The Olubadan-In-Council, on Friday, nominated Oba Owolabi Olakulehin as the 43rd Olubadan of Ibadanland.

[Punch]

VICTIMS who narrate stories of genocide, do so because they survived. Millions perish, whose voices we may never hear again. There are even victims who did not have the chance of being born. Their lives were simply terminated as they grew in the womb.

Humanity witnessed this nightmare, 30 years ago in Rwanda. Genocide, as defined by the United Nations, UN, “is a crime committed with the intent to destroy a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, in whole or in part”.

In 100 days from April 6 to July 15, 1994, over 850,000 persons were massacred in Rwanda. On that occasion, humanity rose in unison: “Never again!” Only to sit back and watch the on-going genocide in Gaza.

As in Rwanda, there are debates whether the Palestinian genocide going on before our very eyes, is genocide or a mere conflict by two sides. Powerful countries, especially those who supply arms or occupy permanent seats in the UN Security Council, racists and deluded ‘Men of God’ rule that what we are witnessing is a mere conflict in which one nation is teaching the other unforgettable lessons.

It took South Africa the wisdom, courage, humanism and sense of history to call genocide by its true name by getting the International Court of Justice to rule there is genocide in Palestine.

One of the witnesses to the Rwanda massacres, and the man who actually led the forces that put a stop to that genocide, is Paul Kagame. This Sunday which was exactly 30 years that the genocide began, he declared before an international audience, the basic truth: “…It was the international community which failed all of us, whether from contempt or cowardice.”

Indeed, when the Rwanda genocide was being planned, the UN which had its peacekeeping force, the United Nations Assistance Mission For Rwanda, UNAMIR, on ground, was aware. Its Commander, General Romeo on January 11, 1994 sent his “Genocide Fax” to the UN Headquarters reporting the genocide plans. He followed up with five more warnings and sought permission to intervene, but was ignored.

So, when the genocide began, UNAMIR was an indifferent force. Interventions came down to individual soldiers like Captain Mbaye Diagne, the Senegalese soldier who gave his life rescuing victims. I titled my October 3, 2020 tribute to this internationalist: “Saluting Captain Mbaye Diagne, the Soldier Who Covered UN’s Shame.”

I was not surprised by the revelations of Kagame this Sunday, that as he and people under his command raced through Rwanda to stop the genocide, France threatened to annihilate them militarily unless they stopped, and allowed the genocide to go on.

The Kagame story: “One night, in the latter days of the genocide, I received a surprise visit past midnight from General Dallaire. He brought a written message, of which I still have a copy, from the French General Commanding the force that France had just deployed in the western part of our country, Operation Turquoise.

“The message said that we would pay a heavy price if our forces dared to try to capture the town of Butare, in the southern part of our country…; he warned me that the French had attack helicopters, and every kind of heavy weapon you can imagine, and therefore were prepared to use them against us if we did not comply.

“I asked Dallaire whether French soldiers bleed the same way ours do; whether we have blood in our bodies. Then I thanked him, and told him he should just go and get some rest and sleep, after informing the French that our response would follow. And it did…We took Butare at dawn. Within weeks, the entire country had been secured, and we began rebuilding.”

But not all countries were bystanders as the Rwanda genocide was carried out. Kagame acknowledged the positive roles of countries like Uganda, Eritrea, Kenya, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, Ethiopia and of course, South Africa which emerged a democratic country as the genocide was going on.

The Rwandan President, this Sunday, added an historical gratitude: “At the United Nations Security Council in 1994, moral clarity came from Nigeria, the Czech Republic, and even as far away as New Zealand. Their ambassadors had the courage to call the genocide by its rightful name, and resist political pressure from more powerful countries to hide the truth. Ambassador Ibrahim Gambari of Nigeria and Czech Ambassador Karel Kovanda are here with us today, and we applaud you.”

There are countries like Canada, which regretted their inaction. The Clinton administration in the United States long before the genocide, knew of a “final solution to eliminate all Tutsis”, but did not act decisively even when the genocide was on.

President Bill Clinton admitted that had his administration taken some action, at least 300,000 lives could have been saved: “If we’d gone in sooner, I believe we could have saved at least a third of the lives that were lost…it had an enduring impact on me.”

Six days into the genocide, Belgium, which had one of the largest contingents in the UNAMIR, announced it was withdrawing its troops. Other nations also did.

Following widespread condemnation of the role of France, the French Parliament enquired into the role of the country in the genocide. After several months, the president of the parliamentary mission, former Defence Minister Paul Quiles, declared in 1998 that France was “not guilty”.

However, an independent Rwandan Commission Report of August 5, 2008, concluded that France was not only aware of the preparations for the genocide, but also helped train the ethnic militias that carried out the genocide. It accused 33 senior French military and political officials of complicity in the genocide. It also reported that: “French soldiers themselves directly were involved in assassinations of Tutsis and Hutus accused of hiding Tutsis.”

The genocide in the Palestine is taking a similar shape. First, the perpetrators in order to have a rationale to slaughter their victims, classify them as non-human beings. In Rwanda, the victims were labelled “cockroaches”, while in Gaza, Israel refers to the Palestinians as “human animals”. Secondly, the UN Security Council, as in Rwanda, held long debates whether the on-going genocide is really a genocide. It is also unable to agree on a permanent ceasefire.

So, as the world marks 30 years of the Rwanda genocide, we have 1,410 Israelis slain, 33,098 Palestinians killed with over 70 per cent of them being women and children and 90 per cent of the victims being civilians. So, rather than the world shout “Never again!” it is witnessing genocide: “Yet again!” Some years down the line, the powerful who have rationalised the on-going genocide may be seeking justification, or making excuses for the role they are playing in refusing to recognise genocide.

More reports have emerged conerning the boat mishap that claimed the life of a famed Nollywood star, John Paul Odonwodo, aka, Junior Pope.

In a viral video yesterday, the actor revealed that the accident was due to the inexperience of the person steering the boat.

According to him, while they were all on board, only a few passengers wore life jackets.

During the journey, Okafor said he poured Fanta into the river and tossed naira notes and some crumbs from his snack into the river to appease the gods of the river.

He also dashed some money to children who were playing around the river before they commenced the journey.

Okafor also recalled how Jnr Pope queried his actions, and he explained to him that he was rendering obeisance to the river gods, beseeching for safe passage, hence his unconventional rituals.

He narrated: “Before I entered the boat, I did the ritual. The first thing Junior Pope asked me was, ‘What am I I doing?’ And I said I was observing the water people. I can’t pass without sharing something. I have given them Fanta, so I don’t want anything bad to happen to me. Jnr. Pope agreed.

“While we were going, the guy steering the boat was wearing an earpiece, and Junior Pope was doing a video. I saw a small canoe with fishermen in front and due to his lack of experience, the guy steering the boat drove right into the last point of the canoe and we somersaulted.”

Unfortunately, the embattled actor said the producer agreed to pay him only N100,000 to star in the movie. And while they were getting ready to embark on the journey, Jnr Pope said he was uncomfortable but couldn’t help it.

The boat, which was conveying them back to Asaba, was said to have collided with fishermen’s boat, which recorded no casualties.

Meanwhile, hundreds of Nollywood stars and sympathisers yesterday thronged the waterside of River Niger Cable Point, Asaba, Delta State in search of the bodies of the three missing people who were involved in the mishap.

AGN suspends producer of ill-fated film, Adanma Luke

Sequel to the development, the leadership of the Actors Guild of Nigeria, AGN, yesterday announced the suspension of the producer of the ill-fated film, Adanma Luke as well as banning shooting of films in riverine areas.

The film titled, “Another Side of Life” was also suspended indefinitely by the Guild’s leadership.
Junior Pope didn’t survive the accident.

The search for the three other missing persons including Abigail Fredrick (Vice Chairman of Costumer Designers Guild of Nigeria) and Akwa-Ibom State-born make-up artist, Precious Oforum (Sound engineer) and Joseph Anointing (Gaffer), continued yesterday, as their colleagues in Nollywood and sympathisers thronged the riverside in their numbers.

In a statement yesterday, the President of AGN, Emeka Rollas announced the indefinite suspension of the producer of the ill-fated movie, Adanma Luke over the death of Jnr Pope.

The AGN President also said the Guild has indefinitely suspended films involving riverine areas and boat riding.

He said movie shootings would not occur yesterday in any location nationwide to mourn the victims of the mishap.

The statement read in part: “Following the tragic incident of boat mishap that claimed the life of Mr John Paul Odonwodo, aka Junior Pope and four other crew members at the waterside of River Niger Cable point, Asaba on April 10, 2024 on a movie set titled ‘The other side of Life’ produced by Adanma Luke, the leadership of the Guild has taken the following decisions: All films that involve riverine areas and boat riding are at this moment suspended indefinitely; no shooting on all locations nationwide on Thursday, April 11, 2024.

“The film titled ‘Another Side of Life’ is suspended indefinitely; No actor is allowed to work with Adamma Luke as a producer till further notice and while we keep searching for the bodies of the remaining persons, may their souls rest in peace.”

NIWA rescues 7, recovers 2 corpses

However, the National Inland Waterways Authority, NIWA, has given a clearer picture of the number of people, casualties and survivors in the boat mishap.

NIWA Area Manager, Mr Suleiman Nicholas, told Vanguard that contrary to the claim that the incident happened in Anam, Anambra West Local Government Area, of the state, the incident happened at the Akpaka Area, a suburb of Onitsha and Nsugbe, Anambra East Local Government Area, when the victims were coming back from Anam, where they went to shoot a movie.

The NIWA Area Manager stated that his men are still at the scene of the incident in Akpaka area of Onitsha and Nsugbe, conducting rescue and recovery activities with the men of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria and Marine Police.

Further questioned on the cause of the incident, Nicholas said: “Whatever you will get now as the cause of the incident may not be accurate, we are waiting for the report from my men who are at the scene of the incident. My men are on the water now to recover the remaining three missing victims.”

Police commence investigation into boat mishap

Also yesterday, the Anambra State Police command said preliminary enquiry has given insight into the cause of the boat mishap.

The cause has, however, not been made public, but the state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Tochukwu Ikenga said the Commissioner of Police, Aderemi Adeoye, has ordered exhaustive investigation with a view to determining criminal liability of any person, if any, in the mishap.

Ikenga, in a statement said: “On being notified of the capsize, Anambra Command Marine Police deployed for rescue operations and successfully rescued six actors and one actress from the water.

“Two others who were unconscious were also pulled out with the aid of fishermen and conveyed to the Delta State Command Marine Police Jetty where other members of the crew who travelled in the first boat were waiting.

“They were handed over to the President of the Actors Guild for conveyance to the hospital, while the rescue team went back in search of three others who are still missing as at the time of this release.”
He said although the accident happened within the jurisdiction of Anambra State Command, issues relating to release of bodies of the accident victims for a decent burial are to be handled by the Delta State Police command.

The CP commiserated with the families, friends and fans of the actors who lost their lives as a result of the boat mishap and prayed God to grant their souls a sweet repose.

[Vanguard]

Bobrisky, the social media celebrity, on Friday, confirmed her gender during her trial on charges of naira abuse in court.

The crossdresser was sentenced to six months in prison by Abimbola Awogboro, a judge of the federal high court.

Awogboro, in her verdict, also ruled that the sentence is without the option of a fine.

She ruled that the jail term commences on March 24, the day of her arrest.

The judge said the verdict would serve as a deterrent to other persons fond of abusing and mutilating the Nigerian currency.

Before the sentence, the judge asked Bobrisky about her gender, and she quickly replied that she “was a man”.

“Are you a man or a woman?” the judge asked to which Bobrisky responded, “I am a man”.

The social media celebrity was arrested on April 4 in Lagos for defacing the naira notes.

The crossdresser was arraigned on a six-count charge last Friday by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

While four of the charges are related to naira abuse, the remaining two counts involve alleged money laundering.

The self-proclaimed transgender, however, pleaded guilty to the first four counts bordering on naira abuse.

The presiding judge struck out counts five and six following the request of the EFCC’s counsel.

Bobrisky has always been in the news for controversial reasons.

She has always warned the public to stop referring to her as a man. She also claimed to be Nigeria’s first transgender and once admitted to having severed her genitals.

Bobrisky had in 2020 revealed that she opted for crossdressing to make ends meet after 25 years of being a man.

[TheCable]

While most Nigerians are wildly excited about the commencement of the construction of the long awaited Coastal Road that will run all the way across the litoral states of Nigeria, linking up the two most productive regions of our country, opening up the long abandoned coastal areas, and, arterially joining them up to the rest of the nation, former Vice President and serially failed presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubarkar, saw fit to seek to denigrate and undermine the project upon a truly sickening cocktail of misinformation, disinformation, outright deceit and the most poorly-packaged falsehoods imaginable.

Without a scintilla of evidence, not to talk of a shred of the same, the eternal contestant for the presidency of a country he is suspected, in certain quarters, of not even being an actual citizen of, claims President Bola Tinubu has interests in the Hitech Construction Company, the firm handling the project, and is only constructing the entire stretch of 700 kilometer superhighway, with a railway line in the median, just to benefit himself!

Of course, absolute nonsense can emanate from absolutely any nation of the world but I'm yet to encounter a narrative as dreadfully unhinged and stupendous in its incredulity as the notion that an entire stretch of 700 kilometres of world-class road cum rail infrastructure could possibly benefit just one individual.

Perhaps, you'd have to be a contraption of a Cameroonian indigene of Dubai to be able to come up with such befuddling logic, quite apart from being an addicted patron of marabouts and babalawos to expect rational persons to take you seriously.

Alhaji Atiku's ridiculous attempts at casting the project in the garb of his widely known proclivity for corrupt enrichment is neither here nor there; unlike the special purpose vehicles, SPVs, Atiku attained specialisation and occupies a competency in, the Coastal Road is a real public sector project of national significance and all relevant information pertaining thereto are in the public domain.

If he is not satisfied with what is out there, he can avail himself of the applicable freedom of information provisions like any other interested citizen.

Atiku equally tried to make a big deal out of the necessary demolishment of a small part of a resort built on the right of way of the Coastal Road and sought to sell the rather astonishing idea that a resort belonging to one man should be enough reason not to construct a road that will end up connecting tens of millions of Nigerians across one-third of our country, besides thereby also benefitting the entire nation given the transformational particulars of the project!

This is not at all surprising to me: while accusing President Tinubu of trying to benefit only himself by constructing a road to link the entire South-south to the South-west, with spurs to the entire North as well as the South-east of our country, Atiku was only confessing himself as the true apostle of what he sought to cast Tinubu as - a pathologically self-centered man, who in order to save his own private property would rather sacrifice public property that would benefit an entire nation! 

Ever the divisive figure who woefully failed in hoodwinking our beloved Northern brethren and fellow compatriots into voting for him on the basis of ethnic, religious and regional ties, Atiku tried to shift base to the Niger Delta and play his putrid card at us.

Without, in any way, laying foundation, Atiku claimed the Coastal Road ought to have been commenced from Calabar and not Lagos!

I guess he hasn't gotten over so few Lagosians voting for him in the last election and winning only one state in the entire South-west geopolitical zone.

Unfortunately, Niger Deltans similarly rejected him despite his compliment of a running mate from the region and so his totally condemnable, puerile, lame and ultimately futile attempt to create animosity between Niger Deltans and Yorubas is but a most misguided attempt to ingratiate himself with a region that has moved past him and permanently left him behind.

As a general rule, construction of a road can begin at its beginning or end, both designations being just for the sake of convenience and both of which are perfectly interchangeable.

Alternatively, construction might commence at any point along its stretch, and, indeed, it is usually the case that different sections of a stretch of highway are under construction simultaneously - how a former Vice President would not know this is simply mindboggling!

I don't really know that much about Hitech and have absolutely no interest in holding brief for it but I assume they are headquartered in Lagos and might have found it more suitable to their overall ability to deliver the project by starting off from their base.

That said, there are actually many good reasons why construction of the the road should begin at its Lagos end.

The Lekki - Ibeju - Epe section of the Coastal Road is arguably the most intensively industrialized (and industrializing) part of our country, hosting the Lekki Free Trade Zone, the Lekki Deep Seaport, Dangote Refinery, an airport in the works, as well as what is perhaps the greatest concentration of factories, businesses and residential neighbourhoods, side by side.

It has long been the fastest developing corridor in the entire country and is currently serviced by just one major highway with no alternative routes.

The main Lekki-Epe Expressway currently servicing that corridor is already saturated with traffic and only God knows what will become of it when its heavy industries and gargantuan facilities fully come on stream.

If I had to construct a road from point A where there is little traffic to point B where traffic is excruciatingly chaotic, utilitarian logic and basic common sense dictate that I should start at point B.

It must be because Alhaji Atiku only appreciates power from the perspective of pathological ambition and self-aggrandizement that something so obvious should escape him.

In any case, there is nothing that says we shall not witness construction of another section of the road taking off soon in Delta, Edo, Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom, Ondo, Rivers or from Calabar, in Cross River, its terminus or beginning, depending on where you end up driving from when it is completed.

I have long wondered at something quite remarkable about the sorts of persons Alhaji Atiku seems to prefer to roll with; they rather come across as not very bright, imaginative or howsoever original.

This is naturally a very worrying sign in a would-be leader: if he is so lousy at talent recruitment, what could he possible have to offer if he were ever to find his way to power?

Atiku's boys keep coming up with the most banal, lifeless, anaemic and pedestrian contrivances upon which they hope to denigrate President Tinubu and impress their apparently easy to impress, but clearly not very impressive, paymaster.

I once asked one rather crude member of Atiku's team whether that fellow thought, given his own endowments as to competence, acumen and abilities, he was the best Atiku's money could buy?

So much for depending on money for everything because no one is impressed enough to follow you on the basis of their belief in your vision for their nation.

Persistence and perseverance reside light-years apart from desperation, for while they are framed by consistency and forbearance, desperation, on the other hand, is hallmarked by a shamelessness often given expression in the desperado constantly snatching at straws in dedication to an unachievable ambition.

What has become crystal clear from the trajectory of former Vice President Atiku Abubarkar's antics, hypocrisies, mishaps and excesses in the course of vainly trying to position himself as an alternative to President Bola Tinubu, is a metamorphosis of his attitude to his President from a starting point of mere political rivalry to one that has deposited him in a truly dark place of deep-seated hatred for his erstwhile benefactor.

Unfortunately for former Vice President Atiku, the more he descends into that abyss of bitterness and hate, the more he forecloses any hope of his ever ruling this nation.

Onokpasa, a lawyer, is Chairman, Tinubu Media Support Group, TMSG, and writes from Abuja.

The Chairman of  Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has said that the significant cut in the diesel price to N1,200 will have a positive effect on inflation in Nigeria.

He disclosed this  during a Wednesday briefing with journalists following his homage visit to President Bola Tinubu for Eid-el-Fitr in Lagos.

According to Dangote, there has been considerable economic progress recently, indicating that the country is on the right path.

Dangote stated that his refinery is offering diesel at N1,200, below the market rate of N1,650, and he believes this will contribute to lowering inflation in the country.

• “I believe that we are on the right track. I believe Nigerians have been patient and I also believe that a lot of goodies will now come through. There’s quite a lot of improvement because if you look at it, one of the major issues that we’ve had was the naira devaluation that has gone very aggressively up to about N1,900.
• “But right now, we’re back to almost N1,250, N1,300, which is a good reprieve. Quite a lot of commodities went up. When you go to the market, for example, something that we produce locally like flour, people will charge you more. Why? Because they’re paying very high diesel prices.
• “Now, in our refinery, we started selling diesel at about N1,200 instead of N1,650 and I’m sure as we go along, things will continue to improve quite a lot.
• “If you look at it now, when you are buying N1,650 or N1,700 for a litre of diesel, and that one has been cut off by almost two-thirds, you are now paying N1,200 for diesel.
• “This can help to bring inflation down immediately. And I’m sure when the inflation figures are out for the next month, you’ll see that there’s quite a lot of improvement in the inflation rate,” Dangote said.

What you should know

Nigeria’s inflation rate currently remains very high, standing at 31.70 as of February 2024, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The inflation was driven mainly by rising food prices and the removal of petrol subsidy by President Bola Tinubu in May 2023.

In response, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has rolled out multiple monetary measures to reduce inflationary pressure in the country, including raising the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) – the benchmark interest rate – to 24.75%, the highest in decades.

Nairametrics reported that the newly launched Dangote refinery has begun to distribute diesel and aviation jet fuel to domestic marketers in the country, a move many believe will reduce inflation as well as Nigeria’s dependence on imported petroleum products.

According to Dangote, the reduction in the price of diesel from N1,650 to N1,200 will  have a positive effect on the cost of goods and services in the country.

[Nairametrics]

Super Falcons captain, Rasheedat Ajibade has debunked claims the side adopted a defensive approach in their clash against South Africa in Pretoria on Tuesday.

Randy Waldrum’s side held the Banyana Banyana to a 0-0 draw in the second leg of the 2024 Olympic Games fourth round qualifying tie.

The result ensured their passage to Paris 2024 following a 1-0 aggregate win

Ajibade, who scored the decisive goal in the first leg, claimed the Super Falcons played to win in South Africa.

“We didn’t hold back, we wanted to score goals,” the Atletico Madrid forward told reporters.

“We respect South Africa, but we wanted to play the way we played in the first leg at home in Abuja.”

[DailyPost]

The words of President Bassirou Diomaye Faye were honey to taste. Following the bitter ending of the 12-year rule of Macky Sall, highlighted by the widespread belief that France is at the heart of Senegal’s misery, a forlorn country enthusiastically lapped up Faye’s promise of a future untainted by French shenanigans.

At a stage, it was not clear who was the public enemy #1: Sall or France? 

Sall started well. He came to office in 2012 with solid credentials, looking every inch like what Senegal needed to break away from the incompetence and cronyism of Abdoulaye Wade under whom the country had lost its way. 

Sall was an elite with a strong connection to the grassroots. He rallied the opposition against Wade including committing the unthinkable sin of breaking off from the ruling Parti Democratique Senegalaise (PDS) under which he served as minister. He even dragged the president’s son to account before parliament. 

Senegalese applauded. After only a few years as president Sall offered to reduce his own term to set an example, but the country said over its dead body. If Senegal could not afford to crown him for life, he must complete his two-term limit of seven years each. 

It’s a decision it would later regret. The country had to drag Sall through an economy in a shambles, a country falling apart, and over one dozen dead in street protests to get him out of office. By this time, he had already exceeded his constitutional term limit. Sall, in short, became the very thing that he campaigned against.

France as dirty word

And France? That’s a different story. From Mali to Burkina Faso and from Guinea to Niger, France has become a dirty word, even though the elite in these countries are too ashamed to admit there’s nothing France has done without their helping hand. France is not just a metaphor for underdevelopment. You’ll be forgiven to think it’s probably also the reason some formerly virile folks in the former colonies have lost their libido. It’s not a laughing matter.

Faye’s inauguration address on April 2 was applauded because in a continent blighted by incompetent gerontocrats he is, at 44, the youngest president in Senegal’s 63-year history. But his speech was just as important. To say “enough” to France a fric – a perversion of FranceAfrique the harmless slogan of cooperation – that has made French West Africa France’s cash machine was a big deal. And Faye said it somewhat elegantly.

Sall is past tense. But promising Senegalese a future outside the grip of France, a grip forged decades before Faye was born, is where the tyre meets the road. It’s an ambitious promise made not based on where Senegal is today, but on where it wishes to be.

Dialing back to Senghor

Let’s dial back. Like a number of colonies, especially the French ones, Senegal was a part of France, in law and spirit. Senegal’s first President Leopold Sedar Senghor and an in-law of France, was one of the nine African deputies at the Constituent Assembly in Paris in 1945 that prepared the constitution of the Fourth Republic, which brought de Gaulle to power. 

That constitution according to Martin Meredith’s The Fortunes of Africa, “Endorsed the emphasis it placed on the ‘indivisible’ nature of the Union Francaise,” a union which of course included Francophone West Africa.

Anyone in doubt about the value of Union Francaise, need to be reminded that when de Gaulle died in 1970, Emperor Jean-Bedel Bokassa of the Central African Republic wept at the funeral of the man he fondly called “Papa.” Guinea’s Sekou Toure was the exception to Francophone West Africa’s mushy-mushy.

At independence, even though Senegal was better off than a number of other countries, it still relied heavily on French subsidies to pay its bills. Of course, things have changed somewhat in the last six decades, but only somewhat.

On the day that Faye took his oath of office, pledging to cut French wings to size, France remained the largest exporter to Senegal with goods such as medicines, wheat, and copper wire. In the last 27 years, France exports to Senegal have increased at an annual rate of 3.39 percent from $461 million in 1995 to $1.1 billion in 2022.

Of course, Nigeria, Morocco, and Ghana are also popping up on the radar, with Senegal’s intra-African trade growing by about eight percent but it would take more than a passionate inauguration speech to topple French interest, also deeply embedded in the oil and gas sectors by key businesses such as Total (formerly Elf), or BNP Paribas and Societe Generale in the financial services. 

Scapegoating France?

Is it even necessary to scapegoat France? Of course, it’s the popular thing and perennial French greed, not to mention the arrogance and condescension of its last two presidents, have not helped matters. But beyond red-meat politics, why should the average Senegalese be given the impression that once France – and all things French – is out of the way, the country would be on its way to a life of happily ever after?

Faye and those in his corner would soon find that the truth is more nuanced. In today’s world, capital or investment is not monolingual. Whether it’s French, English, Arabic or Mandarin capital, it finds a home wherever it is made welcome, wherever it can find value.

It’s not a matter of patriotic convenience, for example, that Abu Dhabi has conquered European football clubs and real estate. Britain, France, Germany and other European countries where the Emirati kingdom is invested made them feel welcome, whatever the right-wing sentiments in these countries may be. 

Twenty-five years ago, this same kingdom, not far from the region where the West likes to call the Axis of Evil, bought the Chrysler Building, one of the most iconic features of the New York skyline, for $800 million! And surely, Faye knows that for all its sabre-rattling against China nearly three percent of US foreign debt is owed to China.

Even though Senegal’s intra-African trade profile is looking up, CFA franc, which is still tied to the French treasury, remains the currency of Francophone countries. Plans by the 15-member regional block, Ecowas, to adopt a single currency since 1987, have gone nowhere. Similarly, Kenyan President William Ruto’s call for a pan-African payment system that would settle intra-African trade outside the dollar has gone nowhere.

Faye’s homework

For Faye to promise freedom from French grip on French money, French medicines and French food, is wishful thinking. The work must start from home, from within. The country must heal after the roller-coaster transition and also take steps to restore tourists’ confidence. Faye’s government needs to tackle corruption, strengthen the justice system, and help farmers deal with the impact of climate change. 

There’s no need to demonise France. A strategic reset of Senegal’s relationship with Paris can begin with Dakar creating an environment that works for investment – wherever it is coming from – while the new government also leverages regional cooperation, especially with moderate Francophone countries in the region. 

And the country is not doing too badly in casting its net wide. China, Russia and India are following closely behind France as Senegal’s deep-pocket trading partners. Investments from these destinations may not speak French but they may just be as unserviceable as those from Paris or elsewhere if Faye does not create the right environment for them to thrive.

The political campaign is over: governance is where the tyre meets the road.

Azu Ishiekwene is the Editor-In-Chief of LEADERSHIP. 

Nigerians are said to be very forgiving of their leaders no matter the level of betrayal. Many however believe this is the effect of illiteracy in some parts of the country where governors openly celebrate the betrayal of their people who they claim don’t read newspapers. Others attribute this to the fact that a great many Nigerians suffer from collective amnesia. But one betrayal Nigerians are not likely going to forget in a hurry was the avoidable agony they were subjected to by Godwin Emefiele and his principal, President Buhari in the run up to the 2023 election.

That the anger and anguish of many Nigerians are yet to be assuaged was experienced by yours truly in a supermarket a few days back. A woman following a seamless transaction with her ATM card triumphantly declared: “It is just as well Godwin Emefiele is in prison”. An intervention by the cashier to the effect that Emefiele was not in prison attracted a despondent “he should be taken back to prison where he should be left to rot away”. As she walked out of the supermarket, she spoke of the agony her family went through when Emefiele confiscated their life savings in 2023.

Except that power sometimes leads to self-delusion, it was hard to imagine how Emefiele thought he could ignore constitutional provisions to contest the presidency of Nigeria as a sitting CBN governor.  But intoxicated by sycophants’ eulogies and deceived by a segment of the media, he went to court to defend the indefensible. When he became sober, opportunistic Emefiele, who initially secured his job because of his sympathy for PDP decided to go down with APC.

Emefiele on the eve of an all-important general election confiscated people’s life savings in the name of currency swapping. He then ordered the destruction of the old currencies even when he knew many locations in the country were yet to be saturated with the new notes. Unable to stand the sufferings of their people, some governors sought and secured relief from the Supreme Court. Emefiele ignored the Supreme Court ruling. All he wanted was anarchy and social dislocation that would hurt the ruling APC in the 2023 election

The problem with Emefiele was that he was a round peg in a square hole. He was ill-equipped but President Jonathan unable to stand Sanusi Lamido’s criticism of monumental corruption going on in PDP, replaced him with a more pliable Emefiele. In fact, Emefiele was described by Kingsley Moghalu, a former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, as “the worst CBN Governor” in the nation’s history”. He is without debate the worst and most damaging central bank governor in Nigeria’s history – incompetent and ill-prepared for the role and from all available information from his actions, doubtlessly severely integrity-challenged.

Emefiele’s case is not helped by the report of Jim Obazee on the infractions that took place under his watch as CBN governor.  One of the 17 allegations by the Obazee’s report was that Emefiele employed surrogates to obtain shares in a new-generation bank. Other grave allegations as contained in the report submitted to President Tinubu on December 20 last year include Emefiele’s alleged unauthorised funding of 593 offshore bank accounts, fraudulent cash withdrawals from the CBN vault, gross financial misconduct involving the former governor and his deputy governors, and substantial fixed deposit holdings amounting to £543.4 million. It was on account of the above grave allegations Emefiele was arraigned at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Maitama, Abuja, in January on a 20 count-charge bordering on corruption and forgery.

Last Friday, April 8, Emefiele was once again dragged to Lagos High Court by EFCC with the following charges: “That Mr. Emefiele directed to be done in abuse of the authority of your office, as the governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, an arbitrary act, to wit: allocating foreign exchange in the aggregate sum of $2,136,391,737.33 without bids, which act is prejudicial to the rights of Nigerians.”

Count two, also of abuse of office, alleged that “Godwin Emefiele between 2020 and 2021, in Lagos, “directed to be done in abuse of the authority of your office, as the governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, an arbitrary, act to wit: allocating foreign exchange in the aggregate sum of $291,945,785.59, without bids, which act is prejudicial to the rights of Nigerians”.

In the third count, Mr Emefiele was alleged to have, in 2021, in Lagos, “directed to be done in abuse of the authority of your office, as the governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, an arbitrary act, to wit: special allocation of foreign exchange in the aggregate sum of $1,769,254,793.16, which act is prejudicial to the rights of Nigerians.”

In count four, the sum involved was $370,872,893.01. Emefiele’s co-defendant, Mr Omoile was accused of “about the 17th of November, 2020, whilst acting as an agent, accepted from Raja Punjab through Monday Osazuwa, the total sum of $110,000, for Godwin Ifeanyi Emefiele, gifts as reward for allocating foreign exchange by the Central Bank in favour of Raja Punjab’s employer.”

Although the buck stops at Emefiele’s desk, but the special investigation report indicated Emefiele, he did not work or act alone. He and the four deputy governors worked hand in glove. And this cannot be otherwise because deputy governors’ duties include “sustainability; foreign reserve adequacy; improving the transmission mechanism of monetary policy; achieving depth, safety and soundness in the financial sector; and managing capital flow and ensuring that key economic and financial policy reforms are focused on fiscal and debt”. This is why Nigerians expect the four CBN deputy governors to have their own dates in court.

It is also on record that in 2019, President Muhammadu Buhari constituted an Economic Advisory Council (EAC) to replace his administration’s Economic Management Team. It was headed by Professor Doyin Salami, a doctoral degree holder of Queen Mary College, University of London who had earlier served as a member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria and had been a member of the Federal Government’s Economic Management Team.

 There was Bismarck J. Rewane, a chartered member of the Institute of Bankers of England and Wales and a Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Bankers with over 30 years of experience as an economist, banker & financial analyst. There was also Chukwuma Soludo, a former CBN governor. He earned a first-class degree in Economics, backed up with a with a PhD and post-doctoral training in some of the world’s most prestigious institutions, including The Brookings Institution, Washington, DC; University of Cambridge, UK, University of Oxford among others. 

Professor Shehu Yahaya, another member was a macroeconomics lecturer at the Department of Economics at the University of Sussex, UK. He was a former Executive Director at the African Development Bank. There was also Professor Ode Ojowu, former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s adviser who had held positions at the International Monetary Bank and the World Bank.  Mohammed Sagagi with a PhD (Economics) from University of Warwick was another member. Salisu Mohammed BSc (First Class Hons) in Economics from University of Maiduguri and went on to bag PhD in Economics from Lancaster University, Lancaster, United Kingdom

 Iyabo Masha has worked with the International Monetary Fund since 2003 in Washington D.C. Metro Area Assignment has taken her to more than 10 emerging markets (Asian and African countries). She worked at Central Bank of Nigeria’s Research Department and was also the immediate past IMF Representative for Sierra Leone).

That these accomplished stars could not sound the alarm when things began to go critically wrong cannot but leave Nigerians in wonder.