₦airaland Forum

Maybe we should have just allowed Obasanjo do that 3rd term. It has been downhill since he left the scene.

I honestly regret that Obasanjo did not get the third term he really wanted.

He built a robust economy then left at a time it was about to be the new normal Yaradua came in got sick and boys mismanaged everything from then on.

Obasanjo is a no nonsense focused old man.

I have thought this so many times. It’s a shame that each administration seems worse than the previous in my estimation. The slope is negative

Now people are beginning to realise that democracy is not a two way street. One of the KPIs of development is policy consistency & you can't get that in Africa without a single good leader/party in power. Egypt, Rwanda, Russia, China et al. But again is that sustainable??

Empty streets, markets as residents comply with IPOB’s sit-at-home order in south-east

Streets in some parts of the south-east have been deserted.

There is no vehicular movement in vast swathes of the geopolitical region as residents comply with the sit-at-home order issued by the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

In certain neighbourhoods, you could hear a pin drop in the distance.

Traders have also not opened for business due to fear of attacks by the sit-at-home enforcers.

Last week, IPOB declared May 30 as a sit-at-home in the south-east to honour “our heroes and heroines” who died in the civil war between 1967 and 1970.

“Annually, 30th of May is solemn memorial day for Biafrans. To honor our heroes and heroines. Biafrans are asked to observe this one (1) day sit-at-home in reverence to the spirits of our departed heroes who fought for us to be alive today,” Emma Powerful, IPOB spokesperson, said in a statement.

“Every Biafran in Biafra territory is expected to sit-at-home on this day and reflect on the danger of the forced unity called Nigeria that have taken millions of lives of Biafrans.

“To that effect, IPOB directs all schools, government offices, Private offices, Banks, transport unions, market unions and private individuals to shut down all operations in honor of our our heroes and heroines on Thursday, May 30, 2024.

“IPOB directs all the residents of Biafra Land to stay indoors from 6am to 6pm on the 30th of May 2024. IPOB warns residents in Biafra to avoid loitering about on this day.

“Those who intend to travel to and fro Biafra land must do so before the evening of May 29th.”

The group is known for forceful and violent enforcement of its sit-at-home directives.

SKELETAL MOVEMENT IN EBONYI

Residents and traders in some south-east states, including Imo and Ebonyi, told TheCable on Thursday morning that there is no vehicular movement and that the streets are empty, with people remaining indoors for fear of being attacked.

A community leader in Ikwo, the largest LGA in Ebonyi, told TheCable that there was panic buying on Wednesday as people planned not to go out today.

“As I can see, the traffic is not as usual, only few and skeletal movement is happening within,” the community leader who craved anonymity said.

“There is a lot of panic such that some of the occasions that were scheduled today were postponed. Today was to be the local government delegate and councillorship primaries, but to that effect it was postponed for 31st.

“The reason I believe is not that the state government is afraid but then, to avoid casualties. You wouldn’t know when an untoward event can occur and some people will be affected.

“Of course, some shops are closed, some busy areas are not as it usually was. That is how my own area is.

“I haven’t seen any student move around. A lot of people that were meant to come from outside south-east — for fear of being attacked, had to leave yesterday.”

EMPTY STREETS, MARKETS IN IMO

A trader in Owerri who wished not to be named, expressed support for the sit-at-home order.

“I like what is happening today. Biafrans are marking their day. You can see no market today, no vehicular movement. It is like that in all Biafran states. We want Biafra to come and it will surely come,” the trader said.

“Nigerian government is suffering us. We are hungry and poor now. The president should change his style of leadership. People are dying of hunger and the government is not doing anything to alleviate our suffering.”

‘DISREGARD IPOB SIT-AT-HOME ORDER’

Meanwhile, police commands in the various south-east states have asked residents to ignore the sit-at-home order and go about their normal businesses.

Henry Okoye, the police spokesperson in Imo, said the order was “unlawful”.

Okoye said Aboki Danjuma, the commissioner of police in Imo, has strategically deployed security operatives to all nooks and crannies to ensure public safety.

Similarly, the Anambra police advised residents to shun the sit-at-home order.

“The Anambra State Police Command has become cognizant of the activities of criminal elements disseminating, threatening voice-overs and violent videos in an attempt to enforce illegal sit-at-home directives and instill fear among the residents of Anambra,” Tochukwu Ikenga, police public relations officer in Anambra, said in a statement.

“It is imperative to inform the public that actionable intelligence indicates that these individuals, in their bid to enforce the unlawful sit-at-home order, fabricate threatening voice-over recordings and circulate outdated videos of violent incidents, some of which did not occur within the state or even the country.

“The Command is fully aware of these secessionist activities and urges the law-abiding citizens of Anambra to disregard such propaganda.

“Rest assured, the Police, along with other security agencies, have mobilized law enforcement resources to ensure the safety and security of every citizen in the state.”

Diaper and sanitary pad manufacturer, Kimberley Clark will soon announce an imminent shutdown of its Ikorodu production facility two years after investing $100 million in Nigeria.

Sources within the company informed Nairametrics that the plant has been producing below capacity from late 2023 into 2024 due to the harsh economic environment within the country.

In 2022, the company inaugurated a $100 million production facility in Ikorodu, Lagos state to restart operations after a similar closure of operations in 2019 following a strategic review of its business.

Kimberly-Clark began operations in Nigeria in 2012 but stopped due to unfavourable economic conditions after five years in 2019 to later restart in 2021.

The company produces Huggies diapers, sanitary pads, Kotex and other hygiene and personal care products. KC is a listed multinational on the New York Stock Exchange with the majority of its shares held by institutional investors like Blackrock Inc., Vanguard Group, Morgan Stanley etc.

According to the source who claimed anonymity, the company since late 2022 have battled with high energy costs, raw materials and reduced demand from customers due to the prevailing economic situation.

This has resulted in downsizing and reduced production time from every day of the week to just Mondays to Thursdays.

The company currently spends around N100 million on power generation monthly aside from maintenance costs and its monthly fixed spend on operations has risen over N500 million.

He said,

“Our first two years were fantastic in terms of sales growth and market shares within the diaper industry. Fast forward into late 2022 and 2023 was really bad years for the coy due to economic situation.”

“Running cost is extremely on the high side. Our fixed spent on a monthly basis is above N500 million and we spent about N100 million on just gas consumption for powering the gas engine aside maintenance. The company has two assets and for last year, these assets didn’t run for like 90 days in 365 days.”

“Earlier this year, the coy had to downsize to 2 shifts from 4 shifts. We run 24hrs and 7days and 365 days before but currently we don’t run on Friday, Saturday and Sunday anymore because of the economic situation. There is already an embargo on external recruitment. The company is looking for ways to reduce cost since it is not making a profit.”

Furthermore, the source noted that the high production cost stems from the increased raw material cost since it is import-based.

At the initiation of operations about three years ago, the company set aside some money for operations which it estimated would last five years after which revenue from Nigeria could sustain the operations.

EXIT FROM NIGERIA

The planned closure of operations of Kimberly-Clark from Nigeria and the reasons provided are similar to those of other manufacturers who have exited the country in the past few years.

High production cost, currency depreciation affecting the import of raw materials, and weak purchasing power of the populace.

Last year, another U.S based company in the personal care business Procter and Gamble (P&G) closed production in Nigeria in a similar fashion having invested about $300 million (the single largest non-oil investment by a U.S company in Nigeria) in a production facility in Ibadan.

Similarly, PZ Cussons stated last month that it is evaluating strategic options for its Africa business for which Nigeria is the biggest and thinking of ways to maximise shareholder value. The company has also restarted asset disposal in Nigeria after a halt due to forex liquidity issues.

The baby diaper industry in Nigeria is estimated at $920 million with a CAGR of about 11% between 2024 and 2028 according to Statista. Leaders in the industry include; Pampers produced by P&G, Molfix, and Kimberly-Clark’s Huggies. However, it is a hugely competitive industry with about 15 brands competing for market share.

WHAT THIS MEANS

The planned closure of production in Kimberly-Clark’s facility in Nigeria is a huge blow to the federal government’s drive to attract foreign direct investment into the country and mirrors the challenges faced by players in the real economy.

Furthermore, the closure of operations means that two of the three leaders in the diaper and personal care industry in Nigeria (P&G and Kimberly-Clark) have ended production in the last one year.

Like GSK, P&G transitioned to an import-based business model, if KC tows the same line, it could exacerbate the cost of diapers and sanitary materials for babies and households following significant depreciation of the Naira and further increase the country’s imports at a time when the drive for local production is high.

PBAT 1st year anniversary is 2/10. Hopefully, with 3 more years in the first term, we will see the results of all the efforts made so far.

I rated PBAT 2/10 and some of you have been convulsing about it. Rate him whatever you want, it’s none of my business. Nigeria will be great.

As he marks one year in office, President Bola Tinubu has assured he will not let the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, down.

Tinubu gave the assurance yesterday while commissioning the Southern Parkway, S8/S9, from Christian Centre to Ring Road 1, Nnamdi Azikiwe Way, which was named Bola Ahmed Tinubu Way.

Describing the minister as a good team leader and “Mr Project,” the president applauded Wike for giving Abuja residents hope through legacy projects.

He said if not for Wike, the project would have been abandoned.

According to Tinubu: “The completion of the Southern Parkway underscores our commitment to inclusive and sustainable development, as we strive to build a world-class capital city. We recognise the fact that infrastructure is an enabler of jobs, economic development and prosperity. We believe we are going to achieve all of that.

“The needs of our citizens are paramount in our minds, so by making our citizens the central focus of our development, we believe Nigeria will succeed.

“As we formally inaugurate this road, I am greatly honoured, I heard him mention my name as the beneficiary. Thank you very much; thank you for being a very good team leader, we all collectively will not let you down.”

Northern emirs, elders and politicians are more concerned about deposition of emirs in Kano than demolition of Alaba Rago Market, where thousands Northerners earn a living.

The Lagos state government has taken advantage of the current emirate saga in Kano and demolished the Alaba Rago market in Lagos so our people won’t noticed.

Our Northern leaders are only interested in the games of throne happening in Kano while our Arewa brothers lost the means of their livelihood.

The Alaba Rago market is one of the major markets where Northerners carry out their businesses without harming anyone but the market have been demolished and no single Northern elder or politician condemn the act because they’ve successfully diverted their attention to Kano emirate.

Where’s our scholars, the so called dattawan arewa and the senate? This is the moment our people needed your voice the most.

Why are almost all of our Northern traditional rulers Fulanis?

Why is it so difficult to find Hausa traditional rulers in these prominent historical positions?

Usman Danfodio truly left his mark there.

Out of 200 million Nigerians, can just 5,000 of you pay $5 a month for investigative journalism that will provide the information to save your country with?

No, it's too expensive, Nigerians are too poor, and high-quality journalism should be free because journalism runs on 'pashun', twigs, and pieces of string.

A whole civilisation of 200 million people, including a 1st and 2nd gen diaspora of at least 5 million people cannot crowdfund a single journalistic platform to tell its own stories for its own general benefit because it's too expensive and who needs that.

It can, however, fund a sprawling entertainment industry where all manner of inarticulate igbó smokers who add no value to anyone's lives can regularly sell out shows with ticket prices 3 times the national monthly minimum wage.

No problem paying through the arse for superstar dumbos to mime their generic autotuned stuff and occasionally assault you into the bargain, but paying for what actually adds value to your life is where you lot draw the line.

Well, me I kuku took the hint and found a job that pays me my worth. I did what I could for you people. If 200 million people collectively decide that their brains are too small for them to deserve a place in a world that is actively seeking to exterminate them, then who am I to disagree.🤷🏿‍♂️

Nobody will sha say I did not play my part.🚶🏿‍♂️‍➡️

For the record, nobody is begging anybody for anything. I have a 9-5 that pays me more than what most Nigerians statistically can ever hope to earn. That's not a brag, that's a statement of fact.

But I'm done being a hero for the world's largest mannequin collection. I shouldn't have to struggle through a 9-5 in a whole separate career and then use that hard earned personal money to fund public interest journalism on behalf of 200 million children who can see the value in fundraising for reality TV contestants, but not in accessing information that could save (and previously has saved!) their lives.

As far as journalism goes, I've done everything I can do with the recurrent chin chin budget of <N300,000 (at the very best) that 200 million people were able to put together for a platform that literally prevented a war that would have turned Nigeria into Ukraine. That's why I sold the platform and left its long term sustainability to become somebody else's problem.

The next time Macron or Biden pushes the red button on the drug lord's remote control, I will be on my 3rd or 4th passport working remotely from a beach in Thessaloniki. Nothing go join me with the matter. By the time una die finish, maybe the remaining people in that country will develop sense.

But knowing you people, maybe not even then.

Bulletproof heads.

As predicted 2 months ago, following its self-inflicted PR disaster, Erisco Foods Limited, a.k.a. "EFL" has quietly changed the name of its tomato purée product.

Imagine how much money and effort could have been saved by listening to actual professional advice.🤷🏿‍♂️

PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI A mob in the Haitian capital beat and burned 13 suspected gang members to death with gasoline-soaked tires Monday after pulling the men from police custody at a traffic stop, police and witnesses said.

The horrific vigilante violence underlined public anger over the increasingly lawless situation in Port-au-Prince where criminal gangs have taken control over an estimated 60% of the city since the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse.

Six more burned bodies were laid in a nearby neighborhood later Monday, and some witnesses said that police killed them and residents set them on fire, but the AP could not verify the accounts independently.

Haiti National Police said in a brief statement that officers in the city's Canape Vert section stopped and searched a minibus for contraband early Monday and had confiscated weapons from suspects before they were "unfortunately lynched by members of the population." The statement did not elaborate on how members of the crowd were able to take control of the suspects.

A witness who gave his name as Edner Samuel told The Associated Press that members of the crowd took the suspected gangsters away from police, beat them and stoned them before putting tires on them, pouring gasoline over them and burning them. An AP reporter at the scene saw 13 bodies burning in a street.

At the 11th Bola Tinubu Colloquium on March 29, 2019, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, then only a powerful but unofficial pillar of the APC, gave us an ominous presage of his administration that we all either ignored or sniggered at but which is now eerily materializing.

“If we reduce the purchasing power of the people, we can further slow down the economy," he said to a mysterious ovation from the audience. “Let’s widen the tax net. Those who are not paying now, even if it’s inclusive of Bola Tinubu, let the net get bigger and we take in more taxes. And that is what we must do in the country.”

Many people were genuinely bewildered and wondered what Tinubu meant. I was, too. For one, there is clearly neither economic logic nor even moral merit in reducing the purchasing power of a people, slowing down the economy, and then taxing the same people whose purchasing power has been reduced in a depressed economy. Why would anyone propose that as the anchor of his economic policy?

It’s defensible to suggest the broadening of the tax base of an economy, but not even the most ruthless, unfeeling, sadistic, and misanthropic tyrant would openly advocate the mass pauperization of the people as an economic policy.

So, many people, including me, concluded that Tinubu merely slipped up. What he meant to say was inconsistent with what he actually said. It was a fair concession. But there was more to the slip-up than many of us cared to accept at the time.

I am a student of Sigmund Freud. I was exposed to his psychoanalysis in my secondary school days by one Steven Omolaiye, a 1984 University of Ibadan sociology graduate, who was the project supervisor of a hospital the European Economic Community built in my hometown.

He was from Ogori-Magongo in what is now Kogi State. I have no idea where he is now—or if he is even alive—but I first learned about Freudian slip and of Sigmund Freud from him. When I got to Bayero University, Kano, for my undergraduate degree, I read almost every book Freud wrote, even though I was a mass communication student.

I am bringing this up to establish my non-credentialed bona fides to psychoanalyze Tinubu’s 2019 slip-up in light of what his administration is turning out to be. When Tinubu idealized increasing the tax burden of the people at the very moment that their purchasing power is weak and the tempo of the economy is decelerated, he was betraying, without he himself realizing it, a subconscious, deep-seated longing for the sort of invidiously stratified, anti-poor regime he creates and strengthens with every policy.

“From error to error, one discovers the entire truth,” Sigmund Freud once said. In other words, errors in speech and in writing sometimes serve as lenses that help reveal an unconscious, suppressed, or subdued desire or internal thought.

If I had written this in 2019 or, especially, in 2023, I might have been accused of being “sponsored” (everyone who writes what we don’t like is “sponsored” in Nigeria) to undermine Tinubu’s chances at election.

It bears repeating that Tinubu’s first act upon being inaugurated as president was to announce the removal of petrol subsidies which, in one fell swoop, reduced the purchasing power of the people and slowed down the economy in unexampled ways.

The “floating” of the naira merely strengthened the wickedness that the removal of petrol subsidies unleashed. The astronomical increase in electricity tariffs and the foxy dilly-dallying over increasing the national minimum wage are metaphoric rubbing of salt in the wounds of reduced purchasing power and slow economy, the necessary precursors to Tinubu’s next stage: widening the tax net.

The “next stage” of Tinubu's economic masterplan started in earnest on May 6 when he directed the Central Bank of Nigeria to require banks to assess a 0.05 percent “cybersecurity” fee on every electronic bank transaction—in addition to multiple bank fees that have already made Nigerian banks notorious for being the only banks where you lose money by saving it there.

While I was seething with angst at the unceasingly escalating economic assault on the poor and the weak in Nigeria in the less than one year that Tinubu has been president, I saw a headline in the Daily Trust of May 9 that almost ruined my day and convinced me beyond all shadows of doubt that Tinubu is single-mindedly determined to push through the dystopian economic vision he inadvertently articulated in 2019.

The headline was, “More Burden For Nigerians As Tax Committee Recommends VAT Hike.” The paper reported that “The Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax reforms has recommended an upward review of the Value Added Tax (VAT).”

Apparently, even the chairman of the committee, identified as Taiwo Oyedele, is aware that there would be an outcry, so he quickly said poor people and small businesses won’t be affected by the proposed increase in VAT.

“We would ensure that it doesn’t affect businesses,” he said. “The only thing is to look at basic consumption from food, education, medical services and accommodation will carry zero percent VAT. So for the poor and small businesses, no VAT.”

Of course, even a novice in economics knows that when companies are burdened with higher taxes, they transfer this burden to consumers, which invalidates Oyedele’s assurance that poor people and small businesses would be exempt from the impending VAT hike since inflation, which higher taxes on businesses will activate, is an ill wind that blows nobody any good.

But Oyedele thinks Nigerians are unthinking chumps. He said the government had extracted a commitment from businesses that they won’t jack up the prices of their goods and services in response to the increased tax obligation they will have to contend with. “We have spoken to businesses about it, and they won’t increase the product price,” he said. “We want to make sure when we do VAT reform, no one will increase the price of commodities. We will work the mathematics with the private sector.”

Why does he think Nigerians would be persuaded by his false assurances? When Tinubu announced the removal of petrol subsidies on May 29, 2023, and petrol marketers suddenly increased the pump price of petrol from less than 200 naira to more than 500 naira on old stock that was subsidized by the Nigerian taxpayer, the government didn’t intervene.

It was the most nakedly immoral, government-sanctioned predation of the people that I have seen anywhere in the world. Why would a government that tolerated, even encouraged, that sort of rape of the people be trusted to persuade businesses not to increase the prices of their goods and services in response to increases in their tax liabilities?

In any case, we now know from a retrospective reading of Tinubu’s 2019 speech that his grand plan is to economically disempower the people, depress the economy, and tax people and businesses to death.

I am honestly at a loss what Tinubu hopes to gain from this other than to make the vast majority of the people so economically disaffiliated that they are vulnerable to manipulation, as I pointed out last week. But I hope he is aware that he is sowing the seeds for a spontaneous eruption of a disabling convulsion. There is a limit to what even the most docile humans can tolerate.

My genuine hope is that Tinubu and the people close to him understand that they are brewing the ingredients of a potentially all-consuming conflagration and beat a strategic retreat. It’s not late.

The police in Kano are investigating a social media influencer for his alleged role in the murder of a colleague after a prolonged dispute over money.

Sadiq Jibrin Gadah, known well on social media for his acerbic vitriol against opposition political commentators online, reportedly killed Bello Bukar Adamu for pestering him over N3 million. The money was said to have been paid to Mr Gadah after he promised to help Mr Adamu secure a high-paying job at the Federal Inland Revenue Service.

Officials said Messrs Gadah and Adamu were colleagues at Kano Electricity Distribution Company. A spokesperson for the disco did not immediately return a request for comments about the incident.

Police spokesman Abdullahi Haruna Kyawa told Peoples Gazette that when Mr Gadah failed to deliver on his promise, Mr Adamu started mounting pressure. Unable to tolerate the pressure further, Mr Gadah arranged to have Mr Adamu killed, silencing him forever before he could raise the scam at work or elsewhere.

Mr Adamu was reportedly lured to a remote part of the commercial city, where he was bludgeoned to death with a pestle. Mr Gadah was arrested after a prolonged investigation into the matter, and a video said to have been recorded on May 5, 2024, showed him with a severe wound on one of his fingers, allegedly beaten by the deceased during the struggle.

The video also showed Mr Gadah holding the pestle said to have been used to commit the murder while standing in handcuffs by the victim’s vehicle recovered near the crime scene.

In the recorded video, Mr Gadah, speaking in Hausa, fessed up to his role in the homicide and acknowledged its consequences. He said he was ready to drink poison and die by suicide to save his family from the mess emanating from the chaos.

It was not immediately clear whether the suspect had contacted a lawyer. The police spokesperson said Mr Gadah would be arraigned upon conclusion of a preliminary inquiry into the matter.

Law enforcement officials have recently warned that raging economic hardships could trigger another wave of unlawful activity. Armed banditry and kidnap-for-ransom have put Kano and other cities across the northwest on the edge in recent months.

But Mr Kyawa said Mr Gadah’s matter was being treated as a crime of opportunity because had had a good job with the region’s main power distributor.

The Cybersecurity Levy is For Your Own Good

This Cybersecurity Levy is not a policy or regulation of the Tinubu administration. Those bandying that claim are either ignorant or dishonest. This is a policy that has existed since 2015. Like many things in the Buhari administration, it was implemented in breach, which is why Cyber Security suffered under that unfortunate administration.

The reason why Binance was able to siphon $25 billion, which represents 6% of our GDP, out of Nigeria in just one year is because our cybersecurity architecture is porous. And as long as it is vulnerable, the Naira cannot be stable. And if the Naira is not stable, your purchasing power as a Nigerian will reduce DRASTICALLY.

Therefore, it is more profitable for you to pay a 0.5% cybersecurity levy and secure the Naira from all threats, foreign and domestic, than for you to resist the policy, and the Naira goes into free fall.

Not all monetary transactions are affected.

Social welfare schemes, such as the grant to nano entrepreneurs and any other social intervention program, are exempt, as are charitable donations, and tuition payments.

Salaries, loans and their repayments, transfers between customers, and intra-bank transfers from one of your accounts to another account you have in a different bank are also exempt.

If the office of the National Security Adviser does not have a solid and dedicated team working to protect Nigeria's military, industrial, financial, communications, educational and governmental online space from threats, the cost to you, personally, would be more than the 0.5% levy on your transactions, and I will give you an example.

If Binance had not been found out, and they had continued to funnel $25 billion out of Nigeria, that singular action would have meant that our Gross Domestic Product (the sum of all the wealth in Nigeria) would have dropped further by 6.5%.

Now, If Nigeria's GDP tanks by 6.5% at a go, global ratings agencies like Fitch, Moody's, Standard and Poor, and others that have recently upgraded our economy to a B Positive, would downgrade us. Once we get downgraded, international investors will not want to invest their money in Nigeria, and the demand for made-in-Nigital goods and services will fall, meaning that the exchange rate will go down.

Remember MMM? The reason the Mavrodian Mondial Moneybox were able to dupe hundreds of thousands of Nigerians of close to half a billion dollars is because of our weak cybersecurity system.

And these international carpetbaggers can smell such weakness the way sharks smell blood. When you are bleeding, a predator does not feel sympathy towards you. They see your rupture as an opportunity.

That is why after MMM duped Nigerians, other Ponzi schemes flooded Nigeria and amassed more daily regular traffic than the best read newspapers in Nigeria, including Ultimate Cycler, Zarfund, Givers Forum, Crowd Rising, iCharity, to mention a few. They all came, they saw, and they duped Nigerians.

When the cat's away, the mice will play. Without adequate cybersecurity in Nigeria, opportunists, like Binance and MMM, would continue to fleece Nigeria and Nigeria off billions and put negative pressure on our Naira, which will reduce your purchasing power as a citizen.

There are arguments this levy would reduce financial inclusion. But in all honesty, people are more likely to bank their money if they know that Nigeruw's cyberspace is safe from cybercriminals and the Dark Web than if they feel that our regulatory regimes are weak.

Obviously, politicians like Peter Obi, whom the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists fingered for money laundering in their Pandora Papers, would be against such a laudable policy. But that is expected. The fly would always support the dustbin and its ability to cause the decay of life, over the refrigerator.

Reno Omokri
 
Gospeller. Deep Thinker. #BuhariTormentor. #TableShaker. Ruffler of the Feathers of Obidents. #1 bestselling author

And yet the Aro Confederacy was THE most brutal slave trading operation on the West African coast, to the point where after the British outlawed slavery, they had to send warships there and literally wage war to stop them from selling their Igbo brothers across the Atlantic.

Always hilarious seeing Nigerians living in an imaginary reality where the ethnic group they carry on their head is grrrrrrreat, and everybody else is the problem.

Whenever people are ready to face reality and stop the "my tribe better pass your own" peak fooling, reality is waiting for you. It's not going anywhere.

Aderemi Adeoye, Commissioner of Police in Anambra, has bowed out of the force after 35 years of meritorious service to the country.

Mr Adeoye pulled out at a colourful ceremony held at the Alex Ekwueme Square, Awka, on Saturday but will hand over to a successor on May 1, 2024.

In his speech, the outgoing commissioner of police thanked the Police Force and Nigeria for giving him the opportunity to serve and also for investing in him both at home and abroad while in service.

Mr Adeoye said in the course of service, he served in Niger Delta, where he fought militancy for five years, led the police mobile force in Maiduguri in the fight against Boko Haram for two and half years and also led a combined force against the proscribed IPOB in the five south-east states as a deputy commissioner of police.

According to him, it is to the glory of God that none of these direct confrontations with guns and bombs left a scar on me.

“I thank Nigeria and the police for investing in me and giving me the opportunity to serve,” he said.

Mr Adeoye expressed gratitude to the people of Anambra for their hospitality and love, describing the state as his second home.

He said the less than 2 per cent of the population who took to criminality could not be used to define the people of Anambra as they were hardworking and positive-minded people who did not indulge in idling away their time.

“It has been a unique privilege serving Anambra, serving as CP Anambra as the coronation of my career.

“Anambra people are warm and hospitable, kind and generous; I can never open my mouth to speak ill of Anambra; if I do, God will judge me.

“To the Nigeria Police, Anambra Command, I salute you, my officers are gallant.

“I thank my colleagues in sister security agencies, all these I have said were achieved with their cooperation, I owe this honour to them all,” he said.

In his remark, Governor Chukwuma Soludo said Mr Adeoye came to Anambra and played his role gallantly.

Mr Soludo, who was represented by his deputy, Onyekachukwu Ibezim, said Mr Adeoye led the onslaught as his administration took the war to the insurgents in their camps.

He said the CP came at a time when his administration was tackling the height of insecurity with one-third of the state under the captivity of insurgents.

“If it were in our hands, we would say, let this continue, but there is always a time to come and a time to go.

“For your contributions to the state, a street has been named after you by stakeholders with many awards.

“You are no longer a visitor to Anambra; you are now a citizen,” he said.

Traditional rulers, captains of industry, Yoruba community, Hausa community, women groups and many others took turns to celebrate Mr Adeoye in various ways; he touched their lives in the course of service at a grandiose reception held at the International Convention Centre.

A book, entitled, “X-ray of CP Aderemi Adeoye’s Leadership Principle, Eulogy To A Crime Fighter”, written by Sgt Chioma Obi” was unveiled at the event.

Goodluck Jonathan was Buhari's WayMaker. He laid the foundation for Buhari's failures.

Fired Sanusi & appointed Emefiele. Refused to save as urged by NOI. Botched subsidy removal. Tolerated massive corruption. Had NO clue about national security. The 1st president afraid of debates.

Jonathan's awfulness especially around insecurity made Buhari seem attractive to people who should have known better.

Jonathan was called clueless. He simply didn't have solutions to our problems. Has that changed since he left? Has he been sharing brilliant ideas about how to deal with the economy and insecurity?

History may be kinder to BAT than to GEJ if BAT's experts, regardless of their lack of ethnic diversity, are able to improve on the awful mess that Buhari left behind. At least, unlike Jonathan, they may be able to say that they left things better than they met them.

There is a mixup from our end. Arrested person is DJ Commissioner Wysei not DJ Switch.

Apologies for all inconveniences to a few media outfits like Lindaikeji, BBC and TVC that I gave confirmation this morning.

Apologies to DJ Switch too. 🙏🏻

Obi had described Junior Pope's death as yet another great loss to the entertainment industry, which according to him, has in recent years risen to become a vibrant sector of our social and economic life.

Mr Peter Obi, a former Labour Party presidential candidate has come under attack after offering his condolences to the family of the late Nollywood actor, Pope Obumneme Odonwodo, popularly known as Junior Pope and four others in a boat accident on Wednesday.

The former Anambra State governor was lambasted for also taking a ride in a canoe without wearing a lifejacket as revealed in some of his pictures online.

SaharaReporters had earlier reported that Junior Pope, who drowned while attempting to cross the River Niger during the making of a movie, had finally been confirmed dead.

The National President of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Emeka Rollas, who confirmed Jr Pope’s death in an Instagram post in the early hours of Thursday, had in an update on Wednesday, on the incident, announced that the actor was revived and was receiving treatment in a hospital.

SaharaReporters had reported that the 39-year-old actor and some others drowned in the Delta State axis of River Niger while coming back from a movie location in a boat.

The actor would have turned 40 on May 7, 2024.

However, Obi on Thursday took to his X (formerly Twitter) handle to share his grief and offer his condolences to the families of the victims, Actors Guild of Nigeria and the entire Nigerian entertainment industry for the losses.

"I am shocked by the reports of the death of yet another vibrant Nollywood actor, Pope Obumneme Odonwodo, popularly known as Junior Pope. Our entertainment industry, and indeed our dear nation, is once again thrown into mourning, by the death of this young talented actor," the former lamented.

"Junior Pope was known for his energetic acting, always comically delivered to entertain and educate. He brought smiles to the faces of many through his roles in movies and comedy skits."

He described Junior Pope's death as yet another great loss to the entertainment industry, which according to him, has in recent years risen to become a vibrant sector of our social and economic life.

He said, "I am even more saddened to imagine the pain and agony of the families they have just left behind.

"Death is a very painful experience, but the death of a young one with a promising future is even more devastating. I sincerely commiserate with his family and the families of others who also lost their lives in the boat accident.

"I also condole with the Actors Guild of Nigeria, and the entire entertainment industry. May God give them, and all of us, the fortitude to bear this sad irreplaceable loss, and grant eternal rest to the dead."



Shortly after the tweet, Obi came under attack from social media users for forgetting to tell Nigerians the importance of wearing a lifejacket and taking safety precautions before boarding a boat in his message.



They accused him of failing to offer such advice because he “doesn't abide by safety rules”.

They also shared pictures of him in a canoe without wearing a lifejacket.



For instance, @GoziconC wrote: "In this your long thread, you forgot to tell Nigerians the importance of wearing a Lifejacket and taking safety precautions before boarding a boat because you are also among those ignorant Nigerians."

@Mayordavid_9 wrote: "You are tiger mentor in not abiding to safety rules. You see what you have caused?



"No sensible person should look up to you as a leader."

@Adekbolaji wrote: "I hope you learn from this, all this your wakabout on water without necessary precautions was not a wise decision."

Similarly, @cbngov_akin1 accused Obi of being a bad example.

He wrote: "Sad you are a bad example in everything.

“May his soul rest in Peace"

@AgbaJude, however, advised him not to take a canoe or boat without wearing a lifejacket.



He wrote: "It's really a sad one. But don't try this again next time o Sir.

"You are a national treasure. We no wan hear story."

@luxlyangels listed nine safety measures that anyone going on a boat in a River line area must abide by, saying: wear a properly fitting life jacket, check the weather forecast before setting out, inform someone of your plans and estimated return time, bring essential safety equipment such as a first aid kit, whistle and flashlight, be aware of river's currents, obstacles and navigation rules, avoid alcohol consumption before or during the ride, keep a safe distance from other boats and wildlife, stay seated while the boat is in motion, know how to swim or ensure someone on board does, and consider taking a boating safety course for additional knowledge and skills

Setting banter aside, Peter Obi's tour of these small northern villages and his provision of drinking water surpasses the efforts of many northern politicians who, despite being aware of the water scarcity issue, have failed to take action for years.

Whether we acknowledge it or not, Peter Obi is gaining more support through these borehole projects, and our northern politicians should bury their heads in shame

If you received donations for the Obi/Datti campaign but never informed the candidates, now is the time to come clean and refund every penny or give a breakdown of how you spent it. I saw some of you attacking his water project all because he asked you to account for the donations. Ever since Obi asked for an account of those who received donations in his name, y’all have been turning like chameleons out here.

You’ve suddenly become critics of goodwill.

“FAKE LAWYER” CLAIM: INIBEHE EFFIONG TAKES LEGAL ACTION AGAINST CHIEF ERIC UMEOFIA, ERISCO FOODS FOR DEFAMATION

FALANA, SAN TO LEAD LEGAL TEAM

During his interview with Television Continental (TVC) on October 2, 2023, Chief Eric Umeofia, the President/CEO of Erisco Foods Limited while speaking on the ongoing case between Erisco Foods Limited and Mrs. Chioma Okoli, made a damaging, audacious and utterly libellous claim that my client dropped her previous lawyer who accompanied her to the Force Headquarters in Abuja and went to Lagos to hire “a fake lawyer, a charge and bail lawyer to deceive her.”

The video of the interview where the claims were made was advertised on the Facebook page on Erisco Foods Limited and viewed by a large number of people.

Chief Umeofia knew exactly who he was referring to since my engagement and representation of Chioma was already a matter of public knowledge.

My attention has repeatedly been drawn by my clients, colleagues, associates and members of the public to the malicious claims made against me by Umeofia. Those who have confronted me over these claims were taken aback by Umeofia’s bold assertion that they have been dealing with an imposter who has been falsely masquerading himself as a lawyer all these years.

These claims have caused me prolonged emotional stress and deep anxiety.

I have lost professional engagements and financial opportunities because of these claims.

I have practiced law in Nigeria for the past ten years; having been duly called to the Nigerian Bar as a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria. My name is on the Roll of Legal Practitioners in Nigeria and can be easily verified.

Chief Umeofia’s claim that I am a fake lawyer who was out to deceive my client is dangerous and intended to destroy my career which I have laboured to build for a decade.

His claim that I am a charge and bail lawyer is also malicious and defamatory. The courts have ruled in previous cases that referring to any lawyer as “charge and bail” is defamatory and actionable.

Based on the foregoing, I have briefed my counsel, the foremost human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana, SAN to take legal action on my behalf against Eric Umeofia and Erisco Foods Limited over the said obnoxious and destructive claims.

In a demand letter served on Erisco Foods Limited on Monday, April 8, 2024, Falana SAN has demanded a written apology from the company and its CEO, which must be published in at least two national newspapers, a full retraction of the defamatory statements and the sum of N100 Million as damages which they must comply with within 14 days.

This is only the beginning of my legal actions against Umeofia and Erisco Foods.

Signed:
Inibehe Effiong.

Dear Emeka,

Thank you for your interesting insight. While your accusation against the Government and the Yorubas may have some merit, if one is paranoid, perhaps we should consider what cannot lie: the facts.

How come the same government that is prosecuting Bobrisky, a Yoruba man, for, according to you, the sole purpose of targeting unknown Igbo people, also facilitated Air Peace to become the only Nigerian airline to have direct flights to the United Kingdom via London Gatwick Airport, which is owned by another Yoruba man, named Bayo Ogunlesi?

If the Nigerian government and the Yoruba are as anti-Igbo as you postulate, would it not have been very easy for them to frustrate Air Peace, bearing in mind that a Yoruba person is President of Nigeria, while another Yoruba owns Gatwick Airport and two other UK airports?

Do you know how easy it would have been for the Tinubu administration to have frustrated the Geometric Power Plant currently providing almost uninterrupted power supply to Aba? But rather than frustrate it, they facilitated it.

For eight years of Buhari, the Igbo did not get one service chief. Today, our beloved Ndi'Igbo people have the Chief of Naval Staff. But when President Tinubu appointed Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ikechukwu Ogalla as the CNS, it was our own beloved brethren from the Southeast who accused him of being a "non Igbo speaking Igbo". None of us even knew that such a thing existed before the accusation was thrown up.

Emeka, are you really sure your enemies are external? Is it possible that they are internal?

Emeka, is it not possible that Bobrisky's is just a routine arrest of a person who violated the law and has nothing to do with the person's tribe, religion and gender? A similar thing happened to the more popular Funke Akindele.

Culturally, it is the Yoruba who spray Naira as a custom. If anyone is to be arrested on that score, it is more likely to be a Yoruba person. This is just pure mathematical probability.

Please fact-check me: one of the traits of the psychological disorder of narcissism is to constantly claim to be a victim, when, in fact, it is another person who is a victim. In this case, Bobrisky is the victim, but you, who have not been arrested, have instead dismissed him as a victim and taken that toga for yourself.

Anyway, thanks again and may God bless you and may God bless Ndi'Igbo.

#TableShaker

Because of cheapness of electricity in Nigeria, some people turn on their Air Conditioner and Freezer for days even while not using it - Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu

Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu has cautioned Nigerians over the way electricity is consumed in the country.

Speaking at a press conference, Adelabu stated that there’s no consumption management in the country. He also stated that people abroad know how electricity is managed, but the same is not replicated in Nigeria.

He also claimed that some people turn on their air conditioners and freezers for days even while not using them because of how ‘’cheap'' power is in the country.