Across the globe, governments are known to borrow to make-up for the difference between their expenditures and the incomes they are able to raise from taxes and sundry sources. Thus, government borrowings have some advantages, the most prominent being that of executing huge infrastructural projects that can hardly be accommodated by readily available resources. It is therefore unfair to blame any administration that is able to articulate the expedience of government debts.

At the same time, government spokespersons have never wasted time in propagating the professional argument that what people should worry about is not loans but the use into which they are put. At no time in Nigerian history was this better done than the tenure of President Muhammadu Buhari who had a friendly National Assembly that was prepared to approve whatever loan he requested. 

The argument that loans are not bad on their own is supported by the fact that Lagos State whose loans have always been larger than those of any other state has been breathing well.  The implication of this is that many loans are misused; otherwise, why can’t everyone be like Lagos? In truth, many citizens hardly know or see the projects that were allegedly executed with the excessive loans that are sourced at all levels of government in Nigeria.

Those who imagined that our immediate past Minister of Works did so much on roads because of several speeches must have become confused when his successor was recently seen shedding tears over the state of federal roads thereby giving credence to the suspicion that loans sourced by Nigerian governments for project implementation were usually shared by government officials.

While disclosing that Nigeria’s debt profile had risen to as high as 60 percent from 10.4, Senator Shehu Sani who previously represented Kaduna Central in the Senate did assert that 80 percent of loans collected by state governments in Nigeria were shared “among Governors, loyal politicians and other cronies.” He did not even need to provide any proof of the alleged sharing because ordinary citizens must have believed him as the then Chairman of the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts. No one else followed up on Shehu Sani’s allegation until the recent alarm by Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State that the excessive loans he inherited were about to overwhelm his administration.

Whereas the inherited burden listed by the Governor was quite large, there are ample reasons why Uba Sani could be accused of shedding crocodile tears or simply called insincere tears of sorrow. To start with, the Governor was not just part of those who negotiated the loans, he was actually the guarantor. During its negotiations, Uba Sani who was then a senator made many critical statements among them the following: a) ‘I can vouch for the Kaduna State Government under Mallam Nasir El-Rufai to prudently deploy the loan from the World Bank to enhance the welfare and wellbeing of the good people of Kaduna State, b) ‘I am extremely happy and proud of the role some of us played in securing this loan for Kaduna State’ and c) ‘In fact, hold me responsible if Governor Nasir El Rufai fails or disappoints on this score.’

Another reason why Governor Uba Sani may not find many people applauding his new posture is because, his supposed revelation was not a discovery. His predecessor never hid it as he even publicly announced the same state of affairs at his valedictory in May 2023 while exuding confidence in the capacity of his worthy successor to quickly turn around the situation. Even if he discovered the problem just as he assumed office, the game plan of attracting public sympathy some 10 months later has little efficacy. In fact, the strategy of shedding crocodile tears or getting some stakeholders to join in trumpeting the tears cannot redress the situation. In like manner, the division of Kaduna into two groups of pro and anti-El Rufai camps is essentially an old game of distraction.

Already, those who always extract politics from every issue have taken positions. The woman leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress APC in the state, Mrs Maryam Suleiman took the lead by openly deprecating what she considers to be Governor Sani’s disloyalty to former Governor El Rufai. In return, party executives who are falling on one another to prove that they are loyalists of the new chief executive quickly suspended the woman leader from the party. Unfortunately, none of the actions addresses any of the aspects of the huge debt profile.  Members of the State House of Assembly who are ordinarily better positioned to handle the situation are busy pursuing shadows. Some of the legislators are talking tough in what looks like after-event-wisdom. Were they not the ones who approved the loans? If not, where was their courage in taking-up a governor who supposedly spent unapproved and unappropriated loans?

It is because democracy provides for checks and balances that the legislature is empowered to check the executive. But in Nigeria there are no checks but collaboration and collusion to extort the citizens. It is therefore not a surprise that Kaduna legislators did not use their oversight mandate to unravel numerous projects allegedly paid for but reportedly not executed in their state. Painfully, such a major breach did not amount to gross misconduct to the legislators; instead, they waited till the exit of the governor concerned before joining the crocodile choir. All through Nigeria, legislators are like that – economically brave but politically naïve hence they understand gross misconduct to refer to only when a deputy governor has a disagreement with his principal or where their own Speaker cannot fight for more allowances for them.

The crocodile tears currently in progress in Kaduna state have yielded a few fruits. The first is that the governor is virtually now assured that there would be no strike in the state in the nearest future having convinced labour leaders of his predicament. Ayuba Suleima boss of the State Chapter of the Nigerian Labour Congress NLC, has already announced the readiness of his workers to really sympathise with the governor because the latter was “open and we were convinced on the issue of the debt.” On his part, the TUC’s boss, Abdullahi Danfulani said they had useful meetings with the governor to thrash out a number of issues, especially the stewardship of the former governor. According to Danfulani, TUC is now hoping that Governor Sani “will do his bit.” In any case, the governor was smart enough to pick one of the comrades, Adamu Samaila as his Special Adviser on Labour Matters.

Other critical stakeholders have also showed interest in the huge debt profile of Kaduna State. The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) and the Northern States and FCT Chapter of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) have all called on   Governor Sani, and indeed, all state governors, to publish detailed reports on the state of loans secured by their predecessors. Alas, such a great suggestion would take too long to yield quick-wins. A small task force in the Governor’s office should immediately swing into action to pursue all those who received contract funds to return to work or refund payments made to them. It is not only the contractors who have abandoned their assignments that should be rounded-up now; also, to be held, are all public officials serving or retired that issued certificate of completion for uncompleted jobs thereby empowering any person to feel entitled to the balance sum of N115 billion.

Before Governor Uba Sani took office, the state government obtained a loan approved by the State House of Assembly for N3.5 billion for security gadgets in view of the escalating insecurity crisis in the state. If it is true that such gadgets are now nowhere to be found, it should not be difficult to arrest the suppliers or those who took delivery of them. There is also a previous $26 million loan obtained from Indian Exim Bank to equip some 200 primary healthcare centres as well as street lights that are said to have vanished. They should be located immediately instead of concentrating energy on shedding crocodile tears.  This is because some of the items may well be in the custody of those currenting berating El Rufai. Many wailers did that before in some of our states.

Following the decision of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to retain Ambassador Umar Damagum as Acting National Chairman, the battle for the soul of the party has now shifted to the forthcoming State congresses.

Sunday Vanguard gathered that Damagum’s survival, in what appeared to be a coordinated attempt to replace him, has opened new frontiers for the battle to control the party’s structure ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Loyalists of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, who are the main backers of Damagum are celebrating his retention as a victory over loyalists of former Vice President, Atiku, who wanted Damagun replaced.

The battleground for the soul of the party has now shifted to the usually contentious Ward, Local Government and State congresses.

Governors, who have powerful predecessors or party stalwarts, will be battling to either retain or take control of the party structure at the state level to enhance their chances of political survival.

Dispute

At the height of the political dispute between Wike and his successor, Similaye Fubara, the FCT Minister had told all who cared to listen “We will not allow anybody to tamper with our structure in Rivers State.”

But Fubara appears determined to do just that in order to consolidate his position as governor.

A member of the PDP National Executive Committee (NEC), who spoke in confidence for fear of retribution, explained that politics begins at the grassroots hence the decision of party leaders whose political relevance is at stake to return to the drawing board.

The party stalwart, who is sympathetic to Atiku, said, “This (the Damagum debacle) was just one battle, there are several ahead. We are going back to plan for state congresses.

“We will work with friendly governors in states where our party have them. In states where we don’t have a government in place, we will work with leaders to stabilize the party.

“As you are probably aware, these are areas where the battle is likely to be fierce. The state executives have a crucial role to play in organizing the party and the election of delegates for crucial elections”.

Gains

In the same breath, Wike’s loyalists are not leaving anything to chance as they are said to have set in motion a machinery to consolidate on recent gains.

Those familiar with the plan confided in Sunday Vanguard, “This group is not taking anything for granted. What is next is to ensure that the committees to be set up to conduct ward, local government and state congresses do not take us by surprise.

“To Wike’s credit, he has built a lot of bridges in the party over the years.

“He has a sizable number of loyalists nationwide. He remained and kept the party together when Atiku and his friends abandoned the party in 2015”.

An Imo State chieftain of the party, Dr. Katch Onanuju, whose sympathy lies with Wike, while speaking on the issue, said, “We have issues in our party no doubt, but we will sort ourselves out.

“All the noise about Wike doing anti-party is lacks basis. Whatever he did in 2023 is nothing compared to what the five northern governors and Rotimi Amaechi did to the party in 2015. Wike never left our party, he remained and has been helping to rebuild it ever since.

“The party will surmount its problems if there is sincerity of purpose. The congresses are coming up, there will be fresh crisis if some people think they can sit in Wadata Plaza and impose leaders on the states and write lists where people who never participated in the electoral process are named as leaders.”

[Vanguard]

The federal government says it is considering the issuance of a diaspora bond to boost remittances.

Wale Edun, the minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy, disclosed this to journalists at a press briefing on Saturday.

The news conference was jointly held with Olayemi Cardoso, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in Washington DC, the United States.

The government officials addressed journalists on the outcomes of their participation at this year’s spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Group, and strategies to improve the economy.

Speaking on plans to attract investment, Edun said remittances are one of the ways to boost foreign exchange (FX) supply and funding for investment in the country.

“There are Nigerians abroad, they’re doing very, very well,” the minister said.

“They have significant funding. There are even Nigerians in Nigeria with funds abroad, that too would be counted as a remittance.

“In order to help the issue of supply of foreign exchange to the Nigerian economy, the government is looking at attracting those funds and capturing those funds through a diaspora type of instrument — a diaspora bond.

“We think that would be a very attractive instrument for Nigerians abroad and for foreign holdings of foreign currency.

“And we look to having a substantive, substantial and successful issue later in the year.”

‘WE’LL GET LION’S SHARE OF WORLD BANK/AfDB PLEDGE TO PROVIDE ELECTRICITY TO 300M AFRICANS’

Edun also said the Nigerian delegation met with investors during the IMF and World Bank meetings, which officially ended on Saturday.

He said the team, led by himself and Cardoso, spoke to groups of international investors, portfolio investors and “also those potential foreign direct investors who bring what I can describe as the quality funding, the kind of funding that builds factories and creates jobs directly”.

“And the response and the reaction from virtually all of them, I can say without exception, has been one of greater confidence in the economic management of the country, and greater interest and willingness to invest,” the minister said.

“So, the whole ecosystem of international finance has been here and we’ve engaged with all of them,” Edun said.

“And I announced earlier some of the things that we have come away with, we’ve come away with funding to improve electricity to provide power to 300 million people on the African continent and we know that the lion’s share, or the largest single portion will come to Nigeria.

“And we all know what the provision of electricity does to empower a nation, reduce poverty, improve the economy.

“I suppose we can also say that we’ve come away with a bigger say for Africa through an additional chair, an additional seat on the board of directors of the IMF will help to complete that process and I think that is a major success for Africa as a whole.”

Edun said Nigeria is a private-sector-driven economy, and the policy of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is to encourage private, (domestic and foreign) investment to grow the economy and create jobs, thereby reducing poverty.

Money is perhaps a homeless vagrant. It has no nationality or permanent homestead in real terms. It goes and stays only where its masters are wise, prudent and far sighted. But in a world dominated by nations and their interests, real money is first a national asset and tool of governance and sovereign assertion. When money thus becomes a source of power, the nation whose flag the conquering company flies shows up to claim its own. Apple, Microsoft, Tesla, Coca Cola are synonymous with America. It is not because every American can walk off with a can of Coke from the supermarket without paying for it but because somewhere along the way, brand and nation have become fused and interchangeable. Every successful Business may aspire to an international identity but when the chips are down, every successful business needs to be anchored first on a specific sense of sovereign belonging. Ultimately, then, the companies to which sovereign wealth is usually ascribed have a final responsibility to that nation or sovereignty in times of trouble or goodness.

Make no mistake about it. Businesses are in business to succeed as businesses. To succeed as a business is to make tons of profit and invest in even more business and wealth creation. Sensible companies do not always overtly toe the government’s line. They instead buy into the hearts and minds of the citizens through the products they  offer and how friendly their prices are.

Two Nigerian brands have recently stepped forward to identify with the citizens of our country in this moment of grave challenge and desperate self -inflicted hardship. Dangote and Air Peace are now on record as having risen to use their products, brand presence and pricing strategies to identify with and ameliorate some of the harrowing difficulties that Nigerians are currently going through.

The worst moments of our present economic travail may not be over just yet. The epidemic of hunger still looms over the land. Innocent people are still being trampled to needless death at palliative food centers. Some are getting squeezed to death while scrambling for tiny free cash. Inflation figures just got even worse at over 33.4%. Those who fled the country in awe of rampaging hardship have not yet started returning or regretting their decisions to flee. Most Nigerians, rich and poor alike, are still needing to be convinced that the curse of recent hopelessness can be reversed any time soon.

Yet out of the darkness and gloom that now pervades our national mood, a tinge of sweetness has begun to seep into the air. The exchange rate of the Naira to major currencies has begun heading south. The dollar, which at the worst moments in recent times exchanged for as low as N2,300 to a US dollar, has climbed up in value. As at the time of this writing, a little over N1,000 can fetch you the same miserable US dollar. That may not sound like paradise yet since it is still worse than the worst of the Daura emperor. Most Nigerians are praying that Tinubu should minimally take us back to the Buhari days in terms of the exchange rate and relative food security. We are still far from there.

What has Dangote got to do with it all? The removal of fuel subsidy had unleashed an astronomical hike in energy and fuel prices. While motorists and transporters wept and wailed at the gas stations, the price of nearly everything else went through the roof. Since public power supply remains as epileptic or absent as in the 1970s or worse, we have been living in a virtual generator republic that is dependent on diesel and petrol generators. The price of diesel in particular jumped through the roof. Industrial production suffered just as transportation and haulage costs became unbearable. Every high cost was passed down to the suffocating hapless citizens.

Fortuitously, the gigantic Dangote refinery complex was coming on stream in a time of great difficulty.  Somehow, the hope was alive that the Dangote refinery would come on stream with a bit of good news on the pricing of gasoline and diesel. But no one knew for sure what Mr. Dangote’s cost accountants had in stock especially with the devilish exchange rate that reigned in the first nine months of the Tinubu tenure.

Energy and fuel prices were off the roof. A liter of diesel went for as high as N1,650 in some places. Gasoline was not any better. Those who wanted to keep their homes powered from generators needed troves of cash to procure diesel whose prices kept going up as the dollar exchange rate escalated. Factories fared worse.

Refreshingly, Mr. Aliko Dangote whose mega billion dollar refinery in Lagos has just started producing petroleum products has a bit of good news for all Nigerians. He has reduced the price of diesel from the mountain pe58% to a more considerate N1,000 per liter, nearly a 58% reduction in price in less than a week. The prospect is good that when his gasoline products begin to flow through the pumps. Mr. Dangote may have even better news at the gas stations. Along with his fellow cement oligarchs had promised to deliver cement to Nigerians at a more friendly price. The full benefit of that promise is still a long way away.

It needs to be said in fairness to Dangote as a brand that more than any other single company in Nigeria, it has invested in the things that touch the lives of the people most immediately. Sugar, salt, fertilizer, tomato puree, fruit juices, cement and now petroleum products. No other single Nigerian brand can boast of a wider and more expansive range of socially relevant products than Dangote.

In direct response to the prevailing hunger and hardship in the land, Mr. Dangote has himself stepped forward to provide millions of bags of rice and other food items to Nigerians across the length and breadth of the country as humanitarian palliatives. In terms of the human face of capitalism, Dangote would seem to have perfected an enlightened self interest above his peers.

Just when life was about to gradually grind to a halt, a bit of good news has come from unusual quarters. In a nation that has grown dependent on a feeding bottle tied to the beast of external suppliers of everything from tooth picks to civilized coffee, the belief persisted that all good news can only come from abroad. Nigerians could only hope to enjoy more friendly prices for the things that make them happy if our foreign partners changed their mind. Not any more.

It requires pointing out that the Nigerian spirit is too expansive to be bottled up within our borders just because air tickets are unaffordable. The urban- based Nigerian wants to go abroad for business, on holidays or just to flex!

At the worst of the recent moments, a return Economy Class ticket to nearby London sold for as much as N3.8m-N4million. Major international airlines insisted that the Central Bank had seized and was sitting on their dollar ticket sales proceeds. They needed to keep the high fares to hedge against the uncertainties that were everywhere in the Nigerian air. Nigerian travellers were being punished for the bad fortunes of their national currency and the untidy book keeping habits of the Central Bank.

Almost from nowhere, Nigeria’s largest international airline, Air Peace, announced a low fare flight into London’s Gatwick Airport. The airport itself is also owned by a Nigerian businessman. The fares were unbelievably low, as low as N1.2 million in some cases against the exploitative fares of all the major foreign airlines plying that route. Unbelievably, Air Peace pulled off the London Gatwick  deal with quite a bit of fanfare and patriotic noise making that set the foreign competitors scampering back to the drawing board. Air Peace floated the Gatwick fare reduction as a patriotic act, more like social responsibility to fellow Nigerians than the plain business sense which is what it really is. It was a drive for volume in a market of low volume driven by high fares.

To drive home the patriotic edge of its revival of international flights, Air Peace rebranded its crew and adorned its senior cabin crew with uniforms that featured the traditional Igbo “Isi Agu” motif. For those who are hard at hearing, the Isi Agu motif on Nigerian traditional outfits is of Igbo ancestry just as the Aso Oke, Adire and Babanriga are South Western Yoruba and Northern Hausa-Fulani respectively. A Nigerian airline intent on striking a recognizable indigenous resonance and identity could adapt any combination of these traditional dress motifs to drive home its original and national identity. The isi Agu features a series of lion heads, obviously severed at a moment of unusual valor. To go on a hunt and successfully kill and decapitate a lion is an undisputed symbol or infact a metaphor for unusual valour and heroism among the Igbo. Therefore the choice of that motif by Air Peace in its new cabin outfit is in fact a modern statement on the unusual heights to which Nigerian enterprise can rise if inspired by a patriotic commitment to national greatness. The Isi Agu is therefore Nigerian national heroism captured in an outfit.

In their recent pricing strategies, neither Dangote nor Air Peace has acted out of pure charity or patriotic feeling. Both are reacting to the pressure of latent demand in a market where the purchasing power has been depressed by economic difficulty brought about by government policy and political exigencies. Yet each of them is intent on being seen as acting out of altruistic patriotic motives. That may be true in the short term.

For every liter of diesel sold, Dangote is saving the Nigerian consumer 60% of the current market price. A savings of 60% is a lot for households and businesses. Similarly, for every Economy Class ticket sold by Air Peace on the London route, the average Nigerian traveller gets to save between N1.3million-N1.6 million. That is an awful lot of relief which travellers can apply to other competing needs in these hard times. No one can deny that these are direct savings and benefits that accrue directly to Nigerian citizens. To that extent, both Dangote and Air Peace can be said to be applying their capital to serve a patriotic end.

It is common capitalist gimmick for companies to apply a percentage of their profit to pursue communally beneficial ends in their territory of operation. Oil companies build schools, hospitals, libraries and other socially beneficial  infrastructure in their catchment localities. In normal corporate parlance, that only qualifies as Corporate Social Responsibility(CSR) or targeted social beneficence.

But Dangote and Air Peace are doing something a bit more far reaching. They are shedding handsome percentages of their revenue and therefore profit to fellow Nigerians at a time when such savings are desperately needed and deeply appreciated. That is an instance of capitalism serving a patriotic end over and above its statutory tax obligations to the government. This should be commended.

It does not ,however, make these companies any less rapacious as capitalist ventures than any others. They may in fact be investing in better times and bigger profits when the bad days are over. They are investing in the goodwill of the market and therefore deepening their brand penetration and mass sympathy. These are strategies which are far sighted marketing ploys that dig deep into the hearts and minds of generations of consumers. 

Ultimately, every capitalist is like a cat; selfish with nine lives and prone to inherent cunning. But, as former Chinese leader Deng Zao Ping said when embracing the free market for his long standing communist nation: “A cat is a cat. It does not matter whether it is a black cat or a white cat. For as long as it catches mice, it is a good cat.”

David Ricardo framed it as the law of diminishing returns. There is always a point of saturation. There comes a juncture where, to adapt the thesis of one of the most influential English economists of the nineteenth century, human productivity begins to decline on account of task overload.

The breed the English nobleman has in mind could, however, not be said to include Yemi Olatunji-Bello, a professor of Physiology and the ninth vice chancellor of Lagos State University. With uncommon dexterity, she juggles not a few Herculean tasks simultaneously and has managed to make a success of all.

One, her prodigious scholarly output in the field of Physiology has not in any way constrained her civic engagements as a tireless mobilizer and generous host of causes geared towards women empowerment. Nor distracted her from obligations as a virtuous wife, doting mother, committed mentor and an anointed pastor in God’s vineyard.

As she clocks the Diamond jubilee (on April 23), hers is indeed a compelling story that should, therefore, inspire those still detained by the common assumption that the dizzying pace of the post-modernist world limits the career lady in other spheres.

One writes with the insights of someone who has known and related closely with Professor Olatunji-Bello for more than thirty years. While her appointment as LASU vice chancellor in 2021 might have thrust her into national limelight, she had long made her mark in academic research with name recognition in learned journals with over 55 seminal publications, becoming a professor in 2007 and the first Professor of Physiology in Lagos State University College of Medicine (LASUCOM).

Two years later, it was inevitable that she would gain national recognition after delivering the 40th Inaugural Lecture of LASU entitled, “PHYSIOLOGY: Influence of Environmental Factors, Diet and Herbs”. Judging from the rave reviews it immediately elicited in the academic circuits, that singular outing undoubtedly affirmed her impeccable originality as a scholar.

Henceforth, there was no more hiding place for the proverbial golden fish. International celebrities in her field like the Professor Russel Reiter Melatonin Research Team at Department of Cellular and Structural Biology at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, United States engaged her in collaborative work.

The highly regarded Physiological Society of United Kingdom inducted her as a fellow. Ditto the Physiological Society of Nigeria (PSN). Followed by the Society for Environmental Toxicology and Pollution mitigation (SEPTPOM).

Following her assumption of the reins at LASU, it is a measure of her knack for industry, tenacity and excellence that the institution was able to scale rigorous hurdles to pass resource assessment by
the Nigerian University Commission (NUC) in whopping twenty-one courses within two years. A feat unparalleled in the university’s 41 years of existence.

But while the prodigious Professor may now bask in the glory of her success, not many would know that she almost quit early on. Given her brilliant resume, she was tempted many times with a mouth-watering offer outside the academia in the 90s. But her dad, Pa Meshack Ibidapo, constantly counseled her against seeking gratification in immediate material gain. The perceptive sage from Owo apparently saw what many didn’t see then. He lived to see his precocious daughter become Professor in 2007, but sadly not as LASU vice chancellor as he transited in 2018, few months before his 90th birthday.

Comfortingly, her mum — Mama Jadesola, the jewel of the Onigbanjo family of Lagos Island — witnessed her inauguration in 2021 and also saw her being bestowed with the coveted National Productivity award a year before she too passed on at age 90.

Overall, the energy Professor Olatunji-Bello exerts in scholarly pursuits is only equalled by a fierce devotion to family. She is never shy to openly acknowledge that whatever success she might have recorded in her professional life is due substantially to the unqualified support from the soulmate she met way back at University of Ibadan.

Indeed, the story of how her path and that of her husband’s crossed in early 80s is the stuff of romance blockbuster. Dashing Tunji Bello (TB) was gunning for the Presidency of the UI Students Union Government (SUG) and took his campaign to the female hostel. Amid a stirring peroration during one such visit to the female dormitory, there was an eye-contact, then a chemistry and eventually marriage in 1989.

With a smile, Professor Tunji-Bello never tires to recall how she helped improvise TB’s campaign song from a hit entitled, “Let’s Go Dancing …. Hoola-la-la”, by pop rave then named “Kool & the Gang”. The line was adapted to “Tunji Bello … Hoola-la-la”.

Being married to a journalist surely comes with peculiar challenges, especially at a trying period when the country chaffed under military despotism and writing a critical piece could mean gulag or letter-bomb. Regardless, she always supported her husband.

In the heat of the struggle against the annulment of June 12 in 1993, her husband became a target being one of MKO’s media strategists and Concord editors. For several weeks between June 23 and August 26, 1993 when IBB was “disgraced” out of power, TB had to constantly be on the move, sleeping in different hotels to beat security goons detailed to hunt down opposition.

While journalism means constant travels and TB’s latter engagement in public service to Lagos State translated to returning home at odd hours often, the heavy burden of raising their children according to Godly values fell largely on the Professor.

It is to her credit that they have all turned out to be successful, adorable and well-behaved today. The first, Temitope, is today a registered cardiologist in the United States. The second, Deji, is a young engineer with a Master’s degree. While the “baby of the house”, Lamide, is a lawyer based in the United Kingdom, having bagged her Master’s from London School of Economics.

Daughters always inherit something from their mothers. Prof’s, inherited from her late mum, is a passion for evangelism. She did a programme in theology, to prepare her as the Zonal Pastor in charge of zone 9 of Lagos Province 1 of the Redeemed Christian Church of God. Apart from officiating the weekly service somewhere in Lekki, she runs a care clinic in the church to support the needy, counsel the traumatized and mentor the young ones.

Again, it is a measure of her spirit of tolerance that after preaching the scriptures, she returns home to be with her Muslim husband. Her Christian faith will not stop her from ensuring that provisions are made for her husband’s fasting during Ramadan and the celebration of Sallah.

By way of special appreciation, let it also be acknowledged now that her demonstrable policy of “peaceful co-existence” also benefited “OPEC” immensely over the decades, being the very fore-bearing spouse of its Life President, with KK (Comrade Kayode Komolafe) as Vice President.

At the height of its corporate glory, not once did she ever obstruct the summits nor disrupt the smooth operations of “OPEC”. As the Secretary General of that restricted club, yours sincerely can affirm that her attitude has always been pacifist when such summits held to her knowledge or within her purview.

Rather, she would intensify “prayers” to render OPEC’s oil blocks completely extinct, sooner than later. (Those still in the dark concerning “OPEC” are respectfully directed to consult those who know.)

Here is wishing Prof happy birthday and many happy returns of the day in robust health and fine spirit.

What did Modupe Onitiri Abiola smoke on the morning of Saturday, April 13, 2024, when she made a recorded broadcast declaring the secession of the Yoruba people of southwestern Nigeria from the Nigerian federation? What demon possessed all those who participated in the farcical drama which did not even measure up to even the most amateur of the celebrated dramaturgy of the indigenous Yoruba folk? Those are the questions being asked by befuddled Nigerians.

An array of charms and amulets, one English pump-action gun, two locally-made guns, two security jackets, 30 pieces of torch lights, five African horse tails, 49 bells and seven pieces of walkie talkies and accessories, Yoruba Nation flags, 405 live cartridges, 72 pairs of camouflage uniforms, 199 pairs of plain green uniform and hundreds of machetes — made up the arsenal of the deluded freedom fighters. The police later found an additional stash of weapons in the premises of the University College Hospital, UCH.
Their invasion of the Oyo State Secretariat where they briefly hoisted their flag —before a combined force of the police, Amotekun Corps, Civil Defence, and ultimately the Nigerian Army smoked them out and publicly humiliated them— caught the nation unawares.

Delusional
The fake nationalists were exhibiting traces of the mental disease called delusion of grandeur, a mental illness characterised by a great divergence from reality.

Their leader, Modupe Onitiri Abiola, apparently has a history of name dropping and attention seeking. She claims to be one of the widows of the late martyr of democracy, Chief MKO Abiola; but a section of the Abiola family has disputed this. She contested the 2015 gubernatorial elections in Lagos State and performed dismally. The Yoruba Nation invasion was supposed to catapult her to the pinnacle of leadership of one of the most sophisticated ethnic nationalities in Africa, the Yoruba (hehehe…)

Their voodoo charms failed them, making commentators wonder if they had forgotten to seek the support of Esu, the Yoruba god of mischief known for his ability to upend the expectations of presumptuous people. He is the god of surprises and change, for good or bad. He revels in creating disorder and confusion. For him, the world is a playground and he loves to stir things up just for the fun of it. Except that what happened in Ibadan wasn’t funny at all.

One elder who claims mastery in esoteric matters thought that, since they were so delusional, they ought to have given Esu his dues before setting out by intoning the panegyrics:

“Divine emissary of Transformation… Landlord of the crossroads, dance to the drum. Tickle the toe of the Drum. Move beyond strife. We shall use your sword to touch the earth. Esu, don’t confuse me. Don’t perplex me. Don’t confound me. Let disorientation be the lot of someone else.”

By the time the little skirmish was over, the pseudo-revolutionaries looked like a throwback to the spectacle of ancient prisoners of war on parade by the famed Ibadan war general, Basorun Ogunmola.

Yoruba people, on whose behalf the whole farcical drama was alleged to have been staged, are embarrassed because they don’t fight their wars in such a puerile— even demented— manner. Historically, in the geographical space called Nigeria today, there is no other ethnic nationality with a history of many civil wars like the Yoruba. They don’t take war lightly. They don’t start what they can’t finish.

Three days after the invasion, the Araba Oluawo (Chief Priest) of Ibadanland, Chief Odegbola Ifalere and other Babalawos performed some rituals, chanting incantations and cursing those behind the invasion of the state secretariat.

Condemnation
Although Afenifere, the foremost Yoruba socio-political group, has condemned the development along with prominent traditional rulers and leaders of thought, online analysts have been examining the contemporary fad where every motley disgruntled group threatens to take their people out of the Nigerian union. The ease with which negative ideas are widely disseminated through the social media coupled with socio-economic factors that have rendered many people recruitable into virtually any harebrained scheme, are twin factors that have been highlighted.

In its statement, Afenifere stated that there is no such thing as Democratic Republic of the Yoruba and demanded the arrest and prosecution of the perpetrators and their sponsors. “Yoruba is an important component of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. And as is well-known, there cannot be a sovereign republic within an extant sovereign republic… Afenifere is of the strong view that President Bola Tinubu administration is taking steps to rejig Nigeria in a manner that would make the country become one that every citizen would be proud of soonest”, said the organisation.

It added: “Restructuring the country is a sure way of accelerating this. Afenifere strongly believes that when restructuring is effected with constituent entities allowed to be in control of their own affairs, Nigeria will become beneficial to everyone. This is why we are relentless in our agitation for restructuring…”

If the misguided invaders were not on drugs, they certainly were under some form of hypnosis. Even in the heat of their humiliation, they still threatened to cause more havoc if security agents refused to release them.

Not a few people were surprised by the age range and gender mix of the wannabe secessionists later arraigned on a seven-count charge bordering on treasonable felony, unlawful society, illegal possession of a firearm, going armed and conduct likely to cause breach of peace.
The list included the following women: 25-year-old Ayanwale Rofiat; 65-year-old Dosunmu Toyin; 78-year-old Abiona Esther; 64-year-old Omoyalowo Funsho; 60-year-old Tola Olufemi and 58-year-old Taiwo Titilayo.

The men arraigned along with the women are: Ismaila Adepoju, 45 years; Ayanwale Saburi, 28years; Adeola Elegbede, 27years; Fatoki Anthony, 34years; Olalere Mathew, 54years; Isaac Friday, 27 years and Ismaila Malomo Peter, 65 years.

Others are Farumbi Wasiu, 30; Muritala Abefe, 40; Adeyemo Joseph, 29; Adeyemo Peter, 75; Adesokan Hameed, 37; Adejumo Lateef, 60; Ogundeji Alabi, 55; Ayoola David, 40; Ojo Olufemi, 52; Ajani Ezekiel, 42; and Amos Oluwaseyi Ogundeji, 45; Ademola Adeniyi, 29; Salaudeen Wahab, 56; Oritola Alabi, 44; Kayode Fakeye, 45; and Yusuf Adebayo, 67 years old.
In a rambling chat with newsmen, Ogundeji who is a lecturer at the Federal College of Education (Special),

Oyo, justified his participation: “Yoruba as an indigenous nation…Our leadership went to all Yoruba-speaking states to serve official letters written by our leaders and we were given our copy. After that is the proclamation, followed by the declaration, occupation and notification to the world that Yoruba is an indigenous nation. We were at the Secretariat, Agodi in Ibadan to celebrate and rejoice because of the new nation that was birthed…”
Surely, somebody needs the attention of a shrink?

Not Funny
We must resist the temptation of dismissing the farcical breakaway as a mere comic relief. Secession is not a laughing matter. The challenge before us is to recognise that there are active centrifugal forces maliciously gyrating in real life and on social media. In the latter case, strange philosophies are propagated to justify hate vending and reinforce ancient prejudices to separate man from fellow man and lionise ethnic idiocy. That is how the phenomenon of ‘Unknown Gunmen’ is born.

As we have seen, high educational attainment is not a foolproof inoculation against this disease. While the Yoruba Nation secessionists are made to face justice and the mentally debilitated among them sent for medical evaluation and treatment, the greater challenge is for the authorities to tackle warmongers wherever they are found, on the cyber superhighway or in real life. Never should we forget Bertrand Russel’s admonition that war does not determine who is right — only who is left.
The minimum agreement we, the people and government of Nigeria, can reach on this matter is that secessionists must be called out for the anarchists that they are, and legally removed from circulation.

I am not from Kogi State, but I have strong opinions on former Kogi State governor Yahaya Bello—as most Nigerians do. There is no doubt that few politicians in Nigeria are as universally reviled and despised as Yahaya Bello because of how he turned governance into a violent infant play, denuded it of even the faintest pretense to sanity and respectability, and developed an uncanny capacity to incite raw rage in people.

That’s why there is mass excitement in Nigeria over his current travails with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. Most people see his fate as a richly deserved karmic retribution for his eight years of incompetent, anger-arousing, profligate, and terroristic governance in Kogi State, the consequences of which transcended the bounds of Kogi State.

He began his tenure as governor as the symbol of hope for youth inclusion in governance. But he soon became a byword for recklessness, malfeasance, ineptitude, incivility, violence, and the greatest betrayer of the youth constituency. He shouldn’t have been governor—or, for that matter, anything in politics.

He had no guardrails on his tongue. Like a spoiled, over-indulged, ill-bred, and uninhibited child, he blabbered whatever inanities caught his febrile fantasies with no care for consequences. He insulted elders at will, humiliated traditional rulers who dared to show some independence, ridiculed civil servants, and terrorized opponents with full-strength viciousness— as if he would remain the governor of his state forever.

He even nicknamed himself—or was nicknamed by his flunkies—as the “white lion.” But when the EFCC came calling, the “white lion” transmogrified into a pitifully frightened, yellow-bellied chicken. Now the white-lion-turned-chicken is fluttering and hiding like he has gone insane. 

A wanted notice has been issued for him by the EFCC, the Inspector General of Police has withdrawn all police officers assigned to guard him, and the Nigerian Immigration Service has placed him on its watchlist. I can’t wait to see him brought to justice for all the crimes he committed while he held sway as the governor of Kogi State.

In a 2022 article, I described him as an ignorant, incorrigibly petulant child who was trapped in an adult’s body, who was destroying the littlest semblance of decency left in government in Kogi State, and who thought he could democratize his infantilism nationwide by seeking to be president. 

According to several Kogi State civil servants, Bello didn’t pay full salaries for most civil servants for most of his tenure as governor, yet he is being hunted by the EFCC for allegedly laundering up to 80.2 billion naira, presumably the money he should have used to pay the salaries of workers.

Bello signaled from the inchoate stages of governorship that he wasn’t in it for anything other than personal enrichment and aggrandizement. In less than one week after he was sworn in as Kogi State governor on January 27, 2016, according to a May 13, 2016, Premium Times’ investigation, Bello approved N250 million naira for himself as “security vote” and another N148 million to “furnish” and “renovate” his office. At that time, Kogi State workers hadn’t been paid their salaries for months.

Bello’s spokesman at the time by the name of Kingley Fanwo said the raiding of the state’s treasury in the name of security was justified because Kogi had become the seedbed of crime as a result of its location.

“It is public knowledge that Kogi State has been contending with serious security breach for the past 10 years,” Mr. Fanwo said. “As a result of the location of the state as gateway to many states of the federation, the state drifted into a criminal hotbed. Also, years of gross maladministration and blinding embezzlement has left the youth bare, exposing them to all sorts of criminal activities to survive. Kogi became a haven of robbers and kidnappers.”

That was the start, which most people ignored. Everything went downhill from there. The man didn’t even pretend to govern. He presided over a stealing bazaar.

 In 2020 when COVID-19 raged and most people were caught in a complex web of uncertainties and anxieties about the new infectious disease, Bello chose to become a abhorrent, ignorant conspiracist and the conduit for all sorts of wild, crazed, dangerous, fringe chatter about the disease. 

Yet, although he openly questioned the existence of COVID-19, he fed fat on it like the vampire that he is. The Premium Times of March 26, 2021, reported that Bello spent 90 million naira in 2020 to purchase COVID-19-tracking software that cost only 30 million naira. 

“The software, approved by a COVID-19 sceptic, Governor Yahaya Bello, was for tracking coronavirus cases in the state,” Premium Times reported. “However, the software is no longer functioning as the developers said they had a contract to host it for only one year.”

It’s impossible to chronicle Bello’s in-your-face financial malfeasance in a newspaper column. Not even a book-length narrative is sufficient to do justice to how much Bello financially bled and sucked the blood of Kogi State.

The man’s daring electoral terrorism is another issue that has earned him well-deserved loathing in Nigeria. This is a man who commanded his toadies to dig deep ditches on roads (that were built with billions of naira) just to stop voters from a part of the state he knew won’t vote for his candidate from being able to cast their votes. 

According to Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, at the time the senatorial candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for Kogi central, “We woke up this morning to the news that Yahaya Bello has instructed the excavation of all access roads to my hometown. My hometown is cut off from Obangede community; it is also cut off from Eika. And right now, I am in front of another road which was just excavated, thereby cutting me out of travelling out of my hometown.

“What this means is INEC would not be able to [access] certain communities, especially my hometown. What this also means is if Yahaya Bello and his APC goons decide to attack me and the good people of Kogi central in Ihima community, it will be impossible for the DPO to get across to this place. That means I, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, my fellow candidates, and supporters are trapped. We have no way out because Yahaya Bello has dug gullies.”

This is a vile and detestable vermin who should never have been allowed to get anywhere close to governance, much less be a governor. He is an excellent specimen of how not to be a governor—or, in fact, a human. I have not the littlest drop of sympathy for him.

 Given the peculiarities of the Nigerian political environment, it seems likely that he is in trouble with the EFCC only because he has fallen out of favor with the president or his henchmen. I honestly don’t care. 

More than anything, though, Bello’s troubles exemplify the transience of power and the imperative for humility when you wield it. 

The late Nollywood actor, popularly known as Junior Pope, was someone’s loving son, brother, husband, father, brother-in-law, friend, neighbour and much more. All those who meant one thing of the other to him, or to whom he meant something, now stand confounded, sad and unable to make much sense of the emerging narratives. This is one death that must be investigated to the very last decimal. It must be used by the Federal Government and all industry stakeholders as anchorage for a nationwide initiative that would explore the many dysfunctionalities and challenges facing the movie industry in Nigeria; in order to remedy same.

As an Igbo proverb sayd: “No one should carry on after the death of another human being as if I was a stray chicken that got run over in a stampede”.

The sad reality before us today is that a vibrant young man’s life had to end when, in all probability, it didn’t have to. This unfortunate incident, especially also considering that other industry hands and professionals also passed away with him in the benumbing tragedy, must be taken as a wakeup call for a well thought plan towards strengthening the pillars of professionalism, industry knowledge, practitioners’ welfare and meaningful insurance policies around the Nigerian movie industry. But, more importantly, this incident should not be swept under the mat, but should drive detailed investigations into the remote and immediate causative factors.

But let us look at some details in the whirling narrative, before concluding with some thoughts on institutional and policy measure, as well as the appropriate legislations that could create a holistic template for industry stakeholders.

The first item in the plethora of now-trending media content is an online video clip, presumably recorded by Junior Pope while on the ill-fated boat on his way to the location for their production activities. The recording is also seen to have been capture by the actor himself, as he cruised alongside other colleagues a day before the incident. These were some of the self-recorded words of the now-late actor in the trending video, which he reeled off with some laughter and good humour: “See me lamenting! The risks we take to entertain you! Crossing River Niger Yesterday with no life jacket! Na wah o! Who does that”? The actor even tagged the producer, Adanma Luke, in the video.

The other fact to consider in the tumbling narratives everywhere today is the fact that the operating transport equipment, in this case a boat of questionable dependability in high waters, was not considered an issue at any point before the accident. The “speedboat” in question is the type with the hand-maneuvered engine at its rear end; and which also has limited passenger and load bearing capacity.

I had personally experienced the danger of riding in this type of boat. That was some forty years ago, during my Youth Service year in the then Bendel State. Notwithstanding the fact that such boats we rode in back then was designed ideally for five passengers, the well-made fiber glass thing would usually having a standard payload of thirteen passengers arbitrarily inflicted on it anytime we rode on it across the NPA Port Warri; towards Ode Itesekiri off Warri mainland. When fully loaded in this way, the boat barely stood nine to ten inches above the water on which it was sailing. But we are digressing.

The other fact in the details of the Junior Pope sorry tale is that the collision with another boat was clearly avoidable.  On the one hand, one of the co-travelers is being blamed in some video clips for blocking the view of the boat driver and causing distraction by his words and the continuous ringing of a big bell. On the other hand, the boat driver is being blamed for general inattention to his primary task of conveying his passengers safely to their destination. 

Then came the rescue effort after the collision. The rescue team, made up of persons alerted by what had happened and who thus went out of their way to help, is reported to have first rescued some two victims of the boat mishap, whom they could easily see above the water. It was also reported that it was these initially rescued persons who alerted their rescuers about their volley who were still under water; before they went back for those others, including Junior Pope.

Now, think of how long it must have taken for this return trip. Think of how many minutes it takes for someone who is deprived of oxygen to be pronounced brain dead. From video clips online showing Junior Pope as his prostrate body was being carried out of the water, one could see that he was laid face up. He could have been laid sideways, to enable some water exit from his obviously water-clogged lungs; but that is neither here nor there. If the young man had any chances of survival at all, this position diminished that chance very significantly. 

Matters were also not helped by the fact that the rescuers and bystanders either did not know about emergency revival measures for victims of drowning, or saw no need to perform CPR on the unconscious Junior Pope. The fact that the inert body of the actor was allegedly taken straight from the river bank to a morgue, am initial claim that is now open to question in some quarters, as well as the morgue attendant’s refusal to attend to the body for some professional reasons, are issue on their own. And, then, the matter involving an herbalist.

It is one thing to object to an action in full day consciousness in the serenity of your sitting room. It is quite another matter to be confronted with a decision when, in addition to being at your wits end, the situation before you presents the type of emotional ambush that you would never have contemplated in your wildest imagination. That, I believe was the likely condition of the bewildered groups that had come for one thing and met danger, drowning and death instead.

I recall a story in the media, over two decades ago, of how a bereaved family had to get involved in elaborate rituals and sacrifices by the herbalist, high priest or witch doctor, in this same river for the dead body of the woman who drowned in the river to eventually float to the surface in order to be taken away by the relatives of the deceased for burial. The body was said not to have come afloat untill three full days after the said woman drowned and died in the river. So, these are matters about which the jury is still decidedly out.

Going back to the Junior Pope saga, it was reported, complete with video clips, of how those who were present at the herbalist’s shrine started jubilating after the hitherto unconscious actor made some physical movement. The first conclusion to draw from this is that the entire episode involving the herbalist was not a case of mass hallucination.

Also, if the herbalist actually subsequently advised the people to quickly take Junior Pope to a conventional hospital after his intervention, in order to fully revive the body of the still unconscious actor, it must follow that the most critical, and determining, variables at the point they left with Junior Popes body were (1) How quickly it would take them to get the unconscious actor to a hospital, as directed; (2) How long it would take the hospital authorities to determine what measures to take, towards reviving the patient; (3) How long it would take the hospital team to assemble the required equipment and personnel to do the needful regarding the patient.

The question for us here now concerns what was done, or not done, by whom and within what timeframe. And let us not forget this: there was no mention of any efforts to expel the massive volume of water that must have accumulated in the actor’s lungs while he as underwater; and which must have led to his loss of consciousness due to oxygen deprivation. 

Contextually speaking, therefore, there are many issues here that suggest an unacceptable level of ineptitude, in terms of basic scientific knowledge of the everyday type. How, for instance, could the bulk of a fishing community be bystanders and wailing watchers after a “recently drowned” person is brought out of water?

 And this brings us back to the core matter of concern, all underpinned by the need for the Presidency to show special interest in this matter. The Federal Government should use the instrumentalities of the sector’s supervising ministry, the Department of State Service (DSS, the Police and the Nigeran Inland Water ways Authority (NIWA) and industry stakeholders to: (1) Investigate this incident in every detail, (2) Redefine overall industry safety measures; Take a clear and enforceable position on personnel insurance; and (3) work out new Standard Operating procedures (SOPs) for the training of boat riders,

Proper risk analysis, risk assessment, risk mitigation measures are needed here, to help this industry. The producer’s duty in this entire drama must also be viewed with great tact and discretion, because I believe the lady is as scandalized and traumatized as everyone else. I also see no need to bring up, dramatize or speculate on the possibility of some family issues being connected with this unfortunate mishap.

As I said at the beginning of this article: “This is one death that must be investigated to the very last decimal. It must be used by the Federal Government and all industry stakeholders as anchorage for a nationwide initiative that would explore the many dysfunctionalities and challenges facing the movie industry in Nigeria; in order to and remedy same”.

Quote

The Federal Government should use the instrumentalities of the sector’s supervising ministry, the Department of State Service (DSS, the Police and the Nigeran Inland Water Ways Authority (NIWA) and industry stakeholders to: (1) Investigate this incident in every detail, (2) Redefine overall industry safety measures; Take a clear and enforceable position on personnel insurance; and (3) work out new Standard Operating procedures (SOPs) for the training of boat riders,

At the end of AFCON 2023 in February, Jose Paseiro, the Portuguese Manager that took the Super Eagles to Cote D’Ivoire became history. His contract was not renewed by the Nigeria Football Federation despite getting to the final of the championship and putting up a credible performance through most of the championship. The majority of Nigerian football fans insist that he is not good enough for Nigeria’s ambitions into the future.

Since then, some 6 weeks later, the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, have been unable to announce a new gaffer for the senior national team. There appears to be a ‘go slow’ at the bottleneck of selecting the right manager for what would be a new national team.

Two friendly matches were played under a temporary arrangement with the Nigerian assistant coach to Paseiro, Finidi George, in charge. The team won the first friendly against Ghana, but lost the second. The loss to Mali may have sealed Finidi’s fate as the new coach. Despite the team’s unpreparedness for the insignificant friendly match, Finidi working alone on the bench without any other member of the technical crew, and several players not available or reluctant to play, those that don’t like the face of a Nigerian as head, have been unrelenting in condemning Finidi’s seemingly poor technical performance in that match.

Since then, with 6/7 weeks to the next very important World Cup qualifying match to play, the debates and controversy have dominated the media space over who should lead the team. Should it be another foreigner, or a Nigerian for a change? There have been 200 million opinions. Every Nigerian has become an expert. In the midst of these discordant voices, the NFF must make an announcement soon.

One thing is clear, except amongst some academic hard-line critics of Nigerian coaches, there appears to be little appetite for another half-baked foreign coach in Nigeria. The rackets attached to the hiring of foreign coaches may not find accommodation in a beleaguered government trying to reduce corruption in the system. The NFF does not have the funds, and the federal government will not accommodate the humongous fees of foreign coaches in the present dispensation.

So, it will be a Nigerian as next manager of the Super Eagles.

Why has the NFF not identified the most suitable amongst those that have indicated an interest, or that the body has identified and appointed a new national coach?

There is a lot of politicking ongoing. Nigerian coaches appear not to tick all the boxes of requirements, not eliciting the confidence of several officials of the NFF with vested interest in particular aspirants.

As things stand, however, a decision has to be taken now.

Most fingers point in the direction of a former international player.

He appears to be the preferred choice of most Nigerians in the media, particularly the social media.

I will not be surprised if Emmanuel Amuneke gets the final nod to lead the team. It will become a huge task to dispel the serious reservations about his choice by those familiar with his antecedents when he was in one of the junior teams.

PARIS 2024 Olympics – My Olympics story!

I have just made up my mind to attend the Paris Olympic Games this summer.

It will be my first time at the Olympics and not as an athlete.

In 1976, at the Montreal Olympics in Canada, I attended as an athlete but did not participate. Along with the rest of the world, I tasted the incursion of politics into sport and the first deployment of sports diplomacy in international affairs. the names of all the athletes from 30 countries that were involved in the boycott of the games were not recorded in the International Directory of Olympians at the International Olympic Committee, IOC.

In 1980, without officially qualifying for the Moscow Games, but benefitting from the crisis that followed Russia’s invasion of Afghanistan, leading to the boycott by several Western countries led by the USA, the Green Eagles were invited to the Moscow Olympics. I led the Nigerian national football team and doubled as co-captain (with Ahmeed Adio) of the overall contingent to become a registered member of the exclusive club of Olympians.

I would have attended the 1996 Games in Atlanta, USA, as manager of Chioma Ajunwa and Charity Opara. Unfortunately, when I applied for a visa to the Games from my base in the UK at the time, the interview date given at the American embassy was weeks after the Games would have ended. That’s how I sat at home in London, and missed the opportunity of attending the Olympics as a manager of athletes. My two wards won a Gold and a Silver medal.

At the 2010 Games in London. I was at ‘home’. I watched the Games as a tourist, attending a few events LIVE from the stands, but most from the giant screens at the Nigerian village set up for the huge Nigerian population in the UK.

During the last Olympic Games in Tokyo, I became inventive. I did the seemingly impossible. I became an invisible ‘fly on the wall’ reporting from Nigeria everything about the Nigerian contingent at the games with the deployment of technology and the collaboration of athletes and officials at the games.

Now, Paris 2024 Games are here.

I have a strong feeling Nigeria will come away with several medals. The feeling is strong. There are some obvious athletes in the winning zone already.

Having said that, the spirit of the Olympics is more in participating than in winning. That’s why as many athletes as have achieved the qualifying times and distances should be given the opportunity to experience the Olympics. I hope Nigeria will take all the athletes that attain the qualifying standards to Paris 2024.

Winning’ is not only about coming ‘first’.

From AFCON 2023, Nigeria gave a new and interesting definition to ‘winning’.

The country’s national team, the Super Eagles, for 4 weeks, provided the glue that united the country at a time when the country was going through difficult times in perennial economic, political and social challenges. As the Super Eagles, a team that was not given a chance to win by fanatical Nigerian football fans on the even of the championship, started to play well and to win matches in dramatic fashion, the spirit of nationalism took over the country. Temporarily, for a few weeks, Nigerians set aside their hardship, divisions and differences, and focused attention on the feel-good success of the Eagles on the football field. Even President Bola Tinubu became a part of the championship, following the Super Eagles on television all the way to the final match. With hopes sky-high, the entire country rallied around the team and supported their bid to win the most prestigious sports trophy in Africa, only for the hopes to be dashed at the last hurdle.

Despite the disappointment of that defeat, the country demonstrated uncommon appreciation of what the team had done for the psyche of the citizens during the period, a reminder of positive possibilities beyond AFCON, by spreading out the Red Carpet to welcome back the football heroes, compensating the team that came second with rewards unheard of in sports history. It was a beautiful confirmation of that Olympic truism that to be a ‘winner’ you do not have to come ‘first’.

God willing, I shall be at the Paris 2024 Olympics to report Nigeria’s success, first hand!