Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, is not a stranger to adversity or its more sinister cousin, sabotage.

One of the bitterest battles he has fought in the last 25 years – the cement war – was against his kinsman and founder of BUA Group, Abdulsamad Rabiu. Folks close to both men have tried to patch them up, but the embers are still smouldering.

Dangote’s face-off with the Kogi State Government under former Governor Yahaya Bello over rights and royalties from Dangote Cement, Obajana, for the local community, was a skirmish compared to the cement war with Rabiu.

Wealth and comfort can be strange bedfellows, often mutually exclusive in the quest to conquer one mountain after the other. Dangote knows this only too well. And nowhere has the lesson been more evident than his pursuit to own a refinery.

Just like that?

I told this story before in an article in May 2023. In the twilight of the Obasanjo administration, the government sold off two of Nigeria’s moribund refineries – Port Harcourt and Kaduna – to Blue Star, a Dangote-led consortium. Blue Star paid $670 million for the plants and walked away, thinking the deal was done. It wasn’t.

In 2007, the government of Umaru Musa Yar’Adua capitulated. It refunded Dangote under pressure from labour unions and vested interests in the refineries on the excuse that the assets were “national patrimony” that should not be sold, “just like that!” It didn’t matter that at the time of sale, both refineries produced less than 20 percent of capacity without hope or promise of improvement.

Dangote took his money and walked away, bruised but unbowed. Six years later, he announced plans to build a private refinery, first in Ogun State, and later, he moved it to Lagos with a capacity of 650,000 bpd – over 200,000 more than the installed capacity of Nigeria’s four refineries combined.

Single train revenge

Dangote’s single-train refinery, originally estimated to cost $12 billion but finished at around $20 billion, is now at the centre of another storm. It’s not about International Oil Companies (IOCs) he accused of trying to undermine him. It’s the more deadly variety of wars: the one from within.

The regulators, particularly the head of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Farouk Ahmed, said in a television interview in the State House with the NNPC Group CEO, Mele Kyari, present, that Dangote Refinery was making products with unsafe Sulphur levels, and also trying to monopolise the industry.

Ahmed can raise valid safety concerns as a regulator and call out a monopoly. The Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) provides safety standards and a price reflexive framework to prevent a monopoly. Under the Act, the regulator is empowered to act in the interest of consumers and fair play.

Sulfurous things and backstory

Ahmed didn’t say precisely what the tolerable Sulphur level was or provide evidence that Dangote was trying to become a monopoly. Instead, he contradicted himself by mentioning at least two other refineries, Waltersmith and Aradel, operating at different capacities. If this were a chat in a beer parlour, it would be pardonable.

But to think that the head of a regulatory agency will levy an accusation of unsafe Sulphur levels and offer no response when he was told that neither his agency nor the NNPC had a laboratory is scary. I’m not sure why Kyari stood beside him, grinning. Or why the State House posted the video on its official handle.

But the whole show leaves a bitter, corrosive aftertaste of sulfurous proportions.

Dangote has been accused of many things. He has been accused of feeding off government indulgences, from waivers to tax breaks and preferential forex allocations, even though he was not the only beneficiary. Even the 20 percent stake in the Dangote Refinery, which we are now told the government paid only 7.2 percent, left many questions about that transaction needing to be answered.

On another front, some have accused Dangote of hedging his bet poorly in the 2023 election that brought President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to power, unlike his adversary, Rabiu, who appears to have hit the bull’s eye.

Unkindest cut

But none of these charges is as unkind as those of Ahmed, who, if shame still means anything, should not have uttered the first letter of the “S-word,” never mind the phrase “Sulphur levels.” I’m not sure he can find his way to a viable lab owned by NMDPRA or NNPC because there isn’t one. The regulators rely on third-party labs in Lagos, such as GMO, Sewort, SGS, and others, to vet its imported petroleum products.

Yet, Ahmed chooses to publicly discredit, without proof, products that we are told have been repeatedly ordered by TotalEnergies and BP, among others.

In response to a question from a LEADERSHIP reporter on Tuesday about whether NNPC has a lab, the corporation said, “NNPC conducts rigorous testing on all its products to ensure they meet global safety and quality standards,” adding that NMDPRA can provide verified data through regular official reports. What does that mean in English?

A regulator’s record

And Kyari seemed pleased with this scandalous drama even though NNPC, which he superintends, has spent about $25 billion in turnaround maintenance of moribund refineries in the last 25 years, plus the recent $1.5 billion spent on his watch for more turnaround. One of the subsidiaries, PHRC, employed 487 new staff four years ago and paid N23 billion in salaries without producing one litre of petrol.

All that consumers are asking for, after losing a significant part of the battle for price, is the availability of petroleum products. God knows what they are getting under the current monopolistic system, which permits NNPC to play around with import licences, are long queues, contaminated products, and a regulator mockingly claiming to be a public company.

Suppose Dangote Refinery is in breach of any regulations; what steps have the regulators taken to call the refinery to order or help them overcome, except if they claim there was evidence of a malicious default? Our officials spend hundreds of thousands of dollars touring the world for foreign investors only to chew local investors with a microphone in a fit of what? Rage, sabotage, indiscretion or stupidity?

Feuding parties

The closed-door meeting among the feuding parties, which Tinubu ordered on Monday, may keep them on a leash for a while, but it hardly addresses the underlying issues. If products from the Dangote Refinery currently exceed the Sulphur levels – as Dangote had also said on a different occasion – why can’t the regulator work with the refinery to fix it without a scandalous press conference?

And is the talk about monopoly a fear-induced trope? How can Ahmed even speak of a monopoly when supply is hardly available, and the current distortionist-in-chief is NNPC, the sole importer of petrol and sole awarder of import licences for diesel?

It doesn’t smell good. Dangote Refinery is only 45 percent complete – the entire plant? Yet, Kyari and Ahmed joined former President Muhammadu Buhari in commissioning the plant last year? Seriously?

After years of working with petrol importers in his former life as the chief executive of PPMC, Ahmed is struggling with his new role as a regulator. He deserves public sympathy and can get it without being a retailer of beer parlour gossip or a bagman for vested interests.

Azu Ishiekwene is Editor-In-Chief of LEADERSHIP

Senate President, Godswill Akpabio is renown for his arrogance and hubris. So, when he tendered a public apology to Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan on the floor of the senate Tuesday, the stakes must have been very high. With a faceless but popular blogger running a vicious campaign against his family and threatening not to stop until Akpabio apologised to a female colleague he needlessly demeaned, it was obvious something would have to give. And the public statement, issued by a group of powerful women on the same issue, must have persuaded even a man like Akpabio that he had carried his offering beyond the sacred place.

The controversy began when Akpoti-Uduaghan attempted to speak before being recognised, an action that drew sharp reprimand from Akpabio. Despite her apologetic tone, Akpabio would not let it pass. He retorted with the biting remark that the Senate is not a “nightclub”. But commonsense has prevailed. On Tuesday, Akpabio said he would “not intentionally denigrate any woman and I always pray that God will uplift women.” He then added: “Distinguished Senator Natasha, I want to apologise to you…I do not mean any harm. People should concentrate on things that will move this country forward. Social media handlers should practice with decorum. We won’t out of anger regulate social media.”

I am impressed by how Akpabio handled this situation and I commend him for it. He hasn’t always displayed such wisdom when dealing with matters of alleged indiscretion. Many Nigerians still recall his altercation with Dr Joy Nunieh in the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) during his stewardship as Niger Delta Minister. But it is unfortunate to hear that Akpabio’s wife was dragged into what does not in any way concern her. Those who purportedly called to denigrate her exhibited the same traits they accuse Akpabio of. They obviously have no respect for women. No matter how we feel about issues, certain lines should not be crossed. I hope Akpabio has also learnt sufficient lessons from the experience.

On Monday, 24 hours before his apologies, a group of respected female professionals in the country under the aegis of Voices for Inclusion and Equity for Women (VIEW), released a public statement on what they described as a “disheartening display of disrespect and gender bias” by Akpabio. Signatories included Aisha Muhammed-Oyebode, Aisha Waziri, Amina Salihu, Asmau Joda, Ene Ede, Ene Orgah, Fatima Akilu, Ier Jonathan-Ichaver, Kadaria Ahmed, Larai Ocheja Amusan, Mairo Mandara, Maryam Lemu, Maryam Uwais, Nguyan Feese, Rekiya Abaji, Sa’ida Sa’ad, Saudatu Mahdi, Ummahani Amin, Zainab Salihijo and Zaynab Musa. Other women coalitions, ‘WOMANIFESTO’ led by Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi and FLEADERS, led by Bridget Obi and Nana Kazaure, had also made strong statements decrying what they described as the intimidating tactics of Akpabio.

Although the VIEW statement was anchored on how the senate president compared Akpoti-Uduaghan’s conduct to behaviour suited to ‘a nightclub’, they added that “This is not the first instance of such behaviour from Senator Akpabio; he recently silenced Senator Ireti Kingibe in a similarly dismissive manner, underscoring a troubling pattern.” After highlighting the hurdles Akpoti-Uduaghan overcame to get to the Senate (she defeated the political machine of the ‘White Lion’ of Kogi State now on the run), the group then addressed the fundamental issue in this controversy: “The exclusion or undermining of voices like hers can lead to governance that overlooks the needs and experiences of at least 50% of the population, reducing the overall quality and responsiveness of political decision-making. The contribution of the female voice in governance is not just a matter of fairness; it is a democratic imperative. Senator Akpabio’s censure of Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan must be addressed seriously. This is a call to action for the Senate to uphold norms of respect and equity and to hold itself accountable.” 

Before I address what has become an institutional problem, let me state clearly that I do not subscribe to the erroneous notion that the leadership of a National Assembly controlled by the ruling party should be acrimonious in their relationship with the executive. In the United States from where we borrowed the presidential system of government, lawmakers from the ruling party collaborate with their president in the interest of the country without compromising their own integrity as an independent arm of government. But the leadership of an institution with the power of oversight on issues of transparency and accountability cannot be slavish in its dealings with the president. That is the challenge of the moment in Nigeria. I dealt sufficiently with that in my February column, ‘Akpabio: A Man for Every New Season,’ after he dissed President Muhammadu Buhari whom he served as Minister simply because the incumbent President Bola Tinubu facilitated his elevation to the office of Senate President.

While Akpabio may have apologised to Akpoti-Uduaghan, it is increasingly becoming a fad, especially in the Senate, that those who make laws for the rest of us can only find relevance in denigrating Nigerian women. It did not start with Akpabio. In presenting a motion to mark the International Women’s Day 2016 eight years ago, then Senator (now First Lady) Oluremi Tinubu argued, “We represent courage and resilience; without us (Nigerian women) I don’t think this country will move forward.” But the significance of the motion was lost on most of her male colleagues who trivialised the issue. Making his contribution, then Senate Leader, Ali Ndume (who is now facing persecution from his own party for being critical of the president), said: “I urge men to marry more than one wife. The first care of a woman is marriage. Men should take care of women by not just befriending them, but by going further to marry them. I know there is nowhere in the Bible that prohibits marrying more than one wife. Starting with the senate president (Dr Bukola Saraki) I ask him to consider marrying more than one wife.”

On a day the United Nations invested the theme, ‘Planet 50-50 by 2030: Step It Up for Gender Equality’, Ndume made a formal request in plenary: “As a sign of respect for women, let’s urge men to marry more than one wife.” His prayer was seconded by Senator Suleiman Nazif. But Senator Binta Masi Garba did not allow the insult to go unchallenged: “We are not sex objects. Bible is in support of one man, one woman. We want gender parity where women and men can work side by side,” she said.

When those responsible for making our laws do not consider women as equal but rather mere consorts, we have a huge problem. A week earlier, in his contribution to the motion by Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, advocating the need to patronise products made in Nigeria, Senator Dino Melaye said most memorably: “We must reduce the allocation for made-in-Nigeria goods and services to the basics. What are those factors limiting the production of these goods? We must tackle them. We must also begin to look at our legislation, then, we will begin to talk about made-in-Nigeria goods. We will also move to encourage made-in-Nigeria products and begin to talk about made-in-Nigeria women…”

The foregoing illustrates that the issue of disrespect for women goes beyond the person of Akpabio. It is institutional; even though the House of Representatives has shown more decency on the issue. On 15th March 2015, the Senate voted to dismiss the Gender and Equal Opportunities Bill, 2016, sponsored by Senator Biodun Olujimi who was then Minority Whip. The bill sought to accord women rights equal to those of men in various spheres of life and to prohibit certain discriminatory practices. Interestingly, those who opposed the bill used religion as cover. While Senator Ahmad Rufa’i Sani cited the Quran to oppose it, Senator Emmanuel Bwalcha found his own justification in the Bible. The bill has been tabled at different times since then and has met not only rejection but ridicule by Senators. It therefore came as no surprise that not a single male senator thought it fit to censor Akpabio when he made the disparaging remark about Akpoti-Uduaghan in plenary.

I once referenced a 2013 piece ‘How Nigeria legalizes discrimination against women’ by Dr Aminu Hassan Gamawa, currently Chief of Staff to Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State. Then pursuing his doctorate at Harvard Law School, Aminu had argued that the language used by the Nigerian constitution “is not gender neutral, perhaps because it was written by men.” For example, according to Aminu, “the pronoun ‘He’ appears in the 1999 constitution about 235 times.” Again, under our criminal law, he further pointed out, a man cannot be deemed to have raped his wife because, “Section 182 of the Penal Code provides that ‘sexual intercourse by a man with his OWN (emphasis mine) wife is not rape if she has attained puberty’”. Section 55 (1) (d) even recommends that a man should keep in the house what my wife called ‘Dr Do-Good’ (when our children were growing up) “for the purpose of correcting his wife”. 

Therefore, before we reduce this serious conversation to the banality of whether a ‘side chick’ (whatever it means) is part of the ‘constituency projects’ of our distinguished senators, we must call out the chauvinism and prejudice that drive public engagement in Nigeria. I concede that a patriarchal society such as ours revolves around the ‘man of the house’. But for us to develop as a nation, we must begin to cede to our womenfolk the rights and respect they are due. And these are rights and respect they have earned. In both the private and public sectors, Nigerian women have proven to be as good, if not better, than their male counterparts. We see that in many areas, notwithstanding the fact that the system is skewed against them.

It is a paradox that within Nigerian culture, as well as both Christianity and Islam, the mother is elevated to a distinct place of honour and respect. Yet, our elected legislators as influential policymakers, professing to be patriotic Nigerians and devout faithfuls, continue to denigrate and trivialize the voice of the female gender. It is therefore time to intentionally embrace our rich diversity, if only to create a fairer, more formidable, and resilient society. We must expose the misogyny that pervades in our public engagements and ensure that no voice is silenced. This shameful misconduct must stop, if we truly want a more meaningful, productive and inclusive Nigeria.

2024 Teens Conference: The Power of Music

In his ‘Introduction to the Book of Psalms’ published in 2002 as part of a series of little literary paperbacks to some books in the Bible, Paul David Hewson, popularly known as Bono, spoke to the power of music. The globally renowned activist and leader of the rock band, U2, had been invited to write the introduction by the publishing house that presented individual books from the King James Version of the Bible as separate volumes. “Explaining faith is impossible…Vision over visibility…instinct over intellect…A songwriter plays a chord with the faith that he will hear the next one in his head,” Bono wrote. “One of the writers of the psalms was a musician, a harp-player whose talents were required at ‘the palace’ as the only medicine that would still the demons of the moody and insecure King Saul of Israel; a thought that still inspires, if not quite explaining Marilyn singing for Kennedy, or the Spice Girls in the court of Prince Charles…”

Bono then went on to expand on the uplifting powers of music: “Psalms and hymns were my first taste of inspirational music. I liked the words, but I wasn’t sure about the tunes–with the exception of Psalm 23, ‘The Lord is my shepherd.’ I remember them as droned and chanted rather than sung. Still, in an odd way, they prepared me for the honesty of John Lennon, the baroque language of Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen, the open throat of Al Green and Stevie Wonder–when I hear these singers, I am reconnected to a part of me I have no explanation for…my ‘soul’ I guess.”

I doubt if Pastor Evaristus Azodoh, a consultant urologist and ‘old Soja’, is a fan of Bono. But in choosing ‘The Power of Music’ as the theme for the 2024 edition of The Annual Teens Career Conference of The Everlasting Arms Parish (TEAP) of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) Abuja, he argues that “Music is more than just melodies and lyrics; it has the power to uplift, inspire, and transform.” For this year, former Cross River State Governor, Mr Donald Duke, a lawyer and saxophonist of high repute, is a special guest among other confirmed speakers, including Dare Art Alade, an award-winning singer, songwriter, record producer and entrepreneur and Mrs Bukola Bekes, a respected gospel artiste and music minister at the RCCG, City of David Parish, Lagos.

Specifically, the objectives of the Teens Career Conference are to: Teach the teenagers to take responsibility for their future; Have their imagination fired through interaction with accomplished professionals in the society; Make them realize that no matter the odds, they can reach their goals, and get them to understand that God still intervenes in the affairs of men. Although a Christian programme, physical participation at the Conference is open to teens and youth of all religious backgrounds from Abuja and the environs.

Speakers at previous editions of the Conference include UBA Chairman, Mr Tony Elumelu, CFR, wife of the former Vice President, Mrs Dolapo Osinbajo, Executive Vice Chairman of Famfa Oil, Mrs Folorunsho Alakija, ace comedian, Mr Atunyota Alleluya Akpobome, popularly known as Ali Baba, former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Deputy Governor, Mrs Serah Alade, former Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) Chair, Mrs Ifueko Omoigui-Okauru, former PENCOM Director General, Ms Chinelo Anohu, Nollywood actor, Richard Mofe Damijo (RMD), Nollywood actress, Linda Ejiofor (who was joined by her husband, Ibrahim) and wife of the late former Kaduna State Deputy Governor, Mrs Charity Shekari. Others are former House of Representatives Speaker, Hon Yakubu Dogara, former Deputy European Union Representative to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Ambassador Robert Young, former Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi as well as Ms Dorota Oakley Matuszyk, Ms Juliet Lamin (now of blessed memory), Dr Helen Paul, Messrs Samson Itodo, Seun Onigbinde, Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, Chinedu Azodoh, J.J. Omojuwa and Mrs Omowale David-Ashiru.

Participation at this hybrid event is strictly by online registration. Interested teenagers and young adults who seek to attend can register at the Conference website: www.rccgteapteens.ng

No patriotic Nigerian should be delighted at the grave challenges facing the 650 barrels per day Dangote Refinery in Lagos. The challenges make efficient operations very difficult. Though Nigeria is a major oil exporter, the refinery commissioned early last year is now compelled to import crude from Brazil. The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority ( NMDPRA) has accused it of producing substandard automative gas oil (AGO), and, worse, of having no licence for operation.

Frustrated at the turn of events, Aliko Dangote, founder and chairman of the $19 billion industrial complex in Lekki comprising a refinery, a petrochemical company and a fertilizer plant, has been reported to ask the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to purchase the refinery so as to end the widely held belief that he wants a monopoly of the petroleum downstream market in Nigeria.

Dangote need not give up on the refinery. He should rather learn from Bart Nnaji, the erstwhile Minister of Power who waited for 20 years till February 26, 2024, to commission the 188 megawatt Aba Independent Power Project, Abia State. If Nnaji could wait for two decades because of the obstacles by highly placed Federal Government officials between 2012 and 2015 to get the project on stream, Dangote, who has so far lost only one year, should brace up for more challenges.

Both the Aba Independent Power Project and the Dangote Refinery are what Jim Collins and Jerry I. Porras, two American globally renowned organizational leadership scholars, would describe as having big hairy audacious goals (BHAGs). A business with a BHAG is designed to make a dent in history, to paraphrase Steve Jobs, the late Apple co-founder and chairman. Considered unrealistic, if not an outrageous thought, at the beginning by most people, such a business frequently solves a problem in a significant and innovative way to the applause and admiration of the same initial sceptics. This is what Jack Welch and his team at General Electric came to call in the 1990s stretch, a term that has since become famous in both the business literature and management schools worldwide.

By the time Nnaji started the Aba project, there was no private sector involvement in the electric power sector in the country. Power was on the exclusive list. Not even state governments were permitted by the extant law to get involved in electricity generation, transmission, or distribution. It was not until 2005 that the President Olusegun Obasanjo administration enacted the Electric Power Sector Reform Act that ended Federal Government’s monopoly. Still, Nnaji accepted the challenge from then-World Bank President James Wolfonsohn and then-Nigeria’s Minister of Finance Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to build a gas-fired power plant in Aba to provide electricity to industries in the commercial city who were in desperate need of constant and quality power supply. The main challenge was not raising the funds from local and international sources or the bricks and mortars of building a power plant but upending the status quo in the power sector. The first mover disadvantage can be paralyzing.

The Dangote Refinery is a BHAG in its own right. By the time it was initiated, the biggest refinery in  Nigeria was the 150,000BPD New Port Harcourt Refinery, followed by the 125,000BPD Warri Refinery, and then the Kaduna 110BPD Refinery. The Old Port Harcourt Refinery, built in the 1960s,  could process only 60,000 barrels per day. All are Federal Government owned, and have for decades been in a mess due to official incompetence and corruption. Nigerians keen on setting up refineries have always gone for modular ones, that is, small or mid size refineries to produce a few petroleum products like petrol, aviation fuel, AGO, and low pour fuel oil, in contrast to the standard refineries owned by the Federal Government that can produce a wide range of products and on a large scale. So, for Dangote to opt for a 650,000BPD refinery is truly audacious. It is a quintessential BHAG.

The refinery is creating employment for thousands of Nigerian workers, suppliers, distributors, consultants and even street food vendors, in addition to generating money for the Federal Government and the Lagos State Government as well through tax revenue. Lands and properties around the location have been appreciating significantly in value. Therefore, it is in the public interest that the Dangote Refinery survives. The idea of selling it to the NNPCL should be perished immediately because there is no assurance that it won’t go the way of the state-owned refineries.

If Nnaji could endure all manner of things and still triumph, Dangote should be inspired by his example. In fact, all BHAGs face severe challenges. In their famous book, Built to Last, Collins and Porras recall how the building of the wide-body 747 plane forced Boeing to downsize its workforce by 60%, among other challenges. Yet, it persevered, and Boeing 747 aircraft became a game changer in global aviation in every sense. There are many other examples of grave challenges which were overcome by different businesses  cited in the book.

In Nigeria, challenges in the path of BHAGs can be both ridiculous and personal, hurting the public good. At the combined 7^th and 8^th graduation of Alex Ekwueme Federal University in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, last June, Nnaji told the stunned audience how in an attempt to get at him the government abandoned the 760KV Supergrid network the government approved when he was the power minister. The project was meant to provide energy security, apart from creating another transmission network for a nation of 200m and radically boosting power availability throughout our large nation. The country is today still stuck with the sole transmission network which is old, poorly maintained, fragile, and collapses once it is loaded with up to 5,000MW, resulting in nationwide blackouts.

Once Nnaji left office, the government announced the cancellation of the management contract between the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) and Manitoba Hydro Power of Canada on suspicion that Nnaji owned this firm that was set up by the Canadian province of Manitoba in 1961 when he was only five years old. A person was dispatched to Manitoba to provide documentary evidence to nail him! The Presidential Task Force on Power, of which Nnaji was the founding chairman, was abolisged no sooner than he resigned without an alternative provided. The Roadmap for Pwer Sector Reform, a document for the development of the electricity sector for the next 10 years that would see Nigeria produce 20,000MW from 5,000MW, was dumped shortly after he left office without an alternative provided. The nation is worse for it today. You can now imagine the frustration he was subjected to at the Aba power project. Still, he survived all this. Dangote has to learn resilience from the former power minister.

Despite his denial that he is a monopoly freak, the BUA Group, with which the Dangote Group has been in a fierce business fight,  has in the last few days been asking Aliko Dangote to become more tolerant. A few years ago when I was carrying out a research on the cross-cultural challenges facing Nigerian internationalizing firms and wanted to use the United Bank for Africa and Dangote Cement as a case study, I was surprised to learn that I had been blacklisted by the Dangote consortium for pointing out in 2013 the incorrectness of the claim by Dangote Cement agents that the major cause of building collapses in Nigeria was the cement brands used. Yet, when a senior professor at Howard University, the most respected historically Black university in the United States, inquired from me in 2019 if Aliko Dangote was deserving of an honorary doctorate from the institution, I not only supported it but provided a vital contact to the businessman. 

The Dangote Refinery needs support this time. 

Adinuba, Anambra State Commissioner for Information & Public Enlightenment (2018-2022),  is a management researcher in Lagos.   

Let's begin with the profound words of Pan-Africanist scholar PLO Lumumba, PLO, profoundly posited: "Religion has been used to manipulate Africans into poverty"

From my personal experience and observation; the more religious a person is, the more dangerous he is. Because religion carries with it deep-rooted prejudices that cause conflict, mistrust, and oppression. When you use religious faith to determine what is true, then you open yourself up to delusion. The more religious or “faith-full” someone is, the more likely it is that they will hold destructive, delusional beliefs as truth.

Here is a good example of the challenge: for example, the thing about a delusion is that it is often very difficult to crack from the outside, and intelligence is no defense from the inside against delusion. So, it is this herd mentality, that I think has gotten perverted into religions. Ultimately, religious differences increasingly, cause mistrust, animosity, misunderstanding, and conflict.

More than any other factor, religion divides us mostly when it tells us that it alone codifies true rules for determining what is right or wrong. We are then led to believe that the actions, thoughts, feelings, and beliefs of others are inconsequential when they appear to contradict our understanding of the proper religion of our choice.

We become less empathetic, less tolerant, less merciful, less gracious, less generous, and less humble when we believe that our religion's morals, cosmology, or manner of thinking are more correct and righteous. We become less connected to the people, animals, environment, and even ourselves when we believe that religious influence renders the influence of those things less important.

Although this might sound idealistic, human beings, if united, could overcome enormous obstacles. Yet, here in the 21st century, religious differences are still dividing us, holding us back from reaching our full potential. Human unity and peace are made unattainable because religion segregates people into clusters of believers and "nonbelievers". 

Religion instills in people the idea that those who differ with their religious beliefs are evil and undeserving of association, or even of their humanity. I was raised in Christianity; I am no longer comfortable with the resultant realities of religiosity because religion instilled certain values into me that it never intended to, through its examples of superstition, irrationality, and dishonesty.

Religion, especially such as the Wahhabism and Pentecostal brands of Islam and Christianity respectively, have continually demonstrated a potency of reducing the masses to illogical complacency.

Consequently, I have learned not to equate belief with knowledge. Belief starts where knowledge stops. They do not shade into each other; no matter how fervently you believe something, you cannot claim to ‘know’ it, unless you can demonstrate it in a way that can be ‘known’ by those who do not believe it. I have learned that it is dangerous to accept irrational claims at face value and that implausible claims, especially relating to the supernatural, would require particularly plausible evidence.

Asked about his thoughts on the future of religion in our growing civilization, Stephen Hawkings responded even in his state of paralysis which is ironically assisted by technology, he posited: "Religion was an early attempt to answer the questions we all ask: Why are we here, where did we come from? Nowadays, Science provides better and more consistent answers but people will always cling to religion because it gives comfort and they do not trust or understand science"

Additionally, faith is impossible to deal with logic. The tragedy of our time is that we seem to rely more heavily on faith than logic and this is perhaps the catalyst for majority of the word in our society and country today. The Government and leaders seem to take the masses for granted knowing the masses can always be manipulated for them by the religious leaders. As such, it is the process of distribution of patronage to the religious leaders that often instigates the many religious tension in our society and country.

In conclusion therefore, this is a clarion call to our revered faith leaders across the different religious bodies in Nigeria to come together and advance interfaith collaboration for peace-building and peaceful coexistence amongst people of divergent creeds. Particularly at a time like this when we are at a crossroads and difficult period given the relationship that exists between politics and religion cannot be over-emphasized in Nigeria's polity since the evolution of a sustainable democracy has heightened the relevance of religion in our society. Religion has been identified as one of the factors that have divided the people of Nigeria who are divided already.

Finally, while reflecting on questions asked some four decades ago by the Ozzidi king Sonny Okosun "Which way Nigeria is heading to? I love my fatherland. I want to know which way Nigeria is heading to.?" The questions asked in that song are still relevant. 

Last week, Lagos State Parking Authority (LASPA) stirred the hornets’ nest when a letter addressed to the Lagos State branch of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria hit the newsstand. Dated Friday, July 19, 2024 and signed by its Head of Operations, Ayokunle Akinrinmisi, LASPA's letter intimated the PFN that vehicles parked on designated streets by PFN and its members would be charged certain fees on a hourly basis while indiscriminately parked vehicles would be enforced upon; meaning, they would be clamped and or towed. Bedlam! 

Why single out only churches and its members? Quickly, LASPA recanted and retraced its footsteps “to clarify the matter” in what appeared as an explanation of its true intentions or the actual information it meant to convey in its first letter, which was so unprofessionally couched. Or was LASPA's second letter an afterthought or bowing to pressure? Before we take a look at how a news medium reported the matter, let us quickly discuss two important events on the international scene.

The first was the decision of President Joe Biden of the United States of America not to seek re-election, thus paving the way for Vice-President Kamala Harris to have a shot at the presidency. Destiny can be uncanny! The daughter of an Indian mother and Jamaican father could as well become the first woman to be elected president of the US. Who saw this coming? Many had thought Hillary Clinton was it but, as they say, man proposes but God disposes. Kamala’s candidacy has immediately thrown confusion into Donald Trumps’ camp; not minding the bold face statement that Kamala would be easier to defeat than Biden!

The second event was the election of Paul Kigame for another seven-year term. Kigame has been in power since 2000, meaning he has already spent 24 years in office! How many of us are aware of that? All we hear is how he has turned Rwanda to paradise one earth. Originally, the Rwandan constitution prescribed a two-term limit for the president but in 2015, Kigame engineered a constitutional referendum that allowed him a third seven-year term and the ability to run for further two five-year terms thereafter! How many years in all? Kindly do the arithmetic!

 If this man is not a budding dictator or a full-blown one already, then, I don’t know who is! The earlier we begin to interrogate Kigame's media hype and orchestrated international acclaim, the better for all of us. Josip Broz Tito was, for decades, successful in papering over Yugoslavia's cracks; he was charistamic as well as authoritarian and even championed and led the non-aligned movement or the Third Force, as some called it, which is now dead. But after Tito's long reign, what fate befell Yugoslavia? After Kigame, what fate awaits Rwanda and its people?

Back to LASPA. The report in a news medium ran thus: “Lagos State Government has denied media reports that worshipers will be charged for parking around churches. According to an earlier report, in a 19 July letter by the Head of Operations of Lagos State Parking Authority (LASPA), Ayokunle Akinrimisi, which was directed to the state branch of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, the government informed the body that vehicles parked by the church and members on designated streets would be charged hourly while indiscriminately-parked vehicles would be enforced accordingly.

Akinrimisi reportedly wrote : ‘I am directed to inform your revered organization that LASPA will be commencing its on-street parking scheme at designated streets within the Lagos State metropolis. In view of this, I am using this medium to inform your eminence that vehicles parked on designated streets by the church and its members will be charged hourly and indiscriminately-parked vehicles will be enforced upon accordingly. Consequently, we advise that this piece of information be adhered to as a law-abiding organization’.

But, in a statement on Sunday (21st July), LASPA’s General Manager, Mrs. Adebisi Adelabu, said the state’s parking policy would affect all motorists who intend to utilize the agency’s newly-created 1,800 parking slots. According to her, the parking policy is designed to mitigate parking-induced traffic congestion across the state.

Adelabu further said: ‘To clarify the matter, LASPA wishes to emphasize that (the earlier) information is inaccurate and does not reflect the true intent of our communication. The Lagos State Government is not imposing parking fees on churches or worshipers for parking on streets around religious institutions. Rather, LASPA is implementing the Lagos State Parking Policy to mitigate parking-induced traffic congestion across the state. Like many other major cities worldwide facing similar challenges, Lagos is experiencing a high demand for parking space that exceeds the available supply. Therefore, we are adopting a regulated on-street parking model to better manage parking resources efficiently.

'Earlier this year, the governor approved the introduction of regulated on-street parking, which was announced during a stakeholder’s forum held on 14 February, 2024 at the Lagos Marriott Hotel, Ikeja.

‘As part of our efforts to inform stakeholders, including religious organizations who were adequately represented at the forum, about the upcoming implementation in October, LASPA communicated with umbrella bodies representing these groups. One of such correspondences was referenced in a news release making the rounds. 

'It is important to clarify that no specific religious group is being singled out by this policy. Our aim is to ensure all stakeholders are informed and prepared for the implementation of the regulated on-street parking scheme. Additionally, Lagos State Government has designated and lane-marked suitable roads for on-street parking across major zones such as Ikeja, Surulere, Victoria Island, Ikoyi, and Lekki, creating approximately 1,800 additional parking slots. 

'The communication sent to religious institutions serves to notify them of their respective roles and the financial aspects of utilizing these designated parking lots. The management of these facilities will be overseen by concessionaires under the regulation of the Lagos State Parking Authority' ”.

No apologies for sending out “inaccurate” information that did not "reflect the true intent" of their communication! We can all see what harm or damage can be caused when proper communication is lacking. Anyone not at the so-called stakeholders’ meeting at the Lagos Marriott Hotel, Ikeja and who never chanced upon the information on on-street packing would be at sea understanding LASPA’s first letter. 

Background information on the new policy would have helped to clarify matters. Also, the letter should not have been personalized the way it was done. There was no other interpretation to give to the first letter the way it was couched and addressed than the one widely and wildly circulated. LASPA should send those writing its press statements for refresher courses. A stitch in time…

That said, I do not think LASPA has apologies to offer to those who indiscriminately park their vehicles in the wrong places. In fact, such people and organizations should be penalized - and they include churches and mosques but are not limited to those. Our people travel abroad and see how orderly those places are; they go there to enjoy the facilities and orderliness but would not obey rules and regulations that would make our own place look like those overseas countries. 

Churches and their members are guilty of parking indiscriminately right on the road. This should not be so. When building your structure, provisions should be made for parking space right within your premises, not outside of it where you obstruct traffic and cause inconveniences and untold hardship to other road users. Because there is no consequence for bad behaviour, impunity, lawlessness and disorderliness reign supreme here. The law on orderliness must be enforced without minding whose ox is gored.

The mosques are even worse than the churches in some respects. On Fridays, they spread their mats and rugs right in the middle of the road to observe their Jumaat prayer. They have absolute disregard for road users. Their own comfort is what matters to them and nothing more. Worse, they get angry, even violent, if you dare demand your right of way. I read a post recently of a woman who ran into a crowd of such worshipers in Lagos and was not only ordered to detour, she was also forced to cover her head before being allowed to take another route out of the place. Such madness! 

Events centres are another group of lawless people whose customers park their vehicles indiscriminately. Who approved and why approve such places in the first instance? Are the agents and officers of the Lagos State Government not the culprits? The rot in those agencies stinks to high heavens! Along the streets where I have my church at Owo-ade and Bakare street, Off Ori-ola street, Alapere, Ketu, houses newly constructed have no parking space within their premises. They park right in the streets! Who gave them approval? Is it not the Lagos State Government?

Not all buildings in Lagos comply with building regulations: How do they cut the corners? The depth of corruption in the Lagos building sector cannot be washed away by the sea! The jungle and urban slum that Lagos has become is due to the lawlessness of the citizens as well as the corruption embedded in the Lagos State government machinery. Lagos State Government itself builds roads without making adequate provisions - or none at all - for bus stops and parks. So, motorists park indiscriminately everywhere!

Most of the time, the lawlessness of the “Danfo” drivers, the Kurupes and Keke Marwas, not to talk of the Okadas, can be excused because you ask yourself, “Where are the bus stops and parks designated for them by the Lagos State Government"? The new bridge at Pen Cinema, Agege, where I live, has become an eyesore and a den of robbers. The situation there is worse than Fela’s Ojuelegba where confusion breaks bones! No provisions for bus stops and parks.

 Lagos state Government, then, must first remove the log in its own eyes before it can point at the speck in the eyes of others.

The National Assembly has commenced a seven-week recess and will reconvene on September 17th, 2024.

This was announced after plenary on Wednesday.

Naija News reports both chambers of the Assembly – Senate and House of Representatives, will be on break for seven weeks which is their yearly recess.

Details later…

[NaijaNews]

European Champions Real Madrid have emerged the first football club in history to surpass €1billion ($1.085bn) in revenue a season, according to the club’s annual account for the 2023-24 season.

The club’s revenue, excluding player transfers, reached €1.073bn ($1.16bn), representing a 27 per cent increase from the previous year despite ongoing stadium renovations.

Madrid also reported a profit of €16million ($17.3m) for the fiscal year, with a net worth of €574m ($623m) and net debt of just €8m ($8.6m) as of June 30, 2024.

The team claimed to be the first football club to exceed €1bn in revenue.

In the previous campaign, Madrid enjoyed substantial success on the field, securing the Champions League title, their sixth in a decade, along with La Liga and the Super Cup.

The basketball team also excelled, capturing the Spanish league title, King’s Cup, and Spanish Super Cup while also reaching the Euro-league finals.

Nytimes com reports that the club’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) surged to €144m ($156m), marking a 71 per cent increase from the previous year.

This represents 13 per cent of total revenues, up from 10 per cent previously. When including player disposals, the EBITDA for the 2023-24 year is €156m ($169m), comparable to the €158m ($171m) reported for the 2022-23 financial year.

The Santiago Bernabeu Stadium renovation continues to advance, with a total investment of €1.163bn ($1.262bn) to date as the final phase of the project, including the completion of the VIP area, events spaces, and other commercial ventures, is anticipated to be completed in the 2024-25 financial year and this is expected to drive further revenue growth.

Madrid say they are planning to build on their commercial success.

The upcoming season will see the introduction of Kylian Mbappe to the squad, who joined on a free transfer after his contract at Paris Saint-Germain expired earlier this year.

[Leadership]

 President Bola Tinubu has pleaded with aggrieved Nigerians, especially youths planning a national protest over the high cost of living to shelve the action, saying there is no need for it.

The President also assured those behind the planned protest that he has heard their grievances and is working seriously to ensure that all their concerns are addressed.

Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, conveyed the President’s plea while speaking with State House correspondents after he met with Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The President’s assurance came as the face-off between Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayou Onanuga; and the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP, Mr. Peter Obi, took a new twist, yesterday.

Obi’s lawyers, yesterday, wrote Onanuga, demanding N5 billion and an apology within 72 hours for accusing him and his supporters of high treason in allegedly being masterminds of the planned “EndBadGovernance protest.”

In like manner, former presidential aspirant and a chieftain of the LP, Professor Pat Utomi, challenged Onanuga to produce evidence of his involvement in the planned protest or face N500 billion litigation.

Tinubu’s assurance

The minister said that at the meeting with the President, general issues on the country were discussed and that the President said he is working assiduously to ensure the country’s economy is placed in a good position.

His words: ‘’We discussed the issue of the country in general and Mr President has asked me to again inform Nigerians that he listens to them, especially the young people that are trying to protest.

“Mr President said he listens to them and takes what they say seriously and he is working assiduously to ensure that this country is good not just for today, but also for the future.

“The issue of the planned protest, Mr President does not see any need for that, he asked them to shelve that plan and he has asked them to await the government’s response to all their pleas, he has listened to them.’’

Obi’s lawyers write Onanuga demand N5bn, apology

However, former Anambra State Governor, Mr. Peter Obi, has given Mr. Onanuga, 72 hours within which to pay N5billion as damages as well a public apology published in four national newspapers for defamation and libel or face legal action.

Obi demanded that Mr. Onanuga, retract his wild allegation linking him to the planned mass protest scheduled for August.

Recall that the Presidential spokesman had on July 20, 2024, claimed in his X handle @aonanuga1956 that: “ Peter Obi’s supporters are the people planning mayhem in Nigeria and that Obi should be held responsible for anarchy.”

Onanuga’s post was tagged, “Revealed: Peter Obi’s supporters are the people planning mayhem in Nigeria. Obi should be held responsible for anarchy.”

He claimed that individuals who hijacked the 2020 ENDSARS protests are behind the EndBadGovernance and Tinubu Must Go protest. He described the masterminds as anarchists and bad losers who cannot wait for for the 2027 elections but instead were seeking to destabilise Nigeria through a civilian coup, and asked that Obi be held responsible if the protest turned into anarchy.

Onanuga warned that the protesters’ call for revolution and ending an elected government amounted to high treason and called on security agencies to take action against those threatening Nigeria’s stability.

The post read in part: “Obi should be held responsible for anarchy. Don’t be fooled: the malcontents planning to stage nationwide protests are supporters of Peter Obi, the failed presidential candidate of the Labour Party. And he should be held responsible for whatever crisis emanates from the action.

“The protest planners are also the same people who were instigated by IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu to launch the destructive #EndSARS protest in Nigeria in October 2020.

“#EndSARS began as a genuine protest by youths against the Police Special Anti-Robbery Squad, notorious for its high-handedness.

“IPOB members planning to extricate the South East region from Nigeria infiltrated the protest and hijacked it for their agenda.

“Lagos still bears the scars of the malicious destruction by IPOB elements until today. Two years after #EndSARS, the IPOB and gullible innocents joined the Labour Party in 2022 to support Peter Obi, a sympathiser of their cause. They are the people spreading the hashtags ‘EndBadGovernance’, ‘Tinubu Must Go,’ and ‘Revolution2024.’

“They are not democrats but anarchists. They are attempting to call out our people via propaganda because their Messiah, Peter Obi, failed to win the Presidency in the 2023 election.

“As bad losers, they don’t have the patience to wait for another election in 2027; they would rather destabilise Nigeria by staging a civilian coup against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

“If they understand the meaning of their hashtags, they will realise they are clarion calls for treason. Wanting to end an elected government is high treason.

“Wanting revolution is a call for a coup d’etat, which is also high treason. I have been on the trail of one of the protest planners, who is nameless but claims to have an internet radio station, PTM100.88 Abuja.”

The post elicited immediate response from the Labour Party and Obi’s Media office. While LP denied involvement saying the party, its supporters and Obi were not planning any protest, Obi’s Media Office, said the Presidency’s allegation was a ploy to arrest Obi.

Legal action

Going further, yesterday, Obi, writing through his counsel, Chief Alex Ejesieme, SAN of the Madiba Chambers, said that the allegation which was widely published in social and mainstream media and read by many within and outside the country, maligned his hard-earned reputation as a man, who indulges in violence when all his antecedents are vivid that he abhors violence even in the face of extreme provocation.

The legal counsel wrote: “It’s our client’s conviction that the publication was a calculated plot to demean, ridicule, humiliate and embarrass him by the estimation of every right-thinking member of the society.”

The letter further stated that the allegation may have achieved its insipid motive as well-wishers from all around the globe have inundated Obi to register their shock.

“His appellation as ‘Okwute’ (the Rock) notwithstanding, the demeaning and scandalous publication has also caused a serious emotional injury to our client, given his decades of stellar stewardship in private and public life.

“Consequently, we have our client’s mandate to demand that you retract the statement made in the publication and tender an unreserved apology to him within 72 hours of the receipt of this letter in not less than four national Dailies to wit: Vanguard, THISDAY, Punch and The Cable, including your verified X”@aonanuga1956.

“Our client is also making an unequivocal demand for the monetary damage of N5b for the embarrassment your defamatory publication has caused him and his family.”

The letter further read: “In the event of your failure to meet the demands set out above, our client shall be constrained to approach a court of competent jurisdiction and take legal action against you for defamation and libel.”

Utomi vows to sue Onanuga for N500bn if…

Also, renowned political economist, Prof. Pat Utomi, who denied involvement in the planned protest, vowed to sue Onanuga.

Reacting in a statement he personally signed, Utomi advised Onanuga to withdraw his statement or provide evidence of his claims.

He warned that he would sue Onanuga and claim N500bn if he failed to provide sophisticated evidence.

“If no evidence of Mr. Onanuga’s false assertion is shown I will assume it reasonable that the object is to water the ground for false treasonable felony charges that can result in the claim of one’s life. I intend to therefore proceed to the international criminal and other human rights courts if a reasonable explanation is not forthcoming.

“I will also have no choice but to institute a claim of N500 Billon for fake news, hate speech and intent to procure state murder of an innocent citizen. If judicial capture makes justice problematic in Nigeria I expect that I can trust extra-national institutions and global human solidarity.”

Onanuga’s evil incitement against Obi will fail —MASSOB

Meanwhile, the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, has frowned at Onanuga’s attack on Obi, saying that the incitement against Obi would come to nought.

The group advised Onanuga and the Federal Government to leave Obi alone and focus on how to save Nigerians who are starving to death.

“The heavy and massive incoming protest against hunger, high cost of living, government high corruption, impunity and government insensitivity against the welfare of the citizens is not planned or orchestrated by Mr. Peter Obi or his nationwide supporters.

“The Federal Government of Nigeria led Bola Tinubu knows that the protests are neither motivated nor influenced by Mr. Peter Obi but the Northern oligarchic leaders which includes some powerful Northern political, religious, opinion and traditional leaders.

“Mr Bayo Onanuga and Omokri are two leading internal and external figures waging wars of character assassination, blackmail and incitement against Mr. Peter Obi,” MASSOB said in a statement by its leader, Comrade Uchenna Madu.

Allegation against Obi, reckless —SERG

Also reacting, the South-East Revival Group, SERG, condemner Onanuga’s allegation against Obi.

In a statement by its National Secretary, Hon. Agu Chineme, the SERG said “this shameful position by a government that has chosen to spread falsehoods and lies about Peter Obi instead of finding ways to help hungry and suffering masses of Nigeria who are struggling to find their next meal amid insecurity, unemployment, and lack of access to adequate healthcare across the country is unacceptable.”

The frontline South-East socio-political pressure group urged the Federal Government not to politicize hunger and deprivation in the land.

It warned that “President Tinubu’s handlers could plunge the country into chaos with their reckless propaganda and desperation to continue the now nine years of blame games” of successive All Progressives Congress, APC administrations.

[Vanguard]

Aliko Dangote deserves our collective support and official encouragement. I told him the day I visited his plant that he’s “an authentic African hero and a real icon”, and I meant that from the bottom of my heart. As an investor and businessman, he’s succeeded where our government has failed. He has built a huge business empire consisting of manufacturing, oil and gas, agriculture, fertiliser and petrochemicals and will earn more than Nigeria next year. For the 2025 FY, the Dangote Group is expecting to gross a total revenue of $30 billion, with the refinery contributing $19.5b; fertiliser, $2.5b; oil and gas, $1.5b and cement $6b.

Nigeria is projected to earn about $22 billion revenue from crude oil exports next year (Given the huge oil theft from the Niger Delta, the bulk of Nigeria’s oil production is currently coming from the deep-water terrains which are operating under the PSC fiscal regime. Therefore, with the projected 1.4mbpd, average crude oil price of $70 and a sharing ratio of 55% to Nigeria and 45% to the operators, the expected $22 billion revenue is inadequate for a country of over 200 million people. Nigeria is indeed a poor country).

The $30 billion inflow next year to DIL will undoubtedly have salutary impacts on our exchange rate. Is this why some people are bitter against the man? He has repeatedly stated that the oil mafia is more powerful and dangerous than the drug cartel. The Tinubu administration should therefore save the refinery from the mafia and protect it as a national asset.

Every educated adult Nigerian knows that our country is run on the basis of ethnicity, religion and partisan politics and is governed largely by incompetent fellows who are obsessed with pursuing self-interest. No matter how well-meaning a government official appears, he’s driven by an innate urge to promote his personal interests above the good of the people.

The relentless pursuit of self-interest and the absence of love for the country is at the root of our national problems. The recent statement credited to the chief executive of Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Authority (NMDRA), Engr. Farouk Ahmed, typifies a good example of how personal interest trumps national development.

He spoke to the press recently and stated, to the shock of the nation, that Nigeria should never discontinue the importation of refined petroleum products even if the Dangote refinery has the capacity to satisfy domestic consumption because reliance on the refinery is “a threat to energy security”. Farouk also alleged that the diesel produced from the refinery is below standard in terms of sulphur content.

It is apposite that Dangote himself has categorically denied Ahmed’s allegations of producing substandard products and has assured that the sulphur content of his diesel has been falling steadily to meet the country’s requirements. The business guru went further to provide evidence that NMDRA had earlier certified its laboratories that have consistently tested his products.

There is no doubt that Engr Ahmed is driven by self-interest in audaciously pushing for continued importation of products, rather than supporting domestic production. A lot of NNPC and regulatory officials are making quick bucks from the importation of petroleum products and they do not want to let go. They’ve grown too rich in the corrupt and opaque oil importation and oil swap business; so much so that they don’t even want government-owned refineries to work.

They profit from endless turnaround maintenance programmes that produce no results, yet those comatose refineries have the full complement of workers receiving salaries and other emoluments year after year. Farouk is not bothered that the country has lost billions by exporting crude oil and continuously importing refined products. All that matters to these people is their bank accounts.

A regulatory authority that talks down on domestic producers and denigrates in-country production efforts in preference for continued importation is either incompetent or corrupt, or both. No matter how wobbly domestic producers are; or irrespective of the nascency of the level of domestic production, a regulator’s main objective should be to offer guidance, an enabling environment, incentives and encouragement to help the operators succeed.

That’s how Taiwan moved from being a producer of inferior goods to becoming a major producer of chips and semiconductors; Bangladesh moved from being the poverty capital of the world in the 1980s to being a major producer and exporter of clothing, even though the country has no single cotton field. Vietnam moved from being a producer of tennis shoes to becoming a major producer of computer chips. The chaebols of South Korea grew due to government’s support. I don’t even want to mention China!

Strong regulators help in growing the economy. The Central Bank of Nigeria, for example, will never get to the press and announce names of weak banks in the country, and threaten to close them down or invite foreign banks to take over. It is also the reason NAFDAC, SEC, NCAA or any other regulators do not make silly statements in the media, lampooning the operators in their industry. A good regulator works with the operators to meet minimum standards. They don’t create panic and embarrassment.

The national outrage that trailed Farouk Ahmed’s statements is a measure of how resentful Nigerians are of endless fuel importation, the endemic corruption in and around the NNPC, its subsidiaries and industry regulators. Their inability to revive our moribund state-owned refineries has made Nigeria the laughingstock of the world and the butt of all jokes at drinking pubs. I call on President Tinubu to sack Engr. Ahmed right away and save the country from his embarrassing indolence.

Your deliverance shall be sudden, swift, dramatic and unprecedented. Your enemies will be shocked by how God will perfect and actualize your freedom. The chains and shackles are being broken now. The slavery is over! Their grip over you is being weakened. Are you not seeing it? God will shock them. They are in for a great surprise. By the time they wake up, you and your people are gone. Gone forever. Gone for good. These uncircumcised Egyptians will not keep you. Yes, they will not keep Israel forever. They hate you because you bear the mark of God. They hate you because God has blessed you. They hate you because you are industrious and progressive. They despise you because you are independent, godly, glorious, resilient and unstoppable. They hate your guts and feel they cannot compete with you. They are afraid that with such guts and grace you will overtake and rule over them. That was exactly the problem Israelites had with the Egyptians. Envy! They hate you because you serve the God of Israel and because you have a great destiny. They know that the hand of God is upon you and you are the chosen people. Yes, they know it and that is why they have ganged up to mistreat, subdue, intimidate and keep you in perpetual bondage. But God is saying today that their gathering will surely come to nothing. Yes, they have gathered, but it will be fruitless. It will be in vain. God is laughing at them. They will be shocked to their marrow soon. Listen, God said that with a strong hand he will bring his children from the Egyptian bondage. And it is not just bring you out, you will leave with great wealth – silver and gold. That is his word!

  When God told Pharaoh to let his people go he refused. He kept playing games, playing god and defying the divine instructions. In fact, at a time he even had the audacity to query the existence and the authority of the Almighty. I believe that there is something that comes upon rulers that makes them arrogant and selfish even when they know they are self-destructing. Just listen to him, “Who is that your God that I will let Israel go? I do not know him and I will not let the people go!” My God! Did you hear that? Pride and arrogance! When these sons of devil occupy earthy positions or possessions, it gets into their head that they immediately forget that there is a creator of heavens and earth, the beginning and the end, the alpha and the omega, the glory of Israel, the I am that I am, the God of the Hebrews, the Almighty God, the everlasting father, the throne of no disappointment, he that owns life and death. Now, does this resemble what you and your people are going through today? God will also deflate that over-bloating ego of this Pharaoh. Yes, it will happen sooner than you think. And it will come in a very humbling and humiliating manner. We have seen it before and it will happen again. Listen to what he is saying, “But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go except under heavy pressure. So I will reach out and strike at the heart of Egypt with all kinds of miracles. Then at last he will let you go.” And further, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh,” the Lord told Moses. “When he feels my powerful hand upon him, he will let the people go. In fact, he will be so anxious to get rid of them that he will force them to leave his land.” Exodus 3:19-20, 6:1.

  Did you read that? Under pressure this uncircumcised, wicked, heartless, despotic ruler will beg you to go. Yes, God said that he will mount heavy pressure on this particular Satanic unrepentant, doomed Pharaoh, this enemy and he will also crumble like his demonic predecessors. Divine pressure! It can come from any angle and in any form. Nobody, no group, no devils, no gang up can enslave the people of God. Nobody can destroy divine plans and purposes. You will be kicking against the stone. If those before him failed, he will also fail.  If those before them were disgraced, these will also go in shame. And if those before them perished these will also perish. The wicked will not go unpunished. But he still has options now. He can repent and avert the impeding divine judgment and pressure. Or he can allow the Israelites to move out of Egypt peacefully.  When Pharaoh insisted that the Israelites must languish under his biting wickedness and bondage, God inflicted his land with plagues - economic, health, environmental, social and spiritual crises. And when that was not enough God perished the boastful and arrogant king, all his commanders and advisers in the Red Sea. The Navy will call it burry at sea. It is a military practice. All those acting as Pharaohs, as gods now to you and to your people are coming under heavy divine pressure! The word of God said that the Egyptians [including these ones presently harassing you] are not God, but men. Share this message with others. God bless!

Rev Gabriel Agbo is the author of the books / audiobooks: Power of Midnight Prayer, Receive Your Healing, Breaking Generational Curses: Claiming Your Freedom, Never Again!, I Shall Not Die, Move Forward, Power of Sacrifice and many