Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, on Monday constituted a special technical and legal committee to review the recent supreme court judgement on local government financial autonomy.

The Attorney-General and commissioner for justice, Barrister Abiodun Aikomo in company of the commissioner for local government and chieftaincy matters, Hon Ademola Ojo disclosed this at a press briefing shortly after a consultative/advisory meeting.

Governor Seyi Makinde, had earlier before the close door meeting, berated the supreme court judgement and strategies by the federal government to usurp undue authority over the state and local government administration, thereby causing tension within that nation’s polity rather than focusing on other germane issues affecting the nation’s economy.

At the press briefing, Hon Ademola Ojo assured that Governor Seyi Makinde remained committed to the people’s well being and would protect and safeguard the interest of all stakeholders

Barrister Aikomo who explained that the terms of references which specifically hinged on review of the supreme court judgement, identifying challenges and proffering recommendations that would result in implementation plan for the benefit of all stakeholders, noted that the committee had been given a duration of 4 – 6 weeks.

The attendees at the meeting were drawn from various relevant groups and other stakeholders in the state, among whom were the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Trade Union Congress, TUC, Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees, NULGE, and Nigeria Union of Pensioners, NUP and representative from the state house of assembly.

The Lagos State Task Force has arrested eight suspects for selling contaminated turkey seized by the Nigeria Customs Service in Lagos State.

This was disclosed in a press statement released by the spokesman of the Lagos State Task Force, Gbadeyan Abdulraheem.

According to Abdulraheem, the suspects were arrested in the Epe area of the state during a raid on Sunday.

The agency discovered that “dozens of cartons filled with contaminated turkey seized by the Nigeria Customs Service and set ablaze at a dumpsite somehow found their way into the hands of unscrupulous elements trying to sell it to members of the public.”

The statement read, “I am glad this menace has been nipped in the bud before it blows out of proportion. The state is currently battling to contain the cholera outbreak in some parts of the metropolis, so we need not compound the issues. Rather, it’s our responsibility to the citizenry to ensure sinister forces do not plunge the state into crisis for their selfish gains.”

“The Chairman of the Agency, CSP Adetayo Akerele, who led the operation, said goods confiscated by the Nigeria Customs Service must have failed at some point to meet the required health and safety standards before being deemed unfit for human consumption, which led to them being set ablaze at a dedicated dumpsite.

“We cannot allow some ignorant individuals to reintroduce products which have been condemned by a federal agency to find their way back into the market. Contaminated foods like this could cause cancer, lung or liver disease, and so on. Consumption is highly dangerous, and we are here to ensure that Lagosians are protected at all costs,” he said.

“Akerele noted that all contaminated goods were recovered and brought to the headquarters of the agency while the arrested suspects would be charged in court.”

Residents of Kuchi, an agricultural community in Munya Local Government Area (LGA) of Niger State, are enduring a prolonged crisis as 148 farmers remain in captivity fifty-three days after a brutal bandit raid on May 24, 2024.

The raid, carried out by over 100 bandits, resulted in the abduction of the farmers, including pregnant women and children. The captors have since demanded ransom for their release.

Abdulmalik Iliyasu, speaking with Daily Trust correspondent, shared the community’s distress, revealing that some farmers have died in captivity. He explained that the bandits collected ransom before notifying families of the deaths.

“The bandits are demanding N2 million and a Honda motorcycle for each captive. We are farmers, and without access to our farms, we have no means to raise such sums,” Iliyasu lamented.

Iliyasu also disclosed that informants within the communities have been sabotaging negotiation efforts by revealing wealthy families to the bandits, leading to increased ransom demands.

Communities such as Kapana, Wuloto, and Godan also have residents in captivity, exacerbating the region’s crisis. The district head of one affected community highlighted the pervasive fear among farmers, exacerbated by the bandits’ threats of further attacks and the loss of livestock during raids.

Residents are appealing for government intervention, particularly securing the Dan-Gunu riverbank, a known crossing point for bandits entering Munya LGA from Kaduna State.

They urged authorities to support their return to farming, essential for their livelihoods.

In response, SP Wasiu Abiodun, spokesperson for the Niger State Police Command, assured that ongoing efforts are being made in collaboration with the military to rescue the victims.

He emphasized the coordinated operation between Niger and Kaduna states

I write about three icons born in the month of July - July People - not in the sense in which students of literature are wont to think of Nadine Gordimer’s novel of the same title – which correctly is actually July’s People (1981) -but in terms of the horoscopic significance of the month of July and the people born under the Zodiac sign of Cancer (June 21 – July 22). Cancer is the fourth sign of the Zodiac sign, and it does not simply mean that persons who are born under the sign would end up with Cancer as an ailment. Rather, the significant elements associated with this sign are Water and the planet, Moon, and the symbol is the Crab. Astrologists describe them as persons who are compassionate, creative, inquisitive, changeable, sensitive and protective. They work hard because they want to be the best at what they do. Prominent Cancerians we are told include Princess Diana, Tom Hanks, Tom Cruise, Arianna Grande, Harrison Ford, Selena Gomez, Jaden Smith, Forest Whitaker – intensely creative persons, stand-out figures who just want to excel. Within the week, there have been Nigerians born under this Zodiac sign whose celebration on their birthdays has proven to be impressive moments on this year’s cultural calendar: Professor Akinwande Oluwole Soyinka (July 13), Prince Nduka Obaigbena (July 14), Aremo Olusegun Osoba (July 15).They are on every count, persons worthy of celebration given their monumental achievements in their fields of engagement and the impact they have made on society and the enormous influence that they continue to wield. Soyinka, also known as W.S., Prof., Kongi, Eni Ogun, was 90. Obaigbena, known as the Duke or Prince, Chairman turned 65 on July 14. Osoba, also known as Akinrogun, Aremo, Oluwo Oba is 85: each in his own way, a major national figure, meaning different things to many people, but altogether distinguished by their individual differentness and originality.

Professor Wole Soyinka is a towering, dominant, distinguished figure in world literatures, academia, activism and one of Africa’s leading figures in the 21^st Century. Poet, dramatist, essayist, polemicist, musician, raconteur, novelist, fabulist, he was the first African to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1986, with the Swedish Nobel Academy noting how Soyinka’s prodigious oeuvre fashions the drama of existence in “a wide cultural perspective and with poetic overtones”. The evidence is seen in over 20 published plays including The Lion and the Jewel, The Trials of Brother Jero, Kongi’s Harvest, Death and the King’s Horseman, and Opera Wonyosi, and in novels – The Interpreters, Season of Anomy, or memoirs – Ake - the Years of Childhood, Isara – A Voyage Around Essay, You Must Set Forth at Dawn, The Man Died, Chronicles From the Land of The Happiest People on Earth, or poetry – Idanre and Other Poems, A Shuttle in the Crypt, Ogun Abibiman, Samarkand and Other Markets I have Known, Mandela’s Earth and Other Poems, Interventions (a series in about 10 volumes)  and so on and so forth, a long Soyinka bibliography that is an industry in itself. Many Nobel Prize winners in Literature went on to experience a decline in their productivity afterwards, victims as it were of what is known not necessarily as the Nobel Prize Effect, but better still the Nobel Prize Disease, but not so with Wole Soyinka, who since 1986 has remained productive with a long list of publications urging students of the subject to find a worthy enterprise in comparing Soyinka, before and after the Nobel. This is a Nobel Prize winner who has in addition won the glory of canonization. 

The Nobel Prize as known is reserved for winners who have “conferred the greatest good upon mankind”. And so it is with Soyinka, who beyond literature is actively connected with the human space in many spheres. This is a man who is literally a genius. Traditionalists in his native home towns of Abeokuta and Isara know him as a hunter -a key chieftain of the Egbe Olode community, he is Captain Blood of Tortuga in the Pyrates, SeaDog Confraternity (No Fren No Foe, Sworn Enemy of Convention) which he co-founded, and in more than five decades he has been in the frontlines of the struggle to make Nigeria and Africa a better place for humanity: a scourge in the practical field of action, a thorn in the flesh of dictators, a fighter at the barricades in defence of justice and democracy, fearless, dogged, consistent, he has refused to keep silent in the face of tyranny.  At 90 and four days, Wole Soyinka now falls in the category of Nobel Laureates who lived beyond the age of 90 viz George Bernard Shaw, Sir Winston Churchill, Nadine Gordimer, Bertrand Russel, Knut Hamsun, and Naguib Mafouz. The grace of longevity that he has enjoyed is a natural aspiration of living men and women, but what distinguishes Soyinka remarkedly is the quality and impact that he brings to the fore at every moment in his journey. It is therefore most painful to find a coterie of badly brought up children writing on social media having the effrontery to disrespect the sage. Soyinka had once written that culture is not idyllic not is it fossilized as a romantic sign, ever so dynamic culture grows, mutates, but Soyinka probably never imagined the terrible manner in which basic African values and cultures have changed in the face of the forces of modernization, a prominent trope in his writings. One disrespectful young man once asked him to stand up for him in a domestic flight, claiming that he was the rightful owner of the seat, and the young man went ahead to boast about it on social media. Even at 90, Soyinka has shown many of his critics, including the social media antagonists that he still has enough fire in him to fight back, whether in the trenches or in the more dignified arena of intellection.  

Wole Soyinka has been honoured in virtually every continent of the world.  Cities have declared special Wole Soyinka days in appreciation of his impact. Among his Egba people in Ogun State, July 13 has been declared by the Alake of Egbaland, Kabiyesi Adedotun Gbadebo, Okukenu IV as Wole Soyinka Day. In New Orleans, United States, there is already a Wole Soyinka Day.  Oba Gbadebo also wants Soyinka to be conferred with the national honour of Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON). On the occasion of his 90^th birthday, Soyinka has been celebrated as far away as Morocco, and here in his home country, Nigeria, the drums have been rolled out. There is no honour that can be too much for him. It is most appropriate that the National Theatre of Nigeria at Iganmu, Lagos has now been renamed Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and Creative Arts. It is most befitting. It is the only edifice of its type so named after a writer in Africa. Soyinka beyond the universal appeal of his literature is a nationalist, capturing through a repertoire of literary devices the story of our lives. Once upon a time, the National Theatre was going to be turned into banking halls, hotels and restaurants. The stamp of Soyinka’s brand and symbolism on that institution should rescue it and return it to the original purpose for which it was built. 

In journalism, politics and popular struggle, Chief Olusegun Osoba who turned 85 yesterday has also lived a life of extraordinary impact and distinction. Soyinka distinguished himself as a writer of verses, Osoba is the iconic reporter, and promoter of excellence in Journalism. He got his first job as a reporter at The Daily Times under the legendary Alhaji Ismail Babatunde Jose in 1964. He was 25 years old at the time. Today, at 85, Osoba is still active in the journalism community; it is not unusual to find him at important functions of all the major organs of the profession, as an inspirational figure to the generations behind him and a living library of the profession. Osoba’s example and brand project journalism and its practice most positively. Many journalists seek to excel. Osoba is a true model. He rose through the ranks as a reporter to become editor and head of three major newspaper establishments- Nigerian Herald, Daily Sketch and Daily Times. He had a hand in the design and delivery of another newspaper – The Guardian and he appointed its first editor! Osoba was a master of the scoop as a reporter, and he earned the sobriquet, Timesman on the front pages. He was well connected in society and had contacts in every sphere. He was so successful, long before his colleagues could buy a bicycle, he owned a scooter. He had a phone at home. He also got himself a beautiful wife. He would later go into politics, and in that process, he was Governor of Ogun State twice in his career (1992 – 1993, 1999 -2003). Osoba has shown a remarkable capacity for self-reinvention and consistent relevance. He is today a father figure in Ogun State politics and at the Federal level, he is one of the founding fathers of the ruling All Progressives Congress party (APC). He is highly regarded for the role he played during the June 12, 1993 debacle and his commitment to progressive politics. He has told his own story in a detailed memoir titled Battlelines: Adventures in Journalism and Politics (2019, 341 pp.), an immensely informative book which was publicly presented to mark his 80^th birthday five years ago. 

The story of his journalism career has also been told in a book by Mike Awoyinfa and Dimgba Igwe titled Osoba: The Newspaper Years (2012, 396 pp.). Now to mark his 85^th birthday, he has presented to the public a new book titled Segun Osoba, My Life in the Public Eye (Lagos: Diamond Publications, 2024, xi + 212 pp).  The book was unveiled at Eko Hotel, Lagos on July 13, the same day that Soyinka turned 90. My Life in The Public Eye focusses largely on many of the tributes that were written to celebrate Osoba at 80 and reviews of his book, Battlelines, in addition to a number of commentaries by the author himself.  Divided into five parts - Institutional Assessments (editorials on Osoba by The Nation, Vanguard, and The Guardian); In the Eyes of Associates (tributes by other journalists), Unveiling Battlelines, Dissecting battlelines and Perspectives - in a total of 33 chapters and an index. It is a well compiled account of reflections on the essence of Chief Osoba which students and teachers of journalism will find useful. But this is in no way a substitute for the main memoir - Battlelines which tells Osoba’s story in a more comprehensive manner. The documentation of Osoba’s art and craft is an interesting addition to media biography in Nigeria. Stuck in the hectic pursuit of headlines and deadlines, journalists often forget to tell their own stories while busy telling other people’s stories. Osoba sets another good example by telling his own story in his own words and through the words of others.  The fact that he is a politician is also a noteworthy part of his career. At the Eko Hotel presentation of his book on July 13, there were more politicians than journalists, many of them falling over each other to be noticed by their party leader and close companion of the President of Nigeria. But in the long run, Osoba would always be remembered as much for his politics as he would be remembered for the craft that brought him to national reckoning. 

And now to Prince Nduka Obaigbena who is now 65, a towering figure also in Nigerian journalism, who has practically redefined the practice over the decades with his publications, ThisWeek magazine, and later ThisDay newspaper, cultural events such as the Arise Fashion and Arise Shows, and more recently, the influential television station, Arise News. Obaigbena is a media entrepreneur of the very first rank, who has used his various platforms to create jobs and opportunities for more than a generation of journalists. This past weekend, former ThisDay journalists under the auspices of a group known as ThisDay Alumni Association thought it fit to honour him. They said in a statement: “With an unparalleled ability to anticipate and shape the future of media, he has redefined journalistic standards and expanded the horizons for media practitioners globally.”  There were no formal invitations but the number, shape and size of people that converged at Obaigbena’s Ikoyi residence was truly impressive. A day like Sunday is when most people in Lagos try to rest at home to prepare for the beginning of a new week, besides, the group of persons that gathered are ordinarily very busy people, but they all turned up – captains of industry, businessmen, government officials, former Governors – to wish Obaigbena a happy 65^th birthday. I could not attend the Osoba book event. I was held up in Abuja but I was at the Obaigbena informal birthday celebration. I left with the strong impression that success is like honey: it attracts those who like the sweetness of things and that is why persons who make impact in their chosen lines of work are rewarded with recognition and celebration. It is a moral fact that young people need to understand: that hard work pays, commitment brings honour. Obaigbena proved to be a good host. It was a pleasant Sunday evening, with more than enough to drink and eat. On Monday, the Chairman of Arise Group responded appropriately to our usual calls for “implications”. He sent food packs to the studio at Arise News – small chops, chicken and jollof rice, and swallow with soup. 

Birthdays after all, are happy moments, not for mourning. Regardless of one’s circumstances of birth, it is possible to touch the sky literally speaking through self-discipline and tenacity of purpose. Soyinka, the son of “the Wild Christian” and Ess-Ay” was raised in Abeokuta but today, the same Soyinka, product of St. Peter’s primary School, Ake is a global icon; Osoba, also from Abeokuta, was born in Osogbo in Osun State, and he attended Methodist Boys High School in Lagos, only to end up as one of the most prominent and well-rounded journalists of his generation. Obaigbena, born in Ibadan, 1959, is from Owan Kingdom in Delta state. He began his journalism career as a cartoonist, graphic artist, and stringer and now, today, the history of journalism in Nigeria would be incomplete without an acknowledgement of his many innovations in the business, -his introduction of colourful mastheads, back-page columns, and a newspaper that reports business and politics in the language that the reader understands and now a television station that speaks the minds of the people. Soyinka’s creativity is the catalyst for many careers all over the world: students that he taught, many who became writers because they wanted to be like him, graduate students who earned masters and Ph.Ds as Soyinka scholars, researchers, academics, filmmakers – all for whom Soyinka is an industry. Osoba is a role model for many journalists who hope that they too can be just as successful. There are also many young journalists who aspire to be like Obaigbena. He is fondly called “The Duke” and I have seen quite a few persons carrying on like his alter egos. Three prominent members of the Nigerian cultural elite celebrating another year, offer rich perspectives on the linkages between them and how so different they also are. Many happy returns to this July troika.

The National Bureau of Statistics has said that Bauchi, Kogi and Oyo are the most expensive states to live in Nigeria.

This is according to NBS’s consumer price index and inflation report for June released on Monday.

The report showed Bauchi with a headline inflation of 43.95 percent, Kogi(39.91 percent) and Oyo(39.15 percent) in June on a year-on-year basis. 

However, on the flip side, Borno, Benue and Katsina States recorded the least rise in headline inflation.

Accordingly, Borno’s inflation stood at 25.90 percent, Benue (at 27.52 percent) and Katsina(at 29.21 percent).

On a Month-on-Month basis, however, June 2024 recorded the highest increases in Yobe (3.79 percent), Abuja (3.45 percent), Ondo (3.38 percent), Nasarawa (0.71 percent), Osun (1.19 percent) and Kano (1.27 percent) recorded the slowest rise in Month-on-Month inflation.

DAILY POST earlier reported that Nigeria’s headline inflation rose to 34.19 percent in June.

President Bola Tinubu’s old post on X, formerly known as Twitter, favouring protest against former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration has surfaced online.

Tinubu at the time urged the police not to attack protesters because their lives and children were involved.

“Police. Do not attack protesters. Your children are involved. Your lives are involved. Your children’s future lies here,” Tinubu had written before he became the President.

DAILY POST recalls that there were a series of protests during Jonathan’s administration, with Tinubu and many other prominent leaders of the All Progressives Congress, APC, then throwing their support behind protests against the government.

The President’s former position on protests against the government resurfaced amid plans by some Nigerian youths to commence nationwide protests beginning August 1-10, 2024.

DAILY POST reports that the protest, which is currently gaining traction in the North and other parts of the country, is aimed at drawing the attention of governments at all levels to the worsening economic hardship in the nation.

It’s also being alleged that the Nigeria Police Force is initiating plans to halt the planned protest.

The police, in an internal memo sighted by DAILY POST, said “Some groups are mobilizing for mass protest nationwide beginning from 1 to 10 2024”.

The memo, dated July 8 and copied to zonal Assistant Inspectors-General of Police, requested the operatives to be proactive and “mobilize well-kitted and equipped personnel” ahead of the protest.

However, one of the X users, @Emir Sirdam, who shared the President’s post on X in November 2013, drew the attention of the police to Tinubu’s words about the protest.

He wrote: “Your words will be your greatest enemy. Dear Nigerian Police @PoliceNG take note.”

While @Comrade Isah Muhhamed wrote: “@PoliceNG come and see this. So when we come out, you abide by this principle.”

The Federal Government has said the next stage of the recruitment exercise for the Nigeria Immigration Service and the Federal Fire Service would begin in August.

The Secretary of the Civil Defence, Correctional, Fire and Immigration Services Board, Ja’afaru Ahmed, made this known in a statement on Sunday in Abuja.

Ahmed added that the Board would conclude the recruitment exercise, which was billed to end on June 15, 2024, will now end before the end of September.

He said, “The Civil Defence, Correctional, Fire and Immigration Services Board wishes to inform the general public that it will commence the next stage of the recruitment exercise in August, and will conclude the exercise before the end of September 2024.”

Ahmed announced that all shortlisted candidates would be duly notified of the next stage of the recruitment exercise through their contact details.

The Secretary, however, apologised for the inability to complete the exercise as earlier scheduled due to manpower audits carried out by Services under the Board.

He added, “The board wishes to apologise for its inability to complete the process by 15th June 2024, as earlier intended. 

“This is due to a nationwide manpower audit exercise carried out in the Nigerian Correctional Service, Nigeria Immigration Service, Federal Fire Service and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, which was just recently concluded.

“All shortlisted candidates will be duly notified of the next stage through their phone numbers and email addresses.”

The Federal Government has admitted there is food insecurity in the country but assured Nigerians that the situation is being addressed and the prices of commodities will soon come down.

Food inflation has reached over 40 per cent in recent months according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), pushing the prices of essential commodities beyond the reach of millions of Nigerians.

But the Minister of State for Agriculture Aliyu Abdullahi said with several programmes by the Federal Government, the prices of commodities will reduce.

“You will see a lot of programmes trying to dampen [reduce prices] the situation,” he said on Monday’s edition of Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily.

“Agriculture has a time frame. Now, a lot of production is ongoing. We are in the rainy season and if you look at the fields, there is a lot of cropping going on. Those croppings are not food,” Abdullahi said.

“They will only translate to food after three months. So, until then, this story you are talking about will continue.”

The minister said the country had in the past relied more on rainy season farming.

“We realised over the past few years that we have not been taking our dry season agriculture seriously,” he said but noted that the ministry is addressing it.

Justice Haleema Salman of the Kwara State High Court, the presiding judge in the April 5, 2018 bank robbery in the ancient town of Offa, Offa Local Government Area, has reserved judgement in the six-year trial of six suspects in the bloody bank robbery for August 2, 2024.

The presiding judge on Monday adopted final written addresses which contained arguments of the two lead counsels in the matter, Rotimi Jacob (SAN) for the state and Mathew Emeribe, the defence counsel.

In Court on Monday, the prosecution and defence teams adopted their addresses one after the other on point of law.

However, the presiding judge said that the August 2, 2024 date for judgement is tentative.

Six suspects: a policeman, Michael Adikwu (deceased), Ayoade Akinnibosun, Azeez Salahudeen, Niyi Ogundiran, Ibikunle Ogunleye, and Adeola Abraham were arrested in connection with the bloody armed robbery incident.

Ayoade Akinnibosun and four others are currently standing trial in the case which began on November 11, 2018.

It is recalled that on April 5, 2018, some suspected armed robbers attacked five commercial banks in the ancient Offa town in the Offa Local Government Area of Kwara State, killing over 30 persons in the process, including nine policemen.

The five suspects, Ayoade Akinnibosun, Ibikunle Ogunleye, Adeola Abraham, and two others were charged to court by the Police for criminal conspiracy to rob the banks, murder of nine policemen and other citizens, and illegal possession of firearms.

Michael Adikwu died in police custody while the remaining five pleaded not guilty.