The Presidential Election Petition Court, PEPC, sitting in Abuja, on Friday, gave the candidate of Labour Party, LP, Mr. Peter Obi, the nod to tender two videos clips in evidence to support the case he filed to challenge the outcome of the 2023 presidential election.

Obi, who is insisting that he won the presidential contest that held on February 25, tendered the video recordings, which were contained in two flash drives, through a member of his legal team, Mr. Jubril Okutekpa, SAN.

The LP candidate had at the resumed proceedings in the case, notified the court that he subpoenaed Channels Television to produce the recordings.

Okutekpa, SAN, told the court that two separate subpoenas, dated May 30 and June 6, were served on the TV station, which he said sent one of its staff members, to tender the requested evidence.

The Justice Haruna Tsammani-led five-member panel admitted the subpoenas in evidence and marked them as Exhibits PBH-1 and PBH-2.

The court, thereafter, summoned Mr. Lucky Obewo-Isawode, who identified himself as a Senior Reporter/Editor at Channels TV, to mount the witness box.

However, counsel for President Bola Tinubu, Chief Akin Olujinmi, SAN, said he was opposed to the court allowing the witness to either testify or tender any evidence in the matter.

President Tinubu, through his lawyer, maintained that the witness was not competent to testify in the matter since his written statement was not front-loaded at the time the petition was filed.

Relying on Paragraph 4 (5) and (6) of the First Schedule to the Electoral Act 2022, Tinubu’s lawyer argued that the law was clear that petition must be filed within 21 days after the declaration of result of an election.

He contended that the petitioners ought to have attached all the necessary documents as well as the list of witnesses they would call in support of their case, at the time the petition was filed.

“A petition which fails to comply shall not be accepted, that is what the law says. My lords, it was after the proceeding started today that the statement of this witness was served on us.

“This is over three months after the declaration of the result of the election was made.

“This witness was not listed by the petitioners and his statement was not attached to the petition. To that extent, he is not a competent witness who can testify before this court,” President Tinubu’s lawyer insisted.

Citing plethora of decided case laws, Chief Olujinmi, SAN, argued that Obi and LP were aware that they would rely on video recordings, as at the time they filed the petition.

Adopting the submissions of President Tinubu’s counsel, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, through its own lawyer, Mr. Kemi Pinhero, SAN, argued that Obi and LP should have listed the proposed evidence in their petition.

However, counsel for the petitioners, Okutepa, SAN, contended that the subpoena was an order of court which his clients had no command over.

“My lords, my submission is that a subpoenaed witness is competent to testify in this matter,” Okutepa , SAN, added, even as he relied on Paragraph 41 (5) and (6) of the First Schedule to the Electoral Act.

Despite the objections, the panel, admitted the two flash drives in evidence and marked them as Exhibits PBH-3 and PBH-4.

Meanwhile, when counsel for the petitioners applied for contents of the flash drives to be played in the open court, President Tinubu’s lawyer, again, opposed.

He argued that his client was not served with any copy of the flash drive.

“This case is not hide and seek. We are entitled to be served with a copy so that we can know the content and be able to prepare. Until we are served, we will oppose allowing it to be played.

“The material, having not been served on us earlier, it will deprive the 2nd and 3rd Respondents (President Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima) of their right to fair hearing.

“We have not been able to prepare against it,” Tinubu’s lawyer added.

However, INEC’s lawyer, Pinhero, SAN, said he saw no reason why the clips should not be played since the Exhibits were already before the court.

On its part, counsel to the All Progressives Congress, APC, Mr. Solomon Umoh, SAN, said it would amount to an ambush for the petitioners to be allowed to play the content of the flash drives without first serving same on the Respondents.

Ruling on the matter, head of the panel, Justice Tsammani, held that the Respondents would not be prejudiced if the video clips are played in the open court.

He, however, noted that it was already late in the day.

Consequently, the panel adjourned the matter till Saturday for the video clips to be played in the open court.

Meanwhile, the first flash drive, contained a press interview that the Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu granted prior to the general elections, where he assured that results of the election would be electronically transmitted in real time.

The second flash drive was equally a press conference by a National Commissioner of INEC, Mr. Festus Okoye, who equally restated the commitment of the Commission to transmit the election results.

Southern Nigerians have asked me two persistent, trivial questions about President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The first is why most Hausa-speaking northerners don’t call Tinubu “Jagaban” as a standalone title like southerners do. Since I am from Borgu, I’ve also been asked why Tinubu was knighted as the “Jagaban Borgu” or the “Jagaba of Borgu.” And what does the title mean, anyway?

I didn’t think the questions were worth a response, much less a column-length one, because, until now, Tinubu was either just a major, if unofficial, political player in the Buhari regime or a candidate for president. Now that he is president, I think these questions are deserving of a response in the interest of historical and political education.

Hausa-speaking northerners don’t say “jagaban” as a stand alone word because it is ungrammatical in their language. The usual word is “jagaba.” When it transforms to “jagaban” it must be followed immediately by a place name because the additional “n” is a preposition that signifies “of.” So, it is either “the Jagaba of Borgu” or “Jagaban Borgu.” If the title is not associated with a place, it’s simply “Jagaba,” not “Jagaban.”

To say “Jabagan of Borgu” is to commit an ungainly interlingual prepositional tautology since “n” and “of” mean exactly the same thing. Of course, interlingual tautologies are not uncommon. For example, we say Aso Rock even when “aso” means “rock” in the Gbagyi language. We say “Lake Chad” even when “chad” means “lake” in Kanuri. And we say “Sahara Desert” even when “sahara” means “desert” in Arabic.

Since linguistic habits often form and evolve outside notions of correct usage, I won’t be surprised if even Hausa-speaking northerners start to call Tinubu “Jagaban”—or even “Jagaban of Borgu.” Nigeria’s southwest is, after all, the country’s sociolinguistic pacesetter because of the centrality of Lagos as the cultural capital.

So, what does “jagaba” mean? Well, it’s the Hausa word for chief warrior, warlord, frontrunner, or simply a brave man. It’s derived from “ja,” which means pull and “gaba,” which means front in the Hausa language. A jagaba is, therefore, someone who leads from the front, which is another way of describing a war commander. In other words, “Jagaban Borgu” or the “Jagaba of Borgu” means the Chief Warrior of Borgu.

The title was conferred on President Tinubu in February 2006 by the late Alhaji Haliru Dantoro who was Emir of Borgu in New Bussa from 2002 to 2015. Dantoro and Tinubu struck up an enduring, if unusual, friendship in 1992 when both of them served as senators in IBB’s abortive Third Republic. Dantoro was a senator on the platform of the National Republican Convention (NRC) and Tinubu was elected on the platform of the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

Although they belonged to different political parties, had diametrically opposed ideological temperaments, and Tinubu was much younger than Dantoro, they hit it off and sustained their friendship even after Sani Abacha dissolved the senate.

On February 26, 2006, exactly four years after Dantoro became emir, he knighted Tinubu as “Jagaban Borgu” (or the Jagaba of Borgu) and Remi Tinubu, his wife, as Yon Bana Jagaban Borgu.“When God made me the Emir, I said this man was there when I was in dire need of help, so why can’t I use my position to make him what I feel will help him in future politically?” Dantoro said in a news interview before his death.

Dantoro’s graciousness toward Tinubu doesn’t come to me as a surprise. As I pointed out in my November 07, 2015, column titled “Tribute to Haliru Dantoro, Emir of Borgu,” Dantoro was a conciliatory, even-tempered, and pleasant person who loved to build bridges across cultures, regions, ideologies, and faiths. Six months before his death, former President Muhammadu Buhari testified that even though he imprisoned Dantoro in 1984, along with other Second Republic politicians, he forgave him and even went “ahead to establish [a] very strong and cherished personal relationship” with him.

Dantoro and my father’s immediate younger brother, J.B. Kperogi, were also fierce political rivals in the Second Republic in the old Borgu, yet when I had a chance to meet him in 1999 as a young reporter and he recognized me as the nephew of his former political opponent, he was kind and gracious to me, asked after my uncle, and emphasized the importance of unity in the old Nigerian Borgu that is now splintered in parts of Kwara, Niger, and Kebbi states.

Having said this, it’s important to state that “jagaba” is not a Borgu title; it’s borrowed from Hausa land. The ancient Borgu empire was a pluri-ethnic, confederate polity and was peopled by many ethnic groups, but mostly by the Baatonu (whom Yoruba people call Bariba, Ibariba, or Baruba), the Boko (or Bokobaru/Bisa), the Fulani, the Kambari, and the Dendi people.

Ancient Borgu stretched from what is now northeastern Benin Republic (where a Borgou state exists) to present-day Baruten and Kaiama local governments in Kwara State; Borgu and Agwara local governments in Niger State; and Bagudo and Dandi local governments in Kebbi State.

In 1904, Nigerian Borgu, which Lord Salisbury once angrily derided as “a malarious African desert…not worth a war,” was initially designated as a province by British colonizers. That was the equivalent of a state in modern parlance. It was later downgraded to a “division” of several provinces, including Kebbi Province, Kontagora Province, and Ilorin Province because it wasn’t economically self-sustaining.

When Kwara State was created in 1967, most of Borgu (except Bagudo and Dandi) became a part of the state and existed as Nigeria’s largest local government area until August 27, 1991, when IBB carved out what is now Borgu and Agwara local governments to Niger State.

I don’t know why Dantoro didn’t give Tinubu a title that is native to the Bisa/Boko-speaking people of New Bussa, but Professor Halidu Usman, the Emir of Desa (known as Ilesha Baruba by Yoruba people) in the Baruten Local Government in Kwara State once defended handing out Hausa-derived traditional titles because, according to him, the repertoire of native Borgu titles is severely limited and has been exhausted in light of the changing cultural environment.

In any case, Borgu has always been a melting pot that fuses multifarious cultural influences from far-flung places. Many historic and deeply entrenched Borgu royal titles have Hausa or Kanuri roots. Take Kilishi Yeruma, for example. It is a fossilized, time-honored title in all of Borgu for the heir apparent to the throne. It is derived from a fusion of Hausa and Kanuri.

Kilishi is the Hausa word for rug (which symbolizes the throne) and Yeruma is the corruption of the Kanuri “yerima,” which means prince. The town of Kishi in the Oke-Ogun area of Oyo State, was founded by a Borgu prince called Kilishi Yeruma, and Kishi (or Kisi) is the short form of Kilishi. It’s a history people of Kishi are intimately familiar with and proud of. That is why the Iba of Kishi attends the yearly Gaani festival in Borgu.

Interestingly, when I discussed Tinubu’s Borgu title with my paternal uncle a few days ago, he jokingly wondered if Tinubu was aware that he was shirking the duties his title required of him by removing fuel subsidies, which has multiplied the deprivation of border communities such as Borgu.

Four days to the election of principal officers in the National Assembly, members of the international community have frowned at a plot to use security agencies to intimidate senators-elect into supporting the zoning formula of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The APC had announced the zoning of Senate Presidency to South South and Deputy Senate President to North West, with Senators Godswill Akpabio and Barau Jubrin anointed for the positions respectively.

Senators-elect from the opposition political parties and their ultra-progressive colleagues in the APC have rejected this. Senators-elect Abdulaziz Yari (APC, Zamfara); Orji Uzor Kalu (APC, Abia) and Osita Izunaso (APC, Imo) have continued to pursue their ambition to lead the Senate despite the zoning arrangement of the APC, with the combination of Yari and Kalu getting groundswell support.

Following the resistance by senators-elect, who canvass the independence of the legislature, both in the choice of leaders and discharge of duties, as well as the increase in support for aspirants outside the APC choices, sources revealed that some elements in the APC have hatched a plot to use security agencies to beat senators-elect into line.

It was gathered that part of the plot was to arrest Yari and some senators-elect ahead of the inauguration of the National Assembly on June 13, 2024. Yari had gone to court to secure an ex-parte order stopping his arrest. However, senators-elect have been warned that they could be in trouble if they vote against Akpabio and Barau.

Competent sources revealed that worried by the plan to intimate senators-elect, members of the international community have advised that lawmakers should be allowed to make their choice of leaders.

It was gathered that such countries as United States, United Kingdom and Israel have sent words that the independence of the Parliament should be respected.

An official of the United States embassy, who pleaded anonymity, said that although the country respects the sovereignty of Nigeria, it has advised that other arms of government should not interfere in the activities of the legislature.

He said that it was because of the US belief in the independence of the legislature that the country frowned at the insurrection at the Capitol in Washington DC when supporters of former President Donald Trump wanted to stop senators from ratifying the Electoral College votes, which gave President Joe Biden victory in the presidential election.

He said that just like the US institutions insisted that the use of insurrection to intimidate senators was wrong, the country would not support using fear or coercion to force Nigerian senators to support a particular candidate to lead the Senate.

A British diplomat said it would be unfortunate for anybody to attempt forcing lawmakers to do something against their will.

He said the choice of who leads the Parliament should be solely determined by lawmakers and not a political party or any other arm of government.

The National Assembly had suffered infraction in the past when operatives of the Directorate of State Services (DSS) stormed the Assembly complex to stop the sitting of the Senate.

This led to the removal of then DSS Director General, Lawal Daura by the acting president at that time and now former Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo.

[Sun]

The past one week has been one of the most momentous in the life of the nation. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu dared the undared, and triumphed. He passed a knotty test of leadership. The first of its kind. Under a haze of threats of strike by labour unions over the abrogation of petrol subsidy, President Tinubu showed peerless leadership, preparation, and attunement. When preparation meets leadership, Tinubu happens.

THE PETROL SUBSIDY BLUES

With mounting national debts, desiccating revenue, haemorrhaging economy, corruption, and shadowy sectoral enterprise, the removal of subsidy on petrol is coming at an auspicious time. It is either we slither down the snaky tunnel to certain economic peril or we buck up, pull together, and confront this bogeyman menacing us for decades.

Tough decisions are expected. President Tinubu affirmed a fait accompli when he said in his inaugural address that petrol subsidy ‘’is gone’’. The Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021 signed by former President Buhari already made the petrol subsidy regime inoperative. Although the effective abolishment of the scheme was delayed until the end of June 2023, there are no funds to finance the deficit.

But the President had been forthright and genuine about his intentions on petrol subsidy. He said during the campaigns that he would not maintain the parlous order, and that he would stop the haemorrhage.

Nigeria had been borrowing to fund petrol subsidy. The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) was spending as much as N400 billion every month to subsidise the petrol price. According to Mele Kyari, NNPCL CEO, Nigeria has racked up $6 billion in petrol subsidy debts. The scheme is projected to have wolved over N11 trillion in eight years. This is clearly not sustainable, not even for any avidly populist government. Without an accurate data of Nigeria’s daily petrol consumption quota, the petrol subsidy regime was nebulous and prone to abuse, and chronic venality. Much of the subsidised product is believed to be smuggled to neighbouring West African countries by profiteers.

The argument for petrol subsidy retention is an emotive one that obviates the filth in the system. Nigeria is a quasi-socialist country, a highly subsidised country. Corruption thrives partly because of the regime of subsidies.

EARNING PUBLIC TRUST

The President once said he had prepared himself, all his life, to lead Nigeria. His artful management of the concomitants and corollaries of the petrol subsidy removal accents this conviction. He has triumphed where many leaders failed. How did he do it?

On Monday, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) suspended the planned strike. Earlier, the Joint Health Workers Union of Nigeria (JOHESU) suspended its planned strike as well. A government delegation had been meeting with the labour unions, negotiating terms of entente. The president, himself, had met with the leadership of JOHESU. He did not stay behind the ornated walls of his office while his aides do the jaw-jawing. He got his hands on the wheel.

The President was unambiguous about his proposition to the unions – providing palliatives, particularly minimum wage review — to cushion the effects of petrol subsidy removal. At a meeting with some governors, the president had said: “We need to do some arithmetic and soul searching on the minimum wage. We will have to take a look at that together, and the revenue. We must strengthen the source and application of our revenue.’’

The federal government and the labour unions agreed to ‘’establish a joint committee to review the proposal for any wage increase or award and establish a framework and timeline for implementation” and ‘’to review World Bank Financed Cash Transfer scheme and propose inclusion of low-income earners in the programme.’’

Evidently, the President anticipated a problem and primed a solution.

During the campaigns, the President made a valiant statement on axing petrol subsidy and other economic blackholes. What many considered a political suicide attempt at the time. But he stuck to his guns.

He said: “By all means, you must have electricity. And you won’t pay for estimated billing anymore. When I become president, multiple exchange rates will go away. Write it down. How can we be subsidising fuel consumption of Cameroon, Niger, Benin Republic? No matter how long you protest, we are going to remove subsidy. We can do it. We are educated enough.’’

The honesty, courage and forthrightness exemplified by the President in this instance was infectious. He did not dilly-dally or play around the critical issue with political chicanery; he made a firm statement and asked Nigerians to hold him to his word.

And staying true to principle, his first presidential dispatch was to permanently seal the drainpipe. He showed sincerity of purpose, genuineness, and clarity of mind. Honesty is infectious. Nigerians saw the sincerity of the President and the decisiveness of his leadership. He did not get into the saddle and change from Rock and Roll to Rhythm and Blues; he maintained the same tempo; the same energy, the same oomph; the same vision, the same truth, and the same purpose. When preparation meets leadership, Tinubu happens.

The President has earned public trust and goodwill for his honesty and firmness of character. He is aware. Two days after his inauguration, two law enforcement agencies got into a public brawl. He did not dither. He did not vacillate. He did not look away. He issued a stern reprimand.

Nigeria has a leader who is not afraid of taking tough decisions for the greater good. The President may have prepared himself for leadership, but destiny prepared him for Nigeria at this time.

Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, Presidential Candidate of the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP), has denied the allegations that ex-Governor Abdullahi Ganduje levelled against him.

While briefing State House correspondents earlier on Friday, Ganduje said Kwankwaso was orchestrating the ongoing demolitions in Kano.

He said his predecessor felt he could target him through the demolitions, but innocent citizens, including some NNPP members, were at the receiving end.

But speaking after meeting with President Bola Tinubu at Aso Rock, Kwankwaso accused Ganduje of telling lies.

He alleged that the governor converted government’s properties to personal use and sold some to his family members and cronies.

He said the governor carried out the demolition exercise in fulfillment of his campaign promise to “restore” the urban development masterplan of the city and not a vendetta against the past administration of Abdullahi Umar Ganduje.

Kwankwaso said plots of land belonging to University, Hajj Camp, Race Course and Eid Ground that were sold must have a place in Kano.

He said most of the people making noise were beneficiaries who were forewarned with no certificates.

He said Ganduje who stopped him from entering Kano for three and a half years sold some of the properties to himself and his family members.

Asked if he was satisfied with the president’s intervention, he said: “The President was shocked. Are you not shocked that somebody will sell University? Are you not shocked that he demolished the only university? Daula Hotel, for those of you who are in Kano, you know the old Daula, demolished to zero and that is a faculty under the university of science and technology. He demolished that one. Are you not shocked?

“The President was shocked. He didn’t know. He even mentioned that he talked to somebody to go and find out for him. But when I told him, I said you are a Muslim, very soon you are going for Sallah. How can you go under that circumstance and pray in that place? And even the Triumph place he is talking about, you are journalists. You should be angry because that’s your constituency, he demolished completely and put shops everywhere.”

“You see the governor is doing what we campaigned with. I wanted to be president, I campaigned also. And I went to Kano and told them that these places, schools, in fact most of our schools in Kano were being encroached. And it is our policy to make sure that they encroached are returned to them. We will not allow anybody either local government chairman, or Governor to go sell.”

Meanwhile, Kwankwaso also said he discussed issues of politics and governance with the president who displayed experience and strategies.

He disclosed that the issue of a ministerial post for him in the Tinubu administration came up during his discussion with the president, adding that he was open to work with the president to move the nation forward.

On the ministerial appointment, he said: “The issue came up but we are still discussing. We will see how it comes to fruition. We will be very happy to see how we can move the country forward.”

[DailyTrust]

President Bola Tinubu has appointed Mr Folashodun Adebisi Shonubi as the acting Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria.

Shonubi’s appointment followed the suspension of Godwin Emefiele as the CBN Governor on Friday.

Until his appointment, he was the Deputy Governor, Operations Directorate.

Bayo Onanuga, a media aide to Tinubu disclosed this in a post via his Twitter handle on Friday.

He wrote, “Folashodun Adebisi Shonubi is the CBN acting governor. He has been since October 2018, the Deputy Governor, Operations Directorate. He was born on the 7th of March, 1962. He attended the University of Lagos from 1978 to 1983 and obtained a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering. He also represents the CBN on the board of FIRS”.

DAILY POST reports that Emefiele has been directed to immediately hand over the affairs of his office to the Deputy Governor (Operations Directorate), who will act as the Central Bank Governor pending the conclusion of investigation and the reforms.

[DailyPost]

An explosion resulting from a fuel tanker crash rocked Gwagwa, a suburb of the Federal Capital Territory, on Friday night, Saturday PUNCH has gathered.

This is contrary to rumours making the rounds of an aeroplane crash in the Kubwa suburb of the FCT on Friday night.

Meanwhile, our correspondent gathered that first responders had been deployed to the scene of the incident.

The spokesperson for the FCT Fire Service, Mr Amiola Adebayo, also confirmed the incident in a telephone conversation with our correspondent.

Adebayo said, “There was no plane crash in Kubwa. There was only an explosion caused by a fuel tanker crash in Gwagwa tonight and our men have been deployed to the scene of the incident.”

A police source also noted that the explosion resulted from a fuel tanker crash.

“It wasn’t a plane crash but a fuel tanker crash that led to the explosion,” the source said.

When contacted, the FCT Police Public Relations Officer, SP Josephine Adeh, said the police were on the matter.

“We’re on it,” SP Adeh said.

[Punch]

Reactions have continued to trail the proposed legislation by Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa, intended to make laws regarding property and the economy to protect indigenes of the state.

Obasa had in his acceptance speech after his re-election for the third time, declared that Lagos is a Yoruba land and that laws passed by the assembly will now be translated to Yoruba language, adding that laws will be made to protect the interests of indigenous people of Lagos while also noting that lawmakers will reverse all that is reversible to protect the interest of the indigenes.

Reacting during an Arise TV programme, Dr Reuben Abati, who condemned Mr Obasa for such divisive statement, noted that the function of the legislature at the level of the house of assembly, according to the constitution, is “to make laws for peace, order, and good governance of Nigeria.”

His words: “That statement made by speaker Obasa, I don’t see how that promotes peace, order, and good governance. His statement is provocative as you’d recall that during the just concluded elections, ethnicity was such a big problem in Lagos state, resulting in conflict in parts of Lagos between indigenes and other persons of other ethnic extraction to the extent that indigenes were carrying rituals and threatening non indigenes to leave Lagos.

“You can’t have that in a society. Why did Obasa consider it necessary to reopen that matter? He should talk like somebody who is interested in the national interest; public interest and not a provincial person, dredging up antediluvian sentiments, ‘Lagos belongs to the Yorubas, Lagos is a no man’s land’. I thought that argument was part of the politics. He should not use the platform of the house of assembly to play politics. That’s not leadership,” he added.

Dr Abati further advised public office holders to only speak when necessary, saying that, “This is what we say to public officials all the time, if you don’t have something to say that will appeal to reasonable thinking members of the society, can you just shut up. The issues that he raised can cause problem in Lagos state. I hope nobody goes ahead with that because the constitution of Nigeria grants every Nigerian the right to own property; Section 43, movable and immovable, in any part of Nigeria. “Section 42 says you cannot be discriminated against in this country on the basis of your ethnicity, religion or anything. The threat to reverse whatever that is reversible because you are not a Yoruba person or from Lagos state, that is discriminatory. I am surprised because Mr. Obasa is a lawyer, maybe he is just playing to the gallery, but this kind of thing can cause conflict, disorder.”

Also condemning Obasa, Ayo Mairo-Ese said, “We are on the path to healing and restoration. What we saw during the march 11 election in Lagos is what we shouldn’t see again; is what politicians should never play to again”, stressing that “what we should be looking at is how to bring people together.’

She also emphasised that what makes “Lagos a Centre of Excellence is the fact that people from around the world can come here and thrive and excel and contribute to the prosperity of Lagos state.”

It’s a drum of disunity - Olakunle Edun

Former National Publicity Secretary and current National Welfare Secretary of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, Mr Olakunle Edun said: “Nigeria is a country governed by laws. We have a Constitution which is our grundnorm. It is the fundamental right of every Nigerian to move to anywhere he wants to in Nigeria and acquire property anywhere he likes. That is a right that no law of any State can take away. A State House of Assembly cannot lawfully pass any law that will be discriminatory against other tribes or groups within a State or pass any law that will violate the fundamental rights of other Nigerians. That will be unconstitutional.

“Lagos State has always been a pacesetter in terms of good governance in Nigeria. It is the only State (Ogun State being the second) that delights in welcoming all Nigerians. I want to believe that the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly was quoted out of context because if not, then he is on a path of disaster. All Nigerians have come to take Lagos as their home and they have also contributed to the development of Lagos State. They pay tax. The State Government should ensure mutual respect, harmony and peaceful co-existence amongst indigenes and non-indigenes. This is what will make Lagos State greater and more attractive for investment. Non-indigenes should also respect the official and traditional institutions of the State where they are resident. We must stop beating the drums of disunity.’

It’s shameful, disgraceful, Ojo

Constitutional lawyer and University don, Gbenga Ojo said: We are thinking of moving the country forward in terms of unity in the Country, a house of Assembly is preaching ethnicity even amongst the Yorubas. The Ijeshas, Ijebus, Egbas, Ekitis, where will they stand in the scheme of things? It is shameful and retrogressive. This modern age? Targeted at who? The Igbos? Our forefathers fought to keep Nigeria as one. Hopefully Ekiti State House of Assembly, Oyo State House of Assembly or even Kaduna State House of Assembly or Enugu State House of Assembly will pass similar laws.. The law will be unconstitutional even if they pass such a ridiculous law.”

No legislation can reverse legal titles - Ufeli

Constitutional Lawyer and Executive Director, Cadrell Advocacy Center, Evans Ufeli said:

“The legislation the Lagos State House of Assembly ought to enact are laws that will protect all owners of properties not just indigenes, people who have acquired properties genuinely in the state should be protected by subsidiary legislations from the Lagos State government since the constitution in chapter 4 already made copious provisions that a citizen can own properties in any part of Nigeria thereof.
“Any law therefore made by the State House of Assembly should complement the federal law – constitution.

The indigenes of Lagos State who sold their properties to non-indigenes in good faith will not be able to reverse such a transaction by any legislation made by the Lagos State House of Assembly.

I must say that Lagos is a Yoruba land, it belongs to its indigenes, it is never a no man’s land and should never be addressed as such, as same is inflammatory and will amount to spitting on the heritage of a people with a collective dynasty.”

[Vanguard]

A major issue during the week, was the advice by a member of Nigeria Interreligious Council (NIREC) and former National Director of Legal and Public Affairs, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Evangelist Samuel Kwankur, to the Northern leaders to caution the former Kaduna State governor, Nasir el-Rufai, to refrain from inflammatory statements capable of setting Nigeria on fire.

Kwankur was reacting to statements credited to the former governor in which he allegedly told his audience before handing over to his successor that the Islamic dominance in Kaduna had come to stay and had been successfully replicated at the federal level.

El-Rufai spoke in Hausa. I only have a passing understanding of the language. But those that are versed in it, allege that he had sniggered that the emergence of Bola Tinubu had silenced CAN, the umbrella body of Christians in the country and that he would ensure an uninterrupted Islam-dominated government in Kaduna and at the national level for the next 20 years and beyond.

Now, in a highly volatile and religion-sensitive setting as Nigeria and especially, a complex entity as Kaduna, the remarks by the former governor, are uncalled for. They are not edifying. At his age and the positions he had held, either as governor, Director-General, Bureau for Public Enterprises (BPE) and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, El-Rufai, should be seen and addressed as an elder. Elders are cautious and measured in outings and utterances.

Age and position mellow the activism in one and make him sober and reflective. But this does not seem the case for the former governor. In fact, it can only take those not familiar with his antecedents to be surprised that he could be associated with the careless comments attributed to him. He is free with words and deploys them at will, not minding the consequences.

On the alleged Islamisation comments, he was on familiar track. Recall that as a governor, he had, in flagrant disregard to the complex cultural and religious sensitivities of Kaduna, appointed a fellow Muslim, Hadiza Sabuwa Balarabe, as deputy and carried on as if it did not matter. He even encouraged his successor and protégé, Senator Uba Sani, to follow the odious step.

For El-Rufai, a man of brief size and height, controversy seems a second name. He courts it and revels in it, even at the cost of public good. He is never tired of playing games with important issues. To him, everything is politics and politics is everything.

Recall when he threatened international election observers that they would be evacuated in body bags if they ventured into the country to monitor the 2019 presidential elections. Recall, also, when he claimed being asked to offer bribes by Senators during his screening for ministerial appointment, during the Olusegun Obasanjo presidency but when pressed to provide evidence on his claims, he chickened out, saying God was his witness.

Once on this space, I had noted that the former governor acts the good boy, when it suits his agenda and hits hard when he has an interest to pursue. He has not deviated from that path. For him, scruples are matters of convenience to be observed when necessary but can be discarded, if need be. He is shrewd. And cold! The trend, now, is the scramble by leading members of the All Progressives Congress (APC), for appointments at the centre. El-Rufai is equally on heat, sort of, in that regard and needed to court the attention of President Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima, his fellow Muslims.

Of course, there is nothing wrong in his aspiration for any job or position that animates him. He is also free to support any candidate of any religious persuasion that excites him. They are all within his constitutional rights. The beauty of democracy is plurality of views and opinions. It is a game of numbers but certainly not without principles and guidelines. El-Rufai should not be allowed to re-write those rules while pursuing his personal interest. He cannot be allowed to create the bubble and move on, as he has always done. He should be stopped from his antics before they do enormous harm on Kaduna state and the country at large.

Kaduna was the capital of the defunct Northern Region and the seat of government from where the late Premier, Sir Ahmadu Bello, provided people-oriented governance to the region. Till date, it remains the pride of the North and every Northerner of note. Nigeria has always passed for a secular state where no particular faith has dominance over others. There is no state religion. The situation should remain so.

The danger in the careless remarks by El-Rufai, is that they are capable of setting the country on the edge. The immediate past Muhammadu Buhari administration did not manage the diversities in the country very well. It rather widened the major fault lines among the citizens on ethnic and religious grounds. El-Rufai was close to the government and a visible ally to Buhari. A system with people like him on drivers’ seats can hardly make progress.

Tinubu and Shettima need to be on the watch. The controversies and contentions surrounding their emergence are yet to settle. The suspicion on their same-faith ticket is still thick. They also have the huge tasks of national healing and reconciling the various tendencies in the land. Nigeria has witnessed so much waste of its citizens over avoidable circumstances to allow petty issues as religion and choice of leadership burden it more.

Recent reports by the people of Southern Kaduna, under the aegis of Atyap Community Development Association (ACDA), that 518 people have been killed, 20 villages ransacked, 18 burnt down, and thousands of victims rendered refugees across many communities from 2017 till date, over the persistent attacks and killings in Atyapland in the Zangon Kataff Local Government Area of Kaduna State, should matter to the new authorities in the state and Abuja. El-Rufai was the governor at the time of these gruesome occurrences. The figure speaks volume of what lies ahead if he is allowed to forge ahead with his Islamisation agenda.

Rabiu Kwankwaso, a former senator, says President Bola Tinubu was shocked at how Abdullahi Ganduje, the immediate past governor of Kano, managed the affairs of the state.

Ganduje had reportedly said he would have slapped Kwankwaso over the demolition of some properties being carried out by Abba Yusuf, governor of Kano.

Yusuf had accused Ganduje’s administration of allocating public lands for the construction of some properties.

Speaking with reporters after meeting Tinubu at the Presidential Villa on Friday, Kwankwaso accused Ganduje of constructing shops illegally.

“The president was shocked. Are you not shocked that somebody will sell a university? Are you not shocked that he demolished the only university? Daula Hotel, for those of you who are in Kano, you know the old Daula, demolished to zero and that is a faculty under the University of Science and Technology,” he said.

“He demolished that one. Are you not shocked?

“The president was shocked. He didn’t know. He even mentioned that he talked to somebody to go and find out for him. But when I told him, I said you are a Muslim, very soon you are going for Sallah.

“How can you go under that circumstance and pray in that place? And even the Triumph place he is talking about, you are journalists. You should be angry because that’s your constituency, he demolished it completely and put shops everywhere.”

Kwankwaso said Yusuf would not allow the property of the government to be sold to the public.

“I wanted to be president, I campaigned also. And I went to Kano and told them that these places, schools, in fact, most of our schools in Kano were being encroached on,” he said.

“And it is our policy to make sure that all that were encroached into are returned to them. We will not allow anybody either local government chairman or governor to go sell.”