The Lagos State Government has condemned the attacks on officials of the Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Authority, LASPPPA, and the Lagos State Building Control Agency, LASBCA by suspected thugs while on enforcement activities/removal of an illegal PFS in the Ajao Estate area of Lagos State.
The thugs were said to have brandished cutlasses, guns, cudgels and other dangerous weapons, injuring some in the process, while others scampered to safety.
According to the General Manager of LASPPPA, Kehinde Osinaike, a joint team of Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Authority (LASPPPA) and the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) had gone to remove the illegal construction at 1, Robinson Gbagi Street, Ajao Estate when, suddenly, some thugs, armed with guns, cudgels, cutlasses and other dangerous weapons stormed the area and started shooting at officials and, in the process, caused mayhem in the area.
Osinaike stressed that one LASBCA operative who was macheted on his head and shoulder has been rushed to the hospital while others who sustained various degrees of injuries are, currently, receiving first aid.
He noted that prior to the removal, a stop-work order had been served on the site, but rather than comply with Government directives, the owner broke the seal and continued with his activities while planning a well orchestrated attack on Government officials who were only carrying out their lawful duties.
He also decried the incessant attacks on Government officials on lawful assignments, warning that Government would, henceforth, take decisive actions against perpetrators of such heinous acts.
Osinaike urged residents to always cooperate with LASPPPA/LASBCA and other agencies of Government as they were out to ensure a seamless development of the State through sustainable practices in building construction.
His words: “Developers and owners of properties should take heed and do the right thing by getting the necessary permits before starting a building construction, failure to do this will attract the full wrath of the law as Government will continue to maintain zero tolerance for illegal, unauthorized and haphazard building construction in the State.”
Two Federal Government owned security agencies in Ekiti state are heading for a showdown over the case of a suspect.
The Agencies, Nigeria Police and Nigeria Security and civil Defence, (NSDC) are engaged in verbal attack over a suspect that stole a gun at the armoury of the Federal University, Ikole Ekiti campus.
This magazine’s checks revealed that the suspect is an officer of the NSDC newly posted to the University campus for security duties.
Few days after his resumption, one of the guns kept at the university’s armoury was discovered to be missing which prompted a security officer of the institution to make official report to the Chief Security Officer, (CSO).
The CSO was reported to have lodged official report at the Police Area Commander’s office at Ikole, who later transferred the case to the state Criminal Investigations Department, (CID) of the state police command in Ado Ekiti.
Officers of the State CID swung into action with the arrest of all officers attached to the armoury and detained them for further investigations.
Sources disclosed that the officers insisted in their statement that they suspected the newly transferred officer of the NSCDC since such incident has never been recorded at the office.
Following their insistence, the suspected officer was recalled to the office and after interrogation, confessed that he stole the gun to his superiors.
The gun has since been returned to the armoury but the Police CID is insisting that the suspect be handed over for prosecution, while the State NSCDC is holding on to him.
The matter has led to exchange of verbal communication between the leadership of the two security agencies, with the NSCDC insisting on its stand that the suspect should be given soft landing.
He has since been redeployed to the state headquarters of NSCDC.
The immediate past governor of Anambra state, Willie Obiano, who was arrested Thursday at about 8.30 pm at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, is still in the custody of the Economic And Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, sources say.
Reports of his release flooded the social media early Friday, but sources within the Commission dismissed the news as untrue.
Obiano was arrested hours after handing over to the new Governor, Charles Soludo, at the ceremony where his wife was embarrassingly slapped by Bianca Ojukwu, the wife of the late Biafran warlord, Dim Emeka Ojukwu.
Obiano is said to have been arrested for, alleged, misappropriation of funds, particularly in the building of the Anambra Airport. He had been on the watch list of the EFCC for years.
It is not clear whether he was detained with his wife, Ebele.
Sources indicate that he has been transfered from Lagos to Abuja, which may have sparked off reports of his release.
“Forget that thing. It is fake news”, this magazine was told.
The Federal Airports Authority Of Nigeria, FAAN, has banned two Immigration Officers from operating at any Airport in Nigeria. Consequently, their On-duty cards have been withdrawn.
The ban followed the investigation of a tweet by a mother whose 14-year old daughter, who was travelling out of the country, on Qater Airline, on February 19, 2022, was extorted to the tune of eight thousand Naira, by the two Immigration Officers.
An investigation carried out by FAAN, with the help of a CCTV and absolute cooperation from NIS, confirmed the incident to be true.
A release by Faithful Hope-Ivbaze, Ag General Manager, Corporate Affairs, FAAN, said the sum of money has been retrieved from the officers.
Following, the full text of the release
RE: ALLEGATION OF EXTORTION OF PASSENGER AT MMA
Following a tweeted allegation on the 19th February, 2022 by the mother of a 14year old girl travelling on Qatar Airline that two officials of the Nigerian Immigration Service extorted the sum of eight thousand naira from her daughter, a team of FAAN Aviation Security officers were commissioned to investigate the allegation.
Upon investigation, they found the allegation to be true, as the officers involved were identified with the help of footages on our CCTV facility, and the cooperation from the Nigerian Immigration Service.
Consequently, the officers were made to refund the exact amount collected from the passenger.
Their On Duty Cards were also withdrawn permanently, and they have been banned from working in any Nigerian airport, to serve as a deterrent to others.
We would like to commend the mother of the child, who has confirmed receipt of the money, for deeming it fit to escalate the case, and assisting us tremendously in the course of our investigation.
Also, we would like to express our appreciation to the Comptroller of Immigration, MMA and her team for her cooperation and support in addressing this issue.
The Authority will continue to identify and sanction any airport official (including FAAN officials) found to be extorting passengers or perpetuating any act of illegality at our airports.
The Presidential bid of Senator Anyim Pius Anyim has received a big boost as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) chapter executives of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) pledged support for his aspiration.
The endorsement was announced Thursday evening when the FCT PDP executives met with the presidential aspirant in Abuja as part of Anyim’s consultations.
Receiving the politicians in his campaign office in Garki 11, Abuja, the former President of the Senate said he is fully aware the of the socio-political and developmental needs of the FCT.
This deep understanding, Anyim declared made him the presidential aspirant with the best solutions to tackle the problems of the Territory.
According to the PDP presidential aspirant, he had lived all his working life in the FCT since 1989.
According to the PDP chieftain, he has been part of the growth and development of the Territory and has clear ideas of how to tackle challenges that have risen following the rapid and fast growth witnessed in Abuja.
Telling his visitors that he is one of them, the presidential hopeful said, “FCT is the landlord of Nigeria and I am one of you. When I completed my NYSC in Sokoto State in 1989, I moved down to Abuja and I have remained here till date.
“I therefore have the confidence as one of your own to ask for your support. Entrust me with the critical assignment to rebuild our dear country. I promise you that I will not fail you.
“With your vote for me at the Presidential Primary Election, you will be making a worthy and invaluable investment in building the Nigeria we and our children will be proud of.
“Together, let us go for a greater Nigeria where security, peace, unity, inclusiveness and prosperity will be our collective heritage”, Anyim requested.
Anyim said he has clear understanding of the problems facing Nigeria as a country and that he has solutions to the problems.
In his own remark, the leader of the group who is also the FCT Chapter chairman of the PDP, Zakka Dogo Sunday assured Anyim of the support of his Executive.
He expressed happiness that the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation understands the problems facing the Territory and assured his host that the FCT PDP Exco members would support him to become the President of Nigeria in 2023.
Frontline 2023 Presidential aspirant, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim has mourned late versatile Journalist, Prince Emeka Obasi who died on Tuesday March 15, 2022.
Anyim described Obasi as intelligent, resourceful, courageous and cheerful.
In a personally signed letter of condolence to the wife of the late popular journalist, Dr Betty Obasi, the PDP Presidential aspirant said that apart from Journalism, the Late Emeka also left his footprints in other endeavour he engaged in.
Said Anyim, “It was a rude shock for me to receive the very sad news of the passing of your dear husband, Prince Emeka Obasi. All the while he was sick, we all prayed and trusted God for his recovery.
“Emeka himself always sounded confident that he was going to recover fully.
“We cannot question God for we know that “all things work together for good for those who love God…….”. My dear sister, I know this is a difficult and challenging moment for you and the children. However, I want you to always know that our God is able and merciful. In His hands, you and the children are safe.
“Your husband was a very unique personality; intelligent, resourceful, courageous, bold and cheerful. He was an outstanding journalist who made his mark in the profession. Beyond journalism, Emeka also made his mark in public issues management. The Public Policy Research and Analysis Center (PPRAC), organizers of the annual Zik Prize in Leadership Awards, which he founded and managed very successfully over the years, remains one of the most credible platforms that has promoted leadership, patriotism and good governance in Nigeria.
“Emeka would be sorely missed for his invaluable contributions to the development of our dear country.
“I pray that the good Lord will grant his soul eternal rest in His bosom. May the Lord keep, uphold and comfort you, his dear wife, children, and the rest of the family”, Anyim concluded.
The immediate past Governor of Anambra State, Chief Willie Obiano, has reportedly, been released by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
Obiano was arrested at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, at about 8.30pm, on Thursday, March 16, 2022.
He was on his way to Houston, Texas, USA, where he has a home, when he was intercepted by Operatives of the Commission, and taken to their Lagos office.
By the arrest, Obiano made history as the first former Governor to be arrested less than 24 hours after he handed over power to his successor. He made history the same day his wife, Ebelechukwu, made history as the first First Lady, to be publicly slapped after she made a public nuisance of herself during the swearing-in ceremony of her husband’s successor.
It is not known, yet, if the former Governor spent the night in the custody of the EFCC, or if he was released Thursday night. It is, also, not known under which conditions he was released.
Unconfirmed sources, however, say he may not be allowed to proceed to the USA, as his travel documents may have been seized by the anti-graft Commission.
Obiano’s arrest was not entirely surprising, even though it was not expected this soon. Just before the Anambra State Governorship election, the EFCC had placed Obiano on its watch list, and informed the Nigeria Immigration Services, accordingly.
Both Obiano and the Anambra State Government under him, had protested the EFCC action then, arguing that it amounted to an intimidation, especially, as Obiano still had immunity, and about four months in office. He had said he was not afraid of the EFCC.
However, not a few people have expressed surprise that Obiano chose to leave the country for Houston the same day he handed over power to his successor, Professor Charles Soludo.
A couple of weeks back, Obiano had said he was not interested in seeking any political office after his Governorship. He said he wanted to take a rest, but had let it be known that his wife, Ebelechukwu Obiano, would be the next Senator, Anambra North.
The federal government borrowed close to N7 trillion last year, the Debt Management Office, DMO has said. The DMO Director General, Patience Oniha disclosed this during a briefing with journalists in Abuja on Thursday, notng that the nation’s debt stock has now risen to N39.556 trillion in 2021 from N32.915 trillion in 2020.
Considering government’s resolve to borrow more this year, analysts insist that the total debt stock before the end of the year could effectively rise to as much as $100 billion or more, less than two decades after the country received debt forgiveness from Paris and London Clubs of Creditors under the administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo
Oniha made the revelations barely two days after the minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed said the federal government was planning to raise over $2 billion tBrough Eurobonds to finance a substantial part of this year’s budget, majorly the over N2 trillion fuel subsidy provided in the budget.
The President Muhmmadu Buhari’s administration said it will borrow more despite local and international pressure that the rising debt will soon become unsustainable. The minister said loans are necessary to finance critical infrastructure in the country.
Speaking Oniha said the combined debt of federal and 36 state government, including the FCT stood at N39,556 trillion or $95.779 billion as at December 31, 2021.
The debt “includes new borrowings by the FGN and the sub-nationals. For the FGN, it would be recalled that the 2021 appropriation and supplementary acts, included total new borrowings (from domestic and external sources) of N5.489 trillion to part-finance the deficit.
“Borrowings for this purpose and disbursements by the multilateral and bilateral creditors account for a significant portion of the increase in the debt stock. Increases were also recoMO rded in the debt stock of the states and the FCT,” she said.
Despite the public outrage against accumulation of more debt, the DMO boss said the total public debt stock to gross domestic product, GDP limit of 55 percent set by the World Bank and 70 percent set by the Economic Community of West African Statesm, ECOWAS.
She explained that the federal government is trying to open up more revenue sources to mitigate the debt problems.
According to Oniha, “the new borrowings were raised from diverse sources, primarily through the issuances of the Eurobonds, sovereign , and the FGN bonds. These capital raisings were utilised to finance capital projects and support economic recovery,” she added
“With the total public debt stock to GDP as at December 31, 2021, of 22.47 percent, the debt-to-GDP ratio still remaithin Nigeria’s self-imposed limit of 40 percent. This ratio is prudent when compared to the 55 percent limit advised by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for countries in Nigeria’s peer group, as well as, the ECOWAS convergence ratio of 70 percent.”
Meanwhile, some critics of the administration told the magazine that the manner the Buhari administration is accumulatino foreign debt is surprising bearing in mind that Nigeria is among major oil producing countries in the world.
I don’t know which community bestowed Mrs Ebelechukwu Obiano, the immediate past First Lady of Anambra State, with a chieftaincy title. Cheap as Chieftaincy titles have since become, the community should strip her of it. She does not deserve it, just as she does not deserve other titles bestowed on her, including the ones by Churches. She is a disgrace to those titles, the State, her family, women, and especially, young girls who had looked up to her as a role model. She is a bad Ambassador of women, and has made a public ridicule of the office she occupied for eight years.
If it was when our culture and tradition mattered, women would have trooped out to give Mrs Obiano a deserving disgraceful farewell from the office of the First Lady of Anambra State, and barred her from some community and women meetings.
I don’t know what, perhaps, transpired between her and her husband, Willie Obiano, the immediate past Governor of Anambra State after her despicable public outing. But many a man would keep her out of the “other room” for weeks, and give her space. For, what Mrs Obiano did on Thursday, March 17 in Awka was to rub a tar on her husband, and on every Igbo woman. How did Obiano end up so disgracefully on a day he planned to walk as if springs were attached to his heels?
It was to be a glorious end to an eight-year tenure as the Governor of Anambra State. There, Obiano sat majestically, dressed to the hilt, in the midst of high profile guests. There he sat, heart filled with joy over what he had accomplished which culminated in the ceremony taking place – the swearing in of a successor of the same party with him.
Not many people thought that possible in the months leading to the November 6 Governorship elections. Everything was stacked against him. A number of his cabinet members had deserted him. Party Chieftains deserted him. The climax was his dumping by his Deputy Governor, Dr Nkem Okeke. They all pitched camp with the opposition.
Not a few people thought the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Senator Andy Uba, was going to sweep the polls and send the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, out of office – no matter how good its candidate. But Obiano and APGA prevailed in a landslide. They were helped by the profile of the candidate.
So, on the day of the swearing into office of APGA’s Professor Charles Soludo as Governor, Obiano was hip. Celebrations had been planned. His people had planned to give him and his wife, a rousing welcome to their palatial home in his Aguleri community. But within a twinkle of an eye, all that crumbled.
Shame took over. Disbelief set-in. And, dear readers, I would have given an arm to know what was going through Willie Obiano’s mind.
What happened to him, publicly, on Thursday shouldn’t happen to anybody, let alone a man who, 24 hours earlier, was the most powerful man in Anambra State.
In the full glare of everybody present, and the thousands who followed the event on television, Obiano’s wife showed how disrespectful she is of her husband. She confirmed the stories in the streets of Anambra State that she is the man in the house. That she was the “de facto” Governor of Anambra State. That she has no respect for anybody. That she is wild. Otherwise, how could Mrs Obiano descend to the gutter from the olympian height she had been placed? How could any woman at her level be that irresponsible? My mother of the blessed memory would have summed it up by saying “bath a pig, dress a pig, a pig will always be a pig?”
It started unexpectedly. Soludo’s swearing-in ceremony had been completed, almost. He was about to sign the final documents. Then, all hell broke loose.
An obscenely dressd Ebelechukwu Obiano stepped-in. Wearing her very flamboyantly made pink dress, (or was it a long skirt and blouse) she made a noisy entrance. Some say she came late to the ceremony. Meaning that she breached protocol. She came in after Governor Soludo, the new First Lady, and her husband, Willie, were already seated. They said the entrance to the venue was already closed, but was opened for her. From the video clip I watched, she came in and sat down. Then, in her usual notice-me-or-I- die nature, which manifested in her usual flamboyant appearance, she stood up, just for the sole purpose of emphasising her emperial presence. She ended up making a public nuisance of herself.
Like one being pushed by the wind, the outrageous sleeves of her blouse flaying, she walked up to Ambassador Bianca Ojukwu who sat about five seats away from Mrs Obiano.
Like a “bush woman”, she stood before Bianca, and began to taunt her.
Witnesses say Mrs Obiano asked Bianca what she came to the swearing-in ceremony to do after she had said she would never attend any APGA ceremony, again, and that APGA was never going to win. It was, also, alleged that she called Bianca a witch.
So, you wonder if Mrs Obiano is Professor Soludo, or the National Chairman of APGA. You wonder what stake she has in APGA except that she is Mrs Willie Obiano.
Infuriated, Bianca gave Mrs Obiano a slap she had never received, perhaps, since her adult life. Her headgear off, her hair dishevelled, she looked more like a scarlet Queen than the immediate past First Lady of the State She made for Bianca, but the wife of an Army General, and a daughter of the no-nonsense former Governor of Enugu State, the late Christian Onoh, Bianca was ready for her. The saving grace was that a number of people intervened, and separated both women from tearing each other apart.
Mrs Ebelechukwu Obiano
That was when Mrs Obiano did the unbelievable. She called Bianca, wife of the revered Igbo Leader, Dim Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, a free woman in a crude language.To emphasise her disrespect for her husband, she called Bianca that name before him. Even when her thoroughly embarrassed husband made to keep her in check, she rudely, and violently snatched her hand away from her husband.
For the records, let me say this. Bianca is not free from blame. To, publicly, exchange words with Mrs Obiano was belittling. But to have slapped Mrs Obiano, and gone physical with her, was disrespectful of her late husband’s memory, and that of millions of the Igbo, especially the youths, who literally, worship her. Momentarily, in that madness, Bianca forgot who she is. Dim Odumegwu Ojukwu’s wife. The “First Lady” of the Igbo. A former Nigerian Ambassador. A former Miss Intercontinental. A Lawyer who holds the revered Igbo traditional title, Iyom. No level of provocation should have pushed her to publicly slap Mrs Obiano. She should have controlled herself, especially before such a crowd.
By reacting the way she did, she not only reduced herself before the world, she helped in stealing the thunder from Soludo’s day. Now, nobody is talking about Soludo’s beautiful inauguration speech where he gave hope to the youths, where he promised to revamp the State, where he promised good governance and preached peace. It is the disgraceful incident that everybody is writing on, and talking about. Bianca owes the Igbo a public apology for descending to the level of a physical combat at Soludo’s swearing-in ceremony. She owes Soludo an apology. In more civilised climes, she and Mrs Obiano will be in huge trouble for public nuisance.
But the main bulk of the blame for the shameful incident goes to Mrs Obiano. Her gutter language, her “agbero” carriage, her brazen disrespect for her husband, for the new Governor and his wife, for the crowd gathered, add up to stink to high heavens.
The sad incident may not have been her first. Not a few Anambra people say that is who she is. They say she is wild and power- drunk. Since the incident, a long list of those she, allegedly, slapped within the eight years her husband was Governor, has surfaced. And so is her equally disgraceful spat, outside the country, with Senator Uche Ekwunife. She had called Ekwunife the same derogatory name she called Bianca. Ekwunife did not go physical with Mrs Obiano, but she did not spare her either. She reminded her of how, and why, she got married to Willie Obiano.
Any woman who is fond of labelling another a free woman is a scum. She disrespects every hard working woman. She creates a very wrong impression of women and everything women stand for. Somebody should remind Mrs Obiano of the saying that one judges others by one’s own standards. Most times, the saying rings true.
In Anambra State, many are rejoicing that she received a slap as a farewell gift. Well deserved, they chorus. They are thanking Bianca for putting Mrs Obiano in what they say is her place. While her husband was the Governor, many say, the fear of Mrs Obiano, was the beginning of wisdom. Her words were, allegedly, law.
A couple of Politicians were frustrated, allegedly, on her say so. A couple of them left APGA because of her. And this is the same woman whose husband has told Anambrarians would be going to the Senate, in 2023, to represent Anambra East. Such thoughts should be perished.
Mrs Obiano should be resisted. The character which she exhibited at Professor Soludo’s swearing-in ceremony does not recommend her to the high position of a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Her carriage does not recommend her.
Mrs Ebelechukwu Obiano owes Governor Soludo and the First Lady of the State an apology. She owes Igbo women an apology. She needs to sit back, think, re-evaluate, re-orientate and reinvent herself. The “gra-gra” she exhibited on Thursday was disgraceful, and belittling of the office she occupied. It was a big shame. Best forgotten in any civilised society.
In the midst of our current misery, the Ondo State Governor Rotimi Akeredoluthought we needed something to cheer last week, so he offered a joke, which was telling and disturbing.
In the row between the Governor of Yobe and interim chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mai Mala Buni, and governors who wanted to overthrow him, Akeredolu, who was on the side of the protagonists, reached into the gutter for words to describe his enemies.
He plumbed the depths, far belowthe sepsis reached by the sarcasm of Salihu Lukman,the former director general of the Progressives Governors Forum, and gave gutter language a new lease of life. Akeredolu called governors of his own party, yahoo-yahoo governors.
Let me be clear. I have absolutely no interest in APC’s house of commotion. And if it is true, as is being alleged, that Buni procured court judgements to stall the party’s national convention for the third time since his inexplicably extended tenure, if it is true, as is being alleged, that Buni the referee plans to join the race, if it is true, as has been alleged, that Buni is offering the party’s primaries ticket for sale; in short, if it is true, as is being alleged, that Buniis the party’s problem, then perhaps Akeredolu’s description would be a fitting epitaph.
But Akeredolu being not just a lawyer but a senior advocate and former president of the Bar, knows there is a difference between an allegation and a fact. It’s possible that he was overcome by the poor habit of politicians who hardly talk to make sense. To call governors of his own party yahoo-yahoo, deserves not only the attention of the party but also that of bystanders who should take more than a passing interest in this linguistic slur.
After Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State made an unusual appearance on Channels TV and vowed that Buni may return as Alhaji Buni but certainly not as chairman of the APC, it is possible that Akeredolu may have seized on that premature funeral to make his own obsequies. But in doing so, he described governors of his own party in a language which even the opposition may have been reluctant to deploy.
Are we really hostage to yahoo-yahoo governors?
Yahoo-yahoo, acruel twisting of the search engine, is Nigerian speak for con-artistry; a confidence trickster who earns a living – often outrageously flamboyant living – from transactions guaranteed to leave the other party with the short end of the stick, if not in premium tears.
The ruling APC has 22 governors across Nigeria, but Akeredolu did not name names. He did not say which of them is yahoo-yahoo, but mocking fingers are pointing in the direction of three governors – one in the South east, one in the North central, and the other one in the South west, reflecting a federal character of sorts.
As of the time of writing, Buni, the man who El-Rufai vowed publicly will not return as chairman for causing the inexplicable disappearance of APC’s manhood among other embarrassing misdemeanours is back in the saddle, riding the party’s horse with his team including John Akpanudoedehe the secretary who has resigned and has been reinstated swifter than it takes to say yahoo-yahoo.
From a bystander’s point of view, it is not only Buni’s dramatic comeback and the potential resurgence of the so-called yahoo-yahoo governors that are concerning.Akeredolu’s mudslinging also says something about the ruling party and the political eliteas a whole that is tragically true.
And it is true for a good number of the progressive governors today as it for governors and politicians in the opposition. How, for example, do you describe a governor who upon falling out with his godfather on the eve of an election, goes on his knees just to trade his party’s broom symbol for another party’s umbrella and then after securing reelection, drags and beats his benefactors with the umbrella?
Or a governor who after being elected on the platform of a party, decides in the twilight of his second term, that he must decamp to the ruling party to serve not those who elected and re-elected him in his state, but to ensure the success of his new paymasters in Abuja against whom he had been in opposition for nearly seven years? If that is not yahoo-yahoo, then what is it?
How do you explain the ascension to power of a governor who was not first or second but third by 176,919 votes, but who in spite of thatascended to power through a rare process of judicial iberiberism (apologies to Rochas Okorocha, wannabe pilot and presidential aspirant), and is currently being paraded as the icon of the new politics in the South east?
If it is not yahoo-yahoo, then how come a politician who once said a government that cannot fix power in six months is unfit for office now serves in a government that has been unable to fix power for seven years? And this same government is struggling to guarantee supply of petrol after the country spent $5.8 billion to repair refineries between 2015 and 2020?
It seems that after the temporary relief from drug barons and their yahoo-yahoo cousins who took politics hostage in the 2000s, we’re once again returning to the era when con-artists ruled the roost. And what is more, between the accusers and the accused, it’s increasingly difficult to know who is yahoo-yahoo by politics or yahoo-yahoo by nature.
There are many reasons this resurgence which Akeredolu said has taken hold of the ruling party, is worse than the current low-grade version popular among desperate, young people holed up in many hotels across the country today.
While the police and other crime-fighting agencies can still hope to pursue and rout perpetrators of the low-grade version, what Akeredolu has described is a more dangerous variety.
The perpetrators of yahoo-yahoo in Akeredolu’sclass and party, not only enjoy immunity from prosecution while they are in office, they also have the security agencies at their beck and call. In other words, yahoo-yahoo politicians swindle you and yet reserve the power and resources to protect themselves from being held to account.
If the governor insists that he used the phrase in a more general sense, perhaps as a rallying cry to save his party from falling apart, it would then be fair to insist that indeed not only those accused of backing Buni but perhaps a significant number in the current class of governors fall under this yahoo-yahoo group.
We don’t have to go far for examples. After a week during which power supply has been at a catastrophic low, with many urban households going for days without electricity, not to mention the long petrol queues and run-away inflation, the memes of politicians who swindled voters by making empty promises have flooded the internet.
It would be unfair to write politicians off, especially those in the ruling party, as all scam and no work. Some serious work has been done to rebuild infrastructure, which may take some time to show. But if, for a moment, we set aside Akeredolu’s passion for the regional security network, Amotekun, and forlegalising the sale of Indian hemp it would be interesting to see what his five-year ledger in Ondo looks like.
Even though the governor would like us to believe that con-artistry in his party is limited to Buni’s circle of supporters, the evidence is that it is far more widespread. If it is not political con-artistry, how can a ruling party which promised so much seven years ago leave the country struggling to secure itself, and its citizens bereft, poorer and more divided than they were when the government came to power?
And see how even the management of the party’s convention has shown that yahoo-yahoo is not just an accident but a lifestyle for the party: in less than one week, the same man who was vilified as a political fraud unworthy of the progressive banner is back in charge, and his enemies, including Akeredolu, must now bow at his feet under strict presidential orders.
It’s a Nollywood script written in a London hospital beyond anything that Akeredolu’s genius or sense of humour could have imagined. Yet to think that Buhari who hardly says a word has written two epistles in one week to savehisparty is proof that even the directors of this script are sometimes victims of their own con-artistry.
A most humbling experience indeed. Or does Akeredolu still think it’s a laughing matter?
