On the backdrop of the inflationary pressure ravaging the economy, experts in the financial sector have said that the plan by the federal government to disburse cash palliatives to vulnerable families across the country is ill-informed and capable of stoking further inflation.

They also observed that the employment of the strategy by the previous administration failed to achieve the desired result, arguing that repetition of a failed strategy would not augur well for the economy.

Amidst the economic hardship in the country, fuelled by skyrocketing inflation and Naira devaluation, the federal government had revealed plans to distribute N75,000 cash transfer to an estimated 70 million “poorest of the poor” this year.

The measures, according to the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, was as part of President Bola Tinubu’s directive to address extreme poverty and create a more social safety net.

The ministry, according to Yilwatda, aimed to deploy the programme across all 36 states of the federation by the end of January 2025, targeting the registration of up to 18.1 million Nigerian households through the National Identity Number (NIN) system.

“We want to deploy by the end of January across 36 states to ensure we start harvesting the NIN number of up to 18.1 million Nigerian households that we need to capture as fast as possible so that we can make payment for them.

“The target of the president is that we should target 15 million households. And an average household is about 4 to 5. We are discussing here roughly about 70 million households with about N75,000 per person this year,” the minister noted.

But speaking with Saturday Vanguard, the experts opined that poverty was still rife in the country despite the deployment of cash sharing measures in the past. They said that the resulting inflation from the cash sharing initiative would hurt the economy

It will fuel inflation, foster dependency —Victor Chiazor, FSL Securities

Victor Chiazor, Head, Research, FSL Securities, argued that though the initiative would offer immediate financial relief, albeit minimally, it would foster the culture of dependency. He stated that a more sustainable approach would be to create access to cheap credit facilities and foster entrepreneurship to create jobs that stimulate local economies. “The plan to disburse cash palliatives to the poorest as a means of poverty alleviation is a commendable initiative, as it offers immediate financial relief.

Economically, it has the potential to stimulate aggregate demand and ease the immediate financial burden on vulnerable populations. However, concerns remain regarding its effectiveness, as it could contribute to inflation and foster dependency rather than sustainable economic empowerment,” he said. He stated that the initiative also has significant flaws, as the majority of the extreme poor remain unbanked, limiting the reach and effectiveness of the programme.

He remarked that the initiative could also serve as an opportunity to misappropriate funds by some of the political class.

“Furthermore, a similar approach was implemented by the previous administration, yet poverty levels remained largely unchanged, highlighting the need for a more impactful strategy. A more effective approach to poverty alleviation would be investing in human capital development like education and skill acquisition, enhancing access to quality healthcare, access to cheap credit facilities and fostering entrepreneurship to create jobs that stimulate local economies. These measures, if effectively implemented, would provide long-term economic benefits, ensuring self-sufficiency rather than short-term financial relief “ Chiazor added.

It will increase consumption amidst supply gap —David Adonri, Highcap Securities

Speaking in the same vein, David Adonri, Vice Chairman, Highland Securities, said: “Cash palliative and trader money presumably distributed to alleviate poverty and empower petty traders by the failed administration of President Muhammadu Buhari was a conduit pipe used by persons in that administration to loot the national treasury. What President Tinubu is now planning will consume N525 billion which will further damage the financial health of the federal government, which is currently in an excruciating debt trap.

Nigeria is a poor country without the financial wherewithal to undertake such an exercise without hurting the economy. The initiative is worthless as the amount proposed cannot feed a poor recipient for more than two days. It is wasteful and capable of increasing consumption amidst a huge supply gap which may fuel inflation. Whoever thought of this idea does not have the interest of the economy at heart. It is a politically motivated policy which has no benefit to the economy.

The only way to alleviate poverty is to invest in jobs that offer gainful employment. If the N525 billion about to be needlessly lavished and probably embezzled by the Federal Government is used to support production, it will have multiplier effect on the economy in terms of closing the supply gap that is fueling inflation, creating wealth and generating massive productive employment for poor and rich people.”

To address the issue of mass poverty in Nigeria, Adonri emphasised the need for the government to mobilize all the domestic factors of production to build a self-reliant, self-regenerating, and an import independent producing economy that would generate mass employment and maximize domestic wealth creation. He noted that without a secured and enabling environment, production is not feasible.

It is weaponization —Renaissance Africa

In his own submission, Ejike Nwuba, CEO, The RenaissanceAfrica, said that giving out paltry “handouts” to indigent people “has never and can never ameliorate poverty. It is a total sham and it is a total waste of resources,” he said.

According to him, “The implication is that our political actors are, inadvertently, weaponizing poverty to keep the people in their stranglehold.

If we are sincere about alleviating poverty, we must teach our people how to fish instead of giving them fish to survive on. The government should invest in quality education, capacity building, vocational skill acquisition, power, infrastructural development, incentives for small and medium scale businesses, and implementing policies to improve ease of doing business in Nigeria if they are serious about ameliorating poverty”.

It’s not sustainable — Eze Onyekpere

The Director of Centre for Social Justice, Eze Onyekpere contended that there was nothing wrong in distributing palliatives but the manner in which the government is going about it is wrong. He said, “The first challenge is to understand the concept of the proposal by the Federal Government in the name of poverty alleviation which is called a palliative. The dictionary meaning of a palliative is ‘of a medicine or form of medical care relieving symptoms without dealing with the cause of the condition’. Thus, we are not discussing attacking the root causes of poverty but merely attacking its symptoms.

“The second challenge is the lack of credible, transparent and verifiable register of poor Nigerians. What we have is an opaque manipulated register only known to those in the corridors of power and serving their interests which incidentally do not coincide with the interests of the poorest of the poor. A credible register should be open to the public for scrutiny but the current register is not open.

There is not one iota of guarantee that the money will reach the poor. The third challenge is that you do not use borrowed money for palliatives and distribution to the poor. Such an exercise is done from the proceeds of savings and income earned from retained revenue.

It is not sustainable to borrow for such exercise and this raises the poser; how will the nation pay back these borrowed funds? To confirm the lack of transparency in this exercise and similar exercises in the past, there is a clear lack of impact from previous rounds of cash distribution.

There is no empirical basis to determine impact. This is a clear waste of resources which could have been channeled to growing and developing sustainable means of livelihood in agriculture, skills and other value adding interventions.”

Palliative should reduce cost of living — Aigbe

Senior Program Officer at the Centre for Development of Democracy, CDD, Aigbe Austin, said, “If you ask the Nigerian government today where the poorest of the poor are located, they’ll tell you, in rural areas.

But we don’t even know where our poor people are located, we don’t have them synchronized in a database that we can say there are 10 people with disabilities in this area or there are 10 people who earn less than a dollar a day that we want to reach. We’ve seen the corruption in the so-called cash transfer in the previous administration. Even at the commencement of Tinubu’s administration, his own minister was involved in the same charade of corruption.

I think what should be palliative is to reduce the cost of living. It is wrong to just hand over money to people without earning it, even if it means digging the ground and refilling it and paying them for it. Any money handed over freely does not really produce any results.

The Executive Director, Global Rights Nigeria, Abiosun Bayeiwu, asserted that, “The promise of N75,000 cash transfers to 70 million Nigerians may sound ambitious, but experience has shown that one-time or short-term financial interventions rarely create lasting economic change. Poverty is not just about a lack of cash, it is about a lack of opportunity. To put things in perspective, in 2019, the TraderMoni and MarketMoni schemes were launched, offering small cash loans to petty traders.

The hope was that these funds would stimulate micro-businesses and lift people out of poverty. However, without long-term economic reforms, the impact faded quickly. Today, the situation is even more dire. Inflation is above 28 per cent, the Naira is unstable, and fuel subsidy removal has worsened hardship. You need to understand that more than 60 per cent of the population are multidimensionally poor.

The core problem lies in the structural issues that make poverty hydra-headed and self-replicating. How far can N75,000 go when a 50kg bag of rice now costs about N60,000? Even if every naira reaches its intended recipient, the relief will be short-lived. Without policies that drive industrialization, job creation, and access to affordable healthcare, education, and security to ensure their stability, these types of intervention will, at best, provide momentary relief that may last at best – a week, but will continue to leave millions in the same cycle of hardship”.

On how the cash palliatives will really get to the targeted poorest of the poor Nigerians, considering the pervasive corruption, she said, “History gives us little reason for optimism. In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the government announced cash transfers to the most vulnerable. But there is no evidence that its intended recipients, those in rural areas and urban slums–the real “poorest of the poor”—ever received a kobo. Instead, cases of ghost beneficiaries, political favouritism, and outright embezzlement marred the process. Similarly, in 2022, the National Social Investment Program (NSIP), meant to provide financial aid to the needy, was riddled with scandals. Even the Humanitarian Minister at the time, Sadiya Umar Farouq, admitted that funds had been mismanaged, yet no real accountability followed.

“If this new N75,000 transfer programme lacks a foolproof distribution mechanism, it risks becoming another opportunity for elite capture, where politically connected individuals siphon funds while the intended beneficiaries remain neglected. Who is verifying the beneficiaries? Who is monitoring the disbursement? If these questions remain unanswered, we may simply be watching another cycle of economic injustice unfold.

However, she recommended that, “The government must stop looking for cheap scores and instead address multidimensional poverty by investing in and strengthening structures for human capital development; give communities quality schools, ensuring housing security, access to quality healthcare.

“Ramp up infrastructure for businesses to thrive – electricity, access to fuel, transportation network; Create jobs and ensure access to credit. Build capacity and support for small businesses. Nigerians are not lazy, they want to work and earn a honest living; Curb insecurity which is at the heart of Nigeria’s hunger crisis; Ensure transparency through biometric registration and real-time public tracking of disbursed funds.

Decentralize fund distribution to prevent bureaucratic bottlenecks and ensure money gets to the grassroots; Implement independent monitoring by civil society organizations, not just government agencies. Otherwise, this will be another expensive political gesture that fades into history, leaving poverty untouched.”

It can’t significantly reduce poverty — ActionAid

The Country Director, ActionAid Nigeria, AAN, Andrew Mamedu, expressed concern that the Federal Government’s ¦ 75,000 conditional cash transfer scheme can not significantly reduce poverty across the country. Mamedu said: “Past social protection programs in Nigeria have failed to yield significant reductions in poverty. Given the lack of structural economic reforms and the continuous rise in poverty, there is skepticism about the transformative impact of this scheme.

The ¦ 75,000 conditional cash transfer scheme, while commendable in its intent, offers limited potential to significantly reduce poverty in Nigeria. With households receiving ¦ 25,000 monthly, this amount is grossly inadequate to cover even basic needs given the current inflation rate of 34.8% and high living costs. Most Nigerian households require much more to meet essential expenses such as food, healthcare, and education.

The cash transfer serves as a temporary measure rather than a sustainable solution to poverty. While it may provide some immediate relief, the lack of integration with long-term empowerment programs (e.g., skills acquisition or livelihood initiatives) reduces its potential to uplift households permanently. Despite previous social protection programs, poverty remains widespread and continues to rise.

“The question remains: If these programs have not yielded significant improvements, what impact will this cash transfer scheme have? Without clear, tangible results, it’s difficult to determine whether such initiatives are effectively addressing poverty or merely offering temporary relief. To truly address poverty, the program must evolve into a comprehensive social safety net that includes livelihood empowerment, job creation, and efforts to curb inflation.

“Corruption remains a major concern that could undermine the effectiveness of the cash transfer scheme. Despite the well-intentioned goals of the cash transfer program, pervasive corruption in Nigeria raises concerns about whether the funds will reach the intended beneficiaries.

Previous initiatives have faced challenges related to mismanagement and fraud, leading to skepticism about the current program’s integrity.
Recently, there have been allegations that certain state governments and politicians in Nigeria have been clamouring to be given the opportunity to generate the beneficiary list and have been submitting fraudulent beneficiary lists for the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) program.

These claims suggest that individuals who are not genuinely impoverished are being included, while the truly needy are excluded. Such actions, if verified, exacerbate corruption within the system by diverting funds away from the intended recipients, thereby undermining the program’s credibility and effectiveness.

“The National Social Register (NSR), which is supposed to serve as the basis for identifying beneficiaries, has faced credibility issues, including concerns about data accuracy and potential political manipulation. These issues can result in the exclusion of genuinely poor households or the inclusion of ineligible ones. But we hope the current Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction Minister, Nentawe Yilwatda will uphold his words when he said they won’t allow politicians to compromise the cash transfer register.

So, to ensure that the palliatives reach the intended beneficiaries, the government needs to engage local communities, civil society organizations, and credible NGOs in program implementation and monitoring to ensure fairness and equitable distribution”.

[Vanguard]

US President Donald Trump has revoked the security clearance of Joe Biden, his predecessor.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said revoking Biden’s security clearance and ending intelligence briefings to the former president is payback for how he was treated in the wake of the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol.

“There is no need for Joe Biden to continue receiving access to classified information. Therefore, we are immediately revoking Joe Biden’s security clearances, and stopping his daily intelligence briefings,” Trump said.

“He set this precedent in 2021, when he instructed the intelligence community (IC) to stop the 45th president of the United States (me!) from accessing details on national security, a courtesy provided to former presidents.”

Former US presidents usually receive intelligence briefings long after leaving office.

REVENGE MISSION

In 2021, Biden ended intelligence briefings to Trump after the then ex-president was accused of inciting the January 6 insurrection.

Biden had pointed at Trump’s “erratic behaviour” as reason for the revocation.

“I just think that there is no need for him to have the intelligence briefings. What value is giving him an intelligence briefing? What impact does he have at all, other than the fact he might slip and say something?” Biden had said.

Trump’s decision to revoke Biden’s security clearance is the latest in a revenge tour of Washington as promised during his campaign.

The president has revoked the security clearance of some ex-federal government officials who criticised him — including those of Anthony Fauci, former infectious disease expert; and Mike Pompeo, his former secretary of state.

The US president has also promised to fire some FBI agents who worked on the cases of the January 6 rioters.

“I would fire some of them because they were corrupt. I have no doubt about that,” Trump said.

“I got to know a lot about that business and that world. We had some corrupt agents and those people are gone or they would be gone. And it would be done quickly and very surgically.”

Trump previously revoked security clearances of more than 50 former intelligence officials. They had signed a letter in 2020 wherein it was stated that the Hunter Biden laptop saga bore the imprimatur of a “Russian information operation”.

In a pre-emptive move, Biden issued an unconditional pardon for Hunter in December. The departing president had also pardoned his siblings and their spouses in a bid to keep them away from Trump’s vengeful grasp.

The US president is offering Biden-era federal employees a “buyout plan” — which would see them embark on compulsory paid leave till September or risk being fired.

Trump has vowed to shrink the size of the federal workforce and save millions of dollars in taxpayer funds, a task he is carrying out alongside Elon Musk, the Tesla CEO.

[TheCable]

When, last week, Senator Adams Oshiomole bombed the National Assembly with bold and well publicized claims about who was looting the nation’s mineral resources, I realized that it was time to take up the next leg of my planned series of conversations about the solid minerals sector and its likely impact on the economic future and fortunes of the Nigerian State. For the record, there are three major factors that kindled, and are likely to sustain, any conversations one wishes to hold here about the solid minerals sector in Nigeria.

The first is that the sector is one of the quickest routes to alternative, high-volume national earnings in foreign currency; once it is very well managed. The second is that the new measures being put in place to revamp the sector are coming on well. The third, and very significantly, is the need to deal with the frequently re-echoed claims about the plundering of the nation’s solid mineral output by a cartel of powerful individuals. This last point puts new pressures on the government of the day, to deal with the matter once and for all.

Regarding the first point, it is fairly obvious that solid minerals hold great prospects for increased forex earnings and that, notwithstanding the potentials of Agriculture as a strong competitor, our current security challenges diminish the capacity of the agricultural sector to make the needed impact. The needed comprehensive development, strategic regulation and holistic management of the mining sector is the only way of putting its actual capacities for impact on national earnings, job creation and overall increase in national productivity on the table.

Two related events occurred last week, in connection with the sector. The first was the aforementioned Bombshell of Oshiomole, wherein he claimed that there were two distinct laws guiding solid mineral exploitation in Nigeria, among other allegations. The second was the securing of a UN agency study facility for critical minerals in Nigeria.

The first point, that Oshiomole’s intervention, is not a new claim or story. There were also some (hushed) and even more elaborate details when some of us went on study tour, to look at the economic potentials of the Zamfara State during governor Yari’s tenure. Oshiomole only voiced a subsisting perception, and claim, that is at least 30 years old.

It is not a matter that I would like to dwell upon at the moment, because it is probably best to take it together with the twin economic sins of oil bunkering and illegal refineries. They are northern and southern equivalents of the same elite-facilitated malfeasance and would be taken together some other time for full treatment.

Concerning illegal refineries, a perfunctory check will show you that the Federal Government has destroyed at least 300 illegal refineries in the last ten years alone. Why? What is the total land area of the entire South South, that it should house so many refineries? Why did the number of illegal refineries drop close to zero in Rivers State, when then Governor Wike threatened to sack every Local Government Chairman in whose domain an illegal refinery was found? This was addressed on this page on January 2022, under the title, “Governors, Just Look at Wike”. 

As for the securing of a UN agency study facility for critical minerals in Nigeria, the point to note here is that this will help the sector, through the development of a roadmap on Nigeria’s critical value chain from extraction to beneficiation. It is to be funded by the Global Council for Critical Minerals, as one of many low hanging fruits secured for the sector in recent times.

The study, which will examine the country’s critical minerals resource/reserve and set international best practices for value development, will be carried out by UC Davis and supported by Core International. The point to note here is that we are likely to walk away with the cheery news of both the upgrading and upscaling of actionable information on what the sector has to offer to the nation and the world.

This brings us to the submission we made about this sector here a few weeks ago. That was shortly after the ban on solid minerals exploration and exploitation in Zamfara state was lifted by the federal Government. The lifting of the ban came after more than five years of zero mining and exploration activities. A “no fly and no go” zone was also imposed on the area, with miners, mining sites and environs grounded since 2019. The ban was predicated on the perceived security and humanitarian concerns of the Buhari government, as the entire Zamfara axis boiled over continuously during the period.

One fact was clear before and after the ban was lifted: The activities of illegal miners, bandits and other miscreants continued unchallenged. It even got much worse. What was initially conceived as a temporary solution to an obviously big problem thus took on a life of its own. As was stated in the article, titled “Alake and Matters Arising in the Mining sector”, the lifting of the ban was “apparently based on new, intelligence-driven, and better-coordinated, security operations that led to the progressive and visible elimination of major leaders of criminal gangs and leaders of bandit groups”.

It was in the national interest to lift the ban, because of the expected and obvious gains to be derived from a reactivation of mining, and related, activities in the Zamfara axis. That the nation has now secured a UN agency study facility for critical minerals in Nigeria is because there is a mining sector to talk about. It would not have happened if the initial step of lifting the ban on mining activities did not take place.

The question of development of a roadmap on Nigeria’s critical value chain, from extraction to beneficiation, would not have arisen if the mining sites were still shut down. Nor would there have been any talk about the funding of such an endeavour by the Global Council for Critical Minerals, but for the lifting of that ban.

The UN agency study that is now poised to examine the country’s critical mineral resources and reserves, in order to recalibrate for the better and more sustainable international best practices for value development, will be carried out by UC Davis and supported by Core International. The point to note here is that we are looking at both the upgrading and upscaling of actionable information on what the sector has to offer. It means that there is a mining sector that is worthy of such attention right now.

Going back to what was said here back then: “While the ban lasted, the miners who were officially and formally granted lease by the mining cadastral office to carry out mining activities had to hands off, and stay off, the area. While these duly recognized miners were held in abeyance by the ban and the law, the space they left unmanned was taken over by non-state actors like bandits and illegal miners. The proceeds of these questionable mining activities were going into the pockets of individuals, especially bandits. Marauders and sundry socially disruptive stakeholders were also the beneficiaries.

The massive quantities of gold, lithium, copper and other associated minerals in the state were thus being mined during the period of the ban, but not in the interest of the nation or its treasury. The positive security mileage that would have come from the ban, as well as the good intentions behind it, were nowhere to be seen. Instead, the ban unintentionally opened the space for unlawful activities that worsened the security problems in the area”.

The Presidential Artisanal Gold Miners Initiative (PAGMI) under president Buhari, which was designed to bring the unlicensed fringe actors in the sector within a regulated umbrella, did not successfully block the obvious revenue and resource leakages. The renaming of illegal miners, as well as the setting up of a presidential initiative to make the best of them, did not still bring most of them within the Standard Regulatory Environment (SRE) and framework established for the sector.

We called for a review of PAGMI last year, demanding timelines for the full integration and streamlining of all miners. This must be realized quickly or industry cohesion. Yes, mining activities are back in Zamfara with a security tax force, known as the Mine Police or Mining Marshal Police. But more still needs to be done, so that the expected improvements in government revenue materializes in real terms and with minimal hiccups.

It is obvious that the UN agency intervention keys into the spirit of the recent Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) Nigeria signed with France on training and capacity building for mining professionals. Such further technical and financial capacity support can only lead to the further development of the sector.

This backs up the point made here in the aforementioned article, thus: “Ours is a nation endowed with substantial solid, liquid and gaseous mineral deposits, for which extant internal capacities are not enough. It is only through clear-eyed technical partnerships, technological support, security of the operating environment and reforms and guaranteed regulatory compliance that the sector can be taken to greater heights”.

As the ministry is fleshing out the full capacities of the mining sector again, after a season of partly ill-advised hibernation under Buhari, it should be taken to new levels of impact.  All the talk about increased revenue and economic diversification of the Nigerian economy will be nothing but smoke, for as long as we do not do the needful in a holistic manner. The policies, the partnerships, the funding and international collaborations are needed to get us to where we ought to be in the mining sector.

To make the best of the UN agency intervention, which is coming after the MOU with the French, we must have the following, as was observed here before:| “(1) Availability and accessibility of high-quality geological data. (2) Popularization of the National Integrated Mineral Exploration Project (NIMEP). (3) Improvements in critical infrastructure. (4) The leveraging of Public Private Partnerships (PPPs). (5) Review of existing incentives frameworks. (6) Disaggregating and evaluating fiscal and non-fiscal incentives to ascertain to what extent they are competitive and aligned with investor expectations and global industry practices”.

In sum, this is the sector to look at for much more than forex earnings; while agriculture is recovering from years of merciless denudation.

Says losses from inefficient infrastructure cost country over $29bn yearly 

The Managing Director of Financial Derivatives Company Limited (FDC), Mr. Bismarck Rewane, has likened Nigeria to a morgue of abandoned projects and described the Highway Development Management Initiative (HDMI) that was established by the federal government to redeem the situation as an albatross of growth.

Rewane stated these in his presentation at this month’s Lagos Business School (LBS) Breakfast Session titled “Nigeria in 2025: Breakthrough or Fall through,” in which he tasked the federal government to build a resilient economy to reverse Nigeria’s diminishing relevance in the global arena.

He also warned that delay in enthroning a resilient economy would be expensive for Nigeria while inaction and doing nothing would be debilitating and destructive.
Rewane said: “Nigeria is like a morgue of abandoned projects. Easy to start and easier to kill. The federal government in 2022 came up with the novel idea of highway concessioning.

“In all, about 19 federal highways were selected for rehabilitation and tolling. The Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved and reached financial closure with investors.”
He, however, said that the noble aims the HDMI was meant to achieve were thwarted with the entrance of the current Federal Minister of Works, who came into the picture, first as a catalyst and next as a spoiler.

He added that Nigeria is still recovering from the Lekki-Epe concession failure but cautioned that “Nigeria cannot afford another high profile loss.”
According to him, “investors are licking their wounds, and Nigerian road users are suffering, smiling and hoping for the best.”

He said that case studies from major road projects illustrated how prolonged delays escalated costs by as much as 30 per cent annually, leading to stalled investments worth trillions of Naira.
He added: “Productivity losses from inefficient infrastructure are estimated at over $29 billion per year, according to the World Bank.”

Rewane also said that Nigeria’s economic stability is hinged on policy execution, adding that the “good news is that the Naira has begun to strengthen, appreciating by 6.07 per cent to ₦1,565/$ in the parallel market so far in 2025.

“In Q1’25, inflation is projected to ease marginally towards 33.1 per cent, reflecting a stable Naira and fairly lower food and fuel prices.”
Rewane also said that Nigeria must now be resilient because in the global scheme of things, scale and size matter more than anything else.

“While Nigeria may perceive itself as an economic giant, its relevance on the global stage has diminished considerably compared to what it once was or what it thinks it is.
“Analysts view the situation as a glass both half-full of benefits and half-empty with problems.

However, the primary benefit in this world of political and economic uncertainty is the incentive and urgency to build a resilient economy, which could lead to a reversal of the ‘Japa’ syndrome,” he said.
Rewane also projected that the Nigerian economy is capable of achieving a growth rate in excess of 4.0 per cent this year.

“These projections are based on strategic responses to anticipated global shocks, including the removal of economic constraints and structural barriers, policy reforms to enhance the business and investment environment, and the strengthening of domestic industries to reduce external vulnerabilities,” Rewane said.

He also noted that since the inauguration of President Donald Trump of United States of America on January 20, 2025, he has signed a flurry of executive orders that are at odds with American values and strategic interests.
According to Rewane, the global responses to Trump’s executive orders have ranged from consternation to anger and frustration.

“Some see these developments as a major challenge or source of stress, whilst a few others view them as a window of opportunity and a lever for growth.
“Meanwhile, Trump has engaged in a spree of tariffs and threats against nearly everyone, but in response, there have been almost equal counter threats and retaliatory actions,” he said.

[Thisday]

In the spirit of America’s Black History Month, which is celebrated every February, I am continuing my tradition of writing columns that focus on the unique experiences, trials, and triumphs of Black Americans.

My focus this week is on an intriguing, superbly brilliant, impressively polyglottic, but surprisingly unknown Borno man by the name of Nicholas Said who migrated to the United States a little over a year before the American Civil War started on April 12, 1861, in which he fought on the side of Union forces.

I first encountered Said’s story sometime last year by chance while watching a documentary about early Muslim presence in America. During the film, a Black American Muslim woman mentioned Nicholas Said whom she said traced natal roots to a part of what is today Nigeria. 

I was struck by two things: the onomastic oddity of his name (what Muslim man from what is now Nigeria would bear such an incongruous appellative identifier as “Nicholas Said” in the 1860s?) and by the absence of the man in the accounts of early Muslim Americans, a field with which I am a fairly familiar.

My curiosity led me to abandon the documentary midway in search of the man. It turned out that he wrote his own autobiography in 1873 titled The Autobiography of Nicholas Said: A Native of Bornou, Eastern Soudan, Central Africa. I immediately placed an order for it on Amazon.

I also bought Dean Calbreath’s irresistibly absorbing 2023 book on Said titled The Sergeant: The Incredible Life of Nicholas Said: Son of an African General, Slave of the Ottomans, Free Man Under the Tsars, Hero of the Union Army, which I read with the kind of hunger that turns pages into a feast, each chapter a savory bite of history too rich to put down.

Said was born Mohammed Ali ben Said around 1836 in Kuka (now called Kukawa) to a Kanuri father and a Mandara-Margi mother. He became “Nicholas” much later in his life when he became a servant to a Russian prince, who converted him to Christianity. I’ll come back to this. 

Kukawa, Said’s hometown, was the capital of the Borno Empire and the immediate successor to the previous, storied 340-year-old capital called Ngazargamu. 

By the 1840s, during Said’s boyhood, European travelers who visited Borno recorded that Kukawa had a population of around 100,000. “By comparison, in 1840, only 11 cities in the United States had more than 40,000 residents,” writes Dean Calbreath.

He was the 13th of his mother’s 19 children. His father, more popularly known by the moniker Barka Gana (“little blessing”)—a name bestowed upon him by Sheikh Mohammed el-Kanemi who trained him in Arabic and Quranic memorization in Ngala from ages 9 to 12—was a fierce, furious, and far-famed fighter in Borno’s army. His ruthless conquest of enemies earned him the chilling nickname Malak al-Mawt, Arabic for “Angel of Death.”

He was Borno’s chief Kachala, what we would call today the Chief of Army Staff, during the reigns of Sheikh Mohammed al-Amin ibn al-Kanemi and Sheikh Umar, al-Kanemi’s son.

Decades before Nicholas Said migrated to the United States (and, before that, to Europe), his father’s name and exploits had already reached both continents through an 1826 book titled Narrative of Travels and Discoveries in Northern and Central Africa: In the Years 1822, 1823, and 1824. Authored by three European travelers—Dixon Denham, Hugh Clapperton, and Walter Oudney—the book documented their time in Borno and the events they witnessed there.

One particularly poignant encounter they witnessed was the resolution of a personal conflict between Said’s father, Barka Gana, and the king of Borno, Sheikh al-Kanemi. Following Barka Gana’s decisive military victory, al-Kanemi, delighted with his general’s success, presented him with a beautiful horse as a token of appreciation.

However, al-Kanemi remembered that he had promised the same horse to someone else and thus requested Barka Gana to return it. Enraged by al-Kanemi’s act, Barka Gana, who had cherished the gift, not only returned the horse but also every other horse al-Kanemi had ever given him.

This act of defiance infuriated the al-Kanemi so much that he ordered that Barka Gana be stripped naked in public, denuded of his position, and sold as a slave abroad. Barka Gana apologized for his arrogance, accepted his fate, but pleaded that his wives and children be spared.

When he returned to the palace the following day to be sold into slavery, al-Kanemi fixed his gaze on him and couldn’t hold back tears. The king cried publicly and forgave his general.

The account of this incident—and of Barka Gana’s military exploits, devotion to Islam, fierce loyalty to the Shehu, etc.—by European travelers who witnessed it firsthand and wrote about it was “so popular it was translated into French, German, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, and Russian, and over the coming decades, poets, clergymen, scientists, and politicians reshaped its stories to suit their purposes,” according to Calbreath.

In London, scientists held Barka Gana as evidence that “Africans had the same brainpower as Europeans.” 

In the American South, where Black enslavement and notions of Black subhumanity were mainstream, abolitionists used the story of al-Kanemi’s tear-jerking restraint from inflicting punishment on Barka Gana to illustrate the point that “we Americans, particularly of the South, may take a useful lesson from these sable sons of Africa and learn to emulate their Christian feelings of ‘mercy’ and ‘moderation’ before we go to civilize them.”

In fact, Barka Gana’s story made it to the U.S. Congress. House of Representative member Charles Miner from the state of Pennsylvania, who was an abolitionist, said in Congress that Barka Gana’s dexterous warfare tactics should serve as an inspiration for the U.S. Army to reverse its ban against black people serving in the military.

“The African race makes excellent soldiers,” Miner said. “They are admirably adapted for military service.”

By a stroke of historical happenstance, decades later, Barka Gana’s son, Nicholas Said, would serve as a sergeant in the U.S. Army and fight in the American Civil War to end the enslavement of Black people.

But, first, how did he get to America? When he was about 9 or 10 years old during Maulud, he and his friends went hunting in the abandoned and uninhabited town of Lari—against the advice of his mother (his father had died by this time)— who warned him that he be would be “captured by the Kidnapping Kindils, a wandering tribe of the desert, who were constantly prowling through the country in search of anything of value they might lay their hands on.”

Kindil was the name the Kanuri people used for the Tuareg (i.e., Buzu) people. 

His mother’s prediction materialized: he and his friends were kidnapped. For months, their abductors forced them to march thousands of miles through the Sahara Desert in chains until they reached what is now Libya, where they were sold as slaves.

The wealthy man who bought him later recognized that he was the son of the world-famous Barka Gana and offered to free him. But Said was “unwilling to recross the inhospitable Sahara” and chose to remain a slave, although he was treated much better than other slaves.

He later requested to be sold to a Turk, which his master obliged. In the course of time, the Turk to whom he was sold took him to Istanbul from where he was sold to a Russian prince by the name of Nicholas Trubetzkoy to whom he served as a valet de chambre, i.e., a personal assistant and confidant.

Up until this time, Said was a devout Muslim who prayed five times a day, avoided alcohol, and refused to eat pork. But after much resistance, Said finally succumbed to his master’s pressure to convert to Russian Orthodox Christianity. On November 24, 1853, he renounced Islam and changed his name from Mohammed Ali ben Said to Nicholas Said.

Said traveled widely throughout Europe with Prince Trubetzkoy and learned multiple languages—French, Italian, German, English, etc.— with native proficiency in the course of his travels. 

But while they were in London he had had enough and told his master he wanted to be free and go back to Borno

“You are no longer an African, but a citizen of Europe,” Prince Trubetzkoy told Said. “If you go back, you will not be able to reconcile yourself to the manners and customs of your countrymen.”

When Said rejected his entreaties, Prince Trubetzkoy paid him a severance package equivalent to $40,000 and bade him a tearful farewell. Said, too, cried.

After squandering his money, he got depressed, caused a ruckus at a pub in London, which put him in jail for two months. He had another run-in with the law in London.

Just when he planned to leave England for Borno, a Dutch aristocrat by the name of Isaac Jacob Rochussen invited Said and proposed that he be his valet. It was Rochussen who brought Said to New York on January 6, 1860.

This will be continued next week.

Looking back, the Covid-19 pandemic feels like a distant memory, well and truly in the rearview mirror, at least in Dubai. The city’s swift response to the pandemic resulted in various industries bouncing back, in particular, the burgeoning property market. It inspired confidence among buyers, while giving impetus to Dubai real estate developers to announce new projects in prime, and super prime locations. In this blog, we take a look at Dubai’s post-pandemic real estate boom, and what it means for a city built on foundations of resilience, and robust growth.

Why Dubai? A Reimagined Lifestyle

During the pandemic, people worldwide began to rethink their priorities. Home became not just a place to live but a sanctuary for work, leisure, and wellness. Dubai’s real estate market capitalized on this shift, offering sprawling villas, high-rise penthouses, and waterfront estates that blend luxury with functionality. The city’s ability to cater to diverse lifestyles—from serene beachfront living to the bustling urban core—makes it a top choice for discerning buyers.

In the present, the appeal of luxury properties in Dubai has reached unparalleled heights, with the city experiencing a remarkable post-pandemic real estate boom. Known for its futuristic skyline, pristine beaches, and vibrant cultural scene, Dubai is once again demonstrating its resilience and magnetism as a global hub for affluent living.

But what truly sets the city apart is its commitment to creating spaces that resonate with modern needs. Smart homes equipped with advanced technologies, private outdoor areas, and access to world-class amenities have become the gold standard in Dubai’s luxury property market. For many, these features represent not just convenience but a gateway to an elevated lifestyle.

Post-Pandemic Resilience

Dubai’s swift response to the pandemic positioned it as a model for recovery. Strategic measures, including efficient vaccination drives and the reopening of borders, restored confidence among investors and residents alike. The city’s ability to rebound quickly reignited interest in its real estate sector, with international buyers flocking to secure prime properties.

Moreover, Dubai’s government introduced several initiatives to attract foreign investment. From long-term residency visas to retirement programs, these policies have incentivized high-net-worth individuals to establish roots in the city. This influx of global talent and wealth has significantly contributed to the surging demand for luxury properties in Dubai.

Trends Shaping Dubai’s Luxury Market

The post-pandemic boom isn’t just about increased demand; it’s also about evolving trends. Buyers are no longer satisfied with standard luxury—they want exclusivity, sustainability, and a connection to nature. Developers are responding by creating eco-conscious properties, integrating renewable energy sources, and prioritizing green spaces.

Another trend shaping the market is the rise of branded residences. These properties, often affiliated with luxury hospitality brands, offer bespoke services and a sense of prestige that’s hard to match. For buyers, owning such a property is not just about real estate—it’s about owning a lifestyle.

The Role of Digital Transformation

Technology has also played a pivotal role in Dubai’s real estate resurgence. Virtual tours, digital transactions, and AI-driven market insights have made the process of acquiring property more accessible and transparent than ever. This digital transformation has been particularly appealing to international buyers, who can now explore and invest in Dubai’s luxury properties from anywhere in the world.

The Global Appeal of Dubai

Dubai’s reputation as a cosmopolitan hub is unmatched. Its strategic location, connecting the East and West, makes it a favorite among global citizens. The city’s tax-friendly environment, coupled with its world-class infrastructure and lifestyle offerings, ensures it remains a top choice for those seeking luxury living.

Additionally, Dubai’s multicultural society is a significant draw. With residents from over 200 nationalities, the city offers a rich tapestry of cultures and experiences. This inclusivity enhances its appeal, making it a place where anyone can feel at home.

Why Now Is the Time to Invest

For those considering buying property in Dubai, there’s no better time than now. The post-pandemic boom has solidified the city’s position as a resilient and attractive real estate market. With prices in the luxury segment still offering value compared to other global cities like London or New York, Dubai represents a unique opportunity for high returns on investment.

Beyond financial gains, owning property in Dubai comes with unparalleled lifestyle benefits. Imagine waking up to panoramic views of the Arabian Gulf, enjoying year-round sunshine, and having access to some of the world’s finest dining and entertainment options. It’s not just an investment in real estate; it’s an investment in a life well-lived.

A Future Full of Promise

Dubai’s post-pandemic real estate boom is a testament to its ability to adapt, innovate, and thrive. The city continues to attract visionaries, entrepreneurs, and families seeking a better quality of life. As luxury properties in Dubai set new benchmarks for opulence and innovation, the city is poised to remain a global leader in real estate.

So, are you ready to make the move?

[DailyTrust]

The Ministry of Education has clarified that the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, only proposed the introduction of a 12-year basic education system, which is looking to scrap the Junior and Senior Secondary School system was already in effect.

According to the ministry, the policy will not be implemented immediately.

In a statement signed by the Director of Press, Folasade Boriowo, the ministry noted that the National Council on Education, NCE, would review the proposal before any final decision is made.

“At the Extraordinary National Council on Education Meeting held on 6 February 2025 in Abuja, the Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Olatunji Alausa, presented a proposal for discussion — not an immediate policy change,” it read.

“The proposal seeks to transition to 12 years of compulsory education while retaining the current 6-3-3 structure.

It added: “However, this remains subject to further consultation and deliberation.

“To ensure a well-informed decision, the ministry will undertake extensive stakeholder engagements over the next eight months, consulting education policymakers, state governments, teachers, parents, and other key players.

“The final decision on whether to adopt this reform will be made at the National Council on Education meeting in October 2025.”

[DailyPost]

…swears in new SSG 

Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule has dissolved all political appointees serving in his government.

Governor Sule announced this Friday, February 7, at the Executive Council Chambers, Government house during a valedictory session with the Special Advisers, Senior Special Assistants, Special Assistants, Personal Assistants.

He thanked them for all the services and contributions they made in the cause of their appointments to the development of the State and assured them that some may be still be re-appointed in other capacities.

Governor Sule also swore in a new Secretary to the State Government, Barr Labaran Magaji who is the immediate past Commissioner and Attorney General of the state.

Others who were inaugurated were the Sole administrator of Udege Development Area of Nasarawa local government; chairman and board members of the Collage of Education Akwanga.

He charged the new appointees to work hard in assisting his administration to succeed.

The Governor who had in early January dissolved the state executive council said, he has sent a list of 16 commissionership nominees to the state house of assembly for screening.

[TheNation]

The rebels of the Tutsi M23 backed by the Rwanda Defence Force, RDF on January 27, 2025 rolled into Goma,  eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC eliminating  whosoever they found in their path. These included the peacekeepers of United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the DRC, MONUSCO and,   the Southern African Development Community Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, SAMIDRC.

One of the first UN Peacekeepers killed was Rodlfo Alverez of the Uruguayan IV Battalion.  Peacekeepers  of the SAMIDRC attacked  by the M23-Rwandan forces came from countries like Malawi and Tanzania. But the country that has sustained the highest loss is South Africa with fourteen of its soldiers killed. Understandably, the countries of these victims are unhappy.  South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said his country is working to ensure that the peacekeepers not only remain  on ground  but are also  well equipped to fulfil their mandate.

Ramaphosa’s words riled Rwandan President Paul Kagame who does not want peace-keepers  in  neigbouring DRC.  In fact, he  says the  SAMIDRC is not a peace keeping body, but rather: “It was authorised by SADC as a belligerent force engaging in offensive combat operations to help the DRC government fight against its own people, working alongside genocidal armed groups like FDLR which target Rwanda, while also threatening to take the war to Rwanda itself.” Kagame, abandoning any pretences at diplomacy, sneered that: “Cyril Ramaphosa is behaving as if he were some peacemaker.” 

After the two leaders had a phone call, Kagame issued a Statement: “What has been said about [the conversations I had with Ramaphosa this week] in the media by South African officials and President Ramaphosa himself contains a lot of distortion, deliberate attacks, and even lies.” Responding to the notion that the South African President had cautioned him, Kagame joked : “President Ramaphosa has never given a ‘warning’ of any kind, unless it was delivered in his local language which I do not understand.”

After exonerating the M23 rebels from the death of the peacekeepers, Kagame issued a direct threat to South Africa: “If South Africa wants to contribute to peaceful solutions, that is well and good, but South Africa is in no position to take on the role of a peacemaker or mediator. And if South Africa prefers confrontation, Rwanda will deal with the matter in that context any day.”

Kagame  wants the war in the DRC to continue and is obviously trying to bait South Africa.   There are various  reasons I can decipher for this.  First, Rwanda is illegally mining and selling the minerals of the DRC. This is possible and sustainable only if conflicts persist and are  sustained  in the latter.  I call this the DRC Syndrome. This is a disease afflicting many countries who cannot keep their itchy fingers off the DRC’s numerous and seemingly inexhaustible mineral resources. This leads to the second reason why Kagame is so belligerent.  He is close to the West and many there, especially European countries which are building a so-called corridor for DRC minerals, want control of the minerals. Kagame is positioning himself as a sort of enforcer who can guarantee the interests of the West especially in the face of challenges from China and other non-Western countries.

Another  possible reason is linked to Kagame being a ‘yes-man’ of the West.  He has already offered his country as a large detention centre to hold  illegal immigrants expelled from  Europe. For this service, Britain alone paid Kigali about $300 million in 2023. In contrast,   South Africa is becoming a torn in the  flesh of the West, especially its championing a New World order in Africa by popularising the BRICS.  It has also had the courage to drag Israel before the  International  Court of Justice, ICJ for  genocide in the Palestine. Again,  South Africa  is trying to find ways to transfer some of the lands the Whites are still holding, to the populace. Over this, President Donald Trump has already threatened rainbow country.  For these, South Africa has become a target for the West and its ally, Israel – some of whose weapons the M23 rebels  reportedly  used in the offensive against Goma. Kagame is holding himself out as someone who can help engage South Africa militarily and destabilize it from outside, while the neo-Apartheid forces, attack from within.  

 Also, Kagame and the Tutsis are ruling Rwanda and may hope that by arming and supporting the M23 Tutsi  rebels in the DRC, they can build an international alliance of Tutsis and, also use the rebels  to build a buffer zone with the DRC that has some  rebel Hutu militia from Rwanda.  The Tutsi push in Eastern DRC has stopped. But I do not think it is for so called humanitarian aid to flow. Rather, the rebels and the Rwandese  must ask themselves, after taking large parts of eastern DRC, can they proceed, if yes, to where?  Being essentially an ethnic militia, it is unlikely other ethnic nationalities would welcome them on their territories. So, will they try to break away from the rest of the DRC and create a new republic? Or, will eastern DRC be merged  with Rwanda to create a bigger Tustsi nationality in Rwanda?

The possibility of the situation  degenerating into a regional conflict is very high.  It reminds me of the  1998-2003 regional war in DRC involving nine countries; DRC, Rwanda, Uganda, Angola, Sudan, Chad, Zimbabwe, Burundi  and Namibia. Over three million lives were lost in that conflict with another two million dying from causes related to the conflicts. Perhaps an issue Rwanda seems to over- look is that just as it is training, arming and funding the M23 rebels in the DRC, African countries such as  South Africa and Zimbabwe are also capable of doing the same with Hutu rebels.

In Nigeria, beautiful drums are made of animal skin. But the people say when a drum is beaten too loud, it will go burst. Kagame,  from being a young Ugandan soldier, to President of Rwanda for  twenty five years now, should  be careful otherwise, he would go burst with his Tutsi allies. 

My most loyal VIP friend and dearest brother, the amazing Dr Kayode Fayemi, former Governor of Ekiti State, is turning 60 this weekend and kindly invited me to a commemorative birthday symposium he hosted in Abuja yesterday.

The venue was jampacked with excellencies and other dignitaries, including ex-President Yakubu Gowon, the current Vice President Kashim Shettima, the current Ekiti Governor, Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji, Atiku Abubakar, a previous Vice President, and Amina Mohammed, the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations.

The keynote address was given by Thabo Mbeki, the former President of South Africa, whom I have always loved. 

Seeing him reminded me of a wonderful poetic speech he made in Cape Town on 8 May 1996, to mark the passing of the new post-apartheid Constitution of South Africa. It moved me to tears.

Let me share excerpts with you:

I am an African.

“I owe my being to the hills and the valleys, the mountains and the glades, the rivers, the deserts, the trees, the flowers, the seas and the ever-changing seasons that define the face of our native land…

…I know that none dare challenge me when I say – I am an African!““I owe my being to the Khoi and the San whose desolate souls haunt the great expanses of the beautiful Cape – they who fell victim to the most merciless genocide our native land has ever seen, they who were the first to lose their lives in the struggle to defend our freedom and dependence and they who, as a people, perished in the result.

Today, as a country, we keep an audible silence about these ancestors of the generations that live, fearful to admit the horror of a former deed, seeking to obliterate from our memories a cruel occurrence which, in its remembering, should teach us not and never to be inhuman again.

I am the grandchild of the warrior men and women that Hintsa and Sekhukhune led, the patriots that Cetshwayo and Mphephu took to battle, the soldiers Moshoeshoe and Ngungunyane taught never to dishonour the cause of freedom.““My mind and my knowledge of myself is formed by the victories that are the jewels in our African crown, the victories we earned from Isandhlwana to Khartoum, as Ethiopians and as the Ashanti of Ghana, as the Berbers of the desert.““I am the grandchild who lays fresh flowers on the Boer graves at St Helena and the Bahamas, who sees in the mind`s eye and suffers the suffering of a simple peasant folk, death, concentration camps, destroyed homesteads, a dream in ruins.““I am the child of Nongqause. I am he who made it possible to trade in the world markets in diamonds, in gold, in the same food for which my stomach yearns.““I come of those who were transported from India and China, whose being resided in the fact, solely, that they were able to provide physical labour, who taught me that we could both be at home and be foreign, who taught me that human existence itself demanded that freedom was a necessary condition for that human existence.

Being part of all these people, and in the knowledge that none dare contest that assertion, I shall claim that – I am an African.

I have seen our country torn asunder as these, all of whom are my people, engaged one another in a titanic battle, the one redress a wrong that had been caused by one to another and the other, to defend the indefensible.“ “I have seen what happens when one person has superiority of force over another, when the stronger appropriate to themselves the prerogative even to annul the injunction that God created all men and women in His image.“I know what it signifies when race and colour are used to determine who is human and who, sub-human.

I am born of a people who are heroes and heroines.“I am born of a people who would not tolerate oppression.““I am of a nation that would not allow that fear of death, torture, imprisonment, exile or persecution should result in the perpetuation of injustice.““We are assembled here today to mark their victory in acquiring and exercising their right to formulate their own definition of what it means to be African.““The constitution whose adoption we celebrate constitutes and unequivocal statement that we refuse to accept that our Africanness shall be defined by our race, colour, gender of historical origins.

It is a firm assertion made by ourselves that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black and white.

As an African, this is an achievement of which I am proud, proud without reservation and proud without any feeling of conceit.

Our sense of elevation at this moment also derives from the fact that this magnificent product is the unique creation of African hands and African minds.““Today it feels good to be an African.

 I am an African. I am born of the peoples of the continent of Africa.

The pain of the violent conflict that the peoples of Liberia, Somalia, the Sudan, Burundi and Algeria is a pain I also bear.

The dismal shame of poverty, suffering and human degradation of my continent is a blight that we share.

The blight on our happiness that derives from this and from our drift to the periphery of the ordering of human affairs leaves us in a persistent shadow of despair. “This is a savage road to which nobody should be condemned.

This thing that we have done today, in this small corner of a great continent that has contributed so decisively to the evolution of humanity says that Africa reaffirms that she is continuing her rise from the ashes.

Whatever the setbacks of the moment, nothing can stop us now!“Whatever the difficulties, Africa shall be at peace! However improbable it may sound to the sceptics, Africa will prosper!

Whoever we may be, whatever our immediate interest, however much we carry baggage from our past, however much we have been caught by the fashion of cynicism and loss of faith in the capacity of the people, let us err today and say – nothing can stop us now!

Thank you.