The Trumpet Newspaper Issue 642 (February 5 - 18 2025)

TheTrumpet
Africans now have a voice... Founded in 1995
V O L 31 N O 642 F E B R U A R Y 5 - 18 2025
Life sentence
for murdering
ex-girlfriend
Hussain
Adam
Haron
Marching in support of the Ambazonian cause (Photo - Lambisc, CCA SA 3.0 Unported)
Cameroon
could do
with some
foreign help
to solve Anglophone crisis
– but the State doesn’t want it
By Julius A. Amin, University of Dayton
Continued on Page 3>
A24-year-old man who
murdered his ex-girlfriend in
Croydon has bagged a life
sentence.
Hussain Adam Haron of London
Road, Mitcham, was sentenced at
Snaresbrook Crown Court to serve a
minimum of 20 years in prison for the
murder of Felecia Cadore.
He was earlier found guilty at the
same court following a six-day trial.
Police were called to a report of an
altercation at an address in Grenaby
Avenue, Croydon on 9 June 2023.
29-year-old Felecia was found with
stab wounds and was taken to hospital
in a critical condition. She sadly died
from her injuries five days later, on 14
June.
The court heard that Haron climbed
through the window of the address in
the search of Felecia. Following an
altercation between the two, Haron
grabbed a knife and violently stabbed
her.
He was arrested later that afternoon
and was found in possession of the
knife he used to attack Felecia.
Despite claiming he was acting in
self-defence, the jury found Haron
guilty of murder.
Detective Chief Inspector Craig
Magee, who led the investigation, said:
“Justice has been served following the
conviction of Haron for Felecia’s tragic
murder. It is an example of the
devastating impact violence against
women and girls can have.
“The verdict is a result of officers
working meticulously and tirelessly to
secure evidence. It is also testament to
the courage of the witnesses who
helped establish the facts, and bravely
stood in the court room to give their
evidence.
“It has been 18 months since
Felecia was killed. I hope the verdict
provides her family with some comfort
and allows them to begin to process the
effect this brutal crime has had. We
will continue to support the family of
Felecia following this horrific attack.”

Page2 TheTrumpet FEBRUARY 5 - 18 2025
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News
FEBRUARY
5 - 18 2025
TheTrumpet
Cameroon could do
with some foreign help
to solve Anglophone crisis
– but the State doesn’t want it
Page3
Continued from Page 1<
What began in late 2016 as a
peaceful protest by lawyers
and teachers in Cameroon’s
North West and South West regions
quickly turned violent and developed into
what’s become known as Cameroon’s
Anglophone crisis.
The protest was instigated by
perceived marginalisation of Cameroon’s
Anglophone region, which makes up
20% of the nation’s 29 million people.
The conflict has resulted in immense
destruction and casualties. Cameroon’s
military responded to the protest with
arrests and torture. Voices that called for
complete secession of the Anglophone
regions from the Republic of Cameroon
gained momentum.
They created a virtual Ambazonia
Republic and an interim government in
exile, and vowed to fight back. They
formed a military wing, Ambazonia Self-
Defence Force, which attacked and
disrupted economic and social services in
the region.
As of October 2024, over 1.8 million
people have needed humanitarian
assistance. Over 584,000 have been
internally displaced. Over 73,000 have
become refugees in next-door Nigeria.
Over 6,500 have been killed.
And the conflict still rages.
One possible avenue that could be
pursued to end the impasse is mediation,
with help from other countries. But the
Cameroonian government has repeatedly
rebuffed intervention from organisations
such as the African Union, arguing that
the conflict is an internal affair.
It also ended a government-sponsored
mediation by the Swiss in 2022.
It is clear to me, as a historian who has
studied Cameroon foreign policy for the
past three decades, that Cameroon’s
leadership will not look to external actors
to help solve their crisis.
Founding leader Ahmadou Ahidjo,
and later his successor Paul Biya, did not
respond to external pressure to address
issues. Cameroon’s diplomatic relations
are based on respect of national
sovereignty and non-intervention in each
other’s internal affairs.
My research shows that the
Cameroonian leadership rejects outside
intervention on issues it regards as within
its sovereignty and internal affairs.
Removing Cameroon from aid
programmes such as the United States
Agency for International Development
programme and the African Growth and
Opportunity Act has not deterred its
leaders.
An understanding of this background
is crucial in the search for solutions to the
ongoing anglophone crisis.
Use of force
In the 1960s, Ahidjo used brutal force
against a nationalist organisation called
the Maquisard. His presidency was
characterised by murders, imprisonments
and torture.
Political rivals were imprisoned or
forced to go into exile. Biya, who served
in Ahidjo’s government, learned that
repressive measures work. As President,
he used similar tactics against rivals and
the opposition.
But the use of force as a response to
the Anglophone protest was a
miscalculation. The Biya regime failed to
see the crisis in its context of changing
times, misunderstood the sources of the
conflict, and misread the role of social
media in protest activities in the 21st
century.
The crisis originated from a series of
grievances: poverty, unemployment,
political and economic neglect of the
Anglophone region, failure to treat
French and English as equal languages in
the country, and disrespect and disregard
of English-speaking Cameroonians.
At the beginning, protesters were
generally peaceful, but things changed in
2017. Biya stated that Cameroon was
being hijacked by “terrorists masking as
secessionists” and vowed to eliminate
them.
To Anglophone leaders it was a
formal declaration of war, and the
message spread quickly on social media.
The Biya team did little to slow or stop
its spread, and Anglophones inside and
outside the country accepted the message
as fact. It mobilised the region. And few
took the time to read the full text of his
remarks.
The brutality of the war on both sides
intensified. Everything had all happened
so quickly, and most did not anticipate
the intensity of the violence.
Resistance to outside intervention
In its diplomatic relations, Cameroon
has a long history of protecting what it
sees as its own business.
One example was in 1992, after the
US administration criticised Biya for
electoral fraud. The Cameroon
government fired back. Biya withdrew
Cameroon’s Ambassador from
Washington DC, and informed the US
Ambassador that America should stay
clear of Cameroon’s internal affairs.
In 2008, tension erupted again when
Biya changed Cameroon’s Constitution
to eliminate presidential term limits. The
US Ambassador criticised the move in
the Cameroonian press. Again,
Cameroonian officials pushed back,
Continued on Page 4<

Page4
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FEBRUARY 5 - 18 2025
News
Cameroon could
do with some
foreign help
to solve Anglophone crisis
– but the State doesn’t want it
Continued from Page 3<
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asking the Ambassador not to interfere in
the nation’s internal politics.
America’s disposition towards the
Anglophone crisis has been one of noninterference.
Other major powers have
responded similarly, asking both sides to
end the violence.
The Cameroon government has
rebuffed initiatives from Switzerland and
Canada, both friendly to the country,
publicly stating it asked no nation to
mediate.
The rejection of the Swiss initiative
was surprising, given that Biya spends
much time in that country. Unlike the
Swiss plan, in which conversations
began, the Canadian initiative did not
even take off.
Looking ahead
Measurable indicators show that the
Biya regime is failing to end the
Anglophone crisis. The killings –
including those of law enforcement
officers – kidnaps, brutality and ransom
demands are now normalised in the
Anglophone region, especially in rural
areas.
Biya’s Grand National Dialogue and
National Commission for the Promotion
of Bilingualism and Multiculturalism
have failed to address the sources of the
crisis. Locals dismiss them as a joke.
People are exasperated by public
service announcements about what the
government has achieved. Their
condition remains much worse than it
was in the pre-crisis period.
Ordinary people are focused on
bread-and-butter issues and the desire for
dignity and respect. But they don’t see it.
Young Cameroonians need to see
both Anglophone and Francophone
residents at every level of government, on
every rung of the business ladder, in
every management position, at every
school - even on every billboard
advertisement.
Only such a widespread and visible
approach can convincingly challenge
Cameroon’s pattern of discrimination and
exclusion.
The Biya regime must commit to
doing that and not be distracted by
supporters urging him to be a candidate
in the upcoming Presidential election.
It is important to track and bring to
justice the apparent sponsors of the
killings in the country. This must be done
while government keeps its promises to
make things right for those living in the
Anglophone regions.
Finally, given China’s investment in
Cameroon, it can do more to engage the
Biya regime on the anglophone crisis.
Like Cameroon, China’s policy also
stipulates a policy of non-intervention,
but it has repeatedly changed course
when its strategic interests are threatened.
Major power status demands major
President Paul Biya
responsibilities, and showing the will to
stop chronic human rights violations
remains an important obligation.
Julius A. Amin is a Professor of
History at University of Dayton.
This article is republished from The
Conversation under a Creative Commons
license. Read the original article at:
https://theconversation.com/camerooncould-do-with-some-foreign-help-tosolve-anglophone-crisis-but-the-state-do
esnt-want-it-244770.

Opinion
FEBRUARY 5 - 18 2025
TheTrumpet
Page5
Remembering Anthony
Enahoro
It is a settled fact that Anthony
Eromosele Enahoro (July 22, 1923 -
December 15, 2010) was an
outstanding product of Nigeria’s preindependence
era. Enahoro moved one of
the motions for independence and there’s
a lot for us to look at in the context of the
life he lived and the political firmament
that brought him up. Therefore,
remembering this Father of Nigerian
Nationalism is to reminisce about an era
where courage and conviction were the
currencies of change.
As a pioneering journalist, politician
and champion of independence,
Enahoro’s unwavering commitment to
Nigeria’s self-rule has left an enduring
legacy that continues to inspire
generations. His remarkable story is a
testament to the transformative power of
leadership, perseverance and the
unrelenting pursuit of freedom.
Building on his legacy as a champion
of independence, Enahoro went on to
serve in various capacities, including as
Minister of Information and Labour. He
was later tried alongside Obafemi
Awolowo and others for treasonable
felony, a trial that became infamous in
Nigerian history. Although convicted,
Enahoro was later released and continued
to play a significant role in shaping
Nigeria’s political landscape.
Enahoro was an outstanding
nationalist and a principled person, and
this was evident in his involvement with
the National Democratic Coalition
(NADECO). Of course, there was no need
for him and Alfred Rewane to have been
involved in the struggle for the
enthronement of democracy, particularly
in the aftermath of the annulled June 12,
1993 Presidential election won by MKO
Abiola as they had too much to lose!. But
they risked everything to fight for popular
democracy, Although Rewane ultimately
lost his life in the struggle, Enahoro was
fortunate to have escaped the same fate.
Despite the risks and challenges,
Enahoro remained unbending in his
convictions, refusing to waver even in the
face of adversity. As a gifted individual,
he recognized that the issue at hand was
not just about the violation of an
individual’s rights, but an affront to
democracy and national sovereignty. He,
along with Alfred Rewane and others
fought for principles, not personalities.
This commitment to principle was evident
in their diverse backgrounds: Enahoro
was a Christian from Uromi in Edo State,
with Esan extraction; Rewane was a
Christian of Urhobo descent from Delta
State; and Abiola, whose rights they
fought for, was a Muslim Yorubaman,
from Ogun State. Unlike some NADECO
members who howled with the wolves
and bleated with the sheep for
convenience, Enahoro was not
duplicitous. Unlike the crop of
Janjaweeds who now populate our
political landscape, he remained steadfast,
refusing to compromise his values.
Olajumoke Ogunkeyede, a close ally
of Enahoro, described him as “a man with
a seriously fantastic sense of humour.”
Ogunkeyede, fondly called JMK, shared
several instances of Enahoro’s ability to
bring joy to those around him. His
humorous takes on serious issues, such as
“the demons in Abuja”, showcased his
wit. Moreover, his clever commentaries,
including his defence of now-President
Bola Tinubu’s aspirations, and his
ingenious use of allegories and analogies,
like ‘Ogbuefi’ and ‘Ogbueniyan’,
collectively attested to the capacity of his
wit and charm.
When writing about individuals like
Enahoro, Rewane, Herbert Macaulay,
Awolowo, Aminu Kano, Maitama Sule,
and others, it’s essential to consider the
context in which they lived. This context
is bittersweet, as they represented an era
where political activism was rooted in
philosophical positions and guided by
principles. People during this time held
strong convictions and were willing to
make sacrifices for their beliefs. That’s
why society was more orderly in their
time, and it achieved proper sustainable
development, unlike today where what we
have is largely ‘growth without
development’, to be polite, or, if we want
to be impolite, ‘the development of
underdevelopment’. Amidst this, our
leaders continue to sing the same old,
worn-out refrain while satiating a vacuous
idolatry that elevates an ego bereft of
substance, a hollow monolith that stands
on feet of clay.
If we look at people like Enahoro and
Adegoke Adelabu, their lives exemplified
a paradox that underscored the tenuous
relationship between knowledge and
Pa Anthony Enahoro
credentials. This was because, despite
lacking university degrees, they possessed
a profound intellectual depth that eluded
many of their contemporaries who
boasted an array of impressive
certifications, forgetting that it is not the
parchment that confers wisdom, but the
depth of one’s inquiry, the rigour of one’s
thought and the breadth of one’s
understanding.
Enahoro became the youngest Editor
of Nnamdi Azikiwe’s newspaper, the
Southern Nigerian Defender, in 1944 at
the age of 21 while Peter, his younger
brother, became the Editor of The
Morning Star at the age of 23. The older
Enahoro also worked with other
publications, including Daily Comet and
BY ABIODUN
KOMOLAFE
West African Pilot before parting ways
with Azikiwe, whom he always referred
to as his Chairman, while Awolowo was
his political leader. The reasons behind
this preference are intriguing, but that’s a
story for another time.
These early experiences laid the
foundation for Enahoro’s later
involvement with the Action Group (AG),
a political party that shared his vision of
‘making life more abundant.’ Enahoro
and the AG represented an understanding
that the process of economic development
must be structured and based on a
philosophical thrust. In contrast, what is
absurdly described as ‘politics’ today is
terribly bad and basically transactional;
and it’s driven by a “cash-and-carry”
mentality, where individuals seek to outdo
one another in a “chop-and-quench”
political economy! No unity! No
discipline! No structure! For them, any
goose can cackle and any fly can find a
sore place!
Looking at the plane, Enahoro’s life
and career epitomized the complexities of
Nigeria’s struggle for independence and
democracy. His life and work embodied
the intersection of individual agency and
Continued on Page 6<

Page6 TheTrumpet FEBRUARY 5 - 18 2025
Opinion
Lessons from Ghana
By Abiodun Komolafe
Nigeria’s self-proclaimed
status as the ‘Giant of
Africa’ is being questioned
once again, and a recent example
from Ghana highlights this reality.
The ruling New Patriotic Party
(NPP) in Ghana conceded defeat
even before the polls closed,
showcasing a level of democratic
maturity. This incident serves as a
reminder that Nigeria’s claim to
being a giant may not be entirely
justified, considering factors beyond
mere size or population.
To begin with, a lot of what
happened in Ghana was a stark and
painful reminder that Nigeria is not a
competitive political economy. The
sooner we face this reality, the
better! Ghana’s ruling party, the
NPP, was ready to concede defeat,
even before the polls closed, because
its own exit polls had shown that the
opposition National Democratic
Congress (NDC) was already having
a massive, irreversible lead in the
voting.
The key issue is that you must
have a competitive economy to even
measure the temperature of exit
polls. A country must have data to
have exit polls. So, which exit polls
do we have in Nigeria and why do
we not have exit polls? The modern
economy is data-driven, and it is
clear that Nigeria’s economy is not
data-driven. This is the key fault-line
that must be urgently rectified in
A voter exercises her right
(Photo - Commonwealth
Secretariat CC by NC 2.0)
order to build a proper economy
with the condition of today’s world.
Fundamentally, the Electoral
Continued on Page 11<
Continued from Page 5<
structural forces that steered the trajectory
of nations. As a prominent anti-colonial
and pro-democracy activist, he played a
pivotal role in the country’s transition
from colonial rule to independence. The
Adolor of Uromi and the Adolor of
Onewa was a vocal critic of
authoritarianism and a strong advocate for
human rights. His perseverance in the face
of resistance, setbacks and imprisonment
demonstrates the dedication required to
bring about transformative change.
In moments of emotions and
situations, we often discover our true
strength and resilience. Enahoro has gone
to the ages but his legacy continues to
inspire, much like Abraham Lincoln’s. In
simpler terms, he was a brave soul who
dared to challenge the colonial powers.
So, his legacy should serve as inspiration
and role model for future generations,
demonstrating the potential for excellence
that exists within individuals and
communities. In fairness to fate, Enahoro
and his contemporaries were wellprepared
for the liberation movement,
thanks to their involvement in the West
African Students Union (WASU) and
their time at King’s College, Lagos. This
institution, attended by Enahoro and
Remembering Anthony Enahoro
Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, was
a hotbed for political activism and
discourse. To truly reboot, Nigerians must
remember the personal histories of
pioneers like Enahoro.
Today, we remember Enahoro, a
pioneering figure who dared to dream of
independence for Nigeria. We honour not
only his significant contributions to
Nigeria’s history but also his untiring
commitment to democracy, selfdetermination
and human rights. As we
remember him and his dogged
commitment to federalism and the quest
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for social justice, it is in our best interest
to recreate the ethos and the spirit which
created him and people like him.
May Anthony Enahoro’s spirit soar on
the wings of eternal peace!
May his memory continue to serve as
a testament to the enduring impact of
individual agency on the course of
national history!
May the Lamb of God, who takes
away the sin of the world, grant us peace
in Nigeria!
Komolafe wrote from Ijebu-Jesa,
Osun State, Nigeria
(ijebujesa@yahoo.co.uk)

FEBRUARY 5 - 18 2025 TheTrumpet
Page7

Page8 TheTrumpet FEBRUARY 5 - 18 2025
Opinion
Tinubu’s Titanic wahala
By Tony Ogunlowo
Titanic’ can mean something that
is very big, gigantic or enormous
and it was also the name of a ship
that sank on its maiden voyage.
When the Titanic sank in 1912 it
sank due to a number of avoidable
factors: a ship deemed unsinkable that
wasn’t fitted with watertight
compartments, a ‘unprofessional’
seasoned captain who was apparently
bullied into going at full speed through
known ice-berg strewn waters, lack of
common binoculars for the deck watch
and the unavailability of enough life
boats for all the passengers.
This all put together, as they say, was
a recipe for disaster. Red flags were
ignored.
Translating this to President
Tinubu’s modern-day Nigeria, the
avoidable factors that can sink the
country are way too obvious.
Nigerians have long enjoyed the
benefits of fuel subsidy. Costly as it is
to maintain, it’s enabled the economy to
keep running by keeping the cost of
things low. Its removal, as can be seen,
has created a domino effect, as the
experts predicted, resulting in the prices
of even the basic commodities
skyrocketing as everyone passes on the
additional costs. With inflation currently
at 32.7% and still rising, things are only
going to keep on getting more and more
expensive. As a result, the new
minimum wage of N70,000 will have
less purchasing power than the previous
2021 minimum wage of N30,000. If fuel
subsidy removal was meant to boost the
economy it has done the opposite and
will stagnate any efforts to kickstart it.
The government’s inability to
control corruption or severely punish
corrupt officials which is robbing the
country’s coffers of billions and billions
of Naira every year is a stumbling block
for development. If a corrupt
government official who built 750
houses with stolen funds or an ex-
Governor accused of misappropriating
80 billion Naira are allowed to walk
around freely, supposedly on bail,
without fear of eventual conviction - it
questions the message the government
is sending out to future looters. If the
culprits were in Russia or China, the
outcome will be totally different.
Even though an austerity economic
policy may seem harsh like it was
designed to rob Peter to pay Paul, it
should be short, sharp hardship with
green pastures in the foreseeable future
– not ever! A good start will be to cut
down on the number of foreign loans
being obtained every year as their
repayment can take a huge chunk out of
the country’s annual income.
The new tax laws are long overdue
and it should include that VAT earned
in a State stays in that State: so, if your
State doesn’t generate any VAT (- such
as from the sale of alcohol products) you
don’t get to share in what other States
have collected.
Insecurity in the country is not
something that started yesterday.
Previous governments have blood on
their hands for not nipping these
insurrections in the bud before they
grew to become monstrosities. You
don’t pat yourself on the back, like the
Nigerian Army likes to do believing you
have the threat ‘under control’ – you
eliminate the threat completely using
what ever means necessary. Unless the
order [ given by ‘Somebody’] is not to
destroy them completely and to quote
the late Sani Abacha,”…any insurgency
that lasts more than 24 hours, a
government official has a hand in it..”,
no wonder Boko Haram continues to
flourish and bandits like Turji Bello
continue to taunt the government. When
the armed robber Lawrence Anini did
something similar in 1986 he was fished
out within months, tried and executed.
As I’ve written before, the Nigerian
Police Force is long past its sell by date
and considering the ever growing
population of Nigeria with its associated
acts of anti-social behaviour, it’s time to
seriously consider devolving the NPF
into State-run outfits. The growing
popularity of State-run security outfits,
In Nigeria, prices of basic commodities are skyrocketing (Photo - Richard Badejo, Pexels)
such as Amotekun, proves this is
feasible and effective.
Considering the fact the country is
going through severe economic
hardship, the President himself, should
curb frivolous spending where possible:
no more new Presidential yachts or
planes ( - that includes the new one for
the VP), a cap on ridiculous-no-real-job
SA and SSA appointments and most
important of all - a cap on ALL
politicians salaries and perks ( - which
is to say if politicians are patriotic
enough they’ll agree to a pay cut, forgo
some of their benefits and pay for their
own jaunts abroad). Implementing the
Steve Oronsaye Report which
recommends merging and closing of
Ministries etc - that has been passed
over by every President since President
Goodluck commissioned it in 2011 will
cut government operating costs even
further. This should not just be at
Presidential level but extended to all the
States: this will not just streamline the
bloated and largely inefficient civil
service but will also weed out ghost
workers and white elephant project.
The ‘japa’ movement which the
government is trying to discourage
should be allowed to continue. It’s
morally wrong for a government that
can’t provide suitable employment for
its citizens to try and prevent them from
seeking opportunities abroad : ‘japa’ is
not just limited to Nigerians, it’s a
worldwide phenomenon. People,
British, American, Filipinos, are
migrating worldwide to wherever there
are opportunities for them to prosper.
That’s the way the world works now:
nobody is going to stay in a ‘sh*t-hole’
country if there are no opportunities for
them to grow. Forget patriotism! It’s
every man for himself! So, if a country
can’t provide adequate employment
opportunities, people will pack their
bags and ‘japa’! And if you restrict them
from leaving the country what are they
going to do? Get up to mischief - 419,
cultism, kidnapping!
These same people send money back
to their home countries all the time:
Nigerians in diaspora in 2023 alone sent
home more than $19.5 billion Dollars.
This is a huge injection of foreign
currency for a country that desperately
needs it.
So, just like the Titanic, the warning
signs are there and the inevitable that
will happen should they be ignored. The
question is: which way is President
Tinubu going to go. This is what I call
the ‘Titanic Wahala’, ignore the obvious
and the proverbial will hit the fan,
sooner or later.
You can follow Tony Ogunlowo on
Twitter: @Archangel641 or visit
http://www.archangel641.blogspot.co.uk

FEBRUARY 5 - 18 2025 TheTrumpet
Page9

Page10 TheTrumpet FEBRUARY 5 - 18 2025
Opinion
Tinubu and the rhythm of
Restructuring
By Abiodun Komolafe
President Bola Tinubu’s recent
announcement to unbundle the
Nigerian College of Aviation
Technology (NCAT), Zaria, Kaduna
State, into six geo-political zones is an
important landmark in Nigeria’s journey
towards true federalism and regionalism,
which lies not in the constitutional or
institutional structure, but in the society
itself. This move will go a long way in
addressing the historical imbalance in the
distribution of national institutions as
well as fostering a sense of belonging and
inclusivity among Nigeria’s diverse
populations.
Ultimately, this development is a step
towards addressing Nigeria’s deep-seated
structural issues, which have been
perpetuated by a centralized system. One
can only pray that the President would
also muster sufficient courage to extend
this hand of fellowship to institutions like
the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA),
Police University and Nigerian Army
University as this will not only promote
regional balance, equity and fairness but
also help reduce the concentration of
military power in one area as well as
promote national security. The
unbundling of the Law School,
previously exclusive to the Southwest,
serves as a precedent for this bold move.
It is obvious that, even with the
valiant efforts of the Federal
Government, economic reforms can only
carry the country so far. There will
always be a limit to structural
dysfunction! In our own opinion, the
current Tax Reform Bills, which every
patriot should support, is a savvy move
towards restructuring through the
backdoor. Tinubu is to be commended
for this! But, again, there will always be
a limit!
Nigeria, in our opinion, was set back
- by about 70 years or more - by the illadvised,
to put it politely, ‘suspension’ of
the 1963 Republican Constitution.
Thankfully, they did not go so far as to
claim that it had been completely
abolished or abrogated!
The Tax Reform Bills are to be
commended for, in the spirit of the 1963
Constitution, they seek to move the
country back to a federation, based on
production. The Bills are a very mild
exposition of the famous description of
federalism by the 13 th Prime Minister of
Canada, John Diefenbaker, who told a
group of school children that
“Federalism means that you eat what you
kill.” For us, this is still the best
description of federalism as was reflected
in the 1963 Constitution, and the
Constitutions which had preceded it,
which was the spirit upon which
Nigeria’s independence was negotiated,
and given.
Nigeria until the suspension of the
1963 Constitution was one of the most
balanced and productive in the world. It’s
even an often-stated fact that the Eastern
Region of Nigeria, under Chief Michael
Okpara, was the fastest growing
subnational of any country in the British
Commonwealth. Tinubu, apart from his
antecedents in the struggle for
democracy, has already given us a
glimpse through the Tax Reform Bills,
that he is a federalist. Even for this
singular effort, the Jagaban of Borgu
already has a place in Nigeria’s economic
history.
We must go back to the giant strides
made between the 1914 amalgamation of
the protectorates and the unfortunate
events of January 15, 1966. Any costbenefit
analysis would show, without a
doubt, that a political economy based on
competitive federalism delivers the
goods. By jettisoning this path, Nigeria
squandered an opportunity which should
have made it incontestably among the
world’s top 10 economies, such as India
and Brazil. By abandoning federalism
based on production, Nigeria earned,
starting from the first ‘oil shock’ of 1974,
hundreds of billions of petrol dollars
which did not translate into the basic
industries which form the bedrock of a
modern industrial economy.
Matter-of-factly, no country has
achieved modern industrial development
without a strong foundation in industries
like machine tools, iron and steel, and
petrochemicals. This is why, despite
being laudable, Dangote Refinery will
still rely on imported vital parts for
replacement and servicing. Take, for
instance, a thriving machine tools
industry in Ijebu-Jesa, Osun State. If such
an industry existed, it’s likely that at least
Bola Ahmed Tinubu
90% of the parts needed for Dangote and
other industries would be sourced locally,
leading to significant growth in Ijebu-
Jesa’s size and economy. This, in turn,
would have a profound impact on
employment, revenue generation and
overall well-being in the region.
It is worthy of note that the
Constitutions of Australia, Brazil,
Canada, USA, amongst others, mirror the
1963 Republican Constitution and they
have not suffered for it. Clearly, either
piecemeal, as part of the Tax Reform
Bills, or Local Government Reform, or
the establishment of Development
Commissions, or the ‘inchoate’ Local
Council Development Authorities
(LCDAs), or wholesale, Nigeria’s
journey towards true federalism requires
a fundamental shift in its political culture,
necessitating a return to the ethos and
spirit of this Constitution.
By using guile and tactical astuteness,
Tinubu’s historical role must be to go
back to the modus operandi of the 1963
Constitution. In his own heart, he knows
that there is no alternative to this! This is
the only perfect storm that will stand the
test of time. It is the only way to cure the
Nigerian malaise which is based on lack
of revenue. Without a brutally
competitive federalism, the country
cannot unleash the revenue streams so
vitally needed for sustainable
development.
A good example of our current
quagmire is the sharing of FAAC for
December 2024, which was
approximately $2.7 billion. This figure is
still a far cry from what a country of
Nigeria’s size should be generating.
Under a proper, productive base,
Nigeria’s sharing of FAAC should
conceivably be at least $3 billion a
month, even in the worst-case scenario.
This is underscored by the fact that
Gauteng in South Africa has a bigger
budget than Nigeria - while Nigeria’s
budget for the Year 2025 is roughly $28
billion, Gauteng’s is about $43 billion. It
is simply like Lagos State having a bigger
budget than Ghana which is a sovereign
State.
The critical issue here is for the
Tinubu government, which we wish all
the best, to accept the incontrovertible
fact that economic reforms must be
interwoven, going hand-in-gloves with
the structural reforms needed in the
political economy to make economic
reforms sustainable. Otherwise, any
future government can reverse the
striking gains that will definitely come
out of the present reforms, as we are now
witnessing in Donald Trump’s America.
Yes, the President’s economic
reforms are on the right path with quiet
compassion. However, to ensure
longevity and sustainability, structural
reforms are crucial. For instance,
Nigeria’s federal budget, which stands at
around $28-30 billion annually for a
population of 200 million, is alarmingly
inadequate and heading towards social
stagnation.
Well, that’s not to say that Nigeria’s
restructuring efforts are not facing
complex obstacles, including a lack of
clear definition and consensus. To be
honest, different interpretations of the
concept lead to confusion, mistrust and
resistance. Entrenched interests, power
dynamics and insecurity also hinder
restructuring. The political elite may
resist changes that threaten their
privileges, while the North’s dominance
in politics and economy poses another
challenge. To overcome these,
establishing a clear and inclusive
definition involving various stakeholders
is essential.
Let me by way of conclusion state
that Nigeria’s journey towards true
federalism requires a fundamental shift in
its political culture, and Tinubu’s
thoughtful gestures are a significant step
in addressing its deep-seated issues. This
shift involves recognizing that power
isn’t “a zero-sum game, where one
group’s gain must come at the expense of
another.” Instead, it is about ensuring that
every Nigerian has a stake in the
country’s future! It is about weaving the
threads of a new life together!
May the Lamb of God, who takes
away the sin of the world, grant us peace
in Nigeria!
Komolafe wrote from Ijebu-Jesa,
Osun State, Nigeria
(ijebujesa@yahoo.co.uk)

Opinion
FEBRUARY 5 - 18 2025
TheTrumpet
Page11
Continued from Page 6<
Commission of Ghana (EC) was
transparently independent of the
ruling party. This reality was
accepted as an incontestable fact by
both the political and the civil
society organizations. The EC Head,
like Caesar’s wife, was above board.
Even in the parliamentary
constituencies, nobody is talking
about ‘going to court’. It is ironic
that the Head of Nigeria’s
Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC) was in Ghana
and one hopes that he’d publish the
full report of his assessment of the
electoral process, including the
collation and transmission or results.
Just as the EC demonstrated its
independence, elections also serve
as crucial indicators of a nation’s
economic stability. An election is
not just about the rights of voters in
a democracy, it is also a signal to
credit analysts as well as potential
investors about the fundamental
structure, orientation and
competitiveness of a nation’s
economy. Very importantly, it is
about the stability of its institutions.
In every electoral cycle, a country
sends out signals about its economic
stability in the short-, medium-, and
long-term. Elections are actually
very key economic indicators!
Ghana is different from Nigeria
because its two major political
parties - the NDC and the NPP - are
institutional memories of Ghana’s
political history, going back to the
days of the Gold Coast before the
country was renamed as Ghana. The
two political parties represent the
split in 1949 from the original
nationalist movement. The NDC
represents the ideological fervor of
the younger elements such as Archie
Casely-Hayford, Kwameh Nkrumah
and others, who left to form the
more progressive-oriented
Convention People’s Party (CPP).
The NPP represents the more
conservative elements such as J.B.
Danquah, Joe Appiah and others,
who stayed with the conservative
tendency. This ideological divide, in
one shape or another, has dominated
and continues to be the central thrust
of Ghana’s politics from 1949 till
today. This is why we do not have
people decamping from party to
party.
In 8 years in the opposition party,
we did not hear of any notable, even
Lessons from Ghana
inconsequential decampees from the
NDC to the ruling NPP. You can
place a safe bet that nobody is going
to decamp from the NPP to the nowruling
NDC in the next four years.
This is because, unlike in Nigeria,
the ideological basis upon which
politics is anchored is very wellstructured
and institutionalized. We
may care to ask ourselves: ‘What
institutional memories and values,
shaped by over 80 years of history,
do Nigeria’s major political parties -
APC, PDP, Labour Party, and others
- truly represent? Yes, there’s
poverty in Ghana, but this has not
led to people jumping from party to
party, looking for something to eat!
A closer look at Mexico’s
political landscape is instructive.
The country’s political parties, like
the Institutional Revolutionary Party
(Partido Revolucionario
Institucional, PRI), and the National
Action Party (Partido Acción
Nacional, PAN), are more than just
parties - they’re movements with
deep roots. If a local councilor
defects, it’s front-page news. These
parties even have their own banks,
offering loans to members. In
Nigeria, where is the People’s
Democratic Party (PDP) Bank and
where is the All Progressives
Congress (APC) Hospital? This
disparity highlights Nigeria’s
struggles with building robust,
ideologically-driven political
parties.
Similarly, in Nigeria, the absence
of robust research departments in
political parties hinders their ability
to drive effective governance. A
proper political party must have a
Research Department. It is the fruit
of research over the years that leads
to effective governance. When they
were in opposition in Brazil, the
Workers’ Party (Partido dos
Trabalhadores, PT) simulated the
building of affordable housing on a
mass scale for low income people to
purchase on a monthly rent-to-home
basis. By the time they came into
office, they had worked out costeffective,
mass housing construction
solutions, based on local materials.
In 8 years in office, they built
1,000,000 affordable housing units
per year and, in the process pulled
millions of people out of poverty,
created generational wealth and built
enduring social capital. To be
honest, the Lagos Executive
Development Board (LEDB) in the
1950s, and Lateef Jakande in the
early 1980s, were also on this
trajectory. Unfortunately, no
political party since then has
imbibed the institutional memory to
build upon them.
What Ghana, Mexico, South
Africa and Brazil, even India have
shown is that Nigeria needs solidlystructured,
ideologically-cohesive
and data-driven political parties to
have real, sustainable development
as opposed to booty-sharing which
inevitably leads to unsustainable
cost of governance. We had better
consider the consequences of a
country spending more on debt
servicing than investments in
education and health, and how this
affects sustainable development.
This is bizarre! It defies
commonsense and it’s not aligned to
any known model of economic
development!
The success of the transfer of
power in Ghana should be for us in
Nigeria an opportunity for
introspection and very sober
reflection. It should also be a
wakeup call to reboot our political
process in order to regain
international competitiveness.
International competitiveness is now
make-or-break, with Trump 2.0
manifesting itself on January 20!
This should be taken as a warning!
The problem with our political
leaders in Nigeria is that they don’t
invest in the institutions or people,
but in themselves. Of course, that’s
why they don’t quit, resign or retire
but, like water, at the mercy of
temperature, they move from one
state of coldness to another of
hotness. They undergo constant
transformation, yet remain
inherently unchanged.
Like a butterfly flitting from
flower to flower in search of nectar,
these leaders move from one
position of power to another, leaving
behind a trail of fake promises and
superficial solutions. This selfserving
approach is rooted in a
deeper societal issue - a culture of
entitlement and lack of
accountability - which perpetuates
the suffering of a people whose
promise has been aborted, at the
hands of “hypocritical praise singers
and men with hardened hearts and
closed ears” who “believe in nothing
but their own voices of lies.”
This self-serving approach has
far-reaching consequences, as
evident in the 2023 presidential
election, where the IReV Portal lost
its authentic ring. Who knows what
aspect of our fragile democratic
processes will “succumb to the
tempting froth from the cup of
politics” in 2027?
May the Lamb of God, who takes
away the sin of the world, grant us
peace in Nigeria!
Komolafe wrote from Ijebu-Jesa,
Osun State, Nigeria
(ijebujesa@yahoo.co.uk)

Page12 TheTrumpet FEBRUARY 5 - 18 2025

Opinion
FEBRUARY 5 - 18 2025
TheTrumpet
Page13
The second coming of
Donald Trump
The most important global event
yesterday, January 20, 2025,
was the inauguration of Donald
J. Trump, 45 th President of the United
States, now as the 47 th President of the
United States in what has been
correctly described as his second
coming. Trump’s second coming
should be taken in this literal sense,
the United States allowing for a
possible two terms in office as the
limit for any President, in line with the
22 nd Amendment (1951) in the United
States Constitution. With his landslide
victory in the Nov. 5, 2024 election,
in which he defeated Democratic latecomer
to the race, Vice President
Kamala Harris, Trump was assuredly
on his way to serving his second and
final term as President and that
process reached its climax yesterday.
The only President that served more
than two terms was Franklin D.
Roosevelt who ran for the Presidency
and won four times (1933-1945),
before Americans embraced the
wisdom of George Washington (US
founding father and first President)
that any President serving more than
two terms was likely to become a king
or an emperor. Trump’s return to the
White House is reminiscent of the
example of Grover Cleveland who
served a term like Trump (1885 -
1889) as 22nd President, lost reelection
like Trump and then won
re-election four years later: (1893 –
1897) to become 24th President.
History turned full circle and
repeated itself yesterday more than a
century later with Trump being the
second President in American history
to be elected for two non-consecutive
terms. History was also made with
Trump at 78 years, 220 days
becoming the oldest President ever
inaugurated, over 100 days older than
President Joe Biden was when he
became President in January 2021. By
the time he completes his term four
years from now, Trump will be 82. He
is also the first convicted felon to
occupy the White House having been
found guilty of 34 counts of felony in
the Stormy Daniel, hush money,
record-falsification case. Curiously,
Grover Cleveland, the first Democrat
elected after the civil war, was also
embroiled in allegations of sexual
assault and violence from a woman
named Maria Halpin. It would be
quite a long shot to assume that
Trump is a reincarnate of Grover
Cleveland, in the same manner as
students of soul evolution have tried
to establish similarities and
BY REUBEN ABATI
connections between Abraham
Lincoln and J.F. Kennedy. Nor can
the phrase “the second coming of
Trump” be interpreted in a Christian
eschatological sense.
With all his right-wing, hardline
conservative rhetoric, however,
Trump is not the messianic figure who
will bring about a new heaven, a new
earth and a new Jerusalem that his
supporters and fans envision him to
be. “Donald Trump’s Disruption is
Back…He’s Back” says the Time
Magazine, with an illustration
showing President Biden’s aviator
sunglasses being swiped off the
Resolute Desk. Nothing could be
more apt, again very much like the
official portrait of the 47th President,
unsmiling – the smile in the 2016
official portrait has been wiped off
Continued on Page 14<

Page14 TheTrumpet FEBRUARY 5 - 18 2025
and replaced with a gangster-style,
fiendish look, with a scowl. The
portrait looks like a mug shot and one
body language expert has observed
that the simple language of the picture
is that Trump is on a revenge mission.
He is back to take a pound of flesh.
Trump is not the messiah; he is
Nietzsche’s change agent: the Super
Man who revels in his own sense of
importance. Trump has promised that
he will “make heads spin on his first
day back in office”, and really heads
started spinning long before he made
his improbable comeback now a
reality. Last Sunday, he posted memes
on Truth Social including one that
says: “Not elected to be nice. Elected
to get results.”
This process of getting results
began over the weekend with
President Trump relocating to
Washington DC, in preparation for his
inauguration on Monday, January 20.
On Saturday, he held a party at his
golf club in Sterling, Virginia,
featuring an Elvis Presley
impersonator and fireworks display.
Saturday night, he slept at the Blair
House, the President’s official guest
residence on Pennsylvania Avenue,
across the street from the White
House. On Sunday, he held a rally
ahead of the inauguration to remind
everyone obviously that he was back
in town and he was going to plant the
Republican and the Trumpian flag in
Washington DC, again. Trump was
not new to the symbolism nor the
imagism but he needed to drive home
the point. The glorious moment
eventually came yesterday and it was
quite an impressive ceremony. The
inauguration of the 47 th President was
held indoors due to freezing
temperatures outdoors. The weather
yesterday was -5 Celsius in the same
city, on the same grounds. In 1961,
President John Kennedy was
inaugurated amid -22 Celsius, but the
weather can be cruel, and climate
change has been the cruellest of all
things over the years, after all the
poets, not one, not two but about four
are of the view that “winter is the
cruellest month”. I have no objections
to the Trump inauguration being held
indoors, with about 750 persons in
attendance. It was however most
ironic that the ceremony was held in
the same high sandstone hall at the
Capitol’s Centre where Trump’s
supporters broke in and rioted on
January 6, 2021 in an attempt to
overturn America’s democracy. In
2021, the same Trump supporters
held America hostage. Their man,
who threatened to hold America by
the jugular, returned yesterday. “Oh!
America.”
This was much clear when Senator
Amy Klobucher (D-Minnesota),
Chairwoman of the Joint
Congressional Committee on
Inaugural ceremonies, in declaring the
ceremonies open and welcoming
everyone, talked again and again
about “peaceful transfer of power at
the heart of our democracy”, our
enduring democracy, and how the
“Capitol is the people’s home”, and
Opinion
The second coming of
Donald Trump
Continued from Page 13<
US President Donald Trump
the responsibility of citizenship not to
seek malice. Yesterday. Americans
celebrated 250 years of democracy
and the 60th Presidential inauguration
ceremony but I could not miss the
additional point made by Senator Deb
Fisher (R- Nebraska) about “the
prominence of a people through
change”. Again, it was all about the
American people, putting back to
power, a man whose supporters in the
same space desecrated the people’s
yearning for change. Senators
Klobuchar and Fisher may have been
passing a message or a set of
subliminal messages across, but the
point is that democracy is what it is:
it provides the people an opportunity
to make a choice and even if they
make a wrong choice, it is up to the
people to either defend or reject their
own choice, not for anyone to dictate
to them. President Trump was
applauded again and again after being
sworn in as President, and there was a
crowd of enthusiastic cheer leaders at
the Capitol Arena hailing the new
Chief.
It was a symbolic, impressive
moment but it was also a prayerful
moment as well from the invocations
by Cardinal Timothy Dolan -
Archbishop of New York to Rev.
Franklin Graham - President and
CEO, Samaritan’s Place who
delivered the opening prayers. And
the Benedictions by Rabbi Dr. Ari
Berman of the Yeshiva University;
Rev. Lorenzo Sevell, Senior Pastor of
180 Church, West Detroit; and Rev.
Frank Mann of the Roman Catholic
Diocese of Brooklyn, New York. Rev.
Sevell from West Detroit made quite
an impression. Trump’s inauguration
coincided with Martin Luther King’s
week. King was a champion of
freedom, justice and equality. Brother
Sevell understood the assignment. He
spoke about freedom and equality and
evoked memories of Black America’s
struggle for freedom. This was clearly
in line with the tone that was further
echoed in Donald J. Trump’s second
inaugural speech, and perhaps the
bigger poignant moment at the main
event for me was the rendition of
“America, the beautiful”, by Carrie
Underwood, after what looked like a
brief impasse of awkwardness in an
otherwise beautifully organized, wellchoreographed
event. But of course,
the main moment anyway was
President Donald Trump’s speech.
Well crafted. Well delivered. Good
nuance. A fiery speech. It was a
combination of sharp, cruel jabs at the
outgoing administration and a
promise that America will do better
under Trump.
He accused the Democrats of a
horrible betrayal of our people. “All
of this will change starting today,” he
bellowed. He threatened to change the
Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of
America, and take back the Panama
Canal which he called “a foolish gift”
to Panama. He declared that he would
be “a peacemaker and a unifier”, and
that under his watch, America will be
the most respected nation in the
world. He wants to build a society that
Continued on Page 15<

Opinion
The second coming of
Donald Trump
Continued from Page 14<
is colour-blind and marriage based.
“There are only two genders – male
and female, and that will be US State
policy, and those who rejected
COVID mandate will be reinstated
with full back pay.” He wants to
overhaul America’s trade system and
impose tariffs and taxes to “enrich our
country” by setting up an External
Tariff Service. His words as I heard
them: Confidence. Effectiveness.
Exceptionalism. He wants America to
be a manufacturing country again, the
largest oil and gas nation, that will
build automobiles. He will announce
a national emergency to drill. Drug
Cartels will be classified as terrorist
organizations. All illegal entries will
be halted. “And we will begin the
process of returning millions and
millions of criminal aliens back to the
places from which they came.” Those
coming from Mexico must remain in
Mexico, as all foreign gangs will
immediately be eliminated. On
inflation, President Trump said he will
“direct all members of my cabinet…
to defeat what was record inflation”.
He lied in that regard though. US
inflation was not record-inflation
under President Biden. I watched
President Biden and Vice President
Kamala Harris’s body language as the
delivery progressed. The only time I
saw them standing up and applauding
was when Trump touched on the
ceasefire deal between Israel and
Hamas in the Middle East. In any
case, Trump promised what he called
“the revolution of common sense.”
In terms of optics, the ceremony
did not disappoint. Trump, a friend of
rich America did not disappoint in
particular as some of the world’s
richest persons got the best sitting
positions: Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff
Bezos, Sundar Pichai and Elon Musk,
with the room reeking of capital,
wealth, power, and influence. The
CEOs of the tech giants had
reportedly donated as much as a
minimum of a million dollar each to
support the inauguration. Musk, the
world’s richest man was so excited he
told the audience at the Capital One
Arena, where there was a more
elaborate parade, that Trump’s win is
“no ordinary win, this was a fork in
the road of human civilization” and
that “the future of civilization is
assured”. He echoed Trump’s
US Vice President James David (JD) Vance and President Donald Trump
sentiment that now is the time “to
plant the Stripes and Stars on the
planet Mars.”
Trump’s tone was in turns dark,
staid, and aggressive. He insisted in a
second speech that he won the
election in 2020. As he spoke,
members of his far-right Proud Boys
group, the J6 gang, paraded around
the streets of Washington. They
expect him to pardon their members
who have been convicted for the
January assault on the Capitol. And he
has promised he will. He was
confident that he would save
America. “From this moment on, the
decline of America is over… I return
to the Presidency confident and
optimistic that we are at the start of a
thrilling new era of national success.
A tide of change is sweeping the
country. Sunlight is pouring over the
entire world. And America has the
chance to seize this opportunity like
never before”. WE should ask: is
sunlight pouring all over the world
with Trump 2.0? While American
exceptionalism may sound like good
music to the ears of most Americans,
particularly fans of Trump’s agenda,
it sounds ominous to the rest of the
world, as Trump’s speech was
underscored by threats of possible and
likely American expansionism,
casting America’s superior power as
a threat to the global order. For
Nigerians who think that a public
profession of faith means something,
President Trump for their information
refused to place his hands on any
Bible: his mother’s Bible and the
1861 Lincoln Bible, held by his wife,
Melania, while he took his oath of
office. President Jose Raul Mulino of
Panama says he must
“comprehensively reject the words of
President Donald Trump “because
“the canal is and will remain
Panama’s.” Beyond Panama, it is the
entire world that is panicking, from
Greenland to Russia, to Ukraine, to
Canada which Trump has boasted will
be turned into the 51 st State of the
United States, to Africa, the European
Union and Asia. Trump may be
determined to make America great
FEBRUARY 5 - 18 2025
TheTrumpet
Page15
again, but it would be a sad
development if the world were to
become a smaller place under his
influence. America gets a new
President; the world is quaking. It is a
poor foreboding.
No one is even sure of what the
future holds for America within its
own borders. In the last moments of
his Presidency, Joe Biden had to grant
unprecedented, preemptive, pardons
to persons that he thinks may be
targeted by the second coming of a
man on a revenge mission. Those
pardoned are essentially prominent
critics of Donald Trump including Dr.
Anthony Fauci, former Director of the
National Institute of Allergy and
Infectious Disease for more than a
decade who defended COVID
protections; former Representative
Liz Cheney who condemned Trump:
members of Congress who served on
the committee that investigated the
Jan 6, 2021 insurrection, as well as
close members of the Biden family
and their spouses that could be
targeted by Trump. The mere fact that
a group of persons needed to be
shielded, even when they have not
been held liable for any specific
crime, ahead of the inauguration of a
new administration in the United
States is a loud, sub-textual comment
on the status of American democracy
and its immediate future.

Page16 TheTrumpet FEBRUARY 5 - 18 2025
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