It’s a most unlikely crime scene. I travelled by road from the Benin airport to Uromi, Esanland’s most significant town, for a wedding about three years ago.

The fear of kidnappers is a constant worry for road users. I was nervous for nearly four hours of the taxi ride, especially as we turned off the busy Agbor Road and veered onto narrow, lonely roads meandering through many forested small towns and villages.

I was nervous. When the driver ran into a pothole, and a loud noise suggested we might have lost a wheel or something, I insisted he should keep moving, as long as the car could still move, until we later discovered it was the wheel cover.

Entering Uromi

It was not until we passed Ubiaja, the hotspot between Biafran and Federal troops during Nigeria’s civil war and cultural capital of Esanland, and reached Igueben, the rusty town of one of Nigeria’s famous politicians, Tom Ikimi, about 20 minutes’ drive from Uromi, that I started breathing easy. It was my first visit to Uromi, a town I had known and heard about since my teenage years.

Memories from the past

My earliest memory of this town was when my mother worked as a cook at St. Theresa’s Hospital, Kirikiri Ajegunle, Lagos, owned at the time by Dr. Okoli, an Igbo man, and his wife, a nurse and an Esan from Uromi. Occasionally, when there was some social event in Uromi, the Okolis took my mum along to cook, and she returned with plenty of palm oil, large tubers of yam, and fresh fruits.

But there’s another memory of Uromi apart from my mother’s work and travels. It’s the historical significance of this town in the old Benin Empire. More contemporary references might be about the exploits of some of Uromi’s notable people, such as the three Anthonys – Enahoro, Olubunmi-Okogie and Anenih – whose footprints in politics and liberation theology cannot be easily forgotten. 

Innocence lost to rage

Yet, these notable persons were inspired by the town’s extraordinary heritage of struggle and resistance to oppression. Uromi resisted the expansionism of the Benin Empire during Oba Ozolua’s reign and fought the British colonial invaders.

Though many of the town’s original settlers are believed to have come from central Nigeria, migrants from other places also settled there, highlighting its tolerance for visitors and diverse heritage as the town grew into one of Esanland’s most important agricultural trading posts.

That diversity, enterprise and welcoming spirit now seem like a story from a bygone era. After the tragic killing of the 16 travellers reportedly going to Kano to observe the Eid on March 28, the town has lost its innocence. For a long time, it will be remembered not as that place my mother frequented as a cook or the homestead of Enahoro, one of Nigeria’s greatest patriots and nationalists, but as a crime scene.

Agony of bereavement

The heartbreaking story of Hauwa Bala (whose husband, Isah, was among the Uromi 16) who went into premature labour upon hearing of her husband’s tragic death or Sadiya Sa’adu, who lost a brother and a nephew will haunt the community, as will the stories of each of the dead, and indeed the unfolding horror in Uromi now under siege and a brutal crackdown. The security services are poised to forget their complicity and instead crush the town in a mocking search for justice.

Journey to anomie

How did we get here? Kidnapping and banditry have grown from a fringe business to a N2.23 trillion naira industry, and hardly any part of the country is spared this misery. In the last 10 years, clashes among rival cult gangs have been rife in Edo State, as have been reports of severe violence as a result of farmer-herder clashes. One report said in 2020, Edo was the third most affected by violence in the Niger Delta after Delta and Rivers States.

Violent clashes between farmers and herders have led to significant loss of lives. In February alone, 27 farmers in Edo were reportedly killed by herdsmen. This figure is only a tiny part of the bloody trail that often includes grotesque stories of rape, murder and wantonness wrecking many farming communities across the country as herders roam southwards for pasture.

Politicians’ fake outrage

While the affected communities writhe in anguish, official response, especially by politicians and the police, has ranged from chewing the microphone with empty promises of justice to sheer indifference and, in fact, alleged complicity in supplying weapons to the herders in some cases. We’ve seen this repeatedly across the country, from Uromi in Edo to towns in Benue and Plateau States.

When the state, expected to guarantee security and maintain law and order, abdicates its responsibility, turns a blind eye or becomes complicit, people take the law into their own hands. What happened in Uromi on March 28 is one of the tragic outcomes.

The appearance of shock and outrage amongst politicians and the security services is hypocrisy disguised as empathy. They can fool themselves all day long. Unless they begin to rebuild trust in communities and people – whether farmers or herders – can see that there are consequences for breaking the law, Uromi will not be the last tragic crime scene.

Citizens’ dilemma

Yet, while many communities are under attack, residents are on their own. The Supreme Court recently gave a judgment upholding the death sentence on Citizen Sunday Jackson and criminalising self-defence even in the face of a clear threat to life. The judgment is an absurdity that compounds the dilemma of communities coping with security services often unwilling, unable or unavailable to protect citizens.

If unarmed Jackson had known that self-defence against herdsman Boua Bururo, who stabbed him seven times on his farm, would not avail him, that if he didn’t die by his attacker’s knife, he would have still been killed by the law, he might have surrendered to his attacker. What a fate!

What kind of society gives the victims the short end of the stick? If communities cannot trust that the police can defend them and courts will not provide justice, self-help prevails. As things stand, respect for life and private property rights is endangered, and to pretend otherwise is to enable jungle justice further.

No excuses

What happened to the Uromi 16 stands condemned, but sadly, the fake outrage by politicians obscures the history behind the tragedy. It neither guarantees that a proper investigation will be done and the perpetrators brought to justice, nor does it assuage current tensions and paranoia in many communities across the country.

Open, unrestrained grazing must stop. The Federal Government must also fast-track community/state policing, which will hopefully use modern surveillance tools and techniques to prevent and fight crime. The current security system is unfit for purpose.

Burden of kindness

I’m sorry for the truck driver who, after driving past the stranded passengers early on, turned back nearly two kilometres to pick up the Uromi 16 and other stranded passengers from the roadside. Even though he escaped the mob attack in Uromi, he now lives with the guilt of a bloody reward for his act of kindness, the tragic consequence of a society where trust and compassion have declined.

Neither the Uromi I read about in history nor the one my mother visited is the same as the present crime scene. Something is broken, and false outrage won’t fix it.

I have in the last quarter of a century (since 2001) written dozens of columns on how ancient animosities have fed a spiral of violence in Plateau State. ‘Fire from the Mountains’, followed the July 2012 brutal killing of then Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Gyang Dantong and then Majority Leader of the Plateau State House of Assembly, Gyang Fulani by gunmen during a mass burial for victims of an earlier attack on villages in Barkin Ladi and Riyom local government area. ‘A Cycle of Multilateral Killings’ recounted the anguish of thousands of people being gruesomely murdered or maimed, communities razed, huge swarths of farmlands destroyed and hundreds of thousands made perpetual refugees in their own country. There have been numerous others. 

Within the same period, the United States-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) has done several extensive reports on what started as an economy/ecology problem before ethnic and religious dimensions, combined with old grievances, ignited the violence that has refused to go away. Some of these publications include, ‘Jos: A City Torn Apart’, ‘Nigeria: Revenge in the Name of Religion: The Conflict in Yelwa’, ‘Leave Everything to God: Accountability for Inter-Communal Violence in Plateau and Kaduna States, Nigeria’ etc. In one of their reports, HRW indicted authorities in our country for “taking no meaningful steps to address underlying grievances” or bring to justice those responsible for the massacre of innocent people, “often in horrific circumstances”.

The main concern now is that several of our communities across the country have today become killings fields. Only on Monday, former Senate President David Mark decried the killings in Otukpo, Agatu, Apa and many other communities in Benue State where he hails from. On Tuesday, both the Kebbi Governor, Nasir Idris, and his Borno counterpart, Babagana Zulum, cried out about the growing capacity of criminal gangs in their respective states. While the former lamented that the Lakurawa group seems to be gaining more ground, Zulum’s concern is about Boko Haram resurgence. “Many military locations were dislodged, especially in Wulgo, Sabongari, Wajirko among others,” Zulum said in Maiduguri. “It seems we are losing ground, and this is a very important thing that we need to discuss.”

But my immediate concern is in Plateau State and what Governor Caleb Mutfwang has described as genocidal killings. As of last weekend, the death toll from the massive attacks launched on Mangor, Tamiso, Daffo, Manguna, Hurti, and Tadai communities in Bokkos Local Government Area (LGA) of the state had risen to 52. This followed the recovery of more corpses by search teams after combing nearby bushes for missing persons. “As I am talking to you, there are not less than 64 communities that have been taken over by bandits on the Plateau between Bokkos, Barkin Ladi and Riyom local government areas,” Mutfwang said on Tuesday. “They (communities) have been taken over, renamed, and people are living there conveniently on lands they pushed people away to occupy.”

I must commend Mutfwang for the mature manner in which he has handled the crisis in the last two years and for urging restraint in response to the latest killings. “We strongly urge citizens to exercise restraint and refrain from taking the law into their own hands,” said the state Commissioner of Information and Communication, Joyce Ramnap, who confirmed that some arrests have been made in connection with the attacks. “We call on religious, traditional, and community leaders to reinforce the message of peace, unity, and lawful engagement.”

As it is with all problems that result from a mix of land, ethnicity and religion, there are no easy solutions to the perennial crisis in Plateau State. But the bigger issue is that the Nigerian state seems to be losing the capacity for its primary responsibility: security of lives and property. In its latest report, the Cheta Nwanze-led SBM Intelligence revealed how the escalating conflict between herders and farming communities in the Middle Belt has not only spread South but also now threating the fabrics of our country. “Nigeria’s pastoral conflict has evolved from localised grazing disputes into one of the country’s most pressing security challenges, now affecting multiple regions and threatening national stability,” the SBM wrote. “The violence, primarily between Fulani herders and farming communities, has spread southward from its Middle Belt epicentre, intensifying in states like Edo and Ondo while maintaining its devastating grip on Benue, Nasarawa and Plateau.” The crisis “has also metastasised, merging with banditry and kidnapping networks. Disturbingly, complicity within affected communities – including alleged intelligence-sharing with attackers for financial gain – has complicated counter-violence efforts.” 

Beyond the situation in Plateau State, it is also important for the federal government to pay attention to what is happening in rural communities across the country. “Most of the herdsmen you see all over the place, whether in the north or south…are employees of a larger terror network. They kidnap but the ransom does not go to them”, a senior security officer once told me as I recounted in my 2021 column, ‘Criminal Cartels on the Loose’, which dwelt on the complexities of our national security challenge. “Many of them are from Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso…That these kidnappers kill, maim and rape is bad enough. That they are identified as belonging to a certain ethnic colouration is the problem,” I wrote back then.  

Now that we have descended to the level in which retired military Generals are creating WhatsApp groups for the purpose of contributing ransom money to pay kidnappers for the release of their colleagues, I don’t know how much lower we can sink as a nation. But the bigger issue is the profiling that comes with this criminality. When a national security challenge is framed around identity, as it is in Nigeria today, its management requires more than a knee-jerk approach. I just hope President Bola Tinubu and his team can appreciate that before it is too late.

Kehiku’s Wedding, Irabor’s Reunion Soiree

‘Segun, come here!’ The voice was unmistakable. But as I greeted Mr Eluem Emeka Izeze, who took a gamble on me with the job of a Staff Reporter at The Guardian Newspaper two months after my NYSC Primary assignment in December 1990, I heard another familiar voice, ‘Just look at you!’ It was Mrs Ruth Benamaisia-Opia, the ageless veteran broadcaster of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) fame. And then, other old faces began to appear in what became a festival of the movers and shakers of Nigerian journalism of a certain generation.

I was in Owa-Oyibu in the Agbor area of Delta State last weekend to attend the wedding of Kehiku Toluwalase Irabor to his heartthrob, Nadia. Although Kehiku had his own crowd, including from the Diaspora, they were overwhelmed by those who were there for his wonderful parents, Nduka and Ebele Irabor. In fact, most of the guests were from Irabor’s two and a half constituencies: Media and Football with the half being politics, having been a member of the House of Representatives for eight years between 1999 to 2007.

Not surprisingly, most of the journalists in Agbor had a link with The Guardian newspaper where Irabor made his mark and was sent to jail for doing his duty. The Rutam House Alumni members included Kayode Komolafe, Tony Okonedo, Tommy Odemwingie, Abdul Oroh, Chukwudi Abiandu, ⁠Chuks Anyaso, Paul Nwabuikwu, ⁠Jackson Ekwugum, Bosah Iwobi, ⁠Yemi Ajayi and many others. There were also veteran broadcast journalists: Bayo Awosemo, Bimbo ‘Angel’ Sowoolu, Tonia Agetua whose late husband also worked with The Guardian, Magnus Onyibe and others. Friends like Shina Badaru, Ayo Eso, Chiedu Ebie were also around. So were football people like Messrs Tony Nnacheta, Austin Eguavoen, Samson Siasia, and National Sports Commission (NSC) Chairman, Shehu Dikko. Deacon Tom Ogboe, Chief Augustine Onwumere, Mrs Maryam Uwais and many others were also with us. Of course, two former Governors of Delta State, Chief James Ibori and Dr Ifeanyi Okowa also attended the ceremony chaired by THISDAY/ARISE chairman, Prince Nduka Obaigbena.

As an aside, the report for which Irabor went to jail 41 years ago has been confirmed to be accurate. It all started in April 1984, four months after toppling the Second Republic, when Major General Muhammadu Buhari (now, former president) promulgated Decree 4 (Public Officers Protection Against False Publications). The law empowered the federal military government to close any media house deemed to be ‘acting in a manner detrimental to national interest’ and jail journalists for any reports that ‘bring government officials into ridicule or disrepute.’ It was under this draconian law that Irabor and Tunde Thompson were tried and jailed for refusing to divulge the source of a story about ambassadorial postings.   

In his 2022 memoir, ‘All Eyes on Me’ (for which I wrote the foreword), Major General Haldu Hananiya (rtd) revealed how he was initially listed to be posted to Washington DC until the American State Department said they would not accept a serving General as Nigerian ambassador. “That was when it was decided I would be posted to the United Kingdom as the High Commissioner.” But before the postings were released, Irabor and Thompson broke a story in The Guardian that IBM Haruna (then also a serving General) would replace Hananiya as High Commissioner to the UK. Meanwhile, the reporters had no inkling about the cold calculations that informed the decision which then explained why the leakage riled the Buhari-Idiagbon regime.

In his recollection, Hananiya wrote about some ethno-religious cold calculations prior to the posting: “I didn’t pay much attention to the rumour until The Guardian broke the story about IBM Haruna replacing me. It was the story that sent Nduka Irabor and Tunde Thompson to prison. It was because Buhari and Idiagbon were embarrassed that their plan leaked that they enacted Decree Four to punish the journalists. Of course, there were denials, but I later confirmed the story to be true. There was indeed an attempt to replace my name with Haruna. But for the story, they probably would have posted me to another country and send Haruna to the UK. But following the publication, which they denied, I went to the UK.”

All that, of course, is now history but then, Irabor is a man of history, especially when it comes to military rule in Nigeria. In a recent memoir, General Ibrahim Babangida denied authorising the statement released by Irabor—who was spokesman to then Chief of General Staff (Babangida’s deputy), the late Admiral Augustus Aikhomu—annulling the June 12 (1993) presidential election. Irabor is yet to speak on the issue but in a WhatsApp exchange with Awosemo three weeks ago, he made humour of it. “The Duke, as a news man, I heard there is a wedding in the family,” Awosemo, another NTA veteran who was also Manager, Media and Public Relations at Addax Petroleum Development (Nigeria) Ltd before becoming the Deputy Managing Director at ARISE Television, had written to Irabor. “Your sources are issuing unsigned, badly written statements on scrap paper”, replied Irabor who added two laughter emoji. “Of course, I would appreciate the honour of your presence at my son’s marriage ceremony…There will be a soiree to welcome my personal guests at my country home on April 4.”

With my sister, Ebele, as usual, playing the perfect hostess, it was indeed a weekend to remember in Agbor. A time for reminiscences on the ‘good old days’—the risks many of us took during the military era as well as all the ‘other things’ not fit for print. When I told Dr Chidi Amuta last Saturday that I was in Agbor with many old colleagues, he sent a terse response: “Time passes. You all will soon graduate into the league of grandpas and grandmas.” So true. And many of us are gladly looking forward to that transition as we reflect on the time when men were boys. This life!

It was yet another day of honour for Akwa Ibom State on Tuesday as Leadership newspaper bestowed the Governor of the Year Award for 2024 on Gov. Umo Eno, bringing to two the number of such laurels in as many months. Thisday Newspaper/Arise News Group had in late January celebrated Pastor Eno as Governor of the Year 2024 in a big event in Eko Hotel Lagos. I couldn’t attend the Lagos event; so I was bent on being at the Leadership Conference & Awards at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa where the Akwa Ibom governor was decorated with five other governors. Other prominent citizens like Aliko Dangote; Adaora Umeoji, CEO of Zenith Bank; FCT Minister Nyesom Wike; Comptroller General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, and a few others were also celebrated by the newspaper. In a video recording of his citation played at the event, Gov. Eno was described as a visionary leader who is ‘’focused on food security, social empowerment, job creation and effective security management through his ARISE agenda’’. But because the governor was engrossed in his cabinet’s retreat in Lagos, it was Deputy Governor Akon Eyakenyi who attended the event and received the award on his behalf.

The Deputy Governor and her delegation later returned to Lagos to rejoin the retreat. She dutifully presented the plaque to the governor at the end of the retreat. The governor acknowledged the award and noted that he has received indications that more laurels were coming his way. He asked members of his team to redouble efforts in ensuring that Akwa Ibom people feel the impacts of good governance. Gov. Eno says the avalanche of accolades on him from several media and non media organizations meant that he was being more closely observed across the globe. 

Welcoming back the delegation from Abuja, the Governor said he took the difficult decision of not attending the award ceremony because of the high premium he placed on the ongoing retreat. He thanked the management of The Leadership Newspaper for finding him worthy. He said: “I was meant to be in Paris for a very important international engagement today, and I was also meant to be in Abuja for the Leadership Newspaper award. But I couldn’t attend any of them because this retreat is very serious business which we had already planned. I thank God for the award and it is to God’s Glory that we are being celebrated and honoured. 

“I dedicated the ThisDay/Arise News award to my predecessors, especially my political father, Deacon Udom Emmanuel, for identifying me and supporting me all the way. When I didn’t have confidence in myself, he stood by me and urged me on. A good child dances and receives accolades and brings honour to his parents. I dedicate this particular award to all members of our team, both past and present. It is a call for more work and I believe we all know that the world is watching us. God forbid we drop the ball, they are also watching,” the Governor added. On the deputy governor’s delegation to Abuja to receive the award were the Commissioner for Information, Aniekan Umanah; Political Adviser to the Governor, Chief Godwin Ntukudeh; Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Ekerete Udoh; House of Assembly Member for Nsit Ibom, Hon Eric Akpan and Mrs Owoidighe Ekpoattai, Honorary Special Adviser to the Governor.

An important part of the award ceremony was the key note speech given by the Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima on the theme ‘’The challenges and opportunities in Nigeria’s Fiscal Federalism’’. Represented by Dr. Aliyu Modibo Umar, a special adviser to the President, the VP noted that corruption and mismanagement of the country’s resources are Nigeria’s major problem - not absence of true federalism. He faulted the notion that Nigeria’s federalism was not working, and argued that there is no perfect federalism and each country’s federal arrangement is ‘’shaped by its history, culture and political experience’’. The VP buttressed his argument with some illustration. In Canada, for example, federalism emerged as a compromise linguistic groups. ‘’In Germany, the structure was initially so decentralized that consensus from all 16 Lander was required to pass national policies until reforms in 2006 shifted powers for greater efficiency. Spain, despite its fiscal concessions to regions like Basque Country and Navarre, still contends with separatist agitations’’, he said.

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• Gold price jumps over 2.5% on Wednesday with US tariffs being switched on. 
• China meanwhile retaliated while secretary Bessent issues a warning for China on devaluing its currency.
• Gold bounces from the sub-$3,000 region to just below $3,070 at the time of writing. 

Gold price (XAU/USD) bounces higher and recovers to $3,045 at the time of writing on Wednesday after United States (US) President Donald Trump’s tariffs came into effect. At one point this week, markets were hoping for a last-minute solution as several news outlets informed on Monday that President Trump was considering a 90-day pause in tariffs for all countries except China. However, the White House stated that any suggestion that President Trump was considering a 90-day pause in tariffs was “fake news.”  

“Gold’s rebound reflects growing investor anxiety over tariff threats and the potential reshaping of global trade norms,” says Christopher Wong, a foreign currency strategist at Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. Bullion remains a good hedge against a more disorderly global economy, Wong said, Bloomberg reports. The market also speculates that heightened volatility may prompt the Federal Reserve (Fed)  to speed up interest rate cuts to prevent a recession. Lower rates typically benefit Gold, which doesn’t pay interest. 

Halfway through the European trading session, headlines emerge that China is retaliating against the US imposed tariffs. Chinese Finance Minister Lan Fo'an said an additional 84% of tariffs will be imposed on all US goods. The tariffs will take place as of April 10th.

United States Secretary of the Treasury Scot Bessent meanwhile said China should rather come to the table instead of retaliating. Bessent also said the country will be the biggest loser with these counter-tariffs. Bessent also called out and warned China should not devalue its currency as an additional measure to circumvent the US tariffs, Bloomberg reports.

Daily digest market movers: FOMC Minutes will not move the needle

• Shares of Muthoot Finance, an Indian financial corporation and the largest Gold loan non-bank financial company in the country, declined as much as 6.3% after the Indian central bank said it would undertake a comprehensive review of gold loan regulations, which could potentially increase competition in the sector.
• The CME FedWatch tool shows the chance of an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve (Fed) in May’s meeting surging to 53.5%, compared with only 10.6% a week ago. For June, the chances of lower borrowing costs are 100%, with 55.2% anticipating a 50 basis point (bp) rate cut. 
• Chinese investors funneled a record amount of cash into Gold-backed Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) last week, drawn by the asset's safety as combative trade war rhetoric from the world’s biggest economies shakes global markets. Inflows to four major onshore Gold ETFs, including Huaan Yifu Gold ETF, hit a record of 7.6 billion yuan ($1 billion) last week, according to Bloomberg’s calculations, with strong inflows continuing this week, Bloomberg reports. 
• Later this Wednesday, around 18:00 GMT, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) will release its latest Minutes from the rate decision meeting in March.

Gold Price Technical Analysis: Will it really get resolved?

With the US tariffs taking effect this Wednesday, the markets' reaction is one still with some surprise. It seems that markets were positioned for some last-minute solution or delay, which would soften the actual blow and impact of the tariffs. Nonetheless, duties are taking effect immediately, and that is enough for last-minute investors to head back into Gold. 

Looking up, resistances are a bit spread out, with the first cap of the R1 resistance at $3,041 being tested when writing, followed by $3,057, a pivotal level since March 20. Further up, the R2 resistance at $3,089 precedes the current all-time high of $3,167.

On the downside, the pivotal level of the March 14 high at $3,004 roughly coincides with the $3,000 round number. If this area does not hold as support, bears can target the S1 support at $2,964 and the $2,955 level, where clearly many buyers were interested in scooping up Gold on Monday. Further down, the S2 support at $2,945 is the last line of defense before the 55-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) at $2,935.

[fxstreet]

Nigerian singer and songwriter, Damini Ogulu, popularly known as Burnaboy, has said that Nigerian artists earn significantly less for streams from their local audience compared to those from U.S. and U.K. listeners, with payouts up to 90% lower.

The 33-year-old musician shared his thoughts via Instagram, revealing that Nigerian artists typically earn just $400 for 1 million local streams, compared to the $3,000 to $4,000 that artists from the UK and US receive for the same number of streams.

Burna Boy, known for hits like Ye and Anybody, explained the pay disparity between different regions, saying, “1 million Nigerian streams: $300-$400. 1 million UK streams: $3,000-$4,000. 1 million US streams: $3,000-$4,000. 1 million euro streams: $3,000-$4,000.”

His comments highlight a significant income gap between African musicians and their international counterparts, driven by various factors including the market size, revenue-sharing models, and currency exchange rates.

One of the primary reasons for this disparity is the revenue-sharing model used by music streaming platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music, and TIDAL. These platforms operate on a system where artists earn a percentage of the revenue generated from ads, subscriptions, and other services.

In larger markets like the U.S. and the U.K., where subscription fees are higher, there is more ad revenue and a larger paying user base, which results in higher payouts for artists in these regions.

Some context 

The subscription models in these regions further amplify the earnings gap. In the US, Apple Music charges $10.99 per month for an individual subscription, $5.99 for students, and $16.99 for family plans. Similarly, YouTube Music Premium in the US costs $11.99 per month or $119.99 annually.

• In contrast, Nigerian users pay significantly lower fees. Spotify Premium costs just N1,300 (about $0.82) per month in Nigeria, and YouTube Music Premium is part of a YouTube Premium subscription, priced at N1,300($0.82) for individuals and N2,000($1.27) for family plans.
• The Nigerian market is relatively smaller, with fewer paying subscribers and less ad revenue, which directly impacts the amount local artists receive per stream in the country. Additionally, the value of local currencies plays a role in the disparity. The Nigerian Naira is significantly weaker than the US Dollar or British Pound.
• Also, the exchange rate opened 2023 at N461.5/$1, closed the year at N907.11/$1, and ended 2024 at N1,535/$1. While the payment per stream for Nigerian artists remains comparatively low, the growth of Nigerian music on global platforms has been substantial.

According to Spotify’s 2024 Loud & Clear report, Nigerian artists earned more than N58 billion in royalties from the platform alone in 2024, a figure that more than doubled from the previous year and was five times greater than the amount earned in 2022. This marks a major milestone for Nigerian music, reflecting the growing influence of Afrobeats and other local genres on the international stage.

What to know 

However, despite these significant earnings, the financial gap between Nigerian artists and their international peers remains substantial. As Burna Boy pointed out, having the number one song on a Nigerian streaming platform is not necessarily something to celebrate, as the financial rewards from local streams pale in comparison to those earned in the UK, US, and European markets.

Instead, he encourages Nigerian artists to look beyond their local scene and explore opportunities in international markets, where higher payouts can provide better financial sustainability.

Despite these challenges, Nigerian artists continue to gain global recognition, and platforms like Spotify have helped amplify their music worldwide.

[Nairametrics]

Kemi Olunloyo, the daughter of the late former Oyo State governor, Dr. Victor Omololu Olunloyo, has publicly stated that she will not be accepting condolences following her father's passing on Sunday, April 6.

In a Facebook post, the social media personality revealed personal events that she claims affected her family before her father's death. "I am uploading video statements on my father's death on TikTok," she wrote. "I am NOT part of the Olunloyo family anymore, and I told you that in 2024, that I will never return to Nigeria even if my parents died."

In a subsequent video, Kemi discussed the family dynamics, blaming her late father for allegedly causing turmoil within the family. "I am not accepting anybody's condolences because I am not condoling with anybody," she said. "If you want to condole with my father on his death or his family, you need to go to (link unavailable)."

Kemi stated that she had forgiven her father, saying, "I have forgiven my Dad for everything he did." However, she continued to express her grievances, claiming that her father presented a different persona to the world and to their family.

"My father, Victor Omololu Olunloyo, is two different people," she said. "He was one person to the world; he was another person to the family. My father destroyed our family unit; my father tortured us as kids. He tortured us emotionally and physically. My father ruined the family unit."

Kemi also shared her feelings of betrayal, noting that although her father presented her as his "favourite daughter" to the public, she felt far from it. "My father used me for a lot of things," she claimed. "My father did a lot for all of us. When I said used me, he took advantage of my own positive energies."

Additionally, Kemi discussed her father's involvement in occult practices, claiming that he was "into 'juju' heavily" and "occult practices." She also alleged that her father's issues began after he married Ronke Sonaike, who later became Aderonke Olunloyo.

"My mother married an intellectual, a man who got his Ph.D. at 26 years old," Kemi said. "And he turned into a polygamist. Not that polygamists are not good, but the way it happened to my family."

Kemi shared disturbing memories of the tension caused by Ronke's entry into the family, including claims that her stepmother had attempted to poison her mother. "Ronke said it's my mom that put it there," she recalled, referring to a time when her mother allegedly placed a miniature coffin under Ronke's son, Olumide's bed.

Kemi concluded by stating that she had no contact with her stepmother and revealed that, according to her older sister, "Towards the end of Daddy's life, nobody had access to him after the 2021 stroke. They couldn't talk to Daddy on the phone because Ronke did not give anybody access

Supporters of the Senator Esther Nenadi Usman-led National Caretaker Committee (NCC) of the Labour Party (LP) on Wednesday in Abuja broke into jubilation following the release of the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the last week’s Supreme Court judgment on the party’s leadership dispute.

Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, who read excerpts from the document, announced that the court affirmed the leadership of Senator Usman.

He was speaking at the National Executives Committee (NEC) meeting and expanded stakeholders summit held at Transcorp Hilton, Abuja.

The meeting also attended by the LP national leader and it’s presidential candidate in 2023 elections, Peter Obi, came two days after a fractional national chairman of the party, Barrister Julius Abure, threatened to sanction Otti and Obi for anti-party activities and the planned parallel NEC which held today.

“The Supreme Court has affirmed that the plaintiff (Usman and others) were right in their appeal and went further to admonish politicians to respect the tenures of office as stipulated in their respective political party constitutions,” Otti said.

He also faulted Abure for insisting on staying as the LP national chairman, even when his tenure had expired and the party members also don’t want him again.

He said, “I had a meeting with him (Abure) and asked him, what he wanted, he said he didn’t want anything, we offered him the Chairmanship of the party’s board of trustees (BoT). He went ahead to want to stay when his tenure and those of the NWC (National Working Committee) had expired.

“The correct procedure of you still want to be national chairman is to start from the ward congress, state congress, zonal congress, where the delegates would emerge for the national convention and everyone member is free to contest,” Otti said.

[DailyTrust]

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has a Seyi Tinubu decision to make. He could appoint the younger Tinubu to a cabinet position, or he could keep things as they are and continue to violate the constitution on at least two counts. Either way, Nigerians deserve clarity about the position of the son within the father’s government.

If the president chooses the first option, he will only be giving legal recognition to what effectively exists as a political fact, since his son is already deeply involved in government and national politics. If, on the other hand, the president sticks with the status quo, then we must raise the unprecedented constitutional issues, as I shall argue presently. Whatever the president does on this, the operative terms here are the Nigerian constitution, presidential convention, and the violation of either.

For the first time in Nigeria, we have a presidential son who wants to be fully, openly and directly part of the gig, and a president-father who would let him, or at least who would not issue a firm “No”.

Nigerian leaders from Tafawa Balewa in 1960 to Buhari in 2023 generally refrained from directly involving their children in their own government beyond the symbolic perks of a “First Family”. This practice has grown into a strong tradition and convention, and in any case, many presidential children were young or still in school when their parents served. Of course, quite a few adult children of our past leaders were influential in politics and business particularly, as Abacha and Obasanjo’s children reportedly were. Iyabo Obasanjo was commissioner for health in their home state, Ogun, and was elected a senator when her father was president. Presidential daughters and sons have also often married into prominent political, business or royal families when their parents are in office, as was the case with Yar’adua and Buhari.

None of this, however, is in the same proportion or category as Seyi Tinubu’s role in his father’s government is shaping up to be. Seyi clearly wants to be more than just a president’s son, but to be front and centre of politics and government alongside his parents. He is also not content with the conventional approach of operating and wielding influence in the shadows, as some presidential children before him had done.

He has been a presidential spokesman, lashing out at critics of his father, “the greatest president in Nigerian history”. He has been a goodwill ambassador, helping to build or mend bridges between his father and former heads of state and governors. He has been an envoy of peace, doling out ‘Ramadan baskets’ all across northern Nigeria and donations to victims of flood. He has reportedly influenced his father’s appointment of ministers and presidential advisers. Above all, Seyi wants a seat at the cabinet table to be part of it all at the Federal Executive Council. All of these are cabinet-level roles, which then raise the question; what precisely is Seyi Tinubu’s official role within his father’s presidency?

The answer is so far unclear. What is clear, however, is that clarity is needed. First, no presidential children or family members have assumed such wide-ranging public roles in their father’s government. The most we have seen is Buhari’s appointment of his nephew, Tunde Sabiu Yusuf, as his personal secretary, which, in fact, is a good example precisely because it was made official. Secondly, the current situation of having Seyi Tinubu perform senior-level political and government duties without official recognition raises the issue of accountability. Since no one outside of government can spend government funds, where are the funds for Seyi’s political activities coming from? Are they federal, party, or personal funds? Nigerians must know. After all, Buhari was lampooned for allowing his daughter, Hanan, to use a presidential jet for personal business. Where are the same critics now?

Third, it is clear that Seyi Tinubu has serious political ambitions of his own, and that his father approves and supports those ambitions. The younger Tinubu appears to want to follow in the political footsteps of his father to become the governor of Lagos State, as rumoured, and perhaps thereafter, launch a presidential bid of his own. And the Tinubus, it seems, aim to use this presidency as a training ground for the younger man to gain experience and learn on the job. That is the only logical explanation for this extent of overreach by a son in their father’s government.

This is where the constitutional issues come into play. On the one hand, there is nothing constitutionally wrong with a president appointing his son or daughter to a cabinet position within their government. There is also nothing constitutionally wrong for any president’s sons or daughters to hold political aspirations of their own, and nothing wrong for the parents to support such ambitions. Dynastic political families are common in democracies. Many American presidents appointed one or more of their own children or other family members to various positions, from private secretaries to influential advisers. John F. Kennedy, for example, made his brother, Robert, as the US Attorney General, and was so confirmed by the US Senate.

The key issue is clarity, which comes from official notice, as in Tunde Sabiu’s case. Were Sabiu a son, rather than a nephew, of Buhari (is there any difference in our African context?), it would just have been as well, since everyone knows what his specific roles are in the government. Likewise, Tinubu could appoint Seyi as Presidential Envoy on Domestic Affairs or Minister of Special Duties, or whatever he sees fit, with a clear delineation of responsibilities and powers, like any other cabinet position. That would help to absorb the son’s energies and give a platform for any further political aspirations. Most importantly, such clarity will avoid the president’s infringement on the constitution as is currently the case with his son’s undefined public roles.

As things stand, Nigeria effectively has two presidents and two vice-presidents at the same time. The difference is that Seyi Tinubu is both a co-president to his father, and a co-vice president to Vice President Kashim Shettima. Certainly, the Nigerian constitution did not intend such an arrangement. In order to accommodate his son’s energies and aspirations, the president has had to withdraw from some of his own roles, and at the same time, weaken the office and person of the vice president. In my view, these directly violate the spirit and letter of our constitution.

Nigerians have made funny and not-so-funny jokes on social media about the position of the vice president in relation to Seyi Tinubu’s increasing public roles and visibility in government. Some memes have even described Shettima as the “former vice president of Nigeria”, just to indicate the extent of his perceived or real alienation from the government of which he is a part.  A lot of the concerns expressed by such jokes are valid. In my view, however, the real problem lies a degree higher up.

In our presidential system, the president has three roles: as head of the government, as commander of the armed forces, and as the political, symbolic and ceremonial head of state. Seyi Tinubu performs quite a lot of this third role of head of state. He has taken salutes and stood for parades by our police and military officers. He has been the more politically visible of the pair across the country. He has had governors receive him across the states as exactly as they would President Tinubu himself.

All of these are part of the president’s own job, but which he has unofficially delegated to his son against the intent of our constitution. This is why President Tinubu has a decision to make. Give Seyi a seat at the table officially, or let him officially stay out.