Nigeria’s former Minister of Communication, Adebayo Shittu, recently shared a troubling experience that underscores the deep economic hardship in the country. According to him, he received persistent calls from desperate individuals seeking amounts as small as N1,000 and N3,000 just to survive. One woman, in particular, called him 30 times in one day, pleading for help.

Without a doubt, his revelation is a stark reminder that poverty has reached alarming levels, turning many Nigerians into beggars. However, beyond lamenting the dire economic situation, Shittu’s experience offers a crucial lesson: those in positions of power or financial stability must take proactive steps to empower those around them. This is the only way to prevent being overwhelmed with distress calls in the future.

Against the foregoing backdrop, it is germane to opine that the importance of empowerment over handouts cannot be pooh-poohed and flagrantly wished away to be inconsequential.  It is often said that giving someone a fish feeds them for a day, but teaching them to fish ensures they never go hungry again. Unfortunately, many people in positions of influence or wealth fail to apply this principle when dealing with their family members, church members, or even close friends. They provide occasional financial assistance but do not invest in sustainable empowerment. This approach only creates dependency, ensuring that the cycle of begging continues indefinitely.

Imagine if, instead of giving out N3, 000 occasionally, a person in a position of power helped a relative start a small business. A capital of N50, 000 or less could be enough to set up a petty trade, such as selling food items, recharge cards, or running a small kiosk. With such a setup, that individual would no longer need to make repeated distress calls for survival.

For those who have held public office or achieved financial success, the expectation to assist others is constant. Politicians, in particular, are often inundated with calls and messages from constituents, family members, and acquaintances requesting financial assistance. The pressure can be overwhelming, especially for those who genuinely did not enrich themselves unlawfully while in office. Shittu’s case is a perfect example of how even former ministers can find themselves struggling to meet the endless financial demands from people they know.

But what if these same individuals had been empowered earlier? If those in power today take the initiative to help their relatives and community members set up small businesses or learn valuable skills, they can prevent a future where their phone rings endlessly with requests for N1, 000 or N3, 000. The key is to invest in sustainable solutions that reduce long-term dependency.

Without a doubt, empowering others may seem herculean, but no amount in respect to empowering people is too small as there are numerous businesses that can be engaged in with small capital particularly Nano and MSMEs sectors.

For the sake of clarity, in Nigeria, the “Nano and SME sectors” refer to the collective group of very small businesses categorized as “Nano enterprises” (typically with 1-2 employees) alongside “small and medium enterprises” (SMEs), which encompass businesses with a larger workforce and turnover than Nano enterprises, forming the backbone of the Nigerian economy and contributing significantly to employment generation; with the majority of businesses in Nigeria falling under the “Nano” category due to their high number of informal, micro-scale operations.

One common excuse people give for not helping others is that they do not have enough to make a difference. However, empowerment does not always require huge sums of money. Some small businesses require as little as from N50, 000 to N150, 000 to start. Even beyond financial support, people can be empowered through mentorship, skill acquisition programs, or connections that provide them with job opportunities.

For example, a struggling relative could be helped to acquire skills in tailoring, hairdressing, phone repairs, or any other vocational trade. Instead of giving them money occasionally, they can be sponsored for training that ensures they become self-reliant. This kind of intervention is far more impactful than temporary handouts.

In fact, the lesson from Adebayo Shittu’s experience should serve as a wake-up call to those in leadership positions and financially comfortable individuals. Empowerment should be a priority, not an afterthought. If you fail to empower those around you today, you may find yourself drowning in their distress calls tomorrow.

Against the foregoing backdrop, it is germane to opine that there are some practical ways to start empowering people today, and they cut across supporting small businesses, investing in people who are willing to acquire skills, creation of job opportunities, mentorship and encouraging savings and financial planning.

For instance, those in position to help others can do that by providing start-up capital for petty trading or Nano businesses, helping people acquire vocational skills instead of giving them money intermittently and using their networks to connect people to employment opportunities. Some other ways include guiding young people on career paths that will make them self-sufficient, and encouraging savings and financial planning by teaching financial literacy so people can manage their resources better.

Without a doubt, Nigeria is in a difficult economic state, and the level of poverty is heartbreaking. However, those in positions of power or financial stability have a responsibility to empower others. The more people you help become self-reliant today, the fewer distress calls you will receive in the future.

It is time to break the cycle of dependence and build a future where people can stand on their own. Let Adebayo Shittu’s experience be a lesson to all: empower your family, friends, and community members now, so you won’t be overwhelmed by their desperate calls later.

The immediate past president of the United States of America spent $1.9 trillion on regulatory costs, the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE, said.

DOGE disclosed this in a widely circulated document.

According to the DOGE document, Biden’s administration initiated 1,217 rules costing the country $1.9 trillion.

In contrast, DOGE noted that during Trump’s first term as president, 1,340 rules cost $64.7 billion, and during Barack Obama’s presidency, 2,997 rules cost the US government $870.5 billion.

DAILY POST reports that since the emergence of Trump’s presidency, DOGE has swung into action to sanitise government spending and increase efficiency, which is its core mandate.

Reacting to DOGE’s latest move, Florida State Senator Rick Scott wrote on X: “Democrats’ ridiculous rules and regulations cost the American people $1.9 trillion over the past four years.

“Cutting big government regulations is how we make Washington work better for families.”

[DailyPost]

A daughter to the late President of the Customary Court of Appeal of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, Justice Moses Bello, has faulted Wednesday’s judgment dismissing her suit challenging the distribution of her father’s estate.

The daughter, Ann Eniyamire whose suit was dismissed by A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) argued that the judgment has led to a miscarriage of justice.

Eniyamire, who spoke through her lawyer, Yahuza Mahraz, said she was saddened by current developments in the Judiciary, “where a judge can aid a party of his own choice by introducing new facts not deposed by any party and arguing such facts based on his personal beliefs. This has led to a miscarriage of justice.” 

While vowing to appeal the decision, Eniyamire said: “The judgment in its entirety is contradictory, approbatory and reprobatory, which cannot stand the test of fairness and natural justice.

 “The same judge, who held in his ruling on the defendants’ notice of preliminary objection that the claimant’s suit is not challenging the validity of a will/ codicil and is not challenging the grant of probate, as the issue of challenging a validity of a will/ codicil only goes to Probate Registry, before a Probate Registrar, went ahead to challenge the validity of the will and codicil on his own, without any party raising it for him, thereby downgrading the High Court to the position of a Probate Registry and hold a contradictory decision.

“We reject the judgment in its entirety and we going on Appeal,” she said.

Eniyamire’s suit, marked: CV/667/2024, had Reverend Father Ezekiel John and Christ the King Catholic Church, Okene Parish as  defendants.

She had alleged that Father John (listed as the first defendant) unilaterally adopted a 4.16% sharing formula instead of the 11.11% her later father instructed in his will.  

Delivering judgment on Wednesday, Justice Mohamed Zubairu held that the codicil (a legal amendment to a will) relied upon by Eniyamire was invalid.  

Justice Zubairu ssid the document was “more of a private letter’’ written by the late judge to his lawyer, Alex Izinyon (SAN), and did not meet the legal requirements of a codicil under the Wills Act.  

The judge added: “A letter written by an attestor but not signed by at least two witnesses cannot be considered a valid codicil. Though titled ‘Codicil,’ it does not satisfy Section 9 of the Wills Act.” 

Justice Zubairu held that the word “can” in the codicil afforded the executor some level of discretion in the distribution of the properties. 

The judge added that Eniyamire was not entitled to 1/9th of her father’s properties and upheld the defendants’ distribution formula.  

“Consequently, all the reliefs sought by the claimant are hereby refused. The suit is dismissed,” Justice Zubairu said.  

[TheNation]

Dakuku Peterside, former director-general of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), says it is “premature” to resume oil exploration in Ogoni land, Rivers state.

On January 21, President Bola Tinubu met with Siminalayi Fubara, governor of Rivers, Nyesom Wike, minister of the federal capital territory (FCT), and a delegation of Ogoni leaders.

The meeting came after a coalition of civil society organisations (CSOs) demanded the allocation of $1 trillion for the clean-up of the Niger Delta and compensation before oil operations resume.

The talks were connected to the federal government’s plans to resume oil exploration in Ogoni land. Tinubu acknowledged the historical challenges faced by the Ogoni people and noted the need for reconciliation and progress.

However, Peterside, while speaking on Politics Today, a programme on Channels Television, on Wednesday, said resuming oil exploration in Ogoni is ill-timed until contentious issues are resolved.

The former DG of NIMASA pointed out that the unfair distribution of oil exploration benefits, which neglects the Niger Delta community, is deeply troubling.

“If I must be sincere with you, it will be premature to resume oil exploration in Ogoni land. What I think—and I think that is the part the government has also chosen—is to do further consultations, build trust, and show genuine commitment to real environmental governance,” he said.

“The challenge all along has been the opaque nature of oil exploration not just in Ogoni land but in the entire Niger Delta.

“And the fact that the way benefits derivable from oil exploration is distributed to the exclusion of the people of Niger Delta is a big question mark.

“And until we address that in a transparent manner, then we will not make much progress.”

The Ogoni people are an ethnic group in the Niger Delta region of southern Nigeria, primarily inhabiting Rivers state.

The Niger Delta region, and the Ogoni in particular, has faced severe environmental degradation over the years due to oil exploration.

The Ogoni are known for their long-standing activism against environmental degradation caused by oil exploration, particularly by multinational corporations.

In the early 1990s, the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), led by the late activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, drew global attention to the environmental destruction of Ogoni land.

This led to widespread protests and conflicts with the Nigerian government.

‘ESTABLISHING UNIVERSITY IN OGONI LAND NOT SAME AS ADDRESSING ENVIRONMENTAL INJUSTICE’

Speaking on the establishment of a university in Ogoni Land, Peterside said creating such an institution in Ogoni land is not the same as addressing the environmental injustice that the people have suffered.

He added that revisiting the Ogoni bill of rights is crucial to addressing the injustices suffered by the people of that area.

On February 3, Tinubu signed into law a bill establishing the Federal University of Environmental Technology in Ogoni.

The president said the legislation is a step towards addressing environmental justice and expanding educational opportunities in the Niger Delta region.

He described the Federal University of Environmental Technology as a “significant milestone” in Nigeria’s efforts toward environmental sustainability and national development.

He acknowledged the historical struggles of the Ogoni people, noting that the university reaffirms his administration’s commitment to the region.

[TheCable]

Former Rivers State governor, Rotimi Amaechi, has once again stirred up the proverbial hornet’s nest by choosing to be politically incorrect in a clime where doublespeak not only walks on all fours but is also seen as an exemplar of political astuteness. But not for the man who was Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly and former Minister of Transportation.

Speaking in Abuja on January 30, at a national conference on strengthening democracy in Nigeria, organized by the African Centre for Leadership, Strategy, and Development, Amaechi, as he is wont to do, bucked the hypocritical trend when he reminded his audience that included former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir el-Rufai, and Senator Aminu Tambuwal, former governor of Sokoto State, that the average Nigerian politician will not relinquish power unless compelled by the superior will of the people.

“Nobody has power and will give it to you — not even me… The politician in Nigeria is there to steal, maim and kill to remain in power. If you think Tinubu will give it to you, you are wasting your time,” Amaechi said, stressing the need for vigilance and sacrifice.

To be sure, this is not the first time he would task Nigerians to take their political destiny in their own hands.

Speaking at the 2023 TheNiche Annual Lecture in Lagos on October 28, 2023, Amaechi blamed the docility of Nigerians and their inability to react to the egregious dishonesty of their leaders for the rascality of politicians.

“Nigerians don’t react to anything. Has any politician told you he is not a thief? Which politician told you he went to university, which politician told you she served in NYSC, and which politician told you he has his certificate? Nigerians know and still vote for them… Even if you come to a Nigerian’s house and kill his mother, the father will continue with his life. So, why should I waste my time,” he asked.

But even long before TheNiche lecture, he had always taken umbrage at the atrocious conducts of Nigerian politicians and seeming acquiesce of the people. Speaking on December 15, 2013 at an event organised in Lagos to pay tribute to former South African President Nelson Mandela, he challenged Nigerians to hold their leaders to account, insisting that political office holders steal state funds because Nigerians do not stone them.

So, Amaechi, in a sense didn’t say anything new last Thursday. If anything, he has been consistent on his advocacy that the pathway to good governance and political integrity in Nigeria is for the younger generation to wake up from their slumber and fight for the soul of the country. The fact that he is a major player in the Fourth Republic politics also makes it imperative that Nigerians should listen to him. He knows where the bodies are buried.

That also explains why officials of the Tinubu administration reacted so angrily and called him out forcefully. After all, he was not the only person who spoke at the Abuja event. But they know that he was telling the truth, knowing exactly how elections are won and lost in Nigeria. So, their pretentious indignation is an attempt to scare him away from his self-imposed task of conscientizing the youths.

Berating Amaechi for making ‘reckless, dangerous and inflammatory remarks’ unbecoming of a former ‘public office holder,’ Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, told him that power is earned through democracy, not intimidation, violence or lawlessness, as if Amaechi was in doubt. His claim that the Tinubu administration was committed to upholding peace, democratic values and security for all Nigerians flies in the face of reality.

Of course, Nigerians know who is lying between the two. Suffice it to say that Amaechi simply amplified Tinubu’s very Machiavellian idea of power and how it is acquired. Shortly before the 2023 elections, Tinubu, the then presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), was seen in a video admonishing top campaign operatives to ‘fight, grab and run (away) with’ political power.

“Political power is not going to be served in a restaurant. They don’t serve it a la carte. At all cost, fight for it, grab it and run with it,” he said. And that was exactly what he did, which is also what will happen in 2027 unless Nigerians say enough is enough, the very direction that Amaechi is pointing them to. The very idea of fighting, grabbing and running away with political power is antithetical to democracy. In a democracy, power is given by the people in a free, fair and credible election.

Of course, in a system that has normalized the idea of power not being given by the electorate but taken forcefully by the strong, in a system where might has always been seen as being right and democracy is a ‘do or die affair’ (apologies to former President Olusegun Obasanjo), Amaechi’s advocacy can only be deemed as treasonable, which explains Matawalle’s angst and threat on behalf of his principal.

“Let me make it clear: the security agencies are on high alert. Any individual or group found inciting violence or attempting to destabilize this nation will face the full force of the law. We will not tolerate any form of subversive rhetoric that seeks to undermine national unity or incite lawlessness. This government will not fold its arms and allow any individual to disrupt the peace and stability of Nigeria,” he warned.

But pray, how does Amaechi’s charge to Nigerians to vote and ensure that their votes are not only counted but count in the outcome of elections be deemed an attempt to undermine national unity? Those who disrupt national unity are those who ensure that votes do not count in elections, people whose democracy worldwide undermine the very principle of democracy.

In a democracy, power is given by the people, not taken willy-nilly by the powerful. Yes, every contest for power is a serious business. But the seriousness lies in the intense battle to win the support of the people who hold the supreme power. As I have always argued, democracy does not guarantee that the best candidate will win. No! But the irreducible precondition for any democratic adventure is that power must be freely given by the people.

It may be tempting to dismiss Matawalle’s threat as sheer bluster, an attempt to cow the people to submit to the Tinubu government’s anti-democratic whims and caprices. But Nigerians must take it serious. As at today, nothing suggests that the government is planning for a free and fair poll in 2027 where the choices of the majority of the electorate will prevail.

But knowing the character of successive Nigerian governments since 1999, the messenger may well be endangered. It will, therefore, not be a surprise if the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) starts hounding the arrowheads of the emerging opposition to the prevailing political status-quo, with Amaechi as the principal target.

The former minister is aware of the risk he faces. At the TheNiche lecture, he told the audience that: “The worst thing about Nigerians is that even when you have not committed any crime and they pick you up tomorrow, they will chorus ‘we said it, he is a thief,’ and you will go to prison for nothing. The greatest fear I have is being found in prison for nothing and you can be found in prison for doing nothing.”

The fact that Amaechi knows the risks involved and yet is determined to bite the bullet makes his cause altruistic. And he is right. Nigerian politicians are unconscionable. They steal, maim and kill for power and will continue to do so for as long as there are no consequences for their atrocious behaviours. For democracy to thrive, Nigerians must fight for it with all they have, a reason well-meaning people must rally round Rotimi Amaechi rather than join the band of government apologists in vilifying him.

A combined security team has discovered the decomposing body of a member of Anambra State House of Assembly, Justice Azuka, on the 2nd Niger Bridge.

Azuka was taken captive on December 24, 2024, along Ugwunabankpa Road, Inland Town, Onitsha.

He was representing Onitsha North Constituency 1 in the Anambra assembly.

After weeks of investigation, security operatives from Abuja apprehended the suspects late Wednesday. The arrested individuals led authorities to the location where they dumped the lawmaker’s remains.

Spokesman of the Anambra Police Command, Tochukwu Ikenga, said he would reveal details to the public soon.

In 2022, a member of Anambra House of Assembly, Okey Okoye, popularly known as Okey Di Ok, was abducted and beheaded.

His body was later found around the Nnobi axis.

[Vanguard]

Bandits have reportedly kidnapped the former Director General of the National Youth Service Corps, Brgd. Gen. Maharazu Tsiga (retd.), in Tsiga village, Bakori Local Government Area of Katsina State, in the early hours of Thursday.

The bandits also killed one person and abducted at least nine others, even as they were said to have ransacked several homes, carting away valuables.

The bandits attacked at 12.30am on Thursday, as eyewitness reports have it that the armed hoodlums stormed the community, shooting sporadically to scare residents.

Our correspondent contacted the Katsina State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Abubakar Sadiq, to confirm the attack but said he “can’t talk now” in an SMS.

Details soon…

In a recent interview, ex-Osun Governor, Chief Bisi Akande, alleged that the #EndSARS movement that roiled Nigeria in 2020 was a conspiracy against his friend, Bola Tinubu. By narrating how a set of circumstances that did not begin with Tinubu became wrapped around him and his ambitions, Akande tried to increase the moral value of his electoral victory. The interesting part for me was that he claimed that those who ambushed Tinubu through EndSARS were “the Obi-dients”, a well-organised army who “came from America (the USA) with a lot of money”. I am willing to bet that Akande has no evidence whatsoever to substantiate his allegations and would demur if asked to name those Obi-dients. But stories like that do not need to be true; they only need to be believed.

But why “America”? Why did the conspiring Obi-dients that Akande conjectured come from the USA and not anywhere else? There is a significant Nigerian diaspora in the UK and Canada, could they also not have funded such a campaign? Given the outsized role regularly ascribed to the USA in our political and economic predicaments, no other country would have sufficed. The imagination that produced that allegation must be substantive to some degree to sound somewhat credible.

Ask a Nigerian or an African why our countries are so poor, and it will not be long before they gravitate towards detecting Western-based institutions like the International Monetary Fund and World Bank as why we fail at self-management. Those USA-based organisations are the physical manifestations of the transcendent forces we blame for our woes. Since there are several documented instances of their unpalatable institutional interference in economically challenged countries like Nigeria, there is a mix of truth that justifies how they have come to embody the trope of the evil that keeps Africa from attaining its destiny. That is why one of our Daddys in the Lord could pray that “Either the IMF likes it or not, I decree the naira will rise again.”

The USA is also routinely fingered in the restlessness that bedevils our society. Some people are convinced that terrorism in Nigeria is funded by the USA. I have met a few of those folks before; their attributed reasons for the USA’s supposed malevolence can be internally contradictory, but the conspiracy imagination needs not to be coherent before it rings true to those who believe them. Then there are Nigerians who also believe that the only reason that Muhammadu Buhari won the election in 2015 was because the USA sponsored him. Some of those folks, if they are reading this article, are ready to defend that assertion by pointing to one or two examples they hold as indelible proof. They need not worry. I have read all those arguments; I know where those folks are coming from.

The trouble with such speculation is that we become so invested in tracing the outlines of an alternative reality where “the spiritual determines the physical” that we lose sight of ourselves as human agents who determine our destiny. To the folks who believe that the USA masterminded the 2015 election loss by the PDP, it matters less that it was Nigerians who used their hand to vote for Muhammadu Buhari. They override the agency of fellow Nigerians, some of whom sought genuine reforms and many of whom were also motivated by religious/tribal identities, to blame a supernational force. One would think it was America that created “Febuhari” or “March for Buhari” and helped Yemi Osinbajo distribute the N10,000 pittance they used to bid for votes.

The 2015 election loss was so humiliating for the religious and tribal blocs that Goodluck Jonathan represents, that the only way they can justify the turn of events is to attribute it to a higher power. Even Jonathan himself believes that he lost to the USA, not his countrypeople who got tired of his crass ineptitude. Our society is so invested in the supernatural that if we are not leaving our human responsibility to God, we are blaming the devil for our failings. The same attitude extends to our political and economic behaviours where we always look for otherworldly forces to blame for our self-induced problems.

What gets lost in the narrative is the temporal context. Occupy Nigeria, the anti-subsidies removal protests of 2012 that activated disaffection against Jonathan, and which his supporters (like Akande too) insist was a funded campaign by clandestine agents, also happened in different parts of the world at that time. That of Nigeria occurred in the light of the legislative probe that revealed the huge scam that the subsidy had become. In the era of Arab Spring and the #OccupyUSA movement, was it unthinkable that the young Nigerians embedded within a global media ecosystem would react to oppressive corruption like their counterparts elsewhere? Yes, certain characters like Muhammadu Buhari profited from the anti-Jonathan sentiment that the protest generated, but the emotions that drove it were not baseless.

The funny thing is that I know people who supported Buhari and campaigned for him from door to door. Imagine how amused I was when I saw some of them—against the backdrop of Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s campaign against USAID, the cultural arm of the US government—on Twitter (now called X) also crowing about how the USA imposed Buhari on Nigeria in 2015! Buhari was such a huge failure that his once devoted supporters are erasing their own participation in making him president! To distance themselves from the monumental disgrace he became, they delete their complicity.

In the same way that the anti-Buhari people have outsourced their agency in that protest to the USA, Akande too weaponises the EndSARS to blame some shadowy agents for confronting Tinubu. In doing so, he similarly erases the agency of the Nigerians who were genuinely driven to the streets because they were frustrated with the failings of a judicial institution under Buhari’s watch. The EndSARS was about Nigerian youths who had been driven to the wall by the excesses of the police, and just like OccupyNigeria in 2012, they took energies from similar protests abroad. Akande’s historical revisionism had nothing to say about the genuine issues that precipitated those protests.

Notice also that even though Tinubu contested against two opponents, only Peter Obi haunts Akande’s imagination. Yes, Obi profited from the anti-establishment sentiment of EndSARS the same way OccupyNigeria helped Buhari. So immense was his popularity among Nigeria’s Gen Z that he sent the conservative political class into a tailspin. If today, Tinubu struggles with a crisis of legitimacy even as the sitting President, it is also because he lost something irrecoverable to Obi in that election. The Obi who was said to lack “structure” and his supporters who were ridiculed as “people without PVCs” stunned everyone with what they achieved. That is why Akande thinks American money and strategy had to have been involved. If Obi had been declared the winner of that election, Akande’s narrative would have held up to justify how a combination of Yoruba and Northerners, the majority of whom also happen to be Muslims, could lose to a Christian southerner whose supporters were not even taken seriously.

Here is the thing: the fact that Akande’s story is laughable today does not mean it will always be. The APC will not rule forever. Many of their top brass are older men who will eventually lose their vice-like grip over the existing political structure. Nature will do its thing, and they will eventually be defeated in a hostile takeover. Those who will replace them are the current anti-establishment figures who are tweeting while waiting in the wings. From the fringes where they are sensationalising the USA as the God/Satan whose invisible hands move our history to mobilise their army of the disaffected, they will become the dominant ones. The ones in power today will look back at moments like 2020 EndSARS, pick up the narrative of “money, strategy, and America” including the one Akande put out and they too will start running with it.

In a viral video said to have been recorded on the eighth-day Fidau prayers for the repose of his mother who died recently, Fuji musician, King Wasiu Ayinde Marshall (KWAM 1) could be heard lamenting to an unidentified man in the street slang common in Lagos,
“Ilé bàbá mí ni Fìdípọ̀tẹ̀, àwọn àlfà, wọn lọ  bẹ; ibí ni gbogbo wọn wa se kínni? Ni wọn wa ga’nu sí.” A rough translation: ‘Rather than go to my father’s house in Fidipote, the clerics have shamelessly congregated in my house with their mouths wide open to scavenge.’ Stripped of all pretensions, the musician believed the clerics were more interested in the freebies they would get from him than performing their real function (in this case, offering prayers.)

It may have been unintended but there is a way in which the video—trending heavily among Yoruba people who consider ‘atenuje’ a serious malady—is a social commentary on the situation in Nigeria. Because, in so many ways, what officialdom now encourages in our country is ‘ganu si’ with the impediments they erect against entrepreneurship in favour of bubble jobs, at all levels of government.

Just a few days after announcing the appointment of 130 special assistants on his X (formerly Twitter) handle, the Chairman of Obio-Akpor local government area of Rivers State, Chijioke Ihunwo, added another list of 100 special assistants, bringing the total to 230. They are to “help me achieve my plans for my people. Their appointment takes immediate effect,” he said in a post that attracted critical comments on how our economy has been reduced to wasting scarce resources. But Ihunwo is not alone in what has become a fad. Before him, a councillor, Yahaya Yusuf, representing Bajoga East local government of Gombe State, had appointed a principal private secretary (PPS), 12 special assistants and five personal assistants. The situation is worse in the states. 

When in April 2020, then Governor Benjamin Ayade of Cross River State approved the appointment of 427 additional aides to join more than a thousand special assistants who were already on his payroll.  He provided justification for the decision. “The governor has said repeatedly that he only needs about five per cent of his appointees” explained his spokesman, Christian Ita at the time. “So, he deliberately creates these jobs to put food on the table to reduce social tension.” Ayade, we must remember also explained how he was generating revenue through “the use of intellect to make up for naira and kobo” because, according to him, “Intellectual currency is stronger than paper currency and so where there is a deficiency of funds, the intellect takes over.”

Ordinarily, the primary role of government is to create an enabling environment and provide incentives for the private sector so that small, medium and large businesses can thrive. And in the process, generate employment opportunities for the people. But what we have in Nigeria today are agencies of government manned by officials who believe their brief is to kill entrepreneurship, perhaps because job creation has been reduced to the appointment of idle special assistants for whom life begins and ends with merely “putting food on the table.” That is what happens when ‘Ganu si’ ethos defines government as is the case in Nigeria today. 

For posting about her restaurant on Instagram “without the vetting and approval certificate of the Advertising Standards Panel”, a friend received a letter from the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) asking her to “pay within 7 (seven) days of the receipt of this notice, the violation fee of N1,000,000 (one million Naira only) per violation/infraction in accordance with Article 148 (b)” of their law. She was then warned that any such ‘promotion’ must be submitted to some oga-at-the-top in ARCON before publishing. Why should ‘call this place to order food’ on social media require the vetting and approval of a government agency? And then wait for this: Same week, a third party she doesn’t have any relationship with posted about the eatery on Tik Tok and she received another one million Naira fine from ARCON! That can only happen in a ‘Ganu si’ economy where officials behave like scavengers.

I understand that ARCON has a 2022 Act which allows it to classify any published item as promotional, requiring prior approval. The law even grants ARCON the power to establish a kangaroo tribunal for the purpose of sending culprits to jail in a manner that is no different from what the fictional Chief Eleyinmi of Oja in the popular ‘Village Headmaster’ sitcom of old used to do with his famous refrain, “Just bring him to my court.” This law makes ARCON the complainant, prosecutor and judge in this so-called tribunal. Besides, since “deemed promotion” is for ARCON to decide, anything can be classified as promotional. So, if I write a column in THISDAY on ‘Amala Place’ in Abuja where I enjoy the delicacies, I must first take it to some fat cats at ARCON for editing before publication otherwise the food sellers would be deemed to have committed an offence! This is a ridiculous and dangerous law that limits enterprise. Some of the sweeping provisions are even in conflict with the 1999 constitution. To compound the problem, the law also says you cannot even sue ARCON unless you send them a letter first on pre-action suit!

With such omnibus powers, it is no surprise that ARCON has shifted its attention to influencers, bloggers, comedians, skit makers, agencies and brand owners who publish or broadcast anything promotional not submitted for the agency’s approval. “What we are saying is that there is a line and space called advertising. If you cross that line and move your skit or comedy into the advertising space as defined by law, then you are moving into a regulated space, and your activities in that space will be regulated,” ARCON Director General, Olalekan Fadolapo warned recently. But there is also a pushback. “If you look at this new law that we are trying to fight, it covers everything, including logos, trademarks and all. What the court said in the NBC (National Broadcasting Commission) case is that you cannot be jury and executioner, that you cannot be regulator and executioner at once,” the Advertisers Association of Nigeria (ADVAN) president, Osamede Uwubanmwen, said in response to ARCON activities. “But you won’t expect ARCON to learn from the NBC. They will not do that. The NBC now will be very cautious about fining anybody, because they have lost the first case and have lost the appeal. I don’t know if they will go to the Supreme Court.”

I am aware that we have numerous useless laws passed by the National Assembly but my main concern about ARCON is the danger their officials pose to our economy. Though the agency is not alone in that respect. At a period when we need to address the unemployment crisis, the main obsession of government is revenue generation. Nobody cares that by putting in place measures that discourage job creation we are invariably promoting ‘ganu si’ citizenry and no nation develops with such disposition. Meanwhile, it is not only small-scale businesses that suffer from this myopic thinking—even big businesses that employ thousands of workers no longer enjoy any protection as we can see from the example of Dangote Refinery.

Between October 2024 and end of January 2025, according to reports at the weekend, the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and a number of oil marketers spent over N5.5 trillion to import petrol and diesel. Whatever may be the excuses (and so many are being invented) it is only in a ‘ganu si’ economy that the government would be expending humongous amounts of money to import commodities that are available locally. Continued reliance on imports of petroleum products at a period in-country refining capacity can meet domestic need, especially in the age of Donald Trump, is what the Yoruba people would call ‘Akotileta’. It depicts someone who, lacking the wisdom to sustain inherited family treasures, decides to sell them off for a pittance that would then be frittered away. Meanwhile, the bottom-line in the hoopla of recent weeks, following President Trump’s tariff measures, is that every country is trying to protect their workers. Unfortunately, our economic managers fail to appreciate what is going on.

After attending the THISDAY/ARISE anniversary ceremony in Lagos last week Monday, I decided to visit Dangote Refinery for the first time the next day. Having called Alhaji Aliko Dangote about my plan, he detailed Jeremiah Danladi Jiya, Group Head, Credit Risk who also heads his refinery site office, to give me a tour of their facilities. It’s like a city within a city as we spent several hours moving from one section to another. Statistical details about the refinery are mind-boggling. Altogether, the refinery has 177 tanks with a total capacity of 4.742 billion litres. For instance, it has storage capacity for nine million barrels of crude, over 600 million liters of Gasoline, 340 million litres of Diesel and Kerosine and 400 million litres of JET A1. The refinery pipeline infrastructure is also the largest anywhere in the world, with 1,100 kilometers to handle three billion standard cubic foot of gas per day. The refinery’s 435-megawatt power plant exceeds the total power requirement of Ibadan Distribution Company (Disco). There are already research papers as to how the petrochemical processing steps have been able to exploit the adjacent Lekki Lagoon with “a sequential batch reactor and diverse filtration technologies” for treatment of a volume of water that can conveniently supply the whole of Victoria Island.

Before the tour I had the opportunity to interact with Dangote regarding the refinery and the attitude of critical stakeholders in the sector. He shared several insights with me, including on the issue of pricing. “I have read some of the propaganda they are doing. Crude is internationally priced so it’s easy to understand the pricing template for petroleum products. But they also have a choice. It’s either they want Nigeria to be a productive economy that puts people to work, or they want to us to be a dumping ground” said Dangote who added that the forces against the refinery have the same mindset with those who killed the textile industry in Nigeria. “Our tanks are filled because the cartel of marketers and those who manage the sector have refused to patronize us. I am aware of their plan to cripple the refinery. But they should be prepared for a big fight.”

In my column last July, (https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2024/07/11/dangotes-big-bet-on-gasoline/), I highlighted most of the contentious issues. But there should really be no need for a fight if the primary responsibility of critical stakeholders in the sector is to advance the public good. Even if there are differences, no responsible government should work towards the failure of a $20 billion project that adds considerable value to the economy. As they do in other countries, we must always encourage those who invest in production, and in the process create direct and indirect jobs for hundreds of thousands of our people. That is even more imperative in a nation like ours with a young population that is not productively engaged.

The sheer magnitude of the Dangote Refinery and the expected trickle-down effect in terms of employment opportunities, the forex that would be saved and general contributions to the economy cannot be downplayed. The same can be said of the small business owners who are daily being harassed by ARCON at a period we need to support them. While these businesses represent 96 per cent of entrepreneurship in the country and contribute 75 per cent of national employment, according to the Small and Medium Enterprises Development of Nigeria (SMEDAN), they face several challenges. In fact, doing any kind of business in Nigeria today is not for the fainthearted. You must provide your own utilities (electricity and water), pay all manner of charges to different agencies and at the end, what you get is harassment from government officials. 

Societies cannot grow meaningfully without translating individual energy, talent, and skills into assets that shape the future. That explains why countries that harness knowledge and skills to produce goods and services that attract top valuation continuously do better than those with scant regard for economic value creation. Nigerian government officials must therefore understand that putting people to productive use is the hallmark of creative and purposeful leadership and the fulcrum of social balance.

On 22nd October 1925, Mohandas Gandhipublished in his weekly newspaper, ‘Young India’ what he described as ‘Seven Social Sins’. It is quite instructive that the first on the list of those ‘social sins’ he admonishes us to avoid is wealth without work, which in KWAM1Speak means a predisposition to ‘ganu si’. Sadly, that precisely is what government (at all levels) is encouraging in Nigeria by creating jobs that would “put food on the table” rather than help advance entrepreneurship that will take many citizens off the streets and add value to the economy. Yet even a fuji musician is smart enough to understand that a society cannot advance when you encourage ‘Ganu-Si’ ethos!

To Kayode Fayemi, Amandla!

One of the tragedies of public service in Nigeria is that many of the operatives do not have a second address or another daytime job beyond politics. That perhaps explains why elections are for most of them a do-or-die affair. But there are also professionals for whom being in government is a tour of duty, essentially to serve the public good. And once their assignment is done, they go back to their primary vocation. One such person is the former Governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi who will, today in Abuja, launch his ‘Amandla Policy and Leadership Initiative’ and latest book, ‘If This Giant Must Rise’—a collection of recent interventions on leadership and governance in Africa.

Spanning 216 pages and divided into nine chapters, the book is a collection of papers and lectures written and delivered since Fayemi left the governor’s office in October 2022. While the issues discussed are national and international, the book is arranged in thematic order rather than by the period of their first presentations. “Together, they tell a story that tries to see through and beyond what is immediately in front of us,” Fayemi wrote in the preface to the book he says, “offers both a reflection on my time in office as well as a glimpse of what to expect from me in the years ahead.”

The long foreword by Wale Adebanwi, Presidential Penn Compact Professor of African Studies, University of Pennsylvania, United States, sets the tone for the book. “For the publicly engaged scholar or public intellectual, engagement with power is not only a necessity; it is an ethical obligation,” Adebanwi wrote while arguing on why people like Fayemi are needed in government. “Even direct entry into partisan politics against the backdrop of this ethical obligation makes politics a vocation and not a vacation for the scholar.”

Borrowing from his varied experiences and exposure as a public intellectual who had opportunities to serve in both his state as governor and at the federal level as a minister, Fayemi’s fascinating collection reminds us of the challenges of building a society that works for the people and how each of us has a role to play in that regard. “As the continent grapples with the vicissitudes of the changing dynamics, it is imperative that we build the capacity and develop the policy tools that will turn Africa’s potential to prosperity,” Fayemi wrote while explaining the rationale for establishing the Amandla Policy Institute being launched today. “That is the task before us, and it is one that I’m determined to contribute to.”