Nice to hear that the nationwide strike action threatened by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) over the removal of fuel subsidies, which would have begun today, has been postponed, Commonsense, which actually is nowhere common, appears to have prevailed. We thank God for little mercies! Let the NLC learn from the experience of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) whose eight-month strike action during the Muhammadu Buhari administration yielded nothing, although NLC may argue that it is not ASUU. Let the government on its part understand that an economy already cannibalised by Buhari and his wanton troopers will be worse off with a nationwide strike action. In the end, the issues that cause strikes, like those that cause wars, are ultimately resolved on the negotiation table after losses that cannot be reversed would have been suffered by the warring parties. This is being penny wise but pound foolish. And when two elephants fight; it is the grass that suffers. 

Many will wonder why an NLC that threw caution to the winds when it declared open and brazen support for the Labour Party’s presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Gringory Obi, should kick against the removal of fuel subsidies by Tinubu. Obi had declared while campaigning that he would scrap fuel subsidies on his first day in office if he wins the election. Now, had Obi won the election and had he gone ahead to remove fuel subsidies, like Tinubu has done, would Labour leaders have pursued against Obi the same course of action they are now pursuing against Tinubu? Note that the NLC kept mute when Obi threatened to remove fuel subsidies during his campaign. We will never know what exactly would have been because Obi never won the election. It can be argued, also, that even if Obi, or anyone else, had won the election and had gone ahead to remove fuel subsidies, he or they would probably have approached the vexed issue differently and more tactfully than Tinubu has done.

 Truth be told, Tinubu was surprisingly tactless and provocatively arrogant the way he went about the fuel subsidies removal. Surprising because this is not the Tinubu many had expected to see. What went wrong? Tinubu should not have included the fuel subsidies removal in his inaugural address, even if the removal was to come later in the day in an executive order or what-have-you. Tinubu’s inaugural address should have been stirring and soul-lifting; a soothing balm to a people mortally wounded and gasping for breath. Nigerians sought a soul-stirring speech like that of Martin Luther King - I have a dream – but Tinubu’s was drab, uninspiring and full of platitudes. Nigerians waited to have their patriotic zeal fired - like President JF Kennedy’s “Think not what America can do for you but what you can do for America - but Tinubu’s speech was long-winding and fell flat on its face. It was like William Shakespeare’s “all sound and fury, signifying nothing”!

The only significant thing about the speech was Tinubu’s removal of fuel subsidies and, in doing so, he was, again surprisingly, not man enough to own the decision, desperately trying, instead, to hide behind Buhari like a grasshopper hiding behind one finger! Tinubu’s men said Buhari removed fuel subsidies before he left office! What if he did? If you think that is not the right thing to do or that the timing is not right, can't you reverse or tinker with it? Does it now mean that nothing that Buhari did while in office, right or wrong, will be revisited and or reversed? Why, then, did we have a change of government? Why can’t Buhari and his gang continue if their actions cannot be queried, questioned or reversed? Is this what Tinubu meant when he said he would continue where Buhari has stopped? But a continuation of Buhari’s legacies is the last thing Nigerians needed.

Nigerians need someone who will succour them and bind their wounds. They need someone who will empathise with them. Nigerians need soft words, not arrogant, harsh words that further demoralise them. Even if we have to put up with hard decisions, we need someone who will woo us, who will encourage us and pat us on the back all the way; feeling our pains and assuring us all will soon be well as he points us in the direction of light at the end of the tunnel. But, surprisingly, Tinubu was aloof. He acted insensitive. It is like he did not understand the country he inherited from Buhari. Tell Tinubu Nigeria is not Lagos, tell him! The Nigeria he inherited is divided like never before; the people are demoralised and angry like never before; they were brutalised throughout Buhari’s eight years in office; their standard of living dropped to an all-time low; and their sense of self-worth and confidence is nothing to write home about. They seek a lifting; they need a messiah, so to say, but, agonisingly, and, again, surprisingly, Tinubu fell far short of their expectation. Where, then, is the renewed hope that he promised? Rather than renew anyone’s hope, he dashed the little that we have left!

Am I against the removal of fuel subsidies? No! But I am against the timing. I am also against the attempt to hang it on Buhari. I am against pussy-footing: No, we did not! Yes, we did! I am against the lack of empathy. Tinubu should not have started his presidency this way. This is not how to compensate the people who voted for you. And don't forget you are still before the tribunal! Why forget so soon that your election is, perhaps, the most hotly disputed in the history of this country? One or two months of “grace” for Nigerians to celebrate your ascension to the throne would have been okay. If eight years of relentless looting of Nigeria under Buhari did not kill the country, then, a month of grace from Tinubu will not kill it. Make the people happy. Show that you have the milk of human kindness flowing in your veins. In the interval, convey the meetings you are now hurriedly and belatedly holding with Labour and other stakeholders; firm up on the palliatives and new minimum wage you are now dangling in what looks like an after-thought. The political sagacity of Tinubu has never been in doubt. Since he announced his arrival on the country’s political landscape in the 1980s, Tinubu has left no one in doubt that he is a master strategist; he has so demonstrated in Lagos since 1999. On his way to the Presidency he left no one in doubt that he is a master of the game of Nigeria’s political roulette. So, what went wrong this time around? Why put the wrong foot first?

The day I was appointed editor of The PUNCH/Saturday PUNCH, the big story for the next day was the appointment made by military President Ibrahim Babangida of chairmen for the two political parties he was imposing on Nigerians – the National Republican Convention (NRC) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP), one “a little to the right” and the other “a little to the left”. When the story came out on the front page in my newspaper the next day, the names of the chairmen were swapped: NRC’s was given as SDP’s and vice-versa! Imagine the embarrassment! With PUNCH’s characteristic screaming headlines! I was on my way to the office when the Chairman called: “Have you seen your newspaper today?” I said, yes, I have. “It is sabotage. Sack them!” the Chairman said repeatedly! I got to the office and the place was like a funeral home. I summoned the Editorial Conference meeting and told them what the Chairman had said. One after the other they swore it was not sabotage but the ubiquitous “printer’s devil” at work. What do we do? They said I should plead with the Chairman to temper justice with mercy.

Virtually all the HODs and their assistants had their neck on the chopping block. Soon afterwards, the Chairman called to ask if they had all been sacked and I said no; that they swore it was not sabotage and had given an undertaking it would not happen again. The chairman asked: “And what is your decision?” I said my decision was to give them the benefit of the doubt; that I did not want to start my editorship wiping off the entire members of the Editorial Conference. There was a prolonged silence and then the Chairman said:”I see, I see, I see! Ok, ok, ok; if that is your decision” Those who claimed to know warned me that, that was ominous and I found it to be true afterwards! But I never regretted it. Many of those who would have been sacked that day later rose to important editorial and managerial positions in the same newspaper. There is a way to start a journey and there is another way not to start it!         

Those who claim to know Tinubu should tell him to tread more carefully. Nigeria is not Lagos where he can gallivant and grandstand, imposing his fancies at will like the Lord of the Manor. Tell Tinubu not to break our heart or fall our hand, as they say! Not with all the insults from the Obi-Idiots!

The World Bank, yesterday, warned that Nigeria’s economic growth is too slow to address the challenge of extreme poverty in the country.

Meanwhile, the bank has retained its economic growth (Gross Domestic Product, GDP) forecast of 2.8% for Nigeria in 2023, citing challenges of high inflation, foreign exchange shortages, and shortages of banknotes caused by currency redesign.

The World Bank gave the warning in the Global Development Prospect report for June 2023.

Among other things, the bank downgraded its economic growth forecast for Sub Saharan Africa to 3.2% for 2023, from 3.4% projected in its April World Economic Outlook. It also projected that global economic growth will slow to 2.1% in 2023, with prospects clouded by financial risks.

The World Bank stated: “After growing 3.1 percent last year, the global economy is set to slow substantially in 2023 to 2.1 percent, amid continued monetary policy tightening to rein in high inflation, before a tepid recovery in 2024, to 2.4 percent.

“Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) continued to decelerate earlier this year owing to various country-specific challenges and heightened external economic headwinds.

“Growth in the three largest SSA economies – Nigeria, South Africa and Angola – slowed to 2.8 percent in 2022 and continued to weaken in the first half of this year. In Angola and Nigeria – SSA’s largest oil producers – the growth momentum has stalled amid lower energy prices and stagnant oil production.

“The post-pandemic rebound in Nigeria’s non-oil sector cooled earlier this year because of persistently high inflation, foreign exchange shortages, and shortages of banknotes caused by currency redesign.

“Growth in SSA is expected to decline further to 3.2 percent in 2023 before picking up to 3.9 percent in 2024. The recovery in South Africa is projected to slow to 0.3 percent this year as widespread power outages weigh heavily on activity and contribute to the persistence of inflation.

“Growth in Nigeria is expected to remain barely above the population growth – far slower than needed to make significant inroads into mitigating extreme poverty.

“Outlook downgrades, however, extend beyond the major regional economies with elevated cost of living restraining private consumption and tighter policies holding back a pickup in investment in many countries.

“More broadly, worsened domestic vulnerabilities together with tight global financial conditions and weak global growth are expected to keep recoveries subdued.”

Senator George Akume has assumed his role as the new Secretary to Government of the Federation (SGF) following his swearing-in on Wednesday morning by President Bola Tinubu.

The President administered the oath of office on him in the Council Chamber of the Presidential Villa, Abuja witnessed by the SGF’s wife, Regina; Vice President Kashim Shettima; Senate President Ahmed Lawan; Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara State, Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Dr FolasadeYemi-Esan.

Speaking to correspondents after the short ceremony, Akume expressed his joy over the appointment and assured that he would do the best of his ability for the success of the administration.

Senator-elect and business mogul, Jimoh Ibrahim, has explained how Nigeria can repay its debts within 90 days.

Ibrahim advised the Nigerian authorities to approach five EXIM banks and access a loan that is five times the current debt.

The lawmaker-elcet gave this piece of advice while speaking in an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Tuesday.

He said, “I can give you a strategy that can make you pay back the debts in 90 days. All you have to do is to call five EXIM banks, including China EXIM bank.

“Take a loan about five times whatever you are owing currently, do a bridge gap financing, and then pay off what you are owing. Then you will have a surplus, do a repayment programme for 40 years and then have an honorarium period of 10 years and you are out of the debt.”

The described Boko Haram as a political problem, asking the President to return Nigerian troops back to their barracks.

He said, “Boko Haram is a political problem. You have to socialise politically to solve Boko haram. The first thing Mr President has to do is to withdraw soldiers from the front(line) and return them back to the barracks.

“Children that left NDA as a lieutenant, they have become major-general and the war is still there. Is the military a challenge to ourselves? No,” he said.

Ibrahim said the military has been deploying a conventional strategy to approach unconventional war.

He blamed the alleged failure in the fight against terrorism on the strategy deployed by the authorities in the Northeast.

According to Ibrahim, Nigeria has spent a whopping $1.2 trillion fighting insurgency within the last 10 years.

He said, rather than deploying troops to the theatre of operations, the Nigerian government should “look for information gathering, socialization, you need to meet stakeholders, you have to do meetings.”

Speaking on the way forward, however, Ibrahim advised President Bola Tinubu to “go into political socialization. You have to socialise domestically. Assuming you have spent 10 per cent of $1.2 trillion on political socialisation, Boko Haram would have disappeared.

“But you spent 89 per cent on a factor that is not significant to confront Boko Haram, Boko Haram will still be there.”

Karim Benzema has broken silence after signing for Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad.

The 35-year-old’s move to the Middle East was officially confirmed on Tuesday evening.

The move comes after a 14-year stint with the Spanish champions where he won an array of trophies, leaving behind a behemoth of a legacy.

The Frenchman joins Cristiano Ronaldo who he claimed is a good friend and showed that Saudi football was getting ahead.

“Al Ittihad is a new challenge for me. It’s a good league and there are many good players.

“Cristiano Ronaldo is already here, he is a friend who shows that Saudi Arabia is starting to get ahead and I am here to win as I did in Europe,” Benzema said.

The Ballon d’Or winner signed a two-year contract that will see him earn a whopping sum of €200m annually.

Ajike Owens, a 35-year-old mother of four, was shot dead by a white neighbor through the front door as she reached for her child’s iPad in Florida

According to the Daily Mail, Owens was shot by the suspect, who is a 58-year-old woman, in front of her 9-year-old son. As the suspect had complained about Owens’ children playing outdoors, but police have yet to make any arrest because of the state’s ‘stand your ground’ rule.

Ben Crump, a civil rights lawyer, had claimed that on Friday, the deceased children were having fun in a field close to an apartment building in Ocala, Florida when her neighbour started shouting at them to leave her property and using slurs aimed at them.

The white woman threw an iPad at one of the kids as they were leaving the field, and after it hit the boy, the screen broke. The kids realized they had forgotten their iPads and turned around to go get them.

Authorities received a call for trespassing, and when they arrived, they saw a woman with a gunshot wound, said Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods in a news conference on Monday.

No arrest has been made so far in the case, according to Ben Crump, one of the attorneys representing the family, who called the killing “appalling.”

“It is asinine when they try to justify this unjustifiable killing of this mother of four who was killed in front of her children,” Mr Crump told MSNBC on Monday. “It is heartbreaking on every level.”

However, Owen’s death has caused outrage on social media, with many calling for the arrest of Susan Lorincz, who’s alleged to be the neighbor who pulled the trigger.

In its bid to raise awareness and invite more subscribers to the E-Naira policy, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in Kano has taken its mobilization to the Aliko Dangote University of Science and Technology (ADUST), Wudil, Kano State.

Delivering an address at the office of the Vice Chancellor, Alhaji Musa Tukur Yakasai, on Tuesday, the Kano Branch Controller of the CBN, Umar Ibrahim Biu called on the university community to adopt the new E-wallet system in its payments of tuition, salaries and other transactions.

He explained the need for the university community to migrate to the cashless system for financial security and efficiency using the E-Naira initiative.

“The E-Naira is a trend blazer now, is something that has come to stay and we are trying to make sure that everybody is brought onboard. That is why we are doing this intervention.

“We have done it with so many merchants, we’ve gone into markets, we’ve gone into so many places, now we are coming into the institutions.

“We’ve been to the University of Nsuka, the University of Jos and now we are here in Aliko Dangote University of Science and Technology to also sell the idea of E-Naira wallet to both the students and staff of the institution and the institution.

“Our target is where the students can use the facility to pay their tuition fees and other payments through the E-Naira wallet.

“This will help the students a lot, it’s the safest way of handling your funds. Nobody will still it, it will eradicate corruption. One does not need to carry a huge amount of cash. There’s financial inclusion, they get included in the financial statement. Is part of the financial literacy campaign.

“The Vice Chancellor wholeheartedly accepted it. With E-Naira they can get up to 5 percent revert on every payment they make. Their money doesn’t go like that they save something out of it. There are a lot of other incentives they can enjoy” the CBN Controller stated.

In his response, the Vice Chancellor who spoke on behalf of the university gave the assurance that the institution will key into the E-Naira initiative.

“We appreciate the idea of the CBN coming to launch the E-Naira initiative in this institution.

“This is a University of Science and Technology where our students are E-confined already. They are doing a lot of things, some of the academic activities are via E-platforms. So is very easy for students to adopt this E-era.

“Some of the questions people ask are cleared by the bank. Especially the fear of loosing money to hackers and other things like that.

“We now understand the E-Naira and are now convinced and we will call on our students and other stakeholders to key into this initiative. It makes it easier for everyone to operate without having to move with a lot of cash” the Vice Chancellor stated.

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has dismissed a viral grant scheme being circulated on social media as ‘President Bola Tinubu’s N50,000 Cash Grant’ to Nigerians.

This is contained in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja by Mrs Hadiza Umar, Head, Corporate Affairs and External Relations, NITDA.

Umar, who cautioned Nigerians about the scheme, said that the website associated with the grant was a phishing website designed to mislead unsuspecting citizens.

According to her, NITDA-Computer Emergency Readiness and Response Team (NITDA-CERRT) hereby wish to advise the public to avoid clicking on unknown links.

“The website ‘https://thryt.com/50k-CashGrants, is a phishing website that tends to lure users into divulging their personal information, such as full names, phone number, home address, email address and bank account details, such as name of bank and account number.

“Avoid clicking on this website and other similar websites, which can lead to divulging personal information in order not to fall prey to cyber criminals.”

She explained that government would always communicate such information via the appropriate agency supervising such programmes, should there be any.

Umar advised the public to contact the agency’s CERRT on email via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. ng, phone number- +234 817 877 4580, web address- www.cerrt.ng.

Vice-chairman of the All Progressives Congress in the North-West, Salihu Lukman, has explained why he believes the Labour Party is more popular than other political parties in Nigeria.

According to the APC chieftain, the party’s (Labour Party’s) popularity stems from the frustration of Nigerians with other political parties, including the ruling party, the APC.

This was contained in a statement, on Tuesday, and made available to journalists.

In his opinion, Nigerians are tired of the docility and lack of innovation characteristic of the ruling party, hence their resolve to seek a party with a vibrant and functional structure.

He noted that besides the usual structure already in existence for years, no brilliant structural adjustment or innovation has been initiated in the ruling APC.

He said, “In addition to these organs (NAC, NEC and national caucus), the amended APC constitution created three new structures, namely the women’s wing; youth wing and persons living with disabilities wing.

“Outside the initiatives of the presiding officers of these three structures — national women’s leader, national youth leader and national leader of persons living with disabilities—since April 2022, following the assumption of office of the Sen. Abdullahi Adamu-led NWC, nothing has been done to organise the women’s, youth and persons living with disabilities wings.

“The popularity of the Labour Party during the 2023 elections is partly a reflection of the frustration of Nigerians with our political parties, including the APC.

“Nigerians are looking for parties with vibrant structures whose internal debates and contests would aggregate the diverse interests of Nigerians.”

Lukman said as long as the APC is operated as a “closed structure,” President Bola Tinubu would lack the needed political legitimacy to win the support of Nigerians especially when it comes to implementing difficult policy choices.

“No doubt, difficult decisions must be taken to effectively resolve our challenges as a nation. However, in taking those difficult decisions, it will be much easier to implement when the government is able to win the support of Nigerians through engagements with organised groups,” he said.

Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State on Tuesday said that he and other Northwest governors have met and resolved to depart from the previous idea of giving money to bandits.

This was just as he said his administration would focus on rural development as a way of improving the livelihood of the rural dwellers aimed at tackling insecurity in the state.

Sani who stated these while featuring on a Channels Television interview programme on Tuesday, however, disclosed that Governors of the region troubled by banditry also resolved to meet President Bola Tinubu to discuss the security challenges of their zone.

“I hosted a meeting with the governors of the northwest and Niger state where we came out with a framework to tackle insecurity. We agreed that we will work together and move away from the decisions made by the previous governments of giving money to the bandits.

“We are planning to meet His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to discuss the insecurity,” he said.

On his resolve to focus on rural areas, the governor said it’s aimed at improving the human capital index of the state, noting that the plan would be achieved through “improving primary education, upscale of the healthcare centres, construction of critical roads, supporting agricultural services and empowering women and youth through vocational skills.”

Sani hailed his predecessor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, for the successful implementation of the Kaduna Urban Renewal Project while assuring that his administration would build on that and extend the developmental projects to the rural areas which would help in curbing insecurity.

On the issue of the removal of subsidies, the governor also said he met with the organised labour unions in the state and they have resolved to work together to achieve the Kaduna State Project.

“I had a meeting with the organised labour in Kaduna State and we came out with some resolutions. They assured me that even when the national body embarks on a strike they will not participate.

“And this is because I have been working with them closely in the last few years in Kaduna. They are also aware that I have been part of them because of my involvement in the fight for the rights of workers in the last 30 years.

“For the first time they are working with someone who was involved in the fight for workers’ rights and they believe this is their government,” he added.