N2.5 Billion Donation To UBTH: PDP Reminds Gov Okpebholo: “Edo people Did Not Elect Philanthropist As Gov.”

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August 28, 2025

By Ayodele Oni

Association of Resident Doctors under the Edo State Government employment slams Governor for the gift, lament state of State-owned hospitals

Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) in Edo state has accused the state government for abandoning government owned hospitals and instead allocating ₦2.5 billion to the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, (UBTH).

Governor Monday Okpebholo had announced the approval on Tuesday when the new Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Idia Ize-Iyamu, paid a courtesy visit to the Government House, Benin.

Ize-Iyamu had requested the state government’s assistance in constructing a world-class Paediatric Centre worth N2.5 billion which the governor approved.

The PDP, in a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Chris Nehikhare pointed out that the governor should have invested the money on state-owned hospitals instead of a federal institution.

The statement added, “This misadventure is not only reckless, but a glaring example of the 2027 election fixation and desperate eye-service politics that has defined Okpebholo’s almost one year in office.

“Edo people are being made to suffer, while their resources are squandered on federal facilities that are not the primary responsibility of the state.

“We align with the position of the Association of Resident Doctors under Edo State government employment, who have openly decried this misplaced priority. Their statement exposes what Edo people already know, our hospitals are collapsing, yet the Governor prefers to chase cheap popularity.”

The PDP said that Stella Obasanjo Hospital, which was rebuilt with state funds, remained locked with less than a tenth in use, wondering why the ₦2.5 billion was not channelled there.

The statement added, “The Edo Specialist Hospital continues to cry for expansion and adequate support but has been ignored by a government obsessed with pleasing political benefactors and seeking headlines.

“The General Hospital in Abudu is no more than a mere patent medicine store, and yet, ‘₦2.5 billion that belongs to Odogwu is being given to Caesar.”

The PDP also noted that Edo doctors, who only recently suspended their strike, still have their legitimate demands unmet.

“Edo people obviously did not elect a Governor to act as a philanthropist to federal institutions. They elected a leader to fix our hospitals, build capacity, and ensure access to healthcare for all.

“By neglecting this sacred duty, Okpebholo has shown that he is unprepared, unserious, and out of touch with the realities of Edo citizens.

“We in the PDP demand that this decision be reversed and that urgent attention be given to Edo-owned hospitals which directly serve our people.

“Edo deserves working hospitals, not political monuments built with eyes on the 2027 elections.

“This is not leadership. This is a reckless waste. And Edo people will not forget,” the statement added.

Breaking: Access Holdings Appoints New GMD

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James Orji

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August 28, 2025

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Access Holdings Plc has appointed Innocent Ike as its substantive Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, effective August 29, 2025, following the approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN.

Ike was a former Managing Director of Polaris Bank, where he served from 2020 to 2022

The announcement comes just hours after Roosevelt Ogbonna, resigned from the company’s board in line with new corporate governance rules issued by the CBN.

Ogbonna is the managing director of Access Bank Plc, the banking arm of Access Holdings.

In a notice filed with the Nigerian Exchange Limited, NGX on Wednesday, the holding company explained that Ogbonna, who remains the chief executive of Access Bank Plc, stepped down from the Board in line with the CBN Corporate Governance Guidelines for Financial Holding Companies, FHC.

The guideline stipulates that the directors of Holding companies should not exceed nine at a time.

“Access Holdings Plc (‘the Company’) today announces the resignation of one of its Non-Executive Directors. Roosevelt Ogbonna from the Board after three and a half years of dedicated service. Ogbonna continues to serve as the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Access Bank Plc, the Company’s flagship subsidiary.

“His resignation allows the Company to comply with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Corporate Governance Guidelines for Financial Holding Companies in Nigeria, 2023, which stipulates a maximum of nine (9) directors for the Board of a Financial Holding Company,” the company said in the notice. .

More to come…

Akwa Ibom’s ‘Witch’, Graduates From Primary School!

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The Source

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August 28, 2025

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By Charles Igbo

He is a walking miracle. The boy named Hope. He was given the name by a good Samaritan who rescued him.

In 2016, precisely on January 30, an anonymous two-year old was picked, as he roamed, stumbling, the streets in Akwa Ibom State. He was all bones. A walking skeleton. He could neither stand properly nor walk properly. He was a bundle of bones.

Branded a witch, and so, stigmatized, he was pushed out of what was his home by his cruel parents relations and an uncaring society to die unmourned, fed upon by vultures.

He had been branded a witch. And so unwanted. The poor innocent two-year old was branded a bundle of badluck; a bundle of everything bad, everything evil. So, he was pushed out to starve to death. For months, he roamed the streets.

But fate and destiny had something else in stock for him.

As he lay dehydrated, malnourished, and at the gate of death, the attention of a Danish Aid Worker, Anja Ringgren Loven, married to an Akwa Ibom man, David Emmanuel Umem, was drawn to him. She runs a Children’s Education and Development Foundation (ACAEDEF), aka, “Land of Hope”.

When her attention was drawn to the boy, she went with her team, which included her husband, and evacuated the two-year old from the streets to the Land of Hope. He was named Hope, a name derived from the alias of the Foundation.

Nobody could forget the haunting photograph taken of the boy on the day of his rescue as the Aide Worker gave her water from a bottle to drink – obviously, the only clean water he had since he was branded a witch and pushed to the streets to die.

But Hope was meant to live. Since that January 30, 2016, he gradually thrived as he was nursed back to good health. His rescuer picked his every bill, and put him in school as soon as he was of age. This last July, the handsome, healthy, bubbling but deaf (because of what he suffered) Hope graduated from Primary School and is headed to Secondary School in September.

Celebrating Hope on his Primary School Graduation Day, Ms. Loven wrote in a post on August 25:

“Hope survived. He graduated this year and starts Secondary school next month. His story is world famous. And everyday I look at him and feel so grateful for his incredible development.

“If you get to know Hope, you are lucky because he is so very unique. Hope is deaf, but despite that, he is able to communicate using sign language.

“Hope graduated Primary School with one of the highest grades. Not only is he intelligent, he is a very talented artist, an excellent dancer, he is very warm and caring, and on top of that, he has a great sense of humor.

“All the above makes me happy, but some days, it makes me think about the thousands of “Hopes” out there who we will never get to know because their lives are short. Once a child is accused of being a witch, it’s the end.

“But we will never give up. It’s an uphill battle, but with your support to Land of Hope, we will continue to save lives.”

APGA Affirms Support For Tinubu’s Re-Election

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James Orji

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August 28, 2025

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The All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA has declared an unflinching support for the re-election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2027.

The party’s National Chairman, Sly Ezeokenwa, made this known in Abuja, the nation’s capital while speaking to some journalists, saying the decision to back the incumbent is based on his performance since becoming the nation’s leader on May 29, 2023.

Governor Charles Soludo of Anambra state, the only APGA state governor in the country, is an ally of the president, and has declared his total support for him against other presidential aspirants, including Peter Obi, an indigene of the state, and 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP.

According to Ezeokenwa, President Tinubu has supported APGA, and the party will return the favour by supporing him to come back to office.

Ezeokenwa: “We have no reason not to support President Bola Tinubu- for 2027- APGA is the foremost progressive party in Nigeria.

“We don’t owe any apology for supporting Mr. President’s economic reforms.

“Our goal has always been to advance progressive governance and ensure policies that leave no one behind.”

Governro Soludo had while declaring his total support for President Tinubu’s re-election bid, cited their long friendship for over two decades and Tinubu’s bold economic reforms.

He said: “President Tinubu is my friend; he has been my friend for 22 years now and counting, so you don’t deny your friend.

“I support him, and I’m impressed by the bold steps he has taken, particularly in the areas of the economy and structural reforms. We’re taking the right steps and we need to stay the course.”

CBN Clamps On POS To Checkmate “Yahoo Boys’, Terrorists, Others

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James Orji

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August 28, 2025

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The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has directed all Point of Sale, PoS, terminals in the country be geo-tagged within 60 days. The order was in line with the apex bank’s concerted efforts to curb growing fraud through the POS operators, sectors’ analysts said.

Money launderers, Internet fraudsters, also known as ‘Yahoo Boys’ have lately being using the POS to perpetuate fraud.

Also, terrorists were also believed to be using POS terminals to move billions of illicit funds they use for their criminal activities in the country.

The directive, which affects licensed operators including Moniepoint, OPay, PalmPay, and commercial banks, requires that every PoS device currently in circulation be registered with its exact GPS coordinates. New PoS devices must also be geo-tagged before activation.

The Yemi Cardoso-led CBN warned in the circular that POS operators who failed to comply within the October 20 , 2025 deadline set by the apex bank will be deactivated from the nation’s financial system.

“The move is meant to curb fraud, stop the use of cloned or ‘ghost’ terminals, and make it easier to track transactions in real time,” the CBN said.

Checks by the magazine revealed that POS fraud cases and associated losses have largely increased in the country, with the total amount involved rising significantly in the first half of 2024 to billions of naira.

In Q2 2024, fraud cases, particularly mobile and POS-related, reached N56.3 billion in value, and N42.6 billion was lost. In Q3 2024, the total amount involved in fraud surged to N115.9 billion. This surge is partly a result of the expanding use of POS terminals, which are targeted by increasingly sophisticated cybercriminals, according to analysts who spoke on the issue.

According to checks from the CBN records, POS terminals handled transactions worth N223.27 trillion in 2024, representing a significant increase from the N110.35 trillion recorded in 2023.

The total number of POS transactions, according to figures from the apex bank also rose from 9.85 billion in 2023 to 13.08 billion in 2024, indicating a 32.7 per cent increase year-on-year.

“It’s A Done Deal, Tinubu Will Be Candidate For APC and PDP In 2027” – Dele Momodu

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The Source

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August 28, 2025

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By Gideon Njoku

“Wike keeps belching orders at helpless Governors who are too jittery to stand firm against daredevil dictatorship.”

Chief Dele Momodu, Publisher, Politician, former Presidential Aspirant under about two Political Parties, including the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, former chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and currently, a chieftain of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, has said that the PDP should stop deceiving itself and lying to Nigerians by pretending it would have a Presidential candidate in 2027. All the talks, he said, about fielding former President Goodluck Jonathan, or Peter Obi, Labour Party Presidential Candidate in the 2023 general election, or Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, to fly its flag in 2027, are just what they are meant to be – talks.

This, Momodu said, is because President Bola Tinubu will be the Presidential Candidate of both the APC and the PDP in 2027.

Momodu said these in reaction to the zoning by the PDP, of its Presidential ticket to Southern Nigeria.

He described it as a monumental mistake which has finally taken the Party out of any calculation in 2027. He is of the opinion that the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, finally blackmailed the PDP into zoning its ticket to the South knowing fully well that Wike would use the PDP structure to work for Tinubu in 2027.

In a post on his Instagram page, Momodu explained that the PDP has finally, surrendered its structure to President Bola Tinubu and described the party’s decision as “the most reckless decision in the history of our nascent democracy”. It has “shot itself in the leg”, Momodu declared.

His words: “Yesterday (Monday) one of Africa’s biggest, but seriously embattled political parties, shot itself in the leg by choosing to hide behind one finger. The PDP finally succumbed to the cheap and puerile blackmail of the black sheep in the opposition party who are openly and daringly working for the ruling party.

“The shame of it was seeing the so-called seasoned politicians engage in self-adulation for taking the most reckless decisions in the history of our nascent democracy by zoning the 2027 Presidential candidacy to Southern Nigeria.

“Who did not know that ultimately the hand was that of Wike while the voice was that of Tinubu. Their gameplan is not hidden. Wike keeps belching orders at helpless Governors who are too jittery to stand firm against daredevil dictatorship. They could not even rescue one of their prominent members in Rivers State, SIM FUBARA, when his boat of governance capsized. The same man that threw out zoning in 2022, and even lobbied to be Vice President of a Northern Candidate, is the one now crying loudest that power must be ceded to the South in 2027.

“The geniuses should be courageous enough to admit that Tinubu will be the joint Candidate of APC and PDP in 2027. There’s nothing to be ashamed of. Give it to Wike, love him or loathe him, you will always know where he stands no matter how preposterous or ludicrous.

“No Jupiter will stop Wike from using PDP structures for Tinubu. That’s already a done deal. Let PDP stop deceiving Nigerians that it will field a Southern Candidate against Tinubu. Speculations about the possible candidacy of Goodluck Jonathan, Peter Obi or Seyi Makinde are blatant lies from the pit of hell.

“What is more, the hypocrisy behind the reason for zoning power to the South stinks to high heavens. Where were these guys when President Umaru Yar’adua died, and no one fought for his replacement from the North after Jonathan completed their first term? In fact, Jonathan would have spent 9 years as President but for the defeat by Buhari in 2015. Where were they when Tinubu ran on a Muslim/Muslim ticket? The questions can continue ad infinitum!! Truth must not be selective.”

Instructively, in Rivers State, Wike is the Leader of both the APC and the PDP. In the Local Council polls scheduled for the State on August 30, both parties are fielding same Candidates. And in Oyo State where PDP Governor Makinde is speculated to be seriously warming up to run for the Presidential seat, recall that like Wike, he openly worked for Tinubu in 2023 against his own Party’s Presidential Candidate, Atiku Abubakar.

In Osun State too, PDP Governor Ademola Adeleke, has pledged to work for Tinubu’s victory in 2027. And so has All Progressive Grand Alliance Anambra State Governor, Professor Charles Soludo. Both Delta and Akwa Ibom Governors, Sheriff Oborevwori and Umoh Eno respectively, have since dumped the PDP for the APC, and pledged the votes from their States to Tinubu.

The question then is: who, in the South, will work for the PDP?

2027: Popular Prophet Predicts Jonathan’s Victory, As Pressure Mounts On Ex-Leader

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James Orji

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August 28, 2025

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Former President Goodluck Jonathan has a good chance of winning the 2027 presidential election, if he chooses to contest, according to an Ibadan-based Man of God, MOG.

Presidential hopeful who have indicated interest in the race include, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Rotimi Amaechi of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, respectively Peter Obi of the Labour party, Governor Seyi Makinde of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, amongst others.

The MOG, President and founder of the Clear Revelation Ministry, Apostle Oluwarotimi Adeyeye made this remark on Wednesday at a press conference with some journalists, at the Press Centre, Nigerian Union of Journalists, in Ibadan, the state capital.

He said President Jonathan has the mind of God, which he demonstrated when he ruled the country between 2009 and 2015.

For instance, the cleric disclosed that the former Nigerian leader demonstrated this after he rejected the pressure from the united State government to approve same-sex marriage in the country.

According to him, “He shows it when he turned down USA proposal on same sex marriage. Also, his decision to leave office in 2015 to let peace reign Nigeria base on what happened before, during and after the general elections.

“It would have been war and bloodshed if he refused to leave the office. I told him in 2013 when I did a World press conference that he may be the last PDP President.

“However, God can still bring him back to office once more if Nigeria still stands as a nation.”

Instructively, Jonathan, reports indicate has been under pressure, from some political parties in the country, to vie for the next presidential election.

Those putting pressure on him said he fits into the plan of some elements from the northern part of the country, searching for a presidential aspirant who would not be in office for more than one-term of four years, so that power can return to the region in 2031.

Also, some political analysts insist that the reason why the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP recently zoned its presidential ticket to the south, is to make it possible to be drawn into the race, but whether the former Nigerian leader will accede to this demand on him, has remained in the realm of speculations.

The PDP, had after its 102 National Executive Council, NEC meeting held in Abuja, the nation’s capital earlier this week, zoned the presidency to the south, in line with its plan to ensure that the country’s next president hails from the region.

The party made the decision known in a communique read by its National publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, even though some members of the party have kicked against it.

The party’s spokesman also revealed that other NEC positions, including the National Chairman has been zone to the north.

“That all PDP national office positions currently in the northern region of the country remain in the northern region,” he said.

“That all PDP national office positions currently in the southern region of the country remain in the southern region.

“That having retained the position of the national chairman in the northern region of the country, the presidential candidate of the party for the 2027 general election is hereby zoned to the southern region.

“That the regions should immediately micro-zone positions within its region for implementation.”

Jonathan, since he lost the presidency which he contested under the PDP in 2015 has somehow distance himself from the party,a s he no longer attends its meetings.

Again, Gov Yusuf Probes Ganduje Over Sale Of Kano Multi-Billion Naira Abattoir

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Suleiman Anyalewechi

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August 28, 2025

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By Suleiman Anyalewechi

The Kano State Government on Wednesday, August 27, 2025, constituted yet another Committee to carry out a probe into the sale of the State’s multi billion naira abattoir- Nigeria Meat and Allied Products NIMAP located in the Challawa Industrial area by the immediate past administration of Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje .

The abattoir said to be sitting on a large expanse of land within the choice Industrial estate was built by the Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso’s administration with a design to render various services that would generate considerable revenue for the state Government.

However, the facility was said to have been sold by the Ganduje administration under circumstances which Governor Yusuf’s Government consider too hazy to ignore.

While inaugurating an 11-man Committee to unravel the actual circumstances surrounding the sale, the Secretary to the State Government, SSG, Umar Faruq Ibrahim, informed that the investigation has become necessary in view of the Government’s determination to hold the immediate past administration to account.

According to the SSG, the State Government has the responsibility to take all practical and legal steps to safeguard critical infrastructural facilities put in place for common good,which unfortunately have been illegally auctioned to some self-serving interests .

Instructively and curiously too, the newly inaugurated Committee is to be headed by the immediate past Chairman of the Kano state Anti-graft Commission ,Muhuyi Magaji Rimin-Gado, a familiar face in the seemingly unending probe of the activities of the Ganduje’s administration .

The Committee, according to the SSG is to determine the roles and culpability of individuals, organizations and Government agencies in the purported sale of the abattoir.

“The Committee is mandated to probe the circumstances surrounding the sale of the land ,and equipment in the Nigerian Meat and Allied Products Abattoir

“You are to review all documents, agreements and approval if any related to the transaction, and assess the level of compliance with relevant laws and due process .

“The Committee is also expected to determine the roles and culpability of individuals, organizations and Government agencies involved in the despicable act, and recover any public funds, assets or equipment lost in the process.

“Recommend possible legal, administrative or disciplinary actions or measures against those found culpable. Verify the legality of the transactions and assess whether due process was followed in valuation and price fixing.

“Suggest any other measures which, in the opinion of the Committee, could prevent future similar occurrence. And propose steps to facilitate the establishment of a modern meat-processing plant that meets international standards”, the SSG stated

The Source reports that ,the establishment of the probe committee is coming just a few days after the Kano state Government accused Ganduje’s administration of spending a whopping sum of N20 billion in three months within the Protocol Directorate in 2023.

Pastor And Wife Fake Her Kidnapping, Police Arrests Both

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Ayodele Oni

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August 28, 2025

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Pastor Sanmori Olubumi and Mrs Sanmori Taiwo

By Ayodele Oni

The Ondo State Police Command has arrested a woman and her Pastor- husband for faking her own kidnap.

The incident happened in Ondo town when Mrs Sanmori Taiwo, a 42-year-old woman, and her husband, Pastor Sanmori Olubumi, raised an alarm that she has been abducted.

Ondo Police Command spokesman, Olusola Ayanlade, in a statement on Wednesday, explained that the police “uncovered a case of self-kidnapping involving one Mrs. Sanmori Taiwo, a 42-year-old woman, and her husband, Pastor Sanmori Olubumi Joshua, aged 62 years, both residents of Road 5, Power Line, Ondo City.

“On the 23rd of August, 2025, between the hours of 4:00pm and 5:00pm, Mrs. Taiwo deliberately isolated herself in a separate room in their residence and conspired with her husband to stage her own abduction.

“The husband subsequently placed calls to relatives using her mobile phone number, falsely claiming that she had been kidnapped by unknown gunmen who were demanding the sum of N10,000,000 (Ten Million Naira) as ransom.

“Suspicious of the claims, one of the relatives, Mr. Fasegha Joseph, through a written petition, reported the matter to the Commissioner of Police, CP, Adebowale Lawal psc+, mnips who directed the Command’s Special Anti-Kidnapping Squad (SAKS) to move into action.

“Acting swiftly on the report, an investigation team from the Command anti-kidnapping squad supported by Enu-owa division in Ondo city proceeded to their residence in Ondo town, where Mrs. Taiwo was found.

“She falsely claimed to have just been released by kidnappers after a ransom of Five Million Naira was allegedly paid.

“Upon further interrogation at the Command, Mrs. Taiwo confessed that the abduction was staged as a self-kidnapping scheme, masterminded to extort money from her relatives abroad under the pretence of securing her release.

“She further admitted that her motive was to settle debts and provide for her personal needs. Both she and her husband are currently under investigation, and appropriate legal action will follow.”

OPINION: Abuja-Kaduna Rails Of Recklessness

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The Source

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August 27, 2025

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By Suleiman Usman Yusuf

The Abuja–Kaduna train reportedly derailed this morning on its way to Kaduna. I sympathize deeply with every innocent passenger affected.

For some time, I have noticed three problem spots on that line where the train always gives a frightening drift and makes troubling sounds. My first instinct was to raise alarm on social media and tag the relevant agencies in charge. But given the many crises Nigeria is already juggling (security, the economy, and more), I chose a quieter route. My goal is for things to be fixed, not to chase attention.

So I repeatedly drew the issue to the attention of NRC staff, on three separate occasions. Each time, I was told they were aware and had notified the relevant authorities. I also discussed it with a security officer attached to the service; he said he had reported it to NRC officials as well, with no result. I warned friends about the dangers if the tracks were not properly handled. I was actually scheduled to be on the opposite train this morning (Kaduna to Abuja) but canceled because of unfinished business in Kaduna.

With all sense of patriotism, I acknowledge that accidents happen everywhere. But what happened today reflects shared recklessness, irresponsibility, and a disturbing disregard for Nigerians’ safety and welfare. When public institutions and their officials fail at basic service delivery, we are handed a thousand excuses, but none that protect lives.

Today’s event forces us to raise fundamental questions:

Why do we keep dramatising preventable failures?
Why do so many in public office take from a country they are starving?
Why do we gush over working systems abroad (snapping photos and calling it achievement) yet refuse to build the same at home when given the chance?
Are the trains free? If passengers pay, why isn’t maintenance done properly?
Is this service being allowed to fail so the NRC can be privatized and shared among a few?
How much money will ever be enough before leaders decide to serve the country properly?
Why do we tolerate needless suffering and deaths on our roads, in the air, on farms, in homes, and now on our trains?
Why are we addicted to reactive statements instead of proactive fixes?
Why must we wait for disasters before issuing hollow sympathies and condemnations?
Why can’t public systems simply work for the nation and for generations yet unborn?
Why destroy public institutions only to build private versions for personal gain?

I am certain that prior concerns about these risks have been raised within and around the NRC. Mr. President, Sir; Hon. Minister of Transportation, Sir, there must be consequences. Let there be a transparent investigation, made public. Where negligence is found, heads must roll. Set a clear example. People responsible for this avoidable mess should face the law. We are watching.

Suleiman writes from Kaduna and can be reached at [email protected].