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LASG DISMANTLES OVER 200 ILLEGAL SHANTIES, DISLODGES CRIMINAL HIDEOUTS AS LASTMA OPERATIVES UNCOVER DUMMY GUN BENEATH COSTAIN BRIDGE

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By Ebinum Samuel

 

 

In an emphatic manifestation of its relentless commitment to urban regeneration, environmental rectitude, and the safeguarding of public order, the Lagos State Government has executed a sweeping enforcement exercise that led to the dislodgement of illegal squatters, demolition of over 200 illegal shanties, and evacuation of derelict vehicles sprawling around Apapa Road, Ijora, and Costain under bridges.

 

The large-scale clearance operation, meticulously coordinated through a synergy of inter-governmental agencies, was spearheaded by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Transportation, Hon. Sola Giwa. The exercise strategically targeted the reclamation and sanitization of critical public spaces that had been desecrated by unlawful habitation, environmental degradation, and nefarious criminal activities.

 

During the extensive operation, personnel of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) made a shocking discovery—a dummy firearm and other dangerous weapons clandestinely concealed within makeshift structures beneath the bridges. This alarming revelation underscored the exigency of the intervention and validated the State Government’s proactive stance against festering criminal hideouts in key transportation corridors.

 

Hon. Sola Giwa decried the appalling condition of the affected areas, characterizing the unlawful activities and shanty settlements as “a monumental affront to public decency, environmental order, and the collective security of Lagosians.” He further asserted that “no responsive and responsible government would countenance such brazen lawlessness within vital infrastructural zones that sustain the State’s socio-economic engine.”

The Special Adviser reiterated that the clearance exercise was designed to eradicate incessant traffic robberies, dismantle drug peddling enclaves, and abate chronic environmental nuisances that had plagued the axis for years. He further disclosed that the operation equally led to the removal of unauthorized garages and evacuation of long-abandoned trucks, which had been converted into criminal dens under the Ijora Bridge.

 

Hon. Giwa reaffirmed the unwavering determination of the Lagos State Government to sustain the tempo of urban renewal and environmental enforcement across the metropolis, warning that any attempt by displaced miscreants or illegal occupants to return to the cleared sites would be met with swift and decisive sanctions.

 

The multi-agency exercise featured robust participation from the Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI), Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), and the Nigeria Police Force, all working in concert to restore environmental order, safety, and infrastructural integrity.

Other affected areas included Apapa Road, Ijora, and Costain under bridges inward Iponri, where similar demolitions were executed to dismantle criminal hideouts and reclaim encroached public spaces.

 

This bold and far-reaching intervention forms an integral component of the Sanwo-Olu administration’s holistic urban renewal and environmental restoration agenda, aimed at reclaiming public infrastructure, ensuring citizen security, and preserving the aesthetic dignity and operational efficiency of Lagos State’s transportation corridors.

 

 

 

Hon. Giwa commended the seamless cooperation among participating agencies and enjoined residents to remain vigilant, law-abiding, and supportive of government initiatives.

 

He reaffirmed that the Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration remains irrevocably committed to actualizing a safer, cleaner, and more habitable Lagos one that reflects the true spirit of a 21st-century megacity.

TOWARDS A YAHAYA BELLO DYNASTY IN KOGI POLITICS

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By Khalid Jaafar

 

 

Africa’s famous novelist and renowned literary progenitor, Chinua Achebe, avails us of a very instructive proverb in his classic work, *Things Fall Apart.* Alluding to the proclivity of man for spontaneous arrogance and grandstanding at the onset of good fortune, the proverb under reference cautions that “those who had their palm nut cracked for them by a benevolent spirit, must learn to be humble.” Older generations of Nigerians and Africans who grew up in agrarian environments, where they accompanied their parents to farm, sure know the difference between the textures of the coverings of the groundnut and the palm nut. They know that whereas the former can be broken by the snap of the fingers, stones are usually summoned in the forest and administered to the rock-hard shell of the latter. That is how tough it can be and that is why Achebe reminds of the imperative for gratitude if cracking palm nuts suddenly become as effortless as crushing groundnuts.

 

It is within the context of this proverb that this piece intends to x-ray the unbridled greed and gluttony of Yahaya Bello, immediate past Governor of Kogi State, hitherto a nondescript quantity just about a decade ago, who was hoisted by fate to the dizzying heights of fame, fortune and power. Those who know the Yahaya Bello trajectory remember that he was a lowly civil servant on grade level 12 at the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Allocation Commission, (RMFAC), just about a decade ago. He was reportedly disposed to living way beyond his legitimate remuneration, especially because he had an insatiable appetite for women, a pastime which required to be fiscally fed. It has been proferred that Bello came up with an ingenious rogue concept as desk officer covering some states for RMFAC, to collude with pliable state governors and local government chairmen, for the inflation of allocations to them from the federal government.

 

Bello it was said, would ensure that so much was added to the monthly average accruing to these subnationals. The difference above what should be the actual allocation, and the inflated figure, would subsequently be shared between the beneficiary subnational, and Yahaya Bello. It was through such underhand criminality, that he established *Fairplus Travel,* a private commercial transport company. Bello thus created the impression of an affluent young person, within such a short spell in the federal civil service, especially among his peers in Kogi Central, who saw him as having escaped grovelling poverty, prevalent in his parts. It is said that at this point, marabouts and psychics began to “prophesy” about Bello becoming Governor and ultimately, President.

 

How Bello a GL 12 civil servant was able to fund a gubernatorial primary in 2015 and emerge second beyond a respected veteran like the late Prince Abubakar Audu a two-term chief executive Kogi State should yet be interrogated by political analysts. It is on record, however, that in reaction to his failure at the governorship primary of the All Progressives Congress, (APC), Bello reached out to the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP), Captain Idris Wada, just before the gubernatorial election of November 2015, and aligned with his ambition. Bello reportedly received gratification to the tune of N100million at the time, to avail Wada of his political structure in Kogi Central, to thwart the prospects of his own party the APC, whose banner was being flown by Audu.

 

On the cusp of electoral triumph that November 2015, Audu tragically died. A combination of unprecedentedly novel permutations unimaginably threw up Yahaya Bello, a man who was not on the ballot, as “inheritor” of Audu’s votes! Audu’s running mate in that election, James Abiodun Faleke, the expected logical successor to the mandate of his principal, was jettisoned. Ten years after, that “precedencial” electoral intervention perpetrated under the watch of former President Muhammadu Buhari, its locus is yet to be located in the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, pristine or as amended. It remains an unprecedented electoral theft. Factors have been adduced for dumping Faleke when it mattered most. These include the desire of the Buhari cabal to moderate the growing political influence of Bola Tinubu who was a major factor in the presidential emergence of Buhari, and the need to reduce to barest minimum the presence of Christians in Government Houses in Nigeria’s North.

 

It is common knowledge that Bello’s reelection in 2019 was a brazen debasement of democracy. Electoral officers in Bello’s Kogi Central were kidnapped by gunmen, herded to Bello’s Okene home and ordered to fill out result sheets at gunpoint. Elsewhere across the state, Bello’s foot soldiers led by his Chief of Staff who would later become his Deputy, Edward Onoja, led an armed onslaught against voters. Bello’s “feat” was loudly celebrated in a spontaneous musical track performed by a section of his supporters who hailed him for giving the *ta-ta-ta-ta-ta* treatment to those who attempted to stand in Bello’s way. That alliterative expression was in obvious reference to the open deployment of illicit arms and ammunition in securing Bello his second term.

 

Despite his arguably abysmally poor performance in his eight years at the helm, Bello deployed incumbency, state power and resources to reinvent himself via his successor, Ahmed Ododo. Bello it is said, had previously promised to support as his replacement, as many of his aides as sought his blessings. Ododo was reportedly favoured because Bello perceived him as unambitious and would be easy to boss around by a control freak like him, a scenario which has largely played out in nearly two years of Ododo’s regime. Ododo it is opined, is a different breed from the loud, largely infantile Bello. He’s unassuming, humble, humane. Some say he’s timid as Bello his benefactor runs Ododo’s government by proxy. It has been alleged that Bello indeed still resides in the Kogi State Government House, while the incumbent lives in a private residence within the precincts of the seat of government. He got him to reappoint and retain most of the key operatives from his eight year rule as commissioners, advisers and heads of agencies.

 

What many find utterly distasteful and totally disagreeable is that Bello is already plotting the 12 years of gubernatorial politics in Kogi State, after 2027. Bello is in a manic frenzy about getting a second term for Ododo. This explains the impulsive “endorsement rally” held in Lokoja Saturday October 18, 2025, beneath the veneer of flagging off the 2027 presidential reelection campaign for President Tinubu. The rally therefore, was not about genuine love for the President. If Ododo does get a second term and stays in office until 2031, Kogi Central would have produced governors for the state for 16 consecutive years this Fourth Republic. The venerable Alhaji Adamu Atta from the same homestead as Yahaya Bello, was Governor of the Old Kwara State in Nigeria’s Second Republic, between 1979 and 1983.

 

But Bello is said to be looking even beyond 2031 when Ododo will be concluding his second term if he does get it. Bello announced at a recorded meeting with some of his loyalists recently, that he will also produce Ododo’s successor! Attention has since turned to Ali Bello, Chief of Staff to Ododo, who is officially assumed to be Bello’s nephew but is rumoured to be his biological son. As a philandering secondary school student, Yahaya Bello is said to have fathered Ali Bello. Ali is presently answering questions about how billions of naira from the vaults of Kogi State were ferried to Abuja *bureau de changes* and converted into foreign exchange when his uncle/father was governor. This is the succession masterplan which Yahaya Bello has drawn up to keep Kogi State enslaved, suppressed, retarded and oppressed in the foreseeable future. Yet this is not about Bello’s affection for the state. He is decidedly maniacal about the retention of control over the resources of Kogi State, a matter of life and survival for him and his cohorts.

 

Beyond the political class, all perceptive, well-meaning people of Kogi State, irrespective of local government of origin, federal constituency or senatorial zone, must be very worried about the grim prospects of the privatisation of the state by the vaulting ambitions of a single individual. People must speak out, they must engage with those who are not as far-sighted about the mortally injurious political landmines which lie ahead. All right-thinkers must come together to rescue the otherwise promising state from the vice grip of Kogi State’s modern day “absolute monarch.” The time is now.

–

 

*Khalid Jaafar, a public analyst writes from Kuroko, Kogi Central, Kogi State*

Mrs.Uwala Esther: Celebrating Nigeria’s iconic agric. researcher

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By Ayo Oyoze Baje

 

One of the most under reported subsectors of the nation’s economic landscape is that of the research institutes and the brilliant minds behind their ground- breaking innovations and inventions. Hardly does the public get to know about the challenges they face, how they overcome such, the benefis of their research findings and the applications thereof . But this is contrary to what plays out in countries such as India, Germany,the United States, the United Kingdom, China,Japan and Cuba.

So, in the bold bid to change the narrative we shall be bringing to the public sphere, some of our researchers who are making the difference. And all that is because we can longer afford to hide the good things happening to us and. It has to be in the push by the clarion call by yours truly,over the decades that we have to make the best use of our best brains.

Interestingly, one of such is Mrs. Uwala Olufunmilayo Esther who was appointed the Head of Station, National Cereals Research Institute (,NCRI),Moore Plantation,Apata,Ibadan. back in October,2024.
A seasoned Rice Breeder and Principal Research Officer, Mrs. Uwala possesses wealth of experience, academic excellence, and exemplary leadership qualities. Her passion for agriculture, which was ignited at the University of Agriculture, Makurdi (now Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University, Makurdi), where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Agriculture, specializing in Crop Production and Soil Science, between 1998 and 2003. This has furthermore, been aptly exhibited in her quest for advanced knowledge,which led her to the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, where she obtained a Master’s degree in Agriculture with a focus on Plant Breeding and Seed Technology from 2015 to 2017. These have become manifest with her appointment,where she has continued to prove her mettle in handling human and material resources excellently.

Since she joined the NCRI in 2010 as a Rice Breeder, she has been recognized for her stellar performance and outstanding leadership in every assignment given to her. In fact, her dedication and innovative approach have significantly contributed to the institute’s research advancements. Mrs. Uwala therefore, exemplifies the qualities of a transformational leader which include integrity, empathy, vision, and the ability to inspire and motivate others.

Standing her out; head and shouldes amongst her peers is her servant-leadership approach which has continued to foster an environment where every staff member feels valued and empowered to contribute meaningfully.

So, to get insight into how her duties have been playing out she was asked a few questions for her to respond to. For instance, what have been her challenges, experience and the impact made as the Head of Station,National Cereals Research Institute ( NCRI ) over the past one year?

In response, she explained that: “The challenges have been how to reposition the Research Institute back to the real status to carry out appropriate research on grains and cereals food here in Nigeria The aim is to work towards the real essence, goals and objectives of establishment On her experience, she stated that: “
Leading the Outstation has been mixed experience, having to put the institute in functional mood ,as well as making the staff motivated to deliver on the assigned responsibilities.

 

“The need to source for funds within to meet the daily needs to run the institute with meagre funds available posed serious issues,which are tackled from time to time.”

 

From that financial challenge she was asked what the federal government and the private sector should be doing to assist research institutes in Nigeria? In response, she expressed her opinion that: “The federal government should readily fund the research institutes appropriately to engage in productive research work ,that will give the nation profitable yields.

“A collaborative work and synergy should be developed between the institute and the private sector ,for smooth working relationships,towards functional edifice /establishment.The private sector will argument the gaps in smooth running and effective management ,with contributions in lacking areas ” What a brilliant position from her.

As a role model, having achieved so much even at her young age what is her piece of advice to the younger generation of Nigerians? Responding she stated that: “The younger generation of Nigerians should pay better attention to developing the agricultural sector ,towards increasing the GDP of the country , through revenue from exports . The need for the younger generation to divert attention from oil to agriculture ,which can serve as the mainstay of the economy has become an imperative “.That is apt!

In the light of the above- stated it has become pertinent to know who are her heroes and what has she gained from them? Beaming with a beautiful smile she had this tovsay: “My hero is my father, Dr Ayodele Uwala and Professor D.K Ojo,who have made significant contributions to the growth of agriculture in Nigeria.
My father has made impacts through outstanding contributions in Soybean production , currently the NSA president in Nigeria,while Professor Ojo has track records of impacts in agricultural sector in Nigeria and in theglobal arena”. A chip of the old block, one would admit.

Her background

Born on 21st May,1979 to the family of Mr and Mrs Ayodele Christopher Uwala who hail from Ose LG Area of Ondo state, she commenced her primary education at Sacred Heart Primary School,Ibadan in 1984 and passed out in 1990. Funmi proceeded to Queens school, Ibadan in 1990 and passed out in 1996 with secondary school Certificate.

A brilliant, young girl then gained admission into University of Agriculture,Makurdi,Benue State in 1998 and graduated in 2003.She bagged her first Degree in Agronomy in 2003 and on completion went for the mandatory one year National Youth Service Scheme(NYSC).

Funmi ‘s quest for higher educational advancement led to her enrollment for Masters Degree at the Federal University of Agriculture,Abeokuta (FUNAAB) in 2015.
In 2020,Funmi bagged M.Agric in Plant Breeding and Seed Technology in addition to her earlier obtained Bachelor of Science in Crop Production and Soil Science.

Mrs Uwala Olufunmi Esther Alabi is currently undergoing her Ph.D Programme on Plant Breeding at the FUNAAB

Mrs UWALA Olufunmi
,a scholar of international repute and a breeder with the NCRI, has attended wide range of Seminars and Trainings .Some of which are “Training on Developments of Core Agricultural Researcher for Promotion of Rice production in Sub Sahara Africa by JICA.
Also a Seminar at International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) themed : IITA Gender ,Youth and Social Inclusion (GYSI).
At different times ,trainings and Seminars
organized by Nigerian Soybean Association (NSA)

Seminars organized by Association of Seed Scientists of Nigeria)ASSN).

Mrs UWALA Olufunmi, a top notch breeder has also attended Annual Symposium of the International Association of Research Scholars and Fellows(IARSAF) at International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan.

A pure bred scientist ,Mrs UWALA has also attended Workshop on ” Biotechnological Applications for Food Security and Wealth Creation at National Centre for Genetic Resources &,Biotechnology (NACGRAB) in Nov 2014.
She attended Training Course on Hybrid Rice and Seed Production in June 2013 and another training course on “Hybrid Rice and Seed Production “, at Saint Louis,Senegal in Nov 2013.

She attended seminar put together by “Nestle Foods” on “Nutrition, Productivity and Nation Building in 2000.
Mrs Uwala Olufunmi Esther,a seasoned agricultural scientist,breeder of academic standard and an administrator of note, is a member of many recoganized organizations.
The General Secretary of Nigerian Soybean Association (NSA), A Member of Agricultural Society of Nigeria (ASN), A Member of Plant Breeders Association of Nigeria ( PBAN), A Member of Association of Seed Scientists of Nigeria (ASSN), A Member of Genetic Society of Nigeria ( GSN) and a member of Plant Breeders Association of Nigeria(PBAN).
Mrs UWALA Olufunmi Esther Alabi is an administrator with skills and outstanding leadership virtues.She served as the Desk Officer for Anti-Corruption and Transparency Unit of ICPC,ACTU,Ibadan Station.
She awesomely shown dedication as the General Secretary of the Nigerian Soybean Association (NSA) South West Region.
Since her first working experience at Ireti Olu Model College,Ido,Ogun State,during her NYSC year in 2003,she has displayed sterling vision and vigour ,which have continued to manifest till date.

Briefly afterward before her gainful employment into the federal government service UWALA Olufunmi Esther worked briefly at the Casava Breeding Unit , Industrial Training at International Institute of Tropical Agriculture,(IITA),Ibadan in 2001.

She sometimes supervised a Project Work titled : Effect of frequent Weed Control in two Upland Rice Varieties in Ibadan South West 2016 at the Federal College of Agriculture,IAR&T,Moore Plantation,Apata, Ibadan.
Mrs UWALA Esther has good number of papers published in international Journals and related associations publications ,both academic and proffessional. She is happily married with children.

All said, she has so far distinguished herself as a great ambassador of both her family and the academia.
We need many more of her type to be a brilliant beacon for her generation and others to come for a Better Nigeria.

I’ve never eaten in my life – 17-year-old reveals

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By Ebinum Samuel

 

A 17-year-old girl named Emma has gone viral on TikTok after bravely opening up about her battle with Gastroparesis, a rare medical condition that has left her without a functional stomach since birth.

 

In a video shared in July under the username @emmakok, which began trending on Monday, Emma revealed that she has never eaten a proper meal in her life. Instead, she relies entirely on feeding tubes to survive.

 

Speaking candidly about her condition, Emma explained that she is unable to consume even basic meals, making her daily life very different from that of most teenagers.

 

She said, “Hi, my name is Emma. I am 17 and I have a chronic illness called Gastroparesis. Gastroparesis simply means my stomach is paralyzed, it doesn’t work. Because my stomach is paralyzed, it can’t digest any food. Which also means I’m not able to eat any food

Cleaner on N30,000 salary returns N4.8m mistakenly credited to her account

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    In an inspiring act of honesty, Faiza Abdulkadir, a cleaner in Maiduguri, Borno State, has returned ₦4.8 million that was mistakenly credited to her bank account.   Despite earning just ₦30,000 monthly, Faiza chose integrity over temptation. Speaking to newsmen, she explained that her decision was guided by the fear of God and a commitment to doing what is right.   “The money does not belong to me. I returned it to have a peace of mind, and avoid God’s punishment on the day of judgement,” she said.   Faiza revealed that she spent three days completing the bank process before she finally sent back the money to the owner.   “I was restless throughout these three days. In fact, I couldn’t eat well throughout the process, until the day I finally transferred the money to the owner,” she told News Central during an interview.   Banks officials and residents in her area described Faiza as a very honest woman that survived on N30,000 salary from a health care center work.   “We were not surprised, because of her discipline and the way she is training her children. She has very good values and lives a modest life with her five children,” one of her neighbors said.   One of the bank staff said the exceptional qualities displayed by Faiza has surprised many people in the bank.   “Despite her condition, this woman chooses to fear God and do the right thing.   “I witnessed a case in this bank when money was mistakenly transferred into a customer’s account, he withdrew the money and spent it. “He put the bank staff in serious trouble. Police were involved in the case but still the money has not been recovered,” he said.    

Meet Ihunde Grace, CEO Shugabox Food Ventures

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By Ayo Oyoze Baje

Quote:

“We live in a country where the cost of living is almost killing the living because every product is on the high side. Nothing is cheap again in the country. Let the government reduce the cost of living “

– Ihunda Grace

As the economy bites harder, due mainly to government policies that are unfavorable to the masses yours truly has been out there engaging with operators of small and medium scale businesses.The questions that come to mind include how it all started, the challenges they have faced and how they are coping with them?

Others have to do with their training and marketing programs, what they want the government to do for them as citizens of Nigeria because whether our crop of political leaders like it or not, they were elected to meet the needs of the people, and provide the enabling environment for their businesses to thrive.

So, this week the interaction is with IHUNDE ANOINTED GRACE , CEO SHUGABOX . A graduate of Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma Edo state Nigeria who is both a baker and a caterer. Stated below are her responses to the questions given to her:

“I cater for all events providing my esteemed customerd with amazing meals, as well as mouth – watering cakes and yummiest small chops ..

“I started baking as a 200 level student in 2017 selling cupcakes in school just to keep up and pay my minor academic bills. I have been baking for nine years and I’ve trained over 400 students online and on site. Now we’re into food catering full-time so we’re not just into baking , we started from just baking , but as time went by within nine years, I ventured into catering full-time, and our business is fully registered and

trademarked under CAC

WHAT GAVE ME THE INSPIRATION TO GO INTO FOOD BUSINESS

“I got the inspiration to go into food business in my university days firstly, because I wanted to assist in paying some bills but overtime it grew into doing it because I needed to provide good meals and services to people. It became something I loved doing though most times in exchange for money, but I derived satisfaction in doing it.

“I started this in Edo state state Nigeria, nine years ago, but today we travel interstate and sometimes out of Nigeria, to render goods and services.

THE INITIAL CHALLENGES I FACED

“The initial challenge I faced as a new business owner was capital. My mom literally had to start selling cake items back then just so I could buy on credit. Then also not having an oven was a major challenge because I had to use my mom’s pot to bake, which was stressful because I needed to bake at least 75 cupcakes every night and this pot could only take 18 at a time. I used to take this cupcakes to school, waiting to sell them in class after lectures .

“I bypassed this challenge when I had to save all my school fees at a time to get my oven with the hope that I was going to make sales and pay back the school fees, which I did.

OUR TRAINING PROGRAMS

“For our training programs, now we have six – month courses. We have four -month courses for persons interested to learn, baking, and catering within Ekpoma Edo state. We are also working on a project where people outside Edo state can come with accommodation provided for them just so they can learn.

OUR MARKETING STRATEGIES

“Marketing strategies involve personally putting myself out there to sell my products. I love to be found in the right place, at the right time that has people for my business, My target audience also pay influencers, People also well known within our area carry our adverts for us . By so doing they are exposing us to a wider audience.

WHAT PARTNERSHIP AM I INTO?

“We have partnerships with some organizations and also with some personal business owners. We tend to supply our products to them for particular period of time.

” During their ceremonies or

events we are always called upon to render our services. but we look forward to having more partners, or having to partner with bigger brands, restaurant, lounges, or whatsoever where we can supply our products to you, you can resell or you can use as part of your entertainment and souvenirs to your guests.

HOW AM I COPING WITH THE HARSH ECONOMY?

“I must say it is tough for everyone in the country. At the moment some things are not how they used to be. People aren’t as happy and active like they used to be., and this really has a way of affecting businesses. A lot of people complain about money and when your clients do not have that it affects your business as well, so yeah, the economy is affecting everybody, but we hope and we pray and we keep putting our business out there and believe it will get better.

WHAT DO YOU WANT THE GOVERNMENT TO DO FOR YOU?

“We live in a country where the cost of living is almost killing the living because everything is on the high side. Every product is on the high side. Nothing is cheap again in the country so if I would ask, the government for one thing is to please reduce the cost of living if that’s even possible in this country because it’s not easy for anybody.

MY PIECE OF ADVICE TO YOUTHS HAT WANT TO GO INTO FOOD BUSINESS

“One piece of advice to youths that want to venture into food business is that the best time to start is now.. There cannot be so many food vendors in the industry. Food is one essential thing that everybody must get. you must eat food. so my advice is if you’re thinking of starting the food business, with the right niche, the right product, you can actually succeed in it. You may start small but trust me with time and the right promotions you can get what you want .

WHAT ARE MY PLANS FOR THE FUTURE AND HOW DO I RELAX

“My dreams are so big , I look forward to the future, where money is no longer the problem, where I can reach wider audience ,where i can get my product and services to important and influential people in the world; .that’s my dream ,that’s the future I hope for.

“To relax is not always easy. Resting for my kind of business I always most times would encounter health issues , reasons being that I grew up having to figure things out myself so I want to always work.

“Most times it affects my health big time but one way I’ve learnt to manage health issues is to take time when I just need it .so when I just want to relax sometimes I just travel sometimes, I hang out with friends .That way I get to have time to think outside work because honestly, it’s not always easy, balancing these things.”

One hopes, and fervently so that our policy makers make out time to listen to the voices of those who pilot the affairs of SMEs in this country and do everything humanly possible to ease their pains.

CORNELIUS OLATUNJI ADEBAYO (FEB 24, 1941 TO JUNE 25, 2025): A LIFE OF SERVICE AND SACRIFICE

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By Tunde Olusunle

 

He was already a household name in the old Kwara State by the time I first heard of him. “Old Kwara State” within this context will include the sprawling Borgu part of contemporary Niger State, and the Okun-Yoruba and Ebira sections of today’s Kogi State. The August 27, 1991 states creation exercise carried out by the administration of former military President Ibrahim Babangida, detached the aforementioned parts of the original Kwara State, and realigned them with their present geopolitical entities. Raised in the former North Central, (now Kaduna) and Midwestern, (now Edo), my first ever visit to Ilorin the capital of Kwara State was in 1980. My parents took a decision to seek new opportunities in what was then their home state, Kwara, which necessitated the wholesale relocation of the family. I had completed secondary school education in Benin City and tertiary education was on the cards.

 

Chief Cornelius Olatunji Adebayo, more popularly known as *C O Adebayo* was already a prominent public figure by this time, having served in the administrations of a string of military governors in the state. Notably, he served under Colonel Ibrahim Taiwo who was assassinated in the February 13, 1976 coup in which the then Head of State, General Murtala Ramat Mohammed was also murdered. Colonel George Agbazika Innih who succeeded Taiwo retained Adebayo, whose versatility saw him serve in the ministries of Education, Information and Economic Development, at various times. It was in the Ministry of Education, however, where he made the greatest mark, facilitating the abolition of the “shift system” in primary schools in the state. This saw a set of students resume in the mornings and close from school in the afternoons, while another batch resumed in the afternoons and returned home in the evenings. He found this inconveniencing for toddlers and young teenagers. He equally contributed towards increasing the stock of classrooms in secondary schools in the vast old Kwara State.

 

I was admitted into the School of Basic Studies, (SBS), of the erstwhile Kwara State College of Technology, (Kwaratech), late 1980, and would find out that Chief CO Adebayo occupied a folkloric place in regular discourse within the institution’s community. English, History and Economics were my subjects, and he was the pioneer head of the Department of English back in 1973, when the SBS was established. His colleagues spoke very fondly about him, especially about the creditable manner he acquitted himself in political office. His altruism earned him popular nomination as Senator representing present day Kwara South Senatorial District, at the outset of the Second Republic in 1979. As the race for Government House, Ilorin, heated up ahead of the gubernatorial election of 1983, *CO Adebayo* who flew the flag of the Unity Party of Nigeria, (UPN), was the clear favourite in popular discourse. He eventually upstaged the incumbent, Alhaji Adamu Atta and was inaugurated on October 1, 1983. As he settled down to infuse the governance progressivism characteristic of the UPN governments in Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Bendel and Oyo states, known by the acronym *LOOBO states,* however, the military struck December 31, 1983.

 

*Baba CO* was at the forefront of the clamour for the revalidation of the mandate of Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola, who won the June 12, 1993 presidential election, annulled by General Babangida. He was indeed targeted by General Sani Abacha, who shoved aside the Interim National Government, (ING), hurriedly emplaced by a departing Babangida in August 1993, under the leadership of Chief Ernest Shonekan. *Baba CO,* who turned down Abacha’s ministerial offer, was a prominent member of the National Democratic Coalition, (NADECO), a broad-based group of pro-democracy advocates, considered insufferable irritants by the Abacha junta. Many members of the coalition were hounded, harassed and hunted like game by Abacha agents. Fleeing danger was being alive to fight another day, even as *Baba CO* followed the wise precedence of other activists like Prof Wole Soyinka, incumbent President Bola Tinubu, and so on, who fled to safety in foreign lands.

 

It was the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo who would eventually bring me face to face with *Baba CO* a precursor I had revered from a distance through the years. I had already been on the staff of the erstwhile President, when *Baba CO* was appointed Minister for Communications in 2003. He joined the Federal Executive Council on the same day with Prof Eyitayo Lambo, who was Minister for Health. I had heard so much about Emeritus Prof Lambo as a student of the University of Ilorin, where he was before moving around the world in the service of the World Health Organisation, (WHO). Prof Albert Anjorin, Emeritus Professor of Clinical Pathology at my alma mater, Unilorin, a respected mentor, spoke ever so often about “my good friend Eyitayo Lambo” in our frequent meetings during my years in Kwara State. Coincidentally, Prof Lambo and I, both come from the same community, Isanlu, Yagba East council area in Kogi State. He did immensely for health and overall wellbeing of our people in Yagbaland and Okunland in general, during and after his sojourn in government. *Baba CO* and Prof Lambo had a very long relationship dating back to the old Kwara State, and now found themselves serving in the same federal cabinet.

 

Away from the quasi-mythical mental picture I had of him for his looming profile, *Baba CO* was so very disarmingly humble, unassuming, down-to-earth and accessible when I eventually met him. For a man who was already a university student at the famous Ahmadu Bello University, (ABU), even before I was born, not for once did he call me by my first name. Indeed, I was always uncomfortable whenever he grabbed my hands and called me “my brother.” How can I be this much older man’s brother and not son, I would wonder, deep inside of me. At the berthing of mobile telephony under his watch as Minister for Communications, I engaged him on a number of occasions, on the sidelines of the federal cabinet meetings, about the thirst of rural communities for integration with the global communications highway. He knew my subtle advocacy took into account the desires of our people in Kogi West and Okunland, and would always remind me about the travails of the Igbomina people of Kwara State in the hands of successive governments.

 

“The fates of our people, our areas, are tied,” he would tell me. “Extending communications services to Igbomina, is ensuring services in Okunland. It is an objective that must be achieved by the grace of God.” He had a stint in the Federal Ministry of Works in the concluding months of the Obasanjo administration. *Baba CO* graciously honoured my invite to be one of the special guests at the public presentation of my volume of essays which documented the Obasanjo presidency titled: *On The Trail Of History: A Reporter’s Notebook On Olusegun Obasanjo.* Typically, he was one of the earliest arrivals, never given to duplicitous “African” timing. Prof Lambo represented President Obasanjo at the event which held in December 2006.

 

*Baba CO* was built of steel and mortar. Not many people would have survived as long as he did, against the backdrop of some discomforting experiences he had in life. September 12, 2014, he lost his wife, Mrs Funmilayo Adebayo, after a protracted illness. Six years thereafter, his daughter, Mrs Diekola Osa Avielele, passed on July 16, 2020, just about a week after having her son, in Virginia, United States. Two years before her demise, she recalled in an interview she granted, that as Senator representing present day Kwara South during the Second Republic, her father indeed “returned his unspent estacode, after an official trip to Russia.” Such was the openness and transparency of *Baba CO.* Each of the unfortunate departures of his beloved wife and daughter, was more than enough to break mere mortals. But *Baba CO* soldiered on, ensuring that his other children, grandchildren and members of the extended family, had a solid patriarchal shoulder to lean on.

 

From the classroom; to the State Executive Council; to the Senate of the Federal Republic; through his travails in the hands of Abacha goons; to the Federal Executive Council, *Baba CO’s* was a life of dedicated service and selfless sacrifice. He epitomised hardwork, forthrightness, frugality, integrity and inalienable commitment to the development of his fatherland. These are qualities which are missing in the operations manual of most of today’s political figures, who are basically vultures and buccaneers. Until his departure on Wednesday June 25, 2025, *Baba CO* was one of the last standing exemplars of authentic ideological progressivism and substantial political puritanism. We don’t make them anymore. He will be thoroughly missed back home in his birthplace, Oke-Onigbin; in Igbominaland; in Kwara South; in Kwara State and Nigeria in general. He was a great man in by every definition. May the good Lord rest his gentle soul.

 

 

*Tunde Olusunle, PhD, Fellow of the Association of Nigerian Authors, (FANA), is an Adjunct Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Abuja*

Nigerian-born Beninese football star Razak Omotoyossi dies at 39

Posted on by admin50

 

 

Former Beninese international striker, Razak Omotoyossi, has passed away at the age of 39.

 

His death was confirmed on Tuesday, August 19, 2025, by his former Swedish club, Helsingborgs IF, where he once played a key role in the team’s attack.

 

Omotoyossi, born in Lagos, Nigeria, before switching allegiance to Benin, made his mark as one of West Africa’s most prominent football exports.

 

In a tribute posted on X (formerly Twitter), the club wrote: “Helsingborgs IF is in mourning. We have been informed that our former player Razak Omotoyossi has passed away at the age of 39. Our thoughts are with his family and loved ones.”

Omotoyossi, who began his career in the Nigerian league before switching nationality to represent Benin, went on to become one of the most celebrated footballers in the country’s history.

 

He scored 21 goals in 55 international matches, cementing his place among Benin’s all-time top scorers.

 

He is especially remembered for his remarkable display during the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, where he scored all four goals in Benin’s 4-1 victory over Togo, finishing the campaign as joint top scorer alongside Samuel Eto’o.

 

He also made history as the first player to score for Benin at the AFCON finals.

 

At club level, Omotoyossi’s career took him across Africa, Europe, and the Middle East, with spells in South Africa, Libya, Egypt, Syria, Moldova, Sweden, and France.

He enjoyed a particularly successful period at Helsingborgs IF, where he featured in the UEFA Champions League before moving on to French side FC Metz.

 

Omotoyossi’s passing marks the end of an era for Beninese football, with tributes pouring in from fans and former teammates who remember him as a prolific striker and a trailblazer for the sport.

Lionel Messi and Wife Antonela Capture Hearts on Kiss Cam at Coldplay Concert in Miami

Posted on by admin50

 

 

Football icon Lionel Messi and his wife Antonela Roccuzzo made a brief but memorable appearance on the stadium’s Kiss Cam during Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres tour stop in Miami on Sunday, July 27.

 

The couple, seated in a reserved VIP section, appeared on the big screen to cheers and excitement from the crowd. As the camera focused on them, Messi smiled warmly and waved in response, prompting fans across the venue to break into a passionate chant of “Messi! Messi! Messi!”

 

While the couple didn’t share a kiss or react dramatically to the spotlight, the understated moment quickly captured fans’ attention online. The clip went viral, with many admiring the quiet charm of the football star and his long-time partner amid the energy of the concert.

 

 

The sighting added a touch of celebrity excitement to an already electric evening, blending global music and sports fandom in one unforgettable moment.