₦airaland Forum

President Bola Tinubu has congratulated music icon, Mr Innocent Ujah Idibia, fondly called 2Face or 2Baba, on his 50th birthday.

The President while acknowledging the contributions of the music star to Nigeria's entertainment industry commends his resilience, creativity, and indomitable Nigerian spirit.
In a statement by Bayo Onanuga Special Adviser to the President, Information & Strategy, the President says,

"For more than 20 years, 2Baba serenaded us with soulful melodies, inspired generations, and carried the Nigerian flag with pride worldwide. His legendary song, 'African Queen', remains an evergreen classic that introduced the beauty of African music to the world, placing Nigeria at the heart of the global entertainment map."

It adds, the President also notes 2Baba's patriotism and deployment of his platform to the promotion of peace, unity, and good governance in Nigeria.

President Tinubu prays that the years ahead will bring the music virtuoso greater joy, fulfilment, and good health. It concludes

Brenda Biya, daughter of Cameroon's president, Paul Biya, has publicly urged Cameroonians not to vote for her father in the October 2025 election.

In a TikTok live session, Brenda—known as "King Nasty"—blamed his father's 43-year rule for poverty, unemployment, and stagnation in Cameroon. This marks the first time in African political history that a sitting president's child has openly opposed their parent's rule and actively discouraged voters from voting for their parent.

Paul Biya, 92, is one of the world’s longest-serving leaders. His presidency has been marked by allegations of authoritarianism, corruption, and contested elections. However, critics say that Brenda, who lives abroad in luxury, has had a strained relationship with her family, raising questions about whether her views reflect the realities faced by most Cameroonians.

Over 4,000 NOUN Law Graduates Petition Attorney General Over Exclusion From Nigerian Law School Admissions

More than 4,000 law graduates from the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) have petitioned the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Olasunkanmi Fagbemi SAN, seeking urgent intervention over their exclusion from the 2025/2026 Nigerian Law School Bar Part II vocational training admission exercise.

In the petition signed by the group’s president, Mr. Adefowora Adedeji, and secretary-general, Mr. Samuel Udofia, the graduates decried what they described as “discrimination” against over 4,150 qualified NOUN law graduates, who have been denied the right to apply for the programme, despite being recognised under the National Open University of Nigeria (Amendment) Act, 2018.

The petitioners recalled that former President Muhammadu Buhari signed the amendment into law, paving the way for NOUN graduates to be admitted into the Nigerian Law School for the first time.

They argued that the current exclusion violates Section 42 of the 1999 Constitution, which guarantees freedom from discrimination and equal rights for all citizens.

According to the graduates, many of them have been waiting for more than five years to proceed to Bar Part II, with some already advanced in age, while others have died without fulfilling their aspirations.

They emphasised that denying them admission, while graduates of other Nigerian universities are accommodated, amounts to “a national crisis.”

The petitioners proposed that at least 600 NOUN law graduates be distributed across the seven campuses of the Nigerian Law School as a practical solution to the backlog.

They noted that earlier sets of NOUN graduates admitted into the Law School had performed commendably, proving their competence and capacity for professional legal training.

The graduates urged the Attorney General to impress upon the Council for Legal Education and the Nigerian Law School the urgent need to resolve the matter in the interest of fairness, justice, and national development.

The statement read, "We, the undersigned, wish to express our profound gratitude for the support we received from the presidency, under president Muhammadu Buhari, who signed National Open University of Nigeria (Amendment) Act, 2018 (Act No.6 of 2018), into law which resulted in the admission of the first set of law graduates from the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) into the Nigerian Law School.

"We bring to your kind attention, Your Excellency, our rights to equal legal education have been jeopardised in the just-released Nigeria Law School 2025/2026 bar part II vocational training admission exercise, which excluded the Noun law graduates from applying for the professional program of being trained in the law school as barristers and solicitors of Nigeria this year.

“This has become a national crisis. Law graduates from other Nigerian universities are given the right of admission to the Nigerian Law School, while excluding us. This is against the constitutional principles of equality, fairness, and justice.

“We have equal rights to legal education like other Nigerian university law graduates. It is against our right enshrined in section 42 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended). This is a pure state of discrimination!

"However, it is pertinent to inform you, sir, that we are over 4,150 NOUN law graduates currently still awaiting admission into Bar Part II , Nigeria Law School. Many among us have waited an average of more than five years, while many have sadly passed away, and the majority of us are now advanced in age.”

"In light of this situation, we earnestly seek your intervention to impress upon the Council for Legal Education and the Nigerian Law School the urgent need to address our matter. Specifically, we are requesting an immediate admission action plan that will accommodate these over 4,000 graduates into Bar Part II within the shortest possible time," the statement said.

They noted that their “request for direct admission into Bar Part II is firmly grounded in the relevant laws and the following reasons: The Act establishing the National Open University of Nigeria (2018 as amended) has removed any existing lacuna regarding our eligibility.

"Provisions under the Legal Education (Consolidated, etc.) Act (Cap. L10, Laws of the Federation, 2004), which established the Council for Legal Education, stipulates that law graduates (LLB) from Nigerian universities are eligible for such admission.”

"Denying us the same opportunity granted to our seniors will amount to discrimination and an infringement on our fundamental rights under Section 42 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended),” the statement said.

"Lastly, the commendable performance of the first NOUN law graduates admitted into the Nigerian Law School—who have distinguished themselves academically and in character—stands as clear evidence of our readiness and capacity,” it added.

The Idoma Area Traditional Council has declared null and void the chieftaincy title conferred on President Bola Tinubu and four others at the Igede Agba yam festival in the Oju Local Government Area of Benue State.

The title, received on behalf of the President by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, was bestowed by the Adiharu of Igede, His Royal Highness CP Oga Ero (retd.), during Saturday’s celebration.

Four other dignitaries were similarly honoured at the event.

But in a statement on Monday, the Idoma Area Traditional Council, led by its President and Och’Idoma V, His Royal Majesty Dr. Elaigwu Odogbo John, described the conferment as a violation of its earlier directive suspending all chieftaincy title conferments in the Idoma nation.

The statement, signed by the council’s secretary, Mr. Adegbe Uloko, and titled “Nullification of Purported Chieftaincy Titles Conferred by the Igede Traditional Council,” stressed that the move contravened the council’s declaration dated September 2, 2025.

The council said, “The purported conferment of chieftaincy titles by the Igede Traditional Council on September 6, 2025, is in direct violation of the Declaration of the Idoma Area Traditional Council. Such conferments are null, void, and of no legal, customary, or traditional effect.”

Reaffirming its authority, the IATC said it remained the only government-recognised traditional body in the Idoma nation and warned that any acts contrary to its directives amounted to a breach of extant law.

It therefore urged the general public, government institutions, and traditional stakeholders to disregard the titles purportedly conferred on President Tinubu and the other recipients.

“This pronouncement is made to safeguard the integrity of traditional institutions in Benue State, to uphold due process and to maintain peace, unity, and order within the Idoma Area Traditional Council,” the statement added.

The council had last week announced a suspension of all chieftaincy title conferments across its domain, citing the need to sanitise and regulate the process.

Yong4ever:
so pathetic, I was on duty when they brought her to Lasuth unalive,we wish we could resuscitate her but she had no life in her,may her soul rest well but the culprit must not live.

Our sister, Deborah Moses from Ohuhu Owo Oju LGA Benue State, was brutally murdered two nights ago in Lagos by her ex-boyfriend, Lintex Ogale from IDOMA Otukpo LGA .

Reports confirm that Deborah ended the relationship since last year, but the young man refused to move on, insisting that if he could not have her, no one else would. Tragically, on Wednesday night, he disguised himself as a dispatch rider to gain entry into her estate, and there, he stabbed her multiple times in her own home, ending her life.

Deborah had just completed her NYSC and had begun building her career as an interior decorator. She had so many dreams ahead of her, but they were cut short in the most heartless and unjust way.

The suspect has since been arrested and is now in police custody. Those of us in Lagos will follow up physically on the case, but we need everyone to amplify this call. Please, speak about this on your platforms. Let the world hear our cry: Deborah must get justice.

If someone says they are no longer interested in a relationship, respect their decision. Love is never by force. It is wickedness and foolishness to take a life because of rejection.

This case must not be swept under the carpet like others enough is enough. It cannot and it will not.

Painfully, this tragedy happened on the very day we celebrated Igede Agba.
Let us stand together, united in grief and in demand for justice.

Justice for Deborah Moses!

Kanu Nwankwo Arrives in Igede Ahead of Unity Cup Final

Nigerian football legend and former Arsenal FC star, Nwankwo Kanu, popularly known as "Papilo," has arrived in Igede in preparation for the highly anticipated Unity Cup final scheduled for Friday. Kanu's visit is expected to boost the excitement and energy surrounding the event, particularly with Rt Hon Evang David Ogewu's team in action.

"Igede Agba" is the New Yam Festival celebrated by the Igede people of Benue State, Nigeria.

It is a very important cultural festival that marks the end of farming season and the beginning of harvest, especially for yam, which is regarded as the king of crops in Igede land.


It is celebrated mostly in Oju and Obi Local Government Areas of Benue State, but also by Igede people across Nigeria and in the diaspora.

Significance: It is both a thanksgiving to God and the ancestors for a bountiful harvest and a cultural identity marker of the Igede people.

Activities:

Cultural dances, drumming, and singing.

Display of traditional attire (often the Igede blue-and-white wrapper).

Visits, sharing of yam dishes, and communal feasting.


It’s a festival that unites the Igede people, strengthens their cultural pride, and showcases their traditions to the world.

A female food seller simply identified as Ammaye has been lynched in Mariga local government area of Niger State by angry youths over alleged blasphemy against Prophet Muhammad.

The incident was said to have occurred at Kasuwan Garba in the council area.

According to eyewitnesses, the face-off began at a nearby community of Igwama where the woman, who is also a Muslim and well known by residents as a food seller, reportedly exchanged words with a young man said to be her nephew.

It was gathered that the young man jokingly told her that he wanted to marry her to “fulfil the Sunnah" and that made the woman to make comments considered blasphemous, causing outrage among the locals.

The matter was said to have been taken to the palace of the District Head of Kasuwan Garba, where the woman was interrogated and she reportedly repeated what she said earlier.

The development made the District Head to hand her over to security operatives for further investigation, but a crowd of agitated youths insisted on her immediate execution.

It was further gathered that despite attempts by security personnel to protect her, the mob overpowered them and stoned her to death.

Confirming the incident, the Chairman of Mariga Local Government, Abbas Adamu said calm has since been restored to the area.

At least 69 migrants, mainly from Gambia and Senegal, have died, and dozens are missing after their overcrowded boat capsized off the Mauritanian coast.

The vessel, carrying around 160 people, capsized near Mheijrat after passengers rushed to one side when they spotted coastal lights. Only 17 survivors were rescued; they said the boat had left Gambia over a week ago.

Search and rescue operations are ongoing, but the chances of finding more survivors are diminishing rapidly. Mauritania, with more than 700 km of Atlantic coastline, has become a key transit route for African migrants seeking to reach Europe.

Pope Leo XIV has called on Israel to end the ‘terror, destruction and death’ in Gaza. In his weekly address, he backed church leaders in Jerusalem who condemned Israel’s order to evacuate Gaza City, warning it would endanger vulnerable civilians.

Remember the Akwa-Ibom Boy Accused of witchcraft, Abandoned and Rescued by Danish Humanitarian Anja in 2016, He Just Graduated from Primary School with Flying Colours

Tens of thousands rallied in more than 40 Australian cities on Sunday to protest Israel’s war on Gaza, with large turnouts reported in Sydney, Melbourne, Hobart, Perth, and Brisbane.

Organisers and demonstrators urged the government to impose sanctions and an arms embargo against Israel.

𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐝𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐚𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐬 – 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐍𝐰𝐨𝐛𝐢


President of the Nigerian Union South Africa, Mr Smart Nwobi, shares his thoughts with CHUKWUDI AKASIKE on the ban on Nigerians and other foreigners in South Africa from accessing healthcare in the country’s public hospitals by an anti-migrant group and measures taken to address the challenge

What is your group all about?

The group is known as the Nigerian Union South Africa. It is the apex Nigerian organisation that caters for the general interest of Nigerians in South Africa. It was established in 2008. It has been in existence for 17 years.

What is the current situation in South Africa? Is it true that foreigners, including Nigerians, are not allowed to access healthcare in government-owned hospitals?

The current situation is very appalling. I would say it is quite an unfortunate situation because the people who are carrying out this act are not government officials or officials of the department of the healthcare system.

I can tell you as a human rights lawyer that access to public healthcare is guaranteed under the South African Constitution, Section 27 of 1996, under the post-apartheid regime of South Africa’s Nelson Mandela. The section clearly says that everyone, without any exception, is entitled to the public health system.

This constitution was further given flesh by the enactment of the healthcare systems and law. As you can see, it is a xenophobic and unlawful act by a set of people called ‘Operation Dudula’. The group wants to take the law into their own hands.

What is the South African government saying about Operation Dudula’s barring of Nigerian patients and other foreigners from accessing public hospitals in the country?

The Minister of Health in the country, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, has spoken on the matter during a national interview, saying if members of the group do not want foreigners, including Nigerians, to access the public healthcare system in the country, and it is an issue of law, they cannot come to a public health facility where pregnant women and children are helpless, and want to stop healthcare workers, including doctors, from treating the patients.

The minister said if they wanted stopping foreigners from accessing public hospitals in South Africa to become the norm, they should simply go back to the law, vie for elections, win, and implement it in the National Assembly or the parliament in South Africa. He said the law should be changed for such action to take place legally.

What else did the health minister say about the situation?

Motsoaledi was of the view that they (members of the anti-migrant group) were violating the law regarding access to the healthcare system in the country. According to him, stopping doctors from attending to foreigners in the country is illegal.

The doctors also told the group that, by their oath, which was taken before they were admitted as medical practitioners, they could not simply ignore anyone. But what these people are doing is that they stay at some of the health facilities and begin to unlawfully deprive foreigners of medical attention.

Let me tell you one of the consequences of what they are doing; according to statistics, there are some South Africans who have not even got their citizenship documents, so they are also not allowed to get medical attention. Indirectly, the action of the group is also affecting their people.

Whatever they are doing is not scientific; it is not researched. What they (Operation Dudula members) do is that they will come to the hospital and ask for your identification card; if you don’t have the South African citizenship Green Card, they will simply say you should go out of the hospital.

Why are those who are citizens not protesting to the South African government about the situation?

A lot of people have complained that they are citizens, but they have not received their documents. For most of us who are here, even if you are a foreigner and you have earned your citizenship, for the fact that you are not speaking the language, but you are a taxpayer; they simply order you out of the hospital. It doesn’t matter if you have documents or not.

So, what they are doing is simply illegal. NUSA (the Nigerian Union South Africa) has condemned it; we are collaborating with progressive associations in South Africa, the Office of the Human Rights for Refugee Affairs, and the Office of the African Diaspora Forum on the matter. We have resolved to seek legal intervention for those affected, including Nigerians.

But the Operation Dudula group you mentioned accused foreigners of overstretching public health facilities in South Africa. How would you react to this?

We disagree because for them to assert that, there must be statistics to say, for example, that over the last 12 months, this is the percentage of foreigners who were treated, and this is the budget that was made for the entire people in the country, and this is the number of foreigners that will amount to overstretching the public health facilities that we received.

These are just claims that are not backed by facts. It is simply afro phobia and xenophobia. This is their modus operandi; they started targeting foreigners, especially Nigerians and people from other African countries.

They were saying South Africans should be allowed to trade, but nobody is stopping anybody from trading. It is just that their people do not want to trade, and this informal sector has been assisting in developing the economy of South Africa. That was the target in the past three to four months ago. Now, they have left that and come into the healthcare sector.

During one of their interviews, they (the anti-migrant group) said that by next year, they would go to schools where foreigners, including Nigerians, attend to stop them from attending public schools.

These public schools are not entirely free; foreigners pay, but it is just that the education here is subsidised. It is not actually that they (Operation Dudula) are focusing on one sector in the country; they have threatened to go to other sectors, including schools. This means that these actions are coordinated.

When did the ban on foreigners from public healthcare start?

It started at the beginning of this year, but it was intensified around July and August (this month).

How are Nigerians in South Africa affected?

As a human rights lawyer, I get numerous calls daily about the situation. This is appalling. Some of these foreigners are citizens of South Africa by naturalisation.

Apart from collaborating with some groups to find a solution to the issue, what other measures is your group taking to ensure that Nigerians begin to gain access to public hospitals for treatment?

We have written to the Nigerian Consulate to reach out to their South African counterpart on the matter. We will write to them once again to intensify efforts in reaching out to the groups involved in all this and tell them that this is unacceptable.

They (consulate officials) are politicians and diplomats; we are trying to push our diplomats from here (South Africa) to also reach out to the Nigerian President (Bola Tinubu), as well as our Senate, to be in contact diplomatically with their South African counterparts.

Secondly, internally within the country, because this is a legal issue, we are cooperating with other African migrant unions. As of last week, the Nigerian Union South Africa had an official briefing with the African Diaspora Forum, and they agreed to collaborate with my group (NUSA) to mount a legal approach and ask questions.

Are you saying no intervention has come from the Nigerian government on the issue?

No, they have not been able to intervene; the consulate and the embassy have not intervened. We tried to reach out to them, but they have not said anything; they have not given us any progress report about what they are doing so far.

We are calling on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to kindly intervene. He might be here in September for the G-20, which South Africa would be hosting; world leaders would also be there.

With the inability to access public healthcare, what alternative measures are Nigerians embracing?

Nigerians have resorted to self-medication, which is detrimental to their health. Some of them are losing their lives every day. The statistics are there. Nigerians are now afraid of going to public hospitals in South Africa to avoid being beaten to death or assaulted. That is the unfortunate part of it. So, this requires urgent intervention.

Now, as it is getting close to election time, foreigners, especially those doing business, are always the target. That anger against the ruling party, government is transferred to foreigners. Nigerians are always among the victims when this happens.

How is your group assisting members who cannot afford high medical bills in private hospitals there?

The Nigerian Union South Africa, in one of the provinces, organised a medical outreach to assist Nigerians in the country. Under the scheme, African doctors are paid to carry out tests and treat Nigerians for free. This is done within a limited budget because we do not benefit from any funding outside of members’ contributions.

In a video, a leader of a group suspected to be an anti-migrant group was heard telling some foreigners to go back to their countries, encourage their governments to fix their economies, and stop the migration surge to South Africa. Are there lessons African leaders can learn from this?

There is a great lesson to be learnt from the statement. The lesson to be learnt here is that if various governments in Africa can fix their countries, there will be less influx of migrants to other well-to-do or rich countries.

Such steps will reduce xenophobia and afro phobia, which means Africans attacking Africans. In this case, South African blacks against blacks (who are non-South Africans).

How long have you been in South Africa?

I came to South Africa in 2008; that means I have been here for 17 years. I went to school here; I did my master’s here.

Are you practising law in South Africa?

Yes, I am practising law in South Africa. My chamber, Nwobi (Smart) Attorneys Inc., is one of the leading chambers in South Africa. I am an employer of labour.

What has been your experience in South Africa?

South Africa has a very good system, and the majority of South Africans are good people, especially those who have travelled far and wide. Those who are well-travelled understand what is obtainable on the continent.

Only a few of them are involved in this anti-migrant campaign. Those involved are not exposed. I always tell them that what we have in Africa are artificial boundaries because we used to be a united Africa.

What are the infrastructural facilities you enjoy there, which you think are absent here in Nigeria?

One of them is this issue at hand: health facilities. I can also tell you that 20 per cent of the doctors here are foreigners, and out of this, 40 per cent are Nigerians. Our best doctors are in South Africa just as they are in other parts of the world.

The public healthcare facilities in South Africa are even better than what they have in private hospitals in the country because the private hospitals cannot afford to buy some of the medical equipment we see in public hospitals in the country. Again, in South Africa, the government provides what is called a social grant for the elderly, the unemployed, and the poor.

Are medical doctors well remunerated in South Africa?

Salaries for the doctors and other health workers are quite good. If you are a healthcare practitioner here, you will earn three times what your equals earn in Nigeria or elsewhere. So, the government pays health workers very well.

Is it the same story with power supply over there?

Power supply is steady here. Some of these health facilities cannot work without power. Investors will not even invest without power. Last year or two years ago, South Africa had a challenge with ESKOM (South Africa Electricity Supply Commission); people experienced power outages because of load shedding, but this was stabilised without delay.

So, one of the investments in this country is a 24/7 power supply. I can tell you that most of our Nigerian governors and other leaders come here for different conferences, and they can see that South Africa is stable economically, socially, and politically. We have a lot to learn from them.

How many Nigerians are currently in South Africa?

The survey in 2023 puts it at 500,000, but we are currently 800,000 Nigerians here in South Africa.