The Africa’s richest man and chairman of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, says with the plan by the Dangote Refinery, Nigeria will not need to import gasoline by June, this year.

Speaking at the Africa CEO Forum Annual Summit in Kigali on Friday, he said the refinery had started supplying diesel and aviation fuel in Nigeria.

According to him, the refinery has the capacity to meet the diesel and petrol needs of West Africa and the aviation fuel demand of the entire African continent.

“Right now, Nigeria has no cause to import anything apart from gasoline and by sometime in June, within the next four or five weeks, Nigeria shouldn’t import anything like gasoline; not one drop of a litre.

“We have enough gasoline to give to at least the entire West Africa, diesel to give to West Africa and Central Africa. We have enough aviation fuel to give to the entire continent and also export some to Brazil and Mexico.

“Today, our polypropylene and our polyethene will meet the entire demand of Africa and we are doing base oil, which is like engine oil, we are doing linear benzyl, which is raw material to produce detergent. We have 1.4 billion people in the population, nobody is producing that in Africa.

“So, all the raw materials for our detergents are imported. We are producing that raw material to make Africa self-sufficient.

“As I said, give us three or a maximum of four years and Africa will not, I repeat, not import any more fertilizer from anywhere. We will make Africa self-sufficient in potash, phosphate, and urea, we are at three million tonnes and in the next twenty months, we will be at six million tonnes of urea which is the entire capacity of Egypt. We are getting there.” Dangote said.

He added: “Our refinery is quite big, it is something that we believe that Africa needs. If you look at the whole continent, there are only two countries that don’t import petroleum products, which is a tragedy. They are only Algeria and Libya. The rest are all importers. So, we need to change and make sure that we don’t just go and produce raw materials, we should also produce finished products and create jobs.”

[DailyTrust]

Real Madrid defender, Jesus Vallejo has described as fake recent reports claiming that he and his partner María Delgado divorced after a 12-year relationship.

The Spaniard said he is still in the relationship and has no intention of dumping his wife.

He also shared pictures with his wife from his wedding at Catedral-basílica de Nuestra Señora del Pilar de Zaragoza.

“News published by Aimara G. Gil in the AS Newspaper that Maria and I broke up is TOTALLY FAKE.

“Maria and I have been in a relationship for 12 years and have always been together and still together today,” he wrote on Instagram.

Vallejo joined Real Madrid in 2015 but has been loaned to several clubs for the majority of his ongoing tenure at the Spanish capital.

[DailyPost]

• Pressure on Labour to resume talks

The Federal Government is wooing labour for fresh talks over the proposed new minimum wage after workers’ representatives called off their participation in the last round of negotiation on Wednesday.

Government, The Nation gathered yesterday, is determined to resolve the impasse over the new minimum wage as soon as possible, although it was unclear last night whether the matter could be resolved before the May 31 deadline given by labour for conclusion of the deal.

Government had tabled N48ooo as the new minimum wage during the Wednesday meeting of the Bukar Goni Aji-led 37-man Tripartite Committee on National Minimum Wage.

The figure was considered way off  the N615,000 demanded by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) prompting the representatives of the unions to walk out of the meeting.

However, Alhaji Goni Aji has now scheduled another meeting of the committee with labour leaders for Tuesday, May 21 to wrap up their negotiation.

He said government was willing to shift grounds on its N48,000 offer.

The committee chairman, in a May 16, 2024 letter inviting the unions to the meeting said: “You will recall that the organised labour representatives walked out of the tripartite committee meeting of yesterday, Wednesday, May 15, 2024, after the presentation of the position paper by the government side.

“However, as earlier discussed, we need to all sit back on the negotiation table to analyse the tripartite position and shift grounds by all sides to enable us to conclude the assignment before you travel to the ILO (International Labour Organisation) Conference to be held in Geneva, Switzerland.

“This is to give assurance to our teeming workforce that the tripartite Committee would do all that is possible to reduce the waiting time in concluding this assignment.

“I have had discussions with our members and there is a willingness to shift ground as soon as we start the negotiations.

“Kindly consider this appeal and talk to your other members too. We look forward to reconvening on Tuesday, May 21, 2024, next week to continue negotiations.”

A Presidency source said yesterday that it was difficult to determine yet whether the proposed minimum wage will be ready before the May 31 deadline given by labour.

“Not sure. The negotiation is still on. The negotiation team will meet again next week,” the source said.

A separate source at the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission said the negotiation was “work in progress.”

President Bola Tinubu had, on the last Workers Day, pledged his administration’s readiness to consider a national living wage that would address workers’ living conditions instead of a minimum wage, if suggested by the Goni Aji Committee.

He said the matter would be “resolved soon and I assure you that your days of worrying are over. Indeed, this government is open to the committee’s suggestion of not just a minimum wage but a living wage.”

He told organised labour that he had not taken their understanding, patience, commitment and support in the course of implementing his administration’s policies and programmes for granted.

“Your role as an indispensable component of the nation’s engine cannot be overstated by any government if the quest for a just and progressive society is to be realised,” he said in a solidarity speech delivered by Vice President Kashim  Shettima.

He added: “I do not take for granted the understanding, patience, commitment, and support you have shown throughout the implementation of this government’s policies and programmes aimed at positively transforming our great nation.

“Your contributions have played a significant role in our efforts to rescue the economy since we came on board.”

Also speaking at the rally, Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Hon Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, said  the Tinubu administration “empathises with the plight of workers and will do all it can to address these issues,” urging the organised labour “to maintain social dialogue in resolving disputes.”

President of the NLC, Joe Ajaero, during a recent visit to The Nation, explained how labour arrived at the N615,000 it is demanding.

His words: “In arriving at N615K, we allocated N40K for accommodation. Whether you stay in Orile (a suburb of Lagos) occupying a room and a parlour, for a family of husband and wife and four children, that’s what the federal government approved.

“So if you have a grandmother or mother-in-law, you’re on your own because we didn’t factor in those ones.

“And we assigned N500 per person for that family of six per meal. I want somebody to tell us that if you eat at mamaput there, let’s assume you eat without meat. So that N500 per person is N1, 500 per person in a day for six persons, and in a month, you are going to have N270K for feeding.

“We looked at medicals. We said assuming that there is not going to be surgery or anything complicated, let’s put N50K.

“We looked at education. Let’s hope that you don’t send your children to private school. We put N50K.

“We then looked at utilities as in the electricity bill, we said N20K. And that was before the tariff increase. But if you buy a unit of N20K now, for those of you that use it, you know how long it would last.

“We now looked at gas, kerosene energy components. If you pay N15K or N17K to fill a gas cylinder now, within two weeks, it’s gone and in a month you fill your cylinder twice. So we allocated about N30-35K.

“So that is the breakdown. We didn’t make provisions for communication because you are not supposed to use GSM. So, your boss can’t even call you.

“You’re not supposed to take any form of refreshment or even buy soda. Or even pay offering in the church or tithe.

“In this our calculation, you’re not supposed to have a car because you cannot fill a tank with N30K or even service the vehicle; not even a motorcycle.

“So those are some of the things that make up this N615K.”

The Goni Aji committee was inaugurated on January 30, 2024 by Vice President Kashim Shettima to come up with a new minimum wage ahead of the expiration of the current N30,000 wage on April 18.

The committee draws its membership from government, the private sector and organised labour.

[TheNation]

Wigwe University, Isiokpo, Rivers State, tops the list with a tuition fee of N12m, including accommodation fees.

Nile University, Abuja’s most expensive programme, Medicine and Surgery, costs N5.95m, according to the school’s website. Fees only cover tuition; accommodation is not included. Tuition for returning students is the same as stipulated in their admission letters.

Lead City University, also known as LCU, is a private university in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. Their MBBS Medicine and Surgery programme, according to the school’s website, costs N5.5m per session. Other expensive programmes are their Nursing, Dentistry, and Pharmacy programmes which cost N2.5m each per session.

Afe Babalola University, founded by legal luminary, Chief Afe Babalola (SAN), is another expensive university in the country. First-year students of Medicine are to pay N4,567,500 while final-year students will pay a total of N5,586,000. This excludes accommodation which costs N850,000 for the Super Deluxe one-person room, and other fees [Students Association fees, medical screening, ABUAD souvenir (fresh students)] which cost around N70,000.

Pan-Atlantic University, Lagos, charges between N3.9m to N4.4m for its most expensive programme, B.Eng Mechatronics. The fee covers reading materials, and academic facilities, among others. This does not include the non-refundable acceptance fee of N250,000 to be paid on admission.

Igbinedion University, Okada, Edo State, is Nigeria’s first private university, known for its commitment to quality education and academic excellence. According to the school’s website, final-year medical students can pay as much as N4m as tuition. This excludes other sundry levies.

Bowen University, Iwo, Osun State, a private Baptist Christian Nigerian university located at Iwo in Osun State, Nigeria, is also another university with expensive fees. It is affiliated with the Nigerian Baptist Convention. According to its website, the most expensive programme, the Medicine and Surgery (pre-clinical) programme, costs around N3.8m. Other Fees of N84,000 per session are made up of BBSF – N4,000, Entrepreneurship and Soft Skills – N20,000, Internet Access and Portal Management – N40,000, and Health Care – N20,000.

All new and returning students are required to pay N20,000 and N10,000 respectively to Bowen University Parents Association Forum in the first semester and present a receipt of the same for clearance. Also, 70 per cent payment of school fees is expected to be paid at the commencement of the session while the balance of 30 per cent is expected to be paid at the commencement of the second semester.

American University of Nigeria, Adamawa State, founded by former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, in Yola, the capital of his home state of Adamawa, North-East Nigeria, charges N3.511m as its highest fee for its undergraduate engineering students. This excludes accommodation which costs N432,000 for its triple-room apartment, and feeding which costs N813,960 for 21 meals.

Benson Idahosa University, Benin City, Edo State, is a private, Christian university. Previously named Christian Faith University, it was renamed in honour of the late Archbishop Benson Idahosa, a charismatic Pentecostal minister from Benin City, Nigeria, and is said to reflect his evangelical beliefs. Its Medicine and Surgery programme costs between N3.3m and N3.5m per session, according to its website. This is closely followed by its Nursing, Medical Laboratory Science, and Law programmes which cost N1.8m, N1.5m, and N1.2m respectively per session.

Babcock University, a private Christian co-educational Nigerian university owned and operated by the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Nigeria, is located at Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State, Nigeria, equidistant between Ibadan in Oyo State and Lagos. The most expensive programme, which is the LL.B in Law programme, costs N1,539,990, according to the school’s website. This excludes feeding which costs N523,600 (two-meal option) or  785,400 (three-meal option).

Redeemer’s University is a private university in Ede, Osun State, and prides itself as one of the most cost-effective, top private universities in Nigeria. Their fee structure, according to their website, is flexible and can be paid in three installments. The most expensive programme, which is their undergraduate Law programme, costs N1.447m followed by their Bachelor in Nursing programme which costs N1.1m per session.

Caleb University, Imota, Lagos, is a private university that is also one of the most expensive in the country. The highest fee, paid by law undergraduates, costs N1.4m, according to the fee tracker available on its website. This excludes matriculation fees, ICT and global certification, and parents forum which cost N65,000 in total.

Ajayi Crowther University, founded in 2005, is a private faith-based university located in Oyo State, Nigeria. Its Law programme costs N1.7m while its Nursing programme costs N1.4m.

Joseph Ayo Babalola University is a private Nigerian university located in Ikeji-Arakeji, Osun State, Nigeria, established in 2004 by the Christ Apostolic Church Worldwide. The most expensive programmes are the BSc Nursing, Medical Laboratory Technology, and Law programmes which cost between N1.3m and N1.5m each per session.

 Covenant University, Otta, Ogun State, affiliated with the Living Faith Church Worldwide, is a member of the Association of Commonwealth Universities, Association of African Universities, and National Universities Commission, and is one of the most expensive universities in the country. Most of the university’s programmes range between N1.1m to N3m, according to the university’s website. This includes feeding but excludes accommodation.

 Notable mentions include Achievers University, Novena University, Adeleke University, Rhema University, Lagos State University, Obong University, and Oduduwa University.

[Punch]

Pep Guardiola urged history-chasing Manchester City to seize their title “destiny” as the battle for Premier League supremacy reaches a thrilling climax on Sunday.

Guardiola’s all-conquering team go into the final day of the season with a two-point lead over second-placed Arsenal thanks to an eight-game winning streak.

City host West Ham knowing a win will seal an unprecedented fourth successive English title.

Arsenal have been near flawless themselves in 2024, with 15 wins and one draw, away to City, in 17 league matches.

Arsenal, who finished second last year, must beat Everton at the Emirates Stadium and hope City fail to win if they are to end their 20-year wait for the title.

Guardiola doesn’t expect a favour from Everton, who have nothing to play for, and will instead focus on ensuring his players finish the job themselves.

“The destiny is in our hands, but if you are thinking that Everton are going to do something, forget about it. I have seen Arsenal all season,” he said.

“We just focus on what we have to do against West Ham. There is not any contamination in my brain about anything other than what we have to do to beat West Ham.”

Not for the first time, City have been at their relentless best in the intense heat of the run-in.

Guardiola’s men have dropped just six points since mid-December, in draws against Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal.

As City close in on a sixth title in seven seasons under Guardiola, the competitiveness of the world’s most-watched league has been questioned.

But the Catalan coach has hit back at suggestions the Premier League has become boring and that City’s dominance is thanks purely to the financial muscle of their Abu Dhabi-based owners.

“It’s not boring, it’s difficult,” Guardiola said.

Arsenal have set a club record by winning 27 Premier League games this season, but that still might not be enough to dethrone City.

“We have to give ourselves the opportunity to live a beautiful day on Sunday, where the dream is still alive and is possible,” Gunners boss Mikel Arteta said.

“It’s football and once we are there we just have to live the moment.”

– Man Utd face Euro exile –

There will be an emotional farewell for Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp at the end of his memorable nine-year reign, but the Reds will finish third regardless of their result against Wolves at Anfield.

“I spoke before about how hard it will be to say goodbye,” Klopp said.

“I love absolutely everything about this place, I do. I take memories with me, fantastic memories, I take relationships with me forever.”

Manchester United are at risk of missing out on European football altogether after a miserable season.

Erik ten Hag’s men sit eighth and must better Newcastle’s result at Brentford when they visit Brighton to avoid finishing outside the top seven for the first time since 1990.

Tottenham visit relegated Sheffield United knowing a point is enough to guarantee fifth spot, while in-form Chelsea would secure a top-six finish with a draw against Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge.

The top six teams will all definitely qualify for Europe, while seventh could be enough as long as Manchester United do not shock City in next week’s FA Cup final.

At the bottom, Luton will be relegated if they fail to beat Fulham or if Nottingham Forest avoid defeat at Burnley.

Even if Luton win and Forest lose, the Hatters’ vastly inferior goal difference means they need a mathematical miracle to survive.

Fixtures

Sunday (all 4pm Nigerian time)

Arsenal v Everton, Brentford v Newcastle, Brighton v Manchester United, Burnley v Nottingham Forest, Chelsea v Bournemouth, Crystal Palace v Aston Villa, Liverpool v Wolves, Luton v Fulham, Manchester City v West Ham, Sheffield United v Tottenham

AFP

In the midst ofgeneral anguish over tough economic policies by the Tinubu-led administration, certain other decisions which have enormous impact on social interactions in Nigeria were made in the last one week. Two of such memorable decisions stand out. The first concerns President Bola Tinubu’s decision to make all Nigerians equal before the law with respect to the payment of fees at tollgates in ourairports. The second is the decision of Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, the Minister of Women Affairs to intervene in a case of proposed mass marriage in Niger State. Both are remarkable decisions for which the President can claim double credit first for his personal disposition and second for creating an enabling environment for Kennedy-Ohanenye and other top office-holders to be proactive.

Mutual distrust and suspicion between the privileged group and ordinary Nigerians have subsisted over the years because no effort has been made to interrogate the main causes. Last week, President Tinubu arrested one of them – the inclination to ask the poor to pay for certain things which the powerful and wealthy either evade or are exempted from. When Festus Keyamo, our aviation ministerrequested the federal executive council’s authorisation for more people to pay the prescribed fees for using our airport gates, his prime motivation was economic. The minister’s research team had found that the airports were losing over 82 percent of their revenues through tollgate leakages especially the exclusion of some segments of the society from payment of toll. 

Keyamo had suggested the exemption of only the President and his Vicewhich Tinubu rejected. Everyone should pay, the President directed- a directive that would greatly boost the aviation sector and more importantly redirect Nigeria’s convoluted approach to the rule of law. If everyone is equal before the law as one of the legs of the rule of law states, should some tollgate users especially those who have the ability to pay be exempted from paying the fees prescribed by law? If this question is answered in the negative as Tinubu has just done, then Nigeria can move a step forward not only in putting an end to the exploitation of the down-trodden but also in ensuring the attainment of democracy which presupposes the rule of law. It is for this reason that this writer fully supports the stand of the President. 

A second reason for my support is based on my personal experience many years ago when I served as Chief Executive of the Nigerian Television Authority NTA. Within a few months of my assumption of office, I found that NTA’s internally generated revenue was automatically consumed by internet fees paid for the LIVE coverage of government activities. I sought audience on the subject with President Olusegun Obasanjo who ordered that all Government Ministries, Parastatals and Agencies should pay NTA charges just as he directed that N36million already spent on the coverage of presidential activities be refunded to my organization. It is important to state that the charges did not include the coverage of news events which is professionally free. Obasanjo’s posture of leadership by example is worthy of emulation; and it is commendable that President Tinubu has espoused same stance with the tollgate issue. 

The decision of the Minister of Women Affairs Barrister Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye to call for more interrogation of a proposed mass marriage in Niger State which is our second topical issue is also commendable. The week before, the Speaker of the Niger State House of Assembly Abdul Malik Sarkindaji announced plans to marry off 100 female orphans who lost their parents to banditry attacks in Mariga Local Government Area of the State. Speaker Sarkindaji said he decided to sponsor the weddings of the 100 girls, because they were either orphans or their parents were too poor to fund their weddings. Expectedly, there were mixed reactions to the announcement; one of which was that of Minister Ohanenye who took steps to stop the weddings for a number of reasons which she clearly enumeratedat a press conference.

The Minister began with a petition to Kayode Egbetokun our Inspector General of Police IGP followed by filing a court injunction to put the proposed marriages on hold until further investigation is carried out with a view to ensuring that the welfare of the orphans was prioritized. As is usual in Nigeria, there were counter reactions by different groups to the Minister’s standpoint. On its part, the Niger State Council of Imams gave Ohanenye a one-week ultimatum to withdraw her comments condemning the Speaker’s plan to sponsor the mass weddings because she supposedly dabbled‘into an issue, she had no understanding of.’ Jonathan Vatsa, a chieftain of the All-Progressives Congress APC and former Commissioner for Information and Tourism in Niger State was even convinced that the Minister ‘was fighting a lost battle.’ 

Apart from the Muslim Rights Concern MURIC which asked the Minister to steer clear of the matter, another group, the Muslim Lawyers Association of Nigeria MULANfaulted Ohanenye’s position on the proposed mass weddings. According to Saeed Muhammad Tudun-Wada, the Presidentof the Association, 5 Senior Advocates and 27 other lawyers were set to meet the Minister in any court of competent jurisdiction because she had allegedly overstretched her limit by her delving into issues of private and personal interest of the girls in Niger State. Interestingly, Minister Ohanenye insists that her impetus was the importance of ensuring the well-being of the girls beyond arranging marriages.

Luckily, there are already signs of those likely to emerge as winners in the contest. The first are the girls that may, at last, get some attention from our government whose main duty is the welfare and security of citizens – a duty that has for long remained a slogan. The reason the girls are orphans is that they lost their parents to banditry which the state failed to protect them from. Having lost their parents, the compensation they appear to be getting is forced marriage as illiterates. The decision of the Women affairs minister to make arrangements for their skill acquisition and empowerment which substantially ameliorates their double jeopardy makes them winners along with the forward-looking Minister who for once goes on record as an office-holder determined to run women affairs with a human face.

We also have a third set of winners. Among them is Speaker Abdul Malik Sarkindaji who is now poised to ensure that the real interest of the girls is achieved thereby showing that his initialmove was to help the needy. Other winners include some eminent traditional rulers, especially the Etsu Nupe and the Emir of Kontagora respectively who have reached out to the Minister to work for peace. All others who have since become part of the battle and are eager to go to court on behalf of whatever party would do well to pulse for a while. Those of them who are public spirited enough can donate funds to facilitate the empowerment of the girls. Once the girls are properly trained enough to have the capacity for rational decision making, all those who want to attend marriages or who want the weddings in a particular format can do so.

While commending the President and his Minister for the two topical issues of the moment, it is important to make the point that the decision for everyone including the number one citizen to pay tollgate fees will greatly enhance the acceptance of the tolling policy. More money will be generated which would hopefully be used to provide service at the airports and which would in turn improve the welfare of air passengers. It is also hoped that basic items like Public Address Systems which do not currently function properly will be redressed. In addition, our dynamic aviation minister should instal a platform which renders nugatory any sharp practice at the tollgates of all federal airports in Nigeria.

Many Nigerians who are thrilled by the handling of the two topics in this piece would no doubt look forward to many presidential interventionsin several areas where the poor are not allowed to breathe in Nigeria. In the area of security for instance, no Nigeria should be allowed to use his official vehicle and police to push others away from our current Animal Farm type of roads in which some animals are more equal than others. 

Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has filed a lawsuit against Nigeria’s 36 governors and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Mr Nyesom Wike “over their failure to account for the spending of trillions of FAAC allocations collected by their states and the FCT since 1999.”

The suit followed reports that the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) disbursed N1.123 trillion to the federal, state, and local governments for March 2024. They shared N1.208 trillion in April. States collected N398.689 billion in March while they collected N403.403 billion in April.

In the suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/666/2024 filed last Friday at the Federal High Court, Abuja, SERAP is asking the court to “direct and compel the governors and Mr Wike to publish spending details of the FAAC allocations collected by their states and the FCT since 1999 including the list and locations of projects executed with the money.”

SERAP is also asking the court to “compel the governors and Mr Wike to invite the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission [EFCC] and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission [ICPC] to probe any allegations of corruption linked to the allocations and to monitor how the money is spent.”

In the suit, SERAP is arguing that, “Nigerians ought to know in what manner public funds including FAAC allocations, are spent by the governors and FCT minister.”

According to SERAP, “Opacity in the spending of the FAAC allocations collected by the governors and Mr Wike would continue to have negative impacts on the fundamental interests of the citizens.”

SERAP is arguing that, “trillions of FAAC allocations received by Nigeria’s 36 states and the FCT have allegedly gone down the drain. The resulting human costs directly threaten the human rights of socially and economically vulnerable Nigerians.”

SERAP is also arguing that, “Without the information on the spending details of the FAAC allocations, Nigerians cannot follow the actions of their states and the FCT and they cannot properly fulfill their responsibilities as citizens.”

SERAP is also arguing that, “Directing and compelling the governors and FCT minister to provide the information sought and widely publish the spending details of the FAAC allocations collected by them would serve legitimate public interests.”

According to SERAP, “The failure by the governors and the FCT ministers to account for the spending of the FAAC allocations collected by them is entirely inconsistent and incompatible with the Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended] and the country’s international anti-corruption obligations.”

The suit filed on behalf of SERAP by its lawyers Kolawole Oluwadare, Kehinde Oyewumi and Andrew Nwankwo, read in part: “States and the FCT should be guided by transparency and accountability principles and proactively account for the spending of the FAAC allocations collected by them.”

“Secrecy in the spending of FAAC allocations collected by the governors and the FCT minister also denies Nigerians the right to know how public funds are spent. Transparency in the spending would allow them to retain control over their government.”

“The governors and FCT minister have a legal obligation to provide the information sought including the list of specific projects completed with the FAAC allocations collected, the locations of any such projects and completion reports of the projects.”

“The information sought should also include details of the salaries and pensions paid from the FAAC allocations collected, as well as the details of projects executed on hospitals and schools with the FAAC allocations.”

“Despite the increased FAAC allocations to states and FCT, millions of residents in several states and the FCT continue to face extreme poverty and lack access to basic public goods and services.”

“The reported removal of petrol subsidy and the floating of the exchange rate by the Federal Government has translated into increased FAAC allocations to states and the FCT. However, there is no corresponding improvement in the security and welfare of millions of Nigerians.”

“FAAC allocations received by the states and the FCT are reportedly characterised by mismanagement, diversion of funds, and abandoned projects. FAAC allocations have also been allegedly spent for other purposes such as election campaigns and political patronage.”

“Publishing the documents on the spending of FAAC allocations by the states and the FCT would promote transparency, accountability, and reduce the risks of corruption in the spending of the funds.”

“Publishing the documents would also enable Nigerians to meaningfully engage in the implementation of projects executed with the FAAC allocations collected.”

“The report that some 140 million Nigerians are poor suggests corruption and mismanagement in the spending of trillions of naira in FAAC allocations collected by the states and the FCT.”

“According to our information, the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) disbursed N1.123 trillion to the federal, state and local governments for March 2024.”

“State governments got N398.689 billion while local government councils got N288.688 billion. The mineral-producing states received an additional N90.124 billion (13% of mineral revenue). In February, states collected N336 billion.”

“According to the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), the federal, states and local governments shared N10.143 trillion from the Federation Account as statutory revenue allocations in 2023, with states collecting N3.585 trillion.”

“Section 15(5) of the Nigerian Constitution requires public institutions to abolish all corrupt practices and abuse of power.”

“Section 16(2) of the Nigerian Constitution further provides that, ‘the material resources of the nation are harnessed and distributed as best as possible to serve the common good.’”

“Section 13 of the Nigerian Constitution imposes clear responsibility on the states and FCT to conform to, observe and apply the provisions of Chapter 2 of the constitution.”

“Nigeria has also made legally binding commitments under the UN Convention against Corruption to ensure accountability in the management of public resources.”

“Nigerians are entitled to the right to receive information without any interference or distortion, and the enjoyment of this right should be based on the principle of maximum disclosure, and a presumption that all information is accessible subject only to a narrow system of exceptions.”

“The Freedom of Information Act, Section 39 of the Nigerian Constitution, article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights guarantee to everyone the right to information, including the documents on the spending of FAAC allocations.”

No date has been fixed for the hearing of the suit.

[Vanguard]

ONCE in a while I visit the newsstand to feel the pulse of the people. The People’s Parliament is what some call it. When I got there last Thursday, I met them discussing the Ebora Owu.

“Don’t mind Baba. Age is telling on him. We tried the parliamentary system; we tried the military; we tried dictatorship, and we have now tried the presidential system – which was better?”

Another man cut in: “That is why the Baba is saying we should try our own African system”

“Which African system? The type where the king can commandeer your wife and you must not talk or where he can ask them to cut off your head just for the fun of it?”

“Of course, not! The world is more civilized than that now!”

“It is not enough to simply condemn a system that is working elsewhere. The question the Baba must ask is why is it working elsewhere but is not working here”

“He has answered the question! He said it is not working here because we are black. Black man, black ideas, black brains, black stomach, black everything; black behaviour!”

“It means Baba himself is part of the problem. He was a military dictator and he was also civilian president. What were his achievements?”

“We should ask him to tell us somewhere in Africa where the system he is advocating is in operation”

“He is advocating a brand new system; we have to invent it ourselves!”

“You see! Baba does not mean well. We should begin to waste time inventing a new system which no one is sure will work”

“I don’t understand why you people are wasting your time on Baba. Is the same Western model of democracy not working in Rwanda? Since the military coup in Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, is military rule not also working in those places better than the previous governments?”

“So, what you are saying is that the problem is not the system but in the operators of the system?”

“Exactly!”

And I remembered Cassius telling Brutus in William Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar”: “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars but in ourselves, that we are underlings” With Nigeria’s foundations already destroyed, no antediluvian African system of government will perform any magic. Work on the foundations, if they are still repairable.

Keeping abreast of all the arguments from different angles was impossible; so, I let some pass, but not those on Premier League and other foreign leagues. It amuses me that, abandoning their own home leagues and rooting for foreign leagues, they did not understand that they are part of the problem of capital flight and brain drain. I said so but to no one in particular and someone responded:

“I used to support Rangers International but that was when Rangers was Rangers”

Another said “ Up Bendel!”

“Bendel don die!” jeered one.

Then I remembered that I used to be a lover of ICCC Shooting Stars of Ibadan. UP SOOTIN! But that was then. SOOTIN, too, is now a shadow of its former self. I cannot remember the last time I watched a local league match. I have also stopped being a supporter of any of Nigeria’s football teams, be they male or female and whether at international or continental level, but I broke with tradition and watched the last Cup of Nations. Was I disappointed!

My reason for being aloof was echoed by one of the men when he said, “Sir, if you don’t want to develop high blood pressure and die suddenly, stop following the national team or local league”

”It is true ooo!”concurred another.

“Have you forgotten how many people died when the Super Eagles failed some months ago in Cote D”Ivoire?”

Yes, I knew people died, but so also do people die when the foreign clubs they support fail. The incontestable fact is that our people enjoy foreign leagues better than home leagues.

“If you want to enjoy good football, watch Man. C .”, chanted one as he began to gyrate all over the place with shouts of “Man. C., Mam. C”. Not to be outdone, chants of Arsenal, Man.U., Barca for life were raised by those clubs own ardent devotees. Why are our own clubs and local leagues not popular with our own people? The quality is poor! And little or no effort is being made to improve things. Then, of course, our people lack a sense of “our own”. Patriotism is alien here! A people who do not see what they enjoy or benefit from the country, and who have no hope the country is ever going to move in the right direction, will look elsewhere for succour.

Suddenly, someone shouted: “Make dem die finish!”

“Who dem be/”, another inquired. “

Wu-ko and Fine bara!”

Wike is the one the man called Wu-ko! Wike’s gutterish voice imitates that of someone about to cough, hence “wu-ko” which means “cough” while Fubara is “Fine bara”!

“If I find somebody who puts me in a position to make me dey chop, I won’t struggle with am ooo! Ten percent don do me; make imdey take the remaining 90 percent”

“Na im  be say you be mumu. How you go dey a position and another man go dey control you so tay you no go fit breathe again”?

“Na greediness dey worry Fine bara. Him fit get there without Wu-ko?”

“Too much of everything is bad! How can the governor take 10 percent and the former governor go take 90 percent?”

”God that created us, what percentage does he take from us? Is it not 10 percent? Oju-kokoro, greedy eyes, no good!”

So, these people also know the scriptures! Tithe, truly, is 10 percent. But should public funds be sequestered for personal use by political office holders in the brazen manner we have witnessed all over the country, I asked and one of them volunteered: “Oga, it is like that everywhere. Tell me one place where it is not like that?”. I scratched my head as I pondered the question. I called it a day after two hours at the newsstand.

I returned again the next day and met them discussing the Labour-FG tango over a new minimum wage. “How does that concern me? I am not a salary earner. How do I benefit from any minimum wage nonsense, except that it will fuel inflation again and I will be the worst for it?”

”Don’t be selfish! There must be someone in your family who will benefit”

“Will that person share his or her salary with me?”

“Are you, therefore, saying that there should be no salary increase?”

“I am saying that Labour should also consider those of us who are not salary earners and pursue policies that will benefit everyone, not their members alone”

“Labour is fighting for everyone. Salary increment will have multiplier effects on everyone, including even the market men and women”

“Exactly, the multiplier effect of inflation on house rents, school fees, transportation costs, foodstuffs…”

One man, who had maintained stoic silence since, now interjected: “Please tell us what you think Labour should be doing – fold their arms and pretend there is no suffering in the land?”

“Rara o! Who is talking of folding of arms? I am saying they should fight for benefits that will reach everyone”

”Like what and what?”

“If we go back to agriculture and begin to grow both cash and food crops, food prices will drop and everyone will benefit. If they pump money into the health and education sectors, everyone will benefit”

You would think he was not interested in the discussion but the vendor himself now interjected: “What of public transportation because that is what concerns me most? ”

“Do you  know how many millions of vehicles are on Lagos roads alone? How many vehicles can the government provide on Lagos roads alone? Transportation is best left to private initiatives, with the government only providing the enabling environment”.

Until she spoke, I did not notice there was a woman there among what is called the “Free Readers’ Association. It used to be free but not any longer! To be allowed to read any newspaper, a fee is charged, which varies from place to place.

“When will the government stop spending money on power supply?”

Everyone’s looks expressed surprise at the question. Shouldn’t the government be expected to spend more on power supply so we can have electricity?

“Because”, she continued, “the more money they spend, the more darkness we have”.

The front page news of many of the newspapers was another N3.3 trillion that the Federal Government was spending again on power supply. Casting my mind back, I began to recall the billions of dollars that this same power sector has consumed, from the presidency of Obasanjo to the present administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The more you look, the more peculiar the mess! But are you surprised! The power minister is said to be the scion of First Republic Ibadan politician, Adelabu Adegoke aka Penkelemesi( Peculiar Mess). Truly, it is a peculiar mess of the highest order when the minister was reported as saying why we are in darkness is because Nigerians waste power by putting on their fridges and freezers days on-end! What a Peculiar Mess!

I got jolted from my thoughts by one one fellow: “For as long as our leaders have access to generators and do not feel what we feel, don’t ever expect a solution from them” Sounds plausible! Rita Marley, Bob Marley’s widow, says it is he who feels it that knows it.

The vendor again turned to me and said: “E gbo, when will the price of fuel come down? Or has Dangote refinery not started operations?”  I cleared my throat, like Wu-ko, as I pondered what to say.  I said: “There is scanty information out there on this very sensitive matter. Some say the refinery has started full production while some say it has not. Some also say Nigeria is not producing enough crude oil; that we are not meeting our production capacity by more than one million barrels per day. Therefore, our contractual obligations to other customers may have constrained our meeting the refinery’s crude oil needs and it has to resort to importing crude to feed itself…” I hadn’t landed when one of them interjected, “So there is no hope that the price of petrol will come down any time soon?”

I said goodbye to the vendor, meandered my way out of the crowd and headed home – filled with floods of thoughts. Even if we meet Dangote’s crude oil needs, will the price of petrol reasonably come down here? With the IMF insisting that subsidies on fuel and electricity be removed, shouldn’t they tell us what the government should subsidize for Nigerians since their own governments subsidize one thing or the other for their own people?

Grammy Award-winning singer Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu, popularly known as Burna Boy, has revealed why he is not yet ready to have children.

During an Instagram live session monitored R, Burna Boy explained that his desire to provide the same level of love and dedication his parents gave him is the reason he is not having kids.

“Why haven’t I had kids yet? Bro, it’s because I don’t want to have kids,” Burna Boy stated. “Like, have you seen my operation? Have you seen my mom the way she loves me? Have you seen my dad the way he loves me?”

He further elaborated, “Bro, I know I can’t give that to anyone right now with the life I live. So until I am settled and can be there for my children every day, every minute of every day, I am not having any kids.”

[Nigerian Tribune]

They say if the heavens fall, everything on the surface of the earth will bear the brunt. In a comparatively minuscule scale, that is what happened to the 100-level students of Obafemi Awolowo University caught under the falling roof of their university’s amphitheatre last week. They were in the midst of a lecture when a rainstorm brought down the roofing of the building on their heads. Scores of students were injured in the ensuing scramble while two of their colleagues who were critically injured were hospitalised.

Anyone not familiar with how far things have degenerated in Nigerian universities and the many ‘creative’ ways in which university administrators have been trying to cope will naturally ask what business students had in the amphitheatre at that time of the morning, and where the falling roofing flew in from. Under normal circumstances, an amphitheatre is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek, ‘amphitheatron’, meaning ‘viewing from both sides’.

Amphitheatre

Isidore of Seville— the Hispano-Roman scholar and theologian who wrote numerous books, including a dictionary, an encyclopedia, a history of Goths, and a history of the world— in his work, Etymologies, elucidates: “The amphitheater is so called because it is composed of two theatres, for an amphitheater is round, whereas a theatre, having a semicircular shape, is half an amphitheatre.”

Ancient Roman amphitheatres were oval or circular in plan, with seating tiers that surrounded the central performance area, like a modern open-air stadium. In contrast, both ancient Greek and ancient Roman theatres were built in a semicircle, with tiered seating rising on one side of the performance area.

Typically, therefore, an amphitheatre is an open circular or oval building with a central space surrounded by tiers of seats for spectators. Whereas a theatre is designed with a semicircular seating gallery, an amphitheatre provides double the space because the sitting area virtually embraces or attempts to hug the stage.

That was the original concept of the world class Israeli architect who designed Africa’s most beautiful campus, Obafemi Awolowo University. His name was Arieh Sharon. He had trained at the Bauhaus in Germany in the 1920s before moving to Tel Aviv where he created numerous government buildings and landmark structures. He brought experience in designing for hot climates as well as intimate familiarity with Modernism to Nigeria as the emerging gale of independence on the continent gave the promise of Africa as a forward-moving entity.

Sharon designed the university in 1961. His OAU buildings varied in their dates of construction, but are made mainly from concrete, designed to accommodate the tropical climate and sun exposure, with ventilation provided through open hallways and stairways. The alluring visual twists and turns of his designs are even, till now, simply breath-taking.

The amphitheatre is the open air ‘twin’ of Oduduwa Hall, the university’s flamboyant ceremonials building. Constructed from 1972 to 1976, Oduduwa hall has a dramatic shallow-steps approach from the plaza and has a sitting capacity of 1400 which is often stretched to 2000, while the amphitheatre can house a larger audience of 3500 routinely extended to 5000.

No Need For Roofing

It would be difficult, if not impossible, for any Great Ife student of the 70s or early 80s to conceive of the amphitheatre with a roof! There are certain things that simply do not fit, like a leash around the head of a hen! An amphitheatre by definition is an open air affair. If it required a roof, that would have been conceived with the design and construction — and then, its name wouldn’t be ‘amphitheatre’. Everything about the facility had been well calculated at inception. For instance, its design allows the voice of anyone on stage to ‘carry’ across the womb of the space. Specific acoustic calculations must have been factored in.

But as the years rolled by and the then military government progressively reduced investment in education, university administrators, caught between a burgeoning population of students and inadequacy of facilities, chose the easiest way out — conversion of existing facilities to new uses. That accounted for why the venue for the General Studies (compulsory) course was moved from the existing auditoria to the Sports Centre because only that complex could hold the teeming population of students. A visiting foreigner would wonder what a stadium had to do with classroom activities!

That was the kind of milieu in which the amphitheatre was ‘desecrated’ with a roof! I still remember the Fela gigs we had at that venue in the 70s. The originator of Afrobeat, the great Abami Eda himself known for originality, confessed that the Great Ife amphitheatre was one of the most purpose-built venues he had ever performed in. For a man who had seen it all as far as theatres and such venues went, that assessment can’t be waived aside.

As far as I know, this is the second scary incident that has happened in the Oduduwa Amphitheatre in just over two decades. In 2021, three students were rushed to the University Health Centre following a stampede that occurred at the amphitheatre as a result of the large number of students taking the SER 001 (Use of English) mid-semester test. SER 001 was a compulsory course for all freshers.

Due to the large population and restiveness of the students, the time schedule stated for different batches of students was not adhered to. There was a massing up of batches and the situation resulted in a scramble as those entering the venue pressed against those attempting to leave, resulting in a stampede in which many students sustained injury.

The recent incident was more serious both in the number of casualties and extent of injury. The students were having an early morning lecture when the storm that tore the roof came calling. The Vice-Chancellor physically led rescue efforts and accompanied the victims to the hospital. He thereafter ordered that the amphitheatre be sealed off while an investigation was underway.

Restoration

The consensus among the university’s alumni on social media is that the amphitheatre be restored to its original state, sans the alien roof. The university ought to think of other ways of coping with its burgeoning student population than roofing an ideally roofless building.

The installation of the fallen roof was an original sin against aesthetics and civil engineering. It was also an insult to unprofaned amphitheatres all over the world. My humble demand: Tear down whatever is left of that offending roofing and let good old Oduduwa Amphitheatre be!

Christopher Who?

Nigerians took to the microblogging platform X.com to demand that British journalist Christopher Wilson apologise for his Nazi insult directed at Nigerians in the wake of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s visit to Nigeria.

Wilson had, last week, compared Nigerians to Nazis in a now-deleted post which reeked of hate for the Prince of Sussex and racism towards his wife, Megan. Comparing Nigeria to Nazi Germany for the love and hospitality shown to the couple also showed that Wilson is probably also mentally unstable. His drivel: “Desperate to show his wife they were still ‘royal’ in the eyes of the world, the Duke of Windsor took Wallis on a tour of Germany in 1937. Nigeria’s human rights record is not far short of Nazi Germany’s”.

The coward crawled back into his mother’s womb when Nigerians descended on him on the X platform. Check his photograph again. A cursory analysis of his face with its unmistakable scowl shows undiluted hate, the type common among the wannabe children of fellow commoners who, detesting the base steps from which they climbed the ladder of life, imagine that by inventing royal enemies, their own ‘aristocracy’ is assured. Imagine the temerity of this nameless plebeian!