The Kano State Government has demanded financial compensation from the Federal Government over the cancellation of the annual Durbar celebrations for two consecutive years in Kano Emirate, citing heavy economic losses.

The State’s Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Alhaji Tajo Uthman, made the demand on Sunday during the traditional Sallah homage paid by the 16th Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, to the Government House.

Speaking during the event, Uthman said the suspension of the Durbar festival had deprived the state of significant revenue that is usually generated from tourism and associated economic activities.

“Kano State has suffered huge financial losses due to the cancellation of the Durbar. It is more than just a cultural event—it is an economic driver,” Uthman stated. “it is high time we begin demanding reparation from the federal government for the losses incurred over the past two years”

LEADERSHIP reports that the annual Durbar, a colourful display of horsemanship, traditionally draws thousands of spectators, including tourists from within and outside Nigeria. The event is a major source of revenue for hotels, restaurants, transport operators, artisans, and traders.

Uthman stressed that even the smallest transactions during the festival season, such as shoe polishing and street food sales, play an essential role in boosting the local economy.

“When these tourists come, they stay in hotels, enjoy local dishes, watch the Durbar, and when their shoes get dusty, they pay someone to clean them. Some even buy snacks like Gurasa,” he explained. “These seemingly minor activities inject money into the economy. Now that the Durbar has been cancelled two years in a row, all of that revenue is gone.”

The commissioner added that the state had included revenue from the Durbar festivities in its annual budget, and the cancellation had created a financial gap that needed to be addressed.

“We included these revenues in our annual budget. Now that we’ve lost them, we’ll need the Federal Government to step in and cover the gap,” he added.

LEADERSHIP reports that the Kano State Police Command had placed a total ban on Durbar in the State since 2014 over the Kano emirship tussle between Emir Sanusi II and the 15th Emir of Kano, Aminu Ado Bayero, in order to forestall possible breakdown of law and order.

[Leadership]

Each of the 3,200 pilgrims from Sokoto state have received 1000 Saudi Riyals which is equivalent to N450,000 as Sallah gift from Governor Ahmed Aliyu.

The governor made the announcement on Saturday during a visit to the Sokoto contingent in Minna, where he congratulated them on the successful completion of the Hajj exercise.

Aliyu said the gesture was aimed at supporting the pilgrims financially as they prepare for their return journey to Nigeria.

He expressed satisfaction with the conduct of the state’s pilgrims, noting that none were found violating Saudi Arabian laws during their stay in the holy land.

“I want to thank you most profoundly for being good ambassadors of our dear state in this holy land. I am indeed very proud of you,” the governor said.

“I equally appreciate your maturity and high sense of responsibility while undertaking the Hajj rituals.”

He reassured the pilgrims of his administration’s continued commitment to their welfare and that of all residents of Sokoto State.

Governor Aliyu also commended the State Amirul Hajj, Alhaji Ummarun Kwabo, for his tireless efforts to ensure the success of this year’s Hajj. He further appreciated the officials of the Sokoto State Pilgrims Welfare Agency for their dedication in organizing a successful pilgrimage.

He urged the pilgrims to intensify prayers for Nigeria, especially for divine intervention in addressing the country’s numerous challenges, with emphasis on insecurity.

“No matter the effort we are putting into addressing insecurity, prayer remains the best weapon to end the insecurity that has been crippling our development,” he added.

The governor also used the visit to condole with pilgrims from Gudu and Shagari Local Government Areas over the demise of Hajiya Hadiza and Bala Jangebe, who passed away during the pilgrimage. He prayed for Allah’s forgiveness for the departed souls and comfort for their grieving families.

Earlier, the State Amirul Hajj, Alhaji Ummarun Kwabo, thanked the governor for his support, which he said significantly contributed to the success of this year’s Hajj operations. He noted that all the committees set up for the pilgrimage have been working diligently to ensure a smooth and successful exercise.

[DailyTrust]

The lead pastor of Streams of Joy International, Pastor Jerry Eze has shared the driving force behind his passion for evangelism, saying his ministry is out of genuine calling rather than a professional pursuit.

He made this known while speaking in a recent interview with Chude Jideonwo.

The prominent cleric noted that contrary to what many might think, he is not a pastor for personal or financial gains.

He said “I’m not a professional pastor, the day I become a professional pastor let God kill me.“

“The day it ceases to be about God and be about Jerry let God close down everything.”

He expressed humility about his unexpected rise to prominence.

The firebrand man of God claimed he never planned to get to the point where he is now, noting that true success lies in staying focused on God’s purpose rather than personal recognition.

He said in the interview, “I didn’t plan to be here, this is not something you plan that at some point youre going to be big and the world will hear of you.

“I know what my assignment is, I know what God has called me to do and it has consumed me.”

Jerry Eze also noted in his interview that he is motivated by the smiles and testimonies from his congregation.

He said,“I don’t care what anybody thinks or feels but the encouragement is when I see those smiles and hear those testimonies.”

[DailyPost]

The Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) has has disclosed that Inmates in the country now have their National Identity Numbers, (NIN) captured in the National Identity Management Commission, NIMC, database due to on-going registration.

The Service said 74 percent of the inmates, representing 59,786 of the 80,879 inmates have been captured in the database of NIMC.

The Public Relations Officer of the Correctional Service, Deputy Comptroller of Corrections, Umar Abubakar, said this was made possible by the collaboration between NIMC and the Service.

Abubakar dismissed reports that the National Identity Number (NIN) registration exercise was yet to commence in all custodial centres across the country.

” This report is misleading, inaccurate, and does not reflect the current state of affairs within our custodial facilities,” Abubakar said in a statement.

He noted that the NIN registration of inmates in custodial centres was not only ongoing but has recorded significant progress.

He said:” A majority of inmates across various custodial centres nationwide have already been successfully enrolled into the National Identity Database through the collaborative efforts of the Service and the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).

“Available data show that as at 7thJune, 2025, out of the total of 80, 879 inmates’ population, 59,786 inmates approximately 74% have been captured into the NIMC platform.

“The registration of the remaining inmates is actively in progress, and mechanisms have been put in place to ensure its seamless completion. 

“The claim that the registration has “yet to commence” in custodial centres is factually incorrect and fails to acknowledge the substantial work already done.

” The Service remains committed to the full integration of inmates into national data systems, including the NIN, as part of broader efforts to promote rehabilitation, reintegration, and the digital inclusion of all persons in custody.

“The Service therefore urges members of the media to verify information with relevant authorities before publication, in order to avoid spreading misinformation that may mislead the public and undermine ongoing institutional efforts”

[TheNation]

President Bola Tinubu will address a joint session of the national assembly on June 12 to commemorate Democracy Day.

A statement issued by Akin Rotimi on Sunday said the event was conveyed to the lawmakers via an internal memorandum issued by Yahaya Danzaria, clerk of the house of representatives.

Rotimi said the president will confer national honours on selected legislators during the event.

“The special joint sitting is scheduled to hold at the House of Representatives Chamber, National Assembly Complex, commencing at 11:00 AM, with preliminary proceedings ahead of the arrival of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, at 12:00 noon,” the statement reads.

“The theme for this year’s celebration is:
“26 Years of Democracy: Renewing Our Commitment to National Development.”

“President Tinubu is expected to attend the occasion as Special Guest of Honour and will deliver a presidential address to the joint sitting.

“The programme will also feature goodwill messages from former presiding officers of the national assembly and the conferment of national honours on select legislators by Mr. President.

“This joint sitting represents a significant moment in Nigeria’s democratic journey.

“It underscores the pivotal role of the national assembly in safeguarding democratic values, fostering accountability, and advancing national development over the past 26 years of uninterrupted civil rule.”

From 1999, when civil rule returned, the country celebrated Democracy Day on May 29, until it was changed in 2018.

In June 2018, former President Muhammadu Buhari declared June 12 as the new date for the celebration of Nigeria’s democracy.

The decision was to posthumously honour MKO Abiola, presumed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election.

[TheCable]

World heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk has offered Donald Trump the chance to live in his house in a bid to help the United States president understand the war in Ukraine.

Trump had vowed to resolve the conflict between Russia and Ukraine “in 24 hours” if he were elected president.

But there has been no end to Russia’s invasion since Trump returned to the White House in 2024.

Ukrainian boxer Usyk, who has been a tireless campaigner for peace in his homeland, believes Trump needs to have a clearer view of the dire situation if he is to find a solution to the crisis.

The 38-year-old has urged the president to join him at his house in Ukraine to see for himself the damage done by the war.

“I advise American President Donald Trump to come to Ukraine and live in my house for one week,” Usyk told BBC Sport on Sunday.

“Only one week. I will give him my house. Live please in Ukraine and watch what is going on every night.

“Every night, there are bombs and flights above my house. Bombs, rockets. Every night. It’s enough.”

Trump clashed with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky during a contentious summit meeting in the Oval Office in February.

Trump warned Zelensky to show more gratitude for America’s help in peace talks before telling him to leave the White House.

Asked if Trump could be convinced to change his opinion, Usyk said: “I don’t know. Maybe he’ll understand, maybe he won’t.”

Usyk, who has won all 23 of his professional bouts, is currently in a training camp to prepare for a rematch with IBF champion Daniel Dubois on July 19 at Wembley.

But the WBC, WBA, and WBO heavyweight champion said the war is never far from his mind.

“I worry about what happens in my country. It’s very bad because Ukrainian people have died,” he said.

“It’s not just military people, children, women, grandmothers and grandfathers, too.”

AFP

The Federal Roads Main tenance Agency (FERMA), Nigeria’s first institutional mechanism for monitoring and maintaining all federal roads in the country has been in operation for at least two decades since it was set up by former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration. Its establishment was no doubt as expedient then as it is to day as an intervention to perhaps the most common challenge to the nation’s development framework. 

Although the number of Nigerian roads that has ever had any type of construction is quite scanty, poor maintenance is probably a bigger problem because each time a road has a hitch, it increases the number of bad roads along with their adverse effects on the people and the economy. 

Between 2003 and 2015, FERMA functioned in a manner that its name became known across the nation. At the approach of any major festivity, the government would issue a directive to FERMA to ease all major roads for travellers going to unite with their families in their country homes. As the popularity of the organization grew, young unemployed Nigerians evolved their own branch of FERMA patching potholes and helping to make passage easy. They were quickly classified as local ‘ferma’ and are still operating till today as some of them do get some gratification from road users. But the real FERMA itself is no longer able to function as it used to be or even as visibly as its unofficial local affiliates. Why?

It is honestly simplistic to imagine that the decline in the activities of FERMA is attributable to the posture of its knowledgeable technical operatives. What Nigerians know about road works is about one Minister of Works always inspecting works and briefing the media on government’s preparedness to provide good roads. In reality however, what Nigerians desire is good roads put together by a team of diligent workers and not necessarily a strong works leader even though it is difficult not to acknowledge the strength of character of Dave Umahi, the current Minister of Works. Indeed, he is not just a fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers; his carriage easily portrays engineering expertise. However, what Nigeria needs today is not strong men, but strong institutions that would survive over time.

Nigeria needs a Ministry of Works, whose Minister is at the head of policy making along with a strong management team superintending over a viable work force. With or without the Minister or any other particular official, the institution ought to function effectively from generation to generation. Nigeria cannot get close to any developed nation if it continues with its strong-man posture. Whether it is Umahi in Works, Keyamo in Aviation, Tunji Ojo in Interior, Alausa in Education, Pate in health, Idris in Information etc, a system works best with units whose mandates are related to the professed expertiseof its work force in which functions are not personalized and in which there is established uniformity in operating procedures routed in a unity of direction that is properly oiled by institutional memory.

Today, our people have a perception that our road contractsare usually never well-thought out. Just a job for some expatriates with no details such as maintenance. Quite often, nothing is said about culverts, sidewalks, drainages etc. If contracts pass through the appropriate processes, such omissions can be minimized. Besides, announcing huge contracts for road construction every week does not produce good roads; yet, we continue to do that without end while expecting different results. Many years back, Senator Seye Ogunlewe, who had served as Minister of Works was forced to reveal why our road projects don’t end. According to Ogunlewe who should know, road contracts are politicised as we dissipate scare resources while purporting to approve many new roads that don’t get built.

Each time a contractor is mobilized to return to phase 2 of a road project, the original phase 1 supposedly completed earlier would have gone into disuse. Here, it is wasteful to enumerate factors responsible for why our roads go bad so quickly. The obvious reason of concern today is that Nigeria lacks maintenance culture. This is not only about roads but about all facets of life in the country. For example, Nigeria has always been a one-stadium nation because as soon as a new one is built, the existing ones are abandoned.Many years ago, we all knew of the famous Liberty Stadium, Ibadan. It coexisted with a few others in the days of strong regionsbut they all gave way to the magnificent National Stadium Surulere, Lagos built in 1972.

At the time, it was a national monument with an Olympic-size swimming arena and a multipurpose arena used for football, rugby, athletics, boxing etc.It was the nation’s main sporting facility used for the 1973 African Games (AAG), the 1980 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) as well as one of the venues of the 1999 FIFA U-20 World Cup and later the 2000 AFCON, co-hosted by Ghana and Nigeria. The Abuja National Stadium now renamed MKO Abiola Stadium which was built in 2003 is likely to face the same fate due to lack of maintenance of facilities in the location.For the same reason, no one talks anymore about the Ahmadu Bello Stadium, Kaduna and the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, Enugu.

Bearing in mind that Nigeria no longer has resources to erect huge structures, one would have expected those in power to have since developed the idea of never allowing what exists to die. But instead, we have continued to follow the old idiom of‘penny wise, pound foolish’ – an approach which explains why Nigeria’s huge structures; be they buildings or roads are destroyed because of failure to spend a small amount to maintain them.If those who set up FERMA had this in mind, it would appear that we are sliding backwards because not much has been done to ensure that such a maintenance tool is empowered to rescue us from bad roads that can be maintained rather than waiting to raise enough funds to rebuild and upgrade. 

In July 2024, FERMA’s Managing Director Engr. Chukwuemeka Agbasi told the media that the Agency was set to commence ‘operation free our roads’ initiative nationwide. Those of us who had followed the performance of the Agency in the past looked forward to interventionist projects such as patching of potholes, pavement strengthening, repairs of failed sections, bridge/culverts construction and general maintenance.Their effort didn’t yield much. On closer inquiries, we now know that the invaluable work of the Agency is yet to be prioritized. Only last week, federal legislators at an investigative hearing were told that government needs approximately N880 billion each year to maintain the federal road network nationwide. 

The Minister of State for Works, Mohammed Goroyo who disclosed the figure at the hearing highlighted the persistent shortfall in FERMA’s budgetary allocations forcing the agency to adopt reactive rather than preventive maintenance strategies.Goroyo emphasized that with only N168.9bn budgeted for 2025 there would be lack of adequate funding which would in turn result in deteriorating road conditions, increased repair costs, and disruptions to commuters and businesses. The impact of poor roads on an overstretched economy such as we have now cannot be overstressed. It is therefore time to call on well-meaning patriots to appeal to our leaders to recognize that projects such as ‘free our roads’ are more useful to our people than some of the contrived items in our budgets.

Budget padding everywhere is condemnable but its Nigerian focus is grossly irritating. Why are the extra provisions not deployed to matters of general public interest like roads maintenance? To make matters worse, legislators who should have insisted on ensuring that law is enforced are now the ones shedding crocodile tears over the non-implementation of votes for roads maintenance.Last week, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, openly decried the non-implementation and non-remittance of five per cent of the petrol pump price to the FERMA.Abbas who stated the parliament’s position noted that certain relevant authorities were still flouting the law, despite the efforts of the lawmakers.

It will be recalled that Section 14(1)(h) of the FERMA Amendment Act 2007,provides for five per cent of the pump price of petrol and diesel to be allocated to FERMA and the state maintenance agencies.Who are the relevant defaulting authorities that the Speaker is referring to? One is tempted to imagine that the failure to name names suggests that those involved are untouchables, otherwiseby now there would have been noisy threats of summons and warrants of arrests! We can only appeal here to all that empowering FERMA would benefit us all.

The Senior Pastor of House on the Rock Church, Paul Adefarasin, has broken his silence over a viral video falsely claiming he brandished a firearm, describing the incident as hurtful and maliciously driven by “clickbaiters just looking for money.”

Speaking during his sermon on Sunday, which was streamed live on the church’s YouTube channel and monitored by Vanguard, Adefarasin said he was deeply shaken by the accusation and the reaction that followed.

“Several persons called me. I was shocked. I was hurt. I’m human,” he said. “What we have had to witness was clickbaiters just looking for money. I probably wasn’t even their target; their target was to make more money.”

He categorically denied owning or using a firearm: “I was falsely accused of pointing a firearm at an aggressive content creator who came within personal distance. I do not have a pistol license. I do not carry a firearm. And I pointed no firearm at anybody.”

Adefarasin explained that the alleged incident occurred on a Saturday while he was observing the Sabbath. “It happened on Saturday when I observed Sabbath. I believe in the principle of Sabbath,” he said.

He further stated that his ministry would not lend weight to misinformation and online attacks. “It’s our policy not to dignify hate speech and false accusations. We believe God is bigger than that.”

Quoting scripture, he added: “We believe in what He said in Romans 12:19 — ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’”

Reflecting on the emotional toll, Adefarasin said, “God is touched with the feelings of our infirmities, and He’s able to first give us succour. And what the enemy means for evil, He works it for good.”

He concluded, “On that note, I will lay that matter to rest.”

[Vanguard]

Veteran journalist and Arise News TV anchor, Dr. Reuben Abati, has broken his silence following scathing remarks by Lere Olayinka, a media aide to FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, during a controversial appearance on The Morning Show last Friday that included claims that he begged Wike for money.

Olayinka, speaking live on the Arise News flagship programme, had, besides claiming that Abati begged Wike for money, also accused the TV anchor of partisanship, claiming he had become the unofficial spokesperson of former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi.

He also questioned Abati’s absence from the studio that day, implying it was a calculated move to avoid accountability.

“I wasn’t expecting him to be here. He has taken the position of special assistant on media to Rotimi Amaechi.

The fiery exchange stems from a recent comment made by Amaechi during his 60th birthday celebration, where he declared himself “hungry” — a statement widely seen as a veiled criticism of the current administration. Wike, his political rival, dismissed the remarks and questioned the credibility of a man who had held multiple top political roles to claim hunger.

Abati, reacting on Arise News, criticized Wike’s response as “rude and disrespectful,” especially coming from someone whose political rise was closely tied to Amaechi. This opinion apparently struck a nerve with Olayinka, prompting his Friday outburst.

In a swift and pointed response issued over the weekend, Abati, according to GWG, Dr. Abati dismissed Olayinka’s claims as baseless and defamatory.

He categorically denied ever aligning with Amaechi or seeking favours from Minister Wike.

“I am not Rotimi Amaechi’s spokesperson, nor do I have his phone number. That’s a fabrication.”

He further explained that his absence from Friday’s show was due to a prior intellectual engagement — a book review for “Oprah Benson – Live and Legend,” authored by Dr. Udu Yakubu — and not an attempt to dodge any confrontation

Abati also clarified a claim Olayinka made regarding an alleged probe by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). According to the broadcaster, his interaction with the EFCC was a routine and procedural invitation — not a criminal investigation. He added that the agency under its former chairman, Ibrahim Magu, later issued a formal apology to him.

Taking a swipe at Olayinka’s use of the word “hubris” during the interview, Abati suggested the media aide had misused the term and lacked the intellectual depth to warrant further engagement.

Despite the attacks, Abati stood firmly by his earlier criticism of Minister Wike, arguing that public officials must always be subject to public scrutiny.

Abati besides dismissing Olayinka’s claims that he begged Wike for money also addressed the media aide’s attempt to resurrect old allegations against the late Senator Buruji Kashamu, insisting that no court ever convicted the deceased, either in Nigeria or abroad.

Closing his statement, Abati expressed deep gratitude to his co-hosts, especially Rufai Oseni and Vimbai, for their professionalism during the episode. He also thanked his wife, Kikelomo Atanda-Owo Abati, for her unwavering support.

“Your strength remains my anchor,” he wrote.

ON Thursday this week, it will be 32 years of that June 12 phenomenon. On July 9, 1998, the lifeless body of a young man adorned the front page of the Nigerian Tribune. The tear-jerking, bloodied body decorated the front pages of many other Nigerian newspapers like manacles in the hands of a convict. He had been shot dead by the police in Abeokuta, Ogun State. It was during a Southwest-wide protest against the perceived murder in detention of Chief MKO Abiola, winner of the June 12, 1993 election. The lifeless young man was one of the countless lives Nigeria propitiated at the grove of military despotism. It was the sacrifice to have the freedom of today.

According to Nigerian newspapers’ edition of that day, students, workers, apprentices, bystanders were felled by police bullets. It was like the June 1976 protest by black school children in Soweto, South Africa which led to minimum of 176 dead and estimated 700 felled, with over a thousand people injured. The report said, in Lagos, about 40 lives were lost. Fourteen in Idi-Araba, 4 at Oshodi, 3 at Oworonshoki, and 2 at Ojodu. Unconfirmed sources told reporters that ten lives were lost at Mushin and ten at multi-million Naira Lagos abattoir area at Oko-Oba. In Ibadan, police dispatched five persons to their untimely graves at the Bodija estate area and three at the Bodija market. Perceived military apologist, Arisekola Alao’s Bodija building was in turn damaged by the protesters, leading to the death of two of them. In Abeokuta, the palace of the Alake of Egbaland was looted and torched. The monarch’s staff of office, beaded crown and royal umbrella were looted as well. A tyre warehouse belonging to one Alhaji Fatai Gbemisola was set ablaze with vehicles vandalized in their hundreds.

The above should remind one that life usually comes in binaries – good/bad; poor/rich; live/die and so on. Orlando Owoh, Yoruba Kennery music singer, perhaps had this binary in mind when he sang that beneath the sweet apple of the pineapple lies its lacerating pine. “Opon oyinbo fi dundun se’wa, oro inu e t’o egbeje” he sang. Owoh could as well have been talking about Nigeria’s binary, of yesterday’s June 12 struggle and today’s civil rule.  

The repercussion of the election annulment by General Ibrahim Babangida was colossal. Hundreds of Nigerians were murdered while uncountable suffered collateral deaths. Many got imprisoned; livelihoods were lost, destinies got truncated and many never recovered their well-being, even till today. Many children and dependant of the dead had their destinies stymied by the crisis. On July 7, 1998, with General Sani Abacha obdurately soldiering on, in spite of widespread calls on him to release Abiola from prison and honour the people’s electoral wish, Abiola’s death was announced.

The casualties of June 12 were legion. Business colossus, Alfred Ogbeyiwa Rewane, was one of them. Nicknamed Osibakoro by Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Rewane was a staunch member of the Action Group political party and chairman of the AG-controlled Western Region Development Company. In the 1990s, as the military bared their fangs, Rewane was the refuge and sponsor of politicians and activists who desired what we eventually have today. His Lagos home was NADECO’s meeting venue. At Rewane’s memorial in 2000, late Chief Bola Ige recalibrated an earlier funeral oration he delivered in Warri at Osibakoro’s burial when he said, “The freedom we actually enjoy in Nigeria today must be credited, in good measure, to the self sacrificing disposition that (Rewane) displayed consistently…Osibakoro provided the progressive Nigerian politics with the sinews to fight the good fight…he stood up as a comforter of the family of the detained, those under house arrest, those in jail or those forced into exile…he never missed a chance to support all who were on the barricades. He had unwritten pact for instance with the guerrilla press.” On October 6, 1995, shortly after celebrating his 79th birthday, Osibakoro was brutally assassinated by agents of General Abacha at his residence in Ikeja, Lagos. They were never found.

In 1994, armed gunmen stormed activist and human rights lawyer, Gani Fawehinmi’s Lagos law chambers at Anthony Village. Two of his guards were defaced with bullets but unbeknown to the messengers of death, Fawehinmi was away. Beko Ransom-Kuti was also about this time programmed to be eliminated. His 8, Imaria Close home was torched when he could not be found. Same fate befell Ayo Opadokun. His Yaba home was raided and burnt. But for providence, NADECO chairman, Air Commodore Dan Suleiman would have been dead. His Chevrolet car was sprayed with a hail of bullets which shattered its windscreen but he miraculously escaped unhurt. In February 1996, affable publisher of The Guardian newspaper, Alex Ibru, was shot and lost an eye in the process. Earlier, his newspaper house had been burnt by yet unknown arsonists.

Either self-imposed or providence’s grim retribution, on January 17, 1996, a plane carrying Abacha’s son and 13 others developed engine fault and crashed in Dausayi village in Kano. Thereafter, bomb blasts began to boom in Nigeria like rockets. On January 29, 1996, NTA news alleged that Wole Soyinka was the mastermind of terror activities in Nigeria with Today, Kaduna-based newspaper, accusing NADECO activists of being behind the terror. Many got killed by the coldblooded military regime of Abacha. The list is exhaustive and includes Rear Admiral Babatunde Elegbede, Dr. Sola Omatsola, Toyin Onagoruwa, Alhaja Suliat Adedeji and Mrs. Bisoye Tejuosho. Chief Abraham Adesanya escaped death by the whiskers when his car was sprayed with bullets while the likes of Chiefs Olu Falae, Olabiyi Durojaiye were detained.

Earlier, on October 25, 1993, a Nigeria Airways Flight WT470 was hijacked by four Nigerian boys who were riled by the annulment of the June 12 election. They were Richard Ogunderu (19), Kabir Adenuga (22) Razaq Lawal (23) and Benneth Oluwadaisi (24). They called themselves members of the Movement for the Advancement of Democracy (MAD). Three members of Ernest Shonekan’s Interim National Government (ING) were on that flight. They were Brigadier-General Hafiz Momoh, Prof Jubril Aminu and Rong Yiren, the vice president of China. They initially planned to divert the plane to Frankfurt, Germany but shortage of fuel made them to detour to Diori Hamani International Airport in Niamey, Niger after the planned landing at N’Djamena, Chad and Gabon was disallowed. In Niamey, they made their demands: de-annulment of the June 12 election, re-investigation of the murder of Dele Giwa and the mysterious crash of a Lockheed C-130 Hercules that claimed 160 lives. It was believed to be a deliberate killing of the soldiers by the Babangida government.   

Nigerian journalism also suffered casualties of the June 12 war. Apart from millions lost to shutting down of newspaper houses’ operations for months, many journalists were detained and jailed by the Abacha regime. They fell victim of the Detention of Persons Decree No 2 which allowed for indefinite, incommunicado detention of citizens; the Offensive Publications Decree No 35 of 1993 which gave the military government latitude to seize any publication it deemed likely to “disturb the peace and public order of Nigeria” and the Treason and Treasonable Offenses Decree No 29 of 1993 which was later used in 1995 by a special military tribunal to convict Kunle Ajibade, Chris Anyanwu, George Mbah and Ben Charles Obi as “accessories after the fact of treason”. Their crime was reporting an alleged coup plot. Niran Malaolu, Deputy Editor of The Diet newspaper, was also imprisoned on December 28, 1997 after being convicted in July 1998 to 15 years in prison, alongside 95 others, for participating in a coup to topple the Abacha government.  

Chief Frank Kokori, former General Secretary of The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) was also a major force in the June 12 election struggle. But for him, Abacha would have possibly succeeded in his life presidency ambition. Kokori locked down Nigeria during the crisis by deploying his NUPENG in pursuit of democratic struggles. He was detained by Abacha and died miserably and dejected in Warri on December 7, 2023. There are a thousand and one other casualties of the June 12 crisis that this piece cannot possibly capture. I went into the above chronology to remind Nigerians, especially the youths of today, that the civilian government we have enjoyed in the last 26 years came with weeping, wailing, deaths and gnashing of the teeth.

The sacrifices of June 12 remind me of John Pepper Clark-Bekederemo’s The Casualties. It was a poem written about the Nigerian civil war that raged between 1967 and 1970. Record has it that an estimated 100,000 military casualties and between 500,000 and 2 million Biafran civilians died. It was a period of tragedy and atrocity. Clark began this famous poem with the lines, “The casualties are not only those who are dead./They are well out of  it;” nor are casualties “only those who lost/Persons or property, hard as it is.” Rather, he said, the casualties are the “emissaries of rift/So smug in smoke-rooms they haunt abroad/They do not see the funeral piles/At home eating up the forests/They are wandering minstrels who, beating on/The drums of the human heart, draw the world/Into a dance with rites it does not know.”

The casualties, as Clark lyricized in that poem, are not those who died in the June 12 war, either as ancillary or intended victims. They are the hidden and multifaceted victims of the war who extend beyond the frontiers of those directly affected. The casualties today are the Nigerian people. They include Nigerians who are unlucky (yes!) not to have died from the war but are today grappling with the castles they built in their minds about a democratic rule which, 26 years after, has turned into myths.

Fast-forward to 32 years after. Last week, Nigerian president, Bola Tinubu, responded to sons, brothers, sisters, kinsmen and countrymen of those casualties of the June 12 war who voted him into office. They had asked for accountability on the trillions of Naira of their money being spent on construction of the Lagos-Calabar highway. In a tone similar to Babangida’s “we’re not only in office but in power,” at the heat of criticism of his inhuman rule, Tinubu also said last week: «Don›t listen to those critics. They don›t know what they›re talking about. If they don›t like the road or if it›s too expensive for tolling for them, they could go to Idumota.” While Abacha and Babangida scoffed at us, victims of June 12, with guns, Tinubu does with Nebuchadnezzar arrogance.

The question all of us, the casualties, should ask is, is what we have today all our fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers and contemporaries fought and died for? Did Rewane die to have a government that would spend N15.6 trillion “to tame the Atlantic” for a road project which did not go through any competitive bidding, and the contract awarded on a single-source basis, thus contravening the Public Procurement Act and Environmental Impact Assessment Act? Did he die to have a beneficiary of his death speak glowingly about Sani Abacha’s business partners, the Gilbert Chagourys and their Hitech Construction company, as a “symbol of courage and commitment” and openly acknowledge them as “my partner in daring”? Did those young boys risk their lives to hijack a plane for a democratic Nigeria, only to have Nigerians, 32 years after, have a government that carries on as if hunger, anger, starvation, hopelessness that rule the airwaves are not unusual?

More importantly, a very apposite question to ask is, 26 years after we got civil rule, is Nigeria a democracy? Leading scholar in democratic studies, Prof Larry Diamond, in a keynote at the conference “20 years of democracy in Nigeria: 1999-2019,” held at the St. Antony College, University of Oxford, on December 6, 2019, said Nigeria, as it is today, is a semi-democracy. Or anocracy. Prof Wale Adebanwi, in his Introduction to the book, Democracy and Nigeria’s Fourth Republic ( 2023) which he edited, described semi-democracy and anocracy as “a form of government that mixes democratic and autocratic attributes.” Robert Mattes has also described semi-democracy as a “hybrid regime” while some scholars call it “flawed democracy/regime”. The description of such government by the Economic Intelligence Unit is that, it is a “poorly functioning government, often with corrupt elected officials and officials otherwise unaccountable to the citizenry”.   

Following in the saying that the one on whose head a coconut pod is smashed to access its milky fruit often doesn’t partake of its eating, how many of the children of Rewane, Ige, Opadokun, Ransom-Kuti, Ndubuisi-Kanu, Elegbede, Omatsola, Onagoruwa, Suliat Adedeji, Tejuosho, Abraham Adesanya, Falae, Durojaiye and many more who gallantly fought the military to a standstill in the June 12 war, are beneficiaries of this government? Rather, the toads of the war fought by those Nigerians above 32 years ago are Nigerians’ tormentors of today in power. Are the lives of children of these June 12 warriors even better?  If the dead can see, will the casualties be happy with Nigeria where they are now? If there is another June 12 war to be fought today, will anyone stick their necks in a fight against establishment?

Anyway, happy June 12, Nigerians. Like the boring refrain of a dirge, government will again declare a public holiday on Thursday and we will be fooled with voodoo statistics showing us as a happy people. But, are we really happy?