Ondo Acting Governor Aiyedatiwa Sends Akeredolu’s Aides On Leave, Freezes LG Accounts

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December 15, 2023

By Comfort Obi

“Our friends laugh at us because our mothers are not able to give us rice on Christmas Day. Please, cook rice for us to stop them from laughing at us”

From Umunjam, Mbieri, Imo State, comes this story that touches the heart. It, at once, saddens and gladdens the heart. It comes from the home of Professor Ernest Nneji Emenyonu, one of Nigeria’s gifts to Africa and the World.

Emenyonu is an international scholar. Some people call him a citizen of the World. But he is an academic. An authority in African Literature. In Nigeria, he had been “this and that”, including a Deputy Vice Chancellor of the University of Calabar and the Provost of the (then) Alvan Ikoku College of Education.

While at the University of Calabar, he made the institution the hub of African Literature. Every year, the who is who in African Literature converged at the University for an intellectual harvest. It attracted the best. On one occasion, Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, was the Guest Speaker. The annual ritual was a big deal. I wonder if Unical still hosts it, or in Emenyonu’s absence, died a natural death?

But it was at Alvan that Professor Emenyonu gave his best – not because he was, first, a Lecturer, later Dean, School of Arts, and later Provost. No, it is in terms of his long-fought battle for the deserved upgrade of the Alvan Ikoku College of Education to a University of Education. For years, he fought the battle. He made a case for it everywhere, and continued even when Alvan became a Federal Institution. He used the Media, and he weighed in using every opportunity.

Now that this long-fought battle has been won, somebody should arrange a meeting between Imo State Governor, Senator Hope Uzodinma, whose continous push made the dream a reality, and Professor Emenyonu whose battle it has been for years. When they meet, they should open a bottle of good champagne and clink glasses for a deserved victory.

But this write-up has veered off course. It was not meant to be on Emenyonu’s contributions to academics. It is to draw attention to his new passion, another annual ritual, this time, not in an academic environment but in his home at Umunjam, Mbieri.

When his tenure as the Provost of AICE ended, Emenyonu relocated to the United States of America where he continued to raise the banner of African Literature in a number of high profile Universities. His lovely wife of many decades, Pat, is an American. But every year, Professor Emenyonu makes it home – to his village – to, as they say, “spend quality time” with his people. And, so began his new passion and annual ritual.

Everybody knows how it was many years ago in the village. The beautiful years seems so long suddenly. At the time, once one was home, children usually paid visits for sweets, biscuits, ”blo-blo” and the lot. Does that still happen? Hardly. The society has been corrupted. And in our villages, it has become a taboo, almost, to give sweets to children. Trust is gone. And so has innocence. In their place, suspicion reigns. It no longer takes a village to train a child. Bad people abound. The situation is worsened by fake Pastors (men of God they call themselves) and fake prophets and seers who fabricate stories to deceive, cause confusion, and make money. One could give a child sweets, biscuits, “soft drinks”, blo-blo, and the next story will be that one has taken the “child’s luck”, or wants to use the child for ritual purposes.

Of course, these things happen before us. Innocent children are kidnapped and killed for ritual purposes. The devilish people use sweets and biscuits to lure them to their death. But Emenyonu damns all that. His is to give the children a sense of belonging. His mission began in a simple way. A child’s heart-wrenching request.

Each time he came home from his base in the US, children between the ages of three to seven, perhaps upto age ten would come in for sweets, biscuits, etc. But the story changed one day.

As usual, they had come. And after he gave them the usual, one of them, aged about seven years, raised his hands. He said he wanted to tell Professor Emenyonu “something.” Prof. was all ears. Then, the child began. He said they wanted him to give them cooked rice in place of the usual. Taken aback, he urged the child on. The child’s heart-wrenching story: “We don’t have rice to eat at Christmas. Our parents cannot buy rice. And those whose mothers cook rice for on Christmas days laugh at us. They make jest of us. So, if you give us rice, we can tell them that we had eaten rice, too, before Christmas. They will no longer laugh at us.”

It was a Professor, devastated by the story of that deprivation who from that year, began to host the children to an annual “rice party” just before Christmas.

The number has kept increasing, according to reliable sources. In 2021, there were a little over 100 of them. In 2022, there were over 200. One can, safely, assume that this year’s, which comes up on December 16, would attract more children than before.

And why not?

Things have gone from bad to worse. Hunger reigns. A bag of rice, now, goes for between N58,000 and N70,000. In a country where the minimum wage is N30,000, up from N18,000 which a number of State Governments still pay, many more children, even adults, will depend on the compassion of the likes of Professor Emenyonu to eat “Christmas and New Year rice.” Like my father of the blessed memory always said: “There is no capable shadow of doubt about that. Doubt it, who can?”

Ogene Mourns Ezeife, Describes Him As A Courageous Voice Of Reason

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December 15, 2023

Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Renewable Energy, Afam Victor Ogene, has described the demise of Dr. Chukwumeka Ezeife, former governor of Anambra state, as a colossal loss to Nigeria, the Igbo and all lovers of African culture and mutual respect and coexistence of ethnic nationalities in Nigeria.

Ogene, who is the leader of both Anambra State and Labour Party Caucuses in the 10th House of Representatives, made this tribute in a statement he issued in Abuja, on Friday, December 15, 2023.

Chief Ezeife, popularly known as Okwadike, according to a statement by his family, passed on to glory on Thursday in a hospital in Abuja.

Ogene said, “Our dear father, leader and voice of reason, Okwadike, was a man of noble character, honour, remarkable integrity and courage. He was a man who was never shy or afraid to air his views on national issues, or contribute his voice to the fight for equity, fairness and justice.

“Either as a civil servant, political leader, statesman or a family man, Chief Ezeife’s image remains as sparkling and untainted as his iconic and renown matching white traditional apparels and his well-kept gray beards, which he adorned with dignity and grace throughout his life-time.

“We will not forget his consistent voice in advocacy for mutual respect and coexistence of all ethnic groups in Nigeria, no matter how uncomfortable the issues were at every given time.

“Okwadike was not only a political and cultural servant leader, he unpretentiously led in many difficult battles from the front. He was a man in the true definition of the word. He was a thinker. An intellectual. And a leader of leaders. We will miss him. We will miss his unmistakable elegant fashion style. But we will miss more, his humanity and steadfastness in the pursuit of the good of the Igbo and equity and fairness for all Nigerians,” Hon. Ogene, who represents Ogbaru Federal Constituency, said.

Chief Ezeife, a native of Igbo-Ukwu, Anambra state, was a former Federal Permanent Secretary, first Executive Governor of Anambra State, a former Political Adviser to the President and a former Presidential Aspirant.

Anger In South East Over Supreme Court’s Decision On Kanu

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Ayodele Oni

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December 15, 2023

By Ayodele Oni

There is anger in the South-East over a hope dashed. And the waiting game continues The Supreme Court on Friday ruled that Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the proscribed Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, (IPOB) should remain in detention, while continuing with terrorism charge against him.

The apex court, in a judgement on Friday declined the order to free Kanu, from detention and set aside the judgment of the Court of Appeal, which in October 2022, ordered the release of Kanu and also quashed the terrorism charges against him.

The Apex Court in a judgment delivered by Justice Emmanuel Agim but written by Justice Garba Lawal, held that although the Nigerian Government was reckless and unlawfully rendered Kanu from Kenya, such unlawful act has not divested any Court from proceeding with trial.

Justice Lawal said that no Nigerian law was cited in the suit seeking Kanu’s release on mere unlawful abduction from Kenya.

Advising the IPOB leader on way forward, the court stated that at the moment, the remedy for such action is for Kanu to file a Civil matter against such act instead of removing the powers of courts to continue with his trial for alleged criminal charges.

The Apex Court subsequently ordered that Kanu should go and defend himself in the remaining seven count terrorism charges against him.

Tinubu, Sanwoolu Marginalise Northerners- Shetima

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December 15, 2023

President General, Arewa Youth Consultative Forum, AYCF, Yerima Shetima has accused Governor Babajide Sanwoolu of Lagos state of sidelining northerners in his administration.

The Arewa Youth leader made this known in a statement on Friday.

According to him, the governor has favoured southerners in key appointments he has made so far despite the fact that Northerners voted massively for him during the last governorship election in the state.

Shetima also accused the state government of neglecting communities inhabited by northerners in the state, adding that the APC-led government has not been fair to his people residing in the state.

He said the APC-led federal government has cheated Northerners by not ensuring that resources are equitably distributed.l to the region.

The alleged marginalisation if not addressed immediately would have serious consequences for the APC in future election, he said.

Shetima: “The Northern population, being a significant part of Lagos state, expects to receive a fair share of resources and development projects in the communities where they predominate.

“However, the Northern communities in Lagos have been neglected, with resources and projects disproportionately allocated to Yoruba indigenes and residents.

“This imbalance has exacerbated economic challenges and deepened the sense of marginalization among Northern communities.

“In March 2023, Northern voters in Lagos entrusted their faith in Sanwo-Olu to address their limitations and guide them towards a secure and prosperous future.

“They believed that their votes would result in a united Lagos state, where resources and appointments would be proportionately shared. However, months into its inception, the administration has proven to be controlled by Yoruba regional jingoists.”

How Igbo Boys Saved My Life in Lagos

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December 15, 2023

By Prof Moyo Okediji

Without the intervention of a crowd of young Igbo young men who saved me from the hands of the Nigeria Police attached to the FESTAC Mile Two station, I would be a dead man today.

I arrived Lagos today.

I came in through Ghana, and decided to enter Nigeria by road so I could see the lagoon landscape, riding a Jeep that I hired to drive me down.

Everything went well in Ghana, Togo, Benin Republic, until I stepped into Nigeria.

Na dia trouble start oooooo!

The first Immigration checkpoint that we encountered was at the Seme border, on the Nigeria side.

One of the Immigration officers took a look at me, and said, “Come down, oga.”

To cut a long story short, they robbed me of $500.

There were many of them, and they invited them to their shed.

They took my hand luggage, with all the money that I brought from the US.

Their excuse was that they wanted to search it to see if it contained contrabands.

They asked for my Nigeria passport. I told them it had expired and I was in Nigeria to renew it.

They said it was an offense for me to enter the country with an expired passport.

I apologized. But they wanted none of that.

They said I had to “settle” them. They had my wallet containing the money I brought to spend in Nigeria.

They saw two twenty-dollar notes and said I needed to give them these notes, otherwise they would seize all the money in the wallet, and take me to their office to make a statement.

I had heard stories of visitors to the country ending up dead when the police invited them to their offices to clear some issues.

So I eagerly gave them the forty dollars.

They gave me back my things. But when I counted my money later, $500 was missing.

Then the Jeep driver drove me to the FESTAC Mile Two motor park, where another driver I hired to take me to Ile Ife was waiting.

My two suitcases were on the floor at the Mile Two FESTAC, in public, right under the large gate to FESTAC.

I was narrating my ordeal in the hands of the immigration to my driver, when three gun totting police officer appeared.

They wanted to see the content of my bags.

As they searched the bags, they came upon the money I brought from the US.

I introduced myself to them as a Professor at the University of Texas, Austin.

They asked for identifications. I gave them my driving license, the university-issued ID card, my US passport and my Nigeria passport.

They took them from me.

By that time, about ten police officers had descended upon me.

Also listening were some Igbo guys hanging out at the motor park.

Before you could say “Ki lo de?” the police officers searched me thoroughly.

Then they started searching my bag.

They found that my suitcases contained my personal effects.

They were interested in a pair of shorts which they said looked like camouflage shorts.

They pulled out the shorts.

Then there was a sculpture that I made, which they said was juju,

They decided to seize my suitcases, hand luggage, ID cards and all of my money.

They said I had to follow them to the police station.

At this point, a sizable crowd of some fifty people had gathered.

One of them, with an obvious Igbo accent, said, “You can see he is a professor from abroad. He has given you several ID cards, including his passports. Wetin you dey find again?”

It was like a signal to the others, who began shouting, “You wan kill am? You people are thieves o! Highway robbers! It can never happen! Una don see money, una eyes don open…!”

Two of them jumped into the police vehicle and dragged out my bags from the vehicle. They accosted the one who held the wallet containing my ID card and my money, shouting, “You better give him back his wallet and money now, odawise wahala will burst.”

Another said, “We will not let you take him to the police station to kill him like you always do international visitors.”

In a matter of moments, about a hundred Igbo boys emerged from thin air and surrounded us.

The police officers saw they were clearly outnumbered by these Igbo motor park boys. Though some of the police officers carried rifles, they saw that the situation was clearly beyond what they imagined.

The police officer who held my wallet, passports and ID cards quickly handed them back to me.

The Igbo boys carried my suitcases on their heads.

The boys, seemingly closed in on the police officers, ready to attack them for my protection.

The Police officers jumped inside their vehicles, and drove off to save face, their tails curled behind their brokos.

I recalled the traumatic moment I left the country in 1992, and swore “If you see me in this god-forsaken country again, cut off my neck.”

Obviously, the country has fallen much lower since then, and is now a danger zone in which men in uniform of all descriptions—immigrations, customs, police, vehicle inspection officers and others wearing uniforms difficult to define—they have all taken over the country and made it difficult for citizens to enjoy, or even just subsist in their own country.

Which kain’ nsogbu be dis o?

It is a geographical zone best avoided if you can.

But for the intervention of these Igbo boys, I could be locked up in a cell at the Mile Two FESTAC police office now—or dead and my body disposed of.

Someone needs to do something, somehow, if they want to save the citizens of Nigeria from law enforcement officers paid to protect the lives of the people, but jeopardizing the very existence of the citizens they took an oath to assist.

God bless these Igbo boys who rescued me from the hands of the obnoxious police officers at the Mile Two FESTAC today.

I’m sure not all police officers are bad.

But those Police Mile Two, FESTAC officers, who attacked me for daring to return to Nigeria on a visit were evil, and worse than maggots.

Okediji is a Professor at the University of Texas, Austin, USA

OPINION: The Trials of Nyesom Wike

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December 15, 2023

By Azu Ishiekwene

The only thing that trumps the mocking viral videos of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, are the live footages of the State House of Assembly being demolished on Wednesday morning by a dozen bulldozers in what appeared like a scene from Gaza.

Reporters were even warned to steer clear. It was no longer renovation as planned; it was a full-blown war zone.

Happening on Wike’s 56th birthday, it was the most unlikely birthday present from the government of SiminalayiFubara that he installed six months ago in Rivers, Nigeria’s richest South-South state. If there was any hope that the attempt by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to reconcile the warring parties might succeed, the bulldozers crushed them.

The question is: what next?

A few days before the dozers were deployed to flatten the partially burnt House of Assembly with the furniture, fittings, files and whatever was inside, something else was trending.

Twenty-seven of the 32 members of the House of Assembly loyal to Wike had announced their defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC), trading the umbrella for the broom and excitedly waving the APC flag on the streets of Port Harcourt.

They had defected they said, not out of choice, but out of necessity to escape a divided party following the refusal of the party’s National Secretary to intervene in the crisis after the fire outbreak. Also, they claimed that in obedience to their constituents, they would keep their seats, a rampant habit among politicians of straining out the insect but swallowing the camel.

Of malaria and cancer

The defections stirred the social media, washing up old videos of Wike in his heyday as the tormentor of the APC.

In both the English and pidgin versions of the videos he spitefully dismissed the idea that he would leave his “malaria-infected PDP” for the “cancerous ruling APC”. Yet, after he fell out with the PDP over his shabby treatment, he supported APC’s Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the presidency, while rallying the state to vote PDP in the governorship election.

Suggestions that Wike might eventually join the APC are not new. In an article I wrote in September last year entitled, “Anatomy of Wike’s Endgame,” I said, “What is Wike’s Endgame? To avenge his displacement from within while securing the positions of his allies who are already carrying the PDP flag into the next election. His destination – if not by words, but by his conduct – is APC. Everything in-between is in translation.”

Politics rewards expediency, not constancy. That was why black congressman William Clay famously said in the game of politics, there are not permanent enemies, and no permanent friends, only permanent interests.

When, for example, a video of the former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, rallying support for the Taliban and Al-Qaeda was exhumed three years ago, the minister blamed his indiscretion on youth. “I was young, then”, he said. “Now, I’m older and wiser.” Wike might also argue that he said what he said out of exuberance.

The more surprising thing in the drama out of Rivers State has been the speed with which Wike and Fubara fell out. Power tussle between governors and their benefactors or godfathers is not new. It is such a regular feature of transitions in our political landscape that current beneficiaries who start by despising godfathers soon become godfathers themselves. They invariably become what they hate.

Whether it is Governor Godwin Obaseki and his deputy Philip Shauib in Edo or the even more complicated version in Ondo between Rotimi Akeredolu and now acting Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, it’s the same old story, only in more scandalous latter-day versions.

In Rivers, however, the speed, depth and extent of the fallout have been spectacular. It was not supposed to be this way. Wike was, in a sense, like the biblical David who couldn’t build a house for God because he fought too many bloody wars but left it for his son, Solomon.

Whether it was checkmating the tyranny of federal agencies, containing meddlesome Abuja politicians, showing up when federal agents descended on the state at night to arrest Supreme Court justices, or helping to rebuild the opposition as a vital force in what was fast becoming a one-party democracy, Wike never shied away from a fight.

Blame game

Although he lost the war to become the PDP’s presidential candidate in 2023, he won the battle to keep his state, leaving behind rich spoils of projects and a strategic alliance that paved a highway to Abuja, all supposed to secure a peaceful reign after him. In fact, as a seal, he ended the 16-year hegemony of the Ikwerre ethnic group in Rivers State by choosing an Ijaw man as his successor.

He seemed to have left his house in order, until October, when the first cracks appeared. Some have laid the blame on Wike, accusing him of leaving the chair, but taking its legs. He has been accused of running the state from Abuja and even asking the governor for the key to the treasury.

None of these accusations has come directly from Fubara himself. But it’s either the governor is enjoying the mudslinging or has become captive to forces in PDP, nPDP, APC and sundry Wike foes desperate to exploit the division and hijack him. There appears to be too many people around the governor egging him on to a war he does not need at an inauspicious time, and at a cost the state cannot afford.

What is the point, for example, of demolishing a multi-billion naira complex built by former Governor Peter Odiliabout 15 years ago under Rotimi Amaechi’s supervision as Speaker, when the government already has a HighCourt judgement forbidding the pro-Wike lawmakers to meet there?

Abuja as warfront

After the demolition of the House of Assembly, pro-Fubara lawmakers used a golden mace in storage in the Government House, as against the silver mace in the demolished complex, to receive the appropriation bill inside Government House, in defiance of an existing Supreme Court judgement inHon. MuyiwaInakoju& 17 Ors v Abraham Adeolu Adeleke & 3 Ors (SC 272/2006)[2007] NGSC (12 January 2007)that lawmakers cannot meet outside the House.Yet, if two wrongs don’t make a right, Fubara appears ready to try a third.

Wike has said Fubara’s attempt to tamper with his political structure, like a neonate dragging its mother’s womb and umbilical cord at the same time, was at the heart of the current conflict. He knows what he’s talking about, especially with local government elections coming up in February 2024.

If Wike was good enough to carry the governor through the dark, difficult days of their trials together when some of the governor’s ardent supporters today didn’t know him from Adam, the governor should be the last person to hang his benefactor out to dry so quickly.

The bigger challenge for Wike, however, is not Fubara or his army of snippers. It is not even about his legacy of projects in the state that would be hard to beat or his political structure which he can reinvent. It is how he would find the presence of mind to face his new assignment in Abuja, a city desperately in need of salvation.

Nearly overwhelmed with filth, pot-holed roads, street urchins, poor water supply and unlit highways, Abuja has become the warfront that Chinua Achebe was afraid of.It is the wayward place that Obafemi Awolowo would have gladly handed over to Walt Disney as a franchise.

This broken city needs attention 24/7. Wike will not be judged by his conquests in Rivers State; so Fubara may level the entire Port Harcourt if he chooses. The FCT minister will be judged by what he does in Abuja, a city in danger of decay in the face of a combined severe threat of livabilitymalaria and malignant cancer.

Ishiekwene is Editor-In-Chief of LEADERSHIP. More: azuishiekwene.com

World Bank Revelation: CNPP, CSOs Call For Forensic Probe

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December 15, 2023

Conference Of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) and its allied civil society organisations (CSOs) under the aegis of the Coalition Of Civil Society Organisations Against Inept Leadership, have called for forensic probe of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and the defunct Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) over years of unremitted and under remitted revenues.

The CNPP and the CSOs were reacting to the indictment of the Federal Government owned NNPC Limited by the World Bank over lack of transparency in the financial gains from fuel subsidy removal as well as observations of the global bank on subsidy arrears that are still being deducted and the impact of subsidy removal revenues accruing to the Federation Account.

In a statement jointly signed by the Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the CNPP, Comrade James Ezema and the National Secretary of the Coalition of CSOs, Alhaji Ali Abacha, the groups called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu “to think deeply and realise the overall negative impact this lack of transparency in the NNPCL over the years will have on revenue remittances from the oil and gas sectors and reconsider the reappointment of Malam Mele Kyari as the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of NNPCL.

“We are happy that the Washington-based World Bank in its Nigeria Development Update, December 2023 edition titled, ‘Turning The Corner (from reforms and renewed hope, to results) re-echoed our position that the NNPCL management as appointed by former President Muhammadu Buhari is unfit to remain in office.

“We are also happy that the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of Economy, Wale Edun, has reportedly revealed that the government was ready to scrutinise the revenue flow from the NNPCL.

“For us, the continued borrowing to finance budgets since 2015 can be traceable to non-remittances, under remittances and outright stealing of government revenues annually.

“It is shocking that calls for probe of the government owned oil and gas company, even after the revelation by whistle-blowers and an order of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, compelling Malam Mele Kyari to disclose the whereabouts of the proceeds of sold stolen 48 million barrels of Nigeria’s bonny light crude oil, stored in China and sold under the watch of the current Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), remain unheeded.

“By this, President Tinubu has already jeopardised the planned well-being of ordinary citizens in his Renewed Hope Agenda, which is what the reappointment of Malam Kyari will result into in the coming years in view of the track record of lack of transparency in revenue remittances.

“According to the World Bank, in media reports, while revenue gains from the exchange rate reforms are visible, the bank strongly observed that more clarity is needed on oil revenues, including the fiscal benefits from the PMS subsidy reforms.

“In the interest of the economy and the suffering masses, it’s time for President Tinubu to order public forensic probe of both the old NNPC and the current NNPCL to block revenue leakages if the gains of Renewed Hope Agenda will go beyond mere wishes”, the groups stated.

Kogi: LGAs Chairmen Vacate Office Ahead Gov Bello’s Departure

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December 15, 2023

Elected 21 local government chairmen in Kogi state have vacated their offices following the expiration of their tenures.

Their departure form office is coming less than two months to the end of Governor Yahaya Bello’s administration.

The governor is expected to leave office on January 27, 2024.

According to a statement released on Thursday by the state Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, S.M Ozigi Deedat, the state government said their tenure has expired having been in office for three years.

The chairmen left office alongside 239 councillors, who the state government said was sworn into office on December 15, 2020.

Deedat said the state government congratulates the chairmen and councilors after a successful tenure, wishing them success in their future plans.

The statement said: ‘On behalf of the management and Staff of the Ministry For Local Government And Chieftaincy Affairs, I wish to congratulate the Executive Chairmen across the twenty-one (21) Local Government Areas of Kogi State, for their successful end of tenure in Office as the Executive Chairmen.

“It is noteworthy that you all have played great partnership roles in our applaudable Security State, infrastructural developments, citizens’ welfarism and lots more that we have recorded with the available resources from the National down to the Local Government areas.

“I celebrate you all, as I wish you better lives in good health, after office.

“Congratulations to you all.”

Governor Bello’s administration is unlikely to conduct a fresh election into the state LGAs barely two months to the end of his government, according to those watching the state.

Rivers: Resignations Hit Fubara’s Govt

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December 15, 2023