Popular gospel singer, Ebuka Songs has broken his silence on why he left Moses Bliss’ record label, Spotlite Nation.

DAILY POST recalls that Ebuka who signed a three-year contract with the record label, left after 11 months.

Moses Bliss during an interview in December 2024, stated that his signee, Ebuka Song left the label to pursue his music independently.

However, speaking for the first time after his departure, Ebuka stated that he left to focus on his ministry.

Speaking In an interview with the Open Up podcast, Ebuka said “I will always be grateful for Moses Bliss’ role in my life because as at that time, I had the anointing and gift but i don’t know how to go about it professionally.

“I am grateful for the journey that I have been through but at this point now, the next level is to focus on my ministry. And we are in our good space.

“The reason why I kept quiet about my exit or say anything since that time is because I don’t want it to generate more conversations. We all get to the point where we just want to be focused on the next phase of our lives, and because of the assignment of God upon my life.”

[DailyPost]

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, arrived in Milan, Italy, on Wednesday for a series of official engagements, including a meeting with the President of the Lombardy Region, Attilio Fontana.

Wike is also expected to engage with agribusiness investors during his visit.

According to a statement issued in Milan by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, the minister departed Abuja on Tuesday night and arrived in Milan at about 4:30 a.m. on Wednesday. 

He was received by the Charge d’Affaires of the Nigerian Embassy in Italy, Ambassador Mustapha Mohammed.

He said: “While in Milan, the FCT Minister will hold a meeting with the President of Lombardy Region on Thursday, and also meet agribusiness investors.

“Lombardy is adjudged as the first region of Italy in terms of economic importance, with population of about 10 million people. It is the second most populous region of the European Union (EU) and the second region of the European Union by nominal Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

“The FCT Minister’s meeting with the Attilio Fontana will center on seeking collaboration and evaluating possible prospects in the areas of Agriculture and Vocational Education, as well as strategic development partners with the Lombardy Region. 

“Subsequently, Wike will meet investors in agribusiness and experts in vocational training, with a view to unlock new opportunities.

“The FCT Mandate Secretaries for Education, Dr. Danlami Hayyo and Mandate Secretary for Agriculture and Rural Development, Lawan Geidam, as well as Senior Special Assistant on Administration, Dr. Udo Samuel Atang and Senior Special Assistant on Legal and Multi-Lateral Cooperation, Barrister Benedict Daudu, accompanied the Minister on the trip”.

The senior citizen that reads this column every week, almost without fail, called in the other day, neither to endorse nor condemn the view expressed here on the posturing of Northern Nigeria’s political establishment that is wont to threaten to use its phantom voting strength to upset Nigeria’s political applecart.

He came with the suggestion that there must be a way to ensure that Nigeria’s political elite, in all the realms of the nation, have a consensus on principles, concepts and values that they all will share, regardless of their ethnic, regional, religious, ideological or partisan leanings.

The tendency of Nigerian politics has continued to be centrifugal such that policymakers and their policies seem to serve only sectional, ethnic, regional, and even religious interests, and not the common interest of all Nigerians.

In his book, “Pathway to Nigerian Freedom”, Obafemi Awolowo, the first Premier of Western Nigeria, observed, “Nigeria is not a nation. It is a mere geographical expression. There are no ‘Nigerians’, in the sense as there are ‘English’, ‘Welsh’, or ‘French’”.

The word, ‘Nigerian’, is merely an appellation to distinguish those who live within the boundaries of Nigeria from those who do not. Could Awolowo’s conclusion be partly responsible for the failure of Nigerians to think or act Nigerian?

In a verbal spat with the late National Leader of Pan Niger Delta Development Forum, Edwin Clark, former President Olusegun Obasanjo said, “Tribe has to be suppressed for the (Nigerian) state to emerge. And until the state emerges, Nigeria will not make the desired progress as tribesmen will always sacrifice state for tribe.”

A politician of Nigeria’s First Republic was reputed to have been extremely intentional in employing Nigerians mainly from his ethnic stock into the Nigeria Railway Corporation, so much that other Nigerians thought they should not seek employment there.

As a result, NRC suffered gravely from the herd mentality of its management and staff, most of whom shared the same language and culture. In recent years, the same ethnic orientation wrought incurable lethargy on the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and its successor, NNPCL.

This esteemed caller, a retired corporate guru, thought that the Nigerian Institute of Political and Strategic Studies, on whose founding committee he served, was a good place to fashion the consensus of values for Nigerian leaders. NIPSS was founded in 1979 as a think tank for policy formulation, research and training for bureaucrats, military officers and private sector leaders.

But regrettably, many who attended NIPSS courses hardly demonstrated the value they supposedly acquired in their choices of policies, programmes and projects as they worked in the legislatures, courts, government ministries, departments and agencies.

Thus, the NIPPS’ Director-General, Prof Ayo Omotayo, who boasted at the institute’s recent graduation ceremony, “We have made significant strides in making our research outputs relevant to today’s critical issues… (as) the (graduating) class represents a new wave of leaders equipped to drive change in  Nigeria,” may just be talking to himself.

Governance in Nigeria, civilian or military, has not been very inspiring, despite the quantum of alumni of NIPSS and the Administrative Staff College of Nigeria that have had the privilege to run the affairs of this great country.

Maybe the British template of catching the future political elite young by putting them through an interdisciplinary course of study in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at institutions like Oxford and Cambridge universities will do the trick.

PPE explains the complex interactions of Britain’s capitalist or market-driven economy, the welfare aspects of public policy, the political institutions, culture and conventions, international relations and diplomacy, the universities, the media and social institutions.

By going through the same intellectual drills, those who studied PPE and ended up as prime ministers, ministers, senior civil servants, and military officers of Britain have a shared knowledge of the core values, institutions, goals and visions of the British realm. And so, they do not work at cross-purposes, as it obtains in Nigeria.

They understand the role and nuances of Britain’s Unwritten Constitution and its conventions, the monarchy, the political parties, the parliament, the cabinet, the civil service, the military, the secret service, the private sector, the media and other agencies of governance.

When you tell a Briton about The Firm, Westminster, 10 Downing Street, Whitehall, the City, Fleet Street, he instantly knows that you are talking about the monarchy, the parliament, the prime minister, the civil service, the British equivalent of America’s Wall Street or the private sector investors and the media, respectively.

As of 2024, 31 of the 58 British prime ministers attended Oxford, and another 14 attended Cambridge, making 45 or roughly 78 per cent of the whole. Incidentally also, 20 and 7, or roughly 47 per cent, of the prime ministers, attended either Eton College or Harrow College, two of Britain’s most prestigious elite secondary schools.

Just as you might accuse these individuals of inbreeding of ideas or even parochial herd mentality, you must also agree that shared values can lead to easy agreement and swift decision-making in the interest of the people of Nigeria.

Perhaps the underlying cause of the inability of the political elite to agree on what is best for Nigeria is the 180-degree divergence of objectives and political philosophy between Northern and Southern Nigeria.

British parliamentarian, Thomas Fowell Buxton, saw a difference in the characters of Northern and Southern monarchs, and suggested, “Whatever difficulties (Britain) may… encounter with the chiefs of the coast (of Nigeria)… there is good reason to believe that we shall find a better disposition on the part of the Sultans and sovereigns of the interior…”

Britain used missionaries and traders in relating with the Southern Protectorate of Nigeria, with a “deliberate effort to teach, to elevate and to influence by direct contact”. On the other hand, the Northern Protectorate was run by Lord Frederick Lugard, with “the soldier’s love of discipline, ranks… for (whom) law and authority proceeded downwards… and not… through discussion and democratic process”.

In his book, “A Fatherless People”, Dele Ogun notes that the British “recognised the reality of differences between the two Nigeria, to the point that it produced two types of British colonial administrations, those recruited for Northern Nigeria, schooled in (Islam and) in Arabic, and those for Southern Nigeria”, largely Christian, fluent in English and familiar with Judeo-Christian traditions.

Thus, democratic values and Christianity were encouraged in the Southern Protectorate by British officers and their Nigerian successors that were derogatively called “natives”, and the Northern Protectorate was ruled by force of arms and indirect rule that grafted the Moslem traditional institutions, designated as native authorities, to British colonial administration.

This dual ruling template was adopted when the British colonialists began to observe that Western education and the emergence of the newspaper were fast corroding their hold on the people of the Southern Protectorate. They reasoned, “Let us, rendered wise by the experience elsewhere, set our faces like flint against the ‘Europeanising’ of Northern Nigeria.”

Though the British colonial masters have set the values of Northern Nigeria against those of the South, those who identify as Nigerians must find a way to overcome this dilemma. As long as the people of the Nigeria area continue to relate with each other through ethnic prisms, so will the Nigerian state of their dream be elusive.

X:@lekansote1, lekansote.com,

The last few days have been politically charged in Rivers and Lagos States. While the camp of Governor Sim Fubara of Rivers State was thrown into mourning last Friday, February 28, 2025, after the Supreme Court judgement, the camp of his estranged godfather, who is also the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, was thrown into jubilation. Last Monday, March 3, the camp of Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa was similarly in a jubilant mood, while that of Hon. Mojisola Meranda was in a pensive mood. Whoever does not know should by now realise that politics is a game of intrigues where there are no permanent friends or enemies but interests.

The Rivers State political crisis began in October 2023 when an arsonist burnt down a section of the Rivers State House of Assembly chamber to purportedly forestall the impeachment move against the governor by the state lawmakers. Prior to this crisis, the Peoples Democratic Party was united under the leadership of former Governor Nyesom Wike, who allegedly sponsored all the elected political officeholders in Rivers State under the PDP in the 2023 general elections. However, his godson, who is now the governor of Rivers State, was accused of wanting to hijack the political structure of his godfather. The impeachment move was to call him to order and make him backtrack on his planned usurpation of the political platform that brought him to power.

Governor Fubara, rather than succumbing to the threat and blackmail from the camp of his godfather, decided to fight back. The Rivers State Assembly became fictionalised, with 27 members under Hon. Martins Amaewhule pitching their tent with the godfather while four remained with the governor, initially under Hon. Edison Ehie and later Victor Oko-Jumbo. Several cases were filed in court to determine which of the factions was legitimate. Funding to the Amaewhule faction was suspended; nine commissioners who are loyal to Nyesome Wike resigned from Fubara’s cabinet even though they were reabsorbed after the December 2023 mediation effort by President Bola Tinubu.

Sometime in June 2024, the tenure of the 23 local government chairmen in Rivers State ended, and Martin Amaewhule’s faction of the assembly decided to extend their tenure by six months pending when a fresh election will be conducted by the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission. This move was rejected by Sim Fubara’s camp, who rather went ahead to appoint caretaker committees to administer the councils. The Supreme Court judgement of July 11, 2024, threw a spanner in the wheel of the appointment of the caretaker committees as the apex court ruled that no LGA should be undemocratically governed as per section 7 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended. The Supreme Court also ordered direct funding of the 768 LGAs and the six area councils of FCT. This development made Governor Fubara rush to conduct a fresh election in the 23 LGAs of Rivers State on October 5, 2024. This election was challenged in court by the camp of godfather Nyesome Wike, and there were several court judgements in support of and against the conduct of the local government elections.

In the course of the crisis in the Rivers State House of Assembly, the 27 lawmakers belonging to the Wike faction defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress on December 11, 2023. This raised another series of litigations as the Fubara faction pressed for the declaration of their seats vacant and the conduct of a fresh election to replace them. The governor camp believed that the defection did not follow due process as there was purportedly no crisis at the national level of the PDP even though there was one at the Rivers State level. In the opinion of Fubara’s camp, since the lawmakers have purportedly lost their seats, he is now forced to work with only four members of the Rivers State Assembly under Hon. Victor Oko-Jumbo. Therefore, both the 2024 and 2025 appropriation bills of Rivers State were purportedly passed by the four-member lawmakers loyal to Governor Fubara.

The above is the political scenario that preceded the February 28, 2025 Supreme Court judgement, wherein the apex court halted federal allocations to the state as well as insisted that the subsisting decision of the trial court and the Court of Appeal was that the 27 lawmakers of the State Assembly deemed to have defected from the PDP to the APC were still members of the Assembly. The apex court went further to declare null and void as well as illegal the local government election conducted by the state, ruling that it was not in accordance with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022.

The state government in its reaction called for calm, reminding the people that the case of the membership of the defected lawmakers was still pending at a Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, which had adjourned hearing on the matter to April 30, 2025, adding that they were studying the decision of the apex court to understand the implication of the judgement.

Meanwhile, Governor Fubara has promised to abide by the Supreme Court judgement and has, in a statewide broadcast last Sunday, March 2, 2025, asked all the newly elected local government chairmen and councillors to hand over to the head of administration in the local governments. On the other hand, Martin Amaewhule’s led State House of Assembly had asked the governor to re-present the 2025 budget within 48 hours while going on 12 weeks’ recess. This order has been rebuffed by the governor, who said the certified true copy of the Supreme Court judgement had not been received by him for study in order to be guided on implementation.

Quite unfortunately, governance is being impeded in the state, as activities of the Rivers State House of Assembly have been paralysed since October 2023. Not only that, governance at the local government level is also being hampered given the different court judgements and the arson unleashed by some political thugs on four local government offices on October 7, 2024. Enormous resources will be spent to rebuild and rehabilitate the Rivers State House of Assembly Complex and the LGA offices torched by arsonists. Luckily, there has not been a breakdown of law and order or assassination in Rivers State, but unless well-meaning leaders of thought quickly step in to mediate the post-Supreme Court judgement of February 28, there could be serious trouble ahead given the rhetoric from both the Wike’s and Fubara’s camps.

The political development in Lagos on Monday, March 3, 2025, did not come as a surprise to many political watchers of the Lagos State House of Assembly leadership crisis. Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa was re-elected speaker after he was removed by his colleagues on January 13, 2025. His deputy speaker, who took over for him and held sway as a speaker for 49 days, Rt. Hon. Mojisola Meranda, resigned as the speaker and was re-elected as deputy speaker. All the other principal officers elected after the January 13 ‘palace coup’ in the Assembly also resigned their positions. This development coming on the heels of the fierce battle of wit and grit of last week by the Obasa and Meranda camps was a result of the mediation efforts of APC leaders like the former governor of Osun State, Pa Bisi Akande and ex-Governor of Ogun State, Chief Segun Osoba as well as APC leadership in Lagos State.

While the Lagos Assembly crisis was purportedly stage-managed by the powerful Governance Advisory Council, President Bola Tinubu was reportedly angry at the removal of Obasa, who has been his staunch loyalist since 1992.

 The belief is that the removal of Obasa leaves Lagos West Senatorial District, which is the largest voting bloc in Lagos, out of the power-sharing agreement in Lagos State. This is a risk President Tinubu did not want to take, as Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and Hon. Mojisola Mernda are said to be from the Lagos Central Senatorial District.

Not only that, the reinstatement of Obasa as speaker is to save his political career. He has been in the Assembly since 2003 and sacking him will truncate his future political ambition. He might yet be asked to resign while another honourable member from Lagos West Senatorial District is elected to replace him. The scenario playing out in Rivers and Lagos States is more about the political survival of godfathers than any altruistic concerns for the downtrodden masses. As James Freeman Clarke has rightly put it, “A politician thinks of the next election; a statesman thinks of the next generation.”

The Rivers State Government has said it has yet to receive any document on the Martin Amaewhule-led House of Assembly resolution following last Friday’s Supreme Court judgment.

Recall that the Speaker, Martin Amaewhule, in a letter addressed to the Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, on Monday, requested the latter to present the 2025 Appropriation Bill to the House within 48 hours, in line with the 1999 Constitution.

However, in a statement on Wednesday, the Secretary to the Rivers State Government, Dr Tammy Danagogo, maintained that the governor has yet to receive the letter, saying the state government heard of the purported on social media.

The statement reads, “I hereby refer to a letter dated 3rd March 2025 on the above subject, which we came across on social media and notify you that, as at the close of work on Tuesday 4th March, 2025, we are yet to receive the said letter. Neither the office of the Governor, nor the Deputy Governor’s office, nor the office of the Accountant-General of the State has received the said letter”

Dr Danagogo also stated that the state government had yet to receive a copy of the Supreme Court judgement to enable it to respond appropriately.

He said, “We have since been in contact with our lawyers who are still awaiting the certified true copy of the judgments of the Supreme Court, and hereby reassure you and all the good people of Rivers State that as soon as His Excellency receives the judgments, he will strive to implement same timeously in the best interest of our
people.”

However, the SSG assured the people of the state of the governor’s commitment to abiding by the rule of law, as he had noted earlier in his statewide broadcast.

He added, “Please, recall that His Excellency, Siminalayi Fubara, had in a State Broadcast on Sunday 2nd March, 2025, stated clearly that notwithstanding his personal opinion on the Supreme Court Judgments, he will, as a law-abiding Nigerians, obey and implement their decisions in accordance with the rule of law and the best interest of the people of Rivers State.”

[Punch]

As we count down to the 2025 International Women’s Day (IWD) on Saturday, March 8, now is a good time to restart the conversation on skin bleaching among Nigerian women. Hopefully, this will lead to action against the production, sales and use of toxic bleaching creams.

Why does this matter?

According to reports, skin bleaching remains prevalent among many Nigerian women at 77%, compared to 28% in Nigerian men. More women still feel pressured to alter their skin tone, due to the perception that lighter skin equates to beauty, success, and social status.

Despite the severe health risks, skin bleaching remains widespread, particularly among Nigerian women, highlighting the country’s long journey in breaking this cycle and promoting natural beauty as a healthier alternative to skin modification.

To change this perception, we must first understand why Nigerians bleach their skin.

Why Nigerians bleach

For many, bleaching isn’t just about looking good, it’s about fitting into a society that often equates fair skin with desirability and privilege; a society where lighter-skinned individuals, reinforced daily in advertisements and movies, are often cast as the standard of beauty.

The roots of this issue trace back to European colonial influence when lighter skin was linked to power and higher social standing. Over time, these outdated beauty ideals seeped into modern media and advertising. Foreign brands, movies, and pageants still push Eurocentric beauty standards, leaving many Nigerians feeling that their natural dark skin isn’t good enough.

Additionally, skincare companies frequently endorse light-skinned celebrities and influencers, further normalising skin bleaching. Whether intentionally or not, this practice sends a message to Nigerians that true beauty requires transformation. And so, the cycle continues.

For some, the decision to bleach is fraught with uncertainty. One day, they resolve to stop bleaching; the next, they’re back at it. This struggle to decide whether they look better darker or lighter is a clear symptom of deeper issues – low self-esteem and the need for social validation.

The dark side of bleaching

Skin bleaching poses severe health risks. Many bleaching products contain toxic ingredients that strip the skin of its protective barrier. The outermost layer of the skin, the stratum corneum, shields the body from harmful chemicals, pathogens, and UV radiation. Once this barrier is damaged, the body becomes vulnerable to infections and premature ageing.

When bleaching creams are applied, the toxic chemicals used in their production seep into the bloodstream, potentially damaging internal organs like the liver and kidneys.

Then there’s an endless cycle of dissatisfaction since achieving perfect even-toned skin is impossible since bleaching can cause rebound hyperpigmentation, making the skin appear darker and patchy over time. Also, even though sunscreen is designed to protect the outermost layer of the skin, those who bleach are at a higher risk of sun damage and severe burns.

How to repair damaged skin

Skin bleaching can cause long-term damage, including hyperpigmentation, thinning, sensitivity, and uneven tone. If you’re suffering from the side effects of skin bleaching, there are corrective spa treatments that can help to restore and repair your skin.

We have skin rejuvenation treatments that target dark spots and uneven skin tone, restore skin elasticity and firmness, replenish moisture and soothe irritation, enhance cell regeneration and skin healing. Also, exfoliation and skin renewal treatments that remove damaged outer layers to reveal fresh skin, exfoliate without harsh chemicals, and even out skin tone naturally.

Additionally, we have body restoration treatments that eliminate toxins and nourish the skin, restore lost moisture and strengthen the skin barrier, and advanced skincare solutions that stimulate collagen production in the body and reduce damage, deliver essential nutrients directly to the skin, and use natural growth factors to repair damaged skin cells.

The need for immediate action

There is an urgent need for a cultural shift in how Nigerians perceive different skin tones. People should be taught that dark skin is beautiful and does not require modification.

A collective effort is required to combat the bleaching epidemic. The media should highlight dark-skinned celebrities, while skincare professionals must educate consumers about the dangers of bleaching and the importance of self-care through self-acceptance.

Additionally, governments must enforce stricter bans on harmful bleaching products.

Black is beautiful

While we highlight the dangers of skin bleaching, and urge stakeholders to take immediate action, we must also emphasise that dark skin is beautiful. Celebrities, influencers, and anyone with a platform should use their voice to celebrate and normalise dark-skinned beauty.

Those who bleach must understand that true beauty is not about skin tone, it’s about self-love and confidence in one’s natural complexion. Our dark skin isn’t just something to accept; it’s something to take pride in. It’s time we embrace dark skin as the standard of beauty.

Adebagbo is the CEO and Director of Beth Beauty Medical Spa in Lagos.

Two Nigerian entrepreneurs, Manzo Nyifamu Ogechi, founder of Farmatrix, and Solape Akinpelu, founder of Hervest, have been named among the top 10 finalists for the 2025 Aurora Tech Award.

The award, organised by inDrive, a mobility and urban services platform, supports women-led innovations that drive social impact and technological advancement.

Speaking on the selection in a statement on Wednesday, Isabella Ghassemi-Smith, head of start-up at Aurora Tech Awards, said the finalists span industries like artificial intelligence (AI), fintech, and health tech, agrotech, eco-tech, ed-tech, and HR-tech.

She added that half of the start-ups are in the seed stage, three are at the pre-seed stage, and the remaining have secured early funding from personal networks or angel investors.

“This year’s shortlist features trailblazing founders from MENA, LATAM, Central Asia, and APAC, each leading start-ups offering solutions across industries ranging from artificial intelligence and fintech to health tech and beyond,” she said.

“This year’s finalists have demonstrated exceptional leadership and technological advancements in their respective fields. Half of the start-ups are at the seed stage, three projects are at the pre-seed level, and the rest are at the FFF and angel investment stages. Three start-ups focus on health tech, one on agrotech, one on eco-tech, two on ed-tech, one on fintech, and one on HR-tech,”

Other finalists include founders from India, Colombia, Kyrgyzstan, Brazil, Switzerland, Uzbekistan, Chile, and French Polynesia.

A panel of industry experts and investors is expected to evaluate the participants’ work before announcing the winner at the award ceremony, set to take place from April 11 to 13 in Cairo, Egypt.

The winner will receive a $30,000 prize.

[TheCable]

Each time any of my younger siblings was rude to me or sometimes attempted to smack or slap me and then run away, my mum would wiggle her finger and warn them, ‘ma fi abara kekere gba nla’. Meaning, Funke’s palm is bigger than yours and so her slap will hurt more than the one from your smaller palm. That was the scenario that came to my mind when the Supreme Court smacked Governor Sim Fubara and Rivers State with that judgment that sent all the Local Government Chairmen back home  to the wives. After reading through the story, I heaved a sigh, not of relief but of exhaustion. I said, wow, after all that drama and tension that preceded and followed the election, is this how it will all end? Remember that Governor Fubara was elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, but somehow the Action Peoples Party, APP, won leadership of 22 out of the 23 councils. Not PDP, his party. Think of the millions or billions that was expended on that election. And now this Supreme Court has trashed and thrashed both the money and the effort. A few strong men have decided that the votes counted and discounted mean nothing and Rivers people would have to go and look for more money, more billions to conduct the election that the courts, judges and law would approve. All that strain and stress and grandstanding just to lose to the court, not to the opposition party, PDP. What a shame. What a waste of time and deflation of ego.

So what are the lessons here? If your palm is small, do not slap the person with a bigger palm. His Excellency, Sim Fubara looks like he has taken on a bigger man or men. His palm is smarting but it looks like the man he slapped did not even wince. The slaps the governor has been dealt are enough to relocate anybody’s two ears to the same side of the head and I am not sure he has received the last slap yet. His fight with Minister Nyesom Wike has been, sad, bad and mad. It is not a fight that should have started in the first place but the ‘rightness’ or ‘wrongness’ of that fight is a subject that is ripe, not only for deep study but one for national debate. Those who want to quote the Bible or democratic tenets here are definitely not Nigerians. The godson and godfather politics, the I-will-choose-my-successor mentality of governors and the oppression and betrayal that follow are so totally incorrigibly Nigerian. That one godson is being slapped in 2025 does not mean prospective godsons are not lining up for endorsement. Indeed, Fubara will produce his own godson who he most likely will also slap into deafness. Nigerian politicians are unteachable like that.

Could Fubara have handled this better, more effectively? The answer would depend on where you are standing. If you are standing with the Rivers people whose funds, including the ones that will be withheld, you will see that they are the grass being trampled by all the elephants in this fight. They are the ones who voted a PDP governor and also voted APP local Government executives. Only God knows which party will win the next round.

The next lesson is do not accept and submit to godfatherism if you have no intention of following the tenets of the concept. A man does not become a godfather overnight. He knows things. He is capable of things. If he can suspend democratic tenets for you, he can suspend them again to un-father you. You cannot expect to enjoy the prize of being a godson without paying the price. If some peoples’ ambition and aspiration were discountenanced to favour you and you wore your godson robe proudly while pretending to be a democrat, weep not when the day of reckoning arrives.

Am I in support of Wike and making fun of Fubara? Far from it. The godfather-godson thing shortchanges me, you, the people, democracy, everybody. The only people who profit from it are the godson and his godfather. If they did not fall apart, would we have known some of the details of their alliance? And when politicians align, the people are hardly included in the equation. Or you think when they hold those closed door, nocturnal meetings, they discuss how to build new dams to generate more megawatts of electricity or make irrigation a national policy? No, they discuss a different kind of power, power sharing. They review who got what and will get what. It is when what brought them together separates them that they call in the lawyers, rush to the courts and generally entertain us for a while. The lawyers are cashing out from the bloated egos of the political actors while the judges are gradually establishing ‘judicracy’ – we vote, they decide who rules.

For now, let us wish Governor Fubara the fortitude to ride out this storm. I know he is not sleeping well. Who can, when people who are holding brooms are chasing you all night, only for you to wake up to find a fierce-looking umbrella-wielding one breathing fire by your bedside?   

 ------------------------

A sick North and its leaders

Governor Dikko Radda of Katsina State has a PhD in Agriculture and Rural Sociology. Nasir Idris, Kebbi State governor holds a PhD in Education. The governor of Sokoto State, Ahmad Aliyu also holds a doctorate in Business Administration. Dauda Lawal, Zamfara State governor has a 1992 Masters Degree in Political Science/ International Relations. Governor Gawuna Yusuf of Kano holds a Bachelors Degree in, wait for it, Biochemistry. So, how did a North with governors this educated end up with a strange, obnoxious, nasty and distasteful directive that shuts schools for Ramadan? How did the North get here and how will the region ever get out of this cesspit of affliction?

 Please are the children and grandchildren of these helmsmen attending the schools that are going to be shut down for Ramadan? Are the children and grandchildren of the Senators, Representatives, all political office holders and indeed the elites of the north all affected by this sit-at-home-during –Ramadan schools closure in the North? Are the schools in Saudi Arabia also closed for Ramadan or it is just Northern Nigerian Muslims that are holier than those whose womb birthed the holy Prophet? 

Why are we not seeing or hearing protests against this sad holiday? The Muslim community is quiet. The affected parents are going about their businesses as if this is okay. The Muslim clerics’ silence is the most shocking.

The schools that were shut, are there Christian students there? Will the teachers be paid for the month they are fasting and not working? That last question brings me to the biggest question of all; this closure of Northern schools for Ramadan, was it the initiative of the governors? What exactly were they thinking? Did they hold meetings with all stakeholders in this matter and how did they justify the move? How do Northern leaders sleep at night, really?

 I have always been suspicious that the many social diseases that are afflicting the North are the fault of their leaders. This confirms it. Northern leaders and elites like a sick north. It works for them. They like a North West with almost nine million out-of-school children and a North-East with more than five million. Or what else is the reason why every statistic with negative figures in education domiciled in the North and then some governors  still go ahead to give this kind of directive? Exactly in whose interest is this no-school-during Ramadan holiday, the teachers’, the students’, the parents’ or whose?  

These governors, these Northern leaders, where do they see the North in Nigeria, in world equations in 10 years? Do they think producing Nigerian Presidents regularly is what gives the North power? Me, I think if Nigeria has an Hausa or Fulfude- speaking President for 20 unbroken years where the North still does what it presently does, the region will still not catch up with the rest of Nigeria. Anyway, it looks like those who are beaten are not crying while people like me are swallowing ‘panadol’ for a Northern headache.

The federal government through the Police Service Commission (PSC) has approved the appointment of six new Deputy Inspectors General of Police (DIGs).

Naija News reports that this was made known in a statement on Tuesday by PSC Spokesperson, Ikechukwu Ani.

The newly appointed DIGs include: Sadiq Abubakar, who currently serves as the Commandant of the Police Academy, Wudil, Kano; Benjamin Okolo, the Assistant Inspector General (AIG) of the Department of Information Communication Technology at Force Headquarters, Abuja; and Williams Adebowale, the Commandant of the Police Staff College, Jos. Others are Bzigu Bali, AIG at the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) Annex, Enugu; Idegwu Basil Ukuoma, AIG of Zone 14, Katsina; and Adebola Ayinde Hamzat, AIG of Zone 16, Yenagoa.

Ani also announced the promotion of Kanayo Uzuegbu, Commissioner of Police for Enugu State Command, to the rank of Assistant Inspector General of Police.

“CP Kanayo Uzuegbu, Commissioner of Police Enugu State Command promoted to the next rank of Assistant Inspector General of Police was a former Assistant Commissioner Operations Zone 9, Umuahia; Area Commander, Owerri; Area Commander Karu, Nasarawa state; Commander Switch Operation Switch, Portharcourt; Deputy Commissioner Finance and Admin Edo State Command, DCP, state CID, Osun State and Commissioner of Police Operations, Communication, Force Headquarters, Abuja,” Ani added.

The commission also approved the appointment of new Commissioners of Police (CPs) for Oyo and Enugu State Commands.

He said: “CP Ademola Johnson, Principal Staff Officer to the Inspector General of Police, was appointed CP Oyo State.

“He was also a former Deputy Commissioner of Police Delta State Command. CP Mamman Bitrus Giwa was appointed CP, Enugu State, to take over from newly promoted AIG Kanayo Uzuegbu. CP Giwa was former DCP Operations Kaduna and Imo State Commands; ACP Police Mobile Force, Force Headquarters Abuja; and CSP A, Commissioner of Police Mobile Force, Force Headquarters, among other postings in the Police Mobile Force.”

Additionally, Ani revealed that the PSC had approved the promotion of eight Chief Superintendents of Police to the rank of Assistant Commissioners of Police.

“They are Abdullahi Kamba Usman, Sani Abdu, Ifeanyi Owo, Vincent Orole, Elisha Atikinkpan, and Margaret Okonkwo. Others are Alhasan Aliyu Guga and Imo Owinizi Ezekiel.

“The newly promoted senior Police Officers were subjected to written examinations and interactive oral interviews,” he said.

PSC Chairman, retired DIG Hashimu Argungu, encouraged the newly appointed DIGs to work closely with the Inspector General of Police to strengthen the Nigeria Police Force’s ability to maintain law and order.

“The Chairman of the Commission, DIG Hashimu Argungu retd, charged the new DIGs to give the Inspector-General of Police the required support and cooperation to ensure that the Nigeria Police Force would be in a good position to secure the Nigerian space and ensure that law and order are maintained,” he said.

[NaijaNews]