Former Nigerian international, Finidi George, has been shortlisted as a potential candidate to take over the vacant position of the Super Eagles manager.

The coast is, however, not totally clear for him to take over the assignment as it is understood that the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has also shortlisted five other candidates for the same position.

The Nigerian Super Eagles have been without a permanent coach since Portuguese tactician, Jose Peseiro, who led the team to a second-place finish at the 2023 AFCON tournament, left the position last month.

Though hundreds of interested candidates applied for the job, a high-placed source at the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Technical Committee, saddled with the responsibility of pruning down the list of applicants, has hinted that Finidi, who will be leading out the Super Eagles in the upcoming international friendly against Mali and Ghana this week, is one of the names already pencilled for the job.

The source added that five other persons are also on the NFF list but he refused to disclose their identities.

“There’s nothing much I can tell you now, but the good thing is that we have shortlisted six names for the NFF to pick one,” the official said according to The Nation.

“What I can tell you now is that Finidi is one of the six shortlisted names good enough to coach the Super Eagles,” he said.

Asked about others on the list, he said: “No, wait for the NFF to disclose the names of the five others.”

However, Basic Sports in Nigeria (BSN Sports) are claiming that Amuneke has already been recommended by the NFF Technical Committee as the new manager of the Super Eagles, while Finidi would serve as his assistant.

The medium equally reported that veteran cadet trainer, coach Manu Garba, has been picked to lead the national U-17 team, the Golden Eaglets, yet again.

The casualties are not only those who are dead/They are well out of it/The casualties are not only those who are dead/Though they await burial by installment/The casualties are not only those who are lost/Persons or property, hard as it is/To grope for a touch that some/May not know is not there/The casualties are not only those led away by night/The cell is a cruel place, sometimes a haven/Nowhere as absolute as the grave/The casualties are not only those who started/A fire and now cannot put out/Thousands/Are burning that have no say in the matter/The casualties are not only those who are escaping/The shattered shall become prisoners in/A fortress of falling walls/The casualties are many and a good member as well/Outside the scenes of ravage and wreck/They are the emissaries of rift/So smug in smoke-rooms they haunt abroad/They do not see the funeral piles/At home eating up the forests/They are wandering minstrels who, beating on/The drums of the human heart, draw the world/Into a dance with rites it does not know./The drums overwhelm the guns../caught in the clash of counter claims and charges/When not in the niche of others left/We fall/All casualties of the war….” – John Pepper Clark, The Casualties (1970)

These prefatory lines are taken from J.P. Clark’s “The Casualties” (1970), a most poignant poem written by one of the masters of the genre in Nigerian literature on the civil war of 1967 -70. Clark’s lines are simple and clear enough; relevant as they were in 1970, they remain just as relevant today, 54 years later, as they offer an apt description of the tragedy that occurred in the coastal community of Okuama in Delta State on Thursday, March 14, and the aftermath of that slaughter of 17 (initially reported to be 16) soldiers who were reportedly on a peace mission. The fact that we have to go back to a 1970 poem speaks not simply to the eternity of good literature, but more to the fact that indeed the civil war is yet to end. We remain perpetually in a state of war and we are all as the poet says, “casualties”. Both the men and women in uniform, sworn to defend the integrity, and sovereignty of Nigeria, as well as ordinary civilians are trapped in the vortex of centrifugal forces and fault-lines which again and again, result in tragedy and anarchy. No one is safe.  When a people turn against the same men who have been assigned to protect them, there can be no stronger proof of the failure of the state. The murder of four officers and 13 other ranks in Okuama is as President Bola Tinubu has pointed out, in a personally signed statement, “a direct attack on our nation”, and further, an affront on the very values that make us human. Murder was not enough for the killers, they reportedly went ahead to dismember some of their victims, and harvested their organs in what points to modern-day cannibalism and sheer cruelty. 

I am however shocked to no end by the kind of conspiracy theories that have been thrown up by some interested parties with necrophilous prejudices of their own. The most shocking is the suggestion that the men of the 181 Amphibious Battalion asked for their own death because they went to the community without permission from the traditional rulers and elders of Okuama. Or that the soldiers and their commander openly took sides with the Ijaw-Okoloba community in a land dispute with Okuama, hence they were not about to make peace. One spokesperson for Okuama has in fact alleged that the soldiers stormed the community and killed three persons, shot at anything on sight, and that the tragedy that followed was because angry youths of the community decided to fight back. Other persons who claim to know the politics of the area very well also argue that the soldiers in that area of responsibility, to use a military phrase, are corrupt and that the people know this for a fact and that is why the youths do not respect them. Within 72 hours after the murder, there were reports that Okuama had been besieged by unknown soldiers who set the entire community ablaze. These same unknown soldiers are said to be patrolling the creeks. The people of the community have fled towards Ughelli. They have become refugees away from their own land. Okuama is a ghost town. I have again heard some concerned parties arguing that the reprisal is unacceptable, because when soldiers are killed in the North, as in Niger state for example, Nigerian soldiers do not engage in reprisal killings, but if one soldier is killed in the South South, hell breaks loose as was the case in the Ijaw town of Odi, Bayelsa State on November 20, 1999. 

I ask: how does any of these theories and arguments justify the cold-blooded murder of soldiers who were on active duty? Such views can only be expressed in a country that is on the brink of failure. The conflict between Okoloba (Ijaw) and Okuama (Urhobo) communities was said to have been caused by a dispute over land. Leo Tolstoy has asked “How much land does a man need?” in a short story of the same title written in 1886. But here in Africa, so much sentimental value is attached to land, not a little blood has been shed over the centuries for it. In Nigeria, conflict over land is at the centre of perennial communal border clashes, indigene/settler acrimony and farmer-herder conflicts turning the entire country from the coast to the savannah into a vast theatre of war. What should bother us is why the military, whose functions are properly defined in Section 217 (2) of the 1999 Constitution and the Armed Forces Act of 1994, would end up settling land disputes between communities! We have complained endlessly that there must be a limit to the use of the Nigerian military for police work. Nigeria has become so insecure, the internal war has gone on for so long, that soldiers now man check-points across the country. It is even not unusual to see soldiers in uniform providing security at weekend, “owambe” parties or serving as bodyguards to the rich. Familiarity breeds contempt. In other countries, soldiers are respected for their service to the nation. I once saw a group of Marines arriving at an airport in the United States. Everyone at the airport lounge stood up and applauded them – a grateful people appreciating those who defend the sovereignty of their country. It is unfortunate that here in Nigeria, we kill our own soldiers. This is strange and unacceptable. The children of those soldiers have now become fatherless, their wives have become widows, their families have lost their loved ones. “All casualties…”

Those who argue that there would have been no reprisal if the soldiers had been killed in the North forget that the main issue is the erosion of human values in our country. We share a common humanity but the hardship and bad politics in Nigeria have robbed us of a sense of what it means to be human, hence the spread of violence, criminality and impunity from North to South, East to West. Those who seek to play politics with everything, including murder, are casualties of primordial emotions. They forget that there was a similar reprisal by unknown soldiers in Zaki Biam on October 12, 2001, when soldiers went to avenge the killing of their men in that community. The revenge mission was titled “Operation No Living Thing”. Some people claim that Zaki Biam is not Northern enough, and that is precisely the problem with Nigerians. We are too divisive. Just as the murder of soldiers is wrong and must be condemned, reprisal killing, resort to extra-judicial killing and jungle justice is also condemnable. No one, soldier or civilian, has any right to take the laws into their hands. The fact that jungle justice rules the land is indeed why we are all victims. The people of Odi, whose houses were razed, and their women were raped, and the people of Zaki Biam who were openly executed have not recovered from the horror of that experience. Okuama community in Delta state may never recover from the scorched earth attack inflicted on it. No citizen should be subjected to such agony. 

Where is the Delta State government? In a statement issued by Brig-Gen Tukur Gusau, Acting Director of Information, Defence Headquarters, we were told that the matter had been reported to the Delta State Government. Governor Sheriff Oborevwori would later condemn the killings as “despicable” and promise that the state government will take “all necessary measures” to protect lives and property in the state. What could those necessary measures possibly be? The Land Use Act (1979) vests the ownership of land in state Governors as trustees, but in the event of land-related conflicts, state Governors are either totally helpless or even complicit as they surreptitiously try to defend the interests of their own ethnic groups. Conflicts in Delta State over the years have been far beyond the capacity of the Governors. It will be no different with Oborevwori, who himself needs as much help as the people.  If he had any ideas about what to do, the tragedy at Okuama could have been prevented. The conflict must have been brewing over time until it reached a boiling point. 

President Tinubu has written as follows: “I extend my profound condolences to the families of these fallen heroes, their colleagues, and their loved ones. The military high command is already responding to this incident. The cowardly offenders responsible for this heinous crime will not go unpunished. The incident, once again, demonstrates the dangers faced by our servicemen and women in line of duty. I salute their heroism, courage and uncommon grit and passion.” He added: “The Defence Headquarters and Chief of Defence Staff have been granted full authority to bring to justice anybody found to have been responsible for this unconscionable crime against the Nigerian people.” Certainly, the President struck the right notes of empathy; signing the statement personally as President, Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is also a good gesture that matches the gravity of the problem. Morale must be very low among the troops - to be killed by an enemy on the battle-field is occupational hazard, but to be slaughtered at home by the same people they have taken an oath to protect and defend is worse. The families of the 17 fallen soldiers deserve every support that they can get, including counselling. We mourn the fallen heroes: Lt. Col. AH Ali, Commanding Officer, 181 Amphibious Battalion, Major SD Shafa, Maj. DE Obi, Capt. U Zakari, SSgt. Yahaya Saidu, Cpl. Yahaya Danbaba, Cpl Kabiru Basir, LCpl. Bulus Haruna, LCpl. Sole Opeyemi, LCpl. Bello Anas, LCpl. Hamman Peter, LCpl. Ibrahim Abdullahi, Pte Alhaji Isah, Pte Clement Francis, Pte Abubakar Ali, Pte Ibrahim Adamu and Pte Adamu Ibrahim. The President has called for “justice”. The investigations and arrests being carried out by the Defence Headquarters must result in a situation whereby the long arm of the law catches up with those who killed the soldiers, those who inflicted jungle justice on the community and destroyed lives and properties, those who caused the conflict between the two communities of Okuama and Okoloba, and any person(s), be they chiefs, youths or ordinary indigenes who may be trying to profit in whatever form from the crisis. 

The investigation must also address certain cogent questions: what was the peace mission all about? Who authorized the deployment of troops and under what circumstances?  How did the youths of Okuama get the sophisticated weapons with which they waged war against Nigerian soldiers? Why is it that the soldiers could not defend themselves? How equipped were they, even on a peace mission, military work requires an advance knowledge of the threat situation at a chosen destination or is that not so? And how on earth did soldiers become involved in a land dispute? It would perhaps be advisable to set up an independent panel of inquiry, and for the military to review the scope of the involvement of its personnel in the Niger Delta. The Okuama narrative is at best a developing story, “caught in the clash of counter claims and charges.” In order not to keep ending up as “casualties”, the people of Urhobo Ewu Kingdom and the Ijaws along the Forcados river must learn to live together in peace.  And as for the rest of us, the instructive question is: who really is safe when armed soldiers are killed so easily by irate youths? I guess not even the dead who are also now being kidnapped from cemeteries by graveyard bandits.

Strong indications have emerged that a potential problem of scarcity of the e-passport booklets is looming, occasioned by the non-payment of huge production debt to vendors and major stakeholders involved in the value chain of the travel document.

LEADERSHIP learnt that unless the federal government, through the offices of the minister of finance and the accountant general of the federation (AGF), halts its monthly deduction of the whooping 50 per cent fund from the income paid into the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) Treasury Single Account (TSA) from passport sales, specifically opened for the acquisition of the e-passports, the looming shortage of the travel document may not be averted.

A top source at the passport office at the Nigeria Immigration Service headquarters, who wished to remain anonymous, explained that the misconception is that the gross income paid by passport applicants goes directly to the NIS TSA, from where the service is supposed to make payment to all stakeholders involved in the passport value chain.

He lamented that, unfortunately, before the said income drops, the federal government, which regards the money as net income, takes out 50 per cent, leaving the Immigration service with nothing reasonable to service their vendors and all stakeholders involved in the passport production process.

He said, “Let me give you an example, the cost of the 32-page passport booklet outside Nigeria is $132, while the cost of the 64-page category is $230. If you apply outside Nigeria and you pay in dollars, the money goes straight into the Federal Account which is shared amongst the three tiers of government every month by the Federation Account Committee (FAAC).”

The officer, who confirmed that there is currently a shortage of the 32-page booklets across the 48 passport-issuing outlets outside Nigeria, and the 44 outlets in the country, however, acknowledged that the agency presently has the 64-page booklets in excess but that the demand for it was very low.

“Our service providers are owed over N16 billion while printed booklets are stuck in warehouses due to our inability to offset these huge debts,” he said.

The source explained that there are booklets to be delivered to the NIS by the printers, but they are stuck in Nigeria Customs Service and DHL warehouses due to the huge debts owed them.

“The Customs Service, DHL and two Nigerian banks are amongst service providers that are insisting on the payment of their outstanding N16 billion balance before the documents would be released to us. As a matter of fact, we are meant to understand that the manufacturing firms based Slovenia, Malaysia, and another in Malta handling the e-passport projects are yet to be reimbursed in line with our agreement to always make payment two weeks after printing and supplying the e-passports,” he stated.

Another competent source at the Ministry of Interior told our correspondent that the minister of interior, Dr Tunji-Ojo, who is worried that the frightening threat of passport booklets shortage might hinder the ongoing passport reforms, single handedly sourced for and obtained grants of about N10 billion from outside the system to salvage the mess. However, unfortunately, that amount cannot make any meaningful impact.

“As I speak to you, the minister isn’t relenting; he is still busy trying to get more, but the truth is that this move is not sustainable,” he said.

Major stakeholders and experts are insisting that things can only get back if the total monies deducted from the passport production TSA is returned to the rightful owners.

“We are at the verge of approaching our very understanding President Ahmed Bola Tinubu to stop the ACG, the Minister of Finance and the CBN, letting them know that the whooping 50 per cent they usually take is not actually theirs,” the source said.

Sports Kit manufacturing giant, Nike, has revealed Nigeria’s new 2024 home and away kits.

The design of the jersey will be the first time in three years that the Super Eagles use white as a main colour.

The Nike Nigeria 2024 home football shirt is predominantly white with green and red detailing.

The most unusual feature of the Nike Nigeria 2024 home shirt is that Nike have used the words ‘NAIJA’ on the front of the shirt instead of the Nigerian football crest.

This design is reminiscent of the Puma third shirt from the 21-22 season.

Nike combines the Nigeria 2024 home football shirt with white shorts and socks.

The Nike Nigeria 2024 away football shirt has a first in the country’s history.

The Nike Nigeria 2024 away kit is mainly black, combined with a green graphic design.

The green pattern of the Nigeria 2024 away jersey is inspired by the famous Nigerian rainforest.

Violence broke out between supporters of Trabzonspor and players from Fenerbahce after a match on Sunday in the Turkish top flight, which has been plagued by trouble this season.

A crowd of home supporters invaded the pitch at Trabzonspor’s stadium after the final whistle of an encounter that Fenerbahce won 3-2.

Images show a Trabzonspor fan enter the pitch and begin running towards the celebrating Fenerbahce players, some of whom reacted by running towards him to try and strike him.

Other fans then invaded the pitch as stewards tried to restore order.

Videos showed Belgian international Michy Batshuayi kicking a fan who had entered the pitch and Nigerian international Bright Osayi-Samuel punching another supporter.

In other images on social media, a fan can be seen to threaten a visiting player with a corner flag and Fenerbahce’s goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic receives a punch to the face.

Following the violent scenes, Turkey’s interior minister Ali Yerlikaya announced the opening of an investigation into the incident.

“After the Trabzonspor-Fenerbahce football match played this evening, an investigation has been initiated immediately to identify the spectators who entered the pitch and to investigate the incidents that took place at the end of the match,” he wrote on X.

“Incidents of violence on football pitches are never acceptable.”

The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) called the events “unacceptable” and said in a statement that “the necessary criminal sanctions will be imposed on those responsible for these incidents”.

It is not the first time violence has been seen in the Turkish Super Lig this season.

The league was suspended for a week in December after a referee was attacked during a match between Ankaragucu and Rizespor.

Ankaragucu president Faruk Koca, alongside other men, attacked referee Halil Umut Meler on the pitch after the match, injuring the official.

A number of Fenerbahce trips to Trabzon in recent times have also been marred by violence.

A 2016 game against Trabzonspor was abandoned in the closing minutes after an assistant referee was attacked by a home supporter.

The year before that the Fenerbahce team bus came under attack from a gunman en route to the airport on the way back from the neighbouring Black Sea city of Rize, leaving the driver seriously injured.

In 2014 a match between Trabzonspor and Fenerbahce was called off at half-time after the Istanbul club’s players were pelted with objects thrown onto the pitch by home fans.

Trabzonspor, who won the Turkish title two years ago, also found themselves in the spotlight in 2015 when the club president locked the referee and his assistants inside the stadium overnight in protest at the decision not to award his team a penalty.

They were eventually released in the early hours of the following morning after a phone call from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

A Federal High Court, Abuja has ordered Binance Holdings Limited to provide the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) with comprehensive data or information on all persons from Nigeria trading on its platform.

Justice Emeka Nwite granted the interim order after ruling on the ex-parte motion moved by the EFCC’s lawyer, Ekele Iheanacho.

“The applicant’s application dated and filed 29th February, 2024, is hereby granted as prayed.

“That an order of this honourable court is hereby made directing the operators of Binance to provide the commission with comprehensive data/information relating to all persons from Nigeria trading on its platform,” the judge ordered.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the interim order was granted to enable the anti-graft agency to unravel the alleged money laundering and terrorism financing on Binance, a cryptocurrency exchange platform.

A certified true copy of the ruling, which was delivered on Feb. 29, was sighted by NAN on Monday.

The ex-parte motion, marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/259/2024, was brought pursuant to Sections 6(b), (h), (I), 7(1), (a)(2), and 38 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Establishment Act, 2004 and Section 15 of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022 (as amended) and the inherent powers of the court.

In the affidavit in support of the motion deposed to by Hamma Bello, an operative of the EFCC, he said he was attached to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the commission domiciled in the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).

Bello averred that, following the inauguration of the Technical Committee on Currency Stability and Forex Manipulation by the ONSA, the SIT “received an intelligence report stating the nefarious activities (money laundering and terrorism financing) on Binance, a cryptocurrency exchange platform.

“That on receipt of the intelligence, the team began investigation by conducting surveillance of the activities of the platform.

“That the team uncovered users who have been using the platform for price discovery, confirmation, and market manipulation, which has caused tremendous distortions in the market, resulting in the Naira losing its value against other currencies.

“That the damage the platform has caused was clearly explained to the operators of the platform, and they were requested to delist the Naira and avail the ONSA of the activities of the Nigerians on their platform.

“That, from the information afforded to the team by Binance, shows that the total trading volume from Nigeria in 2023 alone stood at $21.6 (twenty-one billion, six hundred million dollars).

“Attached and marked as Exhibit EFCC 1 is a copy of the document from Binance to the ONSA stating this fact, amongst others.

“That the commission will ensure that investigation is conducted within such reasonable time.”

Bello, who said that the matter was of utmost urgent public interest, said the data provided would enable the commission to accomplish its investigation activities.

He said it was in the interest of justice to grant the application, as refusal of the request would largely hamper the commission’s investigation.

NAN reports that Binance is a cryptocurrency exchange that lists more than 350 cryptocurrencies globally.

In addition to cryptocurrency trading, it offers several services that enhance the experience for users and blockchain developers. (NAN)

The Labour Party (LP) House of Representatives caucus has rejected the March 27th proposed date for the opposition party’s National Convention, calling for a postponement.

Naija News reports that the LP leadership had initially fixed the convention to take place on March 29 but later changed it to March 27. The party’s leadership said the date was changed because the initial day falls on Good Friday, a significant date for the Christian faith worldwide.

But in a statement to journalists, the leader of the LP caucus in the lower legislative chambers, Afam Ogene, called for the postponement of the national convention for proper planning.

He stated that the party needs to make proper and more comprehensive consultations and make efforts to bring every stakeholder on board.

According to him, the party should have started with ward congresses before jumping to a national convention.

The statement read: “The national convention of any national political party is such an important event that ought not to be conducted without proper planning or in a hurry.

“While we acknowledge that the various challenges currently being thrown at the national leadership may have been responsible for the seemingly sloppy organization of the proposed convention, we hasten to add that the fact that many stakeholders, including my colleagues in parliament, were not carried along in the whole process leaves resentment trailing the process.

“While we agree that the 29th, as earlier scheduled, is not appropriate for the reasons given, we also note that the 27th is not any better. Indeed, many have wondered why a national convention would seem more preferable, as against the bottom-up approach of beginning congresses from the wards.

“In fact, even more fundamental is the health and sustainability of our dear party. The party has, for some time now, witnessed internal friction and glitches, just like every other political party in the nation. So, we in the House of Representatives, as the direct representatives of the people, are of the view that the party needs some more time to smooth the rough edges in the party leadership system and operational mechanism before the next convention.

“So, for these reasons, we respectfully call for the postponement of the national convention and the immediate activation of a consultation mechanism that would inject a healing and reinvigorating tonic in the party for a more successful and sustainable future, for the overall good of our teeming supporters and Nigeria in general.”

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Yemi Cardoso, is reportedly set to retire eight directors of the apex bank, barring any last-minute change.

Naija News gathered that the directors, who were employed by the former governor of the CBN, Godwin Emefiele, would be served early retirement letters this week.

According to Daily Trust, some directors were initially redeployed to an arm of the bank, FSS 2020, under the Governor’s Directorate, which worked closely with Emefiele.

The newspaper reported that the directors have worked from the Directorate’s office located in the Maitama District of Abuja since 24the November 2023, and are kept in a sort of pool to await “further directives.”

The newspaper said sources within the bank revealed that some had already been served the disengagement letters since Friday, 15th March 2024, but could not state clearly under what terms those affected were disengaged.

One of the sources said: “We don’t know whether they were given early retirement or their appointments were terminated outright.”

The sources could not confirm if those being served early retirement letters have been found guilty of any offences, adding that the news of the planned sack has been widespread since Thursday last week.

One of the sources said the main reason for the sack of the affected officials was “because they had worked very closely with the immediate past governor of the bank, Mr. Godwin Emefiele”.

It was learned that the decision has raised great concern amongst staff of the CBN, who fear that it could be a prelude to more layoffs by the current management of the banking regulator.

Recall that the apex bank had relocated no fewer than 150 staff of the Banking Supervision Department (BSD), which is one of the 29 departments of the bank, to Lagos. The BSD is under the Financial System Stability Directorate of the CBN.

The relocation saga, it would be recalled, had generated heated controversy across the country, with many people of northern extraction alleging that it was an attempt to dislodge staff who are northerners from the institution.

But the CBN rebuffed those insinuations, insisting that it was part of a proper reorganisation of the bank, to ensure that the regular onsite examination of the 24 banks in the country was diligently carried out since most of those national and regional banks are headquartered in Lagos.

It also adduced that part of the reason for the relocation was the desire to de-congest the corporate headquarters of the bank.

The Labour Party, LP, 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi has cried out over the hardship Nigerians are passing through.

Speaking on Monday, Obi lamented the kidnapping in the country.

According to him, about 7,000 Nigerians have been kidnapped in the past one year with several cases of killings and clashes recorded across the country.

This was as he described Nigeria as one of the hungriest nations and most difficult countries to live in the North.

Posting on X, Obi called on the Federal Government to take urgent steps towards improving the situation in the country.

“In the past 1 year, about 7000 Nigerians have been kidnapped, with about 700 kidnapped in the last 3 weeks, notwithstanding the violent crimes and killings that occur in every part of the nation, which must have included us in one of the world’s riskiest countries to live in.

“A report by the globally respected publication, Financial Times, on March 12, 2024, described Nigeria’s kidnapping racket as a sign of a failed state. With all of these happening in our nation, how then can we attract foreign investors, & retain the confidence of local investors?

“We have become one of the hungriest nations in the world and one of the most difficult nations in the world to live in, with food prices constantly going out of the reach of most Nigerians. Power supply is abysmally poor and Nigerians are now mostly in total darkness,as over 60% are without power supply. Even those in perceived privileged areas now go for days without power supply.

“A 2022 Energy Progress Report designated Nigeria as the country with the largest number of people lacking access to electricity with 92 million of its over 200 million population living without electricity. About 80 percent of our primary healthcare centres are not functional. The cost of medical treatments and medicines have gone beyond the reach of most Nigerians.

“We now hold the enviable position of having the highest number of out of school children, with about 20 million out-of-school children. We need to take our children off the streets and give them access to basic education.

“I, therefore, urge our executive and legislative arms to consider the many challenges facing our nation and re-allocate resources to these very critical areas. This is the time for complete sacrifice. A New Nigeria is still very POssible,” he wrote.

That Nigeria’s economy is in bad shape, is no longer news. Food and other necessities are hard to come by.

However, no matter what turn the economy takes, Nigerians, by their unique nature, will always find survival alternatives.

That is why although it sounds unthinkable to see, anywhere in the world, where bamboos are used in place of irons to cast pillars and decking of building constructions, Nigeria has found in convenient.

The high cost of building materials is making many homeowners go for cheap alternatives for construction.

While many Nigerians whose buildings are under construction are abandoning them, waiting for when prices of materials will go down, most frustrated ones are selling off their uncompleted properties to interested buyers.
But others have decided to invent conventional means by replacing iron rods with bamboo.

Economy&Lifestyle discovered that home construction engineers now use bamboo, laced with construction wires to cast decking and pillars of buildings.

Usually, for such buildings, Iron rods are used in these areas to create rigidity and firmness.
Bamboo, a woody plant with hollow stems is in the grass family. It is always used for scaffolding in tall buildings replacing steel irons merged together with screws.

According to Mr. Andrew Asaga, a building engineer, 12mm, 16mm, 20mm, 25mm, 10mm, or 8mm iron rods are recommended for building apartments depending on the strength of the material and the designs specified.

He added: “Bamboo can also do the job of an iron rods to an extent.
“Some persons now use only bamboo for the pillars.
“Some mix bamboo with iron rods for the decking to save cost.
“Others now use only bamboo for decking.

“An iron rod costs between N10,000 to N30,000 depending on the size.
“This was twice the price it was sold for last year.

Few weeks ago, a client who wanted to build a bungalow asked that I use bamboo mixed with iron rods to build the pillars because the cost of iron rods has increased.

“He wanted me to construct 8 pillars for the building and would need four 12 mm iron rods for a pillar.
“A ton of 12mm (93 pieces) is now over N1.3 million .

“I don’t know where this country is heading to.”

Mr. Atanaza Godbless, an engineer said: ” Building developers are no longer making profits in the business.
” This is because the cost of building materials are increasing daily.

“When you make a quotation for clients today and they respond next week, you get to the market and discover that the prices of the materials you quoted have increased tremendously.

“You are left with nothing to settle with your workers.
“At the end you see engineers running away leaving workers unpaid.
“And such a person is being labelled bad.
“People are now settling for less alternatives of building materials.
“The cost of iron rods for instance, is making people use bamboo.

“The government is seeing all these and nothing is being done to reduce the cost of building materials.
“The result of these alternatives is having inferior buildings and increased building collapse.”

The strong bonds between concrete and the iron rods ensure stronger constructions as external forces cannot easily break these bonds and the concrete will not slip away from these rods as they are tied together during construction.

Mrs. Fatimetu Momoh, a bamboo seller said the price of a piece of bamboo has also increased from N400 per bamboo to N1500.

She added: “Even used ones now go for N900 which was sold for N200.

“Those supplying the bamboo are complaining of logistics and levies paid on the road.

“This is not something we import. Or do we start importing bamboo? Something we have in our country.
“There is no business that is not frustrated in today’s economy. I pray God will save us from this horrible situation.”