As many Nigerians groan in poverty due to the rising cost of living occasioned by unprecedented inflation, Vice-President Kashim Shettima has said the poor in the country are angry with government officials and other members of the elite, who constitute the minority.
The vice-president said this at the graduation ceremony of the Executive Intelligence Management Course 16 participants from different security agencies and nominees of state governments in Abuja on Saturday. The event was organised by the National Institute for Security Studies.
This is the first time a senior government official is admitting the biting hardship in the country, which has been aggravated since President Bola Tinubu took over the reins of government on May 29, 2023.
In his inauguration speech, the President had declared that subsidy on petrol was gone for good, and hours after that statement, the pump price of petrol jumped from N238-N263 per litre to a minimum of N500. It currently sells for between N580 and N615.
As Nigerians were adjusting to the new reality and the attendant increase in the prices of goods and services, including transport fares, the Federal Government announced the decision to allow the exchange rate of the naira to major international currencies float and be determined by demand and supply.
That decision immediately led to a significant depreciation of the local currency, which peaked at N465.07 against the United States dollar just weeks before Tinubu’s inauguration. The scarcity of dollars and other major international currencies led the naira to climb to over 1,000 against the greenback.
Just on Friday, the naira fell to an all-time low of N1,099.05/$ at the official Investor and Exporter forex window to cap what had been a turbulent couple of months for the national currency.
This signifies a 30.36 per cent decline from its closing rate of N843.07/$ according to data from the FMDQ Securities Exchange. That was the lowest rate that the naira had closed since the Central Bank of Nigeria moved to adopt the I&E window as the official trading channel for the currency.
That day, the currency began trading at N844.10/$ before closing at N1,099.05/$. Since June, the naira has lost more than 40 per cent of its value, adding to inflationary pressure in the country.
Saturday PUNCH reported that many families risked celebrating the approaching Christmas and New Year in hardship due to the hike in the prices of goods and services, and were devising life-changing ways to cut costs.
Shettima, however, said on Saturday, “All of us here belong to a tiny segment of the Nigerian population. And you don’t need a soothsayer to tell you that the poor are angry with us. Go to the slums and mingle with the poor. I am a native of Maiduguri (Borno State Capital). Anytime a rich man brought a new car to his house, it (the house) used to be a place of pilgrimage.
“People (used to) go and see not out of anger, but out of admiration. But now, as we cruise around in our bulletproof cars, one will see contempt in the eyes of the poor. We have to improve the quality of governance. And what we have is a tiny window of not more than 10 to 20 years. Let’s improve the quality of governance.”
He also noted that creating jobs and giving hope to the populace would help curb insecurity in the country.
The VP added, “Let’s create jobs; let’s give hope to the populace. And once we create jobs, all this madness of insecurity will disappear. There won’t be Boko Haram and banditry if this is done, especially for us from the North. We can blame the bandits, but we in leadership positions owe it to posterity to address this.
“They (the poor) are the most neglected segment of our society. You can hardly differentiate between them and their animals. Even the animals they rear belong to those in the city. So, there have to be kinetic and non-kinetic solutions to all the problems. Be it the IPOB agitation in the South-East; be it the challenges in the South-South; be it Boko Haram or rural banditry in the North-East, North-West, and North-Central.”
He, however, urged the citizens to be patient with the President and support his efforts to reposition the country.
“I want to ask you to give the President the benefit of the doubt. Let us support you. Let us rally around and be reassured that he is determined to redefine the meaning and concept of modern leadership, and is ever ready to reposition the Nigerian nation. But without the support of you and I, he can’t do much,” the VP said.
He berated those seeking to secede from the country, noting that they “hardly think beyond their noses.”
Shettima said, “It’s easy to predict failure. But what about success, what is the end result of failure? It is destruction. Just two million Syrians knocking on the doors of Europe, and they caused Brexit. They caused the emergence of Trump in America. So, how do you proceed? Those people who are agitating for the breakup of this nation, or the implosion of this country, they hardly think beyond their noses.
“They don’t think beyond the depth of their pockets. Surviving their way on the growth of the innocent and the agonies of our people will not do us any good. “
Also at the event, the Director-General of the Department of State Services, Yusuf Bichi, said the service would soon commence the production of unmanned aerial vehicles, AK-47s, and other weapons that would be used by its personnel.
According to him, this is to reduce the heavy reliance on foreign countries for weapons and the huge resources for the procurement of such weapons.
He noted that when the plans materialise, the service would deploy the weapon across the country.
The DSS boss said, “We shall support the institute in its training programmes. I care for the welfare of our staff members, active and retired. We shall never go back on that. We’ll also continue to pay attention to our research and development.
“In fact, sooner or later, we shall start eating what we produce, and we will produce what we eat. This is coded. It means that we shall start deploying some of the assets we have or the platforms we produce by ourselves, including unmanned aerial vehicles. We are producing our AK-47.
“When we reach the destination, we will save the country from the pain of the resources being chunked out to buy such weapons.”
He also assured other security agencies of the DSS commitment to providing them with credible intelligence.
Bichi added, “We shall continue to appreciate all the agencies that partner with us in the journey so far. And I promise the other security agencies that the DSS will continue to provide you with proactive intelligence to drive your operations.
“We have achieved that in different parts of the country. And I have to thank the military and the police especially for giving us that opportunity and appreciating our own input in the fight against terrorism and insurgency in different parts of the country. We are going to sustain that by the grace of God and for the generality of the people.”
He also urged residents of Plateau and Kaduna states to shun their hostilities and convert them to jobs.
Bichi said, “Let me just advise us, especially the people of Plateau and Kaduna. It is now time for you and me to return Plateau to its 1970s situation where Plateau or Jos was seen as a tourist-attractive state or city. But with conflict, all the industries in Plateau are gone. No peace. You are idle. So please, turn your hostilities into jobs.
“We have seen that it happens in so many places. The Kanuri and Fulani turn their hostilities into jobs. Kano and Zaira also did. So, please do that and save the nation from disaster, because there is no point that from 1991 to date and at the interval of four years you are having ethno-religious conflicts.
“It’s not good. Talk to yourselves. Talk to your people. Be focused. See the development of Plateau. See development and security.
The DSS DG also urged Nigerians to desist from disparaging their leaders.
He said, “We have the indices of a great nation. So, it’s a question of how do you get out of that. Let us avoid simmering or disparaging our leaders. You can’t go anywhere by doing so. Most especially we are in a democratic dispensation.
“If you are patient enough, you will be able to achieve what somebody achieved now or in the near future. Let us talk to ourselves.”
[Punch]
Who is the greatest right-full back in the history of Nigerian football?
About a year ago, I asked football fans the question above, and conducted a small poll to get an answer. The response from Chief Dele Adetiba, a veteran journalist, broadcaster and Guru of Advertising, who has seen most of Nigeria’s generation of footballers since the 1950s to date, was not surprising. It coincided with that of a few others who watched Tony ‘Parkins’ Igwe play in the 1960s in Nigerian football.
For about 5 years, between 1966 and 1972, ‘World 2’, as Tony was nicknamed at the time by adoring football fans, could not be touched. He was way ahead of his generation in technique and skills as a defender.
Tony owned the right full-back position. He introduced to football at the time, a defensive style of play that flourishes in modern football today as the wing-back. Tony was the first player to consistently do the overlapping run, an elegant gallop down the right flank like a traditional winger, joining the attack and delivering beautiful pin-point, final crosses to strikers (Amusa Shittu, Sunny Oyarekhua and Peter Anieke) in the box. It was a style that was decades ahead of the time. He made it popular, doing it so well and owning the ‘patent’ with a nickname ‘World 2’, the best number 2 in the world!
He was a member of the 2nd All-Africa Games Gold-winning Green Eagles in 1972. He was selected amongst the African XI team after the Games. He was also a member of the first Nigerian national team to qualify and to participate in the Olympic Games. That was in Mexico in 1968.
Tony Igwe relocated to the United States of America soon after the 2nd All-African Games. He was one of the first set of Nigerian athletes to do so for the sake of securing an education whilst still playing the beautiful game.
Since then, some 50 years ago, he may have visited Nigeria only once or twice. He eventually became an American citizen, and has had nothing to do with Nigerian football. It is not surprising that in my survey, no one under the age of 50 even knew who he was.
Sadly, of the 22 players that made up the 1972 national team only 7 are still alive. Yet, Tony, one of the ‘oldest’ in the squad at the time, is still some years away from turning 80. They were all very young and died young.
I was a toddler growing up in Jos, when Tony Igwe and his colleagues, all secondary school football players, took Nigerian football by storm. The political crisis in Nigeria of 1966, the pogrom, truncated their schooling in Jos and romance with the great Jos township team that was on the verge of winning that year’s FA Cup in Lagos. Tony and a few of his team mates at the Academy Institute of Commerce in Jos, never returned to the city. They remained in Lagos to birth one of the most flamboyant, most followed and most successful privately-owned clubs in Nigeria’s history – Stationary Stores FC. This was the only club in Nigeria’s football history to have produced 9 of the 11 members of the starting line-up of the Green Eagles at a particular time.
Through the decades I kept in touch with several of that national team members, including Tony Igwe.
Last week, we spoke again, and I reminded him that he was one of a few remaining members of a great generation of Eagles, and that it is important he speaks to Nigerians and tells his story, if only for the sake of posterity and history.
He agreed. So, for the first time in decades, World 2 will be joining me on the set of ‘90 minutes with Mathematical’ this Saturday morning on Eagle7 Sports Radio, 103.7 FM Abeokuta, for an exclusive conversation.
NIPOGA Games and I
With more Polytechnics and Colleges of Technology than Universities in Nigeria, NIPOGA Games are probably the biggest sports competition in the country.
The Games started during my final year at The Polytechnic Ibadan in 1976. As the Director of Sports of the Student Union Government at institution, I was a major driver of the establishment of the Games and the hosting of the very first event. I actually moved the motion for The Polytechnic Ibadan to host the first Games at a meeting in Benin a year before.
Although I have only remotely followed the Games from a distance since then, I have been aware of its expansion and its contributions (not in any big way, though) to the production of national athletes in various sports and development of sports in Nigeria.
Last week, I was brought back into the fold by the Rector of the Delta State Polytechnic, Ogwashi-Uku, Delta State, Bldr. Professor Emmanuel Achuenu, whose Polytechnic hosts the 22nd edition of the NIPOGA Games titled NIPOGA OGWUASHI-UKU 2024, next year.
The rector decided to bring me out of the woodwork, and installed me as Ambassador of the 2024 Games to be held at the Polytechnic in the headquarters of the Aniocha-South Local Government Area of Delta State, some 15 minutes’ drive from Asaba, the Delta State Capital. I am just imagining what transformation that would bring to the institution as well as that relatively quiet part of Delta State when the Games are over.
To play the role of Ambassador is a responsibility that I accepted with great humility and pride because it brings me back to my primary educational constituency with very fond memories of my years participating in the NATS games that metamorphosed into NIPOGA.
By the way, I am a very proud graduate of Polytechnic education. I deliberately made the choice to attend a technical institution after my secondary school because the message then was that the future belonged to those with skills and not certificates.
I was a first-class student out of secondary school. After my OND, I was admitted into Imperial College in London, West Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan, Michigan State University, Detroit, Michigan. The introduction of the Higher National Diploma program in 1974, touted as equivalent to a Bachelor’s degree at the time, provided me a window to remain and play my football in Nigeria (I was an emerging star in Africa) whilst receiving a practical education in an institution that had the best mechanical engineering workshop and foundry in West Africa. The Polytechnic was an initial attraction for thousands of other young Nigerians at the time.
Today, many regret taking that route in their educational pursuit. In ignorance and nonsensical poor judgement Nigeria is paying a huge price for relegating middle-level manpower development through Polytechnic education, and stigmatising the Diplomas. The graduates are made to walk and work with an inferiority complex and without a spring of pride in their feet.
Nigeria is suffering from it. Its productive sector remains unproductive without the essential manpower that would have driven it and engaged the vast army of young boys and girls that now find solace in entrepreneurial skills development outside of the Polytechnics and Colleges of Technology.
It is common sense that middle-level manpower development is still where the future lies, with practical skills, particularly in science and technology, the engine room of productivity without which Nigeria would never join the club of developed nations.
For sure, with pride, I shall be playing a big role in NIPOGA 2024 as an Ambassador.
The Field Marshall’ comes to Lagos.
Next Wednesday in Lagos, ‘Chairman’, Christian Chukwu, MFR, one of the greatest legends of Nigerian football, former Captain and former Manager of the national, team, comes into Lagos for the presentation of his autobiographical book, ‘The Field Marshal’.
This will take place at the Main Auditorium of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, NIIA, Kofo Abayomi Street, Ikoyi, Lagos.
Beyond the launch, the event will provide all those that have not being to see and experience the Air Peace-sponsored ‘NIIA Wall of Fame’ the opportunity to do so and behold that truly beautiful national monument.
It is an event not to be missed. I shall be there to honour my friend and captain.
Minister of Labour and Employment, Simon Lalong, says he is confused on whether he should move to the senate or retain his position in the cabinet of President Bola Tinubu.
Lalong, a two-term governor of Plateau State, had contested but lost the February 25, 2023 election.
The Independent of National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Napoleon Bali of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as winner of the election.
Dissatisfied with the outcome of the elections, Lalong had headed for the tribunal, which ruled in his favour.
In a judgement delivered by Justice Elfaida Williams-Dawodu, the appeal court upheld the tribunal’s verdict, saying the votes cast for the PDP candidate were unlawful.
Justice Williams-Dawodu ordered INEC to withdraw the certificate of return issued to Bali and give a fresh one to Lalong.
Last month, Lalong stormed the INEC headquarters in Abuja, alongside some of his associates, to pick up the certificate, which was presented to him by Mohammed Haruna, a National Commissioner.
In a video, which an online TV, SYMFONI, posted online, Lalong was seeing addressing a crowd.
“Each time I am with him (a comrade), he will remind me that, please don’t go to Senate, please remain with us at the Ministry of Labour. Maybe that is not what my constituency will also say because as I am now, I am a very confused man, because whether to go to left or go to right but pray for me to take the best decision.
“If I remain with you, I will remain as a comrade but if I go there. I told comrade Oshiomhole, I said they mentioned you to go and speak on behalf of the Labour. I said no, Comrade Aremu should speak. They said ‘why?’, I said as a senator, I think you have partly committed class suicide. You may be shifting a little bit, until we see you after for four years, we will not confirm that you are intact. So it is only that time that we will know whether you have committed class suicide or you are still within as a comrade,” he said.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has advised the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to further hike Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) when next its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meets.
The position of the Fund was given by its Director of Communications, Ms. Julie Kozack, in Washington DC, United States of America, today.
She noted that the liquidity mop-up being undertaken by the CBN was already addressing the high inflationary rate of over 27 percent.
Ms. Kozack noted President Bola Tinubu’s policy actions on the removal of fuel subsidy and the.unification of exchange rates.
A transcript of her response to a question on Nigeria, obtained from the institution’s websites read in part, “On Nigeria, President Tinubu has implemented two bold and important reforms shortly after taking office.
“The first is on fuel subsidies. Nigeria’s fuel subsidies were costly, especially for the budget, and not well targeted to provide relief for vulnerable households, and so this was rectified. And the second was unifying of the official exchange rate and that removed long standing distortions of the multiple exchange rate system.
“You asked a specific question on inflation. Inflation in Nigeria is running very high. It reached over 27 percent in October, that is the year-on-year number.
“The Central bank, under its new leadership, has started to withdraw excess liquidity that was in the system and contributing to high inflation.
“The next Monetary Policy Committee meeting should further raise policy interest rate. So, the Central bank is taking action to try to address the high inflation problem. As we mentioned in our Article IV Consultation, which was held in February of 2023, raising revenue from the very current low revenue to GDP ratio of 9 percent is essential to create fiscal space for social and development spending. 9 percent of GDP is a very low revenue to GDP ratio, and it is really not high enough to be able to support strong social safety nets, and development spending, to help protect vulnerable households and also to meet Nigeria’s development needs.
” The 2024 budget aims to reduce the fiscal deficit while also creating space for these priority spendings, both on the social side and also on the development side.”
[Vanguard]
A Bauchi woman, Rhoda Jatau, who was imprisoned for blasphemy after condemning the killing of a female student in Sokoto, has finally secured her freedom after spending 18 months behind bars.
According to a reliable source, Jatau was released on bail on Friday following concerted interventions by the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) and the Christian Solidarity Worldwide Nigeria.
The mother of five was arrested and detained in May 2022 for sharing a video where she spoke against the brutal murder of Deborah Samuel, a 200-level student lynched after making alleged blasphemous statements on a WhatsApp group.
While details of Jatau’s bail conditions and the facilitating court order were not disclosed, it was gathered that NIREC played a pivotal role in negotiating her release from prison custody in Bauchi.
Religious bodies and rights groups have continued demanding justice over Deborah’s savage murder by a mob of Muslim youths at the Shehu Shagari College of Education in Sokoto State, an incident that sparked outrage across Nigeria.
Jatau’s supporters remain hopeful her legal case will still end favorably. She however requires prayers and support as the blasphemy charges against her might not have been revoked despite leaving detention.
Come identify your girlfriend – reactions as Francis Van-Lare drops photos of ladies he reportedly slept with
AdminNigerian-American businessman, Francis Van-Lare has made true his promise to release the photos of some of the women he claims to have slept with.
Recall that some days ago, he started by revealing that he was compiling a list of the women he has had coitus with.
Francis Van-Lare who was married to relationship counselor, Amara Nwosu announced that after compiling, he would publish names of girls he’s ever slept with since 1970 to commemorate his 70th birthday.
True to his words, he put down a comprehensive list featuring the names of girls from different ethnicities, released in three different batches.
Just hours ago, Francis went on to share photos of himself and some girls he has reportedly had coitus with, triggering varying reactions.
He added that more photos are underway. See photos and some reactions below:
onyiray wrote: Hmm! Abi this man want to announce that he has HIV? ” this is weird!!
nkahmee wrote: This will surely end in a lawsuit
cuisinebyhg wrote: If they don’t all sue him for this rubbish. Then they have problems
veejayraph wrote: Check if na your babe cloth o
haleemahberrie wrote: I’m not sure this man is well upstairs
i_am_nova_kae wrote: And you think maturity is measured by age? How does his family members feel now? God forbid
lingeriebytemmy wrote: This man is too old for all all his doing abeg
oluwakemmieee wrote: This man no well oo
stylefield_ wrote: Senility na your mate? Una never see anything
monsieur_yosouph wrote: I love this
everything_by_limat wrote: SMH make he sha no scatter some of them home… Cus why this? Chai truly age doesn’t mean you’re matured.
k.h.a.f.c.u.t.e wrote: Ehhh that I was even happy for those without surname, explaining go plenty for some people
carcontinent wrote: The tattoo own nai strong pass cos once we see that tattoo now we know.
ada_splendor wrote: I wonder why he is doing this
real.greatness1 wrote: Baba even run 3sum join! Baba chop life oh!! Buh this ain’t good oh!
golddesire_oma wrote: One of this ladies on her birthday post to him said it was a business lunch that the man speak how to invest and a serious minded man and he is not like what he put out there on the media but omo this one come shock me ooooo.
princess_is_royalty1 wrote: Come Identify your girlfriend by her body and dress!
ilamkayleen wrote: God Abeg o
arinola_pearls wrote: This is disgusting
In a throwback move, Veteran Nollywood actress, Fausat Balogun, popularly known as Madam Saje, took to her Instagram page to share a captivating teenage photo of herself playing the guitar.
The Yoruba actress used the opportunity to reflect on her remarkable journey in the entertainment industry, expressing gratitude for her growth and success.
In the Instagram post, Sajetiologa captioned the image with a series of praises and expressions of gratitude.
She began with “Alihamudulilahi” three times. The actress then continued to marvel at the transformation of the young lady in the picture into the now-famous and talented Sajetiologa.
Seizing the moment of “throwback Thursday,” the actress greeted her followers with a cheerful “Good morning my lover’s” and playfully asked if they had seen a damsel that day.
She invited her fans to join her in prayers, requesting blessings for the lady in the throwback photo.
The heartwarming post received an outpouring of love and admiration from fellow industry colleagues and fans.
Notable figures such as Salami Rotimi, Muyiwa Ademola, Yinka Quadri, Kazim Adeoti, and Sola Olaibi, along with numerous fans, flooded the comment section with praises and affirmations.
Netizens Reactions…
Salami Rotimi said; “Guitarist ni baby mi. God’s blessings on you always.”
Muyiwa Ademola wrote, “Please ma, how can I get this guitar? I need it!
Yinka Quadri wrote; “Alhamdulilah robili. Alamin.”
Kazim Adeoti wrote; “Allahu Akbar.”
Sola Olaibi Gaji wrote; “Oh baby.”
Habeeb Alagbe said; “This is what we call throwback Maami
Kolawole Dre wrote; “Swaga Mama.”
@3fentertainment wrote; “Thank God for life, progress, and grace.
@Nikky Gold said; “You look so beautiful too when you are young Maami. Alhamdulilah for what Allah has done for you and your family.”
@Abosede Victor wrote “Baby and more.”
See below;
Controversial relationship expert Blessing Okoro popularly known as Blessing CEO has stirred up debate with her recent statement on gender roles in relationships.
The controversial relationship expert took to social media to express her views on the traditional roles of men and women in a relationship.
In a post that has since gone viral, Blessing Okoro boldly stated that a woman’s primary role is to enjoy a man’s money, insinuating that men are inherently created to be the financial providers in relationships.
Blessing CEO calls out powerful men for silence on gender roles
She expressed disappointment in what she perceived as a lack of vocal support from powerful men on this matter, singling out “small small upcoming hustlers” for taking the lead in discussions on gender roles.
Okoro went on to invoke the biblical narrative of Adam and Eve, suggesting that God had initially designed men to be the providers while women were intended to be recipients of financial provision.
She questioned whether the shift in these roles occurred because women decided to start working and helping men in the workforce.
In her words;
”It actually hurts me the most that the men who are powerful hardly talk. It’s all these small small upcoming hustlers”
When God vested Adam, he had already out evething in place. Is it because women decided to start helping men and start working?”
“Men where born to work and to feed a woman, a woman’s job is to enjoy the money”
The controversial statement has ignited a flurry of reactions on social media.
FIFA on Saturday confirmed that three bids to host the Women’s World Cup in 2027 had been lodged “across three confederations” before the bidding process closed.
From Europe comes a joint bid between Belgium, Netherlands and Germany while Mexico and the United States also teamed up as they submitted another joint bid just before Friday’s deadline.
Brazil is the only country with a sole bid.
“FIFA will now conduct a thorough evaluation process, including on-site inspection visits that are due to get underway in February 2024, before publishing its findings in a bid evaluation report in May 2024,” the organisation said in a statement.
The final decision will be made through an open vote at the next FIFA Congress in Bangkok on May 17, 2024.
South Africa had planned to bid but withdrew last month with their federation preferring “to present a well-prepared bid for 2031”.
The United States hosted the 1999 and 2003 World Cups on its own, and Germany hosted the 2011 event.
The last Women’s World Cup was co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand in July and August this year, with Spain beating England in the final.
“North is bleeding, military are killing us” – Popular Sokoto Cleric kicks over Kaduna bombing
AdminA renowned Sokoto-based Islamic scholar says the northern region has become ground zero for all manner of killings, crimes and other social vices.
The cleric said this in reaction to bombing of villagers during Maulud celebration at Tudun Biri village, Kaduna State, adding that the north is bleeding.
He stated that most of the accidental bombings happened in the northern region without a single one occurring in the Southern region.
In a video clip posted on social media, he said the northern region was at the mercy of existential threat engendered by deepening and perennial security crisis.
“It was not the first time the bombs were dropped on innocent people by security agencies, and they will claim it was a mistake. They once targeted IDPs in Borno. Same in Yobe, they also dropped a bomb in Nasarawa, and now it happened in Kaduna.
“Till date, the military has not made any error bombing in Southern or eastern parts of this country. It always happens in the north because of our lack of unity.
“North is bleeding, bandits kill us, hunger kills us, and the military that are supposed to protect us are also killing us. This is too much for us. Who do we report to if not Allah, and we are telling him to have mercy on us and protect us,” he said.
Shaikh Yabo also claimed that the killings persisted because the northern leaders were not united due to interests.
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The Chief Operating Officer of the Fintech Association of Nigeria, Babatunde Obrimah, disclosed on Saturday that the Federal Government cannot stop cybercrime in Nigeria until the nation’s value system is addressed with sincerity.
He stated this in an interview with The PUNCH on the sidelines of the 2023 Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria annual dinner and award night, held at the Thikadol Event Centre and Hotels, on Ring Road in Ibadan, Oyo State.
Obrimah said, “Cybercrime is not peculiar to Nigeria. It is a global problem. But it has to do with our value system. To get rich quick syndrome. The young people see it in the leaders, and they also took that decision to get money because we celebrate money without looking at the source of the money.
“Nobody, even Federal Government cannot stop cybercrime. You can’t stop it. But you can reduce the impact by making sure that you do the right things. You can’t stop it because they are also coming up with new solution. As government is trying to block them, they are also looking into how to break into that. Someone sitting in North Korea can hack a bank in Brazil.
“It is a huge problem because in a day of manual banking, armed robbers attacked bullion van, they probably went away with N20 million, but someone can sit in his room and take N20 billion from another person’s account. So, it is a huge problem, and until we address our value systems, and actually we are able to ask ourselves questions, like this person is a civil servant, this person is a politician, even in the National Assembly, how much money do you earn that you should have this? So, we need to start this, we need to start checkmating ourselves. But is our value system work? Nobody cares. The guy has money, we celebrate,
“Until we address those value issues with sincerity, it is problem we are going to have. It is not a localised Nigerian problem. It is a global problem. It is just that we have a situation that a young people just see that as an opportunity to get rich quick, buy flashy cars, live in decent part of the city, wear designer clothes, and life is not about that.” He submitted.
Earlier in his welcome address, the state branch chairman, Taofik Omotoso, explained that the purpose of the annual event is to share ideas and prepare for the new year.
He said, “We are here as colleagues, as professionals, bankers, and friends to come together, interact, joke, talk, discuss and share ideas. It is an annual event where bankers gather together to wine and dine. Share ideas and feel happy, give glory to almighty God and prepare for the new year.”
In his remarks, the state governor, Seyi Makinde, whose message was delivered by the commissioner for budget and economic planning, Musibau Babatunde, appreciated the roles played so far by banks to make the dreams of his administration come to fruition.
He said, “You all know that there is nothing you can do in moving the state forward if the resources are not there for you to utilize. You can have lofty dreams and ideas but if the resources are not there for you to utilize, it will just collapse like a pack of rice. But over the set of years that we have been in government, any time we need to make use of resources for developmental projects in the state, banks are always available, they have been very supportive.”
No fewer than three artisanal miners have died while 11 others were injured when a mining pit collapsed in Dan Kamfani, Anka Local Government of Zamfara State.
According to an eyewitness who also works around the area, the incident happened on Thursday around 4 pm.
The eyewitness who pleaded anonymity because of security reasons told Channels Television on Saturday that three artisanal miners were confirmed dead while 11 others were critically injured.
He said the injured are currently receiving treatment at the Anka General Hospital
“The mining collapsed a few minutes to 4 pm on Thursday, we don’t know the exact number of people inside the mining pit, but three dead bodies were recovered, and 11 others are seriously wounded.
“The three people that died are from Yar Tsabaya district of Anka local government. Up till now, we don’t have the actual figure of the people inside, and we cannot confirm the number of people because the mining pit is about 275 meters deep,” he stated.
Zamfara is rich in solid minerals which include gold, iron ore, limestone, and granite, among others.
The Federal Government and the state government had banned any forms of mining activities and ordered security agencies to enforce the ban.
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Most of the artisanal miners operating in the state are operating without licences and permissions to explore minerals.
US President Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden was indicted Thursday on nine charges including three felonies in part for allegedly dodging more than $1 million in taxes while living a hard-partying, “extravagant” life over four years.
The three felonies levelled against President Biden’s 53-year-old son — who faces a maximum penalty of 17 years in prison if convicted on all counts include one count of tax evasion for his 2018 personal taxes and two counts of filing a false return for his 2018 personal taxes and on a corporate income tax return for his company Owasco, PC.
He has also been hit with six misdemeanor counts of failure to pay and failure to file charges for the 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 tax years
“The Defendant engaged in a four-year scheme to not pay at least $1.4 million in self-assessed federal taxes he owed for tax years 2016 through 2019,” special counsel David Weiss wrote in the 56-page indictment out of the Central District of California.
“In furtherance of that scheme,” Weiss noted that Hunter “subverted the payroll and tax withholding process of his own company, Owasco, PC by withdrawing millions from Owasco, PC” and “spent millions of dollars on an extravagant lifestyle rather than paying his tax bills.”
Hunter spent his cash on “drugs, escorts and girlfriends, luxury hotels and rental properties, exotic cars, clothing, and other items of a personal nature, in short, everything but his taxes,” according to the indictment.
Weiss highlighted that Biden used a business line of credit to make more than $27,000 in payments to a porn site, “which in total accounted for one fifth of all of the business line of credit expenditures.”
The porn payments were among nearly $189,000 the first son spent on “adult entertainment” while not paying taxes, according to Weiss, including a $10,000 payment for a sex club membership that he expensed as a “golf club membership.”
He also claimed a false deduction for “consulting” that was “in truth and in fact” payments to “various women who were either romantically involved with or otherwise performing personal services” for Biden.
More than $680,000 went to these women while Biden wasn’t paying taxes.
“When he did finally file his 2018 returns, [Hunter] included false business deductions in order to evade assessment of taxes to reduce the substantial tax liabilities he faced as of February 2020,” the special counsel added.
Judge Mark Scarsi, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, has been assigned the case.
The scandal-scarred first son is already facing three felony counts related to false statements he made when purchasing a firearm. Weiss brought those charges against him in September, after a June plea deal fell apart in a Delaware courtroom.
Hunter has pleaded not guilty to all charges. He faces a maximum of 25 years in prison in the gun case.
IRS whistleblower Gary Shapley claims Biden avoided paying taxes on $8.3 million in income he received between 2014 and 2019, a period during which he sat on the board of the Ukrainian gas company Burisma Holdings and the Chinese private equity fund BHR Partners.
During the plea hearing, prosecutors noted to US District Judge Maryellen Noreika that the agreement did not preclude bringing charges against Biden later for other alleged crimes — such as possible violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
Survivors of Sunday night bombing of Tudun Biri in Igabi local government area of Kaduna State have continued to lament how they lost their loved ones as a result of the bomb dropped by the Army during a Maulud celebration by the villagers.
Some of them told LEADERSHIP Weekend in tears that the trauma the incident has caused them is unimaginable, saying they have become widows, widowers and orphans all of a sudden.
A particular woman who could not even remember her name but later confirmed by her neighbour to be known as Hajia Hajaratu lost all her five children in the incident while some others lost their spouses, children and relatives.
A resident, Umar Yunusa, said his wife and two children were killed by the bomb and now he is left to carter alone for his last daughter.
“When we heard the sound of the bomb, we thought it was the sound of a loudspeaker when the first bomb dropped. Everywhere we turned, the ground was littered with flesh.
“I no longer have a wife and I lost two children. I also lost three of my siblings. There is no family that has not lost someone. We also lost visitors,” he said weeping.
According to him, a certain Bara’atu Abdullahi came to visit her mother and decided to join the Maulud adding that although she survived the bomb, she sustained injuries, but others around her were not so fortunate.
Another resident, Jemila Ahmed said two of her children died while she sustained injuries for which she was receiving treatment. She maintained that the situation is still like a dream to her.
“I was standing when I heard a loud sound. I fell and became unconscious because my two legs were badly affected and my two children, Mohammed (7-year-old) and Abubakar (5-year-old) were killed by the bomb who could only be identified through their clothes as the bombs dismembered them beyond recognition. I only identified them through their clothes,” she said in tears.
“Some were dismembered; hands and legs were cut off; some had burst stomachs,” she added.
She disclosed that one of her children was lucky but also sustained injury and they were both receiving treatments at the Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital where most of the survivors were rushed to.
A 60-year-old survivor, Suleiman Umar lamented how they could be mistaken for bandits, stressing that the villagers gathered to commemorate the Maulud celebration, stressing that “we are not bandits but residents of Tudun Biri celebrating Maulud when we were attacked.”
He however said, “Bandits do come to our village but we always report strange faces to our district head. We don’t fraternise with them at all. There was a time we discovered one informant in our village. We disowned him and handed him over to the Army. We have nothing to do with bandits.
“I was eating that night when we were bombed. Many people died. We can hardly identify our children; some with burst bellies. They bombed us twice. After the first round of bombs, they came back to bomb us again.
“I ran into a deep forest where I slept till daybreak. We covered the dead with leaves. We separated the males from the females and covered them with leaves.”
For 35-year-old Zainab Alhassan, no fewer than 32 of her family members lost their lives. Some were stampeded running for their lives when they thought it was a bandit attack, adding that how she survived, even though with injuries, is still a surprise to her.
She said, “We are celebrating Maulud when the air strike occurred, killing many people. We never saw the jet that dropped the bomb. It was those who came from afar that saw the aircraft that dropped the bomb.
“We were only in a celebration mode. We thought those that attacked us were bandits. I do not know how I escaped. We lost 32 people in our family. There is another family that lost about 15 people to the attack too. Many people died. Even those that are rescuing people were also killed by the second bomb.
“About 82 corpses were counted and yesterday night, another victim died. There are families that don’t even know where members of their families are now. They are missing.”
The death toll from the drone air strike, which the authorities said was done in error, is at present put at over 100 with no fewer than 70 injured persons still receiving treatment.