Bago promises to end killings

The people of Niger State are predominantly farmers. Males, females, children and adults are deeply involved.

Across the 25 local government areas of the state, either as individuals or co-operative societies, residents plant crops like yam, rice, maize, millet, soya beans and sugar cane while also engaging in animal husbandry and fishing.

In fact, Niger is described as the food basket of the nation due to its yearly massive food production during both the wet season and dry season. The state has the largest land mass in the country with 76,363km2 and the government and the people are not taking it for granted as they utilize the arable land for massive food production.

Despite all these assets, Niger is presently facing a big challenge which is hampering the continuous participation of the people in farming.

The issue of banditry is still unabated in most parts of the 25 LGAs of the state.

Most of the farmers, according to findings by our correspondent, have relocated to neighboring states and the southern part of the country where they now carry out their farming peacefully.

For those still in their ancestral homes, they merely do skeletal farming amid the fear of being attacked and kidnapped while working on their farms.

Farming in most part of Niger has become an issue of life and death.

However, Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago has reassured the people, especially farmers, of adequate protection in all their endeavors.

The governor, while flagging off this year’s wet season sales and distribution of fertilizer and other inputs like insecticides at the Farm Centre, Minna, the state capital, last week, said his administration was aware of the security challenges in the state which is affecting farmers in no small way and assured that the issue will soon be a thing of the past.

“We know the security challenge being faced by our people including farmers. My administration is going to provide adequate security for the people of the state in order to boost our economy especially farming,” he said.

Hours after the flag-off, Bago presented 20 Hilux vans to security agencies to enhance policing especially in Minna, the state capital.

In his address at the farming inputs distribution venue, the governor had noted that the economic woes facing the country could only be tackled if only Nigerians go back to farming which, he said, is everlasting unlike mineral resources that may dry up.

“Farming does not understand English. It must be faced with renewed vigour to achieve the desired results which is bumper harvest and my target is how to encourage civil servants to go back to farming because I as governor am also going back to full farming to show leadership by example’, he said.

“You cannot retire from service and be languishing and left with nothing to eat and so, you will all be dragged to farming and, as a government, we are going to cultivate two hundred hectares of land and government officials will also be made to cultivate one hundred hectares of land each to boost food production not only in Niger state but across the country.

“Each of the 25 local government areas are also directed to follow suit by cultivating one hundred hectares and plant various crops”.

Bago pledged to revive the Niger State Agricultural Mechanization Development Agency (NAMDA) formerly known as Agricultural Development Project (ADP) with the procurement of 300 tractors out of which 10 will be given to each of the 25 local government areas of the state.

On the sale of fertilizer, the governor said steps had been taken that only 10 bags can be sold to an individual, adding that bank details and BVN of individuals will be taken into consideration while the EFCC, ICPC and the police had been invited to make sure that the distribution and sales were carried out rightly and devoid of fraud.

The government, he said, had approved 20% subsidy on the 100 trucks (600 tonnes) of fertilizer delivered to Niger and that each bag of 50kg will be sold at N18,000 as against the open market price of N24,000 to N30,000, adding that the sales will be done in the designated stores across the state and that internal control mechanisms are in place to ensure that only resource constraint farmers benefit.

In an exclusive interview with our correspondent with Sunday Vanguard, the Chairman of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) in Niger State, Alhaji Shehu Galadima, confirmed the mass exodus of farmers across the 25 LGAs of the state to other parts of the country due to insecurity.

“Many of our members (farmers) have fled the state to other states safer for them to farm”, Galadima said.
“Many of them are still out of the state but we are trying to lure them back and we hope that with the assurance of the governor towards fortifying security across the state, they will come back to contribute to the anticipated bumper harvest expected at the end of the rains this year.

“We are aware that governor has met with the Service Chiefs in Abuja, met with the Emirs, security agencies in the state and other stakeholders on how to tackle insecurity and we farmers are hopeful that this bold steps will further boost our confidence to return back to our farms and encourage those who have fled the state to come back home and start their farming again without any fear”.

On the possibility of bumper harvest this year, the AFAM Chairman said there was still hope to meet up.

“Despite these challenges, we still expect bumper harvest at the end of the rains this year. However, our major fear besides that of insecurity is the climate change which we cannot predict or control”, he said.

“Niger State is prone to severe flooding annually and NiMET has predicted severe flooding in some states across the country including Niger and this is the only fear we entertain and which could be a stumbling block to bumper harvest in the state and across the country”.

Galadima called on the state government to engage most of the unemployed youths in farming, especially dry farming, as a way of enhancing food security in the country.

In separate interviews, two major stakeholders in the farming industry in Niger, Chief of Male Farmers in Minna, Sarkin Noman Minna, Alhaji Danjuma Sarkin Noma, and Chief of Female Farmers in the state, Hajiya Fatima Ahmed, decried the unabated insecurity in the state as a major factor militating against farming.

“Due to banditry and kidnapping of our members by bandits, most of the farmers have relocated to other states”, Noma said.

“Government should provide security for us in our various farms. We are ready to farm. We can boast of feeding not only Niger State but also Nigeria as a whole if lives are protected on our farms.

“All the 25 LGAs of the state are endowed with arable land that can grow all sorts of crops and we are not tired to continue to feed the nation only if our lives are protected”.

Noma, who manages 10 hectares of land cultivating yam, rice, maize, millet and cassava, among others, listed other problems confronting them to include lack of enough fertilizer, tractors inaccessibility and loans to embark on large scale farming and therefore called on government to fulfill its promises to assist them in order to boost their morale to farm.

Hajiya Fatima Ahmed, on her part, described farming across Niger now as a matter of life and death because of incessant raid on farmers by bandits and with many of them being kidnapped for ransom and some eventually killed.

“There are no fewer than 20 cooperative female farmers under me and we are all doing well. However, farming in the state is now a matter of life and death because of terrorists”, she said.

“We are scared of these bandits who invade our farms incessantly and abduct our members and, for now, many of them are afraid to go back to farm for fear of not only being kidnapped but also killed”.

She therefore called on the state government to assist them with enough fertilizer, insecticide, loans and, above all, security in order to remain in business.

Britain’s Dillian Whyte said he was devastated after an “adverse finding” from his random dope test led to the cancellation of next week’s heavyweight fight with former world champion Anthony Joshua.

The two had been due to meet at London’s O2 Arena on Aug. 12 in a rematch of their 2015 bout, won by Joshua, at the same venue.

Promoters Matchroom said in a statement on Saturday that the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) had informed them that Whyte “returned adverse analytical findings as part of a random anti-doping protocol.”

“In light of this news, the fight will be cancelled, and a full investigation will be conducted.”

Whyte, who lost a title challenge to WBC world champion Tyson Fury in April 2022, reacted to the news on messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

“I can confirm without a shadow of doubt that I have not taken the reported substance, in this camp or at any point in my life,” he said.

“This is not the first time that I have been reported as having an adverse finding for a substance which I have not taken, and as I did last time I will again prove that I am completely innocent.”

Whyte served a two-year ban from 2012 to 2014 after testing positive for a banned stimulant contained in a nutritional supplement.

In 2019 he tested for traces of a banned steroid but was cleared of any wrongdoing by the UK Anti-Doping Agency (UKAD), which withdrew a charge of a doping violation.

Joshua lost his WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO belts to Ukraine’s Oleksandr Usyk in September 2021.

The outcome of the Joshua v Whyte fight could have put either fighter in the frame for a lucrative clash with former WBC champion Deontay Wilder.

Matchroom were caught up in another anti-doping controversy recently involving British welterweight Conor Benn , who failed two voluntary drugs tests last year.

UKAD said in July that Benn, who had been due to fight Chris Eubank Jr in London last October, was no longer under suspension.

[OpinionNigeria]

Following the withdrawal of her name from the list of ministerial nominees by President Bola Tinubu, Dr. Maryam Shetty blamed life with its characteristic unpredictability for the action, saying, however, she bore no ill will towards anyone.

She said being nominated was a validation of her capabilities and a sign of the nation’s readiness to appoint young women from the most traditional parts to office.

Kano State-born Shetty, whose nomination was withdrawn and replaced with Dr. Mariya Mahmoud, said this in a statement yesterday.

As of press time, no reason was given for the decision to replace her name with Mahmoud’s who also hails from Kano.

Shetty, however, said she didn’t consider the development a setback.

Her words:”I have found myself at the centre of a pivotal moment in Nigeria’s political landscape. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in a move that brought me immense honour, chose me as a ministerial nominee. Coming from the traditional, conservative regions of northern Nigeria, this represented a significant stride towards a more inclusive national representation.

“The sheer joy and pride I felt at my nomination were beyond words. It was a validation of my capabilities, a nod to my vision, and a sign that our great nation was ready to embrace a future where young women like me, even from the most traditional parts of Nigeria, can hold positions of influence and power.

“Yet, life, with its characteristic unpredictability, led to the withdrawal of my nomination. To some, this could seem like a setback, but my faith as a devout Muslim guided my understanding. I saw it as the divine will of Allah, who I believe grants power as He wishes when He wishes. His plans are always superior to ours.”

The process of appointment of ministers in Nigeria is ordinarily simple. It has two main phases, namely: the nomination of some persons by the president to serve as ministers of government and the confirmation of such nominees by the senate. As at today, the president’s nomination is constitutionally guided to consist of at least 37 persons, one per state and the federal capital territory, Abuja. A fresh legal requirement is for the president to ensure that the nominations are made not later than 60 days from the day of his inauguration. On its part, the senate is required to diligently perform the confirmation of the nominees by subjecting them to a process of screening with a view to certifying that only persons of integrity that are fit and proper are confirmed to serve as ministers.

Both the president and the senate ought to perceive their assignments as constitutional mandates that must be conscientiously handled so as to situate the cabinet as a veritable tool for good governance. It is partly to ensure that the assignments receive a mandatory rather than a discretionary flavour that both arms of government were co-assigned for one to serve as a check on the other. Unfortunately, from 1999 when democracy was restored in Nigeria till today, both the executive and the legislature made up mainly of members of the same ruling political party have tended to handle the assignment with a huge posture of discretion; allowing forces to negate the intendment of the drafters of our constitution. 

Perhaps because politicians do not care to remember that what matters most should be the competence of nominees, undue emphasis has always been placed on membership of the ruling party. Whereas there is nothing wrong with the appointment of party members, such a factor ought to be an additional advantage to competence. This is because it is only when those who best fit a job are left to handle it that development can thrive in society.  The corollary is the case when appointments into sensitive positions such as that of ministers are treated essentially as compensation to party members who worked hard for the victory of the party or who during elections, helped to rig their party into power.

Since last week, when the Nigerian senate began to screen persons nominated as ministers by president Bola Tinubu, citizens are yet to see any departure from the tendencies of the past. To start with, the first set of 28 nominees emerged a few days to the deadline for nominations making it appear that from the electioneering period till swearing-in, not much effort was directed at identifying persons likely to assist the new president as ministers. Second, the senators have been engaged in ‘blind screening’ of the nominees, asking general questions that are based on assumptions of how portfolios may be distributed. How can the senate identify who can best handle a particular job if what each nominee would finally be assigned with remains guess-work?

The argument that there is no need to indicate portfolios now because the president could along the line reshuffle the cabinet is simplistic. There is no doubt that blind screening is obsolete and that to reshuffle a cabinet cannot be for the fun of it. In addition, the senate has certainly not out-grown its archaic ego that it has a discretion on matters concerning the screening of ministers when in actual fact it is a mandatory duty.  To screen a ministerial nominee in order to confirm the nominee’s suitability for appointment is the direct opposite of exempting a nominee from screening. In truth, to have once served as a legislator is not a rational basis for concluding that a former legislator would be a good minister. Put differently, to declare certain persons fit for a job without ascertaining the presumption lacks any iota of empiricism.

The point to reiterate is that it is unwise for our senators to hold-on to the practice of thinking that they have a right to vary a constitutional mandate. It is indeed unpatriotic for a group of political leaders to handle with levity, the constitutional assignment of confirming the suitability of nominees for sensitive positions in government. There is no better way of understanding the policy of ‘bow and go’ instituted by senators of the federal republic to suit their material or political interests. This column has consistently made the point in the last decade that the ‘bow and go’ policy is characteristically indiscrete and that if the makers of our constitution had imagined that our senate would toy with the assignment, the appointment of ministers would have been left as the prerogative of only the president.

It is obvious therefore that our senators have no other option than to help the president to attain considerable stability by using the screening of ministers to ward-off undue pressures and frivolities that can hinder good governance. The senate would do well to halt nominees brought in through pressures such as, persons whose school age almost coincide with their dates of birth or those who offend the law on the youth service scheme. Indeed, persons with ridiculous credentials ought not to pass through the senate. We have had enough of citizens who having evaded the scheme are always able to get into top public appointments thereby making the enabling law of the NYSC which criminalizes evasion from the scheme irrelevant

The screening of ministers is one of those critical occasions when the legislature can demonstrate an affirmative posture of collaborative federalism. It is a time when the rubber-stamp toga that the legislature has been wearing for some time now is given a positive colouration if the senate can use it to redirect the executive to operate within the rule of law.  The senate should have worked behind the scene to ensure that no less than 37 nominees were presented within 60 days as the law provided, instead of screening new nominations after the expiration of the deadline. It should have helped the president to keep to the campaign pledge of unifying the nation by dissuading him from nominating three persons from any state. It should in fact have helped the president to avoid an unwieldy cabinet of 48 ministers in these austere times of the nation

Nigeria recently witnessed several controversies which many expected would be raised during the screening. The few that came up were perhaps all that people enjoyed while watching the screening on national television. The question of disobedience to court orders which was put to a likely Attorney General during the screening was salutary but it was not followed up. Although the nominee clearly deprecated the tendency for anyone to disobey court orders, the fact that courts of law in Nigeria were only a few months back constrained to convict the Inspector General of Police and the EFCC chairman for contempt of court made the question the best, though it was feebly asked.  The media would no doubt play back the answer given by the nominee when the executive and its agencies commit the breach again. 

Of the few laudable nominations, two stand out for applause. The first is the nomination of Professor Tahir Mamman, Vice Chancellor of Baze University Abuja- an institution whose proprietor, Senator Datti Ahmed was the vice presidential candidate of the Labour Party. Tahir has always been an active member of the ruling APC, but was neither hindered from holding opposite political views nor removed as VC for not decamping to the Labour Party. The second is the support given by Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun state to the nomination of his arch rival, former Governor Gboyega Oyetola. Adeleke was reported to have mandated all the PDP senators from his state to support the nomination which no doubt was in the interest of the state. 

The two cases above represent the best of political tolerance in today’s Nigeria. Some other politicians would have sought to block the nominations. We therefore commend Senators Datti Ahmed and Ademola Adeleke for displaying uncommon statesmanship of putting public interest beyond partisanship.  This notwithstanding, the senate should still ensure that both nominees are fit to hold their appointments. By so doing, the importance of the senate in the attainment of good governance would be underscored.

Nigerian students who were evacuated from war-torn Sudan have lamented the tedious processes of getting admitted into Nigerian universities.

Recall that a total of 2,518 stranded Nigerians were evacuated from Sudan in May 2023.

On June 7, 2023, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board unveiled modalities for the absorption of Nigerian students returning from war-torn countries, including Sudan, into tertiary institutions.

The JAMB Registrar, Ishaq Oloyede, said the procedures for emergency transfers of returning students required each of them to do a retroactive registration with the Ministry of Education.

However, speaking with Sunday PUNCH, some of the students explained that they had yet to get admitted into their selected Nigerian university, stating that the process had been a herculean task.

A former student, and President of the Jigawa State Students’ Association in Sudan, Umar Abubakar, complained that most of his documents were still in Sudan, adding that getting clearance from the Ministry of Education was very stressful.

Abubakar lamented, “I have yet to get admission. I need to follow the protocols set by JAMB. I will need to travel down to Abuja from Kano. Most of us left our school certificates in Sudan.

“We cannot get our transcripts from our universities in Sudan right now because of the crisis. I am trying my best to see if I can get my documents, especially my WAEC results and clearance from the Ministry of Education and upload them on the JAMB website.

“I will be going with Bayero University, Kano, because it has a Pharmacy Department. The process of getting one’s results or clearance from the Ministry is very tough because of the large number of ex-Sudan students.”

Also, the Vice President, Katsina State Students Association in Sudan, Ismail Abubakar, said he had yet to be admitted into Bayero University, Kano after successfully submitting his documents to JAMB.

Abubakar noted, “I have yet to be admitted. I have sent my application to Bayero University, Kano after JAMB cleared me but till now, no response from them. I feel so bad right now.”

Furthermore, an ex-Medical student at Hayat University College, Amira Tafida, said that her choice of school had yet to call her for the assessment process into getting admitted.

Tafida said “I applied to Eko University of Medical and Health Sciences, Lagos State, but I have yet to be admitted. At first, it was between the University of Abuja and the Eko University, but I eventually settled for the Medical University because I feel it is closer since I stay in Lagos.

“I would be placed on assessment to know how much I know about my course which will determine my level of admission, although, a date is yet to be fixed for the assessment by the school.”

A 300-level ex-student of Information and Communication and Technology, Abdulsalam Maikano, stated, “I have yet to secure admission into any of the Nigerian universities.

“I am currently going through the evaluation instructed by JAMB, though I did not start the evaluation on time because I did not know about it before now. I am planning on picking Al-Qalam University in Katsina State or Skyline University in Kano State.”

However, a final-year pharmacy student at Sudan International University, Zainab Mohammed, noted that she is currently undergoing online lectures from her school in Sudan till further notice.

A “wind of change” is blowing across Africa but this time around, it is not the same wind of change that erstwhile British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, spoke about – the positive wind of change blowing away colonial rule and ushering in Independence to the African colonies of Britain. The current wind of change sweeping across Africa is that of military coup d’etat overthrowing so-to-say democratically-elected African governments and returning those that Samuel Edward Finer referred to as the men on horseback – soldiers – to power again. Of the 17 military putsches that the world has witnessed in recent years, 16 have been in Africa, with Myanmar (formerly Burma) the only exception. Coming closer home, we have witnessed military take-overs on Chad, Burkina Faso, Mali and, now at our very doorstep, Niger Republic! This is the same Niger Republic that ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, after defecating on the presidential stool here, had boasted would defend him should Nigeria and Nigerians go after him to demand that he give an account of his stewardship. And as if to prove his closeness to the Nigerien president, Mohamed Bazoum, Buhari, after his ext from power, hiked a ride to an international event in Bazoum’s presidential jet. Now, the same Bazoum has been ousted from power and is under house arrest. His fate is uncertain and Buhari, days ago, was quoted as expressing worry and anxiety over his friend’s safety. Where you gonna run to now, Mr. Clueless, if we must quote the Jamaican reggae super star, Peter Tosh?

Reports have it that there are rumours and tremors of discontent in the military in some other West African countries. Expectedly, therefore, ECOWAS leaders have been in panic mode, meeting and rolling out a rash of sanctions and threats of outright invasion against the leaders of the latest military takeover in Niger Republic. The popular opinion some years back was that military rule had become an aberration: Why is it suddenly becoming fashionable again? Politicians have themselves to blame for why military coups are resonating with the populace again. Let’s see some of the reasons that have been offered. One is that African leaders, having learnt nothing, have forgotten nothing; even when, like Milton Obote of Uganda, were given a second chance to make good where they erred in their first coming. Whether as military Head of State or in their second coming as civilian president, both Olusegun Obasanjo and Muhammadu Buhari failed woefully, their second outing being more disastrous than the first. The same reasons that were given for the first rash of military coups in the 1960s through 1980s not only remain but have grown worse. Rather than lessen the people’s burden, they have, like King Rehoboam the son and successor of his father, King Solomon, increased the burden.

Corruption, rather than abate, has been on the rise, and with that, standard of living has dropped everywhere. Funds for infrastructural development have been embezzled. Toads are no death traps. Hospitals are mortuaries. No power supply. No security and safety. Schools have lost their glory. No jobs. Inflation makes a mockery of whatever income that is earned. Hunger stalks the land. In the midst of all of this, the rulers not only go about as if all is well, they even have the temerity to mock the people! “Let the people breathe”, they were quoted as taunting the people, their very electors – except, of course, they had rigged themselves into office and were there without the people’s mandate. In which case, they are imposters and not representatives of the people! I compare this insensitive and audacious statement with the one credited to Queen Marie Antoinette before the 1789 French Revolution consumed her and her husband, King Louis XVI: “Let them eat cake!” The French hapless poor had bombarded the palace crying of hunger, just like Nigerians cry today to their government that Nigerian has become one hell of a place to live in, but the best their government can do is taunt them, mock them! In the fullness of time Marie and her husband paid with their life; they were guillotined!

Coups are becoming fashionable again because the political leaders live life to the hilt in the midst of grinding and abject poverty of the people. And they shove it in our face! Take it or leave it, they seem to say! Or, better till, do something about it if you can! The more we cry that they reduce the cost of governance, the more opulent, indolent and audacious they become. Can we actually do something? Have they not seen us finish, as they say? Yes, we can do something! The 1776 American Declaration of Independence tells us we can when it says: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness… “

Therefore, a people have a right to decide the form or type of government they so desire at any point in time, be it democratically-elected or not. If democracy becomes demon-crazy, then, the people reserve the right to cast it out, like prayer warriors cast out demons and devils. “Reduce the cost of governance” is the cry of the people so that resources can be freed and be made available for the provision of critical infrastructure. This is the rallying cry of the people. Cost of government is not only too high, it has, like fuel subsidy, become prohibitive and unsustainable. You cannot remove one but leave the other to fester. If a democratically-elected government will not hearken to the voice of the people in this direction, then, the people, in the exercise of their sovereign rights, reserve the right to try another route to achieve the same result. That is one reason coups are becoming fashionable again around us. The so-called lawmakers are usually the first to go; then the avalanche of political advisers and assistants and the retinue of party officials, deputy this and deputy that; assistant this and assistant that, etc. If, according to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, one trillion Naira was saved in two months from “fuel subsidy is gone”, I can assure that five times that amount will be saved if we reduce the cost of governance. A lean and efficient government is the rallying cry of the people at this point in time in African countries whacked by poverty and steeped in penury.

These are issues that ECOWAS leaders led by President Tinubu should address rather than beat the drums of war over the coup in Niger Republic. They should address the cause or causes of coups itemised above rather than tackle the effects. It is easy to see that they are frightened and are only trying to save their own skin. Just like some hasty and rash decisions have heated up the polity for Tinubu at home, rushing to the National Assembly to procure a licence to go to war against Niger Republic is hasty, rash and ill-advised. I dare to say that this is another ECOMOG misadventure loading. We frittered billions of dollars in Sierra Leone and Liberia and our economy was the worst for it. We lost lives and limbs. What were our gains? It is too early to embark on another ruinous venture, especially now that our economy is in bad shape. Where will the funds come from? A country that cannot fund higher education; whose infrastructure is decrepit, whose youths and good hands “japa” on a daily basis; where workers are on strike wants to go to war, this time not only against one country (Niger Republic) but also against other countries (Mali, Burkina Faso, etc) like it that have sworn to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with it. Before President Tinubu drags Nigeria into another ECOMOG-like misadventure, let him listen to this advice from one of our experts, Prof. Babafemi Badejo:  Titled “Questions about the impending war next door”, Badejo offered the following advice: “On July 26, 2023, Mohamed Bazoum, the elected president of the Republic of Niger, was pushed aside in a coup d’etat. This is an unfortunate development. However, the coup makers are consolidating and mobilizing the populace towards an acceptance of the development.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu rightly called for an extraordinary summit of the ECOWAS Authority on July 30th and a communique was issued at the end of the meeting. The ECOWAS Authority put in place a number of sanctions, including closure of land and air borders between ECOWAS countries and Niger Republic; institution of an ECOWAS ‘no fly’ zone on all commercial flights to and from Niger and freezing of the country’s assets in ECOWAS states. Going further, the ECOWAS Authority issued an ultimatum seeking the restoration of the overthrown order within seven days, and threatened the probable use of force for non-compliance and, in this regard, asked the ECOWAS Chiefs of Defence Staff to start meeting.

A number of questions need to be answered before the Nigerian government goes to war: 1. Has the necessary resolution of the UN Security Council been sought with a certainty that there will be no veto making an ECOWAS war illegal as ECOWAS got stopped over Cote d’Ivoire? 2. Has costs and benefits analysis been done by the Nigerian authorities for the short, medium, and long-term, especially under the current financial problems Nigeria is facing? 3. Given the refusal to reimburse Nigeria’s efforts in Sierra Leone and Liberia in the past, is Nigeria able to fund a possible war with the Niger Republic as others in ECOWAS cajole her to lead and, as usual, bear most, if not all, of the yoke? 4. How will the ECOWAS leadership close Niger’s borders with Mali and Burkina Faso – countries with sympathetic military regimes to those in power in Niger and the possible availability of counter air power instruments? 5. Has Nigeria pondered on a perceived weak Niger Republic entering into wider alliance(s), including with other stronger governments, organized and unorganized terror franchises? 6. Has the Nigerian government carefully reflected on the Nigerien views, popularity or not, of the coup plotters and the implications of this for any military action? 7. Is Nigeria prepared to lead a process towards a truncated ECOWAS? 8. Is Nigeria acting swiftly to please external interests without a thoughtful consideration of the all-round implications for ECOWAS, Nigeria, and its people if a Libya-type internationalised war starts next door?  Diplomacy is superior to threats of the use of force that may be difficult or impossible to implement. Preventing coups in West Africa is not by sanctions and threats but by addressing leadership deficit and corruption, curtailing negative external pressure, as well as the building of credible institutions to provide for the needs of the people”

It could not have been better put!

"WAS- SULHU KHAIR”

(PEACE IS BEST) Qur’an 4:128

Let me dispense with any political correctness and say it loud and clearly that, any attempt to invade Niger Republic by a Nigerian led ECOWAS Army in the guise of “safeguarding democracy”, will be a declaration of war on northern Nigeria and its people because we are the ones that will bear the full brunt of this misguided war. We in the region will not support any act of unprovoked aggression against Niger Republic under any pretense.

We in the north are tired of wars, we have been at war with Boko Haram for 14 years and for 9 years with Bandits and kidnappers. Thousands of our people continue to be killed and kidnapped while millions have been displaced from their ancestral homes, including the 300,000 that have sought refuge as IDPs in Niger Republic. Our economy, education, infrastructure and social fabrique have all been devastated. How can we support any foreign war when our house is on fire?

At a time when Nigeria is facing the worst insecurity of our lifetime with nauseating corruption, bad governance, youth unemployment and drug abuse, discontent of the citizenry, excruciating poverty brought about by chaotic economic policies, a military invasion of Niger Republic will be reckless with grave consequences beyond the subregion.

Instead of starting a new war, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu should channel all his energy on finding ways to stop the bloodshed in our land by ending the wars on Boko Haram and Banditry as soon as possible, reconcile warring communities, resettle all IDPs and rebuild our communities and the region’s economy.

Niger Republic is a landlocked country with a total area of 1,267,000 km². Northern Nigeria shares with it a vast 1,100km long border stretching along Nigeria’s entire Northwesterly to the Northeasterly border. The seven northern states of Kebbi, Sokoto, Zamfara, Katsina, Jigawa, Yobe, and Borno share a common religious, cultural and ethnic (Zabarmawas, Hausas, Fulanis and Kanuris) heritage with their kinsmen in Niger.

The conditions that led to the recent pandemic of military coups in the ECOWAS subregion are unfortunately present in all 15 member countries. Military coups though unacceptable and retrogressive, will continue to be a looming danger to democratic governments in the region as long as the political class continue to ignore the sufferings of their people and keep on perpetuating corruption, bad governance, flawed electoral processes, impunity that push their people deeper into poverty, hopelessness and worsening insecurity.

The Coup in Niger resulted from ethnic and geopolitical power play. The ethnic dimension is that the Zabarmawas (Zarmas) who are the second largest ethnic group (22%) after the Hausas (53%), have always dominated the military and power since independence in 1960. Military coups mostly happen each time anyone from the other ethnic groups (Hausa, Fulani, Touareg or Arab) are in power. Mohammed Bazoum is an Arab ethnic group (0.4%).  

Resource control and proxy war between Russia and NATO are the geopolitical factors that are in play here. Niger is the world's seventh-biggest producer of uranium which is widely used for nuclear energy radiation, cancer therapy and in nuclear weapons.

In spite of its rich mineral resources, Niger remains one of the poorest countries in the world, it has been plagued by recurrent droughts, worsening climate change and the presence of terrorist groups such as Boko Haram. France has been exploiting the country’s rich mineral resources with little or no benefit to the country or its people.

Another natural resource in play is Nigerian Gas which is to be transported through the Trans Sahara Gas pipeline from Warri, Nigeria, and end in Hassi R’Mel, Algeria, where it would connect to existing pipelines leading to Europe. Europe sees this project as a potential opportunity to diversify its gas sources as Russia’s war in Ukraine continues.

America and its NATO partners are unsettled by Russia’s inroad into Africa through the Wagner Group which is already deployed to African countries like Libya, Sudan, Mozambique, Madagascar, Central African Republic, and Mali, focusing principally on protecting the ruling elites and critical infrastructures. As payment, Wagner’s boss Prigozhin receives exclusive rights to mining minerals such as Gold.

The ECOWAS has literally declared war on Niger Republic by imposing biting economic sanctions on a country heavily dependent on foreign aid, it has ordered closure of borders with member states and imposed a no-flight zone hoping to curb the junta’s influence and hinder any potential allies from providing aerial support. The junta has also been given a week’s ultimatum starting from July 31, 2022 to vacate power or face military action.

Nigeria has unilaterally terminated the treaty between the 2 countries signed in the 60s for Nigeria to provide electricity to Niger in exchange that it will not obstruct the flow of water to the country’s hydroelectric Dams in Jebba, Kainji. This treaty has ensured that Nigeria supplied 70% Niger’s electricity. Today, Niamey, the capital city is in darkness.

While many leaders of African Francophone countries are severing ties with their colonial masters France, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in his desperate desire to gain international legitimacy for his government, is blindly dragging Nigeria into the dangerous waters of the proxy war between Russia and NATO without consulting with or seeking the consent of the people or their elected representatives.

SUGGESTIONS

1. ECOWAS should take off the table any threat of military action against Niger Republic because it will not achieve the desired goal.
2. Embark on a sincere, well thought through diplomatic option.
3. Nigeriens should be allowed and supported to decide what they want for themselves.
4. The Military Junta should be pressured to give clear time of transition back to democratic rule as soon as possible.
5. Nigeria should restore electricity supply to Niger Republic in accordance with the bilateral agreement.
6. Foreign Aid which accounts for 40% of Niger’s annual budget should be restored to prevent it from falling into Russia’s embrace.
7. The Trans Sahara Gas Pipeline Project should continue as contractually agreed.
8. ECOWAS should insist on good governance, reduction in corruption and the respect for constituted institutions among member nations.
9. Finally, I call on all men and women of goodwill particularly northern elders, traditional rulers, clerics, academics, the media, elected representatives, Labour organizations, businesses leaders, student unions, women organizations and civil society organizations to say no to Nigeria being dragged into this proxy war between Russia and NATO.

Usman Yusuf is a Professor of Haematology-Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplantation.

What is the value of a human life in our dearly beloved Nigeria? I don’t know. But the death of Dr Vwaere Diaso, a medical doctor, at the General Hospital, Odan, Lagos Island, on Tuesday, offers yet another insight into why Nigeria is like this. According to various accounts, she was on the 10th floor of the hospital when food delivery arrived. She went on the elevator to receive her order but never got to the destination. The equipment crashed, leaving her severely injured and bleeding profusely. It reportedly took almost an hour to get her out during which she agonisingly pleaded that she did not want to die. She was eventually rescued but still died, partly because of inadequate emergency care.

The Lagos state government immediately “ordered” “investigation” into the “remote” and “immediate” causes of the tragedy, as is our wont in Nigeria. While we await the outcome, many questions have been troubling me since I heard of the tragedy. This must be the first time I would hear that a lift crashed and crushed the user. I would say that a lot of things happen in Nigeria that when outsiders hear, they find it hard to believe. This elevator death, even though an accident, must rank among the bizarre stories coming out of our country that end up in avoidable deaths. Other bizarre stories are containers falling on cars and people scooping petrol from a broken pipeline.

Another question is how that elevator got into that sorry state. As far back as 2020, the Medical Guild raised the alarm. On January 12, 2020, @MedicalGuild tweeted: “FACT: The doctors quarters at General Hospital Lagos has 10 floors. It has a non-functional elevator and no running water. Doctors who live on the 10th floor including pregnant women climb the stairs multiple times daily.” In a follow-up tweet, they asked: “Are we going to wait till someone died before things are done properly?” They tagged key government officials. It would appear the government acted because, somehow, the elevator started working again along the line. But now, we wish it still did not work!

Was there a budget for the maintenance of the lift? If there was none, why? Who took the decision that the lift should not be repaired? If there was budget, how much was it? How was it spent? What company is in charge of the maintenance? How much was paid? Who certified that the lift had been properly maintained and approved that payment be made? We need a thorough investigation into these issues so that if a case of criminal negligence is established, some people can face the music. Unfortunately, with all the fatal building collapses in this country, how many people, including government officials, have been tried and jailed for manslaughter? And we expect Nigeria to change.

I wonder once again about emergency services. This was a hospital, a government facility at that. It reportedly took ages for Diaso, one of its doctors, to be released from the trap. When she was eventually rescued, she had lost much blood and needed to be transfused. But the bank was empty, according to yet-to-be-refuted reports. I assume that because she was a doctor and worked at the hospital, her colleagues would have made every effort to save her life but there was nothing more they could do in the face of inadequate facilities. Now, imagine what ordinary Nigerians go through when they are taken to public hospitals on emergency cases. There are too many gory stories.

The instant reaction of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) to Diaso’s death was to declare an indefinite strike in government hospitals on Lagos Island. It goes without saying that it is ordinary patients that will suffer the consequences. This again speaks to the value we place on human life in Nigeria. The problems of the healthcare sector in Nigeria are well documented and we need to adopt a new approach, outside of strikes, in trying to find a lasting solution so that we do not end up losing more lives in an attempt by doctors to make a point. I am told that “aluta” is the only language the government understands, but how many governors or commissioners have died because of strikes?

On Friday, Senate President Godswill Akpabio narrated the sorrowful story of how he lost his grandchild in 2019. The 32-year-old man, who was actually his nephew but regarded as his grandchild by custom, died because of apparent medical negligence. “My first grandchild died through bleeding in 2019 in a federal medical centre. He was receiving drip and it tissued in the night — there was no help,” he said. “No doctor, no nurse. He bled until he lost 60 percent of his blood and almost going mental… he struggled and fell on the floor. He was looking for water to drink. He rolled on the floor outside and entered the early morning dew. By that time, he had gone into a coma.”

Akpabio said the doctor that was on duty that night had an emergency in his private clinic and abandoned the medical centre “to attend to private patients in his private clinic”. Akpabio struggled to help revive his nephew but it was a lost case. He explained that he asked for the defibrillator but it did not work. They told him the defibrillator “stopped working eight years ago”. That was a federal medical centre, next in hierarchy to the federal teaching hospitals. “I used my hand and struggled with my personal physician, but I could not revive him. I had to close my eyes and put him in the mortuary,” Akpabio said. That, by the way, is the story of the state of healthcare in most of Nigeria.

These are the heart-breaking stories that we hear every day. As Akpabio himself said, “Every other person has been a victim of medical neglect.” There is hardly any Nigerian that does not have an unpleasant story to narrate on the state of healthcare in Nigeria. I lost my sister in questionable circumstances in September 2015 and I cried every single day for five years. Life lost meaning to me. For months, I did not wish to see the next day. The more I am told the story of her last days in the hospital, the more I am convinced she died of medical negligence. I was outside the country then and did all I could to get her good care, but the doctors and nurses were less than caring.

We are dealing with matters of life and death that we need to address holistically. While the wealthy can afford to pay millions in private hospitals home and abroad, the poor are left with no option than to be at the mercy of hospitals. In emergencies, most private hospitals will demand deposits that poor patients cannot afford, while many public hospitals will do everything to treat the patients as nuisance and make sure they are given as little care as possible. A friend of mine who took his child to a government hospital was told there was no bed space, but by the time he bribed his way through, most of the beds in the children’s ward were empty! He took pictures and sent to me.

Health is on the concurrent list, which makes it the responsibility of the federal government and states. If Nigeria is a country where we learn lessons, the tragic death of Dr Diaso provides us with a golden opportunity to look deeply into revamping the health sector. There are so many bits and pieces that should ginger government to say “never again”. It starts with the lift, but that is just a metaphor for the quality of infrastructure at the public hospitals — primary healthcare centres, general hospitals and teaching hospitals. The beds, mattresses, mosquito nets, windows, doors, toilets, bathrooms, seats and other features are unsightly in an overwhelming number of hospitals.

That Diaso could not get help until almost one hour also talks directly to the quality of emergency services in Nigeria. Many Nigerians die needlessly in situations where prompt attention could have saved their lives. People die from strokes, heart attacks and cardiac arrests when, in reality, they might have been saved if our emergency services were up to scratch. Things are so bad in Nigeria that it can be taken for granted that you would die if you suffered a heart attack. The rich might even survive because they can be quickly transported to their personal physicians, but there is no chance for the poor who might not even be attended to if they manage to make it to the nearest hospital.

In addition to providing proper first-class equipment for hospitals, we also have to look at the welfare system for the medical personnel. Doctors are not only overworked but they are also not well remunerated, even though I accept that conditions have slightly improved in recent years. But in a society that values human life, no incentive is too much to provide to doctors. The workload is too heavy for many doctors. They often suffer burnout. Some die suddenly. Doctors are humans like the rest of us and they too deserve all the comfort and encouragement to keep giving their best. However, there must also be consequences for those guilty of medical negligence as well.

While I pray that Diaso’s family and friends will receive divine comfort in these sad times, my hope is that her death would not be in vain. I hope it will inspire a co-ordinated, holistic reform of the heath sector, not just in Lagos but across the country. We have to be deliberate about it. We need to improve and expand infrastructure. We need to focus on setting up effective and efficient emergency services. We need to provide quality care not just for the wealthy but also to the poor and the poorest of the poor. We need to improve the welfare of medical personnel. Doctors must find other ways of making their point other than strikes. And there must be consequences for negligence.

AND FOUR OTHER THINGS…

MINISTERIAL MESS II

Days after the constitutionally stipulated deadline for the submission of ministerial list lapsed, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu sent the second batch to the senate. Even neutrals were disappointed. It was a list of ex-governors, including ones with questionable records. Theatrically, a ministerial nominee arrived the national assembly for screening only to be told her name had been dropped. The senate has so far avoided tough questioning; Senate President Godswill Akpabio said that is the job of security agencies. Some things can be complex in life, such as building a rocket, but if ministerial nominations can be this messy, I’m afraid we’re not taking ourselves seriously. Annoying.

BY FIRE BY FORCE

Who advised ECOWAS to threaten the military junta in Republic of Niger with force? That is a direct affront on the sovereignty of a country and we may be starting a war whose ramifications we cannot predict. The junta apparently has the support of Russia as Africa has once again become the playground for the renewed Cold War. The Nigeria military is stretched fighting insurgency and banditry on different fronts at home. Opening a new warfront is the last we need now. With Mail, Guinea and Burkina Faso also under military rule, ECOWAS is already divided. We probably want to protect ourselves from Russian influence in Africa, but we must proceed with caution. Complicated.

GSK’S BITTERSWEET EXIT

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Consumer Nigeria Plc is ceasing operations after recording a string of losses amid serious business challenges. The producers of Augmentin, Panadol, Sensodyne, and Ventolin, etc, are finding it harder by the day to compete with Indian and Chinese pharmaceuticals in the Nigerian market. Many Nigerians were happy at GSK’s exit announcement because they see it as a good political weapon against the Tinubu administration, even though it is not a only Nigerian problem as GSK has been scaling down operations in Africa generally. My joy would be for Nigerian pharmaceutical companies to benefit from GSK’s exit by getting patent waivers. Opportunity.

AND FINALLY…

Since Dr Bosun Tijani, the CEO and co-founder of CcHub, was nominated for a ministerial position by President Tinubu, his old tweets have been dug up by Nigerians in what I suppose is meant to suggest that he would be a hypocrite to accept the job. The historical tweets were not just critical of Tinubu and President Muhammadu Buhari but the language could have been much better. Truth is, many people easily get carried away on Twitter because of clout-chasing. As you get older, you realise you could have made your point in a more cultured way. But the fastest way to gain Twitter followership is using vile language and personal insults. It always does wonders. Exuberance.

Ray Ekpu is the reason I’m a journalist. I don’t think that tribute captures the truth of what Ray actually means to me! Let me try again. A near adequate tribute is that Ray is why I’m still struggling with the craft of writing, in the hope that one day I would be close to the gold standard in modern magazine and feature writing, where Ray currently leads the pack and belongs in the same pantheon of gods with Stanley Macebuh, Dele Giwa, Sonala Olumhense, Muhammed Haruna, Niyi Osundare, Sam Omatseye and a few other select prose virtuosos.

For me as a young man there was nothing else that held out the kind of irresistible spell like what Ray was doing. I made up my mind early that I would rather end up as a root crop farmer in my rustic village of Ikot Akpan Ebo in Uruk Otong of Adat Ifang clan in Ukanafun local council area if I could not be a journalist like Ray. Ray had made journalism look like the best job in the world, and the journalist as a magician, a guy who could walk on water by his sheer prose power.

The man had loomed so large in my impressionable imagination that I actually didn’t believe he was anything other than a fairy tale, until the day I saw him in person when he came to visit his senior brother, Okoro (of blessed memory), who lived next door. From my guardian’s home I peeked at Ray’s huge dark frame and was convinced that he was not a fable, and I reasoned that since he was human, just maybe one day I could learn to write well, if not as well as he did.

Ray was an obsession for me back in the day as a high school student. His writing was the best of verdant prose, earthy and full of quotable quotes. His column every Monday in The Nigerian Chronicle was a keepsake. And it was still so, perhaps with more poignancy, when he moved to Lagos where he continued to delight with sonic prose, and rhythmic free verse in the Sunday Times and the National Concord. Ray does not just write for the eye, he writes for the ear as well.

He writes to be read; he writes for pleasure reading!
Some of the entries in his column were so vintage Ray that they were unforgettable. I remember, for instance, “The Snobbish Sage Called Senghor,” an alliterative head for a prosaic delight meant to answer for an alleged snob handed to Nigeria’s military head of state Olusegun Obasanjo by the then Senegalese president, Leopold Sedar Senghor, during Obasanjo’s visit to Dakar. I also remember “A Trip to Golgotha,” a pen portrait of the anguish and tribulation that the Newswatch family endured when the magazine was proscribed for six months by the Babangida junta. I equally remember “Tai,” a tribute at the passing of the legendary Tai Solarin.

My affair with Ray as a prose stylist has been a lifelong romance. My final year project in the university—for which I received the maximum point—was a study of Ray’s writing, along with that of another legend, Olatunji Dare, now emeritus professor atBradley University in the US.

Ray has enriched Nigerian journalism with catch phrases that have become the currency of common expression in the popular press. I remember him writing “where words fail, fist prevails,” a sampler of his pitch for the ear; a phrase that I have adapted for use in one of my poems. I also remember his “philosophical calmness,” a phrase he used to capture the equanimity with which he bore his vicissitude at the Daily Times.

To use a cliché, Ray has a gift of the gab. He simply makes words behave for him. He is indeed one of the noblest high priests of journalism that the nation is blessed with.

If professional skills have made Ray a living legend, his personality has projected him as a gentleman. Ray is humble. He is a chief priest with a common touch. No airs of prominence about him! I remember the days I struggled in vain with him both at the Ikeja airport and the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs to help him carry his handbag. On the occasions that I visited him at home in Lagos, Ray served me by himself, clothing me in improbable robes of a VIP guest. Ray reminds me of Dr Ime Umanah (of blessed memory), who was also an epitome of humility, and would personally serve his guests at his Ikoyi home on Bourdillon Road, Lagos.

Dr. Umanah was at a time the chairman of Newswatch where at the time Ray served as the chief executive of the newspaper. Were the two humble sons of Akwa Ibom brought together by the compatibility of personality types? I think the holy bible seemed to have answered that question 2000 odd years ago: Two cannot work together unless they agree (Amos 3:3).

Ray is generous—with his time and other resources. When I co-founded ProData Limited, a communication company that’s engaged in media consultancy, reputation management and provision of market intelligence for paying clients, we needed a powerful brand to chair the board of the company. We did a mental tour of names and settled on Ray, with an outside chance that he would accept to carry our start-up on his sturdy shoulders. Ray agreed to be our chairman. It was a benevolence we have cherished till this day—a five-star international journalist chairing the board of our start-up at that time!

Ray is perhaps the best soft-spoken conversationalist around. When you’re engaged with Ray, his scalpel-sharp wit and intellect shows through. And also his learning! I understand that just as Wole Soyinka, Ray reads like a magpie. Soyinka once told an interviewer that he reads everything and anything except mathematics.

Besides reading, the Ray essence is mediated by global influences that have percolated through his pores from international travels. Ray has visitedmore than 50 countries. His urbane personality and international outlookare forged by both a voracious reading habit and the experiences he has had from other civilisations around the world.

After making a roaring success of the road he had taken as a journalist, earning wages from employers for his work, Ray, along with his friends—Dele Giwa, Yakubu Mohammed and Dan Agbese, Nigeria’s Journalism Quartet—decided to move upstairs as an employer of labour.

He co-foundedNewswatch, a trenchant newsmagazine that soon earned unrivalled industry reputation for investigative journalism and inimitable writing. The Quartet was following in the footsteps of John Payne Jackson, Horatio Agedah, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Sam Amuka-Pemu, all of them journalists who at some points in their careers decided to be publishers by founding their own newspapers.

Thus, during his career Ray has been a guru in both the newsroom and the boardroom. When the scorecard is drawn of Ray as a businessman and as a journalist, in which part of his duality would he be adjudged an out and out five-star general? The jury is still out, but I would be surprised if Ray the journalist would not do better than Ray the businessman.
The honours Ray has received from home and abroad are well-earned. He has impacted the lives of many through his writing and outreach. Last year he did a yeoman’s job to promote the existence and activities of Uyo Book Club, of which he holds a diamond membership.

For Raymond Amos Ekpu, it has been 75 years of impact and relevance. It’s my pleasure and delight therefore to join his family and friends to wish him happy birthday anniversary celebrations. I look forward to many more birthday celebrationsfor Ray in perfect health and material wellbeing, our Ray of luminous, crunchy and relevant journalism.

Alhaji Oshoala, the father of Super Falcons of Nigeria and FC Barcelona forward, Asisat Oshoala, has revealed that he tried to stop her from being a footballer because he wanted her to get a formal education.

Mr Oshoala said he didn’t see a bright future in the sport for his daughter, who has gone on to become the most successful Nigerian footballer in terms of club and individual honours.

“We didn’t see a bright future for her in football, and I planned to make sure all my children attained a high level of education and do better than us parents,” he told the BBC.

Despite her father’s resistance to her desire to become a footballer, Asisat Oshoala pushed on until she landed her first professional contract at a Nigerian local Women’s club, Robo, in 2009.

From there, Asisat joined Rivers United in 2013, where she won the 2014 Nigerian Women’s Championship. From there, she ventured into mainstream Europe when she joined Liverpool in 2015.

About a year after, she joined Arsenal in 2016 but couldn’t establish herself as she had to fly to China, where she joined Dalian Quanjian in 2017.

It was in China that the 28-year-old Nigerian forward fully unleashed her football potential to the extent that FC Barcelona noticed how good she is and signed her first on loan in 2019 and then permanently a few months after.

Since 2019, Asisat Oshoala has won three Primera División, two UEFA Women’s Champions League, three Supercopa de España Femenina, and three Copa de la Reina.

Asisat, who made her international debut in 2013, has helped the Super Falcons of Nigeria to win three African Women’s Championships, and she has won five African Women’s Footballer of the Year awards for herself, amongst other individual honours.

Asisat Oshoala is currently leading the Super Falcons of Nigeria in the 2023 Women’s World Cup in New Zealand and Australia, where she has scored a goal in three games to become the first African woman to score in three different World Cup editions.

Also, Asisat is the first and only African woman player to be nominated for the prestigious Ballon d’Or.

When she scored against the 2023 Women’s World Cup co-hosts Australia to help Nigeria win 3-2 in a group stage game, Asisat Oshoala celebrated so wildly that she had to remove her jersey, a celebration that sparked mixed reactions across Nigeria.

She even came on social media to tell the world that her father was not happy with her for such a celebration and some concerned Nigerians used social media to apologize to her father on her behalf.

While reacting to the incident via the BBC, Asisat Oshoala’s Father said, “It was an outpouring of emotions and it was not intentional. I am proud of my daughter”.

Asisat Oshoala is expected to step up for the Super Falcons of Nigeria at 8:30 a.m. on Monday, August 7, when the Nigerian team faces the Lionesses of England in the round of 16 stage of the 2023 Women’s World Cup at Suncorp Stadium in Milton, Australia.