980s and early 1990s (removal of subsidies, devaluation of local currencies, mass retrenchment, etc.) led to mass deaths and violent pushbacks, which caused them to pull back temporarily.

They went back to the drawing room and restrategized. They realized that they can more easily hypnotize people into swallowing their deathly pills if they invest in recruiting opinion leaders who are not directly associated with the daily grind of governance—or who have cultivated some sort of reputational capital strong enough to sway a large swath of people. 

That was where people like Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, Peter Obi, religious leaders with mass appeal, the institutional mass media, and others came in. In the last eight years, they collectively launched studied, systematic, sustained, and single-minded demonization campaigns against “subsidies.” They were unchallenged because they were strategically stealthy and undetected. 

The result is that for the first time in Nigeria’s history, removal of fuel subsidies not only provoked no hostile response, it was actually met with enthusiastic approval from even people who would be deeply consumed by it.  For the first time in Nigeria’s history, every presidential candidate, except Omoyele Sowore, bragged about removing fuel subsidies, and their audiences rejoiced and acclaimed them as visionary and brave. This is unprecedented mass hypnotism. 

Now there is no credible opposition to the destructive neoliberal orthodoxy that suffocates the masses of our people. Instead, people are falling over each other to be seen to be affirming the smoldering of our people. I read a supposedly critical press statement from the PDP the other day, which said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s only achievement has been the removal of subsidies! 

One Professor Chris Nwokobia who was a member of the Labour Party/Obi-Datti Presidential Campaign Council lamented to Arise TV on June 29 that “Tinubu is copying Peter Obi’s planned policies, programmes.” Although it’s delusional to say Tinubu has stolen from Obi’s programs (because Obi didn’t even have a manifesto until the last few weeks of the election) Nwokobia is right that Tinubu is ruling as Obi would have ruled.

Obi is an ideologue of the Washington Consensus, a mole of the IMF and the World Bank in Nigeria. He is pro-market and anti-people. As a governor, he “saved” money and starved people. He fired workers for demanding a living minimum wage, caused needless deaths in hospitals when he ignored a one-year-plus doctors’ strike, and so on.

 Plus, on the campaign trail, he popularized a false, illogical dichotomy between “consumption” and “production” where he conceptualized “consumption” to mean the people (read: subsidies for ordinary folks) and production to mean the market (read: profits for domestic and multinational corporations). He was for production and not consumption. That’s a fraudulent World Bank/IMF duality. There won’t be production without consumption, as there won’t be consumption without production. 

That was why the Western financial press supported him. Although Atiku Abubakar vowed to sell everything and take away subsidies, the World Bank didn’t trust his capacity to resist pressure, particularly because he is a northerner whose people would be the most hurt by the World Bank’s death pills.

They also thought Tinubu might be too populist to implement their agenda. Now they're pleasantly surprised that he's compliant to their prescriptions of death for the masses of our people. That's why they're praising him to the skies in their media. International praises are intoxicating for low-self-esteemed, legitimacy-challenged Third World leaders.

 Tinubu thinks he needs the support of the World Bank, the IMF, and other racist Western financial institutions to shore up his legitimacy. He doesn't understand that the most important legitimacy he can have is the happiness of the people he governs.

Of course, the labor movement is dead. Its partisan association with Peter Obi, the most right-wing, anti-labor presidential candidate Nigeria has ever had, has denuded it of the last vestige of credibility it had.

We now have full-blown SAP in new robes. The SAP that Nigerians rejected with their blood because it exterminated their people is now being embraced. There is even opposition to any sort of intervention to cushion the noxiousness of fuel subsidy removal. 

Historied journalist Dan Agbese was apoplectic the other day because President Tinubu had chosen to dilute, through temporary cash transfers, the potency of the toxic cocktail of IMF/World pills he has accepted for Nigerians.

“His decision came as a huge and disturbing shock to those of us who enthusiastically applauded his courage to bite the bullet by letting fuel subsidy become instant history from May 29 when he assumed office,” Agbese wrote in his column in the Daily Trust. “It was a courageous decision that blocked a major leakage in the national economy…. Sadly, he appears to have wilted in the heat of the groaning and given in to the persuasive do-gooders who care less for the poor but more for their pocket.”

That makes zero sense even with the wildest stretch of logic. But Agbese is basically saying that in this new IMF-birthed neoliberal nirvana, even a little compassion is haram. Let the people smolder. Let their bloom wither. Let them squirm in anguish. Let them die. That’s what will “save” them.

Much of Nigeria has now regressed to the stone age. Basic, taken-for-granted luxuries that had been democratized are now once again the preserve of an exclusive, privileged few. The middle class is being wiped out. The streets are empty, bleak, barren, and desolate. Only the rich can afford to drive cars, eat, and exult.

The Daily Trust of July 21 reported that “Millions of private and commercial vehicle owners have parked [their cars] at home even as traders and civil servants who could not afford high fares remained indoors with many of them saying they were waiting for a miracle to happen.” 

That’s the neoliberal paradise the World Bank wants non-Western people to live in and that its witting and unwitting ideologues in Nigeria want you to accept as natural and commonsense. 

There won’t be miracles. Money saved from the removal of subsidies is unlikely to be used for the benefit of the people. It will be stolen and divided among some of the same people who have relentlessly evangelized the gospel of the badness of subsidies. I hope I am wrong because that would make me happy. 

But President Tinubu had pointed out that he had been asked to take his own “share” of the windfall from subsidy removal but that he spurned the offer. Who asked him to take his “share”? That clearly indicates that in the past, when subsidies were removed, people in power shared the proceeds from it but told people subsidies had to be removed because Nigeria was “broke.” When they say Nigeria is broke, they mean there isn’t enough to fund the pleasures and bottomless greed of the elites.

Although the philosophy of “compassion is haram” is now hegemonic in Nigeria, hegemony is always in a state of negotiation and renegotiation because people’s lived experiences always cause them to question assumptions that they had unquestioningly accepted. I hope we don’t get to a point where the poor have nothing left to eat but the rich.

Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State disagrees with those who argue that the proposed N8,000 palliative by the Federal Government will not effectively alleviate the impact of fuel subsidy removal on poor Nigerians.

During his appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday, he emphasized that the N8,000 assistance is a significant amount for many impoverished families in the country, who typically do not receive such financial support within a month.

Governor Sule recalled that in the past, they were distributing only N5,000 as palliatives, and even that amount had a considerable impact on the lives of numerous people who relied on it each month. In some communities, residents pooled their contributions, leading to substantial improvements within their localities.

He said, “We were sharing only N5,000 and believe me there were so many people that were waiting for that N5,000 every month. Indeed, there were some communities that were able to do some kind of contributions and they were able to do a lot in their various communities.

“So, N8,000 may not be so much money to some people, but it is a lot to so many other people who are from very poor families that don’t see N8,000 every month. So, the only thing is that let us identify those families.”

The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has expressed concern about President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration policies that are “inflicting hardship” on Nigerians, calling for immediate relief measures.

Archbishop Daniel Okoh, President of CAN, issued a statement on Friday praising the President for some of his policies, including national appointments meant to foster national unity.

Against the backdrop of the recent unprecedented hikes in fuel prices and alarming inflation, the national leadership of the CAN wishes to express its deepest concerns over the prevailing hardships faced by Nigerians, and calls for immediate steps to mitigate the situation.

While Nigerians were trying to adjust to the initial increase in fuel price to N540 and its consequential effect on cost of transportation, food, goods and services, and general cost of living, another hike alluded to market forces took the price to N617. The situation is just unbearable for millions of Nigerians who were already suffering poverty.

It is therefore imperative that economic policies are formulated and implemented with utmost care and consideration for the prevailing hardships experienced by Nigerians, Okoh said.

On appointments, the CAN leader noted that the trajectory which the present administration had set from the onset to provide all-inclusive governance is worthy of commendation.

He said;

The national balance seen in the recent appointment of Service Chiefs is heart-warming and re-assuring that every segment of the Nigerian society is critical and important in the Nigerian project. The CAN therefore commends the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for showing commitment towards building a united, peaceful and progressive Nigeria.

He also urged the government to engage in meaningful dialogue with key stakeholders to explore long-term solutions to the current situation, such as developing comprehensive economic policies that promote inclusive growth, job creation, and social well-being.

Government should take measures to reduce the price of fuel. Such measures should include removal of unnecessary levies and taxes on imported petroleum products, the stabilization of the foreign exchange market and putting back our local refineries to functional and effective use.

We appeal to Nigerians for more patience while urging government to take urgent steps to ameliorate their sufferings. Let us work together to build an economy that is inclusive, resilient, and offers opportunities for every Nigerian to thrive, Okoh said.