During his cross-examination of Michael Cohen on Thursday, Donald Trump’s attorney shouted at witness Michael Cohen, “You lied!” It was a moment that received breathless attention from the media, which attached great significance to the defense claim that Cohen omitted part of a call he made to Keith Schiller, Trump’s security aide, in October 2016 – almost eight years ago. The evidence showed that Cohen had asked Schiller for help in dealing with a threatening text messenger (who later claimed to be 14-year-old).  

Cohen had not mentioned that exchange with Schiller while being questioned by the prosecution.  He had testified to that being a call when he asked Schiller to hand his phone to Trump, who did not have his own cell phone. This was the crucial exchange, using Schiller’s phone, when Trump told Cohen weeks before Election Day, to go ahead and pay Stormy Daniels the $130,000 to keep her quiet.

Missed in the hype by talking heads on cables of this dramatic “Perry Mason moment” was the fact that the Trump lawyer’s melodramatic shout was not evidence to be considered by the jury. Just a lawyer shouting. Also missed was reporting on the most crucial document in the entire trial – the Weisselberg Document, which has been introduced into evidence and will be studied by the jury.

Here is what it shows:

• In Allen Weisselberg’s own handwriting, a memo shows that a total of $210,000 was to be reimbursed to Michael Cohen for money owed to him by Donald Trump, including the $130,000 in hush money Cohen paid to Stormy Daniels on Trump’s behalf because he was worried her revelations would harm his campaign (according to Trump friend David Pecker and top Trump aide Hope Hicks, among others).
• That total $210,000 was then doubled by Weisselberg on the document, equaling $420,000. (Doubling so that Cohen can pay income taxes on the total “reimbursement” at an estimated 50% tax bracket and be made whole.)
• Then Weisselberg, a former executive in the Trump Organization, does the elementary school math to arrive at Trump’s monthly installment payments over a year to repay Cohen – $420,000/12 equals $35,000 per month, the amount of the checks almost all of which Trump wrote to Cohen each month in 2017 while a sitting president from his personal checking account.

Yes, $35,000. The same amount as Trump’s checks that are in evidence. It's just simple math:  $210,000 times two, divided by 12 = $35,000. Nothing is mentioned about legal fees.

There is no other reasonable conclusion, I respectfully suggest, the jury can draw other than that these were reimbursement payments by Trump, not legal fees; and therefore, he lied when he repeatedly publicly stated, as recently as last week, that they were legal fees, not reimbursements.

I cannot be sure that the jury will conclude from the Weisselberg Document that Trump lied when he called these payments legal expenses. But the inference is as strong as the classic example of convincing circumstantial evidence: If the jury fell asleep and there is no snow on the ground, and they wake up and there is snow all over, they can “convict” on the conclusion, beyond a reasonable doubt, that it snowed overnight.

Previously, Weisselberg lied under oath in New York’s civil suit against Trump and was apparently willing to go to jail for perjury rather than testify. And this jury won’t necessarily know that. (Just as they might not know that Trump promised he “would” testify but – surprise! – he lied.)

The jury won’t get to hear Weisselberg but they will have in the jury room, during deliberations, the Weisselberg Document. I am guessing they will give it a long, long look. And then decide whether it snowed overnight – Trump lied about thinking he was paying “legal expenses” and he did so to conceal the campaign finance crime to deprive the American people of important information before they voted for president in November 2016.

# # # # #

Lanny Davis is the founder of the Washington, D.C., law firm Lanny J. Davis & Associates and is co-chair of the global public affairs and strategic communications firm Actum LLC. From 2018-2024 Davis served as a legal advisor for Michael Cohen but resigned in April 2024 so experienced N.Y. criminal defense counsel could represent him. Davis uniquely operates at the intersection of law, media, and politics to solve client problems. In 1996-98, Mr. Davis served as Special White House Counsel to President Bill Clinton. In 2006-07, he was appointed by his Yale College friend, President George W. Bush, to serve on a special post-9/11 White House panel to advise the president on privacy and civil liberties issues. He is the author of six books on politics, government, law, and crisis management. He has been writing his “Purple Nation” column since 2010.

Hollywood actress and Oscar nominee, Scarlett Johannsson, has lamented how her voice was allegedly used without her consent by tech giant OpenAI.

The actress noted that she was “shocked, angered and in disbelief” that the company’s Chief Executive Officer, Sam Altman, would go to such length to have her voice used in the current ChatGPT 4.0 system.

According to Sky News on Tuesday, the actress explained how she had turned down Altman’s request for personal reasons, only to find out that the voice “sounded so eerily similar to mine.”

In a 2013 romantic sci-fi movie titled, ‘Her,’ Johannsson’s voice was used to imitate an AI female voice called ‘Samantha,’ who formed an intimate relationship with a human.

The actress, in her statement, said, “Last September, I received an offer from Sam Altman, who wanted to hire me to voice the current ChatGPT 4.0 system. He told me that he felt that by my voicing the system, I could bridge the gap between tech companies and creatives and help consumers feel comfortable with the seismic shift concerning humans and AI.

“He said he felt that my voice would be comforting to people. After much consideration and for personal reasons, I declined the offer. Nine months later, my friends, family and the general public all noted how much the newest system named “Sky” sounded like me.”

The actress expressed her frustration, saying, “When I heard the released demo, I was shocked, angered and in disbelief that Mr. Altman would pursue a voice that sounded so eerily similar to mine that my closest friends and news outlets could not tell the difference,” adding that Altman had “insinuated that the similarity was intentional, tweeting a single word “her” – a reference to the film in which I voiced a chat system, Samantha, who forms an intimate relationship with a human.”

The 39-year-old actress said that before the release of the ChatGPT 4.0 demo, the OpenAI boss “contacted my agent, asking me to reconsider. Before we could connect, the system was out there.

“As a result of their actions, I was forced to hire legal counsel, who wrote two letters to Mr. Altman and OpenAI, setting out what they had done and asking them to detail the exact process by which they created the “Sky” voice. Consequently, OpenAI reluctantly agreed to take down the “Sky” voice.”

In recent times, tech users have begun using the AI model to imitate people’s voices and pictures without prior consent in most cases – a situation which negates the ethical standards of AI use.

“In a time when we are all grappling with deepfakes and the protection of our likeness, our own work, our own identities, I believe these are questions that deserve absolute clarity.

“I look forward to resolution in the form of transparency and the passage of appropriate legislation to help ensure that individual rights are protected,” Johannsson wrote.

However, OpenAI, in a tweet on Monday, stated that it had “paused” the use of Sky while it addresses the process with which it used to create the AI voice.

“We’ve heard questions about how we chose the voices in ChatGPT, especially Sky. We are working to pause the use of Sky while we address them,” it stated.

A check by our PUNCH Online revealed that the company, in a statement titled, ‘How the voices for ChatGPT were chosen,’ on Sunday, May 19, 2024, read partly, “Each of the voices—Breeze, Cove, Ember, Juniper and Sky—are sampled from voice actors we partnered with to create them.”

Sky News reports that in 2023, the New York Times “sued OpenAI over allegations it, and its biggest investor Microsoft, unlawfully used the newspaper’s articles to train and create ChatGPT.”

[Punch]

• Ariwoola cautions against abuse of judicial powers

• 99 panels sat over election cases, says PCA

The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, has cautioned judicial officers against succumbing to public opinions, emotions, or sentiments while performing their duties.

He said no amount of threat or intimidation should make a judge deviate from the law and do what is unconstitutional and at variance with existing laws.

The CJN spoke at the opening session of a two-day workshop organised by the Court of Appeal for the review of last year’s election petition tribunals/courts and appeals yesterday in Abuja.

Justice Ariwoola noted that “political matters always tend to occupy the front burner of our adjudicatory activities as all the subsisting electoral laws have placed some time frame within which they must be heard and decided”.

He added: “Besides, the kind of attention and emotions attached to political matters in this country has collectively made our work more excruciating, painstaking and, sometimes, endangering, as we are occasionally exposed to threats, especially from some elements within the political fold. 

“But like I always say, no amount of threat or intimidation should make a thoroughbred judicial officer to deviate from the law and pander to public sentiments and emotions, which are often misplaced.”

Justice Ariwoola cautioned judicial officers against abusing their powers by engaging in wrong application of discretionary authorities.

The CJN urged judicial officers to be propelled by their conscience, adding: “Once our conscience leads the way, every other good thing will naturally follow.”

Also, Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Justice Minister Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) hailed the Judiciary for the stabilising role it plays in the nation’s electoral process.

Fagbemi noted that the Court of Appeal, in particular, plays a more pivotal role in shaping and strengthening the nation’s electoral jurisprudence through the exercise of its constitutional mandate in that regard.

Also, the President of the Court of Appeal (PCA), Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem, announced that 99 panels, comprising three judges each, heard the litigations that arose from last year’s general election.

The PCA said this showed that a huge number of judges was taken out of the judicial system during the process.

She described last year’s election litigation season as “very, very difficult and challenging in view of the volume of cases filed, commended the judicial officers involved for a job well done”.

Justice Dongban-Mensem explained that the workshop was meant to review the last process, identify areas of shortcomings, and find ways to improve the process.

The PCA hailed the judicial officers for working assiduously to determine the various cases within time, to the extent that neither the petitions nor the appeals lapsed.

She sought the amendment of some portions of the Constitution and the Electoral Act to improve the nation’s electoral system.

Justice Dongban-Mensem identified some of the sections as 187, 233, 246, 285 of the Constitution and Paragraph 85(2) of the First Schedule to the Electoral Act.

She noted that from “some of these sections, particularly Section 285 of the Constitution, it is either they are in the process because of poor legal draftmanship or for a desire that was not properly expressed and appreciated”.

The Nigerian High Commission in London, United Kingdom, UK, has accumulated £8.4 million as unpaid congestion charges.

A datasheet published by Transport for London, TfL, showed that the amount relates to unpaid fees and fines accrued by diplomats between the launch of the congestion charge in 2003 and the end of last year.

The TfL oversees various modes of transportation in London, including the tube, buses, trams, cars, bikes, and river services.

The scheme involves a £15 daily fee for driving within an area of central London between 7 am and 6 pm on weekdays and between noon and 6 pm on weekends and bank holidays.

There are discounts and exemptions for various groups of people and vehicles, such as residents, taxis, and fully electric cars.

Diplomats have argued that the congestion charge is a tax, exempting them from paying it under the Vienna Convention, but the TfL insisted that the payment is a service charge.
The body, in the datasheet seen by TheCable, said: “This means that diplomats are not exempt from paying it.’

“The majority of embassies in London do pay the charge, but there remains a stubborn minority who refuse to do so, despite our representations through diplomatic channels.”

According to TfL, the envoys representing different countries owed over £143.53 million in congestion charge payments.

[Vanguard]

Air Peace, Nigeria’s flag carrier, has reacted to the allegation of ‘violating’ safety measures in the United Kingdom (UK).

The airline, in a statement on Monday, said its operations have been under intense scrutiny by the relevant authorities since its inaugural flight to London.

In a report titled ‘Ramp Inspection,’ and dated April 7, the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority (UKCAA) raised concerns over Air Peace’s compliance with some safety regulations in the UK.

UK aviation authority said findings showed Air Peace was using electronic flight bag (EFB) functions without operational approval.

However, the airline described the report as false, adding that approval was obtained from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).

“Our attention has been drawn to media reports alleging a safety breach by Air Peace in the United Kingdom, which contain a lot of falsehood aimed at creating fears and doubts in the minds of the flying public,” Air Peace said.

“From the commencement of our inaugural flight to London, our operations have been subjected to intense scrutiny by the relevant authorities, which we most welcome as we pride ourselves in our continued pursuit of operational excellence and unwavering commitment to the safety and security of our esteemed passengers.

“We can confirm that the UK Civil Aviation Authority wrote to Air Peace, after their statutory Ramp Inspection on April 7, 2024, to request clarification on our use of the Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) and some other concerns. We provided the necessary information, and the matter was resolved without any issues.

“It is, therefore, wrong to say we do not have approval for our EFB. Air Peace received approval from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), and all our Boeing 777 aircraft are certified to operate with EFBs.”

‘WE ENSURE ALL OUR B777 AIRCRAFT HAVE IPAD MOUNTS’

Responding to the claim that the B777 aircraft lacked iPad mounts and charging ports in the flight deck, Air Peace said this is incorrect.

“All B777 aircraft are equipped with charging ports in the cockpit, and we ensure that all our B777 aircraft have iPad mounts,” the airline said.

“Another issue raised by the UK CAA was the location of our cockpit library on the B777. The B777 designates two locations for storing manuals and books: one behind the captain and one under the jumpseat.

“During the inspection, the books were stored under the jumpseat, as it is commonly practised. We understand the inspector’s preference for the books to be placed behind the captain and have ensured this preference is accommodated for all operations going forward.

“There was also a concern about the captain’s choice of runway exit after landing. Instead of exiting at the middle runway exit, the captain, out of his professional discretion, opted to exit at the end of the runway.

“This may have delayed the arrival of another aircraft. We acknowledge this deviation and have addressed the matter with the captain to ensure adherence to preferred exit procedures in the future.

“Ramp Inspection is a normal procedure carried out by aviation authorities globally, and the UKCAA did the right thing by notifying the NCAA of the outcome of their inspection.

“However, we are shocked to see several media publications with exaggerated and sensationalised accounts of this matter that were closed with the authorities over a month ago.”

Air Peace said its safety record is second to none, adding that it complies with all established safety standards.

[TheCable]

21^st May 2021 is one of those days that you remember exactly where you were when the news broke about a Nigerian Airforce plane crash in Kaduna.  For me, it is exactly three years ago today in London that I was just preparing to return to Abuja when I nonchalantly turned on the television to BBC News to see what was going on around the world. I thought I caught the breaking news strip on Nigeria with the corner of my eye. I waited a few seconds again for the news flash to reappear and thought I wasn’t seeing right when I read that the plane carrying the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, CFR, together with ten other officers and men of the Nigerian Armed Forces had crashed and that all on board the ill-fated plane were presumed dead.

I grabbed my phone to make calls and to my consternation, there were already several missed calls and WhatsApp messages on my phone from concerned citizens who knew of my friendship with the Attahirus.  I frantically put a call through and was fortunate to get through to one of Mrs Attahiru’s brothers who was with her in their house at the time. I wept, first for the Attahirus for having lost a dear and caring husband and father, but more, for Nigeria, for having lost a refreshingly fine leader who was fearlessly committed to decisively ending the menace of the Boko Haram insurgents in the North-East.

General Attahiru cannot, and must not, be forgotten! He was a Nigerian patriot who came from a very humble background, overcoming all adversities to get to the apex of his military career. A good role model to millions of young Nigerians from disadvantaged backgrounds who have to fight harder to have the bright futures they deserve.  To the Late General, as we all know, potential is everywhere, but opportunity is not.  With a strong sense of duty and inclusiveness, it was no wonder he made Readiness, Duty to the country, Dependability and Continuous leadership development (RDDC) the main pillars of his command. In his contemplation, Readiness would entail mission-oriented, functional training, the welfare of officers and men, as well as adequate equipment. His concept of Dependability would be about building the capacity of the Nigerian Army to accomplish any mission in line with the norms of humanity as enshrined in its core values and ethics. The Continuous leadership development philosophy would ensure that the Army starts to build commanders who understand the dynamics of 21st century soldiering.

His emblematic rallying cry to his men on the war front in Maiduguri in February 2021 still evokes intense patriotic valour amongst the men and officers of the Nigerian military and has been likened in its enduring effects, to one of the speeches by Sir Winston Churchill during WWII.  He told the troops at Dikwa, among other things:

“I bring you very special greetings from the President, Commander-in-Chief of the

Armed Forces. I present myself as your Chief of Army Staff to get to meet you and for

you to get to know me as well.

The essence of this visit is operational. The idea is to motivate you.

In the last few days, we have had attacks in your area of responsibility.

It is high time we got back and fight through and support our forces ahead of you.

Areas around Marte, Chikingudo, Kirenowa, up to Kira, Wulgo must be cleared

in the next 48 hours., Rest assured of all the support required in this onerous task”.

Lieutenant General Ibrahim Attahiru promised to do as he directed. And they delivered! The troops advanced immediately and recaptured Marte within 24 hours. This speech trended for several weeks and acted as a motivating factor for the other forces across the Operation Theatre.

It was therefore no surprise that, shortly after his passing, his widow, Mrs Fati Attahiru announced the founding of the General Ibrahim Attahiru Foundation (GIAF) as an independent and non-partisan Foundation in memory of the late Chief of Army Staff (COAS) of Nigeria.  The Foundation was set up to perpetuate the leadership ideals and qualities he embodied as a military service leader, and as expressed in his personal life as a man of infectious generosity. The priority focus of GIAF is Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS), to the military, paramilitary, veterans, their dependents and the provision of scholarships to disadvantaged young people. When he was alive, he had great concern for the mental well-being of his men and with the knowledge that our brave men and officers of the Nigerian Military and paramilitary, in the line of their duties, inevitably witness the carnage and horrors of war and are exposed to traumatic experiences.  Because of the stigma associated with mental health conditions, many of our veterans and serving officers suffer Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and other psycho-trauma experiences in silence.

In the words of Minot J Savage, “The brave die never, though they sleep in dust: Their courage nerves a thousand living men”.  General Attahiru continues to do good and impact lives even from his grave.  Since 2022, the Foundation has been running weekly radio programmes on CASIS (Campaign Against Suffering In Silence) on the Armed Forces Radio, Abuja and Liberty Radio, Kaduna, in both English and Hausa versions and broadcast in 19 Northern States.  This is followed by weekly counselling support and referrals by professional psychologists and therapists. In the cause of the weekly radio programmes, both in English and Hausa, it has been discovered that a lot of people are suffering in silence, ranging from rape cases, kidnap victims, people suffering from depression, panic attacks and anxiety amongst other forms of mental health challenges as well as different forms of psychosis who call in. In the programme’s first year, it has reached over 80,000 people, with hundreds accessing the service through calls/online support and over a hundred people receiving further psychiatric/ therapeutic support.

As we mark the 3^rd anniversary of the passing of Lt Gen Ibrahim Attahiru to the great beyond, it is my fervent wish that we become intentional in remembering our heroes past, whose sacrifices and service to our dear country ensure the democracy and relative peace we enjoy today.  May his example – and those who have gone before him – guide us all and I hope you will join me in remembering his legacy and his lasting impact on our military and country. I want to end this by quoting the author of Proverbs 10:7 who says “the memory of the righteous is a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot”. May the soul of General Ibrahim Attahiru continue to rest in perfect peace and may Almighty God continue to guide, protect and bless the beautiful family he left behind.

Akin Olukiran is a family friend and he writes from London. He can be reached on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

In the next few days, the Fourth Republic will be 25 years. In the same vein, President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu will be one year in office and APC will mark its nine years as a ruling party in Nigeria. The indisputable reality is that it is difficult for any rational thinking Nigerian to celebrate where we are today as a nation. If anything, our experience in the last 25 years reechoed Amartya Sen’s warning in the book Development as Freedom when he cautioned that ‘Democracy does not serve as an automatic remedy of ailment as quinine works to remedy malaria. The opportunity it opens up has to be positively grabbed in order to achieve the desired effect. This is, of course, a basic feature of freedoms in general – much depends on how freedoms are actually exercised.’

Interestingly, Amartya Sen’s book was first published in 1999, the very year Nigeria’s Fourth Republic was inaugurated. Although many Nigerian’s read the book and admired his deep intellectual insight, and foresight, but the cautionary note about the prospect or potentials of democracy to cure societal ailments was simply overlooked. Perhaps, in 1999, when Nigerians welcome democracy with very high expectations, most citizens, across the nation were more absorbed by the relief of having to bid goodbye to military rule. Having spent close to fifteen years uninterrupted and more than thirty years of our life as an independent nation at the receiving end of successive military governments, with the attendant consequences of loss of freedoms, helplessly reduced to being distant observers of poor management of Nigeria’s resources, the expectation was that democratic dispensation will change all that.

Unfortunately, here we are, twenty-five years after, welfare condition of Nigerians is unarguably worse. Unemployment and poverty incidences have increased. Poor management of national resources has continued so much so that crisis of insecurity and threat to human lives is the new normal. Worse part of it is that we have elected governments, virtually at all levels performing worse than military rulers. Although theories of democracy and politics have unquestionably proven that elected leaders will be more accountable, twenty-five years of democratic rule in Nigeria is yet to produce leaders that are predisposed to accommodating the interests of citizens. Instead, we keep moving almost in opposite direction to whatever could be estimated as the interest of Nigerians, no matter how narrowly defined. Is it that Nigeria’s democracy is yet to open the expected opportunity? Or is it that majority of Nigerians are unable to ‘positively grab’ the opportunity, which democracy presents? What is the opportunity, which democracy presents?

These are fundamental questions, which we must interrogate to be able to come to terms with our Nigerian reality and perhaps develop creative initiatives on how to exercise the freedoms that comes with democracy based on which the opportunities it presents can be ‘positively grabbed in order to achieve the desired effect’ of resolving our national challenges. First, while interrogating this issue, I want to affirm my membership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and recognise that the last nine years disappointingly dashed the expectations of Nigerians. I make this admission as someone who is committed to progressive politics based on the conviction that the first thing that qualifies anyone to be a progressive is the capacity to recognise challenges based on correct assessment of realities. Correct assessment of reality is about honest criticism and taking responsibility. It is not about rationalising choices or denial of challenges and realities.

When leaders of opposition parties in the country successfully merged in July 2013, the expectations of Nigerians were that APC will produce more responsive leaders both in terms of ability to undertake honest criticisms as well as take responsibility in a direction that pulls the nation out of its development challenges. Without going into details, these are unanswerable expectations, which are today sources of frustrations for Nigerians with both the APC, as a party, the leaders it has produced, and democracy as a political system. The heartbreaking reality is that anytime some glimmer of political hope presents itself, even when supported by popular votes, it turns out to be moonlighting, basically a case of being stuck with illusive politics. APC is one glimmer of political hope, which emerged in 2013, elected as the ruling party since 2015, but emerging, so far, as another moonlighting phenomenon.

Being a party founded with the vision of becoming a progressive party, it has crashed below whatever a political party represents, not to talk of being progressive. As it is today, its leadership doesn’t obey its own constitution, it doesn’t hold meetings and it is accountable to no one. Since 2015, when the party was elected as a ruling party, with former President Muhammadu Buhari inaugurated as President of the Federal Republic, the manifesto of the party has been virtually abandon and leaders of the party have little or no say in the management of governments it produced at all levels. Processes of appointments into government and policy decisions have been made prerogative of the President at national level and Governors at state levels. Like under military rule when citizens were reduced to distant observers, under the APC, party leaders and members have also become distant observers.

Because leaders of the APC are not obeying the rules of the party, we have produced several electoral disasters whereby the courts have to intervene to nullify electoral victories of the party. These are issues bordering on culture of impunity in the process of candidates selection. A situation, which invariably forsaken the commitment of the party to change Nigerian politics, instead further entrenched politics of godfatherism with the attendant consequences of widespread rigging of elections. So far, culture of impunity is pervasive in APC. A glimmer of hope that the party may overcome the culture of impunity emerged when ahead of the 2023 elections, President Asiwaju Tinubu led the struggle against imposition of a so-called consensus Presidential candidate.

The emergence of President Asiwaju Tinubu as the Presidential candidate of the APC for the 2023 election rekindled the hope of many party leaders and members about the possibility of returning the APC to its founding vision and engendering progressive governance in the country. After one year in office, the government of President Asiwaju Tinubu has turned out to be another experience replicating reality of illusive politics, which has reduced citizens, party leaders and members to being distant observers. Painfully, against every expectation that President Asiwaju Tinubu will reignite the Lagos success story at national level, his government is more and more creating doubts in the minds of Nigerians about the prospect of resolving the country’s challenges with incidences of policy missteps and reversals.

As a result, crisis of insecurity has remained. Problems of inflation, unemployment and poverty are on the increase. Politically, the APC has continued to follow the track of being disrespectful to its own rules so much so that we have shamelessly produced a serving Governor who is using his immunity to block law enforcement officials from undertaking their responsibility to investigate corruption allegations against his predecessor. The bigger disappointment is the troubling reality whereby political mercenaries who fought against President Asiwaju Tinubu’s election during the 2023 elections are now his strongest allies with free access and party loyalists who campaigned and stood by him have been denied access and are being held in contempt.

To make matters worse, illusive politics would appear to have been adopted with the emergence of Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje as the National Chairman of the APC. So far, since his emergence, he basically confirmed all the fears against him. He has managed or mismanaged affairs of the APC blindly without respect to the provisions of the party’s constitution. Almost ten months since his emergence, with the possible exemption of the National Working Committee (NWC), no meeting of any organ of the party at national level has taken place. With elections in Edo and Ondo States coming up, the risk of reproducing another electoral disasters are high if the party fail to convene appropriate meetings of organs such as the National Executive Committee (NEC) to ratify some of the decisions taken by NWC, which were outside its mandate.

The other reality is whether the tenure of President Asiwaju Tinubu will continue moving in the path of illusive politics based on which Nigerians, inclusive of APC leaders and members, will remain distant observers, unable to influence decisions and directions of the President Asiwaju Tinubu’s government. As things are, the body language of President Asiwaju Tinubu is disrespectful and contemptuous to many party leaders and members, especially those that are outspoken and critical of his decisions. So long as this remain the case, the prospect of returning APC to its founding vision and engendering progressive governance will be weak. Inability to return APC to its founding vision and failure to engender progressive governance could mean inability to positively grabbed the opportunity, which democracy presents. This could also mean that the crisis of insecurity, unemployment, poverty, etc. could remain with us and become worse.

Given all these danger signals, it is important that APC leaders and members who are truly committed to developing Nigerian democracy based on progressive principles take up the challenge of organising themselves to reverse the current decline towards illusive politics in the country. Achieving that will require APC leaders and members who are truly committed to progressive politics to demand immediate reform of both the party and all governments at all levels controlled by the APC. To mainstream the reform so that it conforms with the statutory requirement of reviving the structures of the party and enabling them to affirm the supremacy of the party, processes of consultations to re-organise the leadership of the party so that respected party leaders with unblemished records of integrity emerge.

Certainly, with persons like Dr. Ganduje with all the many controversies around him vested with the responsibility of leading the party makes nonsense of all the sacrifices made by party leaders to ensure successful merger and the defeat of PDP in 2015. A clear message therefore must be sent to President Asiwaju Tinubu that as much as, being party leaders and members, we are committed to supporting his leadership and just like we have worked hard to produce the victory of 2023, which crowned him the victory of becoming the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, under no circumstances must he take for granted our support and the support of Nigerians. We must, in strong terms, remind President Asiwaju Tinubu about the power of possibility, which in fact was the main propelling factor that made the merger negotiation that produced the APC in 2013 successful. It was also the propelling factor that made the electoral victory of 2015 possible.

In fact, more than anything, it was the same factors that made the defeat of so-called consensus Presidential candidate possible. The point must be made that on no account must any leader of APC, including President Asiwaju Tinubu, be allowed to live with the illusive reasoning that Nigerians will continue to tolerate a situation whereby their hopes and aspirations are constantly being dashed by political leaders. If the hallmark of the tenure of former President Buhari is the trauma of dashed hopes for citizens, we must, as Nigerian citizens and as committed progressive politicians wake up and remedy the ugly and despicable experience of illusive politics. After one year in office, the unmistaken message must be conveyed to President Asiwaju Tinubu and by extension all APC leaders that the democratic future of Nigeria is not negotiable.

Just like Nigerians were able confront military rulers and PDP leaders when they trampled on the rights and freedoms of citizens, if APC leaders tow the same path, it is incumbent on all true progressives and patriots to organise themselves and arrest any further drift towards illusive politics. However, first thing first, the message must be communicated in unmistaken terms that President Asiwaju Tinubu should come clean and truly demonstrate that he is indeed both a democrat and a progressive politician by initiating deeper political reforms of both the APC and all governments controlled by the APC at all levels. If truly President Asiwaju Tinubu is a democrat and a progressive politician, the current lawless disposition of APC leaders must be ended. Also, inattentive conduct of President Asiwaju Tinubu, which hold APC leaders and members in contempt must change.

Failure of APC and its leadership since the time of former President Buhari to meet the expectations of Nigerians by delivering on our campaign promises has debase our democracy and made a mockery of all the gains we have made as a nation. It is not enough to change leaders. Once change of leaders doesn’t come with increased capacity to respond to national challenges, the value of democracy will be questionable. As patriots who fought for democracy, we have the responsibility to continue to engage our leaders to ensure that our democracy opens the ‘opportunity’ which should ‘be positively grabbed in order to achieve the desired effect’ of improving the lives of citizens. Anything short of that is unacceptable and is not the democracy Nigerians want. Our democracy must serve as remedy for all our societal ailments!

An increasing number of Nigerians are being driven into poverty, not by choice, but by the current political and economic climate, shaped by stringent macroeconomic policies. These policies, such as subsidy removal, devaluation of Naira, and increase in electricity tariff, have had unintended consequences. For instance, removing subsidies has led to a significant increase in the cost of living, while the devaluation of Naira has made imported goods more expensive. These factors, combined with the high level of insecurity, have affected food security in Nigeria, and created a perfect storm of economic hardship. The signs of this unavoidable reality are readily apparent. The interventions to prevent this descent into poverty are either ineffectual or remedy the condition too slowly. 

An unprecedented rise in inflation has destroyed households’ disposable incomes and pushed many families into poverty. Spiralling inflation is having a devastating impact on all, but especially on households in the lower rungs of the working class, who in their millions are joining the already over 133 million multidimensionally poor Nigerians struggling to earn a living because high inflation has eroded the value of their income. As shown by the NBS Consumer Price Index of April 2024, published in May 2024, the headline inflation rate rose to 33.69% in April 2024 compared to March. The headline inflation rate was 11.47% higher in April 2024 compared to the previous year. During the same period, inflation in urban areas was higher than in rural areas. Even worse, the food inflation rate in April 2024 was 40.53%, increasing by 15.92% compared to April 2023. What does this mean for the ordinary citizen? More money can purchase fewer goods and services.

We cannot dismiss the direct correlation between rising inflation and rising poverty in Nigeria. A household with a monthly income of N300,000 in April 2023 would have lost 33.69% of its real purchasing power if it earned the same amount in April 2024. This means that the same amount of money can now buy significantly fewer goods and services, putting a strain on the household’s budget. Imagine this household struggled in 2023 to make ends meet; how will it cope with less than 33% of its value in goods and services this year? It is little wonder many Nigerians are in despair and are calling on the government to tweak its policies and salvage the situation before it is too late. Families in the earning bracket mentioned above are even better than many whose total income is less than N100,000 if both parents in the household earn minimum wages per month. 

The government intervention so far, with the best of intentions, has yielded little result as inflation continues unabated. The monetary policies of increasing base interest rates to above 22%, improving the cash reserve ratio by banks to above 40%, and constantly engaging in the money market to mop up excess liquidity have yielded less than the expected result in curbing inflation. More is needed, and my little knowledge of street economics shows me that the Nigerian economy often defies some fundamental economic concepts that work in developed countries because of our economy’s informal and unregulated nature. The Nigerian government must creatively use other bespoke and practical fiscal and monetary measures to tame our raging inflation.

Paradoxically, there is compelling evidence that inflation continues to rise because of critical government policies. Instead of providing more concerted anti-inflationary measures, the government has added more inflationary steps to the economy. The government cannot confront inflation while imposing limitless taxes, tariffs, and charges on the things that people spend money on daily. The impact of excess tax is on everybody, but the burden is more on people experiencing poverty whose purchasing power has been eroded by inflation. The government cannot tax itself out of our economic predicament. Increasing personal income tax is one way government reduces disposable income to curb demand pull inflation, but the inflation in Nigeria is not because of increase in household income, but caused by cost induced factors. So tax on people whose income have not increased in the past year is a recipe for hardship. 

Other factors also imperil government efforts to curb inflation. Imported inflation has been the bane of Nigeria, given the number of raw materials and goods imported into Nigeria from countries with high inflation rates. This is not helped by the new exchange rate regime that has seen the Naira fall to its lowest value in a generation. The government has been trying to control the erosion of the value of Naira to no avail. Increasing cost of energy has pushed  some  businesses to  pack up. These factors have exacerbated the rise of inflation, and unless the government starts tackling them, it cannot effectively win its fight against runaway inflation.  

The consequences of inaction are severe and far-reaching. The system requires a set of anti-inflationary measures to relieve the people and companies so that livelihoods can improve, and real incomes recover from shock to encourage people to live and save. Savings and prosperity will fire up investment, production, supply, and consequent demand. If inflation worsens, the economy will, at best, go into stasis, further regression, and possibly a depression. More manufacturers will quit, and unemployment will worsen with even more crime and insecurity. The picture I painted above is not far from us. 

Recent statistics about the hunger level in Nigeria occasioned by food inflation are alarming. There is a deteriorating food security and nutrition crisis in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe (BAY) states this lean season between May and September 2024. According to the Government-led Cadre Harmonise analysis released in March this year, in Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe states, some 4.8 million people are estimated to be facing severe food insecurity, the highest levels in seven years. Children, pregnant and lactating women, older persons, and people living with disabilities are among those who are most vulnerable. About 2.8 million of these people need urgent interventions.

The prices of staple foods like beans and maize have increased by 300 to 400 percent over the past year because of a cocktail of reasons. Inflation is outpacing the ability of families to cope, making essential food items unaffordable. Furthermore, the report stated that “malnutrition rates are of great concern. Approximately 700,000 children under five are projected to be acutely malnourished over the next six months, including 230,000 who are expected to be severely acutely malnourished and at risk of death if they do not receive timely treatment and nutrition support.”  The Acting Representative of UNICEF Nigeria argues that “this year alone, we have seen around 120,000 admissions for the treatment of severe acute malnutrition with complications, far exceeding our estimated target of 90,000”.  This statistics are for only 3 states in the Northeast Nigeria. Imagine what it will be for the whole 36 States in Nigeria. There is real fire on the mountain!

This rising hunger is not peculiar to the Northeast. From my knowledge of street economics, hunger and poverty is pervasive across all six geopolitics zones. Increasing poverty is directly linked with more severe economic outcomes. Increasing poverty can result in a more divided society, Issues with housing, homelessness, limited access to healthcare, nutrition poverty and poor living conditions that have a detrimental effect on one’s health. Children living in poverty have less access to education, which will reduce their chances in the future. More families facing poverty will experience conflicts, stress, and domestic violence. Poverty can set off a vicious cycle in which the effects of it act as catalysts for additional episodes of poverty. Increasing inflation and poverty are bad omens that blow us no good. They are bad for our economy. They are bad for our people. The government must pay attention to these factors and be more sensitive in our economic policy choices. 

Only some anti-inflationary measures that comprehensively capture the macroeconomic dimensions and provide solutions may work. Poverty alleviation measures are barely temporary and, at best, work in the short run to cushion the effect of heightened inflation and food insecurity. The government should provide solid medium- to long-term solutions to tackle these problems. They should re-evaluate some of their policies to see whether they are inflationary and jettison them to allow good policies to thrive. We can only imagine the unintended consequences of allowing poverty and inflation to fester. The increasing inflation and poverty are creating desperation among a portion of society, which is increasingly becoming despondent and seeing itself at the fringes of society. The implications of this are plausible. Many ordinary citizens are burdened by poverty, hunger, and severe inflation, which have made their lives miserable. The government must take action to alleviate this scourge and help Nigerians lead meaningful lives.

Gov. Biodun Oyebanji of Ekiti State is, without doubt, one of the country’s best performing governors. He works hard, talks less, evades the limelight but his Ekiti people describe him as an achiever. He was in Dallas, United States of America recently to urge foreign investors to take advantage of the current economic reforms in Nigeria to invest in the country.

“This is the right time for any investor to invest in Nigeria”, Oyebanji declared at a panel session, one of the major events at the 2024 US-Africa Business Summit organized by the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA), citing the current reforms of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration and the synergy between the Federal Government and the country’s 36 state governments, which includes his own Ekiti.

In attendance at the session were heads of national and sub-national governments; investors; policy-makers and development agencies drawn from different parts of the world, including the Chairman of the Board of Corporate Council on Africa, Mr. John Olajide.

To buttress his assertion, Oyebanji cited a few successful collaborations between Ekiti and some international investors, including Cavista Holdings and Promasidor, to make a case for more direct investment in the state, stressing that the right time to invest in the state is now.

“Now, we have a reform-minded government that is visionary and we have 36 state governors that have keyed into the vision of the President Tinubu administration. The economy of sub-nationals are critical to the Nigerian economy itself. So, for any investor that wants good returns on their investment, this is the time to invest in Nigeria because the market is readily available, the people are ready, we have a government that is reform-minded and all the governors have keyed into the vision as well. So, the time to invest in Nigeria is now”.

Wooing investors to Ekiti in particular, Oyebanji said the State Government is strong on regulatory frameworks designed to protect investors and their investments. His exact words: “What we are doing is to ensure that we have a stable and predictable regulatory framework and there must be trust because I believe that for any business to thrive, trust is key. You must have a leader that is visionary, trust-worthy, and transparent. All these we have in Ekiti State”.

Ekiti’s vast mineral resources as well as its agricultural and tourism potentials beg to be tapped. Fresh from the launching of a book on creating values by Ademola Akinbola (more on this later), it must be stated that tapping into Nigeria’s vast human and material resources is the antidote to the country’s crippling economic crisis seemingly defying solution. What with the Naira rising today and falling tomorrow!

Each time I travel in Ekiti – as in other parts of the country – and see vast agricultural and tourism potentials waiting to be tapped, it saddens me. I refrain from using the expression “wasting or rotting away”! It gladdens the heart, then, to see that there is a governor in Ekiti working silently to change the narrative. The two years that I spent in Ekiti towards the tail end of the Ayo Fayose administration and the unique opportunity I had traversing the whole state on campaign hustings with Prof. Kolapo Olusola Eleka opened my eyes to the immense agricultural resources of the state.

The tourism potentials of Ekiti, if tapped, is a gold mine that can sustain the State and wean it from over-dependence on Abuja for bailouts and doleouts. Last Easter witnessed a giant step taken by the state governor, with the concurrence of the Minister of Tourism, to begin to tap into this money spinner. Having enjoyed Ekiti’s tourism potentials in the past, Arinta waterfalls and Ikogosi warm springs to be specific, I intend to make a return visit to those spots and other Ekiti tourism potentials to highlight them for potential investors and tourism enthusiasts alike. We need to know that what we travel abroad to enjoy at prohibitive costs abound right at our backyard at affordable costs.

This is also the right time for Ekiti to tap into its mineral resources. The state is fortunate to have the hard-working Minister in charge of mineral resources development, Dele Alake; let Dele’s charity begin from home! After Ekiti, Dele should please come to my home state of Ondo to help us, before making the rounds all over the country. Lest you forget, Ondo and Ekiti used to be one state! As they say, every politics is local! Synergy is required between Minister and governor to deliver the goods to Ekiti. The human resources abound in Ekiti, which is touted as the state with the highest concentration of professors and academics in Nigeria.

If Ekiti must move from being a sleepy civil service state to a business destination of choice, the time is now! It is do-able. Otunba Gbenga Daniel started a similar revolution in Ogun state and, today, that state is no longer the sleepy civil service state that it used to be but has one of the highest IGR in the country. Ekiti can follow suit.

If Oyebanji and Alake achieve that for Ekiti, their names with be etched in gold, just as we mention Gbenga Daniel’s today.