Czech Republic’s Krystyna Pyszkova on Saturday won the Miss World 2024 title at a grand event in Mumbai. Reigning Miss World Karolina Bielawska from Poland crowned her successor at the star-studded finale here.

Apart from studying for dual degrees in Law and Business Administration, Krystyna also works as a model. She established the Krystyna Pyszko Foundation and remains actively involved in its initiatives, according to the Miss World website.

After Pyszkova, Miss Lebanon Yasmina Zaytoun was named the first runner-up. India, which hosted the event after 28 years, was represented by 22-year-old Sini Shetty. Mumbai-born Shetty, who was crowned Femina Miss India World in 2022, was unable to make it to the top 4 of the contest.

India has won the prestigious title six times — Reita Faria (1966), Aishwarya Rai Bachchan (1994), Diana Hayden (1997), Yukta Mookhey (1999), Priyanka Chopra Jonas (2000), and Manushi Chillar (2017). The 71st Miss World pageant, which witnessed the participation of contestants from 112 countries of the world, was held at the Jio World Convention Centre in BKC here.

Part of the 12-judge panel for the finale were film producer Sajid Nadiadwala; actors Kriti Sanon, Pooja Hegde; cricketer Harbhajan Singh; news personality Rajat Sharma, social worker Amruta Fadnavis; Vineet Jain, MD of Bennett, Coleman & Co. Limited; Julia Morley, Chairperson and CEO of the Miss World Organization; Jamil Saidi, Strategic Partner & Host – Miss World India, and three former Miss Worlds, including Chillar.

Filmmaker Karan Johar and former Miss World Megan Young hosted the event, which kickstarted on a high note with performances by singers Shaan, Neha Kakkar, and Tony Kakkar. A video message by Chopra Jonas highlighting the importance of ’beauty with purpose’, a tagline associated with the Miss World pageant, was also played at the event.

The cast of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s maiden web series Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar” — Manisha Koirala, Sonakshi Sinha, Aditi Rao Hydari, Richa Chadha, Sharmin Segal, and Sanjeeda Sheikh — also walked the stage with 13 fast-track Miss World contestants on the show’s newly released song “Sakal Ban”. The month-long Miss World event featured a series of rigorous competitions, including talent showcases, sports challenges, and charitable initiatives — all aimed at highlighting the qualities that make these competitors the ambassadors of change.

A member of the House of Representatives and Chairman of the House Committee on Petroleum (Downstream), Hon. Ikenga Ugochinyere has criticized the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio for purportedly launching a political attack on Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State during yesterday’s burial of the late Chief Executive Officer of Access Bank Holdings, Herbert Wigwe; his wife, Chizoba and first son, Chizzy.

Referring to the struggles by politicians to grab power, Governor Fubara, while delivering his tribute at the burial said, “What’s all these struggles about? You want to kill, bury, what’s it all about?”

Responding to the governor, Akpabio said, “What’s the struggle about? I will answer you. In 2006, I wanted to be deputy governor. The then deputy governor invited me and said this office has no money. There’s nothing in it. I don’t know why you still insist on removing me from here and taking over

“So, a woman who went with me said ‘your excellency, then don’t wait for impeachment, just resign if there’s nothing in it. And I said ‘it’s true; that’s why I want it. You’re too big for it’.  So, Mr Fubara if there’s nothing in the struggle. don’t struggle.”

Reacting to Akpabio’s comments, Ugochinyere, who represents Ideato North South Federal Constituency of Imo State, in a statement, described Akpabio’s utterance as childish and unnecessary.

He wondered why the Senate President would decide to turn a sad moment when family, friends are mourning such tragic losses to political jamboree.

He stated that Governor Fubara had never had issues with Akpabio, recalling that although a PDP governor, Fubara urged federal lawmakers-elect from the state to vote for Akpabio as Senate president in the 10th National Assembly.

Ugochinyere further recalled that Fubara supporting Akpabio is to advance “national interest.”

The lawmaker said this is not the first time Akpabio is meddling in opposition politics, adding that the opposition won’t continue to tolerate it.

He said: “The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio should stop meddling in opposition politics. Last month Akpabio at a function in the Tai Local Government area of the state asked the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nyesom Wike to look for someone from Ogoni extraction to succeed state governor, Siminialayi Fubara in 2027.

“Today, he’s responding to a remark by the Governor that has nothing to do with him. The opposition is urging the Senate president to be mindful of his utterances. How can he turn the burial of late Access Bank CEO, Herbert Wigwe, wife and first son, such a sad moment, to a political attack? It’s disappointing. That’s political recklessness taken too far. We the opposition parties won’t tolerate such utterances anymore if it continues,” he explained.

[ThisDay]

The celebrations last week of the life and times of Herbert Wigwe sent me retrieving some Philosophy books from my study. There had to be a philosophical meaning to it all. How could a man at the peak of his professional career, with a network of friends and associates spread over all the continents, literally vaporise from our midst with his wife and first son in tow? 

But the more I combed philosophy the more fuzzy I was. We are made up of body and soul, right? We leave the body behind when we expire and the soul rises to the afterlife where we are no longer constrained by the limitations of the physical world. Death, says Seneca, is a release from all suffering, and a boundary beyond which our ills cannot pass.

But this is little comfort. Based on the assumption that God is all good and all merciful, man continues to wonder why He would allow evil in the world. For, stripped of all niceties, as we say in Africa, there are very few happenings in the world that could be more horrendous than people predeceasing their fathers and mothers and uncles and aunts…

Philosophy Of Death

Even nature mourns when a green leaf falls from the Iroko tree while its withered, yellowed neighbours hang on as the fresher, healthier leaf falls to the earth. How cruel!

One of the few consolations I got from my philosophical foray was provided by the German, Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche who encouraged us to strive for greatness. He said the fear that we might die young should not deter us from striving to be great. The influence of great people lasts longer than their earthly lives — and that is good for society. 

Therefore, he contends, death is not a misfortune. He emphasises the importance of “dying at the right time,” while our lives still call for celebration, and before we risk undermining the legacy we otherwise would leave others.  “In your dying, your spirit and virtue should still glow like a sunset around the earth….”

Donald Robertson, in a piece titled “The Philosophy of death”, tries to soften the blow of death’s rude intervention. As everything has a season, so does the individual, he says. Your season, in the macro, is your life, and as the seasons pass, so too will you. In a paraphrasing of the Roman emperor and Stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius, don’t ask yourself how long you’ll live, but rather, how you’ll live… In so doing, death may not be something terrible, but rather, a natural end to a life well-ordered. 

Little comfort to grieving families, friends and associates! 

The Real Wigwe

It is said that a corpse being ferried to its final resting place by pall bearers across the neighbourhood might as well have been a log of wood because it does not exact any emotional toll on passersby. He who feels it, knows it. In the case of Herbert Wigwe, however, even those not connected with him in any way found out that he shared the same humanity with them in many profound ways to such an extent that a colleague asked me how the 57-year-old banker and entrepreneur could have been such a well kept secret all these years!

Many people found out the real essence of the relatively young man after his death. Nigeria may be a country of 200 Naira-trillionaires and 200 million beggars, but there is still so much unsung goodness in the land as evidenced by tributes paid to Herbert last week. 

Herbert Wigwe’s paths and mine never crossed. I have no reason whatsoever to be partial, one way or the other, in my assessment of his life and times. Unbelievably, despite being in the public eye everyday for the past quarter of a century, the real Herbert was largely unknown. The revelations made at the events organised by his family, friends and associates, and broadcast live on national and international networks, etched out the portrait of Herbert the humanist.

The cumulative effect of the tributes was that they painted a portrait of a human being with a heart of gold behind the name. Operating in the shark-infested waters of the Nigerian banking industry, was it realistic to expect operatives to conduct their affairs with a different set of rules, especially realising that the graveyard of Nigerian banking had many headstones of erstwhile top dogs? How did Jesus Christ handle that kind of ‘holier-than-thou’ situation? “Let him who is without sin cast the first stone”! (John 8:7).

Speakers at the event told stories of how the 57-year-old banker and corporate player became their friend and earned the respect of  the high and mighty around the world: from former President Bill Clinton of the US, to Emmanuel Macron of France, Bola Tinubu of Nigeria, Ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, former Vice-President Osinbajo, a bagful of European and African presidents and prime ministers, top diplomats and the cream of the business and political leadership in Nigeria. He had something special going with each and every one of those whose paths crossed his.

Number Your Days

On January 19, 2024, Wigwe had shared his thoughts on his X (formerly Twitter) handle: “Today and always, let us remember that life is a precious gift – a chance to breathe, feel, love, experience and connect. Let’s honour this gift by living with purpose, kindness, and gratitude, making every moment count. Let us number our days.”

 He apparently took his own advice.

 Spellbinding narratives were shared, of how this unassuming banker carried out his philanthropy without fanfare and how his life positively affected those who knew him. There were so many stories of man’s humanity to fellow man to cement a legacy of giving, of lifting other people up, of being the candle whose light was not diminished by lighting other candles. There were very few dry eyes when the leader of the Tijaniyya movement and 14th Emir of Kano, Lamido Sanusi, finished his testimony.

Governors, senators, rolled over each other to share their attestations. Also in attendance was the President of the African Development Bank, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, Nigeria’s Finance Minister Wale Edun and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Olayemi Cardoso. It couldn’t have been stage-managed. Without being so tagged, this was virtually a state burial.

Nigeria’s Vice-President Kashim Shettima, in his speech titled, “Herbert Wigwe: The Flower That Bloomed Before Spring,” waxed lyrical: “Herbert left us in winter before the season of bloom. Spring was just about to arrive at his last location, the United States when the Lord called for him.

Spring is not the symbol of Herbert’s bloom; his journey was defined by peculiar seasons. He loomed long before his co-travellers. This spring, for us, isn’t the season of festive flowers; it’s the season of wreaths….”

Legacy

Wigwe’s legacy is assured. That much was evidenced by the pan-Nigerian, pan-African, even global outpouring of love on his demise. His family and friends have pledged to ensure the completion and sustenance of his Wigwe university project.  

Posterity will not have cause to ask, “Who was Herbert Onyewumbu Wigwe?” They will encounter him in his contributions to a future that he wasn’t privileged to see. There will not be any iota of doubt that Herbert passed through these mortal shores. 

To his family and friends, I commend you to the soothing lyrics of Lynda Randle:

The God on the mountain is still God in the valley When things go wrong, He’ll make them right And the God of the good times is still God in the bad times. The God of the day is still God in the night.

The country’s petroleum products distribution and supply chain may face more challenging complexities going by current foreign exchange market intricacies.

At a media forum yesterday Major Energy Marketers Association of Nigeria(MEMAN), complained that the perplexity of the forex market uncertainty has stopped members from embarking on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), known as petrol importation.

They said, it is not easy to put together a correct mathematical calculation of the products landing cost as to further determine the appropriate pump price.

The executive secretary of the association, Clement Isong, in sharing his members position on the present industry value chain conundrum said, their investment is not fully protected with dollarisation of certain charges.

The market and consumers are not immune to government policy that allows Nigeria Ports Authority(NPA), and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, continuous charges in dollar, said Isong.

He also informed that though marketers receive products form Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) retail, ship-ship products products offload is transacted in dollar all of which pushes up cost of pump price.

“We are presently concerned about sustainability, efficiencies and affordability of energy for Nigerians and we are encouraging shift to energy transition specifically into gas space.” the ES said.

Giving further analysis, Isong said though the federal government has been faithful in its avowed intervention process since it exited the petrol subsidy regime, yet the dollarization policy is weakening the industry and discouraging investment.

He placed the blame mostly on fluctuating dollar movement and unpredictability of the rate.

For instance, he said, marketers pay NNPC about $10 per metric ton and given current exchange rate would translate to higher pump price .

Analysing the forex market impact on the business, he said, in 2023 when President Bola Tinubu removed the subsidy, and with exchange rate at that time the cost on a liter was about N4.85k and with the dollar at about N1,600 today it has added up to about N11.83 a liter, and at $30 per metric ton which was N14.54 today with dollar at N1,600 that has pushed it up to N28.44 which is adding up to the pump price.

On the transportation side, he said, even with separate negotiations by marketers, transporters charge between N5-N8 per liter.

He said with the unbearable rising cost, the Association’s ongoing advocacy is towards leveraging gas as alternative source of energy.

Speaking on the transition shift to gas, Femi Fanoiki, a consultant on Liquified Petroleum Gas, LPG, said efforts are currently moving towards driving LPG application in both the industrial and automotive services.

Fanoiki explained that interventions by the government is encouraging investment in that space but said more infrastructure deployment will further boost adoption process.

Speaking on the advantages of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), Adelanke Bayo-Adepoju, Gas and Renewable Energy Specialist at MEMAN analysed benefits in shifting focus on CNG as alternative to petrol.

She said, concerted efforts have been made to convert about 1 million vehicles to run on the fuel by 2027 and establishment of over 1,000 conversation workshops across the country.

Clarifying on the issues of return of subsidy, Isong, said the industry is witnessing consistent intervention initiatives by government which perhaps public may have misconstrued as subsidy payment.

He said, President Tinubu, in July 2023 promised that the administration will continue to monitor inflation and exchange rate movement and would be intervening to manage market operations to ensure energy security.

“We have seen those interventions at different times and it providing a level of stability but our advocacy is to encourage a paradigm shift to affordable energy options “ Isong explained.

The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, has voiced his support for the initiative by 60 members of the House of Representatives advocating for Nigeria’s return to a parliamentary system of government.

He expressed his stance while speaking to a delegation of lawmakers led by the House Minority Leader, Rep. Kingsley Chinda, and Rep. Abdulsamad Dasuki, who visited him in Abuja over the weekend.

The legislators visited the monarch to seek his counsel, blessings, and support for the proposed bills aimed at restructuring elections at the local, state, and federal levels.

Addressing the legislators, he described the current presidential system as accidental, expressing regret that the parliamentary system of government practiced after independence was short-lived due to military incursions that toppled democracy.

Ooni praised the lawmakers, stating the importance of fostering healthy competition among Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones. He also emphasised that a parliamentary system would effectively unlock and harness the country’s vast natural and human resources for development.

His words: “It’s a mistake of the past that people are saying it’s the northern people that are holding it; they want to. It’s a lie. If the people see the data of what is in the north now, I am very sure they will be the ones who say, Let us do that thing now.

“Some people call it restructuring; some people call it true federalism; some people call it devolution of powers; all in all, it’s the same thing.

“The white elephant—we don’t want to talk about it; it has gotten to the point unless we want another problem for us in this country. We have gotten to the wall, but you have made names for yourselves.

Earlier, Hon. Chinda, expressing deep concerns about the numerous challenges facing the country, expressed optimism that the ongoing consultations were aimed at gaining the support of key stakeholders in the Nigerian project.

He said, “If we try the local government system and it works, we graduate to the stage, where members from the state assembly among themselves elect a governor. If that works, while that is happening, we are looking at the faults, the problems, and the loopholes, and we keep making consequential amendments to our law before we get to the national level.

“So, that’s why we are looking at 2031 for the presidential; then we would have tried the local government, we would have tried the state, and then before we come to the presidential. If there’s a need and Nigerians think that we need to put A, B, and C in place, we will have time to do all that.

“But your Majesty, what we have come to do, like I’ve said earlier, is to seek your consent, seek your blessings, seek your advice, and tap from your wealth of knowledge.”

Hon. Abdulsamad Dasuki, on his part, expressed optimism about the ongoing consultations and argued that the transition to a parliamentary system of government would help address various concerns raised by all Nigerians.

He said, “Sir, the elections are over. The court cases, by God’s grace, are over. We all know from all parts of the country that there are complaints that things are not going as they should. Some are clamouring for decentralisation, and some are saying restructure. We, as parliamentarians, are saying the system is a parliamentary system of government. I think there’s no better time to put our words into action than now.

“So, your Majesty, we are here on behalf of the 60 of us who have started this very important journey, together with you and all leaders, in fact, all Nigerians, to start the action immediately because we believe something needs to be done to arrest the current situation we are in in Nigeria today. And I believe by the time we leave here, by God’s grace, it’s going to be action, and action to see is through the challenges that are before us.”

“The total amount of such advances outstanding shall not at any time exceed five per cent of the previous year’s actual revenue of the Federal Government” – Section 38 (2) of the CBN Act.

Every Nigerian now knows that the Buhari government obtained N30 trillion under Ways and Means, W&M, from the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, in eight years. Every naira represented pre-meditated economic sabotage; particularly when the transactions were undertaken without prior approval of the National Assembly, NASS, as required by another Section of the CBN Act.

Furthermore, we are now aware that there is no record of how the funds illegally collected were spent; and who were the recipients – again as required by law. Buhari and his co-conspirators were not only brazen, the former President is still not remorseful about actions bordering on treason committed under his watch. During a recent book launch, he actually said his government acted with transparency and accountability. That was despite the fact that the NASS was only aware of N23.7 trillion overdrawn from the CBN in a letter he wrote to them in January 2023. 

Records now available have revealed that the infractions started from 2017 when his government was allowed to collect N1.1 trillion in W&M, against N2.95 billion revenue for 2016. What he collected in 2017 represented 37.2 per cent of the previous year’s revenue instead of the 5 per cent allowed by law. The truth was deliberately concealed by the FG, CBN and the Ministry of Finance from NASS and from the Nigerian people.

Obviously, his statement was deliberate and colossal lie – unbecoming of a former President.

Despite his poor education, it is difficult to understand how a President, who colluded with others for seven years to cover-up gross misdeeds, can stand in front of an audience and claim transparency and accountability long after he had revealed only part of the truth.

We now know that N30 trillion was illegally carted out of the CBN under cover of darkness; we also know that Buhari has ruined the efforts of his next four successors by asking a complaisant Senate, headed by Senate President Lawan, to convert all the funds to 40-year bond, with three years moratorium.

What all that means is this: The present generation of Nigerians and the next will be forced to pay for funds, literally stolen, from the CBN, without having an idea what we are paying for and why?

CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
“A judge [or President] who cannot punish willful criminals, in the end, associates themselves with the criminals” – Goethe

Tinubu, a judge now, has not spoken about what his government intends to do about these unprecedented atrocities. Irrespective of his feelings as a founding father of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and the fact that he admittedly brought Buhari out of voluntary retirement, bank-rolled his successful bid for President and, therefore, shares responsibility for the disaster confronting Nigerians at the moment, he cannot shirk from punishing a serial, lawless and remorseless former President – who lacks the decency to apologise after the truth has blown up in his face. Just in case ethnic jingoists and other die-hard Buhari supporters think the indictment is too harsh, below is the evidence.

                                                  TABLE

                                               NTRILLIONS

YEAR FG REVENUE W&M COLLECTED %

2017 2.70 1.1 37.2

2018 3.87 2.1 77.8

2019 4.12 3.3 85.3

2020 4.04 4.4 107.0

2021 4.64 4.3 106.4.

2022 6.49 6.4 138.0

Clearly, we are not dealing with a President and co-conspirators, who deviated just once and inadvertently from the five per cent legal limit. What we have on our hands is Executive lawlessness beyond comparison with anything this nation has ever experienced. Buhari and Co have proved, once again, that appetite indeed grows with eating. Each year’s larceny emboldened them to commit more transgressions with impunity.

Readers who must be wondering about what happened to the former Buhari we all regarded most highly only need to remember that the acid test of honesty is money; of integrity is power. Buhari, in 2015, had both in his grasp because millions of us trusted him. There is evidence beyond reasonable doubt that we were mistaken. Just look at the table; and ask yourself if a person with a reputation to protect, and anxious to do so, could have done that to his country. He drove the Nigerian economy into a ditch from which we might not get out for 20 years.

Unless Tinubu is tired of his job, the first priority of his government is to stop chasing bush rats when buffaloes and other big games are waiting to be brought down. Certainly, N30 trillion has not vanished into thin air. A great percentage of it might still be traced in Nigeria and abroad. Without wasting too much time, Tinubu should address the nation, proclaim a state of economic emergency and round up all those involved in the heist of N30 trillion. 

Court orders should be obtained to seize all their assets – including homes until they are ready to vomit as much as possible of what they illegally took from the nation’s treasury. And, since the Buhari administration has proved, once again, that fish rots from the head, the man who was at the head of it all cannot expect to sit in comfort at Daura while Nigerians suffer. It will amount to injustice of the worst kind.

To be quite candid, Buhari treated and still treats the entire country with disdain. Otherwise, how does one explain a situation in which he belatedly sent a letter to the NASS asking that money already spent, without prior approval be converted to a long term loan – WITHOUT DETAILS!!! This is bold-faced criminality without remorse. The only plausible explanation would shock Nigerians to the marrows. It is quite possible that there are no details; no records. Designated people apparently just drove to CBN in the middle of the night, waved bogus documents, and loaded trucks with newly-minted cash.

WAS EMEFIELE BLACKMAILED OR THREATENED?

“Russia is a riddle wrapped up in a mystery inside an enigma” – Sir Winston Churchill, November 30, 1874 – January 24, 1965

Of all the culprits, Godwin Emefiele, the former Governor, will remain, like Russia, the most baffling. We met once in 2019 and that was when his re-appointment was still in doubt. Before then, he had struck me as a great achiever as CBN Governor. Working with an FG headed by an economic illiterate and Ministers of Finance, just a little bit better than the boss, Emefiele was called upon to handle all of monetary policy as well as a great deal of fiscal policy management. No previous CBN Governor ever enjoyed such powers – it was almost absolute. But, we all know what absolute power does to humans. Our meeting lasted approximately one hour. My questions focused on professionalism, how he was handling the inherent problems involved in managing both monetary and fiscal policies; and the ethical dilemma involved in that situation. His answers were convincing. But, we now know that there was no hint of W&M violations.

Now that the truth is out, Emefiele has the most difficult defence. Although, ignorance has never been an acceptable plea where grand larceny repeated committed is concerned, Buhari can still try it by pointing to his poor education.

Emefiele cannot pretend not to know the meaning of Section 38 (2) of the CBN Act. For that matter, none of the Deputy Governors from 2017 to 2023 should escape prosecution for this gross and planned violation of a basic regulation. What puzzles me is this: Was Emefiele blackmailed or threatened to go along with the greatest scam in CBN history?

To be continued…

FUND ME TO WRITE THE TRUTH ABOUT BUHARI

“I always look very hard at any one who is above suspicion” – Agatha Christie, 1890-1976
Christie was the most prolific writer on crime in the last century. I must have read at least fifteen of her books while researching for quotes for the VANGUARD BOOK OF QUOTATIONS. She was being interviewed on NBC TV one day, in 1973, when the question was asked: “How can one summarise your books?” The statement above was her short and sharp answer. I quickly jotted it in my notebook; it has remained my guide ever since. 

Today, 51 years after that declaration, and with Nigerians wondering how N30 trillion was illegally withdrawn from the CBN; and the crimes covered up until last year, nobody can convince me that Buhari did not orchestrate the illegal withdrawals. To convince Nigerians, Tinubu would have to conduct a full probe into the episode – document by document.

Pastors of some Pentecostal churches, bearing false witness, after collecting “30 shekels of silver”, can never be relied upon to tell the truth. They have written their own books. In it, you will not read about N30 trillion illegally taken from the CBN.
In mine, you will discover how reckless Buhari was.

Let us write the true history of Buhari’s misrule together. Get in touch.

Says president doesn't care about North 

Alleges 2024 budget padded by N3trn

The Senator representing Bauchi Central in the Senate, Abdul Ningi, has said that things were getting worse under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

According to the lawmaker, President Tinubu seemed not to understand the country and the issues affecting its components, especially the North.

Ningi, who is the chairman of the Northern Senators Forum (NSF), stated this in an interview with BBC Hausa Service on Saturday.

According to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Senator, the federal government hasn’t performed to expectations, adding that things were getting worse compared to when President Tinubu took over the leadership of the country in May, 2023.

“People are going through a lot of difficulties. We live in villages. We are going there to interact with them and they are lamenting seriously. They have nowhere to go, so they have no one to express their grievances to than us.

“I think Bola Ahmed Tinubu doesn’t even understand this country and he doesn’t understand the difficulties of ruling a country like Nigeria. Probably, he has his thinking of what governance is, but I don’t blame him so much because when he was campaigning for the seat, there was no agreement or promise between him and the people. People were just blinded and voted for him because he supported former President Muhammadu Buhari when he was contesting. Some even voted for him because he is a Muslim, as such, he needed their votes on whether he can or cannot do the right thing for the country.

“But the most painful thing is that Northerners stood for him and did all they could to bring him to power, but unfortunately, there was no agreement between them and the president on what should be done to the North and the Northerners. Especially taking into consideration the importance and significant projects that the North has been yearning and aspiring to get for a long time. For example, the Ajaokuta project, the Mambilla power project, the dredging of River Niger and other notable projects,” Ningi said.

He said what mostly disturbed their sleep were the national budgets of 2013 and 2014 in which they earmarked billions of Naira for critical projects but they were neglected by the then President Goodluck Jonathan, saying when President Buhari took over in 2015, they thought it was one of the projects he would pay attention to, but unfortunately, it wasn’t possible for over eight years.

“Even road construction like Kano-Abuja is not yet completed, as if it was cursed by someone, despite the road being the soul of our travellers in the North,” Ningi added.

Speaking further, Ningi said they don’t attack the government as the opposition party is supposed to do because religious and ethnic biases have been brought into politics, citing example that lawmakers from the North-West and North-East were stopped from opposition leaders in the Senate.

“If you look at it from this scenario, the majority of those in opposition are from the North-East and the North-West, but we were not allowed to be the leaders of the opposition in the Senate.

“This is one of the reasons why we said we would go back and look at what is happening under the umbrella of the Northern Senators Forum, which is under my leadership,” he noted.

On the transfer of some government agencies to Lagos, Ningi said:“As I speak, our people, especially the leaders are yet to take any action to find the solution. That is why I am not even surprised.

“These things that are happening are of two categories. Some affect the North only, and some affect the entire country. What we are doing now as leaders of the Forum of Northerners, we are trying to address the problem or reduce its strength without allowing politics to come in.”

On the 2024 budget, Ningi said for the past three months, they have engaged consultants to review the budget for them as members of the Northern Senators Forum.

“We have some experts that are working on it line by line. We have seen the huge damage that was done not only to the North but the entire country in that budget. We are supposed to sit with the Senate President to inform him about what we have observed.

“We want to show him what we have seen in the budget that is not acceptable, we will not accept them and we don’t want the country to continue spending money on those things. Apart from what the National Assembly did on the floor, there was another budget that was done underground, which we didn’t know.

“The new things we have discovered in the budget were not known to us. We haven’t seen them in the budget that was debated and considered on the floor of the National Assembly,” Ningi said, adding that there was a budget of N28 trillion but that what was officially passed by the National Assembly was N25 trillion.

“So there is N3 trillion on top. Where are they, where is it going? So, we need to know this. There are a lot of things. We are coming up with a report and we will show the president himself and ask him if he is aware or not.

“This is what we intended to do. We are to meet the president. We will talk to him about the Mambilla power project, Ajaokuta and the River Niger dredging. We will talk to him about the Niger Republic. Recently, they said they will construct a dam, this is not good for us,” Ningi said, adding that the action taken by ECOWAS has affected the relationship between Nigeria and Niger.

“There was an agreement that they would not construct a dam so that the Kainji Dam would be intact and we would give them electricity in return.

“Over one billion US dollars was spent on Mambila, BBC has reported. Where is that money? Who collected the money? We need to know and see what can be done. This Mambila is like the future of the North. Every part of the country has its holds as a symbol that will save them in the future.

“One of our weaknesses in the north is that we don’t love ourselves and our region so much that we don’t care about the future. We are just living anyhow. We just love the region in our mouths not at heart and I am seriously worried about that,” Ningi said, adding that the security challenges in the North are worrying.

“There is nowhere in the South where someone will be abducted and spend seven days in custody of the abductors. Look at Katsina, Zamfara, and Benue. I am even afraid that one day we’ll wake up and see that states like Zamfara have been taken away from the country. It is possible to go by what is happening,” Ningi added.

Three weeks ago, maybe even four, I got a message from my mobile phone company asking me to re-register my line and link it to the national identification number, aka NIN, else I would be barred. I murmured to myself: “Here we go again!” How many times will I link my line to NIN? I scampered down memory lane and disgust overpowered me. It seems some people in government wake up every day asking themselves: what more can we do today to destabilise and demoralise Nigerians? It appears they are never at peace until they inflict disruption and discomfort on millions of Nigerians through obnoxious policies and directives. That is their understanding of imagination and innovation.

In this article, I will give seven instances on this biometric enrolment epidemic. First, in 2010, we were directed by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to register our SIM cards. I went to a centre close to my estate to give my mother’s maiden name to some random individual eating noodles under an umbrella by the roadside. It felt so uncomfortable. Months later, I was informed by my telco that I was yet to register and that my line would be barred. I was perplexed. I called a friend at the NCC and he said my telco was bluffing. As it turned out, the data captured by the roadside noodle eaters could not be integrated into the telcos’ systems because of compatibility issues.

The entire NCC registration exercise was null. We wasted millions of dollars on the contracts and never heard anything about it again — but is it not Nigeria? We simply moved to the next level — my second instance — when the NCC issued another directive that all SIM cards must be registered by 2015. This time around, I went to the airconditioned office of my service provider and felt more comfortable telling them my mother’s maiden name. It worked this time as nobody threatened to cut off my line again. But when my sister, at the point of death in a Kano hospital in September 2015, desperately said “I want to talk to my brother”, her line had been barred, albeit it was registered.

She died without being able to talk to me. Till today, I still live with the trauma of wondering what she wanted to tell me. It pains me I would never know — not because she disobeyed the directive to register her line but because of our sloppy system. We had hardly calmed down with SIM registration when we were asked to get a bank verification number (BVN). We were threatened again that our accounts would be blocked if we did not obey the order. We queued in the sun and under the rain to get the BVN. We gave our mothers’ maiden names again, in addition to the very invasive capturing of our biometrics — something done only to criminal suspects and foreigners in advanced societies.

Most of us survived the BVN badgering but those who didn’t had to suffer the severe inconvenience for months. We were still catching our breath when we were ordered to register for NIN — my fourth example — otherwise we would not be able to get a passport or write university entrance exams. We queued up again, come rain or shine, to do the “needful”. Registration centres became like police checkpoints where extortion is the means of value exchange, if you know what I mean. There were people who spent days and weeks trying to register. But the registration was not enough — there was another one called “verification” which also provided a sweet opening for more extortion.

The fifth instance was the instruction to link NIN to our phone lines in 2021 — when COVID-19 was still killing people. Otherwise, our lines would be barred. Old, young, elderly and sick people had no other option than to flood the registration centres again. Ordinarily, if you already have a NIN, there should be a very easy way to add your number since all your details have already been captured by both the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), which manages NIN, and the telcos. It should be as simple as going to a portal to do the linking. Interestingly, or luckily, NIMC eventually came up with an app to make life easier, and I can remember registering all my lines via the app.

Not so fast: the sixth instance was coming. That was when I got a message from my telco to link my NIN to my line by February 29, 2024 or I would face the consequences. I was baffled. What happened to the “linking” of 2021? Has it expired? Thinking I was smart, I quickly opened my NIMC app. Alas, I could no longer access my linked numbers. It kept telling me “unauthorised access”. I went to another menu and finally saw my linked numbers — but my main line had disappeared. I clicked the “add number” button and was told a one-time password (OTP) had been sent to me. I am still waiting for the great OTP — after trying my luck a million times since February. I now do it for fun.

Now, wait for the seventh instance. I got a mail from my bank that I should add my NIN to my account, otherwise what happened in 1979 would repeat itself (if you don’t know the Okey Bakassi joke, accept my sympathy). This is the mystery: my account has a BVN, and it was from this BVN that my NIN was generated (well, that was what the NIMC lady that registered me for NIN said). If my NIN was indeed generated from my BVN, why do I have to link my NIN again? Comically, all the banks that said we could link our NIN via their internet banking platforms were only “using us to play”. There is no such menu or portal or function or button on their sites. After checking for three banks, I gave up.

The good news is that I decided to spend a whole day going from bank to bank to link my NIN so that nobody would stop me from accessing my bank account for no fault of mine. The bank officer who attended to me at my first port of call said my line was linked to many accounts, so I should change my phone number, otherwise he would not be able to link my NIN. I wanted to treat it as a joke but he was not laughing. I stood my ground. He buckled. I thereafter went to my telco to re-link my NIN. I was No. 225 on the queue. I’m not joking. I met many sad and tired Nigerians who had spent hours on the queue. I felt nothing but pity for them. This is what Nigeria does to its citizens all the time.

When I was done re-linking my NIN to my mobile line, I headed for the second bank to obey the latest CBN directive. The security guy at the main gate approached me to find out what I was looking for. I said I wanted to do the needful. He said it was past 4pm and the bank had closed. That was when I realised I had lost my sense of time. Hungry and frustrated, I drove straight home wondering why Nigeria routinely does this kind of thing to its citizens. It is an annual punishment. The philosophy of our policymakers seems to be: why make life easier when it can be complicated? I can bet that there is more in the offing. Soon, we may be asked to link our BVNs to our driving licences.

Even though I sound as if I am angry or bitter or sad, the truth is that it is the poor and lowly people I really feel for. I am an employer. I can somehow afford to burn one day going from one bank to the other to link NIN and all that, but millions of Nigerians do not enjoy that luxury. Their lives depend on daily earnings. They are not asking government for contracts. They are not asking government to pay them welfare support. All they want to do is work with their own hands to feed themselves. But that is not good enough for the policymakers. There must be a new directive to disrupt their lives and send them on unsettling errands that can be done on a smart phone. Millions of lines were cut off.

By the way, I have nothing against BVN or NIN — or linking the national ID to our phone lines. I need to be clear about that. I am cool with whatever measures the government wants to take to tackle terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, money laundering and other crimes. The authorities owe us the duty of making our country safe and secure — and we, the citizens, have the duty of supporting and co-operating with them. But must they make life this miserable for us in the process? Robert Nesta Marley, the reggae legend, captured it in these lines: ‘They made their world so hard/Every day we got to keep on fighting.’ If you drink ordinary water in Nigeria, you will need to use a toothpick.

The wickedness of our policymakers does not have any limit. They woke up one day in 2022 and decreed that they were going to re-colour naira to “fight corruption”. After sadistically making sure there wasn’t enough cash in circulation, they confiscated the old notes from us until the Supreme Court came to the rescue. They ensured electronic channels did not work well so that bank transfers would be tough. People died in the process. According to authoritative rumours, the policy was to stop Asiwaju Bola Tinubu from winning the presidential poll. The lives and livelihoods of millions of Nigerians were ruined. The Nigerian economy was mutilated. And Tinubu still became president.

The way government has handled SIM registration, BVN and NIN shows the poverty of thinking, the abject lack of rigour, in policymaking in our dearly beloved country. Someone comes up with a proposal and says “Oga, better dey for you o” and it becomes a policy with discomfiting deadlines. The idea will not be tested, the decisionmakers will not think through it and the financial or human costs are never considered. All they want to do is make money, even if the economy will be ruined in the process. Why must anybody go physically to a bank or a telco to link their NIN when all the details have already been captured on a system that we spent millions of dollars to build? Why?

I would like to be a fly on the wall when some of these heartless policies are being discussed. I would like to know if there is any sane human being in the room who highlights the impact of these directives and orders on Nigerians. I have this funny feeling that most people in power are facing the same direction. Maybe those who have contrary opinions often decide to shut up so that they would not lose their positions or get branded as renegades. I do not know. I am just guessing. But I wish that policymakers would stop treating Nigerians like goats. Life does not have to be this hard over things that can be simplified with the help of common sense. As if things are not hard enough.

AND FOUR OTHER THINGS…

KURIGA KIDNAPPINGS

The spate of abductions in northern Nigeria in the past few days is very frightening. Nearly 300 school children were abducted from Kuriga, Kaduna state, on Thursday — a sad reminder of the Chibok kidnappings of 2014. Someone asked if this and other incidents are not co-ordinated or if the economic hardship is instigating an upsurge in criminal activities. As expected, some politicians are seizing the opportunity to play politics, as we saw with the Chibok abductions. Whatever the case may be, President Tinubu must realise that securing the country is his primary responsibility and no excuse is acceptable. We want to see action and results, not rhetoric or blame-trading. Urgent.

ANOTHER ORONSAYE

Another week, another agency. Since President Tinubu “ordered” the implementation of the Oronsaye Report to cut the size of federal bodies, the National Assembly has kickstarted the process of establishing more. It was Peace Corps in week one. In week two, it was the National Tax Crimes and Oversight Commission — the function well performed by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS). This is a clear indication of the quality of thinking in certain circles and a disturbing confirmation of a lack of purpose. At this rate, we may need to set up another Oronsaye Committee to rationalise the new agencies and commissions being created after Tinubu’s directive. Dissonance.

POWER PLAY

Chief Bayo Adelabu, minister of power, spat fire on Wednesday over the dire power situation in the country. He “summoned” the chief executives of distribution companies (DisCos) and threatened to revoke their licences. He said despite all efforts to improve generation, “Certain distribution companies are failing to adequately distribute the power supplied by TCN (the transmission company).” I am a bit baffled. Is it possible to hold back power that is already on the grid? Where will the DisCos keep it? I understand that Adelabu is under pressure because of public criticism, but he needs to be calming down to be able to understand the sector before issuing threats. Complicated.

NO COMMENT

Have you heard the latest? A forensic analyst told an FCT high court on Thursday that the documents used to request the payment of $6.2 million for unnamed foreign election observers were forged. Mr Bamaiyi Meriga, the forensic analyst, confirmed earlier claims by Boss Mustapha, former secretary to the government of the federation (SGF), that President Muhammadu Buhari’s letter and signature were forged. Fellow Nigerians, I always claim that “I have seen it all” but there is definitely still more to unfold about how rotten our Nigeria is. You mean $6.2 million could be so easily taken out of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) without due diligence such as checks and confirmations? Wonderful.

Siminalayi Fubara, governor of Rivers, and Senate President Godswill Akpabio have taken jibes at each other over a remark on the power struggle. 

Fubara was speaking on Saturday during the funeral of Herbert Wigwe, the late group chief executive officer (GCEO) of Access Holdings Plc, and questioned the intentions behind political struggles and rivalries which he said “sometimes lead to deaths”.

“This one has to do with our political class. What is all this struggle all about? You want to kill, you want to bury. What is it all about?” the Rivers governor asked.

Fubara has been having a running battle with Nyesome Wike, his predecessor, over the control of political structures in Rivers state.

However, when making remarks at the event, Akpabio recalled his experience in 2006 when he aspired to become the deputy governor of Akwa Ibom state.

The senate president recounted a conversation he had with the then-incumbent deputy governor, who he said discouraged him from vying for the position because the office has no “financial benefits.”

“I will answer you. We are not talking politics. In 2006, I wanted to become the deputy governor and the then deputy governor invited me and this office has no money, there is nothing in it. I don’t know why you still insist on removing me from here and take over,” Akpabio recalled.

“So, a woman who went with me said Your Excellency, don’t wait for impeachment, just resign since there is nothing in it

“He stood up and started punching the woman. I said Your Excellency, don’t punch the woman, she is telling the truth, there is nothing in it. That’s why I want it because you are too big for it.

“Your Excellency, Governor Fubara, if there is nothing in the struggle, don’t struggle.”

The late Wigwe was buried alongside his wife Chizoba, and Chizi, his son, in his home town, Ikwerre LGA of Rivers state.

All six passengers on board died.

[TheCable]