As I was saying…Among the mails this column regularly receives was one from Ghana in which the sender raised a thought-provoking and interesting question. Why does a Ms Blessing live in misery, begging for data, Favour is struggling to feed; Wisdom does not get sense; Victory failed exams and Courage even fears dogs whereas “in the United States, you see names like Bush, Stone yet they make progress. Why is it so?” Confirming the enquirer’s observation, I did state that in Europe, in the United States and Canada, people bear Mr. Brown, Dr. (Mrs.) Green and as rightly noted, Mr. Bush and Mr. Stone. There is Mr. Gladstone. If we go by the dictionary definition we can claim to know the meaning of Bush and Stone. Brown and Green denote colours. We then ask, how come a man bears Mr. Green and another Mr. Brown or Miss White and they are the ones who make self-evident progress? They are developed, they are endowed materially, and once people are developed, their nation must be developed, reflecting the state of being of the people. The radiant state of the inner being already gives a hint of why the United States is developed. Again, why is it so?

As I did state last week, each person comes with his or her name. He is the name he or she bears. The name each person will bear in future in the event of another opportunity of a reincarnation is partly being put together in the present earth life while he still carries the previous one that he has not discharged. Plants and trees have names for identification. There is a picture that flashes before our gaze when we hear lilies mentioned. And there are different kinds of lilies. We have Touch Lily, Peace Lily, Canna Lily, and St. Joseph’s Lily, each presenting its own unique picture before our eyes. It is a different picture that forms before our gaze when Sunflower is mentioned. Sunflower is different from Yellow Trumpet florists call Costus Spectabilis. Look at Bougainvillea with its compelling rays and enthralling colours. Trees have their names, so do rocks and soils. All names come about from the pressure of the Law. Colour, content, and form all vibrate and emit rays that enable us distinguish one plant from the other, and one flower from the other. In the rays precipitates fragrance. The wonders of Nature, the work of the house builders, the loyal servants of the Most High—the Nature Beings, weaving and tending. What does man, the arrogant modern man, know!

In Africa, a great many names are supplicatory and hope-filled. A Blessing could mean gratitude for an opportunity of another earth life and the experiences, one of which is a lack of purchasing power to the extent that she is begging for data. The experiences are only to polish her and get her to focus more on the higher goal. If blessed too soon, she may lose focus. For a Victor, it is a pledge that he would apply himself unremittingly to the demands of the higher goal in which alone lies victory, a manifestation of the victory of the Light that blesses his exertions.

The Jews went through excruciating experiences, and hard blows from the Romans, including being subjected to slavery when they began to deviate from the cause for which they were prepared as the first race on the surface of the earth to come to the recognition that there is only one God, the Creator of all the worlds. In 586 B.C. Jerusalem was destroyed by Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar. Being the closest to the Truth, however, it was only natural that they would be and they were the Chosen People, blessed with Grace and privilege to receive the Lord Jesus Christ in their midst. The harrowing experiences served to keep them on course for the fulfillment of the sacred promises. The prophets did not give up on them. In the account by Dr. E. Walkhoff titled From World History During the Past 3,000 Years, “After the death of Solomon (Ca. 925 B.C.) the Jewish tribes separated into the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Feuding among themselves and becoming at last mere puppets in the hands of their enemies. The prophets Elijah (Ca. 830 B. C.), Isaiah (720 B. C.), and Jeremiah (Ca.630 B. C.) waged a desperate battle against the growing superstitions. In the year 621 B.C., however, the Ark of the Covenant, with the Ten Commandments –assumed to be lost—was found again in the Temple of Jerusalem. Once more the ancient faith was restored to its rightful place.” Ezra waged his own battle, after they returned from Babylonian captivity by enforcing the Ten Commandments.”

The same point as in the case of Blessing can be made for “Favour” who cannot feed. What is being pointed out to us is that in accordance with the Law of Sowing and Reaping and Law of Movement, a person who bears Favour is expected to do good to harvest goodness and change of her condition. She is also to work hard to unfold the talents and abilities contained in her name. The name is not a licence for her to go to sleep. The Law of Movement does not permit a standstill in any part of Creation. The name is thus a reminder that it is in the heeding of the Law through the unfolding of talents and abilities that lies the promise of a Favour. The experiences keep us awake, on the alert, and polished and if the right lessons are learned, there will be a turning around of fortunes. In his great work, Christian and Reincarnation, Dr. Stephen Lampe states: “The bitter fruits of the bad seeds we sowed are spiritual helpful reminders that we strayed from the way ordained by the Creator. Any adversity, pain or suffering should be seen as cues, hints of the need to re-examine our understanding of the Laws of the Creator and how we stand in relation to them…As we learn the right lessons and make necessary adjustments so that we sow only sweet seeds, the Law of Sowing and Reaping assures us bountiful harvest of sweet fruits, at the appropriate time. And this, surely, is Love.”

There has been a variant of the question as to why the United States is the most prosperous with the largest economy in the world, a country inhabited by Messrs Stone, Bush, and Brown. How come it is a land of opportunities, the dreamland of most young men and women? It is the most technologically powerful nation, indeed, a nation that went to the moon as far back as 1969 while African countries with all the prayers are backward, riddled with diseases. There is depravity; a great many of the leaders are lawless, so the argument goes.

However, it is little remembered that the United States was established between 1096 and 1300 by immigrants from Europe. Several parts were ravaged by wars and intractable social unrest brought about at the time of the Crusades. The experiences shook them, got them polished and matured. Following the experiences they recognised the essence of nobility as a virtue, and sought after it. The mature state of their inner being, of the penitent souls, came to recognize the Laws bearing the Will of the Most High. They put themselves, in consequence, in a different class of human beings who turned their gaze upwards in collective thanksgiving and the United States became what is generally, up till today, referred to as “God’s Own Country,” a land of hope founded on high principles derived from the uniqueness of refinement of the founders’ inner being. Any polished inner being is bound to attract the help of the Light. It is even more so when the majority of a people are refined inwardly. The blessing of such a land is a certainty. Are we not told that righteousness exalts a nation? Never mind that decline is overtaking everywhere on planet earth today, including the United States.

As for the Jews who are recorded as first in several economic and technological indices, their ascendancy follows the anchorage of the Light power in their land, Israel. The Lord Jesus Christ walked through the land as a result of which His Light Power was anchored therein. Even though the Jews, with their priestly and political establishments in the lead, out of envy and fear of loss of power and public acknowledgment, rejected Him as the expected Messiah and got Him murdered, their depravity and treachery could not dampen the Rays of the anchorage of the Light attendant to the Lord’s mere presence there. He traversed the length and breadth of the land. As they tap from the Rays even if unconsciously, the land will continue to manifest wonders in a variety of human endeavours. However, it should be stated that the present communities of Jews living in Israel have not necessarily always been Jews nor have all Americans always been Americans. We are distributed at reincarnation to different parts of the world in accordance with the degree of the development of our inner being. The Laws, including the Osmotic Law, perfectionists and incorruptible that they are, will always place everyone where he belongs and deserves, parents and communities.

While on reincarnation, I may as well share with us a YouTube post to which my attention has been lovingly drawn. In it as if to confirm the revelation In the Light of Truth, The Grail Message, the incomparable gift to all mankind, that states that each child is unswervingly led to its parents, the post contains what it captions Kids Reveal Memories of picking Their Parents. One said to its mother after a parable about blue birds: “You are my mother; I saw you from above the clouds. I had to slide down, came through the crown of your head. I saw you. I could see you and I chose you.” Another by name Jane said to her parents that she was glad to choose them as her mother and father– according to her mother: “People that would serve her needs.” Yet another child, Ryan, is filled with compassion for people with disabilities. And he said to his mother that he would like to go into the military and also be a policeman. He said to her: “I picked you as my mummy; I followed you in the snow.” Here is a child of two who has never seen snow and has never been exposed to violence. He shocked his mother one day saying he had a “different mom and daddy. They were shot and killed in their bed.” Confidently, according to his mother this time, he said that his name was Eric Johnson.

There is also on YouTube, the story of the reincarnation of a victim of year 2001 attack on the Twin Trade Centre in New York. The elaborate and moving account reads: ”There was always something extra-ordinary about Cade from the moment he was born. His parents, Molly and Rick had been told they could never have children and felt blessed to have a miracle son. But by two-and-a-half months old, he was trying to walk and reached all of his infant milestones extremely early. Even his own grandmother admitted he was different. ‘He was like an old man. He wasn’t like a bouncy baby. He just looked at you like: ‘Who are you?’ she said. By the time he was two, he was using ‘very intricate, intelligent words’ and could ‘hold conversation with adults,’ according to his mother.

“It was around the age of three when the youngster started saying he remembers dying. Speaking to LMN for a programme called The Ghost Inside My Child in 2011, Molly recalled: ‘I would be in bed and Cade would just start crying in the middle of the night and he would wake up screaming about working in a tall building and he could see the Statue of Liberty from his office. He told me that he was falling with the building like the way he died. It’s surreal to have a three-year-old talking about New York and talking about death. Honestly, I started to think…could he have been in the World Trade Centre? But there was a huge part of me that said, wait a minute, that can’t be.”
Cade’s dad, Rick added: ‘We didn’t show him anything, there was no way he could’ve known about it. It was before pre-school.’ The family didn’t know anyone involved in the terror attacks at the World Trade Centre on September 11, 2001, and Cade, who was born in 2004, had never been to New York. I noted it as oddism but I never thought anything of it. I just thought he had a vivid imagination’, Molly told the programme. But as Cade got older, he became ‘obsessed with planes’ and was ‘frantic’ around tall buildings. His gran, Fae, said: ‘Cade was totally petrified by the airplanes, like they were monsters. He wasn’t scared of them being in the air. It’s more like he was scared of where they were going.’

Video footage shows a seven-year-old Cade in the car while driving around a busy city with tall buildings. He states: ‘That feels creepy. I just don’t like to look up. I would not like to go in that tall building…that big shiny one looked just like the Twin Tower. It brings back a lot of memories but I’m not going in it, ok?’ Molly admitted that she would make excuses for her son’s behaviour for a while but it got to a point where she ‘couldn’t deny it anymore.’ She said: ‘he just flat out, said that he was in a building that was hit by something, that it exploded and that he had fallen.‘The pieces suddenly came together like a puzzle, the planes, the tall buildings. This person was at the World Trade Centre.’ Cade tells programme-makers: ‘The plane hit the World Trade centre then it got stuck in the building.

‘When I was falling, I was still alive and then all the rubble hit me. I didn’t feel anything because I died.’ Molly was left feeling helpless, unable to know what to do to help her son get past the memories admitting she feels ‘very sad for him.’ He even started asking her to change his name insisting that he wasn’t called Cade. He told her what his name was and she set to work, investigating. She shared her son’s story on a web board hoping to find answers and discovered there had been a man who worked and died at the Twin Towers whose ‘life mimics what Cade describes his life and death was.’ I was absolutely shocked. I pulled up the obituary, the pictures, but I’d never thought about contacting the victim’s family,’ she said.

‘Continuing to follow through with anything to do with 9/11 may interrupt their mourning process. But also, what would you say? Your son didn’t die, he is just someone different now. I would imagine if someone called me with that, I would hang up the phone.’ Molly said she now knows the truth about who the man was but added: ‘as a mother, I am feeling very helpless. I can’t make this memory go away. I don’t know what to do; I don’t know how to fix this.’ She described her and her husband’s heartbreak at being ‘lost for years’ over their situation and said Cade struggled to make friends because other children would call him a liar and laugh at him. Teachers also took a dislike to him.

Molly and Rick said their priority was to help their son to ‘be comfortable in his Cade body’ admitting they ‘wouldn’t trade him in for anything in the world. I need him learn to be Cade, to learn to be a kid again, learn to laugh and I think we’re going to get there, I do, Molly added.

The programme ended with news that Cade had started playing in a football league and was improving in school but was still having nightmares. No further information about Cade has been published since. He would now be aged 20.

After the interview recently surfaced on YouTube, many wondered how Cade was getting on as some recalled similar situations.

The foregoing is yet another account of, indeed, proof of reincarnation. I have treated this subject directly and indirectly in this column about four times. Since our world is a school, in the wisdom of the Creator, like in the earthly school patterned after the cosmic school, allowance is made for a repeat class so that areas of deficiencies can be corrected. It is a phenomenon in which the inflexible justice of the Most High can be read. There is no human being on earth today who has not lived here before, some about 50 times. It takes some 200, others 500 years to come back. Many as short as within four years of their death as is shown in the account of Cade who came back barely four years after he died in the disaster of the World Trade Centre. The knowledge of reincarnation is practically in all cultures. Try as the modern man may have tried, he has not succeeded in getting his fellow men to deny the phenomenon. How do you explain Babatunde, Nnena, or Yetunde if these do not touch on the African concept of reincarnation? The denial by a number of priests is based on the misinterpretation of the scriptures that “It is given unto man to die but once, after which is judgment.” The passage refers to spiritual death, not the earthly exit during which the earthly cloak is discarded and the man enters the beyond in an ethereal garment which serves, together with the animistic, as the wrappings for the spirit. The spirit encased in the wrappings is recognized as soul. Didn’t even the Lord say: “But I tell you that Elijah has come, and they did not know him, but did to him whatever they pleased”? (Matthew 17:12). The Lord’s response was in answer to the question: “Why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?” We are in the time of enlightenment and judgment. The intensification and acceleration of events in the world today are features of the judgment. It is the time everyone here on earth and on the material planes in the beyond is faced with the choice: Salvation or damnation! When the ongoing purification reaches the crescendo, all men, all nations will fall on their knees and confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Love, and Imanuel as Justice, Both Arms of God, and with God in Holy Trinity!

Former Super Eagles coach José Peseiro has ranked Atalanta star Ademola Lookman as a more technically skilled player than Napoli striker Victor Osimhen.

Peseiro, who worked with both players during his tenure as head coach of Nigeria’s national team, offered his insights in a recent interview with SportItalia via Football London.

Peseiro, who led Nigeria to a second-place finish at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Ivory Coast, praised Lookman’s technical abilities and goal-scoring prowess, suggesting that the Atalanta winger stands out in this regard.

“Ademola Lookman is more technical than Osimhen, more inclined to create the game, and is now also scoring. He is performing very well this year,” Peseiro stated. He credited Lookman’s development to his time under Atalanta manager Gian Piero Gasperini and noted the winger’s high-level performances.

Peseiro also discussed the growth of both Lookman and Osimhen, attributing their progress to the strong tactical systems at Atalanta and Napoli.

“It’s no coincidence that they have both grown this year. This is because they are both within a good system of play. Atalanta and Napoli want the ball; they want to play and attack. In these conditions, players get excited like this. Italian football has changed a lot in the last few years,” he added.

Both Lookman and Osimhen have been linked with a summer transfer move to top European clubs, including Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain. Reports suggest Arsenal are closing in on Lookman’s signature in a significant £42.5 million deal, with defender Jakub Kiwior potentially included as part of the transaction.

[BusinessDay]

Nigeria Police have confirmed that its personnel arrested and detained the missing whistleblower, PIDOM.

The Force Public Relations Officer, Olumuwiya Adejobi, disclosed this in a statement on Saturday.

Naija News reported that PIDOM, a social media whistleblower, who has leaked many government and security agencies classified memos to expose corruption, was declared missing on Friday.

In a series of reports by Naija News, on Friday, Nigerians and human rights activists, including former Minister of Education, Obiageli Ezekwesili, condemned the police for going after PIDOM.

Adejobi, on Saturday, said Isaac Bristol, who is behind the PIDOM handle, was arrested at a hotel in Rivers State.

The statement read: “In a well-coordinated effort, officials from the Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre (NPF-NCCC) apprehended Bristol Isaac Tamunobiefiri, also known as PIDOM, on allegations of committing serious offenses that undermine the integrity of government operations. The arrest took place on August 5, 2024, in his hotel room Rivers State.”

He added that allegations against Bristol include leakage of classified documents and other cyber-related offenses. He assured that due diligence would be done in his case.

“There are several allegations levelled against the suspect, including unlawful possession, leakages of classified documents, cyber-related offenses, and others. We will do due diligence in carrying out thorough investigation into the cases.

“The force will leave no stone unturned to continually enforce the law and bequeath to Nigerians a more secure nation,” he added.

[NaijaNews]

Over 100 former employees of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) have filed lawsuits against the apex bank at the National Industrial Court (NIC), seeking compensation and general damages following their recent dismissal.

According to reports, the staff were laid off as part of a reorganisation strategy implemented by President Bola Tinubu administration.

The plaintiffs argued that their termination, which came with years still left on their contracts, was abrupt and unjust. They are now demanding payment for their outstanding salaries, allowances, and other entitlements.

Lead Counsel for some of the affected staff, Mr. Ola Olanipekun (SAN), presented the court documents to journalists in Jos, Plateau State.

Olanipekun stated that the legal action was taken to enforce the plaintiffs’ rights to fair hearing. “The unlawful actions of the apex bank have caused monumental damages to my clients, amounting to hundreds of millions of Naira,” he said. “We are asking the court to ensure that the CBN pays all claimants their due monthly salaries, allowances, and other entitlements.”

Olanipekun highlighted the case of one claimant, who had nine years of service remaining. This individual would have earned N1,621,455.70 monthly, had the employment not terminated. The counsel is requesting that the court orders the CBN to pay N178,360,127.00—covering the period from the termination until the claimant’s expected retirement date on August 4, 2033.

Additionally, the claimant seeks N100,000,000 as general damages for wrongful termination, along with N30,000,000 to cover litigation costs. They also request a 21% post-judgment interest per annum on all awarded sums until fully paid, plus any further orders the court deems appropriate.

The Originating Summons, dated August 22, 2024, is supported by a 27-paragraph affidavit submitted by the claimant.

Recall that LEADERSHIP reported the mass layoffs in May 2024, citing the documentation in a letter titled “Re-organisation of the CBN”.

[Leadership]

Last week, the world was going to end! Or so we thought. Why?

When the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris concluded without any of the 82 Nigerian athletes returning with a medal around their necks, Nigerians were infuriated. They reacted vehemently. It was as if the world was going to end.

The anger was founded. This agonising process has become a recurring decimal in Nigeria’s sports history, a phenomenon described as ‘insanity’ by late German physicist, Albert Einstein in a famous but unverified quote – ‘doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting a different result’.

The world did not end, even as the anger across Nigeria was palpable. The people bayed for blood, demanding the scalp of sports officials. The media was awash with criticism, condemnation, rebuke and abuse. I believe there were no street protests only because the people had just gone through another national protest over hunger and poverty in the land. That protest that hardly took off the ground and yielded nothing, only promises. Any additional march for sports in the land would suffer from protest-fatigue.

So, with tails tucked between the legs, Nigerians, as is wont, gave up the ‘fight’, retired into the cocoon of their other interests and allowed the world to go on jeje, any further attention for the Olympics left in ‘suspense-account’ till June of 2028, one month to the next Summer Olympics in Los Angeles beginning 14th July, 2028!

That’s the way things are done here in Nigeria!

That was the situation last week.

This week, the vitriol, awash in most local media, vaporised. The only noise was the faint receding echo of the voice of the very humble and honourable Nigerian sports minister, the only official that publicly accepted responsibility, defended his ministry, and apologised to Nigerians for the unacceptable performance. He pledged to investigate and uproot the causes, identify the culprits and ensure that the heads of guilty officials roll.

The only proviso, however, is that the country will have to wait, and that nothing must disturb and distract the other contingent of Nigerian athletes participating in the 2028 Paralympic Games that start in Paris this week.

This set of Nigerians are expected to win Gold, Silver and Bronze medals in their usual tradition and further douse the receding anger, pain and disappointment, even though it is also an optical illusion of the true state of Nigerian sports development.

So, life goes on, the world will not end!

The EPL resumes

This week, the English Premier League and other European leagues that started last week take firmer root in the soul of Nigerians. The debates and the arguments about Arsenal, Man U, Barca, Real, and so on, dominate the senses, extinguishing the remnant of any lingering thoughts and concerns over Paris 2024. The embers of that fire will only be fanned again and rekindled in 2028 in an annoying cycle that repeats itself like a broken vinyl record every 4 years.

In short, this week, life for the Nigerian sports fan has returned to the status quo, just as football resumes with its all-consuming power, taking over the sports interest of the millions of Nigerians that patronise it.

There are now other issues on Nigeria’s sports radar.

Foreign Coach for Super Eagles

It is a done deal that the Nigerian Football Federation have settled for hiring another White man from Europe to handle the Super Eagles. Some of those that are close to the corridors have been mentioning two names as the most likely candidates. Why the announcement has not been made within a few weeks to the most crucial series of matches that will determine the country’s fate in the African Cup of Nations in 2025, and the World Cup of 2026, no one knows.

A good reason may already have been created for the Super Eagles should they fail to win.

My personal position on the issue of foreign or indigenous coach for Nigeria’s national teams has not changed. Hiring a foreigner to handle the Super Eagles is just postponing Nigeria’s days in football slavery. Until Nigerians with qualification and experience are trusted and given the opportunity to do the job, to gain invaluable experience in the process and to lead the country into international battles, the Super Eagles will continue to find it hard to soar to the highest pinnacle.

The return of Samson Siasia!

He was once acknowledged as FIFA’s coach of the year. That was when he led Nigeria’s Under-20 to the finals of the World Youth Championship in 2005, the Under-23 national team to the finals of the Olympics in 2008, and a third-place at the Olympics in 2016.

In 2019, Samson Siasia was suspended by FIFA for 5 years following unsubstantiated charges of corruption against him.

Having served the suspension, he is now free to return to football. He may have been pencilled down as part of an interim consortium of coaches headed by Director of the Technical Department of the NFF, Austin Eguavoen, to handle the Super Eagles should a foreign coach not be hired in the next week.

That arrangement is laden with danger for Samson.

Should the team fail to win, his name will be added to those of other ‘failed’ Nigerian coaches and the door to a future as head of the Super Eagles will be slammed in his face.

Nigerians are waiting and watching the unfolding drama with interest!

Sports Federation Elections

The elections into national sports federations (with the exception of the Nigeria Football Federation) will likely take place before the end of the year.

Everybody accepts that the present federation constitutions fall short of what are in Nigeria’s best sports interests. The documents have suffered the doctoring of critical articles that render them partial to fair process and inclusiveness of all stakeholders. Best practises have been blurred by ignorance, the absence of experienced administrators in the system as a result of high turnover of experienced personnel in the sports ministry, and the lack of courage by successive sports ministers to confront the inter-loping puppeteers controlling the strings of Nigerian sports.

The Sports Minister has promised reforms.

Nigerians are waiting and watching to see what will happen.

The National Sports Festival!

Nigeria’s National Sports Festival is Africa’s biggest, single domestic multi-sports event. It is designed to feed Nigerian sports with the best budding talents in all sports. It is also the biggest program of the Federal Ministry of Sports development,

The next edition is scheduled to take place in about 6 months’ time in Ogun State.

With the developments on ground now, it will be the greatest miracle since the conversion of water to wine in the holy books should the festival hold next January.

Why? The answer is blowing in the wind.

Nigerians are, however, waiting and watching to see what will happen.

For a man who once vowed not to abide in Nigeria should Asiwaju Bola Tinubu emerge as president of Nigeria it could have been tempting to discard the pledge by Chief Bode George not to serve in the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP Disciplinary Committee that was constituted by the national leadership earlier this week.

Just as the threat to relocate from Nigeria with the advent of the Tinubu administration, the pledge not to serve in the High Chief Tom Ikimi-led committee had sufficient reasoning, even if faulty.

As about one of the most vicious critics of the president who he regularly referred to as Bola or some other condescending names, it is now open to debate if Chief George really saw some truths that many of us did not see as concerning the capacity of the man that was adoringly referred to as the Pathfinder of good governance in Lagos.

His successor, Tunde Fashola was the Consolidator, and Akiwunmi Ambode was the Actualiser before he was blown away.

So, whether Bode George saw beneath the veneer of political erudition that Tinubu espoused in Lagos and the Southwest is now open to question.

However, his vow not to serve in the Disciplinary Committee recently empaneled by the Ambassador Umar Damagum-led National Working Committee, NWC of the party is another issue.

His reason was that Ikimi was his junior in the party and met him in the party having been the first elected National Vice-Chairman, Southwest of the PDP.

In an interview on Arise News Television on Friday, August 23, 2024, George who is generally reputed as a rich depository of the institution that is the PDP easily broke down the issues in the party that according to him project the twin moves of reconciliation and discipline as presently being out of place in the face of the internal dynamics in the PDP.

As he pointed out the crisis in the party that led to the humiliation in the 2023 General Election flowed from the management of the presidential primaries.

These problems that have now been generally summarized as the Nyesom Wike problem flow from the discourteous abandonment of the party’s principles and procedures leading to the emergence of the 2023 presidential candidate.

The stance of Chief George that the decision to go against the pattern of rotating all positions between the North and South every eight years is also widely held by many as the bane of the crisis in the PDP.

To the chagrin of many party stakeholders, the party after zoning the office of national chairman to the North failed to cede the presidential ticket to the South.

After eight years of the presidency in the North, the prospect of the presidency going to the same region for another eight years was one that was anathema to many of the stakeholders. Not least, Wike who contested the ticket with Atiku and former Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal.

As George said yesterday, the failure of the Northern chairman of the party, Senator Iyorcha Ayu to resign his position as promised to allow a Southerner take the position was seen as a serious snub of the South.

Unfortunately, Atiku who emerged as the presidential candidate was not proactive enough to persuade his ally, Ayu to step down.

Bode George did not say it yesterday, but it is generally known that a 20-man committee constituted by the party to find a running mate for Atiku after the presidential primaries recommended Wike by 17 votes. That recommendation was discarded after initial reports that emissaries of Atiku had offered him the position. The offer according to some sources was pulled back on the claim that Northern political leaders were not too comfortable having a personality like Wike so close to power.

However, few believe this given what is generally believed as the claim that even before the presidential primaries Atiku had already picked Senator Ifeanyi Okowa as his running mate.

That relationship was underlined by the fact that PDP delegates from Delta State voted for Atiku at the convention with the conviction that their man was set to become vice president.

So against the background of the claims of Bode George and the perceived betrayals Wike suffered at the hands of the party, the determination of the FCT minister to destroy the party could well be understood. That is besides the enormous handouts given to the party since especially 2019 when Wike was known to have projected Tambuwal for the presidency.

When Tambuwal on the convention ground turned his delegates to Atiku, it was seen as the ultimate betrayal.

As it is said, Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, so when Chief George implied the scorning of Wike and some other stakeholders one could well imagine the crisis the PDP is facing.

Even more, the party named a disciplinary committee that has two Atiku allies, Chief Tom Ikimi and Eyitayo Jegede as chairman and secretary. That certainly does not show the kind of sincerity that is expected of a party committed to correcting the errors that led it to the pit.

However, whether the betrayals are enough reasons for Wike to sink the party he this week vowed not to defect from is another matter. Better ask a woman who loved a man who has been scorned.

As the 2025 presidential election in Cameroon looms, one question that seems to be on the minds of many is: Why is Paul Biya, at 91(or 93) years old, still holding on to power? After over 40 years at the helm of Cameroon’s leadership, one would think that the time for a dignified retirement had long passed. However, Biya’s continued presence on the political stage raises concerns about the state of democracy in Cameroon and the apparent reluctance of the Cameroonian populace to challenge a leader whose reign has spanned generations.

Without a doubt, Paul Biya, who took office in 1982, has become one of Africa’s longest-serving leaders, a tenure that has outlasted numerous world leaders and seen the country through significant changes. Yet, despite this long tenure, the question remains: What has Biya’s leadership truly achieved for Cameroon? Under his watch, Cameroon has seen both periods of economic growth and stagnation, peace and conflict, particularly with the ongoing Anglophone crisis that has plagued the country for years.

Many Cameroonians have grown weary of the same old rhetoric that accompanies Biya’s campaigns and addresses. The promises of economic prosperity, stability, and development have become hollow to a populace that still grapples with poverty, corruption, and a lack of basic infrastructure. Biya’s continued grip on power seems more a testament to his political cunning and the lack of viable opposition than to any resounding success or popular support.

In his 90s, Paul Biya is not just an old man; he is a leader whose age raises serious concerns about his ability to govern effectively. This is as age brings with it inevitable physical and cognitive decline, which can impair judgment, decision-making, and overall leadership ability. Biya’s advanced age has sparked numerous speculations about his health, particularly as he has spent considerable time receiving medical care abroad.

In a country with a median age of just over 18 years, the stark contrast between the youthful population and their aging leader could not be more pronounced. Young Cameroonians, who represent the future of the nation, are increasingly disconnected from a leader whose experiences and outlook are far removed from the challenges they face today. The question then arises: Why has there not been a stronger push from the Cameroonian people, especially the youth, for Biya to step aside and allow for fresh leadership?

In fact, the reluctance to challenge Biya’s rule may stem from several factors, including fear of repression, political apathy, and a lack of viable alternatives. Biya’s government has not shied away from using force to quell dissent, and this has undoubtedly contributed to a culture of silence and submission among the populace. Additionally, decades of authoritarian rule have left a political landscape where opposition parties are weak, fragmented, and often co-opted by the ruling party.

However, the onus is on the Cameroonian people to demand change as a leader’s legitimacy comes from the consent of the governed, and it is within the power of the people to withdraw that consent if they believe their leader no longer serves their interests. The youth, in particular, must recognize the importance of their voice and their role in shaping the future of their country.

Cameroon, like any other nation, needs leadership that is attuned to the needs and aspirations of its people. It requires leaders who are not only physically capable but also mentally agile and open to new ideas. A nation led by a leader in their 90s, particularly one who has been in power for over four decades, is unlikely to embrace the innovation and change needed to address contemporary challenges.

Cameroon is at a crossroads. The country can either continue on its current path, with an aging leader at the helm, or it can choose a new direction, one that reflects the hopes and dreams of its youthful population. The choice ultimately lies with the Cameroonian people, but one thing is clear: It is time for a change.

As the 2025 election approaches, Cameroonians must ask themselves if they are content with the status quo or if they are ready to demand the leadership they deserve. After 40 years, it is not just Paul Biya’s age that is in question; it is the future of Cameroon itself.

At this juncture, it would have been logical to urge the leadership of ECOWAS to intervene by calling to order, particularly as he unarguably has a tight grip on power.  Unfortunately, Cameroon is not a member of ECOWAS as it identifies itself as central African.

The reason why African leaders need to intervene on behalf of the people of Cameroon over Biya’s hold on to power cannot be farfetched as his refusal to relinquish power after over four decades in office has set a dangerous precedent, especially at a time when democratic transitions are vital for the stability and development of the continent. In fact, his autocratic approach threatens to embolden other leaders in the region who may see extended rule as a viable path, thereby undermining democratic institutions and eroding the progress that has been made toward good governance in West Africa.

Despite the foregoing view, the distinction between Cameroon and West Africa, in terms of regional affiliation, does little to mitigate the broader implications of Biya’s “Tightism”. Even though Cameroon is part of the Central African region, the effects of his “Tightism” extend beyond geographical boundaries, affecting the political dynamics in West Africa as well. This underscores the interconnectedness of African politics, where the actions of one leader can have ripple effects across the continent. As ECOWAS continues its efforts to promote democracy and stability in West Africa, the specter of leaders like Biya looms large, reminding us of the persistent challenges to democratic governance on the continent.

The real enemy of that section of the Nigerian polity that is generally referred to as “The North” is not Tinubu. It is not banditry, or insurgency. It is also not political marginalization or the Governor of the Central bank of Nigeria (CBN), who directed that some departments of the CBN be relocated, as alleged by Katsina elders some time ago.  It is, instead, the failure of the Northern political, feudal, business and religious elites to address issues that are central to the region’s future in a 21st century world. It is as if there is a resolve by those who should know better to maintain deliberate insensitivity to the blinding gale of misfortunes sweeping through the region and burying everything that holds the prospect of a rebirth for the region.

Rather than focus on what really matters, the concern is about more political opportunities for those who are holding the region in an anti-development stranglehold at the moment. We hear some of them speak of how much of a menace “the North” will be in 2027 if President Tinubu does this, or fails to do that, in the interests of the region. And all of this chatter, presumably in in pursuit of the overall higher interests of the north, is going on in the comfortable abodes of a disconnected political elite. While they are at it, that is arguing for the “genuine” interests of the north, the place is being routinely decimated on a daily basis. It is steadily spewing out an ever-growing population of destitutes and budding criminals who are driven to social deviance by plain, naked hunger and nothing more.

We are speaking here of hunger and the search for food to eat, as distinct from the desire to use crime and criminality as a means of wealth creation. The cartel of criminals involved in the serious business of kidnapping for ransom, which is actually an elite investment platform that uses daredevil foot soldiers for its operations, make up less than one percent of the criminal population.

And it is apparent from the pronouncements and reflexes of the elite that no new lessons are being learnt. That is why today, all the issues raised and dramatized on this page on September 14, 2020, in a piece titled “Northern Nigeria: The Pretence Persists”, are still so alive and so painfully fresh. They are so relevant and roundly timely that the article can bear substantial reproduction here today. Here goes:

“A recent lengthy submission from the elder statesman, Ahmed Joda, rested on a telling conclusion: Northern Nigeria is not developing its human capital. It also does not have the time to do so anymore. Therefore, it is now ill-equipped to fit into either the knowledge-driven world of today or the new world of tomorrow. It needs at least 20 years to become significant in any way. But rather than wake up to this benumbing fact, there is the pursuit of the illusion of dominance.

The major point in Joda’s intervention is that the triumphalism of cattle rearers whose illusion of invulnerability is fuelled and sustained by a national security framework that is skewed to promote insecurity in specific regions of the country will go burst sooner than later. Since most of the northern states have many abandoned, ungoverned and even ungovernable spaces, its currently consumption-driven elite is really in no position to do anything, beyond maintaining a hollow swagger that is backed by nothing but the fact that they are living mostly in Abuja and floating on free state funds.

The above was penned four years ago. In the above-referenced article, I also took us back to and earlier intervention, also on this page, of April 17, 2019, “As the North Goes Under.” In this piece i spoke of a visit to Zamfara State in 2014. I pointed out that “The then Secretary to the State Government explained how he abandoned his farm and ranch because of cattle rustling and fear for his personal safety. I spoke of how he confessed that it was impossible to deploy law enforcement agents, even for himself, in any meaningful way because they were mostly outnumbered, ill equipped and answerable to Abuja”.

Even back then in 2019, five years after our visit to Zamfara state, I asked in the aforementioned article: “Have matters improved in Zamfara State today, or gotten worse? Just as the then Zamfara State governor complained that “the misfortunes” of his people centred around “derivation, as a lot of gold was mined in the state and carted away while his people were ravaged by poverty,” many other states are not faring any better. And Northern states with over 30% of their geographical space occupied by marauders have been drafting and implementing budgets and development projects covering these areas, where no one lives.

Elite myopia, leadership illiteracy and abysmal ignorance of both 21st Century leadership and cultural anthropology of the Nigerian state are working together here. Most of Nigeria’s poor are northerners, even when most high profile political and economically rewarding positions are held by Northerners. Yet, this very same north is being systematically wiped out. Unlike what happened during the mass massacre of Igbos in the 60s, no religion, ethnic, or political affiliation exonerates anyone today. For once, the North is actually giving the greatest evidence ever in its history of both political illiteracy and failure to follow the rules of self-preservation.

Are leaders of the North, and our leaders of various regions today generally, doing any form of costs/benefits analysis in their expenditures and use of public funds? I think not. No matter how generous you would like to be in evaluating the situation of the North today, you must come away with the painful conclusion that all might not be well with the people for a long time to come.

There is hardly any recent event (and I am talking about the last 15 years) in the home, or village, of most Northern politicians where the guests are not usually overwhelmed by at least 100 shabby looking youths, who are either prowling the vicinity, directly affronting guests, or raiding laid out tables. They are looking for nothing other than scraps of edibles and, not even a full meal. And the big men themselves are usually not embarrassed by the spectacle.

Has school enrolment or academic performance improved in the North, in the last ten years, even as all the governors are announcing massive “investments” in education? Has the region shown any real increase in the number of people registering for SSCE, NECO and similar competitive examinations? If no, then an inevitable implosion will yet come. As “their people” come from Chad and Niger, their own youths are begging in the streets; or are in the forests. Everywhere is turning into a no-man’s-land, where even revered traditional rulers and religious leaders are no longer safe. A backlash will come when the Sudanese, Chadians and North Africans will suddenly not be so welcome; especially after the Northerners discover that they are displaced in their very homes.

When foreigners are the ones with Nigerian ID cards in the North, when foreigners are voters in the North, when the total number of registered candidates for all competitive examinations from the 19 states of the north continues stands much lower than that of one particular state in the South, when even the cattle business is now in the hands of roaming bands who have no conception of a brotherhood, or the modern state, you will realize what the Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard, meant by his two books, “Fear and Trembling” and “The Sickness Unto Death.”

Relentless daily killings are going on in all the northern states. The northern political elite have allowed a new breed of wild youths, not sufficiently socialised even in line with the ‘Ranka dede’ culture to become dominant. Drugs, poverty, motiveless criminality and rapacious daredevilry have chased all the northern big men to Abuja. But for how long will they be in exile? Is Abuja itself still safe? Are some high-profile estates and exclusive neighbourhoods in Abuja not being quietly attacked these days?”

As property rates crash in the North, as investors flee, as local economies collapse, as re-desertification takes over many places, as farmlands and animal husbandry are abandoned, as the proceeds of crime become the new means for the unlettered, the threat to the children of the elite will multiply. The peace of mind of those who had the chance to make a difference but failed to do so will evaporate. The free-band society of cattle herders will collapse before their very eyes, as much of the North is taken over by degenerate marauders. I need not repeat the old observation that the late Abubakar Rimi would probably still be alive today if he had not encountered his ‘brothers’ on a lonely road in the dead of night. He spoke to them in Fulfulde and tried to remonstrate with them, but they did not listen to him. They robbed him, instead, and managed to spare his life after warning him to keep his preachment to himself. it was the trauma to Rimi’s existing heart condition, as well as the statement of his “brothers” that they were simply trying to “make a living” and feed their families, that saw Rimi out of this world a few days later.

The article, “Northern Nigeria: The Pretence Persists ended on this note: “A region that has the highest allocation from oil revenue, the highest earnings from tax mostly paid by other regions, the highest earning from bunkering and the highest earnings from the illegal mining of gold and other natural resources, is ravaged by poverty, underdevelopment and a burgeoning population of unemployable youths. Is this right? Is this normal? Is anyone paying attention – as the North goes under?

Today, matters have only gone beyond comprehension, in terms of finding a way out of the quagmire. The former leather works sites of many Northern states are not about to comeback. The textile factories and groundnut pyramids of Kano and Kaduna are tales from bygone times. Most leaders of the North, and also leaders of various regions today, do not seem to be doing any form of costs/benefits analysis in their expenditures and use of public funds.

The unfailingly abiding emotional investment I have in the wellbeing of common people springs forth from my experiential and mediated identification with the twinge of hunger and misery that poverty breeds.

As people who read my columns know, my father, who died on December 31, 2016, was an Arabic/Islamic Studies teacher at a government-owned primary school for almost four decades. His salary was modest and often not guaranteed both during military regimes and civilian administrations. So, my siblings and I grew up in relative deprivation.

But there were choices he made as a father that earned him our unalloyed filial respect, loyalty, and love in spite of our lack. He never ever ate outside for any reason. Even when he was invited to preside over naming or wedding ceremonies, as Malams of his stature often were, he didn’t eat the food he was offered at the venues of the ceremonies. He would always bring it home to us. 

When his colleagues would ask him why he didn’t eat outside, he would tell them that he couldn’t bear to luxuriate in outside culinary treats when the children for whom he lived stayed hungry at home or ate inferior food. He thought it was unjustifiably selfish. 

He also never had more meat on his plate than we had when we had lunch or dinner. Each time our stepmother gave him more pieces of meat than she gave us children, like clockwork, he would consistently share the extra pieces with us and would watch us like a protective mother hen as we ate. 

If he didn’t have enough money to buy new clothes for us, he never bought for himself. In fact, he would often buy clothes for us at the expense of donning threadbare clothes. His fellow Malams were often better dressed than he—because of us.

 And he always ensured that, no matter the circumstance, our school fees were paid—even if we couldn’t afford to buy all required textbooks.

 We didn’t need to be told that he loved us with the entire fiber of his being. We could feel, even touch, his pure, total affection.

So, on days we had no food, or had food but without meat, and on festive occasions when we didn’t have new clothes like our agemates did, we were never resentful. We knew we would have anything if he could afford it. And even when he disciplined us severely—and he was a strict, stick-wielding, no-nonsense disciplinarian—for our youthful transgressions and indiscretions, we forgave him easily. As young as we were, he made us understand the concept of tough love without articulating it.

That’s why I miss my father sorely every single day, and why he continues to be my most important role model. 

There is a parallel between being the father—or mother—of children and being the president of a country. Just as selfless, responsible parenting automatically inspires filial respect and love, compassionate, responsible governance engenders patriotism and makes possible national self-sacrifice from citizens.

The more I read stories of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s profligate expenditures and vain acquisitions amid the once-in-a-generation cost-of-living crisis that ordinary Nigerians are going through as a direct consequence of his economic policies, the more I think of my late father.

 If my father had splurged on himself while his children starved, would we have been as emotionally attached to him as we were—and still are posthumously? Would he have been able to persuade us that we didn’t have the fine things of life because he lacked the means to buy them for us?

Nigeria has one of the world's highest poverty rates. Most Nigerians now live in way worse poverty than I lived in when I was growing up. Yet Tinubu’s economic reforms consist basically in denuding citizens of some of the subsidies we had taken for granted—relatively cheap petrol (which leads to affordable transportation and food costs), subsidized education (which allows the son of a primary school teacher like me to go to university), etc.

The justification for these “reforms” is that Nigeria is too poor to be able to sustain programs that help the poor to survive and thrive. So, sacrifice is required to rejig the economy. Money saved from the (temporary) withdrawal of the state from the lives of the people will be invested to ensure a greater, brighter, more prosperous tomorrow. Untrue, but fair enough.

But why is the sacrifice a one-way traffic? At the time that everyday folks have been told to contend with unsustainably extortionate petrol and electricity prices, which have had a domino effect on all aspects of life, President Tinubu bought for himself a new presidential jet worth $150 million, which is the equivalent of more than N150 billion!

This is aside from the fact that the sum of N12.7 billion has been allocated in the 2023 supplementary budget for the maintenance of the presidential air fleet. A country too poor to provide much-needed subsidies for its poor shouldn’t have a president who flies in an expensive plane or an air fleet that guzzles that much money to maintain. 

The UK is a much wealthier country than Nigeria. It gives its citizens the sorts of subsidies that Nigerians have been blackmailed into accepting that they are unworthy of, but the UK Prime Minister had no dedicated aircraft until 2016 when a plane was purchased for the Prime Minister (and “other ministers and senior members of the royal family when they travel on official engagements”) at the cost of $15 million.

UK government officials, including the Prime Minister, used to charter commercial jets for official travels. Until 2016, the “United Kingdom was, in fact, the only one among the Group of Seven industrialized countries without a dedicated government VIP jet,” according to the Points Guy website.

Recall that Tinubu caused a well-deserved national stir when he ordered the purchase of a presidential yacht worth N5 billion sometime in 2023. It also came to light that he bought for himself a bulletproof Escalade SUV worth N1.5 billion, among other examples of indefensible epicurean lavishness.

In response to my last week’s column, a government apologist (who knows if he is a government appointee?) pointed out to me that, “The price of petroleum [in Nigeria] was the second lowest in the world (in dollar terms) by the time the subsidy was (partially) removed.”

He said this as an indictment. He is miffed that Nigeria had the second lowest petrol price in the world. I doubt this is even true, but even if it were true, what’s wrong with that? It’s like a wealthy but stingy father who splurges on himself telling his starving children that they don’t deserve the crumbs he throws their way because there are poorer neighbors with way hungrier children than they. 

So, the rich but penny-pinching father stops the crumbs to the children but continues to luxuriate in conspicuous opulence while telling his children to learn to sacrifice for a greater tomorrow. That’s not a father worth respecting or obeying. 

A president who indulges in the kind of primitive acquisitiveness and conspicuous consumption that are becoming the trademark of President Tinubu at the expense of subjecting the broad masses of the people to the most extreme deprivation that Nigeria has witnessed in living memory has no moral right to expect patriotism or willing sacrifice.

If President Tinubu and members of this government are serious about “sacrificing,” in light of the fact that Nigeria is “broke,” they should first give up their own “subsidies.” There is neither honor nor dignity in being the overfed father of starving children.