₦airaland Forum

Xscape1993:
He is one of my mentors before now. He has lost my respect already. This is a man I hold to a very high esteem, but one known drug baron and certificate forger he lost himself due trial sentiment...!

The below picture showed the Passing Out Parade At Mons Officer Cadet School Aldershot, UK in 1963. From the 24 Africans who took part here are the 8 Nigerians.

The Mons Officers Cadet School was closed in 1972 and all its workings moved to the RMAS popularly known as Sandhurst. From Left
-Cadet N.S Ofie.
-Cadet G.A Ginger.
-Cadet S. Abacha.
-Cadet A Mohammed.
-Cadet G.I Idoko.
-Cadet A.A Ilorin.
-Cadet R.V.I Asom.
-Cadet O.I Ekwedike

On the 17th of November 1993, Abacha dissolved the old Armed Forces Ruling Council when he took power and replaced it with the PRC, which served as the highest decision-making body of the regime.

The members of Abacha’s Provisional Ruling Council (PRC) includes:

-1). General Sani Abacha -Head of State, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, and Chairman of the PRC He held absolute authority over the government and military and chaired all council meetings.

-2). Lieutenant General Donaldson Oladipo Diya Chief of General Staff and Vice Chairman of the PRC. Diya was Abacha’s second-in-command until his arrest in 1997 for an alleged coup attempt.

-3). Lieutenant General Ishaya Bamayi - Chief of Army Staff He became a central figure in the regime’s security operations, especially after Diya’s arrest.

-4). Vice Admiral Allison Amaechina Madueke - Chief of Naval Staff He represented the Nigerian Navy on the council and oversaw naval operations and reforms.

-5). Air Marshal Nsikak Eduok - Chief of Air Staff He was responsible for Nigeria’s air power strategy and represented the Air Force on the PRC.

-6). Lieutenant General Jeremiah Useni - Minister of the Federal Capital Territory
A long-time ally of Abacha, Useni was an influential and often seen as one of the strongest political voices in the council.

-7). Major General Abdullahi Sarki Mukhtar - National Security Adviser He coordinated intelligence and security operations and was one of the key strategists in the regime.

-. Alhaji Gambo Jimeta - Inspector General of Police He handled national policing and internal security until his retirement during the regime.

-9). Lieutenant General Mohammed Buba Marwa - Governing Military Administrator (Initially of Borno, later of Lagos State) Although a governor, Marwa was later elevated into the inner circle due to his strong performance in Lagos.

-10). Colonel Mohammed Sambo Dasuki - Aide-de-Camp (ADC) to Abacha/Intelligence Liaison. He was not always a formal PRC member but attended key meetings and acted as a bridge between Abacha and intelligence units.

-11). Major General Patrick Aziza - Minister of Communications and later Minister of Information He played a major role in defending government policies and oversaw several propaganda efforts.

-12). Major General John Shagaya - Field Commander / Ministerial Roles.
Shagaya served in various capacities and participated in several PRC deliberations, especially in the early years.

-13). Brigadier General Ibrahim Dabo -Principal Staff Officer to Abacha
He handled strategic coordination between the presidency and the military high command.

-14). Lieutenant General Mohammed Inuwa Wushishi - Senior Military Adviser
He served informally as an elder adviser and occasionally joined PRC sessions.
Credits; Facebook

"Boko Haram and an Islamic State affiliate
Boko Haram has long menaced large parts of northern Nigeria, especially the northeast, as well as parts of neighboring Cameroon, Niger and Chad. The militant group has sought to impose an Islamic state in the region and the nation...."

Why Schoolchildren are Often Abducted in Nigeria & Who Are The Usual Kidnappers Are

Nigeria suffered its second mass school abduction this week with authorities confirming an attack on a Catholic school in the conflict-battered northern region of the country on Friday.

A total of 303 schoolchildren and 12 teachers were abducted in Friday’s attack at St. Mary’s School in Niger state’s Papiri community. It wasn’t immediately confirmed who the attackers were. Local police said they have deployed a team to rescue the children.
Friday’s attack happened four days after 25 students were abducted in neighboring Kebbi state.Niger state closed all its schools following the latest abduction.

School kidnappings have come to define insecurity in Africa’s most populous nation, and analysts say it’s often because armed gangs see schools as “strategic” targets to draw more attention. UNICEF said last year that only 37% of schools across 10 of the conflict-hit states have early warning systems to detect threats.

The kidnappings are happening amid U.S. President Donald Trump’s claims of targeted killings against Christians in the West African country. Attacks in Nigeria affect both Christians and Muslims. The school attack earlier this week in Kebbi state was in the Muslim-majority Maga town.

Nigeria's president replaces top security officials as he struggles to restore stability
Nigeria's president replaces top security officials as he struggles to restore stability
Kidnappers in the past have included Boko Haram, a jihadi insurgency that carried out the mass abduction of 276 Chibok schoolgirls more than a decade ago, bringing the Islamic extremist group to global attention.

But dozens of bandit groups have become active in the hard-hit northern region, often targeting remote villages with a limited security and government presence.

At least 1,500 students have been seized in the years since the Chibok attack, many released only after ransoms were paid. Here’s what’s to know about northern Nigeria’s widespread insecurity.

Boko Haram and an Islamic State affiliate
Boko Haram has long menaced large parts of Nigeria’s north, especially the northeast, as well as parts of neighboring Cameroon, Niger and Chad. The militant group has sought to impose an Islamic state in the region and its name — meaning “books are forbidden” — rejects Western education.

In 2014, Boko Haram burst onto the global stage with the Chibok abduction. Four years later, its fighters abducted 110 schoolgirls from a college in Yobe state in the northeast.

The militants have mounted a strong resurgence this year after splitting in the past, with many fighters now aligned with a local affiliate of the Islamic State group. The exact number of fighters with each group is unknown, though they are estimated in the low thousands.

The groups continue to recruit, sometimes forcibly, youth who have been left vulnerable in a region that Nigerian authorities and humanitarian organizations struggle to serve safely. The Trump administration’s deep cuts in foreign aid to Nigeria this year haven’t helped.

Abductions for Ransom
Other armed groups in northern Nigeria carry out abductions, largely for ransom. Authorities have said they include mostly former herders who took up arms against farming communities after clashes between them over increasingly strained resources.

Schools have been a popular target of the bandits, who are motivated more by money than religious beliefs. The attacks often occur at night, with gunmen at times zooming in on motorbikes or even dressed in military uniforms and then disappearing into the vast, under-policed landscape. There is growing concern about links between the bandits and the militant groups, notably in the northwest.

“While often conflated with the militant Islamist groups, the bandits operating in northwestern Nigeria are a distinct driver of instability in this region,” the U.S.-backed Africa Center for Strategic Studies said earlier this year, noting that the bandits are thought to be responsible for about the same number of deaths there as Boko Haram and the IS affiliate are in the northeast.

In 2020, gunmen on motorcycles attacked a government secondary school in Katsina state and abducted more than 300 boys. The state government announced their release within a week. In 2021, gunmen abducted more than 300 schoolgirls in a nighttime raid on a government secondary boarding school in Zamfara state.

Within weeks, all were released after the apparent payment of a ransom. And in 2024, gunmen on motorcycles abducted 287 students at a government secondary school in Kaduna state.

Nigeria’s Security Challenges
Nigeria has struggled for years to combat Boko Haram and other armed groups, at times striking and killing civilians in mistaken air assaults meant for militants. The military also has carried out airstrikes and special operations targeting the hideouts of armed gangs.

But Islamic extremists in recent months have repeatedly overrun military outposts, mined roads with bombs and raided civilian communities despite the military’s claims of success against them. That surge in activity has strained security efforts across Nigeria’s north. Last month, President Bola Tinubu replaced the country’s security chiefs.

Earlier this year, the U.S. government approved the sale of $346 million in arms to strengthen Nigeria’s fight against insurgencies and criminal groups. More recently, however, Trump has threatened Nigeria with potential military action — and a halt to all aid and assistance — while alleging that Nigeria’s government is failing to rein in the persecution of Christians. Nigeria has rejected the claim.

FreeStuffsNG:
There's now a bus garage, bright, metroline and jetty between the cathedral and the ocean now.

A Glimpse into Broad Street’s Architectural Past (Circa 1954)

The photograph, taken around 1954 by the British architect Gillian Hopwood, captures the historic CMS House on Broad Street, Lagos — one of the city’s most iconic colonial-era buildings. The image, part of the 2015 Photo Exhibition by Kehinde Thompson for the Nigerian Nostalgia Project, preserves the memory of a structure that once embodied the spirit of early missionary and commercial Lagos.

Origins and Historical Context
The CMS House, sometimes referred to locally as Liberty’s, was originally associated with the Church Missionary Society (CMS) — a British Anglican organization that played a crucial role in introducing Western education and Christianity to Nigeria during the 19th century. Broad Street, located in the heart of Lagos Island, was then the commercial and administrative hub of colonial Lagos, lined with banks, trading firms, and missionary establishments.

While the precise date of construction is uncertain, architectural evidence suggests that CMS House was built between the late 19th century and early 1920s, during the period when Lagos was transitioning from a colonial port to an urban centre of education, trade, and religion.

Architectural Significance
The CMS House stood out for its Gothic-inspired architecture, which was rare in West Africa at the time. The building featured: A classic gable roof with four garret windows, offering both ventilation and light. A wooden balcony overlooking Broad Street, reminiscent of Victorian and Edwardian commercial buildings.

Arched doorways and timber-frame façades that reflected a blend of European ecclesiastical design and tropical adaptation, including wide eaves for shade and cross-ventilation. These elements not only gave the structure an imposing presence but also symbolised the missionary influence in shaping Lagos’s early urban identity.

CMS House and Its Role in Early Lagos
During its heyday, CMS House served as both a missionary office and a community hub. It was a focal point for Christian educational and welfare activities, including publishing and translation work by missionaries of the Church Missionary Society.

The building also reflected the intersection of religion, education, and commerce; the key pillars of Lagos society in the early 20th century. As nearby institutions such as CMS Grammar School (founded in 1859) and St. George’s Church expanded, Broad Street became known as the intellectual and moral centre of Lagos.

Decline and Disappearance
By the 1970s and 1980s, Lagos underwent significant urban redevelopment. The once-picturesque CMS House began to fall into disuse, its wooden structures deteriorating under tropical weather conditions and urban neglect.

By the 1990s, it was either abandoned, destroyed by fire, or demolished to make way for modern commercial buildings. Today, the site where the CMS House once stood has been absorbed into the dense commercial sprawl of central Lagos, leaving behind only photographic and archival records.

Cultural and Historical Legacy

Though long gone, CMS House remains a powerful symbol of Lagos’s transformation from a missionary settlement into a vibrant metropolis. The building’s image, preserved through the lens of Gillian Hopwood and the documentation of the Nigerian Nostalgia Project, serves as a reminder of the city’s layered history — one that intertwines faith, commerce, and colonial architecture.

The legacy of the Church Missionary Society continues to live on in institutions such as CMS Grammar School and St. Luke’s Hospital, which uphold the same educational and social values that shaped early Lagos.

-Image Credit and Archival Source
-Photographer: Gillian Hopwood
-Source: 2015 Photo Exhibition by Kehinde Thompson / Nigerian Nostalgia Project
-Location: Broad Street, Lagos, Nigeria
-Date: Circa 1954

Fascinating Throwback:
This old pic shows how the Cathedral Church of Christ Marina was basically kissing the Lagos Lagoon back in the day, right on the waterfront since its early roots in the 1860s (first building from 1867-69). It was a total beacon for sailors and traders, with the lagoon lapping at its doorstep.

The big shift came during Col. Mobolaji Johnson's time as Military Governor (1967-1975). To expand Lagos and fight erosion, his admin kicked off massive sand filling and reclamation projects along the Marina.

They hauled in sand from the Atlantic (via barges and pumps) to push back the water, creating new land for roads, buildings, and that iconic Outer Marina stretch you see today. This "pushed the water front" way out—turning swampy lagoon edges into solid ground for development, like the Eko Atlantic vibes but earlier.

It transformed the whole area from a watery colonial hub into modern Lagos Island, but locals griped about lost fishing spots and flooding risks. By the 1970s, the work was in full swing, reshaping the skyline around spots like the cathedral. (Credits; Greg Nwoko FB Page)