The Trumpet Newspaper Issue 619 (March 20 - April 2 2024)

TheTrumpet
Africans now have a voice... Founded in 1995
V O L 30 N O 619 M A R C H 20 - APRIL 2 2024
Nigerian bandits (Photo - Sani
Malumfashi, VOA - WikiCommons
US Public Domain)
Recovery
of 19-yearold’s
body
from River
Thames
sparks
public
outcry
By ‘Femi Okutubo
Why children
are prime
targets of
armed groups
in Northern
Nigeria
By Hakeem Onapajo, Nile University of Nigeria
Continued on Page 3>
Samaria Ayanle
(Photo - Metropolitan Police)
Following the recovery of a body
from London’s River Thames
believed to be that of missing
Samaria Ayanle, there has been a
public outcry about how the
University she attended - School of
Oriental and African Studies (SOAS)
University of London, handled
concerns raised by her friends. Her
friends allege that their reports were
met with a ‘standoffish attitude.’
Some members of the public have
also criticised the fact that Samaria’s
disappearance did not gain adequate
mainstream media attention and
publicity till friends took to social
media – with the search for Samaria
subsequently going viral.
Citing a few other cases of
missing persons who were later found
dead after what appears to be a while,
there are accusations that race may
have played a role in what seems to
be a lackadaisical handling and
coverage of the disappearance of
Samaria – a Black African.
The public are also critical of the
fact that despite Samaria’s body being
recovered on the same day she
disappeared, it has taken 13 days to
connect the dots.
A statement from London’s
Metropolitan Police said detectives
believe that a body recovered from
Continued on Page 2

News
Page2 TheTrumpet MARCH 20 - APRIL 2 2024
Recovery of 19-year-old’s body from
River Thames sparks public outcry
Continued from Page 1<
River Thames in February is that of
missing 19-year-old Samaria Ayanle.
Police stated that Samaria was only
first reported missing to police by
University staff on Friday 8 March.
An investigation was launched and
CCTV enquiries found that Samaria was
last seen at her university accommodation
near Marble Arch in Central London - in
the early hours of Thursday, 22 February.
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On Thursday, 22 February at 08:19
hours, police were called by a member of
the public to a body on the north
foreshore near Putney Pier. The body was
recovered. No personal property was
found.
Officers conducted finger print tests
but these were negative.
Police checked recent missing persons
reports but the body did not match the
description of any other persons reported
missing around that time.
The body was sent to the Coroner to
conduct further checks. Meanwhile
details were uploaded onto the UK
Missing Persons database in the hopes the
person might be identified.
After Samaria was reported missing,
Police linked their enquiries to the 22
February discovery on Wednesday, 13
March. They have viewed body-worn
video from then and believe the person
found is Samaria. Formal identification is
pending.
Samaria’s death is being treated as
unexplained, pending further enquiries.
A Police statement said: “Samaria’s
family and friends have been informed of
this development. Our thoughts are with
them and we will support them at this
difficult time.”
Anyone with information that could
help police should call 101 ref
01/60807/24. You can also share via
@MetCC on X.
First consultation is FREE.
T: 07818 118656 E: kj@saj.legal

News
MARCH 20 - APRIL 2 2024 TheTrumpet
Why children are prime targets of
Page3
Continued from Page 1<
Due to growing insecurity,
Nigeria is gradually
becoming one of the most
dangerous places to live. The 2020
Global Terrorism Index identified
the country as the third most
affected by terrorism. There was a
sharp increase in Boko Haram’s
targeting of civilians by 25%, and
killings by herdsmen increased by
26%, compared with the previous
year. The two countries higher on
the index are Iraq and Afghanistan.
According to the Nigeria
Security Tracker, 2,769 violent
deaths were recorded between
February 2020 and February 2021
in Borno State alone. Similarly,
ransom-kidnapping by armed
groups has increased substantially in
the past five years. Over $18 million
was paid as ransom for kidnapped
victims between 2011 and 2020.
While insecurity is common in
Nigeria, the northern region has
been most affected. This is due to
Boko Haram attacks, banditry,
farmers-herdsmen conflicts,
kidnappings and ethno-religious
conflicts. Sadly, children have not
been spared.
In the Northeast, children have
been murdered, abducted and used
as sex slaves, forcefully recruited as
child soldiers, and suffer from
diseases and malnutrition at the
Internally Displaced Persons camps.
The United Nations says almost
4,000 children were killed in just a
year, 2015 to 2016. UNICEF
reported that an estimated 1.9
million people are displaced – and
about 60% of them are children;
many under the age of five.
The rising phenomenon has
further manifested in the recent
wave of attacks on schools and
kidnapping of students.
My research published last year
highlights why children have
become targets for the armed groups
in northern Nigeria. This paper
focuses on children in the Boko
Haram conflict, which has for over
10 years ravaged the north-eastern
part of Nigeria and around Lake
Chad.
armed groups in Northern Nigeria
Despite the reality that children
have increasingly become the face
of insecurity in northern Nigeria, the
literature has been silent on issues
related to child security. My study
therefore aimed to address the
perspective of children in the
conflict.
I found that children were of
strategic interest to both the
terrorists and the State security
forces. I concluded that child
security had not been given
sufficient attention in Nigeria, and
that child security should be
included in peace-building efforts in
northeastern Nigeria.
Children and conflict in
northern Nigeria
The dimension of children in
violent conflicts in northern Nigeria
gained momentum in 2013 when
Boko Haram adopted the strategy of
direct attacks on schools, hospitals
and centres for Internally Displaced
People (IDP).
It started with the midnight raid
of a dormitory in Gujba, Yobe State,
leading to the murder of 44
schoolboys by the terrorist group in
September 2013. Five months later,
another boarding school was
attacked, and 59 boys were
murdered in the same State. In April
2014, 276 schoolgirls were
abducted in Chibok in Borno State.
UNICEF in its 2018 report said
that the group had kidnapped over
1,000 children since 2013. Between
2015 and 2016, the UN estimated
that 3,909 children were killed.
In the past five years, the rise of
banditry added a new and dangerous
dimension to attacks on children.
On December 11 2020, 333 students
were kidnapped in Kankara, Katsina
State. On December 20 2020, 80
students at an Islamic school were
kidnapped in Mahuta, Katsina State.
Twenty seven students were
abducted in Kagara, Niger State, on
February 17 2021.
The latest occurred on February
25 with the abduction of 317
schoolgirls in Jangebe, Talata-
Mafara local government, Zamfara
State.
Why children are prime
targets
Our study used a qualitative
approach, relying on data from
institutional reports of intergovernmental
agencies like the
United Nations, United Nations
Children’s Fund, and International
Organisation for Migration; nongovernmental
agencies like Human
Rights Watch, Amnesty
International, Global Coalition to
Protect Education from Attack,
Mercy Corps, Open Doors and
media reports.
The research showed that
children were of strategic interest to
Continued on Page 4

Page4
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PUBLISHER / EDITOR-IN-CHIEF:
’Femi Okutubo
MARCH 20 - APRIL 2 2024
News
Why children are prime
targets of armed groups
in Northern Nigeria
Continued from Page 1<
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Moji Idowu, Ayo Odumade,
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The kidnap of the Chibok Girls led to protests around the world including Spain (Photo - HazteOir.org - CCA-SA-2.0)
the armed groups for many reasons.
First, targeting children proved
effective as a tool to negotiate for
the release of members of the group
in prison and receive huge ransoms
to purchase weapons and fund their
operations.
Second, the armed groups were
interested in children to gain local
and international attention to show
their strength, seek international
collaborations with similar groups,
and amplify their demands on the
State authorities.
Third, children were useful for
their military operations, especially
for terrorist groups. They could
plant explosives, act as human
shields or suicide bombers, and spy
on the other parties because they
didn’t arouse suspicion.
Fourth, the attack on schools
corresponded with the central
ideology driving terrorism in the
region, which was based on
opposition to Western education.
The increased attacks showed the
plan was to make the region
insecure for teaching and learning.
Fifth, girls were of interest to the
armed groups for sexual
exploitation. Abducted girls were
sometimes raped or forced into
marriages in the camps.
Nigeria must safeguard its
children more
Child security has not been given
sufficient attention in Nigeria. This
explains the successful attacks on
children in recent times. Child
security underscores the essence of
the United Nations Convention on
the Rights of Child, which Nigeria
is a party to.
The government must show
serious commitment to children’s
security by tackling the rising
problem of insecurity ravaging the
country. The paper underscores the
need for specialised programmes
that can address the peculiar
challenges of children involved in
the conflict zones and not merely
incorporate them into adult-focused
or general programmes.
The international community,
including important nongovernmental
organisations
promoting children’s rights and
welfare, must also compel the
authorities to secure the children
and internationalise the problem of
child insecurity in Nigeria.
Hakeem Onapajo is a Senior
Lecturer in the Department of
Political Science and International
Relations at Nile University of
Nigeria.
This article is republished from
The Conversation under a Creative
Commons license. Read the original
article
at:
https://theconversation.com/whychildren-are-prime-targets-ofarmed-groups-in-northern-nigeria-
156314

Beauty
MARCH 20 - APRIL 2 2024
TheTrumpet
Vatika Naturals launches
#ROOTFORME campaign to inspire
workplace inclusivity
Page5
House of Dabur’s flagship
brand - Vatika Naturals has
launched
its
#ROOTFORME campaign - a
digital campaign to mark this year’s
International Women’s Day.
#ROOTFORME addresses
intersectionality in the workplace
which affects women of colour,
compounded by race, ethnicity,
religion and several other issues
which can pose as a major roadblock
for career advancement - making
them susceptible to workplace
harassment and stereotyping.
‘Intersectionality’ has its roots in
Black feminist activism and was
originally coined by an American
legal race scholar – Kimberle
Williams Crenshaw in 1989.
Intersectionality is an overlapping of
multiple forms of inequality that
create obstacles for an individual,
that is already at a predisposed
disadvantage.
Redefining
women’s
empowerment this International
Women’s Day, Vatika leads the
conversation with humour to address
workplace stereotypes and
Comediennes - Shazia Mirza and Sikisa
discrimination, through partnerships
with leading stand-up comediennes
like Shazia Mirza and Sikisa. Both
comediennes who come from
backgrounds of ethnic minority have
each faced stereotypes in their own
line to escalation in comedy.
In celebration of the campaign
launch, Business Head of Dabur
International Europe UK - Zakir
Mansoori stated – Vatika Naturals
has been bringing bespoke hair care
solutions to multi-ethnic audiences
around the world for over 35 years
and the brand has been garnering a
lot of love from our loyal base of
customers. Earlier this year we
launched our Afro Naturals range
especially for women with textured
hair. And there is a lot to look
forward to from Vatika, as we
embark on this journey to make the
brand relevant to a wider audience,
which would include new product
launches and newer formulations for
different hair types.
Roshni Singh, House of Dabur’s
Group Marketing Manager UK, EU
& Americas said, “Vatika Naturals is
not just a hair care brand but a
custodian of values which champion
diversity, differences, and
uniqueness especially amongst
women. With the #ROOTFORME
campaign, Vatika endeavours to
further strengthen its stand towards
being inclusive and diverse.”
#RootForMe is a call to action for
individuals to stand together and
dismantle barriers preventing
equality for women and specifically
women of colour. Vatika is always
challenging the status quo or
stereotypes that hinder the growth of
an individual.”
Agency Founder and Chairman
of HereandNow365 - Manish Tiwari
further elucidated that “Vatika
Naturals is a brand which identifies
and celebrates differences, and to
match the brand’s vision, our team
has developed this concept which is
not just clutter-breaking but lighthearted.
The aim of deploying
humour is not to make light of the
issues at hand, rather to offer hard
hitting provocative messaging
through treatment and platforms
which resonate with our younger
audiences in today’s time.
Vatika Naturals #RootForMe
The two-week campaign
launched across Vatika’s social
media channels on 8th of March
2024 across UK and the USA. To
amplify the message, the brand will
be seen at iconic landmarks like
Times Square, New York city and the
London Underground in the month
of March, with the aim of sparking
dialogue around workplace issues,
stereotypes, and navigating these
challenges.
Vatika Naturals has a strong
expertise in inclusive hair care that
harnesses the power of natural
ingredients in their products. The
products range from shampoos,
conditioners, hair oils, temporary
hair colours, and hair masks; made
with natural led ingredients such as
- Coconut, Olive, Almond, Garlic,
Black Seed, Onion, Egg protein and
many more.
From being a generic hair care
brand for South Asian women, this
year Vatika Naturals is embarking on
a journey to become the preferred
brand by multi-ethnic audiences
across the UK and the USA.

Page6 TheTrumpet MARCH 20 - APRIL 2 2024
Opinion
New Justices of the
Supreme Court
When Justice Olukayode
Ariwooola, Chief Justice of
Nigeria (CJN) retires from
the Bench in 2024, upon the
attainment of the statutory, mandatory
retirement age of 70 years, he would
be able to count among his legacies,
as CJN, the singular fact that it was
under his watch that the Supreme
Court achieved the full complement of
21 Justices as required by law. Section
230(2) (b) of the 1999 Constitution
states that “the Supreme Court of
Nigeria shall consist of such number
of Justices not exceeding 21 as may
be prescribed by an Act of the
National Assembly.” By February
2020, the number of Justices left on
the Supreme Court was 13. One after
the other, their Lordships retired:
Justice Paul Galumje retired in 2020,
Justice Sylvester Ngwuta died while
still in service in March 2021 - three
weeks to his 70 th birthday, Justice
Olabode Rhode-Vivour retired in
2021, Justice Mary Odili in 2022,
Justice Ejembi Eko in 2022, Justice
Tanko Muhammad resigned abruptly
in 2023, Justice Amina Augie retired
in 2023, and Justice Musa Dattijo
Muhammed in 2023, Justice Chima
Cletus Nweze - due to retire in 2028
died in July 2023. By October 2023,
the number of Supreme Court Justices
had dropped to an unprecedented, alltime
low number of 10. Those
vacancies have now been filled. It is a
historic, welcome development and
beyond the Bench itself, an
achievement for the Bola Ahmed
Tinubu administration.
The extant Revised NJC
Guidelines and Procedural Rules for
the Appointment of Judicial Officers
of all Superior Courts (2014), and the
2016 National Judicial Policy define
the processes for the appointment of
such officers - nominations from a
broad spectrum of persons and
officials are required but for some
reason, there was never a full
complement of Supreme Court
Justices under the Buhari
administration. Sometime in 2019,
President Buhari had in fact asked the
then acting CJN, Justice Tanko
Muhammad to initiate the process of
filling the vacancies on the Supreme
Court Bench. This caused a little
furore, the nomination of judges not
being the function of the Executive.
The integrity of the process was the
issue. When the NJC went ahead to
obey the Presidential directive and
recommended the appointment of four
new Supreme Court Justices, and sent
the list to President Buhari, a civil
society group, Access to Justice went
to court. We need not allow the history
Justice Olukayode Ariwooola - Chief Justice of Nigeria
of the relationship between the Buhari
administration and the judiciary to
detain us in this present enquiry,
however. It is enough to say that at
those times, 2015 – 2023, the
relationship between the judiciary and
the Executive arms of government
were in turns adversarial and
complementary. Buhari was the first
President to allocate the largest
amount of funding to the judiciary, but
it was also in those days that it became
common for the houses of Judges to
be raided at midnight. Justice Walter
Onnoghen was suspended as CJN,
and forced to retire before his time.
His replacement, Justice Tanko
Muhammad was also forced to retire
prematurely. The Buhari
administration routinely disobeyed
court orders and violated the rule of
law. In 2016, two Justices of the
Supreme Court were appointed under
the Buhari administration -Justices
Ejembi Eko and Amina Augie, and in
2020 four Justices - Tijanni Abubakar,
Mohammed l. Garba, Abdu Aboki and
Mohammed M. Saulawa; but at no
time since 1999 did the Supreme
Court reach its full complement.
This has now happened with the
swearing in, a week ago, of additional
11 Justices of the Supreme Court:
Haruna Tsammani (North East),
Jamilu Tukur (North West), Abubakar
Umar (North West), Jummai Sankey
(North Central), Mohammed Idris
(North Central), Stephen Adah (North
Central), Moore A. Adumein (South
South), Chidiebere Uwa (South East),
Chioma Nwosu-Iheme (South East)
Obande Ogbuniya (South East) and
Habeeb Adewale Abiru (South West).
These were the 11 that made it to the
Supreme Court out of the 22 that were
originally shortlisted and screened by
the National Judicial Council on 28 th
BY REUBEN ABATI
November 2023, divided then into
priority and reserved candidates. The
final list has 10 of the priority
candidates and one that was reserved
- Justice Chioma Nwosu-Iheme. It is
most appropriate to congratulate their
Lordships on their elevation to the
apex Court. It is a great honour and an
accomplishment of no small measure
to sit on the highest court in the land.
The CJN underlined this when he told
the 11 Justices that they should see
themselves as “God’s representatives
on earth.” He told them that they
should not seek to please everyone:
“the only deity you can fear is the
Almighty God. Once your judgment is
in consonance with what God expects
from you, and is also in accordance
with the Constitution, you should
consider yourself the happiest and
freest person on earth. Your moral
uprightness, integrity and respect for
the Constitution and other extant laws
in operation, must be unwavering and
unassailable. Any judgement given at
this level can only be upturned in
heaven.”
In those words, CJN Olukayode
Ariwooola reminded the JSCs of the
role of the judex, and the high
responsibility upon their shoulders.
They are expected to be above board
like Caesar’s wife, to dispense justice
without fear or favour not minding
whose ox is gored. These 11 Justices
are taking their seats on the Supreme
Court Bench at a time when the
reputation of the Nigerian judiciary,
including the apex court has received
so much bashing, and there is a lot of
cynicism about our judges among the
populace. Today, not many would
agree with CJN Ariwoola that
Nigerian judges at any level are God’s
representatives on earth, or that they
have any clue about what God expects
from them. The CJN could have
offered his guidance without dragging
God into the matter. But he was right
to have suggested that all eyes will be
on the apex court, especially the eyes
of Nigerian politicians who think that
part of their mission should be to steal
the votes and also influence the
Continued on Page 7

Opinion
MARCH 20 - APRIL 2 2024 TheTrumpet
Page7
Court
Continued from Page 6<
judges. The eyes of lawyers will also
be on the new Justices, who are
already known, but in terms of how
their elevation and having a full
complement of the judex on the apex
Bench would affect the dispensation
of justice and enrich jurisprudence.
The key concern about the
depletion of the apex court was that
the dockets were full, the court was
over-congested with cases, and the
Justices, so few in number, were
overworked. They were also
underpaid and under-resourced as
Justice Musa Dattijo Muhammad
pointed out in his somewhat histrionic
valedictory speech in October 2023.
With the apex court now having 21
Justices, it means more cases can be
heard and there can be a better rate of
performance and efficiency. But for
this to happen, however, the
administrative processes at our
Supreme Court also need to be
overhauled and modernized. There is
too much clumsiness that is advertised
up there. Many cases that need not go
all the way to the Supreme Court
show up there. This should be a
proper policy court, not an “orisirisi
court”. It must be possible to have a
strong, pro-active Registry of the
Supreme Court that rejects cases that
do not belong there. The Supreme
Court’s original and inherent
jurisdiction should be clear enough.
Many lawyers have had to go to the
Supreme Court only to be told that the
Justices are away for another function,
or that the matter should not have
been brought there in the first place.
In the age of telephony and modern
communication, that is scandalous.
The Supreme Court must become a
21 st Century Court by deploying
technology to aid its processes and by
learning the best lessons from other
jurisdictions. Any counsel that files
any incompetent or frivolous matter or
tries to waste the time of the court
must be promptly sanctioned. These
days, there is too much indiscipline by
lawyers that is condoned by the Bench
at all levels.
The 11 new Justices were said to
have gone through screening by the
Department of State Services (DSS).
I think it is scandalous that potential
Justices of the Supreme Court have to
be screened by the DSS, which in the
New Justices of the Supreme
books has absolutely no role in the
nomination or appointment of Judges.
The very suggestion that the Nigerian
judiciary can throw up any persons
who can rise through the system and
act as judges for years, only to be
investigated for any form of wrongdoing
at the point of elevation to the
apex court is scary. But in any case,
all the Justices reportedly passed the
test and they were unanimously
cleared by the Senate of the Federal
Republic via the instrumentality of a
voice vote. I think the rubber-stamp
role of the Senate in the process
should also be reviewed. In other
jurisdictions, such as the United
States, Justices don’t just get to the
Supreme Court. They are subjected to
rigorous public scrutiny and may be
rejected or withdrawn. Public
hearings are held, the nominees are
interrogated. Their previous
judgements are scrutinized to
determine their scope, ideological
bent and contributions to
Constitutional doctrine. Their
academic qualifications are carefully
re-examined too. Students of
comparative legal systems will
remember the case of Justice Clarence
Thomas and the sexual harassment
testimony of Anita Hill in 1991, as
well as the objection of Democrats to
Justice Robert Kavanaugh, and the
Supreme Court of Nigeria
febrile public hearings that attended
his screening in 2018. There is also
the recent case of Ketanji Brown
Jackson, the first Black woman to
serve as a Justice of the United States
Supreme Court. She did not get there
because of her colour or gender. Her
confirmation hearings were heated
and contentious.
Here in Nigeria, once you make
the NJC final list, you are already on
the Bench. We need to review the
process and allow public hearings. In
the course of the review of litigations
after the 2023 General Elections,
questions were raised about the work
of at least two of the 11 Justices who
are now on the Supreme Court Bench:
Justice Moore Adumein in the 2023
Kano Gubernatorial election case, and
Justice Chioma Nwosu-Iheme whose
nomination was openly questioned by
Senator Elisha Abbo. It would have
been good for their Lordships to be
asked for example to respond to the
allegations and insinuations about
their professionalism.
It is also not a good thing that
elevation to the highest judicial seat in
the country has been reduced to
geography and promotion. There has
been some talk about how the
appointments show diversity - that is
geography. Every geopolitical zone is
now well represented at the Supreme
Court Bench. It must be said that
Supreme Court Justices are not quota
representatives. They are to be chosen
on the basis of merit, character and
proven contributions to law. The
notion that Justices of the Court of
Appeal are entitled to be promoted to
the highest court in the land is wrong.
I find strong merit in the
recommendation that the Supreme
Court Bench should be made open to
Senior Advocates of Nigeria of great
distinction and academics to deepen
the knowledge and expertise base of
the court. The Supreme Court must
not be turned into a secret society or a
retirement zone for Justices of the
Court of Appeal. In 2017, the Nigerian
Bar Association nominated nine of its
Continued on Page 8

Court
Continued from Page 7<
members for the Supreme Court seat
but they were ignored. The
appointment of judges must be
reformed. And that would not be new:
Justices Teslim Elias and Augustine
Nnamani got to the Supreme Court
through academia and the Bar. In
Canada, this widening of the pool that
we recommend is standard practice.
The big elephant in the room is
jurisprudence. One of the major
concerns about Nigeria’s Court of
Appeal is that it had become a court
of technicalities, with the judex
determining cases on convenient
technical grounds rather than the
higher ground of judicial activism.
With the new Justices of the Supreme
Court coming directly from that court,
it is hoped that they would not bring
their over-reliance on technicalities to
the Supreme Court. Once upon a time,
especially during the golden era of
Justices Kayode Eso, Chukwudifu
Oputa, Augustine Nnamani, Ayo
Irikefe, Anthony Aniagolu, Andrew
Obaseki, Adolphus Karibi-Whyte,
Alfa Belgore Muhammadu Uwais,
Mohammed Bello … Nigeria
witnessed some of the most rigorous
applications of the law and the
delivery of justice, even under the
military, and court judgements by
their Lordships were profound
exercises in law, language, philosophy
and wit. Over the years, the standards
collapsed, as court judgements were
reduced to a simple summary of
pleadings and a casual
pronouncement of decisions – a
frightening indication of how robust
craft and sound reasoning had
disappeared from our courts. Most
students of the law would like to see a
return to the good old days not just at
the apex court, but within the entire
judiciary, which in itself is in urgent
need of reform.
With the current talk about
reconfiguration, decentralization and
Page8 TheTrumpet MARCH 20 - APRIL 2 2024
Opinion
New Justices of the Supreme
restructuring, whichever phrase suits
our fancy, the Nigerian judiciary is
also in urgent need of reconfiguring.
There is too much power in the hands
of the Chief Justice of Nigeria who in
addition to being CJN, is also Chair of
the National Judicial Council (NJC),
Chair of the National Judicial Institute
(NJI), Chair of the Legal Practitioners
Privileges Committee (LPPC) and
Chair of the Federal Judicial Service
Commission (FJSC). The military
after a fashion may have imagined
that the head of the country’s judiciary
should also be an overlord like them,
but that has to change: the office of the
CJN must not possess the powers of
an Emperor or what Yorubas call
“Kabiyesi”, that is a traditional
monarch, who represents God on
earth! The NJC should be unbundled.
The CJN must be a democrat within
the system. It should also not be the
duty of the NJC to appoint and
discipline judges or to appoint Chief
Judges of the States. There have been
calls as well for the de-centralization
of the Supreme Court for more
effective administration of justice,
with the apex court having divisions
in the country’s six geopolitical zones
like the Appeal Court.
While the pros and cons of that
suggestion may be a different kettle of
fish altogether, the immediate
expectation is that a full Supreme
Court would have all its court rooms
functioning and that the new Justices
will enrich our jurisprudence and help
the apex court achieve its full
potential. Even with these new
appointments, more Justices of the
Supreme Court will also soon retire.
There should be no delays in filling
whatever vacancies may arise. At an
individual level, each one of the
Justices has a duty and a responsibility
to prove his or her mettle. Welcome
on board, your Lordships…

Opinion
Ningi’s “mischief” and
Budget 2024
MARCH 20 - APRIL 2 2024
TheTrumpet
Page9
By Reuben Abati
Senator Abdul Ahmed Ningi (PDP,
Bauchi Central) is a ranking
member of Nigeria’s National
Assembly. He has been a member of that
Assembly since the return to democratic
rule in 1999, first as a member of the
House of Representatives - elected in
1999, re-elected in 2003 and re-elected
again in 2007. In 2011, he continued his
legislative career as a Senator of the
Federal Republic representing Bauchi
Central. He was re-elected in that
capacity in 2015, 2019, and 2023. In the
course of what is an obviously rich and
fulfilling time in the National Assembly,
Ningi has served as either Chairman or
member of many committees including
the Niger Delta Committee, Solid
Minerals, Teachers Education, and
NAFDAC Committee of the House.
Between 1999 and 2002, he was
Chairman of the Nigeria Football
Association. He would later become
House Majority Leader, 2003 – 2007,
and Chairman of the ad hoc committee
on the Niger Delta crisis, the committee
on Jos crisis, and the Constitutional
Review Committee. In 2011, he won
election into the Senate and emerged as
the Deputy Majority Leader, the Senate
was then dominated by the PDP. He has
been in the Senate since then.
Thus, as far as experience goes,
Ningi is one of the most experienced and
most durable lawmakers in Nigeria
today. His continual re-election shows
that he is well appreciated by the people
of Ningi, his constituency and Bauchi
Central in general. As a person, he is a
friendly, avuncular fellow with friends
across the landscape and a charming
sunny disposition. He is what you can
call a very nice guy. But over the
weekend, it would appear that Senator
Ningi put a stain, perhaps inadvertently,
on his otherwise sterling legislative
credentials, when he alleged in his
position as the Chairman of the Northern
Senators Forum (NSF) that (i) President
Bola Tinubu is implementing a version
of the 2024 Budget that is different from
what was passed by the National
Assembly, and (ii) that budgetary
allocations for projects and social
infrastructure were skewed against the
North in favour of the South. Was Ningi
speaking for himself, or for Northern
Senators as a group? Ningi alleges that
the Budget that was passed in December
2023 was padded with N3 trillion, a
budget of N25 trillion that suddenly
became N28 trillion, and that out of the
total, the Senate President inserted
projects worth N4 trillion into the
Budget, with “huge damage” done to the
North. It will be recalled that President
Tinubu presented a budget estimate of
N27 trillion to the National Assembly on
November 28, 2023. The National
Assembly eventually passed a Budget of
N28.7 trillion, effective January 1, 2024.
Four Senators have since dismissed
Ningi’s claims as baseless and
unfounded - Senator Sunday Karimi
(APC, Kogi West), Titus Zam (APC,
Benue North West), Kaka Shehu (APC,
Borno Central) and Senator Ibrahim
Jimoh (APC, Ondo South) who insist
that Ningi is misinforming the public.
The Chairperson of the Senate
Committee on Media and Public Affairs,
Senator Yemi Adaramodu has also
issued a statement to the effect that there
was no budget padding, no varied
execution, and the budget is a public
document. Further, there are indications
that when the Senate meets today,
Tuesday, March 12, Senator Abdul Ningi
would be called upon by his colleagues
Senator Abdul Ahmed Ningi
to defend his allegations, failing which
he may be suspended under Order 67(4)
of the Rules. Indeed, it is necessary to
ask Senator Ningi to prove his own
claims and provide relevant evidence,
before his own colleagues. He is said to
have back-tracked with an explanation
that he was misquoted. He has to prove
how that happened. It is a trite principle,
and this needs not be explained to
lawmakers that he who alleges must
prove. Besides, the allegations are so
weighty and capable of throwing the
country into chaos and strife, that the
Nigerian people need to know.
In one broad stroke, the statements
attributed to Senator Ningi call the
integrity of the National Assembly, the
Senate, and the Tinubu administration
into question. The Budget is a creation
of law, that is why it is called the
“Appropriation Act”. If the National
Assembly made two different laws
detailing the fiscal map for the year, one
of which is unknown to the people, that
would not only be illegal, it would be
criminal. Where did the N25 trillion
Budget come from and how did it
become N28 trillion? Where was it
discussed? Who signed it into law? And
what are the details of the
implementation of that secret Budget?
Senator Ningi owes us a duty to unveil
that which is unknown. He says the
Budget was padded. How? It is the duty
of lawmakers to receive the Budget and
go through it line by line, item by item,
before approving it. What is called
budget padding is actually a way of
saying that both the Appropriation
Committee and the entire Senate are
made up of idiots. It amounts to selfindictment.
And where was Senator
Ningi when the Budget was being
padded as he claims? Was he asleep or
awake at the time? And why is he just
speaking up now?
He says “huge damage” has been
done to the North in the Budget. He must
be made to prove how. This kind of
statement is potentially divisive and
capable of causing chaos. It is even
careless in the extreme for Senator
Ningi, an opposition politician, to play
such a divide and rule card. Even when
politicians disagree with the government
of the day, they must be careful not to
burn down the country. This is the key
lesson here. Experience may not
necessarily mean maturity. There was
once a Senator in Nigeria who went
about preaching the importance of
commonsense. Opposition politicians
must learn to play the politics of
commonsense. The general elections
ended in 2023. We are now in the season
of governance, when we must all put
Nigeria first. Politicians must be careful
what they say. Ningi may want to
discredit the Tinubu administration but
he must do so, based on empirical facts
and not in a manner that puts the same
country that has been so generous to
him, at risk. We are told that tension has
gripped the Senate: the very reason why
Ningi’s claims must be investigated and
he must be made to prove his allegations
in the open court of the Senate. His
allegations cannot be covered by
privilege, and must not be swept under
the carpet.
Other members of the Northern
Senators Forum, a body that we assume
includes other members from both the
ruling party and the opposition also have
a duty to tell us what exactly transpired.
Is Ningi speaking for them or is he just
on his own? One by one, every member
Continued on Page 10

Page10 TheTrumpet MARCH 20 - APRIL 2 2024
Opinion
Ningi’s “mischief” and
Budget 2024
By Reuben Abati
Continued from Page 9<
of that body must tell us where he or she
stands! For them, it must be a matter of
honour. Senator Ningi granted an
interview to BBC Hausa and he spoke in
Hausa. After a fashion, he may come
forward to say that what he actually said
was lost in translation or that he was
quoted out of context by journalists. One
of the crass games that Nigerian
politicians play, even in the face of
overwhelming evidence, when they are
caught out, is to blame the media.
Ningi’s statements in BBC Hausa must
be played on the open floor of the
Senate. Language experts, and other
speakers of the language must be asked
to review it. Nigeria is too important to
be derailed on the basis of partisanship
or rumours. If it is then established that
Senator Ningi spoke out of mischief,
every Senator not being entitled to
immunity under our laws, the
appropriate punishment for the Senator
should not be under the Senate Rules –
Order 67(4). When Senator Ovie Omo-
Agege was suspended for 90 days under
that same rule, he went to court, and he
won. Just in case Senator Ningi is found
to be fibbing, and unable to prove his
grave allegations, he an Abdul, and an
Ahmed, lying in the Holy Month, should
be punished under the laws of the Sharia
which apply in his home State of Bauchi,
and whatever punishment the Court
deems fit, should be applied publicly and
televised! Even if he insists that he was
misquoted, that too should be
investigated. I don’t want to imagine
what indictment or punishment may
come the Senator’s way under the
Sharia, for he is all things considered,
ordinarily, a nice guy. But this is a matter
that concerns us all.
II:
Third Mainland Bridge - What I
saw
I travelled between the Island and the
Mainland in Lagos taking the Third
Mainland Bridge. The 11.8 km Bridge
had been shut down for repairs since
Tuesday, January 9 according to an
announcement by the Federal Ministry
of Works. We were told that the Bridge
would be open for Mainland inbound
Island travels between 12 am to 12 noon,
while those travelling from the island to
the mainland should go through Eko
Bridge, and only use the Third Mainland
Bridge from 12 noon. I was very
skeptical.
On many occasions in the last eight
years, the same Bridge had been shut
down for rehabilitation at various
occasions, either to fix the ramps or
some engineering defects. Lagosians
paid the price in terms of time lost to
traffic hold ups on the alternative routes,
and the hardship of commuting in a city
where the island seems to be the centre
of gravity. Despite the various delays of
the past, the Bridge remained largely a
poor stretch of road. The potholes never
seemed to disappear. There was even a
time this same Bridge was vibrating and
you could feel it. The rails had been
removed in parts. The managers of the
road provided street lights at a point, but
those lights didn’t function for up to a
month. Based on past experience, I was
convinced that the Tinubu administration
and the team at the Federal Ministry of
Works were back to their old game. But
this time around, I was mistaken. My
skepticism is misplaced.
Having confirmed that it was now
possible to take the same route from 12
noon to the Mainland, the other day, I
shrugged off the stress of more than a
month and headed towards the
Mainland. I saw busy workers on the
Mainland-bound side of the Bridge, but
in a short while we were diverted to the
other side which had been completed to
some degree. I became excited. The
other side of the Bridge had been
thoroughly resurfaced, not the patchpatch
work that we used to see oh, a
complete make-over, and as we drove
towards the Mainland, there was no
vibration. No potholes. Even the lanes
were properly marked with fresh, clean
paint – black and white, and I saw
painters giving the entire stretch of the
Bridge a decent face lift. I didn’t know
when I told the driver: “Wonders! In this
same country? You mean this is
possible?”
We had a very smooth ride all the
way to Oworonshoki, where again there
was another diversion towards Oshodi.
But I had seen enough to justify my
excitement. I noticed though that the
lights had not been fixed – I hope they
would get to that, and that all the broken
rails will be restored. We may raise
questions about cost later, and the
Federal Ministry of Works must be
prepared for that, but with what I saw, I
believe that when that Bridge is fully
rehabilitated, the people of Lagos would
have every cause to thank the Tinubu
administration for a job well done.
Speaking for myself, I do not mind even
if that Bridge is shut down for another
two months until the make-over is
properly done. This time around, the
government seems to be doing a good
job. You may not understand but those
who know the way things are in this
country will get the message: travelling
on a good road in Nigeria is so unusual
it calls for excitement, if not celebration.
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Commissioned in 1980 by the Shehu
Shagari administration and completed
for public use by President Ibrahim
Babangida in 1990, the Third Mainland
Bridge is the longest bridge linking the
Mainland to Lagos Island. The two
others are Eko and Carter Bridges. Since
2012, the Bridge has been having issues;
it is either it vibrates, or there are visible
cracks on it, so wide the water below
could be seen, it would in due course
become a preferred spot for those
seeking to commit suicide, which is why
I think the side rails need to be raised so
high that it should be impossible for
anyone to jump into the Lagoon below
by climbing over the barricades. In 2020,
the Bridge was even closed for repairs
for six months, and again in 2021. But
for the first time, I see much
improvement.
I am tempted to think that this
difference can be traced to the fact that
the current Minister of Works, Senator
David Umahi, former Governor of
Ebonyi State is a Civil Engineer. This is
precisely what we mean when we say
that President Tinubu and governments
at all levels must learn to put round pegs
in round holes. If you appoint an
accountant to supervise a construction
project, he is not likely to know what it
entails to build a road. He would be
looking at figures and fail to see the
road. Senator David Umahi, as a former
CEO of an Engineering Company knows
all the details about construction from
design to finish. No contractor or official
would go to him and give him a fake Bill
of Quantities or try any trick – the same
tricks that he himself must have applied
as a young Engineer. We have seen the
evidence in what he is doing with the
make-over of the Third Mainland
Bridge. President Tinubu should give
him other assignments: give him more
roads to fix – the Ibadan-Ife-Road for
example, and the road to Benin. Based
on what I saw, I am inclined to say that
Senator Umahi is doing well.
He has the potential to become one
of the promising Ministers in Tinubu’s
cabinet, but he must stay away from
making political statements. The other
day, he put his mouth into the labour
crisis and accused labour leaders of
being unpatriotic. I think he should
concentrate on his PWD, wheel-barrow
assignment and avoid moralizing about
subjects he does not understand. He will
get some response from the Nigeria
Labour Congress (NLC) when the
deadline that the body gave the Federal
Government expires, this week, by the
way, tomorrow, March 13.

Opinion
MARCH 20 - APRIL 2 2024
TheTrumpet
Page11
Southwest: Beyond the
toga of Statism
The Lagos State Government
recently endorsed a food
production agreement with
the Niger State Government. The
partnership, known as the ‘Produce
for Lagos Initiative’, is aimed at
ensuring a steady flow of
agricultural products to the end
consumers. Interestingly, this
agreement is coming at a time Sheik
Ahmad Abubakar Gumi is warning
the Federal Government of Nigeria
that unless it negotiates with the
terrorists and bandits, recent attacks
will be “the tip of the iceberg”.
Well, irrespective of what Gumi
stands to profit from this threatening
statement, it is obvious that
insecurity in Nigeria is spreading
and no region is immune from its
fatal fangs. It is a statement of fact
that, in this existential situation,
nobody is safe. Sadly, Nigeria is
beginning to look like a failing State
and it is as if the terrorists are
winning. Against the concept of the
Peace of Westphalia which midwifed
what we now call a modern
State, what we are having is a direct
challenge to the State. That 17
military personnel were murdered in
Delta State by some yet-to-beidentified
men could only be likened
to a declaration of war on Nigeria’s
sovereignty. To get things right
therefore, one major step will be the
fortification of the ‘Amotekun’
security outfit. The Southwest has to
find a way of containing the spread
of this madness before it’s too late.
But, as it is, can an ‘Amotekun’
operative bear a rifle of the AK 47
brand? Therefore, President Bola
Tinubu as a Federalist must use his
authority to evolve an Executive
Bill that’ll devolve internal security
mechanisms so that ‘Amotekun’ can
be strengthened and its operatives
properly trained to become Special
Forces that can fight in the forests.
Just as the late Rotimi Akeredolu
spearheaded the establishment
Development Agenda for Western Nigeria
‘Amotekun’ in the security sector,
time is also ripe for the
establishment of an ‘Amotekun’ in
the agricultural sector by setting up
a Public-Private Partnership of
Commodities Exchange before the
end of this year. The Governors
should sit down with the likes of
Akinwumi Adesina, currently of the
African Development Bank (AfDB)
and other agronomists from the
Southwest and in the Diaspora with
a view to lighting up an immediate,
short-, medium- and long-term
agricultural rejuvenation for the
region. Fortunately, the States have
the capacity to crowd-fund in a way
that can link research with finance
and export markets.
During the campaigns, Tinubu as
the Presidential candidate of the All
Progressives Congress (APC)
promised to establish a National
Commodity Board if elected into
office. So, how far has his
government gone with making the
promise become a reality? In my
considered opinion, the President
should encourage the sub-nationals
to set up Commodities Exchange
with the minimum farm gate
guarantees to modulate prices. In
this way, the farmer produces more
because he has the guarantee of
selling all his farm produce. This
system no doubt increases
production. The Commodities
Exchange provides storage facilities
and increase markets. With these,
everybody gains: the farmers
produce at guaranteed prices and,
because of the increase in
production, the economies of scale
makes it cheaper for the end-user.
Still on Agriculture, the best
analysis is still the speech given by
the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo as
the Leader of Government Business
in the Western House of Assembly,
introducing the motion for the
establishment of the Cooperative
Bank. The Cooperative Bank was
set up in 1953, not as a Bank per se
BY ABIODUN
KOMOLAFE
but to modernize agriculture in
Western Nigeria - to move it from
subsistence to commercial farming.
But where is the Cooperative Bank
as of today? Why wasn’t it
recapitalized like Rabobank in the
Netherlands and Crédit Agricole
CIB in France, interestingly the two
banks that have now become major
pivotal lending forces to agricultural
development in the two countries?
Unarguably, Rabobank is one of the
key reasons the Netherlands is the
world’s 2 nd largest exporter of food
and agricultural products, in spite of
its having exactly the same land
mass as Ekiti State.
Now that we have allowed the
Cooperative Bank to go down, what
are we going to use to revive it? Are
the Southwest Governors going to
bring back the Cooperative Bank or
are they going to start off another
Bank to modernize agriculture
because farming in the region is still
primitive? Awolowo’s goals
succeeded to an extent! But what
instruments do we have today?
Time it was in Nigeria when the
Western Region was setting the
pace. Now, where is the region in
the scheme of things? Once upon a
time in Nigeria, Western Region’s
warehouses in London were edifices
to behold. Where are they now?
What has become of the Cocoa
Warehouses at Ikeja and Apapa?
From the look of things, Awolowo
is just a slogan used to win
elections. Once that is achieved, our
politicians forget about ‘Awo’, until
another election cycle. Is it any
wonder why the Awolowo family
doesn’t take them seriously again?
Statism in this context does not
translate into abolishing the State.
Instead, it is about preaching the
coming together of the State
Continued on Page 15>

Page12 TheTrumpet MARCH 20 - APRIL 2 2024
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MARCH 20 - APRIL 2 2024 TheTrumpet
Page13

Page14 TheTrumpet MARCH 20 - APRIL 2 2024
Opinion
Ekiti: Time to silence the guns (3)
By Abiodun Komolafe
As an avowed Federalist,
Nigerians expected Tinubu to
have sent a Constitution
Amendment Bill to the National
Assembly with a view to tinkering
with dozens of items on the Exclusive
List in favour of the devolution of
powers, State policing and the like. But
it is too early in the day to say that it is
too late! Since Ekiti is an APCcontrolled
State, Oyebanji can lead the
process of putting the national
government on its toes. The neutrality
and/or objectivity of the various arms
of the security services and inter-faith
community will also help
tremendously in determining the
distance of Nigeria’s road back to
Egypt or threshold of informed choices
that have in them the capacity to take
dear fatherland to the Next Level of
her development.
To overcome the distressing curves
of insecurity in Nigeria, the
government at the centre must embark
on ‘the actualization of the eight
important priorities in the 2024
budget: security, job creation, poverty
reduction,
infrastructure
development’, etc. Besides, the Office
of the National Security Adviser
(ONSA) must be alive to its
responsibilities. Lest we forget, the
National Orientation Agency (NOA)
also has important roles to play in
selling the Nigeria project to the
people, for it’s the belief in her as a
nation that can make her work.
For Nigeria to make it intelligencewise,
she must be prepared to undo
what former President Ibrahim
Ekiti State Capital - Ado-Ekiti (Photo - Blacadeyemi - CCA SA 4.0 Int)
Babangida did to the Nigerian
intelligence apparatus immediately he
seized power from Buhari in 1985.
Granted that Nigeria’s security
situation had become a victim of
compromise by a bunch of corrupt
public officers, the after-effects of that
deliberately devious and particularly
unpatriotic act by the ‘evil genius’ did
contribute to the intelligence flip-flop
in which Nigeria has been
conveniently immersed.
A Yoruba adage says: ‘Bí ikú ilé ò
pani, t’òde ò leè pani!’ (If the death at
home does not kill, the death outside
will not). If truth be told, the decline in
Nigeria’s security situation also
demands internal checks on her
security hierarchies and systems.
Theories of conspiracy and culpability
amongst some of our security officials
demand concrete attention if
confidence must be rebuilt in the
system. What do I mean? Well, there
was a time in Nigeria when getting
Lawrence Anini’s criminal syndicate
busted could be likened to a camel
passing through the eye of a needle,
until Etim Inyang, the then Inspector
General of Police (IGP) brought a
special intelligence to bear on the
security architecture of the old Bendel
State. Of course, that was the only
charm Nigerians needed to demystify
Anini’s purported voodoo powers -
that they were fake, all fake; and that
the notorious Judas in the Force was
one officer called George Iyamu.
Some quarters allege corrupt
practices along our borders. Well, it is
not enough to say that our borders are
porous and that arms and ammunition
get into the country illegally without
taking proactive steps to mitigate the
menace. Talking seriously, it’s not in
the place of successive governments to
transfer their inability to man up and
own up to their constitutional
responsibility of securing our borders
to the hapless citizens. In the spirit of
regional security therefore, let the
Southwest Governors stand together
and spearhead the arrest of this
madness. For now, let politics be
suspended for serious, collective
actions. Let them put machineries in
place to provide water-tight security at
our borders. In close collaboration
with the DAWN Commission, let them
adopt appropriate operational strategy
that’ll put a stop to arms proliferation
and bring culprits to justice to serve as
a deterrent to others.
Again, this is where determination
comes in. This is where sincerity of
purpose plays an important role. The
Police, Army, Customs, Immigration
Service, the Department of State
Services (DSS), Banks and other
paramilitary organizations must be
thoroughly investigated, if we truly
want to heal our land of the senseless
killings and abductions. Specifically,
financial institutions in Nigeria must
subscribe to the national salvation
machine. For example, if criminals do
not have easy ways of lodging and
spending their ransom and loot,
kidnapping-for-ransom will drastically
reduce. But, if one may ask, why can’t
our security agencies trace telephone
calls and/or movement of money?
Well, the simple interpretation is that
Nigeria is not yet a State!
On their part, the traditional rulers
have been trying in their respective
domains but they need to do more. In
any case, in a country where a
Secondary School Certificatewounded
Local Government Chairman
is more powerful than a first class
traditional ruler, there is little room for
integrity.
A cross-section of Nigerians held
the notion that Buhari gave Boko
Haram terrorists an opportunity to
officially infiltrate the military through
the amnesty or rehabilitation
programme. A school of thought also
opined that the recruitment of the
Civilian Joint Security Task Force, aka
Civilian JTF, into the army also looked
somehow untidy. For instance, who
knows if the so-called repentant
terrorists are currently in the army,
most probably studying its weaknesses
and pivoting its strengths so that when
next they strike, it’s gonna be
devastating? Besides, while the
Civilian JTF is fighting for the same
cause as the Federal Army, does it have
an ideology similar to that of the
military? Isn’t it an ideology which
supports decimation based, merely, on
differences? If prevention is the best
form of protection, the onus is on
Tinubu to correct these avoidable
anomalies to avert damaging
consequences in the future. Recent
events in Plateau State have
demonstrated that there is no political
correctness in an atmosphere of
national turmoil.
At a time like this, the collapse of
the Civilian JTF into the Hunters
Continued on Page 15>

Opinion
MARCH 20 - APRIL 2 2024 TheTrumpet Page15
Ekiti: Time to silence the guns (3)
Continued from Page 14<
Association of Nigeria cannot but be a
welcome development. If we truly
mean business going forward, all
issues relating to night guards and
vigilante groups should be handled by
this newly-reformed security
architecture - more so, as it will
enhance crime detection, crime
prevention and prompt response in
case of occurrence.
Herbert Wigwe
Yours sincerely join other
Nigerians in commiserating with the
families of Herbert Wigwe and others
who lost their lives in a chopper
accident recently. May God rest their
souls and comfort their families!
Nigerians owe Tinubu a debt of
gratitude for not only personally
signing a condolence message on their
behalf but also calling the grieving
Wigwe’s parents to “provide them with
comforting words.” By so doing, the
President has again demonstrated the
commendable empathy expected of a
statesman and the leader of a nation in
trying times. Of course, that’s the Bola
Tinubu we knew as Lagos State
Governor; and in subsequent years.
Indeed, that’s one good reason
Nigerians were prepared to die for the
‘Emilokan’ cause during activities
leading to February 25, 2023. It can
Herbert Wigwe 1b (Photo - Paul Kagame, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
only get better! Although, nobody
prays for tragedies, they can’t but play
their assigned roles in the life of a
nation even as death is a necessary end
which must strike in its own time and
on its own accord.
To conclude, Sàngó Oba Kòso,
Ògèdèʼngbé Agbògungbórò, Fábùnmi
Òkè-Ìmèsí, Kúrunmí Ìjàyè, Morèmi
Àjàsorò and other ancient Yoruba
warriors, the precious land you fought
for, and died for is under siege.
Yorubaland has become a beautiful
metaphor for terrorism and banditry
and your people are looking up to
those who are providing leadership for
succor, reassuringly! But isn’t it time
we consulted Àràbà Ifayemí Elebuibon
to lead the process of invoking your
spirits, our forebears? At least, ‘bí
iwájú ò bá seé lo, èyìn a seé padà sí (if
we can’t make progress as a people, it
is better for us to go back to the
drawing board).
May the Lamb of God, who takes
away the sin of the world, grant us
peace in Nigeria!
Concluded.
Komolafe wrote in from Ijebu-Jesa,
Osun State, Nigeria
(ijebujesa@yahoo.co.uk)
Southwest: Beyond the toga of
Statism
Continued from Page 11<
governments for regional
aggregation for modernization.
What we are saying here is that the
States do not have the capital base
or technical capacity to make a
forward advance on their own. In
other words, there is nothing wrong
with Statism except that we now
know that the States do not have the
fiscal mechanism to become real
sub-nationals. So, they must come
together to start with two or three
key issues, starting with the
modernization of agriculture and
education to make Yorubaland
competitive again.
Let it be noted that nobody is
advocating the abolition of the
Yoruba State because it’s not going
to happen! However, it is a fact of
life that Statism as a political system
has set the Yoruba nation back.
Indeed, this is the weakest ebb the
Yoruba has ever had since the treaty
that ended the Kiriji War. Basically,
the treaty that ended the 16-year
civil war triggered a renaissance,
especially in terms of education,
agriculture and others in Western
Nigeria. Had successive Yoruba
leaders been diligent in their
responsibilities, the Yoruba nation
would by now have been ways
ahead of other regions. So, why not
invoke the spirit that led to the
massive development of the
Western Region and the building of
a modern Yorubaland based on
modernized, value-addition
agriculture? After all, there is no
alternative to working together!
As the pioneer Administrative
Secretary of the Afenifere Renewal
Group (ARG) and an active
participant in the efforts that led to
the publication of the ‘Development
Agenda for Western Nigeria
Strategy Roadmap’, aka DAWN
Document, yours sincerely can
attest to its richness in solutions to
the challenges confronting
Yorubaland. But how many of our
Governors even have copies of that
Document for regional integration,
let alone digest its contests? Again,
this is where we have been failing as
a nation and people.
It is unfortunate that the leaders
of the Yoruba nation have become
too complacent. It is also sad that
Yorubaland has been reduced to a
loaf of bread with the privileged
clique and entrenched interests
taking as many slices as they please,
thereby leaving the mass of the
people pathetically deprived. Ours
has become a land with so much
divinely-deposited assets but
languishing in inexpressible
poverty. It is the reason an
Ogbomoso indigene is not interested
in what happened between
Awolowo and Ladoke Akintola. It is
also the reason an Ijebu man sees an
Ogbomoso man as his enemy
without bothering to dig up the
reasons for the bitter politics that
ultimately succeeded in putting the
two families on the path of
permanent acrimony.
May the Lamb of God, who takes
away the sin of the world, grant us
peace in Nigeria!
Komolafe wrote in from Ijebu-
Jesa, Osun State, Nigeria
(ijebujesa@yahoo.co.uk)

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