The Federal Government has repatriated 190 stranded Nigerians from the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

This is contained in a statement signed by Mr Bashir Garga, the National Emergency Management Agency’s (NEMA) zonal director in the North Central, on Tuesday in Abuja.

He said that the returnees were received at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on Tuesday at 5:57 a.m.

He said the returnees were received by a combined team of government officials led by NEMA.

He said that the returnees were profiled and documented by the relevant agencies and sensitised to behave with decorum and responsibility on their return to Nigeria.

“The Federal Government urges all Nigerians, wherever they may be, to act as exemplary ambassadors of their country, by upholding the fundamental values of patriotism, rule of law, decency, and integrity,” the statement says.

(NAN)

Donald Trump has picked JD Vance, a senator from Ohio, as his running mate for the presidential election.

Vance, a one-time Trump critic turned loyal ally, is now the first millennial to join a major party ticket at a time of deep concern about the advanced age of America’s political leaders.

“I’m a ‘never Trump’ guy. I never liked him,” the 39-year-old had once said in an interview in 2016.

“My God what an idiot.

“I find him reprehensible.”

However, Vance became one of Trump’s steadfast allies a few years later, aligning himself with the former president’s ideology on trade, immigration, and foreign policy, particularly the US’ continued support for Ukraine.

“After lengthy deliberation and thought, and considering the tremendous talents of many others, I have decided that the person best suited to assume the position of Vice President of the United States is Senator J.D. Vance of the Great State of Ohio,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social network, as the Republican national convention (RNC) got underway in Milwaukee.

Vance had accused President Joe Biden of playing a role in the attempted Trump assassination of Saturday.

“The central premise of the Biden campaign is that President Donald Trump is an authoritarian fascist who must be stopped at all costs,” Vance posted on X hours after the shooting.

“That rhetoric led directly to President Trump’s attempted assassination.”

Reacting to Vance’s selection, Biden described the senator as a “clone of Trump”. Other Democrats have portrayed him the same way.

The former president said he has shelved plans to speak on how the US has regressed under Biden at the ongoing RNC.

Trump said he now wants to speak about overcoming the political divide in the country.

[TheCable]

A legal firm, Falana Chambers, has written to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) warning the commission against recognizing Julius Abure as the Acting National Chairman of the Labour Party.

The firm, which represents the National Transition Committee of the Labour Party, stated that Abure’s tenure has expired and any further recognition would be in violation of a Federal High Court judgment in Suit No: FHC/ABJ/IC/866/2014 between Labour Party & 3 Ors Vs Com. Salisu Muhammed, and an INEC-brokered agreement of June 27, 2022.

The letter, dated July 4, 2024, and signed by Marahal Abubakar, LP, requested that INEC desist from fraternizing with Abure and his cohorts, and restrain officials from undermining the administration of justice and respect for the rule of law.

The firm attached a report of the mediated settlement and a certified true copy of the Federal High Court judgment to the letter.

The letter noted that the Labour Party has not conducted any election for over four years, contravening Section 233(1)(a) and (2)(a) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, read alongside Section 82(3) of the Electoral Act, 2022. It also emphasized that the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) is the platform of the Labour Party, and that the party has been unable to conduct elections due to the expired tenure of Abure and his National Working Committee.

The legal firm warned that failure to comply with the request will lead to contempt proceedings against the INEC Chairman at the Federal High Court. The letter stated, “TAKE NOTICE that unless you comply with the foregoing request forthwith, we shall approach the Federal High Court and institute contempt proceedings against you.”

[OpinionNigeria]

First, let me thank tosyne2much who helped with the heart of the mocking post explanation, I only added a few edits and did the comparative.

Nigeria is one of the countries in the world that are passionate about football. Both young and old people from this part of the world love football and can go through physical stress to show their undying love for it.

When growing up as a kid, we used to play street football which we call “monkey post”. I know many of us have no idea what monkey post is all about, so let me introduce you to it.

Monkey post is a street football that is played by a few players. It’s a type of football that is usually played in an open place. It could be on the street or an abandoned plot of land. The goal post is usually made with tires, blocks or wood and it’s measured with a player’s foot.

In almost every area, there’s always this undeveloped or abandoned plot of land where people easily convert it to a football pitch until the owner is ready to farm on it or build a house on it. The pitch is sometimes named after popular stadiums like Old Trafford, San Siro, etc

Monkey post allows just a few players on the pitch (let’s 10 players) that’s 5 players from each side, unlike a normal football pitch that can contain 22 players. This type of football doesn’t have a referee, linesman or a goalkeeper. Although, the last man does the work of a goalkeeper but he’s not allowed to use his hands to prevent goals but only his legs

Here are slangs used in Monkey Post

Allow

This is a slang usually made by a player to alert his fellow players that he wants to go on a counter attack and that nobody should impede his movement. As soon as a player shouts “alloooooooow”, he goes on counter attack with the aim of dribbling his opponent and scoring while one of his players is expected to take his position until he finishes the job and returns back.

Lastman

The last man is just like a goalkeeper in normal football just that he’s not allowed to use his hands but his leg to prevent goals. When the ball touches the hand of a lastman, it’s a penalty and that’s why every lastman avoids having a hand contact with the ball.

Ojoro

Ojoro simply means “we’ve been cheated”. In monkey posts, there are no referees or linesmen, therefore, there are usually disagreements in decision making. The norm of monkey posts is that decisions are usually made by spectators, so if the spectators make a biased judgement the word “ojoro” means they made by a team means “we’ve been cheated”. If majority of the spectators decide that it’s penalty or a foul, then it’s a foul and vice versa

Set

Since monkey post is a type of football that allows not more than 10 people on the pitch, other players that want to play will form a group of five people and will be waiting for a team to trash the other so that they will play. This is what we call a set and it’s usually formed by those who came early to the pitch.

Here are some interesting things about Monkey Post

1. Decisions are made by spectators, no referee and lines men except in case of competition ref will be appointed.
2. The match ends when everyone is tired or when it’s getting dark.
3. The owner of the ball is more like a king. If he gets angry he can decide to end the game by taking his ball home. He also decides who plays.
4. The most skilful player always gets automatic selection.
5. The game is usually fun when it’s raining.
6. Most times people play with their barefoot so you need to be very careful so that you will not sustain injury.
7. The match is not more than 10-15 minutes. No first or second half If the match ends in a draw, a penalty will follow suit.
8. Penalty is played from one goal post to the other without anybody trying to prevent it. It’s just a far range penalty without a goalkeeper preventing it, and it is mostly awarded only if an injured player curses a lot.
9. The fat kid was always the defence.
10. No matter how many goals you score, the winner will be determined by the last team to score.
11. If you don’t participate in repairing the ball you are given a match ban.
12. If you’re picked last, you’re a loser.
13. The guy who’s never picked was to fetch the ball from the tree/gutter/other compound when it got stuck, under the car or tunnel to play in the next game.
14. Also, if there is too much argument, we will throw the ball in the air, and the team that gets it continues with the game.
15. No doctor to attend to you when you sustain injury. You just have to be careful.

Now to the main “mocking” or monkey post, in the course of last week, the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics stated that Nigerian public officials received at least ₦721 billion (approximately $1.26 billion) in bribes in 2023, which is about 0.35% of Nigeria’s GDP.

– Despite a decrease from 2019, bribery remains widespread, with an average of 5.1 bribes paid per bribe payer, totalling around 87 million bribes nationwide.

– Most bribes (95%) were paid in cash or through money transfers.

– Public officials are more likely to demand bribes, while private sector actors, including doctors in private hospitals, are also involved.

– The average cash bribe increased to ₦8,284, but its value decreased by 29% when adjusted for inflation.

– 56% of Nigerians interacted with public officials in 2023, down from 63% in 2019.

– 27% of those who interacted with public officials paid bribes, a slight decrease from 29% in 2019.

– 70% of those asked to pay bribes refused at least once, with the highest refusal rates in the North-West zone.

– Bribery is becoming less accepted, with fewer citizens viewing it as acceptable to expedite administrative procedures.

– 60% of public sector workers were hired due to nepotism, bribery, or both between 2020 and 2023.

– The use of bribery is lower when the recruitment process includes formal assessments.

– Bribery is more common in rural areas, with rural residents paying an average of 5.8 bribes compared to 4.5 bribes in urban areas.

– Corruption is a significant concern for Nigerians, ranking fourth among the most important problems affecting the country in 2023.

– Confidence in the government’s anti-corruption efforts has declined, with less than a third of citizens thinking the government is effective in fighting corruption in 2023, compared to over half in 2019.

I will conclude by saying that Nigeria’s street football known as “monkey post” epitomizes both the passion and the informality in the country’s daily life, where rules are flexible, and decisions are made by spectators, mirroring the nation’s struggle with corruption.

Just as monkey posts operate without formal referees, the lack of stringent oversight in Nigeria allows bribery and nepotism to thrive, with bribery being more prevalent in rural areas and a significant proportion of public sector workers being hired through corrupt practices. This enduring issue undermines confidence in the government’s anti-corruption efforts, highlighting the need for systemic reforms to restore faith in public institutions—May Nigeria win.

Story Highlights 

• The Nigerian presidency has spent at least N16.06 billion on foreign currencies for international trips under President Bola Tinubu’s administration, according to data from GovSpend by BudgIT. 

• From June 2023 to May 2024, the expenditures included significant amounts for the President, Vice President, First Lady, Chief of Staff, and the Presidential Air Fleet, with the President’s trips accounting for the majority at N10.93 billion. 

• The sharp depreciation of the naira, which has fallen by 70.3% against the dollar since May 2023, has significantly increased the cost of these international trips, highlighting the need for fiscal prudence amid ongoing economic challenges. 

The Presidency through the State House has spent at least N16.06 billion to buy foreign currencies for international trips in the past one year under the administration of President Bola Tinubu. 

This is according to an analysis of data from GovSpend, a platform by BudgIT, which tracks, analyses and presents Federal Government spending over time. 

Covering a period from June 23, 2023, to May 25, 2024, the data includes spending by the president, vice president, First Lady, and the Chief of Staff to the President.

It also includes the purchase of foreign exchange (forex) for the Presidential Air Fleet. 

In the 2024 budget, the State House, President, and Vice President have a total budgetary allocation of N14.5 billion for international trips. There is no allocation for the First Lady and Chief of Staff to the President for international travel. 

The GovSpend data shows that about N6.24 billion was spent in 2023 between June and December. By 2024, about N9.82 billion has been spent between January and May. 

It means that the Presidency has spent about 67.72% of its international trips budget in the first five months of 2024. 

What the data is saying 

President’s spending: The majority of the amount was spent by the president for his international trips. The President’s forex purchase was significantly higher, totalling N10.93 billion.

These funds were allocated for numerous international trips, including high-value purchases of foreign currency to support diplomatic missions and engagements abroad. 

The President’s spending includes N82.04 million for the purchase of $176,392.80 for a trip to Ghana on July 28, 2023.

For various other international trips and replenishments of foreign exchange reserves, amounts such as N152.37 million, N228.55 million, and N146.65 million were expended on August 4, 2023, for purchases of $200,000, $300,000, and $315,300, respectively.

At least four times, N197.70 million was utilized for the purchase of $1,000,000 for presidential trips dated July 19, 2023. Further expenditures include N71.74 million, N18.33 million, and N135.93 million for purchases of €300,000 each for the President’s trips on September 6, 2023. 

Vice President’s spending: The total expenditure for the Vice President amounted to N101.68 million. This includes expenses for purchasing foreign currency for various international trips and other related costs. On June 23, 2023, N58.66 million was allocated for the purchase of £1,000,000 (approx. $1,000,000) in UK Pounds for the Vice President. 

On February 24, 2024, an additional N426.88 million was used to acquire $483,277.00 for the Vice President’s trip to Switzerland. On September 6, 2023, N43.02 million was spent on the purchase of €300,000 for the Vice President’s trips. 

First Lady’s spending: The total expenditure for the First Lady’s international trips amounts to N623.05 million. On January 4, 2024, N149.79 million was allocated for the purchase of $152,831 for the First Lady’s trip to France. In March 2024, N202.39 million was spent on purchasing $126,834 for the First Lady’s trip to Mozambique. On February 9, 2024, N144.57 million was allocated for the purchase of $96,118 for the First Lady’s trip to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Additionally, in March 2024, N126.3 million was spent on purchasing $83,967 for the First Lady’s trip to London. 

Chief of Staff’s spending: The total amount spent by the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President was N59.24 million. This included expenditures for purchasing foreign currency for specific international engagements and preparatory activities for global forums such as the United Nations General Assembly.  

The Office of the Chief of Staff to the President also saw expenditures such as N46.51 million for $100,000 for presidential trips to the UK on August 10, 2023. 

Another allocation of N12.73 million was made for purchasing $79,740 for preparations towards Nigeria’s participation in the 78th session of the UNGA in the USA on November 22, 2023. 

Presidential Air Fleet: The expenditures for the Presidential Air Fleet were also substantial, amounting to N4.97 billion. This category reflects the operational needs and readiness of the Presidential Air Fleet, including regular high-value allocations for forex transit funds to support the fleet’s international activities and maintain its operational capacity. 

The Presidential Air Fleet received substantial funds for forex transit. Significant allocations include N387.60 million on August 15, 2023, N2 billion on August 16, 2023, and N713.22 million on August 29, 2023. 

Dollar dominates spending 

Based on the disclosed currency for some transactions, the dollar was the dominant foreign currency that was purchased as about N6.42 billion was spent to buy $9.98 million. 

The expenditures on UK Pounds were relatively lower, totalling N58.66 million for £1 million. For Euros, about N269.02 million was spent to get €1.2 million. 

The largest category of expenditure was on Forex Transit funds, amounting to over N9.42 billion. However, the type of foreign currency purchased was not disclosed.  

More Insights 

The exchange rate from the naira to the dollar has crashed by 70.3% so far under the administration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu. 

On May 30, 2023, the naira traded for N464.5/$1 on the official market. However, the naira hit a July low at the end of last week, closing at N1,563.80/$1 on Friday, July 12, 2024 

This steep decline in the value of the naira means that the cost of acquiring dollars has more than tripled within this period. 

This depreciation has had a profound impact on the expenses incurred for international trips by the Nigerian presidency. The substantial increase in the naira-to-dollar exchange rate means that more naira is needed to purchase the same amount of dollars as before. 

For example, if the presidency needed $1 million for an international trip in May 2023, the cost would have been N464.5 million.

By July 2024, the cost of the same $1 million would be N1.56 billion, except maybe the State House gets foreign currencies at a discount rate. 

The data raises critical questions about the prioritization of government spending, especially given the ongoing economic challenges faced by many Nigerians.

The substantial amounts dedicated to international trips highlight the high costs associated with maintaining diplomatic engagements and the operational needs of the Presidential Air Fleet.

The government’s commitment to maintaining a robust international presence is evident; however, this financial outlay also highlights the necessity for transparency and judicious use of public funds, and the need for a balance between necessary governmental functions and fiscal prudence. 

[Nairametrics]

Islamic cleric Sheikh Ahmad Gumi has called on Nigerians to peacefully protest against President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

Gumi emphasized the importance of peaceful demonstrations as a way to express public grievances to the government.

In a video message, the Islamic scholar reminded viewers that former President Muhammadu Buhari had protested against ex-President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.

Gumi said, “Politicians are very stubborn; mass protests are the only thing that disturb them.

“In countries like Sudan and Liberia, conflicts were akin to family feuds, which are very dangerous. But Nigeria is different, with its diverse ethnicities, religions, cultures, tribes, and sects. Protest is the only language the government understands.”

He continued, “In 2015, Muhammadu Buhari and other top officials of the All Progressives Congress (APC) came out to protest, claiming that the previous government had ruined Nigeria. Back then, protest was legal; now it’s considered illegal. God willing, the protest will proceed peacefully, and the government must understand and respond positively to the language of protest.”

This appeal comes as activist-politician Omoyele Sowore calls for a revolutionary protest in August to address the country’s hardships.

Recall that President Tinubu along with Professor Wole Soyinka, among other All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftains led an Occupy Nigeria protest in 2012 against ex-president Goodluck Jonathan’s administration’s policy to remove fuel subsidy.

On 1 December 2013, Tinubu wrote, “Nigeria needs a democratic revolution that will unleash infrastructural development and massive industrialization. Nigeria is a blessed.”

[NaijaNews]

On a bright, randy day in Lagos in the year 2015, a judge hurriedly used the law to dissolve a troubled marriage. Three months later, the woman was discovered impregnated by the tender-hearted judge. I pray that won’t be the case with the benevolent presidency of Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Nigeria’s local governments.

Roman orator, Marcus Tullius Cicero, said “the closer the collapse of the Empire, the crazier its laws are.” He is also credited with saying that “the more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws.” These interventions from antiquity came to my mind as I read the Supreme Court’s epochal decision on the relationship between our states and our local governments last week.

Local governments are now free to have their money the way they had it before the 1999 constitution tied them to the apron strings of the states. Governors cryptically reacted that the judgment had relieved them of the burden of feeding those who should starve among the councils. I am interested in how the Supreme Court’s order is implemented. I am also interested in knowing the motive and the motivations of the initiators of the case. I hope the councils have not been discharged into the house of death from the bedroom of disease.

How will the states handle this situation? How did Tinubu handle his own 20 years ago? If you are bold and brave and you are in power and you have the Lagos-Ibadan press behind you, the Supreme Court and the law are nothing. On December 10, 2004, the Supreme Court, in the celebrated case on the seizure of Lagos State’s local government funds by the government of President Olusegun Obasanjo, ruled that statutory allocations be released to only the 20 local governments recognized by the constitution. Specifically, the Supreme Court ordered that: “The 57 Local Government Areas established by (Lagos) Law No. 5 are inchoate until the National Assembly passes the Act necessary under Section 8(3) of the Constitution. Therefore, the new 57 Local Government Councils are not entitled to receive funds from the Federation Account. Accordingly, the declaration sought (by the Federal Government) is granted.” That order of the apex court did not stop the then Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu (with his successors) from using the funds of 20 local government councils to fund his illegal 57 councils. He did it yesterday and got what is famously known as Conference 57 – a crowd of well-heeled, monied foot soldiers of the Godfather at the grassroots of Lagos. He is doing it now, enlarging that coast to a potential Conference 774 of Halleluyah choristers. He will do it tomorrow – even if you jump into the Lagoon. Our state governors, if they want, can go learn from him.

In my column of 3 June, 2024, I expressed some fears on what was eventually unveiled last week Thursday by the Supreme Court of Nigeria. I wrote that: “Those who allowed themselves to be distracted slept last night as free people; they woke up this morning in slavery. So, please refuse to be distracted. As you discuss the president’s strange choice of anthem over people’s hunger, pay due attention to everything his government is doing. Pay more than ordinary attention to the local government autonomy case at the Supreme Court. That is a case with a potential to determine (or undermine) your freedom, the health of our country and the safety of our democracy. Why is fox suing hawk in defence of chicken? Autocracy incubates itself in populist confusion. The case is about that. We need vibrant states to checkmate the behemoth in Abuja. We need the local governments to drive development at the grassroots. The rapacious Federal is the elephant unsettling the room. Think of an imperial president with very rich 774 ‘liaison officers’ sitting as council chairmen across the country. Think of a federal government with limitless powers engaging a disparate set of 36 weakened, impotent states. Think of Nigeria as a unitary state. The court case …has the potential to achieve that. The deft moves of today have replicas in history… Think of the aftermath. Think.”

That was last month. I don’t know if it is not too late to think now.

A new set of champions have been crowned at Wimbledon 2024, here’s the full list of winners including Carlos Alcaraz and Great Britain’s Henry Patten.

Alcaraz successfully defined his Wimbledon title in the men’s singles with a dominant 6-2 6-2 7-6 victory over Novak Djokovic.

Barbora Krejcikova made history for the Czech Republic over in the women’s singles as she conjured up a 6-2 2-6 6-4 win over Italy’s Jasmine Paolini.

Meanwhile, there were British champions in the men’s doubles, wheelchair singles and wheelchair doubles thanks to Patten, Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid.

Who won the Wimbledon titles this year? Full list of winners from 2024

Alcaraz and Krejcikova became champions in the men’s singles and women’s singles respectively, pocketing £2.7m in prize money each.

British tennis player Patten, meanwhile, teamed up with Finland’s Harri Heliovaara and they landed the men’s doubles title after a remarkable final on Centre Court.

Patten, 28, and Heliovaara, 35, won 6-7 (7-9) 7-6 (10-8) 7-6 (11-9) against Australian 15th-seeds Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson, saving three Championship points on their way to victory.

It secured a British winner in the men’s doubles for the second straight year after Neal Skupski paired up with Dutchman Wesley Koolhof to land the 2023 title.

Fellow Brit Hewett, meanwhile, clinched both the wheelchair singles and doubles titles in what he described as ‘the best day’ of his life.

He defeated Spain’s Martin de la Puente 6-2 6-3 before partnering up with Reid to beat Japanese duo Takuya Miki and Tokito Oda 6-4 7-6 (7-2).

Elsewhere in SW19, Hsieh Su-Wei and Jan Zielinski won the mixed doubles title with a 6-4 6-2 victory over Santiago Gonzalez and Giuliana Olmos.

Taylor Townsend and Katerina Siniakova secured the women’s doubles trophy with their 7-6 7-6 win against Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe.

 [Newspot]

“Ilorin has the enviable luck of being a melting pot for all races, “tribes and tongues”. You find there people who would proudly say their ancestors were Fulani or Hausa or Kanuri or Dendi, Nupe, Baruba, Wangara, even Arabs. Yet, they are all ‘Yoruba’ today and they are proud to speak the language. You want to ask why the conqueror speaks the language of the conquered? It is because the Yoruba gene is very resistant to assimilation; the conquerors only got the throne, the soul refused to stay in their pouch. The Yoruba culture does what dams do to their surrounding environment. Their backwaters fester and consume their catchment areas. It is arguably the only African culture that survived slavery outside Africa. Go to Brazil, to Cuba and Trinidad and Tobago, Saint Lucia, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, about 200 years after slavery, descendants of Yoruba slaves there proudly raise the banner of their fathers. That is the case with the essential Yoruba-Ilorin”.

Justice Ibrahim Kolapo Gambari, JCA became the Emir of Ilorin in August 1995 and decreed the ‘Kolapo’ in his name abolished. He said he should thenceforth be known and called Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari; all former documents remain valid. He gave no reason for his decision but not a few of us thought it was his way of hiding the Yoruba content in the bloodstream of the House of Shehu Alimi, his Fulani roots. When Emir Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari took that unusual, surprising step, little did he know that the day would come when his aunt, Hajia Maryam, married to a king of Kano, and her sons would suffer discrimination and be tagged ‘Yoruba’.

It is the way of toads to detour into any available crater whenever it discovers it can no longer find its way to the stream. The chairman of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) in Kano State, Hashim Dungurawa, a few days ago addressed journalists in Kano and alleged that President Bola Tinubu was working hard to impose the deposed 15th emir of Kano, Aminu Ado Bayero, on the emirate because he shared same Yoruba background with the president. “If the President thinks he will use a few of his kinsmen in Kano and the alleged Bayero’s Yoruba lineage to continue to keep the deposed Emir Aminu Ado Bayero in the state, let him wait for 2027, we will show him that those people will not help him,” Dungurawa warned. When you heard his threats about 2027, you would think that Kano votes mattered in 2023. The votes were like rain water; they were surplus but they were wasted, unhelpful, unuseful to the person they were cast for. The same will happen in 2027.

The Kano NNPP man who spoke is not a lone wolf. He is a member of a preening pack that think themselves special and others of lesser breed. I understand what he voiced out has been in the whispering lips of the sands and boulders of Kano even before the emirship crisis unfolded. They call the deposed emir “son of the Yoruba woman.”

Around here, a child does not claim his father’s compound and disclaim his mother’s homestead. Aminu Ado Bayero is a grandson of the 8th emir of Ilorin; Aminu’s mother was a sister to the mother of the incumbent Ilorin emir. Ordinarily, this long line of Fulani ancestry should be a plus for whoever has it in the Fulani north, but in the peculiar politics of our feudal Nigeria, the Ilorin ruling family would only be recognized as ‘northern’ if they knew their limits. I hope they know now that they are fringe elements and fringe elements can never be allowed to dip their hands into the main bowl of the house.

Hashim Dungurawa, the NNPP chief who said loudly what was being said in whispers, is even said not to be a Fulani himself. He is said to be Hausa – the original owners of Kano before the Dan Fodio Jihad threw them into the sea of the barren street. Did you notice the irony here?

There is no ‘pure’ blood anywhere. It is 201 years this year that Afonja lost his ancestral throne of Ilorin to the children of Sheikh Alimi, his spiritual adviser and friend. In those two centuries, the children of Alimi, from generation to generation, have remained Fulani only by name, history and ancestry. Mohammodu Odolaye Aremu was a Dadakuada musical artiste of Ilorin ancestry. He died in 1997. He expended a great deal of his career years effusively singing the cultural and political histories of his city of birth for the careful to note and ponder on. Emir Mohammed Sulu-Gambari reigned in Ilorin from 1959 to 1992. He was the father of the present Emir Ibrahim Gambari. Odolaye waxed a record for the grand old man chanting his oríkì. He serenaded him “Alabi Òpó mo gbádùn oko mi ojo/ Súlú Oba gbogbo wa ní Ilorin…(Alabi Opo, I enjoy my lord / Sulu, our king in Ilorin). ‘Alabi’ is a personal Yoruba oríkì; the ‘Opo’ that follows it is the lineage panegyric (oríkì orílè). That lineage is Òpómúléró, the nearest English translation is ‘mainframe’. That is a lineage that feeds stubborn wine to stubborn child and proceeds to send that recalcitrant, drunk child to war. They proudly say they did it to Afonja who went to war never to come back:

Òpó tí ò gboràn, e kojú è síná

Iná tí ò gboràn, e kojú è sómi

Omi tí ò gboràn, baba wa ní á fi pon’tí

Otí tí ò gboràn, e f’ómo líle mu

Omo líle tí ò gboràn, e rán an rojú Ogun

Sebí Ogun náà l’Àfònjá lo tí ò fi padà wálé mó

Omo kèké ta dídùn, aso lèdìdì ènìyàn.

Emir Mohammed Sulu-Gambari was alive when Odolaye waxed his record and called him Alabi Opo. The emir did not ask the bard to shut up and did not say he wasn’t what he was called. He valued and enjoyed the Yoruba content of his existence so much that his children remained valued additions to the cultural assets of the land they inherited while maintaining their links to their paternal ancestors.

It is interesting that people who lost their ‘critical’ voices in the eight years of Muhammadu Buhari’s ruinous reign are now raising their chords. And, Tinubu, because he is a Yoruba man, is the whipping boy for the years of the Buhari locust. What they do with the successor to their Bayajidda II is what the Germans call “den Hund vor dem Löwen schlagen” – beat a dog before/for a lion. They think their throats should be the only expressway to heaven. Dungurawa’s snide broadside to the Yoruba was vilely divisive, provocative and unfortunate but his Kano and Ilorin victims must thank him (and his masters) for waking them up. They (the victims), at least, should be aware now that the butterfly may be winged and fly like a bird, but it is not a bird and won’t be allowed to enjoy bird privileges. It will be interesting to know how ex-emir Aminu, his brothers and sisters in Kano and their uncles in Ilorin took the statement from those they thought were their kinsmen- the authorities in Kano.

It is very interesting that for the Fulani North, because of the throne of Kano, Ilorin is no longer a Fulani town. God is great. But I commend them. It is always good to drop whatever is not yours no matter how long you’ve held on to it. Ilorin did not start as a settlement of the Fulani; the emirate there is a progeny of conquest. It is a victim of the characteristic Yoruba blind-fight for thrones. They fought and shredded their velvet, the Fulani picked it up and from it sewed an empire. The modern version of how 19th century Yoruba treated their heritage is what you see in Kano and Sokoto today. My friend in Kaduna told me that in Sokoto and Kano after the last elections, deposition of kings was the sole slogan: “Sabon Gwamna, Sabon Sarki” (new governor, new king). And they are working hard at it. That was the Yoruba misadventure that delivered Ilorin to Fulani forces in 1823/24.

There is an irony in some Kano people calling a prince or princess from Ilorin an outsider. The founder of Ilorin emirate, Sheikh Al-Salih (alias Shehu Alimi), was a Fulani who hailed from Tankara in present Niger Republic. It was from there he came to school in Bunza, present Kebbi State in today’s Nigeria. Just like him, Uthman Dan Fodio, the founder of the Sokoto caliphate, and by extension the emirate of Kano, was born in Maratta in the Tahoua region of today’s Niger Republic. An account said Alimi was a contemporary of Uthman Dan Fodio with Jibril bin Umar as their common teacher. But history did not say Alimi started out as a jihadist in the mould of Dan Fodio. He was a simple preacher and itinerant spiritualist who hawked his knowledge and power from one Yoruba town to the other. He was in Old Oyo, Iseyin, Ogbomoso and Kuwo before Afonja, a prince of Oyo, invited him to Ilorin in aid of his independence (rebellion) against his lord, the Alaafin. The rest is well recorded by history.

The more you read Ilorin’s well-documented history, the more you understand the tapestry of its ethnic configuration. There are tomes of materials available to the patient who is also curious to know. There is Ahmad b. Abi’s ‘Talifakhbar al qurun min Umara ‘ balad Ilurin’ (1912) with its critique by H. O. Danmole (1984). There is H.B. Hermon-Hodge’s ‘Gazetteer of Ilorin Province’ (1929). There is H. O. Danmole and Toyin Falola’s ‘The Documentation of Ilorin by Samuel Ojo Bada’. There is J.A. Atanda’s ‘The Fulani Jihad and the Collapse of the Old Oyo Empire’. There is also Stefan Reichmuth’s ‘Imam Umaru’s Account of the Origins of the Ilorin Emirate’ (1993); and then, Ann O’Hear’s ‘Elite Slaves in Ilorin in the 19th and 20th Centuries’ (2006). There are many more from local historians here and there.

Ilorin has the enviable luck of being a melting pot for all races, “tribes and tongues”. You find there people who would proudly say their ancestors were Fulani or Hausa or Kanuri or Dendi, Nupe, Baruba, Wangara, even Arabs. Yet, they are all ‘Yoruba’ today and they are proud to speak the language. You want to ask why the conqueror speaks the language of the conquered? It is because the Yoruba gene is very resistant to assimilation; the conquerors only got the throne, the soul refused to stay in their pouch. The Yoruba culture does what dams do to their surrounding environment. Their backwaters fester and consume their catchment areas. It is arguably the only African culture that survived slavery outside Africa. Go to Brazil, to Cuba and Trinidad and Tobago, Saint Lucia, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, about 200 years after slavery, descendants of Yoruba slaves there proudly raise the banner of their fathers. That is the case with the essential Yoruba-Ilorin.

While politicians in Kano are busy making identity nooses to hang their opponents, their street is dead drunk with tears of hunger and want. But the people rarely matter in matters like this. They won’t ever revolt; re-vote of their tormentors is what they will do. So, I have no dog in the bitter contest for the throne of Kano. The same should be our reaction to the machete attacks on the traditional powers and privileges of the Sultan of Sokoto by the state governor. At best, I watch events in those places the way I watched Sunday’s epic final of Euro 2024 football match between England and Spain. The Game of Thrones in the Fulani north, from Kano to Sokoto, is therefore, to me, entertainment. We run commentaries such as this only because, as the Yoruba say, it is always good to show the goopy snail that its eyes are caked with mucus.

Krishna Udayasankar, Singapore-based Indian writer and author of ‘3’ – a novel on the founding of Singapore, believes that “no empire lasts forever, no dynasty continues unbroken” How is the Kano kingship crisis going to end for the ruling class in northern Nigeria? When you combine what is happening in that city with the simmering volcano in Sokoto, would you be wrong if you say the signs portend sundown for the elaborate empire built by Dan Fodio in the first decade of the 19th century? No intervention can save that empire from itself. Maybe that elaborate realm has to die for Nigeria to live and thrive.

While the battle for thrones rages on, the Dan Fodio clan got a whole ministry from Tinubu last week. The president called it the Ministry of Livestock Development. I heard their elites’ happy footfalls. Who told the Fulbe that their problem would be over with a special ministry for their cows? Something tells me they know too that they are only interested in the billions that will be pumped into that loss centre. My dictionary says the opposite of livestock is deadstock. Something tells me that is the fruit from that luxuriant tree unless they change their ways. But they won’t change. For them, it is already past midnight.

The National and State Houses of Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal for Sokoto/Zamfara States sitting in Sokoto, on Monday, sacked a member of the House of Representatives representing Yabo/Shagari federal constituency of Sokoto State, Umar Yusuf Yabo Danmaje.

The Tribunal further ordered Danmaje to pay a sum of N500,000 as damages to the petitioner as a cost of action instituted against his election at the Tribunal.

In a unanimous judgement read by the Tribunal chairman, Justice Ashu A. Ewah, the Court declared the election of Danmaje as member representing Yabo/Shagari federal constituency in the House of Representatives as null and void.

Other members of the Tribunal include Justice Helen N. Hammanjoda and Justice Ali T. Changbo, respectively.

Justice Ewah said the election, which was initially conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in 2023 and rerun election on February 3, 2024, was marred with malpractices some polling units, hence the exercise was inconclusive.

The Tribunal also ordered INEC to withdraw the Certificate of Return issued to Danmaje and conduct a fresh election in the affected polling units of the constituency within 90 days.

The election is to be conducted in four affected polling units of the two local government areas of Yabo and Shagari in the federal constituency of the state.

The four polling units where INEC was asked by the Tribunal to conduct election are three polling units in Shagari LGA and one polling unit in Yabo local government area, respectively.

The affected polling units include; Dagawa Maji Kira, Dagawa Mai Zane, Shiyar Magaji, Kesoji Shiyar Hakimi, Jaredi Maji Kira and Mazoji, all in Shagari and Yabo local government areas of Sokoto State.

[Leadership]