Justice Kehinde Ogundare of the Federal High Court in Lagos, on Thursday, fixed June 5, 2024, for the report of settlement in the case of a socialite businessman, Pascal Okechukwu alias Cubana Chief Priest, over alleged abuse of the Naira.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, on April 17, 2024, arraigned Cubana Chief Priest on three counts bordering on the abuse of naira.
The EFCC said the socialite was caught spraying naira notes during a social event at the Eko Hotel in Lagos.
Cubana Chief Priest, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges and was granted bail in the sum of N10m.
Justice Ogundare gave him seven days to perfect the bail conditions, with a warning that if he failed, he would be remanded in custody.
At the resumed hearing on Thursday, EFCC prosecutor Mrs Bilikisu Buhari, announced her appearance, while Mr Chikaosolu Ojukwu (SAN) appeared for the defendant.
Ojukwu informed the court that parties were exploring settlement and had applied that the matter be settled, under the provisions of Section 14(2) of the EFCC Act.
He told the court that if the prosecution confirmed the position as true, then there would be a need to apply for a withdrawal of preliminary objection and allow for reconciliation.
The prosecutor’s counsel confirmed the position of the defence counsel and told the court that the application was still being considered.
The defence counsel then applied for a withdrawal of the preliminary objection and since there was no objection from the prosecution, the court granted the prayer and adjourned the case till June 5 for the report of settlement.
Counsel for the EFCC had, during arraignment, told the court that the defendant committed the alleged offence on February 13, 2024, when spraying the naira at a social event at Eko Hotel.
Buhari also told the court that Cubana Chief Priest tampered with funds in the denomination of N500 notes issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria, by spraying the same for two hours.
The commission also said in January 2024, during a social event, the defendant tampered with funds in the denomination of N500 issued by the CBN by spraying the notes at the event.
According to the anti-graft agency, the offence was contrary to and punishable under Section 21(1) of the Central Bank Act 2007
The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, Osun State Command, has arrested a 32 year old man, Oladiti Saheed Toyin, for impersonation.
According to a statement by the Osun NSCDC Commandant, Michael Adaralewa, issued by the Command spokesperson, Adeleke Kehinde, on Thursday, Toyin, who resides at No 2, Lakewu area, Ororuwo, Boripe Local Government Area of the state, was arrested for parading himself as a medical doctor.
Adaralewa also revealed that he allegedly attended to a pregnant woman during childbirth which led to her death.
“The suspect whose highest qualification is Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSCE) has been operating an unlicensed clinic for the past six years and two months. He also has people who are undergoing training in his clinic as staff.
“While making his confessional statement, the suspect, Oladiti Toyin said on the 15th of April, 2024, a pregnant woman with 9 months and 3 weeks pregnancy visited his hospital popularly known as OLORUNTOYIN CLINIC at No 2, Lakewu area, Ororuwo, Boripe Local Government, Osun State.
“According to him the pregnant woman could not continue her antenatal care at her previous hospital because she had misunderstanding with her husband. The self–acclaimed doctor said he checked her blood pressure which was low and gave her some drugs. He thereafter asked her to come back whenever she fell into labour.
“On Thursday, 18th April 2024, the woman began to experience labour symptoms and was in the hospital where she was delivered of a baby. The victim developed some complications shortly after and was later rushed to a nearby licensed hospital where she was pronounced dead on arrival.”
The Osun NSCDC boss revealed that discreet investigation revealed that the suspect also engaged in the training of people to become quack doctors, at the cost of N5,000.
Adaralewa also said the suspect was guilty of flouting the provisions of Section 343 (1e) of the Criminal Code Act.
The Act provides that “Any person who in a manner so rash or negligent as to endanger human life or likely cause harm to any other person gives medical or surgical treatment to any person whom he has undertaken to treat is guilty of a misdemeanor and is liable.”
The commandant assured members of the public that the suspect would be made to face the full wrath of the law upon the conclusion of investigation.
While cautioning members of the public to be mindful of medical institutions they visit when seeking medical attention, he urged them to report quacks to security agencies for prompt action.
Omowunmi, the wife of late singer Ilerioluwa Oladimeji Aloba, aka Mohbad, has debunked reports that she secretly conducted DNA tests on her son, Liam.
Reports were rife in some sections of the media that Wunmi recently conducted DNA tests on Liam at two separate centres.
She has now dispelled the rumours.
“It is a lie,” she told SaharaReporters on Thursday, denying the allegations.
DAILY POST reports Wunmi’s father-in-law, Joseph Aloba, has been insisting on a DNA test to ascertain his grandson’s true paternity.
Wunmi, who had previously expressed her willingness for a DNA test on her son, said she was no longer open to the test.
She said only her late husband has the right to request a DNA test from her, stressing that Mohbad disvirgined her and that he was the only man she had slept with.
The Nigerian federal government has shifted the application deadline for companies interested in managing the $10 billion Diaspora Fund.
Minister of the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Doris Uzoka-Anite, disclosed this in a circular on Thursday in Abuja.
Accordingly, the deadline for May 6 has been shifted to May 13, 2024.
The minister urged prospective applicants to utilise the extra time to complete their submissions, ensuring they are thorough and competitive.
She stressed that the extension is designed to allow stakeholders additional time to adequately prepare their applications following the guidelines established for the fund.
“The Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Investment wishes to inform all interested parties that the deadline for the submission of Expressions of Interest (EOI) for the Nigeria Diaspora Fund has been extended.
“The new submission deadline is May 13, 2024. This extension is intended to accommodate stakeholders who require more time to prepare their applications by the guidelines provided for the $10 billion Nigeria Diaspora Fund,” she stated.
The Anambra State Government has arrested one Uzochukwu Okoli for giving out his underage daughter’s hand in marriage.
Okoli was apprehended after his daughter reported to the state Ministry of Women and Social Welfare about the ill-treatment being meted out to her by her father and the man he forced her to marry.
This was disclosed in a statement issued by Chidimma Ikeanyionwu, the media aide to the state Commissioner for Women and Social Welfare, Ify Obinabo, on Thursday.
Ikeanyionwu said the girl, who is currently 16 years old, told the ministry that after the death of their mother, her father brought her back from Edo State, where they were going to school to take a husband.
The statement read, “She alleged that she was first forced to live with a 70-year-old man at the age of 14, but after some time, she ran back to her father’s house before he finally gave her out to a 34-year-old Chinedu N. as husband.
“The girl, who also came with her elder sister, explained that life with the said husband had been a ‘living hell’ because he beat her and sometimes after beating her, peed in her mouth and that made her run away with her nine-month-old baby.
“Her father, Uzochukwu Okoli, on the other hand, claimed her daughter is 18 years old and, at some point, said 20 years.
“Okoli, when he was handcuffed, threatened to deal with the daughters if he made it out of prison. He also urged them to pray he dies in prison because he will make life more miserable for them.”
Reacting to the development, Obinabo instructed that the case be charged to court so that the children could get justice.
She used the medium to urge parents to be mindful of their children and direct them properly instead of pushing them to early marriage, which will destroy their lives.
Our correspondent learnt that both Okoli and Chinedu were arrested and will be arraigned in court.
Police on Thursday paraded the alleged mastermind of the March 28, 2022 Kaduna-Abuja train attack with 276 other suspected criminals.
The evening train was attacked on March 28, 2022 when kidnappers derailed the train and killed eight people while 62 others were kidnapped following which ransom running into hundreds of millions were paid before Federal Government secured the release of the remaining victims.
Parading the suspects during his visit to Kaduna Police Command on Thursday, Nigeria Police Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, said the arrest of the mastermind followed painstaking efforts to bring the perpetrators of the dastardly act to book.
He decried the unfettered foray of youths in their 20s into crime and the misuse and abuse of drugs, noting that use of drug contributed to over 80% of crimes perpetrated by youths in the country.
Speaking on the achievements of the Kaduna Police Command since January 2024, the Force PRO said they include arrest of alleged mastermind of the Kaduna-Abuja train attack, Ibrahim Abdullahi aka Mande, who was arrested in Rido.
Also arrested in a separate operation was one of his alleged accomplices in the train attack, Auwal Ayuba.Ayuba admitted to being involved in the attack on the train under the directive of Mande, noting that after kidnapping the train passengers, they were later on sold to Islamic State of West African Province (ISWAP).
But the suspected gang leader, Abdullahi refuted the allegation, noting that he wasn’t involved and he was not leader of the gang that planned and attacked the train. He also disclaimed the Ayuba, saying that he has never met him before.
The Force PRO added the Kaduna Police arrested Yakubu Saidu, the mastermind and leader of the notorious kidnapping gang that attacked St. Raphael Catholic Church, Fadan Kamanta, Zonkwa where they razed the Priest house leading to the death of Stephen Naaman in the fire with property worth millions, including a Honda vehicle and a motorcycle, were consumed by the fire.
Adejobi said: “On 12th January, 2024, police operatives attached to anti-kidnapping unit of Kaduna State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), based on credible information swooped in and arrested one Ibrahim Abdullahi aka MANDE at Abuja-Kaduna Road flyover by Rido Junction. The suspect confessed to being the leader of a kidnap syndicate terrorising Kaduna-Abuja highway, ranked among other criminals like Dogo Gide and Bello Turji.
“He had participated in various kidnapping incidents including the kidnapping incident at Greenfield University and he partook in almost all the kidnappings along the Abuja-Kaduna highway. On 27th April, 2024, some vigilante members arrested and brought to the station one Auwal Ayuba aged 27, a resident of Kubacha Town suspected of being a kidnapper. After thorough investigation the suspect confessed to being a member of kidnapping gang and has participated in several kidnappings in Kubacha, Jere and Katari axis where many victims were kidnapped.
“On February 29, 2024, vigilant operatives of the Kaduna Command Monitoring Unit conducted a well-coordinated operation at the residence of a suspected kidnapper, one Adamu Abdulwahab, in Ganga Uku Village, Mararaban Jos, which resulted in the apprehension of the suspect and recovery of crucial exhibits, including 1 fabricated cartridge revolver rifle, 1 fabricated pistol, 2 Dane guns, 6 live cartridges, 1 discharged GPRG ammunition, 7 discharged cartridges, 2 SIM cards, 2 Tecno handsets, and 1 bloodstained cutlass.
“It was revealed during investigation that 35-year-old Adamu Abdulwahab, in connivance with other suspects who are currently at large, had kidnapped one Samaila Abdullahi, aged 40, of Keke Kingdom, Mararaban Jos, on February 13, 2024, and forcefully taken him to an unknown destination. Efforts is being intensified to locate and rescue the victim.
“On 12th February, 2024, suspected bandit/gun runner Adamu Shuaibu, aged 35, from Dumale Village under Jere L.G.A. of Kaduna state, was arrested following reliable information available to the police on his involvement in criminal activities within the state, including the supply of arms and ammunition to other criminal suspects. One AK-47 rifle with breach no. 1970/TY 1938 and an empty magazine was recovered from his custody.
“During this period, our proactive measures and relentless pursuit of criminal elements have resulted in remarkable outcomes including the arrest of 81-armed robbery suspects, 40 kidnap suspects, 73 murder/ homicide suspects, 36 rape suspects, 22 suspects involved in cult-related crimes, and 28 suspects engaged in other criminal activities. We have successfully recovered 16 firearms of various types, along with 226 ammunition of diverse calibers.
“Our operations have led to the retrieval of 28 stolen vehicles, over 200 harmful weapons, and 600 bags of fertilizers. A total of N3,350,000 only, previously paid as ransom to kidnappers, has been successfully recovered, while our swift and coordinated efforts have resulted in the safe rescue of 158 kidnapped victims, all of whom have been reunited with their families unharmed.”
The Naira lost N112.38 against the US dollar at the foreign exchange market in April 2024.
FMDQ data showed that the Naira traded at N1,390.96 per dollar on Tuesday, 30th April, compared to N1,278.58 per dollar at the beginning of the month.
This represents a 10 per cent depreciation against the dollar in the period under review.
The development comes despite the Naira recording a 12 per cent gain against the dollar in the first 12 days of April, adding to its 14 per cent surge in March. Consequently, Goldman Sach described the Naira as the best performing currency.
However, the losses recorded in the second half of April have resulted in a month-on-month decline.
Meanwhile, Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, governor, Olayemi Cardoso, stated that the apex bank is planning policies to tackle Naira’s instability in the forex market.
A 19-year-old man arraigned before Mutawatawa magistrate on charges of having sexual intercourse with his 14-year-old sister in Uzumba, Zimbabwe, has been convicted.
It was gathered that in January 2023, the 19-year-old man decided to take things a notch up bizarrely as he chatted with his sister. He asked his sister to be his girlfriend. Strangely, the 14-year-old admitted to feeling the same way for her brother.
The two decided to hit it off and start dating. They decided to keep their relationship under wraps, knowing how much trouble it would attract if ever known.
During their relationship, the 19-year-old man convinced his sister to have sex with him. She agreed, and the two did the act on different occasions, both at home and in the garden. However, the girl later got pregnant and this was noticed by their grandmother.
Upon being questioned, she revealed her brother was responsible. The grandmother reported the case to the police, leading to the 19-year-old man’s arrest for incest. He appeared in a Mutawatawa Court, where the Magistrate sentenced him to 14 months in jail. Two months were struck off, and he will serve an effective 12 months.
Fresh facts about how Finidi George beat fan favourite Emmanuel Amuneke and other applicants to the Super Eagles job have emerged, The PUNCH reports.
Monday, the Nigerian Football Federation approved the recommendations of its Technical Committee to appoint Finidi as coach ahead of over 60 other local and foreign applicants.
Some of the other coaches who applied are US U-19 coach Michael Nsien, Spain-based former Katsina United coach Henry Makinwa, Sylvanus Okpala and Daniel Amokachi. Former Cameroon coach Antonio Conceicao and Dutchman Danny Bujis also reportedly applied for the job.
A member of the NFF Technical Committee, who spoke to our correspondent on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak on the matter, said some stakeholders had tried to influence their decision in favour of their candidate.
He said Technical Committee members, however, resolved to stick to their guns and pick the best candidate for the position no matter whose ox was gored.
“Some of these people think they are the masters of the game, but they don’t know that some of us have been in this game for some time too. Do you know they set up a WhatsApp platform to decide and influence who will become the coach of the Super Eagles. But we snubbed them,” our source said.
“It could have been the other way round and we would still move on and support whoever the NFF picked.
“We know that some candidates that were not picked for the job would complain, that’s life for you. The important thing now is to support who is there and see how we can qualify for the World Cup. Now we have a manager, he’s going to coach the team, he has the desire to coach and he’ll definitely sit down with the federation officials to sort out his contract.”
On how they arrived at Finidi as the best choice for Eagles, our source said with just weeks to the crucial World Cup qualifiers against rivals South Africa, they needed someone who had an in-depth knowledge of the squad, and not a new coach who would come with a new philosophy alien to the players.
He added that Finidi, having served for 20 months under Peseiro, emerged the right man for the job, while his knowledge of domestic and continental football as current NPFL champions Enyimba also gave him the nod.
Our source added, “Finidi, with due respect to him, has been on ground, and he’s in tune with the dynamics of the modern game, and that for us is a big plus. He’s working with Enyimba, won a league title for them, has coached on the continent and he’s been busy coaching in recent years.
“At the national team level, he’s been with the Eagles as assistant and we know we have some tricky World Cup qualifiers ahead. A new coach might come in with tactics that the players will struggle to adapt to. We don’t need that now.
“Also, as a coach who understand the domestic league very well, his experience in this regard will come in handy when selecting players for the home-based players.”
The Technical Committee member added monetary considerations also played a role in Finidi’s choice for the job.
“Who will pay a foreign coach $70,000 in today’s Nigeria? The money is just not there,” our source added.
Meanwhile, some of the applicants have spoken on the process that led to the appointment of the new coach.
Even though Emmanuel Amuneke described the process as “fair”, he admitted that there was no interview to select the best candidate for the job.
“There was no interview (for the job), neither was there any talk about the job with the federation. There was no contact from the federation nor was there an offer to take the job. They have chosen a new coach, who is one of us, we just need to move on and support him,” Amuneke said.
When asked if he thought the process of selecting the candidate for the coaching role was transparent, US U-19 coach Michael Nsien, who also applied for the job, said, “It depends on people’s standards of process. There weren’t interviews, which I think is basic, it would give the appearance (that it was transparent) at least.”
Nsien, a former U-23 national team star, is positive Finidi will get a competent backroom staff to work with.
“Hopefully he is surrounded with good staff,” he said.
Another applicant, Sylvanus Okpala, who won the AFCON title in 1980 as a player and as an assistant coach in 2013, declined comments on the process that saw Finidi emerge as the winner but congratulated the former Ajax star.
He said, “The important thing is that Finidi has been selected and he is there now. All he needs is the support of everyone to excel, but the biggest support he can get is the one he gives to himself to be successful and take the Eagles to where they belong.
“I feel okay with Finidi’s appointment as the new Super Eagles coach because all of us cannot be there and obviously only one person will be appointed among us. I congratulate him and I wish him the best, hoping that he will take the Eagles to the next level.”
The naira declined to N1,370 against the dollar at the parallel section of the foreign exchange (FX) market on Wednesday.
This represents a 1.48 percent depreciation from N1,350 traded on April 29.
Currency traders, also known as bureau de change (BDC) operators, put the buying rate of the greenback at N1,330 and the selling price at N1,370 — leaving a profit margin of N40.
At the official window, the local currency appreciated by 1.98 percent to N1,390 on April 30 — from N1,419.11 on April 29.
During trading, the exchange rate rose as high as N1,450 and as low as N1,200 according to data from FMDQ Exchange, a platform that oversees FX trading in Nigeria.
The naira devaluation has continued to pose significant challenges to firms, cutting deep into profit margins and eroding shareholders’ dividends.
On April 30, Aliko Dangote, chairman of Dangote Industries Limited, said the devaluation of naira created the “biggest mess” for the company in 2023.
“We are doing whatever it takes to make sure that at the end of the day, we will be paying dividends because if you look at our dividends last year, it was almost 50 percent more so we will try and get out of the mess,” Dangote said.
“The biggest mess created was actually the devaluation of the naira from N460 to N1,400.”
He said almost 97 percent of the companies, especially in food and beverages businesses, will not pay dividends this year due to the FX constraints.
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Chess-in-Slums founder, Tunde Onakoya, has changed the conventional meaning of “area boy,” typically associated with street thugs, into a symbol of intellectual prowess.
Onakoya, addressing a TEDx Talks gathering at Nile University of Nigeria in 2023, revealed his background as an “area boy,” a clip of which gained online attention on Wednesday.
He explained that this identity inspired his unique attire, combining an indigenous cap and suit.
Onakoya shared his vision of using chess to unite children from diverse backgrounds, aiming to break down barriers between the affluent and underprivileged.
Inspired by this vision, he embarked on a mission to introduce chess to the marginalized youth in the slums, including those often stigmatized as “area boys.”
By providing chess boards and opportunities for these boys to learn and compete, Onakoya sought to empower them and foster camaraderie across socioeconomic divides.
Through this initiative, he aimed to demonstrate the transformative potential of chess in promoting inclusivity and social harmony within communities.
Onakoya said, “I am also an area boy; I mean, for a very long time, the term ‘area boy’ has been known to be a derogatory word that is being used to refer to the thugs, hoodlums and criminals in Lagos. But we’re able to redefine what that meant, and a lot of us became area boys for the sake of some people, and I’ll tell you that story.
“So, some 16 years ago, I was at home, I had just completed my primary school education, and my mom called me and told me that I would have to stop school because they just couldn’t afford tuition anymore, and I had to stay at home so my brother could go to school and that was going to be the end of education for me.
“I wasn’t a very brilliant kid in primary school; I mean, I could not even speak good English at the end of my primary school because the school I went to was a ‘Pako’ one where they taught in Yoruba, and we had to sit on the floor. So, I was really struggling, and my teachers would call me ‘olodo’. So it was the easy way out, okay, so no school, so I dropped out of school, and I was at home for two years after my primary school education.
“There was this barbing salon just on the other side of our street, and I would go there to play video games at the end of the day. Then, on one of those days, the barber just brought out a small plastic chess set, and I’d never seen a chessboard before.
“I was a very curious kid, so I asked what this was, and he said it was a chess set. I’d never seen one before, but I was fascinated by the way the pieces were carved, so I told him to teach me because I wanted to learn how to play because I would see him just sit down and talk to himself all right and it would say crazy stuff like well if you play this game you’ll be very intelligent, you’ll be very smart, and I told him to please teach me, and he said no I was too young and he didn’t teach me. So, I was just watching him play with his friends, and with time, because I was a very curious kid, I was able to pick up the rules of the game.
“I learned how to play chess by watching. At the time, it didn’t occur to me that I had made the most important decision of my life, but then it became clear that something had happened, and I went back to school; my mom had to make a sacrifice for me, and I returned.
“Fortunately, the secondary school I attended had chess as a subject, I had never seen that before. We learned chess as a subject and we wrote exams because I think the owner of the school then was the United Nations Ambassador to Kenya and he played competitively when he was younger and that was how I found the gift of chess.
“I kept playing, and I got really good, and my coach discovered that I was a really good, gifted child. I remember my coach telling me that I was gifted, and I believed it. That was the first thing that I learned as a kid who grew up in poverty in the slums of Ikorodu in Lagos. I found an identity, and it wasn’t just any identity; it was an intellectual identity. I began playing professionally, and I was ranked one of the top players in Nigeria, and I finished school in 2015.
“I won a lot of tournaments. I won the Trevor and Chess Challenge, the national friends of chess. I was a really strong player who wanted to become a grand master. I started teaching chess to private schools just like I’d learned, and I’d never thought of it before. But in that period when I thought of teaching chess to children, it made me realize that chess was an important educational resource for children who struggled with their self-esteem and everything else.
“I had challenges with teaching the boys who had never been to school, but believe me, they learnt at an incredible pace. What would take a master a year to learn was learnt by them in a month.
“They beat the other kids from rich schools and won trophies at national and international levels. They even got the toast of notable people to play with them, including the former Manchester United captain, Patrice Evra.”
Recall that on Wednesday, April 17, Onakoya began his efforts to break the chess marathon record of 56 hours, nine minutes and 37 seconds, held by two Norwegians, Hallvard Haug Flatebo and Sjur Ferkingstad, since 2018.
To achieve that, Onakoya had to partner with an American chess champion, Shawn, which was Martinez, in accordance with the Guinness Book Of Records’ requirement.
The aim of the 29-year-old chess player was not only to break the record but to raise $1 million for the education of marginalized children.
During his efforts to break the record in Times Square, he vomited a couple of times and was urged to give up due to his failing health, but he insisted on continuing.
Tunde Onakoya succeeded in breaking the record and even surpassing the 58-hour mark he set for himself as he set a new landmark of 60-hour at about 12:40 a.m. (04:40GMT) on Saturday, April 20, 2024.
The new record holder said he attempted to raise funds and awareness to provide educational opportunities to underprivileged children across Africa.
Coastal Highway: Payment Of N2.75bn Compensation Done Out Of Sympathy For Those Who Voted Tinubu- Umahi
AFOLABIThe federal government has begun payment of N2.75bn compensation for owners of properties affected by the ongoing Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway.
The compensation was flagged off on Wednesday with 10 beneficiaries, according to the Minister of Works, David Umahi said at a stakeholders’ meeting in Lagos.
The beneficiaries are: Olaotan Olamuyiwa of Checkmate; Kemi Osinibi of Landmark Kids Club by Maxtivity; Mide Adegbite, Peter Oladipupo of FX Lounge; Bukola Oloko, Abiodun Oguntunde of Xchange Lagos; Dapo Oniru of Moist Beach; Mustapha Olatunji of G12 Beach; Dr Bashir Oshodi, and Bestrock.
Umahi said the N2.75bn covers compensation for property owners affected by the demolition necessary for the construction of channel 0 to channel 3 of the coastal highway.
Umahi said the compensation was out of sympathy for president Bola Tinubu’s supporters.
“To show sympathy for people who voted for Mr. President, we would do everything possible to pay the human face compensation.” the Minister said adding “Today, we are paying over N2bn in compensation just from channel 0 to channel 3.”
Umahi said the remaining beneficiaries will be directed to the Secretariat of the Compensation Committee for payment.
The minister said, “All tenants within the Landmark premises, today, have all been shortlisted and they will get the alerts by 2:00 pm.
“Most of them are here and that closes the politics of Landmark.
“The committee will be sitting from 2:00 pm so that you will sign your documents in the form of indemnity and you will get your alert tomorrow before 2:00 pm.”
Sola Sobowale, a veteran in Nigeria’s Nollywood movie industry, has recounted her ordeal while working as a caregiver in London, England.
The 58-year-old actress, noted for her acting prowess in movie scenes, made the revelation during her interview on the ‘Teju Baby Face Show’ on Tuesday.
The thespian said she left Nigeria in 2004 and returned 12 years after for the audition of a movie.
While the show host asked why she referred to herself as ‘elevated omo odo,’ literally meaning ‘a glorified servant,’ the talented actress gave the narration in the form of a person who, after facing the struggles of life in many forms, was then fortunate to have conquered all obstacles.
She said, “Oh yes. It was after Toyin Tomato – Super Story that I left (for London). I left Nigeria totally in 2004 and I didn’t come back until I came for the audition of the Wedding Party in 2016.”
After featuring in the popular television drama series, ‘Toyin Tomato’ in the early 2000s; the popular actress took some time off the screens and decided to work in an unrelated role in London.
“When I started work in that office, there were Nigerians, Jamaicans, Ghanaians, and all of them know Sola Sobowale. But it was confusing because my tag read ‘Olu,’ and not Olusola,” the award-winning actress stated.
She recalled how a Nigerian man (Seye Fadipe) had walked up to her and said she looked familiar, but she refuted it. However, at a later time, the man advised her to return to acting after she had admitted that she was the same ‘Sola Sobowale’ he used to see on the TV.
Sobowale said, at that time, she worked as a caregiver, saying she would “wash, carry, clean…you’ll do everything. That was what I was doing,” adding that she would later obtain her National Vocational Qualification certificate levels 2, 3 and 4, up to the level of a team lead.
Speaking further, the veteran actress noted that “there’ll be a time that the noise, the energy that Sola Sobowale had” will be no more.
The actress stated, “When I started this ‘elevated omo odo’ thing, I started from the grassroots. Then, I went to the college. I got my NVQ 2,3,4, to a team leader.
“I believe in dignity in labour. There’s no job I won’t do to put food on my table, to provide for my children, except prostitution and fraud.”
When further asked how she managed to conceive and implement an upcoming movie project in the Indian movie industry – Bollywood, she said, “It’s the grace of God. When you’ve grace, you have everything, and that’s what has been working for me.”
She recalled that she struck up a movie project with an Indian lady (Amsha) when the popular movie streaming platform, Netflix, first came to Nigeria.
The host, Teju, featured alongside Sobowale, Richard Mofe-Damijo, Bukky Wright, among others in a 1998 thriller movie directed by Tade Ogidan, titled ‘Diamond Ring.’
Another Nollywood actress, Doris Simeon, had said she was not ashamed of doing menial jobs in the United States of America, because she needed to pay her bills.
Simon said, “It was not easy starting all over, because in this place, only the tough will last. If one is lazy, one will be hungry. People who have been here for 20 to 50 years don’t find it easy, because with the kind of system they have, one cannot avoid paying bills. If one does not work, one won’t eat, and one won’t be able to pay bills.”
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It is now obvious that the euphoria that greeted the inauguration of oil exploration in Kolmani oil field in 2022, by then president Muhammadu Buhari is becoming short lived, more like sound and fury signifying nothing.
From all indications, work has stopped at the field. No exploration activity is presently going on. Yet neither the federal government through the ministry of Petroleum Resources nor the NNPCL, the state-owned oil company, have provided reasons for the deplorable situation.
Most Nigerians, especially residents of Bauchi and Gombe states who are the immediate beneficiaries of this exploration, believe the government ought to explain why exploration activities have since been halted at the Kolmani oil field.
As a newspaper, we are of the opinion that the federal government is in a position to tell Nigerians why work is not ongoing at the Kolmani oil field that is projected to yield 120,000 barrels of oil per day, has a gas processing plant capacity of up to 500 million standard cubic feet per day, a power plant of up to 300-megawatt capacity and a fertiliser plant of 2,500 tons per day?
Experts claim that there is evidence suggesting that there are over one billion barrels of oil reserves and 500 billion Cubic Feet of Gas within the Kolmani area. Because it was scheduled to comprise upstream production, oil refining, power generation and fertiliser, the Kolmani project is widely believed to have enormous benefits for the nation.
We are persuaded to argue that with all the loud noise about electric vehicles and transition from fossil fuels to alternative energy, petrol is and will for decades to come, remain relevant. This fact makes it imperative for the federal government to either resume work on the oilfield or provide cogent reasons why work on the Kolmani oil field has been halted.
As a newspaper, we find it difficult to understand why work on an oil and gas field that attracted $3 billion investment and marked a culmination of the long years of search for oil and gas in the Upper Benue Trough should halted. Except if we are to believe that it is being preserved as a strategic reserve. Still, we think the nation has a right to know.
This oilfield, with all its potential, is seen as a way opener for energy, financial and food securities with far reaching positive impacts on the nation’s economic development. Based on the Production Sharing Contract (PSC), the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) will serve as the concessionaire of the blocks while the duo of the NNPC Exploration and Production Limited (NEPL) and New Nigeria Development Company Limited (NNDC) are the contractor parties.
This is an initiative that is expected to come with it the establishment of a refinery, fertiliser plant, power plant and associated oil and gas processing facilities all of which will undoubtedly boost energy security for Nigeria while also providing jobs opportunities for many.
The Kolmani Integrated Development Project of Oil Prospecting Licenses (OPLs) 809 and 810 at the Kolmani field site, overlaps Bauchi and Gombe States and is a novel partnership that will see the trio of Africa Oilfield Movers Ltd consortium, New Nigeria Development Company (NNDC) and NNPC E&P Ltd (formerly NPDC) producing and monetising the field.
In another phase of the project, there would be a downstream oil terminal/depot for offtake and distribution of the white products coming out of the refinery and further development of the integrated project. Reflectively, what culminated in the discovery of oil at the Kolmani field started in the 1990s when Oil Prospecting Licenses (OPLs) 809 and 810 were initially awarded to Shell and Chevron respectively as part of their frontier obligation under the Production Sharing Contractual (PSC) Agreement on Oil Mining Licenses (OMLs) 118 and 132 for consolidated cost recovery.
The fact that though the nation relies heavily on proceeds from crude sales, current oil output is below the 2024 budget target of 1.78 million barrels per day (mbpd). This underscores the need for concerted efforts to intensify oil production in Kolmani and Ebenyi-1 oil wells located in Gombe and Nasarawa states respectively.
Therefore, with all the expected benefits, there is the need to resume work on the Kolmani oil field. And if there is a cogent reason why work cannot continue, the government should come clean by offering full disclosure to Nigerians.
[Leadership]