Chibuzor Nelson Azubuike, the Nigerian indigenous rapper, who is popularly known as Phyno, has revealed why he raps in his native Igbo dialect.

He said he started his career rapping in English but later switched to Igbo because he wanted to offer something unique to the Western world.

Speaking in the latest episode of the ‘In My Opinion’ podcast, Phyno stated that his upbringing also influenced his decision to rap in Igbo language.

He said, “Growing up, I listened to emcees that were very lyrical like the Busta Rhymes, the Jay-Zs, the 2Pacs, the Biggies and the rest. I listened to everything. I had that Western influence in my music but then at some point in my life when I was still trying to find myself, I was rapping in English, too.

“But when I got to a point where I had to make a career out of this, I asked myself a simple question, “What am I going to sell to the world? If I go to the UK, will I sell English to them? They own English language.’ If I go to America right now, I am selling Igbo to them. That’s what it’s. So you have to sell something that they don’t have. I can’t come to your country and sell what you already have. But if I sell what you don’t have, it will be unique.

“I grew up in a highlife influenced neighbourhood. I make sure that I incorporate all the influences into my music and art. I have started wearing the Igbo traditional attire because I have to look different, I have to represent my culture.”

Kizz Daniel, the famous Afrobeats singer, has made a vow to quit music if anyone apart from Runtown comes forward to say they have ever written a song for him.

The singer had taken to his X handle to praise his colleague, Runtown, for being the first person to ever write a song for him.

“For the first time in my life , Person write song for me and na Runtown …… Sound God is not human,” he wrote.

An X user @KTwinBlog then took to the comment section to express doubt over Kizz Daniel’s claim.

“For the first….you sure?,” the user queried.

Responding, Daniel wrote, “Make any mofo come out say dem write for me I go stop music right now.”

While writing songs for artists is a global phenomenon, it’s still relatively overlooked in Nigeria due to fans’ assumption that artists who use songwriters are less talented.

Singer Davido has been constantly bashed for admitting that he uses songwriters.

Lukman Adeleye, the Minority Leader of the Ogun State House of Assembly, was reportedly kidnapped by gunmen on Saturday while casting his vote at Ward 15 in Ibefun, Odogbolu Local Government Area of Ogun State during the local government election in the state.

It was gathered that the abductors, believed to be military personnel, allegedly took Adeleye to the Ilese barracks. 

PM News reports that the initial investigations suggest the arrest may have been orchestrated by a powerful individual.

The Director-General of Adeleye’s campaign organisation, Hon. Olujimi Oloja, confirmed that the lawmaker is in military custody. 

He condemned the alleged military interference in the local government election, describing it as a direct attack on democratic principles.

“Despite our efforts to secure his release, officers at the barracks insist he will remain detained until the electoral process is concluded,” Oloja stated. 

He assured the public of Adeleye’s safety and affirmed that steps were being taken to facilitate his release.

Oloja also denounced the use of intimidation and force during elections, calling such actions a violation of fundamental rights. 

He highlighted Adeleye’s commitment to community development and education, adding that the lawmaker would address the public once released.

A prominent advocate for education, Adeleye has held various roles within the PDP, including serving as the Local Government Organising Secretary.

Nigerian crossdresser Idris Okuneye, also known as Bobrisky, has filed a N1.2 billion lawsuit against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the National Assembly, accusing them of violating his fundamental rights.

Recall that Bobrisky has been in the eye of the storm since activist VeryDarkMan shared a purported audio conversation wherein he claimed to have paid some EFCC officials N15 million to drop money laundering charges against him.

Bobrisky was released on August 5, after he was sentenced to six months in prison on April 12 for abusing the naira.

In the purported recording, the crossdresser also claimed that his “godfather”, alongside Haliru Nababa, Controller-General of the Nigerian Correctional Service, NCoS, ensured he served the six-month sentence in a private apartment and not in prison.

The crossdresser, however, denied the recording’s authenticity, threatening legal action against VeryDarkMan.

The House of Representatives Joint Committee on Financial Crimes and Reformatory Institutions resolved to probe the bribery allegation.

The House also invited VeryDarkMan, Bobrisky, Ola Olukoyode, EFCC chairman, and Nababa to appear before the committee.

Bobrisky, on Saturday, took to Instagram to share a court file dated October 10 prohibiting EFCC and National Assembly from harassing, detaining, or declaring him wanted.

He claimed, in the lawsuit, that EFCC invited him for investigation based on a hearsay WhatsApp phone call published by VeryDarkMan.

According to him, EFCC failed to investigate the authenticity of the recording, which led to his ridicule on social media, threats from unknown persons, and invasion of his privacy.

The crossdresser, in the document, is seeking N200 million from EFCC for psychotic trauma and N1 billion from the National Assembly for violating his right to a fair hearing.

“The sum of one billion against the 1st respondent being damages for unlawful attempt to violate the right to fair hearing of the applicant, violate his right from discrimination, violate his right to private and family life, right to privacy of his home and telephone conversations.

“The sum of two hundred million naira against the 2nd respondent being damages suffered, psychotically trauma, mental torture and criminal stigmatisation caused by the reckless report given by the 2nd respondent to the 1st respondent without any proper investigation and fair hearing stating that the doctored social media published audio by VeryDarkMan was true, having not carried out any formal and proper investigation by contacting WhatsApp and laying before the committee that the hearsay doctored evidence was confirmed to be true and authentic.

“The violation of the right of freedom of movement, right to privacy of his telecommunication, ” the document read in part.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has welcomed the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, to Nigeria on his first official visit.

Tinubu disclosed this in a statement through his official X handle on Sunday.

According to him, discussions during the visit will seek to explore strategic and corporate relations between Nigeria and India.

“Look forward to welcoming Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his first visit to Nigeria, which is also the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to our dear country since 2007.

“Our bilateral discussions will seek to expand the strategic partnership between both countries and enhance cooperation in critical sectors. “Welcome to Nigeria, PM Modi,” he wrote.

Modi arrived in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, in the early hours of Sunday.

Earlier, presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga had announced that Tinubu will host Modi on Sunday.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo says Nigeria’s failing state status is evident due to “widespread corruption, poor leadership, and immorality”.

Kehinde Akinyemi, the special assistant on media to the former president, said Obasanjo spoke at the Chinua Achebe leadership forum held at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, USA.

In his keynote address at the forum titled ‘Leadership failure and state capture in Nigeria,’ Obasanjo said Nigeria is sinking into insecurity, division, and underdevelopment.

He described the situation in Nigeria as chaotic under “Baba-go-slow” and “Emilokan” reign.

 

“Emilokan” is a term popularised during President Bola Tinubu’s election campaign, when he said it was his turn to lead the country.

“As the world can see and understand, Nigeria’s situation is bad,” Akinyemi quoted Obasanjo to have said.

“The more the immorality and corruption of a nation, the more the nation sinks into chaos, insecurity, conflict, discord, division, disunity, depression, youth restiveness, confusion, violence, and underdevelopment.

“That’s the situation mostly in Nigeria in the reign of Baba-go-slow and Emilokan.

“The failing state status of Nigeria is confirmed and glaringly indicated, and manifested for every honest person to see.

“This is manifested for every honest person to see through the consequences of corruption, mediocrity, immorality, and other forms of iniquity. But yes, there is hope.”

The former president accused the political elite of engaging in what he called “state capture,” adding that they manipulate national policies and resources for personal gains.

“State capture is one of the most pervasive forms of corruption,” Obasanjo said.

“What is happening in Nigeria—right before our eyes—is state capture, where public institutions are subject to undue influence from vested interests.”

Obasanjo, while honouring Chinua Achebe, the late literary icon, acknowledged his enduring impact on Nigerian society and described him as “a great and distinguished Nigerian.”

Says combating insecurity requires a whole-of-society approach 

NSA hands over 58 rescued kidnap victims to Kaduna govt

The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa, has accused unnamed individuals of attempting to sabotage the government’s efforts to address insecurity in the country.
Speaking yesterday when he handed over 58 rescued kidnap victims to the National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, for a formal handover to the Kaduna State Government, Musa stated combating insecurity would require a whole-of-the society approach.
Ribadu yesterday handed over the 58 kidnapped victims who were rescued following a joint operation led by the General Officer Commanding (GOC) of 1 Division, Kaduna, Major General MLD Saraso, in the Birnin Gwari area of Kaduna State to the state government.

The victims were first handed over to Ribadu by the CDS, Musa.
The NSA subsequently handed over the rescued victims comprising young men, women and children to the Chief of Staff, Kaduna State government, Alhaji Sani Liman Kila who represented Governor Uba Sani at the handover ceremony.
Speaking at the handover, Musa said: “It’s a joint effort. We’re able to do that through non-kinetic means of getting across. No penny was paid for these individuals.

“I want Nigerians to understand that if we do not come together to work, it will make it extremely difficult for us to succeed. Success depends on all of us working together. It’s a whole-of-society approach.”

“You can see from these people — the women, the children, both girls and boys and even the little ones. The question is: why would anyone kidnap such vulnerable individuals? These are people barely surviving.”
He said the kidnappings, particularly of farmers in their farms, “is to tell you that there are individuals that on their own, are trying to make it impossible for the government to succeed.
“They are doing everything possible to sabotage the efforts of the government. That will not happen”.

He continued, “Today is Saturday, the 16th of November, 2024. Part of the operations, as we have always said, is we are doing the kinetic and the non-kinetic. The kinetic being carried out by the military.
“The non-kinetic is a combined effort by all. And we have told you, for us to succeed, we need all Nigerians to take ownership of this operation, and that is what is happening. What we are seeing out of this number is the success of the collaboration right from the top, from the presidency, from the Office of the National Security Advisor, Ministry of Defence to the Defence Headquarters – all agencies working together, including Kaduna State.

“The governor has been very, very supportive and very helpful. It is this collaborative effort that has made it possible for us to be able to rescue these individuals. I know the question is how were they rescued?
“It’s a joint effort. We were able to do that through non-kinetic means of getting across. No penny was paid for these individuals.
“This is what has made us achieve this success. You can see from the people, the women, the children, both girls and boys, and the little one.
“The question you want to ask is why would somebody kidnap these kinds of people? If you see them, they are barely just providing.

“And that is to tell you that there are individuals that on their own are trying to make it impossible for the government to succeed. They are doing everything possible to sabotage the efforts of the government. That will not happen.”
 “I urge Nigerians to understand that we can only succeed by working together. Combating insecurity requires a whole-of-society approach.”
Also speaking, the National Coordinator of the National Counter-Terrorism Centre, Major General Adamu Laka, revealed that preliminary investigations indicated the victims were kidnapped by suspected armed bandits under the command of a notorious leader known as JANBROS.
He explained, “During the kidnapping, the victims were forced to trek hundreds of kilometres to the thick forest of Birnin Gwari.

“The government provided them with all necessary support for their stabilisation, including rehabilitation and medical check-ups. Six victims were admitted to hospital but have since recovered and joined the others for the handover to their respective families.”
The Chief of Staff to the Kaduna State Governor, Sani Limankila, expressed gratitude to the security agencies.

Obasanjo: Chaos, insecurity, disunity, others have confirmed Nigeria’s failing status

Vice President Kashim Shettima has declared that Nigeria’s economy is on the path of growth on account of President Bola Tinubu’s policies and determination to transform it for all Nigerians.

This is just as former President Olusegun Obasanjo stated that Nigeria’s failing status has been confirmed through the consequences of the level of the country’s pervasive corruption, mediocrity, immorality, misconduct, mismanagement, perversion, injustice, incompetence, and all other forms of iniquity.

Shettima gave the assurance yesterday in Abuja during a one-day retreat for presidential aides and heads of units in his office.
He listed some of the improvements recorded so far including crude oil production hitting 1.8 million barrels per day, the launch of social welfare initiatives, including an innovative Student Loan Programme to enhance access to higher education, and a Consumer Credit Scheme to boost purchasing power and stimulate economic activity.

Other improvement programmes, according to the Vice President, include the unification of the foreign exchange market as a bold step toward creating a more transparent and efficient monetary system, adding that the administration had also embarked on ambitious infrastructure projects, including the Lagos-Calabar and Sokoto-Badagry superhighways.
Addressing participants at the retreat, the vice president said: “President Bola Tinubu is determined to change the fortunes of the nation. We all want to bequeath to the younger generation a united and progressive country.

“Yes, the economy has and is experiencing challenges but we have turned the corner. As of now, we are producing 1.8 million barrels of oil per day. The economy is on an upward trajectory and I believe in the new year, the economy will grow in leaps and bounds,” he said.

Shettima urged all aides in the presidency to synergise more and work harder in helping the president to deliver on his mandate.
He said: “The country is greater than all of us. I urge you; to let’s work as a team and as a family.”

Earlier in his welcome address, Deputy Chief of Staff to the President (Office of the Vice President), Senator Hassan Hadejia, said the retreat was planned to enable aides to synergise ideas to ensure seamless execution of tasks assigned to the office of the vice president.

Also speaking, Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, commended the efforts of aides in the office, especially on tasks bordering on strategic communication, stressing the need for improved collaboration across the presidency.
On his part, the Special Adviser to the President on General Duties, Dr Aliyu Moddibo Umar, implored the aides to avail the system of their “knowledge and expertise, be humble and focused on the tasks at hand,” adding that “we need to deliver on the difficult task ahead. The primary thing is just the work.”

Obasanjo: Chaos, Insecurity, Disunity, Others Have Confirmed Nigeria’s Failing Status
Meanwhile, Obasanjo has stated that Nigeria’s failing status has been confirmed through the consequences of the level of the country’s pervasive corruption, mediocrity, immorality, misconduct, mismanagement, perversion, injustice, incompetence, and all other forms of iniquity.
Delivering his keynote address at the Chinua Achebe Leadership Forum, Yale University New Haven Connecticut, USA, at the weekend, the former president further stated that the immorality and corruption have fueled chaos, insecurity, conflict, discord, division, disunity, depression, youth restiveness, confusion, violence, and underdevelopment.

According to a statement issued yesterday by Obasanjo’s Media Aide, Kehinde Akinyemi, the former president said these ills manifested under “Baba-go-slow and Emilokan.”

“As the world can see and understand, Nigeria’s situation is bad,” Obasanjo said.

In his address titled, ‘Leadership Failure and State Capture in Nigeria,’ Obasanjo said “The more the immorality and corruption of a nation, the more the nation sinks into chaos, insecurity, conflict, discord, division, disunity, depression, youth restiveness, confusion, violence, and underdevelopment.”

“That’s the situation mostly in Nigeria in the reign of ‘Baba-go-slow’ and Emilokan. The failing state status of Nigeria is confirmed and glaringly indicated and manifested for every honest person to see through the consequences of the level of our pervasive corruption, mediocrity, immorality, misconduct, mismanagement, perversion, injustice, incompetence, and all other forms of iniquity. But yes, there is hope.”
Obasanjo, who was in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), but had a 25-minute recorded video address for the forum, noted that in a country like Singapore, “the government has also been responsive to the changing needs of its people and has invested heavily in areas such as healthcare, education, and social welfare.”

The former president, while quoting from a short, classic treatise published in 1983, called ‘The Trouble with Nigeria’ by Chinua Achebe, admitted that, “the trouble with Nigeria is simply and squarely a failure of leadership. There is nothing basically wrong with the Nigerian character. There is nothing wrong with the Nigerian land or climate or water or air or anything else. The Nigerian problem is the unwillingness or inability of its leaders to rise to the responsibility, to the challenge of personal example which are the hallmarks of true leadership.”

He added: “In hindsight, this forty-one-year-old prescriptive analysis on the root causes of Nigeria’s leadership crisis is quite moderate and appropriate. It is at least not as desolate as the diagnosis provided by Robert Rotberg and John Campbell, two prominent US intellectuals – the latter a former United States ambassador to Nigeria to boot: “Nigeria has long teetered on the precipice of failure. Unable to keep its citizens safe and secure, Nigeria has become a fully failed state of critical geopolitical concern. Its failure matters because the peace and prosperity of Africa and preventing the spread of disorder and militancy around the globe depend on a stronger Nigeria.”

Citing the World Bank and Transparency International’s definition, Obasanjo described a state capture, “as one of the most pervasive forms of corruption, a situation where powerful individuals, institutions, companies, or groups within or outside a country use corruption to shape a nation’s policies, legal environment, and economy, to benefit their own private interests.
“State capture is not always overt and obvious. It can also arise from the more subtle close alignment of interests between specific business and political elites through family ties, friendships, and the intertwined ownership of economic assets.

“What is happening in Nigeria – right before our eyes – is state capture: The purchase of national assets by political elites – and their family members – at bargain prices; the allocation of national resources – minerals, land, and even human resources – to local, regional, and international actors. It must be prohibited and prevented through local and international laws.
“Public institutions such as the legislature, the executive, the judiciary, and regulatory agencies both at the federal and local levels are subject to capture. As such, state capture can broadly be understood as the disproportionate and unregulated influence of interest groups or decision-making processes, where special interest groups manage to bend state laws, policies, and regulations.

“They do so through practices such as illicit contributions paid by private interests to political parties, and for election campaigns, vote-buying, buying of presidential decrees or court decisions, as well as through illegitimate lobbying and revolving door appointments.
“The main risk of state capture is that decisions no longer take into consideration the public interest, but instead favour a specific special interest group or individual. “Laws, policies, and regulations are designed to benefit a specific interest group, oftentimes to the detriment of smaller firms and groups and society in general. State capture can seriously affect economic development, regulatory quality, the provision of public services, quality of education and health services, infrastructure decisions, and even the environment and public health,” Obasanjo explained.
On Achebe’s personality, Obasanjo hinted that the great author and writer has been known through “his work, and his values for as long as our nation has been in existence. He was a great and distinguished Nigerian.”

Indications of another dirty political battle for the presidential ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2027 emerged at the weekend as a two-time Director of Youth Mobilisation in the Atiku Abubakar Presidential Campaign in 2019 and 2023, Hon. Dimeji Fabiyi, has said that age cannot stop the former vice president from contesting the 2027 presidential election.

Fabiyi, a known associate of Atiku, also described the remarks by Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State on the criteria for presidential candidates as portraying the governor as a poor student of history.

 Governor Makinde had insinuated that age was a limiting factor for presidential hopefuls in the party.

Though Atiku’s name was not mentioned by Makinde, Atiku, who is still nursing presidential ambition in the next general election, will be 81 years old by 2027.

But Fabiyi, who is a leader of the PDP in Ogun State and pioneer financial officer of the PDP, in his response to Makinde, admonished the Oyo State governor “to take a lesson from the just concluded presidential election in the United States where the President-elect, Mr. Donald Trump, won overwhelmingly against a much younger opponent, Kamala Harris.’’

He stressed further: “Politics is a marketplace of ideas. It is a place where experience and age are undeniable assets.  President Trump is Atiku’s contemporary in age.

‘’But it is clear by the convincing win he secured for the Republicans that the electorate in the United States acknowledges more leadership assets in him than his main opponent.”

Fabiyi also noted that ‘’Atiku is of sound mind and body, with the intellectual firmament that measures far ahead of Makinde.”

In a press statement he personally signed, Fabiyi noted that while Atiku may be older than Makinde, he has the experience and a cosmopolitan ability to solve problems.

 He said: “As a matter of fact, I challenge Seyi Makinde to an intellectual contest with Atiku, and we shall see how his arrogance and presumed youthfulness will be humbled.

 “I have known Atiku for almost three decades, and I can tell you for free that he’s an avid reader. When Seyi Makinde is in town, he should seek out how resourceful and flourishing Atiku’s library is.

 “Atiku is not a connoisseur of expensive wines and doesn’t keep the company of cringe drinkers. Rather, he’s a lover of books who reads widely.

 “Unless Makinde believes that leadership is determined by aerodynamic strength, he should have been more guided before making a comment that makes him look like a clown,” Fabiyi said. 

“It is on this note that I will admonish Governor Makinde to devote more time to reading good books and familiarise himself more with intellectuals, instead of keeping the company of alcoholics, so that when next he speaks, he won’t be mistaken for someone who prides himself for drinking 40 years old whiskey,” Fabiyi said.