₦airaland Forum

The Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu, has appealed to Nigerians to be patient with the government of President Bola Tinubu.

He made the plea when the First Lady and wife of the president, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, paid him a visit at his Iga Idugaran palace in Lagos.

According to a statement issued on Tuesday by her spokesperson, Busola Kukoyi, the royal father observed that President Tinubu means well for the nation as he is a man who is grassroots-focused.

“All that I am saying and appealing is that we should pray for Nigeria and the president. We should be patient. Everything good needs prayers,” the statement quoted the president, the monarch, as saying

Oba of Lagos also admonished the youth to be closer to God, noting that Nigerian youth are mostly good and hardworking

“Though some youth are incurably lazy and are always waiting to be spoon-fed, teach them not to always wait for fish but learn how to fish themselves,” he said.

The statement explained that the visit by the First Lady was an opportunity for the monarch to restate his appeal for a special status for Lagos State as the former Federal Capital of Nigeria

iwaeda:
Ebi npawon ooooooo. Hunger is understatement. Nlfpmod, inflation is over 80 %.

iwaeda:
We are waiting for madam Remi Tinubu's backyard farms to reduce inflation.

The President, African Development Bank Group, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, has warned that the decision by the Federal Government to allow massive food importation may destroy the country’s agriculture sector.

Adesina, who spoke at a retreat by the African Primates of the Anglican Church in Abuja, advised the Nigerian government to produce more food and create jobs through agriculture.

On July 10, 2024, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, announced that the Federal Government would suspend duties, tariffs, and taxes on the importation of maize, husked brown rice, wheat, and cowpeas through the country’s land and sea borders, for 150 days.

Kyari had said, “To ameliorate food inflation in the country caused by affordability and exacerbated by availability, the government has taken a raft of measures to be implemented over the next 180 days:


“A 150-day duty-free import window for food commodities, suspension of duties, tariffs and taxes for the importation of certain food commodities (through land and sea borders). These commodities include maize, husked brown rice, wheat and cowpeas. Under this arrangement, imported food commodities will be subjected to a Recommended Retail Price.”

The minister had stated that in addition to the importation by the private sector, the “Federal Government will import 250,000MT of wheat and 250,000MT of maize. The imported food commodities in their semi-processed state will target supplies to the small-scale processors and millers across the country.”

Reacting to this plan, in a speech made at the retreat held on Friday in Abuja, and posted on the website of AfDB on Saturday, Adesina faulted the policy.


Adesina, a former agriculture minister, said, “Nigeria’s recently announced policy to open its borders for massive food imports, just to tackle short-term food price hikes, is depressing.”


He warned that the policy could undermine all the hard work and private investments that had gone into Nigeria’s agriculture sector.

“Nigeria cannot rely on the importation of food to stabilise prices. Nigeria should be producing more food to stabilise food prices while creating jobs and reducing foreign exchange spending, that will further help stabilise the naira.

“Nigeria cannot import its way out of food insecurity. Nigeria must not be turned into a food import-dependent nation,” he stated.

Adesina who spoke on the theme, ‘Food security and financial sustainability in Africa: The role of the Church’, said Nigeria “must feed itself with pride,” warning, “a nation that depends on others to feed itself, is independent only in name.”

“It is clear therefore that unless we transform agriculture, Africa cannot eliminate poverty,” he insisted.

“Essentially, food is money. The size of the food and agriculture market in Africa will reach $1tn by 2030,” Adesina added.


The bank chief stated that the clergymen had assembled in Abuja under the umbrella of the Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa, representing more than 40 million Anglicans across the continent.

PresidObi:
Due to stealing.

A strong member of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Kano State, Senator Masaud Doguwa has defected to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

This came after he accused the President Bola Tinubu administration of lack of focus, and carrying out anti-people policies, which he said had plunged the nation into poverty.

Senator Doguwa made the announcement of his defection in a statement he signed.

According to the statement, he cited feelings of underutilization and the party’s implementation of anti-people policies as reasons for his departure from the APC, alongside his supporters.

He said despite their wealth of experience in politics, they were rarely involved in party forums to share their expertise and contribute to the development of the APC.

“In politics, if you fail to engage highly experienced politicians by providing them with political assignments, you are making them politically redundant, and giving them room to struggle and engage themselves elsewhere.

“This is because highly experienced politicians don’t want to stay idle,’’ the statement said.

He further expressed disappointment with the APC government’s policies, which he believed were harmful to ordinary citizens.

“After careful appraisal, I have discovered that some of the policies are anti-people-oriented and do not align with our political ideology.

“These policies are causing more harm and concern than good to the ordinary and common citizens of the country.

“From what we have seen happening in APC, we have not seen light in the tunnel where an ordinary man, big or small, will sigh a relief from the burden of life with the APC approach on issues,” he added.

It is a tale of woes as an acute scarcity of one of Nigerians’ most popular staple foods, bread, has hit Kaduna, Katsina, and Kano States.

Checks by the News Agency of Nigeria correspondents revealed that the most-favoured staple was now as scarce as petrol or the highly-prized precious metal, Gold.

It was observed that whereas the commodity was very hard to come by, its prices have hit the roof.

Many of the residents could no longer afford the staple and, as such had turned to other not-too-cheap alternatives like noodles, millet porridge, and bean cake, as well as bread and beans, among others.

The prices of the commodity have also been increased by between 20 to 40 per cent.

Many shop owners and consumers have vehemently lamented the obnoxious development, appealing for urgent action to redress the ugly trend.

One of the bakers, who craves anonymity, told NAN in Kaduna, ”It is not that we are on strike, but we have had to stop production since 1st July 2024.

“This unfortunate development was necessitated by the scarcity of wheat flour and its high cost, as well as sugar, oil, and other additives.

“For instance, in June, we were buying a 50kg bag of flour for between N53,000 to N55,000, has regrettably skyrocketed to between N67,000 to N70,000.

“How can we produce bread and also break even under this precarious situation?“

Some bread sellers and consumers in Kaduna State decried the scarcity of bread around the state metropolis, saying that it had affected their businesses and daily lives.

A tea and bread seller, Haidar Basiru, said he usually buys 100 loaves of bread but due to the ongoing paucity, he was able to get only 30 loaves, which had finished already.

”The bakeries are saying they are on strike due to a hike in flour and sugar. This development has seriously affected our businesses as we usually operate in the mornings and evenings.

“But, from the look of things, we may not come out in the evening due to bread shortage. In fact, most of my colleagues operating around this axis in Kasuwan barci have not opened today, “ he said.

Similarly, Mrs Kafayat Sadiq, a provisions seller, stated that she couldn’t get bread to stock in her shop since Tuesday, saying that her supplier had complained of the high cost of flour.

A resident, Abdullahi Muhammad, said, “I went to the shop in the morning to buy bread, which would be eaten as breakfast in my house but unfortunately, I couldn’t get it.

”I had to buy spaghetti for the children to eat and go to school since there is no bread; I hope the issue will be alleviated soon.”

A resident of Funtua, Funtua Local Government Area of Katsina State, Aliyu Idris, told NAN that the prices of bread have also gone up in the state.

He said, ”For instance, a loaf of bread that was selling for between N 200 before now goes for N 400. This has affected all the sizes of the bread.”

Idris also stated that tea sellers and shop owners were now finding it very hard to get the commodity for sale to their customers.

In Kano State, a resident also corroborated the scenarios in Kaduna and Katsina States, saying, “A loaf of bread formerly selling for N600 before now goes for N 800.

SadiqBabaSani:
Of fake or real EFCC

Nbotee:
Some of them were caught in Anambra and paraded. The videos are all over

EFCC, Police Personnel Formed ‘Kidnap-for-Ransom’ Syndicate In Enugu, Detain Suspected Fraudsters In ‘Makeshift Cells’

Certain individuals within the Enugu State police command and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have been implicated in the kidnapping of Nigerian youths, particularly those suspected of being involved in online fraud, commonly referred to as ‘Yahoo boys’.

Sources told SaharaReporters that the rogue police officers and EFCC officials have formed a clandestine team that collaborates to apprehend suspected ‘Yahoo boys’, targeting their homes or detaining them on the streets, often for exploitative purposes.

According to sources, the security personnel have adopted a tactic akin to kidnapping, mimicking criminal organisations, as a means to circumvent the lack of evidence needed to formally arrest and charge suspected ‘Yahoo boys’, bypassing standard legal procedures.

SaharaReporters learnt that the squad’s victims are abducted and held captive in undisclosed locations until they meet the ransom demands, effectively being treated like kidnap victims.

This rogue squad, comprised of errant security personnel, detains the suspects in makeshift holding cells, mirroring the tactics employed by kidnappers, to extort money in exchange for their release.

A police source said, “So rogue EFCC officials and some policemen formed an illegal squad and they would go for raids on ‘Yahoo boys’. But because they have no base to take them, they would practically hold them to ransom, kidnap-style and never release them until they pay ransom.”

According to one of the sources, some policemen involved in the illegality have been arrested.

However, the sources could not say if the EFCC had done any similar house cleaning to arrest and sanction its officials involved in the illegality.

“Some of the policemen on our side who are involved in such have been arrested but I cannot say if the EFCC apprehended their officers involved,” one of the sources said.

When SaharaReporters contacted the EFCC spokesperson, Mr Dele Oyewale, for his comment to our findings, he denied the agency's involvement in such illegal arrests.

He said, “The configuration of EFCC does not allow for that. The standard operating procedure of the commission does not allow that; it is a very disciplined organisation.

“It's never possible for the EFCC personnel to be conniving with policemen to be doing that. That allegation has no basis because there is no substance. There is no evidential proof. Just last week, four people were arrested for impersonation in Enugu. We are not that kind of organisation.”

The allegations were also denied by the Enugu State Police Command spokesman, Daniel Ndukwe during his telephone interview with SaharaReporters on Sunday.

Ndukwe said, “The information is vague and I would urge those bringing these to be more specific for proper investigation. The claim that we arrested some officers doing that is not true. We don’t have any officer charged for that habit presently.”

Some bandits on Saturday night invaded Dahjonu community in Millennium City of Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State and abducted two journalists -The Nation’s Abdulgafar Alabelewe and Blueprint newspaper’s AbdulRaheem Abdu as well as their wives and children.

Alabelewe is also the current chairman of the Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Kaduna State Council.

One of the victims’ family members, Taofeeq Olayemi, who confirmed the incident, said the bandits invaded the area around 10.30 pm and shot indiscriminately before carrying out their act.

Olayemi said the bandits kidnapped Alabelewe, his wife, and two of his children, while Aodu and his wife, who was also sick, were kidnapped, leaving behind their sick daughter.

He said, “Initially, they picked Abdulgafar, his wife, and three of his children and a girl staying with them before asking the girl to return with one of the children and left with Abdulgafar, his wife, and two children.

“They shattered their doors and windows and removed their burglary after scaling the fence.”


Olayemi, who is also a neighbour to the victims, added, “They came around 10:30 pm on Saturday and started shooting indiscriminately.

“They first forced Aodu’s door open and picked him and his wife and left their sick daughter behind.

“Then, they entered Abdulgafar’s house through the fence and jumped into his house.

“They went straight into his bedroom and picked him, his wife, and two of their kids and left immediately, after which the vigilantes arrived and started shooting into the air.”

As of the time of filing this report, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Mansir Hassan, could not be reached for comments as his telephone line was not connecting.

No fewer than 73 people have been killed in separate attacks that broke out across eight states of the federation in the last two weeks, Saturday PUNCH can confirm.

Recall that in June, President Bola Tinubu lamented the rising spate of insecurity in the country, noting that the security challenges in the North-West region was affecting other parts of the country.

Tinubu stated this in Katsina, at a two-day summit themed, ‘Regional Cooperation for Securing Lives and Livelihoods in North-West Nigeria,’ organised by the North-West Governor’s Forum in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme.

The President, who was represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, said the security issue in the North-West was not a sectional matter as whenever any part of the country was ailing, others would be affected.


He, however, assured Nigerians that his administration would not rest on its laurels until banditry, terrorism, and other forms of insecurity were eliminated.

However, Saturday PUNCH analysis of recent media reports showed that bandits and suspected herdsmen killed no fewer than 73 people between June 16 and July 3, 2024, across eight states of the federation.

The latest of such attack occurred on Tuesday, 2nd July in Benue and Katsina states where a total of 12 people, including a university lecturer were murdered in cold blood by gunmen.


The don, Dr Tiri David, who was the Head of the Department of Agricultural Economics, Extension, and Rural Development at the Federal University, Dutsinma in Katsina State, was reportedly killed early Tuesday morning by the assailants.

An eyewitness reported to Channels Television via telephone that the incident occurred around 1:30am at his residence in the Yarima Quarters, Low-Cost Estate, Dutsinma Local Government Area of the state.

While Nigerians were still reeling in shock over the don’s murder, some bandits struck again on Tuesday night in Benue State, killing no fewer than 11 people.

The bandits were said to have invaded Ayati village in Ukum Local Government Area of Benue State and killed several people out of which 11 corpses had so far been recovered by youths in the local government area, who violently protested the killing on Wednesday in the state.

Recall that before then, three people from the Internally Displaced Persons camp in Agagbe area of the state had been murdered by suspected herders in the state.

The former manager of the camp, Terna Jacob, who confirmed the incident, said the IDPs were killed while returning from their farms on Monday evening.


On Sunday, June 30, five policemen were ambushed and killed by bandits in Jibia Local Government Area of Katsina State.


According to reports, the officers met their death, while returning to Jibia council headquarters from their duty post in Zandam village.

Four of the officers were killed at the scene of the attack, while the fifth officer died while receiving treatment at the Federal Teaching Hospital, Katsina.

On Saturday, June 29, suspected female suicide bombers struck a wedding, a hospital, and a funeral in Gwoza area of Borno State, leaving six people dead and several others injured.

Shettima, as of Monday, said the death toll of the suicide bombing attack had hit 32 with 26 of its injured victims still receiving treatment in the hospital, while 14 others had been discharged.

According to a statement issued by the Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Communications, Mr Stanley Nkwocha, Shettima gave the updates while speaking with journalists after paying a condolence visit to the victims and families of those killed in the suicide bombings.

On that same day, suspected herders also hacked a rice farmer identified as Taiwo Paul to death in the Kata Area of Ewekoro Local Government of Ogun State.

Meanwhile, while a retired Army General, Brig. Gen. Harold Udokwere (retd.) was assassinated earlier on Saturday, June 22 by a three-man armed robbery gang in Abuja, the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Research, Innovation and Development of Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto, Prof. Yusuf Saidu, was killed by bandits on Monday, June 24.



Between June 16 and June 17, no fewer than 18 people were also killed in three separate attacks across Kaduna, Taraba and Sokoto states.

Six of the victims were killed when suspected herders attacked Mararaban Azagwa and Alele villages all of Maihula in the Bali Local Government Area of the state on Sunday, June 16.

The Sokoto victims also met their death on the same day as six of them were killed and many others were abducted by the attackers in the early hours of Sunday.

The Sokoto Police Command Spokesman, Ahmed Rufai, who confirmed the killing, said it occurred at Tudun Doki, In the Gwadabawa Local Government Area of the state.

The last six victims from Kaduna State lost their lives when some bandits invaded Bauda and Chibiya communities in Maro Ward in Kajuru Local Government Area of the state on Monday, June 17.