As controversies rage over Emir Sanusi’s remarks about his resolve not to help the Tinubu government, as many people frown at the new inflation figures announced by the National Bureau of Statistics, as state governors strike a tentative agreement with The Presidency on tax reforms, and as the US is palpitating under a yet-to-be-inaugurated Trump government, wild fires are on rampage in many places. In addition, there are ongoing events in outer space that would give far greater cause for worry, if only more people knew about them.

Concerning the 2025 US wildfires, the impact on Los Angeles has been particularly devastating; with significant loss of life and property. The situation is still fluid as I write. Firefighters battling infernos on all fronts. The fires just keep spreading rapidly and somewhat unpredictably. Look at California. Look at Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura. There are other states with significant impacts, of course. Places like Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico have also experienced wildfires in 2025.

While it is true that containment efforts are progressing steadily, it is also true that strong winds are expected to pose challenges in the coming days. Many residents remain displaced due to mandatory evacuation orders. Many organizations and individuals are providing assistance to those affected by the fires. But more hands are needed. More that the foregoing, the helplessness of a presumably sophisticated and science and technology governed world with AI capacities is shockingly obvious.

As for the cosmic events hinted at in our opening paragraph, much has been going on in the cosmos that we know very little about. On October 5, last year it was said on this page: “We now have a second moon … merrily orbiting the earth …But it is not round. It is not big either. We would most probably not have seen it, or known about it, but for the advances in astronomy and related sciences.  Strictly speaking, this celestial wayfarer is an asteroid, suspected to have gotten here from a set of asteroids that are less than 200 million kilometres away from us”.

Coming now to the present, that is going beyond the matter of the new moon mentioned last year, it is now no news that the heavens will be adazzle with a rare planetary alignment in a few days’ time. The planets Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, Uranus, and Mercury will all be “lined up” in the Elliptic, in a way that they have not done for a long time now. In a few days’ time.

For a planetary alignment to occur, three or more planets must gather closely on the same side of the Sun. But it is called, or considered, a conjunction when this happens with only two planets. And what we are going to witness is not a conjunction of two planets, but a confluence of eight!

Curiously, the year 2025 is replete with multiple planetary alignments. From the January 21 spectacle to the Main Event of January 25. Then there is the one of February 28. Come April i5, there would be a morning alignment of Neptune, Mercury, Saturn and Venus. And August 11 will give us yet another morning alignment of Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Uranus, Neptune and Saturn! Why? Yes, why?

If we have coming the rare, and much talked about, alignment of January 25, why is there another one preceding it by just three days? What is the buildup about? Why after the January 21 large alignment of Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, Venus, and Saturn? Is there any special significance, scientific or otherwise, attached to these planetary alignments? What is this planetary alignment overload for 2025?

Recall that the official view when the asteroid, named Apophis, approached and then sped past the earth last year was that it posed no threat to life here on earth. This was a sensible thing to say, because the asteroid actually did not impact our planet or bother anyone in any way that one could point to. But what if it did, but in ways we could not point to physically?

That the asteroid did not physically impact the earth is not the same thing as saying that its presence and proximity, no matter how temporary, could not have “possibly” had some effects on life on earth? And to think that Apophis is actually the name of the Egyptian god of Chaos! How comforting is that?

In the aforementioned piece on the earth’s new moon of last year, it was said: “The tides we experience in all bodies of water on earth are caused by the gravitational pull of the Moon and Sun. At the Bay of Fundy in Canada, where you have the biggest tide in the world, the difference between low and high tide could be as much as 16.3 metres. But leaving all that, and coming to the simple matter of tides and what causes them, we should simply note that there won’t be high and low tides if there was no moon”.

So, consider this view in both scientific and quasi scientific circles, to wit: “The alignment of several planets is believed to amplify the energies of these planets, prompting changes, introspection, opportunity, and transformation across the globe and across all zodiac signs”. So, what does the coming cosmic spectacle portend?

Rare planetary alignments have been historically linked with significant energy shifts; with implications for people’s emotions, political and social transformations, changes in the physical environment, upheavals in nature, new twists in relationships and possible global changes.

That Yahoo News report of July 30, 2024, about a killer asteroid heading towards the earth, with the title, “Preparations Underway as ‘Planet Killer’ Asteroid, the Size of Cruise Ship, Nears Earth”, made many people to think of a looming disaster. The asteroid would have completely destroyed a big country in one fell swoop if it struck land. It would have triggered floods and tsunamis across beaches and coastal cities all over the world if it struck the ocean instead of land.

And this asteroid, which was first discovered 20 years ago, is expected to pass by the earth again in 2029; and then again in 2036. What will it bring then? Will come any closer to the earth then? Will it, perhaps, impact eh earth; even if partially? We do not know.

Think back to the recent the solar eclipse that attracted less attention than one believed it should have. It came and went. An innocuous news time, no doubt. It made headlines in random and recondite journals of related sciences and nothing more.

Yet that eclipse along with a comet called the Devil Comet by scientists and astronomers. The latter was visible during the eclipse. Why such a name? Yes, why would anyone call a comet Devil Comet within the domain of science and not science fiction or witchcraft? And is it true that astronomers have also recently discovered, or at least are strongly speculating about, another planet within our solar system? Just asking; even though the answer is out there in the public domain.

Because we are all very busy grubbing in mud and sand, like worms, unwilling or unable to raise our heads and think or see more clearly, we may be facing grave dangers from intergalactic radiation that we are totally unaware. And these dangers may just be lurking or prancing all over the place, and in ways, in ways that we are not capable of fathoming.

Since we are living in a world, universe and comic environment that has long since been scientifically confirmed to be nothing more than a network of interconnected radiations, it is time we stopped taking our physicality more seriously that we ought to. Truth is: We cannot really say for sure what the effects of new heavenly bodies on earth and its magnetic field might be.

If we are to take astrologers and seers seriously and consider interplanetary alignments to be moments of amplified energy in our cosmic environment, then we must go further with them and say that these alignments are also often linked with transformations, innovations, and heightened intuitive insights and much more. If January 2025 will bring intense shifts, then with Venus and Mars playing key roles, as the planet of love, and the planet of passion, respectively – setting the stage for self-revelations of various sorts across all spheres.

It is a matter of record that significant interplanetary alignments had coincided in the past with some major global or cultural shifts, including scientific breakthroughs and artistic renaissances; such that they are often seen as heralds of change. But what time of change are we talking about here?

Which brings us to Climate change, which was discussed in he earlier mentioned article. We cannot stop pointing out the fact the 2021 Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Sixth Assessment “gave clear evidence of a steady increase in rainfall in some regions of the world”. Here in Nigeria, no one could explain the type of extended rainy season we experienced last year.

We know that industrial activities lead to rising global temperatures, heat waves, and other climatic and environmental problems. Last June, alone some parts of Europe and Canda faced devastation from wildfires. This year worse fires are gulping up sophisticated cities and technologically stable neighbourhoods.

If the world’s glaciers lost their ice at the rate of 267 billion tonnes per annum, between 2000 and 2019, what dos that say about the overall temperature of the earth and the rate of global warming? With global ice melting very rapidly and increasing sea levels worldwide, will the flooding of coastal cities not be on the increase? Are some earthquakes and volcanic eruptions not traceable to ecologically disruptive human activities?

With rising temperatures leading to a warmer atmosphere and the latter retaining more water vapour and delivering higher levels of rainfall, should we expect htat all would be well.

One thing is clear: we no longer live in a normal world. we no longer live in the cosmic environment of the past. New celestial visitors are coming around here rather too frequently for us to continue to take things for granted. There seems to be a direct connection between the increasing events in our immediate cosmic environment and the increasing confusion and turmoil in human affairs all over the world today.

We shall take up these matters in the new Dailogue Series, to be announced soon.

The United States President-elect, Donald Trump, will hold his inauguration inside the U.S. Capitol on Monday.

Trump explained that the inauguration was moved indoors due to severe cold conditions.

This marks the first time in 40 years that U.S. presidential inaugural ceremonies will take place indoors. The last time an inauguration was held indoors due to severe cold was in 1985, during former Republican President Ronald Reagan’s second swearing-in.

Posting on his Truth Social media handle, Trump wrote: “There is an Arctic blast sweeping the country. I don’t want to see people hurt or injured in any way.

“Therefore, I have ordered the Inauguration Address, in addition to prayers and other speeches, to be delivered in the United States Capitol Rotunda.”

The incoming President also informed his supporters that they could view the ceremony on screens inside the Capital One Arena.

He added that his presidential parade, initially set to feature marching bands and other groups proceeding down Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House, would also be relocated to the Capital One Arena.

Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris of the Democrats in the November 2024 presidential election, securing the highest number of electoral college votes.

[DailyPost]

It was the founding chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, Chief Chekwas Okorie who in 2003 summarised the crisis that followed the kidnapping of Governor Chris Ngige by his erstwhile Anambra godfathers as what happens when thieves come to share their loot.

Some would, however, think it inappropriate to condense the crisis between President Bola Tinubu and his erstwhile royal enabler, Emir Muhammadu Sanusi in the same gutter context.

One can then use the phrase of the English playwright and poet, William Congreve. In his 1697 play, The Mourning Bride, he wrote that “hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.”

Indeed, the Federal Government’s response on Thursday to the criticism of its policies by Emir Sanusi reflected the truth about the falling out between two former political lovers.

Information minister Mohammed Idris in his reaction pointed to the changed dynamics between the emir and the Tinubu government when he referred to “changed loyalties of the emir”.

He spoke against the background of the once fraternal relationship that went back two administrations and 12 years. That was when Sanusi as governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN helped in damaging the Goodluck Jonathan administration with claims that turned out to be false.

The allegation that $20 billion from oil sales went missing was celebrated by the then opposition even when forensic audit showed that no money in that context was missing.

When Sanusi was fired as Central Bank governor, Lai Mohammed, spokesman of the APC claimed it was a smokescreen to cover up the ‘scandal.’

Sanusi was fired when he was attending an international conference in Niger Republic. Remarkably when he returned, he flew over Kano, his birth place, Abuja which was his residence to Lagos into the waiting hands of the opposition leaders in Lagos.

As fate would have it, within a year of his dismissal from the CBN the stool of the emir of Kano became vacant. Against the insistence of Kano kingmakers who wanted Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero, pressure was mounted on the Rabiu Kwankwaso government in Kano to enthrone Sanusi.

Sanusi had been reported as having two ambitions; to be president of Nigeria and emir of Kano. The royal ambition it was claimed was his preference.

Remarkably, another man who had a similar ambition to be president of Nigeria was Bola Tinubu. It was perhaps out of wisdom that Tinubu in the heat of the intrigues to choose a new emir of Kano in 2014 relocated to Kano and pulled the levers for Sanusi.

It was politically shrewd for Tinubu to push for Sanusi to become emir; at least by that act, he had removed a possible contender for the presidency.

Even more, the emergence of Sanusi was also a way of shaming President Jonathan. The man he, Jonathan sacked had been given an even more regal position.

So when Minister Idris spoke of loyalties one could well understand the story of Sanusi and the Tinubu government.

The loyalties began to change after Kwankwaso left office. His successor, Dr Umar Ganduje on account of serial governance issues became embroiled with Emir Sanusi.

It was no secret that both men barely tolerated themselves and after his re-election as governor in 2019, the primary policy of Ganduje in government appeared to be cutting Sanusi’s wings. Indeed, even before he was sworn in for the second term, the proposal to split the Kano emirate emerged in May 2019.

That was apparently not enough. In March 2020, Governor Ganduje deposed Sanusi as the emir of Kano.

By that time, calculations for the 2023 presidential election were already well advanced. Tinubu was already building a solid relationship with Ganduje. The then Kano governor like Senator Kashim Shettima were about the most visible canvassers for the Tinubu project in the North.

It was as such not surprising that in the face of the crisis with Sanusi that Tinubu was restrained in a public reproach of Ganduje.

While Ganduje was successful in the short term in removing Sanusi as emir, his political capacity in standing up to his erstwhile political leader, Kwankwaso failed as he was unable to pass the governorship to his chosen successor in the 2023 election.

Kwankwaso’s choice, the New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP’s Abba Yusuf had in his election manifesto promised to restore Sanusi as emir. He promptly fulfilled his promise and in a jiffy, Sanusi was restored and the legacy of Ganduje in destroying the Kano emirate as he met it was restored.

So, given the fact that what was taken from him was restored by the NNPP it is no brainer for anyone to understand the information minister’s claim of Sanusi’s changed loyalty.

Sanusi’s change of loyalties could also be understood from the circumstances of his close friend, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, the immediate past governor of Kaduna State. El-Rufai was also another person who helped Tinubu to power but who was shockingly thrown out as the government was formed.

When he was dethroned, El-Rufai was the one who travelled to Nasarawa State to bring Sanusi from the rustic confined to by Ganduje. El-Rufai  was helpful in resettling the stylish monarch to a chic life in Lagos.

Whatever, the information minister was on point on the changed loyalties. But how the changed loyalties between Sanusi and Tinubu affect the generality of Nigerians is of little essence. What was between them was a collaboration against Jonathan. When that was finished they fell apart as more personal political issues arose.

FORMER Federal Commissioner for Information and South-South Leader, Chief Edwin Clark has hailed Governor Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta State Governor for his exceptional developmental strides since assuming office on May 29, 2023.

According to the Elder statesman and prominent Ijaw leader, the commendation became imperative against the backdrop of what the governor is doing in the state even though he never supported his election during the 2023 Delta State gubernatorial election.

In an open letter dated 17th January 2025 and made available to Journalists yesterday in Abuja, the Leader of Pan Niger Delta Forum, PANDEF commended Oborevwori for transforming Warri into a bustling what he described as a commercial hub and addressing long-standing infrastructural challenges across the state.

Clark who expressed admiration for the governor’s achievements within a short period and challenged critics to identify any past Delta State governor who has accomplished as much within a comparable timeframe, highlighted Oborevwori’s towards restoring Warri’s status as one of Nigeria’s major commercial centers, which had been neglected by previous administrations.

The leader of Southern and Middle Belt Leaders’ Forum (SMBLF) however hailed the state governor for engaging Julius Berger Construction Company in executing critical projects, including the construction of three flyovers, a cloverleaf interchange, pedestrian bridges, and ancillary road expansions at the DSC Roundabout. The projects, valued at ₦78 billion, are already making significant progress.

Clark said, “Warri is fast becoming a sight to behold, returning to its old self,” Clark wrote.

“The famous Warri Township, which had been reduced to a shadow of itself, is being revitalized under Oborevwori’s leadership.”

Clark who contrasted this with the neglect Warri suffered under prior administrations, which he accused of focusing development on less populated areas while ignoring densely populated commercial hubs like Warri and Uvwie, also applauded Oborevwori’s efforts to ensure that all parts of Delta State benefit from infrastructural projects, just as he cited the ongoing rehabilitation of the long-abandoned Asaba-Ughelli Road and other development projects that have touched nearly every corner of the state.

Clark said, “Today, the story is different. Almost all parts of the state are feeling the impact of Governor Oborevwori’s developments.”

Clark who praised the governor for paying off a debt of over ₦300 billion incurred by the previous administration and for prioritizing people-focused projects over political patronage, urged him to address the neglect of Ijaw communities in Delta State, even as he called for the completion of the Ayakromo Bridge and the Gberegolor/Esama Bridge, urging the state to contribute to these projects being undertaken by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

The Elder statesman who advocated for the establishment of a tertiary institution in the Ijaw region, noting that the Burutu Maritime Academy, one of the oldest educational institutions in the area, has not been upgraded to a university like other schools in the state, lamented thus, “The only significant project carried out by the various governments in the Ijaw area is the Kpakiama Bomodi Bridge.

“It is ironic that areas contributing significant revenue to the state are overlooked in favour of less resourceful regions.”

Clark who urged Governor Oborevwori to remain focused and continue his good work while addressing the needs of oil-producing communities and fostering equitable development across the state, said, “I am not a praise singer. I speak the truth,” Clark affirmed. “Governor Oborevwori has achieved remarkable progress in development and democracy enhancement in Delta State. I urge him to continue undistracted, ensuring no community is left behind.”

The letter read in part, “I watched an interview this morning in one of the nation’s frontline media (Television) houses, which featured the Hon. Commissioner for Works, Delta State, Charles Aniagwu, who came to speak on behalf of the Government of Delta State. I must observe that the journalist who anchored the programme spoke and acted very much uninformedly. Her questions were not based on facts.

“I am conversant with most if not all that has transpired. I was very active in Midwest politics beginning from the agitation for a Midwest Region, culminating in its creation in June 1963. I was in London where we defended the creation of the Region.

“Going back to memory lane. Nigeria was confidently sitting on a three-legged pot, the Eastern Region, Northern Region and the Western Region. The majorities in these Regions dominated and oppressed the minorities so much so that the minorities had to struggle and fight for their survival by forming various organisations to press forward their demands.

“The Calabar-Ogojar-Rivers (COR) State Movement was one of such groups formed in 1953. This movement, with leaders such as Udo Udoma, one of the foremost lawyers in Nigeria, Eyo Ita, a university don, amongst other prominent sons of the area, was formed when they discovered that the area was dominated by our Igbo brothers who made up about 2/3rd of the population. The agitation was against the oppressive attitude of the ruling class. They rose up and said enough was enough when they decided to break away. At this time, the COR Movement was not a political group, but a pressure group. Shortly after that, the late sage, Pere Harold Dappa-Biriye, formed the Niger Delta Congress (NDC) which was a political party.

“Similarly, this attitude was the same in the Western Region where I belonged to, even though I also belonged to the Eastern Region based on my tribe. So, the agitation for the Midwest Region started with people like Dennis Osadebay on the frontline. In June 1963, the Midwest Region was created, thus, making Nigeria a four-legged pot. Today, Nigeria has 36 legs. From an early age, I have been a part of those fighting for my people.

“Like I stated, I was part of those who fought for the creation of the Midwest Region; I participated in patronizing the Midwest Agent House where Justice Josiah A. P. Oki was the Chief Judge of the Midwest Region as the Agent General. When the Midwest Region was created, our taste balls changed; we began eating starch and banga soup, instead of amala. There were no more queues at the Great Portland Street, a street in Westend London, where I had to interpret before I bought a bowl of food because I could not speak the Yoruba language. Even when it was my turn in the queue, sometimes I would be shoved aside. I was 2nd class citizen, living as a 3rd class citizen in London.
I was fully involved in the creation of the Midwest Region, and as it metamorphosed into Midwest State, Bendel State and Delta State. I challenge anyone living, who thinks they know more.

“The most recent was when Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, as Military President/Head of State wanted to create the Edo and Delta States. We were invited to the late Augustus Aikhomu’s house in Ikoyi, Lagos, for discussions. Among those who attended the meeting, were the then Oba of Benin, the then Olu of Warri, Atuwatse 1st, together with other prominent traditional rulers, most of whom have passed on now (may they continue to repose in the bosom of the Lord). The Olu of Warri opposed that Warri be made the capital of the then-proposed Delta State. He was supported by another Itsekiri, my good friend, Allison Ayida.

“Even the immediate past Governor of Delta State, His Excellency, Sen. Ifeanyi Okowa, knows about my contributions, even though I am, today, against him because of some corrupt allegations leveled against him. I contributed to Chief James Onanefe Ibori becoming Governor against the interest of my very good friend, late Sen. David Dafinone, who supported Prof. Yaunwreh, who is also one of my ‘sons’. The only persons I did not contribute/support to becoming Governors were Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan and the present Governor, whom I call my sheriff, Sheriff Oborevwori, because of the circumstances that played out, which I opposed.

“Thus, I challenge anyone to claim otherwise, to show/prove any Governor of Delta State who has achieved so much within such a short period as Sheriff Oborevwori has since he assumed as Governor of Delta State. Warri is fast becoming one of the commercial nerve centres in Nigeria with Julius Berger Construction Company undertaking most of the critical jobs. Time was when major companies such as Julius Berger, Saipem, and other oil companies, left the city because there was nothing for them to do. But since 29th May, 2023, the famous Warri Township is fast becoming a sight to behold, turning to its old self. I can say this for free as a Warri boy since the 1950s. Warri Township is a lively town but was reduced to a shadow of itself.

“Today. Asaba, together with the parts of the old Asaba Division, is booming because Asaba is the State capital.
Governor Sheriff Oborevwori has done wonders in development, enhancing democracy in Delta State. He is giving Warri a facelift.

“The wonder company, Julius Berger is performing wonders, with a contract to build three flyovers, cloverleaf, pedestrian bridges, ancillary road expansion beginning from the DSC Roundabout, valued at a cost of 78 billion naira awarded to them and a good percentage payment made. I recall when most Nigerians, including myself, admired the work which Nyesom Wike used the company to do in Rivers State when he was Governor of the State. The Enerhen Road Junction which was seen as a death trap, is being worked on and will be safe for commuters as a result of the flyover, when completed.

“The previous government abandoned Warri, whilst spending a good chunk of the State revenue in the Delta north area, to the extent of tarring roads into unused bushes for future use, neglecting highly densely populated commercial areas. Hamlets became cities, and cities became hamlets, without a single tarred road, or pipe-borne water. Warri and Uvwie are examples.

“Today, the story is different. Almost all parts of the State are feeling the impact of Governor Oborevwori’s developments. I am informed that work has commenced on the Asaba/Ughelli road which was abandoned for over ten years. There are also several other developments.
Everybody knows that I am not a praise singer. I say things the way they are.

“The Sheriff Oborevwori government has been able to pay off a debt of over N300 billion naira incurred by the previous government.”

[Vanguard]

Donald Trump’s ascension to the 47th President of the United States has sparked intense interest globally, with Nigeria being no exception. As Trump assumes office, Nigerians are eager to understand the potential implications of his presidency on their nation.

Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has already extended congratulations to Trump, expressing his trust that the US president will bring the world closer to peace and prosperity. This sentiment is shared by the Nigerian government, which has acknowledged the significant influence of the US on global affairs.

Historically, US-Nigeria relations have fluctuated depending on the ruling party in the US. During Republican administrations, relations have been characterized by targeted engagement and interests, with a focus on trade and investment. In contrast, Democratic administrations have prioritized democracy, human rights, and development aid.

Under Trump’s first presidency, Nigeria benefited from increased military and counterterrorism support, which could continue under his new administration.

On the economic front, Trump’s transactional approach to foreign policy may lead to increased trade and investment between the US and Nigeria, particularly in sectors like oil and gas. Nevertheless, his administration’s stance on climate change and global health may have far-reaching consequences for Nigeria’s development.

In the realm of global politics, Trump’s presidency may lead to a shift in the dynamics of international relations, with potential implications for Nigeria’s position within the global community. As the world navigates this new landscape, Nigerians will be watching closely to see how Trump’s administration will engage with their nation.

Ultimately, the impact of Trump’s presidency on Nigeria will depend on various factors, including his administration’s policies, the response of the Nigerian government, and the evolving global context. As the situation unfolds, one thing is certain – the relationship between Nigeria and the US under Trump’s leadership will be closely scrutinised.

Folawiyo Kareem Olajoku, a governance, policy, and strategy professional, can be contacted via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Emir of Kano Muhammadu Sanusi II on Wednesday became an involuntary, if narcissistic and self-important, humorist who embodied the age-old wisecrack that says when you put a crown on a clown, he turns the palace into a circus and reduces royalty to a comedy show.

At the 21st Memorial Lecture of Chief Gani Fawehinmi in Lagos, he provoked a burst of hearty laughter in me when he said although he endorses the soul-crushing economic reforms of his “friends” in the Tinubu administration, he wouldn’t defend those “reforms” because the people in the administration have failed to requite his friendship. You can’t make this stuff up!

“I have chosen not to speak on the economy, or reforms or to explain anything because if I explain it, it will help this government,” he said. “But I don’t want to help this government. They are my friends, but if they don’t behave like friends, I won’t behave like a friend.”

That is the literal characterization of what’s called quid pro quo, which is Latin for “this for that,” “something for something,” or a “favor for a favor.” In colloquial English, it’s called "You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours."

When an adult of Sanusi’s learning, symbolic stature, and social status publicly, even if slyly, solicits a quid pro quo of you-scratch-my-back, I'll-scratch-yours with a government whose suffocating policies he approves, the act inspires laughter because it is uncharacteristically juvenile and desperate. 

Nonetheless, we need to unpack the fallacies and underlying assumptions in Sanusi’s absurdly self-conceited egotism. 

He said, “I can give a few points here about what we are going through and how it was predictable and avoidable. But I am not going to do that.” 

Well, he has actually done that multiple times in the past. In fact, he did it during the very speech where he claimed he wouldn’t. 

By saying, “What we are going through today is at least, in part, a necessary consequence of decades of irresponsible management. People were warning that if we continued the way that we were going, this is how we would end up, but they refused to listen,” he effectively did what exactly he said he wouldn’t do. 

 I can predict with almost mathematical precision what Sanusi will say tomorrow in defense of Tinubu’s brutally punishing “reforms” because Sanusi has a limited, predictable repertoire of apologetics for the neoliberal theology he has been a zealous evangelist for since at least 2011.

Shortly after Tinubu took over power, for instance, he visited the Presidential Villa and was ecstatic, even giddy, in his extolments for Tinubu’s unilateral, precipitous, and ill-advised removal of subsidies, which inaugurated the ongoing unbearable torment in the land.

His response to State House correspondents’ questions about the visit is worth reproducing at length: 

“We’ve been friends since his first term as governor of Lagos State when I was a banker. And I have not seen him since the elections…. So, the first reason [for my visit] was to come and congratulate him formally. 

“But also, I wear many caps. I wear the cap of an economist, so I came to thank him for the steps he has taken to put this economy on course. As you know, many of the issues that we have been talking about—eh, the subsidy that has caused a hemorrhage on the fiscus, the multiple exchange rate regimes, and so on. 

“These are issues that I have personally been talking about for a long time, and I am happy that on his very first day, he has addressed these issues and the markets are happy. And it is important [that] when the government does the right thing for us to give them feedback. [It’s] not always when they do the wrong thing that you complain.”

By the end of 2023 when the injurious consequences of the double whammy of subsidy removal and currency devaluation began to take shape and there were fears that mass hunger and disillusionment could spark social and communal convulsions, Sanusi came to the defense of the Tinubu administration with all he had.

“It’s injustice for anyone to blame the Tinubu administration for the current economic hardship because there is no other alternative than the removal of the fuel subsidy,” Sanusi said in a widely shared article he reportedly wrote in a WhatsApp group. “After all, Nigeria cannot even afford to pay the subsidy.”

He said the downward spiral in the economy was the direct consequence of Muhammadu Buhari’s stubborn refusal to heed his counsel to “firmly and unequivocally eliminate fuel subsidies,” not Tinubu’s removal of subsidies. It’s counterfactual logic, but Sanusi isn’t known to deploy the resources of logic, evidence, or even basic common sense when he evangelizes the false gospel of neoliberal salvation. 

His solution to the ruthless decimation of the poor and the hollowing out of the middle class was for people to learn to live within their means and for economically well-off people who feel so inclined to help people who are less fortunate than they are. He freed the government of any obligation to cut waste and to tend to the needs of a badly hurting country.

“I can only plead with the people to endure the hardship, and those who have the means to help the downtrodden should do so,” he said. “I am also pleading with commoners to live according to their earnings; we must not peg our lives above our earnings in this difficult situation where people are looking for what to eat.”

Never mind that the poor are writhing in pain not because they are living above their earnings but because their little earnings have lost their worth because of the policies he advocated.

So, what more could Sanusi possibly say in defense of the cruel policies of his “friends” who have turned to his “fiends” than he has already said? 

That’s why his sneaky quid-pro-quo proposition to the Tinubu administration is so irresistibly hilarious in its sterile juvenility. He has by now exhausted his entire armory of neoliberal apologetics. 

He already said the “markets are happy” with Tinubu’s reforms and that the people whose happiness has been stolen to make the markets happy should learn to “endure the hardship.” He’s no longer useful to his friends.

The second assumption that needs to be unpacked stems from the first. And it is that Sanusi imagines himself to be some nonpareil persuasive genius whose unrivaled communicative aptitude can magically cause suffering Nigerians to forget their sorrows and mollify their anger. 

He wants his friends in government to believe that he is withholding these astonishingly unparalleled swaying powers because his show of friendship to them hasn’t been reciprocated. 

“They don’t even have people with pedigree that can come and explain to the people what they are doing,” he said. “I am not going to help. I started by helping, but I am not going to help. Let them come and explain to Nigerians why they are pursuing the policies that they are pursuing.”

Had I not watched the video of these remarks, I would have said these rants were the vapors of someone’s febrile and depressed imagination, falsely attributed to Sanusi.

Sanusi, by these statements, is passing himself off as someone “with pedigree” who, if his friendship were requited, can “come and explain to the people” why they are starving and dying because of economic “reforms,” and the people would be calm, understanding, and accept their deaths by instalment with equanimity and even gratitude. Such delusion of grandeur! Such entertainingly comical megalomania!

But what is Sanusi’s record in this business of telling people who are dying that their death is inevitable, that the happiness of the markets is more important than the wellbeing of the people?

In 2012, he was one of the major architects and defenders of the removal of petrol and other subsidies. He clashed with human rights activists like Femi Falana (whose concerns about the cost of subsidy removal on the poor Sanusi infamously dismissed as “not an economic argument.”) 

He also clashed with scholars such as the late Pius Adesanmi who worried about the implication of high petrol price on generators, which is the main source of electricity for the poor. Sanusi dismissed this concern with the false claim that generators run on diesel, not petrol.

Yet, with all his “pedigree” and unmatched persuasive powers (the kind he is supposedly withholding from his “friends”), he failed to dissuade the masses of the people from flooding the streets in the #OccupyNigeria protests.

The truth about Sanusi, as I have repeatedly pointed out, is that he is a self-loving sadist who actually derives delight from the misery of the masses. His only grouse with the Tinubu administration is that it is undermining the emirship he invested princely sums to recapture through massive financial contributions to Governor Abba Kabiru Yusuf’s election. 

So, the “quo” in his wily, unstated, but nonetheless evident quid-pro-quo suggestion was for the Tinubu administration to withdraw its seeming support for former Emir Aminu Ado Bayero. Then he will transform into a propagandist to defend and justify your suffering. But what Nigerians want is a relief from their hardship, not a callous justification for why they must endure it.