Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, on Friday, described corruption as a deadly cankerworm that lays great nations in ruins.

While speaking at the 26th Annual Wole Soyinka Lecture organised by the National Association of Seadogs, known as Pyrates Confraternity, to mark his 90th birthday, Soyinka stated that corruption put people at a great disadvantage.

He noted that it would be challenging to win the war against corruption, without attitudinal change and the readiness of everyone to begin to do the right thing.

Soyinka, in 1952 had started the Pyrates Confraternity alongside six other undergraduates of the University of Ibadan.

The lecture, held at the June 12 Cultural Centre, Kuto, Abeokuta, had its theme, “The Baby or the Bathwater: Navigating the dark tunnels of systemic corruption to nationhood.”

Soyinka, while commenting on the lecture delivered by former governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Fashola, said that the challenge of corruption was such that it ran from the top to the bottom in Nigeria, adding that only a collective decision would halt its deadly march in the country.

He said, “The particular aspect of this lecture that struck me is corruption. Corruption is not just when you exchange money; it is a cankerworm that eats deep into the fabric of society from the top to the bottom and corrupts our very nature, our very existence.

“And one aspect of the lecture emphasised that the cure for corruption begins from the inside. Yes, we can talk about institutions, government, and the exercise of power unfairly and inordinately to the disadvantage of the rest of the community as part of corruption, but ultimately, the solution, both short-term and long-term, must begin from the inside, and this is one of the motives for establishing the Pyrates Confraternity 62 years ago.”

Soyinka also used the medium to disabuse the minds of the people regarding misconceptions about the Pyrates Confraternity, saying that the registered association is not a blood-thirsty secret cult but an association founded to push for justice and advance the betterment of the country.

Soyinka, alongside the former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, later unveiled a book “Ship Ahoy,” written to document the 60-year history of the confraternity.

In his lecture earlier, Babatunde Fashola, the former two-term Minister of Works and Housing, described Soyinka as not only a gift to the country and the continent but to the entire civilisation.

Speaking on the theme of the lecture, Fashola maintained that while corruption in terms of financial gains is undoubtedly condemned, the worst form of corruption is that which has displaced our highly cherished moral values and has, therefore corrupted the people’s ways of life.

He said, “When I was in office as a minister, the Federal Road Safety Corps usually made copies of the monthly reports on road crashes available to me. The report is actually for the office of the Secretary-General of the Federation, but I used to get a copy.

“In October 2022, a total of 1,111 road crashes were reported across the country, out of which 449 people died, representing six per cent of 6458 people involved in the accidents, with 2780 injured.

“The analysis showed a three per cent decrease when compared with the previous month but a 10 per cent increase when compared with the figure for October 2021.

“This goes to show that an average of 400 people are lost monthly to road crashes in the country, but I doubt if the insecurity which is always an issue during campaigns is responsible for such a huge loss of lives every month in the country.”

Veteran Nollywood actor cum politician, Kenneth Okonkwo, has asserted that the approved ₦70,000 minimum wage does not reflect the current reality in the country.

Recalls that President Bola Tinubu recently assented to the N70,000 minimum wage following an agreement with joint labour unions.

In an interview with Nigerian journalist, Seun Okinbaloye on the ‘Mic On’ podcast, Okonkwo maintained that the former N30,000 minimum wage was more valuable than the current N70,000 minimum wage.

He pointed out that everything has turned different since the administration of President Bola Tinubu came to power and questioned what they have achieved.

He said, “The N30,000 minimum wage people were earning before this government came in was of greater value than current N70,000 minimum wage. Because you had N500 to a dollar when this government came in, but now it’s N1,500. It went to N2,000 at a point. Do the mathematics.

“So what are we talking about? When it was N500 per dollar, the minimum wage was $60. Now that the exchange rate is N1,500 it should be about $45 per month. And see that it’s of less value. So what can they say that they have achieved?”

Damilola Adenola, one of the leaders of the ongoing hardship protests, stated that the protesters have not yet achieved their objectives. Speaking on Channels TV’s Politics Today on Friday, Adenola emphasized that the protests will continue until their demands are met.

Adenola criticized President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for not directly addressing the protesters. He dismissed claims that politicians are funding the protests, asserting that economically deprived Nigerians drive the movement.

He explained, “The protest is the idea of the economically deprived Nigerians. The protesters have yet to achieve their objectives, as stated in our demands charter. But we have made strong statements and shown those in power what people can do to express their displeasure. This has begun, and it is ongoing. We are waiting for the government to respond to our demands. Until then, the protests will continue.”

Adenola highlighted the importance of holding the government accountable, stating, “We have made people see the power of holding the government accountable. This will bring the government to the consciousness that governance is about people. The sponsor of this protest is Hunger. It is the economic inequality and deprivation that forced people out.”

Lawyers have criticized the government’s response to the ongoing hunger protest, asserting that peaceful protest is a constitutional right that must not be infringed upon. They also argue that the government did not do enough to address the root causes of the protest.

Abeny Mohammed (SAN) noted that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu failed to show empathy by not addressing the protesters directly. “The failure to speak to the protesters before or on the day the protest began was a missed chance to connect with the suffering Nigerians,” he said.

He added, “The massive deployment of security forces to stop the protesters is an admission of failure by the government, showing it has no solution to their genuine demands. Forceful suppression of peaceful protests violates the constitution and is unacceptable in a democracy.”

Mohammed also condemned the last-minute court injunctions obtained by some state governments to restrict the protests. “These ex-parte injunctive orders were a gross abuse of court processes and infringed on Section 40 of the constitution, providing freedom of peaceful assembly. The judges who granted these orders acted outside the principles governing ex-parte orders. The urgency claimed by the courts was self-imposed and unjustified.”

Ikoro N.A. Ikoro Esq emphasized that the Nigerian constitution allows people to air their grievances through peaceful protest. He criticized the government’s wasteful spending on luxury items while citizens struggle with necessities. “When people can’t afford essentials like fuel, garri, or beans, it’s clear the government has not done enough. Promises of future improvements are not enough when people are suffering now,” he said.

Ikoro further noted that if the government had put as much effort into addressing the issues as they did in trying to stop the protests, the situation might not have escalated.

Hameed Ajibola Jimoh Esq pointed out that the right to protest is protected under international law, provided it remains peaceful. “Protests should consider the rights of others, including both adults and minors. The government has not done enough to address the widespread hunger, which has worsened under the current administration,” he said.

Jimoh added, “The government’s failure to gauge public opinion and address economic hardships has led to widespread suffering. This protest was avoidable if the government had acted appropriately.”

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has announced pro bono legal support services for protesters nationwide. In a statement, NBA National Publicity Secretary Akorede Habeeb Lawal said the NBA president, Yakubu Maikyau (SAN), directed the establishment of Legal Support Services Teams across the country. The NBA has also written to the Inspector General of Police to collaborate on this initiative.

Maikyau instructed all NBA branch chairpersons to ensure their human rights committees handle cases of fundamental rights breaches, harassment, or torture by law enforcement agents during the protests. “Branch chairpersons are also to set up Situation Monitoring Committees (SMC) to monitor interactions between law enforcement agents and protesters,” the statement added.

The Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi, stated that Kano was the most affected by violence during the nationwide #EndBadGovernance protest.

The 10-day protest against the economic crisis began Thursday across various parts of the country, including Kano. Northern Nigerian cities, especially Kano, experienced significant violence. Protesters in Kano raided and set ablaze the newly built Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC) industrial park, which was scheduled for commissioning next week. Looters took desktop computers, chairs, keyboards, and other appliances. Shops and warehouses were also looted in different parts of the state.

In response to the violence and looting, Governor Abba Yusuf declared a 24-hour curfew in Kano on Thursday.

Speaking to journalists at his palace on Friday, Sanusi described the looting of the NCC industrial park and Kano printing press as unfortunate. He emphasized that the north, particularly Kano, has been most affected by the violent protests.

Sanusi urged the people of Kano to avoid further uprisings, reminding them that the state has endured more challenging times. He called on parents and guardians to dissuade their children from participating in protests.

“Yesterday was a sad day for the people of Kano when hoodlums hijacked the protests against hunger and economic hardships and caused mayhem in our state,” he said. “They engaged in arson, looting, and attacking innocent people, despite warnings and advice from experts and leaders against such actions.”

Sanusi’s appeal highlights the need for peaceful expressions of grievances and the importance of maintaining order during protests.

Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, has announced that the UK government will delay its plan to increase the family visa income requirement from £29,000 to £38,700 (approximately ₦80 million).

Originally slated to take effect in 2025, this policy was introduced earlier this year by former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak as part of efforts to manage record immigration levels.

The new administration has decided to postpone the proposed increase until a comprehensive review of the family visa policy is conducted by the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC).

Until this review is complete, the existing threshold of £29,000 will remain unchanged.

Cooper has confirmed that no further policy adjustments will occur until the independent review is finalized.

The government has tasked the MAC with evaluating the impact of restricting migrant workers from bringing family members to the UK and the implications of raising the income thresholds.

Under Cooper’s leadership, the new government plans to reevaluate its approach to legal migration, aiming to improve the skills of the domestic workforce before relying on foreign labor.

Cooper criticized the recent surge in legal migration, highlighting it as a failure to address labor market shortages. Non-EU long-term migration increased from 277,000 in the year ending December 2022 to 423,000 in the year ending December 2023.

“This is why we are setting out a different approach – one that links migration policy and visa controls to skills and labor market policies – so immigration is not used as an alternative to training or tackling workforce problems here at home,” Cooper stated.

A total of 3,173 Nigerian-trained nurses and midwives were licensed to practise in the United Kingdom in one year, PUNCH reports.

This is according to the latest report on the number of nursing and midwifery professionals on the Nursing and Midwifery Council register from April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024, obtained exclusively from the council.

The report also showed that so far, 13,656 nurses and midwives educated in Nigeria were practising in the UK.

The NMC data noted that on March 31, 2024, “there were a total of 826,418 nursing and midwifery professionals on our register.

“Of this number, 13,656 were educated in Nigeria. In the 12 months to March 31, 2024, 3,173 people who were educated in Nigeria joined our register for the first time.”

The NMC is the regulator for nursing and midwifery in the UK and it maintains a register of all nurses, midwives, and specialist community public health nurses and nursing associates eligible to practise in the UK.

According to the report, Nigeria is one of the top non-UK countries of education as of March 2024, and the number of Nigerian nurses and midwives practising in the UK increased by 28.3 per cent in one year.

Other top non-UK countries of education as of March 2024, compared to last year are India (62,413), Philippines (49,092), Romania (7,378), and Ghana (5,536).

In 2023, the World Health Organisation said Nigeria and 54 other countries were facing the most pressing health workforce challenges related to universal health coverage.

WHO said with the impact of COVID-19 and widespread disruptions to health services, health workers in the identified countries continued to seek better-paid opportunities in wealthier nations.

The WHO said of the 55 countries, 37 are in Africa, eight are in the Western Pacific region, six are in the Eastern Mediterranean region, three are in Southeast Asia and one is in the Americas.

Thereafter, the UK government on March 23 placed Nigeria and 53 other countries on the red list of countries that should not be actively targeted for recruitment by health and social care employers.

However, the NMC report stated that the number of first-time joiners across the UK continued to rise, with nearly 60,000 new nursing and midwifery professionals registering with it this year alone.

It added that the figures were split almost equally between UK-educated joiners (30,363) and those educated internationally (29,628).

It stated, “The year-on-year growth was even higher among international joiners, which shows an increase of more than 18 per cent compared to the previous year. Almost half (14,615) of this year’s new joiners were educated in India.”

In 2023, the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives said over 75,000 nurses and midwives left the country in five years to seek greener pastures.

The mass exodus of nurses has worsened an ongoing shortage of health workers, and poses significant threats to the healthcare delivery system, leading to limited access to care for many people.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has asked Nigerian student Lola Akinlade to leave the country over a fake acceptance letter she used to obtain a study visa and work permit.

Akinlade, who graduated with a diploma in Social Services from Nova Scotia Community College in 2019, shared her bitter experience with CBC News on Thursday.

According to her, she was unaware that the acceptance letter provided by an agent for the University of Regina in 2016 was fake until she was contacted by the IRCC a few weeks before her graduation from her new institution.

The mother of two noted that while receiving her diploma, she felt both happiness and worry upon realising that she had allegedly relied on a fraudulent document to secure her study permit, adding, “I was devastated. That was the beginning of my trauma.”

In an interview with the Canadian news platform, she said, “When the IRCC contacted me, I requested them to re-examine my case, arguing that I was a victim of a ‘rogue agent’ who supplied me with a fake acceptance letter to the Canadian school.

“Please review my file. I just want this to be resolved.”

Akinlade stated that the process of moving to travel to and study in Canada started in 2015 while she was working as a medical sales representative at a pharmaceutical company in Lagos, with a business administration degree from a Nigerian university.

She recounted meeting a man at her office who claimed to be an immigration consultant and offered to guide her through the process of becoming an international student by applying for a master’s degree in business administration.

Akinlade explained that she did not specify a particular university to the agent, only stating that she wanted to study at a reputable Canadian institution.

She described how she provided the agent with documents such as her passport and university transcripts, along with payment. Several months later, he provided her with a study permit for Canada, plane tickets, and an acceptance letter from the University of Regina.

“I flew to Canada in late December 2016, expecting to start classes in January 2017. However, I was stopped in Winnipeg en route to Regina when I received a call from the agent, who told me there were no spaces available at the university and that I would have to go on a waitlist.

Upon arriving in Canada, she began searching independently for a new school and programme and stayed with relatives in Winnipeg until she was accepted at Nova Scotia Community College for social services, starting in September 2017.

She said she chose social services because it better aligned with her previous work in the medical field.

Akinlade stated that she did not contact the University of Regina directly until two years later, when she received a letter from the IRCC informing her that the acceptance letter was fake.

“I was sceptical after receiving the IRCC letter, thinking it might be a misunderstanding or something,” she said. “So, I immediately contacted the University of Regina.

“And that was when I learned the truth,” she added.

Meanwhile, when CBC contacted the agent, Babatunde Isiaq Adegoke, he confirmed providing Akinlade with the acceptance letter but said it was supplied by a company located in Ejigbo, Lagos State, called Success Academy Education Consult, which he had hired.

CBC exchanged text messages with Adegoke, who stated that he guided Akinlade through the process of applying to enter Canada. However, he denied telling Akinlade that she would have to go on a waitlist at the University of Regina.

Akinlade lost her study permit in Canada due to a fake letter and was denied when she attempted to apply for a postgraduate work permit and a temporary resident permit.

In March 2023, an IRCC officer wrote to Akinlade, stating that the department believed she knew the document was fake “on the balance of probabilities.”

Her husband, Samson Akinlade, and their eight-year-old Nigerian-born son, David, joined her in Nova Scotia in 2018 but have now lost their temporary resident status. Their younger son, born in Canada in 2021, has Canadian citizenship but lacks medical coverage due to his parents’ status.

As the nationwide hunger protest enters its third day, different entertainers have taken positions either supporting or criticising the demonstrations.

Disc jockey and singer, Florence Otedola, aka DJ Cuppy, prayed for the country and its leaders. She wrote on social media, “Dear Lord, please bless Nigeria with peace, unity, and prosperity. Guide our leaders and protect our people. Let your love and grace fill our nation. Amen.”

On her part, singer, Tems, who was supposed to release a music video on Thursday, August 1, 2024, the day the protest began, postponed its release in solidarity with the movement. She wrote on social media, “Out of respect for the ongoing protest at home (Nigeria), I have decided to postpone the release of the ‘Burning’ music video. (I am) praying for the safety of those outside at this time. May the voices of the people be heard.”

Actress, Iyabo Ojo, encouraged peaceful protests, urging people to avoid restricted areas. She wrote, “My dear brothers and sisters, please, if you must protest, be aware of and avoid areas restricted by the government. For your safety and to avoid any potential conflicts, kindly stay away from zones where the government has prohibited gatherings or demonstrations. This is the situation we’ve found ourselves in. Let us comply, please; your health and life matter.” 

Actress, Regina Daniels, who is one of the wives of Senator Ned Nwoko, called for peace during the protests. She said, “Today is August 1, the first day of the national protests in Nigeria. We all know that the masses are suffering and want a better way of living, hence the protest. There is nothing wrong with protesting, but there is everything wrong with violence.

“Once violence gets involved, it defeats the whole purpose of the protests. I urge everyone to try and make this protest as peaceful as possible.”

Singer, Omah Lay, also stood in support of the protest, posting on X, “End bad governance in Nigeria.” 

On his part, controversial actor and politician, Yul Edochie, was of the view that the protest was not the right move. In a post on Instagram on July 19, 2024, he wrote, “I acknowledge the hardship in the country, the situation of things. It is affecting everyone. I believe all will be well. Protest is not the answer. People take advantage of protests to break into other people’s shops, steal and destroy properties, hurt and kill innocent Nigerians, who are already going through a lot. In the end, the aim of the protest will be defeated. Remember what happened during End SARS.”

Actress, Tonto Dikeh, also stated that rather than embarking on a protest, there should be a dialogue between the government and its people. She wrote, “I hereby call for peaceful coexistence, peaceful protest, and dialogue. I also charge the federal and state governments to attend to the plights of Nigerians, especially the youth. Nigeria belongs to all of us; there is no other Nigeria, and we must work collectively to make it a better place. God bless you all.”

Grammy Award-winning singer, Burna Boy, stated that he lost the zeal to protest in Nigeria in 2020 when some people refused to have his song played during the #EndSARS protests that rocked the country in October 2020. Referencing a post made in 2020, he wrote on his X page, “The fight in me died on this day. Ogun go doggy anybody who call my name this time around.”

After getting backlash from some of his followers, he maintained that he had never collected money from any politician. He wrote, “No politician has ever given anything. Go and ask Wike about the land he gave me, or which money he gave me.”

The former Governor or Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, had hosted the singer after he won a Grammy Award in 2021, and had promised him a landed property in a choice area of the state.