In 1991, Nigeria was in the full throes of the interminable transition to civil rule programme of General Ibrahim Babangida. The effort by the regime in 1991 to relocate their terminal date from 1992 to 1993 coincided with a planned meeting in Ibadan, south-west Nigeria, of the leadership of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS). 

At the time, the security agencies had secreted on major campuses around the country assets masquerading as students. The University of Ibadan was no exception. The unsuspecting NANS leadership were taken by surprise when the SSS swooped on their meeting, abducted their entire lot and dumped them at the Kirikiri Maximum Security Prison in Lagos with notice to no one. The abductees included then-president of the NANS, Mahmud Aminu; their Svengali, Bamidele Aturu, as well as other notables in the movement such as Naseer Kura and Funso Omogbehin.

To make the grab look lawful, the regime issued a back-dated order for their detention under the State Security (Detention of Persons) Decree No. 2 of 1984 effectively making them hostages in law. On a routine professional visit to the Kirikiri Prisons in 1991 to see some other detainees, the then officer in charge (O/C) of records at the facility pulled me aside and whispered about the presence in the prison of the leadership of the NANS. Until then, nearly 10 days after they went missing, no one knew where they were. If Mungo Park had made the journey, the history books would probably have recorded that he “discovered” the then leadership of the NANS in Kirikiri Prisons. 

The lead lawyer for such matters then was Kanmi Isola-Osobu, a brilliant life bencher who was also a lawyer to Fela Anikulapo Kuti. Kanmi’s office was opposite Adekunle Police Station in Yaba, Lagos; beside Dr. Tunji Otegbeye’s hospital. There were no cellular phones. I visited Kanmi’s office on a Monday afternoon to brief him about the students in the hope that he could lead the legal proceedings on their behalf. He was busy. With a familiar glint lighting up his face, Kanmi later informed me that he had been busy lubricating the struggle.

The case went before Nureini Abiodun Kessington, whose court at the time had a deserved reputation as the graveyard of bloated professional egos. With subversive invention, Kessington promptly ended the abduction of the student leaders and ensured that they were released with no substantial interruption to their academic careers or lives thereafter. 

Those of us who became active against military rule then were inspired largely by two things. One was the hope that the end of military rule would see the end of such practice; the other was the dutiful resistance of some courageous judges like Kessington. In hindsight we may have been naïve about the nature of power and about the resilience of its methods. A quarter of a century after the end of military rule, the practice continues to prosper. To make matters worse, courageous judges appear to have become extinct.

First, the politicians discovered they could emulate the soldiers. In January 2017, Audu Maikori had been a lawyer for nearly sixteen years. He was a leader in entertainment law in Nigeria and president and chief executive officer of a thriving start-up in the sector known as Chocolate City Group, with interests in radio, television, events, movies, and music. A son of Southern Kaduna, Audu was also a powerful voice and amplifier for the sufferings of the people under then Governor of Kaduna state, Nasir el-Rufai.

On or around 17 February 2017, police officers from the Kaduna state command of the Nigeria Police Force abducted Audu from Lagos and embarked on a cross-country dash with him; first to Abuja where he was detained in the police cell in Asokoro. The following day they ferried him to Kaduna for further detention. After two days of detention, the police in Kaduna granted him bail.

It was in Kaduna that Audu discovered that his abduction was in connection with a post on his Twitter feed about the crisis in Southern Kaduna. A fortnight after Audu’s release on bail, Nasir el-Rufai while headlining the Social Media Week in Lagos on 4 March, promised that he was “trying to link the dates of [Audu’s tweets] to attacks that may have happened the next day on Fulanis and if we are able to establish that causation,…. we know what it means.” Under his orders, the police snatched Audu again and this time detained him in nasty conditions in the State Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS). He had become a hostage in law.

Audu subsequently sued el-Rufai and the police. On 27 October 2017, John Tsoho, then a judge of the federal high court, issued a judgment invalidating Audu’s abduction from Lagos. The judge held that “a warrant of arrest issued by a Magistrate in Kaduna was not valid for execution in Laos, except and until endorsed by a court in Lagos. Not even a warrant issued by a state high court can be validly executed in another state without endorsement by a competent court within the state where it is to be executed.” He awarded N40 million in damages against Governor el-Rufai. After the court of appeal reaffirmed the essence of the judgment by the federal high court, el-Rufai appealed to the supreme court to assert his right to abduct Nigerian citizens at will and hold them as his own hostages in law. 

Two years later, judges and magistrates invented jurisprudence to ground the practice of hostage-taking through law. Unlike in Audu’s case, the police officers who abducted Steven Kefason from Port Harcourt in May 2019 could not even be bothered with a warrant. After snatching Steven, they secreted him in a cell in Mini Koro, Rivers state overnight before ferrying him by road in a brutal ride to Kaduna. Over three days, they denied him food, access to communication or personal sanitation.

In Kaduna, Steven was interrogated in equally brutal conditions under the personal supervision of the governor’s legal adviser. The reason for the abduction – it turned out – was a tweet by Steven around 20 April 2019 in which he said that “while over 12k Kajuru IDPs are living in a terrible condition, their LG chairman, Cafra Caino, was hosting his old school mates to a birthday party at Kajuru Castle….” The facts were not in dispute but el-Rufai nevertheless instructed the abduction of Steven on charges of incitement and injurious falsehood. One month after Steven’s initial abduction, the magistrate in Kaduna denied him bail on 20 June 2019 because, according to the magistrate, “while on bail, [he] further made social media posts further insulting the person of the Governor and that of the Chairman of Kaduna and Kajuru LGAs respectively.”

On February 27, 2020, Peter Mallong, a judge of the federal high court in Kaduna, denied Steven’s request for judicial review of his abduction and the decision of the magistrate claiming, in an extraordinary travesty of jurisprudence that he was bound by the decision of the magistrate to deny bail because the issues were the same and the parties were largely the same. Following his abduction, Steven suffered as hostage in law for over six months with no redress and came close to losing his life. The injustice of the judgment cried out to the Heavens for redress. 

In July 2023, Peter Mallong died at 60. 

Those who wonder how the country ended up with the utterly shameful charade being orchestrated in a squalid courtroom in Ekiti in the case of Dele Farotimi have Peter Mallong to thank for having written the manual on judicial enablement of the practice of rendering citizens into hostages in law. This narrative has wider ramifications.

A lawyer and a teacher, Odinkalu can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

The case of Dele Farotimi, a lawyer and author, has raised concerns about the treatment of individuals by the police and courts in Nigeria, particularly in libel cases. Farotimi who has just been granted another bail was arrested and detained following a petition by Afe Babalola, a prominent lawyer, who alleged that Farotimi’s book, “Nigeria and its Criminal Justice System,” contained defamatory statements against him. The petition led to Farotimi’s arrest by the Ekiti State Police Command, who then arraigned him before a magistrate court. The court granted an order remanding Farotimi in prison custody.

This curious case has sparked worries about free speech in a democracy. The arrest and detention of Farotimi have been seen as an attempt to silence him and stifle criticism of the Nigerian justice system. The fact that the libel case against Farotimi hasn’t been properly filed has also raised concerns about the misuse of the legal system to intimidate and harass individuals. Ultimately, this case highlights the need for greater protections for free speech in Nigeria and the importance of ensuring that the legal system is not used to silence critics and stifle dissent.

Meanwhile, as the civil society organisations including the media have been worried about the case that has led to continued detention of the lawyer is still dominating public discourse, there are some remarkable lessons about the same libel case by one of the world’s greatest complainants against the media, in fact, the President-elect of the United States, Donald Trump who actually tagged the U.S mainstream media as “the enemies of the people”. The former president actually sued a major television network ABC News and here are some of the outcomes so far all of us including the elder statesman, Aare Afe Babalola can learn from.

The recent $15 million libel settlement between Donald Trump and ABC News is a significant development that offers valuable lessons for media outlets, politicians, and the public. At the heart of the dispute was a comment made by George Stephanopoulos, claiming that Trump was found liable for rape, which was said to be inaccurate.

‘Significance of the Settlement’
The settlement is a substantial win for Trump, who has long accused mainstream media of bias and defamation. The $15 million payout, along with an apology and an editor’s note from ABC News, demonstrates that media outlets can be held accountable for inaccurate reporting. This settlement also highlights the challenges of reporting on high-profile individuals, particularly in today’s polarised media landscape. The case serves as a reminder that even slight inaccuracies can lead to costly legal battles and reputational damage.

‘Lessons for media outlets’
There are significant lessons for media outlets and media law scholars in this regard:
Accuracy is paramount: The settlement emphasises the importance of accuracy in reporting. Media outlets must ensure that their reporting is thorough, accurate, and unbiased to avoid costly lawsuits.

Clear apologies and corrections: ABC News’s apology and editor’s note demonstrate the importance of clear and prompt corrections. Media outlets must be willing to acknowledge and correct mistakes to maintain credibility.

Understanding of legal nuances: The case highlights the importance of understanding legal nuances and complexities. Media outlets must ensure that their reporting accurately reflects the complexities of legal cases.

Lessons for Politicians
Consequences of litigation: The settlement demonstrates that litigation can have significant consequences, financially and can affect reputation. Politicians must be cautious when pursuing legal action, as it can backfire and damage their reputation.

Importance of media relations: The case highlights the importance of maintaining positive relationships with media outlets. Politicians must work to build trust with journalists and media outlets to avoid misreporting and defamation.

Thick skin and strategic communication: Politicians must develop a thick skin and strategic communication skills to navigate the challenges of modern media. This includes being prepared to address inaccuracies and misinformation promptly and effectively. There may not be any smooth relationship between Trump and the mainstream media in his second term as Elon Musk, Trump’s most trusted digital media baron, has already declared the mainstream media persona non grata in the new media ecosystem in the United States.

Broader Implications
The settlement has broader implications for the media landscape and the relationship between politicians and the press. It highlights the challenges of reporting on high-profile individuals and the importance of accuracy, fairness, and transparency in journalism.

In the main, the ABC News $15 million libel settlement to Trump serves as a reminder of the importance of responsible journalism and the need for media outlets to prioritise accuracy and fairness in their reporting.

The nexus between strategy of Trump and Babalola
The ABC $15 million libel settlement to Trump and Afe Babalola’s use of the court and police to detain Dele Farotimi, author of a book he claims defames him, may seem like unrelated cases, but they share some common lessons.

Power of libel laws: Both cases highlight the power of libel laws in holding individuals and media outlets accountable for false or damaging statements. Afe Babalola’s actions demonstrate that individuals can use libel laws to protect their reputation but without having to use the police to torture the accused, while the ABC settlement shows that media outlets can also be held liable for false reporting.

Importance of fact-checking: The ABC settlement payment to Trump emphasises the importance of fact-checking in journalism. Similarly, Afe Babalola’s case against Dele Farotimi highlights the need for authors and publishers to verify the accuracy of their content to avoid libel claims.

Consequences of false reporting: Both cases demonstrate the consequences of alleged false reporting, which can lead to financial losses, damage to reputation, and even long-drawn litigation.

Need for media literacy: The ABC News settlement case underscores the need for media literacy and critical thinking in consuming information. The ABC News case, for instance highlights the importance of verifying information through reputable sources to avoid spreading misinformation.

In conclusion, while the ABC settlement payment to Trump and Afe Babalola’s case against Dele Farotimi may seem like unrelated cases, they share common lessons about the power of libel laws, the importance of fact-checking, the consequences of inaccurate reporting, and the need for media (law) literacy.

But Elder Babalola should also consider 10 reasons most leaders, politicians and business barons avoid defamation lawsuit:

Fear of scrutiny: Defamation lawsuits can lead to increased scrutiny of their activities, which may expose their corrupt and unethical practices.

Loss of reputation: A defamation lawsuit can damage their reputation, even if they win the case.

The negative publicity surrounding the lawsuit can be detrimental to their business and personal interests.

Financial consequences: Defamation lawsuits can be costly, and the financial consequences of losing a case can be significant.

Fear of discovery: During a defamation lawsuit, the discovery process may reveal information that the corrupt and unethical barons would rather keep hidden.

Intimidation tactics: Corrupt and unethical barons may use intimidation tactics, such as threatening to sue for defamation, to silence critics and avoid accountability.

Lack of transparency: Unclean barons may operate in opaque environments, making it difficult for critics to gather evidence and build a strong case against them.

Influence and power: Corrupt barons may have significant influence and power, which can be used to silence critics and avoid accountability.

Fear of retaliation: Critics may fear retaliation from filthy barons, including physical harm, financial ruin, or damage to their reputation.

Limited access to justice: In some cases, corrupt barons may have significant resources and influence, making it difficult for critics to access justice.

Culture of impunity: In some environments, corrupt barons may operate with a sense of impunity, believing that they are above the law and that they can avoid accountability.

Meanwhile, appeals for Dele Farotimi to apologize to Afe Babalola before a proper trial are misguided and can undermine the principles of justice and free speech. Here are several reasons why:
Presumption of innocence: In any democratic society, an individual is presumed innocent until proven guilty. By demanding an apology before a trial, Babalola’s supporters are essentially presuming Farotimi’s guilt.

Undermining free speech: The demand for an apology can be seen as an attempt to stifle free speech and criticism. Farotimi, as an author and lawyer, has the right to express his opinions and critique the justice system.

Lack of due process: A proper trial ensures that due process is followed, and both parties have an opportunity to present their cases. By demanding an apology before a trial, Babalola’s supporters are circumventing this process.

Apology as admission of guilt: An apology can be perceived as an admission of guilt. By demanding an apology before a trial, Babalola’s supporters are essentially asking Farotimi to admit to defamation without a proper investigation or trial.

Precedent for Intimidation: If Farotimi is pressured into apologising before a trial, it sets a dangerous precedent for intimidation and silencing of critics. This can have a chilling effect on free speech and open criticism.

Disregard for the rule of law: The demand for an apology before a trial disregards the rule of law and the principles of justice. It is essential to allow the legal process to unfold without external pressure or interference.

Let’s examine why libel case should not be treated as if we were going to war: Already, there are curiosities surrounding the claims by Chief Afe Babalola, SAN, that a younger lawyer, Dele Farotimi, defamed him in a book on the judiciary. For this, the police had invaded Farotimi’s chambers, assaulted his staff, threatened two of his lawyers with guns and, practically abducted the lawyer. He was first dragged in handcuffs before a Magistrate Court in Ado Ekiti, Chief Babalola’s hometown where he is a legend. The Magistrate first denied Farotimi bail. While the bail conditions were being argued, the Inspector General of Police Kayode Egebtokun had Farotimi brought from prison to a High Court to face new charges: cybercrimes. Another bail was granted in this case which Farotimi had not perfected at press time.  Then while still being held in prison, Babalola and his supporters filed more charges against Farotimi before courts in Abuja, Ibadan and Port Harcourt.

The Babalola Chambers additionally, petitioned the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee to remove Farotimi from the roll of Nigerian legal practitioners. But in the case of Donald Trump vs ABC News, the ABC News anchor, George Staphanopoulos who allegedly claimed that Trump was found guilty for rape wasn’t arrested by the U.S police high command, nor was the ABC News operations disrupted at any time before the influential news organisation opted for the settlement of $16m dollars. What if elder Afe Babalola had filed a lawsuit against Dele Farotimi without humiliating him, would that have made any difference? Why is the accused being tried in Ado-Ekiti at the instance of the accuser in a democracy? Is this a warning signal to those who would like to deconstruct and critique the current systemic malaise in the country? Let’s manage allegation of defamation like Trump and his supporters. The trial of Dele is becoming messy and complicated. Simplify and dignify it, AGF!

Very soon, Chinese boys and girls will be selling pure water on our highways. Many of them will out-sprint our own hawkers and there will be messy street fights. Write down that prediction and remember to acknowledge my copyright to that prophecy when it comes to pass.

But, wait! What prediction are we talking about when we already have hundreds of thousands of Chinese nationals all over Nigeria – from the aquatic splendour of Lagos to the arid wonders of Sokoto. The Chinese have embedded themselves into our society unobtrusively. They have meshed with our communities and, if I may borrow an expression invented by Prof Wole Soyinka, many of them have not only frolicked here but also wifed here.

I have seen mixed race children with Chinese features in many rural communities in Northern Nigeria. You can’t miss their facial features – almond-shaped or slanted eyes with pronounced epicanthic folds, dark irises, flat noses, prominent cheekbones and flat facial features. The Chinese are members of the Mongoloid race – one of the three main races in the world, the others being Negroids and Caucasoids.

Invasion

The current Chinese invasion of our urban and rural spaces is intriguing because the Asian immigrants, unlike their caucasian counterparts, live, wine and dine with the local people and are therefore, to some extent, stakeholders in the affairs of those communities. Their children won’t be regarded as immigrants but as locals. Someday, they will claim their political and traditional rights and provide leadership for fellow local “brothers and sisters”.

That, however, is not the worrying aspect of the massive emigration of Chinese nationals to Nigeria. It is normal for people all over the world to seek better livelihood in other lands. What is worrisome is the capacity of the newcomers to outnumber the original natives. When you’re talking numbers, the Chinese are heavyweight champions. I checked the current population of that country in real time as I was writing this piece and it was 1,417,794,773. The US comedian, Richard Pryor, would tell you the hidden connotation of having that huge population, “A billion people, that’s some…!

To further contextualise the matter, we simply have to remember that the population of the entire continent of Africa is 1.5 billion.

China has the capacity to “neutralize” the numerical strength of several Nigerian ethnic nationalities. If the Chinese decide on a programme of encouraging 15 percent of their population to settle in Africa with Nigeria as a favourite honey pot, they will be the largest single homogenous ethnic block within most of the individual countries and will rightly determine its fortunes, based on the mantra of one-man-one-vote.

Just consider the figures: 15 percent of their population is 212,700,000, enough to distribute all over Africa and emerge as the most populous ethnic group in many countries of the continent. Imagine if there was a 40 million Chinese population in Nigeria! If you analyse figures coming out of Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), it will take some doing to outvote or out-rig the hypothetical Chinese!

I’m not advocating a Trump-style “nationalist” racial cleansing, neither am I oblivious of the positive contribution of some foreigners of Chinese descent to the manufacturing sector of Nigeria’s economy. I am rather interested in seeing the bad eggs among the lot identified and removed from circulation as the law demands.

Demarketing Nigeria

I have been a victim of racial profiling in some foreign airports on account of the categorisation of Nigerians as pathological criminals. To discover that some of the cybercrime for which Nigerians have been classified as past masters were actually designed, orchestrated and supervised by Chinese nationals operating in Nigeria in plain sight is, therefore, galling.

Just the other day, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) blew the lid off one of such Chinese-led criminal outfits operating from a seven-storey building in Victoria Island, Lagos.

There were 792 suspects in all, including 148 Chinese, 40 Filipinos, two Kazakhstani, one Pakistani and one Indonesian.

The foreign nationals used the facility to train their Nigerian accomplices on how to initiate romance and investment scams and also used the identities of their Nigerian accomplices to perpetrate criminal activities. It is a massive computer-based operation.

Nigerian accomplices, who are assigned WhatsApp accounts linked to foreign telephone numbers, especially from Germany and Italy, engage victims in romantic conversations as well as phantom business and investment discussions to trick them to shop on the purported online investment shopping platform called www.yooto.com.

So far, the EFCC investigations have shown that the Nigerian accomplices don’t know who the real owners of the “company” they work for are, because the workers are not offered letters of appointment and are usually paid either in cash or through a private account.
I see a big problem looming in the horizon if Chinese nationals continue to come to Nigeria to establish criminal enterprises using Nigerian names. Had the shoe been on the other foot as indeed happened several times in some foreign countries in the past, the media would be agog with news of Nigerians duping the Chinese. Now it is the Chinese who are duping Nigerians and also swindling the whole world using Nigerian names to commit the crimes.

Criminals

In the northern part of the country, the Chinese are all over the mines stealing mineral resources and establishing protection rings. They have become part of the “insecurity architecture” of the country. I hear that they also run human trafficking rings operating under “Omerta-style” codes of secrecy. They sell goats and may soon start selling “pure water”. In the Southeast (Enugu) recently, one of them was nabbed for attempting to smuggle out some precious stones mined in the state.

Many of these foreign criminals enter the country on 90-day visas and remain here even though they are out of status because we don’t do due diligence after allowing them into our country. It probably would have been tolerable if they speak well of Nigeria outside. No, many of them feel superior to blacks generally. In words and deeds they show that they have no respect for Africans.

Four years ago, during the COVID scourge, blacks were singled out for special ostracisation and dehumanisation in Guangzhou Province of China. In my column in Daily Trust at the time, I wrote a piece titled “Racist China”:

“Some Africans resident in Guangzhou are now virtually destitute and are looking for any opportunity to return home. Many of them claim they are treated like lepers in public and targeted for additional COVID-19 tests without ever seeing the results. The police and public health bureau in Guangzhou claimed that officials had responded to false rumours that 300,000 black people in Guangzhou were setting off a second epidemic. How can black people be so accused when it is widely suspected that the origin of COVID-19 is linked to the Chinese propensity of eating anything with four legs except a table – maggots, scorpions, millipedes, roaches, bats, lizards, worms, etc” (https://dailytrust.com/racist-china/)

Destroy The Armada

Nigeria’s Interior Minister, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has his work cut out. This “Armada” of undesirables must be routed.

And I ask the Chinese, how can you treat my people like excrement in your own country and then compound my existence by coming to my country to commit crimes in my name? Whoever does that and expects to walk free in my backyard?

“But she spoke the truth.” That is the most common retort among the diehard fans and devotees of Mrs Kemi Badenoch — leader of the UK Conservative Party — who has been obsessed with saying nasty things about Nigeria since she made her way into the front row of British politics and started glowing under the klieg lights. She has said so many “truths” at a dizzying speed that I am slightly confused over what she intends to achieve. She said she left Nigeria in 1996 after “leftist policies” impoverished the middle class and caused “hyperinflation”.  She said Yoruba “have nothing in common with northern Nigeria”. She said lizards, rather than water, flow from Nigerian taps.

I intend to, hereunder, challenge some of her egregious claims. To be clear, she has every right to say anything with her mouth. If she experienced trauma in Nigeria, she is free to tell the whole world. Nobody has the right to silence her. But there is one right she doesn’t have: to tell lies, misrepresent the facts or fan ethnic hate in a delicately poised country like Nigeria. Nigerians have every right to tackle her mischief. Her defenders say those who disagree with her utterances are only defending bad governance in the land. Thankfully, Mrs Badenoch did not invent criticism of bad governance in Nigeria. Nigerians do that every day in the media and on the streets. I do it regularly on this page.

Of all the awful things she said, the most disturbing is her promotion of ethnic bigotry. This woman is dangerous. Listen to her: “I find it interesting that everybody defines me as being Nigerian. I identify less with the country than with the specific ethnicity [Yoruba]. That’s what I really am. I have nothing in common with the people from the north of the country, the Boko Haram where the Islamism is. Those were our ethnic enemies and yet you end up being lumped in with those people.” This really excited her Nigerian fan base. Her father, the late Prof Olufemi Adegoke, a Yoruba nationalist, held similar views and even campaigned for the utopian “confederalism” which no country practises.

“But she spoke the truth.” But what manner of “truth” is her claim that Yoruba and northern Nigeria “had nothing in common”? Yoruba started interacting with northerners through commerce as far back as the 1500s. Fact. For centuries, they traded in cattle, kola nuts, horses, yams, cowries, firearms and glass beads. According to historians, the ethnonym ‘Yoruba’ — which Mrs Badenoch says defines her — was coined by northerners. I know some people are trying to re-write this fact but they have to travel back in time to erase history. They can argue that Yoruba and northerners should never have been in the same country, but they are not allowed to cannibalise the facts of history.

I have a sense that Mrs Badenoch is only repeating what she was told at home or what she read on social media. I will encourage her to go beyond hearsay and read good books. I recommend ‘A History of the Yoruba People’, authored by Prof Adebanji Akintoye, a supporter of Sunday Igboho, the Yoruba Nation separatist. Her father once described Igboho as “brave” for his secessionist rhetoric. She can also read ‘The Yoruba: A New History’, authored by Dr Akinwumi Ogundiran, a history professor at the Northwestern University, the US. Mrs Badenoch will be sad to discover the history of Yoruba intercourse with northerners and how this influenced culture and the Yoruba language.

It is obvious that Mrs Badenoch does not even know that the ethnonym ‘Yoruba’ did not refer to her own ancestors before colonial rule. ‘Yoruba’ was the identity of the Oyo-speaking people in today’s Oyo state and parts of Osun and Kwara states. Not all the people who call themselves ‘Yoruba’ today were called ‘Yoruba’ before colonial rule. The example I always cite — because it is easily on record — is Nigeria’s first newspaper which was established in 1859. It was named ‘Iwe Irohin fun Awon Egba ati Yoruba’ (‘Newspaper for Egba and Yoruba’). As of 1859, Egba people were not identified as Yoruba. Today’s pan-Yoruba identity, like most ethnic identities around the world, evolved with time.

Lest I forget, Mrs Badenoch said northerners “were our ethnic enemies”. My recommended reading for her in this regard would be ‘War and Peace in Yorubaland 1793-1893’, written by the late Prof Adeagbo Akinjogbin. She will be shocked to read about the intra-Yoruba wars: the Owo War (1820-1827), the Ijaye War (1860-1865) and the Kiriji War (1877-1893). Indeed, we can argue that the advent of colonialism and the “Lord Lugard lumping” of 1914 helped bring peace to what later became known as Yorubaland. Mrs Badenoch obviously thinks there was a lovey-dovey Republic of Oduduwa before the colonial masters came and “lumped in” her people with Boko Haram. Fantasy.

“But she spoke the truth.” She classified a region of 19 states as “Boko Haram”. She does not know that the north has nearly 200 ethnic groups (and millions of non-terrorists). In Borno state, the heartland of Boko Haram, most of the terror victims are Muslims. Fact. In this age and with all her education, exposure and experience in a multi-racial and multi-cultural society like the UK, I wonder how she plans to preside over a country where the Scottish, Welsh, Irish, and English people are “lumped in” — to say nothing about the millions from ethnic and religious minorities. She acquired British citizenship by birth; maybe she needs a crash course on the complex history of the UK.

Born to Nigerian parents in a British hospital in 1980, she was named “Oluwakemi” (incidentally, one of my younger sisters answers that lovely name, which, roughly translated, means “the Lord pampers me” or “the Lord blesses me”). Baby Oluwakemi was thereafter brought to Lagos, Nigeria, where she lived the first sixteen years of her life and received her basic education. A couple of years after her birth, the Nigerian economy ran into a serious storm amid a global recession. Dwindling oil revenues and the inevitable forex crunch forced many Nigerian factories to close down or retrench workers. The Shehu Shagari administration rolled out a mini reform package nicknamed “austerity measures”.

As prices of goods and services soared and economic pains intensified, the military overthrew Shagari on December 31, 1983. Major Gen Muhammadu Buhari became the head of state. The economy still did not improve much, even though oil prices recovered — and Buhari was overthrown by Gen Ibrahim Babangida on August 27, 1985. Babangida went on to implement the structural adjustment programme (SAP) — a reform package backed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank. The objectives were to transit to market economy through privatisation, grow agriculture, promote local industry, ramp up exports and cut subsidies to reduce government debts.

“But she spoke the truth.” What truth? When Mrs Badenoch left Nigeria in 1996, Nigeria was neck-deep in its market transition. The second-tier foreign exchange market (SFEM) was introduced in 1986 to liberalise the forex market. The naira crashed from roughly N1/$ in 1986 to N22/$ in 1996 (N88/$ in the parallel market). With an economy tied to imports, inflation was inevitable. Was SAP a leftist policy? Is forex liberalisation a leftist policy? Is privatisation leftist? Are IMF and World Bank leftist institutions? What truth, exactly? Meanwhile, when she relocated, Nigeria was still reeling from the June 12 annulment crisis which had paralysed the country politically and economically.

Her brother’s experience with the Nigerian police (“they stole his shoes and wristwatch”) is something Nigerians can relate with. After all, our youths held the #EndSARS protests against police atrocities in 2020. Definitely, the British police, which she praised, are better trained, better resourced and far more professional than ours. No argument. But in the year up to March 31, 2024, nearly 600 police officers were sacked in England and Wales for sexual offences, possession of child exploitation material, dishonesty and discriminatory behaviour. There is the famous case of David Carrick, a police officer who raped 48 women while on duty. Yes, she spoke the truth. Selective truth.

She talks exactly like those clout-chasers who think belittling Nigeria abroad is a ticket to glory. Responding to Vice-President Kashim Shettima’s caution over her unprovoked attacks, her aide said it is not her job to do PR for Nigeria. Fair enough. Her job is to urinate on Nigeria everywhere she goes. But think about it. President Barack Obama’s father was from Kenya. Rishi Sunak, ex-UK prime minister, has Indian roots. Humza Yousaf, ex-Scotland first minister, and Sadiq Khan, mayor of London, have Pakistani origin. Despite similar “truths” about their ancestral countries, they never open their mouths, like our dear Mrs Badenoch, to savage their roots. Emotional intelligence.

Now, my final words to Mrs Badenoch: grow up. You have already made history as the first black to lead the Tories. That is monumental. Work hard to become the next prime minister. Make history again. That is all you care about. But by outing yourself as an ethnic bigot, you are hurting yourself, not Nigeria. Denigrating us will not win your party more parliamentary seats. You behave like someone with a complex — like those slaves who felt privileged to supervise fellow slaves and often treated them with more disdain than the slave masters themselves. By the way, Mrs Badenoch, there is a Yoruba noun for those who point to their family house with the left hand. Go and find out.

AND FOUR OTHER THINGS…

STAMPEDE SEASON

As many as 35 children were crushed to death in Ibadan, Oyo state, on Wednesday at a carnival. Three days later, several people died in stampedes in Anambra and Abuja induced by distribution of foodstuffs. These things happen all the time. In February 2024, seven people died while scrambling for subsidised rice being sold by Customs in Lagos. People blame it on economic hardship but how good are we when it comes to crowd management — hunger or no hunger? What are the protocols? Who enforces them? Who gets punished when things go south? Most importantly, what lessons do we learn from these recurring tragedies? We wail, probe, threaten, move on, rinse, repeat. Painful.

LAWLESS LAWMAKERS

You think the obstacle to Nigeria’s progress is the 1999 constitution? How do you explain the recent decision of the Edo state house of assembly to suspend all the 18 council chairpersons and their deputies? The house said it was acting on a petition by Governor Monday Okpebholo alleging misappropriation of funds. However, the Supreme Court — the highest court in the land — determined not so long ago that the local governments have financial and administrative autonomy. There is no constitutional provision for the dissolution or suspension of councils by the executive or legislature. And just five months after the landmark pronouncement, this happened. Dangerous.

BEST MAN LOOKMAN

The story of Ademola Lookman, the Nigerian international who has just been crowned CAF Men’s Player of the Year, is straight from the book of grass to grace. I started following his career in 2017 when he was at Everton in the English Premier League. Several years of being loaned out or shipped from one midtable club to the other made it look like he was not destined for the top. He finally found his mojo when he moved to Atalanta of Italy in 2022 and also got called up to the Super Eagles, despite having been born in England and having played for their youth teams. He has now turned mediocrity to excellence. At 27, his best may just be coming. Better late than never. Inspiring.

NO COMMENT

One person will steal public funds running into billions of naira and get a slap on the wrist. Another will steal groundnuts and people will shout “catch am catch am, thief thief thief” and stone him to death. One Segun Olowookere is on death row for stealing a chicken and eggs in 2010 when he was a teenager. The problem here is the archaic law. If you rob with a pen (not even with a gun), it is classified as armed robbery and punishable by death. If you steal billions without being armed, it is punishable by imprisonment. Aren’t these laws archaic? They need to be reviewed to reflect proportionality. How can someone get the death penalty for stealing chicken and eggs? Wonderful.