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The Wrath of Nigeria & Why Everyone Is Complicit – By Jimi Kusanu

March 5, 2025 by admin

It was ludicrous having stumbled on a reportage of the president’s wife claiming to be a “detribalized” citizen of Nigeria. I could not help but ponder exactly what that meant. What does it inherently mean to be detribalized? Does it suggest that you no longer identify with the ethnic stock to which you belong? Or after having performed some symbolic rites, your ideological disposition may now be considered more “ecumenical?” I find it utterly worrisome that a supposed first lady of a steeply ethnically divergent society would conceive, then make such pronouncement. Such pronouncement can be likened to when an individual says, “I am now deconverted.” The obvious question subsequently arises, how are you deconverted if you were never converted? If an individual is born Muslim or Christian, he as anticipated, practices the religious tenets and follows the doctrine of the religion. In other words, an individual cannot be “detribalized” if they were never tribalized to begin with. If one’s ethnic philosophy and judgement tilted more towards ecumenism, rather than chauvinism or jingoism, I presume one would not have to undergo such laborious task of detribalization. How do I know it is a laborious task? Why else would a former lawmaker cum First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria make such a statement if it were not for citizens to acknowledge and be cognizant of her efforts to nowadays evince a more panoramic view of “nationalism?” The articulation of the foregoing is germane to the motif of this blurb because of its nuanced centrality in pop culture conversation in both the digital and physical spaces in recent times , especially since the conclusion of the 2023 Nigerian General Elections and the vastly controversial inauguration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It is first disheartening, then embarrassingly agonizing to inescapably find oneself in both digital and physical spaces where discourses border nothing except jingoistic chitchat and other attendant nonsense. X, formerly Twitter, appeared to be the hub of socially, culturally and politically progressive discourses amongst Nigerian netizens. This I am persuaded to believe is owed to the concentration of the demographic who are its leading users. Except that these days, there has been a seismic shift in the themes of discussions. Conversations have drifted from polemics on potentially progressive, cultural, social and political ambitions and other regular drivels to nauseating, intellect-declining and exhausting squabbles of completely trifling and quite inane subjects. I struggle to believe my eyes on the many occasions I have seen Nigerian youths go against one another on what ethnic groups have the best soups or cuisines; what tribe has the most beautiful women, or whose region is bedevilled with less sociocultural ills. This is not usually some friendly banter by the way. 21st century Nigerians, among many of whom are graduates , eligible for advanced degrees have been polarized, subjugated and defeated such that they are endlessly at each other’s throats on the most unimaginably irrelevant and stupid subject matter. An example was when the Ojude Oba Festival held in Ogun State, southwestern Nigeria got its increased media attention concluded in 2024; an avalanche of slurs intended to discredit and ridicule the glamour the event seemed to have paraded was started by narrow-minded characters who have now been loosely christened bigots. Ethnic chauvinists like them within the Yoruba folk too could not conceal their pungent bigoted grandstanding. Following the 2023 elections, it is somewhat unsurprising that the Yoruba and Igbos would be the two tribes constantly warring. The squabbles are so intense that malediction and profanity are not omitted. All these can be traced to the Nigerian history. The founders and the fighters for the independence of Nigeria. The two patriarchs of both Yoruba and Igbo political evolution and civilization who were political arch-rivals. Sixty three years after independence, a keenly contested election was underway. Primary players included a widely supported contestant from the Igbo tribe and a political big deal who made a statement at one of his campaign rounds in the lines of, “it is now my time.” A statement I personally found distasteful. To understand the apparent rancour between the two ethnicities and by extension other ethnicities in the country, I imagine it is imperative to sojourn back to the past. The beginning of what appears will be the end of an entity called Nigeria – ethnic and religious intolerance. The build up to the Jan 15th coup has garnered innumerable controversies overtime; controversies I shall attempt to disentangle in my best capacity. First, the Igbos cannot claim total innocence. Follow this with all open-mindedness you can whether you’re Igbo or otherwise. The leadership of the coup was by high ranking officers of the Army who were from the Igbo extraction. Major Chukwuma “Kaduna” Nzeogwu , Emmanuel Arinze Ifeajuna , Timothy Onwuatuegwu, Christian Anuforo, Humphrey Chukwuka, Donatus Okafor and Adewale Ademoyega are the documented leaders of the putsch. Only one of these officers is non- Igbo. The above-mentioned officers, during the planning, coordination and execution of the coup, contributed in one way or another to sentiments that have led many non- Igbos to christen it the “Igbo Coup.” For instance, Chris Anuforo, involved in the coup, killed Colonel Kur Mohammed and Lieutenant-Colonel Pam and Unegbe. Donatus Okafor, a conspirator of the coup, conveniently failed to arrest General Agunyi-Ironsi who would assume the position of Head of State. Ifeajuna , the celebrated Olympian is rumoured to be a tribal kinsman of Nnamdi Azikiwe, the first President of Nigeria in the First Republic. It is also alleged by sources who were active participants in the national polity that Ifeajuna had hinted Azikiwe of the coup, and that could explain his coincidental trip to the Caribbean on health grounds. After General Ironsi became Head of State, many wondered why the putschist were only arrested and not prosecuted. This cast a croynist aspersion on the motive of Ironsi’s leadership. Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa ; Premier Ahmadu Bello … Read more

Abuja Residents Lament As NNPCL Shuts Stations Over Logistics Issues

February 6, 2025 by admin

Residents of the Federal Capital Territory have been left stranded and grappling with fuel shortages following the sudden closure of several retail outlets owned by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited within the capital city. It was gathered that the stations closed for some days, were allegedly ordered by the management of the national oil firm and will continue till next week. The closures, attributed to logistical challenges, have led to long queues at remaining stations, with many motorists and commuters facing hours of delays. At multiple stations visited by The PUNCH on Wednesday, such as those in Lugbe, Airport Road, Zone 3, Lifecamp, and Kubwa, motorists were turned away while attendants sat idly. An attendant at an NNPC station in Garki, who preferred to remain anonymous, stated, “We’ve been dry for two days now. There is simply no product to sell. We are awaiting directives from our suppliers.” Another attendant in Kubwa, identified as Peter, said they have been selling previous petrol stocks and haven’t received fresh products due to the challenge. “We finished our old stock yesterday. We only do not have products for today. We are expecting supplies and will definitely have them by tomorrow. But we have gas available for sale today,” he said. A station manager at the NNPC Life Camp station, who confirmed the challenge and the directive by the NNPCL management, said the closure was due to some internal adjustments that affected all stations. The manager, who declined to give his name, stated, “The reason why there has been no fuel in most of our stations in Abuja here in recent weeks is due to some internal adjustments/programmes being done at the management level. “But there’s no cause for alarm as it is being settled, and a few NNPC stations have started getting fuel and selling to customers. Very soon, between now and next week, hopefully, we are supposed to have fuel here as well. The price still stands at 965 naira per litre.” Our correspondent gathered that the impact of this decision was not immediately felt because its mega stations are still in operation, selling old stock to customers. This development caught many residents off-guard as fuel availability in the capital city rapidly diminished. Efforts to reach the NNPCL spokesperson, Femi Soneye, on the reasons for the closure, were futile as the spokesperson didn’t respond to messages sent to his line. However, a source within the company confirmed that the closure of the stations was due to unanticipated “logistical issues.”. “We have product in all our depots, but we had some logistics challenges.” Residents have expressed frustration over the situation, with long lines forming at the few operational stations. A driver who spoke to our correspondent said the situation has forced motorists to patronise independent marketers who sell at a higher rate. “I am disappointed with how this situation is being handled. Now I have no choice but to patronise independent marketers who sell at a higher rate.” Punch

Wike’s Nigeria Feeds Citizens’ Bodies To Pigs By Festus Adedayo

October 7, 2024 by admin

Nigerians and indeed, the world, watched aghast last week as a South African grisly movie reel began to roll. Full of all the elements of a movie, it was however a real story. The cast was two black women who, on August 17, were shot and fed to pigs by a white farmer. The victims, Maria Makgato, 45 and Lucia Ndlovu, 34 were scavenging for edible food in consignments of recently expired or soon-to-be-expired produce on a farm located near Polokwane, a South African northern Limpopo province. The expired edible foods were meant for pigs. Before her gruesome murder, Makgato was mother of four sons of between 22 and five years ages. Farm owner, Zachariah Johannes Olivier, 60, had reportedly ordered his employees, Adrian de Wet, 19, and William Musora, 50, to kill the two women. Their bodies were then fed to pigs, in order to destroy evidence of their murder. Ms Ndlovu’s husband, Mabutho Ncube, who came to the farm with his wife, had been shot, too but crawled into safety with his gunshot wounds. Several days later, police found decomposing, horrific bodies of the women in the farm’s pigsty, partly eaten up by the swine In South Africa, farming communities are severally under attacks by white farmers, exacerbating an already high crime statistics in the country. This is especially rife in rural areas, despite the official cessation of the obnoxious racist system of apartheid 30 years ago. In same August, in the eastern province of Mpumalanga, two men – a farmer and his security guard – were arrested in Laersdrift, located beside a small South African town called Middleburg, for allegedly murdering two men on a farm. Accused of stealing sheep, the men were incinerated beyond recognition. The court had to subject their ashes to DNA analysis to be able to establish their identities. In the same vein, a 70-year old white farmer, Christoffel Stoman, of Lutzville, a Western Cape province, had allegedly driven over and broken the two legs of a 6-year old boy for picking a fallen orange on his farm. The boy’s mother, walking with him past Stoman’s farm, on their way to town to purchase groceries, was horrified as his son got mowed down by Stoman. As they watch this grisly movie, like the rest of the world, Nigerians are entitled to their shock. However, literally and figuratively, on the social and political planes, our country can be said to be grappling with leaders of similar sadism as South Africa’s Oliviers. Almost on a daily basis, Nigerians’ bodies are figuratively fed to swine, simply because they pick expired pig foods from our collective farm. Nigerian leadership in the last seventeen months, like Olivier, has figuratively thrown Nigerians’ bodies to the swine who now take turns to feast on our flesh for supper. Nigerians are writhing under excruciating poverty occasioned by wickedness in high places. They encounter limited vision and foresight of leaders who claimed it was their time to rule but who have no time to think through the people’s plights. Perhaps the greatest Olivier-like savagery inflicted on Nigerians is the gradual destruction and undermining of the foundation of democracy by the born-to-rule taskmasters. In almost 17 months, all the institutions of democracy, like the electoral system, free press/speech and impartial judicial system have been dealt mortal blows. They are all comatose today. This speaks to that eternal aphorism that democracies are not killed by guns but by wicked undermining of its foundation. If Nigerians are so distressed about the misrule in their country today, unfortunately, they are in a Catch-24 situation. We are locked up in a paradoxical situation from which, except an intervention of providence, we may never escape. As Sule Lamido warned recently, if the Leviathan in Aso Rock didn’t control the Senate, the Nigerian Army, Nigerian police, DSS etc and yet won the 2023 election, it is wishful thinking that anyone can stop the reproduction of this misrule in 2027. The ones at the top today have worn upon them the classical head of the Medusa. In real terms, like the sobriquet of one of the friends of Ayinla Omowura, an Abeokuta musical warlord of the 1970s, they are reincarnates of Ab’esuj’obi – one who shares kolanut with the devil. According to the playbook of democracy, opposition deepens democracy. In Nigeria, the Leviathan has effectively castrated opposition. And this is why we should all be bothered. It is a Lagos model given federal promotion. The Leviathan then dipped his hands into his wiles pouch. From there, he brought out a colony of termites, led by a choleric dictator who is seeking political vengeance in his home state. His main assignment was to gradually corrode virtually all the internal strength of the PDP. I will not be shocked if the Leviathan is also the sponsor of the crisis in the Labour Party as well. Like a colony of pests called termites, Aso Rock and Nyesom Wike have visited on our country, using Rivers State as model, one of the most debilitating democratic devastations ever in history. This means that, whatever tyranny and limited vision leadership which Nigerians complain of today has a longer expiry period than they may think. We should all buckle up for a marathon. It is a distressing reality. What happened in Edo State last month, coupled with the lawlessness that has eaten up Rivers State today, are clear signals that the electoral, judicial and police institutions have been ambushed. In broad daylight, with the obvious abetment of the Villa, electoral process was cavalierly thrown to the swine. The animals in turn mauled it with maniacal relish. It was obvious that Mahmood Yakubu’s INEC didn’t have any qualm licking the pus-dripping wound of the Leviathan and his accomplices. With wanton abuse of electoral rules by INEC, advocacy for the abrogation of state electoral commissions for being lapels of state governors will not make any sense. From what is going on in Rivers today, with INEC openly … Read more

Governor Seyi Makinde Beats Own First Term Record

October 4, 2024 by admin

Governor Seyi Makinde has done more for the people of Oyo State than during his first tenure in office. This has allayed the historical phobia people usually have of second term governors and their performances. In a statement by the Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Prince Dotun Oyelade, 335.19km of roads have been constructed since 2019, out of which 144.37km were constructed in the first four years and 190.82km commissioned in just 17 months into the second term. The Commissioner said the ongoing 110km circular road project has its bridges and interchanges on the South East Segment of the circular road completed with a projection of 100% delivery in 24 months. The circular road will make Oyo State most accessible to all road networks in the Federation. The Commissioner said that earlier this week, the Civil Service Commission announced the recruitment of 791 workers into the Mainstream. He however recalled that 692 Education Officers, 60 Environmental Health Officers, 19 Lands Officers, 30 Lawyers have earlier been recruited into the Mainstream of the Oyo State Civil Service. “If the 791 new recruits are added, the Seyi Makinde administration would have broken the employment record of the State by recruiting 1,592 into the Service, half way into its second term,” he said. It would be recalled that at a leadership retreat held for top government officials on October 4th 2023, shortly after his re-election, Governor Seyi Makinde promised that his second term in office will witness more accelerated growth in all sectors than in his first term with people-friendly policies. The Governor at the retreat warned members of his cabinet that the people of Oyo state will neither take excuses nor stories from his administration and therefore gave them a matching order to perform better than his first term achievements. The Commissioner said that before the end of this month, 7,000 Primary School Teachers out of the 46,000 that sat for the Computer Based Test, will receive their employment letters. “The 7,000 new teachers being recruited is obviously more than the 5,000 Secondary School Teachers the Seyi Makinde administration employed in his first term,” he said. Gov. Makinde’s efforts since 2019 has repositioned the Ibadan airport, now Samuel Ladoke Akintola airport, recently upgraded to International status which will make Oyo State the Commercial Hub of the Southwest. Also the Fasola industrial estate has become the transformative initiative of Governor Makinde in Agribusiness and currently has 10 Industries on the 1,100 hectares farm that has become the destination for private local and International investors.

The Wrath of Nigeria & Why Everyone Is Complicit – By Jimi Kusanu

Abuja Residents Lament As NNPCL Shuts Stations Over Logistics Issues

Wike’s Nigeria Feeds Citizens’ Bodies To Pigs By Festus Adedayo

Governor Seyi Makinde Beats Own First Term Record

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