The Nasarawa State Police Command on Thursday, May 15, 2025, said it has arrested a 21-year old woman Fatima Salisu, in connection for alleged supply of arms, ammunition and other essential to terrorist elements in some security challenged areas of the North.
Salisu, who hails from Funtua Local Council of Katsina State was said to have been intercepted in the Azuba area of Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital, while on her way to delivering arms and ammunition to some banditry elements in Katsina through Keana and Doma Local Government Areas of Nasarawa state.
A statement issued on Thursday by the Nasarawa State Police Command Spokesperson, Ramham Nansel, informed that the suspect was apprehended sequel to the receipt of credible intelligence on her movements and activities.
A large quantity of ammunition were recovered from her during the operation.
“Acting swiftly on intelligence tip-off, Commissioner of Police CP Shetima Mohammed, ordered the immediate deployment of operatives of the Command’s Anti-Kidnapping Unit.
The operation led to the arrest of the suspect ,and the recovery of 400 rounds of 7.62x39mm ammunition ,and 81 rounds of 7.62mm NATO ammunition”, Nansel stated .
According to him, the suspect, who is presently in custody, is assisting the Service in its efforts at unraveling and dismantling the criminal syndicate.
The Police spokesman, described the arrest, as a significant step in the concerted efforts at tackling the twin problems of insurgency and illegal arms proliferation in the country
This is just as the Command urged the public to continue to share actionable intelligence with security agencies to further boost the fight against insecurity.
Burkinabe leader Ibrahim Traore is acting like a rock star. It’s not entirely his fault. He’s receiving a lot of help from dozens of social media users, especially TikTokers, who are desperate to anoint him as the best thing to come out of Burkina Faso since Thomas Sankara.
Traore must be enjoying it, because even though he is pretending, he knows he’s not Sankara. He is an opportunist, happy to capitalise on the current frustration in his country and the Sahel for his benefit.
A recent report byTheAfrica Reportsummarised Traore’s fictional character. “In dozens of viral TikTok edits, Traore leads imaginary armies, topples Western empires and is hailed as the ‘new Thomas Sankara.’ The captions, bold and uncompromising, include ‘Africa’s Messiah!’ ‘The People’s Captain!’ and ‘France Must Fall.’”
Traorephytes even invent videos of Rihanna and R Kelly (imprisoned since 2021) serenading the Burkinabe leader with hit songs!
Fairytale
If he were an elected president, Traore would have served three years of his first term. When he overthrew the government of President Paul-Henri SandaogoDamiba in September 2022 due to the rise in Islamic insurgency, and announced himself as head of the new Patriotic Movement for Safeguard and Restoration (PMSR), he promised to hand over power back to civilians in two years – that was in 2024. He hasn’t said a word about any possible new date since, and if you have seen him recently, you would know why.
Apart from the adulation he has enjoyed as a social media fairytale, and dressing the part in stylish fatigues and matching neck scarves, berets, and boots, he has also talked the part.
He rallied support by giving speeches – not as many or as eloquently as he has been credited with – against Western imperialism and colonialism, vowing to create conditions at home to stem youth migration and tackle insurgency. Traore has portrayed himself as the new face of the African Renaissance. But talk is cheap.
Traore and the other delinquents
He has been in good company. The turmoil in West and Central Africa, which began in Chad, Mali, and Guinea, and later spread to Niger, has disrupted security and trade in the subregion, rupturing the 49-year-old Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Burkina Faso experienced two coups in a single year. After breaking out of ECOWAS, Traore and his fellow delinquents in the Sahel have pursued a singular mission of cutting off the noses of their Sahelian francophone ties to spite the faces of French business and political interests.
To be fair, it’s a moment of reckoning for decades of brazen French insensitivity, compounded by President Emmanuel Macron’s lack of charity when he described the relationship between France and Francophone West Africa as “part of a civilising obligation. ”Which was self-interested nonsense.
Trouble speaking French
France has accumulated a notoriously poor record on the continent that it can hardly be proud of. In Niger, for example, Tom Burgis writes in his book, The Looting Machine, that French state-owned atomic energy group Areva’s profit from uranium is twice Niger’s GDP. The shamefulFrench footprint is the same in Burkina Faso and throughout the region.
Fourteen Francophone countries, including the troubled ones – Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali, Niger and Chad – hold 50 percent of their reserves in the French Treasury. This arrangement has been widely criticised, but if shame is in the French dictionary, it doesn’t exist in the Macron version.
It is this background of despair and frustration, especially among the continent’s youths, that has fostered fairytale messiahs like Traore, who have managed to replace French hegemony with a mix of fussy state control and Russian suzerainty, with the Chinese just around the corner.
If it’s not Sankara…
Traoré is not Sankara, a fact that may be lost on Burkina Faso’s predominantly young population, as well as millennials and Gen Zs across the continent, whose forlorn search for role models tempts them to canonise an impostor. Of course, both are soldiers, similar in age and rank and usurpers of constitutional rule. But that’s where the similarity ends.
Like the demagogues before him, Traore and significant sections of the military and political elite from Maurice Yameogo to Blaise Compaore have been complicit in the misery of their citizens, feeding them instead on a diet of pseudo-ideological jingoism and Western bashing, but offering no genuine alternative. Africa – anglophone, francophone, or lusophone – shares a similar heritage of exploitation; a few of its people, especially the political elite after independence, collaborated with the colonialists to compound the problem.
Hard to beat
Where Traore is trading French hegemony for Russian control, for example, Sankara offered something different. In Burkina Faso:A History of Power, Protest and Revolution, Ernest Harsch said of Sankara, “In a conscious effort at nation-building, the revolutionary government also promoted a new national identity…thatrevolutionary project succeeded in altering the contours of the state and social and political life.”
Whereas Sankara attempted to forge a proudly African identity, deepening regional integration among ECOWAS countries, Traoré and his cohorts have, by exiting, put at risk the estimated $596.42 billion in trade within the community, excluding informal trade among citizens, which constitutes 30 per cent of the transactions, not to mention the impact on regional collaboration on security.
Sankara pursued radical economic self-sufficiency, agrarian reform, and social justice by outlawing female genital mutilation and promoting women’s rights. He rejected foreign aid, regardless of its source, even if it came without strings attached, something that Traore would be happy to overlook if it came from Russia.
What matters
I get it. With jihadists controlling about 40 percent of the country’s territory (it’s the most terrorised country), and climate shocks compounding its misery, the challenges are as different as are the times. That is why what Traore needs now is not clout-chasing or AI propaganda by Russian-backed Wagner, but sober-minded commitment to turn around the fortunes of his country, one step at a time.
For three years, Traore’s stock has risen amid algorithmic populism expressed in languages he neither understands nor speaks, with minimal institutional reforms, if any, and no prospects or commitment to return the country to civilian rule.
“His rhetoric,” The Africa Report said, “still falls short of real, measurable improvements in security and civic freedoms. There’s a gap between his message and the reality on the ground, something that will ultimately test his legitimacy and legacy.”
That’s not what the netizens want to hear. But in the end, that’s what matters.
Ishiekwene is the Editor-in-Chief of LEADERSHIP and author of the book Writing for Media and Monetising It.
Eight years after the take-off of amnesty for repentant militants in the coastal area of the country, ex-militants in Ilaje Local Government area of Ondo State have lamented their non inclusion in the programme.
They have sought the intervention of President Bola Tinubu to prevail on the Presidential Amnesty Programme to integrate them into the programme directly without involving the state government.
The Leader of ex-militants, Deji Ehinmowo, while speaking to newsmen on Thursday in Akure, the Ondo State capital lamented that they were yet to be integrated into the programme since 2017.
While pleading with President Tinubu to graciously approve their inclusion into the Amnesty programme directly, Ehinmowo explained that the ex militants have been grievously affected by many years of neglect since surrendering their arms and embracing the Amnesty programme.
Ehinmowo said they had relied on the promise of the government and kept to all the terms of the Amnesty initiative.
The ex-agitators were members of the United Sea-wolf Avengers, Awaja camp, Forest soldiers, Big-fish camp, Ogoloto camp, Niger Delta Vanguard camp, Aluma camp, Ofaran camp and six others, all in Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State.
He said; “all we want is to be incorporated without any intermediary either from the state government or whosoever because we have already submitted our arms and ammunition.
“The government has forgotten that real development is impossible in a chaotic environment. Are we to be punished for embracing peace.
“One of the conditions for surrendering our arms and ammunition was the assurance given to us by the government that we will be incorporated into the Presidential Amnesty Programme.
“So, we are expressing our feelings to the state and federal governments after we have submitted our arms and ammunition which we did in 2017. In the history of Ondo State, we are the ex-militants in 2017 that submitted the most sophisticated weapons in the history of amnesty.
“We submitted a lot of arms and ammunition such as Fiat Revelli Model gun, Colt Automatic rifle, Sango Scorpion, Dynamite Bitter explosives device, bomb and grenades.
“Others were severally AK47 and AK49 rifles with serial number, military camp uniforms and some automatic cartridge, double barrel rifle, single barrel English and locally made.
“We submitted over 400 pumping action, we have submitted explosive in large quantity, bitter explosive and device, and we did this amnesty simply because federal government called us to do so in order to do amnesty for us and we obeyed them.
“But since then up till this moment, government is yet to respond to the promises to give us the amnesty. We have written series of letters to the security agencies, the state government and the federal government but no positive results.
“So we are using this medium to tell the federal government that we have made up our minds to take a drastic measure until the journey ends. We are pleading with President Bola Tinubu to intervene, to come to our aides and we are coming to Abuja in respect of this because the Ondo State Government is not ready to do anything.
“We, the ex-militants want to take a step, but before this step, we want the federal government to know our feelings. We are using this medium as well to tell the Amnesty Board that I am the Chairman, Ondo State ex-militants 2017 that has been disarmed but yet to be paid.
“We don’t want anybody to speak on our behalf, we are the major stakeholders that dropped our guns, we don’t want this amnesty programme to be hijacked by some political leaders.
“The total number of people that participated in the last amnesty programme in 2017 was 4,300 and we have 14 groups that were recognized by the state government in Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State, while we also have some groups in Ese-Odo. And since then, nobody has been taken care of since 2017.
“We are using this medium to plead with the federal government to come to our aid because we don’t want to go back to our vomits. We are oil producing citizens and we know what we can do to affect the government.
“Ondo State is one of the most peaceful states in Nigeria, and it’s our hand work, we are the one that stopped the protest in Ondo State simply because the state Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa promised us that he would talk to the federal government to grant us the amnesty. But we are yet to see anything.”
Leaders of the eight ex-militants camps; Akintoye Olatunji, Omoboye Juwon, Joseph Omoteji, Ojo Ikudehinbu, Dada Odusola, Moses Ikudehinbu and Niyi Aladetan, who also spoke with journalists said they had made several appeals in the past which failed to yield the desired results.
They, however, appealed to the federal government to come to their aid saying “we want the federal government to cooperate with us because there is fire on the mountain. The federal government should do the amnesty programme without any delay.
“We want to restate our loyalty and commitment to the nation-building programmes of the Tinubu-led federal government and the government of Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa in Ondo State to sustain the development of the riverine people.”
“The emotional and psychological toll on students, and even parents, some of whom have reportedly suffered severe trauma, and in heartbreaking cases, even death, serves as a reminder of what is at stake”
Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party, (LP) Peter Obi, has stated that the recent technical glitches that affected the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) results, impacting 379,997 candidates highlights the persistent fragility of Nigeria’s institutional systems, which can have severe consequences.
Obi, in a post on Thursday, commended JAMB’s Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, for his open admission of fault and expression of remorse,
“I recently watched the heartfelt press conference delivered by the JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, in which he acknowledged that technical glitches had affected the recently released JAMB results, impacting 379,997 candidates.
“His open admission of fault and the expression of deep remorse stand out as a rare but commendable display of accountability in our public institutions.
“But it raises a very concerning issue on glitches and the grave havoc it’s creating in our country, even in critical institutions like JAMB.
“While JAMB’s swift response and willingness to own up to its shortcomings are worthy of recognition, the incident has brought to light a far more troubling reality: the persistent fragility of our institutional systems.
“The emotional and psychological toll on students, and even parents, some of whom have reportedly suffered severe trauma, and in heartbreaking cases, even death, serves as a reminder of what is at stake.
“The integrity of examination processes and the reliability of public institutions are not optional; they are foundational to any nation’s progress.
“Going forward, JAMB and similar critical bodies must adopt comprehensive quality assurance frameworks. This includes rigorous testing and constant auditing of technical infrastructure.
“Moreover, transparent communication with candidates and stakeholders, coupled with the prompt resolution of arising issues, is essential to restoring public confidence.
“There must be no room for further glitches – not in JAMB, not in any arm of government. The cost of repeated failure is simply too high,” he posted.”
Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal, recently commented on the political dynamics surrounding Kashim Shettima’s role as Nigeria’s vice president. Lawal described Shettima as a “spare flat tire,” a metaphor implying redundancy or lack of significance within the political framework. This characterization appears rooted in frustration over President Bola Tinubu’s decision not to run along with him (Babachir Lawal) in 2023, highlighting intra-party tensions and personal ambitions that influenced electoral strategies.
Lawal’s continuous remarks can be interpreted as reflecting broader contestations within Nigeria’s ruling party, where key figures vie for influence and recognition. The refusal to consider him and the choice to go with Kashim Shettima as vice presidential candidate in 2023 arguably triggered dissatisfaction among certain elements, with Lawal’s statement emblematic of this discontent. I believe that Babachir Lawal’s critique of Vice President Kashim Shettima’s role in an interview recently with’ PUNCH’ Newspapers, where he allegedly said that’ Kashim Shettima is just busy attending weddings and probably condolence visits, reveals how personal grievances intersect with political maneuvering, shaping narratives around leadership choices in Nigeria’s evolving democratic landscape.
Babachir may continue to preach this gospel and the group of speculators like him. But for the record and contrary to widespread speculation, Vice President Kashim Shettima frequently represents President Bola Tinubu on various official occasions both within Nigeria and internationally. While some narratives suggest that Shettima’s role is largely symbolic or limited to domestic engagements, evidence indicates that he acts as a robust proxy for Tinubu in diplomatic and political functions abroad. This delegation of duties aligns with strategic governance practices where a vice-presidential figure assumes representational responsibilities, thereby extending the president’s reach without necessitating his physical presence.
Kashim Shettima’s involvement in international forums underscores his active participation in advancing Nigeria’s foreign policy objectives under Tinubu’s administration. By attending summits and bilateral meetings, he not only conveys presidential mandates but also fosters investor confidence and diplomatic relations on behalf of the government. Such engagements reflect an operational dynamic wherein Shettima embodies the administration’s policy vision beyond national borders, challenging assumptions that his role is merely ceremonial.
The presumption that Shettima rarely represents Tinubu is inaccurate given documented instances of his frequent representation both domestically and internationally. This practice serves practical governance functions by maintaining continuous political engagement while allowing Tinubu to focus on critical national affairs. Recognizing Shettima’s substantive representational role provides a clearer understanding of executive collaboration within Nigeria’s current political landscape.
The VP’s effective representation in these roles is not only a testament to his political acumen but also an indication of the trust and confidence Tinubu places in his vice-presidential partner. His active engagement in these capacities highlights the strategic delegation of duties within Tinubu’s administration. His ability to navigate complex political landscapes and articulate the administration’s policies effectively further cements his role as a pivotal figure in Nigeria’s diplomacy and governance. Shettima’s presence at these gatherings not only reinforces the administration’s commitment to international cooperation but also exemplifies a strategic approach to governance that leverages the strengths of its key leaders.
Kashim Shettima’s diplomatic engagements, therefore, not only enhance Nigeria’s international profile but also underscore the administration’s strategic use of its leadership team to achieve a broader impact on the global stage. By effectively managing these responsibilities, Shettima not only ensures continuity in governance but also strengthens Nigeria’s diplomatic ties and fosters economic partnerships. This approach not only amplifies Nigeria’s voice on the global stage but also demonstrates a well-orchestrated internal synergy that is crucial for the country’s socio-economic advancement.
It is evident that Shettima’s active representation of Tinubu in various international forums and diplomatic missions is a testament to the administration’s confidence in his capabilities and vision. Shettima’s adept handling of these roles also signals a seamless transition of responsibilities that ensures no vacuum is left in Nigeria’s representation. This strategic delegation underscores the administration’s commitment to leveraging Shettima’s diplomatic acumen and political insight, thereby reinforcing Nigeria’s influence in international affairs
VP’s presence at key international forums and bilateral meetings not only amplifies Nigeria’s voice but also fosters partnerships that are crucial for the nation’s economic and geopolitical goals. Moreover, Shettima’s diplomatic engagements often align with Tinubu’s strategic vision, ensuring continuity and coherence in Nigeria’s foreign policy initiatives. This strategic partnership not only demonstrates Tinubu’s trust in Shettima but also highlights their shared vision for Nigeria’s development and international relations. Through these efforts, Shettima effectively bridges the gap between domestic policy and international diplomacy, ensuring that Nigeria’s interests are consistently represented and advocated for on the world stage. This collaboration between Tinubu and Shettima highlights a pragmatic approach to governance, where responsibilities are shared to enhance efficiency and effectiveness in achieving Nigeria’s foreign policy objectives.
The VP’s presence at key international forums and bilateral meetings not only amplifies Nigeria’s voice but also fosters partnerships that are crucial for the nation’s economic and geopolitical goals. Moreover, Shettima’s diplomatic engagements often align with Tinubu’s strategic vision, ensuring continuity and coherence in Nigeria’s foreign policy initiatives. This strategic partnership not only demonstrates Tinubu’s trust in Shettima but also highlights their shared vision for Nigeria’s development and international relations. Through these efforts, Shettima effectively bridges the gap between domestic policy and international diplomacy, ensuring that Nigeria’s interests are consistently represented and advocated for on the world stage. This collaboration between Tinubu and Shettima highlights a pragmatic approach to governance, where responsibilities are shared to enhance efficiency and effectiveness in achieving Nigeria’s foreign policy objectives.
Indeed, on the contrary, Shettima’s role as a representative is not merely ceremonial but involves substantive engagement with international stakeholders, thereby reinforcing Nigeria’s commitment to global cooperation and sustainable development. By entrusting Shettima with these vital responsibilities, the administration not only ensures continuity in its international engagements but also cultivates a robust framework for achieving long-term diplomatic and economic objectives. Therefore, beyond what the former SGF sees and pitched his tent, beyond the rhetoric around Shettima’s engagements, weddings, or condolences, the partnership that denied him the opportunity to be vice president is standing tall against the storms.
Due to the ongoing maintenance work in the Dangote Refinery, Nigeria and neighbouring West African countries have ramp up fuel importation ffom Europe and other sources, according to S&P Global Commodities at Sea data.
Details provided by S&P indicate that petrol imports to Nigeria and Togo surged from around 200,000 barrels per day in January to over 300,000 barrels per day in March, and roughly 250,000 b/d in April, close to Nigeria’s total of around 300,000 barrel per day national demand.
The PUNCH recalls that the Dangote refinery had earlier denied shutting down its petrol-processing unit for maintenance.
S&P Global reports on Wednesday that the Dangote refinery is restarting its main gasoline unit, the residue fluid catalytic cracker, and is evaluating the need for a second turnaround, a company executive said.
A Dangote executive who reportedly spoke to Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, on May 13, was quoted as saying that the company is in the process of returning refining units from a four-week turnaround to address ‘design issues’.
It was stated that the refinery is ramping up its RFCC, alkylation, and polypropylene units, but the company is yet to determine whether a second maintenance will be necessary later this year.
“The real picture can be seen only when we open the equipment,” the source has noted.
It was said that output from the Lagos refinery has become a key barometer for global gasoline cracks since production began last year, and unplanned April maintenance supported a Eurobob price rally when roughly 100,000 b/d of supply was suddenly taken offline.
According to the refinery executive, the plant’s crude distillation unit was last running at 550,000 b/d, roughly 85 per cent of its nameplate capacity.
After starting test runs in Q3 2024, roughly nine months after the refinery was inaugurated, the RFCC had reached 70 per cent of its capacity before the outage, the executive was reported.
The company now plans to ramp up the unit to its full capacity, allowing the site to finally scale crude throughput at the refinery to the site’s full 650,000 barrels per day potential, the source said.
Following its commission, two years ago, by former President Muhammadu Buhari not a few Nigerians predicted that the 650,000 barrel per day Refinery will produce enough for local consumption, with the potential of exporting to other parts of the Continent and Europe.
The $20 billion petrol-chemical Refinery has also assured that it can produce what Nigerians required, insisting that there’s no need to continue to import fuel into the country.
Controversy over the recent Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME, conducted by the JAMB has not abated as the Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide says it’s not in support of the plan by the exam body to conduct a fresh examinations for candidates.
After admitting errors in the conduct of the examination,the Prof. Ishaq Oloyede-led JAMB has informed the country that over 370, 000 candidates that took part in it will re-write the exam.
The magazine reported that JAMB has received serious backlash from not a few Nigerians, after many candidates who took part in the exam failed to score 200 of the 400 total marks.
JAMB has admitted the errors, and it’s set to re-conduct the exam for thousands of candidates, but Ohanaeze has rejected the plan, saying this will result in ‘mental torture’ for the candidates.
Instructively, Ndigbo, in a statement on Thursday said students particularly from the south east should not be punished for the errors committed by JAMB, the Igbo body said candidates who wrote the exam from the region should be awarded 300 marks.
According to the statement signed by its National President Mazi Okwu Nnabuike JAMB has done a serious disservice to the country and the affected candidates.
It stated that candidates from the five south east state and Lagos should not go through “mental torture” and risk by re-writing the exam.
Apart from the security risks, Ohanaeze said many candidates are not in a good frame of mind to re-sit for the exam, having dissipated their energy on the one they recently wrote but have not been canceled due to the error of the part of JAMB.
“We want to state unequivocally that our people will not accept any fresh examination, having already been subjected to mental torture by JAMB,” Nnabuike said.
Adding that, “The candidates are not in the right frame of mind to undergo another examination, having been faced mental torture ever since the fake results were announced.
“Besides, who is going to bear the cost? The same parents who are facing severe financial challenges?
“What of the risk of moving to the examination locations, in a country ravaged by insecurity?
“Having said this, we demand that JAMB should allocate 300 score to all the South-East candidates affected by its own error, not that of the candidates. Igbos are very brilliant people and could have made 300 and above,” he said.
Prof. Oloyede had admitted the error, on Wednesday, while speaking to journalists in Abuja, the nation’s capital, saying the error has cost many candidates their ‘joy’.
“No Governor in the North, not to dare say Adamawa, would disparage Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. Ditto for the South-west. No Governor would publicly speak ill of Tinubu”
Nigerian professors are giving a bad name to the academia. We grew up to revere people who wear the tag ‘professor’ as very special kinds.
And as we went through the university, the power and aura of professors on our campuses didn’t wane. Indeed, we cherished being under their tutelage.
I encountered a few in my journey through those rarefied corridors of learning. Who would forget in a hurry, Professors Alfred Opubor, Ebun Clark, Alaba Ogunsanwo, Onuora Nwuneli, among others, in the University of Lagos of the 1980s and early 90s.
But today in Nigeria, everything seems upside down; including the university system and the professors therein.
If a professor is not being gaoled for sexually harassing his students – in a most idiotic tango – he’s being jailed for helping a rogue politician rig election.
One cannot understand how our university system crashed so low to the point that professors, even vice chancellors, are co-opted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), into a tacky and highly malleable electoral system.
If Nigerians pretended they didn’t know about INEC’s make-believe heist called elections, the situation in Abia State in the 2023 election must disabuse the minds of all.
Prof. Nnenna Oti, Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Owerri, was assigned to announce the Abia guber election in 2023. As we were to find out, she saved the day in Abia by refusing to call the election in favour of the losing APC candidate. Coercion , percuniary blandishments and threats to her life didn’t deter her. She stood her ground.
Thanks to her, the true choice of the people is reflected in Abia State today.
But we all know that for every Prof. Oti, there are dozens of wretched VCs who get crushed in the INEC muck.
And we ask: when did professors become cheap accessories to electoral crimes. A professor of the calibre of a vice chancellor at that!
Professor Charles Soludo.
It defies commonsense in the first place that in Nigeria, persons possessed of such high intellectual state of mind can be recruited to legitimise fraudulent elections and lend credence to barefaced roguery. Imagine a professor announcing the 2023 Rivers State polls results, for instance, which we all know that a certain Nyesom Wike personally hand-wrote! Yet a so-called professor stood on the rostrum and shamelessly read such results.
Why the National Universities Commission (NUC) and the Conference of Vice Chancellors (CVC) would condone such infamy is a riddle. But now that Nigerian prisons have begun to open up gradually to our ‘bolekaja’ professors, and they are increasingly faced with disgrace, we trust there’s a cure for the malady already.
Of course this talk about professors without commonsense has been triggered by Professor Chukwuma Charles Soludo in Government House, Anambra State.
Recall that this column only a few days ago, called out Prof. Soludo, noting that he acts like he is trapped under the shadows of his kinsman, Mr. Peter Obi.
That article had been prompted by mischief-makers on social media who presented him as teaming up with Lagos Governor, Babajide Sanwoolu to attack Obi.
The truth however, was that they dredged up a 2022 attack by Soludo and placed it side-by-side Sanwoolu’s current comment. So it appeared that both governors were doubling down on Obi.
But if you thought that the recent tanning of Soludo would make him back off Obi, then you never knew an unwise professor.
Last week, Soludo once again showcased his innate unwisdom when he took yet another ifpublic swipe at Peter Obi. It was at the occasion of the reception of President Bola Tinubu in Anambra.
In his welcome remarks, Governor Soludo had boasted that the last time a president visited the State was in 2012 during the era of President Goodluck Jonathan; and at that, it was an occasion to commission a brewery.
Of course that’s a backhanded swipe at Peter Obi who was governor of Anambra at the time and whose government catalysed the berthing in Onitsha of SabMiller, probably the world’s largest brewery today.
Obi was Labour Party Presidential candidate in the 2023 elections. He was President Tinubu’s major rival and justly so, remains his number one critic today. It’s tacky enough that Soludo brought Tinubu to Anambra, what point is to be scored running down Obi before Tinubu in Anambra?
No governor in the north, not to dare say Adamawa, would disparage Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. Ditto for the southwest. No governor would publicly speak ill of Tinubu.
Yet, discerning Nigerians know that both Soludo and Tinubu cannot hold a candle to Peter Obi in terms of governance acumen.
Indeed, Soludo continues to display an astounding lack of commonsense not only in his unprovoked attacks on Obi but in his politics and leadership. He has suggested a stark lack of both social and political intelligence. Soludo now sounds like a certain Reno Omokri who abuses Obi for a living. We excuse Reno because like a mangy dog, he’s forever foraging every waste bin in sight, never satiated. But how do we explain Soludo picking on Obi without let?
Soludo, like Tinubu, has performed below par so far. For instance, if free and fair elections are held today, both of them would fail woefully. That’s how badly they have fared.
In fact, it must be revealed that this very Presidential visit is in aid of political Jerry-mandering towards the 2027 polls. This explains why for the second time, Soludo had sacrificed his own party (APGA) flagbearer, to declare support for APC’s.
In two years, Tinubu hasn’t lifted a stick by way of federal projects in Anambra State nor are there any reasonable appointments of Anambra indigenes in the federal cabinet. Yet Soludo covered Tinubu with heaps of flowery but, empty words. He suborned his traditional rulers to confer Nwanne si Mba title on Tinubu.
On Soludo’s part, he suddenly stirred from slumber in the last six months to realise that four years is not 40 years.
For about 3 years, Nigerians watched him doodle. Having become blinded and tipsy by the frills and dazzle of high office, he didn’t know which foot to put forward. He was like fish out of water.This explains why all he has to present in three years is an amusement park and his luxurious government lodge.
The difference between Obi and Soludo are actually like hundreds of miles apart.
For instance, Soludo started borrowing from the first year and heaven knows how much he has accumulated so far in heaps of debt. Obi never borrowed a dime in eight years. Instead he cleared all previous debts yet saved over N75 billion. A feat no other governor in Nigeria has achieved so far.
Obi had eyes on HDIs, applying an integrated approach anchored on the UN MDGs. He vastly improved the education and health systems. It’s actually a disservice to design to compare Obi with Soludo. They are classes apart.
This may explain why Obi has become Soludo’s target of hate and disparagement.
Soludo’s last outing with his tainted hero, Tinubu reminds one of grandma’s folklore about Onuku who was convinced to put down his rich kin if he wanted to be made rich and belong to the caucus in his brother’s stead.
Onuku didn’t afford himself nary one night of reflection before he consummated the deed.
By dawn, when he knocked on the gate of the conclave they told him a choking ooze of gore seems to announce him. He needs to go wash properly at the stream, he was told … Onuku can still be seen around the village stream today trying to wash clean.
In those days of innocence, we would always watch out for proverbial Onuku each time we passed by the village stream.
There’s so, so much to be said about the needless rivalry soludo has ignited with his brother.
However, Obi in his character has maintained his usual dignified silence, refraining from responding or fighting back, hoping that commonsense would eventually prevail. But not with Soludo…
But it was Chinua Achebe who long admonished that we must beware of the one who kept silent in the face of provocations.
Soludo is known as Mr. Know it all among his people. In fact, he has alienated all the voices of reason in his domain. People like Igwe Nnaemeka Achebe, preeminent clergymen and key Anambra elders. In Igboland, it’s said that it never augurs well for an ‘eze onye agwala m.’ He will come to ruins in no time.
Bottom line: It’s however, the prayer of this column that Soludo doesn’t end up like Onuku of our village lores…
Osuji was editor at The Guardian and Thisday among other national newspapers
Rights activist, Omoyele Sowore has called on the federal government to scrap the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, because it’s no longer relevant to the current realities in the country.
Apart from JAMB, the popular journalist said examination bodies such as the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, Tertiary Education Trust Fund, TETFUND, and Nigerian Education Loan Fund, NELFUND, should be equally outlawed, describing the federal government agencies as useless institutions.
Sowore made this known in a post on his X account following amidst recent backlash against JAMB for conducting a very controversial examination, in which so many candidate failed.
Of the over 1.9 million candidates who sat the UTME, over 1.5 million reportedly scored below 200 out of the maximum 400 marks, while the records from JAMB also indicate that a total of 1,955,069 results were processed, out of which only 4,756 candidates (0.24 per cent) scored 320 and above.
The Board had already admitted the error and has rescheduled the examination for 379,997 candidates. JAMB’s Registrar and chief executive office, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede made this known on Wednesday, at a press briefing in Abuja, the nation’s capital.
In spite of admitting failure on its part, JAMB has not escaped criticism from not a few Nigerians, particularly, from parents and candidates who wrote the examinations.
Reacting to the controversy, Sowore said JAMB and other examination bodies in the country have outlived their relevance, and should be scrapped immediately.
“Time to scrap these extracurricular bureaucratic busybodies …JAMB, NYSC, TETFUND, NELFUND, they are all useless!” Sowore wrote on his X page.
While admitting the error on Wednesday, Prof Ishaq Oloyede, said the exam body regretted that the last exam has brought confusion in the country, saying the error on the part of JAMB has turned the joy of many candidate otherwise.
“What should have been a moment of joy has changed due to one or two errors,” Prof. Oloyede said.
The UTME is a prerequisite for gaining admission to Nigerian universities, Polytechnics and other tertiary institutions in the country.
Meanwhile, not a few has also insisted that the Prof. Oloyede -led JAMB management has performed well in some areas, including the introduction of technology into the conduct of the exam and so, should be allowed to correct its mistake. Scrapping the Board, they argue, would be tantamount to throwing away the baby and the bath water.
The Njiko Igbo Forum, NIF, has insisted that no number of endorsements by sundry groups and political actors will sway the votes of Ndi Igbo in favour of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2027.
This is just as the body, which is an affiliate of the apex Igbo socio-political group, Ohaneze Ndigbo, declared the recent endorsement of the second term ambition of the President by Governor Charles Soludo, as a none issue.
The Source reports that some political players and interest groups have, of recent, been expressing their readiness to back the President’s quest for a second tenure, even when he has not officially indicated interest.
Penultimate week ,during the President’s one day official visit to Anambra State, Governor Soludo enthusiastically announced that his party ,the All Progressive Grand Alliance APGA, has adopted him as its candidate for the 2027 polls.
But in a statement on Wednesday, May 14, 2025, by its National President, Rev Dr Okechukwu Christopher Obioha, the Njiko Igbo Forum,noted that the President will not get more than five percent of the total votes cast in Igbo land .
According to the Forum, the abysmal performance of the President ,and his seemingly unparalleled nepotistic disposition have combined to alienate him from the people of the region.
Besides ,the body fears that the President will be worse in his observed shortcomings ,should he be allowed a second tenure .
“There is no amount of promises made by President Tinubu to any Governor ,or good people of the South East on Infrastructure development,that will sway the Igbo votes in his favour.
“We were promised some of these strategic infrastructural facilities like railways and train services by the Buhari/Tinubu Campaigns in 2022 ,but till date, railway lines are not functioning, but are even more dilapidated and moribund than ever.
“Unfortunately, train services are perfectly working in other parts of the country, except the South East (Igbo) geo-political zone.
“The nepotistic attitude and character of President Tinubu in appointing only a section of the country (Yoruba) to very important and strategic positions ,and undermining the Federal Character principles, speaks volume about what will happen if he returns for the second tenure .
” We urge every Igbo all over the country not to listen to the political rhetorics ,and false representations in the name of campaigns to return Tinubu in 2027″, Rev Obioha stated
The Forum also called for urgent electoral reforms before the next general elections. It expressed strong reservations over the possibilities of the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC conducting free and fair polls under the present arrangements in place.
Specifically, it emphasized the need to make mandatory the electronic transmission of election results particularly the presidential polls.
The Forum noted that the electoral laws and other guidelines presently in place will not allow popular will to prevail during any elections in the country.
The body further called for the zoning of the 2027 Presidential slot to the South East ,in line with the principles of equity and justice .
This is even as it affirmed its confidence in the abilities of Peter Obi, the Presidential flag bearer of the Labour Party LP ,to bail the country out of its present quagmire .
“In 2023, for equity, justice and fairness ,was for the South East ,but the inordinate,and over ambitious grabbed it, and unfortunately has been struggling to run with the grabbed mandate without success .
” Njiko Igbo Forum NIF ,strongly advocates that since 2027 is the last four years of the eight years for the South ,it should be for the South East ,not for any other zone ,and Tinubu in particular”, the Forum noted .
