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SPECIAL DEDICATION of my READ Initiative to: MRS. ADELINE CRIPE (Nee Adeline Miller) now of blessed memory

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Tit-bits:
What is the READ INITIATIVE all about?
READ simply stands for Reviving Early Academic Development. It was conceived in year 2000 after spending 20 years of my career as a school teacher in science subjects.

That was in institutions such as Edeki Grammar School Otuo,( NYSC, 1976-77), in Bendel state(now defunct), Govt. Secondary School, Agbamu, Kwara State, Govt. Girls School, Obangede, (then in Kwara state but now Kogi State), Abdul Azeez Attah Memorial College (AAAMCO,) Okene and Gov. Day Sec. School, Adankolo, Kogi State. It was after all these experiences that I veered fully into the field of journalism.

Furthermore, it was through my experiences in these schools that informed the writing of my motivational bestseller, ‘HOW TO BE A SUCCESSFUL STUDENT’© 2013.
THE VISION is to revive all-round development of pupils and students, at the foundation level of education. One discovered over the years, that many of them fail their examinations not because they are not potentially brilliant but due to lack of good upbringing right from their homes, lack of quality teachers, low teacher-to pupils/students ratio as well as lack of enabling environment for quality education delivery.

These include lack of requisite reading materials, laboratory equipment, practical lessons and lack of focus on their studies as many of them are distracted by societal events and frivolous lifestyles.


So, I go round schools to deliver motivational lectures. And I keep encouraging people to get back to their alma mater to assist in infrastructural development, donation of books, rebuilding school buildings, equipping the libraries and laboratories, in line with the READ Initiative.


** Schools I have delivered such Motivational Lectures, include:
***Victory Group of Schools, Maryland Lagos, Airforce Primary School, Ikeja Lagos, New Erral Group of Schools, Jankara and Progress College, Abule-Egba ,Lagos.


TOPICS of lecture include:
1. Preparing for Tomorrow, Today
2. Bringing Out the Best in You!
3. The Power of Creativity in Students’ Success
4. The Role of Modern Technology in Students’ Development
5. How to Choose the Right Career for You
6. How Drug Addiction and Trafficking Ruins Your future
7. Learning from the Best for Self Development
VITAL INFORMATION:
Parents, Principals and Proprietors who are interested should add me on WhatsApp 07068638066
***REASONS for dedicating the READ Initiative to Mrs. Adeline Cripe ( of blessed memory).
1. She paid my school fees from Form 2 in 1967 to Form 5 in 1970 at Ochaja Secondary School.


2. Apart from teaching the English language she encouraged and honed my writing skill, such that I came up with my first novel as a Form Four student in 1969, though I did it for fun and never got it published.
3. The motivational lessons I gleaned from her and other missionary teachers at that wonderful and all-round developing school who gave my classmates and I all their best must not be lost.

President Tinubu And June 12-By Tunde Rahman

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Around this period in 1993, precisely on June 12, 1993, the day of that historic election, this writer operated in two different but mutually reinforcing capacities. While I was the Political Correspondent of the old Daily Times, covering the then-unfolding electoral process in Abuja, I was also an officer in the Nigerian Election Monitoring Group monitoring the poll in the federal capital. It was an important day in the nation’s life, as it was in my journalism career. The late Professor Omo Omoruyi, an intellectual giant and the brains behind General Ibrahim Babangida and his transition programme, who designed most of the electoral ideas introduced by that regime, including Option A4, had put the election monitoring group together.

 

As the Political Correspondent of the Daily Times, I had an uneasy sense of foreboding when the then National Electoral Commission, which had been announcing the results of the election on a display board mounted at the commission’s headquarters then at Area 10, Abuja, suddenly stopped adding new results after results from 14 states had been announced. I promptly filed a story on this strange and disturbing development. The next day, the late Dr. Femi Sonaike, Editor of the Daily Times at the time, ran a front-page editorial demanding the continuation of the publication of the results. I was beside myself in ecstasy at the NEC HQ, celebrating the editorial and Dr. Sonaike’s bravery and boldness. For a government-owned newspaper, the editorial was an unforgivable affront to the military. As it turned out, that was the last edition Dr. Sonaike edited as Daily Times Editor. He was instantly removed from office.

Then began a sad spiral of events, culminating in an announcement formally annulling that free and fair election. A dark pall descended on the nation. The country erupted in turmoil, with almost daily protests against the election’s annulment. The rest did not simply become history, as they say, but a profound history with compelling lessons.

 

This piece is not an odyssey of my journalism career. It’s about President Bola Tinubu and the undocumented contributions to June 12, particularly after that annulment. Tinubu played a frontline role in the conception and later agitation of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), which stridently fought for the de-annulment of June 12.

 

At the time of the election, he was a Senator of the Federal Republic. In defiance of the military, he and others reconvened the Senate that had gone on recess, during which they demanded the de-annulment of the poll or immediate termination of military rule.

 

For his agitation, the military hounded him. His residence at Balarabe Musa Crescent in Victoria Island, Lagos was petrol-bombed by agents of the junta who thought he had been burnt alive. However, he escaped abroad and continued the agitation, providing direction and funding for NADECO Chieftains abroad. All of that had been widely publicised and commended.

 

Many may also recall that iconic and viral picture, which circulated online, where Asiwaju Tinubu was seen behind the late Bashorun MKO Abiola as Abiola went to confer with the late dictator, General Sani Abacha, on the June 12 matter. The significance of that event signposted Asiwaju’s relationship with MKO as a trusted ally and his essential role in the then-unfolding struggle. Asiwaju Tinubu, it was learned, warned the late MKO to tread cautiously and be wary of Abacha or the military over June 12. As he often says, the military uniform is called camouflage, and camouflage, according to him, is a synonym for deception.

It is thus unsurprising that much of his contributions, particularly after June 12, remained indelible years after the death of Abiola, owner of the stolen mandate. The profundity of June 12 is evident in the fact that its ghost has refused to go away years after the restoration of democracy in 1999. President Olusegun Obasanjo, who inherited power on a silver platter and his Peoples Democratic Party, carried on as though oblivious of the historical import of June 12 and the ominous pall that its years of neglect had cast on the nation’s democratic system. Although the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua inaugurated the Justice Muhammed Uwais Electoral panel to reform the nation’s electoral process after admitting his election in 2007 was flawed, he battled ill-health for the better part of his presidency to think of June 12. President Goodluck Jonathan also remained seemingly unfazed about that annulled poll. For 16 years after the democratic renewal, the PDP government carried on with the utter neglect of June 12 and its symbolic place in our democracy.

However, President Buhari took bold steps to resolve the June 12 conundrum and put Abiola in his rightful place even in death. Recognising him as the winner of June 12 and as President, Buhari bestowed on MKO posthumously, the highest national honour of GCFR reserved for presidents. He also declared June 12 a national public holiday. Buhari gave Abiola’s running mate in the election, Ambassador Babagana Kingibe, the second-highest honour of GCON. Buhari’s gesture won him admiration and commendations.

 

Many didn’t know that Asiwaju Tinubu had made the recommendation to President Buhari.Addressing the National Assembly last Thursday, President Tinubu again commended Buhari for this critical decision: “Let me pay tribute to former President Muhammadu Buhari for reaching back into history to rectify a national misdeed by making June 12 Democracy Day and by officially acknowledging Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola and his running mate, Babagana Kingibe, as the victors and thus duly elected President and Vice President respectively of Nigeria after the June 12, 1993, elections.”

 

President Tinubu completed the restitution for Abiola and other heroes of democracy that Thursday. He conferred posthumous national honours on Kudirat Abiola, MKO’s wife, and other heroes. Agents of the military junta killed Kudirat on the streets of Lagos in the wake of the June 12 struggle.

It is relevant to state that certain things are instructive about President Tinubu and June 12. Tinubu became President in 2023, 30 years after June 12. Is this simply a coincidence or divinely ordained? The late MKO Abiola christened his campaign manifesto “Hope 1993: Farewell to Poverty.” President Tinubu called his own Renewed Hope Agenda for a Better Nigeria.

 

Now, has the ghost of June 12 been finally laid to rest? Is MKO’s vision for Nigeria alive in Tinubu’s presidency? Vice President Kashim Mustapha Shettima thinks so.

 

Speaking during the public lecture commemorating the 26th year of unbroken Democracy, VP Shettima said decades after the June 12 debacle, providence returned the baton of Abiola’s struggle for a better Nigeria to “one of his most trusted lieutenants—President Tinubu.”

 

He affirmed that, based on the final account of Abiola’s life, the military could not take away or extinguish hope. “It is this faith in the promise of Abiola’s vision that has renewed the hope of this nation,” he said.

 

The work is not entirely done. Although the recent resolution of the National Assembly adopting June 12 of every year for the Presidential Address is a step in the right direction, as it will help to institutionalise June 12 and immortalise Abiola, I think MKO deserves full recompense for his contributions and for paying the supreme price for Nigeria’s democracy. The government should pay the debts if actually it owes Abiola some money, as his family claims.

 

In the meantime, President Tinubu’s pronouncements last Thursday at the hallowed chamber of the National Assembly stand as homage to resilience and a bold reminder of what might have been.

–Rahman is a Senior Assistant to the President on Media and Special Duties.

How I married Titi against our parents wishes – Atiku

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Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has shared a heartfelt account of how he married his first wife, Hajia Titi Atiku Abubakar, over five decades ago—despite opposition from both their families.

Speaking in Abuja on Saturday during celebrations to mark Titi’s 75th birthday, the former Vice President expressed deep admiration for his wife, describing her as a “blessing beyond measure.” The event was attended by close friends and political associates.

 

In a personal message posted on his Facebook page, Atiku praised Titi’s patience and unwavering support throughout their long union.

 

“On the occasion of my beloved wife Titi’s 75th birthday anniversary celebrations, I am proud to say that I couldn’t have married a better wife. Titi and I got married against our parents’ wishes in the most daring way, with no family members, with only two friends,” he wrote.

Reflecting on their enduring relationship, he added: “Today, we have been married for more than 50 years. Titi has been a blessing beyond measure to me and our family. I don’t know how we started calling ourselves Mummy and Daddy. I thank her for being patient with my shortcomings.”

 

He went on to offer advice to couples: “Patience is a virtue you can never regret. I encourage spouses to continue to be patient with each other. I wish Titi many more years of bliss and blessings.”

Meeting with Peter Obi pleasant, free of bitterness, says Tinubu’s spokesman, Onanuga

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Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, has shared his positive impression of a recent encounter with Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi.

Onanuga, known for his vocal criticism of Obi during and after the 2023 election cycle, recounted their meeting at the 90th birthday celebration of veteran journalist and publisher, Sam Amuka-Pemu, in Lagos on Friday night.

 

“Great moments at Uncle Sam Amuka-Pemu’s 90th birthday celebration in Lagos on Friday night,” Onanuga wrote in a social media post on Saturday night.

 

“Meeting with former Governor of Anambra and Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi was a pleasure—there was no bitterness, just a warm handshake and good vibes. Prince Nduka Obaigbena cracked us up with his signature wit and banter. …

 

“It was a night of camaraderie and celebration!” Onanuga said.

CJN, EMINENT NIGERIANS GATHER AS BURIAL RITES OF JUSTICE GALUMJE’S WIFE, ZEPORAH, BEGIN IN ABUJA  ..We promised each other till death do us part, husband

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  By Ebinum Samuel   The Chief Justice of the Federation, Kudirat Olatokunbo Kekere-Ekun led eminent Nigerians to the service of songs for late Mrs. Zeporah Galmuje, wife of Justice Paul Adamu Galumje, retired Justice of the Supreme Court and Honourable Commissioner representing the Judiciary in the Police Service Commission. The ceremony held yesterday, Saturday, 14th June, 2025 at the Christian Reformed Church, Nigeria in Apo, Abuja.   Justice Kekere-Ekun was accompanied to the ceremony by her husband, Prince Akin and several Justices of the Supreme Court, including, Justice Festus Ogbunyia, Helen Ogunwumiju and Stephen Jonah Adah.   The Police Service Commission delegation to the Service of Songs was led by Justice Christy Lara Dabup rtd, Honourable Commissioner and Colleague of Justice Galumje in the Commission.   Giving his testimony at the Service, Justice Galumje told the fully packed church audience that he wedded his late wife on the 30th of July 1977 and that they promised themselves that only death can separate them. He thanked God that they were able to keep to the covenant and only separated on the 4th of June this year when she was called to higher glory.   Justice Galumje said he tested his wife severally to see if he will incure her anger, but noted that each time she kept quiet, adding that her story to all women is to keep quiet whenever “your husband is angry”. We lived a peaceful life, he noted.   The retired Supreme Court Justice thanked the congregation for their prayers and encouragement .   Justice Galumje said God has been good to him, “from a remote village in Taraba to where I am now, it can only be God.”   He expressed sincere thanks to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu who he said not only called to commiserate with him on the death of his wife but sent his Vice who visited him at his residence.   Rev. Dr. Mark Ato Yohanna of the Christian Reformed Church gave the exhortation at the Service while Rev Daniel Eska-Uten Yohanna, Chairman of the Church prayed for the family.   The first reading at the Service was presented by Bar. Emocha Paul Galumje, son of the deceased while the second scripture reading was taken by Emoseh Paul Galumje, daughter.   According to Ikechukwu Ani, PSC spokesman, the remains of Mrs Zeporah Paul Galumje departs Abuja on Thursday, 19th June, 2025 for Jalingo, Taraba state for a wake keep at No 2 Justice Paul Galumje Street, Jalingo. There will be a Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship International on Friday, June 20th. The same day, she will lie in state at her husbands residence in Jalingo and leave for Didan village also in Taraba State on Saturday June 21st for funeral service and Interment.   Other dignitaries who attended the Service of Songs in Abuja yesterday included, Senator Emmanuel Bwacha, Elder Obada Ando, Elder Seth Ika’a, Elder Usman Kaigama; Lawal N. Akirikwen SAN, Lawal Rabana, SAN, D.D Dodo, SAN, Emman Bala and Willy Ashigye.   Others were AIG H. Karma rtd, Justice Josephine Tuturu, Hon. Sam Ada, Mr. and Mrs. Davies Dada, Hon. Danjuma Shidi and Mr. Kifas Danladi among others.   Mrs. Zeporah Paul Galumje born in 1958 died on 4th June 2025.

Nigerian university teaching hospital performs second kidney transplant

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In a major medical milestone, the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) has successfully carried out its second living-donor kidney transplant—15 years after the first one was performed.

 

The announcement was made on Wednesday by the hospital’s Chief Medical Director, Professor Ahmed Ahidjo, during a press briefing held in Maiduguri, Borno State.

 

According to Professor Ahidjo, the successful transplant marks a significant leap forward for the hospital and the broader healthcare system in northern Nigeria. He emphasized that this achievement reflects years of investment in training, infrastructure, and strategic partnerships aimed at enhancing specialized medical care in the region.

This is not the first time UMTH is doing the transplant. The first time UMTH conducted a kidney transplant was in August 2010 and now the hospital has come back with full force to resume the exercise,” he said.

 

Mr Ahidjo also announced that already 20 patients were admitted awaiting surgery on the same kidney transplant.

 

He appealed to donors to contribute funds to support the have-not patients who needed the surgery so dearly.

 

The CMD said that though, the hospital provided free services being a federal government facility, adding that the patient’s dialysis had been subsidised by the government by reducing everything to N12,000 which was less than eight dollars compared with 1,000 dollars charged for same dialysis elsewhere.

Mr Ahidjo said that the target was to make transplant one of the cheapest in West Africa, saying their facility was the largest in the country with a capacity to accommodate up to 85 patients at once.

 

“UMTH has four fully equipped theatre rooms. All for kidney transplant which were fully equipped with modern equipment,” the CMD said.

 

He, however, commended TETFUND for its support to the hospital in terms of equipment and other infrastructure.

 

Mr Ahidjo also commended Gov. Babagana Zulum of Borno for donating N50 million to the hospital to carry out research on causes of kidney related diseases in the North-East.

The CMD said that some of the research findings revealed that diabetics, hypertension and dehydration were linked with the kidney-related diseases in the region.

 

“The causes of kidney issues for now are diabetics, hypertension and exact causes are not yet known but many samples were taken to laboratories and the result is awaited,” Mr Ahidjo said.

 

 

 

(NAN)

THE ROAD TO “FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF BOLA TINUBU”

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By Tunde Olusunle

 

I’ve just watched a four-minute video clip of Alex Otti, the Abia State Governor, commissioning a humongous haul of 14 road projects in one day in Aba, the major commercial hub in the state. My interest was not in the ceremonial cutting of tapes and ribbons at every turn during the exercise. More than that, I was swayed by the bonding, the connectivity of Otti with regular folks, his kinsmen and women. As Otti walked the streets of the famous *Enyimba City,* his people, evidently overwhelmed by the good works of their leader, wanted to touch him, to hug him, to take photographs with him. Whenever his excited constituents tried to get close to him just to touch him, they were, expectedly restrained by the protective wall around Otti. On each such occasion, Otti overruled his aides, allowing such people reach and embrace him. There was this particular point in the video clip under review, where a woman trader wanted to gift Otti a pack of bottled water, most probably in her appreciation of Otti’s endeavours.

 

The security perimeter around Otti tried to kick the pack aside and block her from accessing the Governor. He read the situation, slowed down and even asked that the allowed near him and indeed be photographed with him. He equally directed that her gift of water be thankfully received and taken to his car. The 14 roads which Otti opened up for public use on that occasion are part of a bigger plan for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of 55 roads across Abia State. Otti is an *Aba boy* like the cerebral doyen of the national parliament, Enyinnaya Abaribe, whose book titled *Made in Aba* released in 2021, underscores how deeply the lionised city impacted his makeup. Otti knows how much a good network of roads can make life better and business easier for his distinctively industrious people. A functional Aba will accelerate productivity in the city and mitigate unemployment in a commercial nexus which prides itself a rival to Onitsha and Nnewi both in Anambra State. Both towns are renowned for commerce and manufacturing.

 

Not one of the 14 roads which Governor Otti recently commissioned, nor any of the 44 others which are at various stages of completion, has been renamed after him. Some of them indeed still bear their colonial designations, a constant reminder of our history and antecedents. In Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory, (FCT), there was pomp and pageantry, Wednesday June 10, 2025, as President Bola Tinubu “commissioned” the International Conference Centre, (ICC), built and activated by the administration of former military President Ibrahim Babangida, 34 years back, in 1991. Nigeria was bestowed, at very short notice, the hosting rights of the Summit of the Organisation of African Unity, (OAU), as it was then referred to. Abuja spontaneously became a massive construction site within the period under consideration.

 

As the ICC was being readied, so were accommodation facilities built across various districts in Abuja, to house delegates to the OAU Summit. Till date, several residential complexes, mostly blocks of flats across Abuja are known by the name *OAU Quarters,* even though many residents of the various mini- OAU housing estates barely know the etymology of their present abodes. Babangida “stepped aside” in August 1993. Ernest Shonekan; Sani Abacha; Abdulsalami Abubakar; Olusegun Obasanjo; Umaru Yar’Adua; Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari have all come after him as Head of Interim National Government, (ING); military Heads of State and civilian Presidents. None of them christened the ICC or any other national asset for that matter, after himself. A standard, stately edifice, the ICC has remained the *Numero Uno* events destination in Abuja over the years. It has serially hosted world class dignitaries and functions across time and space. As serving President of the United States, the charismatic Bill Clinton was hosted to a state banquet at ICC in 2000. In similar fashion, Queen Elizabeth II of England topped the bill at the 2003 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, (CHOGM), hosted by President Olusegun Obasanjo. A record 51 out of 54 Heads of State of member countries of the Commonwealth attended the four-day event. Such is how treasured, how valued this national monument is.

 

That Tuesday June 10, 2025, an excitable Nyesom Wike, Tinubu’s Minister of FCTA, renamed the International Conference Centre, (ICC), the *Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre.* The edifice which Babangida built from the preliminary stages of earthworks for *N240 million* in 1991, was whitewashed for re-inauguration at a whooping *N39 Billion, in 2024.* Typically, there was no competitive bidding. It was a direct award to a concern preferred by the FCT Minister. The ICC, by the way is the eighth monument, known to me, thus far christened after Tinubu within his first two years in office. Before it were the: *Tinubu International Airport, Minna, Niger State; Tinubu Polytechnic, Gwarimpa, Abuja and Tinubu National Assembly Library, Abuja. There are also the Tinubu Immigrations Technology Building, Airport Road, Abuja; the Tinubu Barracks, Asokoro, Abuja; the Tinubu Way, (formerly Southern Parkway), Abuja, and also the Bola Tinubu Centre for Islamic Affairs, Kaduna, built by the Department of State Services, (DSS).*

 

President Tinubu seems to be lapping up blandishment, magnification and laudation as they coalesce towards his eventual deification. This is a path potentially laden with veritable landmines. We are never bound to accept and adopt every souvenir or memorabilia thrust at us. We can always ask our doctors questions about medications prescribed for us. Let’s indulge Wike that he probably doesn’t know the history of ICC. President Tinubu does. He was Senator in 1992 and functioned alongside his colleagues, from the very same ICC, in Abuja, in the absence of a purpose-built parliamentary complex. I would, if I were Tinubu, have thanked Wike for his thoughtful gesture. I would have reminisced over Nigeria’s political evolution and reminded him that Babangida in his time, it was, who conceived and erected the mega-structure which sits regally at the bosom of Abuja today. I would have enlightened Wike that just a few months ago, Babangida stepped forward to take responsibility for the annulment of the *June 12, 1993* presidential election which produced Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola, (MKO), as President.

 

I would have drawn Wike’s attention to the fact that Babangida will be 84 on Sunday August 17, 2025. It would not be out of place to honour him with the ribbons and flowers of the ICC which was indeed his baby. Like or loathe him, Babangida has several positives against his eight year regime, from August 27, 1985 to August 26, 1993. He ensured the physical, effective relocation of Nigeria’s seat of government from Lagos to Abuja, in 1991. This was 15 years after Abuja was so proclaimed by General Murtala Ramat Mohammed, in February 1976, just days before his assassination. He built the eyeful, sprawling State House, Abuja, a tourist monument in its own right. To enhance better governance and developmental coverage of the country, Babangida’s government created Akwa Ibom and Katsina states in 1987, taking the number of states in the country from 19 to 21. On the sixth anniversary of his administration August 27, 1991, Babangida established an additional nine states, including Abia, Adamawa, Anambra, Delta, Jigawa, Kebbi, Kogi, Osun and Yobe, which brought the number of states in Nigeria to 30.

 

Babangida established the Federal Road Safety Corps, (FRSC), to instil discipline on our highways and curb carnage, and built the ambitious *Third Mainland Bridge* in Lagos, to ease traffic in the water-constrained state. He continued Nigeria’s anti-apartheid campaign against White domination in South Africa, despite being a military leader. Under him, Nigeria had very strong foreign affairs profile in the eyes of the international community under his leadership. The Technical Aid Corps Scheme, (TACS), under which auspices Nigeria sent teachers and professionals to needy African and Caribbean countries, was initiated under Babangida. Nigeria intervened in troubled West African countries from possible dismemberment arising from civil strife, under Babangida’s watch. Nigeria initiated, led and substantially funded a multinational military peacekeeping corps under the auspices of the Economic Community of West African States, (ECOWAS), under him. We can go on.

 

Interactions between the State House and various states, ministries, departments and agencies, (MDAs) ahead of every programme to be attended by the President, must be painstaking, detailed and explicit. Pleasant “ambushes,” detours away from agreed runs of events, and surprises of any kind are totally intolerable. This is the way it was in our time between 1999 and 2007. You cannot come to a high profile public event, especially the types Wike loves to telecast real-time on the network services of various television stations, to embarrass the President with such proclamations, in the name of springing surprises. Except of course if President Tinubu himself is sucked into such ego-massaging and vainglorious labelling. Except if the President is indifferent to order and conformity, consisting with extant rules and regulations. Or indeed, the ultimate verdict of history.

 

President Tinubu will do well to be very circumspect about the manner he consents to every other national treasure or government facility being named or renamed after him. He needs to rein in his officials so they can guide him aright. They shouldn’t just be *follow follow* officials, to appropriate a phrase from the immutable lyrics of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti. They shouldn’t be content with just floating around as members of the President’s ring of “principal officers,” without adding desired value. Once it becomes the vogue that state governments and government departments catch the bug, it will become a ridiculously unending practice, inimical to the person and office of the President. For context, a famous rubbish dump on the *Aba- Port Harcourt* expressway was named after a former Governor of the state who craved adulation at every opportunity. At the rate things are unravelling courtrooms; prison blocks; rehabilitation centres for substance indulgents; psychiatric hospitals, and similar institutions may hereafter don *Tinubu-esque* appellations. Let’s hope President Tinubu wouldn’t wake up one day only to discover that he has become the *President of the Federal Republic of Bola Tinubu!*

 

Not even *Field Marshal Idi Amin Dada of Uganda* pulled off such a stunt.

 

 

 

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

Bitter Lessons from the Mokwa flood tragedy

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By Ayo Oyoze Baje

 

Quote:

 

“We cannot replace everything you have lost, but we are here to support you in every way we can.”

 

-Governor Umar Muhammed Bago of Niger state ( while commiserating with families of the victims of the flood disaster )

 

‘Just before the floods’ happens to be the title of the opinion essay of yours truly, first published in May 2013 and updated virtually every year, as a warning to all the stakeholders, on the crying need to take proactive measures to forstall further casualites brought about by the recurring, flushing floods.

 

 

The said article was informed by one of the worst flooding disasters in Nigeria which occured back in 2012. It affected 30 states, especially Benue and Kogi , according to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA). The floods reportedly killed 363 persons, displaced over 2.1 million people, and affected an estimated total of seven million people. NEMA placed the damage and losses caused by the floods at N2.5 trillion. Devastating, was it not? Yes, it was!

 

 

Yet, the fear – fuelling fury of the recent flood, which took place in Mokwa, Niger State beginning with the early rains on May 28, 2025 has come up as a worse – case scenario. In fact, the devastating effects that wasted as many as between 200 to 700 lives, including entire family members flushed into the turbulent River Niger are telling on us. It should therefore, be a wake-up call on all of us, to do the needful when it matters most.

 

 

So harrowing was the enormity of the tragedy that according to media reports,

one Farida Auwalu lost seven children. Another bereaved family head, by the name Mohammed Tanko said he lost at least 15 people from his household. In addition, over 3,000 people were displaced, more than 265 houses got destroyed, and 503 households were affected. Also, some important infrastructure, including three bridges, were washed away, cutting off traffic between the northern and southern parts of the country. Yet, the flood was predicted by NiMET. months before it happened. The inability to prevent the raging tide of the flood underscores where the problem lies.

 

 

Agreed, that the devastating dynamics of climate change has become a global challenge due to global warming, but that does not mean that we should fold our arms when we are supposed to act. Not at all! For the records, ReliefWeb reported major flood disasters in Peru and Ecuador in January, Botswana in February, Tanzania, Bolivia, Iraq, Argentina in March, and the DR Congo in April. Before then, flood incidents also took place in Pakistan, Afghanistan, through Indonesia to Baden-Wurttemberg, and Bavaria in Germany where lives were lost in May 2024. Also, floods have overrun parts of Kenya, Algeria, and Haiti. On May 28, melting glaciers wiped out Blatten, a Swiss village of 300 residents, off the world map. Before then, geologists warned in 2024 that the ice was melting due to heat, which forced the Swiss authorities to evacuate Blatten.

 

 

It is therefore, time to rise above the raging waves of the furious floods with a collective action. That is specifically so in tackling the root causes of the seasonal floods, traced to global warming.

 

 

With specific regards to the latest flood disaster in Mokwa, Niger state, it is traced to a combination of factors such as the impact of environmental and infrastructural neglect. That is in addition to poor disaster preparedness which is exacerbated by climate change.

 

 

Worthy of note is that Mokwa is an important central market acting as a transit hub connecting northern food producers with southern traders. Unfortunately, the flood has left serious damage not only by the destruction of infrastructure and commerce, but increased the number of citizens who are displaced, suffering from preventable hunger and are vulnerable to attacks by insurgents as well as debilitating diseases.

 

 

As for intervention from the

the Niger state government the governor, Bago applauded for his people-orientef policies has awarded a 7 billion contract for the construction of the Mokwa- Raba Road and four bridges. The project reportely aims to improve transportation and enhance connectivity, particularly for communities recently devastated by the life-wasting flood. He announced this during a visit to Tiffin Madza Primary School, where internally displaced persons (IDPs) are currently taking refuge. He used that opportunity to reaffirm the state’s commitment to rebuilding affected communities and restoring hope to displaced families.

 

 

Furthermore, the governor announced a 1 billion naira donation to fast-track the resettlement of the displaced citizens by the disaster.

 

Noteworthy, is that the state government has directed the Ministry of Lands to issue a Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) to the Federal Government to facilitate the resettlement process.It will be used for the construction of permanent housing, including essential infrastructure such as health facilities, schools, and proper drainage systems with culverts to reduce the deleterious effects future flooding. As reported, the Niger flooding incident occurred five months after Governor Mohammed Bago announced that the state had secured a $10 million World Bank facility with the noble objective to arrest gully erosion in some parts of Mokwa. Unfortunately, the harm has been done.

 

 

Much as these interventions are timely and commendable, prevention remains safer and cheaper than cure. So, what is the best way forward? That is the million naira question.

 

 

According to experts, the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather conditions in Nigeria are inimical to stable environment. They are indeed, responsible for climate change. This has led to heavier rainfall concentrated in shorter periods, making available drainage and flood management systems inadequate and obsolete.

Many parts of Nigeria, including Mokwa, suffer from inadequate drainage infrastructure. Existing drainage channels are often clogged with huge mass of waste, preventing proper water runoff. Population explosion and rapid, unregulated urban expansion have led to construction of buildings in flood-prone areas, reducing the land’s natural ability to absorb water.

 

 

What all these factors bring to the front burner is the increasing need for the application of modern technology to stem the tides of the rising floods and also sustained public enlightenment on the part of the people. They should understand and actively engage in tree planting, proper waste disposal, clearing of blocked gutters and canals. This is because it has been discovered that the clearing of vegetation for agriculture and development are responsible for diminishing the land’s capacity to retain rainfall, increasing surface runoff and the risk of floods.

 

 

There should also be a proper management of dams as some residents suspect that a burst or discharge from one of the three major dams there in Niger State may have exacerbated the flooding.

 

 

On a general note, lasting lessons have to be learnt from previous flood disasters that took place between August and September 2024 in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states. The BAY states, as they are fondly called were devastated by flooding disasters, which plunged thousands of residents into humanitarian crises.

 

 

Going forward, state governors should be prudent in the use of the Ecological Funds, listen to and apply the warnings as given by NiMET and be proactive in the discharge of their policies on environmental protection.

Indian National, Dangote Workers Docked For Allegedly Diverting Over N4bn Diesel

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    An India citizen, Tukur Shamsudden was among 13 individuals arraigned by the operatives of the Police Special Fraud Unit (PSFU), Ikoyi, Lagos, for alleged conspiracy and diverting Automated Gasoline Oil, popularly called diesel value over N4 billion, belonging to Dangote Industries Limited. Others arraigned alongside the Indian man, before the court presided over by Justice Deinde Dipeolu were: Ikechukwu Kingsley Obi: Chigozie Chrisogonus Osukwu; Ukaegbu Rex Chukwuma; Umeh Johnpaul Ugochukwu; Akamadu Emmanuella, a woman; Zango Mohammed Umar; Emmanuel Oku; Shaibu Michael; Lucky Otoide; Mmaduabuchi Okezuonu; Ephraim Kanakapudi and Omojowo Adeleke Emmanuel. The defendants, who includes staff of Dangote Industries Limited, and some officials of transport companies contracted for transporting Diesel from Dangote Deport to Ibese and Obajana Plants, were arraigned of a 16 count-charge of conspiracy, unlawful diversion of petroleum product (AGO) and receiving proceed of fraudulent division. Those listed as staff of Dangote Petroleum Industries Limited among the defendants are: Akamadu Emmanuella (f); Emmanuel Oku; Zango Mohammed Umar; Lucky Otoide Simon and Ephraim Kanakapudi. While others were said to be staff of Arigen Integrated Limited; Obat Limited; Amaiden Energy Limited; Regal Gate Limited; Alkham Limited; Prestige Limited and Opetrus Global Limited. The prosecuting police officer, Barrister M. Y. Bello, informed the court that all the defendants committed the offences between January, 2022 and December 2023. The prosecutor particularly informed the court that the India man, Tukur Shamsudden, while acting as representative of Regal Gate Ltd, Alkham Limited and Prestige Limited, the firms contracted by Dangote Industries Limited, allegedly diverted 1, 530, 893 billion liters of AGO valued N1, 530, 893 billion. He also told the court that Omojowo Adeleke Emmanuel, on or before December 20, 2023, while acting as Managing Director and representative of Opetrus Global Ltd, a firm contracted by Dangote Industries Limited to trans-load Automotive Gasoline Oil (AGO) from Depots to Dangote tank farm with intent to permanently deprive the owner, did fraudulently diverted 2, 455, 229 billion liters of AGO valued N2, 455, 229 billion. He further told the court that the defendants’ act contravened sections 21(a), 18(2) (d) of Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022 and punishable under Section 18 (3) of the same Act. He also told the court that their acts contravened sections 383 (2)(a); 10 of the Criminal Code Act Cap. C38 and punishable under Section 390 and 516of the same Act. All the defendants denied the allegations and pleaded not guilty to the charges. Meanwhile, some of the defendants have been admitted to bail on various terms, when they were earlier arraigned before the court. But at the resuming hearing of the matter today, the prosecutor informed the court of another amended charge against the defendants. He told the court that the amended charge was sequel to arrest of the Indian man and the duo of Ephraim Kanakapudi and Omojowo Adeleke Emmanuel. Hence, all the defendants were arraigned on the amended charge However, the judge has fixed July 22 and 23, 2025, for the commencement of trial of all defendants. Count one of the charge reads: that you Ikechukwu Kingsley Obi ‘M’, Chigozie Chrisogo Osukwu ‘M’, Ukaegbu Rex Chukwuma ‘M’, Umeh Johnp Ugochukwu ‘M’, Akamadu Emmanuella ‘F’, Zango Mohammed Umar ‘M’, Emmanuel Oku ‘M’, Shaibu Michael ‘M’, Lucky Otoide ‘M’, Mmaduabuchi Okezuonu, Ephraim Kanakapudi ‘M? Tukur Shamsudden ‘‘M’ Omojowo Adeleke Emmanuel ‘M’ and Others at Large sometimes in 2022, did conspire amongst yourself to commit felony to wit: Fraudulently receiving money from Dangote Transporters contracted to haul Automotive Gasoline Oil (AGO) from Dangote Deport to Ibese and Obajana Plants, which you ought to know formed part of proceeds of crime thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 21(a) of Money Laundering ( Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022 and punishable under Section 18 (3) of the same Act. Another count reads: “That you Tukur Shamsudden ‘M’ on or before 20th December 2023 in Lagos within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court while in employment or acting as representative of Regal Gate Ltd, Alkham Ltd and Prestige Ltd, Companies contracted by Dangote Industries Limited to trans-load Automotive Gasoline Oil (AGO) from Depots to Dangote tank farms with intent to permanently deprive the owner, did Fraudulently diverted 1, 530, 893 liters of AGO valued N1, 530, 893, 000. 00 (One Billion Five Hundred and Thirty Million Eight Hundred and Ninety Three Thousand Naira) property of Dangote Industries Limited and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 383 (2)(a) of the Criminal Code Act Cap. C38 and punishable under Section 390 of the same Act. Another count reads; “That you Omojowo Adeleke Emmanuel ‘M’ on or before 20th December 2023 in Lagos within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court while acting as Managing Director and representative of Opetrus Global Ltd, Company contracted by Dangote Industries Limited to trans-load Automotive Gasoline Oil (AGO) from Depots to Dangote tank farm with intent to permanently deprive the owner, did Fraudulently diverted 2,455,229 liters of AGO valued N2, 455, 229, 000.00 (Two Billion Four Hundred and Fifty Five Million Two Hundred and Twenty Nine Thousand Naira) property of Dangote Industries Limited and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 383 (2)(a) of the Criminal Code Act Cap. C38 and punishable under Section 390 of the same Act.”

Remi Tinubu bags Igbo chieftaincy title

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The First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, has been conferred with the prestigious chieftaincy title of ‘Ugosimba 1 of Enugu’ by the Enugu State Traditional Rulers Council.

 

The title, which means jewel/eagle from another kingdom, was conferred on her on Tuesday, during her two-day working visit to the state.

 

According to the Chairman of the Council, Igwe Ikechukwu Asadu, the title recognised her love for Enugu, humanitarian service, and commitment to national development.

 

“You served three terms in the Senate and were honoured with the Commander of the Order of Niger.

 

“But beyond politics, we admire your compassion for the less privileged, your support for nurses and midwives, and your work in uplifting humanity,” Asadu said.

In her acceptance speech, Mrs Tinubu expressed deep gratitude, describing Enugu as a peaceful state where she had felt “inner peace” since her arrival.

 

She said the title was not just a personal honour but one for her husband, President Bola Tinubu, and their entire family.

This is a special honour that I will cherish forever. I love your state—it is calm and welcoming.

 

“As you have honoured me today, Enugu State will be remembered for good,” she said.