When veteran politician, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, and foremost publisher, Chief Joop Berkhout, joined the ancestral realm within days of each other, Nigerians were unanimous in their verdict that the two deaths truly diminished us all. In both cases, it can be said without equivocation that the men lived for something.

Last year, on the occasion of his 95th birthday, I described Adebanjo as a member of a vanishing breed of men and women who chose the straight and narrow path of rectitude in public life and who were not afraid to stand alone if necessary in the pursuit of the greatest good for the greatest number.

It is not given to all men to live for a cause. Some men live for nothing and die as if they never lived. When they die, no matter how many vaults they have stashed with liquid cash or how many corporate entities they have presided over, it is as if Shakespeare’s famous quote: “When beggars die…”, has no meaning.

Granted that we cannot all be in the driver’s seat of life, we can at least hold a torch or a compass to help our fellowmen see and navigate the way so that when we expire a deep darkness descends on the rest of humanity in acknowledgement of a life lived in the service of others. In the face of imminent death, at his trial for impiety and corrupting youth, Socrates said: “The unexamined life is not worth living”. A philosopher with a religious hue would say a life not lived in the service of others is not worth living.

Both Adebanjo and Berkhout, though originally children of different cultures, lived and died in the service of the Nigerian society in their uniquely different ways. Because both were field marshals in their different spheres of influence, their demise attracted presidential attention.

Adebanjo

Considering their political differences in the recent past, it was touching to read President Tinubu’s tribute to Adebanjo which I have edited for space:

“All who knew Baba Adebanjo drew from his boundless wisdom and cherished the democratic ideals he tirelessly campaigned for.

“His principled voice, which resonated through decades of political activism, will be deeply missed. As a nation, we will miss his regular interventions in national affairs, which enriched our political discourse. Though we mourn his departure, we are also grateful to God for blessing him with a long, remarkable, purposeful life – 96 years of unrelenting advocacy for progress and equity.

“Baba, as a lawyer, statesman, and politician, stood among the last of a generation of nationalists and independent heroes who shaped the foundation of our country…

“In moments of national crisis, Baba’s courage shone brightest. When democracy hung in the balance after the annulment of the June 12, 1993, presidential election, he joined the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) as one of the leading voices against military dictatorship, helping to galvanise a movement that became the bedrock of our collective struggle to reclaim democratic governance.

“His unwavering commitment to truth and justice extended to my journey as a governorship candidate in 1999. Baba Adebanjo’s steadfast support was instrumental in my election as Governor of Lagos State under the platform of the Alliance for Democracy.

“Though our political paths diverged in later years, my respect and admiration for him never wavered. Until his death, I shared a deep personal bond with Baba Adebanjo; he was like a father figure….”

Principle

In truth, I think Tinubu’s respect for Adebanjo didn’t go unnoticed by the old man during his lifetime. Incredible as it sounds, considering the many moons one has put into the journalism profession, I never met Chief Adebanjo one-on-one. But my readers will recall that I did have the privilege of an exclusive telephone interview with him on his 95th birthday at which he expressed his view on his relationship with President Tinubu as follows:

“I have nothing personal against Bola Tinubu. I should be proud that somebody I made the governor is now president. He has always been respectful to me, very liberal. There’s no Christmas he wouldn’t send me presents — even during the COVID pandemic. But that is not the issue. When he returned from overseas medical treatment, I went to greet him. He calls me Uncle. My children call him uncle. I did everything in my power to make him governor without collecting one kobo from him. That is my record.”

He lived a principled life which many of his critics described as rigid, but he had an explanation for this stance: “I can’t be bothered if anyone considers me rigid because I loyally follow my principles. As a Yoruba man, I live by a set of values. To subvert your principles in order to be accepted as not rigid is unwise and fraudulent. Those who have no principles are always quick to label others as rigid because they will do anything to get what they want. For me, the rightness of a cause is critically important. I don’t owe anybody an apology for staying true to the principles established by our leader, Papa Awolowo.”

Berkhout

The other Nigerian who boarded the eternal flight of immortality at the departure lounge of life was the redoubtable Chief Joop Berkhout, a Dutchman who held the chieftaincy title of ‘Okun Borode of Ile-Ife’.

Berkhout was born in Amsterdam on March 31, 1930. But he relocated to Nigeria in the 1950s after the Second World War had ravaged his family home in The Netherlands and destroyed his father’s hotel business. Before coming to Nigeria, he had worked in Tanzania and Zambia. It was in Nigeria that he was destined to become the foremost publisher with his Spectrum Books Limited which he later sold before retiring into his other company, Safari Books.

Publishing was his life. He loved Nigeria with such passion that many wondered what was behind the ardour. I got to meet him through his great friend and grandfather of the Nigerian novel, Chief Cyprian Ekwensi MFR, the Osi Baarohin of Ibadanland. Once, during a period he was supposed to be on a six week leave in his native Netherlands, he showed up at Ekwensi’s Ojuelegba, Lagos, home.

Asked what he was doing there when he had earlier announced that he would be away for six weeks, he explained that he truly went back home to see his sister and other family members. But after the first five days, he had seen everybody and the excitement of his visit was wearing off. To make matters worse, there was nothing to challenge the senses or hone one’s instincts – no power outage; no area boys; no ‘Owambe’ parties; no itinerant drummers; no retinue of friends, associates, hangers-on, hustlers and – importantly, he said – no writers with perpetually open doors whose homes he could invade 24/7 without notice…

I wasn’t surprised when Berkhout showed up at the burial of Ekwensi’s Mum in Nkwelle-Ezunaka one unforgettable evening, donning an ‘aso-ebi’ wrapper over his trousers and dancing the night away with gusto. That is my enduring memory of him as he now gyrates his way into the ancestral rafters.

To Adebanjo and Berkhout, peace. Perfect peace.

I would like to kill two birds with only one stone today. In the last two weeks I wrote two inconclusive pieces on “federal universities without national character” and “Why Uni-Abuja needs more than firing VC”. And so I would like to round off the two related pieces without equivocations on the challenges since the Visitor to the federal universities has decisively intervened, especially through the one I have tagged our “federation university” (University of Abuja). I claimed here then that the University of Abuja is too important to be left to provincial irredentists who threatened to diminish its stature and status as a federal and federation university. That is why I haven’t been referring to it as Yakubu Gowon University as it has been renamed. This isn’t an Inside-Stuff’s disrespectful attitude to the amiable General, Yakubu Gowon, generally believed to be one of the last, (some say the last) of the authentic ones.

Let’s get quickly to the brass tacks: There are some strategic lessons the federal government should learn from recent developments. First, there has been a great deal of carelessness on the part of regulators and quality-control arms of the federal ministry of education. What is more, from comments and lamentation of insiders, the so-called university autonomy has been remarkably abused by Governing Councils and Managements of the public universities. ASUU leaders and members at the receiving end have grown weary even as some of the union leaders have resigned to fate.

And here is the thing, the authorities, indeed the Visitors to the public universities should note this: they need to nip in the bud the reproach of emerging ethnic crisis in Nigerian universities. Reason? As it has been written several times, universities by their evolution, philosophy, essence and character, are universal institutions established to provide solutions to problems that confront humanity. And so the brightest and the best in learning and character are always called upon top run such citadels of learning where primordial sentiments such as ethnicity and religion should not rear their ugly heads.

It is therefore unfortunate that ethnicity, a fault line that has been a threat to our national cohesion has become manifest in Nigerian universities. Specifically, this enemy called ethnicity is being unethically weaponised on appointments and even on influencing election outcomes into elective positions in the ivory towers. This is sad. The implication has been that merit is sacrificed on the altar of mediocrity and ethnic antagonism is being heightened. What is worse, as competency and meritocracy take the back seat, competent candidates from ethnic minorities hardly assume positions of leadership in today’s universities.

So, instead of being a place to use the best brains for our national development, our tertiary institutions are becoming battlegrounds for ethnic jingoism, to the extent that the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) had to warn against the monster of ethic crisis in Nigerian universities. This is another sad commentary on the state of higher education in the country.

Without prejudice to a few cases, where an insignificant number of exposed scholars are fighting ethnicity; positions, disciplinary actions and activities in Nigerian universities are often ‘shaped’ too by audacity of ethnicity. As such, in October 2019. ASUU’s warning and this reminder should not be discounted; rather it should be taken seriously to form a compass for policies on university governance – to avoid enthroning mediocrity in our universities.

Let’s therefore not get it twisted, the autonomy, which shouldn’t prevent quality control and regulation has gone haywire and the duty bearers, indeed the Visitors to the public universities appear to have failed the nation in the choice of Chairmen/Pro-chancellors and members of the Governing Councils who have been responsible for choice of most times anyhow Vice Chancellors who have no chests. For instance, let’s look at the troubled University of Abuja in the last five years. Who nominated the last Chairman of the Governing Council/Pro Chancellor who allegedly lowered standard for the immediate past Vice Chancellor to come in after disqualifying all other qualified candidates of diversity five years ago? What was the colour of diversity in the membership of the immediate past Governing Council before the just dissolved ones? The then Minister of Education assisted the presidency in compiling the list of members of the Governing Council, which assisted the management in interviewing candidates for the Vice Chancellor, the Registrar, and the Bursar. What led to the coincidence that in the last dispensation of leadership and management of the University of Abuja, the Chairman of the Governing Council, the Vice Chancellor, the Registrar and the Bursar all hail from a section of the country and of the same faith. How did the immediate past Vice Chancellor manage the autonomy the law gives him in promoting his stooges? How did the authorities in Abuja allow the same Vice Chancellor who hails from Ilorin Kwara state to appoint about 400 academic staff and about 250 of them hail from Ilorin, capital of his state of origin? How did the same former Vice Chancellor promote, promote the daughter of the then Pro Chancellor with barely two years of professorial experience as Deputy Vice Chancellor over and above other senior professors? How did it happen that the successor to Sani Maikudi (Katsina) AVM Saddiq Ismaila Kaita (rtd) also hail from Katsina? Why didn’t the authorities always look at the status of the University of Abuja, for instance, while constituting members of the Governing Council and Management?

A clear deliverable to the current authorities in Nigeria is that there has been a failure of governance and due diligence in the constituting Governing Council membership. The University of Abuja is just an example of consequences of carelessness and failure of governance on the part of the Federal Ministry of Education in the management of tertiary education.

While reacting to the last week’s article here on the argument that the Visitor to the University of Abuja should go beyond firing a Vice chancellor of a state university sent this to me:
‘…President Tinubu did well by his intervention. But he and his team are also part of the problem to start with, as a fundamental part of the problem of the University of Abuja is the Council.  The government needs to stop making the University Council appointments a job for the boys – individuals appointed simply on a political basis and with no character, no knowledge of the university system, and no interest in any developmental agenda. All they want is to come and collect sitting allowances and pressurise the university leadership for all kinds of pecuniary gains even in the face of harsh economic realities.

One of the thoughtless dimensions of the government appointment of the Council Chairman is the appointment of a current staff of another university to come and be the Pro-chancellor of another university as is the case of OAU. It has happened twice in the history of OAU in the last couple of years.  So, the Pro-chancellor of OAU would need to take the permission of his own VC (Osun State University) to be away to chair the meeting of the Council of another university where he supercedes the VC of that university.

So, the Government needs to be more serious and deliberate in selecting the Chairman of University Council and, indeed, all other Government representatives on a university Council…Part of the problem of admission is Nigerian big men and big women who would use all connections to push VCs into terribly tight corners and don’t care a hoot about the University’s predicament of limited spaces and inadequate facilities…’
That should conclude the whole matter about how not to constitute membership of the Governing Councils of public universities. The university system is too important to be subjected to the shenanigan and peccadillos of partisan politicians.

In a piece titled, “Where is Tinubu’s Government of National Competence” here on Sunday June 9, 2024, I recalled that while still basking in the glory of realising a lifetime ambition in March 2023 as president-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu had then assured Nigerians that his administration would not only be a government of national unity but also of national competence.

Let’s recall that specifically, there was a statement to that effect on March 16, 2023. In that remarkable message, there was a glimmer of “hope of a better tomorrow” Ngugi says, “is the only comfort you can give to a weeping child”. As I was saying here, in what looks like Buhari’s “I-Belong-to-no-body” famous speech on inauguration day on May 29, 2015, the president-elect then promised to assemble competent men and women and young people from across the country to build a safer, more prosperous and just Nigeria. The statement titled: “Nigeria: At the cusp of renewed hope” unveiled what Nigerians should expect under his watch. Enunciating his commitment to an economy of double-digit GDP growth, greater food security and a strengthened manufacturing base, the President-elect said his administration would pursue an active digital economy where young people would have ample space to fulfill their dreams and aspirations. With the elections over, he stressed the need to shun partisanship and join hands with him to build the Nigeria of our dream. While assuring the people of his readiness to serve, the former Lagos Governor said, ‘I have set my course and mind on the leadership of this nation. We have important work to do and I am committed to getting that work done for the benefit of all the people, whether or not they voted for me or even voted at all. This is not the time for continued acrimony and partisan recrimination. These negative things can incite strong passions, but they are not the pathway to a better nation. Only unity and national commitment can serve that purpose…’

This isn’t a time to put the fine speech of the president-elect then to test. It is just a time to remind him as President that for him to fulfill that promise of running a government of not just of national unity but also a national competence, he has to begin the process of promoting meritocracy within the context of federal character. He should take interest in who gets what from now. Only good trees he intentionally plants now can produce good fruits of national competence. What is more, he should not allow his ministers and other president’s men to be imposing mediocrities on institutions including and especially the Universities’ Governing Council. He needs to strengthen and use the human resource and experience in the presidential bureaucracy comprising the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Head of the Civil Service of the Federation and office of the Chairman of the Federal Civil Service Commission in his choice of men and women for public service and the university system.

The crisis in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) took a new dimension yesterday as the party’s South-South Zonal Executive Committee (ZEC) suspended the zonal secretary, Chief Felix Omemu, for one month over alleged misconduct and unauthorised statements in the media discrediting the ZEC meeting in Benin.

Omemu had in a statement issued in Yenagoa stated that the meeting called by Chief Dan Orbih was illegal, stressing that in line with the PDP constitution, the ZEC meeting could only be held with the approval of the zonal working committee.

Omemu disclosed that there was no such time that the Zonal Working Committee deliberated and agreed to convene a meeting of the Zonal Executive Council.

At the South South Zonal Executive Committee meeting in Benin, Rt. Hon. Martin Chike Amaewhule, Speaker River State House of Assembly moved the motion for the suspension of the Zonal Secretary, Chief Felix Omemu, which was seconded by Godwin Offiono member representing Ogoja/Yala constituency in the 10th National Assembly.

Amaewhule accused Chief Felix Omemu of of misconduct, breach of trust and fostering division among members.

He said the suspension was due to insurance of unauthorized statements  in the media concerning the ZEC South South meeting calling on members not to attend.

“Chief Felix Omemu must be  suspended and a Disciplinary committee set-up to investigate the zonal secretary . “Amaewhule said.

Amaewhule described the zonal secretary’s action as illegal and an attempt to cause disunity and dissuade members from attending the  South South ZEC meeting in Benin.

Following the suspension,  PDP zonal legal adviser, George Turnah  was immediately appointed to function as the Acting zonal secretary .

On his part,  National Vice Chairman (South-South), Chief Dan

Orbih lauded the ZEC for the suspension, saying the move is a right step in the right direction  aimed at repositioning the party and curbing the excesses of some leaders and members of the party to cause disunity among others.

The South South  Zonal Executive Committee  meeting was attended by its Zonal chairman,  Senators, and House of Representatives members drawn from 5 states in the south south except Awka Ibom State delegates

[Leadership]

The House of Representatives Committee on Public Assets has begun investigation into the sales and collapse of the Delta Steel Company (DSC), Aladja, Warri in Delta State.

The committee headed by Hon. Ademorin Kuye grilled the management team of Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF) Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MoFI) among others over the sales and collapse of Delta Steel Company.

The committee is particularly probing into how the steel company which was worth over $700 million was sold below $30 million following a petition received by the House on the matter.

Kuye said the committee whose mandate includes oversight over the use, management and disposal of all federal government assets within and outside the country decided to probe the purported sales of the Delta Steel Company and the controversies surrounding its acquisition by AMCON.

Briefing the committee, the Director General of Bureau of Public Enterprises, Mr. Ayodeji Ariyo Gbeleyi, said following the privatisation policy of the Federal Government, 80% shareholdings of Delta Steel Company was sold to Global Infrastructure Nigeria Ltd (GINL) in 2005 while Federal Government (BPE) retained 20% of the shareholdings.

According to Gbeleyi, the DSC was worth $700 million, but 80% of the asset was sold to GINL at $30 million

He said residential buildings and plots of land belonging to the Delta Steel Company were used to settle the workers and pensioners of the company.

Gbeleyi said the company, GINL, after privatisation used the assets of DSC as collateral to obtain a loan from Ecobank. However, he said due to non-performance of the loan, in 2015, AMCON acquired the assets and sold them to Premium Steel and Mines Ltd.

He said AMCON did not seek clarification from BPE regarding contractual agreement before it acquired the asset and sold it to another company.

The petitioners, including Association of Concerned Residents of Camp 2, 4 and 5 of Delta Steel Company, Aladja Warri, told the committee that prior to 2015 before the involvement of AMCON and Premium Steel and Mines in DSC assets, they had been staying in the estate and plots of land which were used to settle them based on the contractual agreement.

However, since 2015 till date, the petitioners claimed that they had been under constant intimidation and harassment by police and army personnel claiming to be acting on the instructions from AMCON and Premium Steel and Mines that they should quit the estates.

Speaking on behalf of the petitioners, Dr. David Emomotimi and Richardson Osifor, said the assets AMCON acquired were those used as collateral by Global Infrastructure Nigeria Ltd to obtain loans from Ecobank which did not in any way include the residential buildings.

Osifor said from the contract agreement and information at the Corporate Affairs Commission, the loan Global Infrastructure Nigeria Ltd obtained from Ecobank was N250 million but AMCOM jacked it up to N7 billion.

Similarly, the Director of BPE, Gbeleyi added that they were only aware of the loan Global Infrastructure Nigeria Ltd took from Ecobank but unaware of 3 other banks AMCON listed as the creditors.

In their submission, the representatives of AMCON, noted that AMCON acquired the assets of DSC used as collateral to obtain loan from four banks to prevent them from collapse.

Chukwuemeka Umunakwu (AMCON legal unit) said AMCON acquired the assets at N22 billion but sold it to Premium Steel and Mines at N32 billion.

In response to enquiry by the committee whether the office of the Accountant General of the Federation has the receipt of payments by both BPE and AMCON in respect of sales of Delta Steel Company’s assets, the representative of AGF, Kabiru Ademola (Director, Finance) acknowledged receipt of N3 billion in favour of BPE in respect of sales of 80% of DSC assets to Global Infrastructure Nigeria Ltd.

He said the AGF was yet to get any response from the Central Bank regarding claim of payment of N32 billion by AMCON in respect of DSC assets to Premium Steel and Mines Ltd. Though AMCON claimed the money was paid to FG account, (TSA), the agency was unable to provide the proof of payment to the committee.

The Managing Director/CEO of the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI), Dr. Armstrong Takang in his submission said though MOFI is responsible for overseeing the management of assets and investments in the country, the agency withdrew from the issue of Delta Steel Company due to so many controversies.

Takang expressed concern over the collapse and death of Delta Steel Company and similar entities in the country.

He said “If our forefathers who were less exposed and less educated would build such infrastructure and maintaining it by our contemporary leaders who are more exposed and educated than them will be a problem, I wonder what will be the future of the country.”

The committee directed AMCON and Premium Steel and Mines to desist from harassing the residents of the estate in Delta Steel Company until the investigation is completed.

[DailyTrust]

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has denied reports claiming that the national grid collapsed twice in 2025.

In a statement on its official X handle on Saturday, TCN said it is mischievous and misleading.

“It is pertinent to note that the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) is regulated by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and governed by industry documents,” TCN said.

“The documents reserve for the National Control Centre System Operator or her designated back-up, the National Supplementary Control Centre (SNCC) the exclusive right to provide information to the public about events and status of the grid.”

The company clarified that while there was no system collapse, a tripping incident occurred on February 12, 2025, affecting power supply in Abuja, Lagos, and Osogbo.

TCN explained that the Omotosho-Ikeja West 330 kilovolt (kV) transmission line tripped, while the Benin-Egbin 330kV line was undergoing scheduled maintenance.

The disruption caused a cascade effect, leading to outages in some areas, though other parts of the country remained unaffected.

“Full restoration of bulk power supply to affected areas has since been completed,” TCN said.

The TCN urged journalists and the public to verify grid-related information from authorised sources to prevent the spread of false reports.

On Wednesday, some parts of the country were without electricity after the national grid experienced a disturbance.

Data obtained from the independent system operator (ISO) showed that the megawatt (MW) generated dropped from 4,064.70 (MW) to 1,222.78 (MW).

HIS venture of taking down Tinubu in 2027 does not sound profitable to me. I don’t know how the planners want to do it anyway. But before he died in 2020, my father used to advise me to only engage in fruitful business. If he were to be around, I would have gone back to tell him that, Papa, all the businesses in Nigeria, except poli-tics, illegal mining of solid minerals like gold in Zamfara, oil theft in the Niger Delta, kidnapping and naked banditry, have become unprofitable. Feel free to ask anyone who is doing any business outside this range, including Aliko Dangote, to verify what I am saying.

Therefore, if it is in the context of politics being among the few thriving businesses in today’s Nigeria that the company to purportedly seize Aso Rock from Tinubu in 2027 has been incorporated outside the Corporate Affairs Commission, I will understand and even encourage the shareholders to double efforts. After all, wealth acquisition has also been democratised in Nigeria. It comes even in more ways than hard work. It is not like Christian theology where the way to heaven is just one narrow and rough path.

But if what is currently afloat is politics in the strict sense of creating the attendant intrigues for power grab, I would sincerely wish to advise the players, like my father advised me, to recalibrate and refocus. People have started travelling up and down to Ota, Minna and other places for meetings to plan the take-over of Aso Rock in 2027 as if it is Ojota motor-park in Lagos that they want to take over. Well, the Bible [and I guess the Qu’ran does too] teaches us that with God all things are possible. This is true.

But it is also true that a chunk of Christian and Islamic theology underscores the imperativeness of individual responsibility in the divine scheme. It means the grace is not as gratuitous as we think.

That God or Allah does not descend into the earthly arena of play to fix what we can fix as umpires and players.

Let’s get it straight. Is it the same Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who is also called Asiwaju, Jagaban, Senator, ex-Governor and now President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that these people are talking of dislodging from the most privileged height? Or some look-alike of him or a fellow, who happens, in an unusual coincidence, to share the same first, middle and last names with him, that is in contemplation? I want to say that it is not today that the efforts to stop Tinubu in his track started. For instance, his emergence as the candidate of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) in the 1999 governorship election in Lagos State was not without a subtle battle. He won the cold war against the more formidable late Funsho Williams.

Within the Southwest in the 1999 – 2003 dispensation, governorship tickets, as well as the presidential and other tickets of the AD, were by affirmation and not competition. The tickets were for Afenifere to allocate as it deemed fit and not for the strongest contenders to grab. This was against the backdrop of the coordinated struggles, especially in the South West, to dislodge the military after its criminal annulment of the 1993 presidential election which the late Chief M.K.O Abiola won, and return the country to a democratic rule. And so, when democracy finally berthed in 1999, it became payback time for people who did more than the ordinary to contain the military and bring about democracy.

I wouldn’t know how the ranking was done. But Tinubu, rightly or wrongly, was put in this class of high pro-democracy perform-ers. He was said to have contributed handsomely to the funding of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), the arrow-head of the pro-democracy struggles while on a self-imposed exile in the United States to escape Abacha’s persecution. Accordingly, the sentiments flowed in his advantage. Afenifere also believed that compensating Tinubu with the Lagos State governorship was the least that could be done for a seemingly proven Yoruba patriot.

Meanwhile, nothing about Tinubu betrayed his inner strength or thinking. The decoy was perfect. The high degree of Machiavellian ruthlessness and invincibility in political battles that has been on display since his coronation as Governor of Lagos State by Afenifere, was not in any way foreseen. Even so, Afenifere had acted in utmost good faith. It was just that Tinubu had his game plan properly worked out. He wanted to become an emperor and needed the 1999 political take-off grant by Afenifere and nothing more, to conquer and conquer. He had stooped very low, including accepting to be yoked by a non-align female deputy just to earn the grant. I guess, he would have sworn too, after that ex-perience, to work hard to retain all the ace cards and increase his confidence in the unfolding game. He understands that to remain a king forever, the king must kill the kingmaker. He didn’t like the idea of being called to order by any commanding voice. Only the voice of Afenifere had that commanding tone. One way to tone down Afenifere is to cause it to replicate a Renewal version and other versions that can detract from the original.

That was successfully achieved, touching off a radical reversal of roles. Instead of Afenifere dictating to Tinubu, as it was before his inauguration as Governor in 1999, it has been the other way round The old and renewed versions of the organisation have not agreed once on a common position regarding the political ambition of Ti-nubu. If the old says no, the new will say yes and vice versa. And since it is the same Afenifere that is manifesting in more than one way like the Holy Trinity, Tinubu usually follows the manifestation that feeds his purpose. For instance, in 2023, he did not follow the old group which said it was the turn of the South East to produce the president of Nigeria. He went with the renewal version whose voice sounded sweet; saying he could continue after Obasanjo and Osinbajo and the heavens would not fall.

He has always taken a step at a time. In 2003, Obasanjo, who became President in 1999 without home support, needed to cultivate one in the 2003 electoral outing. The deal, on one hand, was for the PDP to have its way in the presidential election so that Obasanjo could become a prophet with honour at home. On the other hand, and by way of reciprocating the nice gesture, President Obasanjo would hold back the deployment of the well known and accepted federal might in national politics, from creating upsets in the governorship election in the six South West States of Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ekiti and Ondo. In summary, it was agreed that the eagle would perch and the six kites would perch too.

But the deal was not that transparent. Tinubu who is also deft in con artistry, understands when a dealer is up to no good. He saw through the OBJ scheme and pulled back. When the owner identifies and takes back his stolen goat at the point of sale in the open market, the thief does well to remain silent. Obasanjo allowed the scheme to run without Lagos. In the end, Tinubu became the only man standing in the PDP-induced tsunami that swept through the South West in 2003.This was the first dependable signal that the Jagaban was not ordinary in the game of intrigues.

Both Tinubu and Obasanjo left office in 2007. But while one went into gathering and building a political empire, the other went into scattering and destroying even the little he had spent time and effort to built. In eight years, Tinubu was able to recover the fallen South West for a good bargain with Muhammadu Bu-hari in 2015. On the flip side, Obasanjo in eight years was able to mobilise like-minds like Atiku Abubakar, Bukola Saraki, Rabiu Kwankwaso, Rotimi Amaechi and others to destroy the PDP. He even made a big spectacle in Ota of the destruction of his PDP membership card. Tinubu spent time outside power; between 2007 and 2023, a whole 16 years, working for more power. And he got what he worked for. That is what my late father called profitable trade which people should engage in and not the type of fruitless venture that some people are planning against 2027.

Everyone knew where Tinubu was headed but no one could stop him. For decades he postured as a democrat, progressive and activist but even Afenifere could not exercise the due diligence to unmask him. When he was just a mere unprofiled pro-democracy activist without any form of lethal powers, he could not be stopped from becoming Governor of Lagos State. And after finishing as governor, those who claim to own Lagos, including Chief Olabode George, could not stop the foreigner from Osun State from continuing as Governor through proxies till date.

The Buhari Presidency that Tinubu decisively assisted in creating never wanted him to succeed Buhari. But the same Tinubu, in the build up to 2023, went to Abeokuta to state, clear and loud, and without any fear of being contradicted, the Emilokan Project. The APC did not say it was not the turn of Tinubu. President Buhari couldn’t invoke some executive order as President Trump is doing in America, to stop Tinubu in his track. Instead, everybody marked time until Tinubu contested and won the presidential elections according to INEC and the Supreme Court.

His names, even till now, spells doubt on account of the many stories of crime around him. He is this and that! Yet af-ter losing immunity as Governor, the Attorney-General of the Federation under a PDP government did not file a criminal charge against him. Also, none of the Attorneys-General in the 36 states did anything to reinforce the public perception.

Persons and institutions that should conduct a proper character audit slept off, while Tinubu remained awake for16 good years, scheming for the realisation of May 29, 2023 in his life.

The worst that ever happened to him, was his appearance at the Code of Conduct Tribunal to answer charges of false declaration of assets. He scaled the hurdle and re-entered Bourdillon, Lagos, from Abuja, as the real lion, conqueror, emperor and champion. The Federal Government under President Goodluck Jonathan was boxed into an underdog and appeared diminished in the ensuing optics.

In the 1999 Class of Governors, Tinubu stands very tall and alone. Nobody comes close, except, perhaps, Chief James Onanefe Ibori of Delta State, who, in spite of tra-vails, has managed to hold together part of his political clan. Others have been on a steady downward curve of devaluation; moving between being senators, ministers and errand boys to the executive at the Federal and State levels. And so, if you ask me, I will give it to Tinubu. He has exercised a superior acumen over the Nigerian State and its agents. He has worked so hard to convert tall names and his erstwhile principals into his die-hard fans. Pa Adebisi Akande, Pa Segun Osoba and even the respected Professor do not say to him. I think he should be applauded.

Aziza is the unparalled forest spirit in Urhobocosmol-ogy. No entity contests the ownership of the forest with it. Tinubu has strengthened into the Aziza of national politics. He should just be allowed to dissipate in eight years instead of incurring his wrath. Aziza also loves roaming large in incredible strides. It moves in a hur-ricane, tornado or any other fearsome storm and can cover kilometres just in a stride. Nothing stands in its way. It brings down everything including houses in its path. Those who must obstruct Aziza must invite the obo (native doctor) to offer a sacrifice that would be accepted for Aziza to stride over built-up areas without wrecking destruc-tion. This is where we are with Tinubu. If you fail to uproot the Iroko when it is unknown, you will take sacrifices to it when it becomes known and established.

WHEN former vice president, Atiku Abubakar led other political leaders to the hilltop residence of former President Olusegun Obasanjo in Abeokuta last Tuesday, both parties dismissed insinuations that it was part of the grand plot to gang up against the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). The visit was kept as a top secret by Obasanjo and his visitors. Yet, it was not the first time the former president and Atiku would meet despite a running battle over political differences. On Atiku’s delegation were other members of the Obasanjo days in office as president, including Lyle Imoke, Aminu Tambuwal and Senator Ningi.

But to underline the strategic meeting, the visitors met for more than two hours behind closed doors ostensibly to shut out the likely prying eyes of a third party and the usually nosy media always lurking around the precinct of Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential library located in the Ogun State capital.  Neither the visitors nor their host was willing to give details of the ‘frank discussion’ despite their individual schism against the current administration. All they told the expectant Nigerian public about the outcome of the meeting was that it had nothing to do with politics and the emerging trends towards the next general election. However, details scooped from close aides to the two camps revealed that the discussion was on the necessity for the opposition to evolve a strategy to oust the APC from power through the 2027 presidential election. Close associates and aides to the visitors and the former president said the mission of the team was report back to him the extent of the job done on the assignment to mobilize leaders across the geopolitical zone to push out the APC in 2027. Since the session was meant for the feedback, therefore, the visitors did most of the talking, while the former president kept a near studied silence apparently to comprehend, regurgitate, dissect and digest the message, the messengers and the overall bottom line of the exclusive gathering.                  

Atiku as the leader of the team, with the mandate of others involved in the planned coalition, gave Obasanjo the full account of their actions, consultations, discussions and decisions on the project. It should be recalled that Atiku was among the key speakers at the recent national conference held in Abuja where the main stakeholders pooh-poohed the APC administration and canvassed for a united front by the opposition to confront the ruling party in the next general election. Thus, the Abeokuta meeting with the former president was apparently in furtherance of the fact that Obasanjo was regarded as the de facto leader of the movement which some of the leaders, however, tactically claimed is designed to save Nigeria.  

Sources close to the visitors quoted the ex Nigerian leader to have said that the mission of the team was to give him feedback on the consultations and meetings of the forces mobilizing to produce the coalition against the APC. Obasanjo told one of his close confidants after the meeting that the visit had nothing to do with the speculated renewed presidential ambition of his former vice. The former Nigerian leader expatiated that the visit was aimed at the collaboration efforts to move Nigeria forward, and not with the “presidential bid of any individual’ so far. 

Obasanjo was reportedly categorical that Atiku did not come to discuss his touted ‘ambition’ with him, but to render a detailed report on what they are doing to get a coalition of forces without anyone’s ambition but only how to move Nigeria forward.”  Therefore, he said his job on the occasion was to listen attentively and not necessarily to interject while the team made its submission.”            

Over the years, the former military head of state and later civilian president has been the arrowhead of past efforts aimed at assembling influential politicians, activists and groups of professionals to form a third force with the capacity and network to displace both the PDP and the APC from power. It began after he angrily openly declared his frustration with the PDP.  Recall that about seven years ago, Obasanjo publicly declared that he was quitting politics to assume the role of an elder statesman and adviser to other gladiators. He publicly tore his membership card of the party  into shreds at the height of his disagreement with some elements in the PDP. But the former Nigerian leader has found it extremely difficult to detach himself from partisan politics, despite his promise to be apolitical. Almost in every election cycle, he has tried to play the pivotal role of a fulcrum, rallying his admirers to set an agenda.  Determined to make himself as the rallying force in 2015, Obasanjo became the arrowhead of a Third Force to challenge his former party, PDP and the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the 2019 general election.  Having been courted by the leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Obasanjo led the gladiators of other fringe political parties, as well as pressure groups in mobilising across board for the Third Force.

His choice as the third Force for the 2023 elections was the Labour Party (LP). He had the backing of mass based ethnic nationality organisations in the three geopolitical zones in the southern part of the country as well as the Middle Belt. The two Nigerian leaders and other personalities involved in the Third Force hinged their decision that the Igbo should produce a president based on equity.  Obasanjo practically became the face of the campaign of the candidate of the LP, Mr Peter Obi, a former governor of Anambra State, for the presidential election. 

Obasanjo is believed to remain passionate about the agenda. His close associates and confidants claim he is still committed to the cause of power shift to the South-East as leading politicians and groups intensify plans to forge alliances ahead of the 2027 elections.

APC

The national chairman of the APC, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje has been consistent in creating ripples. He throws bomb shells with the attendant eddies in the ranks of the opposition politicians. He has declared that his party was poised to capture Anambra and Osun states after overrunning Edo and Ondo states in the governorship elections. He threw another stone on Tuesday that the North should wait for 2031 to produce the president of the country as the immediate past President Muhammadu Buhari, from Katsina State, served for two terms of four years each. 

LND:  Yemi Osinbajo

Some forces are rooting for former Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo. He is believed to have the savvy to confront Tinubu. He is said to have a better understanding and appreciation of the president, having worked closely with him as former governor of Lagos State as commissioner for Justice and Attorney General. But some elements claim that Osinbajo may not be able to deliver a block from the South-West to the alliance.

Jonathan is believed to have the following in the South to match the incumbent. Another option is to bring back former President Goodluck Jonathan. Some leaders of the alliance claim he would not be a hard sell in the south because of his network of friends and structures that brought and sustained in office during his first coming as president. It is assumed that certain issues bordering on regional cleavages, ethnic background and other primordial factors could sway popular views in his favour, especially in the South-South and the South-East, which are considered as predominantly pro-opposition parties. 

Rotimi Amaechi

Former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi is regarded as one politician that should be accommodated in the planned alliance. The former governor of Rivers State is already an arrowhead in the movement. He is said to possess logistics that could be deployed to match the incumbent when the chips are down. But they are concerned that he lacks the clout and machinery to run for the presidency. He might have the capacity to deliver sufficient votes of Rivers State due to the influence of the Minister of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, his once close ally now believed to be fully in control of the PDP structures at the federal level and Rivers State.

Malami and El-Rufai are among the arrowheads of the change agenda. Their seeming aloofness to the activities in the ruling APC is seen as a factor that endears the group. The duo is part of the preeminent forces prior to the APC presidential primary of 2023. 

Atiku and 2027 Presidency

Former vice president, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar’s decision on the ongoing effort to concretise the coalition is critical. His utterances, countenance and body language after his last unsuccessful bid to become president have given the impression that he could take another shot at the exalted office of the President. But there are insinuations that his camp may acquiesce to propositions that he has a rethink on the possibility of throwing his hat into the rings for the seventh time. Speculations are rife in the circle of the leaders of the coalition about his willingness to lower the guard so that the movement can achieve its ultimate goal of creating an upset in the 2027 elections.

North and APC

Conversations among the opposition chieftains are that there is a swell anger from the North against the APC administration. The groundswell of anger centres on the fallouts of the economic policies of the government, with the North perceived as the most vulnerable. Thus, some forces are latching on the perceived unfavourable disposition of the North towards the administration. The calculation by the opposition is to weaken the APC such that it will not be able to achieve its electoral feat in parts of the North in the 2023 elections.

Kano votes

Kano is the epicenter of North-West politics. The presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in the 2023 presidential election, Senator Musa Kwankwaso is working to hold tenaciously to the structure of the state after his party humbled the APC. Therefore, he is reportedly not too keen on completely submitting or collapsing his structure into the planned coalition. Instead, his resolve is to run again for the presidency, and not to play a second fiddle to any candidate in any form of realignment or alliance for the 2027 elections. His recent visit to a former governor of Osun State, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola is part of his strategies to synchronize his agenda with those who are considered as politicians with pedigree and clout to make serious incursions into the geopolitical zones in the southern part of the country.   

South-East/South-South politics

Regardless of the fact that the APC controls two states in the South-East and one in the South-South, the two zones have the strong presence of the leading opposition parties. The perception informs the calculations among the elements involved in the coalition that former President Goodluck Jonathan should be a preferred choice to checkmate APC in 2027. He is considered as a real counterforce against the incumbency factor based on the grounds of regional cleavages, ethnic attachment, alliances and individual pedigrees.  However, there is a push by another force for Mr Peter Obi as candidate because of the potential of his candidacy to draw a large chunk of the Igbo votes in the South-East and their kinsmen in parts of the six states in the South-South. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo is said to be uncompromising in his declaration that the Igbo deserve to produce a president in the name of equity and justice and fairness. 

[Tribune]

Brazil football legend, Ronaldo De Lima, has picked former Real Madrid midfielder, Thomas Gravesen as his worst-ever teammate.

Ronaldo spent five seasons with the LaLiga giants and was a key figure in the club’s Galacticos era.

Gravesen signed for Madrid in a £2.5million move from Everton in January 2005 and went on to make 49 appearances.

The Denmark international played for two seasons alongside Ronaldo.

While Ronaldo has said Gravesen was a “cool guy”, he claimed the former defensive midfielder was “very bad” on the pitch.

In an interview with compatriot Romario, Ronaldo was asked to name the worst player he’d ever played alongside.

He replied: “There are a lot of them. There was one at Real Madrid who was a joke… Gravesen.

“He was a Danish midfielder. He was a really cool guy, good guy. A little while ago he won a $50million poker tournament or something.

“But in football he was very bad, he scored and he beat the hell out of people.”

[DailyPost]

Northern leaders have been divided over the possible re-election of President Bola Tinubu in 2027.

Findings by Sunday PUNCH revealed that the once monolithic North is now split, with core northerners determined to oust Tinubu in 2027, while northern minorities support his re-election.

Our correspondents noted that although core northerners complain about the President’s unfavourable disposition towards the region, minority groups argue that they have fared well under his administration.

The Middle Belt, southern Kaduna residents, Hausa Christians of Northern Nigeria, and many natives of Plateau State have distanced themselves from the plot to unseat Tinubu.

However, core northerners, represented by various political, socio-cultural, and indigenous groups, insist that Tinubu does not deserve a second term.

The division among northern stakeholders is evident in social media exchanges between former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, and a human rights activist, Senator Shehu Sani, who frequently express differing views on Tinubu’s approach to northern issues, particularly security.

The Arewa Consultative Forum, a key political and cultural association in Northern Nigeria, alongside several prominent northern figures, said the region could not be coerced into re-electing Tinubu.

Speaking with Sunday PUNCH, the Secretary General of the group, Murtala Aliyu, stated that the forum remained nonpartisan and would not support or oppose any candidate.

The ACF was responding to a recent statement by the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Abdullahi Ganduje, who urged northern politicians with presidential ambitions to abandon their aspirations because Tinubu would serve for two terms.

“What we normally do at ACF is to highlight critical issues that the people should consider when choosing a candidate, irrespective of their political party. We do not involve ourselves in promoting or antagonising any candidate,” Aliyu said.

The League of Northern Democrats, a northern group comprising members of the APC, the Peoples Democratic Party, and the New Nigeria Peoples Party, vowed to support an alternative candidate in 2027.

The spokesperson for the group, Ladan Salihu, said, “We don’t have a personal agenda against Tinubu, but we believe his government has not delivered. The performance indicators do not add up to justify northern support.

“The government has not met expectations, and we in the North are not convinced he deserves another opportunity. Even those who voted for him are now filled with regret. His administration has brought hardship, poverty and agony to the people.

“No northerner with a conscience can claim to be impressed with Tinubu’s performance. He may have the best intentions, but the system he is working with is flawed and unsustainable. It cannot deliver on the promises he made to the North.”

Salihu also hinted at the possibility of a new political movement to field a northern candidate against Tinubu in 2027.

“Yes, there is a possibility, because we are not convinced that this government can lift Nigeria out of its current predicament,” he said.

Similarly, the National Coalition of Northern Groups warned that the North would not vote for Tinubu if economic conditions did not improve.

In an interview with Sunday PUNCH, the coalition president, Jamilu Charanchi, stated that the North, which holds the majority of votes, would not re-elect Tinubu if economic hardship persisted.

“It is the people who will decide who leads the country—there is no doubt about that. The North has a majority. It is up to President Tinubu to make the right decisions so that people will re-elect him. If he continues on this path, I can tell you clearly that people will not vote for him,” he said.

Urging Nigerians to vote wisely, Charanchi advised the electorate to choose leaders based on competence, capacity, integrity and adherence to the rule of law.

He said, “Nigerians should not allow themselves to be manipulated by politicians. They should vote based on merit and mobilise others to elect leaders who will lift the country out of its current crisis.”

Charanchi described Ganduje’s comment as troubling and disheartening, stating that it indicated the APC chairman was out of touch with reality.

“Is he satisfied with Nigeria’s failing economy? Does he believe these failures are acceptable or justified?” he asked.

A former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, had previously hinted at northern efforts to remove Tinubu in 2027.

Lawal recently declared his intention to work with El-Rufai to prevent Tinubu’s re-election.

In an interview, Lawal blamed Tinubu’s economic policies for worsening poverty and hardship in Northern Nigeria.

“The North is seriously mobilising with a consensus that Bola Tinubu must step down in the 2027 election. There is no doubt about this consensus.

“I may not have always agreed with El-Rufai, but on this issue, I will join him to stop Tinubu from winning the 2027 election. If Tinubu wins, northern Nigeria will turn into one large refugee camp,” he said.

El-Rufai, on Monday, shared on his X handle an opinion by a chieftain of the party, Uche Diala, who warned that if Tinubu was not careful, he might face the same fate as former President Goodluck Jonathan ahead of the 2027 election.

The article stated, “I have read and heard the arrogant posturing and braggadocio by some people who I refer to as political rabble-rousers, but I get more worried each day as it keeps looking more and more like a movie we had seen before.

“May I remind some persons that, more than the performance or lack thereof of the President Goodluck Jonathan administration, it was his attitude, and that of people around him, towards the North that ultimately brought him down and by extension the PDP that had boasted that it would rule Nigeria for 60 years.”

El-Rufai himself had on his X handle criticised the APC, lamenting the lack of internal democracy and active party structures within the party.

He wrote “I no longer recognise the APC. No party organ has met in two years—no caucus, no NEC, nothing. You don’t even know if it is a one-man show; it’s a zero-man show.”

However, the northern minorities distanced themselves from the plot to oust Tinubu.

One of the notable northern minority groups, the Middle Belt Forum, stated that the region had decided to support a southern presidency in 2027.

The MBF argued that the region had received a better deal under the current administration than under former President Muhammadu Buhari, despite prevailing economic hardships.

According to the MBF’s spokesman, Luka Binniyat, the Middle Belt has secured more political appointments at the national level and more infrastructural projects than under the previous government.

Sunday PUNCH noted that Middle Belt indigenes in Tinubu’s administration include the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume (Benue State), and the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development, Prof. Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda (Plateau State).

“We are having a better deal under Bola Tinubu than under Buhari, even though we are all experiencing economic hardship like everyone else.

“The Middle Belt Forum, for sure, still stands for a southern presidency in 2027. So, it is up to President Tinubu to up his game to attract the Middle Belt when an alternative candidate emerges in 2027,” Binniyat said.

Similarly, indigenous Hausa Christians of Northern Nigeria dissociated themselves from the plot to remove Tinubu in 2027, stating that they would not be pressured into making a decision that could negatively impact the social well-being of their people.

According to the Christian group, Tinubu’s administration had demonstrated a commitment to addressing the insecurity that has plagued many northern states.

“All we want at the moment is inclusivity, as we have many qualified individuals and seasoned politicians capable of holding political office.

“Instead of calling for the President’s removal in 2027, we are urging him to consider some of our people for appointments, as we refuse to inherit anyone’s enemies,” said the National Chairman of the group, Daniel Musa.

Some indigenes of Plateau State also declared support for Tinubu’s second term.

Speaking with Sunday PUNCH under the auspices of the Plateau Initiative for the Development and Advancement of the Natives in Jos, the indigenes acknowledged the President’s contributions to the development of their region.

The association’s Secretary General, Dickson Auta, said, “He (Tinubu) has indeed shown that he is a detribalised leader because he has been striving to spread developmental projects across every part of the country.

“Our people are only concerned about good governance, and if Mr President continues on this developmental path, I am sure our people will have no choice but to support his ambition in 2027 should he decide to run for a second term. In fact, we are already supporting him.”

Also, the Southern Kaduna People’s Union commended Tinubu for appointing individuals from Southern Kaduna to key positions.

A spokesperson for SOKAPU, Josiah Abraks, cited the appointment of Gen. Christopher Musa as Chief of Defence Staff and the establishment of the Federal University of Applied Science, Kachia, as examples of the President’s inclusivity, which has benefited the people of Southern Kaduna.

“The southern part of Kaduna is willing to partner with whoever is ready to work with us to ensure our growth and development,” he added.

[Punch]

“The judiciary,…. has no influence over either the sword or the purse; no direction either of the strength or of the wealth of the society; and can take no active resolution whatever. It may truly be said to have neither force nor will, but merely judgment.”

Alexander Hamilton, The Federalist, No. 78.

In January 1983, a suspicious fire incident did considerable damage to NECOM House, the high-rise building in Lagos that housed the headquarters of the country’s telecommunications monopoly, then known as the Nigerian Telecommunications Limited, NITEL. Alhaji Shehu Shagari was in power as elected civilian president. The belief was widespread that the fire was the handiwork of “senior officials in the building (who) had been under investigation for fraud and embezzlement that police estimated at more than $100 million.” 

The NECOM House fire was another in a succession of high-profile incidents with a whiff of arson affecting public infrastructure in the country. The previous month, another fire had consumed the Ministry of External Affairs, reportedly “set by accountants who were under investigation.”

Casualty count from the NECOM House fire incident was substantial but uncertain. By some coincidence, the fire occurred the week after the fire-fighting team at the facility had been inexplicably withdrawn.

The response of the federal authorities was even more inexplicable. The 21 persons whom they chose to prosecute in connection with the incident included Ray Ekpu, at the time a senior journalist and columnist, whose crime appeared to be that he published an article after the incident suggesting that it was arson.

Also charged were Adamu Akokhia, Chief Fire Officer of the Federation; and Saidu Garba, the Divisional Fire Officer responsible for the building. While they were suspects in pending criminal proceedings, the federal authorities also suspended Adamu Akokhia and Saidu Garba from work.

Saidu Garba sued at the High Court of Lagos State challenging his suspension. While his case was still pending, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, John Oyegun, issued a letter sacking him from the public service.

Informed of this development, the presiding judge, Yahaya Jinadu, summoned John Oyegun to appear before him and explain why he should not be held in contempt of court. The judge subsequently found Mr. Oyegun guilty of contempt, cautioned him and required him to withdraw the letter of termination issued to Saidu Garba while his case was pending.

Despite the forbearance of the court, Mr. Oyegun failed to comply. On 3 August 1984, the court ordered his lawyer to secure compliance by his client with the order or cease participation in the proceedings until he complied. By this time, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari was in his eighth month in power as military ruler, having overthrown Shagari.

Five days later, on 8 August, then Chief Judge of Lagos State, Adetunji Adefarasin, summarily withdrew the case file from Yahaya Jinadu and reassigned it to himself, claiming that he did so at the request of the trial judge. Yahaya Jinadu denied ever having made such a request to the Chief Judge.

While Yahaya Jinadu was on pilgrimage to Mecca shortly thereafter, the Advisory Judicial Committee (AJC), then chaired by Chief Justice Sodeinde Sowemimo (the same one who infamously convicted Obafemi Awolowo two decades earlier), constituted a committee “that curiously condemned his actions and asked him to make written and verbal apologies” to, among others, the federal attorney-general, the President of the Court of Appeal, and the Chief Judge of Lagos State. Unwilling to abide an order which he characterised as “humiliation and disgrace of the judiciary”, Yahaya Jinadu served the statutory sixty-day notice of his intention to resign as a judge. In response, the regime terminated his judicial career summarily.

For being acutely aware of the duty to conserve the currency of judicial authority and being prepared to defend that, Yahaya Jinadu paid a heavy price with his career. Those who traduced him set in motion a deadly corrosion of judicial authority whose inter-generational consequences today endanger the very foundations of both the institution and the country.

Two contemporaneous events this past week dramatized how badly so. Addressing judges at the beginning of the week at a continuing judicial education event in Abuja, the Federal Capital, Chief Justice of the Federation, Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, complained about deepening public distrust of the judiciary, reminding her colleagues that “it is not enough to be impartial; we must also be seen to be impartial. The perception of bias or impropriety can be as damaging as the reality itself.”

At about the same time as the Chief Justice uttered them, these sentiments were on trial at another end of town. The Federal High Court in Abuja was the venue of the now viral contretemps between Nnamdi Kanu, self-proclaimed leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPoB), on the one hand; and the presiding judge, the lead prosecutor, and even his own team of lawyers, on the other. If anything was more troubling than the conduct of Mr. Kanu in that outing, it was the self-inflicted lack of judicial authority to firmly put a stop to it.

To be sure, there are ample provisions in the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) empowering courts to preserve their authority or act against the disruption of their proceedings. A judge for a quarter of a century and a state attorney-general before that, the one charge that cannot possibly be made against the presiding judge in this case is inexperience. So, why was the court, nevertheless, so craven?

On 24 September 2024, she had ruled in respect of the same proceedings concerning Mr. Kanu that: “The root of adjudication is confidence. The defendant has no confidence in this court. Consequently, I hereby recuse myself from this trial and hereby remit the case file to the Chief Judge for further necessary action.” Three weeks later, it was reported that the Chief Judge decided administratively to overrule the trial judge’s recusal and return the case file to her.

There are, however, two problems with this decision. First, as a matter of law, the Chief Judge may be a first among his peers but he is no paramount chief at large. His powers do not extend to administratively overruling a written decision of a judge sitting as such. Second, as a practical matter, a judge who by her own hand rules to recuse herself from proceedings after affirming cratered confidence in her handling of the proceedings cannot allow herself to be bullied or inveigled into attempting to ingest her judicial vomit.

The coincidence of these two developments almost assuredly denied the court of its constitutive authority, making it a passenger in that piece of execrable judicial theatre.

The standard under the 1999 constitution is that a court shall be constituted “in such a manner as to secure its independence and impartiality.” A judge cannot return to claim impartiality and independence after having gone on record to recuse herself for having lost the confidence of the defendant. A forum in that setting hardly deserves the appellation of a court.

Nigeria’s 1999 constitution speaks loosely of “judicial power”. The traditional tools of power in this sense are coercive or transactional. As a fact, the judiciary lacks both. Its currency is neither arms nor money. Rather it is reason and authority.

To the extent that it is possible to salvage anything from the wreckage of those proceedings in that Federal High Court last week, it is the importance of holding the feet of the judiciary to fire when any judge – no matter how high – acts in a manner that casually endangers that authority. The costs of not doing so are incalculable.

A lawyer and teacher, Odinkalu can be reached chidi.odinkalu@tufts.edu