The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has expressed readiness to partner with the federal government in tackling humanitarian and poverty challenges in Nigeria.

The UAE Ambassador to Nigeria, Salem Saeed Al Shamsi, made this known when he led a team from the embassy and Noor Dubai Foundation to the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation in Abuja.

This was contained in a statement issued by Rasheed Olanrewaju Zubair, special adviser on media and publicity to the minister.

The envoy, who described the relationship between his country and Nigeria as symbiotic said, “Nigeria remains a strong ally of the UAE and we would continue to partner with Nigeria in key areas like humanitarian aid, job creation, nutrition, health care development and poverty alleviation.”

Responding, the Minister for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr Betta Edu, applauded the government and people of the United Arab Emirates for their timely interventions in critical sectors in Nigeria.

The minister specifically thanked the ambassador and his team for taking steps to support Nigeria in many ways.

She noted that the president had a great plan to eradicate poverty under his 8-point agenda and has begun full implementation.

Also speaking, the chief executive officer of Noor Dubai Foundation, Dr Manal Taryam, said it had been on humanitarian-related interventions, including an eye treatment programme, which commenced with Katsina State, while Lagos and Abuja would soon be launched.

The candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party candidate in the forthcoming gubernatorial election in Kogi State, Dino Melaye has revealed that he has survived four assassination attempts in the state.

Melaye made this revelation in an interview with Arise Television on Thursday.

According to him, tension has been part of the lives of the Kogi people since the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC came into power seven years ago.

He said, “I have survived four assassination attempts; I have had 12 court cases of FG vs. Dino Melaye, and I have been attacked severally. It is not new, as it is in the DNA of the APC to be violent.”

“Kogi State is like an evil forest that needs instantaneous redevelopment and needs a messiah.”

The former senator said he hopes to be instrumental in ameliorating the pains of those living in the state.

He further said it has never been this bad in the history of Kogi, as the state is more divided than at any other time in the state’s history.

He however said since the All Progressives Congress came into power in the state, they have completely polarised and divided the people, and there is serious disunity.

He said part of the PDP’s agenda is to first reunite the state, as the slogan of his campaign says “One Kogi, One Destiny.”

The Ondo State House of Assembly on Friday disclosed plans to impeach the state Deputy Governor, Mr Lucky Aiyedatiwa, have been halted, Naija News learned.

The Ondo Assembly said it decided to back down on Aiyedatiwa’s impeachment proceedings during its plenary session on Thursday, following the refusal of the state Chief Judge, Justice Olusegun Odusola, to set up a panel to probe the deputy governor.

This platform reported on Thursday that Justice Olusegun Odusola declined the state Assembly’s request to set up a seven-man investigation panel to investigate Aiyedatiwa.

Recall that the Ondo State Assembly, as part of efforts to impeach Aiyedatiwa, wrote the CJ to form an investigative panel in line with section 188 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended to look into the allegations of gross misconduct levelled against the embattled deputy governor.

A move Aiyedatiwa kicked against by writing a counter letter to the CJ not to grant the assembly’s request to investigate him.

However, Naija News gathered that the Ondo CJ, in a letter to the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Rt Hon Oladiji Olamide Aderanmi, with ref no. CROD/1123/V.3/ dated October 6, 2023, gave reasons for declining their request.

The CJ cited Section 287 (3) of the Constitution as to why he cannot act on the letter from the House.

He said the above provision of the Constitution barred him from performing the function by an order of a Federal High Court.

Sequel to this development, the Ondo Assembly bowed to pressure, saying that it would obey the order of the court and suspend the impeachment proceedings.

Speaking to pressmen in the state on Friday, the Chairman, of the House Committee on Information, Mr Olatunji Oshati, who revealed the development, noted that the House is suspending the impeachment proceedings until the order of the court is vacated.

Oshati, stated, “We have considered the letter, which is everywhere in the public domain, and we are halting the impeachment process until the order of the Federal High Court is vacated.

“It is not about being arrogant with power, it is about holding public officers accountable. It also shows that the process of impeachment transcends the monopoly of the legislature, as we can see that the judiciary has stalled it. This is to show that it is not a witch-hunt, it is about carrying out our oversight functions.”

Meanwhile, a source in the Assembly told The Punch that the Ondo CJ has reached out to the Speaker to explain how tight in a corner he is on the matter because he just has to obey the court’s ex parte order restraining him from carrying out the directive of the Assembly.

The source said, “The CJ has reached out to Mr Speaker that he cannot set up a seven-member panel to probe the deputy governor as directed by the House, claiming that his hands are tied by the ex parte order issued by Justice Emeka Nwite, stopping the impeachment process.”

Palestinians began a mass exo­dus from northern Gaza Friday after Israel’s military told some 1 million people to evacuate to­ward the southern part of the besieged territory, an unprece­dented order ahead of an expect­ed ground invasion against the ruling Hamas militant group.

The U.N. warned that so many people fleeing en masse — almost half the Gaza popu­lation — would be calamitous. Hamas, which staged a shock­ing and brutal attack on Israel nearly a week ago and has fired thousands of rockets since, dis­missed the evacuation order as a ploy and called on people to stay in their homes.

The UN said the order for the mass evacuation was “impossi­ble” without major humani­tarian consequences. Hamas told residents not to leave their homes.

Israeli forces are maintaining their bombardment of Gaza in response to Hamas’ terror at­tacks that killed more than 1,300 people. Israel has also amassed more than 300,000 reservists along its southern border — but has not confirmed whether it is planning an intensified military operation.

Gaza’s humanitarian crisis is deepening with warnings people are at risk of starvation. Nearly 1,800 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Palestinian health ministry. The airstrikes have also displaced 423,000 people, the UN said.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in Tel Aviv pledged full US support to Israel, stressing, “This is no time for neutrality, or for false equivalence or for excus­es for the inexcusable.”

Meanwhile, the Internation­al Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has raised an alarm over the evacuation order in Gaza, warning of catastrophic humanitarian consequences, the organisation said in a state­ment Friday.

With a military siege in place, humanitarian organisations, including the ICRC, face chal­lenges in assisting the massive displacement of people in Gaza. Their Gaza City office received the same instructions to leave, as did other international organi­sations.

The organisation also high­lighted the need to ensure that basic necessities are provided for displaced populations and to prevent family separations.

A heavily pregnant woman who fled Gaza City on Monday told CNN that she fears for the future as hordes of Gazan civil­ians start making their way to the southern Gaza strip follow­ing Israel’s evacuation order.

Nardeen Fares, who is nine months pregnant, told CNN over the phone that she traveled with her husband from al-Rimal, a neighborhood in Gaza City, to the town of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza strip earlier this week.

“Right now, there is an ex­odus of thousands of people. You’re talking about half of the Gaza Strip moving to Khan You­nis,” the 27-year-old told CNN.

The Central Bank of Nigeria has released an explainer to defend its action of lifting foreign exchange restrictions on the 43 items excluded from accessing foreign exchange from the official market.

The apex bank had on Thursday notified the public in a circular that it has lifted the foreign exchange restrictions placed on the importation of 43 items by the former CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele.

Emefiele had in 2015 blacklisted the 41 items and two other items subsequently from the official forex window to reduce foreign exchange demand for products that could be locally produced, improve employment generation and conserve foreign reserves.

This created room for the importers to source their foreign exchange from the black market which weakened the parallel-market exchange rate and pushed up prices.

Explaining the reason for lifting the ban, the apex bank said, “The CBN wants to ensure price stability and is seeking to boost liquidity in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market. As liquidity improves, we expect the distortions to moderate.

“The CBN wants to promote orderliness and professional conduct by all Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market participants to ensure market forces determine exchange rates on a Willing Buyer – Willing Seller principle. The CBN wants a unified market for FOREX with flexible and transparent pricing.”

The CBN explained that the implication of the policy is that Monetary Policy tools would become more effective with the attainment of a unified, well-functioning market for FX, where pricing is based on a willing-buyer and willing-seller system.

The apex bank said with this, the CBN’s core functions and mandates become realizable.

The CBN explained, “The willing-buyer and willing-seller system allows the exchange rate to adjust to clear the market and ensure that there is always supply. In recent months, the widening premium between the official rate and the parallel market indicates that the rate has not been setting a clearing price.

“Importers of these products rely on the parallel market to source FX for importing these goods. This puts additional demand pressures on the parallel market, thereby widening the gap with the official rate and permanently segmenting the market. Removing these restrictions eliminates the need for importers of these products to go to the parallel market, reducing the pressure on the naira.

“The hitherto FX restrictions had implications on inflation, causing the prices of affected goods to increase.”

However, the Senior Partner and Economist at SPM Professionals, Paul Alaje, argued that the decision was not well thought out.

“I don’t know who advised us on these 43 items. It’s important we rethink the decision before it is too late. Our issues are around insufficient FX.

“How is demand stimulation policy going to bring us out of the FX crisis? This may further weaken the naira,” Alaje said in reaction to the decision of the CBN.

The Governorship candidate of PDP in Lagos State, Dr Abdulazeez Adediran (a.k.a. Jandor), says he has filed an appeal to challenge the judgment of Lagos State Election Petition Tribunal which upheld the re-election of Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

This is contained in a statement signed by Mr Gbenga Ogunleye, the Head of Media and Communication of Jandor for governor Campaign Organization.

The statement was copied to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday.

Adediran said he filed a 34-ground appeal dated Oct. 13, to express dissatisfaction with the verdict of the tribunal.

He claimed that miscarriage of laws characterised the judgment, and prayed the Court of Appeal to set aside the judgment.

He said that the tribunal erred in law and reached a wrong conclusion when it dismissed his petition challenging the qualification of Sanwo-Olu for the March 18 governorship election.

He said that his petition was premised on the provision of Section 177(c) and 182(1)(j) of the 1999 Constitution.

“By this action, I reaffirm my commitment to birth a breath of fresh air in governance in Lagos State by ensuring that the provisions of the constitution and the electoral laws as regards election of a truly qualified governor, is upheld,” he said.

The Nigeria Police Force has commenced the recruitment process for qualified individuals into the rank of Police Constables in the General Duty and Specialist Cadres.

The Police Recruitment Board is set to open the application portal on October 15, marking the beginning of an essential phase in enhancing the Force’s capabilities and effectiveness.

The police said the online application portal is scheduled to be opened for six weeks from October 15 to November 26 where prospective applicants are required to complete the online application forms and submit same within the specified period via www.apply.policerecruitment.gov.ng

“Applicants shall be of Nigerian origin by birth and must possess the National Identification Number (NIN) with a minimum of 5 credits in not more than 2 sittings in WAEC/NECO or its equivalent with credit passes in English and Mathematics, and aged between 18-25 years for General Duty, and 18-28 years for Specialists; medically, physically, and psychologically fit and must not be less than 1.67m tall for male and 1.64m tall for female, with not less than 86cm (34 inches) expanded chest measurement (for male only),” the police said.

The police noted that applicants must be free from any financial embarrassment and not convicted of any criminal offence.

“The available Specialised Fields include Medical Assistant (Junior Community Health Extension Workers (JCHEW), Veterinary Assistant (Relevant Certificate in Animal Health/Livestock), Band Section, Communications/Info-Tech Specialist, Driver/Mechanic, Marine, Plumbers. Masons, Painters, Tilers, Electricians, Welders and Carpenters

“The Inspector-General of Police hereby issues a strong charge to all applicants, urging them to exercise vigilance and caution throughout the application process.

“He warned against the activities of fraudsters and individuals who may attempt to exploit the recruitment process for personal gain.

“The IGP assures that the Police Recruitment Board comprises dedicated and disciplined individuals who will ensure a transparent and merit-based recruitment process devoid of corrupt and other sharp practices.

“He emphasised that the application and selection process is FREE, and will be carried out through official channels and that unscrupulous activities should be promptly reported to the authorities for necessary action,” the police said.

Does President Bola Tinubu have the right, and duty, to make appointments; in the exercise of his powers as president? The answer is yes! Is it his prerogative to determine whom to give what position in government, to the extent that he deems such a person qualified to hold the position? The answer is yes! Is he also duty bound to respect some stipulated provisions for such appointments, given the religious and ethnic plurality of the nation? Again, the answer is yes!

We must also ask whether individuals, and groups, who are dissatisfied with his appointments free, and even duty-bound, to raise observations, complaints and objections. It would still be a resounding “yes”! Are such persons best advised to be guided in their reaction by the constitution, political practice and a sense of history. I wager that the answer is a still yes.

Now the conversation begins

Our people say that someone who is used to being the first to pick from a pack, or pile, of goodies because of his privileged access to whoever is in charge of the picking order will be the first to cry “abomination” if one day he finds himself forced to queue up like everyone else. Our people also say that the presumed rights of someone who, without any justification other than the fact that he is used to having his way, only exist because of sustained abuse and leadership misconduct. And abuse, once condoned without let or hindrance for a long time becomes the norm; despite the laws, traditions and ways of a people. This is summarized by another Igbo proverb which says that when an abomination is allowed to subsist for years, it becomes tradition.

Against the background of the foregoing, let it be said for the record that Bola Tinubu is very far from remotely approximating the dreadful, insensitive and totally ill-advised and extremely exclusivist orientation of former president Muhammadu Buhari in federal appointments. Buhari’s favoured Katsina State, the Fulani and the core North in that order. While it lasted some fair-minded Fulani, and northerners in general, spoke out with displeasure and dismay. They were aghast and scandalized at a trajectory that would not strengthen national cohesion or leave the North in good standing in national political consciousness.

The Buhari tradition of unconscionable myopia subsisted in every sense of the word, to the extent that his main achievement in, and out of, office was to draw sometimes undeserved opprobrium upon his brothers and sisters from the Northern part of the country.  But everyone saw the North as “enjoying” under Buhari, in the sense that the notion of inequity was not seen as a matter strongly protested against by that part of the country.

It is against the background of the forgoing that the cries of marginalization of the North by Tinubu stands within the context of a nation still in search of its true soul. Yes, the North came out for him. But remember that in 2015 Buhari thanked specific northern states, and the north in general, for a victory everyone else saw delivered mainly by Tinubu and the South West.

So, let me re-invite our attention to the observation, in the second paragraph of this article, thus: we must react to our current situation bearing in mind not just the constitution, but also “political practice” and a sense of history. The constitution has been routinely violated since the dawn of this democracy; with Buhari’s tenure as an unparalleled anomaly in our national history. The political practice has been for our leaders to do as they pleased. Now that the North seems to be, or claims to be on the receiving end, it is screaming that Armageddon is here. Yes, it may be for the North.

See what was said about the South East under Buhari on this page on October 25, 2019, under the title “As the South East Mourns”.

“South Eastern Nigeria lies prostrate and without dignity today. It has been thus for a long time now. Enveloped by an incubus of snarling befuddlement, the region has become a metaphor for how to exist (without really living) in a federation of supposedly equal partners. It twists and turn piteously in subdued pain. There is an unvoiced gnashing of teeth and a bitter forbearance. Denuded, ridiculed, swindled and roundly scandalised on all fronts by an elaborate pretense at nationhood that has been to its detriment for far too long, South East Nigeria is at best a metaphor for nominal and fraudulent citizenship. Its gifted, energetic and bold youths are forced to scavenge around the fringes of morality and legality.

That is because they have found themselves in a system that excludes them from what their peers and supposed fellow citizens take as a matter of course; and regard as their entitlement. There is, for people of the South East, an unnamed fear here and a semi-uncertain confusion there. There is also a semi-real trembling yonder. Anon, it is as if there is always some creeping, inexplicable, yet ever-present, but clearly unhealthy, quivering of political and economic nerves.

But, being a people resolved not to dissolve under inclement currents and the unrelenting assaults of a merciless state that seems determined to annihilate them, Ndigbo remain resilient in the face of inhuman political and economic odds. But does the rest of the Nigerian federation really know, and to its fullest measure, that thralldom and misery have taken permanent residence in the entire South East? Put differently, does anyone really care what people of that region feel, or do not feel, about everything going on around them – and sometimes in their name? I think not. And that is because everyone has been living with a badly treated South East since after the civil war in 1970. It has become normal to reckon without the people in every way….

It is a matter of fact, and record, that the South East region has remained sidelined in federal developmental projects for decades. The region lacks relevance in the siting of impactful institutions and major drivers of our economic environment. It is mocked by the wretched profile of its most visible political actors. Its sons and daughters in national public positions mostly live to survive their tenures. They sneak off to some recondite and narrow existence, or to their villages, once out of office. Not so for their peers, contemporaries and supposed equals from other parts of the country.

Look around you calmly and you must conclude that there is really nothing happening in the South East to warrant serious national human, economic or political traffic in that direction. It boasts the most dilapidated federal roads in the nation. It is the least considered in the new epidemic of rail projects springing up all over the nation. The second Bridge over the Onitsha end of the Niger was on the cards for decades. It became a metaphor for what should have happened immediately after the civil war, but which did not happen.

When, finally, approval was given for the Bridge to be built under the PDP government of yore, it turned out to be a Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) arrangement. In other words, the bridge was approved to be built by whoever was willing, able and available to put down his money for it. Yes, the builder will fund the project and then later recover the money by putting up toll gates on both ends of the new bridge. It is those using the bridge that would pay for the cost of building it; and it was not to be handed over to the government to be used free of cost, until the number of years stipulated as adequate for the builder to recover his cost, along with the accruing profit. And, mind you, there was no case of national bankruptcy; or a dearth of projects of even higher net value being executed all over the nation at the time.

But the bridge was still not built. Had it been built as initially planned, it would most probably have been the only spot in the federation where toll gates were erected so that users of a public, land transport facility like a bridge would pay for using it. And this was at a time the federal government banned and dismantled all toll gates in the country. It does not matter now, as observed earlier, that projects of higher value have been, and are still being, built all over the federation at government expense. Only the South East must moan, groan and bleed through the nose for a bridge that should have been constructed over 40 years ago.

Work finally commenced on the bridge, thanks to the Buhari government. The euphoria of this “breakthrough” exposed the myopia and infantilism of South East political leadership. An elite that clamoured, and still clamours, for an inland port in Onitsha is blind to the fact that this new bridge has been deployed as undertaker for the port project. What type of ship will pass under it? With what type of cargo, if any? …. To be fair, there is enough head room for, crabs, swimmers, speedboats and rafts. For good measure, it may even endure a flat-bottomed steamer ferrying sand around the now-dry banks. But that would be all.”

Yes, the South East has been in mourning since before, during and after the civil war. The North, on the other hand, has been mourning over the underdevelopment of its human capital, before its situation was roundly compounded by Boko Haram and Banditry. The worst of it all, since the dawn of the Nigerian State, came under President Buhari. His legacy is an economically decimated North, wherein the elite cannot travel on the roads or go home without being hunted by bandits and kidnappers; and where also the hapless masses cannot harvest farm produce, sleep in peace or lead normal lives.

Just as the South east still stands out as the most politically diminished of all regions in the Federal Republic of Nigeria, through “deliberate government gymnastics and the political illiteracy of its own ruling elite”, the North is mourning because of its un-strategic engagement while Buhari held sway. How Tinubu will eventually resolve all of the forgoing remains to be seen – as the North mourns.

The storm over the legitimacy of the credential President Bola Tinubu submitted to INEC has managed to rope in former Vice President Atiku Abubakar who instigated it in the first place. But available facts show that neither of them presented forged documents to INEC.

 I go where the facts lead me. That means I could say the opposite of what I said earlier in light of new facts, a reason I advisedly used the expression “the best obtainable version of the truth” in last week’s column.  I am not invested in any perspective. Tinubu is an unrelieved catastrophe as a president, but I'll defend the facts even if they favor him.

Here are 7 facts I've found so far after reading and rereading all the facts related to this issue:

1. Tinubu attended and graduated from Chicago State University in 1979, was issued a diploma (or a certificate, to use the expression that’s familiar to Nigerians), which he collected (I erred when I thought the registrar said he didn't; See number 3). Apparently, he lost the original diploma in 1979 and was issued a "replacement diploma dated 27 June 1979," according to the BBC.

2. In the 1990s, he applied for and got a replacement diploma from CSU. Ostensibly, because it looks different from his 1979 diploma (since diplomas bear the signatures of the current president and look like the diplomas issued that year), he got a note from the CSU registrar in 1999 affirming that he indeed graduated from the school in 1979. 

3. He lost the original copy of the 1990s replacement diploma (but has a photocopy of it) and, in the 2000s, applied for yet another replacement diploma, which the university issued, but which he didn't collect. I mistook the registrar's reference to this bit during the deposition as him saying that Tinubu did not collecting his 1979 diploma. My apologies.

4. In 2022, Tinubu submitted a photocopy of the 1990s replacement diploma, along with the 1999 "To Whom It May Concern" note from the CSU Registrar, to INEC as the academic credential that qualifies him to run for president.

5. Opposition politicians saw it and said it wasn't similar to diplomas CSU issued in 1979. So, they said it's fake.

6. BBC's Disinformation Team fact-checked the claim and found that it's not fake. It appears fake only because it was reissued in 1998 and the university's logo at the bottom of the diploma was chopped off during photocopying. The BBC says every other detail in the diploma is similar to the diplomas CSU issued or reissued in 1998.

7. The registrar disavowed the photocopied INEC diploma during deposition because of the absence of the logo of the university at the bottom of the diploma, but even he hinted that it "was possibly 'cut off' when it was photocopied." So, it was actually a conditional disavowal.

The Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ) attempted to impeach the credibility of the BBC fact check but failed.

The FIJ said, "Of particular interest was the expression, ‘with honors’, which appeared on the certificate Tinubu submitted to INEC. The presence of ‘with honours’ in Tinubu’s certificate is a tautology because the certificate goes on to read, 'with all the rights, honours, and privileges partaining therto'.[sic]. None of the 1990s samples provided by CSU showed those words underneath the course of study, and this suggests that Tinubu’s certificate, which was supposedly obtained within the same timeframe, did not emanate from the school."

That's a problematic claim. "With all the rights, honors, and privileges pertaining thereto" is a fixed phrase that appears on all diplomas irrespective of their class. The addition of "with honors" isn't a duplication because graduating with honors is an academic distinction that only a limited pool of students achieve, and some U.S. universities include it in diplomas in addition to the fixed phrase that appears on all diplomas. 

In any case, Tinubu’s uncollected 2000s replacement diploma that the registrar showed during the deposition has both the fixed phrase AND “with honors.”

Similarly, the claim that the samples of replacement diplomas issued in the 1990s don't have "with honors" is a weak argument because CSU only showed uncollected diplomas in its records, not a representative sample of every type and class of diplomas earned or re-issued that year. It could well be that the uncollected diplomas in CSU's records didn't achieve the distinction that entitles them to have "with honors" affixed to them. 

Typically, only between 20% and 30% of students graduate with honors in U.S. colleges and universities (except for Ivy League universities that have higher percentages), so it's not a given that the uncollected diplomas in CSU's records will be among the 20% to 30%.

FIJ also said, "Two, whoever created the controversial certificate in Tinubu’s possession copied the template of the 2000s without paying attention to timeframe variations. This is clear in one of the signatures on Tinubu’s certificate. The signature on the right is that of Zaldwaynaka “Z, the current President of CSU, who took office in 2018. A president who took office in 2018 could not have signed a certificate supposedly released in the 1990s."

This claim seems made up because there is no "Zaldwaynaka Z" in the diploma Tinubu submitted to INEC. The photocopied CSU diploma Tinubu submitted to INEC and the samples of CSU diploma replacements from the 1990s are exactly the same except for the missing logo in Tinubu’s copy as a result of photocopying.

The registrar's disavowal of the diploma doesn't invalidate its authenticity because he merely said the photocopy that was shown to him didn't look like diplomas from CSU because of the missing logo. People who have an emotional investment in the idea that Tinubu "forged" a diploma that he validly earned (which is ridiculously excessive legal literalism to begin with) leave out that context and make it seem as if the registrar's words are an inviolable article of faith and not a conditional, context-dependent response to a specific question about a specific photocopied document that doesn't reflect all the features of diplomas CSU issued in 1998 BECAUSE of photocopying.

This issue has demonstrated to me in starkly dramatic terms how partisan blinders can distort people's perception of reality. When people so badly want something to be true, but it turns out to be untrue, they choose to hang on to the most absurd apophenic hallucinations (i.e., seeing predetermined patterns from a chaos of unrelated phenomena) they can invoke to validate their preconceptions. I've studied and taught this phenomenon for years but had never seen it manifest on a mass scale like this.

The only new thing that will change the conversation is a foolproof revelation that Tinubu didn't meet graduation requirements and was issued a fraudulent transcript that said he did—after the fact—by dodgy university officials. That would establish the legal basis for forgery. Given what I am now reading about the school, I won’t be shocked if this happens. So, I think the answer to the puzzle isn't on the surface; it's beneath the surface. Only deep investigation can unearth it.

Finally, the CSU registrar never said, “forgery is a Nigerian thing.” Tinubu sent his lawyer to get copies of his academic records from CSU and requested that the school certify the documents before sending them to him.

 Atiku's lawyer asked if CSU had ever certified documents it sent out, and the registrar said, "No, I believe this was made because it is more of a Nigerian thing." So, the "Nigerian thing" he referred to was certifying school records for legal purposes, not forgery.

Atiku’s School Certificate

Tinubu’s minions, in their bid to get even with Atiku, dredged up Atiku’s post-secondary school appellative change and are attempting to pass it off as evidence of school certificate forgery against him. But here are the facts.

Atiku was known as Sadiq (or Siddiq—it doesn’t matter in Muslim northern Nigeria because “Sadiq” and “Siddiq” and all other spelling variants are interchangeable) Abubakar. He was named after Abu Bakr, Islam’s first caliph whom the prophet of Islam nicknamed as "al-Siddiq," which means “the righteous.” So, in Muslim northern Nigeria, every Abubakar (our domestication of Abu Bakr) is a Siddiq and vice versa—just like every Umar is a Farooq and vice versa.

People have asked why Atiku was tautonymous, that is, having the same first and last name— if Siddiq and Abubakar are the same. Well, in the early days of education in Northern Nigeria, people concealed their father’s names in schools to protect them from abuse from classmates. Some used toponyms (i.e., names of places) as their family names (Aminu Kano, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Ahmadu Rabah—before he changed to Bello—are prominent examples). 

A few, however, chose the tautonymous route. Among them is former president Muhammadu Buhari. He was named after prolific ninth-century Hadith compiler Muhammad al-Bukhari who was a native of the city of Bukhara in what is now Uzbekistan. Bukhari simply means native of the city of Bukhara. But in northern Nigeria every Buhari is a Muhammad. So, Muhammadu Buhari is effectively a tautonym. 

Atiku probably also initially chose the tautonymous route. I don’t know how he came about the name Atiku, but it is the Nigerian domestication of the Arabic name Atiq, which means “ancient.” Some people say it means “freed.” Bangladeshis bear it as Atiqur and Arabs bear it as Atiqullah.

More than anything, though, he swore an affidavit in real time to legalize this change of name. The same can’t be said for Bola Tinubu whom we’ve learned was initially known as Lamidi Amoda Sangodele.

While most eyes are on Chicago Wahala, I thought I should focus on Nyesom Ezenwo Wike. President Bola Tinubu’s most famous ministerial appointee has long been impossible to ignore.

As soon as he became Governor of Rivers, the sometimes turbulent and always complex premier state in the oil-producing Niger Delta region – on May 29, 2015 – a ubiquitous media superstar was born.

In the eight years and five months that have elapsed since then, he has been constantly mentioned in various print/online publications and TV/radio programmes, partly because he spends vast sums on publicity and partly because he is extremely newsworthy anyway.

Extremely newsworthy

Garrulous, witty, irascible, flamboyant, boastful, hedonistic, bold, brave, combative and clever, he’s a larger-than-life lawyer, sharp-suited swaggering showman, imperious bruiser and highly effective operator who attracts contempt and admiration in equal measures.

His enemies describe him in unflattering terms, including as one who specialises in buying influence.

His fans describe him as a straightforward, streetwise, no-nonsense strongman who bestrides his unruly domain like a colossus, quite rightly rules it with a rod of iron, only does drastic U-turns when evil adversaries are about to destroy him and doesn’t need to assassinate his opponents because he can easily outsmart them tactically.

Whether one loves Wike, loathes Wike or has a neutral attitude towards Wike, nobody can deny that he usually gets what he wants…and that he has pulled off a feat so audacious, astonishing and unique – seizing control of the two main political parties on his home turf – that when this era of our history is catalogued in books for posterity, Wike’s name will surely feature very prominently.

Many Nigerians were shocked when Wike opted to play a Tinubu Cheerleader role because he had repeatedly described Tinubu’s APC as a “cancer” that had seriously messed Nigeria up since 2015.

But thanks to Wike, the APC was, for the first time ever, declared the winner of a presidential election in Rivers State this year.

Meanwhile, Wike’s protegee (Sim Fubara) succeeded him as the PDP governor of Rivers State and the Rivers branch of the PDP wound up with numerous seats in local and federal legislative chambers.

In a nutshell, Wike has cunningly manoeuvred himself into becoming the de facto boss of both PDP and APC in Rivers State. And it is not surprising that Tinubu regards him as a crucial ally.

Whether Wike really won Rivers State for Tinubu or anyone else is still a hotly debated topic. Reports from respected foreign organisations such as the European Union and British BBC indicate that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, may have colluded with Wike and Tinubu to declare false results.

In the meantime, Wike has bagged the Federal Capital Territory ministerial slot, a prestigious, quasi-gubernatorial posting that normally goes to Northerners.

Wike and Tinubu have different styles – Tinubu is much smoother and is (unlike Wike) fond of talented sophisticated technocrats. But they still come across as being kindred spirits in fundamental ways.

They are both clever, manipulative strategists. They both adore power. They both relentlessly pursue wealth. They both lavish inducements on useful individuals. They are both immensely ambitious. They are both famed for getting whatever they want.

Tinubu, known as Jagaban – warrior leader – controlled most of his native South-West geopolitical zone for a quarter of a century.

My guess is that Wike, a seasoned muscle flexer, will learn from his new master and try his best to build a solid base across the entire length and breadth of his native South-South zone.

Tinubu despite the endless embarrassments that are tarnishing his image, has gone from being a regional champion to running the Giant of Africa.

Could it be only a matter of time before Wike follows in his footsteps?