The death a few days ago of Professor Humphrey Nwosu, the outstanding Nigerian who supervised the famous June 12 1993 presidential election no doubt reminded many Nigerians of how best to organize an election. Although the winner of that election was never formally declared, everyone knew who it was and across the globe, the contest was unanimously accepted as the best Nigerian election in history. The accolade is yet to change.

Those who knew Nwosu’s strength of character especially those of us who worked with him on the elections must have been elated for the first time hearing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in a tribute describing Humphrey Nwosu as “as a bold and courageous administrator as well as a patriot and national asset,” who played a major role in shaping Nigeria’s democratic journey. The description was simply apt.

Before Tinubu, all our respective first citizens pretended that the 1993 election deserved no recognition because it was supposedly not concluded and as such had no winner. The nearest the nation heard about the election was President Muhammadu Buhari’s decision in 2018 to bestow on Moshood Abiola, the winner of the election, the highest national award – the Grand Commander of the Federal Republic GCFR reserved for only the nation’s presidents. Those who packaged the award by Buhari must have had their own hidden agenda which portrayed an assumption that there was no need to also honour Humphrey Nwosu for his great performance. Whereas the addition of the legendary Gani Fawehinmi to those honoured along with Abiola was popular and laudable, it was disheartening to see that a few politicians who colluded with the military to jettison June 12 were also honoured.

It is hoped that President Tinubu would find time to offer Nwosu a befitting national honour as well as to name after him a national monument or edifice. Humphrey Nwosu was not just an ordinary chairman of an electoral body; he visibly did a marvellous and persuasive job by applying all his strength and capacity to embrace innovations for achieving his goal. As chairman of the defunct National Electoral Commission from 1989-1993, he successfully conducted nationwide local government elections in 1990, governorship elections in 1991, national assembly elections in 1992 and the presidential election in 1993. The problem that was imposed on his last election in 1993 had nothing to do with electoral logistics or processes and procedures; rather, it was a set of military officers along with some politicians and a few traditional authorities that colluded for personal reasons to stop the declaration and swearing in of the winner.

The electoral body headed by Nwosu did more than the conduct of elections as it was also mandated to midwife the entire transition to civil rule political programme. To this end, Nwosu’s team is entitled to taking full credit for the rigorous guidelines it evolved for the emergence of 13 political associations out of which two, the Social Democratic Party SDP and the National Republican Convention NRC were formally given the green light to function as political parties. Unlike what we see today, the electoral commission of the time neither breached its own guidelines nor did it give room for politicians to derail its arrangements. If Nwosu introduced any electoral device it was made available everywhere and diligently implemented nationwide without allowing local prejudices to affect the process – a sharp contrast to devices like Card Reader or INEC IREV that were deliberately configured to be temperamental.

The prevailing circumstances during each election were always taken into consideration in determining electoral guidelines for use each time. For example, the credibility problems created at the beginning of the transition programme as a result of the nation’s long military rule, made Nwosu to introduce the Open ballot system which made it easy for people to accept the simple, credible and on-the-spot results. In due course, with complaints by political analysts that some people were scared of openly voting against their spouses, landlords or teachers etc, the Open-Secret ballot was introduced to ensure that although the casting of ballot was done in the open, each voter was given an opportunity to mark his/her ballot in an enclosed compartment provided by the commission. To ensure the emergence of truly national leaders, what was known as Option A4 was introduced to make winners emerge through several stages from local to national levels.

Different societal institutions such as the judiciary and security agencies assisted the electoral body in our days but none of them was allowed to take over the process. For instance, only the electoral body could postpone an election unlike now when for security reasons unknown to even INEC, election could be postponed. It should also be pointed out that no electoral offender could be apprehended by the police without the consent of the relevant electoral officer thereby keeping the electoral body in charge. In like manner, the judiciary had powers to review our decisions but had no power to stop the commission from performing its duties. Accordingly, when Justice Bassey Ikpeme attempted to stop the June 12 1993 elections a few hours to voting, the fake order was ignored because it was clearly in breach of Section 19(1) of the relevant Decree 13 of 1993.

During Nwosu’s time, the judiciary was allowed to nullify an election which failed the integrity test but no court at whatever level was empowered to determine winners of elections. Unlike what happens these days, the courts were not allowed to use ‘judiciary-mathematics’ to add up figures which ended up producing winners that scored more votes than voters. Instead, where an election was nullified, a repeat election was held to ensure that winners were determined by voters and not by judges. One can predict with ease that we are likely to return to the same situation someday if nothing is done to stop the judicial activity of conflicting orders between state and federal courts. Luckily, Nwosu’s team was not challenged by this practice of using the judiciary to win elections. 

Another advantage which Nwosu’s electoral commission enjoyed was that its members were made up of men and women of transparent integrity in line with international standards which require every umpire to be truly impartial and above board. Today, majority of our electoral commissioners are agents or card carrying members of the ruling parties making it obvious that the expectation of free and fair elections is a tall order. Again, those recruited during Nwosu’s days as ad hoc staff such as returning officers were well known in society for their self-respect, dignity, track record and personal discipline and were thus fit for the job. Today, our returning officers who are top academics announce fake results and argue that they only read what was given to them. No one can say if the same returning officers are not the architects of examination malpractices in our higher institutions.

Against this backdrop, the charge by President Tinubu to our electoral umpires to behave like Humphrey Nwosu as a champion of democracy by upholding “credible, transparent, and democratic elections that embody the people’s right to choose their leaders” is a challenge they can hardly meet if we do not return to the golden days when elections were organized as a game played by its rules. Most importantly, the reference to Humphrey Nwosu by President Tinubu as a bold and courageous administrator would remain eternally remarkable. Until his commission was suspended and later dissolved, Nwosu challenged every wrong step taken by the authorities to intimidate his team. He went to the Court of Appeal to challenge the plan to scuttle his work but had to give up only when the election was instructively annulled a few hours before judgment.

History would no doubt be kind to Nwosu who ran a patently independent electoral commission even though his commission was never formally empowered to act as independent. Indeed, his was an electoral body set by the military and run with decrees. It is hoped that although the president of the day, Ibrahim Babangida took vicarious liability for the unfortunate annulment of the June 12 1993 election, memoirs and books would emerge sooner or later to expose all those who played ignoble roles in the development. Adieu Humphrey, exceedingly brilliant first-class political scientist and innovator who left his name in gold in the history of elections in Nigeria. May his soul rest in peace.  

The United States of America team scored once in each half to send Nigeria crashing out of the FIFA women’s under-17 World Cup with a 2-0 defeat in the quarter-final encounter at the Santiago de los Caballeros Stadium, Dominican Republic.

The Flamingos were more fancied but their opponents were tactically outstanding, with Kennedy Fuller and Kimmi Ascanio punishing Bankole Olowookere’s team.

The Americans stifled their Nigerian opponents’ usually creative midfield. They denied the attackers service and found joy in attacking from the wings.

Their perseverance paid off when Fuller evaded Shakirat Moshood and powered into the penalty area before the latter brought her down for a spot-kick awarded following a video assistant referee review.

Fuller dusted herself up and converted for 1-0 to the USA on 43 minutes, taking the lead into the break.

Nigeria was presented the first big chance of the second half when a defensive mix-up allowed Taiwo Afolabi a good opening to equalize but her shot was saved by Evan Osteen, US goalkeeper.

The United States upped the ante and doubled their lead on 71 minutes. Ascanio slotted low into the bottom corner to seal their passage into the semi-finals while the Nigerian team crashed out of the tournament.

[TheCable]

Those in search of the human asset to help salvage our country have one major place to look these days: the departure lounge of the international airports. Some of the best minds of the nation are either on their way out of the country to assume leading positions or are returning to their international duty posts in major centres of the world. Hardly any day goes by without an outstanding Nigerian making  the headline in some newspaper somewhere in the world. Our exceptional citizens are making the news waves with stories of achievements that should make us proud.

Our citizens are being elevated to and celebrated in strategic positions around the world. Some are scoring unusual goals  in ground breaking research or scoring the best marks in universities all over the world. Our star footballers and athletes are household names around the world. A select few are occupying cardinal positions in apex global public and private organizations.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has held fort at the World Trade Organization (WTO), using the instrument f trade to help redefine the world. Professor Akinwumi Adesina has maintained an enviable lead at the AFDB since his appointment and has continued to lead that bank as a leading global engine of development for Africa. Mr. Adebayo Ogunlesi has, since acquiring the airport, resurrected Britain’s Gatwick Airport into a major global hub. The current Deputy Treasury Secretary of the United States, Mr. Adewale Adeyemo, fondly called  “Wally” at the highest levels of the US government is a major force  in Washington’s power circles. The examples and instances are multiple and ever expanding.

We can of course not ignore the nuisance of the ugly Nigerians:  cyber criminals, scam artists, rough and random street cultists and other ugly Nigerians who also make news headlines that taint our green passport. Every great nation has them in all shades but are better judged by their brighter shades than by their brackish dregs.

Earlier in the week, yet another significant Nigerian has joined the elongating line up of ambassadors of excellence flying Nigeria’s flag in the places that matter.  Kingsley Chiedu Moghalu, former Deputy Governor of Nigeria’s Central Bank and international economics scholar has just been appointed the founding President of the new African leadership university, the African School of Governance (ASG) based in Kigali, Rwanda. The ASG is a tertiary level institution deliberately established  by significant African leaders and statesmen to promote the cause of enhancing Africa’s leadership culture  at a time of grave challenge.

The ASG comes on stream as a continental training ground for a new generation of leaders especially from among the youth. The institution is target specific; it aims to train and provide leadership human resources for the entire continent.  It is the brainchild of a select group of outstanding African statesmen and worldclass technocrats who have themselves been shining examples in the transformation of their own countries in the modern world.  

The founders are led by Rwanda’s poster kid President, Paul Kagame, Ethiopia’s former Prime Minister, Hallemariam Dessalegn. Others include Mr. Mekhtar Diop, Managing Director of the International Finance Corporation and Senegal’s former Minister of Finance and Economic Cooperation as well as  Dr. Donald Kaberuka, former president of the African Development Bank,  Professor Hajer Gueldisch , former professor at the University of Carthage, Kishore Mahbubani,  Former Dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy are also among the founders and board of the new school.

African School for Governance will offer a broad range of services and programmes directly related to the enhancement of public policy leadership in Africa. For training programs it will offer short term programmes leading to post graduate degrees in public policy. It will also offer short term on –the- job training for African policy and government operatives as well as render services to African governments and public institutions on a continent wide basis. All these activities will be managed and coordinated from the school’s base in Kigali, Rwanda. ASG comes as a fully loaded package of progammes, services and collaborations of a scope and spread that is unprecedented in Africa to date..

The mission and vision of ASG are honed at today’s Africa where a deficit of appropriate public policy leadership summarizes the current crisis of development on the continent. It has come to be acknowledged that the critical deficit in Africa’s development and progress is a certain embarrassing paucity of knowledgeable leadership. Most African leaders are politicians who have not undergone much formal education on modern public leadership. The result is that while Africa’s challenges have grown in scope and complexity, the manpower resources to address them at the level of leadership has remained undeveloped. Yet the world cannot wait for Africa to catch up or bridge the yawning knowledge gap that currently separates Africa from the rest of the world. This broad challenge is the definition of  Prof. Moghalu’s new assignment which makes it both grueling and unique in Africa.

Moghalu comes to his new position very well equipped. With a rich and brilliant academic background in international economics and copious practical experience working with the World Bank and other leading financial institutions around the world. Moghalu has in addition considerable experience working in multilateral institutions like the United Nations where he was mentored by such illustrious diplomats as the late Kofi  Annan, former UN Secretary General of the UN.

Thereafter, he   was appointed Deputy Governor of Nigeria’s Central Bank where he worked under Lamido Sanusi Lamido, Emir   of  Kano during the tenure of President Goodluck Jonathan. The Central Bank under Sanusi Lamido Sanusi was essentially a reformist institution. It introduced a number of innovations in Nigeria’s banking sector including the Bank Verification Numbers(BVN) to identify all account holders as part of an anti -graft measure to reduce  abuses in the Nigerian banking system.

After his tenure as Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Moghalu was appointed professor at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University in 2015. s.

In the 2019 presidential contest, he ran unsuccessfully as the presidential candidate of the Young Peoples Party (YPP). His manifesto was typically idealistic and a bit academic.  After the political adventure, he returned once again to the world of academics. In 20021, he was appointed Visiting Fellow by Oxford University.

 In the 2023 contest, he made yet another unsuccessful attempt at the presidency with little success. This second time, he fared worse than he did in the first attempt at partisan politics. It was an experience where he came face to face with the murkiness of Nigerian politics. He encountered subterfuge, corruption and nastiness as we have come to know them as trademarks of Nigerian politics. He did not need any further disincentives to know that it was time to bow out of partisan politics.  He had no alternative than to return to his forte of academia, research and consulting especially in especially in the areas of international finance and economics. He was back to his Washington based consultancy from where he was appointed the President of ASG.

Moghalu took to his political journey a predictable idealistic obsession to make Nigeria work for the people. His vision was to work towards a functional state with institutions that work efficiently in the service of the people. His informing national aspiration was a medium income and medium power nation that would stand shoulder to shoulder with its peers in the shortest possible time. He wanted to harness and deploy the best energies of the nation to this end. In his mind, he was the candidate of the youth. But he was to discover differently to his utter chagrin.

He took to his brief political foray his energy and habitual dedication to mission. He travelled the nation, met and mixed with the political high and mighty. He touched base with the shakers and movers of political Nigeria , paid homage to the main shapers of national political opinion. Understandably, he was accepted and endorsed by all those he paid homage to. Quite significantly, he was endorsed by Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka who used to wield considerable political heft at the level of opinion and ideas.

His mission was easy since  he carried no major political baggage. His politics was one of ideas and values. No one could pin him down to the fixed verities of Nigeria’s sectional and hegemonic politics. Though a man of Igbo descent, his politics was essentially a nationalistic one predicated mostly on the evolution of a modern institution- based Nigerian state that would work for its citizens and compete with its peers in the new modern world. He belongs to a post war less ethnocentric Nigeria which equipped him with a more nationalistic sense of the Nigerian nation.

Here then is a man with a rounded background in academics, public service, a bit of politics and international affairs. At a personal level, he is laser focused and avidly result oriented.  Therefor, Moghalu brings to his new position as President of ASG a rich background that should enrich his career and glorify the objectives of the new institution. One quality that marks out Prof. Moghalu for his new role is his fervent commitment to African modernity. For him, a modern and progressive Africa is an urgent possibility that can no longer wait.

Our eyes are on Kigali where one of the jewels of Nigeria’s intellectual property reservoir is now on loan to the rest of Africa.

Peter Obi and the Yakubu Gowon Conundrum

The social media and the streets found a bit of excitement in the past fortnight. The 90th birthday events of Nigeria’s war time leader, General Yakubu Gowon, provided an opening for the older generation of Nigerians to reflect on aspects of Nigerian history especially the civil war.  Gowon’s birthday provided an avenue for interactions among historical personages  alive ,  young and ageing. It was especially an opportunity for younger Nigerians to learn snippets of national history.

Understandably, the politics of the moment was not immune from that past. Mr. Peter Obi, easily the most visible image and audible voice of what may be described as the present Nigerian political opposition, felt a duty to join the long queue of Nigerian political heavies and significant others to salute General Gowon. As a politician, Obi could not but greet Gowon whose political symbolism remains strong. By the nature of his historical being, Gowon can only be greeted in the language of politics. Peter Obi knows that too well and his congratulatory tweet was in line.

Fire from the pit of hell was let loose. Mr. Obi’s swarm of social media acolytes, perhaps for the first time, disagreed with their icon and said so. In the view of most of them, General Gowon remains a villain who presided over a war time killing machine that claimed over 3 million Nigerians in the civil war of 1967-70. He does not therefore qualify to be greeted by Obi.

Most of those on social media today have come to see Mr. Peter Obi as a symbol of a new, more innocent Nigeria who needs to keep his distance from the rotten pillars of old Nigeria. Running through the bulk of the social media posts that greeted Obi’s Gowon tweet is a stubborn sense of hurt especially among the youth of South-eastern extraction.

This unexpected outrage forced Mr. Obi into the difficulty of  ‘explaining’ himself using mostly moral grounds to justify the Gowon tribute. As a Christian, he felt a compulsion to forgive “an enemy” even in the context of national politics. Moreover, as a politician, he cannot afford to harbor ill will for longer than necessary. 

Some followers have forgiven Obi. Others have shown understanding of his position. The more ethnocentric few have swallowed hard, insisting that Gowon remains a war ‘criminal’ who is undeserving of forgiveness by those who feel the hurt of the civil war most. The most interesting thing about this exchange is that we are over 60 years from the end of the civil war and the majority of those who are bitter on the social media were hardly born even a decade after the end of the war. Yet the bitterness endures.

Peter Obi’s mini cyber travail over the Yakubu Gowon birthday tweet has exposed certain problems in Nigeria’s current political thinking. In a political culture rooted in regionalism and ethnocentrism, politicians and their followers seem to have a problem defining themselves in plain national colours. Peter Obi who was hardly ten years old when the war ended. Yet he is having difficulty defining himself free from the labels of that hostility. Though his political identity is rooted in the new post-1970 federalist Nigeria, many of his followers would want him to identify himself primarily as an Igbo pro-Biafran politician. That would be futile.

On the contrary, Mr. Obi’s aspiration is for the leadership of a united Nigeria. He is not traversing the length and bread of Nigeria seeking to avenge the Nigerian civil war or the millions of Igbos killed in that war. His mission is not one of ethnic revenge. Rather, I see him as an apostle of new Nigeria, freed at last from the contagion of ethnicity and regionalism. Obi is, in my view, an apostle of a new modern, detribalized  Nigeria led by the youth, a nation state that works for all Nigerians in a truly democratic context.

As a serious apprentice statesman, Peter Obi needs to see more in Gowon than the blood letting in the war years. Gowon means the state structure. He means the National Youth Service Corps, the Unity Schools, driving your car on the right hand side of the road like the rest of West Africa and the establishment of ECOWAS. These items f nation building cannot be reduced to simplistic and emotional binary categories of hero and villain or saint and sinner.

Even with their individual failings as mortals, leading national figures like Emeka Ojukwu, Yakubu Gowon and Olusegun Obasanjo tried, through visits and photo opportunities, to reach across the divides of war to send the message of peace, forgiveness and reconciliation.

Given the ethnic basis of our political culture, hardly anyone emerges on the national political scene without carrying the baggage of an originating  ethnicity (the state of origin syndrome!). There may be nothing wrong with that. Every politics is primarily local and ethnic in the end. What matters however is where the politician in question pitches the beacons of his/her consciousness. The politician who places the imperatives of the nation over and above those of his ethnicity is the truly national leader. The opposite is the definition of the ethnic politician in national political costume. We have them in abundance.

And in any event, the national political leader who does not feel the historic wounds of his own people is counterfeit. Still, the aspirant to national leadership who wears the historic injury of his people as a signpost on his political forehead should not be trusted with the fate of a multi ethnic nation like Nigeria.

The Peter Obi and Gowon conundrum raises larger questions of political leadership typology. Specifically, on Gowon, the question is a complex one: Can one man be both hero and villain simultaneously? To the advocates of a united Nigeria, General Gowon as the leader of the Nigerian war of unification, was an undisputable hero who won the war.

But for the predominantly Igbo population of defunct Biafra, Gowon was and remains an unmitigated villain. They hold him responsible for the collective evil of the war and the massive loss of lives. The passage of time and all the political whitewash of peace, reconciliation and national unity cannot wipe away the hurt of war and the loss of kith and kin.

Praise the Lord! President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed ministers and heads of departments and agencies to reduce the number of vehicles in their convoys to three and their security personnel to a maximum of five. This is to “reduce the cost of governance” (I prefer to call it “government’s running cost” because “governance” is broader and deeper). We don’t know how much this directive will save the treasury in these hard times since the government did not state any monetary value. Before now, Tinubu had announced a reduction in his entourage from 50 to 20 officials on foreign trips and 25 on local trips. We have never counted, so we are not really sure if this is being implemented.

But wait a minute. Many of us did not even know that ministers and agency heads had more than three cars and five security aides in their collection in these hard times. What a revelation. But what on God’s green earth is an agency head doing with three cars and five security aides? There are over 1,000 federal agencies. My math has been pathetic from my secondary school days, but I have just calculated over 4,000 police and over 1,000 DSS officers for agency heads. Wow! So, this is what the new directive means? When we demand the reduction of government’s running cost, is this it? What a wasteful country! We have refused to come to our senses since the oil boom era of the 1970s.

When President Olusegun Obasanjo came up with the monetisation policy in 2003, it was supposed to bring about a major cut in the cost of running government. It was supposed to reduce the financial burden of maintaining political office holders and senior civil servants. Until then, federal government provided residential houses and bought official vehicles for ministers, federal lawmakers and their likes. It was also responsible for maintaining the residences and the vehicles, settling the utility and medical bills, and paying for their aides, cooks, gardeners and drivers. With monetisation, the federal government started paying consolidated sums, prorated per month, as remuneration.

But what did we see? All over Abuja, appointees were still moving in motorcades filled with some of the most exotic and exquisite SUVs money can buy. Some MDAs found a way of accommodating the profligacy in their budgets through what they call “project cars”. Some are still renting houses for ministers and paying for their egos and libidos through all sorts of subheads created to subvert the monetisation policy. Federal legislators are still buying choice SUVs as “project cars” despite monetisation. Everybody in government wants to eat double portion. They are having their cake and eating it. When they become ex-this, ex-that, can they maintain this lifestyle from their sweat?

And this brings me to the topic for today: what I call the three Ps of politics. The first P is “politicking” — the path to political power. The second is “performance” — the purpose of politics. The third is “perks” — the juice of office. Anywhere politics is played in the world, these are three major facets. The details may differ from country to country and from society to society, but politics is essentially alike. Anywhere, you have to politick to win or hold on to political power. Anywhere, you are elected into office presumably for the greater good of the society. Anywhere, you are entitled to certain perks which come with the fact that you are in power. There should be no debate about that.

In politicking, politicians play to win. Some play it clean, some play dirty. In most cases, it is mixed. Politicians undermine each other with propaganda, selling half-truths and absolute lies to voters. They may play up ethnic, religious and other divisive sentiments. But then, when they get into power, the second “p” is expected of them: performance. Socrates, according to Plato in ‘Gorgias’, argued that the goal of politics is to make the citizens “as good as possible to live the best lives”. No matter the divisive electioneering rhetoric, nobody wants a governor, president or lawmaker to leave them worse off. Nobody appoints ministers, commissioners or agency heads hoping that they will fail.

The third “p” is perks. The perquisites of office. This obtains in varying degrees everywhere. By reason of holding certain political positions, you enjoy a number of benefits in addition to your salary. Citizens living in a country where these perks are well defined and minimal and where political office holders are honest and accountable should count themselves lucky. In many developing countries, the perks are fat and unlimited and there is nothing the people can do about that. The ruling class has constituted itself into parasites on the perquisites and never want to let go, even when the treasury is broke and the citizens are eating from the dustbin. They cannot be bothered.

Sadly, while politics has the facets of politicking, performance and perks everywhere, the typical, buccaneering Nigerian public office holder cherry-picks “politicking” and “perks”. It is mostly about personal benefits — eating the national cake. Performance is the unwanted “p” and gets the least attention. I would not mind governors flying in state-of-the-art jets and lawmakers riding Porshe as official vehicles if it is evident that public schools, hospitals and roads are first-class and the citizens are enjoying good governance, with security of lives and property to boot. But in a heavily-indebted country where citizens are in severe pains, I cannot understand what is motivating this profligacy.

Our reality is that many, if not most, Nigerian politicians and political appointees are only interested in the perks of office. Take away those perks and they will feel little. What is life as a government official without plenty security escorts and siren? How would the people know that you are now a tin god? How would you distinguish yourself from ordinary citizens when you don’t ride in a motorcade with police, DSS and NSCDC officers dotting all over you and carrying your files and polishing your shoes and all that? Unfortunately, Nigeria is not rich or prosperous enough to sustain this waste — not with our meagre income and miserable budgets that cannot cater for 200 million citizens.

If you live in the UK with a GDP of about $3 trillion, inflation rate of 1.7 percent, and per capita income of $48,000, you will never see a minister or MP riding in a motorcade and going around with five security aides. But in Nigeria with a GDP of $200 billion, inflation rate of 32.7 percent, and per capita income of $1,621, government officials will be blowing siren all over the place and chasing lesser mortals off the road, ignoring traffic lights and throttling at full speed like Lewis Hamilton. If government officials of any country deserve to live large, it should be where poverty has been conquered and the people enjoy basic social services. It should be a reward for performance.

If really the “greater good of the society” were the priority of politicking in Nigeria, we would not be where we are today. In my book, ‘Fellow Nigerians, It’s All Politics!’, I argued that to the archetypal Nigerian politician, power is an end in itself. Or, put more fittingly, power is a licence to become a deity, to amass and flaunt obscene wealth in the midst of wretched poverty, and to deploy raw state power to oppress or suppress others. To be fair, some politicians still remember to build the odd road, whitewash public schools and sink boreholes here and there. Some, surprisingly, build bridges, drainages and hospitals. But, come off it, we know this is not the most common story in Nigeria.

While I am somewhat pleased that Tinubu has once again announced measures to reduce government’s running cost, the directive on three cars and five security aides does not cut it for me. It is, at best, cosmetic. It serves a good purpose of signalling, but how much are we going to save? We expect something comprehensive. Compare the new directive to the one Tinubu issued on February 26, 2024 that the Oronsaye Report should be “fully” implemented. He announced “the merging, subsuming, scraping and relocation of several agencies of government” in a “very bold move”. Eight months later, we have only created new mega agencies, including four “NDDCs”.

Nevertheless, I implore Tinubu to enforce monetisation to the letter and implement the Oronsaye Report, even if not fully. His message of sacrifice must go farther, starting from him. If there is a Nigerian president who should not care much about personal comfort at the nation’s expense, it should be him. He has told us he was very comfortable before coming to office. In that case, he should set the right tone from the top. He should lead by example in the hope that the governors will follow suit. Profligacy has been so normalised in Nigeria that we think prudence is extraterrestrial. Politics is about the people. Politics is about performance. Tinubu should lead the way. It won’t hurt.

AND FOUR OTHER THINGS…

HONOURING HUMPHREY

Prof Humphrey Nwosu, the man who conducted the June 12, 1993 presidential election, died on Thursday in the US, aged 83. Nwosu, who chaired the National Electoral Commission (NEC, now called INEC with the prefix of “Independent”), was stubbornly announcing the election results in batches before suddenly disappearing from public view as the military government arrested and detained him. Chief MKO Abiola was heading for victory but the election was annulled, plunging Nigeria into a prolonged crisis. Nwosu never showed up in public again until 2008 when he claimed Gen Babangida was not to blame for the annulment. He has died without telling the full story. Sad.  

DAM IT!

The governments of Lagos and Ogun states have asked residents living within the flood path of Oyan Dam to relocate — without offering any help. From time to time, there is a systematic release of excess water from the dam in Ogun state to avoid a collapse, which would be a major disaster — as we saw in Alau, Borno state, recently when dozens died and over 400,000 rendered homeless. The Oyan Dam water release always displaces thousands of people. What I would expect the states to do is to make a temporary plan to relocate those affected, most of whom are low-income earners. I wonder how many of them can afford the costs of relocation in this economy today. Distressing.

PLAYING WITH FIRE

When you hear that 180 people were killed in a fire disaster while scooping petrol from a fallen tanker in Jigawa state, the logical thought in your head is that this would serve as a natural warning to others. You are wrong. A few days later, a tanker fell in Akamkpa, Cross River state, and people did not hesitate to swoop and scoop (luckily, there was no fire). After the Jigawa incident, I had posted in a WhatsApp group that it would not be the last, that we never learn any lessons in Nigeria. When the Cross River incident happened, I posted the news link in the same WhatsApp group and said: “We discussed this last week.” A friend replied, cynically: “We also discussed it next week.” Troubling.

NO COMMENT

President Tinubu reshuffled his cabinet on Wednesday as if he didn’t. Okay, the comedian (or is it comedienne) in charge of women affairs has been “discharged”. She should start a career in skit making on Instagram. Well, the minister of education — who appeared to think all the problems in Nigeria revolve around the age students take university entrance exams — has also been discharged to the relief of millions who would have been stuck at home for two years because of someone’s brainwave. We can now hope his successor will get his priorities right. Otherwise, there is nothing earth-shaking in the reshuffle as widely anticipated. Except there is more to follow. Wonderful.

The Labour Party leader and Presidential Candidate in the party in 2023 polls, Peter Obi, has described the late National Electoral Commission Chairman, Prof Humphrey Nwosu, as an exceptional Electoral Umpire who was ready to risk his life for democracy.

In a short tribute to the former Chairman of the National Electoral Commission, NEC, who passed on during the week, Obi said he was a principled academic who brought to bear in his job the principle he taught in the classroom as a political scientist.

In his message titled "In Prof Nwosu, A True Democrat Exits," Obi wrote in X handle, "I have just received the sad news of the death of the former Chairman of the National Electoral Commission, NEC, Prof Humphrey Nwosu.

"Prof Nwosu was a true Democrat, an outstanding academician whose love for democracy and its values was copiously demonstrated in the way and manner he carried out his responsibilities as an electoral umpire between 1989 to 1993.

"His courageous defense of democratic principles, even under a non-democratic government, put him out as a man who was ready even to sacrifice his life for the sake of democracy and good governance.

"For his pivotal role in holding and upholding the 1993 presidential elections, Prof Nwosu’s name will remain indelible in the history of Nigerian democracy. He stood for the truth In Nigeria for standing for the truth and the best tenets of democracy when it was delicate and even dangerous to do so.

"It’s, however, disheartening to note that what Prof Nwosu did when the nation’s electoral commission was not even legally independent and when billions of taxpayers' money were not deployed as it is today with an accompanying updated technology could not be repeated in contemporary times in a supposed full democratic system.

"As an academic, Prof Nwosu brought to bear all the principles he taught in the classroom as an erudite professor of Political Science, unlike these days when professors are procured to aid electoral malpractices, including announcing results of elections they did not verify.

"For the new Nigeria we desire, the country needs more of Professor Nwosu, who will risk their lives for democracy.

"I pray God to forgive his shortcomings while on earth, grant his soul eternal repose, and his family and all lovers of democracy who mourn him the gratitude to bear the huge loss. 

"May God Almighty grant Nigeria the likes of Professor Humphrey Nwosu in her future elections.

A new Nigeria is indeed POssible"

Signed 

Ibrahim Umar 

POMR SPOKESMAN 

Nigeria, often described as the “Giant of Africa,” is a nation defined by its rich cultural diversity, dynamic economy, and resilient people. Its identity, however, is marked not only by unity but also by complex historical tensions, especially among its prominent ethnic groups, the Yoruba, Hausa-Fulani, and Igbo. Each group has played an instrumental role in shaping Nigeria’s trajectory, yet it is the Igbo people who, despite their industriousness and undeniable contributions to the country, continue to face systemic marginalization. As the nation charts its future, it is crucial to heed the wisdom embedded in the Igbo proverb, “Egbe bere Ugo bere”,which translates to “Let the kite perch, let the eagle perch,” a call for equality and mutual respect that Nigeria’s leadership and citizenry must embrace if true unity and progress are to be achieved.

The Igbo ethos of “Egbe bere Ugo bere” has deep cultural roots, symbolizing coexistence, respect, and the right of all to thrive without interference. In traditional Igbo society, this principle serves as a moral compass that fosters peace and discourages divisiveness. It recognizes the rights of all beings, represented by the kite and the eagle, to perch and flourish without hindrance. For the Igbo, this philosophy underscores the ideal society: one in which every person, community, and region has the freedom and support to prosper without oppression. It represents a vision of equality and mutual benefit that should be central to Nigeria’s collective ethos.

But in today’s Nigeria, this wisdom has yet to resonate in the treatment of the Igbo people. Rather than honoring this call for harmonious coexistence, the nation’s political and economic systems have repeatedly sidelined and suppressed the Igbo, fostering an environment of exclusion rather than inclusion. If Nigeria is to fulfill its promise as a truly united, progressive nation, its leaders must prioritize inclusive policies that reflect “Egbe bere Ugo bere”, ensuring that the Igbo people and all other groups are given an equal stake in the country’s future.

To understand the depth of Igbo marginalization, one must look at Nigeria’s post-independence history, particularly the Civil War (1967–1970) and the events that followed. The war, fought over the Igbo-led declaration of the independent state of Biafra, left deep scars and ushered in an era of distrust and systemic exclusion. The Igbo people, who bore the brunt of the war, were largely left to rebuild their lives and communities without substantial governmental support, and many policies were enacted that curtailed their socioeconomic mobility. The indigenization policy of the 1970s, which ostensibly aimed to empower Nigerians by transferring ownership of foreign businesses to locals, often limited the opportunities available to Igbos, while government investments in infrastructure development consistently bypassed the Southeast, stalling the region’s growth.

Today, this legacy of marginalization persists in various forms, affecting political representation, economic development, and access to social amenities. Despite being a major ethnic group with a unique cultural heritage and an impressive entrepreneurial spirit, the Igbo people are disproportionately underrepresented in the upper echelons of government. Presidential power, in particular, has eluded the Southeast for decades, reinforcing a feeling of alienation and disenfranchisement. Moreover, Southeast infrastructure remains severely underdeveloped compared to other regions, with dilapidated roads, inadequate healthcare facilities, and limited federal investments. This neglect not only hinders the region’s growth but also signals to the Igbo people that their needs and contributions are not valued by the national government.

This situation is further compounded by negative stereotypes and divisive narratives, which have persisted for decades, painting the Igbo as secessionist-minded or overly ambitious. Such portrayals serve to alienate them further, trivializing their legitimate grievances and pushing aside their calls for a fair and inclusive Nigeria. This continuous sidelining has fostered a sense of “otherness” among the Igbo, even though they are integral to Nigeria’s fabric and have consistently demonstrated a commitment to the nation’s development.

The Igbo people have been instrumental in Nigeria’s development across a variety of sectors, particularly in commerce, manufacturing, education, and healthcare. Their entrepreneurial spirit is renowned, with many Igbo-led businesses contributing significantly to the Nigerian economy. From major markets like Onitsha and Aba, which serve as commercial hubs not only for Nigeria but also for West Africa, to the notable presence of Igbo professionals in various industries, the Igbo people have continually demonstrated their commitment to building a prosperous Nigeria.

In addition to their economic contributions, the Igbo have also played a significant role in promoting educational and technological advancement. Historically, Igbo communities have prioritized education, resulting in a high level of academic achievement and a well-educated workforce. Many of Nigeria’s leading intellectuals, scientists, and innovators hail from the Southeast, yet this intellectual capital remains underutilized at the national level due to entrenched biases and exclusionary practices.

Culturally, the Igbo people have enriched Nigeria with their traditions, art, music, and cuisine. Festivals like the New Yam Festival, which celebrates the harvest and symbolizes gratitude and renewal, are a testament to the Igbo’s enduring heritage and values. Recognizing and celebrating these contributions is essential for fostering a sense of unity and mutual respect among Nigeria’s diverse ethnic groups.

Embracing the philosophy of “Egbe bere Ugo bere” in governance requires a paradigm shift in Nigeria’s political and social framework. It necessitates a commitment to fairness, equity, and the creation of equal opportunities for all ethnic groups. This vision of governance would prioritize policies that bridge regional divides, ensuring that every region receives adequate investment and development. By respecting this principle, Nigerian leaders could forge a society where diversity is seen not as a threat but as a source of strength, and where every citizen feels valued and empowered.

One critical area for such change is in political representation. Nigeria’s leaders should work towards a structure that allows all ethnic groups, including the Igbo, to have equal access to the highest offices. This would mean not only creating pathways for Southeast representation at the presidential level but also ensuring fair representation across all government agencies and institutions. Additionally, fair allocation of federal resources would provide a foundation for balanced development across Nigeria’s regions, addressing the infrastructure deficit in the Southeast and giving the Igbo people access to the social amenities they deserve.

The time has come for Nigeria to honor the wisdom of “Egbe bere Ugo bere” by fostering a society where every ethnic group is treated with respect and dignity. The concept of “Owners of Nigeria” should be expanded to include every citizen, irrespective of ethnicity, region, or religion. Rather than clinging to divisive rhetoric and exclusionary practices, Nigeria’s leadership must work to build a more inclusive nation, one that recognizes and celebrates the contributions of all its people.

For the Igbo, this would mean an end to the decades-long marginalization and a genuine opportunity to participate in shaping Nigeria’s future. It would mean a government that invests in the Southeast, a society that respects Igbo culture, and a nation that values the unique qualities that the Igbo bring to the Nigerian identity. Ultimately, a Nigeria that embraces “Egbe bere Ugo bere” would be one where all its citizens, whether they be from the North, South, East, or West, can coexist and thrive.

In fact, if Nigeria is to harness its full potential, it must commit to a future where every group is given the space to “perch” and thrive. Embracing the Igbo ethos of “Egbe bere Ugo bere” is not merely an act of cultural respect; it is a blueprint for unity, stability, and sustainable growth. In this shared vision, Nigeria can indeed become a nation that belongs to all.

Former Aston Villa star, Gabriel Agbonlahor, has urged Gabriel Jesus to step up and deliver for Arsenal.

The former England international said the former Manchester City star should be doing more for the north London side and take advantage of the absence of Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka.

Speaking on talkSPORT, Agbonlahor said he was surprised at Jesus’ failure to score goals or provide assists in his last 10 appearances for the Gunners.

He wants the Brazil International star to get back to his best and do more for Mikel Arteta’s side when they need him.

“I think they’ve got a big problem with Gabriel Jesus. His form, he hasn’t scored or assisted in 10 appearances this season,” Agbonlahor told talkSPORT.

“When he first signed, he got 11 goals and seven assists (all competitions) in his first season in 2022-23. Last season, in 36 games he got eight goals and eight assists (all competitions), which isn’t bad.”

“But this season, zero goals and zero assists. You know, when players are injured and not available, they’re starting (Raheem) Sterling in front of him and started other players in front of him.

“[Against Shakhtar Donetsk], he wasn’t great again, taken off for Sterling before 70 minutes.

“They need Gabriel Jesus up to form, especially with your little injuries to Odegaard and to Saka, he needs to step up.”

[DailyPost]

Tinubu has become an unabashed chauvinist. It’s a hard watch. It doesn’t bode well for national unity. Tinubu’s critical appointments have become the most lopsided in the history of this country.

A Yoruba is the police Inspector General. A Yoruba is the EFCC Chairman. A Yoruba is the Head of the DSS. A Yoruba is the Attorney General. A Yoruba is the Chief Justice of the Federation. And Tinubu, a Yoruba, is the President and overseer of all instruments of coercion. The entire criminal justice system is in the hands of one ethnic group.

I sold wristwatch, did okada, keke work; now I have fame but no money — Angel Babaorobo, Skit Maker:

For so long, the Afenifere was the conscience of the Yoruba nation and Nigeria. It fought for good governance, against oppression, and against what was often pejoratively described as retrogressive and oppressive mediocrity-metastasizing Hausa Fulani hegemony. To enthrone social justice and inclusiveness and enhance freedom, the Afenifere sold the idea of a sovereign national conference as the recipe against internal colonization, disunity and marginalisation. Those days are gone. Now Tinubu, an Afenifere apostle and NADECO evangelist is going full throttle installing an ethnic hegemony.

There is now a feeling amongst many that Tinubu is settling scores. Otherwise, why is he so relentless? But what score could he possibly be settling? Obasanjo, his kinsman, was president a few years ago. The Yoruba have ruled the country longer than anyone else since the fourth republic. So why Tinubu’s ethnic patriotism so feverish that after seizing all the important criminal justice system and handing it to the Yoruba, he has also handed nearly all the critical economic roles to the very same ethnic group. A Yoruba is the CBN governor. Another Yoruba is the Minister of Finance. Yet another Yoruba is the Minister of Blue Economy. Then a Yoruba is the Minster of Digital Economy. And just two days ago, a Yoruba became the Minister of Trade, Industries and Investment . A Yoruba is the Head of the Bank of Industry. A Yoruba heads the National Social Insurance Trust Fund. A Yoruba is the Coordinating Minister of the Economy. A Yoruba is the Minister of Solid Minerals. A Yoruba is the Minster Of Petroleum. At the height of the much talked about Hausa Fulani domination in the military era, no government came close to this. What is driving Tinubu’s ethnocentrism?.

The country is reeling. It’s crime and corruption ridden. It can’t afford the distractions of corrosive suspicions of ethnic domination. It can’t conduct decent elections.

The perception that Tinubu Yorubanized the critical levers of state will only complicate the distrust. Our problems are huge. The Mo Ibrahim report is out. It says Nigeria is one of the worst-ruled countries in Africa over the last ten years. On the War Against Corruption, we scored a miserable 28%. In general leadership ,we have fallen into the same category as Sudan and Somalia. So perhaps dwelling on issues like the ethnic colouration of appointments rather than health and education and security might be idiotic. But, one of the major problems Tinubu inherited was virulent ethnic division. National unity ought to be an urgent priority. Tinubu’s devotion to rabid ‘parapoism’ is counterintuitive. Military juntas weren’t this aloof. Tinubu ought to know that Nigerians are not cows. Taxi drivers and barbers on the street know the positions that define power in a multi-ethnic third world country. Beyond sloganeering, Tinubu should know that a shared sense of belonging across ethnic divides is the beginning of unity and peace, and of sustainable progress .

A Yoruba heads the Army. A Yoruba heads the Police. A Yoruba heads the Customs. A Yoruba heads the Immigration. Again add the DSS to that. It’s staggering. The Yoruba are very intelligent. They are perhaps the most sophisticated ethnic group in Nigeria but the gap can’t be this wide. The government isn’t an Egbe Omo Oduduwa. Many blame Tinubu’s baffling tribalism on Buhari. But this is disingenuous. If anything, Tinubu should have learnt from Buhari’s shortsightedness. Buhari was a little narrow-minded. But he didn’t have the benefit of Tinubu’s political lineage and exposure. A cursory look at Buhari’s lopsided appointments will reveal that while he might have concentrated power in the north, it wasn’t this brazen. Buhari didn’t concentrate critical roles in his ethnic group or geo-political zone. Yet the country criticized Buhari heavily. Comparatively and by any scale, Tinubu’s tribalism is utterly blind and stubbornly headlong. Yoruba have taken the head, taken the heart , taken the gizzard, taken the kidneys and liver. In the third world, people know ethnic domination when they see it. People are not cows.

But don’t blame the Yoruba. Most of them are embarrassed by Tinubu’s antediluvian antics. Indeed, the Yoruba are the most welcoming group in Nigeria. They are self assured and empathetic. They are effervescent and warm. Culturally, their lives espouse harmony and freedom. They are the most religiously tolerant, too. They never seek the domination of no one. They are instinctively happy to compete on a level playing field. They have been the loudest and sincerest champions of equity and meritocracy. So this ethnic hegemony that Tinubu is weaving is patently not Yoruba. The Yoruba live and let live. They didn’t send Tinubu on this errand.

One reasonable inference is that Tinubu perhaps lost faith in One Nigeria while waiting to be president. Tinubu’s loss of faith in One Nigeria is so stark that most of his personal aides are all Yoruba . No pretence at all. The bigoted Onanuga, who thinks the Igbo are second-class citizens in Lagos, is now his spokesman. Sunday Dare has been brought back as a Special Adviser and implanted into the Ministry of Information. Tinubu’s Chief of Protocol is Yoruba. The Commander of the Brigade of Guards is Yoruba. The ADC is Yoruba. The Chief Security Officer is Yoruba.

For the first time, we have a consummate politician who prepared for the role for many years. Yet again, we have a president who trusts only his tribe. Tinubu became a prominent senator over 30 years ago. He has an enviable national reach. Yet he distributes appointments like Sunday Igboho. Tinubu’s approach should have been distilled by the heat of the struggle to restore democracy. The clannishness we see today ought to have been purified by the fire of NADECO. His critics now say that having grabbed the coveted ultimate power, Tinubu has shed his cloak and is manifesting his truest colours.

Ordinarily, nobody would bother if Tinubu went for merit and chose only the people of Iragbiji or Isale Eko to fill the most important government positions. But Tinubu’s morally flabby cabinet is full of chaff. After removing five ministers whom he deemed to have performed woefully, his cabinet is still peopled with some who lack intergrity, retired governor who looted their states according to the EFCC and got promoted to national service to be cloaked with a dubious immunity against criminal prosecution. So Tinubu hasn’t sabotaged the Federal Character spirit to drive prosperity and progress. On the contrary, many Yorubas believe Tinubu’s ‘parapoism’ is aimed at building a private political dynasty.

When Nigeria becomes truly one and we select players for government and politics as we do for sports, no president will approach governance with a Tinubu mindset. Nobody does that in the Super Eagles. That’s why many feel that the federal character principle inadvertently makes our leaders village champions. If the next president after Tinubu emulates this parochialism the country may disintegrate from deepening of ethnic cleavages . Rotation of power is supposed to serve inclusiveness not further alienation.

President Tinubu knows that in a fractious multi-ethnic third world country, the concentration of the levers of the criminal justice system, economy and security, in the hands of one ethnic group will feed the system with disenchantment and paranoia and corrode cohesion. The Yoruba don’t need this sleight of hand. So why is Tinubu hell bent on this primitivity?

For a man who warned the Igbo that they would only get bread soaked in water if they scorned him, it is a shock that President Bola Tinubu has picked one of the finest, fittest, and fondest of that race into his cabinet. The nomination of Bianca Odumegwu Ojukwu into the Bola Tinubu cabinet came from the Blues.

So also is the seeming shock that the president is changing his strategy of bread soaked in water for Ndigbo. In fact, the change from bread soaked in water came the same week that the president’s wife, the delectable Senator Remi Tinubu dispatched thousands of bags of rice to Anambra women. Since his advent on May 29, 2023 President Tinubu had fastidiously kept to his vow in terms of patronage, especially in appointments.

With the majority of appointments scaled towards the Southwest and the Core North, the Igbo intermittently cheered when their stock were appointed into federal positions. So for the people who are already on the ground, the Igbo claim, they had no fear of a fall with Tinubu. That is the reason the region largely boycotted the August end bad governance campaign. So, it was something of a shock when Bianca, former Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria Pageant winner was nominated to replace the comedic former minister of women affairs, Uju Kennedy Ohanenye.

Of course, given her status as Igbo First Lady, no one questioned the propriety of the Enugu-born lawyer’s fitness for the slot. After all, her late husband was from Anambra State. What came as a shock was that the Tinubu camp did not mind the fact that Bianca was an undisguised supporter of Peter Obi in the 2023 presidential election. A year to the last presidential election as people complained about what they described as the stinginess of Peter Obi, Bianca came out with an unsolicited endorsement of the generosity of the former governor of Anambra State.

She drew emotions when she described her encounter with him during a visit to Dim Ojukwu at their Dallas, United States residence in 2009. She had prompted him during that visit to buy a Tom Ford suit costing $3980 to attend a state event in the city where he was to be honoured. Obi, however, refused and rather bought a suit of $200 for the event. Following that on his way back to Nigeria Obi offered her $3,800 saved from not buying the Tom Ford suit. The money was a donation to Bianca’s charity foundation in Anambra State which directly impacted on some women Bianca named.

That story went a long way in humanizing Peter Obi before the 2023 presidential election. So, given her preference for Peter Obi it was befuddling that the Tinubu Camp would reach out to bring her into the government. However, the move was not totally shocking for many who believe that Tinubu has not lost his capacity for strategic political maneuver. For one, the Tinubu camp m a y have come to the realization that it can no longer rely on the alliance with the core North for political supremacy over the nation.

That alliance has seen the majority of appointments shared between the Southwest and the Core North. Northern minorities, the Southeast and the SouthSouth have taken the short end of the stick from that arrangement. Despite the appointments and the favours, the favoured sections of the country have not benefited from lower prices of essential requirements or even petrol. It now appears to Tinubu that in a fair game that he would be badly wounded in the Core North and even the Southwest in 2027. With that unfavourable electoral prospect facing it ahead of 2027, there is no doubt that the Tinubu camp has had to rethink strategy during his United Kingdom vacation.

The result is the apparent decision to abandon the bread soaked in water philosophy for the Southeast by deciding to court the Igbo. The Tinubu camp perhaps now believes that it is possible to win over the Southeast. The camp also believes that the best way to start is through luring one of the finest, fittest and fondest of the tribe, a description that describes Bianca Ojukwu. Of course, there are some who think that Bianca should have outrightly rejected the proposal. As some Igbo argue, she cannot rationalize her presence in the Tinubu cabinet with the APC administration’s incarceration of Nnamdi Kanu, the only man who has rivaled her late husband in popularity among the Igbo.

Remarkably, Bianca has been a public agitator for Kanu’s release. Just eight days ago, and four days before her nomination, she issued a public demand for Kanu’s release. Given the way ministerial nominations are made in this country, it is obvious that Bianca was already in discussion with the Tinubu government when she made the call at the conference of American Veterans of Igbo Descent in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States of America. Your correspondent suspects that Bianca would have made a deal with the Tinubu government for Nnamdi Kanu’s release, and with it, the prospect of even winning over the secessionist leader into their camp.

Afterall, her husband was won over to the National Party of Nigeria, NPN on his return to Nigeria. Just as the NPN used Ojukwu to fight the National Peoples Party, NPP in Igbo land ahead of the 1983, the prospect of the APC using Bianca and Kanu against Peter Obi is plausible. But we all remember that after using Ojukwu, the NPN was said to have behind the scene rigged him out in the 1983 Anambra Senate race. Whatever, is the emergence of Bianca into the Tinubu government a setback for Obidients wishing for their man to win in 2027?

NEFETITI who fondly competes with Aisha Yesufu for the position of First Lady of the Obidient family thinks that Bianca’s nomination would not in any way impact against Peter Obi’s prospects in the Southeast. While she like many others believe that Bianca is more than qualified to be a Nigerian minister, she, however, believes that when it comes to choosing between Tinubu and Peter Obi that Bianca would not be a factor. 

Last week, I had a very brief encounter with the 18th Chief of Defense Staff of the Nigerian Armed Forces, General Christopher Gwabin Musa, OFR. His words were, however, enough to evoke some recollection, reflection and nostalgia.

I am, therefore, retreating into history to pay some little, well-earned tribute to some special Nigerian soldiers in sports whose footprints are etched permanently in the sands of time.

This is not an academic excursion into the history of the military in Nigerian sports. It is my very humble experience since I became a part of the Nigerian sports scene in the early 1970s. So, I apologise for its limitation.

To me, the military has always been an integral part of Nigerian sports. The story of a soldier as the first Nigerian to win a medal at any international sport (the Commonwealth Games) was common. Major Emmanuel Ifeajuna holds that distinction even though his role in the 1966 coup d’etat made him a pariah.

When I joined the national football team’s camp after participating in the 1st National Sports Festival in 1973 (the first and largest domestic sports event in Nigeria’s history) the military were in power. Their influence and presence were everywhere within sports. They had the numbers in trained personnel, good facilities in their barracks, disciplined officers, an established tradition in physical training, and the power of government fiat to get things done with military precision and ‘alacrity’ (as my late father would say) without any bureaucratic bottlenecks to worry about.

The Military was well ahead of its time in vision. It had some absolutely brilliant, well-rounded and well-educated soldiers in sports administration. That’s how the military government after the Civil war in 1970 decided to unite the country’s youths by organising (amongst other things) the National Sports Festival and several national and international competitions. The by-product of hosting these major international sports (and other social and cultural events) is to catalyse and fast track rapid infrastructural, social and sports development, not only within military institutions but in the country as a whole.

The first names I heard about in sports administration, apart from that of Isaac Akioye who was the civilian Director of Sports, were those of Henry Adefope, Alabi Isama and Joseph Garba, closely followed by Samuel Ogbemudia and David Jemibewon, my own governor in Western Nigeria.

It was Major General Joseph Garba, however, that was the most famous and glamorous amongst national athletes. He was a tall, handsome basketball ‘freak’, a player himself and a promoter. He handled the affairs of national basketball from Dodan Barracks, the official seat of government at the time, assembling the best players in the country to form a team that became the core of the national team.

He indirectly kick-started elite athletes development in Nigeria with the recruitment of an African American basketball coach to handle the team in the barracks.

That’s how Oliver B. Johnson came to Nigeria.

At the time, major events were being organised back to back – the 2nd All African Games, the Nigeria/Ghana Sports Festival, and the 1st National Sports Festival, all happened in one calendar year immediately following the opening of the National Stadium, Surulere, a beautiful, state-of-the-art edifice, a sports complex that was thepride of the nation in 1972.

The stadium was home to world-class facilities for over 20 different sports in the portfolio of the National Sports Commission, NSC, that existed at that time. It was also a massive sports and social hub, the headquarters of the National Sports Commission, thronged by athletes every day in various sports, driving an emerging sports eco-system.

There was the new National Institute for Sports in the premises, a ‘copy’ of one of the most advanced sports institutes in the world, the German Sports Institute in Hennef, Germany. The NIS had very advanced science research laboratories and a world class gymnasium that was the best such facility in Africa. The mangled skeleton still exists in Lagos for all to go and see and shed their own tears.

The model of using sports events as a tool for development-beyond-sports, has become fashionable in many parts of the world in the 21st Century, confirming the visionary outlook of the military in charge of Nigerian sports at the time. That’s what is happening in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Australia and even Morocco presently – using sports to drive national development agenda outside sport. Nigeria was on that path over 50 years ago, inspired by the military.

It was smooth sailing through the 1970s and some parts of the 1980s. By the middle of the 1990s, corrupting influences set in, undermining the rich established foundations. They eventually halted and eroded all the previous good work.

So, Oliver B. Johnson came, and brought world class basketball to Nigeria. The octogenarian still lives and works in the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, to this day.

He discovered and guided Nigeria’s greatest basketball export, Hakeem ‘The Dream’ Olajuwon, to the USA.

His greatest contribution, however, was the smuggling of his friend, African American legendary athlete, Lee Edward Evans, into the country under the guise of hiring another basketball coach.

Lee Evans, also African American, was at the time, one of the greatest and most famous Track athletes in the world, He was a 400 meters runner, Double Olympic Gold Medalist and World record holder in eleven different sprints events.

Lee moved temporarily to coach athletics at the University of Ife before settling down as Chief coach of athletics for Nigeria. He started a world-class track-athletes development program that produced Nigeria’s first world class runners from the mid-1970s. Nigeria’s most gifted athletes grew into some of the best in the world with programs through the Collegiate systems in some Nigerian Universities and the USA, made possible by Lee and many other foreign coaches from USA, China, Cuba, Yugoslavia, Germany and so on, brought in by the military government to lay Nigeria’s solid foundation in sports development.

The military also offered gifted young Nigerian athletes the incentives to join any of the armed forces, to become soldiers and to compete for the military. Many of the athletes were NCOs (non-commissioned officers) and represented the country, enjoying the benefits of two careers – sports and the military.

The years from shortly before the Civil War and for about two decades after, were glorious years for Nigerian sports with the military in the driving seat.

The memories of that time have become nostalgic.

To do justice to their contributions, I attempt here to recall some names of some of the military actors in acknowledgement of their outstanding service to the military and to Nigeria.

This is not in any particular order of merit or period.

Major General Henry Adefope; Major General Joseph Garba, Major General Shehu Musa Yar Adua (Hockey player), Brigadier General Alabi Isama; Brigadier General Samuel Ogbemudia; Major General David Jemibewon; Major General Sho-Silva; Major General Mamman Kontagora; Major General Ishola Williams; Major General M S Toki; Major General Y Y Kure; Major General Akeju; Lt. Colonel Yèmi Akinyanju; Admiral Jubril Ayinla; Commodore Sojirin; Commodore Olumide (squash); Air Commodore Emeka Omeruah; Air Commodore Anthony Ikazaboh; Air Commodore Bayo Lawal; Group Captain Brai Ayonote; Squadron Leader Patrick Olalere; Brigadier General HOD Eghagha; Group Captain John Obakpolor; Brigadier General Dominic Oneya; Colonel Maharaja Mamudu; Colonel Abdulmumuni Aminu; Major General Emmanuel Okaro; and many more that don’t come easily to mind as I write this.

These officers served Nigeria as administrators and few as athletes.

The military also produced several outstanding athletes that represented Nigeria at major international events including the African Cup of Nations in football, the All-African Games, the Commonwealth Games, the Olympics and the World Military Games.

The following represent a few of those I can recall from my experience. They were across various sports:

Major Emmanuel Ifeajuna; Alfred Bell (Navy); Colonel Jaiye Abidoye; Kola Abdullahi (Airforce); Edward Akika (Airforce); Major Tunde Panox; Warrant Officer (WO) Inua Lawal Rigogo; WO Olusegun Olumodeji; WO Samuel Opone; Sergeant Kadiri Ikhana; WO Emmanuel Tetteh; Colonel Taiwo Ogunjobi; Abass Mohammed; Yohanna Waziri; Rufus Ejele; WO Ganiyu Salami; WO Kenneth Olayombo; WO Eyo Essien; Sergeant Emmanuel Obasuyi (1001) and others.

On behalf of all these great administrators and athletes, I salute the new ‘Sheriff in Town’, the Defence Chief of Staff, General Christopher Musa, for his present mission to revive the sports tradition in the military and, by extension, the Country.