Olanrewaju Kolawole an indigene of Ikire in Irewole Local Government Area of Osun State believed he is the father of all the four children in his house.

His hope of fathering the four children jointly raised by his wife, Toyin Tella was dashed when the results of the DNA conducted on the four children were released.

The results of the DNA carried out at DDC DNA Diagnostic Center in Osogbo, Osun State capital, showed that the 44-year-old man is not the biological father of the four children.

This made Kolawole to cry out and seek help from well meaning Nigerians.

Kolawole and his estranged wife, Toyin Tella appeared on a live radio programme christened “Kokoro Alate”, anchored by Oriyomi Hamzat on Agidigbo 88.7 FM in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital.

Kolawole wept profusely after the DNA test results showed that none of the children was his biological child.

DAILY POST learnt that Kolawole and his wife, Toyin, got married in 2007 and the marriage produced four children.

Kolawole revealed that the DNA test on the first child revealed that the child did not belong to him.

He added that he subsequently carried out tests on the three other children, and all returned negative results.

He said, “I want Nigerians to come to my rescue because I must not suffer this in vain. I married Toyin in 2007 and gave birth to four children. She gave birth to four children, but none of them belong to me after findings from a DNA test.”

However, the wife disagreed with the results.

She said that she was not there when they took the sample and did not know which samples were taken.

“I don’t accept the result. I don’t accept it because I was not there when they took samples, and I don’t know which sample they took, so I don’t accept it. I can’t accept it because I know how I conceived those children,” she declared.

The above story is not a scene in any of the Nollywood movies but a true story of a family which has been shattered by alleged paternity fraud.

DAILY POST reports that this is not the first case of paternity fraud that will gain media attention in recent times.

In 2021, a case of alleged paternity fraud between the family of Mr. Tunde Thomas and the family of Mr. Adam Nuru gained media attention across the country.

It was alleged that Moyo Thomas who married Mr. Tunde Thomas was having a secret romantic affair with the Managing Director of First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Mr. Adam Nuru.

It was claimed that the relationship between Moyo Thomas and Nuru started when the woman was an employee of FCMB.

Tunde Thomas had been legally married to Moyo Thomas, and it was generally believed then that the two children produced by the marriage were those of Mr Thomas.

It was reported that Moyo had informed her husband that she was leaving Nigeria for the United States with the kids only to inform him upon arrival that the children were not his but for the FCMB MD.

The news allegedly caused Mr Thomas to be down with a stroke and later cardiac arrest which led to his death.

However, Moyo later came up and dismissed the claims.

In her statement, she denied ever telling her late husband that he was not the father of her children.

“I write in reference to all the allegations and accusations that have recently been making the rounds on the internet and various social media platforms. I have refrained from responding to this matter for various reasons, one of which is to preserve the memories of Tunde who departed to be with his maker on December 16, 2020. Memories, not only to me, but to his children, who are still young, and to everybody who had a relationship with him.

“Just like any marriage, Tunde and I had a lot of differences in our marriage, some of which even led to police intervention. But I remain committed to keeping only positive memories of him. No one can ever understand what transpired between us or what each of us experienced in the marriage; like they say, it is he who wears the shoes that knows where it pinches. In all of it, I never for once wished him bad. His untimely and sudden death is still a shock to me as it is to many others.

“On no occasion did I ever tell him he was not the father of our two children. It is therefore deliberate falsehood and certainly malicious to allege and insinuate that I informed him that the children are not his. The children still bear his name. Only God knows why he died in an untimely period. It is not in my place, or anyone’s place to play God and talk with certainty as to the cause of his death, without proven medical facts.

“Despite our separation, we never allowed our differences affect the relationships we respectively have with the children. He still had conversations with the children like any father will, up until his sudden and unfortunate death. It is quite sad and disheartening to see the pictures of these innocent children splashed all over the internet with very disparaging and weird comments.

“I do wish his family and friends the fortitude to bear the unfortunate loss and I ask that we all be allowed to grieve his loss in peace. He has now been laid to rest and we implore all and sundry to please respect our privacy and allow those grieving his loss, including the children and I, to do so in peace,” she said.

On his part, Nuru, who opted to go on leave as the bank investigated the allegations, was also said to have denied the claims.

It was also reported in 2016 that an Ikorodu Customary Court in Lagos granted the prayers of a 48-year-old artisan for the dissolution of his marriage after he confirmed that his second child belonged to another man.

The Court President, Mrs Omolara Abiola, separated the 10-year-old couple, having confirmed through a DNA test that the second child was not his.

In February this year, a Nollywood actor, Yomi Alore, also known as Yomi Gold, cried out for help over an alleged threat to his life following a paternity scandal with a Lagos big boy, Mosh and his wife Doyin Aduke.

These upsurge on cases of paternity fraud in many families across the have raised concern among Nigerians.

Nigerians express divergent views

There is popular belief that paternity fraud has rocked many families, although only few have been reported.

A lecturer in the Department of Social Work, University of Calabar, Pius Akah noted that it required a multi-faceted approach to address cases of paternity fraud in the country.

Akah, who doubled as National Auditor, Nigeria Association of Social Workers (NASoW) maintained that a combination of legal measures, educational initiatives and support services is needed to reduce the occurrence and impact of paternity fraud across the country.

“This revelation undoubtedly presents a profound emotional challenge for the 44-year-old man and his family.

“From a social worker’s standpoint, it’s crucial to approach this situation with empathy and a commitment to fostering understanding.

“Initial intervention might involve providing a safe space for the man to express his feelings and fears. Offering family counselling services can facilitate open dialogue, enabling all family members to navigate the complex emotions associated with this discovery.

“The focus should be on rebuilding trust, fostering resilience, and ensuring the well-being of the children involved. The social worker may also guide the family towards legal resources and help the man establish a supportive network to navigate this unexpected and emotionally charged journey.

“Overall, the objective is to promote healing, understanding, and ultimately, a path towards a healthier family dynamic.

“Addressing the issue of paternity fraud requires a multi-faceted approach. Education and awareness campaigns can help individuals understand the importance of honesty and transparency in relationships.

“Legal reforms might focus on updating paternity testing regulations to ensure accurate and accessible methods.

“Counselling services should be readily available to support individuals and families navigating the emotional aftermath of such revelations.

“Additionally, promoting open communication and mutual respect within relationships can contribute to preventing such situations.

“Overall, a combination of legal measures, educational initiatives, and support services can work together to reduce the occurrence and impact of paternity fraud,” he told DAILY POST.

There should be regulation for the conduct of paternity tests – Marriage counsellor

A marriage counsellor, Mrs. Elizabeth Adamolekun noted that the government should rise up to the occasion by putting a regulation to control paternity tests.

She added that the government should be proactive enough to control how it is done.

She told DAILY POST that, “We need to look at it holistically. We need to find out if the equipment used and if the result is not influenced.

“If we are sure of that, then we need to look at the agreement between the couple before we conclude that the woman is at fault.

“We need to be sure if the man’s reproductive organs are in a good position and if it is fertile. There are some situations where the man’s sperm is not fertile and the man makes arrangements with his family members or friends to impregnate the woman.

“This case has gone beyond the family but the society at large. It shows the moral decadence in the society. The government should rise to the occasion.”

Court can order for DNA to be conducted – Lawyer

A Jos-based lawyer, Sam Tokz, noted that the law is clear on the issue of paternity of a child.

Toks, a former President of Students’ Union Government, University of Jos, while speaking with DAILY POST, maintained that the Supreme Court has held that there is a presumption of paternity of a child during a subsisting marriage.

He added that where there is suspicion on the paternity of a child, the Court can order for DNA to be conducted.

“Yes, the law is clear on issues of paternity of a child. The Supreme Court has held that there is a presumption of paternity of a child during a subsisting marriage.

“Where there is suspicion on the paternity of a child, the Court can order for DNA to be conducted, and this is at the court’s discretion. From the authorities I have read so far, it is more of civil liability than criminal liability. It all depends on the circumstances,” he said.

Men should normalise DNA testing in the early weeks of delivery of the child – Public health professional

A public health professional, Pharmacist Opeyemi Akindele advised men to save money for DNA testing if they do not trust their wife.

He also enjoined men to normalise DNA testing in the early weeks of delivery of the child.

He added that women who see any other man apart from their husbands should take emergency contraceptives after sex.

“We must come to a point where society accepts the value of abstaining from sex until marriage. It will prevent a lot of the issues.

“That said, a man who has not had sex for some weeks with the wife, if he suspects extramarital affairs, he should insist she does a pregnancy test before they can have sex again.

“This definitely sounds weird since lack of trust doesn’t make sense in marriage.

“Secondly, men should normalise DNA testing in the early weeks of delivery of the child. If you don’t trust your wife, then save up money for DNA testing. That will save you headaches.

“Women who see any other man apart from their husbands should take emergency contraceptives after sex to avoid this kind of situation.

“Emergency contraceptive drugs are widely available, affordable and supported by the Nigerian government,” he told DAILY POST.

There is no sin for the conduct of DNA if the husband is in doubt – Deaconess

A deaconess at one of the churches under Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) in Oyo State, Mrs. Funmi Ogundipe, while speaking with DAILY POST, said there was nowhere that DNA is forbidden in the Holy Bible.

Ogundipe said that a husband can conduct DNA on his child if he is in doubt of their paternity status.

“When the husband is not sure of the paternity of his child, he can conduct DNA.

“There is no place in the bible that says DNA should not be conducted. It is a matter of choice. There should be trust among couples,” she stated.

[DailyPost]

Necessary sacrifices must be made to generate enough revenue and reduce Nigeria’s high deficit financing, the Minister of Finance/Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, submitted yesterday.

He foreclosed government’s reliance on borrowing to fund the next year’s 2024 Budget, saying the cost of taking foreign loans would be too heavy for developing nations to shoulder.

Edun spoke when he appeared before the Senator Sani Musa-led joint Senate Committee scrutinising the 2024-2026 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper (MTEF/FSP) in Abuja.

The minister made the assertions before the panel in the company of the Executive Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Mr. Zacch Adedeji and the Director-General of the Debt Management Office (DMO), Ms. Patience Oniha before lawmakers called for a closed session.

Edun insisted that the best was for Nigeria to fund its annual budgets was to invest more money on revenue-generating infrastructure.

According to him, advanced countries have raised their interest rates to bring down inflation rate and to stabilise their economies, adding that accessing foreign loans will be very expensive for a developing countries to cope with.

Edun said: “Clearly the environment that we have now, internationally as well as nationally we are in no position to rely on borrowing.

“We have an existing borrowing profile. Our direction is to reduce the quantum of borrowing or intercepting deficit financing in the 2024 Budget.

“Simply put internationally there is focus among rich countries on bringing down the inflation rate to stabilize the economies and give them opportunity for investment growth.

“They are in the process, sacrificing that immediate goal for compacting their economies, or at least contracting the money supplies and pushing up the interest rates and of course high interest rates and investments don’t go together.

“What is left for us to access those funds are expensive. So, it is the last thing that we must rely on. “As we know we have all the figures on debt servicing and cushioning 98 per cent of government revenue.

“The last thing you can think of is to pile up more debts. The government needs to not just maintain its activity, it needs to spend more.

“If you look at government spending, if you look at the budget as a percentage of GDP, ours is one of the lowest being 10 per cent. Even Ghana is at 25 per cent while rich countries are at 50 per cent.

“The very rich countries have to be most advanced in terms of social safety nets and its social security system at 70 per cent of GDP. Government spending definitely will lead to increase.

“The number one source of revenue especially in short term, even in the medium term is all revenue.”

Musa earlier fears that the revenue projections of the ministries, departments and agencies of the Federal Government that have so far appeared before his panel were far less than what the Federal Government has proposed as income in the 2024 fiscal year.

He noted that going for external interventions would definitely not be an option because it would further push the country into deficit financing.

Musa said: “Currently there are lots of leakages in the use of government resources. A lot of funds being generated as revenues by most MDAs are not being remitted as at when due. Some even remit funds a year after they collected the money.

“The office of the Accountant General of the Federation should look properly in that direction. The current practice of delaying the remittances of revenues by the MDAs had created a room for the misappropriation of those funds.

“After meeting with the Nigerian Customs Service officials yesterday, we realise that there were lots of shortfalls they are experiencing as a result of incidences of waivers.

“We want to know who is issuing those waivers. Is it the FIRS or the Ministry of Finance? We are also interested in knowing details of the Customs modernization project, known as e-customs.

“The Senate Committee on Finance is interested in knowing the type of agreement that was signed on behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria.

“What is the value of the e-customs agreement? How much is Nigeria expecting? We are tired of judgement debts all over the place. We need to know the plans on ground to collect excise duties and other tariffs so that we won’t run a deficit budget again next year.”

[TheNation]

The Federal Government has linked the country’s foreign exchange scarcity to its low export earnings.

Speaking at the 40th annual Conference of the Chartered Institute of Directors on Thursday, in Abuja, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of Economy, Wale Edun, said the government was planning to further diversify the economy.

The minister asserted that the country’s economy had been diversified, but expressed worry that foreign exchange revenue had yet to grow because oil had remained the major source of income.

“An important part of that is diversification. The economy is diversified as other sectors are increasingly contributing to the economy. But what is not diversified is our source of foreign exchange revenue.

“So, from all those sectors, whether telecommunications, transport or manufacturing, there are not enough foreign exchange earnings or enough savings to give us what we need, which is the positive balance of trade,” Edun enunciated.

He, however, noted that the current administration was ready to provide a stable economy.

“This means one that is growing more than the population growth, one where inflation is low, the exchange rate is stable, and a reasonable interest rate for people to borrow and invest in productive activities.

According to the minister, the country’s export earnings need to be greater than import expenditure so that it would have foreign exchange earnings with which to stabilise the currency.

He added foreign investors were not interested in improving the country’s foreign direct investment due to rising inflation in Western countries.

Edun maintained that the lack of investor appetite to invest in Nigeria may force the government to turn to the corporate world for solutions and investments.

According to Edun, the development is forcing the government to depend on “our domestic resource mobilisation”.

He claimed that the essence of attracting investment into the economy was to increase productivity, grow the economy, create jobs, and reduce poverty.

He said, “The government does not have the funding and the funding is not available internationally. They are not really interested and they have inflation to fight in the Western world, so they have to keep interest high, tighten the money supply and cannot not provide any kind of development financing at the level we need.

“When we talk about investment and attracting investment into the economy, we are not only talking about domestic investors but about foreign direct investments, private investment, and much more than what the multilateral organisations may have to offer.

“The big prize is to make our economy, institutions, and corporate governance such that it attracts people from around the world those interested and have surplus savings to invest in profitable ventures.”

On his part, a former Minister of Finance, Dr Olusegun Aganga, posited that Nigeria had the hallmark of a weak economy.

He said the bane of the economic growth was a lack of continuity and implementation of policies.

“The economy is the number one priority of any government. In some countries, elections are won or lost because of the economy. Our economy today is relatively small. It is not growing fast enough and is not inclusive.

“It has all the features of a weak economy; import dependent, weak and unstable macroeconomic environment, exports of primary products without value addition, among others,” he noted.

[Punch]

THE British are known masters of diplomacy and politics. This is exemplified in the quote by its former Prime Minister Winston Churchill who said: “’Tact is the ability to tell someone to go to hell in such a way that they look forward to the trip.”

That was how Britain, an island in the North Atlantic Ocean ruled the waves and the world before its sun began to set from the injuries of the Second World War. Britain and its allies won that war, but it lost its position as the world power.

It has, however, fared better than its sister, France which in the process of colonial rule had preferred direct, brutal rule while Britain had settled for the subtle indirect rule, but which was equally brutal.

Same tactics in the de-colonisation process; France had preferred to drown its colonies like Vietnam and Algeria in rivers of blood rather than allow them go. In contrast, Britain had realised the inevitability of the colonies gaining independence and had rather, concentrated in subverting such independence.

In fact, British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan had on February 3,1960 travelled to Africa and in his address to the South African parliament proclaimed the “Wind of Change”. It is a monument to British diplomacy, that for the three decades after that historic speech, it resisted the wind of change in that country by stoutly supporting Apartheid.

In post-colonial international relations, while France forced its former colonies in Africa into nakedly subservient Francophone clubs, Britain floated a “Commonwealth” which today, far from being under threat, has actually attracted even former French colonies like Cameroun, Rwanda, Gabon and Togo.

Britain in joining the European Union, EU, tried to play its usual politics of eating its cake and having it. It refused to join the common Euro currency, preferring its own Pound, and declined to join the common Shengen visa, preferring its own individual visa. When it played other politics such as wanting to stop citizens from other EU countries from free access and work, its cup was almost full. Then it took the gamble of Brexit and found itself out of the EU.

 Prime Minister David Cameron whose gambit backfired leading to Britain’s exit from the EU on February 1, 2020, quietly threw in the towel in 2016.

A sort of instability has taken root since then. His successor Theresa May spent three years, the quite boisterous Boris Johnson who presented himself master of the game, was seen off under disgraceful circumstances, including a penchant for falsehood.

Liz Truss, who came next, spent some two months before being replaced by incumbent Rishi Sunak who has tried to demonstrate publicly that he can stay the course.

But Britain that had ruled the waves, has been struggling to keep its ship of state steady. Sunak entered into unprovoked and unnecessary attacks on China which has generally ignored him. He has tried stoking the fires in Ukraine, perhaps to demonstrate that Britain is, once again, ready to lead Europe. The son of migrants, he has tried to demonstrate that he is very tough on migrants even if it means violating their fundamental rights by forcing them into open prisons in Rwanda.

To worsen internal matters, he weighed his government down with an intemperate, bullish and undiplomatic Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, who attracts controversies like an open sore attracts flies.

Braverman, of Indian-African parentage, like Sunak, had relished in the plan to seize alleged illegal immigrants who are mainly African and Indian, and dump them in Rwanda. She characterised the arrival of asylum seekers as “the invasion on our southern coast.” In April 2023, she told Sky News that almost all British-Pakistanis “pursue, drug, rape, and harm vulnerable English girls”. To her, the homeless sleeping on streets, are doing so as a “lifestyle choice”, and that the British police favour pro-Palestine protesters at rallies, implying it should have dealt harshly with them.

Britain which seemed to be in some state of confusion in an increasingly unpredictable world, decided to reset. The establishment decided to reduce tension internally by tossing out Braverman. She was replaced by the Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly.

However, its most surprising decision is its choice of the seventh Foreign Secretary in seven years, the same David Cameron seen off by Brexit seven years ago. First was how Sunak was persuaded that Britain at this point needs Cameron who has divergent foreign affairs opinion. For instance, while Cameron seems at home with China and dined with it as Prime Minister, Sunak came to power threatening China. The second surprise is how Cameron as former Prime Minister was persuaded that he can work under Sunak. Thirdly was that the whole idea seemed unthinkable given the fact that only Members of Parliament and the Lords could by Britain’s unwritten Constitution, be appointed a Minister, and Cameron was neither.

However, once the British establishment had decided that Cameron with his wealth of experience, pro-Remain politics, strong connections in world power circles and respect as former British Prime Minster was the right choice, it went to work. The main challenge was to make him eligible. Apparently, the establishment approached King Charles III to make Cameron a Lord and he obliged. So he became eligible and was pronounced the Foreign Minister.

Part of the challenge is that since he is not an MP, he would not sit in parliament like other Ministers under Britain’s parliamentary system. So, he may not be directly responsible to parliament nor be questioned like other Ministers, including the Prime Minister.

Nigerians would remember Cameron as the world leader who in May 2016 poetically described Nigeria as a “fantastically corrupt” country. They may also remember the shame when the then Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, a regular patient in British hospitals said he would neither demand an apology nor was he embarrassed by the description. Perhaps lacking in basic understanding, when the Sky News Diplomatic Editor, Dominic Waghorn, asked Buhrari: “Is Nigeria fantastically corrupt?” He answered: “Yes”.

David Cameron’s return may be good for Britain, but not for Africa where he was engaged in the March 2011 criminal bombing of Libya and turning that fantastically rich African country into a basket case. When two years later, he tried to do the same thing in Syria, he was roundly resisted by the British.

As the new British Foreign Minister, Cameron is confronted by the unending war in Ukraine, the on-going genocide in the Palestine, near impotency of the United Nations, the rise of the BRICS, a world of vast inequalities and the low esteem of Britain in foreign relations.

Cameron’s return to international politics may be good for the conservative British establishment, but not so for humanity.

National Security Adviser, NSA, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu says kidnapping has replaced armed robbery in Nigeria today because people no longer carry cash about.

The NSA who was addressing participants Thursday at Day Two of ongoing All Nigeria Editors Conference (ANEC), 2023 in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State capital said the trajectory of the nation’s insecurity was allowing Boko Haram, Banditry, Niger Delta and South East unrest to fester too long.

He said, “These are four massive security problems and each is capable of bringing us to our knees.

“If you have not noticed, kidnapping has replaced armed robbery. That is what is going on across the country. Now most armed robbers have turned into kidnappers. Don’t allow insecurity to remain part of you for a long time. It will destroy you.

“If you have noticed, kidnapping had replaced armed robbery in the country. That is what is happening now. And that is because people no longer carry cash. So armed men would rather kidnap you, so you can now bring the money out.”

He pointed out that when they came into office it was observed that almost 600 kidnap victims were not released for about two to three years, claiming that with the coming in of the President Bola Tinubu’s administration, many are being released and much work being done to reduce the insecurity.

“Going forward we intend to run an open and transparent government. We also appeal to you (Media) for support. We are all this together”, he added.

Meanwhile, the scourge of insecurity continued yesterday as bandits abducted the District Head of Kujama and five others in Chikun Local Government Area, and injured two policemen at Birnin Gwari community in Kaduna State.

Also, a pastor with the Evangelical Church Winning All, ECWA, Pastor David Musa, was killed by his abductors after the criminals collected N1,000,000 ransom from his family. Indeed, Enugu State branch of the Nigeria Medical Association, NMA, has threatened to embark on a strike over the kidnap of 10 doctors in the state in the last two months.

Senate summons NSA, service chiefs

To address Nigeria’s security problems, the Senate yesterday summoned the National Security Adviser, the Chief of Defence Staff , other service chiefs, the Inspector General of Police, as well as heads of all intelligence agencies to a crucial meeting.

The Senate took the decision after adopting and debating a motion, titled “Urgent need for the Improvement of the coordination and synergy among Nigerian Security Forces and Agencies to help strengthen and win the fight against Insecurity in the nation,” sponsored by Senator Abdulaziz Musa Yar ’Adua (APC, Katsina Central), at plenary.

While leading the debate on the motion, Yar’Adua noted that the contemporary security landscape in Nigeria posed unprecedented challenges that outstripped the protective capabilities of any security agency alone.

He urged all relevant security agencies, ministries departments and agencies, MDAs, to improve on their synergy to combat insurgency and other emerging security threats.

“Nigeria has various security agencies, aside from the Armed Forces of Nigeria and the Nigeria Police Force. These include the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, Nigerian Prisons Service, NPS, Nigeria Immigration Service, NIS, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, NAPTIP, and other authorised Civilian Task Forces.

“Additionally, Nigeria has other key security services that oversee both internal and external threats, the Department of State Service, DSS, the Defence Intelligence Agency, DIA, and the National Intelligence Agency, NIA.

“Nigeria faces numerous simultaneous security crises. These include Boko Haram in the North-East, the activities of bandits and kidnappers in the North-West; the activities of gunmen in the South-East and South-South, and other forms of criminality, such as armed robbery, herders/farmers clashes and cross-border crimes.”

Reign of terror, abductions, killings The federal lawmaker made reference to the several incidents of killings and kidnappings across Nigeria.

He made specific mention of an incident which occurred on October 23, 2023, where no fewer than five people were killed, and some others injured when bandits attacked the Anguwar Dankali community in Zaria Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

He continued: “We are aware of the kidnapping of Major General RC Duru (retired) in Owerri, Imo State on September 27, 2023, by members of IPOB, and the overall nefarious acts of the proscribed outfits, and the much-touted ‘unknown gunmen’ in the Eastern part of the country.

“Troops of Operation SAFE HAVEN (OPSH) and Operation HAKORIN DAMISA IV from 9 to 16 October 2023 neutralised bandit/armed robbers and arrested 59 suspects in connection with kidnapping, armed robbery, cattle rustling, railway vandalism, gun-running, illegal mining as well as recovered arms/ammunitions and illicit drugs.

“According to reports, on October 18, 2023, no fewer than 50 people, including a district head, women, and children, were abducted while three others were reportedly killed in an attack by bandits in Bagega, a mining village in Zamfara State.

“Just recently, on October 20, 2023, bandits in their numbers raided Danmusa town, the headquarters of Danmusa Local Government Area of Katsina State, killing seven people, and injuring 10 and kidnapped a yet to be ascertained number of people.

“Furthermore, the bandits also attacked the people of Wurma, Tamawa and Dadawa villages in Kurfi LGA killing people and rustling cattle.”

He equally noted that the main task before security agencies should be to make Nigeria safe for citizens and residents.

Yar’Adua explained that this could only be accomplished if all security and allied agencies and parastatals crucial to national security collaborated under a single command structure to ensure the nation was secure from internal and external threats.

This kind of coordinated effort, he said, also strengthened the interdependence and interrelatedness of security agencies. After contributions from senators across party lines, the Senate resolved to invite the security chiefs for a closed session to discuss the challenges and find a way forward.

Earlier, senators had urged the various security agencies in Nigeria, both military and paramilitary, to improve and enhance their inter-operational synergy and coordination for effective and holistic tackling of the various types of insecurity facing the nation.

[Vanguard]

I could have bet my last shekels that then aspirant Bola Ahmed Tinubu was never going to emerge the presidential candidate of the All Peoples Congress, APC. I was this certain on account of the logic that no aspirant could emerge the candidate without the buy-in of the cultic and all powerful President Muhammadu Buhari. It was more or less an open secret, through contrived slips of tongue and body language that Buhari may not have made up his mind on who to hand over the reins of power to but he appeared to have been resolute on who not to. 

When we replay the Abeokuta video clip,(on a campaign stump speech at the Ogun state capital, prior to the presidential primaries), of Tinubu’s open declaration of hostilities against the powers that be in the APC, it is impossible not to draw the conclusion that the then aspirant believed he had come to the end of his presidential run. It was the beginning of a series of twists and turns of disappointment turned blessing for him. 

So that no one is in doubt about his intentions, Buhari has been this categorical of his desire to anoint the president who succeeds him “In keeping with the established internal policies of the Party and as we approach the Convention in a few days, therefore, I wish to solicit the reciprocity and support of the Governors and other stakeholders in picking my successor, who would fly the flag of our party for election into the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 2023″. 

The grapevine had it that, ironically, it was Tinubu’s resolve to go for broke in Abeokuta that saved the day for his campaign. It was a plot in which the feisty first lady, Hajia Aisha Buhari, featured as Tinubu’s guardian angel. It turned out that rather than get enraged (and thereby redouble his anti Tinubu resolve) at the rude and insolent frontal attack on him, Buhari was rattled and perplexed. Privy to this crucial insider knowledge was the first lady, who whispered to her political partner to pile it on until Buhari’s resolve was reduced to tatters. She found a co conspirator in the caucus of the Northern APC governors. 

With eyes set on power rotation back to the North in the near future, it was in the governors’ individual vested interest (as in presidential aspiration) that the presidency rotated to the South this time around. Haven gotten wind of Buhari’s inclination to field Ahmed Lawan as his successor, their response to the Buhari solicitation (to be given the privilege of choosing his successor) was the qualification that the party candidate must come from the South-in compliance with the North/South rotation principle. Finding himself boxed into a corner, the former President capitulated and consoled himself with option B, (to covertly back the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, candidate, Atiku Abubakar, a fellow fulani moslem). 

If therefore,Tinubu is the president of Nigeria today, it is no thanks to his predecessor. The knock-on effect of emerging president autonomous of Buhari or any godfather was a commensurate boost to his authority as president. Power is afterall the capacity to get one’s objective regardless of anyone’s contrary wishes. In the event, the APC governors sold themselves short and relieved Tinubu of any obligation of deference to them by selling themselves for a mess of pottage. The spectacle of the APC presidential primaries in Abuja was a sight to behold. It was not just the spectre of several contestants stepping down for a fellow contestant, it was the open secret of governors 

being financially induced to do so. 

The ‘Independent National Electoral Commission’, INEC, took off from where the APC presidential primaries had left off. Prior to the presidential election, several organisations followed the routine global culture of conducting public opinion polls on the popularity of candidates. The three leading candidates were Peter Obi of the Labour Party, Atiku Abubakar of the PDP and Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the APC. Almost all of the pollsters, notably those of Bloomberg and CNN (by a wide margin) gave the election to Obi. According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Opinion polls are generally conducted with statistical selection controls in place and are thus called scientific”. A singular characteristic of science, stricto sensu, is predictability. In other words, it shall make a prediction and the prediction shall come to pass.

If the overwhelming majority of the polls predicted that Obi will win the election, why then should anyone be surprised at his (non INEC certified) victory at the 2023 presidential election? At any rate, at 4am or thereabouts on March 1st 2023, INEC took its turn in the relay race of delivering the Aso presidential villa for Tinubu. Regardless of the son of soil Atiku Abubakar factor, the votes of the Northern muslims segment of the Nigerian electorate proved quite decisive in tipping Tinubu over the bar. Upon being sworn in as president, no one would have been surprised were he to opt to play the Northern proxy and reflect a Northern bias in the distribution of strategic political and public appointments. Surprisingly, he hasn’t and has thereby rendered himself liable to the unintended consequence of Buhari’s crass nepotism. 

It was predictable that any correction of his lopsided governance style would be interpreted by the beneficiary Northern constituency as discrimination against them. In this projection, the extant bitter withdrawal syndrome of the Northern political elite was foretold. While the North wallows in this quiescent bitterness, the South West zone appears to have been over compensated by their son. Given the winner-takes-all context of Nigeria’s politics, and

against the immediate background of Buhari’s Northernisation agenda and the remote backdrop of President Olusegun Obasanjo nationalist even handedness, Tinubu’s apparent Yoruba bias, is a remarkable political assertiveness.

I have been a little bit surprised at the preparedness of the Yoruba intelligentsia (or a fraction thereof) to adopt the prescription of calculated realpolitik and look the other way-where the liability of the shortcomings of the President is concerned. At play here is the unresolved age old Igbo/Yoruba political angst (with Obi as the victim, this time around) and an unflattering understanding of Nigerian politics as unamenable to high ideals. Others less charitable may see the attitude as mere euphemism for political opportunism. 

Taking a cue from the Republic of Niger’s political crisis in which they found common purpose with Nigeria and Ecowas (both of which are controlled by the Nigerian President) the Western powers have equally adopted Tinubu as their leading political point man in the Ecowas subregion. Given the deepening gloom and despair that have embraced Nigeria including, especially, the tragic dysfunction and disappointment of the 2023 general elections, national debate is trending back towards the inevitability of constitutional reforms, aka restructuring. It is a no brainer to reiterate that the basic leadership problem of Nigeria is political mismanagement. Reinforcing this ailment is a constitutional dysfunction which structurally predisposes and renders the political leadership prone to this political mismanagement. 

The over concentration and centralisation of powers in Abuja and concomitant disinheritance and disempowerment of the states breed lopsided instability, inefficiency and abuse of power. It predisposes the constitutionally enabled wielder of the power at the centre to arbitrary, discriminatory and unaccountable exercise of power. In the words of Lord Acton, power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Increasing immiseration has resulted in the weaponization of poverty politics and very few Nigerian political leaders have the wherewithal to deploy financial resources with devastating effect as the President.  

More than any other, especially against the immediate background experience of the leadership of Buhari, the primary lesson Nigerians have learnt is that, ideally, Nigeria shouldn’t have been constituted into one country. We can draw a similar conclusion of almost all post colonial African states. But that does not amount to the logic that (haven been lumped together), we cannot make a success of the imperfect political union that was handed down to us. 

The corollary of the sustained trend towards over centralisation of powers and quasi-unitary state is a drift towards dictatorship and one party state. A growing strategic shortcoming of Nigeria is the capacity to absorb and normalise any political outrage. Nigeria has arrived at a juncture in which the citizenry have become generally powerless against the will of the ascendant Nigerian political elite. It is a situation of political stupefaction where see no evil, hear no evil, say no evil has become a collective response to the prevailing gross abuse and misuse of political power. Potentially and absurd as it seems, this development can be used for the good or bad of Nigeria. 

All the major indices of the political development of Nigeria had been accomplished by the fiat of civil and military dictatorship, beginning with the colonial dictatorship of the British. Be they the 1960, 1979 and 1999 constitutions. Be they the translation of the four regions of the first republic into thirty six states. In reflection of his personal history as the Nigerian army officer whose worldview and socialisation were forged within a briefly nationalistic military institution; the Nigerian war commander who received the surrender of Biafra; the military ruler who conceived and executed an unprecedented and successful transition from military rule to the civil democratic rule in 1979, Obasanjo will tell you he wants to be perceived first as a Nigerian before being acknowledged as Yoruba. 

The reverse seems to be the case with Tinubu. Though a latter day rebel, he is a mentee of the Afenifere/Yoruba nationalist politics and probably aspires to be perceived as Yoruba crown prince warts and all. Inferring from the substance and style of his short stint as Nigerian President I am substantially persuaded that the legacy he cherishes before all else is to go down in history as a Yoruba hero. Now, of course, being a Yoruba hero is not mutually exclusive of being a Nigerian patriot. At any event, you cannot be a good Yoruba without being a good Nigerian and good human being. 

With a reputation in free fall, Mr President requires no further compelling incentive to work towards his moral rehabilitation and he has precisely the platform and opportunity to remould his image. Nigeria lies prostrate before him. If he leaves the Nigerian constitutional status quo intact, he will not only leave Nigeria in ruins, he can kiss goodbye to any positive remembrance of him. Posterity will judge him harshly, quite deservedly. 

The Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) otherwise known as Shi’ites yesterday clashed with men of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) during a pro-Palestine protest in Kaduna.

Although the Shiite protesters claimed that the two of their members were killed, the state police command said one civilian, it identified as Aliyu, was killed.

The police accused members of the IMN of firing at their personnel who were drafted to disperse the “illegal” protesters.

The protesters were out to declare their unalloyed support for the ‘oppressed’ people of Palestine, they said.

When contacted, the command’s public relations officer, ASP Mansur Hassan said, “It is a lie to say that Police killed two Shi’ite members. We were only out to disperse the protesters because IMN is a proscribed organisation in Kaduna State. They were protesting against the Israel and Palestine war, but this is not Israel, this is Kaduna.

“On the contrary, it was the IMN members that started firing at our men. They fired catapults with pellets at our men. In the process they (Shi’ites) killed one civilian identified as Aliyu. They blocked the road, attacked innocent civilians passing by.”

IMN members who started their protest from the premises of the Kaduna State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) marched through Muhammadu Buhari Way to the office of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to submit their protest letter.

A few minutes after the protest commenced, men of the Nigeria Police engaged the protesters, firing teargas and shooting into the air to disperse them.

Speaking during the protest, their leader, Aliyu Umar Tirmizi said,

“The Israeli occupiers have for the past 75 years been unleashing genocide, ethnic cleansing and apartheid on the unarmed civilians that include men, women and children.

“They have murdered thousands of children and the aged and have demolished houses and worship places of innocent civilians. The Zionist Israel has abused the sanctity of the holy Mosque of Al-Aqsa and terrorized innocent worshipers that visit the place.

“In recent times the Zionist Israel has increased its atrocities on the good people of Palestine where they have been using internationally banned weapons on innocent civilians and even attacked hospitals killing innocent people. These atrocities are committed with full knowledge of the so-called United Nations who have remained silent and subservient to the wicked plots of the Zionist regime.

“It is an understatement to say that the United States of America is providing funds in the name of military aid worth $3.27 billion annually to Israel. The oppressed people of Palestine and indeed human minded people from all over the world have risen against these atrocities,” he said.

The protesters carried placards and white clothes wrapped like dead babies with blood stains, symbolizing the children killed in the Israel/Palestine war. They were chanting death to Israel, support for Palestine.

As the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the February 25 election, Peter Obi, picked holes in the economic policies of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Presidency has said the current hardship faced by Nigerians was not caused by the new administration.

Obi, who appraised the Tinubu government yesterday, challenged the federal government to come clean on the bankruptcy comment, saying government spending does not suggest it inherited a bad economy from the previous government.

To this end, Obi said the Tinubu government should make full disclosure of what it inherited from the previous government.

Obi said in a series of tweets on his X handle on Thursday that the alarm also contradicts the spending behaviour of the government as contained in their supplementary budget just signed into law by the President and the bloated size of the government.

“I just read yesterday a widely publicized story from the present APC-led federal government saying that they inherited a bankrupt nation from the former APC administration.

“But then the story failed to disclose what they actually inherited which qualified us for bankruptcy status,” a statement issued by his personal assistant, Michael Jude Nwolisa, said.

Obi noted that one major characteristic expected of the new Nigeria he preached was a transparent system of disclosure; for example, what is inherited should be disclosed to enable the public to know where the country was headed.

2027: I’ll Contest Again, Says Peter Obi

The LP standard beer recalled that the previous APC government made a similar claim in 2015 against the PDP administration that handed over to it without telling the nation what it actually inherited.

He said: “Rather, according to official records, they took our debt profile from N12.6 trillion in 2015 to N87 trillion in 2023 when it left office without improving on any indices of development: Education, Health, Poverty eradication, and Security. Instead, every aspect of the development index got worse.”

Obi further noted that the alarm raised by the government, questions the rationale behind some expenditure profiles of the government so far, especially some items contained in the supplementary budget just signed into law by the president.

“It also goes to buttress the argument I have held since the electioneering time – that the cost of governance must be drastically reduced.

“A bankrupt country should channel every available resource into funding critical development sectors like security, healthcare, education, and eradication of poverty by addressing youth unemployment, not spending on non-focal areas,” he said.

On behalf of the Presidency, the national security adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, yesterday joined the growing calls for Nigerians to exercise patience while waiting for the dividends of democracy under the current administration.

He maintained that President Bola Tinubu inherited the problems he is trying to fix in the country.

Ribadu expressed optimism that a new era would soon evolve with some far-reaching measures taken by the President Tinubu-led federal government to tackle the security challenges and other socio -economic challenges confronting the country.

“The reality is that the present administration inherited tough times”, he said, adding that what the country needs is the cooperation of all to ensure the federal government eliminates all forms of insecurity in the country.

Ribadu, made this appeal at the ongoing 19th Annual Nigerian Editors Conference in Uyo, Akwa Ibom state, with the theme ; ‘Stimulating Economic Growth, Technological Advancement: Role of the Media.’

Noting that there had been a lot of improvement in the security situation of the nation, he stressed that all hands must be on deck to surmount the problem.

He said: “We inherited a tough period. We appeal for patience and understanding. It’s tough times and that is the reality. It requires all of us to come together. We are all in it together, it is not going to be for too long. In a matter of time, it will be better.”

He disclosed that the insecurity in the South East had also been reduced since this administration came on board, appealing that it will get better.

“Let me start with the Niger Delta, at the time we took over, the production of crude oil was 1.1 mbd. Today crude oil production is over 1.7 mbd.

“We have witnessed three weeks without any incident of security challenge in the Niger Delta. This is the first time since 1993.

“In the South East, when we took over last year we had 46 police stations attacked, today we don’t have a single one. In the last two months, not a single person had been killed through violent attacks in the south east, we don’t talk. The leadership we have in our country does understand things a bit better. Work more, talk less.”

Ribadu described the present administration as the most transparent government ever in the history of Nigeria.

National Directorate of Employment (NDE) has commenced the process of developing a clear-cut roadmap for job creation and poverty reduction within the framework of the Renewed Hope Agenda of the federal government.

Minister of state for labour and employment, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, who met with the NDE executive management and the state coordinators to begin the process in Abuja urged the directorate to assume a more significant role in lifting Nigerians out of poverty through job creation.

Onyejeocha commended the NDE for its achievements in the past 35 years as the apex job creation agency in the country, but also stressed the need to intensify efforts to meet the expectations of the present administration.

She said the federal government under the leadership of President Bola Tinubu has promised to propel the nation towards a sustained progressive economy and job creation and to lift 50 million Nigerians out of poverty.

She added that the NDE has a vital role to play in the realisation of the eight-point priority areas of the president while emphasising that skills acquisition and entrepreneurship development for blue collar jobs are the key strategies for economic empowerment and national development.

The minister therefore charged the NDE to focus on the youth, women and vulnerable groups to build the core skills needed for national revival, growth and prosperity.

She also urged the NDE to increase the tempo of sensitisation and awareness for its skills acquisition programmes and entrepreneurship development initiatives, and to create a festival of skills to showcase its innovative achievements.

Earlier, NDE director general, Abubakar Fikpo, who highlighted the achievements of the NDE said, the directorate has produced many successful entrepreneurs and artisans who are contributing to the gross domestic product (GDP) and the domestic market of the nation.

Fikpo further stated that the NDE has modified most of its job creation schemes and has created a spectrum of demand-driven skills set, which according to him has generated over four million direct and indirect jobs in the last three years.

The Taraba State House of Assembly has put to rest the constitutional crisis surrounding the tenure of local council chairmen by unanimously passing an amendment bill. The emergency session, held behind closed doors, was prompted by an ongoing industrial action by parliamentary staff.

The major entrance to the Assembly premises was sealed due to the strike, compelling lawmakers to use alternative entrances to access the chambers. The bill’s passage coincides with preparations for the local council election scheduled for tomorrow.

Nelson Len, Chairman of the House of Assembly Committee on Information, explained that the urgency was driven by the need to address legislative demands. Len, representing Nguroje constituency, attributed the expedited action to the ongoing parliamentary staff strike, stating that using alternative entrances was necessary to proceed with legislative matters.

Len emphasized the significance of timely action, especially with the upcoming local council election, and mentioned that allowing the bill to remain pending could jeopardize the governor’s intentions for the election. The bill in question reportedly revised the tenure from three years to two years.