The Former Governor of Abia State and Senator representing Abia North, Senator Orji Kalu, has revealed that the Federal Government made a mistake not to have carried the National Executive Council (NEC), Nigeria Governor’s Forum, and the Council of State along in its tax reform bills.

Orji Kalu who spoke on Monday in an interview with Arise Television opened up on the controversial tax reform bills, saying the bills are very progressive and would bring back fiscal federalism in Nigeria.

New Telegraph recalls that Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume, the Northern Governor’s Forum, the National Economic Council, and others have openly opposed the tax reforms.

The Senator representing Abia North, had faulted the initiators of bills for not carrying key stakeholders along saying, “As I told you before, the bill is very progressive. It will bring back fiscal federalism.

“Many senators have not been briefed. I think the federal government made a mistake. The initiators of the bills would have briefed the National Economic Council, Governors’ forum”.

Recall tax reform bills, including the Nigeria Tax Bill 2024, the Tax Administration Bill, the Nigeria Revenue Service Establishment Bill, and the Joint Revenue Board Establishment Bill, were sent to the National Assembly for passage since October 2024.

The bills gained momentum last week when they secured second-reading passage at the Senate.

This comes after the Northern Governor’s Forum and National Economic Council called for the bill’s withdrawal.

[newtelegraphng]

Grammy-nominated singer Davido has shared how his father’s teachings on faith have profoundly influenced his life and resilience.

Speaking on a recent Rollingout podcast, Davido opened up about growing up in a Christian home where his father, a prominent businessman and church elder, instilled strong values of trust in God. 

According to him, among the lessons he learnt from his father, one stood out: never question God’s plans.

He revealed that this advice has been a cornerstone in helping him navigate life’s challenges, including the heartbreaking loss of his son, Ifeanyi. 

Davido credited his father’s wisdom for providing him the strength to endure difficult times.

Davido emphasised that his father’s lessons have taught him to trust in God’s plan, even in the face of adversity. 

He encouraged others to adopt a similar mindset, reminding them that God is always working in their favor.

He said: “My dad is very successful, but he’s an elder in the church. I grew up as a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. I attended a Christian college.

“I overcame a lot of challenges because of my dad. Initially, I did not understand, but now I’ve come to the realization. I was angry. Sometimes, I was like, ‘Why do bad things happen to good people?’ And my dad told me that you can’t question God.

“I was like, ‘What do you mean you can’t question God?’ And then a year later [after the death of my son, Ifeanyi], we had twins, the biggest album of my career came, and my first Grammy nominations came. Then it started to make sense. People go through different challenges, but just know that God has your back,” he said.

[TheNation]

Ruud van Nistelrooy said he was “astonished” by the number of offers he received following his brief spell as Manchester United’s interim manager, as he plans how to keep Leicester in the Premier League.

The Dutchman had four games in caretaker charge at Old Trafford – two of them against Leicester – after Erik ten Hag’s sacking at the end of October. He left the club when Ruben Amorim arrived last month.

Speaking at his first press conference since replacing the sacked Steve Cooper at Leicester, Van Nistelrooy said offers had flooded in.

“What happened after the games and the amount of interest, the options that suddenly appeared for me, and the offers that came in, I was a little bit astonished,” he said on Monday.

“It was four games, and I managed a full season at PSV Eindhoven, where I won the cup and the charity shield. I have been coaching with the (under) 19s and the national team (with the Netherlands), but it never received this kind of reaction from the football world.”

“It provoked these reactions, and I was happy with that – to have conversations with different parties and be able to make a decision that felt right for me. I am happy to be here.”

He said he had enjoyed his “intense” spell in the Old Trafford hot seat and had helped “steady the ship”.

“I really enjoyed it, being responsible, creating a connection with the team, with the supporters, and turning the momentum for the club for a while,” he added. “That’s our job, and it felt great to do it. Now, it feels even better to be in this position to do it again.”

Van Nistelrooy, whose first game in charge of Leicester is against West Ham on Tuesday, takes over a side just one point above the relegation zone after 13 games.

Caretaker boss Ben Dawson oversaw Saturday’s 4-1 loss at Brentford, the team’s third straight defeat.

Van Nistelrooy, a former striker for United and Real Madrid, said he was proud to have been given the opportunity to manage the former Premier League champions, where “expectations are clear”.

“It is a challenge we face, to maintain our place in the Premier League, and that is the big target for everyone,” he said.

The 48-year-old added: “In two days, it’s difficult to make many changes, but we have started making changes in style of play, training sessions, and structure, gradually building the foundation of a highly motivated team that can compete in this league.”

[Punch]

Senator Adams Oshiomhole, representing the Edo North senatorial district, has expressed strong support for the financial autonomy of local governments in Nigeria.

Oshiomhole’s comments came in response to the July 11, 2024, Supreme Court ruling that upheld the financial autonomy of local governments.

Speaking at a forum on local government autonomy organized by the House of Representatives on Monday, the former Governor of Edo State emphasized the importance of character in governance and accountability.

He highlighted the significant responsibilities of local government chairmen, given their proximity to the people, and advised them to allocate resources wisely for essential infrastructure such as roads, hospitals, and other public services.

On a lighter note, Oshiomhole remarked, “It’s better to have 774 local government chairmen who are thieves than one big thief,” adding that with this every local government in Nigeria will produce one or two billionaires, rather than having just one billionaire in the state.

[Vanguard]

Tajudeen Abbas, speaker of the house of representatives, has described the conduct of local government elections in the country as “disgraceful”. 

Abbas spoke in Abuja on Monday at the national dialogue on local government and constitution amendment.

Represented by Benjamin Kalu, his deputy, Abbas said local governments, being the closest to the people, have a vital role in delivering services, promoting community development, and ensuring citizens’ voices are heard at all levels of governance.

Abbas said for local governments to function effectively, they must have a certain level of autonomy that enables them to respond promptly and appropriately to the specific needs of their communities.

“One of the most pressing issues we must deal with is the poor quality of elections into local government councils across our states,” he said.

“This situation not only undermines the very essence of democracy but also raises serious concerns about the integrity and functionality of our local governance structures.

“When elections are characterised by a lack of competitiveness — wherein the ruling party sweeps all positions — it becomes evident that we are witnessing a mockery of democratic principles.

“This scenario is not merely an embarrassment, it poses a significant threat to our democracy. It fosters an environment where undesirable elements infiltrate these councils, often lacking the necessary capacity and vision to govern effectively.

“Consequently, local governments have become mere appendages of state governments or pawns in the hands of so-called godfathers who manipulate political outcomes for their gain.

“The recent supreme court judgment mandating the conduct of elections into the councils and direct disbursement of funds to them has provided a significant legal framework that supports the autonomy and functionality of local governments across the country.

“This landmark decision is a testament to our collective commitment to uphold democratic principles at all levels of governance.

“However, while we celebrate these advancements, we must also acknowledge that the need for comprehensive reform has never been more urgent as some of the nagging issues persist.

“Importantly, we must confront the disgraceful and poor conduct elections into the councils. We must find a way of instilling transparency, fairness and openness in the conduct of elections in local governments. Doing this would require the understanding and collaborative efforts of the State governors and houses of assembly.

“We must find a way of convincing them that a strengthened local government system would relieve the States of unnecessary burdens and lead to grassroots development.”

Abbas said constitutional reforms are essential to addressing the challenges facing the local governments.

The speaker said the advocacy for “greater financial autonomy” for local governments must continue to ensure that they get adequate funding directly from federal allocations without excessive state control.

He said inadequate funding remains one of the most significant obstacles to local government administration, noting that they operate on budgets that are “insufficient to meet their responsibilities”.

“This financial constraint limits their ability to deliver essential services such as education, healthcare, infrastructure development, and sanitation. As a result, many communities continue to suffer from poor living conditions and lack access to basic amenities,” he said.

Abbas said more mechanisms must be explored to empower local governments with decision-making authority over their affairs.

Over the years, the conduct of local government elections by various state independent electoral commissions (SIECs) has been fraught with controversies, as ruling parties in the states often dominate the polls, winning almost all available seats.

In 2020, Mike Igini, resident electoral commissioner of Akwa Ibom state at the time, said local government elections in Nigeria are “nothing but organised crime”.

“Local government elections are nothing but organised crime. They should not be calling them elections at all. They are nothing but coronation ceremonies that we have across Nigeria,” he said.

In March, Lateef Fagbemi, attorney-general of the federation and minister of justice, proposed that SIECs should be scrapped.

Fagbemi recommended that the powers of SIECs should be transferred to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

[TheCable]

“…This is what the LORD, the God of your ancestor David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears. I will heal you, and three days from now you will get out of bed and go to the Temple of the LORD.” 2 Kings 20:5

    The healing and deliverance power of God is on you now! Stop crying! I thought you would have been dancing by now. Read the above verse again. Hezekiah’s case was an exceptional divine intervention in the bible - as yours will soon become. Now, people have in the past bluntly refused to bow to death. Some have either postponed or totally cancelled the experience.  True. Elijah was taken to haven alive. Enoch just disappeared and nobody saw him again till today. Jesus was buried, the grave vomited him and he ascended into haven like a rocket. Melchizedek just appeared and later disappeared. Nobody knows his origin and ending. Yes, it is appointed unto man to die once, but what we are saying here is that Christians should not die untimely, suddenly, shamefully and without fulfilling all that God has for them. That is it!

    Even when God told King Hezekiah that he should prepare to die, the man ‘refused’. Wow! Truly, there is nothing your relationship with God cannot achieve. With God all things are possible! The king was very sick and Prophet Isaiah was sent to go and deliver the “death bomb” to him, but before the man of God would leave the palace, within minutes, God sent him back to go and cancel the first message, “tell him that he will not die again!” My God! As you read this message, I cancel whatever first negative message that you had received. I say that you will not die now! You will not be destroyed and shamed! There are people that God cannot ignore in this life. True. You are coming out of that situation in the mighty name of Jesus! Let’s just read the story. It is very interesting:

    “About that time Hezekiah became deathly ill, and the Prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to visit him. He gave the king this message: ‘this is what the LORD says: Set your affairs in order, for you are going to die. You will not recover from this illness.’ When Hezekiah heard this, he turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, ‘Remember, O LORD, how I have always tried to be faithful to you and do what is pleasing in your sight.’ Then he broke down and wept bitterly. But before Isaiah had left the middle courtyard, this message came to him from the LORD: GO BACK to Hezekiah…”

2Kings 20:1-10

Since he assumed office as Nigeria’s Minister of the Interior on August 21, 2023, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo has been promoted as a whizkid and a strategic planner who would introduce innovations in the ministry. At just 42, he ranks among the youngest ministers and one of the hot-heads that would stand out within the administration of President Bola Tinubu. Fittingly, the ministry of the Interior in which he supervises five key parastatals – among them the Security and Civil Defence Corps; the Nigerian Correctional Services; the Immigration Service and the Federal Fire Services – is one of the most challenging.

He didn’t disappoint in making promises to introduce reforms that are necessary to drive his vision. Of all the five agencies, he focused especially on the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) and promised to excel where previous administrations failed. The Passport Office in the NIS is easily among the most embarrassing public service agencies in the country, with infamous records in snail-speed issuance of international passports. The personnel not only lack courtesy in attending to Nigerians, home and abroad, many believe they corruptly undermine whatever system is put in place to make their work seamless.

So, shortly after assumption of office, he had promised to introduce automation in the Passport issuance process and to dismantle all bottlenecks that hinder speedy issuance of Nigerian passports. He received plaudits for that.

One year after the reforms, how has he fared?

Considering the promises he made and the huge expectation by the public, he has not impressed. Apart from clearing the backlog of over 200,000 pending passport applications within two weeks of assuming office and increasing the costs of the passport booklets on the claim of improved security features, not much has come by way of any innovation. The agency moved the cost from N35,000 to N50,000 for the 32-page booklet with 5 year validity and from N70,000 to N100,000 for the 64-page booklet with 10 year validity.

On the crucial aspect of speeding up the process of passport issuance, the so-called reform failed spectacularly. Rather than the 2 week limit for issuance of passports which he announced gleefully earlier in the year, applicants still spend between 5 to 7 weeks to get their documents issued or renewed. Same with the policy for contactless renewal of passports introduced since March 2024 but which has not been achieved as applicants for new passports as well as renewals still appear physically at the offices for their biometrics to be captured.

The failed promise to get the passports delivered to applicants’ homes has added a scandalous dimension to what has become Tunji-Ojo’s failed promises at the Nigerian Immigration Service. Not only are the thousands of passport applicants deceived into opting for ‘home delivery’ in the online passport application portals and are made to pay the charges, the service – in most cases – is not being rendered.

While an indigenous supply chain company, the Greater Washington Express (GWX), with head office in Ikeja Lagos, was engaged for the project and deployed to the Immigration offices in Lagos, Port Harcourt, Kano, Enugu and the headquarters in Abuja, the company has not engaged in any large-scale passport delivery services in any of the locations. The cooperation of the NIS staff, crucial for the success of the policy, has not been forthcoming.

After waiting for weeks for their passports to be delivered, to no avail, applicants who paid the N5,000 charges would get to the passport offices only to discover that while they stayed at home waiting for the delivery bikes, their passports had been produced and stockpiled in the Passport Office for weeks. So, why is this so? Enquiries at the Abuja NIS Headquarters gives the picture of what has flawed the service across the country. It reveals a disturbing scenario in which the process was being sabotaged by Immigration staff who deride the GWX arrangement as a process introduced by the Minister without proper consultation. Somehow, they have refused to flow with it.

A visit to the GWX office at the NIS headquarter was revealing: last week, a staff repeatedly told applicants who had came to collect his passports personally, that “there is nothing we can do on our own if the Immigration staff refuse to give us the list of the applicants who subscribe to the service as well as their passports and addresses for delivery.” Such altercations have become commonplace between the frustrated applicants, Immigration officials and staff of GWX. It paints a sorry picture of whatever reforms are being implemented.

Amazingly, the home delivery policy, like the contactless renewal policy, and all such policies that are meant to reduce the crowd that troop to the Passport Office daily, usually meet stiff opposition from staff of the Immigration Service. The reason is obvious to most Nigerians who know that the passport racket in which most Immigration officers engage, thrives on the crowd of desperate applicants that throng the Office. Cutting off the applicants becomes for them a ‘bad market.’

Indeed, the sabotage and mutual contempt between officials of the NIS and the GWX is deep, and it has been frustrating to thousands of Nigerians who are seemingly scammed of their hard-earned money. In November, total deliveries by GWX in Abuja account for less than 10% of the passports that are listed for home delivery, a feat that was achieved only through high-level interventions.

The question is: are the minister and the Comptroller-General of Immigratiom, Kemi Nandap ignorant of all these? While the cold war rages, is the GWX, whose staff doze through the working hours in their section of the NIS offices, being paid for services they are not rendering?

It is either the policy is not designed to work, or the Minister has not done enough in getting the Immigration staff to buy into it. Or both. Whatever the case, it is scandalous that in spite of the failure of the service, the agency continues to retain the subscription for it in the passport application portal. Worse still, the NIS which receives the payments has not deemed it necessary to refund applicants for the services they paid for, but which is not being rendered.

Sheddy Ozoene, Editor-In-Chief of People&Politics, is the Vice President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors.

An epic poet describes the Fulani hunter as “shepherd of wild animals.” The hunter is also the one “who knows the calm and wild forest, with its many dangerous paths…..” When a man so described describes you as a target, you had better go sew a dress of steel. If you are from the South-West and you can read, read this: “Our next target now is this geo-political zone. The south-west geo-political zone. You know we are good at getting the target. We will do all that is possible to bring them into the fold.” That is from Abdullahi Ganduje, immediate past governor of Kano State and incumbent national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC). He made the solemn pledge in Akure, the Ondo State capital, after his party’s governorship election victory in that state two weeks ago.

Now, which fold was Ganduje talking about? And who are the “we” that are “good at getting the target”? Ganduje is smart. He chose his words deliberately and carefully. The strongman from Kano has significantly stepped back from his earlier obsession with capturing Oyo and Osun states. He now targets the entire zone. For whom? It can’t be for the APC – the party already has two-thirds of the zone. In Adebayo Faleti’s ‘Ogun Awitele’ (Foretold War), a band of thieves sent a handwritten letter to a village head: “We are coming to rob your people in seven days’ time.” The tone of the letter rattled the Baale and his chiefs. If you are sure of the efficacy of your amulets, you swear by them. The leader of the band of thieves signed his name as Ajiboogunsoro (he-who-wakes-up-to-converse-with-charms). A significant takeaway from that moment of fear and anxiety is the village head’s charge to his security chiefs to always know that no matter how powerful the boastful invaders are, “you should always remember that you are hunters, they are thieves (ode ni yín, olè ni wón)”. What Ganduje, the big man, said is evocative of a deja vu. There is something in Nigeria’s political history that suggests today’s mission as an echo of a daring, fateful yesterday.

But, whatever the man might be saying, I suggest he and his “we” take time to watch closely the Eyo masquerade of Lagos and listen attentively to their songs. The Eyo seductively mock their challengers with a folk song composed for colonialism on the futility of its land-grabbing propensity. They sing: “The white man took Oluwole; Lagos did not utter a word. With ease, the white man took Marina; again Lagos was silent. Now, they want to take Isale Eko. They think we are dumb.” The Eyo actually use the Hausa word, Kurumo (deaf and dumb). The Kano man, Ganduje, understands perfectly the imagery of the speechless who is at the same time dead in hearing. I am very sure that no one ever takes the South-West as a zone of the invalid, deaf and dumb.

Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso is a former governor of Kano State. He has been the boss (and friend) of Ganduje from the beginning of time. In a speech he delivered at the convocation ceremony of Skyline University, Kano, two weeks ago, Kwankwaso claimed that “Lagos” was working hard to enslave the whole North. He said: “Today, we can see very clearly that there is a lot of efforts from the Lagos axis to colonize this part of the country.” Kwankwaso is an old war horse and a rambunctious power-player. You ignore him at your peril, and to your sorrow

You remember a gentleman called Festus Odimegwu, a former Managing Director of the Nigerian Breweries Plc who was made the chairman of the National Population Commission (NPC) by President Goodluck Jonathan? In October, 2013, because Odimegwu said “No census has been credible in Nigeria since 1816”, Kwankwaso stormed the Villa and asked President Jonathan to sack the man as NPC chairman. Kwankwaso told State House correspondents after meeting Jonathan: “I also raised the issue of the chairman of the National Population Commission, NPC, headed by one Festus Odimegwu. We are not happy about that appointment, and (we) think that it was a mistake. He (Odimegwu) had only worked in the alcoholic industry all his life. And my guess is that he’s taking a lot of his products and that is why we feel that his appointment is a mistake because he cannot be the chairman of NPC and at the same time attack what his predecessors have done.” With “automatic alacrity”, Jonathan obeyed Kwakwanso and asked Odimegwu to go on October 17, 2013. That is how you feel the power of power.

Ganduje was direct in naming his target: the South-West. Kwankwanso went poetic; Lagos was (is) his metaphor for the West. The man who wants to be president of Nigeria also spoke on tax collection. He said: “Today, we are aware that the Lagos young men are working so hard to impose taxes and take away our taxes from Kano and this part of the country to Lagos.” Who are Kwakwanso’s “Lagos young men”? And what VAT is Kwakwanso fighting over? VAT from confiscated products of “the alcoholic industry”? Or from the leveled groundnut pyramids of Kano?

Kwakwanso spoke about colonialism; Ganduje spoke about “getting the target.” Those two deserve more than anyone’s passing attention. Between them, Kano has been a captive cripple since 1999. Ibrahim Shekarau who acted during an interlude was Kwankwaso’s permanent secretary. The incumbent governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, is Kwakwanso’s son-in-law. Check the figures: How many poor people did they meet in Kano in 1999, how many do they have now? In his ‘The Psychology of Science: A Reconnaissance,’ Abraham Maslow wrote in 1966: “If the only tool you have is a hammer, it is tempting to treat everything as if it were a nail.” Some describe what Maslow propounded as the ‘law of the instrument’. Others say it is the ‘law of the hammer’. Yet, some other analysts prefer to christen it ‘Maslow’s hammer’ or ‘the golden hammer.’ For persons whose idea of leadership is all about slave raiding, zone targeting and capturing, their choice of mission will always employ the rhetoric of slavery.

While Ganduje and Kwakwanso are doing their own their ways, the third Kano man, Shekarau, has been busy setting up a group he calls League of Northern Democrats (LND). At a meeting with the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) in Kaduna some days ago, a more nuanced Shekarau spoke on why he is doing what he is doing: “This marks the beginning of what we hope will be a transformative coalition for Northern Nigeria to confront its challenges…The challenges facing our region – poverty, insecurity, illiteracy, religious intolerance, disunity, and diminishing political influence – are indeed serious. The North is today in an ugly situation…” There is a fitting quote here attributed to Albert Einstein: “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” Those who disfigured the face of beautiful northern Nigeria cannot now beautify it. You know what happened when the monkey insisted she wanted to beautify her child’s ugly face? She pushed the eyeballs deeper into the sockets. Monkey’s fingers are not structured to beautify anything. Take a look at them.

So, when I heard Ganduje say that his target was the South-West, I wondered why it is not his “target” that Kano’s groundnut pyramids are restored. And, when Kwakwanso said ‘Lagos’ was determined to colonise his “part of the country”, you should wonder why his rhetoric was all about power and not how to make his part of the country as safe and prosperous as the part where Lagos belongs. And Shekarau spoke about the North’s “diminishing political influence.” If I would counsel him, I would suggest that what the North of 2024 needs to regain its mojo is for its leaders to make the region safe by educating their young, and empowering and feeding their poor without enslaving them.

I call Kwankwaso, Ganduje and Shekarau the three musketeers of Kano. A soldier armed with a musket is a musketeer. In French history, we read of the Musketeers of the Guard (Mousquetaires de la garde) or the King’s Musketeers (Mousquetaires du roi). They existed to fight the king’s battles. Their exploits of guile, of swordsmanship and chivalry later spilt over to the plains of popular culture. Because of them, we have books and films with ‘The Three Musketeers’ (Les Trois Mousquetaires) as titles. The story of Kano since 1999 has been an intricate story of war and romance among those three musketeers who shared the years equally among them. They are not done with that city state, and with their North. They are not even done with the whole country. That is what you get when an elite band targets, captures and enslaves an enclave. Get your popcorn. They appear gearing up for war – with “Lagos”. And a good fight is coming.

The federal government has commenced N50 electronic levy deductions from transactions of N10,000 and above made by users of financial technology (Fintech) companies, including Opay, Moniepoint, Kuda, and others.

The levy, called Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL), introduced under the Finance Act 2020, places a singular and one-off levy of N50 on the recipient of any electronic receipt or transfer of N10,000 or above, and was earlier announced to take effect from September 9, Tribune Online reported.

The introduction of the EMTL was, however, met with opposition from Nigerians, with various groups including the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) calling on the federal government to reverse its position on the implementation of the levy.

Meanwhile, in a notice sent to customers earlier in September, Opay explained that the levy was imposed by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), stating however that it did not benefit from it.

“Please be informed that starting September 9, 2024, a one-time of N50 will be applied to electronic transfers of N10,000 and above paid into your personal or business account in compliance with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) regulations.

“It is important to note that Opay does not benefit from this charge in any way as it is directed entirely by the federal government,” Opay explained in its earlier notice.

In a recent development, the fintech companies have again notified their customers that the implementation of the N50 EMTL deduction has commenced from December 1, 2024.

Opay, in a message sent to its users on Saturday (also shared via its app), explained that the electronic levy deduction begins on December 1.

“Dear Customer, in line with the FIRS, the EMTL applies starting from December 1st, 2024,” the message reads.

Likewise, Moniepoint in a notice sent to its customers on Saturday, explained that it has commenced implementation of the EMTL charges, clarifying however that the levy will be remitted to the FIRS.

“Dear customer, you will be charged stamp duty of N%) on inflows of N10,000 and above. Moniepoint collects and remits this on behalf and to FIRS,” Moniepoint says.

Meanwhile, our correspondent also gathered that the EMTL implementation has officially taken effect with Fintechs already deducting N50 for the federal government on transactions of N10,000 and above.

[Tribune]

In the roaring 1970s, the nationalist fervent was at a feverish pitch in the country and, the Pan- Africanist and independence fires were tearing   through Mozambique, Angola, Guinea Bissau, Cape Verde, Zimbabwe and   Western Sahara. Also, there was fire in Soweto.

Our politics   was    positively   influenced   by people like Samora Machel, Ruth First, Nelson and Winnie Mandela, Robert Mugabe, Amilcar Cabral and   Mwalimu Nyerere.  Writers such as Wole Soyinka, Ngugi Wa’Thiongo,   Peter Abrahams, Nadine Gordimer   and Okot P’Bitek held our literary skies.  

The music of Jimmy Cliff, Bob Marley, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti and   Max Romeo was   telling the youths to rebel against the oppressive system and remake the world.     It was in the furnace of those volcanic eruptions some of Nigeria’s     finest youths were   baked.   For them, there were no compromises to be made; it was struggle until victory. They embraced danger like lovers and saw no future without qualitative change. 

They were married to revolutionary change till-death-do-them- part. Those fearless youths   welcomed my generation to the campuses, nurtured and cultured us.  It was in Ife I ran into the troika from Kano-Zaria: Yahaya Hashim, Abdulrauf Mustapha   and Jibrin Ibrahim, popularly called Jibo. They had graduated in the mid-1970s and were building alliances to change the country and transform Africa.

It was as a member of the youth corps in Kano I first met Abdulkadir Isah Uguda, an intense mind who lived every second for revolutionary change. That was in 1982 and already, he was a veteran carrying   the scars of struggles. This included his 1964 prosecution when he was a ten-year old Primary Three pupil.   He was charged with furthering the aims of the opposition Northern Elements Progressive   Union, NEPU.

He had also   been expelled from the Kaduna Polytechnic and had his scholarship cancelled.   His expulsion along with 14 other students followed national protests by the National Association   of Technological Students, NATS, against somersaults in polytechnic education policies. This included   changing the two-tier system of Ordinary National Diploma, OND,   followed by one year industrial attachment and two years of Higher National Diploma, to a single three-year programme followed by industrial attachment. The students argued this was a deliberate lowering of   polytechnic education standards.

The detained students, rather than be charged in the normal courts, were taken before Alkali courts where they were certain to be thrown into prison as lawyers did not appear in those Islamic courts. In fact, some of the students had already been sent to prison before their arraignment!   When the 1979 Constitution was promulgated, radical lawyer, Gani Fawehinmi, represented by Mr Femi Lanlehin, went to court and got the students freed.

Abdulkadir’s scholarship was not restored because the Kano State Scholarship Board which interviewed him said he did not convince it that he would no longer participate in student union politics. He joined the Immigration Services and became a member of the Customs, Excise and Immigration Staff Union, CEIMSU.   He also became the   Assistant Secretary of the Borno State Council of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC. Abdulkadir was later elected the National Vice President of the CEIMSU. As a   national labour leader, he   opposed   the privatisation programme and rejected collaboration with the   military   rulers.  

There were clashes between the CEIMSU led by Secretary General Bernard Odulana, and Interior Affairs Minister, Colonel John Shagaya. This eventually led to the proscription of the union. This was where Abdulkadir, despite being an   officer of the para-military corps, rose to campaign against the proscription, thereby endangering his career.  He fought the NLC leadership of Paschal Bafyau for collaborating with the military to proscribe the union. He told me: “It was the NLC   that carried out the folding   up of CEIMSU without even contacting   the leaders who were contesting the obnoxious action…the ILO’s move to intervene was subverted   by the NLC.” Today, even after retiring from service and,   35 years after the CEIMSU’s proscription, Abdulkadir continues to nudge the NLC and ILO to fight for the union’s de-proscription. 

Jibrin ‘Jibo’ Ibrahim has spent his life building societal organisations and mentoring people for a better world.   As a student in the Ahmadu Bello University, ABU, he helped to develop   the radical students   Movement for Progressive Nigeria, MPN, into a fighting force for change. Although the members were repeatedly expelled by the authoritarian university administrators and he himself, endangered, he never gave up. He also helped to build a similar organisation at the   national level called the Patriotic   Youth Movement of Nigeria, PYMN.   The PYMN was instrumental to the establishment of the National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, in 1980 and running it into the mid-1990s.

Jibo also helped to establish the Youths Solidarity Against Apartheid, YUSSAN.    A firm advocate of women rights and equality, he was one of the founders of the Women In Nigeria, WIN, in 1982. Intensely intellectual, Jibo, a professor and advocate of the downtrodden,   puts his prodigious knowledge at the service of the people   by simplifying and making it available through his weekly columns. He is known for his religious-like advocacy and defence of fundamental human rights   and expansion of the democratic space. This has seen him build and develop civil society organisations.   He was the Executive Director of the Centre for Democracy and Development, CDD, and chair of the   West African Civil Society Forum, WACSOF.

He is the   leader of the social movements in Abuja and, when necessary, leads them in   protests as he did in January 2012. One of the major reasons why Jibo attracts the young and is widely respected     even in government circles is that he has a listening ear, is highly tolerant of other   views and focuses on solutions rather than mere criticism.

Jibo is an example of a person who not just paid   back, but gave far more than he was given. He had come to the School of Basic Studies and ABU at 18,   never having heard of different cultures of progress, radicalism or Marxism. Those experiences and the fact that his generation had a good and high quality education   irrespective of their social background, moulded his life.   Since then, it has been how this has changed him and his comrades; transformed them and, how   it   has shaped the struggles they   have   undertaken.

Some of us stand on the broad shoulders of these   fearless, selfless and principled fighters for a better universe and a New World Order.  Abdulkadir Isah Uguda   turned   70 on Monday, November 11, 2024 and Jibrin ‘Jibo’ Ibrahim reached this milestone   19 days later, precisely on Saturday, November 30, 2024.     Nations that have such people are blessed. May Africa never run short of such people of vision and conviction.