
OTHERS' VIEWS
The pain from the death of my friend lingers. It weighs me down. I hardly sleep through the night with a headache.
I am thinking of the meaninglessness of life, of human mortality, and the inevitability of death that ‘will come, when it will come’.
I wake early. My heart is pounding with grief. I head to the airport for my early morning flight to Abuja.
What happens next is fortuitous, a divine script. At the airport, I am allocated seat number 1C. We soon start to board. I take my front row seat. Others follow.
Then he embarks. His small retinue of aides indicate his status. He is wearing a simple traditional Igbo attire - a red cap on a red Isiagu and white trousers. This is not a small man. I recognize him immediately.
His seat is 1A, right next to mine.
I salute him. The broad smile on his face is no more than his usual dispensation of courtesies to everyone around him. He is a very friendly political leader. He takes the seat next to me.
I don’t waste any time at all.
‘Accept my sincere condolences, Your Excellency’.
He looks at me with some measure of surprise. Obviously, he does not know what I am talking about. It also confirms he does not recognize me.
‘The passage of Christian Chukwu’, I guide him. ‘I am Segun Odegbami’.
It adds up quickly in his head.
‘Ah, the Mathematical’. Recognition comes and lights up his face.
‘Thank you very much’, he says. ‘What a sad situation to lose one of the greatest heroes of this country, a legendary football player’.
He talks more about Christian Chukwu glowingly. He promises to support a befitting burial by the country for the born-leader and illustrious patriot. He recalls that Chairman Chukwu led a great generation of players in Rangers FC, IICC, Bendel Insurance and others, teams that played a big role in uniting the country in the years following the Civil War.
I tell him about Chukwu’s role, through his exemplary leadership of both Rangers International and the Green Eagles, of helping to heal the wounds inflicted on the psyche of Nigerians by the Nigerian Civil War.
Then he surprises me. He goes back in time to rekindle the magic of radio commentating: ‘Mathematical. He dribbles one, he dribbles two, he sprints down the touch line, he passes to Chukwu, he moves, oh, oh , oh……’.
He is actually running a commentary of an imaginary football match. Some of the passengers by our seats enjoy his sonorous rumbling voice, mimicking late Ernest Okonkwo.
He is obviously very happy to meet me. He says more than once as we settle down to a conversation that covers several subjects. It is as if we are long-separated friends running out on time to catch up.
We race through different subject matters until the plane taxis and lifts off into the darkening and pregnant clouds of Lagos at this time of the year.
Our conversation is like between two friends that have not seen each other for a long time, racing to catch up on things.
We talk about Christian Chukwu’s sad passage; his invitation to ex-Rangers players to the State House in Awka after he became governor; his support for the welfare of the Rangers players, a monthly stipend contributed by some of the South-East zone Governors. He desires that the stipend in increased. He tells me about his relationship with football. It is the only addiction he has.
He tells me he once cancelled an international trip whilst in transit in order to watch the Spanish El Classico on television between Real Madrid FC and FC Barca. Like me, he is a supporter of FC Barcelona. Up Barca!!
In his youth, he played football against his father’s wish, an old scar on his cheek-bone evidence of his defiance to play football on street pebbles.
He talks a little about his foray into politics, about Onitsha market and its poor reputation, plus the re-modeling of the city. There are steps to be taken to repair the image of the biggest public market in the whole of West Africa.
I ask him how he is able to run the State without borrowing a Kobo. That’s easy. He has prioritized his assignment to essential projects and has cut down on all waste.
He answers all my questions.
I am in his lecture-space.
He radiates confidence and happiness. His records of performance in almost 4 years will speak for him at the polls in his re-election bid.
The sound of the engines takes over. We go silent. By the time the plane gets to maximum height and starts to cruise comfortably, we are both taking a nap.
Abuja.
We resume our conversation as our plane lands in Abuja. Christian Chukwu is on our mind again. He led the Eagles at a glorious era in Nigeria, the 1970s and parts of the 1980s. He sees those years as half-filled, rather half-empty of opportunities to make Nigeria the greatest Black Nation on earth.
There is work to be done. Our responsibility is not to change the world but to play our parts in making a difference.
The only question he asks me is:’what do you do now?’.
I tell him - a little bit of this, a little bit of that.
I tell him about my only official portfolio is as Head of the Sports and Diplomacy Unit of the Nigeria Institute of International Affairs. I tell him about the ‘Wall of Fame’ and Allen Onyema’s role in that endeavour that makes me an Air Peace Ambassador.
We both wonder why we have never met before when we have several mutual friends.
We exchange numbers.
We take a picture as the plane stops finally.
We walk together from the plane to the arrival hall of the Airport where we part ways and promise to keep in touch.
Through all of this time he is greeting everyone around, sharing a few words here and there with even total strangers, a smile on his face always. He is a great man.
It is a great personal privilege and invaluable experience to have shared an entire 60 minutes, or so, with the former Governor of the Central Bank, and current Governor of Anambra State, PROFESSOR Chukwuma Soludo.
As I drive into Abuja, I am thinking.
3 members of the 1980 team have died in the past 3 months - Moses Effiong, Charles Bassey and ‘Chairman’ Christian Chukwu!
May they find absolutely peace with the Creator of the Universe! Amen.
Dr. Olusegun Odegbami, MON, OLY, AFNIIA, FNIS
One Nigerian businessman whose life exemplifies hard work, enthusiasm and resilience, is Mr. Tony Onyemaechi Elumelu CFR, fondly called TOE by friends and colleagues. Chairman of UBA Plc and Heirs Holdings, Elumelu sits on boards of several other conglomerates too numerous to mention.
Born on March 22, 1963, to parents from Onicha Ukwu in Aniocha North Local Government Area of Delta State, young Tony Onyemaechi had a modest upbringing but never looked back once he came of age. At 62 he is not just a celebration of age but a celebration of purpose, persistence, and Pan-African impact.
Elumelu has proven that to build Africa’s future, we don’t need to look west—we need to look within. His journey is not just one of financial success, but of purposeful impact—a legacy that transcends numbers and speaks to the heart of a continent striving to overcome decades of stagnation and poverty.
As he marks another year, we look beyond his fortune to the deeper imprint he continues to leave: a legacy that breathes hope. At 62, Elumelu could have retired to enjoy the blessings that Almighty God has endowed him with but his passion and compassion for the African youth have been the adrenaline driving him.
He had earned the accolades: Forbes lists, global awards, honorary doctorates. But for him, legacy isn’t something you write in a will. It’s something you leave in people.
Tony Elumelu’s tenure as Group Managing Director of United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, from 2005 to 2010, marked a transformational period that redefined the bank’s identity and elevated it to a Pan-African powerhouse.
Following the strategic merger between Standard Trust Bank (where Elumelu had served as CEO), and UBA in 2005, he led the combined entity with a bold vision: to build a world-class financial institution that would serve not just Nigeria, but the entire African continent and beyond.
Under his leadership UBA expanded from a single-country operation to a pan-African bank, establishing subsidiaries in over 20 African countries, as well as operations in New York, London, and Paris. The bank also introduced innovative digital banking platforms, improved customer experience, and modernized operations, setting new industry standards. UBA’s balance sheet and profitability saw consistent growth, and it became one of the largest and most respected banks in Africa.
This feat led to his recognition in 2008, as African Banker of the Year by the African Banker Awards. This award honored his transformational leadership at UBA, his role in championing cross-border banking in Africa, and his contributions to building a truly pan-African financial institution.
His win highlighted UBA’s growth under his stewardship and solidified his status as one of the most influential banking executives on the continent. Elumelu also championed strong corporate governance and transparency, which significantly boosted investor and public confidence.
He positioned UBA as a partner for development, aligning financial services with broader economic and social transformation across Africa. By the time he stepped down as GMD/CEO in 2010 due to the Central Bank of Nigeria's new policy, Tony Elumelu had not only transformed UBA into a truly global bank, but had also laid a foundation of innovation, sustainability, and inclusive growth that continues to shape its legacy today.
His guiding philosophy—Africapitalism—defines this vision. Coined and championed by him, Africapitalism is the belief that the private sector, especially entrepreneurs, must play a central role in the development of the African continent. It argues that long-term investments in strategic sectors will not only yield profits but also create jobs, foster stability, and build inclusive prosperity.
At 62, Elumelu stands as a towering figure in the landscape of African entrepreneurship, finance, and philanthropy. A name that resonates across boardrooms, government halls, and startup hubs from Lagos to Accra, to Nairobi to Johannesburg, Elumelu has become more than just a successful businessman—he is a symbol of what is possible on the continent.
His life’s work is a masterclass in purpose-driven leadership, and his mission is clear: to catalyze Africa’s economic transformation by empowering its entrepreneurs.
For Elumelu, success is not merely a personal triumph but a foreshadowing of a deeper vision. It isn’t just about profit. It is about people. It is about potential.
Perhaps the most transformative expression of Elumelu’s commitment to Africa is the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF). Launched in 2010, TEF has committed over $100 million to empower 10,000 African entrepreneurs over 10 years. As of 2025, it has already impacted thousands across 54 African countries, offering funding, training, and mentorship that many describe as life-changing.
These entrepreneurs are not just statistics; they are stories of transformation. Farmers in Malawi leveraging agri-tech; female founders in Ghana breaking into fintech; healthcare startups in Rwanda improving lives through innovation. Each story is a testament to Elumelu’s belief that Africa’s future lies in the hands of its people—not foreign aid, but local ideas and bold execution.
Entrepreneurs supported by the Tony Elumelu Foundation have generated over $4.2 billion in revenue across Africa and created more than 1.5 million jobs since the Foundation launched its flagship entrepreneurship programme in 2015.The impact of this initiative has extended to lifting over two million Africans out of poverty, making it one of the continent’s most significant privately-led economic empowerment programmes.
At 62, Tony Elumelu’s wealth and influence are undeniable. But what makes his legacy profound is not the size of his empire, but the scale of his impact. His life is a message that Africans can lead, build, and transform—on their own terms.
He has shown that philanthropy and capitalism are not mutually exclusive, and that profits and purpose can coexist. He has redefined success—not as personal gain, but as collective progress. As Tony Elumelu enters his 63rd year, the continent stands at a pivotal moment. With the largest youth population in the world, Africa holds immense untapped potential. But it also faces serious challenges—unemployment, inequality, and infrastructure gaps.
Elumelu’s work reminds us that the solutions are already here—in Africa’s young minds, waiting to be activated. If one man’s vision can ignite thousands of businesses, imagine what a continent of empowered, well-supported entrepreneurs could do. Elemelu is a firm believer that in the 21st century, what Africa needs is not aid but investment in infrastructure and investment in in the youths. He was once quoted to have said: “supporting entrepreneurship is born out of a deep realisation that inaction could jeopardise the future of the continent, including that of those already considered successful”.
At 62, Tony O. Elumelu is more than a billionaire businessman—he is a movement. His name has become synonymous with transformational leadership, youth empowerment, and the bold reimagining of Africa’s economic narrative. While his wealth is substantial, it is his legacy beyond wealth that truly defines him.
In a world often obsessed with financial figures, Elumelu has redefined what it means to be successful. For him, it’s not about how much you have in your bank account—but how many lives you’ve touched, how many futures you’ve shaped, and how deeply you’ve inspired a continent to believe in itself. But what truly sets Elumelu apart is his commitment to using his influence to shift mindsets. He has made it fashionable to care, to give and to build.
Unlike many of his peers on the global billionaire stage, Elumelu’s wealth has always been tethered to purpose. He has consistently emphasized that profit without impact is hollow. Whether sitting on panels with world leaders or walking through rural communities, his message remains the same: Africa’s future is in the hands of its people, not in aids. As he celebrates another birthday, Elumelu’s legacy can be measured not just in years or dollar signs, but in hope restored, in jobs created and in ideas funded.
Among young Africans are those who now believe that they don’t have to leave the continent to live out their dreams. He represents the rare kind of leader who doesn’t just build companies—he builds people.
Tony Elumelu’s journey is far from over. As Africa navigates the complexities of a global economy, rising youth populations, and evolving digital landscapes, his voice and vision are needed more than ever. And if his past is any indication, the years ahead won’t just be about expanding empires—they’ll be about deepening impact.
Tony Elumelu is not defined by his fortune—but by the future he is helping shape. His wealth may open doors, but it is his wisdom, his will, and his unwavering belief in Africa that make him truly wealthy. His is a legacy not just of success—but of significance.
Kalu Okoronkwo, a former staff of UBA plc writes from Lagos Nigeria and can be reached via kalu.okoronkwo@gmail.com
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has seen the light, seemingly. He has been speaking about the readiness of the Nigerian government to transform the nation’s legacy broadcast outfits, NTA and Voice of Nigeria, into modern broadcast operations that will be reflective of the expectations of the people, especially government, and broadcast aficionados.
Idris spoke at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, where he saw the real broadcast world that obviously sent him into delirium about what Nigeria can also do to fall in line with modern broadcasting. NAB combines state-of-the-art broadcast equipment exhibition with high-end conference and seminar presentations.
Last year on this column, we wrote: “If you are a regulator, like the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), which superintends the nation’s broadcast industry, Vegas is the place to be this April (2024) because at the NAB Show, there is so much knowledge available, so much expert information and master classes from the industry – manufacturers, vendors, software developers, programmers and even entertainers, that the regulator must soak itself in the midst without giving only the operators the opportunity for such knowledge. The regulator must be steps ahead if it is to provide proper regulatory direction and leadership for the industry.”
But knowing that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had placed a moratorium on official international travels at the time because of abuse in some quarters and the need to preserve much needed funds, we had argued: “But life doesn’t have to stop because of the stupidity and failing of others. This is why I want to make a case this morning. The broadcast regulator should be allowed to be in Vegas this April for the good of industry and country. A year out of Vegas by the regulator is like a year out of the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). It may take several decades to catch up, and the world and its inventions do not wait for the sluggardly.”
I am not sure Nigeria was officially represented at NAB last year. Such information was very painful to bear because such absence drains the industry of requisite knowledge.
This year the story is different as the Minister led a team to NAB, which includes: Charles Ebuebu, Director-General, National Broadcasting Commission (NBC); Salihu Dembos, Director-General, Nigerian Television Authority (NTA); Ali Muhammad Ali, Managing Director, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN); Lekan Fadolapo, Director-General, Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON); Jibril Ndace, Director-General, Voice of Nigeria (VON), among others.
Without doubt, the Minister was in good company as he took with him top officials of relevant government agencies who may be the ones to execute any plan put in place to revamp the industry. “Strategic communication is essential to ensuring that the policies of the Renewed Hope Agenda reach the Nigerian people effectively,” he said.
Idris, according to reports, had the listening ears of Thomas King, Chairman, KINTRONIC Laboratories; Khiran Keerodhur, Chief Operating Officer, Thompson Broadcast; and Gianluca Baccalini, Chief Operating Officer, Systems Engineering, and some others.
This year’s theme, The Tech, The Trend, The Future, captures every nuanced reasoning and approximation of all-round development and growth of the broadcast industry. The theme curates today’s industry happenings and contemplates a tomorrow that accommodates emerging broadcast trends and technologies no matter how expansive. It is hoped that the Minister can move beyond words to rescue the government stations from their antiquated state of being where they hibernate as industry dodos and dinosaurs, far beneath the private stations which have set the pace since broadcast deregulation in 1992.
Also last week, there was another significant development. The NBC placed broadcast restrictions on “Tell Your Papa” by Rap musician, Eedris Abdulkareem, as content was “deemed inappropriate for broadcast due to its objectionable nature. It is therefore classified as Not To Be Broadcast (NTBB), as it violates Section 3.1.8 of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code.”
The copy of the Code I have states in Section 3.8.1a as follows: “The Broadcaster shall ensure that obscene, indecent, vulgar language, lewd and profane expression, presentation or representation are not allowed in a programme.”
There is almost a seismic outrage. Since the song has not been banned in our private devices or homes or even in the social media, a majority of the people who have listened to it can’t really see anything mendacious in Eedris message to the Nigerian President through his son, Seyi, who, himself has roiled public sensibilities with outlandish claims about his father’s performance in office.
Eedris has his commanding view of reality which is expressed in the lyrics of Tell Your Papa, part of which is stated here. “Seyi, tell your papa country hard. Tell your papa people dey die. Tell your papa this one don pass jagajaga,” he said.
Can reality or the truth be outlawed from our public spaces? No one can stop the creative artist from enjoying his creative juice even if that may be bitter to some people, which is unfortunate and patently insincere. Are there no killings around the country? What is happening on the Plateau currently? Can it be lobotomised out of reality?
Global literary icon and foremost Nobel Laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka, has ventilated his mind on the Eedris ban. In a statement he said: “Courtesy of an artist operating in a different genre – the cartoon – who sent me his recent graphic comment on the event, I learnt recently of a return to the culture of censorship with the banning of the product of a music artist, Eedris Abdulkareem…..
“We have been through this before, over and over again, ad nauseum. We know where it all ends. It is boring, time-wasting, diversionary but most essential of all, subversive of all seizures of the fundamental right of free expression,” he observed.
Prof Soyinka couldn’t miss the dose of irony as he pointed out that, “The ban is a boost to the artist’s nest egg. Mr Abdulkareem must be currently warbling his merry way all the way to the bank. I envy him.”
The Nobel Laureate understands what it is for the artist to be repressed by the state. His experiences during the Nigerian Civil War may be too remote for our social media generation who attack his pronouncements, although they hardly understand the language he speaks. Eedris, although much junior to Soyinka in every scale of societal ranking, encapsulates every aspect of the statement.
He had been there before. Protest music seems to be his forte. In the book, The Handkerchief – The Story of High Chief Raymond Anthony Aleogho Dokpesi, Eedris shared his experience under President Obasanjo. “Everybody knows that identity. The identity will give you who I am and what I stand for. In 2004, I dropped the song, Nigeria Jagajaga and President Obasanjo came to the national TV and said, “That boy wey sing Nigeria Jagajaga, na your papa and your mama Jagajaga. It was the best thing that ever happened to me. From a nobody, the President made me somebody,” Eedris recalled with some pride.
When President Obasanjo responded to Eedris in his characteristic acerbic humour, the matter was literally over. But times have changed, and the reading of signs and reality have been tainted by prejudiced views of patriotism and warped interpretation of official responsibilities.
By placing NTBB on Tell Your Papa, NBC has only achieved the opposite effect – drawing attention to a song people hardly knew was in existence. It is even worse now because Nigerians are angrier that the broadcast regulator is denying them necessary channels/opportunities of reaching the President with pressing legitimate complaints that may spur him into doing something about their desperate concerns and receding expectations. It was a wrong move by NBC from every interpretation; a ricochet of sorts.
Indeed, Falola’s towering global stature as a leading global scholar has been well documented. But not much is said about the life-touching things he does in the quiet, intimate corners of humanity.
There is no gainsaying that Professor Toyin Falola is Africa’s gift to the world of ideas, intellectualism, and advancement of the human civilisation. From Ibadan he stormed the World, leaving global footprints as a leading architect of the African intellectual renaissance. In many respects, he blazes the trail as a thought leader whose journey and impact cuts across continents, races, and generations.
As a child, I grew up in a premise made up of dual bungalows. A cemented play area separated the main bungalow from a smaller bungalow that had six rooms in what used to be referred to as a face-me-I-face-you dwelling, wherein my parents rented a room.
Many an evening, before bedtime, when it was not raining, all the children from their respective rooms in the compound came with their ‘apotis’ (stools) and a few mats and gathered in the cemented common area between the two bungalows. The gathering was to listen to fascinating stories from elderly residents, whether parents or relations of parents, who were in Ijebu-Ode from varying adjoining villages, as apprentices learning one trade or the other.
The stories provided great philosophical underpinnings of values of public-spiritedness, hard work, contentment, avoidance of avarice, etc. A lot of creativity was involved. The stories were often laced with insights from the Yoruba cosmology that included exposure to the world of spirits of all sorts that one finds in the first African novel published in English or Pidgin English outside of Africa, in 1952 in the UK and in 1953 in the US, Amos Tutuola’s The Palm-Wine Drinkard. Before Tutuola, though, DO Fagunwa had, in Yoruba, pioneered the creativity of taking people into the realms of spirits, demons, and the dead.
At an early age, children were socialised into many different worlds. These tales were by the moonlight or in almost total darkness, as there was no electricity but a flicker of light provided by kerosene lamps of all sorts. The lantern was popular in this regard. These formed my first conjectures about “iwin”,”ẹbọra”, àjẹ́, and even Fela Anikulapo Kuti’s adoption of “abamì èdá,” following being initially known as Omo ìyá àje. These older story-tellers never clarified how “iwin”, differed from “ẹbọra”. But we knew that àjẹ́ referred to an initiated human female, with supernatural powers, including powers to take life. But in these unisex days, I guess a human male can also be an ajẹ́.
Both “iwin” and “ẹbọra” as supernatural elements, we were told, were ghosts or ghost-like. They could be encountered in the deep forests or like the dead, only in dreams. We knew of older women suspected to be àjẹ́, but as kids, we could only imagine “iwin” and “ẹbọra”. After all, they were not of our world. But that was not until Chief Olusegun Obasanjo accepted being dubbed as “ẹbọra” Owu. Spirits can be malevolent or benevolent, depending on the circumstances and one’s beliefs.
Since Baba Obasanjo is a known “ẹbọra”, then it is possible for living beings to have supernatural capacities that earn them the appellations of “iwin” and “ẹbọra”. Or a unique superhuman persona like Fela could result in the acceptance that such a being is an “abami eda”. Of late, I have been wondering about which would be the correct appellation for Toyin Falola. For all he has achieved and continues to achieve, I asked him which would be the correct description for him from all or none of the above. Toyin Falola responded with a question: what of all the above?
There is no gainsaying that Professor Toyin Falola is Africa’s gift to the world of ideas, intellectualism, and advancement of the human civilisation. From Ibadan he stormed the World, leaving global footprints as a leading architect of the African intellectual renaissance. In many respects, he blazes the trail as a thought leader whose journey and impact cuts across continents, races, and generations.
A total of nine Festschrifts have been produced in his honour. Beyond the written word, Falola has been a formidable voice in shaping African studies, delivering keynote lectures across the globe, serving as president of the African Studies Association, and leading landmark academic and policy discussions on Africa’s place in the world. Mr Toyin Falola has granted so many interviews to many media platforms, not only on the state of African studies and scholarship, but also on critical issues to the society, economy, and politics of Africa and the world at large.
A recipient of numerous prestigious honours that affirm his unparalleled all-encompassing contributions to academia. Herein lies the most interesting part of Toyin Falola’s legacies. His fine capacity to achieve such an uncommon feat in academics, yet capable enough to attend to so many other areas of interest at the same period, over about seven decades of life. This is something many academics continue to find extremely difficult, if not nearly impossible. He has brought very significant contributions to the study of the Humanities, Social Sciences, Literature, and Jurisprudence.
His various efforts over the past decades have reputedly resulted in the authorship, co-authorship, and editing of over 200 books, journals, and academic works on African History, Pan-Africanism, Anglo-African cultures, Latin America and Africa’s interaction with the outside world, to mention just a few. His seminal works, such as Key Events in African History: A Reference Guide, Nationalism and African Intellectuals, as well as Tradition and Change in Africa, have become indispensable in the study of African history and politics. Through many innovative platforms, such as the Toyin Falola Network, Falola Interviews, and Falola Media, he has continued to engage consistently, sharing his ideas, depths, and experiences.
A total of nine Festschrifts have been produced in his honour. Beyond the written word, Falola has been a formidable voice in shaping African studies, delivering keynote lectures across the globe, serving as president of the African Studies Association, and leading landmark academic and policy discussions on Africa’s place in the world. Mr Toyin Falola has granted so many interviews to many media platforms, not only on the state of African studies and scholarship, but also on critical issues to the society, economy, and politics of Africa and the world at large.
Indeed, Falola’s towering global stature as a leading global scholar has been well documented. But not much is said about the life-touching things he does in the quiet, intimate corners of humanity. Beyond academics, his compassion has often revealed itself in deeply personal and localised ways. On such occasions, he extends not only his voice but his hands and heart to friends in trouble.
Falola’s approach has often been to reach out, mobilise support, and restore hope and happiness. He does these by sometimes driving heartfelt fundraising campaigns to help colleagues in distress, to pushing for support for ailing and needy colleagues and friends. One such moment was his response to the tragic ordeal of Professor Adigun Agbaje, when the institution he worked for, while on leave of absence from the University of Ibadan, abandoned him in the hands of kidnappers, even though he was on an official assignment when he was abducted. Falola stood firm in amplifying voices, drawing attention, and catalysing moral and financial solidarity with Agbaje’s family and friends.
Similarly, when Professor Ayo Olukotun took ill and later passed on, Falola did not fold his arms. Twice, he used the trust of friends to raise funds for the period of sickness and subsequent burial, since the institution he also worked for would not do much. He went a step further in championing a foundation in Olukotun’s memory, as a tribute and a living commitment to their shared ideals: justice, knowledge, and a better Nigeria.
It is this same usual character that Falola came through, adorned in his surprising customised adirẹ fabric, as gifts shared at my 70th birthday celebration, with his rich, insightful lecture in my honour in March. That lecture titled, “Power, Privilege and Philosophy,” was delivered with an alluring charm and depth that left the audience at once chuckling and thinking. Anyone who has listened to Falola from the rostrum knows that he has a unique way of delivery, aesthetically wrapping sharp critiques in wit, using humour as both a shield and sword in the quest for truth. Toyin Falola is a master in the twin approaches of story-telling and real deep academic talk in his delivery of lectures and speeches.
His seven-decade life is filled with numerous awards, and various honorary Doctorates worldwide, the latest, being an honorary Doctor of Law from the University of the Free State in South Africa. In addition, he had been bestowed with several African titles and global acclaim. However, it is Falola’s localised empathy, large-heartedness and intellectual generosity that remains one of his most profound and enduring legacies. Toyin Falola is a towering figure with a tender spirit, full of grace and humility.
In an assessment of the Toyin Falola superhuman with a large heart, Professor Serges Kamga said: “…it should be stated clearly that this enigma of a human has given selfless service to humanity. He epitomises humaneness. Throughout the stages of his academic history and career progress, he has continuously advanced the courses of people through his philanthropic disposition to people with whom he has no genetic or communal ties. Falola believes tenaciously that the growth of another individual has never been an impediment to others, and for that reason, he is a committed investor in the progress of others in ways that cannot be overemphasised…”
His seven-decade life is filled with numerous awards, and various honorary Doctorates worldwide, the latest, being an honorary Doctor of Law from the University of the Free State in South Africa. In addition, he had been bestowed with several African titles and global acclaim. However, it is Falola’s localised empathy, large-heartedness and intellectual generosity that remains one of his most profound and enduring legacies. Toyin Falola is a towering figure with a tender spirit, full of grace and humility. He writes extolling and appreciating the efforts, progress, and achievements of others.
Falola’s firm grip on the ways of culture and religion of the African peoples may have been influenced by his background, growing up in a sprawling, polygamous household that practised Islam, Christianity, and ancient Yoruba spirituality. Falola can connect scriptures in the Bible with tenets from the Quran and yet relate with some deep spiritual chants of the Yoruba Ifa. This interesting mix of different worldviews and religions easily reflects in his thinking and the depth of the stories in his rich academic outputs in various areas of the human and social sciences.
During his address to the graduating students at the University of the Free State in South Africa, Falola, in quick succession, rendered three African folk tales to drive home the import of the rule of law in the organised non-anarchical society. He would have made the chief storyteller of my first decade in life – Buroda Bode – then a mechanic in training grin with envy.
Another round of lectures ended in South Africa and I realised that I should have directed my question on who is Toyin Falola to Dr Bisi Falola – his wife of about four-and-a-half decades. So, Doc, is Toyin an “iwin”,”ẹbọra”, “àjẹ́”, or “abàmì edà” or none or all of the above? To be married to an academic is a major challenge. To be side-by-side with an itinerant scholar always on the move and who reputedly can also remain indoors writing non-stop for five to seven days requires a hugely understanding superhuman of sort.
I salute Mrs Bisi Falola for being a supportively humble and tolerant superb human in her own right. She is ever ready to welcome Toyin’s many friends to sumptuous meals, and even offer professional advice on health, as I was once a beneficiary from her merely listening to my voice over the phone. She got it right that I was sick and needed medical attention. A few days later, she initiated the call to check if I sought medical attention and was improving.
Babafemi A. Badejo, author of a best-seller on politics in Kenya, was a former Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Somalia, and is currently a legal practitioner and consultant at Yintab Strategy Consults, as well as the African Annual Conference at the University of Texas at Austin’s 2025 Nelson Mandela Distinguished Africanist Awardee.
Rita, Bob Nesta Marley’s widow, says who feels it knows it but in Nigeria, the reverse is the case! Here, who feels it does not know it and who does not feel it knows it! The lyrics of “Who feels it (Knows it)”, recorded in 1980 but released in 1981 goes thus: “Every man thinks his burden is the heaviest/But, ooh, yea, come on, they know because they feel”. She adds: “I feel it and I know it/If you feel it, you will know it”
That being the case, we expect Professor Babagana Umara Zulum, governor of Borno state, to know the security situation of his state more than a Minister or presidential aide in far-away Abuja. Apart from the fact that Zulum is the man on ground, he is also, according to the Constitution, the chief security officer of his state. For him to come out to raise the alarm that Boko Haram terrorists were gaining ground in his state means he must have got it up to his throat.
The BBC reported Zulum’s security alert thus: “The governor of Nigeria’s Borno state has warned that jihadist group Boko Haram is making a comeback after its fighters staged a series of attacks and seized control of some parts of the northeastern state. Babagana Zulum called for more military assistance for soldiers fighting the insurgency.
The Nigerian government has down played the governor’s fears, saying security in the country has improved in the last 18 months. Borno state has been at the centre of a 15-year insurgency by Boko Haram, which has forced more than two million people to flee their homes and (has) killed more than 40,000 (people)”
Reuters reported the same story thus: “Nigeria’s Islamist group Boko Haram has renewed attacks and kidnappings in northeastern Borno state with little push-back from security forces, suggesting that authorities in the region were losing ground to insurgents, the state’s governor has said. Militants from Boko Haram and its offshoot Islamic State West Africa Province have mainly operated in the northeast region of NIgeria, attacking security forces and civilians and displacing tens of thousands of people. In the last few years, Nigeria’s military had managed to push back against Boko Haram while internal fights with ISWAP further weakened the group.
“Borno State governor Babagana Zulum said Boko Haram had recently upped attacks, dislodging some military formations in several districts and killing civilians and security forces. It is a setback in the fragile state of Borno and the northeast region, Zulum said during a meeting with security forces in Borno state capital, Maiduguri… Zulum added that the ‘renewed Boko Haram attacks and kidnappings in many communities, almost on a daily basis without confrontation, signalled that Borno state is losing ground’
“Nigeria’s military did not immediately respond to a request for comments. Boko Haram, which is based in Borno state, has adapted its tactics over time, including the use of drones for surveillance and attacks, the military said”.
Sahara Reporters relayed the Federal Government’s response to the Zulum alarm thus: “The President Bola Tinubu-led Nigerian Government has responded to comments made by the Borno state governor, Babagana Zulum, suggesting that the state may be losing control to Boko Haram insurgents. The government, through the Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, disagreed with Zulum’s claim. The minister emphasized that the administration remains committed to combating terrorism and banditry across the nation. He stated: ‘The Tinubu administration is committed to eradicating acts of banditry and terrorism across the country. The success achieved by the security agencies in the last 18 months are an indication that, indeed, Nigeria is gradually returning to normalcy. Government calls on all, especially the sub-national governments, to join hands to ensure (the) rapid eradication of the remaining pockets of criminal elements wherever they may be’
“The Defence Headquarters also reacted, affirming that troops are making significant sacrifices and doing their best to restore peace in Borno and other troubled states. Director of Defence Media Operations… stressed the importance of recognizing the military’s efforts. He also said that the military is sacrificing a lot in the ongoing fight against terrorism.”
Now, let us attempt a content analysis of the various reports. Zulum kicked the ball rolling by raising the alarm. Obviously, both the government and military authorities did not take kindly to what he said. Did he speak in the open when they expected him to have spoken discreetly with the authorities, security being a very sensitive matter? From the tone of the military authorities, it is like their sacrifice in laying down their life fighting Boko Haram was not appreciated enough. Appreciation is good and it must be given so that the soldiers can be further encouraged to do more but having said that, what is their job if not to make sacrifices for the country? Didn’t they sign to lay down their life for their country? So, doing their job, they aren’t doing anyone a favour in the real sense of it.
But when the same military authorities say they are doing their best, that statement is loaded and must be interrogated. Are they getting the requisite arms and ammunitions? Do they have the numbers? Is motivation good? Is the budget committed to the war efforts adequate? Are the authorities putting square pegs in square holes or are we allowing the ubiquitous NIgerian system to undermine esprit in the military? Importantly, is the local population the military is fighting to protect cooperating with the same military or sabotaging their efforts by collaborating with the terrorists? We must also ask: What is the contribution of the state government to the war efforts? If Gov. Zulum is the chief security officer of his state, it should not only be in words but also in action.
I have gone to this length because, looking at the surface, there is absolutely nothing wrong with Zulum’s wake-up call. He made it at a Special Expanded Security Meeting attended by the appropriate military commands and top traditional rulers. Maybe the “offence” was that the media reported it! Maybe, they should have excused the media from the meeting. Seeing the way the military has taken exceptions to the report, it must have interpreted it as an indictment. But the governor did say there was an improvement; grounds were gained but, sadly, they were being lost again and in an alarming fashion. Some will say, when grounds were gained, did the governor call a press conference to salute the military? Is it only now that grounds were being lost that he must raise an alarm?
The Information minister’s response clearly shows that he sees Zulum’s statement as an attack on the “achievements” of the government in the area of pecking back Boko Haram. Yes, there might have been an improvement in the last 18 months in one theatre of the battle, which is Borno state or the northeast, but the situation is not the same in other parts of the country. My native Ondo State is one area where insecurity has reached an alarming stage in the past few months. Can it be true, then, the reports that terrorists fleeing the theatre of war in the North moved in droves southwards? It is trite that when you liberate a territory, you must hold it; otherwise, you may lose it again and be back to square one. And the latter state may be worse than the former because the enemy could come back better armed and more determined than before.
Jesus Christ illustrated this in Matthew 12: 43 - 45 thus: “ When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first…” Can this be what is happening in Borno state because Zulum reeled out names of locations where military formations had recently been dislodged by the terrorists?
As a peacemaker, hear my conclusion: The military have been heroic; let’s appreciate them. The Tinubu administration has recorded some successes; let’s encourage it to do more. Gov. Zulum was being alive to his responsibilities by raising the alarm; let’s not throw the baby away with the bathwater. We must quickly act to reverse any Boko Haram comeback.
This is one reason why the foot-dragging on state police must stop. With state police, Gov. Zulum will be able to raise his own forces to confront the terrorists and get the job done as he would want it; no longer will he rely solely on the military. Then, he will feel the heat that the military feel. And who feels it, says Rita Marley, knows it! The man who wears the shoe knows where it pinches!
Do you wonder what the future holds? Have you dreamed of being part of something bigger than yourself, something also rewarding beyond just buying and selling? Yes, have you considered a different path that offers you excellent career opportunities, future security, and the pride of representing the best interests of Anambra State and indeed the Southeast through strategic positioning in the national scheme of things?
Some life-changing opportunities come once in a while that require smart decisions; otherwise, inaction today may lead to painful regrets tomorrow. For years now, our vibrant state, Anambra, has been unable to fill its quota in Nigeria's Armed Forces recruitment exercises due to abysmally low interest shown by our able youth. This means opportunities meant specifically for our young people are going unclaimed, while other regions in Nigeria eagerly step forward. Are we then going to keep beating the drums of marginalisation forever?
Some analysts have often said that some of us have hesitated joining the Nigerian Armed Forces due to concerns about historical factors, ethnic prejudice, or other misconceptions bandied around. But our Armed Forces have always remained a truly national, progressive institution that values the contributions of every Nigerian, regardless of origin. By joining, Southeast youth not only secure their future but also ensure the region's voice and interests are represented and protected within this crucial national institution.
So, another golden opportunity is here and is within every Anambra youth’s grasp! The Nigerian Army has opened its doors once again, with the 89 Regular Recruiting Tech Recruitment Exercise commencing on March 31st and running until May 17th, 2025. This is not just another routine enlistment opportunity; it is a pathway to a dignified career filled with purpose and equal opportunity.
Consider all the real benefits that await you. A stable career with enhanced regular pay and allowances. Opportunities to further your education at no cost. The chance to build lifelong friendships with fellow Nigerians from diverse backgrounds. Comprehensive healthcare and insurance benefits. A clear path to homeownership in your desired location. And of course, pension and gratuity for your future security!
If you are single, 18-22 years of age (or up to 26 years for those with technical skills), physically fit, and free of criminal convictions, this call is for you. Visit the Nigerian Army Recruitment website at https://recruitment.army.mil.ng to apply before May 17th.
What is even more endearing is that the whole application and recruitment process is completely free! Shortlisted candidates will participate in the screening exercise in Anambra State from June 2nd to June 16th, 2025.
Ndi Anambra, our state needs you to encourage our youth to step forward and take their future by the uniform. Our country needs them. According to a Nigerian adage, if you are not present at a meeting of your people sharing some benefits, you can't complain about how the sharing is done! Let our youth step forward and claim their rightful place in Nigeria's future!
[OPINION] Why Mr. President Must Read Ugoji Egbujo’s Opinion Article Titled, “Is Nigeria Now A Yoruba Republic?” - Isaac Asabor
AdminThere are moments in a nation’s political journey when the truth must be told, not whispered. Nigeria is at such a moment. For all who still believe in the fragile dream called Nigeria, Ugoji Egbujo’s explosive and unapologetically frank piece, “Is Nigeria Now A Yoruba Republic?” must not be brushed aside as just another column in the endless chatter of public discourse. Mr. President, this article is a mirror. And you, more than anyone else, must look into it.
Egbujo’s column is not perfect, no piece of commentary is — but it is a compelling and critical lens into the fears, frustrations, and realities that many Nigerians, both within and outside the corridors of power, are quietly whispering in beer parlours, offices, and bedrooms across the country. His message is simple but heavy: “The brazen concentration of power in the hands of one ethnic group under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is both dangerous and politically suicidal”.
Let’s get something straight, Nigeria is not a monarchy, and the presidency is not an ethnic crown. It is not a reward for electoral loyalty or ancestral heritage. The office of the President is a trust, one built on a fragile coalition of diverse ethnic nationalities and balanced expectations. What Egbujo calls “Tinubu’s Terrible Tribalism” is not merely a breach of protocol; it is a fundamental betrayal of that trust.
To be clear, this is not an attack on the Yoruba people. It is a defense of Nigeria. It is not a condemnation of merit but a call for equity. It is not an attempt to divide, but a plea to preserve what little unity we have left.
Egbujo’s article makes a blistering case that the upper echelons of Nigeria’s political, economic, judicial, and security architecture are now Yoruba-dominated, and not coincidentally. In fact, the roster of appointments reads like a roll call from a South-West regional meeting: President, Yoruba; Chief of Army Staff, Yoruba; IGP, Yoruba; DG of DSS, Yoruba; EFCC Chairman, Yoruba; Attorney GeneraL, Yoruba; Minister of Finance, Yoruba; CBN Governor, Yoruba; and Oil Minister, Yoruba.
And it does not end there. The FIRS, Customs, Immigration, Blue Economy, Digital Economy, Solid Minerals, NSITF, and even the Bank of Agriculture are all headed by Yoruba nationals. What message does this send to the other five geopolitical zones? That they are mere spectators in a play staged and directed from Bourdillon?
Even if the President insists that these appointments are based on merit, and let us assume, for the sake of argument, that this is true, what does it say about his understanding of political sensitivity and national cohesion? That the North, South-East, South-South, and Middle Belt have no equally qualified individuals to hold these positions? That only Lagos or Abeokuta can produce competent technocrats and leaders?
It is insulting, short-sighted, and reeks of a dangerous political arrogance.
Egbujo postulates that what we are witnessing is not just tribalism, but triumphalism, the idea that Tinubu, having fought hard against both PDP and Northern hegemony to ascend the presidency, now feels justified to rule as he pleases. But this is a tragic misreading of Nigeria’s political landscape. Presidential power in Nigeria is borrowed, not owned. It is conditional, not absolute.
There is no doubt Tinubu was a crucial figure in Nigeria’s democratic struggles, especially in the NADECO era. But so were many others, from the North, the East, and the South-South. Power-sharing was one of the unspoken compacts that emerged from our democratic experiment. Disregarding this compact is not only provocative, it is perilous.
Triumphalism is a fast-track ticket to resistance. It alienates rather than consolidates. The same way the perceived Hausa-Fulani dominance under past regimes fuelled calls for restructuring, secession, and devolution, Tinubu’s Yorubacentricism will spark a new wave of resentment that may ultimately destabilize the nation and cripple his administration.
In a moment of profound irony, Egbujo suggests that even Sunday Igboho, the radical Yoruba activist, might have shown more national sensitivity in appointments if he were in charge. That comparison is damning. But it underscores a truth: leadership is not about rewarding your tribe, it is about reassuring the nation.
This is where Tinubu is failing, and failing loudly. There is no visible effort to balance the national equation, no attempt to calm frayed nerves, no show of inclusion. It is full-blown ethnic consolidation dressed up as political strategy. But in reality, it is bad politics, worse leadership, and a ticking time bomb.
True statesmanship involves sometimes sacrificing political convenience for national stability. Obasanjo, despite his own Yoruba roots, bent over backwards to ensure a sense of national spread in his appointments. Jonathan, a minority from the Niger Delta, went out of his way to accommodate the North. Even Buhari, despite his lopsidedness, understood the need to at least mask his favoritism with some semblance of geographical balance.
Tinubu has thrown that playbook away, and the consequences may be irreversible.
Egbujo reminds us that Tinubu was once a fierce advocate of Sovereign National Conference, of true federalism, of equity and resource control. He was among the loudest voices railing against the perceived Northern domination. But now, with the tables turned, the very sins he condemned have become his daily practice.
This political hypocrisy is both breathtaking and disappointing. What happened to the principled fighter for justice? What became of the progressive who once stood for restructuring and inclusion? Has power so thoroughly corrupted the man that he no longer hears the echoes of his past crusades?
Perhaps this is the ultimate tragedy, that Tinubu has not only betrayed Nigeria, but betrayed the very ideals that once made him a credible candidate in the eyes of millions.
Egbujo’s article is not just a personal opinion; it is a warning. It captures the disillusionment of a nation slowly waking up to the reality that it may have replaced one ethnic oligarchy with another. And if Tinubu is truly the political strategist he is widely known to be, he should not dismiss this as just another critical piece. He should study it, absorb it, and respond to it with action.
Mr. President, silence is not golden at this point. Nigerians are watching. More importantly, they are hurting. What they see in your appointments is not inclusion, but exclusion. Not meritocracy, but monopoly. Not unity, but division.
History will not be kind to a leader who, in a moment of opportunity, chose ethnicity over equity. Nigeria is not a Yoruba Republic. It is a federation of many nations. And no tribe, no matter how politically powerful, can govern successfully without the cooperation and trust of others.
Mr. President, read Ugoji Egbujo’s article not as an insult, but as an intervention. It is not an attack, but a national alarm bell. You have time to correct the course. You still have the opportunity to prove that your presidency is for all Nigerians, not just one ethnic constituency.
Because if you continue on this path of ethnic favoritism, the question will no longer be “Is Nigeria now a Yoruba Republic?”, but rather “What remains of Nigeria?” And that, sir, is not a legacy worth leaving behind.
In an era where artists are constantly seeking relevance in Nigeria’s crowded entertainment space, Habeeb Okikiola, popularly known as Portable, has chosen a path few dare to tread, a road littered with tantrums, public fallouts, arrests, and just recently, legal action instituted against him by Fuji Star, Okunola Saheed, fondly called Osupa, and which he has terminated in his favor. But one thing is clear: Portable is confusing chaos for branding and mistaking controversy for PR.
His public spat with Osupa, once again thrust him into the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. It will be recalled in this context that Portable had taken to social media, accusing Osupa of sabotaging his career and blocking his shine in the music industry. What followed was swift: a lawsuit, his arrest in Kwara State, and court proceedings. Luckily for him, the case against him has been withdrawn by Osupa.
One would think such an episode would be humbling, a reset button. But if Portable’s history is anything to go by, this is just another spark in his self-sabotaging pattern.
“Controversy may sell headlines, but it doesn’t build legacy,” says Ayoola Ogundele, a Lagos-based talent manager who has worked with multiple mainstream acts. “Portable’s handlers, if they exist, are either incompetent or complicit. He’s not building a brand; he’s building a bonfire.”
Let’s be clear, Portable’s rise was meteoric. His hit single Zazoo Zeh, featuring Olamide and Pocolee, turned him into a street sensation overnight. But since then, what has he built? He has burned bridges with show promoters, been arrested multiple times, engaged in public feuds with colleagues, insulted senior figures in the industry, and now, picked a fight with a revered Fuji icon. And for what? To trend?
“PR is about strategy, not stunts,” says Cyril Ugbo, a communications expert. “It’s about shaping perception, building trust, and creating long-term value. What Portable is doing is anti-PR. He’s dismantling his brand under the guise of staying relevant.”
Sadly, in Nigeria’s entertainment culture, many mistake virality for value. But there’s a clear difference between blowing up and building up. One is sudden and short-lived. The other is intentional and sustainable. Portable is the former, a lit matchstick, not a lighthouse.
His actions also paint a larger picture about the industry itself, one where handlers and enablers fuel their talents’ worst instincts for short-term gain. If you’re a manager, and your artiste is constantly in the news for negative behavior, you’re not managing, you’re babysitting a ticking bomb.
“Someone has to sit Portable down and tell him the truth, even if it costs them access,” says Segun Durojaiye, an A&R executive at a major Nigerian label. “Because right now, he’s damaging not just his image, but also the business potential tied to his name.”
And let’s not forget the business side. Major brands don’t partner with troublemakers. Endorsements don’t go to unstable acts. Event organizers don’t book artists who may incite drama backstage. The music industry is still a business, and no business wants liability in place of an asset.
Take a cue from the likes of Olamide, Burna Boy, or even the late Sound Sultan. Their brands were forged not in controversy, but in consistency, growth, and a sense of identity. Even Burna Boy, who once had a “bad boy” rep, eventually cleaned up his image and focused on his craft, and the results speak for themselves: global tours, Grammy wins, and brand deals.
“The street gave Portable his voice. But if he keeps disrespecting that voice, even the street will tune out,” warns Chibuzor Ekeh, a street culture analyst based in Agege. “We’ve seen this pattern before. Today’s noise becomes tomorrow’s silence.”
What is perhaps most ironical is that Portable has raw talent. Beneath the madness is a street poet with rhythm, energy, and a unique sound. But talent without control is like a car with no brakes, thrilling, but bound to crash.
The Saheed Osupa case was a warning. The fact that Osupa, a man known for his calm and maturity, even considered legal action speaks volumes. That elders in the music industry had to step in to broker peace is even more telling. Portable was not just being dramatic, he was digging a hole he couldn’t crawl out of. And next time, he might not be lucky to find a ladder waiting for him.
So, who will tell Portable that controversy is not a PR strategy? Who will remind him that public sympathy fades, but reputation remains? Who will let him know that every insult hurled, every lie told, every bridge burned, comes with a receipt?
Because if nobody tells him now, it may soon be too late. When the last blog stops reporting, the last follower unfollows, and the last show cancels, he’ll realize too late that the only thing louder than controversy is silence. And by then, he’ll have no one to perform for, not even himself.
To this writer, Portable should be told that reputation is currency, talent is capital and controversy is debt. Portable must decide which one he wants to build with.
Inflation is often described as a silent thief, it does make headlines with a bang, but it steadily robs citizens of their purchasing power. In Nigeria, this economic scourge has become a near-permanent fixture, tightening its grip on households, businesses, and the broader economy.
As of March 2025, Nigeria’s inflation rate soared to 24.23%, a troubling rise from the 23.18% recorded in February. This persistent upward trajectory not only underscores the structural weaknesses in the country’s economic architecture but also raises a fundamental question that echoes from boardrooms to market stalls: Will relief ever come?
Without a doubt, Nigeria’s inflation crisis is not a coincidence. It is the outcome of a complex blend of domestic inefficiencies and global economic headwinds. A major culprit is the country’s dependence on imports, from petroleum products to basic food items. As the naira continues its free fall against the dollar and other major currencies, the cost of importing goods has ballooned.
The removal of fuel subsidies, while touted as a long-overdue reform, has exacerbated the inflationary trend. Similarly, the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) adoption of a floating exchange rate has further destabilized prices, pushing the cost of goods and services beyond the reach of average Nigerians.
Perhaps the most alarming trend is the spike in food inflation, which stood at 21.79% in March 2025. In a country where a large portion of the population spends over 60% of its income on food, this is a death sentence to the aspirations of many. The prices of staples such as rice, garri, beans, yam, and tomatoes have surged dramatically, eroding food security and exacerbating hunger.
Inflation in Nigeria is no longer an abstract economic indicator confined to economic reports; it is now a daily reality that dictates how millions of Nigerians live. Families are forced to make painful choices: food or medicine, rent or school fees. The middle class, once the emblem of Nigeria’s rising aspirations, is fast disappearing as more people slide into multi-dimensional poverty.
Meanwhile, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), the lifeblood of Nigeria’s economy, are struggling to stay afloat. Rising input costs, inconsistent power supply, and poor infrastructure have increased operational costs, leaving many businesses teetering on the brink. Layoffs and closures are becoming more common, feeding into a vicious cycle of unemployment and reduced consumer spending.
The Nigerian government and the Central Bank have not been idle in the face of these challenges. The CBN has raised the monetary policy rate multiple times in a bid to rein in inflation, and fiscal authorities have implemented targeted interventions. However, these measures have mostly served as band-aids rather than cures.
The truth is, Nigeria’s inflation is structural, not just cyclical. The country’s economic model, heavily dependent on oil revenues and import consumption, is unsustainable. Despite Nigeria’s status as Africa’s largest oil producer, the lack of significant investment in sectors such as agriculture,
manufacturing, and technology has left the economy exposed to global oil price volatility and external shocks.
While the road ahead is undeniably rough, the situation is not without hope, if the right steps are taken.
True and lasting relief from inflation will require bold economic diversification. Agriculture, in particular, holds immense potential not only to reduce food imports but also to generate employment, boost exports, and ensure food security. Encouraging mechanized farming, improving access to credit for farmers, and investing in agro-processing industries are key strategies.
In fact, inflation is partly driven by the high cost of logistics and power. Therefore, investing in roads, railways, seaports, and power infrastructure will reduce production and distribution costs. This, in turn, will make locally produced goods more competitive, discourage overreliance on imports, and help stabilize prices.
Without a doubt, economic policies must be people-centered. Expanding and properly targeting social protection programs, such as food assistance, conditional cash transfers, and subsidized healthcare, can shield the most vulnerable from the worst effects of inflation. These interventions must be transparent and corruption-free to achieve maximum impact.
A significant contributor to inflation is policy flip-flopping and poor coordination between fiscal and monetary authorities. Nigeria needs coherent and consistent policies that create a stable environment for investment and economic planning. Confidence, both domestic and foreign, will not return until policy signals are clear and predictable.
The question remains: Will relief ever come? The honest answer is that relief will not come through empty promises, patchwork policies, or political gimmicks. It will come when there is a genuine alignment of will and action across all levels of leadership, from the executive to the legislature, from technocrats to civil society.
It will come when the government finally treats inflation not just as a statistical figure, but as a real and present danger to the quality of life of its citizens. It will come when citizens are no longer forced to choose between food and dignity.
Until then, Nigerians must continue to endure. But they also continue to hope, hope that those in power will rise to the challenge and that Nigeria will someday overcome the grip of this economic malaise.
Few things are more important to the future of the African continent than the implications of rapid population growth. We cannot wish any of its assumed potential positive implications into existence, nor should African governments wait for its equally negative possible effects to materialize, without the foundational policy and scenarios planning that is needed NOW. In 1800, the world had 1 billion people. Today we have 8.2 billion people on the planet, and we will have a population of 10 billion by 2050.
While population growth is slowing in the rest of the world, and even declining in Europe, Africa’s population is growing in leaps and bounds. Africa, with a continental population of 1.5 billion people today, will have 2.7 billion by 2050 – one quarter of the world’s projected population 25 years from now. By 2070, Africa’s population will have doubled to 3.2 billion. Of the eight countries that, together, will make up half of global population growth by 2050, five are African – Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Egypt. At current trends, Africa as a continent will likely be 40% of the world’s total population by 2100 according to population experts.
The future of the world is increasingly African, demographically speaking. Why is this happening? Because fertility rates remain high in our continent, combined with decreasing mortality rates. This trend has created an extremely young continent in terms of population, one in which 70% of Africans are under the age of 30. If the future will be increasingly ‘‘African’’ with one-third of the world’s working age population being African, will Africans automatically prosper because they have multiplied on the earth? Will Africa’s population boom be an asset or a liability? Will the 21st century be the African century?
Some have argued that it will be, and, that this population explosion – the population momentum — means Africa is The Next Big Thing. It is politically correct to be optimistic. No one wants to be a party-pooper. And yet … The question is not Africa’s population numbers. The real question is about how prosperous or poor the billions of the new African entrants to planet earth will be. Evidence abounds that projections of Africa’s imminent transformation have often been exaggerated. The post-independence euphoria about our continent’s prospects after colonial rule ended in the 1960s were not born out, while Asia, most of which also experienced colonial rule, has made remarkable progress in human development and industrialization. In the 2000s, the ‘‘Africa Rising’’ euphoria hit the airwaves. While the continent witnessed some economic progress, it certainly did not rise, and has not risen, because the structure of the continent’s economies has barely changed from reliance on raw commodities in its international trade and revenue profile, and most African countries continue to suffer from a marked deficit in leadership and governance.
Africa’s demographic trends should be understood in a clear-eyed manner to assess accurately whether it will be an asset or a liability. First, as we all know, it has resulted in a massively young population. But will this young population have the skills, jobs, and productivity that can secure the future? Without this, the phenomenon will ultimately prove a liability – a youth bulge that will foster challenges of unrest and security. Even discounting the entrepreneurial inclinations of Africa’s youth and the changing nature of work and opportunities fostered by technology including social media, the reality is that the economies of African countries are not creating jobs for young Africans at the rates that are necessary.
Second, a massive wave of urbanization is afoot. This has implications such as the adequacy of urban infrastructure, social services, and other aspects of municipal governance. Third, Africa’s young population is putting its stamp on the world in the areas of music and the arts. Afrobeat is taking over the world. Whether in the suburban malls of Virginia, USA, or in the restaurants in Kigali, Rwanda, the likes of Rema and Davido croon away, calming the moods of customers. I am proud of their achievement. But how many jobs do musical superstars create? We should not be misled by cliches and feel-good stories and statistics.
Fourth, the young generation of Africans is more self-assured than their forebears, and they are more entrepreneurial. This means that African agency, a missing factor in the continent’s development trajectory, is on the rise. Fifth, the younger the African population gets, the more the possibility rises that the texture of politics and democracy could change for the better in the years ahead. The youth, especially if well educated, will likely be impatient and demand more from aspiring political leaders in the continent. We have seen this trend in countries such as Kenya and Senegal in recent months. In NIgeria, however, it remains only an unproven assumption.
Sixth, a population boom has implications for climate change in African countries. There will be increased demand for resources, including fossil fuels that drive higher greenhouse gas emissions. Seventh, the booming youth population has triggered more and more innovation and is responsible for the rise of the Fintech industry in the continent. But I argue that this is financialization without underlying economic productivity in goods and services.
To future-proof Africa’s booming youth population, massive investments in education (including in education reforms that transform both what young Africans are taught and how they are taught), is required. Massively boosting skills (productive knowledge) of African youth is critically needed to increase the economic productivity of African populations. This is what drove the Asian economic miracles. Investment in energy infrastructure will also boost productivity, including in the informal economy.
Strategic investment in science, technology and innovation as a core goal of public policy remains necessary. This is an area of natural competitive advantage for African youth, but it remains a low priority for too many governments on the continent. Innovation ecosystems need to be supported by governments in African countries. Other than South Africa, Kenya is one of very few African countries truly investing in technology and innovation as a major plank of public policy. Private sector investments without strategic policy support are unlikely to yield the kind of technological transformation that powered the industrialization of the western world and is powering the rise of Asia.
Access to capital, in a manner that is truly transformative, must be created in African countries where the lack of infrastructure and inflation drives up the cost of capital as monetary policy tackles rising prices with high monetary policy rates to achieve price stability. Governments must create alternative funding structures to support small businesses, innovation and entrepreneurship by African youth, and not leave the financial space only for central banks whose toolkits are limited. That, in turn, requires more effective mobilization of fiscal resources by governments. All of this is different from participation in financial flows through fintech. Here, what is needed is access to low-cost funds to support innovation and small businesses formation. Giant venture capital funds established as public-private partnerships will stimulate wealth-creation by young Africans.
Expansion of agricultural value chains will create jobs for young Africans. Agriculture remains a major anchor of economic activity in most African countries. Transforming it from subsistence farming to agri-business that African youth will engage in, with value chains of mechanized agricultural production, storage, transportation, processing and export, will create wealth for young Africans.
Population policy is essential. Africa’s population growth must decline for economic growth to catch up. The best way to achieve this is through education, especially in rural areas and the education of women and girls, that changes mindsets away from cultural tendencies and reduces the number of children that women have on the average. The average fertility rate in sub-Saharan Africa is around 4.3 to 4.6 children per woman, while the global rate is 2.3 births per woman. This is what will make investments in education yield the transformations that will secure the future of Africa’s youth. This is a major lesson from China and several Southeast Asian countries.
Competent, thinking governance, including performing the basic task of providing security inside territorial states, is required overall in Africa. Conflicts and terrorism remain a threat to the future of Africa’s youth and must be tackled decisively. Nigeria has the world’s highest out-of-school age children at nearly 20 million, mainly because of terrorism and its disruptive effects on municipal and local populations. Are these children the ones that will be harbingers of The Next Big Thing?
Competent governance also includes a capacity for futures-thinking and scenario planning. The mission of the African School of Governance (ASG) is to become a pipeline for the emergence of this kind of leadership in the continent. The question of the implications of Africa’s “youthquake”, along with that of why Africa remains poor relative to the rest of the world despite its abundance of critical natural resources, is a major reason why Rwandan President Paul Kagame, former Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, and other African academics, philanthropists and policy makers founded the ASG university in 2024.
Africa’s youth population boom can be both an asset or a liability. The trajectory depends on the choices governments in Africa make today. We should not get carried away by narratives that are not created and owned by Africans themselves. Time to end our worship at the altars of the “gods of small things’. We often get excited about trends without truly interrogating them and their implications for our present and future as a continent. There are two scenarios. One is a super story in which Africa’s youth become increasingly skilled and productive, creating broad-based prosperity. In this scenario, the demographic boom shifts from rhetoric about The Next Big Thing to a lived reality. The other is a dystopian future in which increasingly unemployed and frustrated young men and women mill around in African urban centers, jobless and unskilled. No outcome from this scenario should surprise anyone, but it is likely that such outcomes will not be pleasant.
•Prof. Kingsley Moghalu, President and Vice-Chancellor of the African School of Governance in Kigali, Rwanda, delivered this keynote address to Harvard University’s African Development Conference 2025 at Harvard Law School in Boston, USA, recently.
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In many ways the recent resignation of Hakeem Baba Ahmed as Political Adviser to Vice President Kashim Shettima confirms the worst kept political secret in the land: that the gulf existing between President Bola Tinubu and Vice-President Kashim Shettima has widened to the point of no return.
It is no longer a secret that President Tinubu does not trust nor have confidence in his Vice President. Indeed a presidency source told me that things have got so bad that the president never meets Shettima one-on-one. Vice-President Shettima is placed only on a ‘’need to know’’ basis on sensitive polices and even at that not all the details of such policies are disclosed to him. Memos from the Vice President and those of his staff are subjected to levels of vetting and watered down such that when they eventually land on the president’s desk for his attention, they are devoid of their essence and meaning. All Ministers and appointees of the presidency and the administration are forbidden from giving him detailed briefs on their tasks and for their own good they try to limit their contact and involvement with the VP to a cursory level.
The cold war between President Tinubu and his Vice so far not fully blown, has however prompted comparisons between the experiences of Professor Yemi Osinbajo, Vice President under the immediate past administration of President Muhammadu Buhari and that of Shettima.
In culinary terms the difference in experience under their principals could be likened to the difference between Ikokore, the popular Ijebu delicacy which I am told the former Vice President being an Ijebu man relishes, and Burabisco, the favourite Kanuri dish which Shettima as a dyed-in-wool Kanuri man likes a lot. As the two dishes are made of different ingredients and are enjoyed by in different parts of the country, so also are the experiences of the two VPs under their bosses.
Although the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria recognises and ipso facto specifies roles for the Vice President in the functioning of the administration, in reality the VP’s relevance can only be subject to the disposition of the president.
For instance, although the constitution provides for the VP to chair the National Economic Council (NEC) made up of state governors, the president can work to make the council irrelevant. This is what happened when VP Shettima at the head of the NEC led the governors to present their informed views on the Tax Reform bill. We all knew that president Tinubu threw the bill at the VP and the governors’ faces and brusquely told them he preferred his own version of the bill which he was going to send to the National Assembly.
By contrast, Osinbajo as VP was in full charge of the NEC as its Chair and from that vantage point recommended and actively implemented economic and social programmes running to billions of naira.
Apart from not being allowed such powers under Tinubu, since his run-in with the president over the Tax Reform bill, Shettima has literarily had the door shut firmly against his face as far as economic and social matters which the constitution grants him.
Professor Osinbajo was the cerebral intellectual power house of the Buhari administration and his erudition and depth of knowledge provided the government with the much needed air of competence to cover up the lapses of some the officials of the government. Perhaps fully aware of this, president Buhari gave Osinbajo the full encouragement and thrust to be the face of the administration making speeches and representing him frequently at public and private occasions.
Osinbajo was given the latitude to choose his team which included a Special Adviser on Media and Political Affairs as well as other necessary staff who functioned as independently as possible without interference from the President’s office.
VP Shettima too was allowed his complement of aides. But the point of departure is that whereas VP Osinbajo’s aides Laolu Akande for Media and Babafemi Ojudu on political affairs functioned effectively in their positions, Stanley Nkwocha and Hakeem Baba Ahmed appointed in respective positions under VP Shettima’s office have hadly been heard. Indeed the resignation of Hakeem Baba Ahmed, former Federal Permanent Secretary and Secretary-General of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) was connected to the belittling role he had been subjected in the presidency. He was not given any schedule and befitting office. He also was not allowed unfettered access to the media. He could not engage the media on the VP’s political perspectives; he was virtually a political glorified desk officer in the VP office reduced to drinking tea and ‘’enjoying’’ the central air conditioner there. For someone who is known to be articulate, erudite and with such a vast and distinguished experience in politics and governance and who enjoys frequent media attention, restricting Hakeem Baba Ahmed’s visibility and interventions as he was in the Tinubu presidency was like taking a fish out of water. There was no way that Hakeem Baba Ahmed would take that sort of treatment lying low.
That VP Osinbajo was accorded his rightful place in the Buhari was due largely to the laissez faire disposition of president Buhari. Buhari was known to allow his appointees the latitude to work without too much interference in order to allow them deliver on the tasks assigned to them.
But president Tinubu is not only known as a micro-manager he also has an unapologetic disposition towards favouring people from his ethnic comfort zone to work with him. From what we have seen of him, president Tinubu clearly does not feel comfortable having people from other ethnic nationalities working too closely with him.
VP Shettima may not have committed any weighty official breaches of official protocol in the presidency, but president Tinubu’s in built paranoia and discomfort in the midst of people he considers as belonging outside of his bloodlines and his political and ethnic comfort zone is largely responsible for the short shrift being given to VP Shettima in the presidency.
Going forward president Tinubu clearly faces a dilemma on what to do with VP Shettima. He is obviously not enamoured of the VP and cannot be persuaded to retain him in the coming months. But the president knows distinctly that dropping the VP off the ticket presents a very delicate and dangerous political manoeuvre. It was with Shettima that he was able to navigate the difficult challenges of the 2023 presidential race and won. Removing Shettima now would amount to a tactical political miscalculation. Who to replace Shettima with that will give him the political traction with northern voters he desperately needs for re-election in 2027?
If he intends to keep the Muslim-Muslim ticket a host of names have been thrown into the equation; Nuhu Ribadu, Abdullahi Ganduje, Kwankwaso etc.
But anybody he chooses now will be a hard sell to northern voters. The mere fact of replacing Shettima with another figure will reinforce the feeling that Tinubu cannot be trusted to respect political agreements. And this could even rupture the ruling APC.
There are reports too that president Tinubu may change tack and replace Shettima with a northern Christian namely former Speaker Yakubu Dogara, former SGF Boss Mustapha, Senator Simon Lalong etc.
If Tinubu cannot be sure of a huge northern Christian votes tally to tip the scales in his favour this will amount to political suicide to say the least.
As Governor of Lagos state, Tinubu was able to whimsically change three deputies; Kofo Bucknor, Femi Pedro and Adeyemi Ogunleye without fear of political recriminations. As president he is now faced with three options all of which have potential consequences; he cannot retain Shettima because the gulf between them has become insurmountable; if he drops him and picks another Muslim he risks a rupture in the ruling party and if he decides to go for a northern Christian replacement he will most likely bring the house down.
As he sits presently in limbo under the Tinubu presidency, waiting to see how and where the dice rolls VP Shettima will be hoping for the best under the circumstances.
To spoil a ship for a ha’porth of tar is an English idiomatic expression that talks about destroying something big by not spending a small amount to maintain it. That typifies the lifestyle of the average Nigerian. We simply lack a maintenance culture. We buy a car but fail to adhere to the manual’s instructions for regular and periodic maintenance. Check out some car tyres, windscreen, wipers, and car doors, and you will be shocked at how a car that is not up to five years old has become a jalopy. We build houses and a lackadaisical attitude to maintenance makes the house become dilapidated in next to no time. The door handles, plumbing, fittings, electrical appliances, tiles, water closet, water tanks, and furniture all become dysfunctional or spoilt due to the owner’s indifference to proper maintenance.
Similarly, many hotels that look beautiful on the outside are shitholes when you lodge in them. It is either that the water heater is not working, the air conditioner is not working, some taps are leaking, or the towels and bedspreads are dirty. Some hotels have never changed their blankets and duvets since inception, nor are they regularly dry-cleaned. Sometimes the room stinks. I have also been to many public buildings and government secretariats where the elevators have broken down, and visitors have to climb the staircase to get to the floors they need to take elevators to reach. This is because the elevators have broken down due to a lack of proper maintenance. Many toilets in government offices are an eyesore. It is either that there is no water to flush or that the water closet lever is dysfunctional. The furniture in many government and public offices is wobbling. Workers share offices with rodents and roaches because they are never fumigated.
Check out the state of our roads and bridges. Be they federal, state or local government roads, they have become infested with graters and gullies and have become death traps due to a lack of proper maintenance. Bandits and kidnappers take advantage of these bad roads to carry out their nefarious activities, as vehicles plying such bad roads have to slow down at these bad spots. Last month, the Federal Ministry of Works shut down the Independence Bridge along Ahmadu Bello Way, Marina-bound on Victoria Island, Lagos. The Federal Controller of Works, Lagos, Olukorede Kesha, said the closure was to facilitate essential maintenance and rehabilitation works on the bridge from Wednesday, March 19 to May 31, 2025. News reports have it that the bridge closure brought about untold hardship on commuters plying the area. In fact, many motorists spent the entire night of the first day of the bridge closure on the road due to the gridlock. Meanwhile, it was discovered that one of the pillars holding the bridge is just floating, as the soil holding it has been eroded by water. A lack of periodic maintenance did not allow the ministry officials to notice this early enough.
While pipeline vandalism is one of the menaces being faced by the Nigerian government. However, some of the oil and water pipes have corroded and are leaking due to a lack of periodic maintenance. Imagine that some oil pipelines laid in the early sixties that are to be replaced every 10 years are left unchanged and, after a while, begin to leak and thereby degrade the soil and the environment. Similarly, the lack of routine turnaround maintenance of our four oil refineries in Warri, Port Harcourt and Kaduna led to Nigeria’s overdependence on the importation of refined petroleum products. Did you know what economic loss this has inflicted on Nigeria? We lost jobs, businesses, foreign exchange and prestige.
The administration of President Muhammadu Buhari borrowed $1.5bn reportedly from a Chinese bank to carry out the turnaround maintenance on Port Harcourt and Warri refineries. Despite that, after several failed deadlines, NNPCL informed Nigerians in December 2024 that those two refineries had been restreamed to commence operation, but not at full capacity. Nonetheless, it is the privately owned Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical that has come to the rescue of Nigerians, as production from government-owned Port Harcourt and Warri is inadequate for our domestic consumption needs.
A lack of or inadequate and timely maintenance is always costly. As the saying goes, prevention is better than a cure. If all and sundry embrace proper maintenance culture, the lifespan of our objects will be longer. We will even spend less. Given the fact that the cost of goods and services is skyrocketing, a prompt maintenance culture will ensure that we spend less today to prevent spending more tomorrow. Imagine how much we are having to spend on the maintenance of the Lagos–Ibadan Expressway? I am sure the amount is far more than what was spent to build the road in the first place. It is a lack of proper maintenance of our national assets, like the Nigerian Airways, Nigeria Railway Corporation, Nigeria National Shipping Line, and Nigeria Telecommunications, better known as NITEL, that led to the death of these government-owned enterprises. Thankfully, the Federal Government has deemed it fit to revitalise the Nigerian Railway Corporation. It is heartwarming that train services have been restored in South-West Nigeria from Lagos to Ibadan, Abuja Municipality and Abuja to Kaduna, to mention a few.
Maintenance culture is not all about items or objects. What about our bodies as human beings? How many of us go for routine medical check-ups? How many of us even go to hospitals when sick? Many prefer self-medication. Some go to quacks and unlicensed medicine stores for medications. This lack of proper maintenance of our bodies through routine medical checks, healthy living, exercising, dieting, relaxation and sleeping adequately is the major cause of terminal sicknesses and untimely deaths.
Concerned people are asking why so much terrorism is going on the Plateau and across the Middle Belt region of Nigeria on such a horrific scale. And the word that keeps going round is that the terrorists are aliens from the Sahel.
Gen. T.Y. Danjuma, Nigeria’s former Chief of Army Staff and Minister of Defense, who confirmed “that most of (the terrorists) are foreigners, (though) there are (local) collaborators”, lamented, “The whole country is overrun.”
The horror of the renegade’s invasion is captured in an amateur, but gory, video that shows people offloading corpses of those they claimed were casualties of recent attacks in Plateau State to the front of a massive white building that they claimed was a government state house.
If those individuals indeed dumped the corpses in front of a state government house, they would have added more numbers to the casualties, if the sentries had decided to mow them down for breaching state house security.
But it must be acknowledged that it was a brilliant public relations stunt to draw attention to the helplessness of the people of the Plateau, victims of the reign of terror that has now almost become a regular ritual.
A young female poet laureate, who says she is from the North, but her blood carries many names, recited an indicting dirge on the assault on the lives and lands of the people of the Plateau, which is representational of the Middle Belt region of Nigeria that includes Plateau, Benue, Taraba and Southern Kaduna States.
She wailed, in narrative prose, rather than poetry, “Haven’t we learnt yet, oh my beloved country? Haven’t we seen enough lands dug by shaking hands in fury and fear? And haven’t we carried enough bodies, stiff and silent, wrapped in the weight of injustice?”
From the conniving government and nonchalant Nigerians outside of the Plateau killing field, she asked, “Haven’t we learnt yet, Nigeria, that silence is a co-conspirator, that when the leaders turn away, history sharpens its knife; that when justice is delayed, the earth grows fat with graves; that a country that does not punish its past will live to repeat it in different dialects?
“Haven’t we learnt that violence does not stay contained, and the machete swung today could rest on any door tomorrow? That today’s victim is yesterday’s neighbour, and tomorrow, it could be you, me, or the child who still believes that home is a safe place, that this is still our Nigeria?”
Another female poet lamented in dreadful words, “The food basket of the nation is now the blood basket of the nation. The land, once lush with green, now hush and grim, filled with sullen faces with no hope to survive the day, like arid ground in want of rain.
“Pain is plain. It’s daybreak. Folks are supposed to go on to their farms, but farms are not the safest places to be. It’s nightfall, it’s heartbreak, it’s heartache, over destroyed homes, destroyed crops, slaughtered brethren and bloodshed.
“Motherland is not the safest place to be. Once lively hoes now echo with silence; the land, loud with violence, flooding with the blood of the young and the old alike. Great sons fall like autumn leaves, dead bodies scattered like mustard seeds…
“They say tough times don’t last. Tell that to the people of Guma, who have watched herdsmen turn gunmen. Tell that to the people of Turan, who have been swept from their homes, like brooms to flies, their homes and belongings transformed to bonfires.
“Tell that to the people of Sankerra. Tell that to the people of Logo. Tell that to the people of Kwande, who have had bullets sprayed on them like rainwater, who have been changed to nothing but chickens for slaughter. Tell that to youths who this has caused them their futures.”
But enough of the poetry; the artists’ impression of the unbridled carnage happening on the Plateau of Nigeria, without anyone in government or the security agencies being able to take any tangible steps to contain it.
One real-life story of the pains caused by these invaders on the Plateau is the ridiculous story of Samuel Ortom, who, as the sitting governor of Benue State, was chased, with his security details, by terrorists from his farm.
A recent report from Benue State claims that several communities, like Tombo Mbaya, Buruku Local Government, and Mbachoughu and Mbanyagber, in Tarka Local Government, came under “coordinated assault” by armed herdsmen.
Governor Caleb Muftwang personally reported how terrorists sacked communities in Plateau State. His words: “These communities that have been recently attacked were part of the communities attacked in 2023… The Ruuri community that was first attacked lost about 17 people in 2023…Over 50 persons were killed within one week in attacks on communities that left over 300 houses burnt.”
Governor Muftwang reasons, “If these attacks have been going on for close to 10 years (most of which is under the All Progressives Congress), it tells you that there is a deliberate, conscious attempt to clean out populations.
“As I am talking to you, there are not less than 64 communities that have been taken over by the bandits on the Plateau, between Bokkos, Barkin Ladi and Riyon Local Governments. They have been taken over, renamed, and people living there (now are) conveniently on lands they pushed people away to occupy.”
Why do government and security agencies fail to repel the land grabbers and restore the rightful owners to their ancestral lands? Gen. Danjuma told a home crowd in Taraba State, “The armed forces are either not capable or unwilling to protect us.”
Following is the, albeit one-sided, report of a current victim hiding in the bushes to avoid another attack from terrorists, that Governor Muftwang, like Lai Mohammed, President Muhammadu Buhari’s Minister of Information, called bandits.
“This is reporting from Hurti, on exactly what happened on 2nd April 2025. We were living peacefully with these Fulani herdsmen… At around 3:45pm… we… just began to hear gunshots… We saw that they had surrounded the environment. They were shooting sporadically, shooting at every person…
“But they concentrated more on the men that they wanted to wipe out the community. They kept on telling us that we say we are serving a living God. Where is our God now? They kept on shooting everybody that they found around….
“After the shooting, the next thing is that they started burning houses… They looted all the foodstuffs, our house stuffs…. On Thursday… we were able to recover 32 corpses… We went searching again, and still retrieved another four…. We had a mass burial for the 32 and the four others were buried in different places.
“17 people sustained injuries, and they are currently receiving treatment. One of them, Oji Tobias, has lost his life. I am pleading that all necessary measures should be taken to make sure that this does not recur…. The government should be able to arrest these people and make sure that justice takes its course.”
To resolve this matter, maybe the government should take Gen. Danjuma’s counsel, wherein he said, “As a soldier, my training teaches me that the best defence is attack,” and enlist citizens of the Plateau in something like South-West Nigeria’s “Amotekun”.
[OPINION] Reformer at the crossroads: Prof Humphrey Nwosu and Nigeria’s democratic journey (II) - Jideofor Adibe
AdminProfessor Humphrey Nwosu’s legacy: Domesticating the electoral process
As a political scientist, Professor Nwosu understood that the character of electoral competition in Nigeria is such that the outcome of any election will almost always be contested. This is because in societies like ours, political power is the major means of production, distribution and exchange and for that, whoever controls political power, controls everything, including the power to turn a pauper into a billionaire and to turn a billionaire into a pauper.
The struggle for political power therefore is often anarchic, tending towards the Hobbesian state of nature, with a pervasive fear that whichever group captures state power will use it to privilege its in-groups while disadvantaging others. For this, African politicians seemed to take literally the injunction by Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s first President, who famously advised his countrymen during the struggle for independence to: “Seek ye first the political kingdom and all other things will be added unto you”.
As a political scientist who had the opportunity of trying to marry theory and practice during his earlier political appointments, Professor Nwosu realised that while democracy is in fact not alien to Africa, the current institutions of democracy such as institutionalised opposition via political parties and the winner-takes-all mentality, are not. He knew that as a ‘mere’ electoral umpire, he had little or no power to drastically change the nature of electoral competition but believed that he could attenuate its anarchic character by making the process more transparent through domestication. This was his rationale for introducing the Open Ballot system.
An open ballot system is a voting method in which voters vote openly, in contrast to a secret ballot, where voters’ choices are confidential. Professor Nwosu was not the originator of the open ballot system. Some other countries of the world also had traditional open ballot system until modern legislations adopted secret ballot system. In Australia, for example, open ballot system was in use until 1856, when the country adopted the secret ballot system. In Britain, it was the Ballot Act of 1872 that officially introduced secret ballot to the British parliamentary politics. In Nigeria, open balloting was in use until 1923 when the British colonial administrators first introduced secret ballot system.
In a 2008 interview with The News magazine, Professor Nwosu defended the open ballot system against charges that it was a primitive system. “But there is nothing wrong, I must say, with secret ballot system per se, but it has been thoroughly abused in this country, starting from the federal elections in 1964, October 1965 Western House of Assembly elections, 1979 and 1983. Why should we continue to use what didn’t work? It works for Britain. No one would go and stop elections in Britain; no one would go and write results before it is released. Nigerians should begin to ask questions about systems that work, not mentioning theories- transparent this and electronic that.
Nigerians want something that is real; that can restore confidence and that their choice is respected” (The News, 2008). Following criticisms that the Open Ballot system could expose some of the voters to witch-hunt, Professor Nwosu came up with the Modified Open Ballot System. Under this system, people still had to register and still had to be accredited but during the voting proper, they were issued with a ballot paper, where they went into a cubicle and voted secretly for the candidate of their choice. Professor Nwosu’s bold decision to domestic electoral competition came more than 20 years before many prominent Nigerians, including former President Olusegun Obasanjo, began complaining that liberal (Western) democracy has failed in Nigeria and needs to be domesticated.
Professor Nwosu outwitted the military, conducted free-and-fair elections and yes, announced the results. Babangida admitted in his recent book, A Journey in Service: An Autobiography (2025), that there was a faction of the military which opposed a handover of power to civilians. He also admitted in the same book that by the time of the June 12 election his government had massive credibility problem, which was compounded by several events, including the emergence of a shadowy Association of Better Nigerians, ABN, funded by Arthur Nzeribe, who was calling for four more years for the military government. Babangida said he was unaware of the existence of the group and believed that forces linked to the late Abacha were behind the group. On June 10, two days before the presidential election, the ABN approached the Abuja High Court of Justice Bassey Ikpeme for an injunction to stop NEC from conducting the election. The injunction was granted.
Professor Nwosu, aware of the contending forces at that time showed uncommon courage. Babangdia narrated that the NDSC meeting on Friday, June 11, only hours before the scheduled election, was one of the stormiest meetings he ever conducted as President. As he put it: “Strangely, the Attorney General and Justice Minister, Akpamgbo, who was the nation’s chief law officer and who ought to know that the Justice Ikpeme court order violated an extant law (and was tacitly supported, it turned out by some of my topmost military officers), advised that the elections be postponed in compliance with the Abuja court order. Professor Nwosu insisted, to the dismay of my top military colleagues, that he had enough powers under the law to proceed with the elections.” (Babangida, 2025:273), emphasis mine.
It was obvious from Babangida’s narrations in the autobiography that by this time he had completely lost control of his government to that faction of the military that did not want the elections to hold at all (see part 1 of this article). In essence, the locus of power no more resided with Babangida despite being formally the President on whose desk the buck should theoretically stop. Professor Nwosu seemed therefore to be caught in the crossroads between Babangida, the formal authority who appointed him NEC Chairman, and who apparently wanted the process to be concluded (at least for self-preservation, having already lost out in the military power play), the shadowy military faction that did not want the elections to be conducted, (which had become obviously ascendant at this time), the Nigerian electorate (who expected him to do the right thing), and his conscience. At this stage, Professor Nwosu seemed to turn the whole affair into a game of wits between him and that faction of the military elite. He had already outwitted them in round one by insisting that he would go ahead with the election despite the ABN’s court injunction on June 11, 1993.
He also outwitted them in round two by ensuring that the conduct of the election was hitch-free as violence could have provided the forces that did not want the election to go ahead with the ammunition to intervene and cancel the exercise or even topple the Babangida government.
As Babangida noted: “Voting took place in all the 110,000 polling stations in the country, and in keeping with the Modified Open Ballot System (MOBS) as stipulated in Decree 13, counting took place flawlessly in the open, followed almost simultaneously with an open collation that allowed for final results to be attained quickly” (Babangida, 2025:274).
Nwosu also outwitted that faction of the military by announcing the results. Yes, he ‘announced’ the results – contrary to some suggestions that he failed to “announce” the results. To quote Babangida again:
“Using a giant board in front of its Abuja offices, NEC started, as early as June 13, as stipulated by the Electoral law, to display already released results from all 30 State Headquarters of NEC before the Resident Electoral Commissioners brought them to Abuja for final ratification (emphasis, mine). That process of public display of results, which had now covered 14 states, continued until June 14. And then, on June 16, without my knowledge or prior approval, NEC Chairman, Professor Nwosu, announced the suspension of the June 12 election results ‘until further notice’. I knew instantly that certain fifth columnists were at work and that there was a need for extra care! (emphasis, mine) And even after that suspension of the announcements of results, ABN obtained another ‘strange’ court order from Justice Saleh’s court in Abuja, stopping the release of the results of the elections” (Babangida, 2025:274).
The truth is that if Nwosu had not gone ahead to release the results “even before the Resident Electoral Commissioners brought them to Abuja”, we would probably not be talking about Abiola winning that election today. By releasing the results of the elections the way he did despite knowing that the forces that did not want the elections to hold had become ascendant, Professor Nwosu actually informed the world that Abiola had won and by so doing outwitted that faction of the military yet again. While he was not in a position to declare MKO Abiola President elect because not all the results had been released and a court in Abuja, working with those shadowy forces had obtained another court order stopping the release of the results, Professor Nwosu believed he had done his bit by letting the world know who was winning the election and that it was up to Nigerians to help Abiola claim his mandate.
I have heard some Nigerians claim that Nwosu should have gone ahead to “announce the results”. Former Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, a man who likes to act tough (for obvious reasons, some would say), and to sound authoritative even on issues he knows next to nothing about, descended so low as to call Professor Nwosu a “coward” for not having the “courage” to “announce” the results (I believe he meant declaring him President elect). English people would say that discretion is a better part of valour. Babangida, a military General who was the Head of State, said he suspected fifth columnists in the annulment, and “realised he needed to thread very carefully”. The Igbos say that it is from the compound of an apparent coward that people stay and point at the ruins in the compound of a man of bravado. It takes wisdom to know that there is a difference between bravery and bravado.
Professor Nwosu’s genius in the game of wits between him and the faction of the military that did not want the elections to hold at all was to let Nigerians know who won the election before allowing the military to annul it. In essence, a faction of the military annulled the election but it was like bolting the stable after the horse had already bolted. By outwitting that faction of the military yet again, Professor Nwosu successfully turned it into a confrontation between progressive Nigerians and that wing of the military.
Professor Nwosu called for June 12 to be made Nigeria’s Democracy Day some 10 years before it was actualized
Professor Nwosu saw ‘June 12’ as a movement and called for that Day to be made Democracy Day. In the interview he granted to The News Magazine in June 2008, he declared as follows: “So you’ll find that June 12 as a movement was indeed the day Nigerians opted for a democratic political order. They didn’t care and the parties cut across ethnic, state and regional boundaries. And Nigerians were highly mobilized and they expressed their choices freely without interference…. And so in my own view, June 12 was the day Nigerians decided freely for a democratic political order without any hindrance. That day should be Democracy Day. I don’t see anything that makes 29 May, 1999 superior to June 12, 1993. Without June 12, there wouldn’t have been May 29. In my view, it was an offshoot of June 12.” It was only in June 2018 that Muhammadu Buhari made June 12 Democracy Day in Nigeria. That was clear 10 years after the man the likes of Adams Oshiomhole called a “coward” made that call.
What is the best way to immortalize Professor Nwosu?
I have a lot of respect for Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe. But I disagree with him and his colleagues in the Senate who walked out because the Senate refused to endorse a motion to honour Professor Nwosu posthumously on several grounds: One, I am not sure it was proper to bring that motion in the floor of the Senate as it amounted to “begging” the state to honour him. That apparent act of begging in itself would have cheapened that honour, if it was granted. A simple letter to the President drawing attention to Professor Nwosu’s legacy, would perhaps have been a better approach.
Two, even if Professor Nwosu is honoured posthumously, one could raise the question of the worth of a few letters after one’s name or naming a building after the person (especially now that national honours have become very cheapened). The best place to immortalize any one is in people’s hearts. The two colloquia in his honour – variously at the University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus and at Abuja, (in which Senator Abaribe himself and several others like Professor Jega attended), are among the best ways of immortalising anyone. I had the privilege of presenting a version of this paper at a segment of the Abuja colloquium.
Three, there are better ways of immortalizing Professor Nwosu in the hearts of people who appreciated him as a scholar and Chairman of NEC: Prizes could be endowed in his honour at selected Departments of Political Science and Public Administration across the country; the Department of Public Administration at the UNN could be named after him. Some of the papers presented at the colloquia to honour his legacy could be published as a book. If the Nigerian state decides at any point to honour him, it should be at its discretion to do so. After all, June 12 was made Democracy Day 25 years after Professor Nwosu ‘announced’ Abiola the winner of the elections, and 10 years after he made a call for June 12 to be so honoured.
Jideofor Adibe is Professor of Political Science and International Relations at Nasarawa State University He can be reached on: 0705 807 8841 (WhatsApp and Text messages only).
The paper was originally presented at a Colloquium on the Life and Times of Professor Humphrey Nwosu at Abuja on March 25 2025.
Jideofor Adibe is Professor of Political Science and International Relations at Nasarawa State University and founder of Adonis & Abbey Publishers (www.adonis-abbey.com). He can be reached at: 0705 807 8841 (WhatsApp and Text messages only).