The Lagos State Police Command has arrested a mother for attempting to kill her sick child using a poisonous insecticide known as “Sniper’’.

The state Police Spokesman, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, told reporters on Saturday that the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba, reported the attempted murder to the police on Friday.

He said the Chief Security Officer at the hospital reported to the police that the mother brought her one-year-and-seven-month-old daughter to the hospital for treatment.

Hundeyin added that the mother confessed to a doctor at the hospital that she gave the child “Sniper’’ to drink on Sunday when her convulsion was not abating.

“The mother said she gave the liquid to her child so she could rest from her excessive convulsions.

“Detectives were immediately dispatched to the hospital, where they met the baby receiving treatment.

“The mother has been taken in for investigation after the child had received treatment,’’ he said.

Bandits have reportedly abducted some Tsangaya students at Gidan Bakuso in Gada LGA of Sokoto.

Tsangaya is a school that combines Islamic and Western education.

The students were said to have been abducted at about 1a.m. on Saturday.

Multiple reports quoted Liman Abubakar, the proprietor of the school, as saying that  15 students were unaccounted for after the attack.

Abubakar noted that the bandits invaded the town, shot one person and abducted a woman before attacking the school. 

He added that it was not the first time the village was attacked by bandits.

“As they were leaving the town, they sighted our students rushing into their rooms and they kidnapped many of them,” Abubakar said.

“We have so far counted 15 who are missing and we are still searching for more.”

Ahmed Rufai, the police spokesperson in Sokoto, could not confirm the incident at the time TheCable reached out to him.

Rufai said operatives from the police headquarters have been deployed to the area to ascertain the situation of things.

[TheCable]

The remains of the late Chief Executive Officer of Access Holdings Plc, Herbert Wigwe, his wife, Chizoba and son, Chizi, have been buried in his hometown of Omueke, Isiokpo, in Rivers State.

The 57-year-old banker Plc, his wife and his son were laid to rest in a private interment following a funeral service at the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) in Isiokpo, Ikwere Local Government Area of the state.

Naija News reports that their burial followed a week-long funeral rites to celebrate the life of the founder of Wigwe University.

Several business leaders, friends, captains of industry, family members and associates had paid tributes to the late banking guru at the events held in Lagos.

The funeral service for the esteemed banker and philanthropist commenced promptly at 11:00 am today, with friends, associates, and well-wishers from both local and international communities, gathered to pay their final respects.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Governor Sim Fubara of Rivers, Rivers Commissioner of Police Olatunji Disu, former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory Nyesom Wike, business leader Aliko Dangote, former Emir of Kano, HRH Muhammadu Sanusi II, Governor Alex Otti of Abia, and Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun were present at the service.

Others are former Senate President Bukola Saraki, Governor Babajide Sawno-Olu of Lagos, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa, and a former Nigerian diplomat, Dr. Godknows Igali.

His Eminence, Cardinal John Onaiyekan, has said that it was time for Nigeria to change to a system of government that would reduce corruption and bring government closer to the people.

The Emeritus Catholic Bishop of Abuja, stated this at a policy dialogue on new governance structure for Nigeria, organised by Abuja School Social and Political Thought (ASSPT), in Abuja.

“It is time for a change. One thing is definitely sure, we cannot continue the way we are going.

”If we decide to retain the system we have now, it must change the way it is been practiced.

“If the easiest way to change is to change the system, then let’s go ahead and change the system to parliamentary, with all its advantages and disadvantages,” he added.

According to him, anything that will bring government closer to the people, reduce discretion for stealing and corruption will be good for the nation.

“My understanding is that the parliamentary system is built in such a way that will not be so easy to steal such humongous sums of money, and misuse of our natural resources legally.

“The problem of this nation is that government people are stealing legally, they don’t even feel that they are stealing.

Onaiyekan cited the provision of pension for governors, saying it was not fair after being well paid to be legally entitled to houses, cars and other things, while a retired police officer goes home with meagre sum as pension.

He also said that restructuring, not constitutional amendment will save Nigeria.

The Cardinal said that the Nigerian constitution has consistently failed to provide a clear framework for governance and religious affairs, resulting in confusion and inefficiency within the governance system.

He also advocated decentralisation of power to allow for effective governance and decision-making at the local level.

The Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Mr Kingsley Chinda, an advocate of parliamentary system, said Nigeria needed to move from a system with so much baggage to the one that provides for reward and sanctions.

Chinda is one the 60 members of the House of Representatives that introduced three bills seeking to alter the current Constitution to parliamentary system of government.

“The presidential system we adopted from US is peculiar to their country, not Nigeria,” he said, adding that the parliamentary would solve most of Nigeria’s problems.

Chinda said that the members that proposed the bill welcome observations and contributions from Nigerians to enrich its content.

A representative of the pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, Dr Akin Fapohunda, called for the provision of clearly defined process for the restructuring of the country.

“The bottom line is that we have no process. We are seeing the good but we have not defined the process, milestones and timelines that’s what is missing.

“We agree that the house is rotten and it needs to be pulled down and we should design an alternative model, which you are now selling,” Fapounda said.

A Catholic priest, Fr George Ehusani, said integrity is key to nation building and national prosperity.

Ehusani added that “elite idiocy” would ruin any nation, no matter how perfect its structural blueprint.

The Director of ASSPT, Dr Sam Amadi, argued that the parliamentary system of government was better than the presidential system currently being practiced in Nigeria.

According to him, the parliamentary system is less expensive to run when compared to presidential system, and provides better mechanisms for peer review and accountability.

“Evidence shows across the world that only few countries with presidential system of government are doing well economically,’’ he added.

Amadi said that the school believed it was key to first discuss with critical stockholders before adoption of the parliamentary system of government in Nigeria.

He said that the discussions would be escalated to include different national institutions, religious groups and regions, so as to agree to a win-win system of government.

“We want to get more people from the north and the south and the east and the west, to come together and have them shape issues,’’ Amadi added.

(NAN)

WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury has hailed Anthony Joshua following his victory over former UFC champion Francis Ngannou on Friday night in Saudi Arabia.

Joshua sent the 37-year-old Cameroon-born former UFC heavyweight champion, a two-fight professional boxing novice, to the canvas in the opening round with a straight right to the chin.

The “Knockout Chaos” fight then lived up to its billing in spectacular fashion. Joshua sent him crashing again in the second, first with a right-left combination and then an explosive right after he had beaten the count.

The referee stepped in and stopped the fight, with Joshua declared the winner by knockout victory and Ngannou out cold and receiving treatment before getting back, stunned, to his feet.

Fury, who watched the game, said he has a ‘bigger fish to fry’ against Usky and stated that he is available to face Joshua after his rematch in October.

His words: “Me and Usyk have got an undisputed world heavyweight championship coming up.

“He [Joshua] just had a show fight in Saudi Arabia, which is fantastic for the show, but for the actual real boxing, it is me and Usyk who fight for the number one and number two positions for the undisputed championship of the world.

“So that [the fight with AJ] is on the back burner for now. Great performance from AJ, fantastic, but unfortunately I have got bigger fish to fry in Usyk on May 18, and then we have a rematch in October.

“So, after that, if he is still available and I’m still available, let’s get it on.”

Fury is scheduled to face Oleksandr Usyk on May 18 in a historic, undisputed showdown, with the winner potentially facing Joshua in the future.

[OpinionNigeria]

Gender equality is a fundamental human right and a key driver of social and economic development. Recognising the importance of promoting gender equality, Plateau State has established the Gender and Equal Opportunities Commission to address gender disparities and promote equal opportunities for all individuals. This essay explores the significance of the GEOC to Plateau State, its journey under Olivia Dazyam’s leadership, perspectives and insights on GEO laws, basic concepts of gender, and the gender situation in Plateau. 

Additionally, it extends congratulations to the state governor for the establishment of the commission.

Importance of the Plateau State Gender and Equal Opportunities Commission:

The GEOC plays a pivotal role in advancing gender equality and empowering marginalised groups in Plateau State. By addressing gender-based discrimination and promoting inclusivity, the commission contributes to the overall well-being and development of the state. Through its programs and initiatives, the GEOC aims to create a more equitable society where every individual, regardless of gender, has equal opportunities to thrive.

Journey under Olivia’s Leadership:

Under the leadership of Olivia and her team, many of them pioneers, the GEOC has made significant strides in advancing gender equality and promoting women’s empowerment in its short span of existence. Olivia’s commitment to social justice and gender equality has guided the commission in implementing effective policies and programs to address gender disparities and promote inclusivity. Through strategic partnerships and community engagement, Olivia has raised awareness about gender issues and mobilised support for gender-sensitive initiatives.

Perspectives and Insights on GEO Laws:

GEO laws serve as a framework for promoting gender equality and protecting the rights of women and girls in Plateau State. These laws encompass a wide range of issues, including access to education, healthcare, employment, and political participation. By enforcing GEO laws, the commission aims to eliminate gender-based discrimination and promote gender-sensitive practices across all sectors of society. 

However, challenges remain in fully implementing and enforcing these laws, including cultural barriers and inadequate resources.

Gender Situation in Plateau:

Plateau State, like many other regions in Nigeria, faces challenges related to gender inequality. Women and girls often experience discrimination in education, employment, healthcare, and political participation. Gender-based violence, including domestic violence and harmful traditional practices, remains prevalent in the state. Despite these challenges, there are also positive developments, including increasing awareness about gender issues and efforts to promote women’s empowerment and gender equality.

Congratulations to the State Governor:

I extend my heartfelt congratulations to the state governor for the establishment of the Plateau State Gender and Equal Opportunities Commission. By prioritizing gender equality and investing in institutions like the GEOC, the state is taking proactive steps towards building a more equitable and inclusive society for all its residents. Indeed the time is now, and together, we can work towards achieving gender equality and promoting social justice in Plateau State and beyond.

Before I conclude, let me take the risk of mentioning names, more like a roll call of honour. His excellency, former Governor Jang played a pivotal role, and one can say that this is his baby, and the Plateau State House of Assembly, several of them, Gad Peter Shamaki, Nene Dung, Mary Izam, Katdapba Gobum, now late Ladi Madaki, and Suzan Yigo, Fatimah Sulieman, Peter Iorapuu, Justina Ngwobi,  Ruth Abwo, Madam Jessica, Sese, Chris, Jummai Madaki, the Nigerian office of the UNWomen, Peter Mancha, and several development partners like WRAPPA, the state ministries of women affairs, and also that of justice and many other names I must have skipped, trust me it was not intentional, it is the risk associated with name calling, but be assured that many of us made this happen, and time will tell. You are all appreciated!

Conclusion:

The Plateau State Gender and Equal Opportunities Commission plays a crucial role in promoting gender equality and empowering marginalised groups in the state. Through its initiatives and programs, the commission contributes to the overall development and well-being of Plateau State. With continued commitment and support, the GEOC can continue to advance gender equality and create a more inclusive society where everyone has equal opportunities to thrive.

Over the last few months, I have unconsciously transitioned from keyboard diarrhea to mental constipation and have pulled back from social media engagements. I even struggle to write my weekly columns.

 It’s precisely because toxic, unthinking, IMF-manufactured, right-wing economic populism has become hegemonic and taken firm roots in Nigeria. Blaming Tinubu for his right-wing economic policies while ignoring the fact that his opponents subscribe to the same policies is the kind of hypocrisy my mental, emotional, or ideological constitution is incapable of tolerating. 

Right-wing or conservative economic populism manifests differently in different countries, but its core lies in weaponizing the general population's concerns and frustrations, particularly around economic issues, to advocate poisonous, anti-people, market-centric, neoliberal economic policies while blaming an invisible elite or establishment class that supposedly controls power and resources to the detriment of the majority.

In Nigeria, conservative economic populism consists of the intentionally deceitful and absurd but nonetheless successful (at least for now) demonization of subsidies, especially petrol subsidies.

 Nigeria’s elite-created economic woes are fraudulently attributed to the dispensation of subsidies. The masses of unsuspecting chumps in the country are then whipped into a senseless frenzy about an invisible, unidentified class of “subsidy thieves” who putatively suck up our commonwealth through petrol subsidies and who would wither and perish when subsidies are removed.

 That’s classic right-wing economic populism. Well, experience is showing that it’s actually the masses that are withering and perishing after petrol subsidies have been removed. An acquittance who passionately opposed my recommendation to Tinubu to not remove petrol subsidies in my April 29, 2023, column by regurgitating the banal talking points of hard-hearted neoliberal hawks reached out to me a few days ago to admit that he was a gormless fool to believe the propaganda that petrol subsidies didn’t benefit the masses.

It took the collapse of his small transportation business and the descent of his previously thriving relatives into the dark depths of despair and poverty in less than one year after the removal of petrol subsidies for him to come to the realization that citizens of every country need subsidies.

Another central plank of Nigerian right-wing economic populism is the advocacy for the devaluation of the naira. It’s also known by the fancy name of “floating the naira.” The idea that the naira is “over-valued” and should be allowed to find its true worth in the crucible of demand and supply is a standard arsenal in the rhetorical armory of conservative economic populists in Nigeria.

Yet another favorite shtick of the treacherous tribe of neoliberal vampires in Nigeria is to capitalize on the well-known inefficiency of civil service bureaucracies to advocate the privatization of everything and the mass retrenchment of workers.

Yet these are really old, discredited Structural Adjustment Program policies that the IMF and the World Bank imposed on developing countries, which devastated national economies, caused the untimely deaths of hundreds of thousands of people, which the IMF was compelled to slyly apologize for amid mounting evidence of their tragic failure. 

The same rotten and venomous policies have been repackaged, aromatized, and re-presented to developing countries as new and effective elixirs. Every developing country that has embraced them is now coping with potentially explosive internal turmoil. 

Like Nigeria, Egypt recently accepted to devalue its currency by more than 68 percent and remove subsidies that lighten the burden of existence for ordinary folks in exchange for an $8 billion loan from the IMF. 

Everyone within striking distance of becoming president in Nigeria in 2023 subscribed—and still subscribes—to the consensus that the IMF and the World Bank are inviolable economic oracles that must not be disobeyed, that subsidies must be eliminated and the poor be left to fend for themselves, and that the market is supreme and should be left to determine the value of everything. 

In fact, the other day, PDP presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar put out a press statement titled “Argentina’s Javier Milei approach to reforms should serve as a lesson for Tinubu” where he extolled the dangerously right-wing Argentinian president Javier Milei whose rightwing economic populist policies are destroying the fabric of his country. 

“I read a recent report in Reuters titled: ‘Argentina’s market double down on Milei as investors ‘start to believe’,” he wrote. 

Well, the same Western financial establishment is already praising the outcome of Tinubu’s economic policies. A March 8, 2024, report from Bloomberg, for instance, has said that “Foreign investor demand for Nigerian assets surges as reforms instituted by President Bola Tinubu’s administration starts paying off.”

Similarly, one David Roberts, identified as a former British Council Director in Abuja, bragged the other day that Nigeria’s economy “posted a GDP growth of 3.46% in quarter 4” as a result of Tinubu’s economic reforms. 

He wrote: “Why would a country with a severe infrastructural deficit invest more money on a wasteful expenditure such as cheap petrol, instead of building schools, hospitals, dams and a national railway system? It is evident that it had to go.

“We joined the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund in saying as much to the Nigerian government. And at long last, it is gone.”

People outside Nigeria reading about Nigeria in the Western financial press would think Nigerians are now living in El- Dorado as a result of Tinubu’s “reforms”—just like Atiku thinks a favorable Reuters story about the anti-people economic policies of Milei, who is called the “Madman of Argentina,” is already yielding excellent outcomes. 

If you do the bidding of the Western establishment, they will always make up statistics to show that your economy has grown. I called attention to this in my June 28, 2023, column titled, “Why Tinubu’s Hiring and Firing Frenzy Excites Nigerians.”

I wrote: “What shall it profit a country when it pursues policies that cause the economy to ‘grow’ but cause the people to growl? After the economy has ‘grown’ but the people still groan, where is the growth? The most important growth isn't the rise in abstract, disembodied, World Bank/IMF-created metrics but in the improvement of the quality of life of everyday folks.”

Milei’s Argentina that Atiku is praising is almost in the same right-wing economic hellscape as Nigeria is. Like Tinubu, Milei began his presidency by removing subsidies for petrol and transportation and devaluing the Argentinian peso by more than 50 percent. In addition, he threw scores of workers into unemployment when he reduced the number of ministries in the country. 

He is so market-centric he scrapped a whole host of rules designed to reign in the greed and exploitation of private enterprises.  He did this by getting the parliament to approve the principle of "delegated powers" to the executive for one year, which allows him to rule by decree like a military dictator in the name of "economic urgency."

The result? Like in Nigeria, most Argentinians are having a hard time finding food to eat. A February 1, 2024, CNN story captures it: “‘I don’t know how I will eat.’ For the workers behind Argentina’s national drink, Milei’s reforms are turning sour.”

Argentinian workers periodically go on strike to protest Milei’s punishing right-wing policies. On February 28, all flights were cancelled in the country because air travel workers went on a crippling 24-hour strike.

A March 4, 2024, Bloomberg report said Milei’s policies had caused spending to plunge at shops in Argentina, that firms were seeing double-digit sales declines for third straight month, that the worth of salaries had plummeted amid a paralyzing 250% inflation, and that recession was deepening in the country.

The lead to the story says it all: “Consumers in Argentine are running out of options to shield themselves from runaway price increases as President Javier Milei’s austerity measures send the country deeper into recession.”

That’s Atiku’s exemplar for Nigeria. Peter Obi is, of course, no different. Tinubu, Atiku, Obi, and in fact Yemi Osinbajo are united in their love for rightwing economics, which invariably leads to an increase in poverty, suffocation of workers, rolling back of welfare for common people, etc. 

In a perverse way, they are actually worse than Buhari because they are self-conscious conservative economic ideologues. Buhari is merely a know-nothing, bungling, kakistocratic power monger. 

The real tragedy is that the vast majority of Nigerians who are ensconced in the narrow ethno-religious political silos built around the personalities of the major 2023 presidential candidates don’t realize that on economic policies, which is what really matters, Tinubu, Atiku, Obi, and Osinbajo are more alike than unlike. 

Sadly, Nigerian leftists, who used to be the bulwark against the dangers of conservative economic totalitarianism, have either been coopted or silenced. Only Femi Falana, Majeed Dahiru, I, and a few others consistently stand up to the forces of economic conservatism.

This state of affairs will ensure that Tinubu’s successor will be another neoliberal ideologue who will bludgeon his way to the presidency using religion and ethnicity as cudgels. When he deepens the misery he inherits, he will blame his predecessor for not being a faithful practitioner of the neoliberal gospel. His own successor will replicate his template.

 After three terms of this right-wing baloney, Nigeria will be irretrievably gone. The time to pivot from the IMF and the World Bank and to reject everyone who is their poodle is now. 

As military Governor of Lagos State in the 90s, he introduced Operation Sweep. This was a special anti-crime outfit, with incredible rapid response capabilities. Suddenly, crime rates dropped precipitously in places like Mushin, Maroko and those far-flung parts of the state which were generally looked upon as no-man’s-land; in terms of guaranteed security. Yes, Lagos became unsettlingly calm. After-dark criminality suffered a major setback. The criminals fled, mostly to neighboring Ogun State. This prompted the Military Administrator of the besieged state to inaugurate Operation Wedge, a few months after the emergence of Operation Sweep.

So, as Marwa swept them out of lagos, Ogun wedged then for ultimate extermination. Thereafter, all other Military Administrators latched onto the idea and set up various security outfits. But most of them lacked the rigour, professional efficiency and real-time response profile of Marwa’s Operation Sweep.

Then, The Guardian newspaper set up a 13-man interview team, one of the largest interview teams I had ever seen or heard about, to meet with Marwa and discuss governance and other political issues. To my surprise, my name was on the list of interviewees. This was most unusual, because I was on the Newspaper’s Editorial Board; members of which were usually not part of Newsroom activities. So, off we went to the Governor’s office on the appointed date.

It was a full harvest. The questions kept coming. The Governor kept answering. The exactness of his answers, his general articulation and pointed grasp of issues of leadership and strategic engagement stood out so clearly. Then I asked: “What is the explanation for the very conspicuous decline in petty crimes, and general criminality, since you became governor? Is it indicative of an improvement in the level of living, or is there some special method you deployed to bring about what we are seeing today?”

He managed his usual dimpled smile and said, matter of factly and almost casually, “I simply studied the crime demographics and did the needful”. That was not enough explanation, and I told him so. He needed to tell the public exactly what he was doing.

Then Marwa explained how and why a leader must use security reports to guide himself in the management of state security. “Remember that I was a military officer attached to one of Nigeria’s Foreign Missions. I looked at the New York City Model and that is what I have applied here, with some modifications suited to our environment”. He went further to explain that he met areas, like Ikoyi, with low crime rate having far more police presence and patrol than the very densely populated parts of the state. Why, for instance, would Ikoyi have four patrol teams while Mushin, with 20 times the population of Ikoyi, having just one patrol team? He asked rhetorically.

“There must be a method, and even a science, to every serious engagement, if you want to make the right impact and achieve meaningful and lasting results. I can tell you this with absolute certainly: Any governor coming after me who applies this same template will achieve exactly the same commendable results”. He rounded it off by saying that the best approach to any job is to first find out how best to do it, before you start. And, it is a matter of record that he was one hell of a good governor while in Lagos.

Is he bringing more or less the same approach, paradigms, effectiveness and attitude to his current watch as the Chairman of the Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA)? I believe that the answer is a resounding yes!

All the arrests and seizures of illegal drug consignments and sundry successes of Marwa’s NDLEA have been very heavy on preemptive intelligence work. There is also overwhelming evidence of thorough going demographic analysis. Within this you find, also, the conscious mapping of drug production, transportation, distribution and consumption patterns. Marwa’s NDLEA is one of the few examples of an organization that is paying deliberate scientific attention to the physical and human geography of drug-related issues today.

There seems to be, in all of this, a structured collaboration with the internation anti-drug network, with focus on predictive, and predictable drug-related activities.

Last week, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (rtd) said that drug abuse among Nigerians was one of the main drivers of insecurity in the country. This was during the sensitization and advocacy programme for women and youths in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Abuja. The programme was a collaborative engagement with Dr Aminu Gusau, organized under the platform of WADA. Marwa’s stated concern at the event was the growing involvement of women and youths in drug abuse.

This unfortunate development has taken absolutely incomprehensible dimensions in the country, across all the six geopolitical zones. It is also no longer an urban phenomenon, or problem. Many rural communities are now bedeviled by the malaise. As Marwa pointed out, the problem of drug abuse among the youth has now become everyone’s problem. It required everyone’s effort to deal with, and eliminate, it. All parents, schools, religious leaders, the general public, and the youths themselves must rise to the occasion.

One of the essential takeaways from Marwa at the aforementioned event is his observation that the youths constitute the engine room of every society, which must be in the right shape mentally and physically to drive a better future. But that will not happen if they are damaged by psychotropic drugs. This is a universal problem of humanity, irrespective of tradition, culture, and religion.

Listen to Marwa: “The youths exhibit attitudes both for the development of society and, at the same time, for the creation of problems in society. Drug abuse leads to criminal offences, and this fuels insecurity, such as armed robbery, murder, kidnapping, and banditry, among others. This also leads to burglary and sex work. Evidence shows that young people use drugs for various reasons, which include relaxation, experimental/curiosity, and enhancing performance, among others”. These are brute, incontrovertible, facts of our daily experience, as Nigerians.

“Go all out for drug barons and cartels”, was Marwa’s charge to NDLEA commanders, when he set targets for Commanding Officers in his 2024 Tasking Orders. As he was telling Zonal Commanders, State Commanders and Area Commanders of the Agency to go all out and smoke out drug barons still in hiding, he was also telling them to dismantle their cartels. The dismantling of the cartels, distribution networks and other facilitating variables, as part of ongoing efforts to totally cut off illegal drug supply generally, and especially to persons involved in criminal activities across the country, will make visible impact on local and national security.

Marwa is probably one of the few heads of government agencies in Nigeria today who can say with justification: “Within the limit of our resources, we have been able to push boundaries. The statistics of our operations, empirical facts from the field, the general anti-illicit drug climate we have built and the rapport between us and our domestic and international partners, all speak volumes about how we are faring, especially against the backdrop of where we are coming from, of what the situation used to be a few years ago”. Go and verify, as Peter Obi would say.

And Marwa also operates with more than a fair doze of realism, while on the job. Hear him, again: “Commendations apart, we also cannot afford not to tell ourselves the plain truth; we still have a long way to go. Hence commanders, officers and men of NDLEA can’t afford to rest on their oars. Yes, we have kept the flag of performance flying, but there’s still room for improvement. There is still much to do. And we cannot afford to be complacent now, as we have committed to a lot of ongoing efforts to improve our operational capabilities”.

He also spoke of how the Agency is constantly engaging stakeholders within and outside the country, to support and help optimize its capabilities. “We need to remind ourselves that to achieve our mandate, professionalism and discipline must be maintained at all times and in all our operations”, he never stops saying.

The NDLEA, under Marwa, is working with all relevant state authorities, and available supportive channels, for improved funding and greater impact. With improved funding, the Agency will deal more comprehensively and holistically effective, as an essential part of the “solutions toolkit’ for dealing with an aspect of the security challenges facing the nation today. If the NDLEA can effectively undermine drug availability, and also cut off the access for drug delivery routes and channels for criminals and the vulnerable, there will be a substantial, and measurable, gain in social stability. The will also be a decline in youth restiveness and general insecurity. 

In this regard, it is important that the Agency gets improved funding, which should be seen as a very important investment in an overlooked aspect of the much-vaunted non-kinetic approaches to guaranteeing national security. This is a matter the President should take seriously, and personal; especially bearing in mind the youth crisis in Olowogbowo, and some other parts of Lagos.

If, as Marwa said to his Commanders: “This year, we want to raise the bar of our performance and this calls for commanders who are up to the task to be up and doing on the job”, it means that the NDLEA should be helped to “… clean our streets and communities of illicit substances”. The matter is made more urgent by the fact that, as the NDLEA boss said: “… recently, there is another demand by kidnappers and bandits aside money, which is drugs. In that sense, it means NDLEA is working because they don’t ask for it before, meaning that they’re no longer as available as they used to be and the prices of those available have gone beyond their reach.”

Lest we forget, there is a direct connection between joblessness, poverty, school closures, drugs and criminality. But this does not take away from the need to deal with whatever is under our control. In the instant case, it is the menace of illicit and harmful drugs. That is Buba Marwa’s call, and plea. He needs everyone’s support in this fight.

I celebrate you,a living legend and uncommon African icon, Chief (Dr) Olusegun Mathew Okikiola Obasanjo ( OBJ), on your 87th birthday, which took place on March 5,2024.On paper, you are 87,having been bornbon on March 5,1937. But, you have maintained to me and all who cared to listen, again and again, that your age was merely an assumed approximation on paper, because some of your classmates have already died or celebrated their 90th,92nd and 93rd birthdays. I believe the latter more, for it comes straight from the horse's mouth. For example, one of your classmates, Dr Onaolapa Soleye ( born 11th November, 1933),who was former Minister of Finance,just died four days after he turned 90 years. He ha only just been buried.Whatever be the case, whether you are an octogenarian ( in your 80s), or nonagenarian ( in your 90s), no one can dispute your imperishable contributions to the development of the Nigerian nation in particular and the African continent in general. This is why, even as you have lovers and traducers across the world (because of your "My Command",which is "Not (your)My Will"), no one can ignore you and your looming presence. Like the stubborn scar, you have refused to go away. You always leave your marks even after the healing of the sore. So, hate him or love him, you, OBJ, have become a recurring decimal in our national discourse and conversation. You easily stir the hornet's nest with effortless éclat. When you speak, you generate national uproar. You write fiercely,fearlessly and ceaselessly. You still wield your mighty pen in a more menacing and devastating manner than you once wielded the gun when you took over control of the 3rd Marine Commando from Brigadier Benjamin Adekunle during the better-forgotten three years bloody fratricidal Civil War in Nigeria. You had also accepted the mantle of surrender on behalf of Nigeria from General Phillip Effiong who did so on behalf of Biafra at Dodan Barracks, Lagos.This was on 15th January, 1970 (Armed Forces Day),though you told me this was a mere formality as the handover agreement had already earlier been signed some days earlier. For these historic acts, your name had already entered our history books. And for many more positive reasons too.

When you write your usual probing and inquiring letters (an art and pastime for which you have since become accustomed and famous), you cause national ruckus. You ruffle feathers, bruise toes and figuratively draw blood. But, those sitting leaders or rulers that ignored your message in those piercing, intellectually-grounded letters that drip with rare vision and wisdom in their full length, breadth and erudition, and preferred to go for the messenger, rather than the message, had always done so at their own peril.

You were first arrested on the orders of then military dictator, General Sani Abacha on March 13,1995, over a phantom coup attempt. You were initially released on the intervention of ex American President, Jimmy Carter; and again re-arrested in the night of June 13,1995,and taken to an unknown destination. You were tried in company of your military Deputy Head of State, Major General Shehu Musa Yar'Adua, Col Lawan Gwadabe and Chris Anyanwu, a magazine publisher. You were initially sentenced to death after the phantom coup trials before another panel set up by Abacha reduced the sentence to 3p years, and again to 15 years imprisonment.we in the human rights community picked up the gauntlet, marched, protested and rallied daily on the streets of Lagos and elsewhere. We forced the then military junta led by Gen. Sani Abacha to commute your death sentence to mere imprisonment.You were still serving in Yola Prisons when Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar ordered your release.Yar'Adua was not so lucky. He died at Abakaliki prison where he was serving on 8th December, 1997.Little did we, or you ever know, that z a child of destiny and like the phoenix, you would rise once again from your ashes and become President of Nigeria between 1999 and 2007. This was after you had emerged Head of State (1976-1979), succeeding then Head of State, General Muritala Mohammed, who was mindlessly slain during the Col Buka Suka Dimka-led military coup on 13th February,1976. Make no mistake about this sir, I was also one of the leading lights who valiantly led the fiery battle of opposition against your third term agenda bid. I had wondered then why you desired to.I spoke piercingly against it at the Niger State Government Lodge where we had gathered to puncture your perceived inordinate ambition for self transmutation and succession. I believe in retrospect now, you would also have been wondering what you had indeed forgotten in Aso Villa that you were going back for, having already etched your name in the sands of time and got elevated into the pantheon of Nigerian heroes in less than 70 years on mother earth.

Two years ago sir, you greatly honoured me by singing my happy birthday song and cutting my birthday cake, assisted by another living nonagenarian legend and quality University education Czar, Aare Afe Babalola, SAN, CON, LL.D, at the Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti ( ABUAD). This was after I had delivered the 10th convocation lecture of this arguably numero uno African University and one of the very 400 leading Universities in the world. I am, very proudly, a Visiting Professor of Law at this great University that just made one of the best results (over 16 First Class and about 69 Second Class Upper Division) at the Nigerian Law School. I was grearly humbled because I had,as a little boy in the sixties,heard about your war time exploits whenever we gathered around a little transistor radio. I was then in St Mary's Primary School in my then little rustic village of Iviukwe, near Agenebode in Etsako East Local Government Area of Edo State.

Remain who, whom and what you are sir. Don't ever change, for you are far too old now to change and learn how to become left-handed. Remain OBJ.Continue to play football as you do always. Continue to enjoy another passion of yours- singing and dancing- (even if your vocals fall far short of Nightingale’s, and your shuffles not Michael Jackson's). Continue to do more research and write more books and letters. You have just written a new book titled, "The Art of Leading: Unconventional Wisdom from Biblical Leaders ".

Before this, you had already written tons of books, including the following,perhaps more than any living African leader ever did: My Watch (Vols. 1-3, which is your memoir); Not My Will; Call to Duty; A March of Progress: Collected Speeches of His Excellency Lt. General Olusegun Obansanjo; Forging a Compact IN U.S.-African Relations; Nigeria and International Trade Address; The Head of State’s Broadcast to the Nation, Wednesday, 29th March, 1978, Embodying the Land Use Decree No.6 of 1978; Nzeogwu: An Intimate Portrait of Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu; Women of Virtue: Stories of Outstanding Women in the Bible; My Command: An Account of the Nigerian Civil War, 1967 – 1970; Guides to Effective Prayer; The Leadership Challenge of Economic Reforms in Africa; Africa in Perspective: Myths and Realities (The Russell C. Leffingwell Lectures); Africa Embattled: Selected Essays on Contemporary African Development; A New Dawn: A Collection of Speeches of President Olusegun Obasanjo; Hope for Africa: Selected Speeches of Olusegun Obasanjo; The Challenges of Agricultural Production and Food Security in Africa; Work of Earth; Democracy Works: Turning Politics to Africa’s Advantage; Making Africa Work; This Animal Called Man; Addressing Africa’s Youth Employment and Food Security Crisis: The Role of African Agriculture in Job Creation; Constitution for National Integration and Development; Women of Virtue; Africa Through the Eyes of a Patriot; Before It Is Too Late...and the Reactions that Followed; Years of Reconstruction: Selected Foreign Policy Speeches of Olusegun Obasanjo; I See Hope; Hope For Africa; Sermons From Prison; Standing Tall: Selected Speeches of Olusegun Obasanjo; Management in Agriculture and Rural Development: A Practitioner’s View; The Asian Aspiration: Why and How Africa Should Emulate Asia—and What it Should Avoid; Before I Die; Africa, Rise to Challenge: Towards a Conference on Security, Stability, Development and Cooperation in Africa (CSSDCA) and more. So,write, write and write. Don't stop. After all, you didn't go back to the University after your presidency in 2007 to bag a Ph.D by thesis for the fun of it. So,you have sharing your thoughts on many issues. Don't stop now.

We are not tired of reading you. We are hungry for more. Remain consistently consistent, blunt and unapologetic about it. Make no mistakes, some surely hate you for this. But, more adore you for it. I am one of them. Because, the truth, especially naked truth, is always very bitter. But truth is about conscience. Like Uthman Dan Fodio once declared, 'Conscience is an open wound; only the truth can heal it". This is why the Holy Bible tells us, "...and thou shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free” (John 8:32).

Baba, continue to ask the right questions. And where possible, go ahead and question the answers also.

Don't ever drop your humour that makes standup comedians green with envy. Enjoy peace that passeth all understanding (Philippians 4:7). Above all sir, don't die yet. Don't even think about it. Shun death and its monstrous visage with all your heart and soul. Mock it. Grab and hold on to Gen 6:3 (120 years on earth). Nigeria, Africa and indeed the black world still need you and your gargantuan services and contributions.

Happy birthday sir, and many happy returns of the day.

It is well you you, baba. In all, please, OBJ, remain OBJ.