I wish to humbly disagree with all those who have reached out to me protesting or complaining that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu "deliberately" missed out my name in the JUNE 12 HONORS' List released earlier today. I will like to make the following observations:

1. It is the prerogative of every government to determine those it wishes to recognise and honor.

2. Honorary awards are endless and can be given now, later or never. There are well deserving heroes whose names were clearly omitted.

3. JUNE 12 1993 has been extremely kind to me by offering me the opportunities to fight for Democracy in various capacities. I was amply compensated by the collective sacrifices made by Nigerians. I returned from exile with so many goodies as ordained by almighty God, including the global brand, Ovation International, a second address & citizenship in the UK, a third address in Ghana, worldwide fame & acclaim, and so on.

4. I would have been embarrassed to be recognized by a regime that's unapologetically trampling on tenets of democracy and dangerously leading our dear beloved nation down the slope of dictatorship and full-blown tyranny. On the other hand, it would have been considered rude and impudent of me to reject such a National honor from a man I still consider my Big Brother and friend, despite my vehement disagreement and displeasure with him over matters of political views... I wish to sincerely thank the President for rescuing me from what might have been misconstrued as compromise, arrogance or disrespect...

Massive congratulations to all the honorees...

- DELE MOMODU

Accra, Ghana

Some of us who were very active in the struggle to actualize the official announcement of the June 12, 1993 Presidential election result and the swearing into office the actual winner of the election, and are still alive today, wish to thank Mr President,His Excellency, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu,GCFR, for honoring some of the heroes of the struggle by conferring on them national awards in different categories on Democracy Day 2025.

We however will state for the records and for posterity that we believe there are some major omissions which should be rectified as soon as possible. Below is a suggested list of some of the key Heroes of June 12 and the categories of National Awards that we believe they truly deserve.

 1. LATE PA MICHAEL ADEKUNLE AJASIN. (GCON )

 2. LATE CHIEF ANTHONY ENAHORO(GCON)

 3. LATE SENATOR ABRAHAM ADESANYA.(CFR)

 4. LATE CHIEF AYO ADEBANJO.(CFR)

 5. LATE REAR ADMIRAL NDUBUISI KANU (CFR)

 6. SENATOR CORNELIUS ADEBAYO (CFR)

 7. LATE CHIEF OLANIHUN AJAYI(CON)

 8. LATE ALHAJI GANIYU DAWODU(CON).

 9. DR. KAYODE FAYEMI (CFR)

 10. CHIEF AYO OPADOKU(CON)

 11. SENATOR KOFO AKERELE BUCKNOR(CON)

 12. LATE CHIEF OLU BENSON LULU- BRIGGS(CON)

 13. PROF PAT UTOMI (CON)

 14. AARE DELE MOMODU (CON)

 15. MR. OLISA AGBAKOBA(CON)

 16. DR.USMAN BUGAJE (CON)

 17. COL DANGIWA UMAR (RTD) (CON)

 18. LATE CHIEF ARTHUR NWANKWO(CON)

 19. LATE CHIEF BOBO NWOSISI(CON)

 20. LATE CHIEF GUY IKOKWU(CON)

 21. LATE RVD. TUNJI ADEBIYI(OON)

 22. LATE CHIEF CHRIS EZEIYIAKU(OON)

 23. DR. ALBERT NDULUE(OFR)

 24. CHIEF MRS CHIKA IBENEME(OON)

 25. LATE CHIEF MESHACK UMEIKE(OON)

For Nigerians who are not familiar with the names of Late Reverend Tunji Adebiyi and Late Chief Chris Ezeiyiaku, these two gentlemen were the trusted and reliable human Couriers of the NADECO Leaders during the Abacha Years who constantly risked their lives carrying messages which could not be discussed on phone by the NADECO leadership.

Fellow patriotic Nigerians, let's continue to KEEP HOPE ALIVE.

Mr. Emeka Ugwu-Oju.

Member,NADECO.

President Bola Tinubu extends heartfelt condolences to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Government, and the people of the Republic of India following the tragic crash of Air India Flight AI171 near Ahmedabad.

The plane carried two pilots, 10 cabin crew, 169 Indians, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese, and one Canadian.

President Tinubu expresses deep sorrow over the tragic incident and offers prayers for the families of the victims, the injured, and the entire Indian nation during this moment of grief.

The President also commiserates with the leaders of Great Britain, Portugal, and Canada over losing their nationals on the ill-fated flight.

"The tragedy of Air India reminds us, once again, of the fragility of life and the common bond of humanity that holds us together.

"At this moment of sorrow and pain, Nigeria stands in solidarity with our friend, brother and partner, Narendra Modi, and the people of India. Nigeria also deeply sympathises with the families and friends of other victims on board the aircraft,'' President Tinubu says.

President Tinubu commends the swift response of the emergency agencies in India and expresses his confidence in their capacity and compassion to make a difference in the complicated situation.

The President prays that the Almighty God will receive the souls of the departed and comfort their families.

Bayo Onanuga

Special Adviser to the President

(Information & Strategy)

On this significant day, the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) extends our congratulations to all Nigerians as we mark twenty-six years of an uninterrupted democratic journey. We particularly salute President Bola Tinubu, who now has the privilege of leading the nation in commemorating Democracy Day—a day that honors the historic June 12, 1993 presidential election, unjustly annulled by the then-military regime. Of note we appreciate the state pardon granted to Ken Saro Wiwa and the Ogoni Nine.

PANDEF notes that the profound meaning of this day in Nigeria's checkered democratic history remains a poignant reminder of our bitter-sweet journey and the urgent need for genuine reflection on our present realities.

Successive administrations at all levels, since the beginning of the Fourth Republic, including those in place at present, have made strides toward delivering the basic socio-economic dividends of democracy. Yet, it remains an arduous and sluggish journey. Of deep concern are the persistent challenges that directly confront ordinary Nigerians especially in the critical areas of access to food, security, primary healthcare, basic education and unmitigated environmental degradation of the Niger Delta. 

PANDEF notes that most troubling is the glaring contradiction between the noble ideals and enduring legacy of June 12, as symbolized by the sacrifices of past and surviving heroes and the reality of what can only be described as a creeping authoritarianism in Rivers State. While the nation rightly unites with the President to celebrate Democracy Day, a deeply paradoxical and troubling situation continues to unfold in the strategically important state of Rivers. The people of Rivers State and the wider Niger Delta are being subjected to the erosion democratic institutions and principles of good governance. This portends grave implications for our collective democratic achievements as a country. 

PANDEF therefore calls upon the relevant authorities, most especially, President Bola Tinubu, as the father of the nation, and the National Assembly, led by our own son, Senator Godswill Akpabio to act without delay to restore democratic governance in Rivers State. The prolonged political crisis in the state has created an environment of instability and uncertainty that directly impacts the well-being of everyday citizens.

Additionally, we appeal to all principal political actors and their supporters in Rivers State to immediately "lay down their arms" and embrace the path of peace. As people of common faith, let us be guided by the injunction in Ecclesiastes 3:8: “There is to hate and a time to love, a time for war and a time for peace.” The time for love and peace has come, in solemn honor of the memories of the heroes and martyrs of June 12.

As the apex socio-political body in the South-South region, PANDEF reaffirms our commitment to support all genuine, collective efforts aimed at realizing the foundational ideals of our democracy. Most especially, we pledge to champion the urgent return of accountable, people-driven governance in Rivers State.

Ambassador Dr Godknows Igali

1. Happy democracy day to all Nigerians! Thanks to Senior Pastor Poju Oyemade and the Covenant Nation for the invitation and for their impactful national service in organizing this annual conversation.

2. I was asked to speak on “Rebuilding Our Nation”. This is a short topic but would need volumes of books to address. The topic itself presumes a sense of nostalgia for a “a nation” with a glorious past, and to which we now need to “rebuild”. Several thoughts race through my mind: have we had a nation? I am reminded of the famous quote by the late sage—Chief Obafemi Awolowo who argued that: “Nigeria is not a nation. It is a mere geographical expression...” (Path to Nigerian Freedom, 1947). During the campaign for the federal elections in 1959, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe and Alhaji Ahmadu Bello were reported to have had exchanges which reflected the fundamental differences about Nigeria among the founding fathers. Zik was reported to have told Bello: “Let us forget our differences”, and Ahmadu Bello retorted: “No, let us understand our differences. I am a Muslim and a Northerner. You are a Christian and an Easterner. By understanding our differences, we can build unity in our country”. Have we had a true country? Chinua Achebe’s view was that “There was a Country”. From Awolowo’s view in 1947 to the views of Ahmadu Bello (1959), and Chinua Achebe (2012), what has changed?

3. Nigeria is said to have about 371 ethnic groups speaking over 500 languages. It is also a multi-religious country. Our current national Anthem, which I love, acknowledges our differences but with a positive affirmation of our resolve to stick together--“though tribe and tongue may differ, in brotherhood, we stand...” The march to nationhood is still an aspirational prayer in the last stanza of our Anthem where we pray to God of all creation to grant this our one request to “help us to build a nation where no one is oppressed, And so with peace and plenty Nigeria may be blessed”.

4. The point must therefore be made that Nigeria, in its chequered history, has always been a work-in-progress in its march towards a more peaceful, united, equitable, and prosperous nation. We need to be intentional about creating what the slogan of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN, 1978-1983) described as “One Nation, One Destiny”. Consequently, it may be more appropriate to possibly rephrase the title for this intervention as: “Creating a Sustainable Nigerian Nation”. This should indeed be the urgent everyday conversation by all Nigerians, and I won’t pretend that I can address it in a few minutes’ conversation. Nigeria was stitched together some 111 years ago and within the first 46 years our founding fathers organized and liberated us from colonial rule. In the last 65 years, we have had chequered experimentations to forge a nation and liberate our people from underdevelopment. I will argue that this second epoch of our “liberation struggle” has not been fought with purpose-driven organizations, with intent to defeat underdevelopment nor have we intentionally created the new Nigerians to forge a new sustainable nation. Mine will just be to provoke debate and not necessarily to provide all the answers.

5. Before we go further, a few caveats are in order. Every Nigerian has his/her long list of what is wrong with Nigeria. I have my own list. But I am not here to rehash the Book of Lamentations. I am a die-hard optimist and believer in Nigeria’s future. I applied for my current job because I believe that I can join millions of Nigerians in the search for solutions. Yes, solutions—not lamentations! I see the Nigerian cup as half full, and not half empty. I carry my own Nigerianness on my head and my dress (see the Eagle). To keep my optimism going, I try a lot of the time to focus more on what is right with or working in, Nigeria. Yes, we still have a very long way to go. But we must appreciate how far we have come.

6. Second, I would disappoint many who would expect me to comment on the economy or to use this forum to offer another “blueprint” for economic reforms. I have access to the FGN to offer my advice, and this platform cannot serve the purpose. But let’s be clear: the audacious structural reforms embarked upon by the current administration of HE Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR have rescued the economy from the tipping point. The endorsements by the World Bank, IMF, London Financial Times, rating agencies—Fitch, Moody’s, etc—are well deserved. Of course, many people know that I made a living criticising the World Bank and the IMF. As Governor of Anambra, I have even rejected a World Bank loan because of the terms. But on the matter of the trajectory of the current economic reforms, the World Bank etc are largely right (Funny enough, when these institutions criticise the government, some people use them as validation of their own criticisms but when the same institutions give a positive report, they are derided as “neoliberal, out-of-touch institutions”). In 2023, I had described the state of the economy when this government assumed office as akin to a standing dead horse, and public finance was about to tip from insolvency, with potential catastrophic consequences including possible mass retrenchment of workers and/or arrears of salaries and pension. Public finance is back on a solvency path and macro fundamentals are recovering positively. Yes, there are still a lot more to do, but I urge the President and his team to stay the course. Many analysts have interesting “opinions”, but I urge them to go deeper: conduct rigorous counterfactual analysis and provide credible alternatives! As a friend said recently, the task is always easy especially if you are not the one doing it. This is one country where every year, people celebrate the previous year(s) as the “good old days”, and every new regime points out how it is the only one to bring positive change since the world was created.

7. Just like every Nigerian has a long list of what is wrong, so also is the list of “expert solutions”. For many, the list would include: restructuring the federation and a new constitution; collaborative and coordination arrangements among the three tiers of government; tackling corruption; ensuring predictable and stable macro environment (including low and stable inflation and exchange rate); addressing security, law and order; rule of law; state policing; providing infrastructure (especially electricity and transport); food security; addressing poverty and unemployment; investing in people (health, education, and empowering the vulnerable groups); prioritizing technology, industrialization and creative economy; fully exploiting our natural resources; tackling challenges of the environment—desertification, flooding and erosion; ethical and transformational leadership that also delivers efficient, effective, transparent and accountable governance, etc. The list is long but real challenge is HOW to accomplish these, especially given binding resource constraints and the distributional consequences. I won’t waste your time on these.

8. Let me return to the substance of our contribution-- the nature of organization and citizenship required for sustainable nationhood and success in the second “liberation struggle” against underdevelopment. The first is that we must give our politics a soul by intentionally orchestrating ideologically driven political parties. Second, a new Nigerian must be “born again” through ethical-value rebirth. The time for both was yesterday but today is still on time. Tomorrow may be too late.

II: Ideological Foundations for the Next Nigeria: Let’s give a soul to our politics.

9. Ideology is a system of ideas, beliefs and ideals which define our worldview about the economic, social and political organization of a society to guarantee happiness, liberty, and welfare of citizens. Individuals who share a similar ideology form a political party, organize and seek power to govern in accordance with their ideology and its consequential policies and programs. More practically, political parties are grouped as either left of centre or right of centre, depending on their location on the spectrum of neoliberal-progressivism to supra conservatism. There are however different shades in between. But a political party worth its salt must have a defined ideology, from which one can even predict its possible stance/policy on different economic and social issues. Party and government policies and programmes are largely derived from the ideology of the party. A political party that is ideologically driven ensures policy/programme clarity, predictability, and continuity. Without ideology, parties govern by whims and policy/program reversals are common even when the same party retains power. For those who call for policy continuity, they are inadvertently bemoaning the absence of ideology in party or governance. Ideology is therefore the soul of a political party, and in a multi-party democracy, it is the only way to ensure policy/program continuity and sustainable progress.

10. On this score, our past may be the beacon to our future. We seem to have developed backwards, as the gains of the second and third republics in terms of rigorous ideological debates/struggles have literally disappeared. I invite you to review the ideologies/programs of the five and later six political parties in the second republic, 1979-1983 (GNPP, NPN, NPP, PRP, UPN; and NAP). I can still remember their ideologies and cardinal programs, and I miss the rigorous ideological debates among parties of those days. All the six states controlled by Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s UPN implemented its programs on free education and free medical services, and all states of NPN implemented its cardinal programs of mass housing and green revolution, etc. During the third republic, President Babangida experimented with two ideologically defined parties—NRC as right of centre, and SDP -left of centre!

11. What do we have today? What we have is one party, “Nigerian Elite Plc” (NEP), with the sole goal of grabbing power and governing “as the spirit directs” or government by consultants’ “blueprints”. Forget about the different political parties: they are (with one or two exceptions) but different factions of the NEP, largely split by quarrels over exclusion or inclusion in the “dinning table”. Individuals who can’t get a sit at the table suddenly realize that “nothing is working” and either form their own parties or join others to “fight for a better Nigeria” -- a euphemism for “bring me closer” (There are extremely very few exceptions however who are driven by principles). The two parties which control most of Nigerian states are PDP and APC. Can you tell an APC or PDP state if you see one? What is the difference? I don’t know how many politicians today that can hold up and explain/defend the ideologies of their parties. Indeed, the speed with which people switch parties is a testament that political parties are mere platforms of convenient opportunism--- no principles, no public purpose--- only personal convenience! Even the APC started off as a marriage of convenience, with the merger of ACN, ANPP, CPC, and factions of APGA and PDP, with the goal of grabbing power, albeit with avowed social democratic agenda. After 10 years of governing at the centre and controlling most states of Nigeria, it is time to be very intentional about APC’s ideological foundations.

12. I have reviewed the objectives and programs of almost all the registered political parties, and I can confirm that they are largely “copy and paste”—to scale through registration by INEC, with little or no substantive differences. In substance, almost all the political parties subscribe to the social democratic ideals (left of centre). Ideologically speaking, there are no opposition political parties in Nigeria. Any reference to “opposition parties” is mere semantics, and at best refers to factions of NEP currently excluded from the dinning table. In many instances, the executive would still have to “lobby” members of its own party in the legislature to support its agenda.

13. To give our politics content and a soul, things must change. Organizing Nigerians around ideological divides is the sustainable way to mobilize citizens across ethnic and religious divides. It is the surest way for a new politics to evolve from the current “turn by turn” (Chop I Chop politics) to transformational politics of development that guarantees an answer to the prayer contained in the last stanza of our National Anthem. I don’t know how the authentic parties will emerge. But I believe that we should intentionally orchestrate them via legislation or regulation. Without this, our politics will continue to be rudderless.

14. For me and for us at the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), we subscribe to pragmatic progressivism---centrist economic agenda, progressive social charter, with conservative moral values. The five fingers of our programs include: (a)Security, law and order; (b) Infrastructure and economic transformation; (c)human capital and social contract that seeks to leave no one behind; (d)transparent and accountable governance with a new value system; and (e) environmental sustainability—effective physical planning and taming climate change, flood and gully erosion. For us in APGA, Chapter Two of the Constitution “Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy” should be the Bible and Koran of public policy in Nigeria. Chapter Two of Nigerian Constitution provides detailed “Progressive Agenda” designed to give every Nigerian a stake in the survival and prosperity of the country en route to shared nationhood. Our policies on totally free primary and secondary education in public schools plus subsidized mission education as well as free antenatal and free delivery in all public hospitals—which have benefited hundreds of thousands of children and women are part of the progressive agenda, etc. So, if you call for progressives in Nigeria, I will proudly raise my hands and can list a dozen or so policies and interventions of my government in Anambra that are intentionally progressive--- to leave no one behind! Progressivism is not a slogan: it is a social-political movement and ideology.

15. As a first step towards a new party politics in Nigeria, let political parties unite along ideological lines (not necessarily a merger). We should awaken the spirits of Dr. M.I. Okpara, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Mallam Aminu Kano, etc. In 1983, the parties with progressive credentials: Awolowo’s UPN (scientific socialism); Azikiwe’s NPP (neo-welfarism) and Aminu Kano’s PRP (democratic humanism) formed the Progressive People’s Alliance (PPA) ahead of the 1983 general elections. Their mistake was that they could not field one presidential candidate.

16. On ideological basis, the following parties in Nigeria are largely in the same room and sharing social democratic and centre-left credentials: APGA, APC, LP, SDP, YPP, ZLP, NNPP, PRP, and AA. All these centre-left parties should form the new Progressive People’s Alliance (PPA) ahead of the 2027 general elections but avoid the mistake of 1983. Unlike in 1983, the new PPA should field ONE presidential candidate in 2027. The alliance of progressives must refine and deepen the platform of progressivism and keep the flag of reforms flying. Even politicians in PDP with progressive ideological leaning may also join the alliance. Nigerians need to see Progressives Working Together—to deepen and coordinate progressive reforms across all progressive states as happened in the second republic, with impactful results. The others can then organize themselves, perhaps into the Conservative party, and present Nigeria with credible alternatives. This will signal the birth of a new politics for sustainable transformation in Nigeria.

III: Ethical and Value Rebirth: Towards a new Nigerian

17. After fixing our politics, where are the Nigerians to play it or follow? More often, we focus on the leadership. For sure, there is a lot that is wrong with our leadership. But leadership often reflects the larger society--- its values, ethics, culture, beliefs, and expectations. Leaders are products of the society, and you can’t give what you don’t have. Most Nigerians are, through acts of omission and commission, complicit in what ails Nigeria. We must solve it together—through mass involvement and intentional social re-engineering.

18. We must deliberately create a critical mass of ‘new Nigerians’--- who believe in her and are ready, if necessary, to die for her. The struggle for liberation from colonialism would not have been possible without the nationalists of the time, and the current struggle to liberate her from underdevelopment cannot be sustainable with “neo-nationalists” of today. No nation has prospered sustainably without a critical mass of patriotic, vigilant and actively participatory citizenry. So, let the neo-nationalists, ready to die for Nigeria, raise their hands---very few, I guess?

19. So how do we raise the army of Nigerian champions to create the future we desire? The answer is long. The shortest answer is to give the citizens stakes in the society by investing in their future. Examples like the NELFUND (student loan scheme by FGN) as is also the case in Lagos and Kaduna states; cash transfer schemes; Anambra’s One Youth 2skills program creating thousands of youth millionaires, free primary and secondary education, and soon-to-disburse student bursary program, etc—excite the youths/students, and could hopefully create ‘stakeholders’ in the futures project.

20. But we must uproot the debilitating culture of corruption and freebies (easy or free money) and the institutions that are weaponized to sustain them. The “culture” that celebrates and expects something for nothing or wealth without work must give way for a culture that rewards and celebrates hard work, enterprise and integrity. It is my thesis that a society where no one asks/cares about sources of livelihood or where most people expect and celebrate unearned/free money is one where transactional governance will always trump transformational leadership.

21. There is a powerful connection between “freebies culture” and criminality—bribery and corruption, drug trafficking, oil bunkering, internet scams, prostitution, trafficking in persons, banditry and kidnapping, etc. Beneficiaries of these crimes become lords of the manor, brandishing unexplainable wealth and phantom titles for validation while the society cheers in celebration. Surely a society gets more of what it celebrates. For the political class, ethnicity and religion provide easy ladder to the common purse while most of the others (especially in our superstitious society) resort to “magic”. Of course, there is a long thesis about how the pervasive looting of public treasury by politicians and sharing of same to the poor masses over time have numbed public sensitivities and normalized the behaviour to the extent that public officers who leave office “poor” are derided by the same masses as being “stupid”. Tragic! That’s a long topic for another day.

22. There is now a clash of values regarding principles for financial success. The time-tested principles of hard work, enterprise and integrity are being challenged by the “get rich young or die trying” philosophy of teaming millions of youths. Institutions that underpin the new (magical) principles for wealth are booming---native doctors, marabouts, and prosperity pastors promising a crown without the cross. These merchants of wealth by magic deceive millions of youths to shun hard work, expecting “dash” or free/easy money. Consequently, prison yards all over the world and bushes/forests are filled with youths in search of the easy life. Also, a horde of youths throng into politics with the sole intention to loot and not to serve. Are these the youths to build the new Nigeria?

23. To make progress, we must break this vicious “culture” and intentionally promote ethical-value rebirth. Here again, ideology comes as a compass for mass mobilization. This is a national emergency requiring urgent national conversation. Current legislations that literally make the fight a federal government affair are inadequate. The liberation struggle from the clutches of corruption and challenge to the superstitious belief in wealth by magic or miracles must be a mass movement requiring all social forces and organizations--- including churches, Mosques, markets, CSOs, NGOs, etc. Indeed, Nollywood has a pivotal role to play. Inadvertently Nollywood promoted this superstitious belief in wealth via cultism or ritual and millions of our youths believe same to be true. Nollywood is critical in the mental and cultural reconstruction. We need a Citizens’ Code of Conduct and re-invent institutions like the erstwhile War Against Indiscipline and corruption, MAMSER and mainstream them with national, state, local government, and community institutions. Our curriculum in primary and secondary schools must include Civics and Nationalism.

24. In Anambra and as part of our fight against criminality, we decided to go to the roots and seek to uproot the institutions that give the criminals a false sense of invincibility and promise of wealth by magical means. With our novel Homeland Security Law (enacted in January 2025), we have criminalized the practice by native doctors and others that promise wealth by magical means, use of any property for manufacture, sale or consumption of illicit drugs and kidnapping, etc. We have challenged anyone to come and prove that one can be wealthy through magic (if it were so, then the native doctors or some pastors should be the richest people on earth). Under our law, anyone could be questioned to explain his or her source of wealth, and we have also stopped indiscriminate award of phantom chieftaincy titles especially to persons without verifiable means of livelihood. The criminal and shady native doctors are on the run from Anambra—“Oso Soludo”, and together with the efforts of our security forces, this has brought crime rate to the lowest ever—we believe that Anambra is now the safest state in Nigeria. We have a massive re-orientation program especially challenging these superstitious beliefs in wealth through magic or miracles and systematically rescuing our youths—and redirecting them back to basics---hard work, enterprise and integrity as proven template for sustainable wealth. We are happy that some other states are following our template in this regard.

25. Our government is living by example—in austere prudence, transparency and accountability. In three years, we have not borrowed one kobo, devoting 77% of our spending on capital projects and the results of our transformation are evident.

26. As a country, we must design conscious programs to kill religious and ethnic bigotry. We need a national conversation around citizenship versus indigenship versus residency. Can we create a Nigeria where “state of origin” or religion will no longer be a defining basis to participate/benefit from the public space? A new Nigerian personality will never emerge if one is constantly reminded that irrespective of how many years or generations you have lived and even invested in a place and paid taxes all your life, you still don’t “belong” there because of your or your parent’s “state of origin”. Part of the national conversation should include a Bureau to address grievances against the Nigerian state. Part of the process of building a nation state is ongoing, open and constructive dialogue.

27. In Anambra, we have been trying some experiments with impressive successes. Our philosophy of governance is summarized by the slogan: “One State, One People, One Agenda”. We do not see the senatorial zones or religion or religious denominations. We prioritize our programs by need designed to lift all boats up especially the most neglected sections of society rather than nepotism or patronage. The five new general hospitals I have completed in three years are all in the North senatorial zone (the zone of my immediate predecessor) and none in my southern zone, and my most celebrated urban regeneration at Okpoko is also in the north zone, etc. We have erased the tensions among Christian denominations to the extent that the Christian Council of Nigeria (CCN—Anglicans, Methodist, Salvation Army, etc) gave us an award as “Father of Ecumenism” and the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) agreed. I have appointed permanent secretaries from Abia and Osun states, while my political appointees also come from Kogi, Ebonyi, Imo, Delta, Enugu and Imo states. Indeed, the 8,115 new teachers and over 1,000 medical professionals we recruited come from 18 states of Nigeria. We must intentionally mainstream One Nigeria with One Destiny. It may be subtle but a powerful way to create true Nigerians. On dealing with religion, Nigeria has something important to learn from the Yorubas where in a family the husband could be a Muslim, the wife a pastor, while the children choose their religion. Such a level of religious tolerance should be a template for the next Nigeria, and President Tinubu is a leader in this regard.

28. We must now conclude. Nigeria is God’s greatest gift to the black race. I am a Pan-Africanist, still dreaming of the United States of Africa, with Nigeria at its core. I believe that this century is ours to claim and to dominate the next century. But it all depends on what foundation our generation lays today for our future generations. Frantz Fanon reminds us that “each generation must, out of relative obscurity, discover its mission, fulfil it, or betray it”. As pilgrims here on earth, there is no time to waste. Complaint or protest is good but better to do something constructive about the subject of complaint.

29. Organization is power. A fundamental step towards a sustainable Nigerian nation is for all apostles of progressive change to unite around a consolidated agenda for sustainable national rebirth. For starters, all the Progressive People’s Alliance (PPA) states should guarantee access to qualitative and truly free and compulsory primary education as well as free secondary education, and mass access to qualitative health care. They should also commit to a timeline to make key provisions of Chapter Two of the Constitution (which contains the principles for progressive change) enforceable. This would be the barge of progressivism and the foundation to give every child and every citizen a reasonable stake in the new Nigeria. We can’t ask for their patriotism if we have not invested systematically in their future. Let the conversation continue...

God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria!

Thirty-two years ago, Nigeria stood on the cusp of greatness. The winds of democratic change were sweeping through Africa, and all eyes turned to our nation with hope — hope that Nigeria would rise as a beacon of liberty, justice, and self-determination. I was privileged to be an active participant in that defining chapter, which culminated in a historic election that captured the imagination of the world and reshaped our political destiny.

It was a moment of great promise — and great sacrifice.

The political class made painful compromises, but it was the Nigerian people who bore the heaviest burden. They yearned for a new democratic order, and many paid dearly for it. I, too, made my fair share of sacrifices, most notably setting aside my own presidential ambition in deference to the late Chief MKO Abiola — a gesture made in faith and fidelity to a higher national cause.

But others gave far more. The late Alhaja Kudirat Abiola, Tafida Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, Alfred Rewane — these brave souls gave their lives in pursuit of a freer Nigeria. Their memories are etched into our national conscience and must never be forgotten.

The gains of June 12 were hard-won. But sadly, the democratic promise that blossomed in 1999 is being steadily dismantled before our very eyes.

Today, Nigeria teeters on the edge of a dangerous precipice — a creeping one-party dictatorship is replacing the democratic order we bled for. Those who laid down their lives did not do so for Nigerians to groan under the yoke of authoritarianism and economic suffocation.

The ruling party and its federal government now govern with the unmistakable intent to dominate, subdue, and silence. Their tactics are not subtle. Opposition voices are being systematically erased. Contracts for multi-billion-naira infrastructure are funnelled to cronies and family associates of the president. National institutions, once symbols of unity, are being brazenly renamed in honour of a sitting president — as though the country were a private estate.

What we are witnessing is not governance — it is conquest.

This government represents the lowest ebb in our democratic journey. Institutions have been weaponized. Policies are crafted not to empower the people but to entrench fear, obedience, and control. The common Nigerian has been abandoned at the altar of elite comfort. And make no mistake: this is the antithesis of everything June 12 stands for.

We are again at a historic threshold. Nigeria must choose: the path of democratic renewal or the dark alley of despotism.

The ongoing effort to build a broad, united opposition front is not about power for power’s sake. It is a moral imperative. It is about defending the legacy of June 12. It is about ensuring that no one — no matter how powerful — is allowed to privatize the state and reduce the people to pawns in their political chess game.

It is about reclaiming Nigeria for Nigerians and safeguarding the future of generations unborn. 

This is not just a political contest; it is a moral crusade. A struggle to liberate our economy, our democracy, and our dignity from the grip of authoritarian forces. And like every righteous struggle, it demands courage, clarity, and collective resolve.

As long as oppression thrives, June 12 lives on — not just as memory, but as movement. The time to rise is now.

Atiku Abubakar

Vice President of Nigeria, 1999-2007

Abuja

FCT Minister Nyesome Wike spent a whopping N39 billion to renovate the International Conference Centre in Abuja and renamed it Bola Tinubu International Conference Center in continuation of the administration’s craze to name everything after the president. The facility was built in 1991 by the Babangida military régime at only N240 million, but after three decades, the cost of renovating it has gone up to N39 billion. Even with all the inflation and devaluation of the past 30 years, this is a humungous amount of money to spend on only a renovation. If this is how he managed the finances of Rivers State for eight years, I can understand why he owns a Rolls Royce and private jet. Not even a UK Prime Minister would dare!

In only two years in office, President Tinubu has had several institutions and monuments named after him, sparking controversies and debates about his motivations. There’s Bola Ahmed International Airport, Minna, Niger State, formerly known as Abubakar Imam International Airport; Bola Ahmed Tinubu Barracks, a newly army barracks in Asokoro, Abuja; Bola Ahmed Tinubu Polytechnic, located in Gwarimpa, Abuja; Bola Ahmed Tinubu National Assembly Library and Resource Center, inaugurated in May 2024 and Bola Ahmed Tinubu Immigration Service Technology Complex at the agency’s Abuja headquarters. In addition to these, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Reps, Mr. Ben Kalu, has sponsored a bill for the establishment of Bola Ahmed Tinubu University in Abia State. The university aims to promote learning of Nigerian languages. I am sure more are coming.

But why is President Tinubu so obsessed with having everything in the country named after him? What does it say about his motivations, morality, personality and priorities? As governor of Lagos for eight years, Tinubu did not name a single facility or infrastructure after himself. He even exhibited an admirable magnanimity in 2006 when he renamed Western Avenue after Funsho Williams, a PDP governorship aspirant soon after he was murdered in his Dolphin Estate home.

There are many reasons for Tinubu’s new fascination – some obvious and others requiring further studies and research by psychologists and psychoanalysts. By seeking to have buildings named after him, the president is exhibiting a strong desire for recognition and commemoration which clearly suggests a strong sense of self-importance or ego. Tinubu was widely advertised as a man of supernatural abilities in politics, governance and human resource management. But his performance in the last two years has not elicited the widely anticipated applause. Rather, the reviews have been a mix of condemnation and subdued acceptance. Many in the Northern part of the country are very critical of him and have vowed to vote for another person in 2027. Facing such a widespread disapproval, the president is resorting to self-praise by stamping his name on buildings. It’s a kind of narcissism!

Renaming long established landmarks after oneself reflects a lack of humility and portrays a tendency to authoritarianism. In a way, Tinubu is seeking to establish a sense of omnipresence and a strong desire for control and excessive arrogance – the very idea of ‘’I am who I am’’. Some critics blame his ministers and National Assembly leaders for indulging in excessive sycophancy and dragging the president into this self-praise just to curry his favours. Some go to the ridiculous extent of converting Christian songs to political anthems, replacing God with Tinubu in the lyrics. The Senate President recently led such a chorus in an Abuja event where the president was present. Tinubu may not be familiar with these songs since he is not a Christian, but he has become a participant in a distasteful situation in which he’s being compared with God! Not only does it convey serious psychological weaknesses, it also implies a sense of omnipotence, omniscience or divine authority which smack of arrogance and delusion.

But Nigerians are bemused. Citizens facing worsening insecurity, deepening economic challenges and cost of living crisis are too cynical of the president’s fixation with vainglory. Our former leaders, some of whom built these facilities that are being renamed, are embarrassed. Take Gen. Babangida for example. He built the International Conference Center. In his memoire, A journey in Service, IBB explains how his régime worked round the clock to build the facility in a very short period of time to host the 27th OAU summit which had earlier been scheduled for June 1991 in Addis Ababa, but had to be suddenly moved to Abuja because of insecurity in Addis. Three decades after, the retired general, and indeed our former leaders would be wondering why another man who had nothing to do with the iconic facility is now appropriating it to his name. It’s the height of vainglory.

I urge the president to respect his reputation, legacy and the dignity of the office and order the ICC to revert to its original name.

As we mark another ‘Democracy Day’, it is important for those in authority at all levels to address the existential challenges faced by most Nigerians, the clear and present dangers to the communal faith in our country and the security threats posed by sundry cartels of criminals. But on a day such as this, it is also important to recognise the gains that have been made on our democratic journey. One stands out. We seem to have put behind us the kind of high-profile political assassinations that dominated the first decade of the current dispensation. Perhaps so we may remember, and it is important in a nation noted for collective amnesia, I have decided to excerpt from a chapter in my unpublished book, ’25 Defining Issues in 25 Years of Democracy in Nigeria’. It is a reminder of where we are coming from and the road that we should never travel again…

=====================================================

…On 23 December 2001, then Attorney General and Justice Minister, Chief Bola Ige, was shot dead at his home in Ibadan. In the days preceding the murder, Ige had a well-publicised altercation at the palace of then Ooni of Ife, the late Oba Sijuwade Okunade during the conferment of chieftaincy title on some individuals. The Second Republic Governor of the old Oyo State (now Oyo and Osun)was attacked by an angry crowd who stripped him of his cap and necklace and destroyed his pair of glasses. The group was led by one ‘Fryo’, a supporter of Chief Iyiola Omisore, who had by then just been impeached as Osun State Deputy Governor in controversial circumstances.

At that period, the acrimonious relationship between Omisore and Governor Bisi Akande (who later became foundation chairman of the APC) had caused a fracas at the state assembly, leading to the death of a prominent member representing Ife Central Local Government area, Odunayo Olagbaju. That Ige sided with Akande in the crisis perhaps explained the reaction of the mob. A day after the assault, Omisore granted an abusive interview to TEMPO magazine. “…Bola Ige came on radio to insult me and my family. That is his last one. He was beaten yesterday; the people of Ife beat him up and he was crying like a baby as they removed his cap and his glasses,” Omisore said.

With Ige’s death coming before that interview was published, Omisore became a prime suspect in the murder that elicited sharp divisions within Afenifere, the Yoruba socio-political group to which he (Ige) was deputy leader at the time. Ige’s killing also occurred at a period there were fractures within the group, and it all had to do with his (Ige’s) presidential aspiration that had been scuttled two years earlier. Following the restoration of democracy in 1999, Ige had sought the presidential ticket of the Alliance for Democracy (AD). While many imagined it would be a mere formality, Ige lost to a former Secretary to the Federal Government, Chief Olu Falae in a contest decided by 23 Yoruba elders who swore to an oath of secrecy before voting in Ibadan. Ige got nine votes to Falae’s 14. Despite the secrecy of the exercise, there were reports of who voted for whom and this created a lot of bitterness and divisions among the top echelon of Afenifere.

Following Ige’s death, Omisore was arrested and eventually arraigned before an Oyo State High Court along with other people. They were later released for lack of evidence. Till today, nobody has been held accountable for the death of Ige. The irony of it, as many people say, is that if the Justice Minister of a country could be killed and there is no justice for his family, that is very telling of the rule of law in Nigeria.

But if Ige’s murder was shocking, the gruesome assassination of Mr Barnabas Igwe, the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) Onitsha branch chairman and wife, Abigael, a few months later was even more confounding. The couple, both lawyers, were returning home from the NBA conference in Ibadan on 1st September 2002 when a group of assailants attacked and shot them several times. Nothing was taken from their vehicle. Since Igwe had been an outspoken critic of the government in Anambra State, accusing fingers were immediately pointed at then Governor ChinwokeMbadinuju (now late).

In the days preceding the killings, the Onitsha NBA had given Mbadinuju a 21-day ultimatum to pay the salary arrears of workers in the state or resign. Igwe also claimed at the time that he had received direct threats from some unnamed government officials through telephone calls on his personal mobile phones. The governor of course denied any involvement in the death of the couple. Instead, he first blamed the death on armed robbers and later that Igwe and wife may have been targeted by people from their local community. Mbadinuju instituted a panel of inquiry into the murder for which nobody was ever arrested. And till today, there is no clue as to who killed the Igwes.

The assassination of Alfred Aminasaori Kala (known by the initials A.K.) Dikibo on 6 February 2004 also jolted the country. Dikibo was on his way to Asaba, Delta state capital, to attend a meeting of the South-South governors and political leaders when he ran into a hail of bullets at about 7.30pm. Eight months earlier, Harry Marshal, whom Dikibo succeeded as PDP Deputy National Chairman (South South), had also been assassinated. A prominent member of the PDP in Rivers State, Harry Marshal was suspended for ‘anti-party’ activities in 2001 and the following year, he resigned from the party to join the ANPP where he assumed the same office he held in PDP. Six weeks to the 2003 general election, four gunmen invaded his house, tied up the security guard, broke into his daughter’s room and forced her to lead them to Harry Marshal’s bedroom where they shot him dead. Following the murder, some armed robbers were paraded at the Force Headquarters in Abuja as the killers. But Harry Marshal’s daughter insisted it was a political assassination claiming that before her father was shot one of the assailants mocked him by saying, ‘You said Buhari for President. A Joke.’ Nobody was ever brought to justice on account of the murder.

According to a publication by the United States Military Academy (USMA), West Point, political assassinations have been part of social reality from time immemorial. But in the first decade of the current democratic dispensation in Nigeria, there were far too many killings. Titled, ‘The Causes and Impact of Political Assassinations’, the West Point journal publication referenced the Combating Terrorism Centre (CTC) with the definition as “an action that directly or indirectly leads to the death of an intentionally targeted individual who is active in the political sphere, in order to promote or prevent specific policies, values, practices or norms pertaining to the collective.”

On 27 July 2006, Mr Funsho Williams, an engineer and prominent politician, was murdered in Lagos in a most gruesome way. Williams had contested the AD gubernatorial primaries with Asiwaju Bola Tinubu (who is now our President) in 1999 and had been defeated by the latter. Williams eventually left the AD to join then ruling PDP where he secured the gubernatorial ticket for the 2003 general election. Again, he was defeated by then incumbent Governor Tinubu. Willliams was preparing to run again at the 2007 general election when he was murdered. A fellow gubernatorial aspirant in the PDP, Senator AdeseyeOgunlewe, whose supporters had clashed with that of the late Williams at a campaign rally the previous weekend, was arrested. Another aspirant, Musiliu Obanikoro was also arrested. Both were later released for want of evidence. In July 2020, the remaining six suspects arrested over the murder were released on grounds that the prosecution had not established a prima facie case against them.

Meanwhile, a month after the death of Williams, in the early hours of 14 August 2006, Dr Ayo Daramola was assassinated at his Ijan-Ekiti country home in Ekiti State. Prior to his death, Daramola reportedly told his family that there were threats to his life from people who wanted him to drop his gubernatorial ambition on the platform of the PDP. Although an aide to Governor Ayo Fayose during his first tenure, Goke Olatunji, and a former House of Representatives member, Thaddeus Aina were arraigned at an Ado Ekiti High Court over the murder of Daramola and then Holland-based Tunde Omojola (who was killed around the same period) the case has died with the victims.

However, in 2014, when Fayose was again contesting for the governorship of Ekiti State (which he won), the Onijan of Ijan Ekiti, Oba Samuel Fadahunsi, spoke on Daramola’s death. “We know the killers of Daramola because their identities were revealed through the ritual we performed. Fayose is innocent,” the monarch declared. “The ritual we performed was thorough, it exonerated Fayose. Therefore. those linking Fayose to Daramola’s death are doing so for mischief and political reason. As far as I am concerned as the monarch, Fayose has no hand in the death of our son.”

Till today, the identities of the killers of Daramola are known only to Oba Fadahunsi and his palace ritualists and he has refused to reveal them to the relevant authorities so that they can be brought to justice…

ENDNOTE:

What the foregoing excerpts from an unpublished manuscript suggest is that the first decade of the current dispensation witnessed many political assassinations. That may be no surprise. As they mature, democracies tend to outgrow the use of summary violence in obtaining political outcomes. That is a positive sign that democracy is becoming more of a cultural force. However, the deployment of violence to effectuate democratic outcomes does not end with assassinations. The ballot process can also be marred by intimidation and threats of violence. Security agencies can assume partisan roles using violence. All these remain present in our political culture. But the fact that our politicians are learning not to settle scores with violence is making our democracy less dangerous. I hope and pray it continues this way as I wish Nigerians happy democracy day!

Muhammed Lawal Uwais (1936-2025)

It is undeniable that the late former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Muhammed Lawal Uwais excelled in his assignment as Chairman of the electoral reform panel established by thelate President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. That most of the fundamental recommendations by the panel have not been implemented is an indictment on the authorities in our country. But to reduce his entire life and careerto this one role, as being done by some commentators—even if well-meaning—is unfair to the 27 years Uwais dedicated to the Supreme Court and his several contributions to Nigeria’s legal system.

It is indeed most fitting that THISDAY LAWYERpublication devoted its latest edition on Tuesday to Uwais, who was called to the Bar at the Middle Temple, London in 1963 and held the position of CJN for 11 years from 1995 until retirement in 2006 at age 70. In his tribute, Olisa Agbakoba, SAN, not only reminded readers that Uwais as CJN returned N5 billion to the treasury at the end of the 2005 budget year but also that Uwaiswas a member of the old generation of Supreme Court Justices who remain Gold Standard in the estimation of most Nigerians: Chukwudifu Oputa, Kayode Esho, Andrews Obaseki, Anthony Aniagolu and others.

It is indeed on record that as a relatively new Supreme Court Justice in 1979,the exceptional qualities of Uwais were quickly recognized by then CJNAtanda Fatayi-Williams, who included him (Uwais) on the panel overseeing the high-profile political case filed bythe late Chief Obafemi Awolowo against Alhaji Shehu Shagari, following the 1979 presidential election. I believe the experience Uwais gained from that panel ofjudicial giants must have significantly influenced his development into the distinguished judge he later became.

Throughout his career on the bench, Uwais’ jurisprudence was marked by firm reinforcement of constitutional supremacy and federal balance, expansion of fundamental rights, liberal approach to constitutional interpretation, clarification of judicial and court jurisdictions, and advocacy for robust electoral and institutional reforms. Those were the fundamental kernels on which his judgements rested, and I can cite a few. While affirming the nullification of the gubernatorial in Kebbi State in 2003, Uwais came up with the doctrine of ‘Substantial Compliance’ with the electoral act by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) which has become the standard for judges on elections. The ruling emphasized that minor irregularities may not void an election, but “Where an election is conducted in substantial non-compliance with the Electoral Act, the results cannot stand, and a fresh election must be ordered.”

In the case between Abia State and the federal government, following the signing into law of the Revenue Monitoring Act (2005) by President Olusegun Obasanjo, Uwais’ judgment affirmed fiscal federalism. The issue centred on the constitutionality of the legislation which required states to remit internally generated revenues (IGR) to the Federation Account for redistribution. The argument of the 36 states led by Abia, Lagos and Ogun was that the Act encroached on the autonomy of the states regarding the management of their IGR (e.g., taxes, fees). They argued further that only federally collected revenues (e.g., oil taxes, customs) should be shared under Section 162 of the 1999 Constitution.

In dismissing the argument of the federal government that the Act was aimed at ensuring equity by redistributing all revenues, including state IGR, Uwais held that “The Constitution clearly demarcates federal and state revenues. The National Assembly lacks power to confiscate states’ IGR under the guise of ‘monitoring.” On Residual Powers, Uwais said “States are not appendages of the federation. Their autonomy over IGR is sacrosanct under S. 4(7) of the Constitution.” And on constitutional interpretation: “Where the Constitution is clear, as in S. 162, the court must give effect to its plain meaning without legislative overreach.”

From the case between the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi against the Inspector General of Police over his detention to that of the late Chief Emeka Ojukwu against the Lagos State government, Uwais upheld the fundamental rights of citizens against official arbitrariness. In the case of the latter over the seized property under the Abandoned Properties Act after the civil war, it was the intervention by Uwais at the Court of Appeal(where he was at the period) that saved the day.“A citizen cannot be deprived of his property without due process, even under wartime regulations. The government must follow the rule of law, not arbitrary force,” according to Uwais who ruled in favour of Ojukwu.

Perhaps the most notable of Uwais jurisprudence was his ruling in the case between the late Senator Abraham Adesanya and the federal governmentwhich has become a pivotal reference for ‘Locus Standi’ in Nigeria today. This isacknowledged by Professor Taiwo Oshipitan in his article titled,‘Constitutional Law’ in a journal on Uwais’ work edited by the late Justice Niki Tobi. This case involved a member of the Second RepublicNational Assembly (Adesanya) attempting to block President Shagari from appointing Justice Ovie Whiskey as Chairman of the Federal Electoral Commission (FEDECO), the electoral body now known as INEC.

While underscoring the need for access to justice, the late Uwais highlighted the importance of deterring intrusive interlopers, meddlesome individuals, and professional litigants from filing cases on matters that do not directly relate to them. His creativity in deriving ideas from administrative law to establish the essential criteria for locus standi has since become an established principle. Despite several deferred opinions, the principle enunciated by Uwais endures as access to court still essentiallydepends on whether one’s civil rights are infracted upon or not.

Of course, most people remember that the Uwais Panel recommended an electoral offences commission, independent constituency-resizing and party-regulation bodies, shifting the appointment of INEC chairman to the judiciary, adopting proportional representation for legislatures among others. These were based on his understanding that credible elections are important to the survival of any democracy.

In THISDAY LAWYER on Tuesday, several serving and retired Judges as well as prominent legal practitioners paid glowing tributes to Uwais. But it is the current CJN, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, who wrote something that I found most touching because I could attest to it. “…But, perhaps, what we will miss most is his quiet dignity—his ability to inspire without demanding attention, to lead without pretence, and to mentor without fanfare,” Kekere-Ekun wrote.

That indeed summed up the essence of the Uwais I knew and with whom I enjoyed a good relationship for almost two decades.Until two years ago when his health started to deteriorate, I used to be a constant in his house for Iftar during every Ramadan.But what I can never forget was his visit to my house in October 2019, following the death of my younger brother, Agboola.Although he was quiet for most of the period he spent with us, his mere presence in our house was comforting at a most difficult period for me. May God comfort the family he left behind.

I encountered the relic of his presence long before I met Sam Amuka, known as Uncle Sam. Inside a room in the far corner of the old Kudeti PUNCH building, predominantly constructed of plywood and steel frames, there was a wooden armchair that had been a fixture in Uncle Sam’s office when he served as managing editor.

When I joined PUNCH as a staff writer eight years after his departure in 1981, this piece of furniture was in my first office, sitting like a totem in a shrine, while stories about Uncle Sam floated in whispers.

The stories could not be told freely in PUNCH at the time because of the bitter dispute between Uncle Sam and his friend and Publisher, Olu Aboderin, which would later end in an out-of-court settlement.

So, if one were looking for stories about Uncle Sam’s early professional life, particularly his works, the Daily Times would have been a good place to find them.

In the 1990s, however, the Times started having its own problems, leading to frequent changes at the top, and a dramatic sale that imperilled not only access to the records of the newspaper’s leading lights like Uncle Sam, but even the history of the newspaper which, in its heyday, was Nigeria’s most prosperous, authoritative and vibrant brand.

From ‘Offbeat Sam’ to ‘Sad Sam’

Uncle Sam made his name at the Daily Times, but his journalism career did not start there. According to Ben Lawrence, in an article entitled “An artiste and a builder,” published in Voices from Within, a collection of articles edited by Lanre Idowu to mark Uncle Sam’s 70th birthday, he made his first call at the Sunday Express, where John Pepper Clark was features editor.

J.P. Clark nurtured him, but it was at the Times that his talent blossomed. He started with “Offbeat Sam,” which, as the name suggested, was an unconventional, straight-from-the-heart weekly column that stripped many social and political issues of their cloak of hypocrisy.

Like many elites in the 90s who criticised gossip magazines as street rags but never missed reading them behind closed doors, “Offbeat Sam” made politicians and government officials uncomfortable. But it was a foretaste of what was to come.

When Uncle Sam moved from the Sunday Express to become editor of Spear magazine (he later edited the Sunday Times), a Daily Times publication set up to rival Drum of South Africa, he started the “Sad Sam” column. His entry expanded a vibrant and robust field of punditry that included the likes of Hadj Alade Odunewu, Peter Enahoro (Peter Pan), Clarkson Majomi, Gbolabo Ogunsanwo, Haroun Adamu, and Uche Chukwumerije, amongst others.

Writing for a living

“Sad Sam” was not interested in the news. He exploited the foibles and follies of politicians and those in authority to entertain, provoke emotions, or instigate deeper thinking about who we are.

An article by Gbemiga Ogunleye, “The columnist’s power,” quoting Sad Sam in the Sunday PUNCH of August 12, 1973, said, “I (Sad Sam) write for the same reason that a houseboy cleans the house or a secretary-typist takes shorthand and types or a taxi driver rides the street, touting for fares…or an executive in business or government goes to the office or a professional burglar steals. For a living, that’s all. It’s none of my business to correct the ills or save this country!”

I’m a bit like Sad Sam these days, chastened by the years and weary of making any fuss about changing the world by writing. However, one area in which I could never be like Uncle Sam is his management style.

Be ‘a little mad’

In an industry where he once admitted in a sticker on the wall of the PUNCH newsroom, “You don’t have to be mad to work here, but a little madness helps,” how did he manage a steely coolness in his small body frame amidst the turmoil of the newsroom, never mind the many tempests of a life forged in the vicissitudes of the streets of Oguanja in Sapele?

Was his stoicism partly shaped in his formative years, including his time as a left-winger for the Government College, Ughelli football team and his education at the Nigerian College of Arts, Science and Technology, Enugu, where he studied architecture?

As Odunewu wrote, the intensity of the newsroom creates more of the likes of Lord Beaverbrook, the publisher of the Daily Express or MKO Abiola of the Concord – or even Sam Nda-Isaiah of LEADERSHIP – a breathless and restless stock in whose corner I find myself, than the likes of Uncle Sam who would rather go to the office with a peace offering than drag the office to their presence by the scruff of the neck.

An eye for talent

Eric Teniola, who worked with Uncle Sam in PUNCH between 1977 and 1981, as Oyo State Editor, Constituent Assembly Editor and Lagos City Editor, told me that one of Uncle Sam’s greatest gifts is his capacity to always look on the bright side, the opposite of the essence of a Sad Sam.

“He knew how to spot a talent and to bring out the best in the people who worked with him,” Teniola said. “From Muyiwa Adetiba to Toye Akiode and Frank Aigbogun, he identified some of the most remarkable talents in the newsroom and created the environment that inspired them to work. He was always informal, unpretentious and spontaneous, looking for a reporter to give a big break or a miserable bloke to give a free lunch.”

Ademola Osinubi, former MD/Editor-in-Chief of PUNCH, who started as a reporter in 1976, and later became the chief reporter under Uncle Sam, said, “With Uncle Sam, you couldn’t be sure your script would pass the test until it’s been published. He was an editor’s editor.”

Gene vs. lifestyle

As for his longevity, that is a different story. It’s probably part hereditary. Uncle Sam’s mother died at 109. Apart from his older brother, Oritsedere, who passed in 2002, the other three from the same mother are still alive, and the youngest is a woman, Amanaghan, 76. Uncle Sam’s daughter, Omasan Dudu, told me he is a good swimmer and, until recently, maintained a personal yoga coach.

“He still goes to the office every Monday and takes his exercises seriously,” she said. “I remember he fought against the attempt to convert the open space in his community in Lagos, Anthony Village, where he exercised. But most of all, his longevity is down to his generosity of spirit and God’s grace. That’s how he has managed multiple ulcer surgeries and other big challenges in life. It’s grace.”

In my obsession to live a long, healthy life, only God knows how many things I have given up. I can’t remember when I last used a sweetener or milk, even gluten-free ones, for my tea or pap. Last year, when I visited him, Uncle Sam had his tea with plenty of honey and topped his tea with several spoonsful of sachet Cowbell milk. Packets of Kemp’s crackers biscuits littered the cane table.

Daddy DJ!

To create the perfect ambience for his refreshment, he turned on music stored on a flash drive. “You don’t know I’m called Daddy DJ?” he joked in response to my puzzled look. That was new to me from a man I consider Nigeria’s answer to Jimmy Breslin.

In a tribute to Breslin after his death, The Guardian wrote that he was the champion of the trials and troubles of the ordinary people in New York. “He filled his columns with gangsters and thieves, whom he knew first-hand from drinking in the same bars. He told stories that smacked of blarney behind their anger.”

That could have been Sad Sam, a man punctual as the clock, passionate about press freedom and sustained by righteous rage.

Live and let live

Three years ago, he had a fracture. He had undergone a back surgery and was on his way to an appointment for an acupuncture procedure. Instead of walking over a plank in front of the place, he tried to jump over the gutter and fractured his leg. I asked the editor of Vanguard, Eze Anaba, how the Vanguard publisher, who was then 87 years old, had survived the fall.

“He believes that life has a NAFDAC number,” Anaba said. “Nothing can take you out if your number has not expired.”

I asked Osinubi how he would describe this man he has known for 49 years. “He lives life on his terms,” he said. “Live and let live.”

Here’s to another 20, Uncle Sam!

Ishiekwene, Editor-In-Chief of LEADERSHIP, is the author of the new book Writing for Media and Monetising It. 

June 12 holds an indelible place in Nigeria's political consciousness, a date now officially designated as the nation's “Democracy Day”. More than just a public holiday, it serves as a sad reminder of a defining moment in Nigeria's quest for democratic governance, intricately linked to the struggles of Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola. His electoral victory in the 1993 presidential election, widely acclaimed as the freest and fairest in Nigeria's history even as at today, and its subsequent annulment, unleashed a torrent of political and legal crises that profoundly shaped the trajectory of the nation. Understanding June 12 therefore requires delving into the idealism it represents, the betrayal it embodied, and its enduring political and legal importance.

THE GENESIS OF HOPE: THE JUNE 12, 1993 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

By the early 1990s, Nigeria was tired of protracted military rule. Decades of coups, counter-coups, and authoritarian regimes had subdued political development, entrenched corruption, and fostered deep-seated distrust between the populace and the government. General Ibrahim Babangida's military regime, having promised a transition to civilian rule, had embarked on a seemingly elaborate program. Some people dubbed it “transfixion programme” This program culminated in the presidential election of June 12, 1993.

The election itself was unique. Unlike previous multi-party contests, the Babangida regime had streamlined the political landscape to just two government-sanctioned parties: the Social Democratic Party (SDP) (“a little-to-the-left”) and the National Republican Convention (NRC) (“a little-to-the-right”). This binary choice forced a broader alignment across Nigeria's often-fractious ethnic and religious lines. The SDP presented an unusual ticket: Chief M.K.O. Abiola, a wealthy Yoruba businessman and philanthropist from the South-West, as its presidential candidate, paired with Ambassador Babagana Kingibe, a Muslim from the North-East, as his running mate. This Muslim-Muslim ticket was unprecedented and signaled a potential shift from Nigeria's traditional ethno-religious political divisions. 

The NRC fielded Alhaji Bashir Tofa (a Kanuri) and Sylvester Ugoh (an Igbo). The electoral process on June 12, 1993, unfolded remarkably smoothly. Despite initial logistical challenges, Nigerians turned out in large numbers to vote, demonstrating an undeniable enthusiasm for democracy. The results, though never fully announced by the National Electoral Commission (NEC), began to seep in, indicating a clear and decisive victory for MKO Abiola. Independent observers, both domestic and international, hailed the election as exceptionally free and fair, devoid of the widespread rigging and irregularities that had plagued previous Nigerian elections. It was a moment of genuine national unity and optimism, a powerful affirmation of the Nigerian people's desire for self-governance. Abiola ostensibly won across Nigeria, beating Bashir Tofa even in his Gyadi-Gyadi, Albassa ward in Kano. 

THE ANNULMENT: A BETRAYAL AND THE DAWN OF NATIONAL CRISIS

The ecstasy of the June 12 election was tragically short-lived. In a move that shocked the nation and the international community, the Babangida regime, on June 23, 1993, unilaterally annulled the results of the presidential election. The reasons cited were vague, ranging from "irregularities" to the need to "save the Judiciary." This annulment was widely perceived as a direct affront to the democratic will of the Nigerian people and a cynical betrayal of the transition program.

The annulment ignited a profound political crisis. Protests erupted across the country, particularly in the South-West, Abuja and other major cities across Nigeria. Civil society organizations, human rights activists, pro-democracy groups (such as the National Democratic Coalition - NADECO), CLO, UDD and student unions galvanized public opposition. The country was plunged into a period of intense civil unrest, strikes, and widespread condemnation from international bodies and foreign governments. The annulment not only shattered public trust, but also deepened existing ethnic and regional fault lines, as many viewed the action as a deliberate attempt by the military-Northern establishment to deny the South-West its legitimate turn at the presidency.

THE STRUGGLE FOR VALIDATION AND THE FIGHT FOR DEMOCRACY

The annulment of the June 12 election led to a prolonged period of agitation and repression. MKO Abiola declared himself the rightful president and was eventually arrested and detained in 1994 after declaring his intention to reclaim his mandate. He remained in detention for four years and died in custody on July 7, 1998, under suspicious circumstances that had the finger of the government, even as the country was transitioning to another civilian government.

The June 12 movement inspired a generation of pro-democracy activists, journalists, students, and labour leaders who risked their lives to challenge military dictatorship. It became a rallying point for advocating civil liberties, electoral justice, and the return to democratic governance. I was, with all humility, one of the frontline torch bearers of our fight against military dictatorship.

MKO ABIOLA'S STRUGGLE: A SYMBOL OF RESISTANCE

At the heart of the June 12 struggle was Chief M.K.O. Abiola himself. Having clearly won the election, he rightly refused to accept the annulment. He embarked on a courageous and ultimately self-sacrificing campaign to reclaim his mandate. On June 11, 1994, exactly one year after the election, Abiola declared himself president-elect in the Epetedo area of Lagos Island, asserting his rightful claim to the presidency. This act of defiance was a direct challenge to the authority of the military regime, which by now was headed by General Sani Abacha.

Abiola was subsequently arrested on June 23, 1994, on charges of treason. His incarceration became a central focus of the pro-democracy struggle. Despite immense national and international pressure, Abiola remained resolute, refusing to renounce his mandate in exchange for his freedom. His continued detention and unwavering stance served as a powerful symbol of resistance against military tyranny and a constant reminder of the unfinished democratic business. His wife, Kudirat Abiola, also became a prominent voice in the struggle, actively campaigning for her husband's release and the revalidation of the June 12 mandate. She was tragically assassinated in 1996 in broad daylight.

Abiola's prolonged struggle ended tragically with his death in detention on July 7, 1998, just weeks after the sudden death of General Abacha in equally sinister circumstances in Aso villa. His death, under suspicious circumstances extinguished the immediate hope for the revalidation of his mandate but solidified his place as a martyr for democracy in Nigeria who paid the ultimate supreme price for redemptive messiahnism.

THE POLITICAL IMPORTANCE OF JUNE 12

The political importance of June 12 in Nigeria cannot therefore be overstated. Symbol of Democratic Will: June 12 stands as the most potent symbol of the Nigerian people's unequivocal desire for democratic governance. It demonstrated that Nigerians, across ethnic and religious divides, could unite and vote freely, rejecting the imposition of leadership.

1. Symbol of Electoral Integrity

June 12, 1993, remains a benchmark for free and fair elections in Nigeria. The transparency and credibility of that election are often cited as the gold standard against which future elections are measured.

2. National Unity

MKO Abiola’s victory cut across ethnic, religious, gender, status and regional divisions, proving that national unity and collective political will were possible in Nigeria. It challenged the long-standing narrative that Nigeria could not overcome its deep-seated ethno-religious differences.

Catalyst for Sustained Pro-Democracy Struggle: The annulment fueled a sustained and relentless pro-democracy movement. Groups such as NADECO, CLO, UDD, DA, other civil society organizations and various activists relentlessly agitated against military rule, sacrificing personal liberty and, in some cases, their lives. This pressure, both internal and external, played a significant role in ultimately forcing the military to hurriedly relinquish power in 1999.

Exposure of Military's Ills: The June 12 saga laid bare the inherent contradictions and self-serving nature of military rule. It exposed the military's disdain for popular will and its willingness to undermine the very transition it claimed to oversee.

Shaping the Fourth Republic: The experiences of June 12 profoundly influenced the design and character of Nigeria's Fourth Republic, which began in 1999. The framers of the new constitution and the political elite were keenly aware of the need to prevent a repeat of such an annulment.

National Healing and Recognition: For decades, June 12 remained a contentious issue, primarily celebrated in the South-West as a "Democracy Day." However, in a significant move towards national healing and historical recognition, President Muhammadu Buhari, on June 6, 2018, officially declared June 12 as Nigeria's Democracy Day, replacing May 29. This act posthumously honored MKO Abiola with the Grand Commander of the Federal Republic (GCFR), Nigeria's highest national honour reserved only for Presidents and Heads of State. This official recognition was a crucial step in acknowledging the historical injustice and unifying the country around a shared democratic ideal.

4. Rejection of Military Rule

June 12 represents the collective will of Nigerians to reject military dictatorship. The years following the annulment saw increased pressure on the military, culminating in the return to civilian rule in 1999 after the death of General Sani Abacha.

5. Restoration of Democratic Values

The recognition of June 12 as Democracy Day affirms Nigeria’s commitment to democratic governance, civil liberties, the rule of law, and the right of the people to choose their leaders.

FROM MAY 29 TO JUNE 12: A SHIFT IN NATIONAL NARRATIVE

Before 2018, Nigeria’s Democracy Day was celebrated on May 29—the day the military handed over power to a civilian government in 1999. I argued repeatedly like many Nigerians that May 29 was merely symbolic of military benevolence rather than popular sovereignty. In contrast, June 12 embodied the people’s struggle, sacrifice, and demand for democracy. Its restoration was therefore a long held dream.

LEGAL IMPORTANCE OF JUNE 12

Beyond its political ramifications, June 12 also carries significant legal importance.

Judicial Independence and Integrity Tested: The annulment of the election, supposedly to "save the Judiciary," ironically exposed the Judiciary's vulnerabilities under military rule. The Judiciary was drawn into the political fracas, with conflicting court orders and legal battles that ultimately highlighted the limitations of the legal system when confronted by raw military power. The Judiciary infamously failed the country during the crisis.

Questions of Sovereign Will vs. Military Decrees: The annulment raised fundamental legal questions about the supremacy of the people's sovereign will, expressed through a free and fair election, versus the arbitrary power of military Decrees and Edicts. The military junta argued its Decrees were supreme, but the legal community largely condemned the annulment as an illegal act, devoid of any legitimate legal basis.

Focus on Electoral Reforms: The flaws and vulnerabilities exposed by the June 12 experience spurred subsequent efforts at electoral reforms in Nigeria. There was a clear understanding of the need for robust electoral laws, transparent processes, and an independent electoral commission capable of withstanding political pressure.

Reinforcement of Constitutionalism: The struggle underscored the importance of constitutionalism and the rule of law. The arbitrary nature of the annulment reinforced the argument for a return to civilian rule governed by a written constitution that guarantees rights and limits arbitrary power.

Precedent for Popular Mandate: While the mandate was not revalidated, the June 12 experience set a powerful precedent: a free and fair election outcome, reflecting the will of the people, holds immense moral and legal weight that cannot be easily dismissed without significant repercussions. It became a benchmark against which future elections would be measured.

CONCLUSION:

June 12 is far more than just a date on the calendar; it is a national narrative woven with threads of hope, betrayal, struggle, and eventual recognition. It stands as a powerful testament to the resilience of the Nigerian people and their unwavering commitment to democratic ideals. The MKO Abiola struggle, characterized by his electoral victory, the subsequent annulment of the freest election in Nigeria's history, and his ultimate sacrifice, served as a catalyst for a sustained pro-democracy movement that eventually led to the end of military rule.

Its political importance lies in its role as a unifying symbol of democratic will, a catalyst for political transition, and a critical lesson in the perils of authoritarianism. Legally, June 12 exposed the fragility of institutions under military rule, underscored the imperative of robust electoral laws, and reinforced the sanctity of the popular mandate. By designating June 12 as Democracy Day, Nigeria has officially acknowledged this painful yet pivotal chapter of its history, honoring the sacrifices made and reaffirming its commitment to the principles of freedom, justice, and democratic governance. The echoes of June 12 continue to echo, serving as a constant reminder that the voice of the people, expressed through the ballot box, must always be respected and upheld. Whether Nigerians have imbibed or exhibited lessons learnt from June 12 is another matter altogether.