Opinion

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Showing posts with label Opinion. Show all posts

SUCCESSFUL FAILURE: The Paradox of a Political Tramp

SUCCESSFUL FAILURE: The Paradox of a Political Tramp

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Apagun 


"Ile njo, asiwere nlánlá fún agbara. . . Wọnni ṣe ohun tó kàn nìyẹn, ọ ni toun ni won yóò padà sé kehin"


Literally, a big conflagration is busy consuming a mansion, and a foolish man is busy making trenches, when the foolish man was being challenged of his actions, he laughed hysterically and asserted that it's his actions they will all adopt at the end of the day. 


In the complex tapestry of human experiences, the phrase “successful failure” encapsulates the journey of a man whose overestimation of his own cleverness led to gradual self-destruction. This is the story of a political tramp—a figure who, in his quest for success, ingeniously orchestrated his own downfall through a series of misguided choices. It can only be best imagine for someone to put the chariot before the horse or be engulfed in misplacement of priorities or better still misguided actions or inactions.


*The Dream of a Mansion*


The story of Obalola started when he was born, though from a noble home, Ifa priest was consulted for divination and spiritual guidance in respect of the new born baby, the priest said he will be king in the nearest future, and a child that will beckons on one while thousands will answer him, but bàbá warned that:


_"Eni aja ba wa, oun laja nba lo, a dífá fún èjì koko ìwòrì, tii tẹju mọ akapo rẹ girigiri, ifa tẹju mọmi, ọ womi rẹ, b'eji koko ìwòrì tìí tẹjú mọ akápò rẹ girigiri"_


The oracle made attestation to the fact that the child in question named Obalola will surely be king but must be focused, and must not engage in divided loyalty, he further stated that _"okan pin-un l'obinrin dun mo, bo ba di meji a d'owu, bo ba di meta a di etaanu, bo di merin a d'ẹrin woroko. . . '_


The man, Obalola, envisioned a life of grandeur—a mansion filled with luxury, power, and admiration. Yet, rather than laying the groundwork to achieve his dreams through hard work and dedication, Obalola chose to dwell in a fantasy world. He believed Mo on the prophecy rather than the process of walking the talk. He was enamored with the idea of success, but utterly unprepared to build the foundation required to realize it. He imagined himself being hosted in extravagant parties and programs home, and abroad. Hosting guest in his opulent home, surrounded by the accolades of political allies and the envy of his adversaries. However, dreams do not construct themselves, and reality would prove unforgiving, as _"eni ọ ṣe bii alaaru l'oyingbo, ko le se bíi Ajigboro l'ọja Oba"_ meaning, he who did not work himself tirelessly like a pawn in Oyingbo market cannot walk majestically like Ajigboro at the King's market


*The Illusion of Smart Choices*


Believing he could outsmart the system, processes and the principles, Obalola devised a strategy he thought was foolproof. He attempted to manipulate the political landscape, often opting for shortcuts at the expense of genuine development. Rather than engaging in meaningful dialogue with constituents or secretly investing in his political party that would later be the platform for his kingship, he resorted to moving without direction, dashing out giveaways outside his immediate constituency . The allure of apparent success clouded his judgment, as he convinced himself that the prophecy is sure, that these tactics would secure his position of power. Ironically, in his pursuit of being clever, he outsmarted himself. Yoruba rightly concluded that _'when wisdom gymnastically jump over Iroko and Boabab trees, she will disgracefully landed herself at the backyard of foolishness'._


The truth, however, is that brilliance without substance is hollow. His clever maneuvers alienated not just his supporters but also those who once believed in his vision. Many destines that were attached to his dreams were bruised and disillusioned. While trying to play the game, for name and fame same way he was known for, he failed to realize that true leadership requires commitment, integrity, and a willingness to face adversity. He forgot the game changer who specializes in altering rules of the game is right inside the pitch against him, visibly controlling the referees and the supposedly unbiased umpire who are now eating the crumbs from the table of the Emperor.


 *The Price of Avoidance*


Obalola's fear of injury led him to avoid the political fights that would forge respect and rapport. He craved the trophy of a winner—a position of authority and recognition—yet shied away from the battles necessary to earn it. Each time a challenge presented itself, he would sidestep it, hoping that with enough avoidance, he could change the narrative, emerge victorious without the scars of conflict. This approach left him stagnant, and the accolades he desired became increasingly elusive. 


In essence, he sought to claim a win while remaining untested, ultimately exposing the fragility of his ambitions. The unwillingness to engage meant he never stood firm for his beliefs, and as a result, he lost the chance to inspire others, weakening his platform, by unnecessarily starving them of funds, and leaving himself vulnerable to those more willing to fight for their convictions.


*The Cost of Complicity*


Despite working diligently day and night, Obalola became complicit in eroding the very foundation of what he sought to build. In focusing solely on future aspirations—a mansion of influence and prosperity—he neglected the present, sabotaging his own efforts. The overextension in chasing dreams without investing in reality took a toll. Relationships soured, trust dissipated, weaknesses exposed with time, and his political aspirations became a mirage.


Working tirelessly without purpose culminated in a paradox: his perpetual endeavour to secure a bright future paradoxically led to the destruction of the very opportunities present today. Instead of solidifying his position, he unwittingly undermined it by failing to cultivate genuine connections and delivering on promises. When his followers needed a word in season, he kept mute, dragging his feet as he wallowed in valley of decision, unnecessarily delaying in allaying our fears as his shadows were being double cast, he seems to appears or being represented in several political platforms. Who is this man, and who can outrightly understands his ways?


*The Realization*


Ultimately, Obalola’s story is a cautionary tale. Successful failure embodies the delicate balance between ambition and reality. His journey serves as a stark reminder that success requires more than clever manipulation and dreams of grandeur; it demands hard work, resilience, and the willingness to engage with the present.


As he stands at the precipice of his political career, pondering the remnants of his ambitions, Obalola is left questioning whether the fantasy of a mansion was worth the price of his integrity and prospects. The lesson is clear: one cannot build a future on the foundations of avoidance and illusion. True success is achieved through authenticity, grit, and a commitment to facing the battles ahead, not by simply wishing for a mansion without laying any bricks, and walking away as a trademark at any point of stiff opposition and imaginary danger. Somebody rightly stated emphatically; power is not served, it is deserved, fought for and won.


In a world where many aspire for the accolades without effort, Obalola's tale serves as a poignant reminder that genuine achievement is rooted in reality—what we build today ultimately shapes the legacy of tomorrow and not by surreptitiously implanting some people to supplant a host in the nearest future, that the Yoruba proverb may not ultimately come to pass as they believed "Obalola may never becomes the king".


Apagun Olaolu Samuel 

#egberunsaamu2206@gmail.com

Apagun 


"Ile njo, asiwere nlánlá fún agbara. . . Wọnni ṣe ohun tó kàn nìyẹn, ọ ni toun ni won yóò padà sé kehin"


Literally, a big conflagration is busy consuming a mansion, and a foolish man is busy making trenches, when the foolish man was being challenged of his actions, he laughed hysterically and asserted that it's his actions they will all adopt at the end of the day. 


In the complex tapestry of human experiences, the phrase “successful failure” encapsulates the journey of a man whose overestimation of his own cleverness led to gradual self-destruction. This is the story of a political tramp—a figure who, in his quest for success, ingeniously orchestrated his own downfall through a series of misguided choices. It can only be best imagine for someone to put the chariot before the horse or be engulfed in misplacement of priorities or better still misguided actions or inactions.


*The Dream of a Mansion*


The story of Obalola started when he was born, though from a noble home, Ifa priest was consulted for divination and spiritual guidance in respect of the new born baby, the priest said he will be king in the nearest future, and a child that will beckons on one while thousands will answer him, but bàbá warned that:


_"Eni aja ba wa, oun laja nba lo, a dífá fún èjì koko ìwòrì, tii tẹju mọ akapo rẹ girigiri, ifa tẹju mọmi, ọ womi rẹ, b'eji koko ìwòrì tìí tẹjú mọ akápò rẹ girigiri"_


The oracle made attestation to the fact that the child in question named Obalola will surely be king but must be focused, and must not engage in divided loyalty, he further stated that _"okan pin-un l'obinrin dun mo, bo ba di meji a d'owu, bo ba di meta a di etaanu, bo di merin a d'ẹrin woroko. . . '_


The man, Obalola, envisioned a life of grandeur—a mansion filled with luxury, power, and admiration. Yet, rather than laying the groundwork to achieve his dreams through hard work and dedication, Obalola chose to dwell in a fantasy world. He believed Mo on the prophecy rather than the process of walking the talk. He was enamored with the idea of success, but utterly unprepared to build the foundation required to realize it. He imagined himself being hosted in extravagant parties and programs home, and abroad. Hosting guest in his opulent home, surrounded by the accolades of political allies and the envy of his adversaries. However, dreams do not construct themselves, and reality would prove unforgiving, as _"eni ọ ṣe bii alaaru l'oyingbo, ko le se bíi Ajigboro l'ọja Oba"_ meaning, he who did not work himself tirelessly like a pawn in Oyingbo market cannot walk majestically like Ajigboro at the King's market


*The Illusion of Smart Choices*


Believing he could outsmart the system, processes and the principles, Obalola devised a strategy he thought was foolproof. He attempted to manipulate the political landscape, often opting for shortcuts at the expense of genuine development. Rather than engaging in meaningful dialogue with constituents or secretly investing in his political party that would later be the platform for his kingship, he resorted to moving without direction, dashing out giveaways outside his immediate constituency . The allure of apparent success clouded his judgment, as he convinced himself that the prophecy is sure, that these tactics would secure his position of power. Ironically, in his pursuit of being clever, he outsmarted himself. Yoruba rightly concluded that _'when wisdom gymnastically jump over Iroko and Boabab trees, she will disgracefully landed herself at the backyard of foolishness'._


The truth, however, is that brilliance without substance is hollow. His clever maneuvers alienated not just his supporters but also those who once believed in his vision. Many destines that were attached to his dreams were bruised and disillusioned. While trying to play the game, for name and fame same way he was known for, he failed to realize that true leadership requires commitment, integrity, and a willingness to face adversity. He forgot the game changer who specializes in altering rules of the game is right inside the pitch against him, visibly controlling the referees and the supposedly unbiased umpire who are now eating the crumbs from the table of the Emperor.


 *The Price of Avoidance*


Obalola's fear of injury led him to avoid the political fights that would forge respect and rapport. He craved the trophy of a winner—a position of authority and recognition—yet shied away from the battles necessary to earn it. Each time a challenge presented itself, he would sidestep it, hoping that with enough avoidance, he could change the narrative, emerge victorious without the scars of conflict. This approach left him stagnant, and the accolades he desired became increasingly elusive. 


In essence, he sought to claim a win while remaining untested, ultimately exposing the fragility of his ambitions. The unwillingness to engage meant he never stood firm for his beliefs, and as a result, he lost the chance to inspire others, weakening his platform, by unnecessarily starving them of funds, and leaving himself vulnerable to those more willing to fight for their convictions.


*The Cost of Complicity*


Despite working diligently day and night, Obalola became complicit in eroding the very foundation of what he sought to build. In focusing solely on future aspirations—a mansion of influence and prosperity—he neglected the present, sabotaging his own efforts. The overextension in chasing dreams without investing in reality took a toll. Relationships soured, trust dissipated, weaknesses exposed with time, and his political aspirations became a mirage.


Working tirelessly without purpose culminated in a paradox: his perpetual endeavour to secure a bright future paradoxically led to the destruction of the very opportunities present today. Instead of solidifying his position, he unwittingly undermined it by failing to cultivate genuine connections and delivering on promises. When his followers needed a word in season, he kept mute, dragging his feet as he wallowed in valley of decision, unnecessarily delaying in allaying our fears as his shadows were being double cast, he seems to appears or being represented in several political platforms. Who is this man, and who can outrightly understands his ways?


*The Realization*


Ultimately, Obalola’s story is a cautionary tale. Successful failure embodies the delicate balance between ambition and reality. His journey serves as a stark reminder that success requires more than clever manipulation and dreams of grandeur; it demands hard work, resilience, and the willingness to engage with the present.


As he stands at the precipice of his political career, pondering the remnants of his ambitions, Obalola is left questioning whether the fantasy of a mansion was worth the price of his integrity and prospects. The lesson is clear: one cannot build a future on the foundations of avoidance and illusion. True success is achieved through authenticity, grit, and a commitment to facing the battles ahead, not by simply wishing for a mansion without laying any bricks, and walking away as a trademark at any point of stiff opposition and imaginary danger. Somebody rightly stated emphatically; power is not served, it is deserved, fought for and won.


In a world where many aspire for the accolades without effort, Obalola's tale serves as a poignant reminder that genuine achievement is rooted in reality—what we build today ultimately shapes the legacy of tomorrow and not by surreptitiously implanting some people to supplant a host in the nearest future, that the Yoruba proverb may not ultimately come to pass as they believed "Obalola may never becomes the king".


Apagun Olaolu Samuel 

#egberunsaamu2206@gmail.com

Tags:

Labour Party: The Patriots and the Traitors, A Tale of Loyalty and Betrayal

Labour Party: The Patriots and the Traitors, A Tale of Loyalty and Betrayal

No comments
By Apagun Olaolu Samuel

Apagun

History is often defined by stark contrasts, with figures emerging as either champions of their cause or betrayers of their ideals. The dichotomy of patriots and traitors is a powerful narrative that reflects the complexities of loyalty, identity, and moral dilemmas within societies. This article explores what motivates these individuals, the impact of their actions, and the lessons we can draw from their stories.

The Patriots: Defenders of Ideals

Patriots are typically characterized by their unwavering commitment to a cause, a nation, or a community. They are individuals who stand up for their beliefs, often at great personal risk, driven by a vision of a better future. The passion and sacrifice of patriots can ignite movements and inspire generations. 

Throughout history, many have been celebrated as heroes for their courage and sacrifice. Figures like George Washington, Mahatma Gandhi, and Nelson Mandela exemplify patriotism by fighting for freedom, justice, and the rights of their people. They rallied their communities, becoming symbols of hope and resilience. The motivation behind their patriotism often stems from a deep-seated love for their homeland and a commitment to the common good.

However, it is essential to recognize that patriotism can also be a double-edged sword. In some cases, it leads to exclusionary practices or justifications for violence against perceived enemies. The challenge lies in balancing devotion to one's country with the principles of inclusivity and justice for all.

 The Traitors: The Shadow of Betrayal

In contrast, traitors are often portrayed as individuals who abandon their principles, betray their communities, or side with oppressors. The term evokes strong emotions and is frequently used to vilify those who oppose the dominant narrative. However, the motivations behind acts of perceived treachery can be complex.

There are instances where individuals label themselves as traitors because they challenge the status quo, advocating for change that is necessary but unpopular. Historical figures like Benedict Arnold, who defected during the American Revolution, are often reviled for their actions. Yet, what is often overlooked is the internal struggle they faced, the circumstances leading to their decisions, and the potential necessity of their actions within a wider context.

Some traitors may act out of self-preservation, coercion, or manipulation, making their motivations more sympathetic in some narratives. For instance, individuals who collaborated with occupying forces during wartime may do so under duress, with their choices reflecting the harsh realities of survival.

The Intersection of Loyalty and Betrayal

The lines between patriotism and betrayal can often blur, with historical perspectives influencing how we interpret these identities. Betrayal is not always clear-cut; each individual's circumstances and motives shape their actions. What one group may see as treason, another may view as a courageous stand for justice.

Moreover, societal values shift over time, prompting a reevaluation of who is deemed a patriot or traitor. For example, many civil rights activists faced condemnation in their time but are now celebrated for their efforts to push society toward equality and justice. Thus, the narrative of patriots and traitors is not merely about actions but also about the societal context and perceptions that surround them. But in our own case as a political party, crafting the ideals and ideology of a political party has now become the simplest thing, but been ignored seems to be the starting point of political traitors, manipulating constitution of a political party.

Some years back, after the demise of the late Chairman of the Labour Party, a treacherous act was implanted in Mr. Sunday Abayomi Onigbinde popularly known as Arabambi to nominate Mr. Julius Abure as the National Chairman against the constitutional provision of making the first Deputy Chairman an automatic Chairman. The seed was sown in deep darkness when men were asleep, by dawn the job had been perfected and sealed. Because of the manner by which Abure came in, he became a fish bone hanging in our oesophagus, with the aid of Arabambi, believed to be his henchman, the indivisible twins toying with the destiny of millions of the citizens of Nigeria who so much believed in the rescue mission of the Labour Party.

As we are battling with the duo of Arabambi and Abure, another deadly snake is rearing her ugly head up, a man widely believed to be a mentee of Arabambi, who took him from Ogun State to contest in Lagos State under the banner of our party, who was believed to be preparing ground for Arabambi peradventure we wriggle the keys of the national Secretariat out of the dirty hands of Abure, having succefully implanted four out of the five slots given to the southwest in the recently released Interim National Working Committee and who was believed to have submitted a parallel Interim State Working Committee's name across the states in the southwest, a self acclaimed southwest leader of the Labour Party, a member of the house of representative from Ọjọ Constituency in Lagos, Hon. Seyi Sówùnmí.

This man has been working against the party by trying to be the only one nominating who must be who across the southwest. Let it be clearly known that we are no longer in the dispensation of dashing out political offices to girlfriends and family members but those who truly deserves it unlike that of Lagos State. We are on the lookout, any attempt by him to corner the party to his side shall be vehemently opposed. _Ani ka pa awọn ẹjọ, koro ọ tán, sebe loun saba lowo, ibà bimo náà tán nko, kilo féé ya?

Arabambi and his co-travellers are the greatest undoings of the Labour party. They have no intention of winning but of dining and wining with the APC's. It has become an opened secret that wherever you see Yayi, the upcoming gubernatorial candidate of APC for 2027 in Ogun State, you see Arabambi, working for his emergence. Who does that? And such a person is been acclaimed to be the Deputy National Chairman, an office for negotiations?

The tale of patriots and traitors challenges us to think critically about loyalty and sacrifice. It compels us to consider the motivations behind our actions and the consequences they may bring. As societies navigate conflicts and change, the legacies of both patriots and traitors remind us of the need for dialogue, empathy, and understanding in the pursuit of justice and truth.

In an increasingly polarized world, recognizing the nuanced motivations behind both loyalty and betrayal can foster a more compassionate understanding of history and an appreciation for the complexities of human nature. Ultimately, the stories of patriots and traitors serve as powerful reminders of our shared humanity and the enduring struggle for a better world.



Apagun Olaolu Samuel is the incumbent interim State Chairman of Labour Party, Ogun State.


By Apagun Olaolu Samuel

Apagun

History is often defined by stark contrasts, with figures emerging as either champions of their cause or betrayers of their ideals. The dichotomy of patriots and traitors is a powerful narrative that reflects the complexities of loyalty, identity, and moral dilemmas within societies. This article explores what motivates these individuals, the impact of their actions, and the lessons we can draw from their stories.

The Patriots: Defenders of Ideals

Patriots are typically characterized by their unwavering commitment to a cause, a nation, or a community. They are individuals who stand up for their beliefs, often at great personal risk, driven by a vision of a better future. The passion and sacrifice of patriots can ignite movements and inspire generations. 

Throughout history, many have been celebrated as heroes for their courage and sacrifice. Figures like George Washington, Mahatma Gandhi, and Nelson Mandela exemplify patriotism by fighting for freedom, justice, and the rights of their people. They rallied their communities, becoming symbols of hope and resilience. The motivation behind their patriotism often stems from a deep-seated love for their homeland and a commitment to the common good.

However, it is essential to recognize that patriotism can also be a double-edged sword. In some cases, it leads to exclusionary practices or justifications for violence against perceived enemies. The challenge lies in balancing devotion to one's country with the principles of inclusivity and justice for all.

 The Traitors: The Shadow of Betrayal

In contrast, traitors are often portrayed as individuals who abandon their principles, betray their communities, or side with oppressors. The term evokes strong emotions and is frequently used to vilify those who oppose the dominant narrative. However, the motivations behind acts of perceived treachery can be complex.

There are instances where individuals label themselves as traitors because they challenge the status quo, advocating for change that is necessary but unpopular. Historical figures like Benedict Arnold, who defected during the American Revolution, are often reviled for their actions. Yet, what is often overlooked is the internal struggle they faced, the circumstances leading to their decisions, and the potential necessity of their actions within a wider context.

Some traitors may act out of self-preservation, coercion, or manipulation, making their motivations more sympathetic in some narratives. For instance, individuals who collaborated with occupying forces during wartime may do so under duress, with their choices reflecting the harsh realities of survival.

The Intersection of Loyalty and Betrayal

The lines between patriotism and betrayal can often blur, with historical perspectives influencing how we interpret these identities. Betrayal is not always clear-cut; each individual's circumstances and motives shape their actions. What one group may see as treason, another may view as a courageous stand for justice.

Moreover, societal values shift over time, prompting a reevaluation of who is deemed a patriot or traitor. For example, many civil rights activists faced condemnation in their time but are now celebrated for their efforts to push society toward equality and justice. Thus, the narrative of patriots and traitors is not merely about actions but also about the societal context and perceptions that surround them. But in our own case as a political party, crafting the ideals and ideology of a political party has now become the simplest thing, but been ignored seems to be the starting point of political traitors, manipulating constitution of a political party.

Some years back, after the demise of the late Chairman of the Labour Party, a treacherous act was implanted in Mr. Sunday Abayomi Onigbinde popularly known as Arabambi to nominate Mr. Julius Abure as the National Chairman against the constitutional provision of making the first Deputy Chairman an automatic Chairman. The seed was sown in deep darkness when men were asleep, by dawn the job had been perfected and sealed. Because of the manner by which Abure came in, he became a fish bone hanging in our oesophagus, with the aid of Arabambi, believed to be his henchman, the indivisible twins toying with the destiny of millions of the citizens of Nigeria who so much believed in the rescue mission of the Labour Party.

As we are battling with the duo of Arabambi and Abure, another deadly snake is rearing her ugly head up, a man widely believed to be a mentee of Arabambi, who took him from Ogun State to contest in Lagos State under the banner of our party, who was believed to be preparing ground for Arabambi peradventure we wriggle the keys of the national Secretariat out of the dirty hands of Abure, having succefully implanted four out of the five slots given to the southwest in the recently released Interim National Working Committee and who was believed to have submitted a parallel Interim State Working Committee's name across the states in the southwest, a self acclaimed southwest leader of the Labour Party, a member of the house of representative from Ọjọ Constituency in Lagos, Hon. Seyi Sówùnmí.

This man has been working against the party by trying to be the only one nominating who must be who across the southwest. Let it be clearly known that we are no longer in the dispensation of dashing out political offices to girlfriends and family members but those who truly deserves it unlike that of Lagos State. We are on the lookout, any attempt by him to corner the party to his side shall be vehemently opposed. _Ani ka pa awọn ẹjọ, koro ọ tán, sebe loun saba lowo, ibà bimo náà tán nko, kilo féé ya?

Arabambi and his co-travellers are the greatest undoings of the Labour party. They have no intention of winning but of dining and wining with the APC's. It has become an opened secret that wherever you see Yayi, the upcoming gubernatorial candidate of APC for 2027 in Ogun State, you see Arabambi, working for his emergence. Who does that? And such a person is been acclaimed to be the Deputy National Chairman, an office for negotiations?

The tale of patriots and traitors challenges us to think critically about loyalty and sacrifice. It compels us to consider the motivations behind our actions and the consequences they may bring. As societies navigate conflicts and change, the legacies of both patriots and traitors remind us of the need for dialogue, empathy, and understanding in the pursuit of justice and truth.

In an increasingly polarized world, recognizing the nuanced motivations behind both loyalty and betrayal can foster a more compassionate understanding of history and an appreciation for the complexities of human nature. Ultimately, the stories of patriots and traitors serve as powerful reminders of our shared humanity and the enduring struggle for a better world.



Apagun Olaolu Samuel is the incumbent interim State Chairman of Labour Party, Ogun State.


Tags:

CPC: How Tinubu Landed Nigeria In Trump's Bad Book - SKC Ogbonnia

CPC: How Tinubu Landed Nigeria In Trump's Bad Book - SKC Ogbonnia

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U.S. President Donald J. Trump has threatened military action against Nigeria over an alleged Christian genocide in the African country. This followed his designation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC). Instead of exploring meaningful solutions, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is busy playing politics with a situation he helped to inflame. 


The perception of Christian genocide under the various regimes of the All Progressive Congress (APC) is not new. The campaign for global attention began when President Muhammadu Buhari appeared to be indifferent to the problem. It quickly took a deep root because of Buhari’s background–a military dictator of obstinate religious bigotry.  


Various Nigerian clergymen and Christian groups alerted the global community of the alleged genocide during the Buhari democratic regime. Ordinary citizens were not left behind. The loudest echo chambers of the campaign were prominent image makers of President Tinubu in Reno Omokri and Femi Fani-Kayode. The duo traveled far and wide, using every social media platform to sensationalize the hostility. They in turn derided the Buhari regime as well as the APC as harboring a dangerous Islamic hidden agenda. In one instance, Omokri labeled the ruling party as “anti-Christ.” That quickly stuck!


More importantly, the voices of innocent Nigerians in America, most of whom are Christians, and most of whom decried the pattern of the injustice in their homeland, reluctantly aligned and validated the persecution claim. The U.S.Department of State finally acted by designating Nigeria a Country of Particular Concern for the first time in December 2020. 


After a critical review, Trump’s successor, President Joseph Biden lifted the CPC designation in 2021, amid a torrent of criticisms from both the United States and Nigeria. But America remained on the alert, eagerly waiting for an alarm for any iota of further violations. 


Enter Tinubu and the second coming of Trump. The emergence of Bola Ahmed Tinubu as Nigeria’s president worsened matters and is squarely responsible for why Africa's most populous country is not only designated as a CPC again but also heightened the threat for military action by the United States of America.


Let us begin with Tinubu’s background. Everything about the Nigerian president is everything the Americans resent in foreign leaders. Too many controversies–from his identity, drug trafficking, academic records, and source of his huge wealth. This baggage does not evince trust, especially for a man leading a party heavily lampooned as “anti-Christ.” The totality of this background accounts for why Trump has continued to distance himself from Tinubu.


The next pointer is Muslim-Muslim Presidential Ticket: Upon winning the nomination of his party, Tinubu shocked the world by electing to nominate a vice-president who shares the same Muslim faith with him. What fuels the ire of the Americans is that, despite leading a political party that is alleged to have a vicious Muslim agenda, Tinubu blatantly broke from the prevailing convention that had created a sense of religious tolerance in the country. 


Very alarming is that it did not take long before Nigerians started observing probable signs of Christian genocide in the country under Tinubu. Incidents and statistics abound. But a wake-up call was the first Christmas period after Tinubu took office in 2023 which witnessed a series of coordinated attacks in Plateau State. The suspects were Muslim militants who killed at least 300 people who happened to be Christians, wounded about 300, and displaced over 30,000 residents across 21 villages. The following Easter period in 2024 showed a similar pattern with major attacks documented in Plateau and Benue States.


A comprehensive report from Open Doors International, a watchdog for Christian genocide around the world, analysed the issue of religious extremism from 2023 to 2025 and suggests that Nigeria remains one of the most unsafe places in the world for Christians. Another report by the World Watch List 2025 indicated that Nigeria accounted for a majority of Christian deaths in the world from a period covering October 2023 to September 2024, noting that 3,100 of the 4,476 global Christian deaths (about 70%) took place in that African country. Even this June 2025, Pope Leo XIV condemned an “unceasingly” attack on Christians in Nigeria. 


The incidents and reports above are just to name a few and took place under Tinubu’s watch. But, like Buhari, he chose to do nothing, thinking that it was business as usual. The apparent stoic silence sent a wrong signal, suggesting acquiescence to the quandary.  


Commonly ignored but very consequential is that, even if genocide against the Christians is in contention, the persecution of the people of Southeast Nigeria under Tinubu is profoundly evident. This zone, by the way, represents a majority of Igbo people and also the highest concentration of Christian population in the country. Of course, the history of ill-treatment towards the Igbo is a common knowledge and did not start under Bola Ahmed Tinubu, but it has heightened since he assumed office. 


Some have argued that the Christians might have not been specifically targeted, which is arguably fair. Yet, the simple truth is that a majority of the population in the areas so cited are of the Christian faith. Moreover, while there are many incidents of mass killings of Christians by Jihadist extremists who hide under the name of Islam to perpetrate heinous crimes, one can hardly point to a case where Christians are slaughtering Muslims in Nigeria to propagate Christianity. Further, coordinated violence against the Muslims, if any, either by default or by design has not been pushed to receive the degree of global attention as the Christian victims. Either way, the acts of genocide in Nigeria–whether targeted or not– are indisputable and it remains the responsibility of the state to decimate the perpetrators.  


Many have offered different opinions on how to get around the CPC palaver. The most laughable, however, is Tinubu's plan to jet to Washington and meet with Trump’s deputy, JD Vance in an attempt to reject the CPC label. But such a trip is a mere propaganda envisaged to satiate the thirsty sentiment of being seen as a statesman in the iconic U.S. White House. The solution is at home. And the Nigerian medium for diplomacy has grown beyond the analog assemblage of the Aso Rock think thank!


The point, if it is not already manifest, is that the days are gone when the Nigerian Government can preach justice abroad, while promoting injustice at home. The inconvenient truth is that Nigeria now boasts of hundreds of thousands of independent ambassadors, strategically entrenched in all the nooks and crannies of the world. Nigerians in America on their part maintain a strong presence in both the American private and public sectors, including the CIA, FBI, the Congress, the White House, Judiciary, and the American Armed Forces. 


These Nigerian Americans are also entrenched in the U.S. political stream and accordingly have the ears of the American leaders, including President Trump. Interestingly, a vast majority of them are Christians who hail from different tribes of Nigeria and have emerged as the Biblical Josephs of sorts. Not surprisingly, as they go, so goes the national image and much more. And Donald Trump is keenly aware that their reluctance to relocate back to Nigeria after gaining good education is not because of lack of love for their native country but because of bad governance in their homeland. He is aware that a good chunk of the funds budgeted for anti-Islamic terrorism in Nigeria, including financial assistance by the United States, is stolen by public officials. 


The fact of the matter is that the United States of America knows Tinubu more than he knows himself. Therefore, instead of the mundane attempts to teleguide America with daily doses of falsehoods, President Tinubu should focus on confronting the problems head-on. We need results, no more excuses!!


SKC Ogbonnia, a former APC presidential aspirant, writes from Houston, Texas.


U.S. President Donald J. Trump has threatened military action against Nigeria over an alleged Christian genocide in the African country. This followed his designation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC). Instead of exploring meaningful solutions, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is busy playing politics with a situation he helped to inflame. 


The perception of Christian genocide under the various regimes of the All Progressive Congress (APC) is not new. The campaign for global attention began when President Muhammadu Buhari appeared to be indifferent to the problem. It quickly took a deep root because of Buhari’s background–a military dictator of obstinate religious bigotry.  


Various Nigerian clergymen and Christian groups alerted the global community of the alleged genocide during the Buhari democratic regime. Ordinary citizens were not left behind. The loudest echo chambers of the campaign were prominent image makers of President Tinubu in Reno Omokri and Femi Fani-Kayode. The duo traveled far and wide, using every social media platform to sensationalize the hostility. They in turn derided the Buhari regime as well as the APC as harboring a dangerous Islamic hidden agenda. In one instance, Omokri labeled the ruling party as “anti-Christ.” That quickly stuck!


More importantly, the voices of innocent Nigerians in America, most of whom are Christians, and most of whom decried the pattern of the injustice in their homeland, reluctantly aligned and validated the persecution claim. The U.S.Department of State finally acted by designating Nigeria a Country of Particular Concern for the first time in December 2020. 


After a critical review, Trump’s successor, President Joseph Biden lifted the CPC designation in 2021, amid a torrent of criticisms from both the United States and Nigeria. But America remained on the alert, eagerly waiting for an alarm for any iota of further violations. 


Enter Tinubu and the second coming of Trump. The emergence of Bola Ahmed Tinubu as Nigeria’s president worsened matters and is squarely responsible for why Africa's most populous country is not only designated as a CPC again but also heightened the threat for military action by the United States of America.


Let us begin with Tinubu’s background. Everything about the Nigerian president is everything the Americans resent in foreign leaders. Too many controversies–from his identity, drug trafficking, academic records, and source of his huge wealth. This baggage does not evince trust, especially for a man leading a party heavily lampooned as “anti-Christ.” The totality of this background accounts for why Trump has continued to distance himself from Tinubu.


The next pointer is Muslim-Muslim Presidential Ticket: Upon winning the nomination of his party, Tinubu shocked the world by electing to nominate a vice-president who shares the same Muslim faith with him. What fuels the ire of the Americans is that, despite leading a political party that is alleged to have a vicious Muslim agenda, Tinubu blatantly broke from the prevailing convention that had created a sense of religious tolerance in the country. 


Very alarming is that it did not take long before Nigerians started observing probable signs of Christian genocide in the country under Tinubu. Incidents and statistics abound. But a wake-up call was the first Christmas period after Tinubu took office in 2023 which witnessed a series of coordinated attacks in Plateau State. The suspects were Muslim militants who killed at least 300 people who happened to be Christians, wounded about 300, and displaced over 30,000 residents across 21 villages. The following Easter period in 2024 showed a similar pattern with major attacks documented in Plateau and Benue States.


A comprehensive report from Open Doors International, a watchdog for Christian genocide around the world, analysed the issue of religious extremism from 2023 to 2025 and suggests that Nigeria remains one of the most unsafe places in the world for Christians. Another report by the World Watch List 2025 indicated that Nigeria accounted for a majority of Christian deaths in the world from a period covering October 2023 to September 2024, noting that 3,100 of the 4,476 global Christian deaths (about 70%) took place in that African country. Even this June 2025, Pope Leo XIV condemned an “unceasingly” attack on Christians in Nigeria. 


The incidents and reports above are just to name a few and took place under Tinubu’s watch. But, like Buhari, he chose to do nothing, thinking that it was business as usual. The apparent stoic silence sent a wrong signal, suggesting acquiescence to the quandary.  


Commonly ignored but very consequential is that, even if genocide against the Christians is in contention, the persecution of the people of Southeast Nigeria under Tinubu is profoundly evident. This zone, by the way, represents a majority of Igbo people and also the highest concentration of Christian population in the country. Of course, the history of ill-treatment towards the Igbo is a common knowledge and did not start under Bola Ahmed Tinubu, but it has heightened since he assumed office. 


Some have argued that the Christians might have not been specifically targeted, which is arguably fair. Yet, the simple truth is that a majority of the population in the areas so cited are of the Christian faith. Moreover, while there are many incidents of mass killings of Christians by Jihadist extremists who hide under the name of Islam to perpetrate heinous crimes, one can hardly point to a case where Christians are slaughtering Muslims in Nigeria to propagate Christianity. Further, coordinated violence against the Muslims, if any, either by default or by design has not been pushed to receive the degree of global attention as the Christian victims. Either way, the acts of genocide in Nigeria–whether targeted or not– are indisputable and it remains the responsibility of the state to decimate the perpetrators.  


Many have offered different opinions on how to get around the CPC palaver. The most laughable, however, is Tinubu's plan to jet to Washington and meet with Trump’s deputy, JD Vance in an attempt to reject the CPC label. But such a trip is a mere propaganda envisaged to satiate the thirsty sentiment of being seen as a statesman in the iconic U.S. White House. The solution is at home. And the Nigerian medium for diplomacy has grown beyond the analog assemblage of the Aso Rock think thank!


The point, if it is not already manifest, is that the days are gone when the Nigerian Government can preach justice abroad, while promoting injustice at home. The inconvenient truth is that Nigeria now boasts of hundreds of thousands of independent ambassadors, strategically entrenched in all the nooks and crannies of the world. Nigerians in America on their part maintain a strong presence in both the American private and public sectors, including the CIA, FBI, the Congress, the White House, Judiciary, and the American Armed Forces. 


These Nigerian Americans are also entrenched in the U.S. political stream and accordingly have the ears of the American leaders, including President Trump. Interestingly, a vast majority of them are Christians who hail from different tribes of Nigeria and have emerged as the Biblical Josephs of sorts. Not surprisingly, as they go, so goes the national image and much more. And Donald Trump is keenly aware that their reluctance to relocate back to Nigeria after gaining good education is not because of lack of love for their native country but because of bad governance in their homeland. He is aware that a good chunk of the funds budgeted for anti-Islamic terrorism in Nigeria, including financial assistance by the United States, is stolen by public officials. 


The fact of the matter is that the United States of America knows Tinubu more than he knows himself. Therefore, instead of the mundane attempts to teleguide America with daily doses of falsehoods, President Tinubu should focus on confronting the problems head-on. We need results, no more excuses!!


SKC Ogbonnia, a former APC presidential aspirant, writes from Houston, Texas.

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Akure Jamborees: Tinubu’s political machinery again attempted to take over Afenifere, but failed — Wale Balogun

Akure Jamborees: Tinubu’s political machinery again attempted to take over Afenifere, but failed — Wale Balogun

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 *Afenifere: The True Heir to Awolowo’s Welfarist Legacy — Pa Fasoranti’s Group as Shadow-Chasing Dissidents* 



Afenifere, as a sociopolitical and economic organisation, is as old as the Action Group (AG), the political party founded by the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, and his associates in 1951. From inception, the party had a national outlook, though its core membership was drawn largely from the defunct Ẹgbẹ Ọmọ Odùduwà.


The leadership of the Action Group translated its vision into what became known as Afenifere, built around Awolowo’s cardinal programmes of free education, free healthcare, rural electrification and development, and life more abundant for all. Supporters and the Yoruba electorate affectionately referred to the party as Ẹgbẹ ọlọpẹ, “the palm frond group”, after the palm frond logo of the party.


Contrary to distorted narratives, the Action Group/Afenifere was never a tribal party. Among its notable non-Yoruba members were Pa Anthony Enahoro, Ernest Okoli, Samuel Ikoku and others. It was the deliberate distortion and falsification of historical facts by political detractors that falsely painted the AG/Afenifere as an ethnic Yoruba organisation. In reality, the Action Group was a welfarist party, whose ideology of social democracy was formally adopted at its Jos Convention of 1962.


However, this convention also witnessed the first major crack within the party, leading to the Premier of Western Region, Chief Ladoke Akintola’s faction breaking away to form the Nigerian National Democratic Party (NNDP), which later allied with the Northern People’s Congress (NPC) to form the Nigerian National Alliance (NNA) for the 1964/1965 general elections. Meanwhile, the Action Group joined forces with the NCNC to form the United Progressive Grand Alliance (UPGA).


The Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) emerged later as the political offshoot of the Action Group, just as the Alliance for Democracy (AD) and the Democratic Peoples Alliance (DPA) would later spring from the same ideological root.


During General Ibrahim Babangida’s prolonged military transition to civil rule, Afenifere members participated in the Social Democratic Party (SDP) — one of the two political parties imposed by the regime after proscribing the political formations earlier established by the people.


Under the SDP, Chief M.K.O. Abiola won the historic June 12, 1993 Presidential Election, which was subsequently annulled by Babangida. In the ensuing struggle to reclaim Abiola’s mandate, Afenifere joined forces with other progressive platforms, civil society groups, and individuals to form the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), under the leadership of Pa Adekunle Ajasin, then the leader of Afenifere.


Pa Ajasin did not live to see the dawn of civil rule, and leadership passed to Pa Abraham Adesanya, under whose stewardship Afenifere and the Alliance for Democracy (AD) swept the six southwestern states in the 1999 elections. It was under the AD platform that Bola Ahmed Tinubu, now Nigeria’s President, became Governor of Lagos State.


However, internal crises soon engulfed the AD and, by extension, Afenifere. The “No more Baba sọpe” rebellion against Afenifere leadership led to a splinter group, the Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG), led by Hon. Wale Osun, who continues to head the faction to this day. Tinubu was widely believed to have masterminded this split.


When Pa Reuben Fasoranti succeeded Pa Abraham Adesanya as leader of Afenifere, Tinubu continued to bankroll the splinter faction. As age and health challenges set in, Pa Fasoranti voluntarily stepped aside, handing leadership to Pa Ayo Adebanjo, while Oba Oladipo Olaitan was appointed as Deputy Leader.


The renewed attempt to polarise Afenifere began when the group, in line with its long-standing advocacy for justice, fairness, and equity, supported an Igbo presidential candidate, arguing that it was the turn of the Southeast (Ndigbo) to produce Nigeria’s president. Having realised the potential political weight of Pa Adebanjo’s principled stance, one capable of swaying Yoruba votes away from him, Bola Tinubu, whose splinter faction lacked grassroots legitimacy, sought to undermine Afenifere’s unity.


Tinubu’s visit to Akure, the home of the voluntarily retired Pa Fasoranti, was widely seen as an attempt to either secure endorsement or sow further division within the Yoruba political fold.


Ironically, Tinubu returned to the very structure he once sought to weaken. Yet, like Amalinze the Cat in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, Afenifere refused to die.


The secretive meeting between Pa Fasoranti and Tinubu marked an unprecedented reversal of Afenifere’s leadership principles, with the former leader appearing to stage a Tinubu-sponsored comeback to challenge his own chosen successor, Pa Adebanjo.


Nevertheless, Afenifere under Pa Adebanjo stood firm in its support for Peter Obi, the Labour Party candidate, as a matter of conscience and fairness. Following Pa Adebanjo’s passing early last year, Tinubu’s political machinery again attempted to take over Afenifere, but failed. The National Caucus of Afenifere unanimously endorsed Oba Oladipo Olaitan as its new National Leader.


Frustrated by this outcome, Senator Femi Okunrounmu and others loyal to Tinubu retreated to Akure, continuing their manipulation of the aged Pa Fasoranti. The so-called Afenifere stakeholders’ jamboree held in Akure represents, in the words of the late Professor Eskor Toyo, “starting from a repeated start.”


While the Akure faction has every right to assemble and endorse Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his neoliberal, anti-poor policies, it is grossly misleading to claim to speak for or represent Afenifere. That faction long abandoned the ideals and philosophy of social welfarism, the principles Chief Obafemi Awolowo lived and died for.


Today, the Awoist philosophy remains alive and steadfast under the legitimate leadership of Oba Oladipo Olaitan, the National Leader of Afenifere. Any other group parading itself as Afenifere is nothing but a band of pretenders and impostors, shadow-chasing dissidents estranged from the true welfarist spirit of Awolowo’s Afenifere.


Comrade Wale Balogun 

Convener, Mekunnu Koya

Writes from Lagos.

 *Afenifere: The True Heir to Awolowo’s Welfarist Legacy — Pa Fasoranti’s Group as Shadow-Chasing Dissidents* 



Afenifere, as a sociopolitical and economic organisation, is as old as the Action Group (AG), the political party founded by the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, and his associates in 1951. From inception, the party had a national outlook, though its core membership was drawn largely from the defunct Ẹgbẹ Ọmọ Odùduwà.


The leadership of the Action Group translated its vision into what became known as Afenifere, built around Awolowo’s cardinal programmes of free education, free healthcare, rural electrification and development, and life more abundant for all. Supporters and the Yoruba electorate affectionately referred to the party as Ẹgbẹ ọlọpẹ, “the palm frond group”, after the palm frond logo of the party.


Contrary to distorted narratives, the Action Group/Afenifere was never a tribal party. Among its notable non-Yoruba members were Pa Anthony Enahoro, Ernest Okoli, Samuel Ikoku and others. It was the deliberate distortion and falsification of historical facts by political detractors that falsely painted the AG/Afenifere as an ethnic Yoruba organisation. In reality, the Action Group was a welfarist party, whose ideology of social democracy was formally adopted at its Jos Convention of 1962.


However, this convention also witnessed the first major crack within the party, leading to the Premier of Western Region, Chief Ladoke Akintola’s faction breaking away to form the Nigerian National Democratic Party (NNDP), which later allied with the Northern People’s Congress (NPC) to form the Nigerian National Alliance (NNA) for the 1964/1965 general elections. Meanwhile, the Action Group joined forces with the NCNC to form the United Progressive Grand Alliance (UPGA).


The Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) emerged later as the political offshoot of the Action Group, just as the Alliance for Democracy (AD) and the Democratic Peoples Alliance (DPA) would later spring from the same ideological root.


During General Ibrahim Babangida’s prolonged military transition to civil rule, Afenifere members participated in the Social Democratic Party (SDP) — one of the two political parties imposed by the regime after proscribing the political formations earlier established by the people.


Under the SDP, Chief M.K.O. Abiola won the historic June 12, 1993 Presidential Election, which was subsequently annulled by Babangida. In the ensuing struggle to reclaim Abiola’s mandate, Afenifere joined forces with other progressive platforms, civil society groups, and individuals to form the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), under the leadership of Pa Adekunle Ajasin, then the leader of Afenifere.


Pa Ajasin did not live to see the dawn of civil rule, and leadership passed to Pa Abraham Adesanya, under whose stewardship Afenifere and the Alliance for Democracy (AD) swept the six southwestern states in the 1999 elections. It was under the AD platform that Bola Ahmed Tinubu, now Nigeria’s President, became Governor of Lagos State.


However, internal crises soon engulfed the AD and, by extension, Afenifere. The “No more Baba sọpe” rebellion against Afenifere leadership led to a splinter group, the Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG), led by Hon. Wale Osun, who continues to head the faction to this day. Tinubu was widely believed to have masterminded this split.


When Pa Reuben Fasoranti succeeded Pa Abraham Adesanya as leader of Afenifere, Tinubu continued to bankroll the splinter faction. As age and health challenges set in, Pa Fasoranti voluntarily stepped aside, handing leadership to Pa Ayo Adebanjo, while Oba Oladipo Olaitan was appointed as Deputy Leader.


The renewed attempt to polarise Afenifere began when the group, in line with its long-standing advocacy for justice, fairness, and equity, supported an Igbo presidential candidate, arguing that it was the turn of the Southeast (Ndigbo) to produce Nigeria’s president. Having realised the potential political weight of Pa Adebanjo’s principled stance, one capable of swaying Yoruba votes away from him, Bola Tinubu, whose splinter faction lacked grassroots legitimacy, sought to undermine Afenifere’s unity.


Tinubu’s visit to Akure, the home of the voluntarily retired Pa Fasoranti, was widely seen as an attempt to either secure endorsement or sow further division within the Yoruba political fold.


Ironically, Tinubu returned to the very structure he once sought to weaken. Yet, like Amalinze the Cat in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, Afenifere refused to die.


The secretive meeting between Pa Fasoranti and Tinubu marked an unprecedented reversal of Afenifere’s leadership principles, with the former leader appearing to stage a Tinubu-sponsored comeback to challenge his own chosen successor, Pa Adebanjo.


Nevertheless, Afenifere under Pa Adebanjo stood firm in its support for Peter Obi, the Labour Party candidate, as a matter of conscience and fairness. Following Pa Adebanjo’s passing early last year, Tinubu’s political machinery again attempted to take over Afenifere, but failed. The National Caucus of Afenifere unanimously endorsed Oba Oladipo Olaitan as its new National Leader.


Frustrated by this outcome, Senator Femi Okunrounmu and others loyal to Tinubu retreated to Akure, continuing their manipulation of the aged Pa Fasoranti. The so-called Afenifere stakeholders’ jamboree held in Akure represents, in the words of the late Professor Eskor Toyo, “starting from a repeated start.”


While the Akure faction has every right to assemble and endorse Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his neoliberal, anti-poor policies, it is grossly misleading to claim to speak for or represent Afenifere. That faction long abandoned the ideals and philosophy of social welfarism, the principles Chief Obafemi Awolowo lived and died for.


Today, the Awoist philosophy remains alive and steadfast under the legitimate leadership of Oba Oladipo Olaitan, the National Leader of Afenifere. Any other group parading itself as Afenifere is nothing but a band of pretenders and impostors, shadow-chasing dissidents estranged from the true welfarist spirit of Awolowo’s Afenifere.


Comrade Wale Balogun 

Convener, Mekunnu Koya

Writes from Lagos.

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The Dangerous Cycle Of Impunity: How Nigeria’s Leaders Are Nurturing A Culture Of Impunity

The Dangerous Cycle Of Impunity: How Nigeria’s Leaders Are Nurturing A Culture Of Impunity

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By Buhari Olanrewaju Ahmed 



As President Tinubu continues to set troubling precedents by granting pardons to individuals accused or convicted of serious crimes such as murder and drug trafficking, a dangerous message is being sent to the nation. By normalising impunity at the highest levels, Nigeria risks creating a political environment where those with questionable pasts may one day rise to positions of power and leadership. 


When convicted criminals are absolved of their wrongdoing through political influence, it erodes public trust in the justice system and undermines the rule of law.


It is deeply disheartening and regrettable that Nigeria has reached a point where justice appears selective—where some individuals, despite being found guilty of heinous crimes, are freed due to their political connections, while others, like Nnamdi Kanu, remain detained despite court rulings declaring them not guilty. 


Such double standards expose the deep moral and institutional decay within the system and raise serious questions about fairness, accountability, and equality before the law.


The government’s approach to negotiating with terrorists, rehabilitating them, and reintegrating them into society—despite the destruction, kidnappings, and killings they have caused—further worsens the situation. It sends a demoralising signal to victims and law-abiding citizens that crime pays, while lawful dissent or peaceful activism is treated as treason. 


A government that pardons murderers and drug traffickers while keeping political prisoners behind bars cannot genuinely claim to be committed to justice or national security.


This reality calls for sober reflection. Citizens must understand that leadership choices have far-reaching consequences. Electing individuals without integrity, compassion, or a sense of justice ultimately leads to moral collapse and national instability. When those in power disregard the sanctity of human life and the principles of justice, they weaken the very foundation of governance.


My advice is that no one should ever be unjustly killed, harmed, or condemned under such a system. The same government that pardons killers and drug lords today could one day protect the very people responsible for violence and suffering tomorrow.


 This is a grim reminder of what happens when voters choose leaders based on propaganda, ethnic sentiment, or personal gain rather than character and competence. 


Only divine intervention can rescue Nigeria from the calamities that lie ahead if the nation continues on this dangerous path of rewarding crime and punishing truth.


 Tinubu granted sweeping clemency and posthumous pardons to a total of 147 convicts, inmates and deceased Nigerians, including Maryam Sanda, Ken Saro-Wiwa, Sir Herbert Macaulay, Major General Mamman Vatsa, Professor Magaji Garba, and dozens of illegal miners, drug convicts, and white-collar offenders.


APC government since its inception in 2015 has been a terrorist and criminal friendly government .


Edited!

By Buhari Olanrewaju Ahmed 



As President Tinubu continues to set troubling precedents by granting pardons to individuals accused or convicted of serious crimes such as murder and drug trafficking, a dangerous message is being sent to the nation. By normalising impunity at the highest levels, Nigeria risks creating a political environment where those with questionable pasts may one day rise to positions of power and leadership. 


When convicted criminals are absolved of their wrongdoing through political influence, it erodes public trust in the justice system and undermines the rule of law.


It is deeply disheartening and regrettable that Nigeria has reached a point where justice appears selective—where some individuals, despite being found guilty of heinous crimes, are freed due to their political connections, while others, like Nnamdi Kanu, remain detained despite court rulings declaring them not guilty. 


Such double standards expose the deep moral and institutional decay within the system and raise serious questions about fairness, accountability, and equality before the law.


The government’s approach to negotiating with terrorists, rehabilitating them, and reintegrating them into society—despite the destruction, kidnappings, and killings they have caused—further worsens the situation. It sends a demoralising signal to victims and law-abiding citizens that crime pays, while lawful dissent or peaceful activism is treated as treason. 


A government that pardons murderers and drug traffickers while keeping political prisoners behind bars cannot genuinely claim to be committed to justice or national security.


This reality calls for sober reflection. Citizens must understand that leadership choices have far-reaching consequences. Electing individuals without integrity, compassion, or a sense of justice ultimately leads to moral collapse and national instability. When those in power disregard the sanctity of human life and the principles of justice, they weaken the very foundation of governance.


My advice is that no one should ever be unjustly killed, harmed, or condemned under such a system. The same government that pardons killers and drug lords today could one day protect the very people responsible for violence and suffering tomorrow.


 This is a grim reminder of what happens when voters choose leaders based on propaganda, ethnic sentiment, or personal gain rather than character and competence. 


Only divine intervention can rescue Nigeria from the calamities that lie ahead if the nation continues on this dangerous path of rewarding crime and punishing truth.


 Tinubu granted sweeping clemency and posthumous pardons to a total of 147 convicts, inmates and deceased Nigerians, including Maryam Sanda, Ken Saro-Wiwa, Sir Herbert Macaulay, Major General Mamman Vatsa, Professor Magaji Garba, and dozens of illegal miners, drug convicts, and white-collar offenders.


APC government since its inception in 2015 has been a terrorist and criminal friendly government .


Edited!

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THE FALLACY OF A BLAMELESS GOVERNMENT: A TREATISE ON THE MISDIAGNOSIS OF NIGERIA’S PROBLEMS

THE FALLACY OF A BLAMELESS GOVERNMENT: A TREATISE ON THE MISDIAGNOSIS OF NIGERIA’S PROBLEMS

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Bandits 

By Taiwo Akiniami

There is a growing movement in Nigeria, one that argues that “the problem of Nigeria is Nigerians.” They say, “Let’s forget government. Let’s focus on ourselves.” They point to the carpenter who cheats, the doctor who defrauds, the mechanic who lies, the teacher who neglects. Their conclusion? “The failure of the nation lies not in the state, but in the citizen.”


At first, this sounds noble. Indeed, citizens must take responsibility for their conduct. But when examined closely, this argument is both shallow and dangerous, for it exonerates government and erases the moral and structural accountability of leadership.


If those who govern us are not imported, if they are Nigerians, products of our culture, schools, and communities, then how do we separate “the people” from “the government”? When analysts say “Nigerians are Nigeria’s problem” yet conveniently remove government from their diagnosis, they reveal a deeper intellectual dishonesty: they seek to absolve power while condemning the powerless.


If we follow this logic, then let us take it to its conclusion:

If government is not part of Nigeria’s problem, then government is unnecessary.

Let us abolish the state, dismantle its institutions, and return to a state of nature where everyone governs himself, a condition we already seem dangerously close to in our present national reality.


But no sane society does that.


Government exists precisely because human weakness demands structure, accountability, and justice. To say “government can’t do everything” is true, but it is not a message for Nigeria, where the question is not what government cannot do, but what it has done in accordance with its constitutional duty to ensure the welfare and security of the people.


To now say “government is not responsible for anything” is not realism; it is tyranny wrapped in populist language and emboldening lawlessness.


THE VANISHING IDEA OF ACCOUNTABILITY


In mature democracies, opposition is the conscience of governance. In the United Kingdom, the opposition is not a passive critic, it is a government-in-waiting, armed with its own social, political, and economic programs. It presents viable alternatives to the ruling party, woos the people with ideas, and dissects every major policy, addressing the nation after each significant government statement.


In the United States, the pattern is similar. After every State of the Union Address, the opposition delivers its own formal response, line by line, policy by policy, offering citizens an ideologically grounded alternative vision of governance. Opposition is not rebellion; it is a pillar of democracy.


In Nigeria, there is no such balance. The President delivers an Independence Day address, and no opposition party steps forward to critique its economic assumptions, social content, or policy soundness. Instead, the duty of dissent has fallen to ordinary citizens.


Today, it is the people, writers, journalists, social commentators, activists—who constitute the only meaningful opposition left. And when private citizens dare to speak truth to power, they are branded “bitter,” “unpatriotic,” or “the problem of Nigeria.”


THE COLLAPSE OF TRUE DEMOCRACY


Our democracy has been emptied of opposition, accountability, and courage.

The ruling elite governs without scrutiny; the opposition sleeps without shame; and the people are told to be silent in the name of patriotism.


We are witnessing a democracy that functions like an autocracy, where citizens are blamed for corruption while the corrupt are celebrated. The public good has been replaced with private greed, and moral responsibility has been outsourced to the powerless.


THE TRUE DIAGNOSIS


Yes, Nigerians must fix Nigeria but that includes those in power: ministers, governors, lawmakers, civil servants, and local officials who shape policy, control budgets, and enforce the law. Leadership is not a separate species; it is drawn from the citizenry.


When you remove government from the analysis, you commit a grave intellectual error—you amputate the very organ that drives the body.


Reform must therefore begin from both ends:


A responsible citizenry, committed to integrity and civic duty.


A responsive government, bound by law, transparency, and justice.


You cannot cure a nation by blaming its patients while excusing its doctors.


THE PATH FORWARD


Let us rebuild a participatory democracy where government is not a deity but a servant; where opposition is not treason but patriotism; and where truth is not punished as disloyalty.


Let us teach our children that governance is not an escape from accountability, but its highest test.


A country that silences criticism in the name of peace is not seeking peace, it is postponing explosion.


Nigeria must now choose: either to confront its leadership failures or to keep blaming its victims.



Bandits 

By Taiwo Akiniami

There is a growing movement in Nigeria, one that argues that “the problem of Nigeria is Nigerians.” They say, “Let’s forget government. Let’s focus on ourselves.” They point to the carpenter who cheats, the doctor who defrauds, the mechanic who lies, the teacher who neglects. Their conclusion? “The failure of the nation lies not in the state, but in the citizen.”


At first, this sounds noble. Indeed, citizens must take responsibility for their conduct. But when examined closely, this argument is both shallow and dangerous, for it exonerates government and erases the moral and structural accountability of leadership.


If those who govern us are not imported, if they are Nigerians, products of our culture, schools, and communities, then how do we separate “the people” from “the government”? When analysts say “Nigerians are Nigeria’s problem” yet conveniently remove government from their diagnosis, they reveal a deeper intellectual dishonesty: they seek to absolve power while condemning the powerless.


If we follow this logic, then let us take it to its conclusion:

If government is not part of Nigeria’s problem, then government is unnecessary.

Let us abolish the state, dismantle its institutions, and return to a state of nature where everyone governs himself, a condition we already seem dangerously close to in our present national reality.


But no sane society does that.


Government exists precisely because human weakness demands structure, accountability, and justice. To say “government can’t do everything” is true, but it is not a message for Nigeria, where the question is not what government cannot do, but what it has done in accordance with its constitutional duty to ensure the welfare and security of the people.


To now say “government is not responsible for anything” is not realism; it is tyranny wrapped in populist language and emboldening lawlessness.


THE VANISHING IDEA OF ACCOUNTABILITY


In mature democracies, opposition is the conscience of governance. In the United Kingdom, the opposition is not a passive critic, it is a government-in-waiting, armed with its own social, political, and economic programs. It presents viable alternatives to the ruling party, woos the people with ideas, and dissects every major policy, addressing the nation after each significant government statement.


In the United States, the pattern is similar. After every State of the Union Address, the opposition delivers its own formal response, line by line, policy by policy, offering citizens an ideologically grounded alternative vision of governance. Opposition is not rebellion; it is a pillar of democracy.


In Nigeria, there is no such balance. The President delivers an Independence Day address, and no opposition party steps forward to critique its economic assumptions, social content, or policy soundness. Instead, the duty of dissent has fallen to ordinary citizens.


Today, it is the people, writers, journalists, social commentators, activists—who constitute the only meaningful opposition left. And when private citizens dare to speak truth to power, they are branded “bitter,” “unpatriotic,” or “the problem of Nigeria.”


THE COLLAPSE OF TRUE DEMOCRACY


Our democracy has been emptied of opposition, accountability, and courage.

The ruling elite governs without scrutiny; the opposition sleeps without shame; and the people are told to be silent in the name of patriotism.


We are witnessing a democracy that functions like an autocracy, where citizens are blamed for corruption while the corrupt are celebrated. The public good has been replaced with private greed, and moral responsibility has been outsourced to the powerless.


THE TRUE DIAGNOSIS


Yes, Nigerians must fix Nigeria but that includes those in power: ministers, governors, lawmakers, civil servants, and local officials who shape policy, control budgets, and enforce the law. Leadership is not a separate species; it is drawn from the citizenry.


When you remove government from the analysis, you commit a grave intellectual error—you amputate the very organ that drives the body.


Reform must therefore begin from both ends:


A responsible citizenry, committed to integrity and civic duty.


A responsive government, bound by law, transparency, and justice.


You cannot cure a nation by blaming its patients while excusing its doctors.


THE PATH FORWARD


Let us rebuild a participatory democracy where government is not a deity but a servant; where opposition is not treason but patriotism; and where truth is not punished as disloyalty.


Let us teach our children that governance is not an escape from accountability, but its highest test.


A country that silences criticism in the name of peace is not seeking peace, it is postponing explosion.


Nigeria must now choose: either to confront its leadership failures or to keep blaming its victims.



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The World Is Watching: Tinubu Must Probe, Suspend FCT Minister Nyesom Wike Over US Property Scandal — Timi Frank

The World Is Watching: Tinubu Must Probe, Suspend FCT Minister Nyesom Wike Over US Property Scandal — Timi Frank

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Nyesom Wike 

A Former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Timi Frank, has called on Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to suspend the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, over allegations of acquiring properties in the United States under suspicious circumstances.

The  Ex-APC Spokesman who currently serves as Ambassador of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) to East Africa and the Middle East, made the appeal in a statement on Thursday in Abuja.


Frank said Tinubu must break his silence on the matter and demonstrate consistency in the fight against corruption, recalling how the President swiftly suspended former Humanitarian Affairs Minister, Betta Edu, over corruption allegations that were “far less serious” than those confronting Wike.


Media reports had alleged that Wike purchased property in Florida and registered them under the names of his wife, Justice Eberechi Wike, and their children, Joaquin, Jazmyne, and Jordan.


Frank described Tinubu’s silence on the matter despite “overwhelming evidence” in the public domain as troubling, adding that it sends a dangerous message that some officials are untouchable.


“With detailed reports from credible sources such as People's Gazette and SaharaReporters, and with glaring evidence ignored by anti-corruption agencies like EFCC and ICPC, it sends a dangerous message that some officials are untouchable,” Frank said.


He further warned that the impunity of government officials like Wike weakens citizens’ trust in governance and could fuel uprisings similar to the recent Nepal revolt.


Frank commended Omoyele Sowore of SaharaReporters, the publishers of People’s Gazette and others for “courageously exposing corruption in the country, irrespective of the government officials involved.”


He accused Tinubu of shielding Wike for political reasons ahead of the 2027 elections, warning that such selective justice would damage Nigeria’s global reputation and erode investor confidence.


“The reasons behind this continued inaction in the case of Wike appears to be tied to the political calculations surrounding the 2027 presidential elections.


“However, allowing political ambition to shield corruption will irreparably harm Nigeria’s reputation internationally.


“The world is watching, and this selective justice undermines investor confidence and portrays Nigeria as a nation unable or unwilling to fight corruption—even within its highest offices.”


Frank also criticised the President’s handling of the Rivers State political crisis, arguing that suspending Governor Siminalayi Fubara and House of Assembly members while leaving Wike untouched highlighted inconsistency and favoritism.


He urged Tinubu to immediately suspend Wike and commission an independent investigation into the allegations.


He said, “Furthermore, even when crises erupted in Rivers State, President Tinubu suspended only Governor Siminalayi Fubara and the House of Assembly members while leaving the Minister of FCT, Wike, untouched.


“This inconsistency fuels suspicions of favoritism and political shielding. Nigerians and the international community deserve to know why the President appears reluctant to confront alleged corruption linked to a close political ally.


“Selective enforcement of the law erodes national pride and makes Nigeria a laughing stock among peer nations, many of whom prosecute corruption allegations without hesitation.”


“The President should protect the dignity of Nigeria and the trust of its citizens by rejecting selective justice and political expediency. The integrity of Nigeria’s governance and its image on the global stage depend on it,” he added.


Omoyele Sowore had petitioned the Attorney General of Florida, Hon. James Uthmeier, seeking the forfeiture and prosecution of Wike over illicit property acquisitions in the United States.


In the petition dated September 22, 2025, and signed by his lawyer, Deji Adeyanju, Esq., Sowore accused Wike of secretly purchasing multi-million-dollar real estate in Florida using suspicious cash transactions designed to conceal the source of funds.


According to the petition, Wike, alongside his wife, Justice Eberechi Suzzette Nyesom-Wike of Nigeria’s Court of Appeal, purchased three luxury lakeside properties in Winter Springs, Seminole County, Florida, valued at over $6 million.


The petition listed the properties as 113 Springcreek Lane, Winter Springs, FL 32708, which is a 5,000 sq. ft. residence purchased in cash for $535,000 and transferred to Jordan Wike (25); 209 Hertherwood Court, Winter Springs, FL 32708, which is a 3,401 sq. ft. home acquired for $459,157 in cash and transferred to Joaquin Wike (23); and 208 Hertherwood Court, Winter Springs, FL 32708, which is a 3,901 sq. ft. home bought for $465,000 in cash and transferred to Jazmyne Wike (20).


Sowore’s lawyers said the purchases were executed through quit claim deeds between July 2021 and September 2023 and transferred directly to Wike’s children. They argued that the cash-only acquisitions bypassed banking oversight and raised “serious money laundering concerns.”


Breach of Nigerian and U.S. Laws


The petition alleges that Wike failed to declare these foreign assets to Nigeria’s Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) as required under the Constitution.


It further noted that his legitimate income as a public servant since 1999 could not sustain such multi-million-dollar acquisitions.


The petition argued that the transactions violated both Florida state law and U.S. federal anti-money laundering statutes, specifically citing the Florida Money Laundering Act (Chapter 896.101, Fla. Stat.), the Florida Contraband Forfeiture Act, and federal laws under 18 U.S.C. §§ 1956 and 1957.


It also referenced the U.S. Department of Justice Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative, which targets assets linked to corrupt foreign officials. 


If it were to be in other climes, Wike would be sacked and probed with the speed of the light the moment he was accused of corruption. Nigeria is a country where laws are meant only for the poor, otherwise, Wike won't have the nerves to be granting interviews up and down after the weighty allegations made against him by Sowore. One thing is sure, one day, somebody somewhere is going to open these corrupt leaders' books for a thorough prosecution.



Nyesom Wike 

A Former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Timi Frank, has called on Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to suspend the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, over allegations of acquiring properties in the United States under suspicious circumstances.

The  Ex-APC Spokesman who currently serves as Ambassador of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) to East Africa and the Middle East, made the appeal in a statement on Thursday in Abuja.


Frank said Tinubu must break his silence on the matter and demonstrate consistency in the fight against corruption, recalling how the President swiftly suspended former Humanitarian Affairs Minister, Betta Edu, over corruption allegations that were “far less serious” than those confronting Wike.


Media reports had alleged that Wike purchased property in Florida and registered them under the names of his wife, Justice Eberechi Wike, and their children, Joaquin, Jazmyne, and Jordan.


Frank described Tinubu’s silence on the matter despite “overwhelming evidence” in the public domain as troubling, adding that it sends a dangerous message that some officials are untouchable.


“With detailed reports from credible sources such as People's Gazette and SaharaReporters, and with glaring evidence ignored by anti-corruption agencies like EFCC and ICPC, it sends a dangerous message that some officials are untouchable,” Frank said.


He further warned that the impunity of government officials like Wike weakens citizens’ trust in governance and could fuel uprisings similar to the recent Nepal revolt.


Frank commended Omoyele Sowore of SaharaReporters, the publishers of People’s Gazette and others for “courageously exposing corruption in the country, irrespective of the government officials involved.”


He accused Tinubu of shielding Wike for political reasons ahead of the 2027 elections, warning that such selective justice would damage Nigeria’s global reputation and erode investor confidence.


“The reasons behind this continued inaction in the case of Wike appears to be tied to the political calculations surrounding the 2027 presidential elections.


“However, allowing political ambition to shield corruption will irreparably harm Nigeria’s reputation internationally.


“The world is watching, and this selective justice undermines investor confidence and portrays Nigeria as a nation unable or unwilling to fight corruption—even within its highest offices.”


Frank also criticised the President’s handling of the Rivers State political crisis, arguing that suspending Governor Siminalayi Fubara and House of Assembly members while leaving Wike untouched highlighted inconsistency and favoritism.


He urged Tinubu to immediately suspend Wike and commission an independent investigation into the allegations.


He said, “Furthermore, even when crises erupted in Rivers State, President Tinubu suspended only Governor Siminalayi Fubara and the House of Assembly members while leaving the Minister of FCT, Wike, untouched.


“This inconsistency fuels suspicions of favoritism and political shielding. Nigerians and the international community deserve to know why the President appears reluctant to confront alleged corruption linked to a close political ally.


“Selective enforcement of the law erodes national pride and makes Nigeria a laughing stock among peer nations, many of whom prosecute corruption allegations without hesitation.”


“The President should protect the dignity of Nigeria and the trust of its citizens by rejecting selective justice and political expediency. The integrity of Nigeria’s governance and its image on the global stage depend on it,” he added.


Omoyele Sowore had petitioned the Attorney General of Florida, Hon. James Uthmeier, seeking the forfeiture and prosecution of Wike over illicit property acquisitions in the United States.


In the petition dated September 22, 2025, and signed by his lawyer, Deji Adeyanju, Esq., Sowore accused Wike of secretly purchasing multi-million-dollar real estate in Florida using suspicious cash transactions designed to conceal the source of funds.


According to the petition, Wike, alongside his wife, Justice Eberechi Suzzette Nyesom-Wike of Nigeria’s Court of Appeal, purchased three luxury lakeside properties in Winter Springs, Seminole County, Florida, valued at over $6 million.


The petition listed the properties as 113 Springcreek Lane, Winter Springs, FL 32708, which is a 5,000 sq. ft. residence purchased in cash for $535,000 and transferred to Jordan Wike (25); 209 Hertherwood Court, Winter Springs, FL 32708, which is a 3,401 sq. ft. home acquired for $459,157 in cash and transferred to Joaquin Wike (23); and 208 Hertherwood Court, Winter Springs, FL 32708, which is a 3,901 sq. ft. home bought for $465,000 in cash and transferred to Jazmyne Wike (20).


Sowore’s lawyers said the purchases were executed through quit claim deeds between July 2021 and September 2023 and transferred directly to Wike’s children. They argued that the cash-only acquisitions bypassed banking oversight and raised “serious money laundering concerns.”


Breach of Nigerian and U.S. Laws


The petition alleges that Wike failed to declare these foreign assets to Nigeria’s Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) as required under the Constitution.


It further noted that his legitimate income as a public servant since 1999 could not sustain such multi-million-dollar acquisitions.


The petition argued that the transactions violated both Florida state law and U.S. federal anti-money laundering statutes, specifically citing the Florida Money Laundering Act (Chapter 896.101, Fla. Stat.), the Florida Contraband Forfeiture Act, and federal laws under 18 U.S.C. §§ 1956 and 1957.


It also referenced the U.S. Department of Justice Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative, which targets assets linked to corrupt foreign officials. 


If it were to be in other climes, Wike would be sacked and probed with the speed of the light the moment he was accused of corruption. Nigeria is a country where laws are meant only for the poor, otherwise, Wike won't have the nerves to be granting interviews up and down after the weighty allegations made against him by Sowore. One thing is sure, one day, somebody somewhere is going to open these corrupt leaders' books for a thorough prosecution.



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Farooq Kperogi's defense of Deji Adeyanju, a significant flaws and ethical breaches

Farooq Kperogi's defense of Deji Adeyanju, a significant flaws and ethical breaches

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 Farooq Kperogi is rightly acclaimed as a versatile academic and a titan of Nigerian media commentary. But, a closer examination of his record reveals significant flaws and ethical breaches that complicate his stature. For instance, during a period of grief, he publicly alluded to Aisha Buhari as being "divorced" from her recently deceased husband. In another instance, he diagnosed former President Muhammadu Buhari with "dementia" without medical authority.


These are not mere differences of opinion but rather demonstrative examples of a troubling propensity to cross the lines of public decency and responsible commentary in pursuit of provocation. Our discernment of his work must account for moments where his analysis appears to veer into ethically questionable territory. 


It was in this context that I encountered his latest post: a curiously defensive and, I would argue, recreant polemic aimed squarely at undermining the legal merit of Peter Obi's suit against Adeyanju.


While Professor Farooq Kperogi's column presents itself as an "unemotional perspective," it is, in fact, a masterclass in constructing a narrative that selectively weaponises facts to defend defamation under the guise of robust public discourse. Its central flaw is the conflation of verifiable facts with malicious insinuation, and its argument, while intellectually stylish, is fundamentally unsound both legally and ethically.


The core of Kperogi's defense rests on two pillars: the legal doctrines of "truth" and "fair comment." But, his application of these doctrines is dangerously expansive. It's one thing to state that Peter Obi, as governor, invested state funds in a company linked to his former business interests, a matter of public record. It is entirely another to label that action "fraud" and its perpetrator a "fraud" and a "scum." The first is a fact that can be contextualised; the latter is a defamatory conclusion that imputes criminal intent without proof. The law recognises truth as a defense only if the defamatory imputation itself is true. Proving an underlying fact (the investment) does not automatically prove the truth of the malicious label (fraud) slapped onto it. Adeyanju’s rhetoric is not commentary; it is character assassination masquerading as critique.


Similarly, the "fair comment" doctrine protects honest expressions of opinion based on true facts. Kperogi points to the leaked audio as grounds for Adeyanju calling Obi a "religious bigot." But again, Adeyanju’s language transcends fair comment. A fair comment would be, "Obi's appeal to religious solidarity was divisive and cynical." Branding him a "bigot" is a definitive, pejorative judgment of character that the factual record does not incontrovertibly support. The doctrine is not a license to leap from a single data point to a damning and absolute personal indictment.


Kperogi’s argument commits a critical error by excising Adeyanju’s most egregious and unsupported claims into a narrow, dismissible sidebar. He admits that claims like Obi "pays all influencers online" are baseless and that calling him "always a scum" is a reckless personal insult. Yet, he bizarrely argues that Obi should only sue on these "narrow grounds," as if a defamation suit is a surgical strike rather than a response to the entire, toxic ecosystem of falsehoods that Adeyanju has cultivated. A defendant cannot poison the well with outright lies and then claim protection for the entire contaminated body of his speech because a few droplets within it contain mineral traces of truth.


The most pernicious part of Kperogi’s thesis is the assertion that public figures like Obi are "cowards" for suing and that such lawsuits are inherently "SLAPPs" (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation). This is a grave misunderstanding of power dynamics. While SLAPPs are a real tool of the powerful, the premise that a private citizen activist is inherently the "weaker target" is naive. In the court of public opinion, amplified by social media, an activist like Adeyanju can wield immense power to shape narratives and destroy reputations with near-impunity. To suggest that a public figure must silently endure a relentless campaign of defamation, which includes both verifiable facts and outright lies woven together, is to demand they relinquish their right to a legal defense entirely. The right to "counter in the marketplace of ideas" is nullified when the marketplace is being flooded with sewage. Litigation is not always intimidation; sometimes, it is the only tool left to demand accountability for outright falsehoods.


Kperogi’s column operates on a dangerous slippery slope. By arguing that because some allegations have a basis in fact, Obi therefore forfeits his right to challenge any of them, he creates a charter for defamers everywhere. All one must do is mix a teaspoon of truth into a barrel of lies to gain immunity. The health of Nigerian democracy is not served by allowing activists to be "uncouth" and "defamatory." It is served by fostering a culture of rigorous, responsible criticism that respects the line between holding power to account and engaging in wanton character annihilation.


Peter Obi's lawsuit is not an attempt to criminalise uncomfortable facts. It is a challenge to the malicious and unsupported conclusions that Deji Adeyanju has grafted onto those facts. A truly "unemotional perspective" would recognise that the law exists precisely to adjudicate this difference, and that no one, regardless of their stature or profession, should be expected to accept being called a "fraud" and a "scum" as simply the price of a public life.


 Farooq Kperogi is rightly acclaimed as a versatile academic and a titan of Nigerian media commentary. But, a closer examination of his record reveals significant flaws and ethical breaches that complicate his stature. For instance, during a period of grief, he publicly alluded to Aisha Buhari as being "divorced" from her recently deceased husband. In another instance, he diagnosed former President Muhammadu Buhari with "dementia" without medical authority.


These are not mere differences of opinion but rather demonstrative examples of a troubling propensity to cross the lines of public decency and responsible commentary in pursuit of provocation. Our discernment of his work must account for moments where his analysis appears to veer into ethically questionable territory. 


It was in this context that I encountered his latest post: a curiously defensive and, I would argue, recreant polemic aimed squarely at undermining the legal merit of Peter Obi's suit against Adeyanju.


While Professor Farooq Kperogi's column presents itself as an "unemotional perspective," it is, in fact, a masterclass in constructing a narrative that selectively weaponises facts to defend defamation under the guise of robust public discourse. Its central flaw is the conflation of verifiable facts with malicious insinuation, and its argument, while intellectually stylish, is fundamentally unsound both legally and ethically.


The core of Kperogi's defense rests on two pillars: the legal doctrines of "truth" and "fair comment." But, his application of these doctrines is dangerously expansive. It's one thing to state that Peter Obi, as governor, invested state funds in a company linked to his former business interests, a matter of public record. It is entirely another to label that action "fraud" and its perpetrator a "fraud" and a "scum." The first is a fact that can be contextualised; the latter is a defamatory conclusion that imputes criminal intent without proof. The law recognises truth as a defense only if the defamatory imputation itself is true. Proving an underlying fact (the investment) does not automatically prove the truth of the malicious label (fraud) slapped onto it. Adeyanju’s rhetoric is not commentary; it is character assassination masquerading as critique.


Similarly, the "fair comment" doctrine protects honest expressions of opinion based on true facts. Kperogi points to the leaked audio as grounds for Adeyanju calling Obi a "religious bigot." But again, Adeyanju’s language transcends fair comment. A fair comment would be, "Obi's appeal to religious solidarity was divisive and cynical." Branding him a "bigot" is a definitive, pejorative judgment of character that the factual record does not incontrovertibly support. The doctrine is not a license to leap from a single data point to a damning and absolute personal indictment.


Kperogi’s argument commits a critical error by excising Adeyanju’s most egregious and unsupported claims into a narrow, dismissible sidebar. He admits that claims like Obi "pays all influencers online" are baseless and that calling him "always a scum" is a reckless personal insult. Yet, he bizarrely argues that Obi should only sue on these "narrow grounds," as if a defamation suit is a surgical strike rather than a response to the entire, toxic ecosystem of falsehoods that Adeyanju has cultivated. A defendant cannot poison the well with outright lies and then claim protection for the entire contaminated body of his speech because a few droplets within it contain mineral traces of truth.


The most pernicious part of Kperogi’s thesis is the assertion that public figures like Obi are "cowards" for suing and that such lawsuits are inherently "SLAPPs" (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation). This is a grave misunderstanding of power dynamics. While SLAPPs are a real tool of the powerful, the premise that a private citizen activist is inherently the "weaker target" is naive. In the court of public opinion, amplified by social media, an activist like Adeyanju can wield immense power to shape narratives and destroy reputations with near-impunity. To suggest that a public figure must silently endure a relentless campaign of defamation, which includes both verifiable facts and outright lies woven together, is to demand they relinquish their right to a legal defense entirely. The right to "counter in the marketplace of ideas" is nullified when the marketplace is being flooded with sewage. Litigation is not always intimidation; sometimes, it is the only tool left to demand accountability for outright falsehoods.


Kperogi’s column operates on a dangerous slippery slope. By arguing that because some allegations have a basis in fact, Obi therefore forfeits his right to challenge any of them, he creates a charter for defamers everywhere. All one must do is mix a teaspoon of truth into a barrel of lies to gain immunity. The health of Nigerian democracy is not served by allowing activists to be "uncouth" and "defamatory." It is served by fostering a culture of rigorous, responsible criticism that respects the line between holding power to account and engaging in wanton character annihilation.


Peter Obi's lawsuit is not an attempt to criminalise uncomfortable facts. It is a challenge to the malicious and unsupported conclusions that Deji Adeyanju has grafted onto those facts. A truly "unemotional perspective" would recognise that the law exists precisely to adjudicate this difference, and that no one, regardless of their stature or profession, should be expected to accept being called a "fraud" and a "scum" as simply the price of a public life.

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What is Tinubu Hiding from Nigerians, Covering from the Global Community?

What is Tinubu Hiding from Nigerians, Covering from the Global Community?

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By Citizen Bolaji O. Akinyemi





A Presidency of Paradox


When Bola Ahmed Tinubu rode into power under the slogan of Renewed Hope, Nigerians expected a restoration of governance at home and credibility abroad. But two years down the line, what do we see? A President constantly on the move—shuttling between world capitals—while the very springboards of Nigeria’s diplomacy, its embassies and high commissions, remain headless and hollow.


This paradox begs the question: what is Tinubu hiding from Nigerians, and what is he trying to cover from the global community?




The Intellectual Spark: Dr. Ola Olateju’s Intervention


This question is not raised in a vacuum. It emerges from the detailed and courageous analysis of Dr. Ola Olateju in Political Panorama, Issue No. 17 (June 2, 2025), titled “Nigeria Without Ambassadors: A Silent Crisis in Tinubu’s Foreign Policy Vision.”


Olateju, a seasoned political scientist with a PhD from Swansea University and an impressive record of scholarship and civic engagement, laid bare the subsisting emptiness of our foreign embassies. His piece, meticulously researched, stripped away the excuses of “financial constraints” and “security vetting delays,” showing instead how Nigeria’s prolonged absence from global representation is a self-inflicted wound.


It is his intellectual labour that provides the canvas upon which I now paint this sharper, more conscience-pricking interrogation: if our embassies are empty, while our President is busy globe-trotting, then should we not ask—what exactly is being hidden, and from whom?




The Empty Embassies: Silence as Strategy


Since September 2023, Nigeria has had no substantive ambassadors in most of its foreign missions. As Olateju’s essay demonstrates, the cost is more than administrative; it is strategic self-sabotage.


Ambassadors are the eyes, ears, and voices of the state abroad. Their absence reduces Nigeria’s foreign presence to shadows. It silences our voice in multilateral forums, weakens our hand in negotiations, and abandons our citizens abroad.


This silence is not oversight; it is strategy. And therein lies the hidden truth: a deliberate personalization of diplomacy.




Personalization of Statecraft


Tinubu’s foreign travels, devoid of ambassadorial structures, centralize negotiations in his person. Trade deals, bilateral talks, and multilateral commitments—normally institutionalized through embassies—are reduced to presidential handshakes and fleeting announcements.


What happens when the President returns to Abuja? Who follows up in those capitals? Who drafts the cables, negotiates the details, and locks in Nigeria’s interest?


By refusing to appoint ambassadors, Tinubu ensures that accountability rests nowhere but his office. This creates room for cronies to monopolize opportunities that should be national in character. As Olateju rightly observed, diplomacy without diplomats is nothing but theatre—and costly theatre at that.




The Cost of a Silent Nigeria


1. Strategic Marginalization:

Nigeria, once the conscience of Africa, is absent in key multilateral spaces. Who represents us on ECOWAS’ crisis over the Sahel? Who lobbies for our developmental interests in Geneva? Silence has become our policy.



2. Diaspora Abandonment:

With 15 million Nigerians abroad contributing over $20 billion annually in remittances, embassies should be their shield. Instead, citizens are stranded in detention cells, without an ambassador to escalate their cases.



3. Economic Self-Sabotage:

Investment thrives on credibility. Ambassadors open doors, lobby investors, and defend national interest. Nigeria’s absence has meant lost opportunities while smaller African states like Rwanda and Ghana punch above their weight.



4. Institutional Demoralization:

Dozens of career diplomats languish in Abuja, waiting for deployment. The President’s indecision is their exile. What message does this send about merit, professionalism, and service?






What is Being Hidden?


The refusal to appoint ambassadors hides three things:


Weak Institutions: Nigeria’s institutions are so hollowed that governance depends on personal performance. Tinubu cannot trust the system, so he centralizes it in himself.


Crony Advantage: By bypassing ambassadors, he shields sensitive trade and diplomatic dealings from institutional scrutiny, allowing cronies to corner opportunities.


Diplomatic Paralysis: The absence covers the fact that Nigeria has no coherent foreign policy doctrine under this government—only episodic travels and empty rhetoric.





Covering from the Global Community


Every handshake abroad is a performance, a mask to cover the dysfunction at home. But global actors know. They see the absence of Nigerian envoys. They note the void in negotiations. They sense the weakness.


And the danger is this: in diplomacy, vacuums do not remain empty. Other powers step in. Nigeria’s silence opens the door for France, China, and even smaller African states to dictate the terms of continental politics.




The Moral Reckoning


Nigeria once led the anti-apartheid struggle. We brokered peace in Liberia and Sierra Leone. Our diplomats were legends of courage and clarity. Today, our embassies are ghost houses.


“Ilu ki i wa lai ni olori” — no town exists without a leader. Yet Nigeria’s missions exist without ambassadors. Our nation wanders without a diplomatic head.


Olateju’s intervention is timely. It is a scholarly alarm bell. But beyond scholarship lies the moral reckoning: will Nigeria continue to drift leaderless in global politics while our President performs at summits?




Call to Action: Let Nigeria Speak Again


Tinubu must:


1. Immediately nominate ambassadors for Senate confirmation.



2. Appoint on merit, not patronage.



3. Rebuild a coherent foreign policy doctrine.



4. Restore embassies as the springboard of diplomacy, not presidential theatrics.






Conclusion: The Question that Haunts Us


Dr. Ola Olateju has done the intellectual heavy lifting, exposing the silent crisis in Tinubu’s foreign policy vision. My task has been to translate that intellectual diagnosis into a political and moral charge.


So, what is Tinubu hiding from Nigerians? That our institutions are too weak to function. That diplomacy has been hijacked for personal advantage. That Nigeria, in truth, is absent where it most matters.


And what is he covering from the global community? That Africa’s so-called giant has lost its roar.


But history has ears, and silence is never permanent. Nigeria will speak again—if not through this government, then through the people’s eventual awakening.


Dr. Bolaji O. Akinyemi is an Apostle and Nation Builder. He’s also President Voice of His Word Ministries and Convener Apostolic Round Table. BoT Chairman, Project Victory Call Initiative, AKA PVC Naija. He is a strategic Communicator and the C.E.O, Masterbuilder Communications.


Email:bolajiakinyemi66@gmail.com

Facebook:Bolaji Akinyemi.

X:Bolaji O Akinyemi 

Instagram:bolajioakinyemi 

Phone:+2348033041236



By Citizen Bolaji O. Akinyemi





A Presidency of Paradox


When Bola Ahmed Tinubu rode into power under the slogan of Renewed Hope, Nigerians expected a restoration of governance at home and credibility abroad. But two years down the line, what do we see? A President constantly on the move—shuttling between world capitals—while the very springboards of Nigeria’s diplomacy, its embassies and high commissions, remain headless and hollow.


This paradox begs the question: what is Tinubu hiding from Nigerians, and what is he trying to cover from the global community?




The Intellectual Spark: Dr. Ola Olateju’s Intervention


This question is not raised in a vacuum. It emerges from the detailed and courageous analysis of Dr. Ola Olateju in Political Panorama, Issue No. 17 (June 2, 2025), titled “Nigeria Without Ambassadors: A Silent Crisis in Tinubu’s Foreign Policy Vision.”


Olateju, a seasoned political scientist with a PhD from Swansea University and an impressive record of scholarship and civic engagement, laid bare the subsisting emptiness of our foreign embassies. His piece, meticulously researched, stripped away the excuses of “financial constraints” and “security vetting delays,” showing instead how Nigeria’s prolonged absence from global representation is a self-inflicted wound.


It is his intellectual labour that provides the canvas upon which I now paint this sharper, more conscience-pricking interrogation: if our embassies are empty, while our President is busy globe-trotting, then should we not ask—what exactly is being hidden, and from whom?




The Empty Embassies: Silence as Strategy


Since September 2023, Nigeria has had no substantive ambassadors in most of its foreign missions. As Olateju’s essay demonstrates, the cost is more than administrative; it is strategic self-sabotage.


Ambassadors are the eyes, ears, and voices of the state abroad. Their absence reduces Nigeria’s foreign presence to shadows. It silences our voice in multilateral forums, weakens our hand in negotiations, and abandons our citizens abroad.


This silence is not oversight; it is strategy. And therein lies the hidden truth: a deliberate personalization of diplomacy.




Personalization of Statecraft


Tinubu’s foreign travels, devoid of ambassadorial structures, centralize negotiations in his person. Trade deals, bilateral talks, and multilateral commitments—normally institutionalized through embassies—are reduced to presidential handshakes and fleeting announcements.


What happens when the President returns to Abuja? Who follows up in those capitals? Who drafts the cables, negotiates the details, and locks in Nigeria’s interest?


By refusing to appoint ambassadors, Tinubu ensures that accountability rests nowhere but his office. This creates room for cronies to monopolize opportunities that should be national in character. As Olateju rightly observed, diplomacy without diplomats is nothing but theatre—and costly theatre at that.




The Cost of a Silent Nigeria


1. Strategic Marginalization:

Nigeria, once the conscience of Africa, is absent in key multilateral spaces. Who represents us on ECOWAS’ crisis over the Sahel? Who lobbies for our developmental interests in Geneva? Silence has become our policy.



2. Diaspora Abandonment:

With 15 million Nigerians abroad contributing over $20 billion annually in remittances, embassies should be their shield. Instead, citizens are stranded in detention cells, without an ambassador to escalate their cases.



3. Economic Self-Sabotage:

Investment thrives on credibility. Ambassadors open doors, lobby investors, and defend national interest. Nigeria’s absence has meant lost opportunities while smaller African states like Rwanda and Ghana punch above their weight.



4. Institutional Demoralization:

Dozens of career diplomats languish in Abuja, waiting for deployment. The President’s indecision is their exile. What message does this send about merit, professionalism, and service?






What is Being Hidden?


The refusal to appoint ambassadors hides three things:


Weak Institutions: Nigeria’s institutions are so hollowed that governance depends on personal performance. Tinubu cannot trust the system, so he centralizes it in himself.


Crony Advantage: By bypassing ambassadors, he shields sensitive trade and diplomatic dealings from institutional scrutiny, allowing cronies to corner opportunities.


Diplomatic Paralysis: The absence covers the fact that Nigeria has no coherent foreign policy doctrine under this government—only episodic travels and empty rhetoric.





Covering from the Global Community


Every handshake abroad is a performance, a mask to cover the dysfunction at home. But global actors know. They see the absence of Nigerian envoys. They note the void in negotiations. They sense the weakness.


And the danger is this: in diplomacy, vacuums do not remain empty. Other powers step in. Nigeria’s silence opens the door for France, China, and even smaller African states to dictate the terms of continental politics.




The Moral Reckoning


Nigeria once led the anti-apartheid struggle. We brokered peace in Liberia and Sierra Leone. Our diplomats were legends of courage and clarity. Today, our embassies are ghost houses.


“Ilu ki i wa lai ni olori” — no town exists without a leader. Yet Nigeria’s missions exist without ambassadors. Our nation wanders without a diplomatic head.


Olateju’s intervention is timely. It is a scholarly alarm bell. But beyond scholarship lies the moral reckoning: will Nigeria continue to drift leaderless in global politics while our President performs at summits?




Call to Action: Let Nigeria Speak Again


Tinubu must:


1. Immediately nominate ambassadors for Senate confirmation.



2. Appoint on merit, not patronage.



3. Rebuild a coherent foreign policy doctrine.



4. Restore embassies as the springboard of diplomacy, not presidential theatrics.






Conclusion: The Question that Haunts Us


Dr. Ola Olateju has done the intellectual heavy lifting, exposing the silent crisis in Tinubu’s foreign policy vision. My task has been to translate that intellectual diagnosis into a political and moral charge.


So, what is Tinubu hiding from Nigerians? That our institutions are too weak to function. That diplomacy has been hijacked for personal advantage. That Nigeria, in truth, is absent where it most matters.


And what is he covering from the global community? That Africa’s so-called giant has lost its roar.


But history has ears, and silence is never permanent. Nigeria will speak again—if not through this government, then through the people’s eventual awakening.


Dr. Bolaji O. Akinyemi is an Apostle and Nation Builder. He’s also President Voice of His Word Ministries and Convener Apostolic Round Table. BoT Chairman, Project Victory Call Initiative, AKA PVC Naija. He is a strategic Communicator and the C.E.O, Masterbuilder Communications.


Email:bolajiakinyemi66@gmail.com

Facebook:Bolaji Akinyemi.

X:Bolaji O Akinyemi 

Instagram:bolajioakinyemi 

Phone:+2348033041236

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2027: Between Politics, Ambition And Country First I — Pro Chris

2027: Between Politics, Ambition And Country First I — Pro Chris

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With the flurry of politicians indicating interest to run for the high office of President come 2027, and the incumbency of the Bola Ahmed Tinubu Presidency, one would expect Politicians to prioritize the call to put Country before individual politics and ambition.


If we agree that the present watch has done badly, and continues to lower all known leadership bars. If we agree that Nigerians are poorer and hungrier today than before. If we agree that the present government is spending far more resources with far less impact than previous administrations. If we agree that corruption under the present administration has become intractable and Olympic. If we agree that BAT and his Team are largely uneventful, underwhelming and underperforming. If we agree that Nigeria needs urgent redemptive surgical attention. If we agree that except something drastic and urgent is done to save Nigeria now, we are all in trouble. And if we agree that Statesmen must be concerned about the next generation and not just the next election, then we must rise above individualistic politics and ambition, and put Country First.


In one week I have been inundated with calls and messages about the way forward for our nation. I understand that I should attend to my health for which I'm about 10,712 Kilometres far away, but my Country is also of great importance, and our politics ditto our leadership recruiting protocol equally important. What must we therefore do to salvage Nigeria?


Where are the Patriots, where are the Statesmen, where is the league of well-meaning and public spirited citizens, and where are those who truly want a Nigeria that works for all? Yes, this is a clarion call to Countrymen and women, we must rise up and challenge for the soul of our Country. We must ask politicians to stop trading with our destiny as a people and as a nation. We must decide now to hew out of the present stone of despair a nation that cares for her citizenry. We must call out those seeking the high office of President come 2027, we must insist that they come together, that they work together, and that they all elect to support and work with the most formidable 'candidate' that can trounce Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the Polls come 2027. We must berth a Ballot Based People's Revolution NOT a Bullet Based one which the underperformers are almost making plausible.


The present challenge is more than individual politics and ambition, it is about Nigeria. The challenge is more than ethnicity, geography and or religion, it is about our collective well-being. The challenge calls for strategic engagement, it demands that we cease henceforth to agonize and proceed to organize, for only through concerted deliberateness can we save Nigeria from the rampaging buccaneers and soulless Power-mongers that prey on our collective patrimony.


Do not allow those who prey on our fault lines to determine what happens in 2027. Do not allow those whose god is money play with the future of our Country. Do not side with men and women of ambition whose conscience is dead to our collective humanity to determine our morrow. And do not believe that WE, THE PEOPLE cannot break the chains of wickedness that they have woven over our Dear Nation. Do not forget that the Power of the People is stronger and mightier than the power of those in power.


Folks, because I must have you follow, enjoy, internalize and critique this series, I must make it short and reader friendly, I pray that I am able to do so.


I shall duel on the potential aspirants, their politics, their passion, their ambition, 'the persona' and their humanity, and hope that together we can decide on the best person for the high office of President. And this promises to be a long series surely.


God Bless Nigeria.


Prof Chris Mustapha Nwaokobia Jnr

Convener COUNTRYFIRST MOVEMENT. A Good Governance Advocacy Group.

For Feedback... E-mail: nthmatrix@gmail.com

Whatsapp: 09014873031


Please Share.

With the flurry of politicians indicating interest to run for the high office of President come 2027, and the incumbency of the Bola Ahmed Tinubu Presidency, one would expect Politicians to prioritize the call to put Country before individual politics and ambition.


If we agree that the present watch has done badly, and continues to lower all known leadership bars. If we agree that Nigerians are poorer and hungrier today than before. If we agree that the present government is spending far more resources with far less impact than previous administrations. If we agree that corruption under the present administration has become intractable and Olympic. If we agree that BAT and his Team are largely uneventful, underwhelming and underperforming. If we agree that Nigeria needs urgent redemptive surgical attention. If we agree that except something drastic and urgent is done to save Nigeria now, we are all in trouble. And if we agree that Statesmen must be concerned about the next generation and not just the next election, then we must rise above individualistic politics and ambition, and put Country First.


In one week I have been inundated with calls and messages about the way forward for our nation. I understand that I should attend to my health for which I'm about 10,712 Kilometres far away, but my Country is also of great importance, and our politics ditto our leadership recruiting protocol equally important. What must we therefore do to salvage Nigeria?


Where are the Patriots, where are the Statesmen, where is the league of well-meaning and public spirited citizens, and where are those who truly want a Nigeria that works for all? Yes, this is a clarion call to Countrymen and women, we must rise up and challenge for the soul of our Country. We must ask politicians to stop trading with our destiny as a people and as a nation. We must decide now to hew out of the present stone of despair a nation that cares for her citizenry. We must call out those seeking the high office of President come 2027, we must insist that they come together, that they work together, and that they all elect to support and work with the most formidable 'candidate' that can trounce Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the Polls come 2027. We must berth a Ballot Based People's Revolution NOT a Bullet Based one which the underperformers are almost making plausible.


The present challenge is more than individual politics and ambition, it is about Nigeria. The challenge is more than ethnicity, geography and or religion, it is about our collective well-being. The challenge calls for strategic engagement, it demands that we cease henceforth to agonize and proceed to organize, for only through concerted deliberateness can we save Nigeria from the rampaging buccaneers and soulless Power-mongers that prey on our collective patrimony.


Do not allow those who prey on our fault lines to determine what happens in 2027. Do not allow those whose god is money play with the future of our Country. Do not side with men and women of ambition whose conscience is dead to our collective humanity to determine our morrow. And do not believe that WE, THE PEOPLE cannot break the chains of wickedness that they have woven over our Dear Nation. Do not forget that the Power of the People is stronger and mightier than the power of those in power.


Folks, because I must have you follow, enjoy, internalize and critique this series, I must make it short and reader friendly, I pray that I am able to do so.


I shall duel on the potential aspirants, their politics, their passion, their ambition, 'the persona' and their humanity, and hope that together we can decide on the best person for the high office of President. And this promises to be a long series surely.


God Bless Nigeria.


Prof Chris Mustapha Nwaokobia Jnr

Convener COUNTRYFIRST MOVEMENT. A Good Governance Advocacy Group.

For Feedback... E-mail: nthmatrix@gmail.com

Whatsapp: 09014873031


Please Share.

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Why Dexter Akin Alamu lost woefully despite the strong presence of Obidients in Ibadan

Why Dexter Akin Alamu lost woefully despite the strong presence of Obidients in Ibadan

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Oyo State Obident
Leadership@ the South
 West Conference, Lagos.
256 votes for Dexter Akin Alamu was embarrassing despite spending 77m naira for campaign. He didn't get votes because he failed to identify with the organic foot soldiers. Dexter by now should have known what characters the political actors in the parallel structures in Oyo state had:



1. Quick gains/cash and carry group (Ayo Akinyemi Group).


2. The organic foot soldiers (100% Obidient) ( the other group).


Our 2023 experience shaped our thoughts and decisions to work as parallel structures, despite being without sponsorship, while the other group had your support (Dexter) and the state party chairman Alhaji Sodiq Atayese who never believed Peter Obi could win. We were even begging for materials to work with (sensitisation materials)while some were privileged to get materials in excess but did not deploy effectively 



The Obidient movement was Birthed after Dr Tanko Yunusa was Appointed last year, and some of us met him since last year. Before his appointment we were operating under coalition of support groups which seize to be After Dr Tanko was appointed and the Obidient movement structure Globally was setup and all previous structures was Collapsed into the movement 


The national leadership earlier identified with us way before the southwest conference, after the southwest coordinator and National director of Mobilization visited us in Ibadan prior to the south west conference.



We aligned with the national from "peace and reconciliation comitee" to 

"Obidient harmonization movement" down to "Obidient harmonization forum" and it was when we published the south west conference e-fliers that the other group got to meet the global coordinator Dr. Tanko Yunusa, the director of Mobilization Morris Monye, the southwest coordinator Hon. Seyi Sowunmi, and some members of the coordinating council. It's worrisome to note that some people are still standing on a stale structure from 2023


We organised the Obidient birthday rally which was a national programme that held in the 36 states and the Federal capital territory 


You (Dr Dexter)saw the adverts of the programme in your constituency which started from Mokola roundabout and ended at Oluyole Cheshire home of the disabled we did it without receiving a dime from the national and you failed to identify with us because Ayo Akinyemi made a press statement that he wasn't part of it, while he was busy politicking to hijack the structure earlier set by the national coordinator, He claimed to be in charge of the obidient movement in Oyo which operated 2 parallel structures and you know. You saw our adverts which you ought to key into if you are Truly obidient



 If Ayo Akinyemi was Truly Obidient, why did he not align with the appointed state coordinating council?


 Why did he flaunt national orders on the birthday rally? 


Ayo Akinyemi used you (Dexter) to deceive the national coordinator to endorse him, claiming he had a structure present at the 33 LG in Oyo, while using your own people and real Obidients that didn't identify that it was to validate his structure.


If you spend 200m campaigning with the same group you will get same result. Ayo Akinyemi is very good at snatching power and running with it. But this time, because they couldn't get what they want, they came out early to expose themselves with 10m naira donation from His Excellency Mr. Peter Obi.


 2027 is around the corner. If care is not taken, 2023 will repeat itself in Oyo state 


This writeup is for the benefits of those who care to know the real Obidients to align with.


Babawale Oluwaferanmi 

Oyo State Obident
Leadership@ the South
 West Conference, Lagos.
256 votes for Dexter Akin Alamu was embarrassing despite spending 77m naira for campaign. He didn't get votes because he failed to identify with the organic foot soldiers. Dexter by now should have known what characters the political actors in the parallel structures in Oyo state had:



1. Quick gains/cash and carry group (Ayo Akinyemi Group).


2. The organic foot soldiers (100% Obidient) ( the other group).


Our 2023 experience shaped our thoughts and decisions to work as parallel structures, despite being without sponsorship, while the other group had your support (Dexter) and the state party chairman Alhaji Sodiq Atayese who never believed Peter Obi could win. We were even begging for materials to work with (sensitisation materials)while some were privileged to get materials in excess but did not deploy effectively 



The Obidient movement was Birthed after Dr Tanko Yunusa was Appointed last year, and some of us met him since last year. Before his appointment we were operating under coalition of support groups which seize to be After Dr Tanko was appointed and the Obidient movement structure Globally was setup and all previous structures was Collapsed into the movement 


The national leadership earlier identified with us way before the southwest conference, after the southwest coordinator and National director of Mobilization visited us in Ibadan prior to the south west conference.



We aligned with the national from "peace and reconciliation comitee" to 

"Obidient harmonization movement" down to "Obidient harmonization forum" and it was when we published the south west conference e-fliers that the other group got to meet the global coordinator Dr. Tanko Yunusa, the director of Mobilization Morris Monye, the southwest coordinator Hon. Seyi Sowunmi, and some members of the coordinating council. It's worrisome to note that some people are still standing on a stale structure from 2023


We organised the Obidient birthday rally which was a national programme that held in the 36 states and the Federal capital territory 


You (Dr Dexter)saw the adverts of the programme in your constituency which started from Mokola roundabout and ended at Oluyole Cheshire home of the disabled we did it without receiving a dime from the national and you failed to identify with us because Ayo Akinyemi made a press statement that he wasn't part of it, while he was busy politicking to hijack the structure earlier set by the national coordinator, He claimed to be in charge of the obidient movement in Oyo which operated 2 parallel structures and you know. You saw our adverts which you ought to key into if you are Truly obidient



 If Ayo Akinyemi was Truly Obidient, why did he not align with the appointed state coordinating council?


 Why did he flaunt national orders on the birthday rally? 


Ayo Akinyemi used you (Dexter) to deceive the national coordinator to endorse him, claiming he had a structure present at the 33 LG in Oyo, while using your own people and real Obidients that didn't identify that it was to validate his structure.


If you spend 200m campaigning with the same group you will get same result. Ayo Akinyemi is very good at snatching power and running with it. But this time, because they couldn't get what they want, they came out early to expose themselves with 10m naira donation from His Excellency Mr. Peter Obi.


 2027 is around the corner. If care is not taken, 2023 will repeat itself in Oyo state 


This writeup is for the benefits of those who care to know the real Obidients to align with.


Babawale Oluwaferanmi 

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The True Cost of Selling and Buying Votes — PO

The True Cost of Selling and Buying Votes — PO

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Peter Obi

Vote-buying is one of the greatest dangers confronting our democracy. It is never an act of kindness; it is a calculated investment in corruption. Those who buy votes do so with only one intention—to gain access to public funds. By bribing voters today, they are purchasing a licence to plunder tomorrow. And when they get into office, the money meant for schools, hospitals, roads, and jobs is diverted into private pockets. Such people are not leaders—they are looters. Their actions rob our society of dignity, development, and even life itself.


But those who sell their votes are not innocent either. When you exchange your ballot for money or material gain, you are not just selling a vote—you are selling your future. You are selling away the schools your children should attend, the hospitals that should save lives, and the jobs that should lift families out of poverty. In truth, you mortgage your tomorrow for a token that can not sustain you today.


The reality is simple: looters can only loot when we hand them the key. If your vote had no value, nobody would be desperate to buy it. The fact that millions are spent on vote-buying shows that your ballot is priceless. The real power does not lie in their money. It lies in your conscience, your courage, and your vote.


The choice is ours. We either keep selling our votes and remain trapped in poverty and bad governance, or we rise above temporary gain and reclaim the future of our nation. Every Nigerian must take responsibility. Let us reject the politics of bribery and embrace the politics of service. Let us elect leaders who will build, not loot.


A New Nigeria is POssible. -PO

Peter Obi

Vote-buying is one of the greatest dangers confronting our democracy. It is never an act of kindness; it is a calculated investment in corruption. Those who buy votes do so with only one intention—to gain access to public funds. By bribing voters today, they are purchasing a licence to plunder tomorrow. And when they get into office, the money meant for schools, hospitals, roads, and jobs is diverted into private pockets. Such people are not leaders—they are looters. Their actions rob our society of dignity, development, and even life itself.


But those who sell their votes are not innocent either. When you exchange your ballot for money or material gain, you are not just selling a vote—you are selling your future. You are selling away the schools your children should attend, the hospitals that should save lives, and the jobs that should lift families out of poverty. In truth, you mortgage your tomorrow for a token that can not sustain you today.


The reality is simple: looters can only loot when we hand them the key. If your vote had no value, nobody would be desperate to buy it. The fact that millions are spent on vote-buying shows that your ballot is priceless. The real power does not lie in their money. It lies in your conscience, your courage, and your vote.


The choice is ours. We either keep selling our votes and remain trapped in poverty and bad governance, or we rise above temporary gain and reclaim the future of our nation. Every Nigerian must take responsibility. Let us reject the politics of bribery and embrace the politics of service. Let us elect leaders who will build, not loot.


A New Nigeria is POssible. -PO

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Bolaji Akinyemi responds to faceless Yorùbá Elders Progressive Council

Bolaji Akinyemi responds to faceless Yorùbá Elders Progressive Council

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- Asks Gov. Sanwo-Olu to speak up as his silence is encouraging Igbophobia.


Lagos Is a Land of Law, Not Tribal Lords: A Rebuttal to the So-Called Yoruba Elders Progressive Council (YEPC)


I read with deep concern the unsigned and shameful document issued in the name of “Yoruba Elders Progressive Council (YEPC)” titled “Our Land, Our Identity: Lagos State Government Must Act Before We're Made Strangers at Home.” It is unfortunate that in 2025, in a democratic Nigeria where the Constitution reigns supreme, some cowards cloaked in the name of Yoruba elders still find it acceptable to publish ethnic bile and incite division without the courage to sign their names.


As a proud Yoruba son, a senior citizen, and a disciple of the progressive school of Chief Obafemi Awolowo, I cannot keep silent while these masked agitators try to drag the Yoruba identity into the mud of tribal bigotry and reckless political opportunism.


Let me now respond, point by poisonous point, to their disturbing and dangerous narrative.


1. The Igbo Presence in Lagos Is Lawful, Not Provocative


To suggest that Ndigbo are provoking anyone by living, working, or acquiring property in Lagos is contrary to the Nigerian Constitution. Lagos is not a tribal empire — it is a federated state within the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Every Nigerian has a constitutional right to live, own property, and vote in any part of the country.


The suggestion that Igbos are "excessive, disrespectful and provocative" for exercising this right is not only false, it is evil. It is this same thinking that once led to pogroms, and eventually, civil war. Do we want to return to that dark path?


2. Property Ownership Is Not a Declaration of War


The alarmist claim that the Igbos are buying up land in “clusters” to dominate Lagos politically is mischievous and misleading. Are we now criminalizing commerce and development? Is it only when Yoruba buy land that it is called investment, but when Igbos do, it becomes an ethnic threat?


Let us be honest: Lagos thrives today because of the inclusive spirit that allowed diverse people — Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa, Ijaw, Efik, foreigners — to bring their best to this city. To attack people for being industrious and successful is nothing but the politics of envy, not indigene interest.


3. “Co-ownership” Is a Constitutional Reality, Not a Cultural Threat


The Constitution does not recognize “ancestral ownership” of federated states. The law recognizes citizenship, residency, and legality, not tribal roots. When Igbos — or anyone — say “Lagos belongs to all”, they are affirming constitutional truth, not rewriting history.


No matter how loud YEPC shouts, they cannot wish away Section 43 of the Nigerian Constitution that guarantees every Nigerian the right to own immovable property anywhere in the country.


4. The Land Tenure Proposal Is Xenophobic and Illegal


To propose that the Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) for non-Yorubas be reduced from 100 years to 25 is not only illegal but ethnic apartheid disguised as policy. It is a direct attack on the Nigerian Constitution and cannot stand in any competent court of law.


What will happen if Anambra or Enugu enacts the same policy against Yoruba living there? What happens to Yoruba traders thriving in Sabon Gari, Aba, Onitsha, or even in Accra and Johannesburg? Must they now be punished for the crimes of land ownership?


This policy proposal reeks of the same mindset that once inspired Rwanda’s genocide.


5. Lagos Certificate of Origin Cannot Be Ethnically Weaponized


The idea of revoking Lagos Certificates of Origin unless “lineage” is traced is a laughable descent into ethnic nativism. It violates every tenet of modern governance, federalism, and democratic equality.


If Lagos wants to create a new form of tribal passport, then it must also create a new constitution — because the current one guarantees every Nigerian full citizenship rights wherever they live.


This proposal is not only unworkable, it is dangerous. It sets Lagos on fire under the false guise of heritage protection.


6. "Legal and Cultural Safeguards" Are Not Justifications for Prejudice


Using language like “guests claiming ownership of their host’s house” to describe fellow Nigerians is insulting, dangerous, and unpatriotic. The Igbo are not guests in Lagos. They are stakeholders — builders, contributors, citizens.


Indigbo are Nigeria citizens residing in Lagos, with the right to vote and be voted for, they pay taxes, run businesses, and contribute to the State's IGR. What else defines citizenship if not contribution?


7. The Call to Action Is a Call to Tyranny


YEPC says Lagos must not become a "no-man’s land." Let me respond clearly: Lagos is every-man’s land, as far as the Nigerian Constitution is concerned.


The attempt to romanticize tribal dominance with words like “ancestral identity” and “cultural preservation” is simply the old wine of ethnic supremacy in a new bottle.


8. On History and Heritage: Stop the Weaponization of Culture


History should enlighten, not inflame. Lagos was built by the collective sweat of many. From the Benin kingdom’s influence to the Awori and Ijebu settlers, the Brazilian returnees, to the colonial powers — Lagos has always been cosmopolitan.


The Yoruba are foundational to Lagos, but not exclusive owners of its future. Any group that claims otherwise seeks to build walls in place of bridges.


9. The Comparison with the East and the North Is Hypocritical


It is hypocritical to say, “In the East or North, others can’t own land,” while crying foul when people lawfully own property in Lagos. That is the same feudal mentality that has hindered progress elsewhere.


Lagos must lead by example, not regress into ethnic tribalism. We must not copy what is backward elsewhere; we must be the model of modern civility and legal fairness.


10. The Yoruba Elders Progressive Council Are Neither Progressive Nor Elders


Real Yoruba elders, the Omoluabi, are defined by wisdom, justice, and honor. Not anonymous hate speech. Not cowardly propaganda. 


The historical records of labour of heroes past in Lagos speaks against the position of this Elder of hate.

Herbert Macaulay (1864–1946) – Though not a formal governor, he was a nationalist and key indigenous political actor in Lagos. A Democrat who founded the NNDP (Nigeria's first political party) in 1923. Dr. J.C. Vaughan, Dr. Kofo Abayomi, and Sir Adeyemo Alakija – Were all key members of the Lagos elite who influenced policy through the Lagos Town Council. There is no record of a threat from them to other tribes residence in Lagos.


Under Regional Era – Western Region (1954–1967)


Lagos was the capital of Nigeria but still part of the Western Region until it became a separate federal territory.


Obafemi Awolowo (Premier of the Western Region, 1954–1959) — Though based in Ibadan, he had indirect administrative influence over Lagos.


Bode Thomas, Samuel Akintola, and others from the Action Group shaped policies affecting Lagos in this era. Federal Territory of Lagos & Military Era (1967–1979)


With the creation of Lagos State in 1967 under General Gowon, the state began to have Military Governors:


1. Brig. Gen. Mobolaji Johnson (1967–1975)


First Military Governor of Lagos State


Highly respected, helped develop early infrastructure.


Indigenous Lagosian, widely regarded as fair and progressive.


2. Commodore Michael Adekunle Lawal (1975–1977)


Continued the administrative structure post-Gowon.


Someone need to tell the bunch of Jokers that Ndigbo were among men who built morden Lagos.

1. Commodore Ndubuisi Kanu (1977–1978)


An Igbo man governed Lagos during Obasanjo's military government.


2. Commodore Ebitu Ukiwe (1978–1979)


Another Igbo, handed over power to civilian administration in 1979.


Civilian Era Begins – Lateef Jakande (1979–1983)


Alhaji Lateef Kayode Jakande


First Executive Governor of Lagos State (1979–1983) under the UPN.


An Awolowo disciple who implemented populist policies without discrimination, in education, health, housing, and transport. Widely regarded as the most impactful governor in Lagos history, he stood for equity and fairness, not ethnic exclusion.


The Labour of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu began the exploits of the 4th Republic in Lagos State, a citizen allegedly with ancestral roots originally from Iragbiji in Osun State, he was followed by Babatunde Raji Fashola and Akinwunmi Ambode, who did their best and left the rest to Babajide Sanwo-Olu under whom ethnic sanderling seems to be a political strategy of the political elites.


Is Mr Governor's body language suggestive of the support this uncanny Elders are offering? Mr Sanwo-Olu must issue a statement to dissociate himself and his administration from a bunch of cowards who published such a document without a signature. A proof of guilt. If you are bold enough to peddle hate, be bold enough to put your name to it.


Conclusion: We Must Not Let Tribal Madness Become State Policy


Let me be clear: the Lagos State Government must distance itself from this dangerous document. It must not allow tribal entrepreneurs to drag our state into the pit of ethnic cleansing through policy.


This is not a time for silence. All true Yoruba sons and daughters — the Omoluabi — must rise and publicly disown this tribal gang.


Let me end with the words of our sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo: “Nigeria is not a nation. It is a mere geographical expression.” Yet, he spent his life building unity across that geography. He never advocated exclusion or hatred. Those hijacking his progressive legacy to propagate tribal hate are retrogressive opportunists.


I call on the media, civil society, the Lagos State House of Assembly, and every peace-loving Nigerian to reject this tribal nonsense.


If we fail to act now, we may soon wake up in a city where fire rages and nobody knows who lit the match.


Signed:

Dr Bolaji O. Akinyemi 

Yoruba Elder, Democrat, and Citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria


- Asks Gov. Sanwo-Olu to speak up as his silence is encouraging Igbophobia.


Lagos Is a Land of Law, Not Tribal Lords: A Rebuttal to the So-Called Yoruba Elders Progressive Council (YEPC)


I read with deep concern the unsigned and shameful document issued in the name of “Yoruba Elders Progressive Council (YEPC)” titled “Our Land, Our Identity: Lagos State Government Must Act Before We're Made Strangers at Home.” It is unfortunate that in 2025, in a democratic Nigeria where the Constitution reigns supreme, some cowards cloaked in the name of Yoruba elders still find it acceptable to publish ethnic bile and incite division without the courage to sign their names.


As a proud Yoruba son, a senior citizen, and a disciple of the progressive school of Chief Obafemi Awolowo, I cannot keep silent while these masked agitators try to drag the Yoruba identity into the mud of tribal bigotry and reckless political opportunism.


Let me now respond, point by poisonous point, to their disturbing and dangerous narrative.


1. The Igbo Presence in Lagos Is Lawful, Not Provocative


To suggest that Ndigbo are provoking anyone by living, working, or acquiring property in Lagos is contrary to the Nigerian Constitution. Lagos is not a tribal empire — it is a federated state within the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Every Nigerian has a constitutional right to live, own property, and vote in any part of the country.


The suggestion that Igbos are "excessive, disrespectful and provocative" for exercising this right is not only false, it is evil. It is this same thinking that once led to pogroms, and eventually, civil war. Do we want to return to that dark path?


2. Property Ownership Is Not a Declaration of War


The alarmist claim that the Igbos are buying up land in “clusters” to dominate Lagos politically is mischievous and misleading. Are we now criminalizing commerce and development? Is it only when Yoruba buy land that it is called investment, but when Igbos do, it becomes an ethnic threat?


Let us be honest: Lagos thrives today because of the inclusive spirit that allowed diverse people — Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa, Ijaw, Efik, foreigners — to bring their best to this city. To attack people for being industrious and successful is nothing but the politics of envy, not indigene interest.


3. “Co-ownership” Is a Constitutional Reality, Not a Cultural Threat


The Constitution does not recognize “ancestral ownership” of federated states. The law recognizes citizenship, residency, and legality, not tribal roots. When Igbos — or anyone — say “Lagos belongs to all”, they are affirming constitutional truth, not rewriting history.


No matter how loud YEPC shouts, they cannot wish away Section 43 of the Nigerian Constitution that guarantees every Nigerian the right to own immovable property anywhere in the country.


4. The Land Tenure Proposal Is Xenophobic and Illegal


To propose that the Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) for non-Yorubas be reduced from 100 years to 25 is not only illegal but ethnic apartheid disguised as policy. It is a direct attack on the Nigerian Constitution and cannot stand in any competent court of law.


What will happen if Anambra or Enugu enacts the same policy against Yoruba living there? What happens to Yoruba traders thriving in Sabon Gari, Aba, Onitsha, or even in Accra and Johannesburg? Must they now be punished for the crimes of land ownership?


This policy proposal reeks of the same mindset that once inspired Rwanda’s genocide.


5. Lagos Certificate of Origin Cannot Be Ethnically Weaponized


The idea of revoking Lagos Certificates of Origin unless “lineage” is traced is a laughable descent into ethnic nativism. It violates every tenet of modern governance, federalism, and democratic equality.


If Lagos wants to create a new form of tribal passport, then it must also create a new constitution — because the current one guarantees every Nigerian full citizenship rights wherever they live.


This proposal is not only unworkable, it is dangerous. It sets Lagos on fire under the false guise of heritage protection.


6. "Legal and Cultural Safeguards" Are Not Justifications for Prejudice


Using language like “guests claiming ownership of their host’s house” to describe fellow Nigerians is insulting, dangerous, and unpatriotic. The Igbo are not guests in Lagos. They are stakeholders — builders, contributors, citizens.


Indigbo are Nigeria citizens residing in Lagos, with the right to vote and be voted for, they pay taxes, run businesses, and contribute to the State's IGR. What else defines citizenship if not contribution?


7. The Call to Action Is a Call to Tyranny


YEPC says Lagos must not become a "no-man’s land." Let me respond clearly: Lagos is every-man’s land, as far as the Nigerian Constitution is concerned.


The attempt to romanticize tribal dominance with words like “ancestral identity” and “cultural preservation” is simply the old wine of ethnic supremacy in a new bottle.


8. On History and Heritage: Stop the Weaponization of Culture


History should enlighten, not inflame. Lagos was built by the collective sweat of many. From the Benin kingdom’s influence to the Awori and Ijebu settlers, the Brazilian returnees, to the colonial powers — Lagos has always been cosmopolitan.


The Yoruba are foundational to Lagos, but not exclusive owners of its future. Any group that claims otherwise seeks to build walls in place of bridges.


9. The Comparison with the East and the North Is Hypocritical


It is hypocritical to say, “In the East or North, others can’t own land,” while crying foul when people lawfully own property in Lagos. That is the same feudal mentality that has hindered progress elsewhere.


Lagos must lead by example, not regress into ethnic tribalism. We must not copy what is backward elsewhere; we must be the model of modern civility and legal fairness.


10. The Yoruba Elders Progressive Council Are Neither Progressive Nor Elders


Real Yoruba elders, the Omoluabi, are defined by wisdom, justice, and honor. Not anonymous hate speech. Not cowardly propaganda. 


The historical records of labour of heroes past in Lagos speaks against the position of this Elder of hate.

Herbert Macaulay (1864–1946) – Though not a formal governor, he was a nationalist and key indigenous political actor in Lagos. A Democrat who founded the NNDP (Nigeria's first political party) in 1923. Dr. J.C. Vaughan, Dr. Kofo Abayomi, and Sir Adeyemo Alakija – Were all key members of the Lagos elite who influenced policy through the Lagos Town Council. There is no record of a threat from them to other tribes residence in Lagos.


Under Regional Era – Western Region (1954–1967)


Lagos was the capital of Nigeria but still part of the Western Region until it became a separate federal territory.


Obafemi Awolowo (Premier of the Western Region, 1954–1959) — Though based in Ibadan, he had indirect administrative influence over Lagos.


Bode Thomas, Samuel Akintola, and others from the Action Group shaped policies affecting Lagos in this era. Federal Territory of Lagos & Military Era (1967–1979)


With the creation of Lagos State in 1967 under General Gowon, the state began to have Military Governors:


1. Brig. Gen. Mobolaji Johnson (1967–1975)


First Military Governor of Lagos State


Highly respected, helped develop early infrastructure.


Indigenous Lagosian, widely regarded as fair and progressive.


2. Commodore Michael Adekunle Lawal (1975–1977)


Continued the administrative structure post-Gowon.


Someone need to tell the bunch of Jokers that Ndigbo were among men who built morden Lagos.

1. Commodore Ndubuisi Kanu (1977–1978)


An Igbo man governed Lagos during Obasanjo's military government.


2. Commodore Ebitu Ukiwe (1978–1979)


Another Igbo, handed over power to civilian administration in 1979.


Civilian Era Begins – Lateef Jakande (1979–1983)


Alhaji Lateef Kayode Jakande


First Executive Governor of Lagos State (1979–1983) under the UPN.


An Awolowo disciple who implemented populist policies without discrimination, in education, health, housing, and transport. Widely regarded as the most impactful governor in Lagos history, he stood for equity and fairness, not ethnic exclusion.


The Labour of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu began the exploits of the 4th Republic in Lagos State, a citizen allegedly with ancestral roots originally from Iragbiji in Osun State, he was followed by Babatunde Raji Fashola and Akinwunmi Ambode, who did their best and left the rest to Babajide Sanwo-Olu under whom ethnic sanderling seems to be a political strategy of the political elites.


Is Mr Governor's body language suggestive of the support this uncanny Elders are offering? Mr Sanwo-Olu must issue a statement to dissociate himself and his administration from a bunch of cowards who published such a document without a signature. A proof of guilt. If you are bold enough to peddle hate, be bold enough to put your name to it.


Conclusion: We Must Not Let Tribal Madness Become State Policy


Let me be clear: the Lagos State Government must distance itself from this dangerous document. It must not allow tribal entrepreneurs to drag our state into the pit of ethnic cleansing through policy.


This is not a time for silence. All true Yoruba sons and daughters — the Omoluabi — must rise and publicly disown this tribal gang.


Let me end with the words of our sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo: “Nigeria is not a nation. It is a mere geographical expression.” Yet, he spent his life building unity across that geography. He never advocated exclusion or hatred. Those hijacking his progressive legacy to propagate tribal hate are retrogressive opportunists.


I call on the media, civil society, the Lagos State House of Assembly, and every peace-loving Nigerian to reject this tribal nonsense.


If we fail to act now, we may soon wake up in a city where fire rages and nobody knows who lit the match.


Signed:

Dr Bolaji O. Akinyemi 

Yoruba Elder, Democrat, and Citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria

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Netayahu's Misadventures Against Iran, Israelis Still Calculating Losses

Netayahu's Misadventures Against Iran, Israelis Still Calculating Losses

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Israel entered the 12-day exchange convinced it could absorb costs; the ledger now shows a nation bleeding cash, talent, and confidence. 


Direct military outlays hit $5 B in the first week, then ballooned to $725 M every 24 hours, $593 M on offensive strikes that failed to silence Iran, $132 M on frantic mobilisation and missile intercepts that still let 400 warheads through. 


Iron Dome batteries alone inhaled $10 M to $200 M per day while Iranian salvos sailed past them and erased $1.47 B in civilian property, triggering 38 700 damage claims, 11 000 evacuations, and 30 condemned high-rise skeletons across Tel Aviv’s financial spine.


The Weizmann Institute, Israel’s prestige export, lies in shards, 45 labs gone and $500 M in biomedical IP incinerated, pulling decades of grant pipelines and pharma partnerships off the table overnight.


Intel’s Kiryat Gat fabs froze mid-wafer, choking a supply chain that feeds 64% of Israel’s exports and 1/5 of its GDP; the high-tech sector now runs on skeleton crews because 300 000 reservists were yanked from R&D floors and data centers to guard empty runways at Tel Nof. Commercial flights halted twice at Ben Gurion, insurers jacked premiums, and foreign airlines rerouted around a country that once sold itself as the region’s safe hub.


Capital is already in flight. More than 80 000 Israelis emigrated in 2024, the largest outflow since 1948, pushing the two-year total above 500 000 and forcing Netanyahu’s cabinet to slap a travel ban on Jewish dual nationals to stem the leak. Investor confidence cratered: venture funds paused term sheets, construction sites stand idle, and mega-projects wait on credit that no longer clears. 


The finance ministry, staring at a deficit set to shove public debt past 75 % of GDP, begged for an extra $857 M in defence cash while slicing $200 M from hospitals and schools.


Analysts peg Israel’s aggregate loss between $11.5 B and $17.8 B, up to 3.3 % of GDP, before counting long-tail hits from halted exports, cancelled IPOs, and sovereign-risk downgrades. 


Iran, still sitting on its uranium stockpile, spent a fraction of that yet forced the self-styled “Start-Up Nation” into a liquidity scramble, an insurance panic, and a brain-drain spiral. 


Tel Aviv promised deterrence;


 Tehran handed it a balance sheet in red ink and the visible stamp of strategic humiliation. 


—Thomas Keith




Israel entered the 12-day exchange convinced it could absorb costs; the ledger now shows a nation bleeding cash, talent, and confidence. 


Direct military outlays hit $5 B in the first week, then ballooned to $725 M every 24 hours, $593 M on offensive strikes that failed to silence Iran, $132 M on frantic mobilisation and missile intercepts that still let 400 warheads through. 


Iron Dome batteries alone inhaled $10 M to $200 M per day while Iranian salvos sailed past them and erased $1.47 B in civilian property, triggering 38 700 damage claims, 11 000 evacuations, and 30 condemned high-rise skeletons across Tel Aviv’s financial spine.


The Weizmann Institute, Israel’s prestige export, lies in shards, 45 labs gone and $500 M in biomedical IP incinerated, pulling decades of grant pipelines and pharma partnerships off the table overnight.


Intel’s Kiryat Gat fabs froze mid-wafer, choking a supply chain that feeds 64% of Israel’s exports and 1/5 of its GDP; the high-tech sector now runs on skeleton crews because 300 000 reservists were yanked from R&D floors and data centers to guard empty runways at Tel Nof. Commercial flights halted twice at Ben Gurion, insurers jacked premiums, and foreign airlines rerouted around a country that once sold itself as the region’s safe hub.


Capital is already in flight. More than 80 000 Israelis emigrated in 2024, the largest outflow since 1948, pushing the two-year total above 500 000 and forcing Netanyahu’s cabinet to slap a travel ban on Jewish dual nationals to stem the leak. Investor confidence cratered: venture funds paused term sheets, construction sites stand idle, and mega-projects wait on credit that no longer clears. 


The finance ministry, staring at a deficit set to shove public debt past 75 % of GDP, begged for an extra $857 M in defence cash while slicing $200 M from hospitals and schools.


Analysts peg Israel’s aggregate loss between $11.5 B and $17.8 B, up to 3.3 % of GDP, before counting long-tail hits from halted exports, cancelled IPOs, and sovereign-risk downgrades. 


Iran, still sitting on its uranium stockpile, spent a fraction of that yet forced the self-styled “Start-Up Nation” into a liquidity scramble, an insurance panic, and a brain-drain spiral. 


Tel Aviv promised deterrence;


 Tehran handed it a balance sheet in red ink and the visible stamp of strategic humiliation. 


—Thomas Keith



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Israel -Iran War: What Iran just did to Israel is nothing short of an unprecedented humiliation

Israel -Iran War: What Iran just did to Israel is nothing short of an unprecedented humiliation

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 Marwa Osman: 



For the second time in the same day, Iranian missiles targeted Israel, destroying government and military buildings as well as secret installations. But it didn’t stop there. Iranian cyber units hacked into the settlers’ public surveillance cameras and were watching them live on screen while bombing them inside their homes.


These Iranian strikes have become devastating and highly dangerous. Everything is in chaos, and no one can grasp how Iran has achieved such power and precision in its attacks. The Iron Dome is failing, unable to intercept most of the incoming missiles.


So what happened exactly? Here’s a quick breakdown of how things got to this point.


Just about two hours ago, Iran launched a new missile salvo that resulted in one of the most precise and dangerous strikes so far.

The strike hit an area known as "Paris Square" in the occupied city of Haifa. This area includes the famous Sail Tower, the tallest building in the city, located near the rabbinical court and other important government complexes.


What many people don’t know is that the tower is not just an administrative structure. It’s a central hub that manages the entire northern region of the Israeli entity. Inside are offices for the Ministries of Interior, Health, Education, and Justice, along with branches of the Tax Authority, Housing Ministry, and Civil Registry. It’s also only about 700 meters from the Haifa port.

In other words, this building is the backbone of Israel’s northern administrative system.


According to the (IRGC), the buildings 


targeted weren’t just government offices, they also housed concealed military command and control centers (C2 sites). Iran had been tracking this area and hit them with a direct, precise strike.


So far, Israeli media has confirmed around 27 injuries from the attack, as the building was occupied at the time. The mayor of Haifa also confirmed that two strategic sites were hit, validating the significance of the target.


And it doesn’t stop there.


In this same wave of strikes, and in direct retaliation for Israel’s recent bombing of Iran’s national broadcasting center live on air, Iran hit the building of Israeli Channel 14, which it had previously threatened to target. According to news sources, the strike successfully hit its mark.


Now here’s what surprised Israel's axis of evil.


Iran’s strikes were never random. Yet, they are now focused on highly strategic targets such as command centers, government buildings, ports, and critical infrastructure. This new precision is the result of an intense cyber war raging between the two states.


Since the start of the war, a massive cyber alliance has formed, bringing together hackers from Iran, Russia, China, North Korea, and Pakistan. They’re battling against Israel’s cyber warfare teams and their Western allies. Iran’s coalition has already caused severe disruptions to Israel’s electronic infrastructure.


This Iranian cyber alliance is now penetrating highly sensitive systems, and there are (unconfirmed) reports that they may have infiltrated Zionist Israel’s air defense codes. Supporting this claim is the fact that more missiles than ever before are now breaching Israeli defenses.


A Bloomberg report (linked in the thread) revealed that Iran successfully hacked into public and civilian surveillance cameras across the occupied territories. They are using this access to instantly assess the results of their strikes and update targeting coordinates in real-time.


This led Israel’s former deputy head of cybersecurity to publicly urge citizens to either shut off or immediately change the passwords to their surveillance cameras, warning that Iran is now using them to monitor internal activity and track strike zones.


The problem is, Zionist Israel can’t do the same. Iran cut off internet access across the country two days ago to block Israeli cyber penetration. Moreover, the Iranian government has advised citizens to delete WhatsApp entirely, as the app is reportedly being used by the Israeli entity for surveillance and targeting.


Meanwhile, Iran has arrested a massive number of Mossad agents and spies operating in Tehran and other regions over the past few days, significantly degrading Israel’s intelligence capabilities. This has closed a gap that once gave Israel a sharp advantage, even though Israel still retains superiority in some areas of intelligence.


But make no mistake: Israel is now in a historic crisis.

For the first time in its history, an enemy power is bombing its internal cities, destroying its government buildings, and hitting military, technological, and media facilities, while also penetrating its cyberspace, spying on its citizens, and retaliating at the same level of military efficiency.


This has caused unprecedented panic among settlers, many of whom are now openly protesting against Netanyahu’s criminal policies that led them to this point. 


As a result, Israel has imposed a massive media blackout, suppressing coverage and silencing public discourse.  


Marwa Osman - MidEaStream


 Marwa Osman: 



For the second time in the same day, Iranian missiles targeted Israel, destroying government and military buildings as well as secret installations. But it didn’t stop there. Iranian cyber units hacked into the settlers’ public surveillance cameras and were watching them live on screen while bombing them inside their homes.


These Iranian strikes have become devastating and highly dangerous. Everything is in chaos, and no one can grasp how Iran has achieved such power and precision in its attacks. The Iron Dome is failing, unable to intercept most of the incoming missiles.


So what happened exactly? Here’s a quick breakdown of how things got to this point.


Just about two hours ago, Iran launched a new missile salvo that resulted in one of the most precise and dangerous strikes so far.

The strike hit an area known as "Paris Square" in the occupied city of Haifa. This area includes the famous Sail Tower, the tallest building in the city, located near the rabbinical court and other important government complexes.


What many people don’t know is that the tower is not just an administrative structure. It’s a central hub that manages the entire northern region of the Israeli entity. Inside are offices for the Ministries of Interior, Health, Education, and Justice, along with branches of the Tax Authority, Housing Ministry, and Civil Registry. It’s also only about 700 meters from the Haifa port.

In other words, this building is the backbone of Israel’s northern administrative system.


According to the (IRGC), the buildings 


targeted weren’t just government offices, they also housed concealed military command and control centers (C2 sites). Iran had been tracking this area and hit them with a direct, precise strike.


So far, Israeli media has confirmed around 27 injuries from the attack, as the building was occupied at the time. The mayor of Haifa also confirmed that two strategic sites were hit, validating the significance of the target.


And it doesn’t stop there.


In this same wave of strikes, and in direct retaliation for Israel’s recent bombing of Iran’s national broadcasting center live on air, Iran hit the building of Israeli Channel 14, which it had previously threatened to target. According to news sources, the strike successfully hit its mark.


Now here’s what surprised Israel's axis of evil.


Iran’s strikes were never random. Yet, they are now focused on highly strategic targets such as command centers, government buildings, ports, and critical infrastructure. This new precision is the result of an intense cyber war raging between the two states.


Since the start of the war, a massive cyber alliance has formed, bringing together hackers from Iran, Russia, China, North Korea, and Pakistan. They’re battling against Israel’s cyber warfare teams and their Western allies. Iran’s coalition has already caused severe disruptions to Israel’s electronic infrastructure.


This Iranian cyber alliance is now penetrating highly sensitive systems, and there are (unconfirmed) reports that they may have infiltrated Zionist Israel’s air defense codes. Supporting this claim is the fact that more missiles than ever before are now breaching Israeli defenses.


A Bloomberg report (linked in the thread) revealed that Iran successfully hacked into public and civilian surveillance cameras across the occupied territories. They are using this access to instantly assess the results of their strikes and update targeting coordinates in real-time.


This led Israel’s former deputy head of cybersecurity to publicly urge citizens to either shut off or immediately change the passwords to their surveillance cameras, warning that Iran is now using them to monitor internal activity and track strike zones.


The problem is, Zionist Israel can’t do the same. Iran cut off internet access across the country two days ago to block Israeli cyber penetration. Moreover, the Iranian government has advised citizens to delete WhatsApp entirely, as the app is reportedly being used by the Israeli entity for surveillance and targeting.


Meanwhile, Iran has arrested a massive number of Mossad agents and spies operating in Tehran and other regions over the past few days, significantly degrading Israel’s intelligence capabilities. This has closed a gap that once gave Israel a sharp advantage, even though Israel still retains superiority in some areas of intelligence.


But make no mistake: Israel is now in a historic crisis.

For the first time in its history, an enemy power is bombing its internal cities, destroying its government buildings, and hitting military, technological, and media facilities, while also penetrating its cyberspace, spying on its citizens, and retaliating at the same level of military efficiency.


This has caused unprecedented panic among settlers, many of whom are now openly protesting against Netanyahu’s criminal policies that led them to this point. 


As a result, Israel has imposed a massive media blackout, suppressing coverage and silencing public discourse.  


Marwa Osman - MidEaStream


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