Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa of Ondo State has signed the 2024 supplementary budget of N96.7 billion appropriation bill into law, capturing the N73.000 minimum wage and salaries of newly recruited workers.

The Governor also signed into law the law expanding the board of the State Oil Producing Area Development Commission (OSOPADEC).

The signing of the law brought the total budget for 2024 to a total of Four hundred and ninety-two billion, forty-five million, one hundred thousand naira.

This is made up of recurrent expenditure of N246, 727, 852, 786 and capital expenditure of N245, 317, 247, 214.

The supplementary budget captured the payment of the new minimum wage of N73,000 recently approved for workers by the Governor, as well as the salaries of newly recruited workers across various sectors.

Governor Aiyedatiwa said the supplementary budget reflected the determination of his administration to cater for the welfare of workers and the overall development of the state.

The Governor also signed into law the bill providing for the expansion of the board of the OSOPADEC, saying the new law will ensure inclusivity and better equitable representation from the mandate areas.

Governor Aiyedatiwa also signed the Amendment of the Ondo State House of Assembly Service Commission Law, thanking the leadership and members of the House of Assembly for their diligent efforts on the bills.

Speaking at the event, the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Rt Hon Olamide Oladiji, commended the leadership style of the Governor and the various milestones he has achieved since he assumed office.

Oladiji said: “These giant strides have not only transformed the State in all facets but have demonstrated your vision, capacity, intellectual ability, zeal, passion, direction, and a clear understanding of the enormous job ahead.

“I want to, on behalf of my colleagues, assure Mr. Governor of our continuous support and cooperation to ensure the success of this administration. It is therefore hoped that the implementation of these Laws will impact meaningfully on the lives of the good people of the State.”

Fuel landing cost has dropped to N939.86 as of November 1, 2024 from N945.63/litre as of September 27. The fuel landing cost was N981/litre on September 25, 2024.

These are according to reports from the Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria (MEMAN). According to the report released yesterday, the landing costs of diesel on November 1, 2024 was 1,048.88 while that of ATK was 1,117.94.

MEMAN calculated it using foreign exchange rate of $1/ N1.651.78. It gave estimated import pariy into tank costs as for fuel, N973.33/L (Average 30 days), spot, N957.18/L; diesel, N1,072.88/l, spot, N1,077.83/L and ATK, N1,123.14/L (average 30 days); spot N1,132.91/L. It also stated that exdepot price in Lagos range for fuel (N850.00/L –N1,120.00/L; diesel, N940,00/L – N1,150,00/L, ATK: N900.00/L – N1,400.00/L; LPG, N1.005.00 – N1,100.00/KG and CNG Price range for vehicles N230.00/ scm –N490.00/scm.

Prince Adewole Adebayo was the flag bearer of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the 2023 presidential election. In this interview, he speaks on the recent cabinet reshuffle by President Bola Tinubu and the call for Nigeria to return to regional government, among other issues. FELIX NWANERI reports

President Tinubu recently fired some of his ministers and named new ones. Were you expecting that? With respect to any expectation, what I can say is that as a citizen of Nigeria and as an aspiring leader, someone who would like to be president, my expectation is that they should conform with the Constitution of Nigeria, with respect to Chapter 2 in particular. They should respect their oaths of office, and they should respect the code of conduct for ministers and public officials.

They should respect fundamental objectives and directive principles of state policy, which have been enshrined to guide us regarding the purpose of government, the mode of government, the attitude of running a government and the orientation of our focus in governance. I also expect that they should be candid to the President in advising him in discharging the functions of their offices.

When they find there is conflict within their conscience and the instructions of the President, they should let the President know and, if necessary, they should give him his job back. They should upgrade their conscience, so that they will not do in public office, something they do not want the public to be aware of.

Basically they should look at the interest of Nigeria and understand that this is a representative government and the government itself is there in a representative capacity and they are there to assist them and that the ultimate boss will remain the Nigerian people; and the ultimate judge will remain the history and the posterity of their history. That is my approach regarding what to expect of the ministerial nominees and the old ministers who are returning.

Basically, I want to say this from a political history point of view that this is an improvement over the situation with President Muhammadu Buhari, who appeared to leave everything in his cabinet in autopilot whether there was storm, turbulence, problems and misdirection, whatever it was.

He didn’t change any of the ministers in the full term. He did change some when he started his second term, but when we are looking at cabinet reshuffle, usually within the term, he did not do anything in guiding them within the term.

So, for that reason, this is an improvement over President Buhari on the part of President Tinubu which shows that he is at least paying attention. I do not know the criteria for determining who performed or who did not perform and what the reason could be for replacing some ministers. But looking at the ministers that have been asked to leave, none of them is leaving one day earlier than they should have left, they should have left much earlier.

However, there are still many more deadwoods in the administration and it is up to the President to look at the issue critically and decide what to do. I am enthused personally by the appointment of Mrs. Bianca Ojukwu for the reason that she has very good experience in Foreign Service.

She is always a good representative of Nigeria even in her private life as a Miss World contestant or Miss Universe and also as an ambassador to a number of countries on behalf of Nigeria. And the fact that she is not a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), she’s a member of APGA from what I know, shows a bit of diversity in that regard.

And she will bring some context to the position. I hope that the main motivation for this change of the cabinet or some adjustments in the cabinet membership is borne out of the desire for change and for the benefit of the common good and not just pure political calculation.

Nigerians are suffering. Things are tough. The policy promises have not been fulfilled. The policy pains are all over the place. It is time now for the government to bridge the gap between the policy pain and the policy gain. That gain is what Nigerian people are waiting for.

What we are running is essentially a quasi-criminal organization called government… That is why the system is not working

The Northern League of Democrats recently visited former President Olusegun Obasanjo and discussed, among other issues, regionalism which had a lot of fond memories for everyone. What do you think of the visit and the discussion?

Every contribution to a public discourse must be put in the context of why the discussion was made, why the comment was contributed. From what I gathered, it was a courtesy visit by the League of Northern Democrats.

That name suggests that it is a League of Northerners whose members have democratic aspirations for the country and in that context, I wouldn’t think it’s to be a speech or regionalism generally because regionalism will mean different things.

I think what the former president was trying to drive at is that any discourse about a common problem in Nigeria should not exclude anyone.

It should be made available for everyone who wants to contribute. From the group’s chairman, former Governor Shekarau to the convener, Dr Umar Ado, many of my brothers were there. These are my friends, supporters. These are my believers and these are people I consider to be democrats.

If they form an organisation that is just seen as the League of Northern Democratic, what President Obasanjo was saying is that to some people, it is that ‘Northern’ that they see, they will not see the ‘League’ and they will not see the ‘Democrats’ in it. But if you’re able to see all the three words, you will understand that these are Nigerians of northern extraction, who are concerned about democracy and there’s nothing unusual about that.

But for a president like General Obasanjo who joined the Nigeria Army, not Northern Army, not Western Army, who ruled as the head of state and as president and joined the national party called the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), when you come to him for anything that is sectional, that is regional, that is not all-inclusive, he will buck at it. My view about regionalism as a system of government, as a method of administration is a different discussion.

That is Political Science discussion; that is discussion of History. It doesn’t mean that the regions were not good, the regions were great. But in modern times, when you are discussing national issues, you need to discuss it on a national basis.

What I believe is that many things that are national today started as regional. Even the Federal Road Safety Commission started as Oyo State Road Safety Corps. So many things can start from the region, it can start from anywhere, as long as it is for national benefit, we should try to listen and we should try to expand it.

What is your perspective on the regional system of government as it affects national governance?

My perspective is that problems that are regional and local should be addressed locally. You cannot federalise every issue. Nigeria is a reasonably sized country, and it’s just the right size to be one entity, and I believe in that one entity.

However, many things were done better in the regions, not just because they were regional, but because the nature of the problems was localized to those regions. And it is also because the regions were very effective.

Some of them have to do with the effectiveness of the British administration generally. They were good with the civil service or public service, but I don’t think that we can rule out regionalizing certain aspects of things. For example, on the issue of collapsed national grid, maybe, if we had regional grids, at local levels, state levels.

And I made that speech during my campaign, two years ago, with respect to how to manage power, how to decentralize the national grid, and make the national electricity grid to be a backup, so that if there is a collapse in one section of the country, you could send power to them for the time being.

But the idea you assume that if something is called federal or national automatically works better or automatically unites people, no. In fact, it will surprise many people that, in the regions in the past, it didn’t matter if you came from those regions.

There were people from the East and West, who were senior in government service in Northern Nigeria. So, none of it guarantees success. None of it guarantees failure. I think efficiency matters, but regionalism will be used on many occasions because of geography, because of the localization of the issues, and things like that.

Consider where we are today, with many asking questions about whether or not our federal system is really working in the real sense of the word, if a senator comes up with a bill to strengthen the regions, what would your response be?

My response would be nuanced. I would engage on three basic principles. One, the regions worked not just because they were regions but because the people around them were interested in running proper government.

Even if you don’t change anything today in terms of regionalization, if you keep the structure and the constitutional framework that we have now, if you have patriots, and highly knowledgeable people to run things, things will run well. So, don’t say those regions ran because they were regions.

They ran because of the quality of the political leadership, the quality of the public service, and the general direction and the moral compass of the country at that time. And there was the leftover of the efficiencies for which the British were known in public service. You may disagree with them over colonialism and anything, but as efficient public servants, you don’t like them as you get the British.

What I will say in addition is that those who are running the country today, if they were asked to run the regions, they would ruin the regions. If they had displayed the same attitude today, if they displayed them when the regions were there, they will ruin the regions.

So, it is not the form of government that is the problem of the country, but the quality of leadership that is running governmental institutions and frameworks. The second thing is that you do not over regionalize. You don’t overcorrect. Don’t go and eliminate everything in the country and regionalize. For example, you cannot regionalize the armed forces. You cannot regionalize postal services.

You cannot regionalize diplomacy. You cannot regionalize trade. You cannot regionalize currency. However, any other thing, you can regionalize and you can even localize them. For example, you can regionalize the police. If a goat belonging to Mr. Nwosu is missing in Owerri, it is not the business of the Inspector General of Police (IGP) in Abuja to have a say in it.

But he does have a say in it because if the person who stole the goat is the son of a senator, the senator is going to call the IGP, and the IGP is going to arrest the owner of the goat and free the thief. You need to localize issues. You need to localize public education. People should be able to develop an educational system that is very conducive to them.

Mathematics will always remain mathematics, but you want people to run their local schools. You want states to be able to run their roads. There should be no federal roads. Essentially, you should be able to just have roads. And once trade is federalized, any road you use is okay. Efficiency, management of the roads, it’s important.

We should allow states to generate revenue and as much as possible to support local industry, to support local ability to run fiscal management and local governments should not be federalized. States should be allowed to create as many local governments as is conducive to them.

The third thing is that no matter what system of government you create, whether it is regional, whether it is local, every Nigerian should have access to it.

Anybody from the old Western Region or Eastern Region or Midwest when it was created in 1963, could go to the North and get a job because Sir Ahmadu Bello, who led the government and those who supported him, like Makama Bida, were not racists, they were not racial, they were not ethnicists.

They saw that the region belonged to them and to everybody who was physically in the North. It didn’t matter where you came from. So, you could become a judge of the High Court of Northern Nigeria, even though you are not Hausa, Fulani or Tiv.

The laws of Western Nigeria gave free education to anyone who was in the region. It did not ask where you were born and all of that. If you went to Port Harcourt in those days when Okpara was Premier of the East, nobody knew who was from anywhere. So many people from many parts of the country, if you lived in Port Harcourt, you went to school. So, these are the three principles that I would want us to understand.

One, that regionalization or form of government is not it all. Secondly, that efficiency is better, some at local level, some at the federal level. Thirdly, a Nigerian should be able to enjoy equal rights under all these forms of government, whether local, regional or federal.

Nigerians are suffering. Things are tough. The policy promises have not been fulfilled. The policy pains are all over the place. It is time for the government to bridge the gap between the policy pain and the policy gain

The regions didn’t work because they were regions, but because of the quality of the people who operated them but some people will argue that as a result of government being everybody’s own and nobody’s own is one of the reasons why we are where we are. Would you accept that argument?

I will respectfully disagree for three reasons. One, people steal local government money nowadays; they steal town union money; they steal money belonging to temples, churches and mosques.

So it’s the general moral decay because if you look at those who were at the federal level in those days, they came from the regions, but they were very loyal to the Federal Government. It didn’t matter where they came from.

They were highly loyal and they did their job effectively. The problem now is that if you go to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) records, they steal state’s money more than even federal money. You’re more likely to have a governor who finished his tenure and report himself to the EFCC or be looked for by the EFCC.

So, if you think that only the Federal Government people don’t have a sense of belonging, why would somebody who was born poor, who was raised by the public, who was the child of nobody, and turned out to be a governor, still be stealing everywhere dry?

And all of these people, who are doing all of these things called governance today, they don’t know anything about governance. Even if they wanted to do what is right, they don’t know what is right. We need to have a new philosophy about our government.

You can do a survey around the government to find the the number of people in the public service, whether elected, appointed or career, who understand the three pillars of modern governance, which the British call PPE – Philosophy, Political Science and Economy.

They are less than per cent and the people we elect nowadays are not politicians; they are financiers who believe that politics is like investing money in any other venture. So, when you invest money, you will reap in abundance.

So many people, who ordinarily will be in business, will realize that if you invest in banking, agriculture or whatever, you get a single digit return but if you invest in politics, you get a million fold. If you give a billion naira to support a political party or a candidate, you could have a whole ministry given to you.

And that is what is dominating the issue. Ministers, commissioners and other senior government people are recruited to help the boss get his money back, to protect procurements and other business opportunities for their clan, for their clique. So, no pure government is going on. They are recruiting themselves to govern it.

The reason why our politics is failing is because our philosophy of governance has failed. You will see a lawmaker, he doesn’t care about lawmaking, he is evaluated for lawmaking by bringing goodies back home, motorcycles, and giving money to people.

I saw a video recently of someone saying that a lawmaker was to give them laptops but he took photos with them and never gave them the laptop. Both of them are wrong.

Secondly, the citizen who believes that the senator owes him a laptop, what is the salary of the senator to give a laptop to every youth in the constituency? What we are running is essentially a quasi-criminal organisation called government, where we go there to audit our own laws, organise together and do things, which if you did them in your private capacity, you will spend a long time in prison.

That is why the system is not working. You broke the regions and became 12 states, then you went to 19 states and now you have 36 states, you have 774 local governments, you have crime going on all over the place because there is no governance. The first thing a minister does when he is appointed by a president is to go and lie flat and say ‘thank you daddy’ because he thinks it is a gift.

He doesn’t know that the person who appointed you is in trouble because he is taking a public mandate, which he cannot handle by himself all alone, so he is bringing you to come and help him.

They are supposed to be his first critics, his first sparring partners, the devil’s advocates that want to give the counterpoint, so that you can have a robust cabinet.

The ministers are all scattered all over the place. If you stop President Tinubu today and say ‘give me the home addresses of your ministers,’ he doesn’t know because during President Obasanjo’s time, some people, including Nasir El-Rufai advised him and they sold off all the government houses. So, ministers don’t live close to each other. They are far from the State House.

The government is disarticulated. So, when a minister leaves his office to go to consult with the president, the whole day is wasted, whereas during the colonial system and in the First Republic, the minister of Finance would live next door to the prime minister.

After that, the attorney general, the minister of Foreign Affairs, the minister of Interior. All of them lived together and they could just walk over in the evening and have a talk about the government and everybody leaves. When it is a cabinet meeting almost every minister walks up to the cabinet room. They scattered all of that, this shows to you that they are not even organised properly.

They are all isolated in silos all over the place. So, that is what we need to reorganize before we can now start to talk about form of government. Run the one you have now effectively.

When you run it effectively, then you can now start to see where the effective running has some glitches and you can make amendments. You can always amend the Legislative List and next the Constitution. They are not the laws of Moses; they are not cast in stones.

They are to be implemented and we can always amend them. But the key thing worrying us is that, even today, one of the challenges I had when I was running for office and I called my people in the SDP and I told them that if I was elected president, we don’t even have enough quality people to constitute the entire government, we have to go outside our party and get people. We have to go everywhere in the country and get people to come around government because the idea of running government, the business of self-governance is not a joke.

…Begins distribution of membership card

The supporters of former Governor of Osun State, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola have restated their readiness to make their position as to the next political dispensation know latest by December.

Aregbesola’s supporters under the aegis of Omoluabi Progressives, a caucus which have it members across the state said that tendency has finalized plans to welcome more bigwigs to their fold.

The Chairman of Omoluabi Progressives, Alhaji Azeez Adesiji, who made these known in Ilesa, Osun State, hinted that in the next two months, the major political force in the state will declare its major move ahead of the next dispensation, adding that efforts in top gear to admit critical political gladiators in the state.

He urged members across the state to visit their respective wards and registration points to obtain their membership cards.

The Chairman held that, “Our cards are ready. As we did for our key leaders in Ilesa, we have commenced the issuance of cards across Osun. By the time we are done, members will have access to many more packages that will espouse our distinctiveness.

“When we tell people that Omoluabi Progressives is coming to take the reins of power in the state, they will think we are playing. They will think we don’t know what we are doing.

“They should wait for us. We are not making mouth about it. Check where the genuine progressives are. They are all Omoluabis.

“Our principles accommodate everyone who see politics as a way to better the lives of the people. We are not after pecuniary, but seek to drive the development that the people desire in any government.

“By the grace of God, we will not let the people down,” the ex-council boss stressed.

Meanwhile, the caucus according to its spokesperson, Comrade Abosede Oluwaseun, had began the official presentation of membership/registration cards to its members across the state.

The process, coordinated by unit, ward and local government executives of the political group was applauded by many, stressing that the exercise signals one out of the many strides of Omoluabi to return progressive politics in Osun to its foundation.

Alhaji Moshood Adeoti, a one time former Chairman of Osun AC/ACN and former Secretary to the State Government, commended the state coordinating team of the tendency for making the process seamless.

Adeoti, who lauded the transparency so far, called on members to keep registering and participate actively in the mobilisation process as well as attend meetings regularly at the ward level.

An Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court yesterday sentenced an Islamic cleric, Alani Rafiu, to life imprisonment for defiling a 14-year-old year girl (name withheld).

In his judgement, Justice Rahman Oshodi held that the prosecution proved each of the ingredients of defilement against Rafiu.

Oshodi said that the gravity of the convict’s offence could not be overstated as he betrayed the trust placed on him as a religious instructor and family friend.

He said the convict’s conduct represented a profound violation of secular and religious principles. According to him, the evidence before the court reveals a calculated pattern of predatory behaviour.

The court held that the convict deliberately isolated the victim, exploited her vulnerability and bought her silence with money. The judge said: “You betrayed the trust placed in you as a religious instructor and family friend.

“Instead of nurturing and protecting a vulnerable 14-yearold child entrusted in your spiritual care, you repeatedly sexually abused her in a place of worship.

“The physical and psychological trauma inflicted on this young girl is immeasurable. “At an age when she should be focused on her education and development, she was subjected to experiences that no child should endure.”

The winner of Miss Universe Nigeria 2024, Chidimma Adetshina, has been ranked 2nd in the world’s Miss Universe 2024 pre-arrival hot picks.

This was revealed in a viral pre-arrival poll announced on Tuesday, November 5.

The 23-year-old beauty queen was ranked ahead of the 73rd edition of the global Miss Universe pageant scheduled to hold on Saturday, November 16, 2024.

It would be recalled that Chidimma arrived in Mexico, October 2024, to compete for the crown.

However, news of Adetshina’s position has thrilled Nigerians, who believe she has a strong chance to win the contest.

Nigerian rapper, Eva Alordiah has disclosed that many married women are not sexually satisfied by their husbands.

Her revelation comes following a leaked tape scandal involving Equatorial Guinea’s Finance Chief, Baltasar Ebang Engonga with various women, including many married women.

Reacting to this, Eva emphasized that many women endure significant sexual dissatisfaction, which may drive some to infidelity.

Eva stressed that most men do not recognize or address this issue, further exacerbating the situation.

She said: “So when are we going to finally talk about the fact that so many women are facing brutal S3xual dissatisfaction in their marriages, and most men do not even care to learn why or how to help?

“A well-loved and deeply f3cked woman is a happy woman who will not stray”.

Eva’s comment has, however, led to series of remarks on social media, with one fan arguing that cheating is a matter of personal character, independent of sexual satisfaction.

The fan tweeted: “This is like saying a well f3cked man will never cheat on his woman.

“A cheat is a cheat. If you like f3ck every day for 5 hours. They will still find a way to cheat”.

In response, Eva acknowledged that cheating can indeed stem from individual traits, stressing that women and men typically cheat for different reasons.

She wrote: “A cheat is a cheat. This is true. Womën and men cheat for completely different reasons, do you know that?”

Mosun Belo-Olusoga. I am Tamramat: The Fruit of God’s Mercy, 2024, 247 pp.

“EVERYTHING HAPPENS IN accordance with God’s plan and just as ordained by Him. Our course in life is charted and guided by His plans. While things may not always go as we initially intended, with benefit of hindsight, we see the wisdom of it. Maybe if everything had happened the way I wanted; married early, had children early, I probably wouldn’t be as appreciative or as devout as I am today.

  Being human, we can easily forget the role God plays when everything happens according to our expectations and plans. I’m not perfect, but I have a close relationship with God and I have a lot to be grateful to Him for.” (p. 235)

The foregoing excerpt from Mrs Mosun Belo-Olusoga’s autobiography, I am Tamramat:The Fruit of God’s Mercy, more or less summarizes the thematic focus of her reflections on her life and times, even if at 67, she is still young enough to have opportunities for further reflections in her journey of life, but within the space of 67 years so far, she offers in this book a very rich account of where she has been, how she has lived her life, the pains and the joys, the trauma and the thrill of that intensely personal, and unique journey. My immediate take is that she tells a good story, that is at once relatable, delivered in an unpretentious, convivial tone, that draws you into the narrative and compels the reader, willy-nilly to reflect on his or her own individual journey. Life after all is a journey, the only destination is death, but in-between that polarity is the stuff that defines our destiny, experience and impact. Mrs. Olusoga falls into the ranks of women in Nigeria and Africa today who literally and practically broke the limits and chains of gender, and displaced the glass ceiling to record a number of remarkable firsts that should be a source of inspiration to womankind. She has a story to tell, and it is brilliantly told. 

Mrs Olusoga, or Aunty Mo as she is more popularly known to many, is the first female Executive Director of Guaranty Trust Bank (now GT Bank); first female Director and Chairman, Board of Access Bank, first female Director, Premium Pension, first African Director, Global Banking Alliance for Women in Banking (now Financial Alliance for Women); President, Equipment Leasing Association of Nigeria (ELAN); first female Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council, Olabisi Onabanjo University, and first co-chair, Women Corporate Directors, Nigerian Chapter. She is also a proud recipient of two Honorary Doctorate Degrees - in Finance from Crescent University and in Accounting from Al Hikman University. With this brief profile alone, she is without question in the same class as the Amazons of Africa who have proven the strength and value of the girl-child in a continent where patriarchy predominates and the girl-child was traditionally seen in many traditional communities as a material best fit for matrimony under a man’s control. Exposure to Western education had helped to knock the stands off the stools of patriarchy especially among the Yoruba of the South West of Nigeria where the author hails from, and parents learnt early to treat every child as equal and the girl-child as an individual with inalienable rights. Aunty Mo is not alone in this category. Nigeria is a country of remarkable Amazons whose footprints have endured over the years and the times: Mrs. Funmilayo Ransome Kuti, Mrs Margaret Ekpo, Hajia Gawaba Sambo and in more recent seasons, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Dr. Ibukun Awosika, Mrs Osaretin Demuren, Dr. Dere Awosika, Mrs. Oby Ezekwesili, and many who through their careers in the public space project a stronger narrative about the place of women in society. 

This is why I consider Aunty Mo’s book, a motivational and inspirational book which must be read by all the young women out there who think that their main purpose in life is to “slay”, expose as much flesh as possible to attract rich men and live a life of comfort as “a kept woman”. The likes of Aunty Mo provide better case studies for the centering of womanhood in gender studies. It is possible to be a “Disco Baby” as she once was as an undergraduate at the University of Ibadan where she got her first degree in Economics, Second Class Upper Category, and yet she went on to work at Coopers and Lybrand as an articled Accountant. There, she later qualified as a Chartered Accountant. She was winner of the first-place award for ICAN (Institute of Chartered Accountants) in the May 1983 set, and was also the Society of Women Accountants of Nigeria (SWAN) Merit Award winner for the best graduating female student in that year. Her father, who was himself a Chartered Accountant, founder of Akanji Belo and Co, a firm of Chartered Accountants, was of course proud of his daughter! Her SWAN award was handed over to her by yet another distinguished woman of history, Mrs. Toyin Olakunrin, the first female Chartered Accountant in sub-Saharan Africa and the second female President of ICAN. 

Aunty Mo sprinted forwards and faster, steadily and confidently. She would soon leave Coopers and Lybrand where she had worked since graduation as an auditor to go into banking. Her first stop was at Continental Merchant Bank -and here she quickly learned the ropes as a banker- Budget and Finance Department, Loans Syndication, Credit and Marketing. In 1990, she joined GT bank as a pioneer staff. The book assumes a different tone at this point where Aunty Mo talks about her experience at Continental Merchant Bank (CMB) and the “University of Guaranty Trust” as she refers to GT bank in the early days. This section of the book should be of interest to both males and females in any career whatsoever. Basically, in Chapters Three and Four, and in sequences, Aunty Mo narrates the story of her banking career before the rewards that came together in Chapter Eight which is instructively titled “Arriving At the Summit”. Between Chapters Three and Eight, the author shares the story of how she got to that summit. In this regard, one of my favourite quotes in this book is when she writes at page 138 that “In life you get what you put in”.  And we see a clear demonstration of this in terms of what she put into her career as a banker. This book is not just about her as a person but the story of her career. 

It is about GT bank majorly and also about Access Bank, and about all the persons who worked with her in all the departments either in Credit or Transaction Services, or on the boards where she ended up as Director or Chairman. It is a book about the building of institutions, even beyond banking. But banking is the core focus. GT Bank once decided: We must beat Citibank. “That year, we beat Citibank. We were the first bank to make one billion Naira profit in Nigeria.” (p. 85). Mrs Olusoga provides a Master Class on how to build institutions and sustain excellence. There are ample lessons here again for young persons seeking to build and excel in any career of their choice.

As Aunty Mo advised, at page 138 indeed, “in life you get what you put in”. This is an eternal law of nature. What a man sows he reaps. It is the same as well for businesses and careers. The author was so immersed in work and career, she almost forgot to marry. She had to be reminded again and again that she had been left behind on the shelf. Her youngest sister even got married 10 years before her. At one point she lived in Iyana Ipaja, and had to get to work by 6 am in Ikoyi. She would later move to Ilupeju, and go through the early commute from the Mainland to the Island. Even when she was given an official residence on the island, she had to stay behind in Ilupeju because her husband, by the way she finally left the shelf at the age of 36, did not like the idea of an official accommodation. She stood by her husband! She was right at the centre of the renaissance in the banking industry in Nigeria in the 1980s and yet privately, in her personal life, she had to play the balancing act between career and private life. There is yet another lesson here for younger women in her position who are enormously conflicted about how to strike that balance and juggle the balls, most of them curved balls, that life throws at the career-oriented woman. I would like to stress this personal tale. 

Most women are under pressure to get married but Aunty Mo is clear-minded about this and it is better to quote her directly: “The pressure to get married became even more intense,” she writes. “People said all sorts of things…One of my uncles suggested I park  my car for a while and commute by bus. “Maybe you will see somebody who will give you a lift”, he told me. It was absurd. If someone was intimidated by my car, would I forever play a role that wasn’t mine?  I tell young people today not to shrink themselves to boost someone’s fragile ego. A lot of ladies say they don’t want to appear smart, intelligent, or beautiful, in order not to intimidate men. In choosing a life partner, one has to be careful and strategic.  That’s the truth. A spouse has to be somebody who would support you and not feel insecure, even if you are earning more. I used to earn more than Ope. He was working with the Government and I was working with a bank…” Ope was her husband. He was a staff of the Ministry of Agriculture, Lagos State and a farmer. She was then an Assistant Manager at Continental Merchant Bank.  They got married in July 1993. He died before their daughter, Nadirah was born, after a long, moving struggle with IVF. 

This is also a book about family. Aunty Mo is a family person in both the nuclear and the extended sense. If you ever worked with her or grew up with her or crossed her path, and you didn’t get mentioned by her in this book, it simply means in the view of this reviewer that you did not make enough impression on her to be remembered. I should put that in context though. I mean within the time frame covered by the book, after all, hers is a living and continuing story. This review, in other words, is titled “Aunty Mo: Her Story” but this is also the story of other people, their connections with her and their humanity. Her siblings, cousins and nephews are all over the pages: her parents, uncles, family friends that became family, cousins as well as all the characters at every place where she worked, especially the ones that became family: Herbert Wigwe, Aig-Imokhuede and his wife, Ofovwe, Fola Adeola, Tayo Aderinokun. Chapter Five: “The Threads that Bind Me”, Chapter Six: “The Journeys That Ended”, and Chapter Nine: “The Fruit of God’s Mercy” are about the value of family. In Chapter Nine, the author narrates the story of how suddenly, shortly after the celebration of her 60^th birthday, she came down with a condition known as TOXIC EPIDERMAL NECROLYSIS (TEN). She was in induced coma for four months and bedridden for close to a year and she received treatment for about two years. Her family stood up for her. The characters come alive: from LB to Funlade and his wife Chris, Aunty Oyinade, Sola, Mama J, Dr. K., Toki, Queen, Herbert and Aig. The sombre moments in the book are tear-inducing because of the sheer honesty and empathy of the experience. Aunty Mo’s life is a story of trials and triumphs. 

And yet in this book, there are hearty moments for humour, wit, laughter and nostalgia that the reader can easily connect with.  For example, at page 16, there is the Indian neighbour with the waggling head and spicy curry aroma, and at page 125, the author narrates the story of how a woman who had come to commiserate with the family at her mother’s funeral in Ijebu Ode consumed a three-course meal of eba, rice and ikokore.  So she writes “…this was a woman who said my mother’s death was too bitter a pill for her to swallow. Had it not been that bitter, she probably would have swallowed more food. When we buried my father, it shocked me to realise that people could eat on such a sad occasion. When we were cooking and making provision for over a thousand guests, I believed nobody would eat. But the food was exhausted!” People ate despite being sad!” The author’s parents died decades ago. These days, families have to engage security agents to secure food items at funerals out of fear that hoodlums could storm the venue and make way with food meant for guests. Nigeria has now changed so much that at funeral parties, guests could be seen with take away packs, struggling to steal extra food. It is indeed not difficult to see how much society has changed. As a young woman, Aunty Mo grew up in a society where a woman could drive safely around the city, or trek from one village to another without fear of being molested. There was no kidnapping. In those days also, families sent their children to live with other families. Today, Nigerians have lost that sense of community. In those days, it was not a big deal to go and study abroad because Nigerian schools and universities were as good as any other in the world. When she graduated from University in those days, employers of labour were waiting to recruit fresh graduates. Most Nigerian university graduates are on the roads today in search of jobs that do not exist. 

Aunty Mo writes about projects that are dear to her heart, her life joys: she is the founder of a training consultancy - the Knowledge and Resource Centre Limited (KRC) and the secondary school she has established along the Benin-Ijebu Ode Expressway, the City of Knowledge Academy (CKA) which is building a young generation of future achievers with the ethical pillars of Culture, Character and Confidence. She also writes about her daughter, Nadirah but she is clearly maternalistic and preachy, the conservative, old-school mummy that she is, trying to cope with inter-generational differences. A good book overall, eminently readable and instructive, even though there are loud moments of silence that the author covers up. There are also a number of editorial errors as the book progresses. The publisher also forgot to insert an identity imprint nor an ISBN number. These are oversights that should be corrected in a future reprint. Nonetheless, a brilliantly written memoir, recommended enthusiastically for general reading. 

The Director General, National Financial Investigation Agency in Equatorial Guinea, Baltasar Engonga, has been arrested for allegedly recording over 400 sextapes of the wives of notable people in the country.

The scandal emerged in the course of a fraud investigation against the 54-year-old Economist which resulted in the search of his house and office on impromptu notice by ANIF officials who came across several CDs that later revealed his sexcapades with different married women.

The videos reportedly include encounters with high-profile individuals, such as his brother’s wife, his cousin, the sister of the President of Equatorial Guinea, the Director General of Police’s wife, and about 20 of the country’s ministers’ wives, among others.

The footage, discovered in his personal office, was said to have been recorded with consent and has since been leaked online, causing a media uproar.

In a report by a local media platform, Ahora EG, since last October, Engonga has been involved in a sexual scandal unprecedented in the history of Equatorial Guinea.

The former ANIF DG better known as “Bello” had sexual relations with several women, some of them married, and filmed these intimate encounters.

The report read, “The most striking thing is that some scenes took place in his work office, including moments in which he is seen sleeping with a woman next to the National Flag. Based on this sexual scandal, the Executive has stated that the measure is a direct response to the acts that have affected the image of the country.

“With these new measures, the Government hopes to establish a clear precedent on the expected conduct of public officials in order to create a more respectful work environment in the public and private administration of Equatorial Guinea. For days now, erotic videos have been circulating on social media featuring Baltasar EBANG ENGONGA, better known as “Bello”, who is currently the Director General of the National Financial Investigation Agency (ANIF) and is currently imprisoned for alleged corruption issues.

“Baltasar EBANG ENGONGA is said to have filmed these scenes with the consent of the women themselves, which exonerates him from a possible crime of violation of integrity. In the videos, he is seen having unprotected sex with several women, including those married to powerful and well-known people in the country, but also with the most “diva and influential” single women in Equatorial Guinea. Some scenes take place in hotel rooms, houses, even in the protagonist’s office at the Ministry of Finance,” it added.

However, speaking on the viral sextapes, the Attorney General of the country, Nzang Nguema, has stressed that, although the images suggest that the women involved were not forced to participate, the law does not consider consensual sexual relations to be a crime, unless coercion or violence is proven. This highlights the importance of victims reporting situations of sexual abuse or assault.

Nguema also emphasised that the risk is not only for the women involved but also for their partners and the wider community, adding, “The possibility of a contagious disease being spread through these sexual interactions makes the situation even more critical.

He further pointed out that the onus is on victims to come forward in cases of rape or assault, highlighting the need for an environment where people feel safe and supported to report such incidents.

Reacting to the development on Monday, Equatorial Guinea has decided to take action by immediately suspending all officials who have had sexual relations in the offices of the country’s ministries.

The government claimed that the decision was part of its “zero tolerance” policy towards behaviour that compromises the integrity of the public service.

The Vice President of the Republic, Nguema Mangue, has pointed out that these behaviours constitute a flagrant violation of the Code of Conduct and the Public Ethics Law.

In his publication on X, he emphasized that “ethics and respect are fundamental in our Administration,” and that irresponsible attitudes that put citizen trust at risk will not be allowed.