Senior Pastor of the Lagos-based Daystar Christian Centre, Sam Adeyemi, has urged President Bola Tinubu to present a compelling long-term vision for Nigeria’s future to inspire the nation’s youth.

“Mr president needs to come with pictures, 3D of what Nigeria will be like in 30 years’ time,” Pastor Adeyemi said during his appearance on Channels Television’s Sunrise programme on Saturday.

The cleric stressed the importance of leadership in shaping societal beliefs and driving sustainable change.

“No leader will create sustainable change if he or she cannot shift the mindset and you cannot shift the people’s culture if you cannot without shifting people’s belief and their mindset,” he stated.

Drawing from his experiences, Adeyemi shared how a former governor struggled to instill the importance of vision among his cabinet members.

“I have an ex-governor who is a friend. I went to visit him whilst he was governor. And then he said, ‘Brother Sam, my biggest problem is not infrastructure.’ They were celebrating two years in office then, and he was celebrating over two years,” Adeyemi recounted.

The former governor revealed that his primary challenge was not building physical structures but changing the mindset of his team.

“He said when I want to do a job, I get the best contractor to do the job. He said my biggest problem is mindset. He said on my own cabinet, one of the members of the state executive came to tell me that they were having a conversation somewhere and they were saying: ‘the governor will just be talking about vision. Will we eat vision?’

“He said, ‘Can you imagine that the people on my cabinet – the state executive – do not even understand vision? They don’t value vision; they are just looking for what they want to eat, talk less of the citizens.’”

Vanguard News

It was in the late hours of the night. I was scrolling through my YouTube feed, a space I rarely find myself aimlessly searching through. But this night was different; I hadn’t gone too far when I saw the familiar face on the thumbnail of one of the suggested videos. It was Olajumoke Oniburedi.

I was immediately interested. I had thought about her not too long before that fateful night and wondered what happened to her after her sudden “grass to grace story”. If you’re unfamiliar with her story, Olajumoke is the popular bread seller who stumbled into TY Bello’s photoshoot with the British Rapper, Tinie Tempah and got captured in one of the pictures.

Suddenly, Olajumoke was a sensation. From gifts of a rented apartment to a launch into a new modelling career with local and international appearances and an opportunity for adult education, her story became a modern-day fairy tale. Many started praying for their own “God of Olajumoke” moment.

However, over the last few years, Olajumoke vanished from the public space, warranting curiosity about what had happened. That was why I couldn’t ignore the YouTube video—a City FM interview where she shared her side of the story. What I heard was heartbreaking: a mix of domestic abuse, poor decisions stemming from a lack of education and exposure, and exploitation by others had derailed her once-promising new life.

As I watched, I couldn’t help but wonder how differently things might have turned out if Olajumoke had been properly educated. It hurt to learn that she dropped out of the adult education programme she started during her rise to fame. I wondered how different some of her choices might have been if she had some form of education. Toward the end of the interview, she reflected on her experiences, acknowledging how her lack of education made her vulnerable to predators and poor decisions. Now, she’s committed to prioritising her education moving forward.

Her story reinforced to me that education is about so much more than professional or technical skills. It shapes how we see ourselves, the world, and the choices we make in every area of life. Aside from knowing this from research and observation, I also know this from personal experience. While my education certainly advanced my career, its most profound impact has been on my personal life. It’s helped protect me, guide my decisions, and expand my worldview.

In a previous article, I argued that the benefits of education go far beyond academic or industrial success. It develops personal, social, and intellectual capacities that influence every aspect of a person’s life. Education advocacy must be expanded beyond touting education only as a tool for the economic and industrial advancement of nations. Although education plays a huge role there, it also has way more implications than only equipping people to get a job.

Olajumoke’s journey is a powerful example. Although her education wouldn’t have made her stumble into Ty Bello’s photoshoot, it might have helped her sustain and fully maximise the opportunity when it came. And it might equip her with the worldview she needed to protect her from unnecessary pain. The silver lining in her story is that she’s getting a rare second chance. I love how much she now values education and is actively pursuing it.

Olajumoke’s story also highlights the growing importance of adult education, a cause that often gets overlooked in favour of advocating for young learners’ education. While that’s essential, Olajumoke reminds us why adults, too, need access to formal education—no matter their background or past experiences.

Education truly is for everyone. It’s not a scam, even for those whose careers may veer away from their academic training. It’s a tool for personal growth, second chances, and reshaping lives. My hope is that we continue advocating for education in ways that show its multidimensional contributions to human life and make it accessible to all—regardless of age, background, or the twists and turns of life. After all, Olajumoke has shown us that it’s never too late to learn, grow, and rewrite your story.

Oluwatoyin is a STEM education doctoral researcher, social impact founder and education policy advocate. She writes from Nigeria and the United States. 

Akinwumi Adesina, president of the African Development Bank (AfDB), says Nigeria secured $7.6 billion in investment pledges during the 2024 Africa Investment Forum held in Morocco.

Speaking in a post on his X on Saturday, Adesina expressed excitement about the investment commitments to Nigeria, commending the active participation of several Nigerian state governors at the forum.

“I am delighted the Africa Investment Forum 2024 mobilised $7.6bn of investment interest for Nigeria,” the post reads.

“It was great to have several State Governors: Lagos, Kaduna, Kastina, Kwara and Plateau, and (later) Ogun. We will keep working to support & boost investments to Nigeria.”

On December 6, 2024, the Africa Investment Forum announced that it recorded a total of $29.2 billion in new investor interests.

Adesina, who is also the chair of the forum, described the achievement as “truly outstanding.”

He noted that the figure could increase as discussions and negotiations on additional investments are still going on beyond the 37 deals already prepared.

Adesina revealed that the 2024 Africa Investment Forum market days saw participation from 2,300 investors and delegates from 83 countries, a 60 percent increase compared to the previous year.

“The waves of the Africa Investment Forum are cascading investment ripples from Africa to all parts of the world…I am proud that we have achieved for Africa,” Adesina said.

“Across 41 investment boardrooms, investors and project developers gathered to review, discuss and engage on 37 investment projects. The projects varied from transport, power, energy, agribusiness, industry, mining, pharmaceuticals, private equity, tourism, urban infrastructure, water management and water and sanitation.”

The AfDB president also announced that the forum has secured commitments from 15 new sponsors, including banks, insurers, and export credit agencies, for its upcoming editions.

[TheCable]

Dear Presidential Economic Team,

May I humbly appeal via this Open Letter and earnestly urge the Presidential Economic Team to patriotically consider the gruesome economic hardship in the land, so as to stop derailing President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda meant to uplift millions out of poverty.

Am making this humble appeal because am not the only foundation member of the APC who wants our great party to succeed; albeit many do not want our great to go into 2027 general elections limping in the midst of widespread discontent, despondency and despair.

Secondly, one sincerely thinks that President Tinubu means well and wants to successfully consolidate the neoliberal capitalist system by taking bold decisions to bolster economic resorgimento in Nigeria via his Renewed Hope Agenda.

Luckily for us Nigerians, President Tinubu has harvested the fine tenets of classical Non-Alignment-Doctrine; consequent upon his cordial diplomatic relationship with the West and the East.

Hence Mr President inspite of the economic hardship and gross inequality has mobilised all the necessary international powers to utilise our demographic youth advantage in an aging world to consolidate the CHANGE our great party APC pledged in July 2013.

This is why am appealing to the Presidential Economic Team to reverse their gear and listen to Albeit Einstein’s admonition; that it’s illogical doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Therefore let’s assist Mr President to succeed and pull out of this adverse economic condition so that Nigerians can breathe.

Accordingly this why as a roadside political economist am crying out in pain over the inadvertent derailing of the Renewed Hope Agenda. For am yet to reconcile how the program could be successfully executed when only 25% of the 2024 Capital Budget was released; moreover when we are regrettably operating multi-budgets.

Paradoxically the derailing is going on despite huge debts, increased tariffs, excessive taxation and the fact that all revenue generating agencies - NNPC, Nigeria Customs, FIRS had exceeded their 2024 targets - N13.1trillion vs N12.3trillion, N5.352trillion vs N5.09trillion and N5.7trillion vs N4.0trillion respectively.

One recalls with nostalgia President Tinubu’s July 2023 profound broadcast statement on why he removed the fuel subsidy, quote interalia, “To be blunt, Nigeria could never become the society it was intended to be as long as such small, powerful yet unelected groups hold enormous influence over our political economy and the institutions that govern it.
“The whims of the few should never hold dominant sway over the hopes and aspirations of the many. If we are to be a democracy, the people and not the power of money must be sovereign.
“This group had amassed so much wealth and power that they became a serious threat to the fairness of our economy and the integrity of our democratic governance.”

Is it not the same train of absurd Mr President frowned at that the Presidential Economic Team is boarding by not instantly and publicly disclosing how much that accrued from Fuel Subsidy removal; when the Joint Appropriation, Budget and Finance Committees of the National Assembly demanded it last week?

The Presidential Economic Team, should kindly remember that even the late military Head of State, General Sani Abacha diligently utilsed monies which accrued from his fuel subsidy removal with social and physical infrastructure via the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF), which was beneficial to Nigerians.

My humble submission is that the Presidential Economic Team should not forget that Mr President’s statement above presupposes that he wants to seamlessly win the 2027 presidential election and end up 2nd Term as a progressive statesman.

Mr Osita Okechukwu
Foundation Member APC

WHEN I asked the rhetorical question: “Are Yoruba the ‘problem’ with Nigeria?”, more responders answered “No” than “Yes”. Many said Nigeria, indeed, was – and still is – the problem of the Yoruba – a cog in the wheel of its progress! I think it is necessary to locate (who are) the problems with Nigeria because, as they say, a problem once realised is a problem half-solved. I call on two articles that I chanced upon recently on social media to help us throw some light on the matter.

The first, titled “Who are the real Northerners?”, written by Davidson Rotshak Lar (JP), ran thus:  “We have been inundated with the word North, Northern Elders, Arewa Consultative Forum, Northern Governors Forum, etc.  But really we are asking: “Who are these Northerners?” Let us borrow a bit from history.

When Obasanjo as president gave the non-Fulani sensitive positions in his regime, the Sultan of Sokoto went with some Fulani irredentists like Ango Abdullahi to confront him and make allegations that the  North was being marginalized. Baffled, Obasanjo asked them: “Are non-Fulani in the North not Northerners?” The Sultan said: “Yes, they are not!” Obasanjo nodded his head to learn what he probably had not known before!

So we  ask: “Who really are these Northerners?” Cast your mind back to December 1979 to the very night of the primary elections of NPN. Clearly, Ambassador Maitama Sule, an erudite Hausa man, emerged as the NPN flag bearer.  Some Islamic Fulani juggernauts led by Sultan Attahiru of the Sokoto caliphate said clearly that the choice of Maitama Sule was not acceptable to the North.

A parallel meeting was held that night to substitute Maitama Sule with less-known and hardly-outspoken Shehu Shagari, a Muslim Fulani, and the said North was, after that, pacified. So we ask: “Who really is a Northerner in Nigeria?”

In 2015, the  North rallied and confronted President Goodluck Jonathan that power must shift to the North – to Muhammadu Buhari in particular, being a Fulani, in order to maintain a democracy that is supposed to be founded on justice and fairplay. After seven years of the (mis)rule by the same Buhari, the same North said that zoning the Presidency to the South was undemocratic! They condemned zoning entirely as being anti-democratic and some of them like Nasir el-Rufai told us that it is not about region but competence!

In 1953 when Aminu Kano, a Hausa man, upstaged the mysticism of the North to found the Northern Elements Progressive Union (NEPU), Sir Ahmadu Bello, a Fulani who had founded the Northern Peoples Congress (NPC), condemned Aminu Kano, calling him an anti-North propagandist.  Until Bello died in 1966, both men were sworn enemies. So we ask: “Who really are these Northerners?”

On  October 12, 1960, just eleven days after independence, the  National Parrot newspaper quoted Ahmadu Bello, who said:  “This new nation called Nigeria is the inheritance of the Fulani given to them by their great-grandfather, Uthman dan Fodio. We shall use the Northern minorities as conquered people, and the South as willing tools until we dip the Koran into the Atlantic ocean.”

We make bold to say that the North is Fulani and Fulani is the North! Recall that when one governor of Kaduna State, a Fulani (Mohammed Namadi Sambo), was selected for the post of Vice President (by Jonathan) and his deputy (Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa) was a  Southern Kaduna Christian, it was tug of war for the Fulani to allow him (a non-Fulani) to govern the state. They could have had their way if not for the seeming immutability of the Constitution.

Recall that in the same Kaduna State in 1979, Balarabe Musa, a staunch talakawa politician and an able follower of Aminu Kano, a Hausa Muslim, was impeached on frivolous reasons to pave the way for another Muslim, this time a Fulani (Abba Musa Rimi), to become the “authentic” governor of the state. This was done to please the North.

The vexatious cloud of contortion in the whole scenario is the cultural vulnerability of Northern minority politicians to be used willy-nilly to dash the hopes of their own people to please their feudal masters – the Fulani.

The sobriquet of “One North, One Destiny, One People” is a lie from the pit of hell. Is the North monolithic? “Arewa” is Hausa, not Fulani, word for  “North”. Why? The Hausa are by far the most populous group in the entire North, but they are voiceless. The Fulani are very few but are in control politically and economically, even though they are not aboriginal Nigerians. So, a Hausa word must be used to galvanize support from the whole North so as to consolidate the Fulani hold on power. This is the racket of cultural nudity in Northern Nigeria from Uthman Dan Fodio’s time, which has served its purpose very well. And they would call all non-Muslims, including those from the North, pagans or kafiris!”

I dare to say that it is this same “North” that is threatening Armageddon over President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s tax reform that is meant to foster equity, fairplay and prosperity across board through hard work and sincerity of purpose! It is this “North” that is accusing Tinubu of marginalising it, despite that an avalanche of sensitive positions have been ceded to both Northern minorities and the Fulani themselves. It seemeth the Fulani, who pride themselves as the “North”, want all the positions for themselves and themselves only. This is one of the problems with Nigeria.

Now to the second piece by Reno Omokri titled “The Historical Reasons Why I Strongly Support President Bola Tinubu”; it goes thus: “Nigeria, as it is presently constituted, is not what we agreed with the British. It was forced on us by a General named Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi after a coup staged by mostly Igbo officers… For the first six years of our existence as an independent nation, Nigeria had regions with full powers of resource control and who were free to do pretty much as they pleased, except secede. For example, two of the three regions (the West and East) had diplomatic relations with Israel while the North rejected it.

Economic competition spurred growth. At that time, the Southwest was so advanced that the Saudi royal family used to have their medicals at the University College Hospital, Ibadan. Western Nigeria had universal free basic education before many European countries and was the pacesetter for progressive policies in Nigeria. The immediate post-independence Nigeria was not a British construct. Our leaders sat down and agreed to form a loose union. We would have even gotten our independence before Ghana, but the North was not ready, and there were quarrels between Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Nnamdi Azikiwe.

Chief Obafemi Awolowo mooted the idea of a secession clause in 1954 during the Lagos Constitutional Conference, but Nnamdi Azikiwe rejected it, galvanising a majority of the conference attendees to kill the idea. Chief Awolowo again wrote to the then Governor-General of Nigeria, who rejected the clause on the grounds that the majority, led by Azikiwe, did not support it. Because of Azikiwe, section 86 was inserted into our Constitution with the proviso that if any region should secede, it would be an act of treason. We eventually gained Independence on October 1, 1960.

There was an initial nationwide celebration (of the coup of January 15, 1966) until the dust settled and the rest of the nation realised that the Igbo coup plotters did not kill their own Igbo leaders. And when an elected Northern Prime Minister, Sir Abubakar Tafawa-Balewa, was killed by Igbo soldiers to be replaced by an Igbo General, instead of the next ranking member of parliament from the ruling Northern Peoples Congress (which would have been Zanna Bukar Dipcharima), protests broke out. When the new ruler, Major-General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, broadcast a message and assured the nation that the plotters would be tried, things calmed down. But Ironsi surrounded himself with only Igbo advisers, including Chief Francis Nwokedi, Dr. Pius Okigbo, and Colonel Patrick Anwunah. Calls for him to appoint at least one token non-Igbo were brushed aside.

And then, rather unwisely, Ironsi promulgated Decree Number 34 on May 24, 1966, which effectively ended regionalism, took control of all resources, including oil, which had hitherto belonged to the regions, and domiciled them in his military government. Other members of the Supreme Military Council alleged that Ironsi did not consult them before promulgating the decree. It is not known if their allegation is true. However, Ironsi’s Attorney-General, Chief Gabriel Chike Michael Onyiuke, later said Ironsi did not need to consult them. If Ironsi had not sacked Taslim Olawale Elias as Attorney-General and replaced him with a fellow Igbo, Chike Onyiuke, he might have gotten a different counsel, but we will never know.

That decree ignited the counter-coup of July 29, 1966, during which Ironsi was killed and was replaced with Lt. Colonel Yakubu Gowon… All Military Governors accepted Gowon except Ojukwu. Eventually, the then Ghanaian military leader, General Ankrah, invited Gowon and Ojukwu for a peace meeting in Aburi, Ghana between January 4 and 5, 1967. Agreements were reached, including that Gowon would broadcast first, AFTER CONSULTATIONS, followed by Ojukwu. However, upon return, Ojukwu made his broadcast first, which shocked other regions and jeopardised Gowon, who was almost removed by those who made him Head of State. Note that Gowon… at that time, was just a titular Head of State. Real power was domiciled with Colonel Murtala Muhammed until Murtala was militarily humiliated by the Biafrans at Abagana on March 31, 1968, after which Gowon relieved him of his command…

If Ojukwu had been patient and had waited for Gowon to make his broadcast first, it is almost certain that there would not have been a civil war. The bulk of Northern soldiers, led by Murtala Muhammed, wanted outright division and if they could not get that, then, a return to status quo ante bellum. The fragile Gowon government had been working on Decree Number 8, which, when you look at that decree in hindsight, could have solved much of Nigeria’s current challenges. But after Ojukwu preempted Gowon by his March 1967 broadcast, the decree had to be reworked. In fact, if Ojukwu had proclaimed Biafra with only territories belonging to the Igbos, then, it might have still been possible to avoid war. But by seceding with the entire Eastern Region, including minorities like the Ijaw, Efik, Ibibio, Ikwere and others who were not consulted as equals before the May 30, 1967 declaration of the Republic of Biafra, Ojukwu knowingly or unknowingly made war inevitable…”

Zik who stood against the right of the regions to secede peacefully without war or violence; the young military officers who, while ending the First Republic, introduced tribalism into the polity; the first military Head of State who ended regionalism and imposed the military command structure on the country; and the overly ambitious Biafran leader who made a 30-month civil war (whose sores are yet to heal) inevitable – these men created the foundational problems the country has yet to find a way to exit. Ironically, their supporters and successors are not only adamantly unrepentant, not willing to look themselves in the mirror, but also loudest at pointing accusing fingers at others!

Let the so-called North and the East mend their ways and give peace a chance!

Oyo State governor, ‘Seyi Makinde, speaks on the state’s annual budget performance, the gains of his administration’s focus on agribusiness and his focus ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

YOU recently presented the 2025 Oyo State Budget. What can you say about the budget?

I have the responsibility to make life meaningful for the people of Oyo State. But of course, you have impact from whatever is happening at the federal level. I cannot, from Oyo State, dictate the fiscal policies for the country. I don’t determine the exchange rate of naira to the dollar, but I will have to get bitumen in US dollars to tar roads in Oyo State. That is how these things are linked. However, for us in this state, you can go back to even 2019, we came in on May 29. Immediately, we realigned the budget and you can also check previous administrations and check their budget performance, which used to be about 30 to 35 percent.

When we came in 2019, we brought down the figure and by the time we got to the end of the year, we improved the budget performance to about 45 to 48 percent. But our first full budget as an administration was in 2020 and two months into the implementation of that budget, COVID-19 hit the world. At the end of the year, we still achieved almost about 65 percent. From that point, we have been performing up to about 70 percent. What it means is that if you look at the Oyo State budget, whatever you see in there, you have a 70 percent chance that they will get done. That is why, for us, you will notice that we have had stability in terms of how our projects are executed. And, in terms of liveability how our people are living, we are not concentrating projects within a certain group only. Market women, artisans and others are all doing far better than before.

When we talk about inflation, people will go out there and be brandishing figures and be saying that food inflation in Oyo State is high and all of that. But recently, I was coming from the Passing Out Parade of the Amotekun Rangers in Iseyin and I decided to stop by Psaltery Farms to see what they were doing and I passed through Ibarapa to check the progress of the Ido-Eruwa road. We saw many trailers of cassava not heading to anywhere in Oyo State but going to neighbouring states. What does that mean? It means that you have freedom of movement in Nigeria, so we cannot say that people should not move freely.

After the experience, I told my people that, now, we are producing for all these states and people will tell me there is food inflation in Oyo State. So, I said they must return to produce posts. I am not saying that outsiders should not come here to buy cassava, but if you are taking cassava from Oyo State to another state, it means we are doing some things right here and you must pay. We will tax them. But we have not gotten to that point.

Let me also give you another example; some days ago, I met a farmer and I asked him. How come what we are producing in high quantity here have not saturated our markets in Oyo State and he told me that farmers are selling to those from neighbouring states, because they are paying more and things like that. It means the farmers are making more money, but we are subsidising land clearing for farmers and providing other benefits. So, I said to them that we will all sit down and agree on how Oyo State would benefit first and foremost before other states.

It is a free market and we need to think things out with our farmers. We give you inputs and subsidy on land clearing and it is time for harvest, you want to go to the highest bidder wherever they may come from? No. That is causing dislocation for us. There are different schemes we are looking at, but the most important thing is accurate data on what is going on. Once we can wrap our heads around the data, we can think out the best solution.

Many people have been talking about the state of the education sector in Oyo State. Would you say you are doing well and are you happy as far as education sector is concerned in the state?

The policies and practices in the past towards infrastructure development in the education sector were faulty. But we have corrected that now. We carried out a study which discovered that the infrastructure deficit in education was around N60 billion. We were spending about N3 billion yearly both on our own counterpart and UBEC funding. If you have a N60 billion gap and you are spending N3 billion, it will take you 20 years to close that gap. That was why this year (2024), we were able to pull through. We validated those data and I appointed Suraj Abiodun Tiamy as a Special Adviser on Education Intervention, because, to bridge that gap, we must be spending N10 billion to N15 billion yearly. That will allow us to bridge the gap in four years to turn things around and we are well on track. We are trying to rearrange our resources, such that we can do more for the education sector.

I should also add that it is not for fun that since I came into power, in every budget year, we have exceeded the 20 percent UNESCO recommended figure for education. Education is in three layers – the primary, secondary and tertiary. As for the tertiary, I can say that we are doing very well and I am satisfied with what we are doing in that direction. For secondary and primary, we still have a lot more to do.

The deaths of 35 children in a stampede during a private funfair organised in Ibadan last December has remained a topical issue. What is your reaction and what is the state of things now?

When I look at the children, I think in my mind that it would have been better if we go and those children are still here with us since some of us have achieved some things. Among them, there were potential presidents, ministers, governors and all that, but those dreams are dead. We had potential inventors among them. So, looking at all of that, I said that celebrating birthday should be the last thing after that tragedy. People may think death happens, but this is totally different because of the people involved; they were very innocent and also because of the fact that this is something that could have been avoided if those involved had played their roles well and lived responsibly. That is why I said there won’t be birthday for me this year (2024), because we are seriously mourning. It’s very sad.

You have continued to use the word avoidable. Can you expatiate a little bit on this?

It was avoidable. If the organisers and all that were involved had done what they were supposed to do, it would not have happened. No crowd control, no contact with the security agencies. There was no plan in place. And when this started, the Commissioner for Health sent me the message and the Chairman of the Hospital Management Board, but it was already too late. By that time, corpses of those children were already going to the mortuary. So, it is just so unfortunate and it is something that we have to really learn from.

In 2024, two major avoidable incidents that led to loss of lives happened. On 16th of January, 2024, there was an explosion in Bodija, which was caused by some people who stored explosives in a residential area, and the residents had been seeing these things. Meanwhile, we have said if you see something, say something and put the blame on the authority if we cannot do something about it. Also, two weeks to the end of the year, the stampede incident came up.

You took some steps after the Bodija explosion to provide shelter for those affected and carried out an integrity test on the remaining houses to see how some could be fixed or demolished for rebuilding. But what is the latest development on the matter?

After the explosion, we took those steps immediately. The people that allowed the bad incident to occur are still being investigated. The wheel of justice grinds slowly, but I can assure you that nobody has been let off the hook. The security agencies are doing their work to ensure that justice is served.

And for those whose properties were affected, I will say it openly that we took the Nigerian Society of Engineers to the site. They did their report. I mentioned the fact that the affected people would be supported, and not compensated. There is a difference. Yes, it is their government and if anything happens, the government can come in to support. But when people have entitled positions, it is not good enough.

According to the evaluation report carried out by the NSE, the destroyed properties are worth over N3 billion. I said let us look for over N3 billion for them so that they can get things moving again for themselves. But some people came back and said that they heard that the Presidency gave Oyo State a particular amount of money, about N5 billion. And, I said to them, you can’t run the government for us.

We have already inaugurated a relief disbursement committee comprising residents of the affected area, NSE, NBA and NUJ representatives. We have also done other things such as awarding contracts to fix all the roads in the axis.

Looking back at 2024, what are the highlights of what you were able to achieve?

I didn’t want to come back into government in 2023. It took me much time to think about this and decide. You know there is an insinuation that governors do not do well in their second terms; that they only retain the office to enjoy themselves and all that. I am sure that the people of Oyo State were afraid that I would act the same way.

So, when I became convinced that I would continue with the things we had been doing, I approached the people to give me another opportunity to serve them for a second term. The way I will look at it is that the people gave me the opportunity. From this media chat, I want to know from the people what they expect us to do, which we are yet to touch or we are not looking at. That is exactly why I am here. I don’t want people to tell me what I want to hear.

I have said it several times that I don’t want to be remembered for construction of roads, this and that. These are not the legacies I want to leave. I want to be remembered for the institutions we are building and how they are impacting the lives of the people and how they will guarantee that Oyo State will continue to experience good governance well into the foreseeable future.

Some people are complaining from the Circular Road end about land-grabbing. Are you a land grabber?

I am not a land grabber. But I am a firm believer in the saying that it is only an idiot that will continue to do the same thing the same way and be expecting a different result. Who are the people behind the accusations against me? I can say it boldly that it is the land grabbers that are calling me a land grabber.

We approached some people that we needed to relocate them because of the airport upgrade we are trying to do, and before we knew it, they started calling me names in the social media. Even this BCOS where we are hosting this programme, in 1982 in this same studio, I came here for a programme that was called Word Power. Then, there used to be an estate for the workers here. Fast forward to when I became governor, it had already become something else. I asked myself what do we do? I felt we should use the place as a first example of how we can mobilise private money to build infrastructure. Today, we have the Lere Adigun GRA. Men and women have brought their money and they are living there. Did I grab the BCOS land? If you see a plot belonging to Seyi Makinde in here, bring it out with proof and I will sign it off to anyone who does so.

The concept of the Circular Road is yet to be understood by people. They thought it would be like Iwo Road to Beere. No. It will be the very first motorway in Nigeria. It was because of that misconception that some people are saying they want the Circular Road but they don’t want the corridor, because they thought that from the land close to the circular road, some will bring their driveway into the road. We can’t be spending this kind of money to build a road like Iwo Road to Beere. No. We are building a motorway not just for Ibadan but for the majority of the local government areas around that place. The 32km stretch from TECH-U to Badeku will only have two exit points. If you like, put your estate where you don’t have exit points, it only means you won’t have access to the road. So, the concept of how you want to develop the place requires that you must get a corridor.

And, it would be a road that you will have a minimum speed limit; nobody would go less than 80km per hour. They will break the law even if they are going on 20 or 30km per hour. When you want to do something like that, you need people to know that there is a need for a corridor.

People are saying that many of the places you are opening up are not for the downtrodden, as poor people don’t have access to them. What is happening?

What is the concept of development? Do we want to be like the crab to say, look, if I cannot get up, no one should get up? I believe we are not supposed to use poverty to flatten everyone. I don’t think that is what we want to do. In order to expand your economy, you have to provide opportunities for the downtrodden to also rise above poverty, but you won’t play politics with them by saying, oh, all of these places should be given to you because you don’t have money. No. You only create opportunities for them such that they can take themselves out of poverty.

People don’t seem to understand your standpoint on local government autonomy. Are you criticising the judgment because you are in the PDP or what?

On the local government autonomy matter, I am still of the firm belief that the brouhaha is just a distraction, because in Oyo State, the state government fixes federal roads. We did a complete reconstruction linking Oyo to Oke-Ogun zone through the Oyo-Fasola-Iseyin road. We spent N10 billion at that time. It used to take two hours from Iseyin to Oyo but it will take you about 25 minutes now. Our people are the ones plying the road because, for us, it has a big impact on our economy. The ordinary people don’t know whether a particular road is for state or federal or local government. Those creating the dichotomy are the ones who will love to benefit. I still insist that this is a convoluted arrangement.

Nigeria runs a federal system where we have three units federating instead of two. In Oyo State, before my time, they created LCDAs. The constitutionally recognised LGAs for Oyo State are 33, but the government of that time created 34 LCDAs. When I campaigned in 2019, I said that I would scrap the LCDAs and I was going to do it because I mentioned it when I was going around campaigning.

But when I came in, some elders and leaders came to me and said, “Look, we have LCDAs as development centres; let us leave them so that development could spread. Anyway, the vision of our forefathers that negotiated Nigeria’s federal arrangements was that the regions or the states would have control over their local governments. If in Oyo State, like the previous administration decided, we want to have 67 Local Development Centres, why can’t we have that? But the constitution of Nigeria says you cannot have more than 33 in the constitution. What is the uniqueness of that 33?

 The Attorney-General of the Federation is threatening governors that do not comply with the Supreme Court’s ruling. What’s your opinion?

The Supreme Court ruling said the Federal Government will pay directly to the local government. So, are governors the Federal Government? Why is the Federal Government not paying directly to the local governments? Did I not mention it that they would have issues to deal with? Are they not having issues to deal with now?

You have been vocal about local government areas being productive and not overly relying on federal allocation. What would you say the state government is doing to increase the productivity of the local government?

When we fixed the road between Moniya and Iseyin, you have the Akinyele LG in there; you also have Iseyin and part of Afijio LGs. We now have Fasola Agribusiness Hub already up and we have moved on to Eruwa Farm Estate. All of those will empower the local governments around the areas. So, once we are fixing our infrastructure, the local governments also benefit as they have things to do. Let us also take from Iseyin to Ogbomoso the state government spent about N42bn to build the road from the scratch. Now, I said we can have trailers pass through that place, but you must weigh them and they must pay. I have told the Iseyin and Ogbomoso Local Government chairmen to construct weigh bridges at both locations and the state will also contribute money to the project. Then, they can collect revenue from the trailers that will ply the road and at the end of the month, the LGAs can take 70 percent while the state government will take 30 percent. My position still remains that our problem is not that we don’t have resources. We were all in this country when a former Head of State said our problem is not money but how to spend it. At that particular time, the rest of the world was developing their infrastructure that would serve them for the next 50 years.

Now, our problem is lack of infrastructure that will expand our economy for the next 50 years, that will support what we are doing so that the children we are giving birth to now can have a place to thrive. So, I don’t have any problem with the Federal Government. But I will always speak the truth.

You recently commissioned the Ibadan Hybrid Power Plant. What other efforts are you making to make Oyo State self-sufficient in terms of electricity?

Yes, we started the IPP and we are discussing a 500 megawatts power project and it’s a lot of investment. You need conducive atmosphere for investors to come in. People think government’s pocket is limitless, but that is not true.

We have started and I commissioned the first phase of the IPP project a few weeks back. We already have a proof of concept on the next project and we now have interests coming on board.

Do you want to become Nigeria’s president in 2027?

I have a big work that the people of Oyo State have given to me. I have done some and still have quite a lot to do. My focus is not to become president in 2027, but to deliver on the mandate given to me by Oyo State people.

[Nigerian Tribune]

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has prohibited local deposits into the newly launched Non-Resident Nigerian Ordinary Account (NRNOA) and Non-Resident Nigerian Investment Account (NRNIA), designed to cater specifically to Nigerians living abroad.

This directive, outlined in a circular issued by the apex bank on January 10, 2025, highlights the CBN’s focus on channelling external inflows and diaspora investments into the nation’s economy.

Signed by Dr W. J. Kanya, the acting Director of the Trade and Exchange Department, the circular stated, “Deposits into non-resident accounts must originate from external sources through approved channels. Local deposits are prohibited, except for traceable proceeds from approved local investments linked to prior foreign currency inflows and settlement of foreign exchange transactions i.e. sale of FCY balances to authorised dealers.

“Transfers to other local accounts within Nigeria are allowed only in Naira.”

The restriction is part of a broader framework to ensure the accounts serve their intended purpose of boosting remittances and investments from the diaspora.

Accounts designed to drive diaspora contributions 

The NRNOA and NRNIA accounts aim to provide Nigerians in the diaspora with secure platforms to manage funds and invest in Nigeria’s financial markets.

• The NRNOA allows non-resident Nigerians (NRNs) to remit foreign earnings into the country and manage funds in either foreign currency (FCY) or naira.
• These earnings may include salaries, allowances, dividends, and rental income. Also, the NRNOA supports local spending on family maintenance, education, and healthcare.
• On the other hand, the NRNIA is designed to facilitate diaspora investments in Nigeria, allowing NRNs to invest in assets denominated in foreign currency or Naira. Eligible investments include domestic bonds, equities, government securities, mortgage products, and the Diaspora Bond.

The CBN highlighted that these accounts would provide greater flexibility for NRNs to diversify their investment portfolios while contributing to Nigeria’s economic development.

To ensure compliance with this framework, the CBN has outlined strict guidelines for local transfers. Transfers from these accounts to other local accounts within Nigeria are permitted only in Naira, with no provision for such funds to originate locally unless linked to approved investment proceeds.

The CBN clarified that this measure is essential to maintain the integrity of the accounts as tools for external remittances and diaspora investments.

Framework to enhance compliance and transparency 

The apex bank has also emphasised the integration of digital platforms to facilitate seamless onboarding and account management. Partnering with the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), banks are mandated to offer digital solutions for issuing Bank Verification Numbers (BVNs) and enabling remote Know-Your-Customer (KYC) updates.

• These measures are expected to enhance the accessibility and usability of the accounts for Nigerians in the diaspora.
• Eligibility for these accounts requires proof of residency and identity, such as a valid or expired Nigerian passport, or a foreign passport accompanied by evidence of Nigerian citizenship. Investors based in the United States must also comply with IRS FATCA regulations.
• The prohibition on local deposits reflects the CBN’s strategy to maximise external inflows into the Nigerian economy.
• By restricting the sources of funding for these accounts, the CBN aims to create a transparent and efficient framework that aligns with global Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Counter-Terrorism Financing (CTF) standards.
• Interest earned on these accounts will be subject to Nigerian tax laws, while specific exemptions, such as those for government bonds, will be detailed in a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document expected to be released soon.

[Nairametrics]

The royal father, who appealed for calm from the residents, urged them to avoid violence and unrest amidst the leadership tussle in the state.

Emir Sanusi pointed out that the battle against those trying to instigate violence in Kano is for God and prayed that such people would reap the rewards of their actions.

He prayed that as God protects the peaceful ones, may fire also consume those who wish to cause chaos in Kano.

Naija News reports Sanusi made the declaration as part of his reaction to the Appeal Court verdict, which on Friday, January 10, 2025, ordered the Chief Judge of Kano to assign a fresh judge to review the case between the 15th Emir of Kano, Aminu Ado Bayero, the Kano State Government, and the 16th Emir, Muhammad Sanusi II, as well as the Kano State Assembly.

“This battle is not ours but God’s. And God does not need anyone’s help. Let us keep praying for His guidance and intervention. May God protect us, and whoever seeks to ignite chaos in Kano, may that fire consume them instead.

“To those who wish harm upon Kano or its peace, may they face the consequences of their own wishes.

“They may attempt to provoke violence, but let us not respond to their actions. Let us not engage them in any way. Whoever questions God’s judgment will ultimately face the consequences of doing so,” Sanusi said.

[NaijaNews]

Former Senator John Azuta-Mbata’s election as the 13th President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide is a landmark achievement, not just for him, but for the Igbo people and Nigerian politics at large. His new position offers him tremendous influence, a powerful platform to unite the Igbo community, and a voice to drive socio-political change across Nigeria. Azuta-Mbata’s leadership promises to have far-reaching implications, and it’s clear to everyone that this moment demands respect and acknowledgment from those who know him best—particularly his kinsman, former Governor Nyesom Wike.

Wike, we all know that Azuta-Mbata has been clear with you. He has advised you to let Governor Siminalayi Fubara govern Rivers State without interference. He’s told you, as a fellow kinsman, that your presence in Abuja should not undermine Fubara’s leadership. Azuta-Mbata, with years of experience and wisdom, sees the bigger picture, and he has guided you to understand that stepping back is in the best interest of both the state and your own political future. So, Wike, what are you waiting for? Why is it so difficult to acknowledge his monumental achievement publicly?

Azuta-Mbata is your kinsman—someone who introduced you to the deep ends of Nigerian politics. He took you under his wing and sponsored your chairmanship of Obio Akpor Local Government Area in 1999. Without his mentorship and political guidance, there’s no doubt you would not be where you are today. Azuta-Mbata’s influence has been instrumental in your rise to power. He gave you the opportunities, the support, and the direction you needed at critical moments in your career. He helped shape the political path that you now walk, and yet, in this pivotal moment of his own, you remain silent.

What is it that’s holding you back, Wike? Azuta-Mbata has dedicated years to his people, and now he has earned one of the most respected positions in Nigerian politics. As his kinsman, and someone who owes much of his career to Azuta-Mbata’s guidance, it is your duty to publicly congratulate him. This is not the time for pride or petty political squabbles. This is a time for you to rise above any past grievances or differences and show respect for the man who helped you get where you are.

We all know that this could have been a moment for you to show leadership and maturity. If you had congratulated Azuta-Mbata publicly, it would have been all over the media, a signal of respect and unity between you two, a message that would resonate with both your supporters and critics. Instead, your failure to act sends a message of disrespect and unwillingness to honor the person who helped mold your political career. What are you waiting for?

Governor Fubara, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and many other political figures immediately recognized Azuta-Mbata’s achievement. They knew this moment was too important to let pass without public acknowledgment. So why haven’t you, Wike? Why are you letting this significant occasion go by without offering your congratulations to the man who helped bring you into the world of politics?

It’s not just that Azuta-Mbata is your political mentor—it’s that he is your kinsman, your elder, someone who has always acted with integrity and foresight. You owe it to him, to your people, and to your own legacy to step forward and acknowledge this moment. Wike, your silence speaks volumes, and it is doing more harm than good. You can’t afford to ignore the growing influence of Azuta-Mbata and the positive impact his leadership will have on Nigerian politics. The longer you wait, the more you risk alienating yourself from a respected figure who has helped shape your political trajectory.

This is not the time for another round of political tension. This is the time for you to show maturity, to rise above petty conflicts, and to honor Azuta-Mbata’s achievement. He has always had your back—now it’s time for you to have his. You can’t afford to let ego or past disagreements cloud your judgment. The respect you show Azuta-Mbata now will define how the public sees you going forward.

Wike, it’s time to put aside your pride and acknowledge Senator John Azuta-Mbata’s remarkable achievement. As someone who owes their political career to Azuta-Mbata, this is the perfect opportunity to showcase humility and give credit where credit is due.

Azuta-Mbata’s influence on your career cannot be overstated. He was instrumental in installing you as the chairman of Obio/Akpor Local Government in 1998, a position that catapulted you into the political limelight. It’s surprising that you haven’t been the first to congratulate him on his election as President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide.

By publicly recognizing Azuta-Mbata’s accomplishment, you’ll not only be doing the right thing, but you’ll also be demonstrating to the country, your supporters, and your political allies that you can rise above past differences and act with humility. Remember, humility is not about thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less.

Don’t hide behind a spokesperson or a press release. Take personal responsibility and congratulate Azuta-Mbata yourself. Show the nation that you’re willing to put aside your pride and give credit where credit is due.

As Confucius and Mother Angelica so aptly put it, “Humility is the solid foundation of all virtues” and “Humility is preserved when I give credit where credit is due”. Don’t let this moment pass, Wike. Take the high road, and show the world that you’re capable of humility and graciousness. Time is running out.

I don’t want to de-market Nigeria by saying that it is a country where anything goes. But it will take some deep thinking to come up with something that can actually be described as unattainable, impracticable or unimaginable here. We inhabit a land of paradoxes where poverty and humongous wealth maintain a grudging cohabitation. In our own “Animal Farm”, it is the children of the poor that are encouraged to seek God while those of the rich hold court with Mammon. 

Just when you thought that life couldn’t be more oppressive on the poor, you are confronted with situations that jolt you back to the realisation that the more things change, the more they remain the same. The more you advocate for a better deal for the poor, the more they seek out their salvation from the same manacles tying them down. Perhaps the situation would have been different if they didn’t have the same rapacious elite as their pathfinders.

Human Cargo

Bang came the news: A cargo van with 59 minors had been intercepted by the police on its way from Kano to Nasarawa State. If you thought that the incidence of child trafficking under various guises or the negative interpretation of religious injunctions to keep the children of the poor perpetually down had gone with 2024, the fresh interception reminded you that you must not remove your hands from the plough of advocacy because the new year 2025 was barely six days old when it happened.

As the police commenced their investigations, a senator, Sumaila Kawu, representing Kano South in the Nigerian Senate intervened. He offered to take custody of the human cargo. He argued that the children’s movement was part of the almajiri system, a traditional practice where children migrate for Islamic education. Kawu assured the police that he would return the children to their families in Kano and criticised the police for wrongly labelling the practice as child trafficking.

According to the lawmaker, “The almajiri system is a legitimate educational tradition in Islam. While it needs regulation, it should not be misconstrued as trafficking,” Kawu stated. But why are the children of the political elite not among the almajiris?

With that turn of events, you really can’t weep more than the bereaved. We have advocated for donkey years that state and local governments in the northern part of the country where the almajiri system is in vogue, in concert with Islamic teachers and clerics, should help integrate the system with Western education and skill acquisition to give their children a chance of being economic players rather than beggars in future.

Mass Wedding

Senator Kawu obviously meant well for the children but his solution of returning them to their parents who had released them for the journey in the first place, will only lead to a repeat of the “cargorisation” of the children
Remember the case of a controversial mass wedding in Niger State in 2024?

The Speaker of the Niger State House of Assembly, Hon. Abdulamlik Sarkindaji, had announced his plans to sponsor the wedding of 100 orphaned girls to men approved by their families. That announcement drew the ire of the then Minister of Women Affairs, Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, who made her opposition known in her inimitably feisty style and dragged the speaker to court.

The issue was quite divisive in the sense that those who were used to seeing mass weddings sponsored by the rich didn’t see anything wrong in the speaker’s offer. Indeed, they saw him as a man to be emulated. On the other hand, “outsiders” like Mrs Kennedy-Ohaneye pointed out that many of the girls were minors without any kind of skill. They would be completely dependent on their indigent husbands thereby ensuring the perpetuation of poverty and an increase in the number of women suffering from vesico-vaginal fistula (VVF) which is rife among underage mothers.

While the speaker was convinced that the minister had overstepped her bounds, the ensuing national debate coalesced around the point that no one should continue using religion to keep the people down or engage in harmful traditional practices. Granted that there is a real problem of poverty in the country, it is also true that there are many opportunities at the lower rungs of the ladder waiting to be tapped. The mentality of railroading female children into marriage under the umbrella of moral rectitude belongs in ancient history.

During the COVID lockdown when there was supposed to be zero movement all over the country, cattle-laden trucks smuggled almajiris to southern states under the cover of darkness. Many states protested. At the time, one Joel Nwokeoma reported thus:

“Nigerians have in recent days been inundated with heartrending spectacles of human cargoes of mainly dishevelled lads surreptitiously packed like sardines in articulated vehicles and lorries from the North headed for the southern parts of Nigeria. The unsightly spectacles are splashed all over the pages of newspapers, online news portals and TV, with identical banner headlines like, ‘Ogun Intercepts Truck Carrying 30 Almajiris (Ripples Nigeria)’; ‘Two Truckloads of 120 Almajiris Intercepted At Gakem Border In Cross River, Sent Back To North, (Daily Post, May 11)’; ‘Another 189 Night Travellers From Katsina Arrested In Abuja (thewhistler.ng)’; ‘COVID-19: Residents Panic As Truck Dumps Almajiris From Sokoto In Ondo (May 5, Daily Post)’; ‘Enugu Govt Intercepts 9 Buses Relocating Almajiris From North (May 8)’; ‘Police Intercept 200 Lagos-Bound Almajiris From Katsina (SaharaReporters, May 10, 2020)’; ‘Security Operatives Intercept Truckload Of Almajiris Going To Abia’, (BusinessDay, May 5, 2020) and, ‘15 Men Hidden In Trailer Loaded With Cattle Intercepted In Enugu’, (The Guardian, May 13.)”

Baby For Sale

While the almajiri system has turned out to be a northern “disease”, if you look down south, you’ll also see that a different kind of demon is militating against children in that geographical space. One highlife song that reigned in our younger days went like this:
You can steal my money
You can steal my wife
But you cannot steal my child…
Not anymore! Now, they will steal your child and sell him/her to buy a bag of rice. There is a well-established cultic sorority that deals in selling kids. Some of the slave dealers acquire their children legitimately under the cover of running orphanages. There was a famous case several years ago where an orphanage was found to have sold virtually all the babies it acquired “legitimately”. Who is to tell what human beings will NOT do for money?

From Rivers State came the news that the Police Command had arrested a woman, Akudo Azoroh, for allegedly operating a baby factory. She kept a retinue of pregnant girls who came with their pregnancy with the hope of selling the babies when born. Depending on the baby’s gender, she revealed, a child could go for N1.4 to N1.5 million.

Whether we like to acknowledge it or not, we have allowed the economic downturn to desensitise us to the bestial proclivities to which many of our struggling people have succumbed. The thought that some people are having children they have no intention of rearing is frightening. The earlier we have that discussion on a national scale, the better. Perhaps through this, we may reclaim a tiny bit of our collective humanity which in recent years has been gifted to the god of Mammon.