It was the morning of December 26, 1983 at the shooting of ‘Blues for a Prodigal’, a film by Wole Soyinka. The dry, mild harmattan morning was filled with dust and haze. The location was the Rotunda, a small bar, tidily tucked in at the back corner of the vast Oduduwa Hall complex of the University of Ife (as it was known then). The unique architectural feature of the Rotunda was its round and almost squat-like design with a door and several large, similarly round windows which were almost the size (but not the regular rectangular shape) of french windows. It is a fitting rendezvous between two thugs (emissaries of a highly-placed politician) and an undergraduate who chooses to dine with the devil.

As we sat down waiting that morning, we watched the film's production crew led by ace cinematographer, Bankole Bello, set up their equipment. The late Steve Awana from Lagos was in charge of continuity. Presently, the writer and director of the movie, Professor Wole Soyinka arrived. In tow was his secretary whom we commonly called Francis. He was a wizard with the typewriter and cyclostyling machine. The personal computer was still in its embryo, undergoing pregnancy tests then.

Apart from a few professional actors and technical practitioners from outside Ife with some members of the University Theatre, the rest of us in the Rotunda were students of the Department of Dramatic Arts of which Professor Soyinka was the Head at that time. Somehow someone had spread the word, just before the Christmas break, to many of us students present that morning that Prof would be conducting an audition for a movie. So we did not go home for Christmas and came to the Rotunda with much expectation. We soon learnt that the audition and casting for the movie had been done and the shooting had started a few weeks earlier at locations outside the campus at Ife and even as far as the beautiful and serene Takwa Bay, an islet off the Lagos Harbour.

For this particular scene and a few others at the Rotunda, a few persons were needed as bar-room patrons - a crowd scene kind of. It was not therefore a fresh audition for roles as such. Having learnt this, we still decided to stay back, contented to be part of the bar-room crowd. After all, being a passer-by or waka-pass (as commonly called in Nollywood), in a Soyinka film would be a huge priviledge on its own.

In the bar-room scene, if my memory does not fail me, two political thugs (Prof christened them Enforcers) are billed to have a meeting with a young undergraduate who is paid to carry out an assignment for a politician. The undergraduate seems to be reluctant to do the job.

By mid-morning, Mr. Bello, the director of photography, and his crew were ready. But the rehearsal could not go on. The person playing the undergraduate, the movie's lead role and who was central to the shooting that day, Felix Okolo, was not on set. No one knew where he was. But it appeared he had not returned from the Christmas holiday. The now-ubiquitous mobile phone was still nearly a distant two decades away then. So there was no ready means of calling or knowing where Felix was.

The director paced the floor for a few moments, thinking, and then decided on the next line of action. He asked that a stand-by be found for Felix so the rehearsal could go on while still waiting for Felix's arrival. A quick search round the room for Felix's look-alike... and Prof spotted me. I was handed a copy of the script. Moments later I was sitting directly opposite the much-storied Jimi Solanke (Enforcer 1) and his ally-in-crime, Jimmy Johnson (Enforcer 2) who was at that time a television star in Lagos. I felt small.

Jimi Solanke was already quite known then within and beyond the arts world. By the time we arrived Ife as undergraduates in 1980, he was not there. But his name and fame had travelled well ahead of him. We were regaled with his exploits at Ori Olokun Theatre under Prof. Ola Rotimi. Before then, he had cut his teeth in the early 1960's at the Mbari Club in Ibadan which paraded path-finders like Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe, Demas Nwoko, Chris Okigbo, Mabel Segun, Bruce Onobrakpeya, Uche Okeke and subsequently at Orisun Theatre along with the likes of Segun Olusola, Ralph Opara, Segun Sofowote, Yomi Obileye and Tunji Oyelana. He later went to the School of Drama at the University of Ibadan where he had formal training in acting, music and dance. He joined Ori Olokun Theatre under the Institute of African Studies of the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) in the early 1970's. The theatre then was in town, off-campus, at Arubiidi in Ile-Ife. There, he worked and got further training under Prof. Ola Rotimi (acting), Prof. Akin Euba (music) and Peggy Harper (dance).

With Ori Olokun, he had many glorious nights when he lit up the stage and the spark in many a heart. One of such was at the command performance of Ola Rotimi's Ovonramwen Nogbaisi in Benin in 1972. The story rang through the campus of how deeply absorbed Jimi Solanke was into the role of Oba Ovonramwen that many in the audience were moved to tears. So enthralled were the guests that the governor of the Mid-Western State, Brigadier-general Samuel Ogbemudia, at the instance of the Oba of Benin, did not allow him to return to Ife with the troupe. By military fiat, he was appointed Senior Cultural Officer in the state's Mid-West Arts' Council where he worked for about four years.

He left for the University of Ibadan in 1976 to join the activities at the opening of the National Theatre in preparations for the 2nd World Black Festival of Arts and Culture (FESTAC '77). At FESTAC, he played several roles. He acted in Nigeria's main drama feature, Langbodo, Wale Ogunyemi's adaptation of D. O. Fagunwa's epic, Ogboju Ode Ninu Igbo Irunmole, playing the lead role, Young Akara-ogun. The play was directed by Dapo Adelugba. He also had solo vocal performances under Akin Euba's direction while he was Assistant Director, Dance to Peggy Harper.

After the festival, he took off to the United States. It was as if he was being awaited. Moments after his arrival in New York, through a phone call, he got his first job. Two days later, he took part in the recording of The Path, a song by Hugh Masekela which also featured Miriam Makeba, Groover Washington and George Benson. It was a big hit which set him on the path of more successful hits. He soon moved to Los Angeles where he started a series of school shows which he called Africa Revue, a feast of songs, story-telling and drama sketches - similar to what he was doing at Orisun in Soyinka's Before the Blackout. This was the precursor of his story-telling and songs programme on several Nigerian television stations.

He returned to Nigeria in 1982 to the University of Ife Theatre at the Institute of African Studies. I recall seeing him in a few plays. He played the lead role in Kole Omotoso's Equitorial Trials in 1982. Early in 1983 he took one of the major characters in the premiere of Wole Soyinka's Requiem for a Futurologist. He also took part in Etika Revo Wetin? - a satirical musical production also by Soyinka on the rather concerning state of things in Nigeria at that time. It was released ahead of the August 1983 General Elections.

On a couple of times in 1982, at the invitation of the director, Iyabo Folayan, Jimi Solanke came to the Pit Theatre to see our rehearsals of Fate of a Cockroach by the Egyptian playwright, Tewfik Al-Hakim. The present writer played the lead role, the King, while Sharon Hamlet (daughter of the Carribean lecturer, Prof. Hamlet of the Literature in English Department) was the Queen, with Joke Muyiwa as Um Attiyah, Okey Okoesime as the Savant and Tunde Oduwole as the Priest. Jimi Solanke offered some vital suggestions for improvement. I benefitted from his advice on voice modulation, enunciation of words as well as the use of appropriate mobile eye and facial movements towards achieving optimal theatrical effect.

Now back to the set of 'Blues...' The rehearsal with Jimi Solanke and Jimmy Johnson went on till break-time, but Felix did not show up. After break, a few short scenes where Felix did not feature were rehearsed and shot. We continued the rehearsal all day without Felix showing up.

The next morning, Prof asked me to see him. He explained that since no one knew when Felix would come and we could not afford to lose any more day because of the cost of production, he had decided to go ahead with the shooting. He had therefore re-written a few new scenes. This was easy, he said, since he was writing daily as the shooting went along. To my utter amazement, the master craftsman had overnight created another character, a younger brother to Felix, and transferred most of the lines I rehearsed the previous day to the new character whom he named Sope. He gave the script which he had typed himself to his secretary, Francis, who quickly had copies ready for cast and crew.

After rehearsing several times, and seeing I had mastered the role and the lines, the director called for a recording:

"Silence! Bar-room noise! Camera rolling, sound, lights..."

Just as we were about to begin shooting the scene, Felix Okolo walked in.

"Cut! Cut! Cut!", the director bawled. You would think this was in itself a scene from a play. And silence reigned all over the Rotunda...

All eyes were on Felix...and then shifted from Felix to Prof and from Prof to Felix... not knowing what next to do... But Prof wasted no time. He said that it would be unfair to ask me to go back and join the bar-room audience after nearly two days of rehearsal. He insisted on the new arrangement: that I would play the new character and he promised to make necessary adjustments in all parts of the script to accommodate the new role. He asked Francis to give Felix a copy of the new script for him to study.

This was how the illustrious professor, for whom the Nobel Prize was still three years away, graciously created a character for little me. He gave me a role in his movie and also ensured I was paid at that time a whooping N250. Before then in all the previous roles I had featured on stage and television, I had never been paid more than N25 for any of the performances. But in the twinkling of an eye, on the set of 'Blues...', I was transported, far beyond my imagination, from the crowd scene to playing a supportive role in the movie. I was on top of the moon. Several years later as I asked him to autograph my copy of his new collection of poems, Samarkand and other markets I have known, at the National Theatre in Lagos, I tried to remind Prof of how he gave me a role in 'Blues...', he looked at me with a blank expression on his face. The Nobel laurate could not remember. For him, what I cherish till this day belongs to a time long gone, a brief but forgotten and faraway scene in one epic drama of several lives rolled into one.

But, Jimi Solanke's bark jerks me back to the moment. All eyes and lights are riveted on us in that corner of the Rotunda. His threatening trademark booming baritone and his bulging eyeballs accentuated by a scar above one of the eyelids fill me with terror. His gaze is terrifying... holding me exactly where the director wants him to. The tormentor-in-chief is barking and asking after my brother. His companion is also not relenting. They are bent on cowering me into revealing my brother's whereabouts.

The effect is almost stupefying. It seems the director and everyone on set are satisfied with the effect and enjoying the moment. I stutter my words nervously... as I am meant to anyway. I am sweating and suffering from the enforcers' threat and the heat of the camera's lights. My assailants are unrelenting until I can bear it no more. The scene ends in a pandemonium with me suddenly rising and turning the table, drinks, ash-tray and all against the two enforcers as I bolt for the door. But Enforcer 2 stands in the way and makes to grab my shirt. I turn and the next moment I fly out the nearby french window, evading my two tormentors. And they come after me...with my footsteps whipping the harmattan dust up their faces.

Later, Felix (I still can't remember his name in the film) with his girlfriend, Rekyia (played by Yinka Adesina) and I appeared in a few more scenes with the enforcers in hot pursuit.

Those were some of my brief but cherished and unforgettable moments with 'Uncle' Jimi Solanke on the set of Soyinka's movie, 'Blues for a Prodigal'.

Much said, it was sheer fun to be on the same set with him. For any fledgling like me, there was usually one thing or another to learn from him. Off-set, when we let our hair down, he carried no airs around him. He was always good company. Tall, slim and dark: you would not, as they say, miss him in a crowd. Try ignoring him, his iconic voice would always rise above the raging din of the market-place, striking and soothing even the most impervious ear. The last time we met, a few years ago at Prof. Tunde Babawale’s birthday at the University of Lagos, he sang and danced as if to bring back the old days. The moments were suffused with old school music and dance and nostalgic recollections of times past.

Doubtless, Solanke's tutelage under Soyinka from 1960 helped to form and shape his professional career. The high point of that career and his working with Soyinka was perhaps the enactment of the role of Elesin Oba in the latter's beautiful play, Death and the King's Horseman. According to Professor James Gibbs, one of the best known authorities on Soyinka's works, in his tribute on Jimi Solanke which was published in The Guardian (Nigeria) of February 18, 2024:

"In 1976, he created the monumental role of Elesin Oba in Death and the King's Horseman. Thanks to Gerald Moore, who reviewed the University of Ife production for West Africa magazine (10th January, 1977), we have a vivid account of Solanke's outstanding portrayal. Moore wrote as follows:

'Fortunately Jimi Solanke, who has to carry the bulk of the play in the role of the Elesin, turned in what must be the performance of his life. His expressive body and eloquent dancing were matched by a voice of great range and flexibility. Not a word was lost, and each word in the right verbal texture of this beautiful play was made to work within our understanding.'

History was made by that production and that performance..." - James Gibbs

And what a production! What a performance!

The ground squirrel, hands in the air, was once quoted to have wryly declared: 'whatever one knows how to do well always effortlessly comes out like magic! Whenever he is going on a farm, he does not know how groundnuts roll into his mouth'.

Those words suit Solanke when he bestrode the stage. But as the years and the nation rolled on like a bolekaja lorry and theatre activities disappointingly dwindled, he devoted more time to music - a love from his younger days.

Born on July 4, 1942 in Lagos, he had started out much early with highlife music. He wrote the lyrics of Roy Chicago's 'Onilegogoro' when he was still in secondary school. He later joined musical bands and sang highlife pieces at night clubs in Lagos and Ibadan. He formed and ran a highlife band with Orlando Julius Ekemode. Thanks to highlife and juju pioneer, I. K. Dairo who bought the duo musical instruments and a vehicle. They toured the towns a bit until they crashed the lorry and, with it, their dream. That was in the 1960's. In-between acting, however, he continued his music. He recorded a few albums here in Nigeria and in the United States. When he returned home, he teamed up with Biddy Wright for musical shows at the National Theatre and elsewhere. They formed the high-flying Wura-Fadaka band which lit up the social circles of the late 1980's and early 1990's with old school music. Biddy Wright would tragically later perish in a domestic fire incident in the mid-90's.

Solanke's music, a kind of afrobeat, is a fusion of highlife, jazz and local rhythms and themes. 'Bare Eni Joye' and 'Ojooje' are some of his popular pieces. His songs are evocative, directed to the soul. They strike and stir the spirit.

Jimi Solanke would be better remembered as the man with the song and the story. He would be remembered as Baba Agba, the aged story-telling grandpa, on several Nigerian television stations. He would be remembered by children who, gripped, gathered round him to listen to his spellbinding stories. Younger generations would see him as the old piper whom they, enchanted, followed out of town even as he too led their path. As Baba Agba, he made the role of the African story-teller most fascinating, transporting his audience, right on and through television, back to the days when there was no television.

Today the arts landscape is considerably diminished by the singular departure on February 5, 2024 of this great actor, singer, folklorist, dancer and visual artist, Jimi Solanke. True, he could so often struggle with himself. Yet, in the end, as a masquerade with cloaks of many colours, he wore many more masks than most. And there was hardly anyone he wore that he did not, in spite of himself, breathe and stamp a unique and captivating presence onto.

'A man is either born to his trade, or he is not.', Soyinka would say in Death and the King's Horseman. Jimi Solanke would in all estimation appear to have been born into his. He was in his elements in leading roles. He could combine easily the majestic movements of the royal with the stately features and gait of the tragic figure. And he could sing to boot! A delight to watch any day, he was always almost sufficient spectacle at any show.

We remember his wife and children at this time. Mrs. Toyin Solanke would appear to be the proverbial woman behind her man. She too was at a time a member of the University of Ife Theatre. Through the uncertainties, the ups and downs, and the ons and offs like 'NEPA' (our national electricity supply), like most marriages, she stands like a pillar... showing that indeed love conquers all.

Baba Agba, these children clambering about your feet ask for but one more song, one more story... Baba Agba, they are here. Baba Agba, they are all ears... Alas, it's all silence as lights dim and curtains close! Ale le, awo mi lo (Night falls, the adept departs). A new song, a new act unfolds only in the horizon. Jimi Solanke takes a bow and exits the stage. A stalwart heads home. He feels for direction. May he find guidance on his path...


(Akin Orebiyii is a farmer in Ogun State, Nigeria)

Ahead of the much-anticipated National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), former Vice President and presidential candidate of the party in 2023 elections, Atiku Abubakar, has returned to Nigeria.

Atiku, who had been out of the country for weeks, returned in the early hours of Tuesday, a source told LEADERSHIP.

The Ambassador Illiya Damagum-led National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP was pressured into fixing the NEC meeting for April 18, having refused to hold the meeting for over one year. The NEC, the second most influential decision-making organ of the party after the national convention, is expected to meet every quarter as stipulated by the party’s constitution.

The anticipated NEC meeting, according to party sources, is shaping up to be a make or mar one for the party.

Atiku, who is regarded as de facto leader of the party, being the presidential candidate in the last elections, is expected to spearhead other meetings ahead of the NEC meeting.

This comes as agitations have mounted over the poor management of the party against the backdrop of allegations that the party was being controlled by external forces as alleged by former Benue State governor, Senator Gabriel Suswam.

Also, the North Central zone has called for Damagum to relinquish the acting national chairmanship seat and allow the emergence of a substantive national chairman from the region where the party originally zoned the position to in 2021.

Recall that former Senate President, Senator Iyorchia Ayu, from Benue State (North Central) emerged national chairman at the party’s last convention.

But Damagum, deputy national chairman (North), who hails from Yobe State (North East), was made acting national chairman in 2023 after a court order removed Ayu from office.

Although the agenda of the NEC would be defined by the NWC, sources told LEADERSHIP that the NEC meeting might also decide on what actions to take on “party leaders who have continued to undermine the party.”

Recall that some governors and party chieftains openly worked against Atiku as PDP presidential candidate in 2023 and also recently reiterated their resolve to support President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

[Leadership]

The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has set a new 2024 base gas price for companies in the power sector and commercial users.

This is contained in a statement signed by Farouk Ahmed, the Authority Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).

According to the statement, companies in the power sector will pay $2.42 MMBTU for wholesale gas purchases while commercial users will buy natural gas at $2.92 MMBTU.

Furthermore, the NMDPRA referenced provisions of the new Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) as the legal backing for its latest decision.

It stated,

• “The Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021 assented to by the President on the 16th of August 2021 and gazetted on the 27th of August 2021 provides a clear regulatory framework for the determination of a Market-based pricing regime for the domestic gas market in Nigeria.
• “in line with Section 167, the Third and Fourth Schedule of the PIA 2021, the Nigerian Midstream & Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) is mandated to determine the Domestic Base Price (DBP) and the marketable wholesale price of natural gas supplied to the strategic sectors”
• “Accordingly, after due consultation with key stakeholders and taking into cognisance the provisions of the PIA, as well as the gazetted Gas Pricing and Domestic Demand Regulations, the NMDPRA hereby establishes the Year 2024 Domestic Base Price as USD 2.42 / MMBTU”

Additionally, the NMDPRA set the floor prices for gas-based industries such as producers of ammonia, methanol, low sulphur diesel at $0.90 MMBTU while the ceiling prices is $2.42 MMBTU.

What you should know

• The increase in the base price of domestic gas purchase could likely led to an electricity tariff hike since about 70% of Nigeria’s electricity is generated from natural gas.
• In 2024, the federal government through the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) plans to pay N1.67 trillion to subsidise electricity– a 170% increase compared to the figure paid last year.

 [Nairametrics]

Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, has revealed what transpired between him and the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the SNECOU Group Limited, Chief Nicholas Ukachukwu, who decried the demolition of his investment on 214 hectares of land in the Asokoro district of FCT.

Ukachukwu accused Wike of ordering the demolition without any court order despite pending valid two court orders from separate courts restraining him and the FCT administration from tampering with the property.

Ukachukwu claimed that the property was demolished because it was owned by an Igbo man, and not because the company violated any law.

Claiming that the demolition was done in bad fate, Ukachukwu said: “Wike called for a meeting over the land, we went with our documents after seeing what we had with our lawyer and other company, Sunrise which they gave part of that land. Wike said that there is nothing on this that the court should take its effect.”

Reacting to the allegation in a press briefing, Wike said the land allocated to Ukachukwu did not have the approval of any minister as his predecessor.

The FCT minister said the land-grabbing in Abuja is becoming rampant because some officials in the land department of his ministry have compromised.

Wike said, “I have been doing this before. I will continue to do it. And nothing will happen. Criminals are criminals. They may come in different ways.

“I have never seen people like land-grabbing people in this place. I came in, (I met) so many petitions. One company came with different petitions, with different owners of properties. I summoned all of them. They came with their lawyers, senior advocates.

“And I said look what is this? Companies presented their own cases. Company A presented their own case, company B presented their own, company C, company D, Company E, I said okay, I’m going to seek advice from external solicitors. I’m not going to take from insiders … because the biggest (fraud) is that the Land Department has been compromised. I sought the views of senior lawyers and told them, we need to do things differently…

“This land, by this so-called ethnic jingoist, talked about, was allocated when there was no minister. The minister left on May 29, 2023. By June the land was allocated by the director of lands.

“If I tell you so many things. We all met. Company D this, don’t do anything again until we are able to take a final decision. You know what happened, these guys thought they were too smart and went on.”

The minister said there was a time when he wanted to commission a Water Park, and he was informed he could not, saying, “The Pacco and its allies have gone to court stopping me from commissioning the water park.”

“You see these guys (some officials in FCTA) are colliding with the plaintiff against the FCTA. I’ve never seen people who are so fraudulent like this! What they do here. They sued you, they sued me as FCT minister. They have court judgments in their pocket. I told him you are wasting time. His brother sent me a text message. I have never met his brother but he sent me a message saying, “You told your Ikwerre brothers you will deal with Igbos in FCT’, Imagine such.

“Why do we behave like this in this country? We keep doing the same thing and expect different result. If you transfer a director, he would say, ‘Oh! It’s because I am Hausa! If you transfer another one, he would say, ‘It’s because I am a Muslim’, but why?” he added.

[DailyTrust]

Napoli might look into the Super Eagles squad, as they look for a replacement for Victor Osimhen.

Osimhen is all but set to leave the Italian champions this summer.

However, the Serie A side are now looking at the 23-year-old’s compatriot, Victor Boniface to replace him.

Boniface, who plays for Bayer Leverkusen in Germany, has scored 10 goals and provided eight assists in just 15 starts.

His impressive displays have seen him win the Rookie of the Month award four times consecutively.

However, he suffered an adductor injury, which has sidelined him for most of the Rückrunde while Leverkusen continued their pursuit of silverware on multiple fronts.

Italian transfer expert, Niccolò Ceccarini, has shed light on Napoli’s transfer plans, mentioning Boniface among the strikers on their radar.

Ceccarini stated, as reported by Calcio Mercato, “In addition to him, there is also Benjamin Sesko. Also in this case the evaluation is the same as Gimenez, Leverkusen’s Boniface.”

[DailyPost]

Here are things to know about Senegal’s Youngest President

2. He went to primary school in his village and undertook middle and high school in Mbour.

3. In 2000, Faye earned his baccalaureate (A university bachelor’s degree.)

4. He attained a Master’s degree in law in Dakar Cheikh Anta Diop University and subsequently cleared both competitive exams, enrolling at the National School of Administration of Senegal (ENA) and the magistracy in 2004.

5. He is 44 years old.

6. He is Senegal’s youngest President.

7. He took over from immediate past president Macky Sall.

8. He was the General Secretary of the banned party PASTEF.

9. He won the 2024 Senegalese presidential election in place of disqualified candidate Ousmane Sonko.

11. Faye was among a group of political opponents freed from prison 10 days before the March 24 presidential ballot under an amnesty announced by Sall.

12. Faye’s campaign was launched while he was still in detention.

13. He was a former tax inspector

14. He is Senegalese fifth president since independence from France in 1960.

15. He is the first president to openly admit to a polygamous marriage.

16. In the election, Faye received over 54% of the vote, making him the first opposition candidate to have won an election in the first round since Senegal’s independence in 1960.

17. In his inaugural address, Faye pledged to fight corruption and reform the economy.

A Deputy Commissioner of Police serving with the Force Criminal and Investigation Department, Alagbon, Lagos State, Gbolahan Oyedemi, on Monday, reportedly committed suicide in his private house in his hometown, Ogbomoso, Oyo State.

The PUNCH reports that Oyedemi was the Aide de Camp to the late former Governor of the state, Adebayo Alao-Akala, during his 11-month tenure as defacto governor in 2006.

A source close to the family told our correspondent on the telephone on Tuesday in Ibadan, the state capital, that Oyedemi, who normally visited his hometown during the Easter celebrations, told his aides at the weekend to go to their various towns to celebrate with their family members.

The source said, “Yes, he committed suicide. His body was found hanging in his house yesterday (Monday). He stays alone, and he normally comes home for Easter celebrations.

“This time, he told his aides to go and celebrate with their family members in their various homes. Only God knows what could have prompted him to commit suicide.”

All efforts to get the reaction of the state Police Public Relations Officer, Adewale Osifeso, were unsuccessful, as his mobile number was unreachable.

Details later…

Mikel Arteta said Tuesday that Arsenal may have to win all of their nine remaining Premier League games if they are to be crowned champions as he prepares for the “most beautiful part of the season”.

The second-placed Gunners are two points behind leaders Liverpool ahead of a busy April schedule following Sunday’s gritty goalless draw at title rivals Manchester City.

“It’s going to have to be really close to that,” he told a pre-match press conference when asked if Arsenal need a 100 percent record from now on to finish top of the table.

“When you see the level and the consistency of the other teams and historically what is needed to win in this league, it’s not going to be very far from that.”

The Spaniard added: “This is where we want to be and now we want to take this opportunity and make it happen.

“We worked every single day with that enthusiasm and passion to make it happen and enjoying the moment as well.

“I see the team really flowing and they are really excited about playing each game and that has to drive this energy until the end.

“I am full of energy and it’s the most beautiful part of the season.”

Arsenal’s fixture against Luton is the first of eight matches this month, including the two clashes with Bayern.

Although they will be huge favourites to beat Luton, they needed an injury-time winner to leave Kenilworth Road with a dramatic 4-3 victory in early December.

Asked about his memories of that game, Arteta said: “Especially how tough it was to win there, how difficult they have made it for every team…They deserve more credit than any other team in this league, how they’ve done it, what they transmit as a team and what they generated and it’s going to be a really tough match.”

 [Vanguard]

Peter Obi, former governor of Anambra state, says N10 trillion is spent by the federal government on ‘unproductive’ debts.

Obi, the presidential candidate of Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 election, expressed his concern in a post on his X page on Tuesday.

“Last year, 2023, our total debt servicing for domestic debts stood at N4.4 trillion and that of external debt servicing was $3.5 billion, which is about N4.9 trillion. In effect, approximately N10 trillion is now spent on servicing unproductive debts,” he said.

According to Obi, the implication is what the country borrowed in a quarter is “about N10 trillion and what we spend on debt service, is also about N10 trillion”.

He said each of the figures is more than the combined budgetary allocation for the “four highest priority areas”, including defence (N3.25 trillion), education (N2.18 trillion), health (N1.33 trillion), and infrastructure (N1.32 trillion).

The Debt Management Office (DMO), on March 22, said Nigeria’s total public debt rose to N97.34 trillion, by N9 trillion, in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2023.

According to DMO, the increase was primarily due to new domestic borrowing by the federal government to partly fund the deficit in the 2024 budget as well as disbursements by multilateral and bilateral lenders.

“More worrisome is the fact that there has been no corresponding visible usage or investments as required by the law, to show their impact on the nation’s development,” he said. 

“At the end of the second quarter, Q2, of 2023, our debt stood at N87.9 trillion, which was very disturbing to us, because we were at a loss as to what we did with the huge debt, especially the over N23 trillion ways and means borrowed by the last administration, which for me, would have been the end of borrowing without any visible and corresponding investment and benefit to the nation. 

“But sadly and more worrisome is the fact that between the end of the third quarter, Q3, and the end of the fourth quarter, Q4, of 2023, about N10 trillion was added to our debt portfolio , which has now taken our debts to N97.3 trillion, again, without any corresponding visible and verifiable utilization.This is the highest ever borrowed in one quarter.”

He asked the the federal government to de-accelerate borrowings and re-evaluate what has been achieved with previous funding.

Obi said the evaluation would help the government make better decisions for the good of the nation.

[TheCable]

The maiden flight of Air Peace airline to London on over the Easter weekend is a perfect moment to discuss an important aspect of our aviation sector which has been on my mind for a long time. Why can’t the federal government enter into some agreement with Air Peace and officially designate the airline as our national flag carrier? Note that in aviation, a flag carrier is different from a national carrier. This question became quite pertinent after the Hadi Sirika fiasco last year in which the former aviation minister tried, but failed to float a national carrier. While a flag carrier is basically a privately-owned airline (or shipping line) flying the flag of its country on international operations and may enjoy certain privileges, a national carrier is owned and operated by the national government and they usually have certain sovereign advantages. As we all know, British Airways (BA) is not owned by the British government; neither are the many US carriers that bear US colours and flags.

Since the liquidation of Nigeria Airways in 2003, it’s been so difficult for the government to float a replacement. In 2004, the Virgin Group, owned by British billionaire Richard Branson, established a Nigerian subsidiary known as Virgin Nigeria - a joint venture between Nigerian investors and the Virgin Group. The deal was facilitated by the Obasanjo administration. But Branson soon pulled out of the deal and the company collapsed after a few years in business. Branson explained later that he had to quit because Nigerian officials were pestering him for bribes. The airline was then renamed Eagle Airlines and later Air Nigeria. The business ultimately ceased operations in 2012.

Over a decade after, the idea of a national carrier still remains a national fascination, but the government has neither the appetite nor the resources to invest in such a venture, especially given pervasive corruption and the ineptitude of our bureaucrats. When Sirika, a retired pilot, arrived the scene as aviation minister in 2015, he resuscitated the idea, but could not pull it through.

A truly branded flag carrier will make up for the absence of a national airline. If Air Peace becomes our flag carrier, its planes (especially those on international routes) would bear our national colours and flag and ‘’NIGERIA’’ would be prominently emblazoned on it as part of its livery. It will project our national brand and unique Nigerian attributes, culture including cuisines and hospitality to many parts of the world. That’s why flag carriers are sometimes referred to as ‘’Embassy on Wings’’.

Already, Air Peace has promised to serve Nigerian cuisines on its London route and it was also heartwarming seeing those beautiful airhostesses dressed in ‘’ishiagu’’ designs. In return, Air Peace will enjoy enhanced customer loyalty as passengers usually prefer their flag carriers out of a sense of national pride. The government will also provide the airline with many incentives such as official assistance to develop more international routes in accordance with our bilateral air services agreement (BASA) and support in aircraft acquisitions. Air Peace could also access FX at official rate. I should emphasize that such partnership with the government does not imply that the government has assumed any proprietorship or ownership rights on the airline; and so, government officials will not interfere in the management of the airline and shall not seek to make any appointment into its board or management or demand for free or concessionary tickets.

 Air Peace has shown considerable resilience and determination to succeed in the face of huge challenges. It therefore deserves to be supported by Nigerians and the government. With over 50 aircraft, 30 destinations and 5,000 employees, it is Nigeria’s biggest carrier, serving major cities in the country and flying to many African countries and the Middle East. Coming in the 11th year of the company’s existence, the London route is a marvelous attainment for a privately-owned African airline. London is the airline’s seventh international destination and it ‘’signals our entry into the European market’’, according to Chairman Allen Onyema. New York and Houston routes are also coming. The London operations would be carried out with Boeing 777 and Boeing 787 Drealliner aircraft. It would be operating daily flights to the Southern Terminal of Gatwick Airport, with fares far cheaper than what competition was offering. The inaugural flight with 260 passengers took place seven years after the last indigenous airline, Medview, operated this very lucrative international route.

The immediate impact of Air Peace’s entry into the Lagos-London route is the drastic fall in airfares charged by other international carriers. They were forced to reduce fares from N4 million to between N1.8 m and N1.9 m, compared to Air Peace’s N1.2 m for economy. Besides, these foreign airlines were also piling pressure on the CBN to sell them FX at discounted rates. The UK has 21 weekly slots into Nigeria with BA alone operating 14.

In a recent TV interview, Chairman Onyeama acknowledges that his airline and other Nigerian-owned international carriers are automatically regarded as flag carriers. This is not enough. Those aircraft must be appropriately branded. He also listed the many challenges which Air Peace has been facing both within and outside Nigeria in the course of applying for the London route. The Nigerian government must do everything to ensure that Air Peace succeed.