A founding member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Osita Okechukwu, on Sunday appealed to President Bola Tinubu to rescue Nigerians from a debt trap in order to fulfill his Renewed Hope Agenda and allow citizens to breathe.

Okechukwu lamented that he cannot fathom how the Renewed Hope Agenda will bring the intended succor to Nigerians when the country is burdened with all manner of debts, both local and foreign, “prohibitive interest rates on treasury bills, dangerous dollar-denominated loans, and short-term Eurobonds, making the fiscal restructuring of debt service imperative.”

In a statement he signed, Okechukwu humbly appealed to the president, citing Benjamin Franklin’s admonition that “he who goes a borrowing goes a sorrowing,” and called for a high-powered panel of inquiry to reexamine Nigeria’s debts to uncover genuine and less-than-transparent debt transactions.

He cautioned that the huge debt burden threatens Nigeria’s nascent democracy and drains resources meant for health, education, and poverty alleviation.

According to Okechukwu: “It is regrettable that the budget for Defence (N4.91tr), Infrastructure (N4.06tr), Education (N3.52tr), and Health (N2.48tr), totaling N14.97tr, is far less than the N15.8trillion budgeted for debt service.”

Okechukwu acknowledged the removal of fuel subsidies, giving kudos to President Tinubu, but lamented that the humongous debt service has now become the new anti-production elephant in the room.

He said: “Yes, the fuel subsidy is gone, albeit the subsidy regime had links to the planlessness and squandermania that governed the sordid debt exercise. Or do we forget outliers like when Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the current WTO President, instituted a panel that probed and found that the fuel subsidy was riddled with corruption, upon which the culprits resorted to kidnapping her mother?”

“Accordingly, Mr. President should dust off Okonjo-Iweala’s files and other bad loan files with the intent to recover monies and return Nigeria to a productive economy.”

Okechukwu recalled with nostalgia that Nigeria’s first loan from the Paris Club in 1964 was $13.1 million for the construction of the Niger Dam. He also mentioned Nigeria’s debt relief deal under President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration in 2005, where $35.994 billion in debt was canceled.

He noted, paradoxically, that today, Nigeria’s debt burden stands at N121.67 trillion, equivalent to $91.46 billion USD.

“The only way to break the fetters of the debt burden, as we did in 2005, is through fiscal restructuring. In other words, a high-powered multilateral panel of inquiry must ascertain our actual debt and seek debt cancellation,” he said.

On what must be done, the former Director General of Voice of Nigeria urged President Tinubu to make bold decisions.

Okechukwu added: “I agree totally with President Tinubu that we must make bold decisions, even though they may be painful. Accordingly, the necessary bold decisions at this critical juncture are not excessive taxation or high tariffs, but a multilateral, high-powered panel of inquiry comprising eminent local and international statesmen to reexamine our domestic and foreign debts as the only answer to save Nigerians from the debt trap.

“And secondly, plug corruption and restrict borrowing to only critical infrastructure through humanitarian groups like SUKUK and friends of Nigeria.”

The Ondo State Commissioner for Justice and Attorney-General, Dr Kayode Ajulo, has warned that any traditional rulers found culpable in land grabbing would be sent to jail.

Ajulo, who was reacting to the Anti-Land Grabbing Bill before the state House of the Assembly, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Akure that some traditional rulers were behind cases of land grabbing.

“Government will not shy away from stepping on toes. I must confess, I like to speak my mind, that some of our traditional rulers have caused a lot of problems when it comes to the issue of land grabbing.

“They may be in their palaces, but send people out to cause mayhem. Many a time, we see how they use cutlasses to cut each other’s heads.

“Anytime some Kabiyesi are being picked, with due respect, and sent to jail on this issue, nobody should complain.

“We know what is good and we know what is bad.

“The law is proposed to ensure legislative promulgation in addressing unlawful entry of landed property and violent conduct related to landed property,” he stated.

The commissioner said that Gov. Lucky Aiyedatiwa also recently signed an Executive Order to address the issue of land-grabbing

According to him, there is a need to tackle the menace appropriately.

“Last week, the governor signed Executive Order 2024 to tackle the menace in Ondo State.

“Don’t be surprised, and I’m not a prophet of doom, many may be affected.

[TheNation]

The Nigeria Police Force has dismissed allegations made by Amnesty International in its report, describing the claims as false, misleading, and damaging to the image of the force.

The report, dated November 28, 2024, accused the police of extrajudicial killings during the protests, claiming that at least 24 people were killed in six northern states.

Titled “Bloody August: Nigeria Government’s Violent Crackdown on #EndBadGovernance Protests,” the report has been refuted by the police, who assert that their findings contradict Amnesty International’s allegations.

Addressing a press briefing on the matter on Sunday, Force Spokesperson Muyiwa Adejobi revealed that a special investigative panel had been constituted to verify the claims.

“Amnesty International is advised to reflect on its frequent false reporting on Nigeria’s law enforcement activities and ensure its reports are accurate and contain a true and fair representation of events affecting national security and public safety. Accurate reporting of facts is essential to the integrity of any international organisation, and Amnesty International should not be an exception,” Adejobi said.

He added that the police would write to demand a retraction of the report as well as a public apology for the alleged inaccuracies.

“The Nigeria Police Force will, in due course, write to Amnesty International to demand the retraction of this report from the public domain along with a public apology. The Nigeria Police Force remains resolute in protecting the rights of all citizens while ensuring the security and stability of the nation. We, therefore, urge the public to be wary of sensational reports designed to incite mistrust and weaken confidence in law enforcement institutions,” Adejobi said.

Reeling out the police findings in Borno, Adejobi said the police didn’t use grenades as claimed by the organisation.

He said, “In Borno State, it was established that the protesters were violent, engaging in widespread looting, pillaging, and wanton destruction of public and private property. For example, the Skill Acquisition Centre of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees was looted and vandalised.

“The warehouse of the World Food Programme, located on Baga/Maimalari Barracks Road, Maiduguri, was also looted, with several items belonging to the international organisation destroyed and stolen by some of the protesters.

“Therefore, the claims by Amnesty International that the police threw a hand grenade from a convoy of vehicles into a filling station killing three persons is a blatant falsehood and leaves right-thinking members of society dismayed at this reported falsehood by an international agency that ought to act in accordance with international norms and standards of fair and honest reporting of human rights violations in the country.”

In Niger State, Adejobi said the claim that three individuals were shot dead in Suleja was debunked in the police findings.

Adejobi said the alleged killing of a 21-year-old in Katsina was also found to be unsubstantiated, adding that local sources confirmed that no such incident occurred.

Also in Kaduna State, Adejobi said contrary to Amnesty International’s report, no protests occurred in Kaduna on October 1, 2024, and no police killings were recorded.

He said instead, an incident involving the Nigerian Army was identified and openly investigated.

Adejobi said Amnesty International reported the deaths of two women and a man during protests in Jigawa, but the police investigations revealed no such killings, and evidence suggested that the lone fatality was caused by protester violence, not police action.

In Kano State, Adejobi said the report alleged 12 deaths in Kano due to police actions, stating that investigations indicated that these deaths resulted from violent confrontations involving looters and criminals, not police activity.

The handling of the on-going defamation case between legal giant, Afe Babalola and social activist, Dele Farotimi has provided strong evidence that Nigeria has probably lost its fight against media trial. Many years back, there was the well-articulated viewpoint that because the word “trial” is associated with the process of justice, trial by the media constitutes an undue interference in the process of justice delivery.

The argument has since been overtaken by the nature of social media which has made public communication exceedingly rampant, just as lawyers have themselves contributed to the development by engaging in the new wave of minute-by-minute commentary on cases already before a court of justice. Apart from publicity-seeking lawyers, some others with scanty briefs are too anxious to let the public know that they are learned.

Unfortunately, the Nigerian public has not been well served by the trend in which both parties in the case have already found one another guilty. In the process, the parties have also made it easy to identify the bias of each commentator while establishing that Nigerian law was in a state of confusion. The original point made was that Farotimi was smuggled into Ekiti from Lagos for trial because libel had been decriminalized in Lagos state.

Another version said Lagos and Edo states were the only two states where libel had been downgraded to civil wrong before it was realized that Ekiti itself had done same in 2021. Those who were thus unable to comprehend why the charge was read in Ekiti were later informed that it was still a crime as a federal offence. So, how can anyone pacify the social media mob with the gossip that a federal crime was being happily prosecuted in Ekiti which had decriminalized same offence in her own territory? 

Here, one can say that the irrepressible prolific writer Chidi Odinkalu may have greatly influenced some of the views of the social media activists. Odinkalu had recalled the story of Paul Anyebe a judge in Benue state who was once prosecuted on a-two count charge of attempted murder and illegal possession of firearms. On the latter, he was convicted in the lower courts but freed at the Supreme Court. What the apex court established was that the illegal possession of firearms being a federal offence could only be prosecuted by the Attorney General of the Federation. Expectedly, the public may not have understood why Dele Farotimi was being tried in Ekiti state for criminal libel which is a federal offence. In the circumstance, any person was free to believe that the trial of Farotimi in Ado Ekiti was influenced by some big personality.

The views of a few conservative intellectuals on Babalola’s side did not convince some ‘diehards.’ As one commentator on social media observed, the write-up with the title “Dele Farotimi: When activism is no licence to defame” gave an impression that the accused had already been found guilty hence the conclusion that activism was no licence to defame others. No one could have defamed anybody yet until after judgment.

As a matter of fact, with a few people already volunteering to testify in favour of Farotimi, the presumption of guilt is shaken. At the same time, writers on the side of the complainant have spent ample time telling us about the great achievements of Babalola as if the man’s career and feat were in doubt. There is nothing strange about people seeking to bring down a great character because it is only those on top that can be brought down. One commentator was so incensed that he reduced the issue to how African culture expects young people to respect elders.

Those who were unable to immediately comprehend the overwhelming public interest in the matter were wrongly thinking of Babalola and Farotimi. They greatly missed the point because what attracted everyone to the subject was the common public pain of judicial corruption in the country. Nigerians are not pleased with the judiciary. The other day when Chief Justice Kekere Ekun tried to explain the problem of conflicting judgments, one critic on radio merely reminded listeners that the ugly trend was a recent phenomenon. To be honest, too many inexplicable things have happened in Nigeria of recent; a good example being the case of a governorship election petition in which the oral judgment was the opposite of the certified true copy of the same judgment.

Again, although criminal libel is a written law that can be located and read, it still did not make sense to many people. On the other hand, it is easy to appreciate civil defamation where anyone who was defamed could sue and be compensated for whatever damage was done. It is truly hard to convince people that Farotimi’s alleged defamation against Babalola should be punished as if he defamed every other person whose names he never mentioned in his book. Consequently, social media mob can never understand how the attack on a particular person’s reputation can adversely affect the reputation of another person who was not referred to in the statement that was considered to be defamatory.  For as long as it exists, criminal libel will always be perceived more as bad law.

From the above, it is obvious that decriminalizing libel in Nigeria is overdue. It is indeed one of the failings of our national assembly that obsolete colonial laws of sedition and criminal libel are still in our law books more than half a century after the colonialists who originated them had left Nigeria. The obsolete laws are no doubt an affront on free speech provided for by Section 39 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic 1999 and Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights Act. Each time this argument is presented, it is countered by the purpose of Section 45 of our constitution which recognizes that certain laws are reasonably justifiable in a democracy. Is it justifiably reasonable to take aspects of the law of sedition and incorporate them into the Cybercrimes act to harass citizens? Is it not repugnant to criminalize libel and equate an attack on a person’s reputation to an attack on government and the entire society? 

To make matters worse the procedure attached to criminal libel can hardly meet the course of justice making it clearly undesirable. What usually happens is that when a person files a petition, accusing someone of making a false or damaging statement against him or her, the accused is usually brutalized even before the case is determined or indeed before getting to the point of saying anything. In the case of Farotimi for example, he was placed on handcuffs, denied bail and imprisoned for no less than two weeks without any opportunity to even show that he can prove the truth of his allegation.  Yet, the law accepts truth as an absolute defence. Such a procedure can only be forcefully justified in a dictatorship and not a democracy.

Since we are no longer under colonial or military rule, it is important to repeal criminal libel so that a party that can win a case at the end is not first brutalized before the case starts just as the loser’s sanction comes only after conviction. Nigeria would certainly be better off if sufficient attention is paid to law reforms. One of the advantages of such is that it produces a uniform system of laws and justice delivery. The situation of a few states decriminalizing libel while the federal system remains stagnant is ill advisable. Besides, it is not in the interest of the nation to focus on yearly review of electoral act while obsolete colonial laws remain in our books. 

We have had ample time to change the situation. As far back as 1985 when former governor Jim Nwobodo sued one writer, Arthur Nwankwo over an article he wrote criticising the governor, Hon Justice Olatawura JCA made the following profound statements: “we are no longer the illiterates or the mob society our colonial masters had in mind when certain laws were promulgated. Let us not diminish from the freedom gained from our colonial masters by resorting to laws enacted by them to suit their purpose.” Instead, let us enjoy the freedom of democracy that at the same time abhors reckless statements that can hurt the reputation that some citizens have built over the years.

“It takes your enemy and your friend, working together, to hurt you: the one to slander you, and the other to bring the news to you” – Mark Twain, 1835-1910.

“It takes 20 years [or more] to make a reputation; and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’II do things differently” – Warren Buffett, 2022.

A few issues occur in our lives which call for more than one lead off quotation from sages. The legal battle pitching Pa Afe Babalola, SAN, against Barrister Dele Farotimi is one of them. I was startled the first time the statement by Twain came to my notice. It was probably in one of his classics, probably, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. It didn’t make sense to me then, only 21 years old. Since then, and now at 80+, it appears to be incomparable wisdom – when alleged libel or slander is involved.

A senior colleague once approached me to help find a good lawyer to prosecute a case of alleged defamation. First, I asked him one question: “Did you read the statement yourself?” He said “No, a friend read it”. My next question was: “How many people do you think would read it?” He was not sure. “Then, forget it.

Start a case and more people will go and read it”. He ignored my advice; went to court and he is still there eleven years after starting. The cases involved in the Babalola versus Farotimi legal war are destined to be tied up in courts for years to come. Furthermore, one or the two might be dead before the final verdicts at the Supreme Court. I have an idea who might not last the distance – irrespective of the merits of their case.

I might be wrong on this; but, it is quite possible that Pa Afe Babalola did not read Dele’s book until somebody else drew his attention to it. That was his friend; bringing the news to chief. Well, if that is the case, the “friend” had succeeded mightily in getting Pa very angry; to the point of litigation. But, he has also got thousands of people who would not have read the book to read it. I certainly would not have bothered; for the simple reason that the Nigerian judiciary has become a scandal in many respects – given their judgments.

Permit me to state upfront that I am not prejudging any of the multiple cases that would arise out of the legal warfare involving Pa Afe Babalola and lawyer Farotimi. I am quite contented to allow the justices assigned to handle them to do their work. To be quite candid, when cases like this come up, I am inclined to agree with Shakespeare once again that, “The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers”. Since the news of Farotimi’s arrest broke, I have read mountains of stuff sent to me by friends; who got the originals from lawyers from both sides. I am sick and tired of the legal cross-fire. Only one thing interests me in this matter; and that is consideration for Chief Babalola’s age. I would feel the same if it was Farotimi who is 95 years old.

My sympathy for Chief Babalola rests on the fact that this case will not end in a long time. Right now, the two combatants, like wrestlers on the Wild World of Wrestling, WWW, have acquired tag team partners, willingly or inadvertently, doing everything fair and foul to influence public opinion. Nothing suggests that they would limit themselves to just that and not mobilise corrupt police and judiciary officials. A lot of dirt, true or false, will be dug up and splashed around long before this fight is over – if nobody mediates it.

I strongly believe that regardless of the merits of the cases, Chief is at a social and political disadvantage. His powerful friends are far from popular; and they are reluctant to speak out on matters such as this. His adversaries, most of them who really are indifferent to the facts of the case, are deeply experienced in street fighting. They are numerous, unrelenting and vicious attackers. Blows below the belt will be delivered. As a friend writing for the BOSTON GLOBE told me in 1972, “If you dig deep enough into anybody’s past, you will find sh*t”.

The spades are out digging; and for at least one human reason. “You’ll find envy where there’s good fortune. There are people who will envy you if you’re happy” – Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, 1918-2008, VANGUARD BOOK OF QUOTATIONS, VBQ, p 49. Again, let me state upfront that the comments which follow don’t apply to Dele Farotimi – who might have a genuine grievance. It just happens to be a fact that successful people attract a great deal of envy. It is impossible to be a world champion without beating a lot of contestants.

Few competitors in any field of endeavour are gallant losers. Thousands of lawyers and litigants who lost cases against Chief Babalola would have their feelings assuaged by clinging to the idea, rightly or wrongly, that they were rigged out of justice. They have already judged this case. Nothing pleaded in the courts will persuade them if the verdict favours Chief Babalola. There’s another reason for which lawyers account in every case such as this.

“And, whether you’re a honest man or whether you’re a thief depends on whose solicitor has given me my brief” – Sir William Gilbert, 1836-1911, VBQ p 123. A clergyman, who detests lawyers as much as Shakespeare, repeatedly describes all of them as the devil’s advocates. For the right amount, they will defend the most heinous criminal and attempt to get him off the hook. It is, therefore, not surprising that they have lined up on the two sides ready for action. Lay men and women, like me, will have to wade through a lot of twaddle to obtain a viewpoint which can be rendered in one sentence.

EX-PARTE JUDGMENTS AND ORS

“Never go to excess; but, let moderation be your guide” -Cicero Though Oscar Wilde, had, with tongue in cheek, announced that “Moderation is a fatal thing. Nothing succeeds like excess”. I belong to the old school whose values align with those of Cicero in the belief that anything carried to excess is not good. Chief Babalola’s allies have taken steps which, at this stage of the case, are to me worrisome. The ex-parte judgment obtained, empowering them to seize copies of the book, if allowed to stand, will represent a questionable step. As a rule, and as a writer, five books so far, I regard ex-parte rulings injustice codified. I raised objections when the Bubari administration obtained an ex-parte injunction to proscribe the Shites and to arrest El-Zakzakky and his wife.

I am a Christian, but, to me fairness in any case starts with letting both parties be heard. Ex-parte applications deny fair hearing to one party; and can, therefore, not be just – irrespective of why and how it is obtained. Furthermore, the decisions impose punishment on a party which had not been allowed to defend himself. How, on Earth, can that be just? As it is, the court order is of severely limited value. It only inhibits Nigerians from going to bookshops to buy the book. That is small gain; in exchange for great damage. Nigerians don’t buy a lot of books. Most of the sales will be abroad. It is doubtful if the Inspector General of Police, IGP, will travel to the US, or Europe to stop the sale of the books there. Meanwhile, the entire step smacks of bullying using the judiciary as an accomplice and creating sympathy for the other side.

Similarly, asking that Dele Farotimi be dis-barred before the original suit has been decided is even more perplexing. The question here is: Which court of law has convicted him of any crime which could call for such action? The case is still too fresh for that. I understand how Pa Babalola feels on this matter. Rightly or wrongly, he feels disgraced and wants the offender punished severely. But, Chief grew up in the age when Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice was widely read in schools. He should remember what happened to the man who asked for his “pound of flesh close to the heart”. A legal victory, if secured in his life time, might be outweighed by social repercussions which nullify the results. It might be a pyrrhic victory.

BADENOCH IS A POLITICIAN

“Politicians neither love nor hate” – Babylonian Valmud BReW

So much energy and time has been spent by Nigerians on what Keni Badenoch, the UK Tory leader, said about Nigeria. Most of it is emotional and meant for domestic consumption. It will in no way affect the next election in the UK. As far as I am concerned, the young lady is a politician – who, like others, will gladly piss on Mum and Dad; if it will help win the next election. That’s all.

One of the most distressing acts in the suppression of democratic expression since the advent of the Fourth Republic was the inconsiderate lock-out of 14 elected members of the Edo State House of Assembly in 2019.

After winning their elections in the 2019 General Election, the 14 elected members were refused inauguration in an egregious act of democratic perfidy that prayerfully should not be equaled in Nigeria.

Shockingly, the nation kept mute as Governor Godwin Obaseki in a visible validation of accusations of intolerance, nay lack of self-confidence, reportedly formed a ring to keep perceived political naysayers away from parliament.

Interestingly, the refusal to inaugurate the 14 members of the House reduced the 24-member legislative body to a 10-member body.

The bone of contention as speculated was Governor Obaseki’s fear that the 14 members-elect refused to heed his choice of a speaker. The 14 members-elect it was alleged, were aligned to Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, the very man who groomed Obaseki and many of the 14 for political office.

 Obaseki known for his reprise of “I am governor, I am governor,” is today no longer governor. Commendably, the man who is governor today, Senator Monday Okpebholo has vowed to investigate that violent disruption of the governance space that forced 14 constituencies to go without representation for four years.

It is expected that the enquiry should come up with strict sanctions against all those who collaborated with “I am governor, I am governor” to truncate the democratic expression of the 14 different constituencies.

How one man sitting in his office can willfully exclude 14, nay, the majority of the constituencies from parliament and the country watched agape, goes a long way to show how laid-back Nigerians are.

The judiciary which should have been the resort of the aggrieved 14 members-elect was not spared as Governor Obaseki in his fantasies as political overlord refused to inaugurate some of the judges recommended for appointment by the National Judicial Council, NJC.

Thankfully, just as the 14 members elect are getting ‘delayed’ justice from Governor Okpebholo, those justices are also getting justice.

In the light of the vagaries seen in the eight years of “I am governor, I am governor” it is shocking that Governor Okpebholo is in his first month in office being drawn into desecrating the political configuration of Edo State.

His exemplification of Obaseki in the recent suspension of the 18 elected local government chairmen is to say the least inexcusable irrespective of the candour and the fresh air he has brought to the polity in Edo State.

The suspension by the Edo State House of Assembly followed a petition in which the governor claimed that the 18 elected chairmen refused to submit details of their accounts to him.

The instruction to submit the accounts was given through his deputy, Dennis Idahosa when the chairmen paid a courtesy visit to welcome him to office. The governor apparently knowing what was in his mind and not wanting to look them in the face given the popular claim that he is a good man, passed the instruction through his deputy.

 Whatever, there is no basis for a governor to demand the accounts of a local government from a chairman. It is just like the president ordering state governors to submit their state accounts to him.

Nigeria must trudge the path of respect for the constitution. Indeed, each political actor must learn to live within his or her space. Just as the governor was elected by a constituency, the local government chairmen were elected by their respective constituencies and must not be subjected to the impulses of any political actor, governor or not.

It is interesting that despite its own foibles, that the Bola Tinubu administration has demonstrated courage in tackling governors on their overlordship of local governments.

The July Supreme Court judgment, untidy as it is, is a beckon to redress the lethargy in our local governments.

Remarkably, the Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi has boldly rejected the suspension of the local government chairmen in Edo State.

It may look inhospitable for Governor Okpebholo to tolerate the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP local government chairmen, especially given the rogue election that brought them to power. But the fact is that the elections that brought them to power were not judicially overturned.

Political actors everywhere must learn to tolerate one another and must not because of political fads violate the letters of the constitution to achieve personal goals.

The imprint of the constitution is that the system of democratically elected local governments is guaranteed. It must not be vitiated by anyone, no matter how popular such a person may be.

Obaseki’s politics was particularly noxious, a fact epitomized by his pitiful isolation at the INEC headquarters, the night his successor was chosen. But throwing away his baby and the bathwater is not the way to go.

2024 is about to drop into the archives of history. The year has had some significant moments and developments that provide a good indication of things to come in the New Year.

On the eve of 2025, from my observatory high up in the hills of Wasimi, I can testify that life has been manifesting in accordance to the unchangeable Universal law of action and reaction (not reward and punishment), reaping as one sows. Nigeria reaped only as much as the country sowed in sports.

In 2024, I took my time to observe the country a little bit closer than usual, even if my view is rather narrow looking at everything through the microscopic lens of sports. I saw politics, religion, governance, diplomacy, education, culture, youth matters, health, leisure, sport, etc. all intertwining, creating my greatest and clearest awareness of the inter connectivity of life as one seamless experience ‘divided’ in ‘compartments’ by humanity only for the convenience of better understanding of the complex, perpetual ‘machine’ of existence.

So, looking through that prism, how did Nigeria fare in sports in 2024? A few specific events tell the rest of the story.

AFCON 2023 and Nigerian football
The year started on an uncertain note. Nigeria’s biggest international brand, the Super Eagles, were at the lowest ebb of their confidence with poor performances and results throughout 2023 as a depressant. Against all expectations, come AFCON 2023 (played in 2024); they surprised even themselves, treating the entire country to some good performances that took the team, deservedly, all the way to the finals in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire.

The team could have won the most coveted trophy in African football at the start of the year but for one or two unfortunate moments during the final match that changed the tide in favour of the more determined and luckier Ivorian.

Worthy of note is that Nigeria still produced Africa’s Player of 2023 after a very long time in the doldrums of African football greats. Victor Osimhen’s rise as the biggest star of AFCON 2023 must have been a watershed for Nigerian players.

Although, the pressure of expectation mounted by the public must have weighed him down, he still treated the fans to a few isolated moments of brilliance.

Unfortunately, he did not leave the championship with a single moment of a truly outstanding performance throughout the championship. His smoke had no fire!

Yet, the championship birthed two new Nigeria heroes – ‘Captain Marvel’ William Troost-Ekong and the revelation of the year, Ademola Lookman who shone like a million stars through most of the matches until the final game against home team Cote D’Ivoire where his bright light was dimmed.

For coming second, against the run of all expectations, the Super Eagles were lavishly rewarded by the government of Nigeria with a heroic welcome and rewards unmatched in the country’s football history. Each player received a National Honour, a plot of land, a house in Abuja and an undisclosed financial bonus.

Since then, until arriving at the eve of the year’s end, the Eagles have oscillated between good and poor performances, with the issue of a permanent coach for the team still unresolved and Nigeria’s chances at the 2026 hanging in the balance.

At the tail end of the year, however, the emergence of Nigeria’s Ademola Lookman as the African Player of 2024 underlines Nigeria’s improving profile in Africa, and is an indication of a brighter future for the team into 2025! Until now, the country has not had two different back-to-back winners of that coveted award.

The Olympics Games

Mid-2024, Nigeria went to the Paris Olympic Games with very high expectations of returning with a few medals. After all, the country had in its fold the fastest woman over the 100 meters hurdles in the world (Tobi Amusan) as well as one of the best female long jumpers (Ese Brume). Between both of them, the country assumed a ‘sure-banker’ medal.

When both failed to win any medals, and no other Nigerian athlete could raise their game and spirit to Olympian heights, the country went into depression and anger set in. It was clear that something had to give for the people to be appeased and the dwindling spirit of Nigerians in sport to be revived.

Towards the end of the year, the federal government changed the guards at the helm of Nigerian sports. The pending matter of the National Sports Commission, NSC, as the preferred structure for Nigeria’s sports development (from previous varied experiences) was dusted. The federal government abolished the Ministry of Sports Development and announced the re-introduction of the National Sports Commission.

Unfortunately, in Nigeria’s sports story, there were two variants of the NSC – one with a sole administrator at the top, and the other with a board of members drawn from critical stakeholders.

One was a failure, and the other, the greatest success story in sports development in Nigeria’s history. It is no rocket science that two heads are better than one, particularly in a field where everyone claims to be an expert and arrogantly insists their way is the only way. The NSC with board of members is what was prescribed and what is needed.

So far, the new NSC is fundamentally a change in name and leadership only. The issue of a commission of board members serving as think-tank and clearing house is still pending! It is foolhardy to expect a different result from a previous failed system, even with new leaders with good credentials driving it.

The Military and Nigerian Sports
The return of the military establishment to national sports consciousness is an interesting development of 2024. The African Military Games, hosted by Nigeria in October 2024 has revived a forgotten tradition where the military played a very significant role in the development of sports in the country.

Hosting the Games in Abuja also opened up new vistas of possibilities for reviving the national sports facilities in the Federal Capital Territory, reminding everyone of the successful practice of involving the military as bona fide members of the Nigerian sports architecture. The success of the games has become a blueprint for future hosting of major international events, an essential catalyst for development.

In 2025, the relationship between the National Sports Commission and the Military would be interesting to observe.

Other sports and the future

Otherwise, in 2024, with all other sports, there is really nothing huge and transformative to report. The sports federations are still grappling with how to generate funds to run their programmes, how to elect genuine sports leaders, how to work and share responsibilities with government, and so on. These are issues that the board of the new NSC should interrogate and provide answers to in 2025.

In 2025, Nigeria must now start to look beneath the surface of things, at the crux of matters, at the opportunities… and start to think and dream big.

The rest of the world (except Nigerians themselves) knows Nigeria’s potentials as a great force in the world in virtually all fields. The Universe has endowed the country with raw materials waiting to be nurtured and deployed to yield rich harvests.

It will not be easy. It will not be a stroll in the park. Considering the squandered riches and opportunities in the past, it will take passing through the crucible of fire, hard decisions and hard choices, pain and sacrifice, to reset the buttons of proper development and for Nigeria to assume its rightful place again in the world.

It takes looking beneath the surface of things, beneath the current hardships that must be endured, riding on the crest of self-belief, fearless against the tide of external opposition and distractions, and making development from home in Nigeria a priority strategy, for the path to a bright future to be illuminated once again.

Nigeria is heading where no one can claim to have been before. It will be sheer arrogance for anyone in sport to think or claim that theirs is the only way to Nigeria’s future emergence as a global player in sports. Such humility is what is needed from 2025.

Human rights lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) has decried the loss of over 105 lives in stampedes during food and cash distribution events in Nigeria, attributing the tragedies to “poverty-induced neoliberal economic policies” and “criminal negligence.”

In a statement released on Sunday, Falana, who chairs the Alliance on Surviving COVID-19 and Beyond (ASCAB), detailed the incidents and called for justice.

“These tragic events are a national shame,” he said. “The victims were not just statistics but human beings driven to desperation by systemic poverty and the gross incompetence of those entrusted with their safety.”

The latest tragedies occurred on December 21, 2024. In Okija, Anambra State, 12 people died, and 32 others were injured during a scramble for rice distributed by a philanthropist. On the same day, a stampede at Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Maitama, Abuja, claimed 10 lives, including children, as over 3,000 people jostled for palliatives.

Two days earlier, on December 19, 35 children were crushed to death at a Christmas funfair in Ibadan, Oyo State. The tragedy unfolded as the event began at Islamic High School, Basorun. “The loss of these innocent lives is heart-wrenching,” Falana said. “It underscores the indignity that poverty imposes on our people.”

In April 2024, nine people died in Sokoto at the residence of former governor Aliyu Wamakko during a chaotic palliative distribution. Similarly, in March 2024, seven people, including an eight-year-old girl, lost their lives at a charity event in Bauchi where ₦5,000 cash gifts were being distributed. Days earlier, two students died and 23 were injured during a state government palliative distribution at Nasarawa State University, Keffi.

The grim pattern dates back to May 22, 2022, when 30 people died in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, at a church charity event marred by overcrowding.

Falana criticised the elite for their treatment of the poor during such events. “No member of the elite invites others to lunch by throwing the food,” he remarked, condemning what he described as “class prejudice” in humanitarian aid distribution.

The Alliance on Surviving COVID-19 and Beyond announced plans to mobilise lawyers to pursue civil suits against organisers of these events. “We will ensure survivors and families of the deceased are adequately compensated,” Falana said. “Those responsible for these avoidable tragedies must be held accountable.”

He also called on the government to take decisive action to prevent further loss of lives.

“Enough is enough!” he declared. “These events reflect the harsh realities of inequality in our nation and the urgent need for systemic reforms to protect the dignity and lives of our citizens.”

Falana’s statement serves as a rallying cry for justice and reform, spotlighting Nigeria’s deepening poverty crisis and the human cost of neglect.