In the hustle and bustle of off-camera activity in the siderooms of the G-20 Summit, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was unwilling to stay away from the action.

The President met with the Heads of State of three nations which have been identified as key partners in his economic development diplomacy drive for local investment and wealth creation.

For the Leader of Africa's largest economy, a meeting with the Chief Executive Officer of Europe's largest economy, Germany, presented a unique opportunity to expand ties of prosperity for the people of Nigeria, but with a pragmatic approach toward ensuring the effective execution of agreements struck.

"It is not, for us, only a matter of designing the financial architecture for an expanded economic partnership. It is also about the practicality of aligning the perspectives of your large-scale manufacturers, such as Volkswagen and others, with the reality of the new incentives my government is putting in place for them to come and prosper across multiple value chains and sectors inside of our country," the President implored.

Apparently intrigued by the specific economic focus of the President's proposal, German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, responded by acknowledging the mutually-beneficial nature of an escalation in the scale of economic ties with Africa's largest economy.

"Thank you for this important discussion, Mr. President. I can appreciate this opportunity to advance our economic relations. Your market is unique and our companies have history in Nigeria. We acknowledge the business friendly reforms you have put in place. I am happy to inform you of my desire to visit you in Nigeria in October, which will allow us to carry forward these initiatives," the German leader confided.

Following President Tinubu's acceptance of the German Chancellor's request to visit, the President proceeded to sit down with the Leader of Asia's fourth largest economy, South Korea, during which, South Korean President, Yoon Suk Yeol, commended the President's regional leadership in upholding democratic tenets and norms.

"I wish to commend your strong leadership, following the peaceful transfer of power to you from your predecessor and we see a stable country in West Africa that is growing in stature," he said.

President Tinubu responded by swiftly steering the discussion toward his economic focus as he immediately advanced proposals for an enhanced South Korean presence in Nigeria's local manufacturing sector.

"We will leave nothing hanging. We will finalise what we agree to and we will execute. We will work point by point with you to secure rapidly implementable MoUs across sectors of partnership that will involve the active presence of your biggest firms, not just in terms of Nigerian consumption, but in local Nigerian production, from telecommunications to technology, and oil & gas," the Nigerian leader affirmed.

The South Korean President responded in agreement, noting specifically that Nigeria's education, technology and energy sectors are of utmost interest to South Korean investors and that he will mobilize his business community to take advantage of new Nigerian incentives for local industry.

Offering an invitation to visit Nigeria, President Bola Tinubu would conclude formal discussions at the G-20 with the Asian giant and host nation, which had invited Nigeria to the G-20 Summit, as he met with Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi.

"There are many lessons our nation can learn from the rapid progress that India has made under your leadership. We see fantastic opportunity between our nations across sectors, such as agricultural development, but specifically, there is more we can do to advance ICT innovation and the emergence of Blue-Chip FinTech growth in Africa. Nigeria has the local players who can drive it from the front," the Nigerian leader confidently asserted.

The hosting Head of State responded in the affirmative to the economic partnership proposal, even as he expressed gratitude for the Nigerian leader's invitation to visit.

"Our teams must now stay close in touch to detail our priority areas of upscaled cooperation with respect to agriculture, defense industries capacity building, and even FinTech growth. I see your commitment. We believe there are immense prospects for Nigeria in the UPI (Unified Payments Interface) and we will ensure that we come together and make progress on these fronts very rapidly," the Indian leader concluded.

During the G-20 sideline meetings, President Tinubu also had substantive, informal exchanges of views with U.S. President Joe R. Biden; European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen; and World Bank President, Ajay Banga, amongst many others.

Chief Ajuri Ngelale

Special Adviser to the President

(Media & Publicity)

There seems to be a transitioning. A metamorphosis from the quotidian loan-driven articulations to investment-tailored pursuits and commitments. Nigeria has over successive administrations hypostasised borrowing in its bucket of foreign economic interests. These borrowings have overtime put a cosmic strain on government revenue. Nigeria’s external debt stands at over N49.85 trillion, and with about 73 percent of its earnings used for debt servicing.

In June, the Debt Management Office (DMO) described Nigeria’s debt service-to-revenue ratio of 73.5 percent as ‘’unsustainable and a threat’’. The DMO said: “The country’s debt stock remains sustainable under these criteria, space has been reduced when compared to Nigeria’s self-imposed debt limit of 40 percent set in the medium-term debt management strategy (MTDS), 2020-2023. On the other hand, the debt service-to-revenue ratio at 73.5 percent in 2023 exceeds the recommended threshold of 50 percent due to low revenue, which means that there is a need to significantly increase government revenue. Under the alternative scenario, the total public debt-to-GDP ratio at 45.4 percent in 2023 exceeds Nigeria’s self-imposed debt limit of 40 percent. “

In May, KPMG warned that Nigeria might spend over 100 percent of its revenue on debt servicing. Clearly, a shift from this status quo has not only become necessary but also critical for the survival of the nation.

Nigeria has a revenue challenge, but with unchecked borrowing, this problem becomes compounded. So, the government has to come up with innovative measures of driving revenue as well as enchanting investment while weaning itself off prodigious borrowing.

In August, President Bola Tinubu said his administration was committed to breaking the cycle of overreliance on borrowing for public spending which results in the burden of debt servicing. The direness and exigency of the time demands this forward-thinking, innovation, and discipline. Borrowing has its edge, but when unmitigated and without financial discipline, it becomes an encumbrance to growth.  

Nigeria has played a good hand at the G20 summit in India. The country went fishing for investments, partnerships, -- and not for loans. This is a diametrical shift from the status quo. As it is today, it is much more prudent and decent to go fishing for opportunities for the country than to go borrowing.

According to correspondence from the presidency, Indian investors made financial pledges amounting to $14 billion during the Nigeria-India Presidential Roundtable and Conference in New Delhi, India. These investors are said to include -- Indorama Petrochemical Limited which pledged a new investment of $8 billion in the expansion of its fertilizer production and petrochemical facility in Eleme, Rivers State, and Jindal Steel and Power Limited, one of India's largest private steel producers, which committed to investing $3 billion in Nigeria, following discussions with President Tinubu on the sidelines of the G20 Summit.

Also, President of SkipperSeil Limited, Mr. Jitender Sachdeva was said to have announced that, following President Tinubu's personal intervention, he was investing $1.6 billion in the establishment of 20 100MW power generation plants across the states of northern Nigeria, amounting to 2,000MW of new power within the next four years.

Bharti Enterprises, a major first-generation corporation in India with interests in telecom, space communications, digital solutions, insurance, processed foods, real estate, and hospitality, was said to have expressed its commitment to invest an additional $700 million in Nigeria -- with work set to begin immediately.

The President was said to have approved finalisation on a new $1 billion agreement to bring the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) to 40% self-sufficiency in local manufacturing and production of defence equipment in-country by 2027 through a comprehensive new partnership with the Managing Arm of the Military-Industrial Complex of the Indian Government.

A third MoU on Infrastructure Development was said to have been signed between the Infrastructure Corporation of Nigeria Limited (InfraCorp) and Invest India, the National Investment Promotion, and Facilitation Agency of India.

Going by the reports from India, it has been a fruitful outing for Nigeria -- if not the most rewarding from a single event. The leadership has shown capacity and facility for private capital attraction, and it is essential that this shift to innovativeness is sustained.

However, it is important that the business environment is made conducive for investors. It is one thing to attract private capital, and it is another to retain it. Nigeria is currently ranked 131 out of 190 economies on ease of doing business. The business environment, today, is not very friendly. From tremulous infrastructure, poor power supply, asphyxiating taxes, insecurity, bureaucracy, corruption, to an undisciplined civil service – all these contribute to making the business environment precarious.

Already, the government is beginning to address the constraints to business as regards taxes; I believe it will look into other factors.

To go fishing is a more intelligent approach than to go borrowing unchecked.

When the presidential election petition process began in March 2023, Nigeria’s Supreme Court comprised 13 Justices. The court received a bumper injection of seven new justices in November 2020 after the conclusion of the disputes arising from the presidential election of the previous year. That was the last set of appointments to the Supreme Court.

Since then, six justices have retired; another three have died. Indeed, in the period since the commencement of the presidential election petition in March, one justice of the Supreme Court has died. Another retired three days before the judgment of the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal (PEPT), bringing the complement down to 11. The court’s second senior-most member, Musa Dattijo Muhammad, is due to retire next month on October 27. If there is an appeal from the judgment of the PEPT, the Supreme Court will notionally have 10 eligible justices, and that is before recusals or other potential conflicts, not to mention ill-health.

Election petitions have become a huge drain on judicial bandwidth and well-being since 1979. In that year, the contest between Shehu Shagari of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) and Obafemi Awolowo of the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) ended up before the Supreme Court of Nigeria, resulting in a judgment memorably described as “a compromise between law and political expediency.” At the head of the bench that decided the case was Atanda Fatayi-Williams, the Chief Justice of Nigeria at the time. As famous as this judgment would become, the antecedents arguably proved to be more lasting in their influence on Nigeria’s politics and institutions.

The relevant part of the story began on August 16, 1979, when the Federal Electoral Commission, FEDECO, headed by Michael Ani, declared Alhaji Shagari as the winning candidate in the elections to return Nigeria to civil rule. Three of the five presidential candidates in the contest repudiated the result, setting up what would become an epic election dispute. Obafemi was one of the three.

The Electoral Act of 1979, under which the vote took place, anticipated that there could be a dispute and conferred on the Supreme Court the jurisdiction for resolving disputes from the presidential election. The panel to hear the disputes was to be led by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), but the then incumbent, Sir Darnley Alexander, was due to retire on August 24, 1979, a mere eight days after the announcement of the result and well before the Supreme Court was due to sit on the petition.

Three days before the retirement of Chief Justice Darnley Alexander, on August 21, 1979, then military head of state, Olusegun Obasanjo, an army general, invited Atanda Fatayi-Williams, then a justice of the Supreme Court, to a meeting at the seat of power at Dodan Barracks, Lagos. At the meeting, Obasanjo offered Fatayi-Williams the office of CJN in succession to Sir Darnley.

In his memoirs, Faces, Cases, and Places, published in 1983, Fatayi-Williams claimed that this offer “was totally unexpected, and, for the first time in my life, I was at a loss for words”, adding that Obasanjo “watched my discomfiture with relish and delight.”

Some of his peers on the Supreme Court were not so sure. Fatayi-Williams was admitted to the bar of the Middle Temple in London in 1948, one year after Chukwunweike Idigbe and three years later than Egbert Udo Udoma, both of whom were his peers on the Supreme Court. Fatayi-Williams was from Lagos; Idigbe came from the then Mid-West; while Udo Udoma came from the then South Eastern State. Idigbe became a judge in 1961 before being appointed to the Supreme Court in 1964. His service on the Supreme Court was, however, fractured by the Nigerian Civil War.

Udo Udoma, who also became a judge in 1961, had enjoyed a career as a lawyer, minority rights activist, campaigner, politician, and federal legislator before being appointed a judge in 1961. Two years later, in 1963, he became Chief Justice of Uganda with the understanding that upon the end of his tenure in Uganda, he would return to a position on Nigeria’s Supreme Court. This came to pass in 1968 when General Yakubu Gowon appointed him justice of the Supreme Court. Atanda Fatayi-Williams arrived on the court in 1969 as a junior to Udo Udoma and, strictly speaking, to Idigbe.

In his memoirs, The Eagle in Flight, Udo Udoma recalls that upon the retirement of Chief Justice Adetokunbo Ademola in 1972, the then-ruling Supreme Military Council considered five names for appointment to replace him, namely: Professor Taslim Elias, who was then the Attorney-General of the Federation; John Idowu Conrad Taylor, then Chief Justice of Lagos (as the office was then known); George Baptist Ayodola Coker, Justice of the Supreme Court; Rotimi Frederik Alade Williams, a senior lawyer in private practice; and Udo Udoma himself. Fatayi-Williams was notably not in the running. In the event, the military preferred Taslim Elias, who had served them well as Attorney-General.

When a new military regime relieved Elias of the position in July 1975, they settled on Sir Darnley, until then a little-known Chief Judge of the South Eastern State, whom Udo Udoma had recommended for that office.

In 1979, the stakes in the appointment of Chief Justice were very high: the presidency of Nigeria could depend on it. Udo Udoma, who had mobility issues, writes in his memoirs that “Justice Fatayi-Williams, then also a Justice of the Supreme Court, registered a solemn protest on the ground that he saw no reason why I (Udo Udoma) should be given such a high post as the Chief Justice of Nigeria despite the fact that I was an amputee. He felt strongly that the SMC under the leadership of a Yoruba man like himself would not be justified to ignore him who then had no handicap. He then contacted several Yoruba men, including Chief S.L. Edu, to contact General Olusegun Obasanjo as Head of State to plead his case.”

Continuing, Udo Udoma records that these “intrigues succeeded and he was preferred to me because, in his representation, he was able to convince General Olusegun Obasanjo that since Alhaji Shehu Shagari as a Hausa-Fulani, was contesting the office of President of Nigeria and had chosen Dr. Ekwueme, an Igbo man, as his running mate as Vice-President, both of whom were likely to win, then the office of Chief Justice of Nigeria ought to be filled by himself, a Yoruba man, especially as Chief Obafemi Awolowo was sure to lose the election.”

Chief Awolowo and Olusegun Obasanjo exchanged some testy epistles reproduced in Musikilu Mojeed’s The Letterman, in which Awolowo effectively alleged that the appointment of Fatayi-Williams as CJN in 1979 came with an implicit bargain concerning the determination of the election petition of that year. He also suggested that days before the Supreme Court announced the decision on 26 September 1979, Chief Justice Atanda Fatayi-Williams leaked the decision of the Court to General Obasanjo, who desired to be reassured that he could proceed with the inauguration date of 1 October 1979 as planned. Forty-four years later, the current incumbent travelled to India with the assurance of a man who knew that the imminent announcement of the PEPT judgement did not threaten his position.

In 2008 and in 2019, judges who sat on controversial presidential election petitions in election years enjoyed quick judicial elevation from the parties in whose favour they decided. Also, in 2019, a chief justice was guillotined ostensibly because he could not be trusted to determine presidential election petitions in a predictable way in the manner that his would-be successor could. What seems clear is that, since 1979, judicial appointments and decision-making in election petitions have enjoyed a relationship underpinned by a whiff of implicit quid pro quo.

With 10 serving justices, the Supreme Court has 11 vacancies waiting to be filled. Politicians have learnt to turn election dispute resolution into auditions for shifting judicial deck chairs. First, they rig elections in order to get the opportunity to rig the courts with judges ready to help them validate rigged elections. That is the legacy of the unspoken antecedents of Awolowo v. Shagari.

A lawyer and a teacher, Odinkalu can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. This is an updated version of an article first published on May 14, 2023

What would have been a violent confrontation was averted in Lugbe, a suburb of the Federal Capital Territory on Saturday, when owners of Corner shops at Sector ‘F’ resisted attempts to build new shops on the setbacks from the adjourning road which would block entrance to existing shops.

The building of new shops on setbacks between existing buildings and the roads has in recent times become indiscriminate, allegedly approved by officials of the Federal Housing Authority which owns the estate, in clear violation of their masterplan.

Before the swearing-in of the new Housing and Urban Development Minister, Alhaji Musa Dangiwa, officials of the Federal Housing Authority had hurriedly allocated available spaces within the Lugbe area, including parking spaces, setbacks and places marked for public convenience.

One of the beneficiaries, Engr. Amos Adebayo, who said he was recently allocated one of the setbacks for his private office, was prevented from building the office. After his efforts were rebuffed, he returned to the site last Saturday, determined to commence construction.

The adjourning shop owners alerted the Lugbe police station when the matter became potentially violent between Adebayo’s workers and staff of Fingerprint Communications Limited which operates the DSTV franchise in Lugbe. They insisted that the space was the only setback between their office, which was once occupied by Happy Note Microfinance Bank, and the access road.

The Police officer, Inspector Samuel Olusola, who arrived at the site to forestall any violence, eventually took Mr. Adebayo and his construction workers to the Lugbe police station. The DPO, Supt. Ugochukwu later advised against any violence and therefore ordered Mr. Adebayo to stay action while all the parties should seek further clarification from the Federal Housing Authority.

The disputed building approval was signed by one Ms. Queen Phillips, a staff of the FHA field office in Lugbe. Inquiries by newsmen at the office however revealed that Ms. Phillips, who purportedly signed the document, has since been redeployed first to the head office, then to the FHA office in Gwarinpa. We could not ascertain whether her deployment had to do with such controversial allocations.

When the head of the Town Planning department at the Federal Housing Authority Surveyor Eyong was reached for clarification, he denied knowledge of the allocation. He however said he would see the two parties to determine whether the allocation was authorized or not. The meeting will be attended later in the week by Adebayo, an Engineer, and Mrs. Peace Nwakego, owner of the building and Managing Director of Fingerprint Communications Limited.

Efforts to reach the Managing Director of the Federal Housing Authority, Senator Gbenga Ashafa over the crisis proved abortive.

There are indications that the owners of such Cornershops intend to petition the FCT Minister, Barrister Nyesom Wike and his Housing and Urban Development counterpart, Alhaji Musa Dangiwa, over indiscriminate allocations of setbacks and open spaces meant for public convenience within the Sector ‘F’ Corner shops. They also lamented that many of the Cornershops in Lugbe has since been turned into residential homes allegedly with the connivance of FHA field office in Lugbe.

The new FCT Minister who has frowned at such indiscriminate constructions, insists that such buildings which have turned Lugbe and other settlements into big slums and hide-outs for hoodlums, will be demolished.

A suspect, Asana Leke who was arrested over the possession of 399 improvised explosive devices has confessed to having received them in a car park in Ibadan, Oyo State and to be delivered in Kaduna State.

Leke had confessed upon his arrest, and subsequent interrogation that the explosives were scheduled to be collected by an unidentified person in Kaduna.

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, disclosed on Sunday that Asana, 39, was arrested along the Mokwa-Jebba road in Niger State on September 7.

“The suspect and exhibits have since been transferred to the military authorities in Niger state,” the NDLEA said.

Similarly, operatives of the agency intercepted consignments of skunk concealed in tins of tomato paste and methamphetamine hidden in used clothes, meant for export to Dubai, the United Arab Emirates.

The skunk in the tomato pastes consignment weighing 20.00 kilograms was intercepted at the SAHCO export shed of the airport on September 8.

The agency in a statement signed by its spokesperson, Femi Babafemi said the meth shipment has a gross weight of 1.60kg seized at a courier company in Lagos.

Another consignment of 556 grams of Canadian Loud sent from Canada to one Tunji Adebayo in Ikorodu, Lagos was also intercepted by NDLEA officers of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation, DOGI, attached to courier firms.

“Though Adebayo was not home when operatives visited his house at 52, Aina Atoloye street, Ikorodu, he however directed his younger brother to sign for the package on his behalf. The brother was promptly arrested,” the NDLEA said.

The agency further added, “Beside the various drug control efforts, the state Commands and other formations also continued the Agency’s War Against Drug Abuse, WADA, advocacy campaigns to schools, worship places, palaces and local communities among others.

“Among them include WADA advocacy visit to His Royal Highness, Emir of Hadejia, Alhaji Adamu Abubakar Maji; the sensitization lectures conducted for members of Hairdressers Association, Ila Orangun; at RCCG, Dominion Tower, Port Harcourt, and for Muslim faithful at Harmony Estate central mosque, Ilorin, among others.”

Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged the 36 state governors in the country to “disclose details on spending of the N2 billion palliative recently disbursed to each state by the Federal Government, including the names of beneficiaries and details of the reliefs so far provided with the money.”

According to reports, the Federal Government recently disbursed N2 billion out of the N5 billion palliative package for each state of the federation and the federal capital territory (FCT), to address the impact of the removal of fuel subsidy.

In the open letter dated 9 September 2023 and signed by SERAP deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation said: “It is in the public interest to publish the details on spending of the N2 billion palliative and any subsequent disbursement of funds to your government.”

SERAP said: “Nigerians have the right to know how their states are spending the fuel subsidy relief funds. It is part of their legally enforceable human rights.”

According to SERAP, “Transparency and accountability in the spending of the N2 billion and any subsequent disbursement to your state would help to reduce the risk of corruption, mismanagement, diversion, or opportunism.”

The letter, read in part: “We would be grateful if the recommended measures are taken within seven days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter. If we have not heard from you by then, SERAP shall take all appropriate legal actions to compel you and your state to comply with our request in the public interest.”

“The oversight afforded by public access to the details of the spending of the N2 billion palliative and any subsequent disbursement would serve as an important check on the activities of your state and help to prevent abuses of the public trust.”

“The constitutional principle of democracy also provides a foundation for Nigerians’ right to know details on spending of the N2 billion fuel subsidy palliative. Citizens’ right to know promotes openness, transparency, and accountability that is in turn crucial for the country’s democratic order.”

“The effective operation of representative democracy depends on the people being able to scrutinise, discuss and contribute to government decision making, including on the fuel subsidy relief funds.”

“SERAP notes that the removal of subsidy on petrol continues to negatively and disproportionately affect the poor and socially and economically vulnerable Nigerians in several states, undermining their right to adequate standard of living.”

“The Freedom of Information Act, Section 39 of the Nigerian Constitution, article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights guarantee to everyone the right to information, including about how the N2 billion fuel subsidy relief funds are spent.”

“By the combined reading of the provisions of the Constitution of Nigeria, the Freedom of Information Act 2011, and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, applicable throughout Nigeria, there are transparency obligations imposed on your state to publish details of spending of the N2 billion fuel subsidy palliative.”

“The Nigerian Constitution, Freedom of Information Act, and the country’s anti-corruption and human rights obligations rest on the principle that citizens should have access to information regarding their government’s activities.”

“Your state cannot hide under the excuse that the Freedom of Information Act is not applicable to your state to refuse to provide the details being sought, as your state also has clear legal obligations to provide the information as prescribed by the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution, and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and. Enforcement) Act.”

“SERAP urges you to invite the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to jointly track and monitor the spending of the N2 billion fuel subsidy palliative and any subsequent disbursement of public funds to your state.”

Noah Kekere, the doctor accused of removing a woman’s kidney in Jos, Plateau State’s capital, displayed mental illness in a police cell on Saturday evening.

Kekere was arrested on Wednesday after a report was filed at the Nasarawa Gown police division about removing Mrs. Kehinde Kamal’s right kidney during an operation in 2018.

The state police had previously confirmed the arrest of the suspected harvester.

According to sources, Kekere was rushed to the Psychiatric Unit of Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH) after exhibiting signs of insanity in the police cell.

A source from the police headquarters confirmed to Daily Trust that the suspected harvester was taken to the hospital after tearing his clothes in the cell and acting like a “mad” person.

This made the police rush him to Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH) in handcuff.

A source from the hospital also confirmed to Daily Trust that Kekere was admitted to the hospital’s psychiatric department.

The source said;

On arrival, he was just screaming, yelling and shouting. He was saying ‘they want to silence my daughter’.

According to our source, there is a large police presence around the hospital’s Psychiatric unit.

DSP Alabo Alfred, the state police command’s spokesperson, did not respond to our correspondent’s inquiry.

It was reported that Kekere had provided medical treatment, including surgery, at his Murna Clinic and Maternity in Yanshanu Community of Jos North Local Government Area of the state for over two decades before his arrest.

In Walter Isaacson, Steve Jobs, we are told the story of Abdulfattah Jandali who ran a Mediterranean restaurant in California. He was a Syrian immigrant, balding and intelligent, with fierce eyes and round, wire-rimmed glasses. After coming to America, Jandali earned a PhD in economics. He got a job as a professor at the University of Michigan. He began dating a woman named Joanne, and she became pregnant. But despite his brilliance, Jandali was a flawed and restless man. So, with Joanne still pregnant, he abandoned both his family and his career. The baby boy in Joanne’s womb was given up for adoption. Jandali later reunited with Joanne, they were married (briefly), and the couple had a daughter. But when the child was young, Jandali once again grew restless. He left and never returned. The baby girl grew up to be a famous novelist named Mona Simpson. And as an adult, she decided to seek out her long-lost father. What was he like? she wondered. Why did he leave? 

Simpson hired a private investigator who tracked down Jandali, managing an eatery in California.

In a corner booth, Jandali told his daughter proudly of the places he had managed over the years — primarily the Mediterranean one near San Jose. “That place was wonderful,” he remarked. “All of the successful technology people used to come there. Even Steve Jobs. He was a sweet guy and a big tipper!” Mona Simpson’s mouth fell open. She never told her father that Steve Jobs — the brilliant billionaire and founder of Apple Computers — was the baby Jandali had abandoned in the womb.

And despite never knowing one another outside of those brief, oblivious encounters — the two men shared uncanny characteristics.

Fathers shape us even in their absence. We inherit things.

Like a sharp mind, a set of piercing eyes, and maybe even a taste for round-rimmed wire glasses. There is a mystery in what gets passed down. But in the case of Jobs and Jandali, the similarities do not stop there. Eerily, the founder of Apple Computers would also abandon his firstborn child, Lisa, in the womb, at the same age Jandali had been when he left. What should we make of such surprising recapitulations? My claim is not that every aspect of our fate is predetermined by our past or our genetics.

The temporary state of feeling shame when we realize that we have lost standing in someone’s eyes because we have done something wrong can be redemptive. As the theologian Lewis Smedes writes, “A healthy sense of shame is perhaps the surest sign of our divine origin and our human dignity. When we feel this sense of shame, we are feeling a nudge from our true selves.”

But feeling shame as a more permanent trait—a sense that we are fundamentally flawed and are unworthy and unlovable — is toxic and destructive. Healthy shame can function like a proximity sensor on a car, signaling that we have veered off in the wrong direction so we can steer back toward our divine origin.

It is in the light of the latter that I address us, Nigerians, and Nigeria has no shame, and what we are witnessing is a recapitulation!

In the past referred to as the "Giant of Africa," we are still on the tumultuous journey towards establishing a stable democracy. We continue to grapple with issues such as election disputes, the refusal of politicians to accept defeat gracefully, concerns over the perceived corruption within the judiciary to even address defeats, and the fact that in many cases the electorates are denied the right to pick their leaders by these verdicts of the law instead of the ballot.

These challenges have not only tainted Nigeria's democratic processes but have also had far-reaching consequences on its socio-political landscape.

Again, we are on our way to the Supreme Court, at best antecedents, or precedents would be set. We have not changed, with our behavior we not only fuel political tensions and violence but taint and shame our judiciary. The judiciary which plays a pivotal role in upholding the rule of law and ensuring the integrity of elections, battles allegations of judicial corruption, including bribery and political influence, thus eroding public trust in the justice system. This perception of a compromised judiciary has further fuelled election disputes, as losing candidates often question the impartiality of the courts.

Like Steve Jobs’ father and Jobs himself, there are consequences, The sad reality is that these protracted legal battles that follow disputed elections create uncertainty and instability, hampering the nation's not just socioeconomic progress. Political violence and unrest become all too common, leading to loss of lives and property damage in cases. Additionally, the erosion of public trust in the judiciary undermines the very foundations of justice and the rule of law. Add to this, the further divisive lines that it cuts into the tapestry of a country struggling to attain nationhood.

The consequences of these challenges extend beyond Nigeria's borders. International observers and the global community's neo-colonial nature continue to raise concerns about the credibility of Nigeria's electoral processes. These issues tarnish the nation's image on the international stage, potentially impacting foreign investments and diplomatic relations.

I conclude by stating, that Nigeria's journey towards a stable democracy has been marred by not just election disputes, the refusal of politicians to accept defeat, perceived corruption within the judiciary, and their far-reaching consequences. Nigeria must address these issues to safeguard the integrity of its democratic processes and restore public trust in its institutions. Only then can the nation truly move forward on its path toward a thriving democracy, ensuring the will of the people is upheld and respected—May Nigeria win

“True leaders do not make choices with reference to the opinion of the majority. They make choices based on the opinion of the truth, and the truth can come from either the majority or the minority!” —Israelmore Ayivor

Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, former Kano State governor and the presidential candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) is under intense political fire.

At the moment Kwankwaso, not immune to the complexities of Nigerian politics is caught in the web of a political battle of survival.

And in a country like Nigeria where political fortunes can be fickle and power fleeting, Kwankwaso is not leaving anything to chance, and fully conscious that how he handles the present crisis will either further his political influence or diminish his already established political stature.

What is clear is that the Boniface Aniebonam and Gilbert Major group, which controls NNPP Board of Trustees, is bent on reducing him to an ordinary political denominator if they can.

They want to demystify the spirit behind the Kwankwansia Movement.

They have tried the suspension weapon before playing the expulsion card, but Kwankwaso seems to be smart too as he wasted no time in rushing to the court to stop the thick plot, and then seek for justice.

He appears to be winning as a high court in Kano State last Tuesday set aside his suspension from the party, NNPP.

Ruling on an ex parte motion in a suit marked K/M1157/2023, the presiding Judge, Usman Na‘Abba, also restrained members of the Boniface faction that suspended Kwankwaso from acting as national officers of the party.

Recall that last Tuesday, the NNPP’s Board of Trustees (BoT), led by Aniebonam, founder of the party, suspended Kwankwaso over allegations of anti-party activities.

However, a faction of the party loyal to Kwankwaso reversed the suspension.

The party’s National Executive Council (NEC) had also set up a disciplinary committee to probe allegations of anti-party activities and mismanagement of party funds levelled against him.

Kwankwaso was directed to appear before the committee within five days of getting the invitation.

The NEC had warned that Kwankwaso would be expelled in line with the provisions of the NNPP’s constitution if he failed to appear before the disciplinary committee.

In a statement on Tuesday, Abdulsalam Abdulrasaq, NNPP’s acting national publicity secretary, said that NEC resolved to expel him because of his refusal to honour the committee’s invitation.

But in the latest ruling, the court ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) not to recognise the purported suspension pending the determination of the suit.

The judge adjourned the suit to October 5.

The judge ruled that “an order of interim injunction is hereby granted, restraining the respondents by themselves, their agents, cronies and whosoever acting or act through them from parading themselves, issuing press releases or granting interviews as national officers, leaders or members of the applicant pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.

“An order of interim injunction is hereby granted setting aside the purported suspension of Sen. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso as a member of the applicant and restraining the Independent National Electoral Commission from recognising the purported suspension pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.”

As things stand now the Aniebonam and Major group has vowed to kick out Kwankwaso, insisting that nothing would stop them.

They claimed among other things that “material evidence” in public affirmed that Kwankwaso was involved in “anti-party activities in various meetings” and political discussions with President Bola Tinubu, then candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC); his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) counterpart, Atiku Abubakar; and Labour Party (LP)’s Peter Obi.

The truth is that through the formidable Kwankwasia Movement, Kwankwaso was able to galvanize massive support across diverse socio-political groups just in less than a year after joining the NNPP, flying its presidential flag during the last general election with high electoral value within the short period of time and emerging in the fourth position.

Kwankwaso left a credible record as governor of Kano State. His commitment to education which is key to any development agenda stood him out as then governor of Kano State as he set an enviable record for the promotion of education and literacy, as well as other legacy projects, being the first governor to establish two universities, including a university of science and technology in Kano.

Kwankwaso is widely reported to have sponsored hundreds of young men and women abroad for professional degree courses as part of his commitment to education as a tool for lifting the people out of poverty.

Most commentators seem to be wondering about what will be left of the party if Kwankwaso, who is seen as the soul of the party, is forced out.

Political commentators believe that there is need for wider consultations, as it is in the best interest of the party to seek for genuine reconciliation, realising that Kwankwaso is a huge asset given his followership.

But whether the gang up against him can swallow him or not will be revealed in the months ahead.

Dr Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso was born on October 21, 1956, in Kwankwaso village located in Madobi LGA of Kano State.

He was a former governor of Kano State and was at a time the senator that represented the Kano Central Senatorial District at the National Assembly.

The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Most Revd Dr Matthew Hassan Kukah, has lambasted Nigerian governors for embarking on a retreat to Rwanda.

The Founder, The Kukah Centre, expressed his displeasure in Abuja over the retreat held at the instance of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) during an event tagged ‘Validation Session: Needs Assessment of Political Parties in Nigeria’ organised by the Kukah Centre and funded by the European Union (EU).

The three-day executive leadership retreat of Nigerian governors in Kigali, Rwanda, was organised in partnership with the Nigerian Governors’ Forum. Nineteen participants drawn from 19 states of the federation reportedly attended the programme, held between August 24 and 26, 2023.

But Kukah said it was a bit agonising that newly elected governors would make a trip to Rwanda just to go and think about what they are going to do.

According to Kukah, “If you are familiar with all these political movements, is that people travel from here to America and to everywhere.

“Sometimes, if 50 people travel abroad, 30 or 40 people never attend even the processes. They get the estacode, but they don’t participate in the processes.”

Kukah further said Nigerians should not be talking about going to learn democracy from Rwanda.

“And of course, if you are obsessed with Rwanda, it is wonderful. But please, let’s not forget, Rwanda’s politics is not the same as Nigerian politics.

“I hear Nigerian women, they keep saying we want to be like Rwanda. Well, you want to be like Rwanda with the huge women population in government, you’ve got to kill your husbands because had the men not been killed during the genocide, women would not have had the opportunity they now have in Rwandan politics.

“So, it is not an act of some benevolent democrats who have realised that women have a place. So, it is an act of desperation.” Kukah however said he was in support of the initiative of the Nigerian women, saying “there should be more than 30 percent.

“We just want to enter this process, we want to get 30 or 40 percent of the corruption. There is no need wanting a seat at the table if you are not going to be able to effect change,” Kukah said.