
OTHERS' VIEWS
I have in the last quarter of a century (since 2001) written dozens of columns on how ancient animosities have fed a spiral of violence in Plateau State. ‘Fire from the Mountains’, followed the July 2012 brutal killing of then Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Gyang Dantong and then Majority Leader of the Plateau State House of Assembly, Gyang Fulani by gunmen during a mass burial for victims of an earlier attack on villages in Barkin Ladi and Riyom local government area. ‘A Cycle of Multilateral Killings’ recounted the anguish of thousands of people being gruesomely murdered or maimed, communities razed, huge swarths of farmlands destroyed and hundreds of thousands made perpetual refugees in their own country. There have been numerous others.
Within the same period, the United States-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) has done several extensive reports on what started as an economy/ecology problem before ethnic and religious dimensions, combined with old grievances, ignited the violence that has refused to go away. Some of these publications include, ‘Jos: A City Torn Apart’, ‘Nigeria: Revenge in the Name of Religion: The Conflict in Yelwa’, ‘Leave Everything to God: Accountability for Inter-Communal Violence in Plateau and Kaduna States, Nigeria’ etc. In one of their reports, HRW indicted authorities in our country for “taking no meaningful steps to address underlying grievances” or bring to justice those responsible for the massacre of innocent people, “often in horrific circumstances”.
The main concern now is that several of our communities across the country have today become killings fields. Only on Monday, former Senate President David Mark decried the killings in Otukpo, Agatu, Apa and many other communities in Benue State where he hails from. On Tuesday, both the Kebbi Governor, Nasir Idris, and his Borno counterpart, Babagana Zulum, cried out about the growing capacity of criminal gangs in their respective states. While the former lamented that the Lakurawa group seems to be gaining more ground, Zulum’s concern is about Boko Haram resurgence. “Many military locations were dislodged, especially in Wulgo, Sabongari, Wajirko among others,” Zulum said in Maiduguri. “It seems we are losing ground, and this is a very important thing that we need to discuss.”
But my immediate concern is in Plateau State and what Governor Caleb Mutfwang has described as genocidal killings. As of last weekend, the death toll from the massive attacks launched on Mangor, Tamiso, Daffo, Manguna, Hurti, and Tadai communities in Bokkos Local Government Area (LGA) of the state had risen to 52. This followed the recovery of more corpses by search teams after combing nearby bushes for missing persons. “As I am talking to you, there are not less than 64 communities that have been taken over by bandits on the Plateau between Bokkos, Barkin Ladi and Riyom local government areas,” Mutfwang said on Tuesday. “They (communities) have been taken over, renamed, and people are living there conveniently on lands they pushed people away to occupy.”
I must commend Mutfwang for the mature manner in which he has handled the crisis in the last two years and for urging restraint in response to the latest killings. “We strongly urge citizens to exercise restraint and refrain from taking the law into their own hands,” said the state Commissioner of Information and Communication, Joyce Ramnap, who confirmed that some arrests have been made in connection with the attacks. “We call on religious, traditional, and community leaders to reinforce the message of peace, unity, and lawful engagement.”
As it is with all problems that result from a mix of land, ethnicity and religion, there are no easy solutions to the perennial crisis in Plateau State. But the bigger issue is that the Nigerian state seems to be losing the capacity for its primary responsibility: security of lives and property. In its latest report, the Cheta Nwanze-led SBM Intelligence revealed how the escalating conflict between herders and farming communities in the Middle Belt has not only spread South but also now threating the fabrics of our country. “Nigeria’s pastoral conflict has evolved from localised grazing disputes into one of the country’s most pressing security challenges, now affecting multiple regions and threatening national stability,” the SBM wrote. “The violence, primarily between Fulani herders and farming communities, has spread southward from its Middle Belt epicentre, intensifying in states like Edo and Ondo while maintaining its devastating grip on Benue, Nasarawa and Plateau.” The crisis “has also metastasised, merging with banditry and kidnapping networks. Disturbingly, complicity within affected communities – including alleged intelligence-sharing with attackers for financial gain – has complicated counter-violence efforts.”
Beyond the situation in Plateau State, it is also important for the federal government to pay attention to what is happening in rural communities across the country. “Most of the herdsmen you see all over the place, whether in the north or south…are employees of a larger terror network. They kidnap but the ransom does not go to them”, a senior security officer once told me as I recounted in my 2021 column, ‘Criminal Cartels on the Loose’, which dwelt on the complexities of our national security challenge. “Many of them are from Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso…That these kidnappers kill, maim and rape is bad enough. That they are identified as belonging to a certain ethnic colouration is the problem,” I wrote back then.
Now that we have descended to the level in which retired military Generals are creating WhatsApp groups for the purpose of contributing ransom money to pay kidnappers for the release of their colleagues, I don’t know how much lower we can sink as a nation. But the bigger issue is the profiling that comes with this criminality. When a national security challenge is framed around identity, as it is in Nigeria today, its management requires more than a knee-jerk approach. I just hope President Bola Tinubu and his team can appreciate that before it is too late.
Kehiku’s Wedding, Irabor’s Reunion Soiree
‘Segun, come here!’ The voice was unmistakable. But as I greeted Mr Eluem Emeka Izeze, who took a gamble on me with the job of a Staff Reporter at The Guardian Newspaper two months after my NYSC Primary assignment in December 1990, I heard another familiar voice, ‘Just look at you!’ It was Mrs Ruth Benamaisia-Opia, the ageless veteran broadcaster of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) fame. And then, other old faces began to appear in what became a festival of the movers and shakers of Nigerian journalism of a certain generation.
I was in Owa-Oyibu in the Agbor area of Delta State last weekend to attend the wedding of Kehiku Toluwalase Irabor to his heartthrob, Nadia. Although Kehiku had his own crowd, including from the Diaspora, they were overwhelmed by those who were there for his wonderful parents, Nduka and Ebele Irabor. In fact, most of the guests were from Irabor’s two and a half constituencies: Media and Football with the half being politics, having been a member of the House of Representatives for eight years between 1999 to 2007.
Not surprisingly, most of the journalists in Agbor had a link with The Guardian newspaper where Irabor made his mark and was sent to jail for doing his duty. The Rutam House Alumni members included Kayode Komolafe, Tony Okonedo, Tommy Odemwingie, Abdul Oroh, Chukwudi Abiandu, Chuks Anyaso, Paul Nwabuikwu, Jackson Ekwugum, Bosah Iwobi, Yemi Ajayi and many others. There were also veteran broadcast journalists: Bayo Awosemo, Bimbo ‘Angel’ Sowoolu, Tonia Agetua whose late husband also worked with The Guardian, Magnus Onyibe and others. Friends like Shina Badaru, Ayo Eso, Chiedu Ebie were also around. So were football people like Messrs Tony Nnacheta, Austin Eguavoen, Samson Siasia, and National Sports Commission (NSC) Chairman, Shehu Dikko. Deacon Tom Ogboe, Chief Augustine Onwumere, Mrs Maryam Uwais and many others were also with us. Of course, two former Governors of Delta State, Chief James Ibori and Dr Ifeanyi Okowa also attended the ceremony chaired by THISDAY/ARISE chairman, Prince Nduka Obaigbena.
As an aside, the report for which Irabor went to jail 41 years ago has been confirmed to be accurate. It all started in April 1984, four months after toppling the Second Republic, when Major General Muhammadu Buhari (now, former president) promulgated Decree 4 (Public Officers Protection Against False Publications). The law empowered the federal military government to close any media house deemed to be ‘acting in a manner detrimental to national interest’ and jail journalists for any reports that ‘bring government officials into ridicule or disrepute.’ It was under this draconian law that Irabor and Tunde Thompson were tried and jailed for refusing to divulge the source of a story about ambassadorial postings.
In his 2022 memoir, ‘All Eyes on Me’ (for which I wrote the foreword), Major General Haldu Hananiya (rtd) revealed how he was initially listed to be posted to Washington DC until the American State Department said they would not accept a serving General as Nigerian ambassador. “That was when it was decided I would be posted to the United Kingdom as the High Commissioner.” But before the postings were released, Irabor and Thompson broke a story in The Guardian that IBM Haruna (then also a serving General) would replace Hananiya as High Commissioner to the UK. Meanwhile, the reporters had no inkling about the cold calculations that informed the decision which then explained why the leakage riled the Buhari-Idiagbon regime.
In his recollection, Hananiya wrote about some ethno-religious cold calculations prior to the posting: “I didn’t pay much attention to the rumour until The Guardian broke the story about IBM Haruna replacing me. It was the story that sent Nduka Irabor and Tunde Thompson to prison. It was because Buhari and Idiagbon were embarrassed that their plan leaked that they enacted Decree Four to punish the journalists. Of course, there were denials, but I later confirmed the story to be true. There was indeed an attempt to replace my name with Haruna. But for the story, they probably would have posted me to another country and send Haruna to the UK. But following the publication, which they denied, I went to the UK.”
All that, of course, is now history but then, Irabor is a man of history, especially when it comes to military rule in Nigeria. In a recent memoir, General Ibrahim Babangida denied authorising the statement released by Irabor—who was spokesman to then Chief of General Staff (Babangida’s deputy), the late Admiral Augustus Aikhomu—annulling the June 12 (1993) presidential election. Irabor is yet to speak on the issue but in a WhatsApp exchange with Awosemo three weeks ago, he made humour of it. “The Duke, as a news man, I heard there is a wedding in the family,” Awosemo, another NTA veteran who was also Manager, Media and Public Relations at Addax Petroleum Development (Nigeria) Ltd before becoming the Deputy Managing Director at ARISE Television, had written to Irabor. “Your sources are issuing unsigned, badly written statements on scrap paper”, replied Irabor who added two laughter emoji. “Of course, I would appreciate the honour of your presence at my son’s marriage ceremony…There will be a soiree to welcome my personal guests at my country home on April 4.”
With my sister, Ebele, as usual, playing the perfect hostess, it was indeed a weekend to remember in Agbor. A time for reminiscences on the ‘good old days’—the risks many of us took during the military era as well as all the ‘other things’ not fit for print. When I told Dr Chidi Amuta last Saturday that I was in Agbor with many old colleagues, he sent a terse response: “Time passes. You all will soon graduate into the league of grandpas and grandmas.” So true. And many of us are gladly looking forward to that transition as we reflect on the time when men were boys. This life!
It was yet another day of honour for Akwa Ibom State on Tuesday as Leadership newspaper bestowed the Governor of the Year Award for 2024 on Gov. Umo Eno, bringing to two the number of such laurels in as many months. Thisday Newspaper/Arise News Group had in late January celebrated Pastor Eno as Governor of the Year 2024 in a big event in Eko Hotel Lagos. I couldn’t attend the Lagos event; so I was bent on being at the Leadership Conference & Awards at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa where the Akwa Ibom governor was decorated with five other governors. Other prominent citizens like Aliko Dangote; Adaora Umeoji, CEO of Zenith Bank; FCT Minister Nyesom Wike; Comptroller General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, and a few others were also celebrated by the newspaper. In a video recording of his citation played at the event, Gov. Eno was described as a visionary leader who is ‘’focused on food security, social empowerment, job creation and effective security management through his ARISE agenda’’. But because the governor was engrossed in his cabinet’s retreat in Lagos, it was Deputy Governor Akon Eyakenyi who attended the event and received the award on his behalf.
The Deputy Governor and her delegation later returned to Lagos to rejoin the retreat. She dutifully presented the plaque to the governor at the end of the retreat. The governor acknowledged the award and noted that he has received indications that more laurels were coming his way. He asked members of his team to redouble efforts in ensuring that Akwa Ibom people feel the impacts of good governance. Gov. Eno says the avalanche of accolades on him from several media and non media organizations meant that he was being more closely observed across the globe.
Welcoming back the delegation from Abuja, the Governor said he took the difficult decision of not attending the award ceremony because of the high premium he placed on the ongoing retreat. He thanked the management of The Leadership Newspaper for finding him worthy. He said: “I was meant to be in Paris for a very important international engagement today, and I was also meant to be in Abuja for the Leadership Newspaper award. But I couldn’t attend any of them because this retreat is very serious business which we had already planned. I thank God for the award and it is to God’s Glory that we are being celebrated and honoured.
“I dedicated the ThisDay/Arise News award to my predecessors, especially my political father, Deacon Udom Emmanuel, for identifying me and supporting me all the way. When I didn’t have confidence in myself, he stood by me and urged me on. A good child dances and receives accolades and brings honour to his parents. I dedicate this particular award to all members of our team, both past and present. It is a call for more work and I believe we all know that the world is watching us. God forbid we drop the ball, they are also watching,” the Governor added. On the deputy governor’s delegation to Abuja to receive the award were the Commissioner for Information, Aniekan Umanah; Political Adviser to the Governor, Chief Godwin Ntukudeh; Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Ekerete Udoh; House of Assembly Member for Nsit Ibom, Hon Eric Akpan and Mrs Owoidighe Ekpoattai, Honorary Special Adviser to the Governor.
An important part of the award ceremony was the key note speech given by the Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima on the theme ‘’The challenges and opportunities in Nigeria’s Fiscal Federalism’’. Represented by Dr. Aliyu Modibo Umar, a special adviser to the President, the VP noted that corruption and mismanagement of the country’s resources are Nigeria’s major problem - not absence of true federalism. He faulted the notion that Nigeria’s federalism was not working, and argued that there is no perfect federalism and each country’s federal arrangement is ‘’shaped by its history, culture and political experience’’. The VP buttressed his argument with some illustration. In Canada, for example, federalism emerged as a compromise linguistic groups. ‘’In Germany, the structure was initially so decentralized that consensus from all 16 Lander was required to pass national policies until reforms in 2006 shifted powers for greater efficiency. Spain, despite its fiscal concessions to regions like Basque Country and Navarre, still contends with separatist agitations’’, he said.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has a Seyi Tinubu decision to make. He could appoint the younger Tinubu to a cabinet position, or he could keep things as they are and continue to violate the constitution on at least two counts. Either way, Nigerians deserve clarity about the position of the son within the father’s government.
If the president chooses the first option, he will only be giving legal recognition to what effectively exists as a political fact, since his son is already deeply involved in government and national politics. If, on the other hand, the president sticks with the status quo, then we must raise the unprecedented constitutional issues, as I shall argue presently. Whatever the president does on this, the operative terms here are the Nigerian constitution, presidential convention, and the violation of either.
For the first time in Nigeria, we have a presidential son who wants to be fully, openly and directly part of the gig, and a president-father who would let him, or at least who would not issue a firm “No”.
Nigerian leaders from Tafawa Balewa in 1960 to Buhari in 2023 generally refrained from directly involving their children in their own government beyond the symbolic perks of a “First Family”. This practice has grown into a strong tradition and convention, and in any case, many presidential children were young or still in school when their parents served. Of course, quite a few adult children of our past leaders were influential in politics and business particularly, as Abacha and Obasanjo’s children reportedly were. Iyabo Obasanjo was commissioner for health in their home state, Ogun, and was elected a senator when her father was president. Presidential daughters and sons have also often married into prominent political, business or royal families when their parents are in office, as was the case with Yar’adua and Buhari.
None of this, however, is in the same proportion or category as Seyi Tinubu’s role in his father’s government is shaping up to be. Seyi clearly wants to be more than just a president’s son, but to be front and centre of politics and government alongside his parents. He is also not content with the conventional approach of operating and wielding influence in the shadows, as some presidential children before him had done.
He has been a presidential spokesman, lashing out at critics of his father, “the greatest president in Nigerian history”. He has been a goodwill ambassador, helping to build or mend bridges between his father and former heads of state and governors. He has been an envoy of peace, doling out ‘Ramadan baskets’ all across northern Nigeria and donations to victims of flood. He has reportedly influenced his father’s appointment of ministers and presidential advisers. Above all, Seyi wants a seat at the cabinet table to be part of it all at the Federal Executive Council. All of these are cabinet-level roles, which then raise the question; what precisely is Seyi Tinubu’s official role within his father’s presidency?
The answer is so far unclear. What is clear, however, is that clarity is needed. First, no presidential children or family members have assumed such wide-ranging public roles in their father’s government. The most we have seen is Buhari’s appointment of his nephew, Tunde Sabiu Yusuf, as his personal secretary, which, in fact, is a good example precisely because it was made official. Secondly, the current situation of having Seyi Tinubu perform senior-level political and government duties without official recognition raises the issue of accountability. Since no one outside of government can spend government funds, where are the funds for Seyi’s political activities coming from? Are they federal, party, or personal funds? Nigerians must know. After all, Buhari was lampooned for allowing his daughter, Hanan, to use a presidential jet for personal business. Where are the same critics now?
Third, it is clear that Seyi Tinubu has serious political ambitions of his own, and that his father approves and supports those ambitions. The younger Tinubu appears to want to follow in the political footsteps of his father to become the governor of Lagos State, as rumoured, and perhaps thereafter, launch a presidential bid of his own. And the Tinubus, it seems, aim to use this presidency as a training ground for the younger man to gain experience and learn on the job. That is the only logical explanation for this extent of overreach by a son in their father’s government.
This is where the constitutional issues come into play. On the one hand, there is nothing constitutionally wrong with a president appointing his son or daughter to a cabinet position within their government. There is also nothing constitutionally wrong for any president’s sons or daughters to hold political aspirations of their own, and nothing wrong for the parents to support such ambitions. Dynastic political families are common in democracies. Many American presidents appointed one or more of their own children or other family members to various positions, from private secretaries to influential advisers. John F. Kennedy, for example, made his brother, Robert, as the US Attorney General, and was so confirmed by the US Senate.
The key issue is clarity, which comes from official notice, as in Tunde Sabiu’s case. Were Sabiu a son, rather than a nephew, of Buhari (is there any difference in our African context?), it would just have been as well, since everyone knows what his specific roles are in the government. Likewise, Tinubu could appoint Seyi as Presidential Envoy on Domestic Affairs or Minister of Special Duties, or whatever he sees fit, with a clear delineation of responsibilities and powers, like any other cabinet position. That would help to absorb the son’s energies and give a platform for any further political aspirations. Most importantly, such clarity will avoid the president’s infringement on the constitution as is currently the case with his son’s undefined public roles.
As things stand, Nigeria effectively has two presidents and two vice-presidents at the same time. The difference is that Seyi Tinubu is both a co-president to his father, and a co-vice president to Vice President Kashim Shettima. Certainly, the Nigerian constitution did not intend such an arrangement. In order to accommodate his son’s energies and aspirations, the president has had to withdraw from some of his own roles, and at the same time, weaken the office and person of the vice president. In my view, these directly violate the spirit and letter of our constitution.
Nigerians have made funny and not-so-funny jokes on social media about the position of the vice president in relation to Seyi Tinubu’s increasing public roles and visibility in government. Some memes have even described Shettima as the “former vice president of Nigeria”, just to indicate the extent of his perceived or real alienation from the government of which he is a part. A lot of the concerns expressed by such jokes are valid. In my view, however, the real problem lies a degree higher up.
In our presidential system, the president has three roles: as head of the government, as commander of the armed forces, and as the political, symbolic and ceremonial head of state. Seyi Tinubu performs quite a lot of this third role of head of state. He has taken salutes and stood for parades by our police and military officers. He has been the more politically visible of the pair across the country. He has had governors receive him across the states as exactly as they would President Tinubu himself.
All of these are part of the president’s own job, but which he has unofficially delegated to his son against the intent of our constitution. This is why President Tinubu has a decision to make. Give Seyi a seat at the table officially, or let him officially stay out.
[OPINION] Reformer at the crossroads: Prof Humphrey Nwosu and Nigeria’s democratic journey (I) - Jideofor Adibe
AdminWhen I was admitted to the Department of Political Science in 1980 as a freshman, straight from secondary school, Professor Humphrey Nwosu was one of the lecturers we encountered. He was the Head of the Sub-department of Public Administration which owned the Local Government building that housed the Department of Political Science.
Though he was an energetic and ebullient man, he wasn’t exactly very popular with us for two main reasons: One, is that he normally fixed his lectures at 7am, and he never failed to show up for classes. He would in fact often be in the class before that 7am, which led to some of us gossiping behind his back about a man who preferred to come jumping up and down in the class at a time in the morning that he should be keeping his wife company.
The second reason Professor Nwosu wasn’t quite popular with us was that Nigerian universities in the 1980s and early 1990s were very ideologically driven, essentially between the Marxists (also called the ‘radical scholars’) and those that were variously called ‘bourgeois scholars’ or derided as the “educated representatives of the propertied class”. Unfortunately Professor Nwosu was among those we called “bourgeois scholars”.
We were told that the bourgeois scholars were not able to appreciate the “dialectics of class struggle”, that their works were very “ahistorical”, with a “tendency to be arbitrary in their choice of analytical categories”, and that they failed to appreciate that the nature of the “productive force” and “social relations of production” were the motif forces of history. Though we knew that Professor Nwosu made first class honours, however, because we saw him as a “bourgeois scholar”, we ridiculed that accomplishment as being merely a First Class Honours in ‘Elements of Government’, not the sort of proper political science that the ‘radical scholars’ were teaching us.
Professor Nwosu, on his own, blamed the ‘radical scholars’, the “Nnoli boys”, of exposing students to only one side of a complex reality. Though we regarded Prof Nwosu as a ‘bourgeois scholar’ we respected him because of the sheer force of his presence, or charisma if you like – unlike most of the other lecturers we regarded as ‘bourgeois scholars’.
I recall an incident with one of the ‘bourgeois scholars’. He was teaching us something about “colonialism” which was at that time the favourite whipping boy of the radical scholars who made it compulsory that we should read and master such works as Walter Rodney’s How Europe Underdeveloped Africa, Okwudiba Nnoli’s Ethnic Politics in Nigeria, and Frantz Fanon’s The Wretched of the Earth. In fact, from Nnoli’s book we learnt that ethnicity in Nigeria started in the colonial urban centres and was fuelled by the colonial policy of ‘divide and rule’. Rodney’s book squarely blamed colonialism for Africa’s underdevelopment, while Fanon’s book provided a psychoanalysis of the dehumanising effects of colonisation upon the individual and the nation.
With our understanding of colonialism from these three books and similar ones, I think we were tolerating the ‘bourgeois scholar’, until he wrote on the black board: “The benefits of colonialism”. We felt we have heard enough. One of us from the back of the class shouted: “Whaat?” In anger, the entire class walked out on him, believing that he did not know enough to teach us, or was teaching us the wrong stuff, despite the fact that we were just in our first year, or ‘Class 1’ as some of us liked to call it in those days.
Though we regarded Professor Nwosu as a “bourgeois scholar”, we also respected him as an effective administrator. In fact, behind the backs of the radical scholars, we mocked their relative lack of administrative capacity compared to Professor Nwosu. Professor Nnoli, leader of the radical scholars, was the Head of Department of Political Science in our first year in the Department.
Professor Nwosu – a brief biography
Humphrey Nwosu is an astute and charismatic public administrator, academic, technocrat, and political scientist. He studied political science at the University of California at Berkeley where he earned Master’s and doctoral degrees in political science ((Magna Cum Laude) in 1973 and 1976 respectively. He subsequently returned to teach at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka where he rose to become a full-time tenured professor. In 1986, he was appointed by the Anambra State Government to serve as Commissioner of Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters and later Commissioner of Agriculture. He was appointed Chairman of the Nigeria Electoral Commission in 1989, to replace Professor Eme Awa, his former lecturer and mentor, who had fallen out of favour with the Babangida government.
When Prof. Nwosu left office in 1993 after the annulment of June 12 presidential election, he returned to teaching at the Department of Political Science, University of Nigeria, Nsukka where he formally retired in 1999. Professor Nwosu has published several books and peer-reviewed articles in both local and international journals. His books include Political Authority and Nigerian Civil Service (1977); Problems of Nigerian Administration(edited, 1985); A Book of Reading; Introduction to Politics; Moral Education in Nigeria; Conduct of Free and Fair Election in Nigeria: Speeches, Comments and Reflections (1991) and Laying the Foundation for Nigeria’s Democracy: My Account of June 12, 1993 Presidential Election and its Annulment (2008). Professor Humphrey Nwosu, breathed his last on Thursday, October 24, in the United States of America, at the age of 83
What does it mean to be a reformer at the crossroads?
A reformer is a change agent who is deliberate and intentional about improving the way things work. As an expression, the imagery often invoked is that of an intersection of two roads in which a person has to make a decision on which of the roads to take. Essentially it means being at a stage when one has to take a critical or an important decision.
The above raises two important questions: which reforms are we talking about in relations to Professor Nwosu? And at which crossroads?
Though it is obvious that Professor Nwosu, given the number of public positions he had held would have been at several crossroads, for most Nigerians, he is known for his role as the Chairman of the National Election Commissions from 1989-1993. So which crossroads are we talking about?
Professor Nwosu’s crossroads
Professor Nwosu’s challenge was not just helping to manage a transition to a full civilian rule but also to facilitate the process of de-militarisation – that is the military handing over power to civilian authorities and accepting subordination to a civilian authority. This means that unlike the electoral bodies since 1999 which dealt with only with the political class and their mode of competition for power, Professor Nwosu had to deal with two humongous groups – the political class and the military establishment, including a faction of that establishment which did not want to lose their privileges by accepting a handover to a civilian political class.
The job of being the country’s chief electoral umpire is often called a poisoned chalice, in which rarely any umpire would come out of it with his reputation being intact (Professor Jega who organised the 2015 election was mostly lucky that Jonathan conceded defeat). If just dealing with the political class makes the job of the chief electoral umpire to be a poisoned chalice, you can then imagine what it means to be an electoral umpire for both the political class and a politicised military.
De-militarisation would often raise the question of de-politicisation. How do you professionalise soldiers who had become used to political power and its appurtenances and to being superordinate to civilian authorities? As Elaigwu (2015:232) argued: “The demilitarization of the polity without adequate de-politicisation of the military is an invitation to chaos; yet paradoxically, that process of de-politicisation of the military involves the politicization of the military”.
Essentially Babangida’s transition programme, in which at a point the country was running a diarchy, meant that the military as an establishment had become more politically conscious and was factionalised between those who wanted a handover to a civilian government and those who resented such. In fact, Babangida, in his recent autobiography admitted that much when he declared that “there were fears, even at that early stage of the transition programme, that some members of the top hierarchy of the military were reluctant to relinquish power” (Babangida, 2025: 258).
The paper was originally presented at a Colloquium on the Life and Times of Professor Humphrey Nwosu at Abuja on March 25 2025.
*Jideofor Adibe is Professor of Political Science and International Relations at Nasarawa State University
[OPINION] There Are Grains Of Truth In Traoré’s Comment—Democracy Alone Doesn’t Build Nations - Isaac Asabor
AdminCaptain Ibrahim Traoré, the 37-year-old military leader of Burkina Faso, recently declared that no country has developed under democracy, insisting instead that his country is undergoing a “popular, progressive revolution” and not bound by the dogmas of democratic governance. For many, especially in the West, such statements might sound like a rejection of modern civilization. But for those who choose not to be sentimental, his words ring true with a kind of clarity African nations desperately need.
Traoré’s assertion is not an attack on democracy itself; rather, it exposes the naivety and hypocrisy in believing that democracy, without foundational development, can bring prosperity to the people. The bitter truth? Democracy, as practiced in much of Africa today, is a grand illusion, more about appearances than results.
Since the wave of democratization that swept across Africa in the 1990s, most countries have transitioned from military or autocratic regimes to so-called democratic governments. Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, and others now hold regular elections, have multiple political parties, and tout themselves as democratic states.
Nigeria has been practising democracy uninterrupted since 1999, yet remains plagued by epileptic power supply, dilapidated infrastructure, mass poverty, and endemic corruption. Despite being Africa’s largest economy, over 133 million Nigerians are classified as multidimensionally poor (NBS, 2022), and the government still relies heavily on foreign loans and handouts to survive. The legislature, an institution that symbolizes democracy, is bloated, secretive, and consumes billions in allowances while ordinary citizens beg for palliatives.
South Africa, often lauded as Africa’s most sophisticated democracy, faces crippling inequality, rampant crime, rolling blackouts (load shedding), and mass unemployment. The very freedom that democracy guarantees has not translated into economic equity or social stability.
Kenya, Zambia, and Malawi have had multiple peaceful elections, but economic progress has remained slow, stunted by elite capture, donor dependence, and political instability. In fact, many democracies in Africa are caught in a vicious cycle where elections become more of a power struggle between elites than a pathway to progress for the people.
Without a doubt, the myth of democracy is that it is being seen as a prerequisite for development. Let’s examine how the world’s current powerhouses got to where they are.
For instance, China rose to become a global economic titan without embracing democracy. Under an authoritarian model, it lifted over 800 million people out of poverty (according to World Bank) in just 40 years through strict policies, industrialization, and disciplined state-led growth. The same country that the West criticizes for human rights abuses has built more infrastructure, educated more citizens, and expanded its economy faster than any democratic nation in history.
Singapore, under Lee Kuan Yew, was essentially a benevolent dictatorship. Lee famously said, “What a country needs to develop is discipline more than democracy.” He was right. Singapore rose from a third-world port city to a first-world financial hub, not through liberal elections, but through vision, planning, and meritocracy.
Rwanda, under President Paul Kagame, has one of the fastest-growing economies in Africa, with high scores in security, infrastructure, and public health. Yet Rwanda is not a full democracy by Western standards, Kagame’s rule has been accused of authoritarian tendencies. But Rwandans today enjoy cleaner cities, better roads, and functional governance compared to many of their “democratic” neighbours.
To not a few people, elections without development is political theatre. This is as in Nigeria, democracy has become more about elections than governance. Politicians focus on winning power, not on building nations. Voters are weaponized with bags of rice, cooking oil, and Naira notes. Once elected, leaders loot the treasury, empower their cronies, and disappear into air-conditioned offices until the next election cycle.
At this juncture, it is expedient to ask, “What then is the essence of democracy when it fails to uplift the poor, protect the vulnerable, or stimulate economic growth?”
Traoré’s comment strikes at the heart of this hypocrisy. Democracy has been elevated as the gold standard of governance, yet it has become a theatre of corruption and chaos in Africa. When he said, “Democracy is only the result,” he meant that genuine democracy is the byproduct of development, not the foundation of it.
Not only that, democracy offers “Free Speech” Illusion. One of the most touted features of democracy is free speech. But what use is freedom of speech when it’s only used to complain about bad governance year after year? What value does it have in a system where speaking the truth changes nothing? As Traoré rightly said, libertinism, unrestricted expression without structure, often leads to societal disorder, especially where education and civic awareness are low.
Given the foregoing shortcomings of democracy, It’s time Africa wakes up to the reality that democracy, in its current form, is not working. The continent needs a governance model that prioritizes security, discipline, infrastructure, human capital, and national interest above blind imitation of Western systems. Call it benevolent dictatorship, developmental authoritarianism, or “popular progressive revolution” like Traoré says, what matters is results.
African nations should not be ashamed to chart their own paths. The West had its revolutions. Asia had its one-party states. Why must Africa be chained to a democratic model that doesn’t serve its people?
Democracy, in its pure form, is beautiful. But beauty without substance is deception. Captain Ibrahim Traoré may have ruffled feathers, but his boldness is refreshing. His leadership is forcing Africans to ask hard questions we’ve been avoiding for decades.
We must build strong institutions, robust economies, and literate societies first. Only then can democracy take root and flourish. Until then, democracy, African style, will remain a glorified charade.
My family and I join millions of Nigerians in extending our warmest birthday wishes to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a formidable political strategist of our time, as he turns 73.
This particular birthday holds unique significance, as it coincides with the conclusion of Ramadan and the observance of Christian Lenten period. For Tinubu, a devout Muslim, celebrating his birthday on March 29 at the end of one of Islam’s most sacred periods—Ramadan—adds a profound spiritual dimension. Additionally, the fact that it aligns with the period of Lent being observed by his wife, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, a pastor in the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), makes it even more remarkable. The convergence of these three significant religious events is certainly noteworthy.
It is, therefore, unsurprising that the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, paid a heartfelt tribute to her husband, referring to him as her “knight in shining armor.”
For those unfamiliar with the phrase, “knight in shining armor” originates from medieval European folklore and symbolizes chivalry, bravery, honor, and unwavering loyalty. This image, which first emerged in 12th-century literature, embodies key virtues such as:
1. Chivalry – Upholding a code of honor, loyalty, and the protection of the weak.
2. Bravery – Courageously facing challenges and adversity.
3. Loyalty – Demonstrating steadfast devotion to one’s cause, country, and loved ones.
4. Honor – Committing to principles that uphold personal and family integrity.
These attributes align closely with Tinubu’s public service record. From his early days as a pro-democracy activist to his tenure as a senator, governor, and national leader of the ruling party, he has consistently demonstrated political resilience and strategic brilliance. It is in this context that the First Lady’s description of him as “My Knight in Shining Armor” appears fitting.
Beyond his wife’s admiration, Tinubu has also received praise from past Nigerian leaders. Former President Muhammadu Buhari, under whom Tinubu served as the ruling party’s key strategist, described him as an influential figure in Nigeria’s political history:
“No doubt, the annals of the country will not be complete without mentioning President Tinubu’s significant roles as an entrepreneur, party stalwart, activist, and a serial winner of democratic elections. I am truly proud of my association with Asiwaju.”
Similarly, former Military President Ibrahim Babangida, under whose regime Tinubu was forced into exile due to his pro-democracy activism, acknowledged his leadership qualities:
“There comes a time in the life of a nation when an uncommon personality and courageous disposition define the essence of problem-solving leadership. With your background in the struggle for the emancipation of ordinary Nigerians and your commitment to deepening democracy, your history speaks for itself.”
Babangida further praised Tinubu’s resilience, stating:
“You have come to lead Nigeria at a very challenging time in our history, and your leadership thus far has been remarkable, bold, and encouraging. Only those who have been in leadership positions understand the complexities involved in governing a nation like Nigeria.”
These endorsements reinforce Tinubu’s political standing. However, as he marks this milestone, opposition forces are mobilizing to challenge his presidency in the 2027 election.
Going by his concluding part of his tribute, Babangida has apparently endorsed Tinubu for a second term.
“A results-oriented and pragmatic leader like you is well-suited to tackle the current challenges, particularly given the innovative policies and strategic direction your administration has pursued so far.”
Babangida’s tribute stands out to me because, in several of my past media engagements, I have argued that President Tinubu is making the tough decisions that Babangida, as a former military head of state, was unable to implement to rescue Nigeria from economic decline. Specifically, Babangida’s failure to fully execute the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) of 1984/85—choosing instead to step aside under pressure—plunged the country into a state of arrested development, leading to the socio-economic and political struggles that persist today and which Tinubu’s reforms are dismantling.
It is noteworthy and commendable that Babangida himself has acknowledged Tinubu’s determination to follow through on difficult reforms, a path he hesitated to complete before stepping down in 1993.
Even former President Muhammadu Buhari—whose tenure as a military ruler from 1983 to 1985 was marked by repression, rivaled only by General Sani Abacha’s rule from 1993 to 1998—has given due recognition to Tinubu’s critical role in helping him achieve the presidency in 2015 after multiple failed attempts.
For me, the key takeaway from the tributes by both Buhari and Babangida is that they reinforce the “Knight in Shining Armor” title bestowed upon Tinubu by his wife, First Lady Senator Oluremi Tinubu. Their acknowledgments align with the characteristics of a knight: chivalry, bravery, loyalty, and honor.
While we have yet to see birthday tributes from other former Nigerian leaders like General Abdulsalami Abubakar and former President Goodluck Jonathan, there appears to be a broad consensus on Tinubu’s political influence.
I have previously stated that Tinubu is implementing reforms that past leaders should have introduced and completed over the last four -five decades.
In his book Political Style: The Artistry of Power (1995), Robert Hariman examines the political craftsmanship of historical figures, including Vaclav Havel, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton. He highlights how each leader’s style shapes their political effectiveness and the crises they encounter.
Tinubu exemplifies this idea of political artistry. Aristotle famously described humans as “political animals,” naturally inclined to engage in governance and power dynamics. Though trained as an accountant, Tinubu has evolved into a master politician, refining his approach from his early days as a senator under Babangida’s transition to democracy. His journey—from opposition leader to president—has drawn both admiration and criticism, particularly from former allies like Nasir El-Rufai and Rotimi Amaechi, who are now among his growing list of political adversaries.
Hariman identifies four dominant political styles in his book:
1. Realist Style – Rooted in Machiavelli’s The Prince, this approach prioritizes power, calculation, and emotional control.
2. Courtly Style – As seen in Kapuscinski’s The Emperor, it revolves around hierarchy, decorum, and reverence for leadership.
3. Republican Style – Inspired by Cicero, this style emphasizes rhetoric, consensus-building, and civility.
4. Bureaucratic Style – Echoing Kafka’s The Castle, this focuses on institutional procedures and governance structures.
Tinubu has, at different times, demonstrated elements of these styles. His distinct mannerisms, strategic thinking, and political resilience have made him a phenomenon in Nigeria’s contemporary political landscape.
This explains why, ahead of the 2023 presidential election, he confidently declared “Emi lo kan” (It’s my turn) in Yoruba, asserting his right to lead after years of king-making—a claim even former President Buhari acknowledged.
Despite his proximity to power, Tinubu faced significant obstacles, including the naira redesign policy, which created cash shortages and threatened his campaign. He later recounted how a close associate questioned whether he could succeed under such conditions. Yet, he remained resolute, stating, “I will make it.” True to his words, he secured the presidency.
In my book Becoming President of Nigeria: A Citizen’s Guide (2023), released before the party primaries, I argued that Tinubu had a strong chance of winning the presidency, even though zoning considerations had not officially favored him.
In chapter six (6) titled Political Frenzy and Fireworks Surrounding the Jostle for Presidency of Nigeria in 2023 Against a Politician from the Yoruba Ethnic Stock as detailed from pages 99-110, the case was made for Tinubu’s eligibility based on former Ogun state governor, and elder statesman,Aremo Segun Osoba’s optics.
At that time, Peter Obi’s rise through the Labour Party was not yet fully in play. In the Conclusion chapter of the book (p.301) one had also predicted the contest would primarily be between Tinubu (APC) and Atiku Abubakar (PDP).
All that is contained in my article titled “How to Become the President of Nigeria , 2023” first published on September 15, 2021 by Thecable.ng and later on page 331 -332 in my book by the same title published in 2023.
Tinubu’s political acumen is well-established. However, some believe he may have weakened his position by declaring a state of emergency in Rivers State on March 18, 2024. Critics argue this move could alienate Niger Deltans, while his supporters maintain that he acted decisively to prevent a violent crisis in the volatile region.
Among his challengers is Nasir El-Rufai, the former Kaduna governor who was instrumental in Tinubu’s 2023 victory but was later sidelined from a ministerial position, after being nominated. El-Rufai is reportedly working to unify opposition parties under the Social Democratic Party (SDP) to replicate Tinubu’s 2015 strategy against the PDP. Whether he will succeed remains to be seen.
Another formidable opponent is Rotimi Amaechi, the former Rivers governor and transportation minister, who contested against Tinubu in the APC primaries. While it wise not to take any threat forgranted, he may not be such a threat as his influence in Rivers state politics has been whittled down by the immediate past governor and current minister of the F.C.T, Nyesom Wike.
An anecdote: ‘l once asked a wiseman, how do l know who is real (amongst my followers) and he replied, ‘Remove the benefits and see who’s left’ appears to ring true in Rivers state, as loyalty is being determined by who is benefiting and who has the ability and capacity to keep dispensing benefits.
Regardless of opposition, Tinubu remains a master strategist who has reshaped Nigeria’s political landscape. His ability to build coalitions and outmaneuver opponents was evident in the formation of the APC, which unseated the PDP in 2015. As governor of Lagos, his policies—including the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system and revenue reforms—laid the foundation for the state’s economic growth.
His adaptability is another strength. Over the years, he has adjusted to shifting political realities, often turning challenges into opportunities.
Of course, Tinubu is not without controversy. Some critics allege discrepancies in his age, questioning whether he is truly 73, as officially stated, or older, based on past reports. However, in a world where information can be manipulated with Aritificial Inteligence tools, such claims remain unverified. Moreover, age falsification is widespread among Nigerian civil servants, with many reducing their official ages to extend their careers.
To address this issue, the National Assembly should consider criminalizing age falsification and making it highly enforceable as part of the ongoing constitutional review.
Ultimately, Tinubu’s rise to power is a testament to his political skills. While some admire his leadership, others strongly oppose his methods. But instead of resorting to insults to me for this analysis based on objective principles, critics should articulate their reasons for opposing him so that meaningful political discourse around the strenghts and weakness of president Tinubu’s reforms can take place.
On that note, once again, on behalf of my family and l, happy birthday, Mr. President—Asiwaju of Lagos and Jagaban of Borgu, and congrats to madam first Lady Oluremi Tinubu who has been standing by her husband like the Rock of Gilbraltar.
•Magnus Onyibean entrepreneur is public policy analyst, author and advocate, development strategist.
“As President, I reaffirm this administration’s steadfast dedication to the welfare and empowerment of the Nigeria Police Force. A secure Nigeria is vital for our collective prosperity, and this vision begins with ensuring that our police force is well-equipped, well-trained, and well-motivated. We are resolute in our commitment to police welfare and comprehensive reform.” – President Bola Tinubu at the maiden National Police Day celebration in Abuja on April 7, 2025
An April 2, 2025, press statement by the Force Public Relations Officer of the Nigeria Police, Assistant Commissioner of Police Olumuyiwa Adejobi, stated, “The Nigeria Police Force is set to host the maiden edition of National Police Day on April 7, 2025, at Eagle Square, Abuja. This historic event, which will run from April 2 to April 7, 2025, will feature a series of impactful humanitarian and community-based activities, including medical outreaches, community engagements, exhibitions by security companies and partners, among other programmes, aimed at fostering stronger police-community relations. The National Police Day was pronounced by the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces on the 19th April 2024, during the Nigeria Police Award and Commendation Ceremony in Abuja. The National Police Day is designed to celebrate the dedication, sacrifices, and achievements of the Nigeria Police Force in ensuring national security. It will provide a platform to recognise the force’s pivotal role in safeguarding lives and property while reinforcing public trust and collaboration in maintaining law and order.”
An April 7, 2025 statement on the website of State House on the National Police Day said inter alia that the President outlined decisive measures his administration is currently putting in place to immediately engender an effective and formidable police force, including provision of modern tools and technology to enhance the operations of the force, as well as adequate accommodations, accessible healthcare and quality education for families of police personnel. In a speech delivered on his behalf by Vice President Kashim Shettima, President Tinubu was quoted as saying, “In this light, we are taking decisive steps to improve the conditions under which our police officers serve. Adequate housing, accessible healthcare, and quality education for your children are priorities we are committed to fulfilling. These promises will begin to materialise immediately. We are also determined to equip you with modern tools and technology to enhance your effectiveness in combating crime. Furthermore, we will ensure that your salaries and benefits reflect the gravity of your responsibilities and the risks you face daily. Anything less would be unacceptable,” he stated.
Earlier, IGP Kayode Egbetokun said beyond commemoration of the day of the establishment of the Nigeria Police Force, the National Police Day offered the opportunity to remember fallen heroes and acknowledge the heroics of men and women of the Police in theatres of operation across the country and beyond. The IGP said the day also provided a platform to emphasise the renewed call for excellence, professionalism, and respect for human rights, among other virtues that the new police force embodies. He highlighted the reform agenda of the police force under his leadership, noting that the reforms are hinged on building a force that commands trust and professionalism, enforces justice and promotes national development through enhanced security and policing of the country.
The high points of the event were the inspection of the guard by the Vice President, procession by tactical units and other security organisations, and the silent drill display by officers of the Nigeria Police Force. Also present at the event were the Governor of Kwara State, Alhaji AbdulRazaq Abdulrahman; Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume; National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu; Chairman, House Committee on Police Affairs, Hon. Makki Yallemen and other members of the National Assembly; Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa and other Service Chiefs. Others include Deputy Governors of Delta, Ondo and Enugu States; heads of security and paramilitary organisations; representatives of the Minister of Police Affairs, the Police Service Commission, former Inspectors General of Police and retired senior police officers, among others.
It is indeed a welcome development to have a day set aside to recognise the gallantry of the Nigerian police. I was privileged to discuss the significance of this day on Citizen 93.7 FM Abuja and the NTA News 24 programme called Nigeria Today on Monday. As far as I am concerned, beyond the fanfare of celebration, National Police Day is a call to action. As we all know, Nigeria is severely challenged in terms of security. Yet, Section 14(2)(b) of the Nigerian Constitution says security and welfare shall be the primary purpose of government. Banditry, kidnapping for ransom, armed robbery and other crimes are unsettling Nigerians and are cited as part of the reasons some of our elite are leaving the shores of Nigeria for a more secure environment. Moreover, no foreign investor will want to bring his or her hard-earned resources into an insecure environment.
Beyond the rhetoric, Nigerians want to see a more improved policing system. No country is crime-free, but it seems Nigeria’s security architecture needs to be retooled, as the institutions meant to protect the country seem overwhelmed. Indeed, many communities have to hire vigilantes and private security guards to provide security for their communities. While there is no gainsaying that Nigeria Police officers and men are trying their level best to provide security, however, poor funding, inadequate training, lack of professionalism, inadequate equipment and facilities, abuse of office, corruption, lack of proper motivation and inadequate personnel are some of the bane.
While the immediate past administration of President Muhammadu Buhari did a lot to improve the lot of the Nigerian police through the amendment of the Police Act, establishment of Police Equipment Trust Fund, order to recruit 10,000 constables annually from 2016 or thereabouts, and salary increase for the police personnel, it is disheartening that the Nigerian police performance is still sub-optimal. An intra-organisation faceoff between the Office of Inspector General of Police and the Police Service Commission stalled the recruitment of police constables while litigation ensued until the Supreme Court upheld the PSC as the rightful body to recruit all personnel from constable to senior cadre. The impact of the Police Equipment Trust Fund has not been well felt over the years, while there are not enough budgetary allocations to fund the force.
Solutions to Nigeria’s policing challenges should include the scrapping of the Ministry of Police Affairs. This is not necessary as the Police Service Commission is a constitutional body established by Section 153(m) of the Nigerian Constitution, and its responsibility as stated in the Third Schedule of the Constitution, Section 30, says, “The commission shall have the power to – (a) appoint persons to offices (other than the office of the Inspector General of Police) in the Nigeria Police Force; and (b) dismiss and exercise disciplinary control over persons holding any office referred to in sub-paragraph (a) of this paragraph.” Keeping the Ministry of Police and Police Service Commission is a needless increase in the running cost of the Nigeria Police. The President should do as he did last year with the scrapping of the Ministry of Sports while resuscitating the National Sports Commission. The second recommendation is for the President to throw his weight behind the establishment of state police. This is long overdue. Thirdly, Nigeria Police should learn to respect the fundamental rights of citizens. The illegal arrest and detention of suspects should be a thing of the past. I posit that the retirement age of police personnel should be increased to 65 years. This will ensure that experienced personnel are retained to help in the fight against crime.
Anyone not trained to respect elders or people in positions of authority would have described some of the latest pastimes of the National Assembly as the acts of people without a sense of why they were elected as legislators in the first place. What is mostly coming out of the NASS reeks of buffoonery, far from matters appertaining to the well-being of Nigerians.
There is a story of a retired university vice-chancellor who was scandalised by the greed of his colleague senators, who wanted to fix huge salaries and allowances for themselves. He, as majority leader, however, found a way to manoeuvre his colleagues off their wayward path.
You may have seen videos of Elisha Abbo, who once represented Adamawa North Senatorial District, bellyaching over unpaid allowances, pay-outs that he did not take and how he was hounded out of the Senate because he did not support Senator Godswill Akpabio to become Senate President.
At the end of the day, Senator Abbo was removed from the Senate by a court judgment that pronounced that his seat be yielded to Senator Amos Yohanna of the opposition People’s Democratic Party that it determined had won the election.
Recently, senators have been projecting negative images of sexual harassment, and distracting everyone with a contrived and bungled recall of a female senator, said to be a victim of sexual harassment by principal officers of the Senate.
The courts that have obviously become irritated even told both the Senate President and his sparring partner not to grant press interviews on the inanities that the two of them are putting the Senate and Nigerians through.
In addition to these allegations of the peccadilloes of some principal officers of the Senate, the legislators thought that they could waste precious time over the asinine issue of putting a cap on the age of those who can contest elective offices.
Members of the House of Representatives who have apparently lost sight of their responsibilities have successfully advanced a bill to ban Nigerians older than 60 years from contesting elective offices of the president, governors and their deputies, to the Second Reading.
These very unserious legislators need to know that Winston Churchill, regarded as the greatest Englishman that ever lived, began his second term as British Prime Minister in 1951, when he turned 77, and ended his tenure in 1955, at the age of 81.
Also, Konrad Adenauer, who took over the position of Chancellor (or Prime Minister) of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1949, when he was already 73, left it after 14 long years, in 1963, at the advanced age of 87.
Both men, and American President Ronald Reagan, who became President in 1981, at the age of 69, and left office in 1988, at the age of 77, performed excellently well as chief executive officers of their respective countries, in the delicate Cold War years that came with the threat of a nuclear war.
None of these men betrayed any signs of frailty when they were in office. Of course, it has been argued that the immediate past President Joe Biden of America appeared to be absent-minded during his re-election debate.
Maybe those legislators have never heard the Yoruba folktale of animals who killed their mothers during a famine, only to learn that the wiser canine took his mother to heaven, from where she lowered food supplies to him whenever he was hungry.
They are probably unaware of the Yoruba observation that whereas the hands of the juvenile cannot reach the rafters, the hands of the elders cannot pass through the thin neck of the gourd. They also may not have heard of the Yoruba saying that it is with the wisdom of the young and the old that Ile Ife was built.
And by failing to extend this unnecessary age limitation to elections into the legislative houses, the legislators are demonstrating that they are in office to serve only their personal interests. One can only hope that the Senate will not join the mindless circus.
The idle legislators also thought it was necessary to remove the immunity clause of the vice president and deputy governors, clearly forget that Sections 143 and 188 of Nigeria’s Constitution have already provided impeachment as a tool to remove the president, the governors and their deputies so that they could face legal prosecution for any wrong acts they may have committed while in office.
The disingenuous legislators somewhat failed to realise that if the Vice President or any deputy governor was going to carry out any corrupt acts, it must have been with the indulgence and connivance of their principals, who are the President or the governors.
They also did not seem to remember that it is the governors, and not their deputies, who usually become the guests of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission at the end of their tenures, after which they would have lost their immunity.
But the 60 legislators who are proposing Nigeria’s return to the parliamentary system of government got it right. In addition to not being as expensive as the presidential system, the parliamentary system can hold the prime minister, who is a member of the parliament, more accountable than the presidential system.
It is important to note that the adoption of the presidential system was not exactly the choice of Nigerians, but that of General Olusegun Obasanjo, an alumnus of the over-centralised command-and-control system of his military alma mater.
But to segue for more compelling and urgent matters of state, one hopes that the delegation of the Rivers State caucus of the NASS, led by Senator Barina Mpigi, reminded Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas, Sole Administrator of Rivers State, that the revised 2025 budget that he is preparing must be presented to the National Assembly for approval.
This is in line with the resolution of the National Assembly to set up an ad-hoc committee with members from the two chambers to exercise oversight functions over Rivers State under the state of emergency that has temporarily rendered Governor Siminilaye Fubara hors de combat and placed the state under the sole administrator that was appointed by President Bola Tinubu, in clear breach of Nigeria’s Constitution.
In any case, Section 11(1) of the Constitution makes it clear, “The National Assembly may make laws for the Federation, or any part thereof… with respect to… providing, maintaining and securing of (assets)… as may be provided by the National Assembly as essential supplies and services (that will be funded by provisions of the statutorily approved budget).”
Also, Section 11(4,5) provides, “At any time when any (state) House of Assembly… is unable to perform its functions… the National Assembly may make laws… on matters (including annual budget) as may appear to be necessary or expedient… until the National Assembly is able to resume its functions…”
If they are serious about this oversight assignment, which they told President Tinubu that they will perform, they will be making legitimate operational expenses and the project expenditures that Admiral Ibas will naturally like to embark upon.
Caesar’s wife must not only be beyond suspicion, she must be seen to be beyond suspicion. She may also be helped to be beyond suspicion. The National Assembly must pay more attention to its responsibilities and stop its inanities.
Donald Trump’s return to aggressive tariff policies, under his “MAGA Master Plan,” has cast a long shadow over global trade, creating a complex landscape of risks and potential opportunities for African economies, particularly Nigeria. Some people called yesterday Black Monday as stock markets everywhere, including Nigeria’s NGX, bled red.
While critics denounce these measures as disruptive and chaotic, Trump’s administration presents them as a necessary realignment of US economic dominance. For Africa, the implications are multifaceted: the initial turbulence could pave the way for strategic, long-term gains, provided the continent seizes this moment to diversify its trade relationships, bolster domestic production, and diminish its reliance on volatile global markets.
The tariffs, including a blanket 10% levy on imports and a 54% surcharge on Chinese goods, threaten to destabilise Africa’s established export routes. Nigeria, a key US trading partner in sectors like crude oil and cocoa, faces the risk of collateral damage. In 2023, the US imported $3.8 billion worth of Nigerian crude; however, tariffs could incentivise American buyers to seek alternative sources, thereby squeezing Nigeria’s crucial dollar earnings. Similarly, African manufacturers dependent on Chinese intermediate goods—such as textiles, electronics, and machinery—face the prospect of increased input costs, potentially hindering industrial growth.
Furthermore, these tariffs risk exacerbating existing currency pressures. African nations burdened with dollar-denominated debt, such as Nigeria with its substantial $40 billion liability, may see repayment costs escalate if the dollar strengthens under Trump’s policies. Concurrently, diminished export revenues could deplete foreign reserves, further destabilising currencies like the naira.
However, within these challenges lie strategic opportunities for Africa to reshape its economic trajectory.
Firstly, Trump’s tariffs underscore the inherent vulnerability of over-reliance on US and Chinese markets. Africa can mitigate this risk by accelerating the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which aims to increase intra-African trade from 18% to 50% by 2035. Nigeria, with its substantial consumer base, could position itself as a regional hub for processed goods, such as value-added cocoa products, thereby circumventing tariff barriers.
Secondly, tariffs on Chinese imports could stimulate African industrialisation. Nigeria’s pharmaceutical sector, which currently imports 70% of its medicines, has the opportunity to expand local drug manufacturing. By fostering partnerships with Indian and European generic producers, and leveraging the AfCFTA’s scale, Nigeria can reduce its dependence on US-linked supply chains.
Thirdly, African countries can diversify their exports towards non-traditional sectors less susceptible to US tariffs. Morocco’s successful automotive export sector serves as a model. Nigeria’s burgeoning tech sector, with its software service exports, could also thrive, as digital trade is less affected by tariffs.
Fourthly, Trump’s “green bucket” strategy, which offers preferential treatment to allies, may compel Africa to forge closer ties with alternative partners. The BRICS bloc, now including Egypt and Ethiopia, offers a platform to negotiate favourable terms for commodity exports and secure infrastructure investment.
If African countries, particularly Nigeria, wish to truly benefit from the shifting global trade landscape, they must act with purpose and determination. Specifically, Nigeria needs to reassess its export strategy, focusing on promoting goods with added value and enhancing trade within the region. Additionally, a significant investment in the country’s logistics infrastructure is crucial. The current inefficiencies at Lagos ports, leading to daily losses of $55 million due to delays, pose a serious barrier to trade. Lastly, Nigeria should actively engage its diaspora, encouraging them to invest their remittances, which total $20 billion annually, into promising, export-oriented start-up businesses.
Trump’s tariffs are a stark reminder for Africa to reassess its position within the global economy. While short-term disruptions are inevitable, the continent can turn this moment into a catalyst for self-reliance. By deepening regional integration, fostering local industries, and diversifying trade alliances, Nigeria and its peers can emerge stronger, transforming from victims of global chaos into architects of their own economic destiny.
Nwanze is a partner at SBM Intelligence
Inclusion is an inexorable ingredient for national cohesion. It is an ideal that demands deliberate and methodical enactment. It is largely potent, not as an abstract concept, but as the praxis for promoting peace and harmony and holding it all together at the umbilicus.
The Tinubu administration has been conscientious and pragmatic about building an egalitarian Nigeria; a nation where ethnic or religious complexion does not supplant excellence and performance; a nation where no Nigerian will need to know anyone to enjoy the harvests of good governance; a nation where all are equal before the law; God and man; a nation where that orphan, Chinedu, in the quiet town of Obosi, can enjoy higher education without the constraints of finance; a nation where all citizens regardless of their tongue, tribe, or religion matter in the minutest scheme of things.
It is reductive to abridge or pigeonhole the conversation on inclusion. It is broader as an ideal. It is all-encompassing; affecting all facets of society.
In terms of appointments, the lineup is balanced and well-spread, especially matching diversity with competence and character. More importantly, as regards the policies, programmes, and projects of the administration, all Nigerians enjoy equal patrimony.
For instance, the Consumer Credit Scheme has beneficiaries drawn from different working strata and diverse taxonomy.
The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has over 200,000 beneficiaries drawn from across universities in all the geo-political zones, with over N32 billion disbursed as of February 2025.
The free C-Sections for women in need and the President’s approval of an 80% subsidy on kidney dialysis, reducing the cost from N50,000 to N12,000 per session, are tangible initiatives that directly impact the lives of Nigerians of all phyla.
These programmes and initiatives are implemented across the geo-political zones with absolute fidelity to the sworn oath of fostering unity, peace, and progress.
It is important to mention that under the N50 billion Presidential Conditional Grant Scheme for one million nano-businesses spread across 774 local government areas, with a minimum of 1,000 beneficiaries, over N41 billion has been disbursed to over 828,564 beneficiaries across all the local government areas.
Also, under the FGN N75 billion MSME Intervention Fund, N659,376,800 has been disbursed to 714 beneficiaries. This is in an effort to support young Nigerians and, most importantly, the live-wire of the economy, MSMEs.
The president recently signed some regional development commission bills, giving every zone the muscle to accelerate its development. This shows even-handedness and large-heartedness.
In terms of roads and other infrastructural projects, they are equitably distributed, with work going on on roads across all geo-political zones — the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano highway, the Sokoto-Badagry road, Enugu-Port Harcourt dual carriageway 2, the Lagos-Calabar Coastal highway, and many others.
The Tinubu administration is building an inclusive society where everyone has a sense of belonging not just in the psychological sense of it but also in the very essence of life, making sure the benefits of governance percolate to every man and woman — even to the last man.
Fredrick Nwabufo is the senior special assistant to the president on public engagement
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It was during the latter part of the 1960s – around 1968 or 1969. There was no mobile phone, no social media. There was the ubiquitous radio that provided news daily. In certain households television was also available.
Despite the absence of social media, people were well-informed about events and people. For example, we were aware that there was a young commissioner in the government of Western State under Governor Adeyinka Adebayo. The young man was known simply as Olunloyo.
He was said to be a talented mathematician. As commissioner for education, he would visit secondary schools and assess their operations. He would reprimand school principals and teachers who were underperforming. He would give instructions on what should be done to improve the school. He would leave as quickly as he appeared. Sometimes, they said, he would drive his vehicle himself to events.
The rumours and stories were many. We were young and happy to know that there was someone at the top who was acting differently from the usual politicians who went around in obvious luxury. The politicians would be accompanied by lorry loads of supporters. The politicians would dance and make lengthy speeches. Once their visits ended and they left, all their promises would disappear with them. Increasingly, the military officers who had replaced the politicians at the time were looking and acting in the traditional mode of political leaders.
Although he was in the military government, Olunloyo was said to be different. He was radical. He was impatient with the politics, convoy of vehicles, supporters, the dancing and speeches. Well, this was the image that many in my generation had of Olunloyo in the 1960s.
Almost 15 years later, I was face-to-face with Dr. Victor Omololu Olunloyo one early morning at his home at Oke Ado, Ibadan.
“Which media organisation are you from?” he asked.
“Me, sir?”
“Yes. You.”
“I am from NAN – News Agency of Nigeria.”
“You don’t have to spell out NAN to me. You think that I don’t know NAN? Ori e o daa. (silly person).” And he laughed. “I like your appearance…smart…tie and nice shirt.”
“Thank you, sir.” I felt good. NAN journalists were required to maintain a smart and formal appearance, conduct themselves in a professional manner, and never accept any form of renumerations or kickbacks from any news source, organization or person.
Olunloyo was the gubernatorial candidate of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) for Oyo State. I was assigned to cover his and the party’s campaign that was to commence at the time.
The political landscape in 1983 was particularly dynamic. Olunloyo was aiming to unseat the popular incumbent Governor, Bola Ige, known for is eloquence, and a close-ally of Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the leader of the Unity Party of Nigeria, the leading opposition party.
At that time the NPN was led by President Shehu Shagari who held power over federal institutions and security forces which they deployed effectively for the campaign. Conversely, Ige and UPN had a robust party structure in Oyo State, and a long tradition of ruling the state. The state media was effective and highly capable, and firmly under the control of the UPN.
Almost every day, Olunloyo embarked on political campaigns, accompanied with a retinue of vehicles carrying NPN leaders, notably Chief Adisa Akinloye, Chief Richard Akinjide, Chief Lamidi Adedibu, and party cadres. They would travel to towns, villages and small settlements in Oyo State to canvass for votes, visit local leaders and make promises. The reporter’s duty was to file news stories, write feature articles and generally reflect back to the public what happened in the various places.
Olunloyo loved to tell stories. When he was not on the road or campaigning, it was a delight to listen to him. Especially when his party leaders were not in the room, he would lambast every party, including his own. He often recounted tales of corrupt politicians, and how Nigerians were being deprived of their rights, particularly rights to economic development.
One day, we, the media representatives, were gathered as usual in the spacious living area of Olunloyo’s residence. He was telling us stories about how people wanted the NPN in power. How NPN, his party, would triumph in Oyo, Iwo, Iseyin etc. and how Ibadan people would vote himself as their son. A fellow reporter had his notebook out and was scribbling away, capturing the revealing assertions and claims of Olunloyo.
Suddenly, without any prior indication, Olunloyo got up from his chair and seized the reporter’s notebook. He tore it to pieces while saying: “Oniko kuko. O ti le ko ikokuko ju. O ri e o da. (You write all kinds of nonsense. You write too much nonsense. Silly.)”
The he sat down and continued his story as if nothing had happened. The reporter continued to cover the NPN campaign throughout the period with no further incident. Olunloyo did not stop either to provide journalists with information about everything that interested him, including his calculations of how Nigeria could have a democratic government in the long run.
On another day, I arrived early at Olunloyo’s house, ahead of my colleagues. It was not unusual. He had just finished breakfast and he offered me tea.
“No, sir. I have already had breakfast.”
“You NAN people… always proper,” he joked.
“Thank you, sir.”
Then he asked me if I thought that he would be the next governor of Oyo State. I was already familiar with Olunloyo. He did not appreciate pretext or flattery. I gave it to him straight, and told him what I heard around town and my own perspective.
“I do not see yet how you will win this election, sir,” I concluded
“Really?” he queried further.
“This is how I see it,” I held on to my position.
He gazed at me longer than he normally did, and then he said: “Bunmi, listen carefully. There has never been a free and fair election in Nigeria. Go and check the records, go through history. Do the analysis of campaigns, voting, returns and everything involved. This election will not be different.”
I nodded respectfully. I did not quite understand what he meant at the time. In some of our previous conversations, Olunloyo would say things that left me puzzled anyways.
At the end of voting in that election, Olunloyo was victorious and assumed office as governor of Oyo State. He served from October 1983 to December 1983 when General Muhammadu Buhari took over Nigeria in a military coup.
When Olunloyo was declared governor, I was no longer in Ibadan to ask him the question – what made his calculations work as he had predicted?
May his lively, brilliant and vibrant soul rest in peace.
Makinwa is the CEO of AUNIQUEI Communication for Leadership.
If the essence of government is the security of life and properties of citizens, President Tinubu must take responsibility for last week’s massacre of over 65 innocent Nigerians in Bokkos, Plateau State. This is not just because the buck stops at his desk or even because of what former vice president, Atiku Abubakar described as: “The failure of Bola Tinubu’s security architecture which has now become an endemic nationwide phenomenon …” Nigerians are proud of their military’s heroic battle with insurgents in the last two years compared to preceding eight years of daily harvest of death when Buhari from commander in chief became ‘mourner in chief’. As a mark of their faith in the military, survivors of last week dastardly act who spoke to the press have nothing but praises for the military’s heroic confrontation with the marauders.
But the buck stops at the president table because of the choices he made. President Tinubu understands the historical antecedent of the quest for self-actualization by different Nigerian groups especially the Ijaw of south-south and the people of the Middle Belt region that at different times after independence embarked on insurrection that had to be suppressed by the Nigerian military. He is aware of the confiscation and sharing of Hausa land among Uthman Dan Fodio’s 12 Fulani kinsmen and one Hausa appointed as emirs following Uthman Dan Fodio Jihad of 1803-1808; the decision to hold on to the land despite the 1903 Frederick Lugard’s “the power once exercised by the defeated caliphate had reverted to the British” after sacking of Sokoto Sunni Muslim and Herbert Macaulay’s 1908 successful campaign against the Hausa Land Ordinance. The president understands the quest for distributive justice without which a nation decays.
President Tinubu, more than anyone else, understands the issues at stake because he spent 20 years preparing for his job. That was the source of his confidence when on the eve of the 2023 election, he declared without restraint ‘emi l’okan’ (it is my turn).
And if there was anything he forgot, Nigerian stakeholders especially the leaders of ethnic nationalities, the real owners of Nigeria, the Afenifere, Ohaneze, MDF etc. were on hand to remind him that Nigeria needs “a restructured Nigeria with constituent parts having power over law and order, education and public information; a restructured Nigeria where there is freedom and justice for all; a restructured Nigeria that protects the right of indigenes as enshrined in the UN charter; a restructured Nigeria that puts an end to an orgy of killing of helpless women and children at night in the Middle Belt region by unidentified herdsmen”.
The president also had the privilege of hosting the ‘Patriots’, a group of credible Nigerian stakeholders led by Pa Emeka Anyaoku, the former Commonwealth Secretary General.
The president while not disagreeing with these Nigerian patriots who want the best for our nation said he would like to first pursue his economic agenda to bring prosperity to all Nigerians. But many have warned that it would amount to putting the cart before the horse since our problem is politics and not economics. Prosperity for all, will not resolve the national question neither will it eliminate peoples’ desires to have control over their lives, their culture and education of their children.
If short-sighted opponents of federal arrangement that have often benefited from our tragedy cannot see how the social system ended centuries of intertribal wars in Europe, it cannot be lost on them how nations like Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Sweden and Netherlands that currently top the list of the ‘happiest nations in the world’ only yesterday took control of their lives after negotiating peaceful federal arrangement.
Tragically, today as it was in 1951/52, we are still being haunted by the national question. It was the resistance of Yoruba to attempt by newly emergent Igbo leaders of Lagos urban immigrants to take over the west in the name of democracy, the newly imported god that earned the Yoruba the bastion of tribalism in Nigeria and fraudulently promoted by otherwise enlightened Igbo intellectuals including Chinua Achebe, a Nigerian ‘sun’ (apologies to Saro Wiwa).
From 1999, leading Igbo politicians and intellectuals including Kalu Uzor Kalu and Obiageli Ezekwesili sold the idea of ‘citizenship’ as answer to the national question even when it was obvious to the Yoruba whose First Eepublic leading NCNC leader, TOS Benson, could not secure a plot of land from Governor Sam Mbakwe to erect a building to bury his Igbo first wife and who today knows it will be an impossible task to get a market stall in Onitsha market.
In 2023, some Igbo elements in Lagos openly canvassed for Lagos governor of Delta origin on account of their population and business investments in Lagos. In fact, Peter Obi who left Anambra like a war-ravaged state after two terms as governor attempted to impose an untested candidate on Lagos. The natural reaction from Yoruba discriminatory voters, who unlike the Igbo don’t exhibit herd behaviour while voting, was to mobilise for their performing Yoruba son. With propaganda and manipulation of the social media, some Yoruba were labelled anti-democrats with their names presented for sanctions to the US administration and the UN which incidentally has clause in its charter for the protection of indigenous groups.
Those who truly love our country know that adopting any variant of federal arrangement we operated in the first republic will allow state governors take control of their states, provide security through state and community policing, defend their states against mindless killers described by ex-governors Masari and El Rufai as ‘disgruntled immigrant Fulani herdsmen’, and of course have death sentence clause in their state statutes to take care of importers of killer fake drugs devastating our urban centres.
There are other reasons why the president must take responsibility for the Bokkos massacre. The president’s policy since assuming office has been about appeasement of elements responsible for mindless killing of Nigerians as against pursuit of justice for victims. Mindless killings have therefore continued because criminals hardly get sanctioned for their heinous crimes.
As Garba Shehu, President Buhari’s senior media adviser puts it in his July 21, 2020 statement ‘the problem in Southern Kaduna is an evil combination of politically-motivated banditry, revenge killings and mutual violence by criminal gangs acting on ethnic and religious grounds’. Echoing this point was Sa’ad Abubakar, Sultan of Sokoto, who at a meeting of the Northern Traditional Rulers Council (NTRC) and Northern States Governors’ Forum (NSGF) insisted that violence has continued to thrive in northern Nigeria and Middle Belt because ‘no one is punished for the criminal doings they commit’.
Wole Soyinka, in one of his messages to Buhari while in office had also said: “Crimes against our humanity have been committed, and restitution must be made. Nothing less will restore confidence in government, and reassure the people of its integrity, its commitment to equity in internal relationships and the rightful custodianship of ancient resources”.
To many of us the governed who do not know the challenges of government, the least the president could have done upon assumption of power, was to return those forcefully uprooted from their ancestral land back to their homes , if necessary, protected by our soldiers instead of being abandoned in IDP camps.
Since no one is above the law , the Emir of Kano Sanusi Lamido Sanusi who openly encouraged herdsmen in Benue to disobey Benue State anti-open grazing laws, Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, which encouraged his mostly foreign Fulani herdsmen to reject modern grazing methods while insisting that open grazing is part of Fulani culture, its Secretary- General, Saleh Al- Hassan who haughtily insists herders can graze in Nigeria since herders ‘do not recognize international boundaries’; Bala Mohammed, Bauchi State governor and Abubakar Malami, former Attorney General of the Federation who publicly promoted the invasion of reserved forests in the south by armed immigrants Fulani herdsmen should have been questioned in the interest of justice.
And finally, with the near unanimity of all the 36 states on state and community policing, Nigerians don’t believe the president needed two years to appease the hegemonic power in the north that see state and local policing as threat to their stranglehold on power.
Political enemies of the president insist if he could mobilise the National Assembly in 24 hours to support his Rivers State Emergency declaration, he must take full responsibility for the Bokkos massacre which they believe could have been averted with state and community policing.
A peek into Canadian, Mexican, Chinese, European, Japanese, and Korean media platforms reveals palpable angst, driven by strong expressions of nationalistic passion against the 47th President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, and his administration. Citizens of these countries are expressing indignation due to the ongoing trade war—especially regarding the 10% across-the-board tariff on imports from 180 countries and, in some cases, additional tariffs of up to 54% on imported vehicles and other goods into the US from around 60 nations.
The tariffs took effect on April 2, a date President Trump has dubbed Liberation Day—drawing a parallel to July 4, 1776, when the original 13 American colonies declared independence from Britain after a brutal war.
In line with America’s foundational respect for freedom of speech and association, it’s remarkable—and indeed ironic—that, unlike other nations whose media are responding with patriotic fervor, the American media have not rallied behind their president. Instead of pushing back against foreign hostility, the highly vibrant US media have joined the global chorus in criticizing President Trump’s “America First” policies. In some quarters, they are even vilifying or outright demonizing their own president.
Such is the potency of free speech in the United States—a feature perhaps best captured by the concept of American Exceptionalism.
Despite a tumbling stock market and widespread protests fueled by fears of inflation and an impending recession—as predicted by anti-Trump politicians—President Trump appears unperturbed by the tumultuous effects his tariff policies are having on US trading partners. In fact, he has threatened to raise tariffs even further if Canada and European countries attempt to collude against the US. Although this has yet to happen, China—arguably the hardest hit—has retaliated with a 34% tariff on US imports.
In my view, these developments are reshaping the global trade ecosystem. As countries seek alternative trade partners to avoid the constraints of trading with the US on Trump’s terms, they may carve out entirely new trade pathways. Thus, the net effect of President Trump’s sweeping tariff hikes—targeting both allies and rivals—can be likened to the Big Bang.
The Big Bang theory, the leading explanation for the origin and evolution of the universe, posits that the universe began as an infinitely hot and dense singularity about 13 billion years ago. According to its proponents, this singularity expanded rapidly, cooling and giving rise to subatomic particles, atoms, stars, and galaxies. The universe, they say, is still expanding—accelerated by the mysterious force known as dark energy.
President Trump’s “bang” can be seen through a similar lens: an explosive policy shift—rooted in an unconventional America First ideology—that has disrupted all previous global trade arrangements. Like a singularity, his approach is transforming the established order, replacing it with an untested but highly consequential framework. Though unproven in the modern era, it already appears to be generating seismic changes across the global economy.
Trump is leveraging tariffs as a strategy to boost job creation and repatriate manufacturing to the US. He also views them as a tool to generate revenue to reduce the national budget deficit, which stands at a staggering $36 trillion and continues to grow.
Given the global upheaval triggered by this astronomical tariff increase, it is difficult to find a better metaphor for Trump’s trade policy than the Big Bang. The ripple effects are so powerful that fear has gripped not only North and South American neighbors, but also Europeans, Asians, Arabs, and Africans—on both sides of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
The only country that might remain untouched or unaffected by the far-reaching Trump effect is one operating in complete autarky—such as the reclusive regime of Kim Jong Un in North Korea.
While the Big Bang theory provides a comprehensive explanation for the origins of the universe, many unanswered questions remain—such as what caused the universe to begin expanding in the first place, and what is the true nature of dark matter and dark energy.
Similarly, what explains President Trump’s determination to upend the old world order remains an enigma to his opponents. At this point, not even his staunchest devotees can convincingly argue that his motives are purely patriotic, driven by the Make America Great Again (MAGA) ideology with the primary aim of correcting trade imbalances and closing the deficit gap that has led to a massive budget shortfall.
Of course, as is typical in opposition politics, Trump’s high tariffs and efforts to reduce the size of the US government—driven by the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DoGE) under the leadership of Elon Musk, the world’s richest man—are being framed as a gambit to cut taxes for billionaires. That narrative seems to have resonated, as Americans have taken to the streets in protest, in ways that suggest resistance to what former President Joe Biden described as an “oligarchic regime,” citing the number of billionaires in Trump’s cabinet.
The reality, however, is that Trump’s “bang” is not a one-size-fits-all solution. It affects different countries and regions in different ways.
Starting with Africa, where aid is critically needed to manage persistent social and public health challenges like HIV/AIDS, the suspension of USAID funding by President Trump is deeply concerning. USAID has been a vital source of funding for health and humanitarian initiatives, and its absence poses a significant threat. This is especially so because many African leaders have practically abdicated their responsibilities in this area, relying heavily on donor countries—led by the US—to provide for their citizens.
With USAID funding now cut off, many African countries are left scrambling to fill the gap. In Nigeria, the government has made an extra-budgetary provision of $200 million for healthcare services, while the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has injected almost $200 million into the foreign exchange (FX) market to help cushion the volatility and uncertainty resulting from the tariff hikes.
In Europe, the 25% tariff imposed on vehicles and alcoholic beverages—particularly from France and Scotland—poses a massive economic challenge. Many European economies are either already in recession or teetering on the brink. Even more alarming is the US threat to withdraw from its heavy financial commitment to NATO, coupled with demands that member nations pay up their dues. This creates a sense of vulnerability, especially as fears rise that Vladimir Putin may turn his attention to another European country after Ukraine.
From my perspective, the European Union’s support for Volodymyr Zelensky and Ukraine is less about altruism and more about self-interest—the first rule of nature. This is evidenced by the show of unity by European leaders around Zelensky after he was snubbed at the White House by President Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance. This strategic interest is also why Europe is now planning to set up a joint European military force as an alternative to NATO—an initiative already underway. But given the current economic strain on European economies, is the formation of a standing European force feaseable?
Regarding the high tariffs, Europe appears to have adopted a measured response, likely in line with the counsel of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Hence it seems to have adopted a studied approach.
The Arab world is also not left out. President Trump’s “drill, baby, drill” mantra means that the US will reduce its dependence on oil imports from countries like Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, and Oman. Instead of preserving strategic oil reserves, the US will now focus on domestic drilling. Trump’s rationale appears to be that if fossil fuels are eventually being phased out due to the rise of Electric Vehicles (EVs), then it makes sense to exploit the existing oil reserves before combustion-engine vehicles become obsolete.
In any case, Trump has never embraced climate change in the way it is currently framed. The world is alarmed that he has once again pulled the US out of the Paris Climate Accord, after former President Biden had rejoined during his administration. With oil prices crashing due to the tariff shock, an OPEC strategy meeting may soon be on the horizon.
China, currently celebrated as the world’s foremost manufacturing hub and the second-largest economy, has borne the brunt of Trump’s trade war. The 54% tariff imposed on goods ranging from vehicles to washing machines has essentially locked China out of the US market. These items were previously taxed at 10–25%, but after Trump’s April 2 Rose Garden announcement, the tariff soared to 54%. In response, China has imposed a 34% tariff on US exports. That has excerbated the chaos already wracking the global economy in the past couple of days.
The rationale behind these tariffs, according to Trump, is to bring manufacturing back to the US from Mexico, Canada, China, and Europe, where it had migrated due to what he deems as unfair trade practices. His strategy is designed to reverse this trend.
By understanding how President Trump’s influence is shaping events across Western, Asian, Middle Eastern (Arab), and African regions, we can better grasp the phenomenon—The Trump Effect—that I am likening to the Big Bang. Hopefully, this will encourage a more balanced perspective and lead to negotiations rather than a tit-for-tat trade war.
One irrefutable fact is that Trump is rewriting the global trade rulebook, and he is doing so by squelching globalization—a phenomenon that began between the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Placing this into historical context, the Silk Road and the Industrial Revolution—which began in Great Britain following the invention of the steam engine and the mechanical loom—kickstarted global trade by enabling mass production for markets beyond local demand.
In the modern era, global trade received a significant boost from the establishment of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in 1971, in Davos, Switzerland. Since then, global trade has been guided by the Davos Manifesto, which champions ethical entrepreneurship, responsible governance, and the neutral ideals of Swiss diplomacy—underpinning the spirit of globalization. A formal charter for this vision was adopted in 1973 and renewed in 2020.
History shows that global trade thrives when protected—and falters when it is not. For instance, trade in silk and spices between China and Rome during the first century BC flourished when protected by powerful empires. Once those empires declined, so did the trade routes and their prosperity.
Now, as President Trump—the leader of the current global hegemon—takes a protectionist stance, it is consistent with his past. He has long used tariffs as a tool for economic leverage. Even back in 1988, in an interview with Oprah Winfrey, Trump,then a real estate mogul criticized China for what he saw as exploitation of the US economy.
Trump is not alone in this. A resurfaced video from 1996 shows Nancy Pelosi, then a Congresswoman from California, opposing a bill that would give China a special trade status. She argued against tariff exemptions for Chinese products—effectively advocating for the same policy Trump now champions.
In summary, the use of tariffs as a strategic tool in global trade has bipartisan roots in the US. What has changed is the scale and audacity of the Trump administration’s approach, which has sent shockwaves across the global economic landscape—earning it the moniker of a Big Bang moment in trade history.
So, Trump is literally echoing Pelosi’s sentiments with his current introduction of high tariffs. The only difference is that the tariff hike is not limited to China but has been extended to roughly 180 countries, with an estimated 60 nations significantly affected.
Even more interestingly, reports suggest that as recently as 2019, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders was also on record proposing the use of tariffs as a defense against unfair trade practices—an argument now forming the basis of Trump’s ongoing global tariff war, which has placed the world on edge.
Experts familiar with the history and current application of tariffs reveal that about $400 billion worth of U.S. products were tariffed during Trump’s first term. In his current second term, projections suggest that up to $1 trillion worth of goods may fall under U.S. trade tariffs.
According to estimates by economists, approximately $3.3 billion worth of imports arrive in the U.S. annually.
President Trump is convinced that his high-tariff regime will generate more wealth for the United States through increased domestic production, which would, in turn, boost employment for working-class Americans. Another key objective is to create fairness in trade between the U.S. and its trading partners, whom Trump has accused of benefiting unfairly at America’s expense.
Ultimately, President Trump aims to use the proceeds from these high tariffs to help close the $36 trillion budget deficit currently facing the world’s largest and most powerful economy.
In light of this, Mr. Peter Navarro, Trump’s trade adviser, believes that high tariffs have the potential to generate over $6 trillion for the U.S. in the short term.
In all of this, my main concern and interest ly in how Africa can benefit from the reimagining of the global socioeconomic ecosystem, as President Trump upends the old world order.
With a 14% tariff now imposed by the U.S. on Nigerian goods and 10% across most of the 54 nations continent , Nigeria’s exports to the U.S.—valued at between $5–$6 billion (with oil and gas making up over 90% and non-oil/gas exports accounting for less than 10%)—are under threat.
Even among non-oil/gas exports, the bulk comprises raw materials such as urea/fertilizer, ammonia, flower plants, and cashew nuts, which make up about 8%.
It is disappointing that value-added or processed exports from Nigeria to the U.S. are so minuscule—just 2%.
Despite this low figure, the imposition of a 14% tariff on Nigerian goods—despite the trade balance favoring the U.S.—should serve as a wake-up call for Nigeria, and indeed all of Africa, to begin adding value to their exports. If non-oil exports, facing a 10% tariff, are to be competitive in the U.S. market, they must move up the value chain.
The dominance of raw materials in Nigeria’s exports reflects the country’s continuing role as a supplier of raw materials to the industrialized nations of Europe, North America, and Asia. Among the six continents, only South America and the Arab world have yet to fully exploit Africa as a raw material source and dumping ground for finished products. So, for too long Africa has remained the weeping child as it has held the wrong end of the stick and it must make strategic and intentional efforts to change the negative narrative.
What the Trump tariffs spells in my mind is deglobalization as economic trade and investments between countries go on decline. But the global tariff war is also an opportunity for the continent to reposition herself on the global stage by taking a collective stance on how African countries can trade amongst themselves who to trade with in global south or west and even Asia based on her terms not the Berlin, Germany type of framework and agreement when she was not at the table when her resources were being shared as war spoils amongst Europeans who transformed from African slave traders into colonialists exploiting the resources of the continent.
Although, stocks have been crashing worldwide since the hike in tariffs by Trump it may be recalled that stock prices also rose sharply upon the innauguration of Trump on 20th January and has fallen therafter. Similarly, the stocks that have tanked globally in the past few days may rise again once clarity is achieved. With barely 100 days into his four (4) years tenure those projecting that President Trump and the Republican party may be punished by the electorate during mid -term elections that comes up 100 days shy of two (2) years, may be too hasty in their judgement.
That is because in politics a lot could still happen in the lifespan of Trump’s administration which is still 100 days shy of the 730 days(two years ) tenure to change course if the reciprocal high tariffs imposition on trading partners does not pan out well with high inflation wrecking the economy or unemployement rising astronomically to the point that US economy stagnates or goes into recession as being predicted by those against Trump’s unorthodox policies.
In the event that the unique approach defies the logic of economists, Trump may turnout to be the a hero of the new world order.
Magnus Onyibe, an entrepreneur, public policy analyst, author, democracy aadvocate, development strategist, alumnus of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, Massachusetts, USA, and a former commissioner in the Delta State government, sent this piece from Lagos, Nigeria.
Speaking ex tempore can be quite challenging especially when the issue you are raising is quite germane, and you might not be able to speak to its nuances on the spur of the moment. Thus, when Professor Antonia Simbine, the Director General of the National Institute for Social and Economic Research (NISER), visited my office as the Chairman of the Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC) most recently, the cumulation of our discussion veered, not surprisingly, towards policy architecture, local research outputs and Nigeria’s productivity profile.
When I, therefore, made the argument that there is a crucial disconnect between local research outputs and Nigeria’s policy space—that “our experts’ output (are) gradually (becoming) irrelevant and consigned to publications and for individual promotion and professional development and not as input into the public policy making process”—I was not attempting to generate a soundbite that would generate notoriety.
On the contrary, I was simply alluding to a national reality that requires more analysis to unravel its critical nuances. My statement to the press only provides a partial picture of what is really wrong with the policy-research nexus in Nigeria. This contribution is simply a modest attempt to build on my statement as a measure of recognition of the significance of the subject matter.
A significant dimension of my institutional reform concerns has always been the policy-research nexus that could be energised by the town-gown. The policy-research linkage refers to the relationship between policy makers and the academia that strengthen strategic policy intelligence and the need for critical problem-solving in governance.
My policy-engaged research advocacy derived from the belief that Nigeria’s development planning and management has a lot to benefit from a reinvented town and gown symbiotic relationship. This belief has a historical basis in the immediate post-independence period when Nigeria was struggling to put together a development structure that will serve as the basis for good and democratic governance.
This instigated a community of practice that brought academics and scholars into key conversations around the academic and administrative implications of policy designs. The consequence was the development of significant action research hub that stimulate policy intelligence for the government and its policy-making capacities.
This community of practice is what brought the likes of the late Profs. Ojetunji Aboyade and Akinlawon Mabogunje, and Dr Pius Okigbo, into critical policy conversation with Simeon Adebo, Allison Ayida, Ahmed Joda, and the public administration/public service structure into policy-research-industry complementary relationship that government regularly drew upon for its development thinking.
From what we now regard as the golden age of public administration in Nigeria to the present struggle to make sense of democratic governance, a lot has gone wrong both with the policy-making architecture, Nigeria’s higher education dynamics and the significance of research and development (R&D) as the fulcrum for enabling action research and ultimately the policy-research nexus.
There is one obvious culprit that undermine the framework that enables policymakers and researchers/academics collaborate to facilitate policy-research linkage that deploys the trans-disciplinary and interdisciplinary nature of public policy research to ground development planning and good governance.
This culprit is the government’s anti-intellectual posture along the line which takes researchers, think tanks and research institutes as interlopers and non-significant actors in the policy process rather than as critical partners and stakeholders. This is a charge that should not be taken lightly. It is one that has been borne out by my entire professional trajectory as a public servant with a significant interest in studying the intellectual basis of public administration in Nigeria, and its interface with academia and other intellectual resources available to the government in terms of its policymaking function and service delivery requirements.
My intellectual and professional tutelage under Aboyade and Mabogunje, for example, also further accentuated how the public service could be rabidly reactionary against every attempt at facilitating collaboration with the academia and research dynamics.
This is despite the cogent evidence of the role of the town and gown in molding the successes of the Adebo-Udoji up to the era of the Gowon’s super-permanent secretaries in public administration—a situation that got to a height during the IBB era and still subsisted under the Abacha administration with the National Economic Intelligence Committee (NEIC), headed by the late Prof. Sam Aluko. Unfortunately, the commencement of Nigeria’s democratic experiment in 1999 has failed to undermine this anti-intellectual posture and ignite this policy-research collaboration.
There are several consequences deducible from this posture. The first is that the many research institutes, think tanks and tertiary institutions have no visible influence on Nigeria’s policy articulation in ways that qualitatively transform the policy intelligence of government.
A recent study carried out on Nigeria’s sixty-six research institutes paints a very dismal picture of systemic, operational and structural challenges that undermine the contributions that these institutes could make to policymaking. The same can be said for the over two hundred and fifty public and private universities in Nigeria.
This state of affair leads to the second implication of the government’s anti-intellectualism: the failure to ground the framework and protocols of their policymaking practices on economic and statistical rationalities. This implies that successive Nigeria governments plan economic and developmental processes without the benefits of statistical analyses and scenario intelligence that the action and empirical researches of the research institutes, think tanks and tertiary institutions could have provided. This was the crux of Prof. Wolfgang Stolper’s stricture regarding his development experience in Nigeria between 1962 and 1968.
In his book, Planning without Facts: Lessons in Resource Allocation from Nigeria’s Development (1966), Stolper decries the situation where the government articulated development plans within framework of a weak data and statistical culture that could make the development process an evidence-based practice.
Development therefore becomes an arbitrary process of depending on a series of short-run decisions and planning that limits the extent of scientific prediction. This paucity of statistical and data parameters is one of the most singular reasons why the trajectory of Nigeria’s development planning, from the first NDP (1962 to 1968) to the 1992-1994 rolling plan, has impacted good governance for Nigerians.
To be continued tomorrow.
Prof. Olaopa is chairman, Federal Civil Service Commission.