The Managing Director of Financial Derivatives Company Limited, Bismarck Rewane, has predicted that petrol prices in Nigeria will continue to decline until June 2025, citing market competition and production efficiencies as key factors.

Speaking on Channels Television’s ‘Business Morning’ on Tuesday, March 4, 2025, monitored by our correspondent, Rewane explained that the recent fuel price reductions by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and Dangote Refinery signalled a downward trend that will persist in the coming months.

According to him, “So, generally, between now and June, we will see prices begin to decline. But after June, as things stabilize, depending on what happens in the global oil and currency market, we might begin to see some stabilization.”

He emphasised that the ongoing price competition between NNPCL and Dangote Refinery would primarily benefit consumers. “In a price war, nobody wins; the consumers win in the short run, and then eventually, the market goes back to where it should be. But, at the end of the day, between now and June, the price leadership will be firmly established,” he said. He further noted that Dangote Refinery’s ability to reduce prices is largely due to improved production cost efficiency.

Dangote Refinery recently announced a reduction in its petrol pump price, with MRS Holdings stations selling at ₦860 per liter in Lagos, ₦870 per liter in the South-West, ₦880 per liter in the North, and ₦890 per liter in the South-South and South-East. Similarly, AP (Ardova Petroleum) and Heyden stations adjusted their prices to ₦865 per liter in Lagos, ₦875 per liter in the South-West, ₦885 per liter in the North, and ₦895 per liter in the South-South and South-East.

Following this development, NNPCL also lowered its pump price to ₦860 per liter across its stations in Lagos. However, the corporation has yet to make an official announcement regarding the price change.

With the continued adjustments, all eyes remained on the market as analysts anticipate whether prices will stabilise after June, as projected by Rewane.

[Leadership]

Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo state says he will disclose his preferred successor in January 2026.

Makinde, who was re-elected in 2023, is ineligible for another term.

Speaking on Monday in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital, during the 11th Omituntun Ramadan lecture, Makinde expressed gratitude to Muslim leaders for their support.

He also made a lighthearted remark directed at socialite Abbas Oloko, asking him not to remove his billboard at Isale Alfa, as the image of his chosen successor would be displayed there in January 2026.

He asked Muslim faithful to use the Ramadan season to reflect on the need for peaceful coexistence in society irrespective of religious leanings.

The governor said: “I’m not yet a lame duck. Please leave my billboard at Isale Alfa.

“In January 2026, we know that political activities will start. I will tell you the picture of the person that will be installed there.”

Makinde had also previously stated that he will have a say in his successor.

While receiving a report on public service reforms in October 2024, he declared that he would influence the choice of the next governor, particularly within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

He said: “So those people that are campaigning to be the next governor still have to wait because I still have till May 29, 2027. And I’ll also have a say in who is going to become the next governor.

“I may not have my way, it’s Oyo State people that will decide, but I’ll have a say, especially those in PDP will have me to contend with because I’m still the one controlling the structure.”

The United States should work with China in the same direction to resolve trade disputes through equal-footed consultation, a Chinese spokesperson advised on Tuesday, stressing that pressure or threat will not work.

Lou Qinjian, the spokesperson for the third session of the 14th National People’s Congress, China’s national legislature, made the remarks at a news conference.

Commenting on the US decision to impose an additional 10-per cent tariff on goods imported from China, Lou said the US unilateral tariff move violated the World Trade Organisation rules.

He said the move also disrupted the security and stability of global industrial and supply chains.

“China stands ready to work with the US to address each other’s concerns through dialogue and consultation on the basis of mutual respect, equality, reciprocity and mutual benefit.

“It will never accept any act of pressuring or threatening. We will firmly defend our national sovereignty, security and development interests,” he said.

Lou further stated that China is hoping that the US can return to the path of resolving problems through dialogue and consultation.

[DailyPost]

Movie star Bukky Wright has opened up about the difficulties actresses encounter in their relationships, particularly with Nigerian men. 

In an interview with Ebuka Obi-Uchendu on Channels TV, Wright revealed that many actresses struggle to find suitable partners due to the nature of their profession.

She explained that some men who pursue actresses often have ulterior motives, such as seeking fame or clout, rather than genuine love. 

She further noted that when the “right” men do come along, they often lack the emotional maturity to handle a relationship with a strong, independent woman.

According to Wright, Nigerian men are generally unprepared to embrace the independence and self-sufficiency of a self-made woman.

She said: “To be very honest, it affects homes, it affects your marriage but at the same time do you get the right men to come to you? Most of the time it’s a no, because the men who feel they’re right for you, I had someone ask, where do I start from, I’ll be like seriously? Start from wherever, start from the beginning, you’re a man, and I’m a woman. But unfortunately, you get to find out that the men that have the guts to talk to you as an actress are probably, I don’t want to say, clout chasers.

“But you won’t blame the women in the Industry because these are the men that come up to them, and for somebody that has that kind of intention, what do you expect out of that marriage? And at times when the right men come, a lot of them don’t have what it takes to be with a self-made woman or a popular actress, sometimes they get jealous on what they’re not supposed to get jealous on forgetting that you met this woman doing this job, you saw her on the screen as an actress, you saw her as a self-made woman before you approached her, so what is it you’re jealous of, is it the fame or what?

“Because I’ve seen a lot of things, I’m going to say this has happened to me, I’ll just say that Nigerian men are not ready for a self-made woman. I’m sorry if this comes as an insult, but are you ready for a self-made woman? Are you ready for an independent woman? because if you want an independent woman or if you want a strong woman, trust me there are some things that you can’t get”.

She concluded that men who desire a submissive partner should consider seeking someone who is not ambitious or driven, as a strong-willed woman will inevitably rebel against attempts to suppress her aspirations.

“But if you want a woman that will always succumb to you, I’ll say go to your village, and get somebody that is not aspiring to be anything in life because if a woman is aspiring to be something and you marry her, and you’re now trying to pull her down, she’ll rebel”, she added.

[TheNation]

Jigawa State Governor, Umar Namadi, has approved a reduction in working hours for civil servants during the 2025 Ramadan fast.

The announcement was made in a statement issued on Tuesday by the Public Relations Officer of the State Head of Civil Service, Muhammad Dagaceri, in Dutse, the state capital.

“Effective immediately, civil servants in the state will now report to the office at 9:00 AM and close at 3:00 PM from Monday to Thursday.

“This represents a reduction of two hours from the previous closing time of 5:00 PM. On Fridays, civil servants will report to work at 9:00 AM and close at 1:00 PM, as is customary,” he said. 

Dagaceri explained that the adjustment aims to allow civil servants more time to prepare for the daily Ramadan break and engage in spiritual activities.

“It is hoped that civil servants in the state will use the Ramadan period to pray for God’s guidance and blessings for our state,” Dagaceri stated.

He also emphasised the importance of praying for peace and economic prosperity for both the state and Nigeria as a whole.

“The reduction in working hours is a welcome move for civil servants in the state, who will now have more time to focus on their spiritual activities during the holy month.

“We want to provide them with ample time to observe their spiritual activities and prepare for the Ramadan break,” he said.

The government’s decision, he added, reflects its commitment to creating a supportive work environment for employees, especially during the holy month.

“Civil servants in the state are expected to take advantage of this opportunity to focus on their spiritual activities and spend quality time with their families,” he stated.

Former Presidential Adviser, Senator Florence Ita-Giwa, has faulted Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan’s sexual harassment claim, saying once women become senators, they can’t be sexually harassed.

Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan had recently claimed on a live television programme that the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, frustrated her moves to raise motions about Ajaokuta Steel Company in Kogi State because she refused to sleep with him.

However, while reacting to Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan’s sexual allegation against the Senate President on Arise TV on Tuesday, March 4, 2025, Senator Ita-Giwa said women can’t claim to be sexually harassed when they are elected into the Senate.

The former lawmaker for Cross-River South Senatorial District believes it is a sign of weakness for female senators to complain about sexual harassment.

She said, “By the time you contest elections and get to Senate, you have passed that stage of your life of being sexually harassed. You go there to serve, and you are all equal in that place. And again, it shows weakness; you don’t allow it. It (sexual harassment) can not happen in the Senate.

“I am not saying the lady is lying, but when you get to the Senate, you’re there as a person. You’re not there as a woman.

“At that stage in politics, if you come out and say someone is sexually harassing you, it is a weakness.”

When asked if female lawmakers should keep quiet when their colleague sexually harasses them, Ita-Giwa insisted that it is a sign of weakness for female senators to accuse their colleagues of making passes at them.

“On this matter, I am not with Senator Akpoti. It is the worst sign of weakness on a woman’s part to come out and accuse a man of making passes at you at that level,” she said.

She maintained that female senators should see themselves as equal lawmakers to their male counterparts because winning senatorial elections is not easy.

Vanguard News

Jude Okoye, the elder brother and former manager of the defunct music group P-Square, has been remanded in prison after his arraignment on fresh charges of $1,019,763.87 and £34,537.59 fraud.

On Monday, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) filed fresh four-count charge alleging that Okoye “dishonestly converted” funds received as music proceeds from three companies to his own use.

According to the charges, Okoye’s actions were intended to permanently deprive his brother Peter ‘Mr. P’ Okoye of his benefits from the payment.

The charges, dated January 27, 2025, specifically stated that Okoye and his company Northside Music Limited converted the following amounts:

“$767,544.15 paid by Lex Records Limited as payment for music digital distribution/publishing royalties. £34,537.59 paid by Lex Records Limited as payment for music digital distribution/publishing royalties,” it reads in part.

“$133,566.49 paid by Kobalt Music Services Limited as payment for music digital distribution/publishing royalties.

“$118,652.23 paid by Mech Limited as payment for music digital distribution/publishing royalties.

The EFCC alleged that Okoye’s actions contravene sections 278 and 285 of the criminal law of Lagos State of 2011.

On Tuesday, Okoye, who appeared before Ramon Oshodi, a justice of the Ikeja high court,  pleaded “not guilty” to the charges.

Clement Onwuenwunor, the defence counsel, informed the court that Okoye has a similar case ongoing at the Ikoyi court and has been granted bail.

He argued that the dispute is between Okoye and his Psquare brothers and that his client is a prominent entertainer who would not jump bail.  

The lawyer asked the court to grant bail to Okoye pending the start of his trial.

However, MK Bashiru, the prosecuting lawyer, opposed the request, stating that he is yet to file a response to the bail application.

In his ruling, Oshodi said he cannot “hastily grant the bail application” because he needs to be fully aware of the filing.

The judge asked the prosecuting counsel to file a response to the bail application pending the hearing on March 6.

The trial was scheduled for May 16 and 23.

Okoye’s latest ordeal comes barely a day after he was granted N100 million bail over alleged fraud charges.

Last week, he was arraigned by EFCC on charges of laundering N1.38 billion, $1 million, and £34,537.59.

He pleaded “not guilty” to the charges and was remanded in the Ikoyi correctional facility by Alexander Owoeye, the judge of a federal high court in Ikoyi, Lagos.

ORIGIN OF CONTROVERSY

The controversy began in 2017 with the feud between Paul Okoye and his twin brother Peter. The rift led the brothers to split their group Psquare and pursue solo careers.

The twins were said to have parted ways after a disagreement on the role of Jude — their older brother who was their manager then.

Though they reunited in November 2021, their reconciliation was short-lived.

In August 2024, Paul revealed another fallout, accusing Peter of orchestrating his arrest by the anti-graft commission.

Peter, however, denied the allegations and accused Jude of diverting millions of dollars from their joint account into a secret company.

He said he was left with no choice but to involve the EFCC after Paul asked him to “do your worst” during their last conversation on the matter.

Responding to the accusations, Jude said he had done everything possible, even “sacrificing himself,” to mend the rift between his brothers.

[TheCable]

All through the last Yuletide, the grapevine in Enugu State was abuzz with speculations that Chijioke Edeoga, the Labour Party (LP) state governorship candidate in the 2023 election, was getting restless watching political actions from the sidelines. Speculations centred on his possible move away from the party on which platform he came close to becoming the state’s helmsman, to either the All Progressives Congress (APC) that holds sway at the federal level or the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that was his nemesis in 2023.

Reports of his closed door meetings with leaders of the PDP in the state did not raise many eyebrows, and neither did his picture, which surfaced online with the state chairman of the APC, Barr. Ugochukwu Agballah and the Hon. Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Hon. Uche Nnaji. Those who have followed his political trajectory in the past 2 years were prepared to swear they were mere pieces of propaganda. That was until the event of Friday, January 31, 2025, gave flesh to the rumor when he hosted officials of the state PDP exco in his Enugu home. The reality is that after evaluating the state’s political landscape and its changing dynamics, Edeoga appears to be considering dumping the LP for a new political platform.

The PDP visit was so well choreographed to massage his ego and provide him good reasons to decamp. In political parlance, it is called ‘soft landing’.

The team led by the state PDP Chairman, Martins Chinweike, explained that they were there on behalf of Governor Peter Mbah to ‘beg’ Edeoga to return to the party. “We’re at the residence of His Excellency, Hon. Chijioke Edeoga…we’ve had a lot of discussions before now and today, we have come to consult with him and he’s very satisfied with our visit…I believe, from what he told us that we are going to have him back in the party.” That to me was the clincher. Nothing can be more compelling than for a politician to be so openly ‘begged’ by a state governor. Though Edeoga promised to respond to their request after consulting his supporters, one can correctly predict the outcome of the ‘consultation’. Indeed, what transpired on Friday, January 31, was more of an engagement party between a beautiful political bride and the preferred suitor, the Peoples Democratic Party.

It should suffice at this point, therefore, to try making sense of the factors that brought Edeoga to this threshold.

To many, his possible political move sounds distasteful. Why would he abandon that platform that gave him fame and which became a rallying point against the PDP in Enugu State? A good question, I dare say, except it brings us to another question: What other options does the man have? Events of the past 20 months have left him with only two options: to either stay back and languish in a party that has lost its soul or to seek new political adventures elsewhere. If he chooses the latter, the reasons are not far-fetched.

While opposition politics is essential for democracy, it has been difficult for him in the LP which now lacks basic organizational strength. Like the fish that started rotting from the head, the once vibrant platform that was energized by Peter Obi in 2023 has become so debilitated by a festering leadership crisis at the national level which has weakened its structures down to the states, local government areas and the wards. The scenario in Enugu State is even more pitiable as the party has become a shadow of itself in spite of its heroics in the last election. Most of the 14 members elected as lawmakers to the state assembly have since decamped into the ruling PDP with only 6 of them still in the Labor Party.

For a man who left the PDP for the LP, Edeoga has found himself abandoned in the party and increasingly isolated from the two ends of the state’s political divide. After a bruising electoral contest in which he was sapped psychologically and financially, he was ill-positioned to mount any strong opposition; the party’s elected officials who could have provided momentum, found it more expedient to join the ruling party in the state. At the federal level, as many as 3 of the members in the House of Representatives, namely Barr. Cyriacus Umeha (Ezeagu/Udi) Hon. Sam Atu (Enugu North/Enugu South) and Hon. Chidi Obetta (Nsukka/Igboeze South) are believed to be aligning towards the APC.

So, who are still in the LP for Edeoga to consult? There are very few, indeed, and his promise to first consult his party leaders before giving the PDP a response was simply to fulfill all righteousness. The once-bubbling camp of the Labour Party in Enugu State has become deserted.

If indeed the speculation is true that he plans to defect to the APC or PDP, the big issue will be the moral question. It will be viewed as betrayal of the party that gave him the platform to challenge for the governorship in 2023. For the thousands who viewed LP as a movement for political change, supported his ambition and braced the odds to vote for him, defection will smell like opportunism —using the party for personal gain and discarding it when convenient. They would view him rightly or wrongly as a man who lacks credibility, one who prioritizes personal ambition over party loyalty.

But that will be one side of the coin.

In politics, ideological consistency is important, but so is political realism. The party Edeoga went into the contest with is no longer what it is today, and in the awkward position he finds himself today, his survival has become the overriding issue. As the doctrine of political relevance emphasizes, a politician must remain active, strategically positioned, and influential to stay relevant. Idealists would always view it as detestable, yes, but that is the reality. For a man who has been abandoned by the many elected officials on the party’s platform, Edeoga’s staying power must be running low, and he now runs the risk of fading into political obscurity and irrelevance. In any case, has he been any use to the thousands of supporters who pinned their hopes – politically and economically – on him, and whom he is increasingly unable to cater for?

Edeoga finds himself at the crossroads and I don’t envy him a bit. While opting for the APC could position him for a strategic appointment at the federal level where he once served as a senior aide to former President Goodluck Jonathan, the attraction to the PDP is more compelling, obviously. The rumour is thick in the air that the PDP ticket for the Enugu East Senate for 2027 is already being dangled in his face. If that is true, it becomes much easier to picture him returning to the PDP, a platform which will allow him to rebuild old relationships and position himself as a key player in the party’s future.

It’s a choice between the symbolism that the Labour Party represents and the tangible opportunities of political relevance – the lifeblood of any politician’s career – that PDP now offers. Most Nigerian politicians who faced similar situations before now, afraid they would end up in the political wilderness, followed their heads rather than their hearts. The more reason anyone can wager that Edeoga will return to the party that he called home for over 23 years before the governorship contest took him away.

For the PDP and Governor Peter Mbah, who has indicated a personal interest in Edeoga’s return, it will be a win-win situation for both sides. While the possibility of another potent challenge to the governor’s second term ambitions becomes more remote, having Edeoga on his side would allow him take some naps with both eyes closed as permutations commence for the 2027 elections.

The visit of key political, religious and traditional leaders from Akwa Ibom State to President Tinubu last Friday has triggered lively discussions in the state on the next political move of Gov. Umo Eno. Will he or will he not defect to the APC? The 105-member delegation, comprising both PDP and APC members, as well as business and traditional chiefs, was led by both Senator Godswill Akpabio and the governor. It was a culmination of a series of events orchestrated by the governor since he assumed office to bring members of the two parties together under a canopy of harmony and unity. Eno has inherited a politically fractious and disunited state in which the two dominant political parties in the state have been perpetually at war with each other since 2013. But through deft reconciliatory tactics over the last 20 months, he has broken down partisan barriers that created divisions and acrimony along political lines. Akwa Ibom state has not enjoyed so much cordiality and togetherness since 1999, and the spinoff is this lively debate on his political future.

The meeting in the Villa was in two phases. First, President Tinubu met with Senator Akpabio; Gov. Eno and former governor Udom Emmanuel for over two hours in the president’s meeting room, next to his office, after which the quartet walked across the hallway into the Executive Council Chamber, where the full delegation was already seated for the formal event. Details of their discussions are still sketchy, but I have spoken to no fewer than 10 persons in and outside Akwa Ibom who should know, and I understand that two major related issues dominated the discussions: reconciliation of Senator Akpabio with Udom Emmnauel and the 2027 reelection of the President. With the open revolt of some governors and key politicians from the North against the President and his policies, and their open threats to work against his reelection, the president’s strategists are focusing on persuading all the eight opposition governors in the South to either decamp to the APC or work for the reelection of the President. The thinking is that if Tinubu wins all the 17 southern states, it would be easier for him to retain Aso Rock.

Gov. Umo Eno has publicly pledged to support the reelection of the president, but there’s been enormous pressure on him to join the President's party. The thaw in the frosty relationship between Akpabio and Udom Emmanuel is thus part of the broad strategy to swing the state to the governing party in 2027.

But among PDP members in Akwa Ibom, the possibility of the governor defecting is a difficult subject to broach. ‘’The governor has not told me about it; and I think I’m in a position to know if that was being considered’’, said Onofiok Luke, a respected PDP leader who had served as the Speaker of the House of Assembly and member of House of Reps. He added reflectively: ‘’unless it’s on a need-to-know basis’’. Another PDP chieftain, Chief Ndueso Essien acknowledges the possibility of some people piling pressure on the governor to defect because of his popularity and likability, but the important thing is the governor’s response to the overtures being made to him. ‘’The governor has not briefed me about it and until he informs me, it remains a rumour’’, said Chief Essien, a former minister and member of House of Reps.

On the other hand, APC members are quite enthusiastic at the prospects of Umo Eno joining their party. Chief (Arc) Otu Ita Toyo is hopeful that that the governor would contest his reelection on the platform of APC and would be overwhelmingly reelected. ‘’Umo Eno will achieve a lot, especially in completing Ibom Deep sea Port if he aligns fully with the President at the centre’’, he told this writer.

But the visit was no all about 2027. Inside the Council chamber, Gov. Eno made three important requests to the President, ‘’two of which have consequential effects on us as a sub national’’. First, he asked for the refund of billions of Naira spent on ‘’containing potential ecological disasters from the Ecological Funds’’. The governor listed the various ecological remediation projects the state had funded over the years, and noted that even his official residence and office were being threatened by gully erosion. Tinubu nodded intermittently. The second request is for the president to support the realization of the Ibom Deep Sea Port project. This is the number one dream of every Akwa Ibom person, and even a primary school pupil would have guessed right that it would feature in his speech.The governor wants the president to direct NPA to execute the Concession Agreement with the Port Development and Management Company (PDMC) because the ‘’realization of this project will be an economic game-changer for our state, region and the nation’’.

The third request came in the form invitation to the president to visit Akwa Ibom in May and commission some projects, notably the Arise Recreation and Leisure Park which is located on a large parcel of land previously ravaged by gully erosion. Designed as a family-themed leisure park, it consists of a nine-hole golf course; swimming pool; conference hall; children playground; lawn tennis courts and other facilities and 20 tastefully-furnished guest apartments. The adjoining land would be laid out as a residential estate. The concept reminds me of a friend I visited in Texas, US, whose home adjoins a golf course. It was so nice sitting out on his porch and watching rich Americans play golf. I have visited the Arise Park twice, and I’m amazed at the enormity of the project. The UNDP Resident Representative in Nigeria, Elsie Attafuah, is equally impressed. ‘’Seeing the Arise Park project firsthand is an eye-opening experience. The level of planning and execution is commendable and I sincerely hope to be part of this great transformation unfolding in Akwa Ibom", she said as she toured the site with Information Commissioner Aniekan Umanah.

From the Villa, the Akwa Ibom delegation went straight to the Hilton Hotel where a lavish dinner was held for them by the Senate President. Here, Chief Don Etiebet; Arc. Ita Toyo; Senator Helen Esuene and Akpabio himself spoke, with some making tangential references to the ‘’expected’’ political tsunami in the state. While some PDP members sat deadpan and somewhat somber, speaker after speaker commended the governor for bringing Akwa Ibom together in a political harmony and unity. Senator Akpabio urged the governor not to be discouraged by critics from charting his own political course. The Senate President looked across the room and acknowledged Senator Emmanuel Ibok Essien, the owner of Ritman University, Ikot Ekpene. Akpabio, in his characteristic wisecracks, noted that he was the founding Chancellor of the University soon after he left office as governor, and his photograph is still hanging at the Senate Building, but incidentally, it was at the university that Senator Ibok Essien and others met in 2023 to plan for him to lose the 2023 election. He asked Ibok Essien to invite him for the next convocation. There were laughs and applause.

Chief Don Etiebet described the day as one of his best political moments and praised the governor for orchestrating a new season of love, unity, peace and concord in the state. Every governor in the state before the incumbent has fought Etiebet for one reason or the other despite the fact that he has been a benefactor to them all, one way or the other. Another beautiful moment of the day was the embrace and handshake between Senator (Obong ) Bassey Albert (OBA) with the governor. The two were the bitterest contestants in the 2023 governorship election in the state. It reminded me of the ferociousness with which Umana Umana and Udom Emmanuel went for each other to get the top job in 2015.

The following day, the delegates flew back to Uyo in the chartered flight provided by the governor clutching the beautiful gift packs provided by the Senate President. But the question still remains: which way, Pastor Umo Eno in 2027?

Okechukwu Isiguzoro, Deputy President General of Igbo socio-cultural organization, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, last week demanded N10tn reparation and a letter of apology from President Bola Tinubu because of “the erroneous classification of the 1966 January coup as an Igbo insurrection”. He commended Babangida “for his exemption of the Igbo people from the unjust label of being ‘enemies of the North’ whilst not forgetting to hail him over his claim that the objective of Nzeogwu and his fellow insurrectionists was “to free Chief Obafemi Awolowo from prison and install him as Nigeria’s leader”.

The problem is that besides Isuguzoro, I am not sure many Nigerian will take Babangida serious. This is a man who has been trying to rationalize the unjust and malicious murder of Mamman Vatsa, his child hood friend while Vatsa’s appeal over alleged coup plotting was pending (General Donkat Balli The News May 22, 2006), a con man who took Nigerian through “eight years of transition without end” only to annul the most credible election in our nation’s history won by MKO Abiola his friend and business partner only to resort to buck passing 32 years later. And this is a man whose controversial book has been described as “a collection of distorted facts which cannot serve as a reference book for the younger generation but a good reference book for criminal-minded people”. (Jonathan Vatsa, Punch Feb 28). It is doubtful if much weight can be attached to Babangida’s mendacities. There are just too many lose ends in his tales.

For instance, he claims the  “primary objective of the January 1966 coup was to free Chief Obafemi Awolowo from prison and install him as Nigeria’s leader” without telling us his source. And if his source was Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu who first sold the dummy during an interview, that also only raises more questions. If Ojukwu, who claimed to have foiled the coup in Kaduna while Aguiyi Ironsi foiled it in Lagos, were in possession of such privileged information, what stopped the duo from releasing Awo from an unjust incarceration despite his three different letters of appeal to Ironsi?

And if the coup plotters were performing their duty as custodian of the constitution as Babangida would want us to believe, the cleansing ought to have started with premiers Okpara and Ahmadu Bello, who refused to recognize Dauda Adegbenro, the Western Region recognised premier, followed by President Azikiwe and Prime Minister Balewa, who masterminded an illegal declaration of state of emergency in the West, imposition of Akintola of NNDP and Fani Kayode of NCNC as premier and deputy premier without election and  imprisonment of Awo over a fabricated claim he was about to overthrow the government of Her Majesty, the Queen.

And lastly, Babangida is a master of obfuscation; there is no evidence in our recent history to show Igbo ‘are enemies of Hausa/Fulani’ or that there has been any form of love lost between Igbo and Yoruba. Indeed if the phrase that best captures relationship between the former is ‘conjugal bliss’, the later will be “hell hath no fury like a woman scorned”.

When it comes to power sharing, Igbo find Hausa/Fulani irresistible. For instance, following the outcome of the 1959 election Awo conceded leadership to Zik and agreed to work under him as finance minister. While his group was waiting in Asaba to seal the deal, Zik and his group were already in Kaduna cutting a deal that produced the NPC/NCNC alliance.

Then came Babangida’s 1993 ‘transition without end” (Oyediran). All the Igbo states except Anambra voted for Tofa, the NRC presidential candidate. Over 80% of those Babangida named during his last week book presentation as conspirators in the annulment of the election won by MKO Abiola were of Igbo ethnic extraction.

In 1999, Igbo voted massively for PDP and Obasanjo, the candidate the northern hegemonic power imposed as Yoruba candidate as against Olu Falae, the Yoruba sponsored candidate.

Unlike the enduring love of the Igbo, the ever ready beautiful bride and their Hausa/Fulani suitors, there has been no love lost between Yoruba and Igbo political elite since the 1930s when as leaders of urban immigrants, Igbo political elite wanted to make themselves relevant in the politics of Lagos and intimidation, blackmail and propaganda were some of the weapons of war freely deployed by Igbo against their Yoruba hosts.

This played out in 1934 during a struggle to have a member of the Nigerian Youth Movement move to the House of Representatives. Awo had supported Earnest Ikoli, an easterner against Akinsanya, his fellow Ijebu kinsman, sponsored by Zik. Because Akinsanya, Zik’s candidate lost the election after a bitter campaign, Zik pulled out all Igbo members and collapsed the movement accusing Awo and Yoruba of playing tribal politics. The seed of mutual distrust was thus sowed.

The Ibo Federal Union was formed in 1943. Zik became its national president. According to Obafemi Awolowo, “Dr Azikiwe himself was an unabashed Ibo jingoist who gave the game away when he said during his presidential speech at the Ibo Federal Union in 1949 that “It would appear the god of Africa has specially created the Igbo nation to lead the children of Africa from the bondage of the ages, not only to conquer others but also adapt themselves to the role of preserver”, (Awo autobiography PP 172). 

However when Egbe Omo Oduduwa was formed in Lagos in 1949 by Awolowo to unite the Yoruba, Zik, claiming it was targeted at Igbo and 27million Nigerians unleashed virulent attack on the Egbe and its leaders who were physically attacked along their properties in Lagos by  Zikist youths.

In1951, after the regional election, of the five members elected on the platform of Ibadan Progressive Union, Adegoke Adelabu remained loyal to Zik and NCNC, while Adisa Akinloye and others joined Awolowo’s Action Group. This followed a stalemate as Mbadiwe  and other Zik’s supporters insisted he should become the premier of the West while leading members of NCNC like Olu Akinfosile and TOS Benson, who regarded NCNC as a Yoruba party as there was only one non-Yoruba in its inaugural meeting, insisted one of them be chosen to be premier.

The decision of some Yoruba in NCNC to join Awo’s AG in order to control their own destiny became a subject of intense propaganda and blackmail and misinformation by Zik; today’s equivalent of the ‘Obdients’. They crowned Obafemi Awolowo, who emerged leader of government, king of tribal politics and enemy of Igbo.  Not even the world-celebrated Chinua Achebe could restrain himself from spreading misinformation when he wrote in his last major work – There was a country – that he witnessed carpet crossing of Zik supporters on the floor of Western House in 1952.

The misinformation and misrepresentation of the 1952 events have continued to define Yoruba and Igbo politics.

Finally, I think Ohanaeze will have to search beyond Babangida’s tenuous claim to justify their N10trn reparation demand especially in the face of overwhelming evidence that confirmed  that both the January insurrectionists and Ironsi were mere pawns in the hands of highly cerebral Igbo political leaders including Dr. Nwafor Orizu, the senate president, Dr  Ben Nwabueze, Ironsi’s adviser  and Dr. Ozunba Mbadiwe (the man of ‘timber and calibre’), a cabinet minister  during the January 31 night of many knives.

For instance, it has now been established that Zik was the first to seek the support of the military following the constitutional gridlock that followed the massively rigged 1964 election. It was believed it was the negative response of the military that claimed to be answerable to the prime minister that precipitated insurrection by younger elements in the military sympathetic to Zik’s course in January 1966.

There was also sufficient evidence from those present at the meeting, including Richard Akinjide, that the senate president, instead of supervising the election of the most senor surviving minister as acting prime minister, was playing the ostrich game until Ironsi declared himself head of state.

And finally, Igbo’s  two other dominant ethnic groups will need to be convinced that Ironsi’s Decree 34 that turned a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural  federal state into a unitary state, a system promoted by Igbo up to the London 1957 Constitutional Conference, was not an Igbo agenda.