Arike Ogunbowale, the American basketball player of Nigerian descent, was voted the most valuable player (MVP) of the 2024 WNBA all-star game following her team WNBA 117 – 109 victory over Team USA at Footprint Center, Phoenix, in the early hours of Sunday.

Ogunbowale had zero points in the first half before posting a record 34 points in the second half of the keenly contested encounter against the Olympics-bound Team USA.

The Dallas Wings sharpshooter converted eight of 13 three-pointers en route to the MVP award; the second after claiming her first honour in 2021.

Her latest MVP award sees her join the trio of Lisa Leslie, Maya Moore, and Swin Cash as the only players with multiple MVPs in the all-star games.

Ogunbowale scored 21 points in the third quarter — which is the most points in a single quarter in WNBA all-star game history.

She also added five assists in a blistering second-half performance.

Speaking after the match, Ogunbowale said an inspiring half-time team talk by coach Cheryl Miller was the catalyst for her record-breaking performance.

“I wasn’t expecting her [coach Miller] to say my name. She just told me to take a deep breath and play my game,” she said.

“I guess you guys saw what happened.”

Ogunbowale has always finished as a top-five shooter in the WNBA since her draft pick to the Dallas Wings in 2019. She has featured in over 180 games in her five-year WNBA history.

WHO IS ARIKE OGUNBOWALE?

Arike was born to Nigerian parents Yolanda and Gregory Ogunbowale on March 2, 1997, in Milwaukee, the United States. The 27-year-old is the youngest of three children.

The basketball star is of Yoruba descent and her name means “a child you treasure, cherish, pamper, and love” in the Yoruba language. Her father served in the Nigerian military.

[TheCable]

DOES Senator Ali Ndume, former Senate Chief Whip, lack table manners, or those he was eating with thought that enjoyment would immunise him against the anger and hunger in the land? Ndume did nothing extraordinary in pointing out that while they feast, compatriots cannot get crumbs.
That he lost his seat as a punishment for drawing the attention of the President to the fact that people were hungry, and that the land was brimming with anger is another indication that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is fully after his welfare alone. His acolytes understand this and run after matters that attend to the needs of a President that many thought had passed the age of scrambling for virtually everything.

Nigerians are hungry. Sending trailer loads of food to the States will not scratch the issues. How many trailer loads of imported grains will we need to feed how many millions of Nigerians? For how long? Does Nigeria even have the money?
Who need the food most? How are we sure that it gets to them? Are we preparing to agonise all over again as we did when billions of Naira voted for palliatives during Covid-19 simply disappeared into private funnels? An identified beneficiary of the Covid-19 pillage has just been nominated to an office where money flows like an ocean.

We need food. We need security. The tangentiality of the notoriously anomalous debates on food and security end up neither addressing food nor security. Our farmers are willing to farm. The land is still fertile but bandits, herdsmen, and kidnappers are keeping farmers off the land. Has government forgotten this?

While thinking about silencing people as solutions to the challenges of Nigeria, I remembered Paul Simon’s 1964 epic folk rock song, Sound Of Silence. Excerpts from the lyrics:
And in the naked light, I saw Ten thousand people, maybe more People talking without speaking People hearing without listening People writing songs that voices never shared And no one dared Disturb the sound of silence “Fools” said I, “You do not know Silence like a cancer grows Hear my words that I might teach you Take my arms that I might reach you” But my words, like silent raindrops fell And echoed in the wells of silence And the people bowed and prayed To the neon god they made And the sign flashed out its warning In the words that it was forming Then the sign said, “The words on the prophets are written on the subway walls In tenement halls” And whispered in the sound of silence.

The purr of a new jet, the superficiality of the President thinking that a new jet and other luxuries he has immersed himself in are what his presidency is about, produce their own silence that deducts his humanity and makes him think Nigerians cannot possibly be so hungry in the midst of his own vastly improving life. If he had not understood his office only in terms of his well-being, he would dread the sound of silence.

•DAN Bilki Commander, a Kano-based, All Progressives Congress chieftain, has accused Kaduna State Governor, His Excellency, Uba Sani of being behind those who handcuffed and caned him for criticising Uba. “They videoed me while beating and abusing me. I was humiliated to the core,” Commander said. A video of the beating went viral. Governor Sani has denied involvement and ordered an investigation.

•THE parish priest of St. Bartholomew’s Catholic Church, Agbani, Nkanu West Local Government Area of Enugu State, Rev Father Linus Okwu, allegedly flogged choir members including mothers, young men, ladies and teenagers for failing to cut the grass on the church’s field. July could be the month of beating and flogging.

•NO tears, some insist, for impeached Edo State Deputy Governor Philip Shaibu who the Court of Appeal has returned to office. On a television programme, Shaibu was ridiculed about his insistence on Governor Godwin Obaseki obeying the court order. Only the Governor, the arguments run, can decide who his deputy is. Where does that leave the courts and their powers? It is not about Shaibu who is barely likeable. It is about the ability of our courts to protect and secure our rights. Already, a policeman has been gunned down without the campaigns in full gear.

•Isiguzo is a major commentator on minor issues

President Bola Tinubu extends his condolences to the government and the people of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam over the passing of General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng.

Nguyễn Phú Trọng was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam. As head of the Politburo and Central Military Commission, he was the leader of Vietnam. He also served as President from 2018 to 2021.

President Tinubu also commiserates with the widow of the late Vietnamese leader, Madam Ngô Thị Mận.

The President expresses his profound sympathy over the loss, noting the huge influence and efforts of the deceased leader in shaping Vietnam.

President Tinubu assures the people of Vietnam of Nigeria's solidarity at this time of grief.

Chief Ajuri Ngelale

Special Adviser to the President

(Media & Publicity)

Senator Ali Ndume was the Chief Whip of the Senate. His party (APC)—being the majority party—has recently received many whips from Ndume whose bluntness on the Nigeria’s state of affairs is well known. Though his bluntness is well received by the suffering masses, the government in which he is a key actor cannot bear Ndume’s whip anymore.

Ndume has been saying the unsayable. He has been discomforting his colleagues at the National Assembly by speaking the hard truth. The Tinubu’s suffering-for-all government is not happy with an insider who behaves like a fifth columnist. He must be cut to size. To do that, Ndume’s whip was taken away from him. The Chief Whip who was assigned to whip was whipped for whipping (doing his job) by those he called kakistocrats and kleptocrats.

What was Ndume’s offence? He said the obvious: “This government is going down.””This government is populated by kakistocrats and kleptocrats.””I don’t believe he (President Tinubu)is in the true picture of what is out there.”He also claimed the President is being shielded to the extent that people like him, and even some ministers, cannot have audience with him (Tinubu).

Aside from shielding Tinubu, according to Ndume, the kakistocrats and kleptocrats around him continue to give him assurance that everything is right out there. These people must be dangerous. But who are these Kakistocrats and kleptocrats? Ndume did not mention them and there is no need to do so since they are many—it is a long list.

But we learnt, through dictionaries, that Kakistocrats are worst and least qualified citizens who control government and make policies. No wonder the masses cannot breathe! The kleptocrats are said to be corrupt and dishonest people in government who can steal anything (stealable or not stealable) due to their greediness which is essentially pathological. It is no surprise the government is going down!

Now that our President is surrounded by clowns (if Ndume is right), what is the way out? Ndume advised that the President needs those who will look into his eyes and tell him the truth. But telling the truth to a government that is populated by kakistocrats and kleptocrats is like committing suicide. That is exactly what Ndume did and the whip slipped off his hand.

Citing some cases to buttress his point, Ndume explained that President Tinubu, whom he had known for many years, has a listening ear and bows to superior argument. I don’t know how to agree with Ndume on this. What kind of superior argument? To inflict more pain or to abate hardship?

Perhaps, the superior argument Ndume had in mind during the interview has to do with how to inflict the most traumatizing pain on the masses. I wonder how and why President Tinubu was/is influenced by the “superior argument” that palliative—which is meant to be a temporary measure—should be a permanent feature of his government to abate sufferings in the land. And this is a government supposedly populated by technocrats, best brains, and best minds.

However, going by what has become the lots of MOST Nigerians under this regime, it is logical to conclude that Tinubu government, despite the sterling credentials of its appointees, is actually populated by kakistocrats and kleptocrats. On this, Ndume is right.

But isn’t Ndume also a kakistocrat and a kleptocrat? I don’t know if he had turned a new leaf. When he was interviewed two months ago on Channels TV, he said: “We politicians (even if you call us anything) if you compare us to all the corruption, our own is a very small one. Our corruption is people driven. You steal all the money, you go and share it to the people.”

From the interview quote above, it is obvious that Ndume fits the definition of kleptocrat. It is possible he is not a kakistocrat. Even as a kleptocrat, he must be a benevolent one. Because the stealing and corruption Ndume engages in is a people-driven one. Don’t laugh! And due to his ability to speak the truth even when that is against his party (the ruling party), shows that Ndume is qualified to be the best among the worst people we elected as leaders but choose to rule us. For speaking on behalf of the masses in this trying time where no one is willing to speak among the ruling class, Ndume deserves our thumbs up. I cannot hide my admiration for him.

As it is, in most cases, with those in government, any criticism against them is considered sponsored criticism. Disturbed about the battered image of this government which many consider worst in Nigerian history, Ndume claimed he asked those in the presidency if they are aware that people are angry and of what the youth are planning to do (to revolt).The response he got, Ndume lamented, was “yes,”—they are aware—”it is the work of opposition.”

If it is true that Tinubu is being told “all is well” and he is oblivious of the hardship in the land, it is better for the youth to tell him that all is not well. I am aware that some Muslim clerics (whether paid by government or not paid) are condemning this youth who want to cry (protest)—which is the natural reaction to being whipped—under the unceasing whip of this government. Rather than condemn the youth, let’s guide them on how to cry (protest). It is both democratic and constitutional to protest.

That said, let’s join Ndume to tell this government that all is not well! This government is going down!

Abdulkadir Salaudeen

The President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has announced that the company will abandon its plans to enter Nigeria’s steel industry to avoid being branded a monopoly. 

Dangote made this disclosure in a statement on Saturday while addressing journalists at his refinery in Lagos.  

The business tycoon explained that the company’s board decided to avoid the steel industry to prevent accusations of attempting to monopolize it.  

Furthermore, he noted that pursuing this venture would involve encouraging the importation of raw materials from overseas, which contradicts the firm’s core mandate. 

“You know, about doing a new business which we announced, that is, the steel.  

“Actually, our own board has decided that we shouldn’t do the steel because if we do the steel business, we will be called all sorts of names like monopoly. And then also, imports will be encouraged. So we don’t want to go into that,” he said. 

Dangote, however, urged other Nigerians to invest in the industry to help boost the country’s economy. 

“Let other Nigerians go and do it. We are not the only Nigerians here. There are some Nigerians with more cash than us. They should bring that money from Dubai and other parts of the world and invest in our own fatherland,” the CEO added. 

Backstory 

In June, Nairametrics reported that Aliko Dangote said his company plans to delve into steel production in the near future stating that he wants to ensure that every steel used in West Africa comes from Nigeria. 

He noted that the next venture after the refinery project would be in steel manufacturing and ensure that all steel products used in West Africa come from Nigeria. 

“I don’t like people coming to take our solid minerals to process and bring the finished product. We should try and industrialise our continent and take it to the next level. 

“I told somebody we are not going to take any break. What we are trying to do is to make sure at least in West Africa, we want to make sure that every single steel that we use will come from Nigeria”, Dangote said at that time.  

What you should know 

Nigeria has tried unsuccessfully to become a leader in the steel manufacturing industry with a handful of failed projects like the Ajaokuta steel plant, Delta Steel Company, Osogbo and Jos rolling mills even under government and private ownership. 

Like the oil refineries, the federal government under different administrations has spent billions trying to put the local steel plants to work but has been unsuccessful.  

The administration of President Bola Tinubu had promised during the campaigns to ensure steel production starts in the multi-billion-dollar Ajaokuta steel complex. 

Dangote investment in the industry might have been a game changer, attracting more capital and economic opportunity to the sector.  

However, with the recent revelation and decision from the African richest man, the steel industry may still linger in the shadow of underinvestment for years to come.  

[Nairametrics]

Naija News reports that NiMet’s weather forecast, released on Saturday in Abuja, indicates that thunderstorms are likely on Sunday, with showers affecting areas in Adamawa, Taraba, Borno, Kebbi, Kaduna, Gombe, and Yobe States early in the day.

By midday, thunderstorms are expected to spread across the northern areas, and showers are projected for the North Central region in the early morning.

Later in the day, there will be a mix of moderate thunderstorms and rainfall over parts of the Federal Capital Territory, Plateau, Benue, and Kogi States. There will also be scattered showers in the morning across Ondo, Ogun, Edo, Bayelsa, Cross River, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, and Delta States.

By the afternoon and evening, scattered showers are expected over Osun, Oyo, Ekiti, Anambra, Enugu, Edo, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Rivers, and Bayelsa States.

On Monday, heavy rains are expected in the morning in Kebbi, Sokoto, Bauchi, Kaduna, Borno, Taraba, and Katsina States.

The following day, there will be a mix of moderate thunderstorms and showers in Jigawa, Kebbi, Kaduna, Sokoto, Borno, Zamfara, Yobe, Adamawa, and Katsina States.

Showers are also projected for the Federal Capital Territory and Plateau States in the morning, with more moderate thunderstorms and showers later in the day in the Federal Capital Territory, Niger, and Kogi States. Showers are expected to be scattered in the morning across Edo, Rivers, and Delta States, while the southern regions will see cloudy skies.

On Tuesday, morning thunderstorms with rain are predicted for Yobe, Adamawa, Borno, and Taraba States, while thunderstorms are expected across the northern region later in the day.

Rain is anticipated in the Federal Capital Territory, Niger, and Kwara States in the morning, with cloudy skies in other areas.

In the afternoon or evening, intermittent rain is forecasted in the Federal Capital Territory, Kwara, and Niger States. Morning rain is expected in Edo, Delta, Imo, and Anambra States, with cloudy conditions in the rest of the south.

Later in the day, intermittent rain is predicted in Ondo, Edo, Osun, Ekiti, Oyo, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Delta, and Bayelsa States.

NiMet advises the public to take precautions as strong winds may precede the rain in areas with thunderstorms.

The agency warns residents to avoid flood-prone areas due to the high risk of urban flooding in major cities.

The public and airline operators are also encouraged to stay informed through NiMet’s weather updates for effective planning.

[NaijaNews]

Senator Ali Ndume, lawmaker representing Borno South, is obviously not done with his criticism of President Bola Tinubu.

His criticism of the president had led to his removal as Chief Whip of the Nigerian Senate.

His party had also asked him to quit and join an opposition party of his choice.

The lawmaker had accepted his removal in good fate, vowing not to stop telling the truth to power.

During an interactive session with journalists, Ndume was asked to comment on the N70,000 minimum wage which Tinubu convinced labour to accept.

“People are suffering, people are angry, people are not happy. I am happy that yesterday, the president agreed with NLC to increase the salary to N70,000, which is a good move, but it takes more than that because, realistically, that is like a bag of rice, money that will buy a bag of rice or cover the cost of a bag of rice.”

“So, I call on the president to still open up and listen to the people,” the lawmaker said.

Earlier, the lawmaker had described his action as patriotic, advising President Tinubu to listen to the cries of Nigerians and immediately address the concerned areas.

“I insist it is unpatriotic to stand by the president in whichever or whatever he does. It is patriotic to speak the truth not only to the president but also to anybody, for that matter. It is unpatriotic not to speak the truth to power or anybody and I still stand by that. In doing so, it is also known that God is always with the person that speaks the truth.

“So, I know that I am not wrong. The people are not wrong by speaking the truth and standing by the truth, and I pray that the president, who is now – I expect that the message has gotten to him – to look at what I have said and take appropriate measures to eliminate the sufferings of the people.”

Nigeria’s former Minister of Sports and Youth Development, Solomon Dalung has said that President Bola Tinubu and his ‘locust cabal’ love only the wealth of Nigeria.

Dalung also berated Bayo Onanuga, a presidential spokesperson, for claiming that the proposed nationwide protest against bad governance is meant to destabilize the country.

The former Minister in a post on his X handle on Saturday said that Onanuga’s statement was not only uncharitable but wicked.

According to him, “the generation of Nigerians demanding for good governance, accountability and justice are more entitled to Nigeria than the group of scavengers occupying power.”

Dalung insisted that the proposed protest is sacrosanct, saying it is to demand accountability from those who are destroying Nigeria’s common heritage.

His words: “Make no mistake about it, we love our country but @officialABAT and his locust cabal love only the wealth of Nigeria.

“The protests are to demand for accountability from those who are destroying our common heritage. Nigerians have nowhere to go but @officialABAT has France, while others have Europe, Canada and USA.

“Therefore @aonanuga1956 calling out Nigerians as those planning to destabilize Nigeria is not only uncharitable but wicked.

“The generation of Nigerians demanding for good governance, accountability and justice are more entitled to Nigeria than the group of scavengers occupying power. Take it to the bank, the protests are sacrosanct.

“Deploying antics of divide and rule will not only fail but antiquitated. The only antidote to the protests is for @officialABAT and his cult of plunderers to surrender to the demands of the people.

“The fear of the protests degenerating into anarchy is evil imaginations of your mind calculated at abating holding the government responsible. All we are demanding is good governance, which is not too much.”

[DailyPost]

Wife of former President, Chief (Mrs) Bola Obasanjo has urged parents and guardians to invest in the future of their children by giving them quality education at all levels to enhance their chances of being useful to themselves and society.

Mrs. Obasanjo said that given the current challenging times, parents and guardians should be more strategic in spending and set priorities right to make the task of educating their children and wards feasible and less burdensome, stressing that if the plans to buy the next cars or build a second house could stand in the way of children’s education, they should not hesitate to jettison such plans.

She advised at the weekend during the 12th Anniversary and Graduation Ceremony of Lyceum Schools with the theme “Global Reach Within Local Realities” held at Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL) Abeokuta, the Ogun State.

Obasanjo, who praised the parents and guardians for sending their children to Lyceum schools despite the rising cost of living, charged them not to relent in their efforts as they would reap the fruit of their labours in life

She also urged Nigerian parents and guardians not to use the current hardships in the country as an excuse to remove their children from schools, expressing the hope that things would get better if they don’t give up on them

“Whatever education we give to our children, it is our backbone and we need to lift them. We should invest in their future with this economy and not in building houses and buying cars. May Almighty God lift their hands and continue to provide and bless their parents,” Obasanjo noted.

Head of Schools, Mrs Maureen Ola-Williams admonished parents and guardians to teach the children to be respectful to teachers and their elders in the society as well as having good characters that would guide their paths to a better tomorrow.

[TheNation]

Donald Trump commanded the stage for nearly two hours Saturday in his first rally since a gunman tried to kill him last week, with a fiery, rambling speech to thousands of passionate supporters.

Here are five takeaways from the vision painted by the Republican presidential nominee for the United States:

‘Shoveling ballots into wheelbarrows’ –

Last week’s Republican National Convention notably downplayed Trump’s persistent lie that the 2020 election, which he lost to Democrat Joe Biden, was stolen from him.

“The Radical Left Democrats rigged the presidential election in 2020 and we’re not going to allow them to rig the presidential election in 2024,” he said, in just one of his references to voter fraud.

“We want a landslide that is too big to rig,” he added later.

He warned those who voted early to “follow your vote” and insisted that 2020 saw some states “shoveling ballots into wheelbarrows, moving them around.”

And the crowd cheered as he called on them to “Fight, fight, fight.”

That evoked both the moments after his attempted assassination last Saturday — when, bloodied and surrounded by Secret Service agents, he raised a fist in the air and shouted “fight” — and his comments before the 2021 Capitol riot, when he warned supporters “if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.”

 ‘I’m not an extremist at all’ –

Trump also again disavowed Project 2025, a shadow manifesto characterized by opponents as an authoritarian, right-wing wish list.

“The other side is going around trying to make me sound extreme … I’m not an extremist at all,” he complained.

The sweeping blueprint from the hardline Heritage Foundation to remake the federal government in Trump’s image was created by “the radical right… they’re seriously extreme,” he said, insisting “I don’t know what the hell it is.”

The official Republican platform ratified at the Milwaukee convention is less conservative than Project 2025 in several areas, including abortion and entitlements.

But many of the more extreme proposals in the Heritage Foundation handbook are indistinguishable from Trump’s remarks at his rallies and his own video statements, while Democrats say members of his inner circle have been linked to it.

Still Trump insisted the idea that he is a “threat to democracy” is “misinformation.”

“Last week, I took a bullet for democracy,” he said.

-‘Stupid’ Biden –

Trump also laid in to the crisis engulfing rival Biden’s candidacy, as Democrats fearing that at 81 the president is too old to serve for another four years pressure him to step off the ticket.

“They have no idea who they candidate is … Sort of interesting, this guy goes and he gets the votes and now they want to take it away. That’s democracy,” Trump said in Michigan.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, he said, had turned on the president “like a dog.”

Branding Biden “stupid” and “a low-IQ individual,” he also denigrated Vice President Kamala Harris — who, if the president steps aside, is in a strong position to take over — as “crazy.”

Trump again touted his relationships with autocrats around the globe, insisting of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un that getting along had made the United States safer.

“All he wants to do is buy nuclear weapons and make them,” he said of Kim.

“I said, just relax, chill. You’ve got enough. You got, you got so much nuclear weapons, so much, I said, just relax… let’s go to a baseball game.”

He called Hungarian President Viktor Orban a “very powerful leader” and again insisted that, had he been US leader, President Vladimir Putin of Russia would never have invaded Ukraine in 2022.

And he said he received a “beautiful note” after the assassination attempt from President Xi Jinping of China, calling him a “great guy.”

He said he had told reporters that Xi was “a brilliant man. He controls 1.4 billion people with an iron fist.”

– ‘Migrant crime’ –

Trump also unleashed a litany of threats against illegal migrants, decrying an “invasion” over the US border and again suggesting that Democrats were allowing it to happen in hope of using their votes.

On day one of his return to the Oval Office, he promised to launch “largest deportation operation in the history of our country.

“When I return to the White House, we will stop the plunder, rape, slaughter and destruction of our American suburb cities,” he continued.

“We’re going to get the bad ones out. We’re going to get them out immediately. It’s not going to take long.”

He promised to “crush migrant crime” and complained that countries such as Venezuela are “dumping their criminals into the United States of America, and we’re not going to take it anymore.”

AFP