₦airaland Forum

The Newsweek Article

Ten years ago today, 276 girls were abducted in the night from their school in Chibok, northeastern Nigeria. The attack by Boko Haram pricked the conscience of the world. From London to Washington, protesters held placards reading #BringBackOurGirls—the hashtag the girls' families had posted to pressure their idle government into action. It would take almost three weeks for then-Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan even to make a public announcement. Critical time had been lost.

When this March, 137 children were tragically taken from a school in Kaduna, northwestern Nigeria, the shadow of Chibok lay ever present. Why, Nigerians and the world asked, after the passage of a decade was such an atrocity still happening?

This time, unlike Chibok, the girls and boys were brought back a fortnight later, the security and intelligence agencies deployed immediately to rescue them. Nevertheless, legitimate concerns over kidnappings persist in Africa's most populous country. Success in Kaduna has brought families relief and praise for the military, yet the government bears no illusions: The scourge of kidnappings must be routed once and for all.

It begins with recognizing the changing nature of the threat. Boko Haram translates to "Western Education is Forbidden" and reflects an ideological impetus as jihadi insurgents opposed to the very idea of a Nigerian state. Today, Boko Haram are splintered, and mass abductions are primarily the work of criminal gangs. There is no ideology here: kidnapping has become an illegal industry rewarded with ransoms. Within days of the Kaduna attack, the abductors were demanding 1 billion naira ($600,000).

Nothing was paid. As president, I have been clear that ransoms stop. Resolution through payment only perpetuates the wider problem. This extortion racket must be squeezed out of existence. Meanwhile, the costs for perpetrators must be raised: They will receive not a dime, and instead security services' counter action.

But compressing the kidnap for ransom market only addresses the pull factors. If we are to avoid funneling the same people into other crimes that cause normal Nigerians to feel insecure, we must address the push factors: poverty, inequality, and a paucity of opportunity. Criminal gangs can find easy recruits among those without either a job, or the prospect of one.

Some 63 percent of Nigerians are multidimensionally poor. They are bearing the economic consequences of a failure by successive governments to get to grip with the Nigerian economy. Fiscal and monetary albatrosses have grounded the country's flight, when surging demographics demand high economic growth to just maintain current standards of living.

A decades-old fuel subsidy was exhausting paltry public finances. By 2022, the cost had ballooned to $10 billion—more than the government's combined spending on education, health care, and infrastructure in a budget of $40 billion. Currency controls that artificially propped up the naira deterred investment and led to shortages of foreign exchange. For decades we have been financially ransoming ourselves. When my government took office last May, we faced a pile of debt obligations.
Just as with kidnappers, we had to be tough with the economy. Unsustainable market distortions had to be removed. As expected, floating the naira caused it to plunge. Given Nigeria is a net food importer, the average shopping basket has consequently risen in price. The removal of the fuel subsidy, in a country where many businesses and households rely on generators for power, has also had far reaching effects. These reforms have caused pain across Nigeria; they are still painful. Yet there is no better alternative: These and other difficult reforms are necessary to arrest the economic rot that lies at the heart of insecurity.

Green shoots are now visible. In the first quarter of this year, foreign currency inflows have almost matched those for the whole of last year. A multi-billion forex backlog at the central bank has been cleared, giving foreign investors' confidence to invest in Africa's largest economy, safe in the knowledge they can repatriate earnings. The naira has begun to stabilize after its initial downward trend and has made huge gains against the dollar.

Talk of macroeconomics might seem remote from the challenge of insecurity. But without the fundamentals in place, it is impossible for an enabling environment where the private sector thrives, jobs are created, and opportunity is spread across the country. It is how we ensure children can go to school without fear.

For any who may have doubted our direction, it should now be clear. There will be no more ransoms paid—not to kidnappers, nor toward those policies which have trapped our people economically. Nigerians, and their economy, will be liberated.

Bola Tinubu is president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.

April 15, 2024

Newsweek article to commemorate the historic tweet.

In hindsight, it looks like someone wrote these releases and you can see the pattern.

emmaodet:
And being contented with the lowest maslow's ranking of human wants is their major drawback.
They are satisfied with just fulfiling the first step of human wants which is feeding and in today's world, there is more to humans than feeding.
Without aspiration to be better, to not be contented with the little you have currently, you will never be competitive with the outside world and sooner or later, those who aspire to get better, know better, earn better, get educated better, experiment more, innovate more will conquer those who are meek.
It is the reason our forefathers and african were conqured in the first place because they were just satisfied with the little they had - add more wives, drinking all day and dancing at the king's palace or market square all day long.
They were not inovative or aspiring alot and today we the generations are suffering it.

I hear you and I understand you. Oh wait, I can't hear you, I read you


It has its own drawbacks but it is actually who we are. They fought in the past, I can't say they didn't resist. In fact, Nigeria's struggle for independence from the British was learning how the British government worked and coming to remove the chains. Most of them went to the UK to study and came back home to use that knowledge. The North has a feudal system, right from pre colonial days. Maybe it is who they are and that is why they are different from the south. Our cultures are not the same. Watch documentaries of the sahel and you will see a similar pattern repeat itself. I would blame it more on their leaders. It's okay to be content but leaders who are not visionary can't carry their people anywhere. For instance, when Awolowo was pushing his education agenda up North, they resisted it. When Nigeria wanted independence as at 1956, they resisted it too. Why? Their leaders felt they would be at a disadvantage because their own people were not skilled and educated enough to compete. Today, we have educationally disadvantaged states and some people are comfortable with that status quo. We have cutoff marks that are very different from the rest of the country up North. Would I blame the people? They don't know better. Their leaders have taken advantage of the system and used religion to deceive the people because Islam does not encourage laziness or ignorance and the examples are abundant but their leaders want serfs. An educated man is liberated.

Excellent93:
What will a married woman going to do in the gym biko nuuuu ..? To gain weight and muscle to beat her husband or what...
Will heaven fall If you do your gym in your house with the gym equipment since you want to he Rondah rosey ...women self...man dey find daily bread wife dey go gym

You know that women are insecure about their bodies after giving birth and it's worse today because of social media and our avatars. Husbands should take note to reassure their wives when she gives birth. I am not justifying adultery, I am only looking at it from a social perspective. Also, women love compliments so if someone is telling her what her husband is not telling her, oh well, she will go there.

Is this true Mariangeles 👇

Mariangeles:
A truly strong man conquers himself by not giving in to his own lust.

As it is written; But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.

But every man is tested by temptations, especially from women. The harder he resists, the thicker the plot. And this is why the man who does not fall for it has won but it's a sweet bitter lemon. Some men fall even though they would have sworn never to while some men stand tall. God created man with a weakness that he gave responsibility to. Isn't that a paradox? Lust is a hard battle for men so before they win, before they get hold of you, be warned.

By the way, I'm not talking about men who chase everything under the skirt. Even the strong principled men have their battles. May men not be lost!


Edit: But every man is tested by temptations, especially from women. Men tested by other men sexually are according to the APA before they changed it, not normal. I think that's a double whammy. We are still sexual animals like the rest of the animal kingdom but we have set rules and regulations that does not make us do anyhow, although this also is seen in the animal kingdom. To get into a woman, some animals have to fight for the right to sleep with her. Lions, elephant seals, peacocks, kangaroos, hippos, gorillas. Hmmmm 🤔

On April 14


"Everyone claims to be democratic but not everyone is faithful to his or her word. We have governments that are democracies on paper, but not in function. They are democracies in form but not in substance. We have governments that only know democracy primarily through breaching it"

~ words on marble by Jagaban Asiwaju BAT

"Everyone claims to be democratic but not everyone is faithful to his or her word. We have governments that are democracies on paper, but not in function. They are democracies in form but not in substance. We have governments that only know democracy primarily through breaching it"

~ words on marble by Jagaban Asiwaju BAT ♾️

I also love this one when he came back from a trip abroad. When I saw him at the Jos Airport last week, it came back to my mind


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtjpjOPjuUk

Time is a patient gentleman. I have been going through many of Mr Tinubu's writings and they are timeless. Today is the day to celebrate the anniversary of a very important post (VIP) by the great Jagaban on this day in 2014.

Ten years after, he wrote an article about this issue (Chibok girls) which was published on Newsweek.

Executive is speaking about it.

Legislature is speaking about it.

E remain judiciary.

There is no smoke without fire. The honorable thing to have done was keep quiet SP. These young people have time on their hands and they are digitally native. You still use analog and you are digitally naive. They will show you receipts.

Mariangeles:
If you want my perspective, then okay.


By "leave", do you mean deactivate?
If so, why?

You captured that. Because it's a topic I will have to debate and after that, I prefer to be part of the sand that flows across the Sahara than be the sand that gathers into the anthill of the Savanna

The strong man avoids the traps set by women.

Mariangeles:
My perspective can be "unconventional", so I don't know...

Ditto

When you know, let me know. You seem to be challenging me of late, so I want to invite you to a thread where you and I discuss and let the readers read. I'm not doing it for the crowd but a separate thread will allow us trash these issues like a debate.

VanuatuWycombe:
This video you attached cannot be used to convince or confuse us. Did he say he was speaking on behalf of his association?

He should have given a caveat that all he was to say were his opinion o.

Sensitive associations like NBA don’t meddle in matters like these. They maintain neutrality.

If it were to be in his Chambers, he give any opinion, it will be attributed to him and or his Chambers.

What he said may be seen as if the whole lawyers in Nigeria support it.

Where he feels he has better approach to winning a case on that matter, he should join whoever he is supporting and then appear in court as a lawyer but not as a president of NBA.

Yesterday, I was listening to a lawyer who said the President of our Bar Association said.... If he has overstepped his boundary, I believe lawyers know what to do. Or I believe they know the right thing to do. As learned people they claim to be.

Mariangeles:
What is truth in this case?

I formed my opinion of her based on her words, even before you posted that article about her from the past.

I have a challenge for you. Let's do this. I will open a thread and you will give me a female perspective, I will give you a male's. Only on one condition. We both read/listen to the book. Deal?

There is a quote that you should be careful about who tries to invite you to their toilet so you don't get into deeper sh!t

Mariangeles:
You see? I wasn't wrong about the Esther Vilar after all.

Truth is bitter I am sure you're cognitively independent and not joining the mass mob

Mariangeles:
And truly, Dogo has opened eyes.

Can you believe his customers call him by phone to bring water?
I'm like na wa O!

More like Dogo has been corrupted 🙈

Mariangeles:
Yes, he is.
The autistic young man whose adoptive father married a wife for, mainly because he had come of age, and had "needs".

Is this the same person one girl was telling us why she was the right candidate? I am suspended to see an older woman, maybe I don't have that much time for the gist and it's what I read here I depend on.

I also know another girl came out for Otedola's son.


For his needs, that's expected of the parent. But let's not get it wrong, autism is not that you are a dunce. They are highly intelligent but socially awkward. My fear is that, if the woman does not truly love him, he will be used. Unfortunately, that's the truth. A marriage out of pity usually has problems. Do they really want him? He has those who can give him genuine love. That's my only concern.

Mariangeles:
You know, you're not far from the truth.

I was shocked when the aboki supplying water said he has built two houses back home, and is saving to buy motor.
All on supplying water o.
And they work so hard too, from morning till late in the evening.

Truth is, opportunities abound in Nigeria, and only a few see them.

They are also not materialistic in nature so once the Maslow's hierachy of needs is satisfied, the rest is extra to them. It's those in cities like Lagos who want to have the biggest mansion, biggest car, extra buttocks etc. They are close to nature and contentment. This is why their elites take advantage of this simple life to buy all the luxury and pretend to be simple.

Mariangeles:
You see? I wasn't wrong about the Esther Vilar after all.


So, what would you say about Aboy [a young man with special needs] in this case, whose mind is already in "bondage"?
Don't you agree the marriage benefits him more?

Tell me more about him. Maybe I was wrong to judgment (eg I don't know who he is, maybe he is the guy I saw last week whose parent gave him away but my previous comment was based on a normal situation). Give me a scenario and I will give you my response for Aboy or someone in a similar situation.

Beautifulday:
People like you don't know what authority mean

This is a classical political science topic. Authority vs power. Authority can be derived through force but cannot always be maintained through force. True?

TallNigerian:
you no get sense. You deviated from the topic completely. Why should a low income earner have four wives?

Something that has not been mentioned is the cost of living in the North. That's what most southerners see but don't understand up North. It's why your aboki shining your shoe is able to have 4 wives after he gathers some money. It's why they come to Lagos and anywhere there is economic opportunities to hustle and take it back. Their own japa is within so the way we say $40,000 can not do much in US, it may be able to do a lot elsewhere. Not justifying irresponsibility but that's one lens most people don't look at. What's the cost of living in the North?

Mariangeles:
So, marriage is bondage to you?

You and these quotes...you do realize that they were said by imperfect humans like you, right?

Even the Esther Vilar looks like a witch.
Her evil quote does not define all women.
Just projecting herself.

You live by quotes instead of common sense to take certain messages and leave some?

Regarding Esther, her evil quotes made me laugh 😂


Edit: marriage is not a bondage but I expected you to understand what was meant by bondage there. Now, if anyone else has ideas like you, a man who allows a woman to take responsibility of him in a household is not a man. That is living in bondage. The marriage is not bondage, the way he married is or the way the caption has put it that having a woman feed you is enjoyment will look like freedom but he is not free. She married him, he didn't marry her. Men are natural providers, even though women take advantage of this. No sorry to waste on him. He will learn in due time.

It's not everything that needs to be content. We can decide not to be slaves to the internet and whataboutism.

A free man is an independent mind.

Mariangeles:
Oh!
Is that why they're mad at him? 🤣

Aboy is glowing.
Aboy! Nwoke ji nwaanyi. 🤣

Only irresponsible men will be happy to live in bondage. A big trap.

https://www.tiktok.com/video/7613809339576405279

Bahamas95:
Women!
So this elderly woman truly dey spread legs for this small boy?

👇

SixSeven:
If you look closely, it may not be about the man but more about what the man can give her. The child. He is a means to an end.

We all need each other by the way. Men get lonely, women may not be as lonely as men. Men cannot do without that thing down there, women can decide to go celibate anytime. It's left for men to know how to live and enjoy this life. I see why those men kept on marrying wives at different stages of their lives. The truth is as you age, you become a different person and wetin de shack you for your 20s no go shack you for 40s and so on. Men will then be dumped by these women. Today, people are saying that men should treat their children well so that when they are old, they too will be traveling upandan to visit their grand grandchildren. I call that nonsense. Why? Some men may have been bad as fathers but I don't like that over simplistic argument. Men are not wired to go live with someone else, even their own sons. Men have territories. Women are selfish in nature, they don't know when to stop and let the bird fly. They want to monitor the child till the child is old enough to say mama, please let me breathe. The grandchildren are also just an excuse. It's good to have family but I'm telling you how life is. Everyone is selfish. Men, plan well and marry more in your 60s to 70s, don't let them use and dump you. Men have to keep fending for themselves, the world only sees you as providers. The earlier you know this, the faster you learn how to provide for yourself while sacrificing for family.

Why do most musicians who start their careers with "boy" or "kid" later change their names?

Below are notable musicians who dropped or changed names containing "boy," "kid," or "young" to reflect their professional growth:

Lil Bow Wow became Bow Wow (and later Shad Moss)

Young Jeezy became Jeezy

Little Stevie Wonder became Stevie Wonder

Lil' Romeo became Romeo (or Romeo Miller)

Astro Kid became Stro

Baby became Birdman

Lil Zane became Zane

Wizkid, 2face.... Aboy, when you become aMan, we will welcome you to the club.

Wizkid (formerly Lil Prinz): Before signing with Banky W's EME label in 2009, Wizkid recorded as Lil Prinz during his early days with the group "Glorious Five". In 2021, he further distanced himself from the "Kid" label by changing his Instagram handle to Big Wiz and adopting the moniker Machala to reflect his legendary status.

Be careful lest DJT take you on and shave your hair

America don buy market. Pisses the guy off that Obama was a great orator and he can't forget that roasting Obama gave him at the hall back then though he proved them wrong by becoming the President.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkghtyxZ6rc


https://www.tiktok.com/video/7434443113755659563

DJT is acting a movie in the WH.

Pootle:
get this right once the appointment is made it overrides the retirement or service year done, and a 4year tenure takes effects.

within the 4year tenure the GCFR has the right to dismiss or retain the AIG

You seem to not understand the impact on civil service. It's not by might and that's why I'm not particular about the current president. Obasanjo did it before. History keeps repeating itself until you either learn or not. The civil service has rules, it has years of service, once we begin to tamper with it for short political gains, we will live with the impact and implications of the actions. What are civil servants looking up to if after all these years, their meritorious years in service can be dismissed because one man with a 4 year tenure feels like it? When they say low morale, e get why.

wellmax:
So what’s exactly is Sowore’s nuisance protest.

Jobless man.

Did you read the second bullet point (conflict with civil service rules) on your screenshot

We've been having this problem since OBJ days, I think, with Sunday Ehindero and so on.

Sowore should be an activist and remain one. We need him for something.

Kingozymandias:
Ai don't think you are well. You went off point. What a trash write up

God bless you with wellness and understanding. Amen. Have a nice day🙂