A Ghanaian cleric, Bishop Sam Owusu, has expressed disappointment in his fellow Ghanaians for not offering the same level of support to Ghanaian clerics as they do to Nigerian pastors.
This is coming in the wake of Nigerian Pastor Jerry Eze’s conference in Ghana.
The Nations’ Service Project with Pastor Jerry Eze reportedly attracted over 60,000 people last week.
The Ghana Conference, also known as the NSPPD conference, attracted a lot of buzz on social media.
However, Owusu, in a viral clip on Saturday, chided his church members and his countrymen for attending the conference.
Owusu is the Senior Pastor of the Pottersville church, East Legon Hills, Accra, Ghana.
He shared concerns about Ghanaians labelling their pastors as fake but supporting the ministries of Nigerian pastors.
In an impassioned speech in front of his members, he said, “Sometimes I am very surprised about Ghanaians, how hypocritical we are.
“We don’t respect our own and we don’t honour our own and we don’t love our own. We celebrate foreigners more than our own.
“But there is no foreigner that will celebrate Ghanaian. Look at how Ghana members and Ghanaian Christians follow Nigerian pastors and respect Nigerian men of God than even Ghanaian pastors.
“That’s why we kill all our prophets. That’s why we kill all our men of God. As if we don’t have an anointed man of God in this country
“Every prophet in Ghana is considered as fake. Every anointed man of God is considered fake.”
Talking about Eze’s programme, he said, “Just last week, one of the young men in Nigeria came to do a prayer conference here and over 50,000 people were there praying, Ghanaians o!
“But let me tell you, do you know there is no Ghanaian Pastor that will go to Nigeria to have that crowd? Not even 10%?
“Nigerians will never that’s why there is no bigger Ghanaian Church in Nigeria. Nigerians respect and love their own”
He added, “You go to Jerry Eze programme, you are sponsoring a Nigerian at the detriment of your own prophet in Ghana.
“I don’t hate him. I love the man. I love the young man. He came to Ghana and pulled over 100,000 crowd and took offerings and seed to his country and I saw even the Electoral commissioner who was the one who went to receive him from the airport.”
This situation has triggered responses from many individuals, who have highlighted the ongoing competition between Ghana and Nigeria.
The two African nations have often clashed in attempts to establish superiority.
In recent years, Ghana and Nigeria have engaged in friendly competition over Afrobeats, football, and jollof rice.
Mauricio Pochettino admitted he feels unloved at Chelsea after frustrated fans called for his sacking during Saturday’s 2-2 draw at Brentford.
Pochettino’s side led through a Nicolas Jackson header, but were pegged back by Mads Roerslev’s close-range strike after half-time.
Shortly after Yoane Wissa put Brentford ahead with a spectacular overhead kick, Chelsea supporters packed into one corner of the stadium began chanting for Pochettino’s dismissal and singing the name of former Blues manager Jose Mourinho.
Axel Disasi scored a late equaliser to spare Chelsea another embarrassing defeat in a troubled first season in charge for Pochettino.
But it was hardly an enjoyable afternoon for the former Tottenham and Paris Saint-Germain manager on his 52nd birthday.
Asked if he had heard the Chelsea fans’ taunts, Pochettino said: “I’ve been told, I didn’t hear to be honest, it’s difficult for me to understand.
“But it’s normal, we were losing the game 2-1 and they expressed their frustration. I am one of the ones responsible, I’m the coach.
“I was asked before if I feel the love from the fans? No.”
Pochettino has failed to revitalise Chelsea after arriving in the close-season to clear up the mess left by his predecessors Graham Potter and Thomas Tuchel.
Chelsea have spent over £1 billion ($1.2 billion) on signings since Todd Boehly’s consortium bought the west London club from Roman Abramovich in 2022.
But the spree has left Chelsea with an unbalanced and underachieving squad who are languishing in 11th place in the Premier League.
The Blues, who have not won a domestic trophy since 2018, were beaten by Liverpool in last weekend’s League Cup final despite facing an inexperienced line-up.
Pochettino is certain to suffer more terrace jibes amid mounting speculation that he will be axed by the end of the season.
But the Argentine, yet to win a trophy in English football, is adamant he can cope with the vitriol.
“I’m not worried. We need to accept this relationship. You win your relationship through winning games,” he said.
“I will continue to work and try to change this perception. We need to manage some reality. We are working really hard to try to win games, the team is fighting.
“If it doesn’t work and the fans are disappointed I need to respect their opinion. I think the relationship is good. If they did what they did, fans are emotional.
“I am fighting with all my sense to try to provide a team to play in the best way to score goals and win games. Today is my 52nd birthday, I know this business, but I’m going to fight.”
John Okafor, the ace Nigerian actor popularly known as Mr Ibu, has passed away.
Emeka Rollas, the president of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), broke the news in an Instagram post on Saturday evening.
Rollas quoted Don Nwuzor, the actor’s longtime manager, as confirming that he died due to cardiac arrest.
“Mr Ibu suffered cardiac arrest according to his manager for 24 years Mr Don Single Nwuzor,” the post reads in part.
“I announce with deep sense of grief that Mr Ibu didnt make it. May his soul rest in peace.”
In October last year, the ace actor revealed he was battling with a life-threatening illness.
Ibu, who spoke from a hospital bed, also cried out for financial assistance over the medical condition.
The film star’s plight prompted calls on social media for the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) to assist one of its own.
Several people announced their donations to the ailing actor, including the Abubakar Bukola Saraki (ABS) Foundation, which revealed it “paid the entire medical expenses of Ibu”.
On November 6, Ibu’s family revealed that the actor’s leg had been amputated after undergoing seven surgeries. He, however, remained in the hospital where had been recuperating.
The 63-year-old actor had delved into acting since the early 2000s but rose to fame for his role in the movie ‘Mr Ibu,’ which was released in 2004.
He also featured in a plethora of movies such as ‘Coffin Producers’, ‘Husband Suppliers’, ‘International Players’, ‘Mr.Ibu in London’ and ‘Police Recruit’
Ibu was well known for renowned for his comedic roles and he earned several nominations and awards for his craft.
We called them the ‘happening couple’. Flex (real name was Felix) was a 500 level medicine student while Tunrayo was a 200 level Law student. Though the two of them were very busy ‘effico’, they spent every free moment together. They went to the bukateria together, walked hand-in-hand to the library and the cinema. They were a reference point especially when we girls wanted to ‘yab’ our NFA male classmates who were in the habit of giving excuses to their girlfriends as to why they couldn’t take them to see a movie at Oduduwa.
We simply sneered at them.
‘If a 'medical' student could make out time for his girlfriend, please what is a Philosophy student reading?'
Stuff like that.
Anyway, shortened version of the story of Flex and Tunrayo was that their love was not hidden, at least not to those who lived with or knew them. Those who didn't know soon did when tragedy struck. Yes, death, avoidable death, came too soon, before their story got to a happy ending.
Tunrayo ‘somehow’ got pregnant and Flex metamorphosed into a guy she couldn’t believe existed somewhere inside the fine-boy-no-pimples doctor-to-be she fell in love with. Flex didn’t want the pregnancy. Indeed, he told Tunrayo to ‘let them remove’ it. There were hospitals that would do it in minutes. There were pills. Pregnancy will slow him down. In fact, it will destroy his life. The two of them did not need the distraction of a pregnancy, least of all a baby at that point in their lives.
True, neither Law or Medicine will nicely make room for pregnancy or a nine-month vacation without a major breach in the course-calendar. Happening couple or not, both Flex and Tunrayo were young. Flex was 22 while Tunrayo was 19. Of course, things fell apart. The 'Baby Doctor didn’t want a baby and so started avoiding Tunrayo. No more lunches at ‘Forks and Fingers’ or dinner at ‘New Buka’.
Flex stopped going to the movies altogether and avoided the library like it was a lepers colony or a tuberculosis ward.
Love left the Garden of Eden and Tunrayo was inconsolable. She became a shadow of herself. And as the semester break approached, she became really afraid and distracted. How did you face your parents with a teenage pregnancy and disappoint your mother whose friends were already calling ‘Mama Lawyer’. Going home was like being sent to the Guillotine. So, out of fear, Tunrayo stayed back on campus and as we later heard, she turned up dead in a quack hospital in town. She died alone, along with her dreams, her parent’s dreams , with her unborn baby.
Flex wept and mourned. We were told he got there just before Tunrayo's body was taken to the mogue and that he kept saying he was sorry.
Dear Mum and Dad, tell your girls ‘sorry after an abortion had gone wrong means nothing’. If she does not die, she may be scarred, irreversibly. My dear girls, don’t put yourself in a meaningless sorry situation just because you think it would please the man or make him stay. Do not put your life and future on the line just for a man to say ‘sorry’ and move on while you carry the scar and bear the trauma.
Too many times, the words and emotions backing ‘sorry’ don’t mean much or anything at all. It’s okay to be sorry, feel remorse and apologize but the man or woman who has inflicted the pain cannot erase the affliction. The scars sometimes are life-long ones. That’s why it’s better to stay safe than to be sorry. Be careful what you promise. Be wary of what you are promised. Think of the consequences before you lay yourself bare to the situation that might lead to gnashing of teeth. Do not forget yourself in the ecstasy of the moment and let someone else take and take and take until you are spent, only for him to come back and say sorry when it no longer matters.
What about husbands, fathers, wives, mothers who leave for greener pastures letting their partners raise their children all alone? And then they come back 20 years later when the ‘soup don done’ and the children are all made, bearing ‘sorry’ as if it is ‘aporo-epa-Ijebu’, the solution or mixture that cure all ailments. Excuse me, who sorry hep, please?
Do not be like Mama Titi whose husband left with three children only to return 18 years later, his amputated tail in between his ungodly legs and bearing a dammed and cursed sorry bouquet. And I repeat, 'who sorry hep?" Unfortunately, Mama Titi did not move on. She pined and waited for that 'sorry"for all those 18 years. One day turned into one decade but she trudged on, taking on extra jobs, doing all kinds of petty businesses to feed and put the three children through school. All she did was work and cry. Of course, 18 long years of pity party will take a toll on even the strongest healthiest woman, and it did. She had a mild stroke just before her last child graduated. All the years of hussle and hassle have impacted her body. Let’s not talk about what the loneliness did to her mind and spirit. The years of hard grind and heavy lifting a left its mark, leaving her looking older than her 60 years. And then Baba Titi returned profusely apologizing.
‘It was the Devil’s work’
‘My eyes are open now’
‘She used juju to cage me’
‘I have wronged you and your Ori’
‘I’m sorry’
Annoying sorry, who needs it? What can roll back the 18 years of tears. Who will take away the toll of playing Father and Mother to the children on Mama Titi’s health?
Who am I to say don’t take your prodigal wife or husband back? It’s not my decision or anybody’s for that matter.
That’s not even the point of this piece. The crux of this article is what you do while waiting for the return of the prodigal.
If your wife left you with the children and went off with a richer man, should you just cry, pine away and wither with the years? If she bleached and partied 10 or 15 years away and then returned with a skin that is looking like yet-to -be -cleaned Shaki (tripe), offering you a bouquet of sorry and tears on her discolored cheeks, what will you do? Everybody will probably beg a deserted spouse to welcome home a deserter, right? Even the children most likely will join the plea club. Not a problem. The decision is solely yours.
My own sermon and view is this: do not let a deserter find you on a dung heap when he or she returns. Take care of your health. In fact, pay extra attention to your health. Live, laugh, move on. Do not waste years you cannot retrieve, crying and beating up yourself with what-if-whips. If he or she is having a blast wherever they are, please enjoy yourself at least if you cannot afford a blast. Bond like never before with those children he or she abandoned for you. Live, I repeat, live. Add values to your life. Let the deserter not meet you at the same spot they left you. Develop yourself. Enrich your life. Make sure you can see through tears of loneliness. Do not become a heap of ruin and rot because your partner chose the easiest route. Make your own luck. Enjoy as much as you can while fulfilling your parental obligations. If he’s having a blast, have a blast too. If and when he decides to return with ‘sorry’, meet him with ‘sorry’ too, in case he finds evidence of your ‘blast’.
The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 election, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has urged gubernatorial aspirants and stakeholders to close ranks and rally around Asue Ighodalo, the party’s governorship candidate for Edo State.
Naija News reports that Ighodalo had emerged as the winner of the primary conducted by the ruling party, but the Deputy Governor of Edo State, Philip Shaibu, had also claimed victory in a parallel primary.
Despite the PDP leadership giving Ighodalo a Certificate of Return, Shaibu has vowed to challenge the party’s decision in court.
In a statement on Saturday, Atiku, through his Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, congratulated Asue Ighodalo for his victory at the just-concluded primary election of the party.
The former Vice President said that the election of a thoroughbred technocrat by the PDP as the party’s candidate in Edo State signposts the urgency that the PDP gives to ensuring that the next governor of Edo State is a round peg in a round hole.
Atiku said, “The PDP leadership and members in Edo State must be congratulated also, for an amazing primary election that produced the quality of candidate to fly the flag of our party in the upcoming election.
“The party has made a choice, and it is not in dispute that the choice is a good one.
“It is, therefore, on this note that I plead with all other aspirants and aggrieved stakeholders to reconcile and negotiate to make sure that Edo remains a PDP state.
“Barrister Ighodalo, apart from being a brilliant mind, in whose hands the affairs of Edo State will steer on stable waters, is also a fine gentleman.
“I believe that our candidate has what it takes to bring everyone willing to work for the interest of the PDP under the huge umbrella of our party.”
Continuing, he noted that the current hardship being experienced by Nigerians should energize every PDP member to work for the party’s interest, especially in Edo State, in ensuring that the ruling party, the APC, does not enlarge its map of hunger and poverty.
Ex- international, Segun Odegbami, has disclosed that erstwhile Super Eagles Coach, Jose Peseiro, did not resign as being peddled.
Odegbami who made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Lagos, said the gaffer’s contract ended and it was not renewed.
He urged him to move on, adding that Peseiro had performed averagely as coach of the Super Eagles.
“Peseiro did not resign as the story is being peddled, his contract ended and it was not renewed, end of story.
“He should bow out when the ovation is loud. If the ovation was not loud, the government wouldn’t have given him the award that nobody could have ever imagined.
“Peseiro got a reward that has never been given to any coach in the world, not because he won the AFCON, but because he came second.
“He should leave Nigeria alone to face the future. We need a coach who will take us to win something because we are tired of coaches who cannot win anything for us,” he said.
He called on the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), to look inward for an indigenous coach to handle the Super Eagles, adding that Nigeria needed a better hand to handle the Super Eagles.
“Unless we want to be enslaved forever, in our colonial mentality where we think that only the white can coach us to success.
“All around us, we hear about some Nigerians who are excelling in all fields of endeavours and they are leaving the country to go and help other countries.
“Football is not a rocket science, but a simple game, we have lots of Nigerians who have all the qualifications to take us to any level.
“For me, I won’t suffer from colonial mentality again and enough of foreign coaches, now, it’s time for a Nigerian Coach to handle our national team,” he said.
The Yoruba nation activist, Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Igboho, has urged traditional rulers in the Southwest to support him in flushing out criminality and banditry from the region.
Igboho said he would collaborate with traditional rulers to put a permanent end to insecurity in the Southwest.
In a statement he signed, he lamented that insecurity was responsible for death and farmer-herder crisis in the region.
“I welcome the idea, and assure them that I will do my best to checkmate incidence of insecurity provided I receive the backing of the relevant security agencies, Yoruba monarchs and other stakeholders.
“Insecurity and threats precipitated by banditry, herders/farmers clashes, leading to deaths and massive destruction of farmlands have driven away farmers and agric entrepreneurs from farm settlements in Yorubaland.
“We need to flush out criminal elements, who have occupied our forests using the place as launch pads to jeopardize the peace in our communities, towns, villages and amulets. I am ready to lend my support in this regard,” he said.
The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye, says he is alive because God is wonderful, recalling how he once escaped death by the whiskers.
He spoke at the Redemption Camp, off Lagos-Ibadan Expressway in Ogun, on Saturday as he clocked 82, with congregants celebrating him.
Adeboye narrated the incident, which many years ago, according to him, could have claimed his life, if not for a miraculous intervention of God.
He referred to an earlier narrative by his former driver of several accidents in which the cleric and his wife escaped death in various incidents on the way to Ilorin, Kwara.
Adeboye said that the most frightening was one in which their vehicle came face to face with a trailer that was coming at full speed on a narrow path, by a bridge which had a river by its side.
“Somehow we passed,” he said, noting that it was a miracle that they escaped unhurt in the incident, which left both him and his driver shaking.
Adeboye said the escape amazed his driver, that all the way to Ilorin, all he was repeating was ‘wonderful.’
“That I’m alive today is because His name is called wonderful,” he said, and prayed that God would be wonderful in the lives of the people.
Adeboye appreciated the church members for celebrating him, praying that none of them would die young, and that they would be greater than him.
He said that his 82nd birthday anniversary also marked the 38th anniversary of the annual Special Holy Ghost Service organised by the church.
Adeboye thanked God for the lives that had been touched through the programme.
The cleric, at the event, went on to preach on the theme of the Holy Ghost Service – On Eagles Wings.
Preaching from Exodus Chapter 19, he said, “When God hears and takes notice of a person, the life of such a person changes for better.
“God can grab you from the lowest point on earth and put you on the throne.”
According to him, when one’s case is beyond any human assistance, the God who knows will send help.
The cleric said that all God required was faith and holiness, and He was able to give sweatless victory.
He prayed that God would hear the cries of the people, carry them on eagle’s wings and deliver them totally like He did for the children of Israel.
A version of this article was first published in my June 21, 2014 column. It is still relevant today.
The other day I was reflecting on Nigerians’ new favorite pastime: endless griping about the increasingly disabling dysfunction of the country. And I realized that one theme that often stands out when we bewail our present conditions is that we almost always sentimentalize the past.
In other words, many Nigerians find relief from the worries of the present by taking a mental escape to the past.
For instance, when Nigerians bemoan the “indigene/settler” dichotomies in many states of the country, they like to recall, for example, that as far back as 1956, a Fulani man from Sokoto by the name of Malam Umaru Altine was elected the first Mayor of Enugu, the political capital of Eastern Nigeria. His religious and ethnic identity didn’t stand in the way of his election—as it certainly would in contemporary Nigeria.
They also remember that when the late Alhaji Abubakar Rimi was governor of Kano State in the Second Republic, he appointed many non-Kano indigenes, including Christians from the South, as advisers and directors. There are several other examples of inclusiveness from the past that we invoke to deplore the politics of intolerance and exclusivity of the present.
[It should be noted, though, that Vice President Kashim Shettima, as governor of Borno State, blazed a trail in appointing southern Christians as cabinet-level advisers and aides. He appointed a certain Ifeanyi Onwubuya as his Chief Detail. Chief Kester Ogualili was his Special Adviser on Community Relations. One Christopher Godwin Akaba served as his Special Assistant. Babagana Zulum, Shettima’s successor, appears to be continuing with the tradition.
Lagos State governors, including the current one, have also historically been ethnically ecumenical in their choice of gubernatorial aides and advisers. They usually have advisers from representative parts of the country. There are probably other “inclusive” governors like Lagos and Borno governors that I am not aware of. I welcome any information that helps me to expand my knowledge of this.
But, of course, this won’t earn our praise or become a reference point of inclusivity, even if it is only merely tokenistic, because it’s still in the present. It takes the passage of time to valorize gestures like this.
And when Nigerians bemoan the worsening insecurity in the country, especially in the northeast, they never fail to recall that Borno State, the main theater of Boko Haram’s unceasing carnage, used to be so peaceful that its license-plate slogan is “home of peace.” Now, that slogan reads like a cruel joke.
On almost every imaginable subject—infrastructure, electricity, standard of education, tolerance, security, governance, leadership, etc.—our past has become our refuge from the scourge of our present. About the only area that Nigerians don’t look to the past for inspiration is telecommunication. No one looks back to the days of NITEL with nostalgia even in the face of the crappy GSM services that private telecom operators provide now.
I know of no society that valorizes its past, in even the most trivial indices, with as much wistfulness as Nigeria does. Here in the United States, to give just one example, rather than a sentimental longing for the past, I notice a tendency toward chronocentricity, that is, the notion that the present is superior to anything that preceded it.
For instance, when Americans discuss race relations, they look back at their past with disdain. Even though they are far from achieving racial equality, they all seem to agree that they have come a long way; that every subsequent generation is more racially tolerant and broadminded than the one that anteceded it.
As some Black American leaders have pointed out, the fact that racial incidents like the Trayvon Martin murder case captured the national imagination and became the subject of intense national debate speaks to the unusualness of such cases and indicates how much progress has been made in race relations.
Although Americans also complain about declining standards in education, it isn’t as much a national obsession as it is in Nigeria. In fact, studies now show that young Americans actually read more print (and—obviously—electronic) books than did previous generations.
In many societies, people say things like “this is the 21st century, for God’s sake!” to rail against people who are narrow-minded, who are ensconced in their primordial cocoons, who are opposed to progress. Implicit in this utterance is the idea that the current age is an improvement on the previous ones; that history proceeds in a progressive, not a recursive, direction. Of course, this is not entirely accurate, but it does capture a certain level of confidence about the present—and optimism about the future.
Nigerians don’t have even this illusory luxury. The past is a lot more comforting than the present and is therefore a better template for the future. But why wouldn’t it be? As a nation we seem to be moving from bad to worse in almost every sphere.
At a time when most closed societies are opening up and open societies are becoming even more open, we are becoming more wedded to subnational loyalties than ever before.
And stealing of public money no longer makes headline news unless it’s in millions or billions of US dollars. What is more, we have become so desensitized to death that unless people die in their hundreds, newspaper editors don’t put it on the front page.
Even universities that are called “ivory towers” because of their putative insulation from the reality of everyday life are affected by this national culture of worshiping the past. University teachers look to the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s to reclaim the idea of the university.
I have never heard or read any Nigerian university teacher brag about improvement in scholarship and pedagogy in the universities in the course of the years.
No future can be envisioned out of this depressingly dark present. That is why we glorify and idealize the past. But a country whose past is better than its present in most indices of human development is in a bigger trouble than it realizes. And, most certainly, a country whose future lies in its past has no future.
But, wait! Are we, perhaps, guilty of a phenomenon that psychologists call “rosy retrospection”? That is, the human tendency to look at the past more positively than the present because it has faded from our active memory.
When I look at the archives of the past that we sentimentalize today, I see the same lamentations of decline and dysfunction that we have become accustomed to. Is it a case of every epoch is the worst until it is succeeded by another— and the passage of time and the frailty of human memory wash off is ugliness?
Bille People in Both Rivers and Adamawa States?
My friend Professor Moses Ochonu called my attention to a status update shared by the sensationally impressive polyglot known as Adedeji Odulesi in which he talked about an ethnolinguistic group called Bille, which he said is found in the “Demsa and Mayobelwa” local government areas of Adamawa State and in the “Degema Local Government Area” of Rivers State.
He said the dialects of the Bille language in Adamawa and Rivers states are still mutually intelligible, i.e., they understand each other in spite of the wide geographic, historical, and cultural separation between them.
“Both claim to be brothers and do visit one another,” he wrote. “The Bille from Adamawa are said to have visited their kith and kin in Rivers in 2001, 2012 and during the installation of their new king.”
If this is true, it’s truly intriguing and thought-provoking because it defies our conventional understanding of language and people. It would serve as another evidence of the labyrinthine complexity of ethnic identities in Nigeria.
After reading of this, I decided to search up “Bille language” and “Bille people.” The results I got were jarring. All the articles I read about the “Bille people” talk of only Rivers State. There is no mention of them in Adamawa State.
On the other hand, articles about the “Bille language” talk about the language in Adamawa State. There is no indication I can find anywhere that the language can also be found in Rivers State.
Yet Odulesi isn’t a flippant person. But is there a Bille person in either Rivers State or Adamawa State who can confirm what Odulesi said about them? I would really appreciate it.
Should this turn out to be true, it would be a chapter in my forthcoming book on collective identity construction in Nigeria. Please share with people who are from these places.
This report brings you this week’s biggest news stories from around the country.
Nigeria has increased its crackdown on cryptocurrency platforms in the country, leading to reported disruptions for several users. The Binance platform was specifically targeted in this crackdown following accusations by the Central Bank governor of being used for illegal transactions.
Renowned Nobel laureate, Wole Soyinka, graced PUNCH Newspaper’s 50th anniversary. Did the efforts by the Nigerian Labour Congress to shut down the country through protests fail to achieve the desired outcome?
President Bola Tinubu dusted off the Oronsaye report and called for immediate implementation. Here are highlights from the week’s biggest news stories, from February 25 to March 2, 2023.
Soyinka calls for decentralisation
Nobel laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka, criticised previous national conferences in Nigeria, describing them as deceitful attempts to pacify citizens rather than genuine solutions for national challenges.
Soyinka at a public lecture in Lagos to celebrate PUNCH 50th anniversary.
Speaking at a public lecture to celebrate PUNCH Nigeria Limited’s 50th anniversary, Soyinka urged leaders to prioritise decentralisation for effective national development, stating that it is essential for maximising productivity and self-sufficiency.
“When the word restructuring is booted around, we often have the challenge, what do you mean by restructuring?
“Well, I don’t even like the word restructuring, I prefer the expressions like reconfiguration, decentralisation. And those who lead us they recognise the necessity of it; they recognise the importance and almost the inevitability of decentralisation until they get in power,” he said
Soyinka emphasised decentralisation’s importance in enhancing food production and addressing hunger.
“As a veteran of food security working conferences from Uganda to India, from Paris to Sochi, I insist that for a nation to be food self-sufficient, and sustainably, decentralisation is the key, not collectivisation,” he said.
He stated that decentralisation is not just a slogan but a necessary step towards addressing the nation’s incomplete mission of nation-building.
The one-day protest
The Nigeria Labour Congress and affiliated unions initiated a national protest on Tuesday, addressing concerns about the high cost of living, inflation, insecurity, and general hardship in the country.
Protesters, led by NLC President, Joe Ajaero, marched to the National Assembly and presented a letter of demands to President Bola Tinubu through the lawmakers.
However, following the first day of protests, the NLC announced the suspension of the nationwide demonstration slated for Wednesday.
In a communiqué issued after the National Executive Council meeting, the NLC expressed confidence that the government had received their message effectively.
Despite the decision to suspend the protest, Ajaero revealed at a subsequent press briefing on Wednesday that the congress faced intimidation and threats, compelling them to halt the demonstration.
NLC President, Joe Ajaero
He said, “We were threatened with all manners of consequences that would be meted on us if we went ahead.
“We were, however, not perturbed, as lifting the heavy yoke of suffering upon Nigerian workers and masses left us with no option than to press on,” Ajaero revealed.
Ajaero highlighted the NLC’s commitment to alleviating the hardships faced by Nigerian workers and the general public, despite the obstacles.
Additionally, he disclosed he has evidence of the “importation of agents” mobilised to disrupt the peaceful demonstration through violence during Tuesday’s protest
FG versus Binance
The Federal Government is intensifying its scrutiny of Binance, a cryptocurrency exchange company, amid concerns about its impact on Nigeria’s economy.
According to reports, the government is considering demanding over $10bn from Binance as a penalty for its alleged involvement in illegal transactions in the country.
Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, revealed in an interview with the BBC that discussions on compensation and fines are ongoing, highlighting the potentially significant losses Nigeria has suffered while Binance profited.
This move comes amidst efforts to stabilise the value of the naira, as Binance users allegedly manipulated dollar-naira rates, leading to a sharp decline in the currency’s value.
Onanuga also stated that Binance is not registered in Nigeria and has no physical presence in the country.
The Office of the National Security Adviser confirmed that Nigerian authorities are investigating Binance’s operations.
This development follows reports of Binance executives being detained by the Nigerian government and the platform’s suspension of naira-denominated transactions.
It also comes after Binance’s settlement of $4.3bn in criminal money laundering charges with the U.S. Department of Justice.
Oronsaye: The Rise of the Sceptre
Twelve years after the submission of the Stephen Oronsaye Report, the Federal Government announced on Monday its approval of the implementation of some of its recommendations aimed at reducing the cost of governance.
Consequently, 29 government agencies will be merged, while eight parastatals will be integrated into eight other agencies.
Additionally, four agencies are set to be relocated to various ministries, and one agency is slated for scrapping.
As per the announcement made by Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, it comes in response to the 2012 Oronsaye report, which pointed out the increase in government parastatals and suggested major restructuring.
The report suggested reducing the number of statutory agencies from 263 to 161, scrapping 38 agencies, merging 52, and reverting 14 to departments within ministries.
It also proposed repealing the law, establishing the National Salaries and Wages Commission and merging Nigeria’s top three anti-corruption agencies.
The decision to implement the Oronsaye report was part of President Bola Tinubu’s agenda for governance reform.
Agencies slated for merger include the National Agency for Control of HIV/AIDS, the National Emergency Management Agency, and the Directorate of Technical Cooperation in Africa.
Certain agencies such as the Federal Radio Corporation and the National Commission for Museum and Monuments are set to be merged or subsumed into other entities.
Some agencies, like SERVICOM and the Border Communities Development Agency, will become departments within other agencies.
The restructuring effort aims to enhance government efficiency, reduce duplication of functions, and free up resources for developmental projects. To facilitate the restructuring and ensure legislative amendments, President Tinubu constituted a committee with a 12-week mandate to oversee the process.
Peseiro bids farewell
Portuguese coach José Peseiro has said goodbye to the Super Eagles following the conclusion of his contract. He expressed his pride in his time with the team, highlighting their second-place finish at the 2023 African Cup of Nations.
Amidst the uncertainty surrounding his future, negotiations for a contract extension were in progress. Peseiro has mentioned receiving attention from other national teams.
There was a lot of talk about who might take over, with Emmanuel Amunike and George Finidi being considered.
Some people have suggested hiring a local coach, but technical director, Austine Eguavoen, backed the idea of extending Peseiro’s contract for stability.
Jose Peseiro
As conversations progress, Nigerians are eagerly anticipating clarification before the upcoming 2026 World Cup qualifiers in June.
Peserio was appointed head coach of the Super Eagles in 2022 and he helped the national team finish second at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
2024 Olympics Qualifier: Cameroon juju vs Nigeria’s God
Another Nigerian coach had an interesting experience this week in the form of voodoo. When the Super Falcons beat the Indomitable Lioness of Cameroon 1-0 at Moshood Abiola Stadium in Abuja to advance to the final stage of the 2024 Olympic Games, discussions about voodoo and juju in football circles came up.
Esther Okoronkwo’s goal propelled Nigeria to the final stage of the qualifiers. However, in the closing minutes of the game, Cameroon sent Annie Enganemben on as they were about to launch a free kick into the Nigerian box, with claims that the player was sent on to touch the net in a bid to give Cameroon a saving grace as they were running out of options, and had to resort to diabolical means.
In an already viral video, the substitute, alongside another striker, were seen trying to run towards the Nigerian goal in an attempt to touch the net, but Asisat Oshoala and other Super Falcons players took it upon themselves to prevent that from happening.
The drama led to the player being sent off after she hit Nnadozie in the process.
However, Super Falcons manager, Randy Waldrum, dismissed the notion, stating his disbelief in voodoo. Player Deborah Abiodun emphasised the team’s focus and faith amidst distractions, highlighting their belief in God.
“We kind of saw it as a point of distraction but we remained focused regardless of whatever they believe in, we believe in God and in Him we stand. So we don’t care about the voodoo,” Abiodun stated.
With the Super Falcons striving to qualify for the Olympics after their last appearance in 2008, there is optimism under Waldrum’s leadership to end this drought and clinch a spot in the Olympics.
Sisi Quadri
On March 1, 2024, the entertainment world was plunged into mourning as news broke of the untimely passing of popular actor, Quadri Oyebamiji, fondly known as Sisi Quadri, at the age of 44.
Sisi Quadri
Reports indicated that the actor had been battling persistent hiccups, attributed to a kidney-related ailment, while in his hometown of Iwo, Osun State.
Mourners, filled with sorrow, gathered at the residence of Quadri’s father, Alhaji Jimoh Oyebamiji, in Iwo, to lament his passing.
Quadri passed away slightly more than a year after his mother’s death in February 2023. He leaves behind a legacy of remarkable performances known for his distinctive fast-paced dialogue delivery and witty insults.
The news of his passing elicited an outpouring of grief from colleagues and fans alike, with fellow actors such as Abiola Adebayo, Bolaji Amusan (Mr Latin), Saidi Balogun, and Odunlade Adekola expressing their condolences on social media.
Quadri’s death was a major blow to the Nigerian entertainment industry, creating a void that will be that will be difficult to fill.
