A frightening total of 9,757 migrants died in 2024 while trying to reach Spain by sea. The Spanish migration group, Camindo Fronteras –Walking Borders, reported that 1,538 of the victims were children and 421 women. These were migrants heading for Spain alone. There are the larger numbers trying to reach other European countries. There are the hordes dying in the Sahara Desert.

Yet, such dangers are merely the beginning of uncertain migration for 304 million persons worldwide.

So, why these phenomena? What local and international laws protect migrants? What local protections are available for Nigerians abroad? These, under the broad theme of ‘The Rights of Nigerian Migrants Abroad’ were some of the issues I was invited to address on April 30, 2025.

The organisers, including the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, and German foundations like GIZ, German Cooperation and the Nigeria-German Centre, were particular about youths.

I told the audience that all humans have localities where they usually live. But once they move from that to another distinctively different geographical locality, they might be engaging in one form of migration or another.

To me, migration is a natural phenomenon. I also recalled that some major Nigerian cities like Jos which has tin mines , Enugu that sits on coal mines, Kano with its commerce, and the twin cities of Lagos and Badagry with fine ports and commerce, were largely built by migrants.

So, generally, a migrant is a person who changes his usual country of residence irrespective of legal status or reasons for the relocation. Therefore, the fact that a person is regarded or classified as a legal or an illegal migrant, does not change the fact that he is a migrant.

My primary focus was on migrant labour. For this, I took refuge in the UN special agency, the International Labour Organisation, ILO, which states that: “A migrant worker is a person who is to be engaged, is engaged or has been engaged in a remunerated activity in a State of which he or she is not a national.”

I explained that the primary challenges faced by Nigerian migrants is not the lack of protective local and international procedures, laws, conventions and regulations. It is their violation.

For instance, many Nigerian women employed as domestic servants, especially in countries like Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirate and Iraq are not recruited in accordance with established processes. Rather, illegal rings of local agents carry out the recruitment in collaboration with similar rings in the receiving countries. So, many of these women end up as modern slaves with no rights whatsoever, including the right to resign or return to Nigeria. The irony is that many of these victims actually pay to be recruited into such slavery, while authorities in both the sending and receiving states look the other way.

There is also the ceaseless brain drain of professionals. For instance, there are over 20,000 Nigerian doctors and 10,000 Nigerian academics in the United States alone. Today, given the unpredictable flip flops of the Trump administration, the stay and well-being of some of them, cannot be guaranteed even under international law.

I explained that the Nigerian Constitution guarantees Nigerians and migrants within its borders, all the major fundamental human rights guaranteed by the UN Fundamental Human Rights Charter.

Also, that the Labour Act provides for employment under virtually all conditions, including recruitment of Nigerians to work abroad.

The Act requires that to recruit for employment outside Nigeria, international agreements are required, so are duration of contract and return passages, and procedure prior to leaving Nigeria. Also required are special terms and conditions of contract, embarkation check, exemption from customs on repatriation and the right to be accompanied by family at employer’s expense.

Equally, the Act states that the Nigerian migrant worker has the right to enforce his rights in respect of any breach of any lawful contract made outside Nigeria.

It also provides that: “Whenever a contract made outside Nigeria has been executed in conformity with this Act, it shall be enforced in the same manner as a contract entered into under this Act.”

I also spoke on the Nigerian National Policy on Labour Migration 2014 which seeks to ensure decent treatment of migrants and their families, and the Nigeria Immigration Act which impacts on the employment of migrant workers.

The international laws, conventions and regulations, I explained, included the UN Human Rights Convention, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Others include the ILO core conventions on Forced Labour, 1930; Freedom of Association, 1948; Right to Organise, 1949; Right to Collective Bargaining; Convention on Equal Remuneration, 1951; Minimum Wage, 1973 Convention, 1973; Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, 1990 and the Convention Against the Worst Forms of Child Labour, 1999.

I explained that the Nigerian President cannot be everywhere in the world which is why an ambassador is appointed to represent him. So, just as the Nigerian Constitution makes it incumbent for the President to advance the welfare and security of every Nigerian, so also has the ambassador the duty to do same for all Nigerians in any given country he is posted. So, the Nigerian, anywhere in the world, has the right to report or call out any ambassador who neglects to do this. This, I said in reply to a question, has become far easier with the advent of the social media.

Mrs Remi Ihejirika, Programme Manager, Friedrch Ebert Stiftung, FES, pointed out policy gaps and incoherence between local needs and the international agenda. She called for the restructuring of of migration policies, and emphasized the need for a multi-stakeholder collaboration on migrant labour. She equally called for the establishment of networks to build coalitions which can protect groups like migrant workers and women.

Mrs Ihejirika lamented the phenomenon of casual work which destroyed basic employment relations, and fueled poverty and labour migration. She warned of the global rising tide of anti-immigration sentiments and the need for collective action.

Comrade Ismail Bello, Deputy General Secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, said there is the need for workers wherever they find themselves in the world to join and build unions as they are a powerful defence for the worker. He recalled that when Nigerians were attacked in South Africa, the Congress of South African Trade Unions, COSATU, rose to their defence.

The discussions were further enriched by Mrs Sandra Vermuijten-Alonge, GIZ-ZME Head of Programme; Wole Olubanji, also of GIZ; and Maureen Ovie, Head, Migrant Resource Centre.

The gathering showed that there is in Nigeria, an incredible knowledge on external migration which needs to be further coordinated in the interests of migrants, the country and humanity.

“Habemus Papam!” — We have a pope. With those timeless Latin words, senior Cardinal Dominique Mamberti stepped onto the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, greeting the sea of faithful who had filled the square below despite the blazing Roman sun.

But it was not the swift conclusion of the conclave that etched this moment into history — it was the identity of the man chosen to succeed Pope Francis: Cardinal Robert Prevost, the first American pope in the nearly 2,000-year history of the Catholic Church.

Prevost was not widely considered a frontrunner for the papacy before the 2025 conclave, especially compared to other prominent candidates like Italy’s Pietro Parolin, the Philippines’ Luis Tagle, or Congo’s Fridolin Besungu, who were seen as leading contenders and featured heavily on betting platforms and Vatican analyst discussions.

Historically, cardinals have preferred older European successors to the papacy, mostly owing to their conservative nature.

So, who is Prevost, and how did the “dark horse” candidate quietly rise to become leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics?

THE “LATIN” AMERICAN PRIEST’S BACKGROUND

Prevost will be the 267th occupant of the throne of St Peter and the first from the United States.

However, the 69-year-old is often described as a Latin American because of the many years he spent as a missionary in Peru before becoming an archbishop there.

Born in Chicago in 1955 to parents of Ecuadorian and French descent, Prevost served as an altar boy and was ordained as a priest in 1982.

After his ordination as a priest in 1982, Prevost joined the Augustinian mission in Peru in 1985 and served as chancellor of the Territorial Prélature of Chulucanas from 1985 to 1986.

He was in the United States as pastor for vocations and director of missions for the Augustinian Province of Chicago between 1987 and 1988.

He returned to Peru, where he spent the next 10 years heading the Augustinian seminary in Trujillo and teaching canon law in the diocesan seminary and was also prefect of studies.

Prevost also served in other capacities there, including as a parish pastor, diocesan official, director of formation, seminary teacher, and judicial vicar.

In 1999, he returned to Chicago and was elected provincial prior of the “Mother of Good Counsel” province in the archdiocese. Two and a half years later, he was elected prior general of the Augustinians and served two terms until 2013.

In 2014, he returned to Peru when Pope Francis appointed him apostolic administrator of the diocese of Chiclayo. He was elevated to bishop the next year and went on to serve as vice-president and member of the permanent council of the Peruvian Bishops’ Conference from 2018 to 2023.

At that time, Prevost was said to have overseen the role Peru’s bishops played in ensuring institutional stability during the successive political crises that led to the overthrow of successive presidents in the South American country.

PREVOST, THE MATHEMATICIAN FLUENT IN SPANISH AND ITALIAN

In his first speech after his election as the new pope, Prevost addressed the crowd in English, Spanish, and Italian.

The American earned his first bachelor of science in mathematics from Villanova University in 1977. The following years would see him majoring in theological fields.

In 1982, he clinched a master of divinity from the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. In 1984, he got a licentiate in canon law from the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in Rome, and in 1987, he added a doctorate in canon law from the same university.

VATICAN LEADERSHIP AND VIEWS

Pope Francis appointed Prevost prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops in January 2023, a powerful position responsible for selecting bishops.

He held the position until Francis died on April 21. Francis was also the one who elevated Prevost to the rank of cardinal in September 2023.

Prevost is also a member of seven Vatican dicasteries as well as the Commission for the Governance of the Vatican City State, indicating how much Francis trusted the cardinal and valued his administrative abilities.

The American is known not for how much he speaks but for how deeply he listens.

On key topics, the new pope says little, but some of his positions are known.

For example, he once stated that “clericalising women” would not solve the Church’s problems and might even create new ones but was reportedly very close to Francis’ vision regarding the environment, outreach to the poor and migrants, and meeting people “where they are”.

He also supported Pope Francis’ change in pastoral practice to allow divorced and civilly remarried Catholics to receive Holy Communion but appeared less favourable to currying favour with the LGBTQ lobby than Francis.

Prevost has also found himself entangled in controversies regarding clergy sexual abuse cases, although he has been defended in both instances.

Although Prevost was not the accused in both cases, he came under fire for how he handled the cases which involved other priests accused of sexually abusing minors. However, Prevost’s supporters claimed that the cases were inaccurately and unfairly reported in the media.

Prevost has now taken the name Pope Leo XIV, in honour of Pope Leo XIII, who was elected pontiff in 1878.

Leo XIII was known for his intellectualism and outlined the rights of workers to a fair wage, safe working conditions, and the formation of trade unions.

[TheCable]

Our education system has been under threat for a very long time. Consequently, standards have been going rapidly downhill. The decline was poked into our faces only last week with the just released JAMB results. Some university dons have had cause to draw public attention to gaps in supposed passes in flying colours in the public qualifying examinations and the performance in the lecture rooms. The performance has been shown not to be the touted brilliance of the students. It flowed from irregularities sponsored by unscrupulous parents or commercially-minded proprietors of private schools who want their schools at the top of competing schools’ chart to attract patronage. In the 40s up to 50s, exceptional Standard Six certificate holders were retained in their schools to teach. With the emergence of products of Secondary Modern Schools, those with Standard Six held little attraction. Headmasters were drawn largely from among Teachers’ Grade 11, in some cases, Grade 111 certificate holders. The training ground for secondary school teachers in parts of what is now Oyo State was Baptist College Iwo, then came Ondo College of Education to train Grade 1 Teachers to lead the teaching strength in secondary schools. Bright products of secondary grammar schools were a reservoirs of secondary school teachers in those days as well. This was at a time university products were in short supply. But the point I am getting at is the standard of education of the earlier times. Standards must be high to keep some with only School Certificate to teach in their schools. Is it conceivable that anyone with a primary school leaving certificate will be considered for teaching in any primary school today?

The reasons are not far to seek. The problem is not in the nature and capability of pupils or students but in the system and the values being waved before societal gaze for the society to embrace: It is the unremitted pursuit of power, money and influence, rather than beneficial service that raises the spirit to the longed-for sublimity and the Heights. It is the pursuit of emptiness. It is when a great many pass away and enter the Beyond that they will find all they hold in their hands is sawdust! The obvious decline is not a recent dish of comestibles served to the nation. In several schools in many parts of the country, pupils have no chairs and tables. They sit on the floor and lie on their bellies to write. The universities have long lost their autonomy, a great departure from when the university councils held sway and Vice-Chancellors were held in awe! The decline became sharp when the government had the temerity to shut down universities and asked lecturers to vacate their residencies on the campus. Some were accused of teaching what they were not asked and paid to teach! Perennially, university lecturers have been in long-drawn battles over lack of autonomy for their institutions and poor funding. On a few occasions the universities were closed down for upwards of one year.

Although the National Education Policy 2024 Edition stipulated budget expenditure of 26 per cent, less than 10 per cent of the total budget went to education compared with reported 18 per cent in Ghana. The Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, is seeing a silver lining in the mass failure in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) as proof that the anti-malpractices measure now put in place are working; the failures should be regarded as gain. UTME is computer-based standardized examination for prospective undergraduates and is a more focused evaluation by different universities to determine their suitability. Henceforth, the true ability of the candidates will come to the fore as they would see that with the curb in malpractices, to pass their examinations they must read their books.

The suitability of the prospective undergraduates is not the only issue that bedevils our universities. The welfare challenges and attendant frustrations over which the leaderships of the lecturers’ association have intermittently called out their colleagues on strike in the last 30 years remain unresolved. My attention has been drawn to their complaints ventilated by a lecturer bordering on their status and welfare. They are as follows: “Being a university lecturer is no longer sustainable. Every day is a struggle just to eat, pay rent, and survive. Teaching is what I know and love, but the financial strain is making it impossible to do my job effectively. When I started teaching over seven years ago, I could afford to drive to school daily in a family vintage fuel efficient car that I subtly colonized, pick up colleagues from their homes and never asked for fuel money. Today I can barely afford public transport to work. I now go to work twice a week, if I manage.

“Government officials say prices are going down. Yes, I completely agree. But do we have money to buy it? Before while growing up in a middle-income family, my parents stocked food at home: beans, yam, okpa etc. at these times. Now you can’t even afford to buy when prices drop. Survival is day to day. One illness in the family and you plunge into poverty. Rent increases annually. Inflation is destroying us, but the government pretends not to notice. No policies protect ordinary Nigerians. It is hardship upon hardship.

“I once considered sleeping in my office to save transport costs, but senior colleagues warned me. If anything happens, I could find myself explaining things I shouldn’t have to. So, I keep struggling, like many others.

“We are so understaffed that I teach five courses in a semester. But the real tragedy? The students. They are not being taught. Some barely see a lecturer thrice in a semester. Their degrees are losing value because the system is collapsing. I recently supervised an exam for 400-level students. Out of 145, about 60 per cent are on student loans. They are paying, but are they getting their money’s worth? No. They graduate with certificates but without knowledge.

“HODs come to work once a week. Deans, principal officers, same thing or at most thrice. Those who come Monday won’t come Tuesday. Those who come Tuesday won’t come Wednesday. Academic efficiency is dead. But who do you blame? They all have families. After the eight-month strike, owed salaries were paid in bits, spread over months. Inflation wiped out what little we had. Most other service rendering professions adjusted by adjusting their prices. Lecturers can’t. If they take money for text books, handouts or worse grades, it’s a scandal. We are churning out graduates who are, with all due respect, educated illiterates. In 20 years, this country will be in crisis because of it. The government must act now. This is not about lecturers alone; it is about the future of Nigeria. I asked my students how many want to be lecturers. None. They don’t want to be like me. They see no dignity, no reward, no future in teaching. University should attract the best, but now, teaching is a last resort.

“Once, first-class students were happy to be retained. Now, even if you force them at gunpoint, they won’t stay. Those who do are mocked for ‘lacking ambition.’ This is the death of academia in Nigeria. Some lecturers now earn more from side businesses than from teaching. When that happens, even if salaries were to ever increase, they won’t return to full-time teaching and give their best to research. A generation of lecturers is being lost.

“Nigerians are paying the price for necessary reforms, but not everyone is affected equally. Some are shielded. Meanwhile, the government ignores the suffering of its people. Rent hikes (which state governments should tackle), inflation, job losses, no protection… University education is collapsing. If we continue like this, the damage will be irreversible. The time to act is now.”

In all these, however, what role do the eggheads themselves see in bringing about relief? University lecturers are known to be men of ideas. We are all in it together. Me thinks that they can band together in different universities and brainstorm. Position papers can then be forwarded to the government as their contribution to salvaging the onerous problems in the land.

This is the earthly aspect of the challenges confronting the nation. The real and enduring solutions lie only in the Revealed Knowledge. Man has reached the end of its wits. As it is in Nigeria so is it developing in Mr. Trump’s America. Harvard may have a tale to share sooner or later. Last month, Mr. Trump froze $2,2 billion in Federal research grants and contracts to Harvard. According to CNN, the Ivy League university has sued Trump Administration to press for the release of the money. The university says the White House demands “would impose unprecedented and improper control on the university and would have chilling implications for higher education…Harvard will continue to comply with the law, promote and encourage respect for diversity and combat antisemitism in our community. Harvard will also continue to defend against illegal government overreach aimed at stifling research and innovation that make America safer and more secure,” according to a statement by a Harvard spokesman. White House said if its complaints are not remedied Harvard would have to operate as a privately-funded institution, drawing on its colossal endowment, and raising money from its large base of wealthy alumni.”  The government accuses Harvard of dropping standardized testing requirements such as SAT or ACT.

DARE BABARINSA’S BOOK: EAT NOW, PAY LATER

It is always elating running into old colleagues. And what can bring a horde of senior journalists together, abandoning their production timeline and on a Tuesday for that matter, than an event by a leading one from their clan. At such a gathering with back slapping and banters and laughter, you want to fly. Professor Ralph Akinfeleye, former Head of the Department of Mass Communication, University of Lagos, was there; so was Prof Jide Osuntokun, a man of many parts: first DG of NUC; a former Ambassador; member Editorial Board and columnist; of course, a university teacher and author. Gbenga Omotosho, editor of several years and Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy was there. Other dignitaries were Stanley Egochukwu, a veteran business and finance ranking editor at BusinessDay; Akinkuotu of TELL; Martins Oloja, until recently Managing Director/Editor-in- Chief of The Guardian, now active in his column writing; Dipo Kehinde, investigative journalist/Publisher of an online publication. Senator Adeyeye formerly of The Punch before he veered into politics and has become a force in Ekiti and at the national level.

Several political leaders drawn mainly from Afenifere were in attendance as well, among whom was Dr. Femi Okunrounmu. He was President Goodluck Jonathan’s point man who went round the country to collate views in preparation for the 2014 National Conference on the Constitution. The Are Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Gani Adams, was conspicuously in attendance with his trademarks of beads over immaculate white flowing gown as well as a white cap. He was ringed by his men, OPC.

It was a double-barrel event—the launching of Dare Babarinsa’s book, ‘Eat Now, Pay Later’ as well as the marking of his 70th birthday. The birthday is in fact today, 09 May, 2025. But we were permitted a fore-taste of what to happen later at Oke Imesi. The book will also be launched in Abuja.

I am skipping commenting on the book for now because I have not read it. What I can say is that Dare Babarinsa is Dare Babarinsa any day in terms of display of the mastery of English language which makes for compelling communication skills in his writings. What with his unusual grasp of issues punctuated with materials drawn effortlessly from his rich knowledge of history. Not only will Babarinsa regale you with history, but will give you dates. Not surprisingly, he took his first degree in History from Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University and took another degree in Mass Communication from the University of Lagos.

All this prepared him to dare and confront power; it prepared him for life in the trenches during Babangida’s Administration and worse during Abacha’s ruthless Regime. Dare Babarinsa and his colleagues went underground yet they were producing their TELL Magazine from week to week: Abacha was an embarrassment and so he must be wrestled to the ground. That was the conviction of most newspaper houses. Some of the newspapers were shut but the struggle continued. Dare Babarinsa was one of the editors of TELL Magazine and was not one to flee from the battle field. They displayed the dream, the vision and energy usually at the uncorrupted youth’s command to straighten things when they see their land upside down. They steered the nation on the path of justice and equity. The resolve was: Abacha must go.

Babarinsa’s milestone 70th birthday is, therefore, something to celebrate. Ladies and gentlemen, up on your feet and clink your glasses and say Hurrah, hearty congratulations to a brave master on his book and his birthday. Hip! Hip!! Hip, Hurrah!!!

WELCOME ADDRESS BY GOVERNOR CHUKWUMA CHARLES SOLUDO, CFR ON THE OCASSION OF THE GRAND RECEPTION FOR H.E PRESIDENT BOLA AHMED TINUBU, GCFR DURING HIS STATE VISIT TO ANAMBRA STATE, 8TH May 2025

1. PROTOCOLS

2. On behalf of the government and great people of Anambra State, I am greatly honoured to welcome you, our dear President, to Anambra State – the Light of the Nation! Nnoo Asiwaju! Nnoo Omenife Awka! Welcome to Anambra, the land of enterprise, knowledge, and leadership. Welcome to the home to many of Nigeria’s and Africa’s founding fathers and leaders past—Zik of Africa, Nwafor-Orizu, Odumegwu Ojukwu, Alex Ekwueme, Edwin Ume-Ezeoke, Kenneth Dike, Margaret Ekpo, Chinua Achebe, Pius Okigbo, Chuba Okadigbo, etc. Welcome to the home of Africa’s statesman, Chief Emeka Anyaoku. Welcome to the home of the Cardinals--- Arinze and Okpaleke, as well as Blessed Iwene Tansi. Yes, welcome to the home of West Africa’s largest market and automobile hub as well as home to thousands of Africa’s shining entrepreneurs and innovators. Welcome to Anambra, the land of infinite possibilities! Yes, welcome to Anambra, reputed over the past three months, as the safest state in Nigeria! Finally, welcome to Anambra, the land of the progressives!

3. Your visit to Anambra State today is historic and consequential. The last state visit by a President was in 2012, ostensibly to commission a brewery and another private enterprise. This visit is not just to commission projects. We have over 500km of roads, flyovers/bridges completed and waiting for commissioning; five new general hospitals and world class trauma centre completed and waiting for commissioning; smart schools and water projects waiting for commissioning; new markets and bus terminal; etc. Previously, we have insisted that the users of our roads and projects should be the ones to commission them—keke and bus drivers, farmers, traders, etc. We are strategic in our choice of projects deserving your attention. Today, Mr. President, you have unveiled two mini-cities (the brochure for this event describes them fully), the 8-lane boulevard, the tower of light and monument of heroes—as symbolisms of the audacity of our dreams for a new Anambra. Like the Americans would say, and as we repeatedly affirm to Ndi Anambra, “you ain’t seen nothing yet”!

4. Ours is an agenda with a deadline. With a vision of Anambra as African Dubai-Taiwan-Silicon Valley (ADTS)--- next axis of sustainable prosperity-- and with a 50 Year Master Plan (which I chaired the drafting), we are in a haste to lay solid foundations. In simple terms, we are determined to change the trajectory of Anambra from a departure lounge to a destination of choice (see the brochure for this event for basic outline of the road travelled so far and parts of the road ahead---- we don’t need to repeat them here for want of time). But what is unmistakable is that Anambra is clearly on the rise.

5. We are here also to celebrate you, Mr. President, and we will demonstrate our appreciation shortly. Thank you for all the hard work you put in to move Anambra and Nigeria forward. We know the state of Nigerian economy with all its unsustainable dysfunctionalities when you assumed office. You had the courage to tame the Atlantic Ocean in Lagos and now, you are systematically getting the economy to work again. There is still a lot of work ahead but there is no doubt that in less than two years, important building blocks are already falling into place. We urge you to stay the course, Mr. President. Many thanks also for appointing many Ndi Anambra into your administration, especially the appointment of the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Amb Bianca Ojukwu and MD, Southeast Development Commission, Mark Okoye. Your Pan-Nigerian disposition was evident when as Governor of Lagos, you appointed an Anambra son, Ben Akabueze, your commissioner for Budget and Planning. Similarly, here in Anambra, one of my new Permanent Secretaries is from Osun State—Bayo Ojeyinka. We are deeply grateful for several road projects currently being executed by your administration that benefit Anambra state, running into hundreds of billions of Naira especially the Enugu-Onitsha Road, Rehabilitation of Onitsha-Owerri Road, Phase 2b access road to Second Niger bridge, rehabilitation of Oba-Nnewi Road Section II in Anambra, etc. When completed, they will be important gamechangers for our people. We are complementing your efforts. Part of our transport masterplan for Anambra is to dualize all trunk A roads (state and federal) in the state, and so far, we are spending over N170 billion on sundry federal roads including ambitious dualization projects.

6. No doubt the partnership between Anambra State and the federal government works well. We benefit fully from all federal programmes including education, health, ICT, agriculture, infrastructure, flooding/ecological response, social interventions, etc. A few months ago, the federal government with donor agencies rewarded Anambra with a cash prize of $500,000 as Southeast regional champion and $700,000 as national champion in primary health care national challenge for 2024.

7. To leapfrog the process of our transformation, there are however a few critical areas we would need further federal interventions to unlock huge opportunities. Anambra remains, possibly, the gully erosion capital of the world, with one-third of our land mass under persistent threat and the resource requirements to deal with this are far beyond the capacity of a state government. We are already spending tens of billions of Naira on this but a lot more is urgently needed. The Southeast, and Anambra in particular, is bypassed by the national gas masterplan despite abundant reserves of natural gas. We are not part of the national rail system. The Onitsha River port, commissioned by President Shehu Shagari in 1982 remains a proposal ostensibly because the federal government has been unable to undertake the required dredging. Only Asiwaju, the man who tamed the Atlantic, can break this 43-year-old jinx so that badges from Onne and other seaports can easily discharge at Onitsha. There is an abandoned strategic federal road project that links Anambra with Kogi state. Upon completion, the journey between Anambra/Southeast and Abuja might be shortened to about three hours ---down from the current nine hours! The list is long, and we are convinced that systematically, these issues will be addressed.

8. Mr. President, fellow Nigerians, beyond Anambra, Nigeria must survive and prosper. For the sake of Nigeria and future generations, President Tinubu must succeed, and we are prepared to support him in every way possible to succeed and excel. Our support for President Tinubu is rooted in history, principle, and ideology. Both of us served in government (2003-2007) and as President’s economic adviser and later Governor of the Central Bank/member of the National Economic Council, I greatly admired the principled stance of then Governor of Lagos and now President Tinubu, on federalism. He was our professor on federalism at every NEC meeting and he fought the federal government, at great costs, to promote principles of federalism. Of course, his political party, first the AD, and later AC, ACN and now APC--- consistently professed progressivism. On my part, I am an unrepentant federalist and centre progressive. Before I joined the party in 2013, it took me 12 months of review and reflection on the Manifesto of the All-Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) which was registered in 2002 as the first party to profess “progressivism” (at least in its name), and a commitment to federalist principles. That’s why even when I joined the party in 2013 and I was disqualified from contesting its primaries, I stayed put on ideological grounds and principle. Today, I am its national leader and in Anambra, we are intentionally giving our party an ideological soul with policies and programmes strongly rooted in centre-progressivism. While laying the meta-level foundations as leaders in commerce, industry, technology and leisure, we are (in the traditions of Awoism and M.I. Okpara) building the people sustainably--- through absolutely free and qualitative education from primary to senior secondary leading to lowest out of school children in Nigeria with bursary awards for tertiary students soon; free antenatal, free delivery services benefiting hundreds of thousands of women; training and empowering thousands of youth-preneurs as millionaires; distribution of millions of palm and coconut seedlings set to lift hundreds of thousands permanently out of poverty; prioritizing infrastructure to uplift agrarian communities; exempting the poor and vulnerable from taxes and levies; etc. The people are better and happy. In Anambra we are firmly and comfortably progressives.

9. In 2011 (before I joined in 2013), APGA took an official position to support and work with the political party/government at the centre. Indeed, in that year, APGA adopted the sitting president then as its presidential candidate. That policy has not changed. Coincidentally at this moment in history, the party/government at the Centre is one that also professes “progressivism”. As the foremost progressive party in Nigeria, APGA is ideologically and strategically aligned with the Centre. So far, the progressives are working well, together! It is indeed time for all progressives, federalists and all parties with social-democratic, centrist, and left-of centre credentials to unite—to advance the purpose of a united and progressive Nigeria. Mr. President should lead us in this new movement.

10. Finally, thank you again Mr. President for this great honour to Ndi Anambra with this historic state visit. The Presidential lodge is ready, and we are looking forward to your next visit. Perhaps, it won’t be a bad idea to relocate your office and operate from Anambra for a week or two. May God continue to bless you and may Nigeria continue to win! 

God bless Anambra State!

God bless Asiwaju, our own Dikesimba!!

God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria!!!

U.S. Cardinal Robert Prevost has been elected pope, the first time an American will lead the Roman Catholic Church. He chose the name Pope Leo XIV.

The 69-year-old new pope appeared at the balcony in St. Peter's Basilica and said Peace be with all of you!"

He said he wanted his message of peace to "enter your hearts, reach your families and all people, wherever they are."

He thanked his fellow cardinals for selecting him, and spoke in Italian, Spanish and Latin. Having spent years working in Peru, he thanked his former diocese in the South American country, "where a loyal people has shared its faith and has given a lot," he said.

He also spoke warmly of Pope Francis and concluded by leading the crowd in prayer.

[NPR]

Farooq Kperogi, a US-based Nigerian professor of journalism, has criticised the economic policies of the Bola Tinubu administration.

Speaking in an interview with Rudolf Okonkwo on 90MinutesAfrica, Kperogi warned that the president’s economic reforms are pushing Nigerians deeper into hardship.

Since taking office on May 29, 2023, Tinubu has removed fuel subsidies and floated the naira — two major policies his administration has defended as necessary for long-term economic stability.

But Kperogi said the decisions have combined to trigger a “hyper-inflationary conflagration,” driving the prices of basic goods and services beyond the reach of most citizens.

“There is nowhere on earth where the gutting of subsidies and the devaluation of the national currency simultaneously has ever led to prosperity,” Kperogi said. 

“What it has always led to is the hollowing out of the middle class, mass pauperization and of course the enrichment of the already rich. 

“When you add that to other optics of governance of concentrating power within a certain class of people that are connected to the president by virtue of location and ethnicity then it gets even particularly worse.”

He also criticised the government’s alleged use of the Cybercrime Act to clamp down on dissent, calling it “undemocratic” and “unnecessary”.

“In most places in the world that at least claim to be democratic, libel is a civil case. That means you don’t go to jail for it. You only pay a fine,” he said.

“The Cybercrime Law that was passed, interestingly by Goodluck Jonathan, is actually an unnecessary repetition because Nigeria already has libel laws. They just needed to amend it to include publications on social media. 

“Arresting someone for libel is against the ethos of democracy. Part of the Cybercrime Law says insulting the president is a crime. 

“In fact, Omoyele Sowore was accused of insulting the president during a media interview. That’s an anomaly in a democracy.”

[TheCable]

White smoke billowed from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel on Wednesday, signalling the election of a new pope by the cardinals.

The historic moment followed days of closed-door deliberations at the Vatican, where 133 cardinal-electors gathered in a conclave to elect the next leader of the Roman Catholic Church.

The name and identity of the new pope remain under wraps but will be announced when he appears at the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica to deliver his first public blessing.

“White smoke! The 133 Cardinal electors gathered in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel have elected the new Pope. He will appear soon at the central window of St. Peter’s Basilica,” the Vatican News tweeted.

This important event follows the passing of Pope Francis on Easter Monday, April 21, 2025, at the age of 88.

He died at his residence in the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta after a prolonged illness. His funeral mass was held on Saturday, April 26, in St. Peter’s Square.

Following the service, Pope Francis was laid to rest in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, honoring his personal wish to be buried outside the Vatican.

As the world awaits the introduction of the new pope, the faithful gather in St. Peter’s Square, united in anticipation and prayer.

The forthcoming announcement will mark the beginning of a new chapter for the Catholic Church.

[TheCable]

Court affirms Commission’s power to investigate exploitation

Tunji Bello welcomes judgement

Thursday, May 8, 2025: The Abuja Federal High Court today struck out the suit filed by MultiChoice Nigeria Limited seeking to restrain the FCCPC from investigating its recent price increases for DStv and GOtv services, declaring it an abuse of court process.

The court, presided over by Justice James Omotosho, ruled that MultiChoice’s suit was duplicative and improper, given the existence of a similar matter involving the same parties pending before another court. 

Consequently, the Court struck out the application in its entirety.

Recall that Multichoice had defied FCCPC’s invitation in February and proceeded to hike subscription rates barely eight months after similar increase. Instead, the cable service provider filed an application to restrain the Commission from asking questions as to the rationale behind its incessant price increase. 

In his ruling, Justice Omotosho went further to affirm key provisions of the FCCPA 2018 regarding price regulation and the scope of the Commission’s mandate.

The FCCPC’s legal team was led by Prof. Joseph Abugu (SAN), while Mr.  J. Onigbanjo (SAN) led the MultiChoice’s team.

The Court recognized that Section 88 of the FCCPA vests the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria with the authority to regulate the prices of goods and services when necessary. It also affirmed that the President may delegate this authority to any agency, particularly the FCCPC, for enforcement.

The Court further upheld that, under Section 17 of the FCCPA, the FCCPC is empowered to investigate exploitative pricing practices and to submit its findings, data, and recommendations to the President to inform decisions on price regulation.

Additionally, the Court confirmed that once the President declares specific goods or services as subject to price regulation, the FCCPC possesses full enforcement powers to implement such regulations.

In a swift reaction, the Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the Commission, Mr. Tunji Bello, described the ruling as an affirmation of the rule of law and a significant step towards curbing procedural tactics aimed at obstructing lawful regulatory oversight.

“It sends a clear message that regulatory agencies will not be hindered by procedural roadblocks when exercising their lawful mandate to ensure fairness, transparency, and accountability in the marketplace,” he stated.

According to him, “Nigerian consumers can be assured that the Commission is fully committed to investigating and addressing exploitative pricing and other anti-consumer practices, in line with the provisions of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA) 2018.”

Ondaje Ijagwu

Director, Corporate Affairs

Nigeria’s Federal Executive Council (FEC) presided over by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the other day, approved a new initiative to revise and enforce procurement rules that prioritize Nigerian-made goods and homegrown solutions across all Ministries Departments, and Agencies (MDAs). Under the policy, no MDA shall be allowed to procure foreign goods or services already available locally without a written waiver from the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP).

According to the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, the new policy places Nigeria at the center of all public procurement and business activity, “with a strong emphasis on empowering local industries and reducing dependency on foreign imports.” Idris said that the Attorney General of the Federation has been directed to draft an Executive Order to give full legal effect to the new framework.

Under the initiative, code named “Nigeria First”, the BPP would create a comprehensive compliance mechanism to ensure all government procurements adhere to local content requirements. “A regularly updated database of high-quality Nigerian suppliers will be maintained by the BPP, and used as a reference for all procurement decisions,” Idris said

The “Nigeria First” policy also provides that “where foreign contracts are unavoidable, they must include provisions for technology transfer, local production, or capacity development in Nigeria.” The Minister said: “we continue to import sugar despite the existence of the Nigerian Sugar Council and several local producers. This policy will change that.” 

The new initiative, “Nigeria First”, mimicking Donald Trump’s “America First”, is, obviously, another attempt at an import-substitution industrialization (ISI) strategy. Nigeria, like many other countries in Africa, adopted ISI policies in the 1970s and 1980s to promote indigenous economic growth and reduce dependence on foreign imports.

One notable example of Nigeria’s ISI efforts is the 1972 Nigerian Enterprises Promotion Decree, which required foreign companies to offer at least 40% of their equity shares to local people. This move was aimed at increasing local ownership and control of industries in key sectors, thereby promoting domestic growth.

Nigeria’s ISI had also involved government interventions via tariffs, quotas, and bans to protect infant industries and encourage local production. Minimizing foreign competition, and containment of the menace of dumping were the other reasons advanced by successive Nigerian governments for the adoption of ISI. 

Although the growth and development of certain sectors of the Nigerian economy could be attributed to the ISI policies, such gains remained unsustainable in the face of local and global paradigm shifts. For example, the establishment of cement plants, textile industries, automobile assembly plants, steel rolling mills, etc. in the 1970s and 1980s during the ‘oil boom’ era was essentially ISI-driven.

However, over the years, policy inconsistency, weak political will, globalization and multilateralism have combined to derail the ISI agenda. The Structural Adjustment Program (SAP) of the late ‘80s, believed to have been imposed by the IMF and the World Bank, compelled economic liberalization, privatization, and commercialization. And Nigeria practically joined the rest of the world as a ‘global village,’ unprepared, as it were. 

Thus, whatever gains Nigeria made from ISI strategy were either substantially lost or totally reversed. The auto assembly and manufacturing plants across all geopolitical zones of the country were left moribund. The steel rolling mills, iron smelting companies, textile mills, refineries, among others, got similarly abandoned.

Apparently egged on by an unceasing petro-dollar inflow, Nigeria, no sooner than it experimented with the ISI strategy, reverted almost fully to high import-dependency. The nation only flirted with the mantra of export-led economic growth for a while.

The country’s affliction with the dreaded ‘Dutch Disease’ and its attendant pervasive taste and preference for foreign goods, left her a dumping ground for all manner of imports. With near-total dependence on crude oil exploration, production and export, virtually all other sectors of the Nigerian economy was abandoned, or received merely superficial attention.

Today, even a few entities that could still be linked to the ISI initiative are being swamped by deep-seated aversion to local entrepreneurship. This, in part, accounts for why the Dangote Refinery had to win a pyrrhic victory against blockades posed by the officialdom to fully commence local refining of petrol (Premium Motor Spirit, PMS). The already entrenched interests in PMS importation are hardly yielding ground.

Again, this explains why, out of the so many licenses issued by the Federal Government for the setting up of (private) refineries in the country, only very few (notably, Dangote) have been able to do so. It can also be safely inferred that the vested interests in PMS importation, directly or indirectly, ensured the continued decrepit state of the state-owned refineries in Nigeria over the years.

The same tendency accounts for why the Ajaokuta Steel Company, the Aladja (Warri) Steel Complex), some aluminum smelting companies, auto assembly plants, some sea ports, etc. are yet moribund till date. The anti-ISI forces apply red tapes and other obstacles to ensure that the nation rather keeps wobbling with import-dependency—with its attendant vulnerabilities.

All these years, despite the mouthing of industrialization and infrastructural development by successive governments, Nigeria has really been experiencing de-industrialization and deteriorating infrastructure. In recent years, not a few multinationals have opted to leave Nigeria on account of decaying infrastructure, unconducive business environment, among other challenges.

Now that the Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led administration is indicating interest to reintroduce ISI, it has a load of the nation’s checkered economic history as a veritable guide. It is not enough to want to flow with the mood of President Donald Trump’s rabid nationalism; nor would it be easy to jettison Nigerians’ entrenched penchant for the consumption of foreign goods.

At the peak of ISI implementation in the ‘70s and ‘80s, certain brands of Peugeot Nigeria cars were the approved official status vehicles of topmost political leaders and public servants. This means leadership by example; no showmanship, no display of ostentatious public life.

As the Attorney General of the Federation hammers out the nitty gritty of the Executive Order on (the new) ISI, he must put clauses that compel political leaders and the officialdom to play by the rules. Some sort of reorientation beyond the MDAs in pursuit of “Nigeria First” would need to be mounted to really curb the entrenched preference for foreign goods among Nigerians.

Success in this regard would translate to reducing the ever huge demand for FX for the importation of items that have several durable local substitutes. The sustained patronage of these local goods and services would lead to the conservation of Nigeria’s scarce FX; as well as the strengthening of the local currency vis-à-vis the dollar. 

This practice, over time, among other planks of the new ISI would effectively and sustainably pull the economy out of the woods. The new ISI package must therefore go beyond the MDAs, but must be championed by the Nigerian leadership—in both their official and private lifestyles. “Nigeria First” should not remain a slogan!

The author, Okeke, a practicing Economist, Business Strategist, Sustainability expert and ex-Chief Economist of Zenith Bank Plc, lives in Lekki, Lagos.