The Trumpet Newspaper Issue 646 (April 2 - 15 2025)

TheTrumpet
Africans now have a voice... Founded in 1995
V O L 31 N O 646 A P R I L 2 - 15 2025
Teenager who
murdered
schoolgirl
jailed for life
President Umaro Sissoco Embaló 4 (Photo - Office
of President Paul Kagame, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Guinea-
Bissau’s
political
crisis:
a nation on the brink
of authoritarianism
By Carlos Eduardo Machado Sangreman Proença,
Universidade de Aveiro (Portugal)
Continued on Page 3>
Hassan Sentamu
Ateenager who stabbed
Croydon schoolgirl Elianne
Andam to death in a violent
and unprovoked attack has been
sentenced to life imprisonment.
18-year-old Hassan Sentamu of
Rowdown Crescent, New Addington
appeared at the Old Bailey on
Thursday, 13 March where he was
jailed for a minimum of 23 years
before parole can be considered. This
follows his conviction for Elianne’s
murder after a trial which concluded
on 16 January.
Sentamu was arrested within 90
minutes of Elianne’s murder, as he
stepped off a bus after calmly making
his way back home. He has remained
in custody ever since.
Following his detention,
detectives worked day and night to
build a case against Sentamu,
painstakingly trawling through hours
of CCTV – eventually seizing 45
hours’ worth as part of the evidence.
They used this to map his movements
both in the lead up to Elianne’s
murder and afterwards when he fled
the scene, discarding the knife he had
used to kill her along the way.
During sentencing, victim impact
statements were read out on behalf of
Elianne’s parents. Excerpts taken
from those statements read: “Elianne
was my world, my answered prayer
after a long time. She was the kindest
and most loving daughter I could
have asked for. She was vibrant,
creative, and purposeful. She loved
deeply, she loved to sing, loved
dance, to braid hair — always
practicing new styles on herself, her
Continued on Page 5<

Page2 TheTrumpet APRIL 2 - 15 2025
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News
APRIL 2 - 15 2025 TheTrumpet Page3
Guinea-Bissau’s political crisis:
a nation on the brink of authoritarianism
Continued from Page 1<
Guinea-Bissau faces a deep
political crisis. For several years,
the small West African nation
has endured growing tensions between
political institutions and there’s now a
strong climate of uncertainty.
Guinea-Bissau’s general elections had
been scheduled for November 2024, but
President Umaro Sissoco Embaló
postponed them citing political
instability, logistical challenges and
disputes over presidential term limits. He
has since announced 30 November 2025
as the new date for elections.
Embaló has been President of Guinea
Bissau since 27 February 2020. The
opposition and the Supreme Court argue
that his presidency should have ended on
27 February 2025. Embaló however
insists his mandate should end on 4
September 2025. The dispute over
Embaló’s five-year term stems from
different interpretations of his
inauguration date. He argues his official
term began later, in November 2020 –
when legal challenges to his election
were resolved.
The opposition now regard Embaló as
an illegitimate President. Economic
Community of West African States
(ECOWAS) representatives were also
recently threatened with expulsion from
the country when they came to assess the
political situation.
These developments highlight an
unprecedented crisis. They raise concerns
about Guinea-Bissau’s democratic future,
given the political uncertainty.
I’m an expert on Guinea-Bissau’s
politics and have carried out research on
the state of the country’s democracy. In
this article, I examine the country’s
current political crisis.
Weakening institutions
Nearly 50 years after independence,
Continued on Page 4<

Page4
TheTrumpet
APRIL 2 - 15 2025
TheTrumpet Group
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TheTrumpetTeam
News
Guinea-Bissau’s
political crisis:
a nation on the brink of
authoritarianism
Continued from Page 3<
PUBLISHER / EDITOR-IN-CHIEF:
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Guinea-Bissau is a fragile State,
struggling to meet its people’s needs.
Weak institutions, a self-serving political
and economic elite, and a lack of basic
public services have fuelled instability.
The army, led by veterans, has staged
three coups, and the country’s 1998-1999
civil war caused significant destruction.
Despite this, civil society remains
vibrant. It fills gaps left by the State. It
plays a vital role in education, human
rights, women’s rights, and
environmental protection. It also supports
vulnerable groups, including child
beggars (talibés).
Since taking office, Embaló has been
weakening democratic institutions and
consolidating power.
His recent dissolution of parliament in
December 2023, without scheduling
timely elections, violated constitutional
norms. He also directly appoints and
dismisses governments, while the
Supreme Court lacks the quorum needed
to function. As a result, the legislative,
executive and judicial branches all fall
under the President’s direct control.
The parliament’s permanent
commission, made up of elected
members, is the only institution still
operating within constitutional limits.
However, the President’s dissolution of
parliament has blocked legislative
sessions.
This broader trend of power
consolidation started with João Mário
Vaz, who led the country between 23
June 2014 and 27 February 2020. Guinea
Bissau has, for the past decade, been
slipping into authoritarianism under
different leaders.
President Umaro Sissoco Embaló 6 (Photo - Office
of President Paul Kagame, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
The National Assembly with Pereira as Speaker was dissolved by Embaló
Growing authoritarianism
Since Embaló won the 2019
presidential election, political, economic
and social instability has persisted. This
has severely affected human rights in the
country.
One of the major drivers of the
current crisis was Embaló’s dissolution
of the National Assembly in 2023.
The assembly was being controlled by
the opposition. This followed 2023
legislative elections in which a coalition
led by the African Party for the
Independence of Guinea-Bissau and
Cape Verde (PAIGC) won. Its leader,
Domingos Simões Pereira, became
speaker of parliament. A government
appointed by the winning coalition was
then sworn in.
In December 2023, a brief clash
between two paramilitary groups – the
National Guard and the Presidential
Battalion – became a pretext to dissolve
the National Assembly. The President
then appointed a Prime Minister and
formed a government himself.
Losing external support
Embaló has taken every step to stay
in power. He will eventually hold a
Presidential election but, I believe, only
when the opposition is too weak to unite
behind a candidate. He is also distancing
himself from ECOWAS, which urges
elections within constitutional deadlines.
Embaló is, however, not alone in his
efforts for control. His 2020 provisional
inauguration in a hotel in the capital in
2020 was attended by politicians and
business figures. He continues to receive
backing, as shown by ongoing
consultations and public statements from
political and civil actors.
Still, his domestic support appears to
be shrinking. He may consolidate his
authoritarian rule as long as the military
stays in its barracks and elections are
delayed.
Guinea-Bissau faces two possible
paths. It could transition into a liberal
democracy if presidential and legislative
elections restore functioning institutions.
Alternatively, it could slip into
dictatorship marked by unchecked
presidential power, repression of
opposition, and lawlessness, including
armed groups and drug trafficking.
In a region already struggling with
Islamist insurgencies and instability,
Guinea-Bissau’s trajectory matters. The
international community, particularly in
Africa, must not ignore this crisis.
Pressure on Embaló to allow a
democratic transition is crucial for the
country’s stability.
Carlos Eduardo Machado Sangreman
Proença, enseignant-chercheur,
Universidade de Aveiro (Portugal).
This article is republished from The
Conversation under a Creative Commons
license. Read the original article at:
https://theconversation.com/guineabissaus-political-crisis-a-nation-on-thebrink-of-authoritarianism-252317.

News
APRIL 2 - 15 2025
TheTrumpet
Teenager who murdered schoolgirl
jailed for life
Page5
Continued from Page 1<
friends, and even on me. Our home was
full of her music, her laughter, and her
energy. There was always warmth,
always joy — because Elianne was there.
She lived life to the fullest and always
made life worth living. But now, the
music has stopped. The laughter is gone.
All that remains is a deafening silence —
a hollow, painful silence that echoes
through every part of my life.
“My daughter was more than just a
victim of a horrific crime. She was a
beautiful soul — full of dreams, laughter,
and love. She was a daughter, a sister, a
friend — a bright light in all of our lives.
Her absence is a gaping wound that will
never heal. Every morning, I wake up to
the crushing reality that she is gone. I no
longer hear her voice, feel her warm
embrace, or see her radiant smile. The
silence in our home is deafening.”
Detective Chief Inspector Becky
Woodsford, who led the investigation,
said: “Today marks the end of a very long
journey for Elianne’s family and friends,
and while this is the best outcome they
could have hoped for, nothing will ease
the immeasurable pain they continue to
live with on a daily basis. Since Elianne
was taken from them in the most
incomprehensible way, they have been
driven by a motivation to see her killer
brought to justice. Getting to this point
has been challenging for them, and I
would like to pay testament to their
continued dignity, determination and
composure.
“In the moments before her death,
Elianne was laughing and smiling,
completely oblivious to Sentamu’s rage
and the events that were about to unfold.
She was simply standing up for her friend
– doing what she thought was right. And
this it seems, was Elianne through and
through. Someone who felt very strongly
about right and wrong and was always
there to support her friends.
“My team worked tirelessly with our
colleagues from the Crown Prosecution
Service to ensure we presented the
strongest possible case at court. This
involved analysing hours of CCTV
footage to piece together Sentamu’s
movements before, during and after the
incident - enabling us to establish where
he had dumped the murder weapon which
he was quickly forensically linked to.
“We may never know exactly what
motivated Sentamu to carry out such an
unspeakable act of violence in broad
daylight and witnessed by horrified
onlookers. But the actions he took in
those split seconds robbed Elianne of her
future and left a family and community
grieving an unimaginable loss. It’s clear
Sentamu is a dangerous and
unpredictable individual and I am
relieved he will remain behind bars for a
significant period of time.”
Chief Superintendent Andy Brittain,
responsible for policing in Croydon, said:
“Elianne’s murder was met with a
collective sense of shock and outrage,
and I know this outcome will impact
many. In the days and weeks that
followed this dreadful incident, I was
humbled by the response from the wider
Croydon community to support Elianne’s
loved ones and the police investigation.
It was a real example of a community
uniting in the face of awful tragedy, and
we stand together now as we did then.
“Elianne was popular with a bright
future ahead of her. It’s clear from the
messages left at the scene and the
hundreds who attended a candlelit vigil
held in her honour that she was loved by
many, and I know her loss remains felt by
us all. So it’s particularly special that the
mural unveiled in Croydon last year now
stands as a permanent reminder of
Elianne’s life and memory.
“This was an incident that affected
even experienced officers, but I am proud
of how my colleagues responded that day
- from those first on scene who gave
Elianne emergency first aid, to the swift
action taken to urgently circulate
Hassan’s details, and finally the eagleeyed
officer who spotted him getting off
the bus and moved in to arrest him.”
In the hours before Elianne’s murder
on 27 September 2023, her friend had
arranged to meet up with Sentamu. The
pair had recently come out of a
relationship and agreed to meet to swap
items they had exchanged during their
time together, including a teddy bear. But
while the friend returned Sentamu’s
things, he reneged on the agreement,
turning up to the meeting empty-handed.
Elianne followed her friend as she
engaged with Sentamu in an effort to try
and get her belongings back. As the
group made their way along Wellesley
Road, Elianne ran up behind Sentamu
and grabbed the bag of items that had
been returned to him.
Sentamu immediately gave chase,
removing a knife from his waistband. In
seconds, he had caught up to Elianne and
stabbed her multiple times, including in
her neck – a wound which proved fatal.
After she collapsed to the ground,
passers-by gave Elianne immediate
medical attention while they awaited the
arrival of emergency services who rushed
to the scene, arriving within minutes.
Meanwhile Sentamu immediately ran
off, making his way along George Street
towards East Croydon Station and on to
Cedar Road where he was seen to dump
Hassan Sentamu
the knife in the front garden of a random
property. He then took his usual route
home, catching a Route 130 bus before
changing to a 64. As he got off the bus at
Goldcrest Way he was spotted by a local
officer and immediately arrested. After
witnesses had been able to quickly
identify Sentamu to officers attending the
murder scene, an immediate manhunt
was launched. The arresting officer acted
quickly when he noticed that Sentamu
matched the suspect’s description.
Body worn video of the arrest showed
Hassan attempting to give a false name of
“John” and denying any involvement in
the incident. What was particularly
noticeable in the footage was his calm
manner considering what he had just
done. During the course of their
interaction, the officer was informed that
Elianne had sadly passed away which he
relayed to Sentamu. His demeanour did
not change.
Sentamu was taken into custody
where he gave a largely no comment
interview, except when providing a false
location for the knife and replying “no”
when asked if he wished to say anything
to Elianne’s family.
During a search of Sentamu’s address
a matching set of knives was found in a
cupboard under the kitchen sink. One of
the knives was missing. Detectives were
later able to confirm – both via DNA and
a visual match – that this missing knife
was the one used to kill Elianne.
Sentamu has never provided an
explanation as to why he went out that
day in possession of that knife and
wearing black gloves and a mask.
However, the court heard he had been
anxious to know whether an incident the
previous day in which he had water
thrown at him by a group of girls, which
included Elianne, had made him look like
a “fool” – telling a friend in a text
message “Bro, I can’t let this slide”.
At a hearing on 14 March 2024
Sentamu pleaded guilty to manslaughter
on the grounds of diminished
responsibility, citing his autism as a
mitigating factor for the attack on
Elianne. He continued to present this
argument throughout his trial for murder.

Page6 TheTrumpet APRIL 2 - 15 2025
Health
Attending breast screening
appointment could save your life
Women, let’s put our health first - Attending your breast screening
appointment could save your life.
We are more than just
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In the hustle and bustle of our daily
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The survey also found that more
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Angela Clarke
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For more information, search ‘NHS
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APRIL 2 - 15 2025 TheTrumpet
Page7

Page8 TheTrumpet APRIL 2 - 15 2025
Opinion
A world of godfathers
you been following
the developments at the
“Have
Lagos State House of
Assembly?”
“High wire politics. Power Game.
Man pass man. Man pass woman.
Two Speakers in 50 days. Perfect
material for a Nollywood film”
“Omo… as in …!”
“But I think the State lost the
opportunity of having a female
Speaker of the House for the first
time in history.”
“That has already been
established. History has been made It
is now on record that Mrs. Mojisola
Meranda once served, no matter how
briefly, as Speaker of the Lagos State
House of Assembly. She has broken
the jinx. But the whole drama is not
about gender balancing, or gender
equity, it is about following due
process and respecting the power
calculus in the State.”
“The Constitution is very clear. It
says in Section 92 (2) that the
members of the House shall choose
their own Speaker and Deputy
Speaker from among themselves.
Which also means that they have the
right to appoint and remove whoever
they put in those two positions. The
Speaker in particular is only first
among equals, not the Babangida of
the Assembly”
“I think we have to leave the
Constitution out of this. This is about
power and influence. Speaker
Mudashiru Obasa has just shown that
he is not anybody’s mate in that
House.”
“What kind of talk is that? They
are all colleagues. Even Obasa
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu
himself says the people who
removed him as Speaker behind his
back are his brothers and sisters”
“And you believe that? Did you
not see all the drama? Brothers and
sisters who voted against him, held
press conferences to condemn him
and openly humiliated him at every
turn. Is that how a brother treats
another brother?”
“It is part of the price anybody in
a leadership position has to pay.
Obasa has been Speaker for 10 years.
I think the whole drama should be a
wake-up call for him. He must have
learnt some lessons about his
environment and more lessons about
politics.”
“I understand now that he has
been reinstated, he is also expected
to resign in the days to come and
another person from Lagos West will
be chosen as Speaker.”
“I don’t think so. Nobody wins a
battle and gives away the spoils of
victory. I see him sitting firmly on
that seat till 2027. He may even
return as Speaker after the next
House of Assembly elections. The
people who have lost out are the
people who opposed him.”
“How? They are properly elected
representatives of the people. They
owe their constituency a
responsibility to make laws for the
BY REUBEN ABATI
good governance of the State.”
“You are very sure they were
elected by the people?”
“Yes, of course”
“In this Lagos State?”
“Elections were held. People
trooped out to vote in the various
constituencies. Other parties took
part in the elections”
“I hear you. But go and write it
down, most of those lawmakers who
opposed Obasa and refused to listen
to the directives of the Godfather,
they and their Baba Sope sponsors,
will be pushed out before the 2027
general elections.”
“This is a democracy. They have
the right to express themselves.”
“Yes. Freedom of speech. But that
will not guarantee their re-election. I
imagine they will be on all fours
now, begging, pleading for mercy.”
“Mercy from whom? I thought
you said the Speaker of the House is
only first among equals.”
“Yes. But this is a clear case of
my Godfather is bigger than yours.
What those 36 lawmakers in Lagos
State did was to embarrass Asiwaju
Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Godfather
of Lagos politics, and the President
of Nigeria. For a whole month, they
portrayed Lagos State as a wild part
of Western Nigeria. Very bad optics.
All of a sudden, the President looked
as if he had lost control of his own
State. This is a man who has been
called upon to look into the crisis in
Rivers and Osun States. With his
own political family, the APC in
Lagos engaged in street fighting,
what moral right does he have to
provide leadership in the political
crisis in other States?”
“It is democracy, though.”
“It is not part of democracy for
you to expose your leader, and the
President of Nigeria to ridicule and
not expect consequences.”
“Okay. Okay. Obasa is back.
Mojisola Meranda has also been
returned to her former position as
Deputy Speaker. The status quo ante
Continued on Page 10<

APRIL 2 - 15 2025 TheTrumpet
Page9

Page10 TheTrumpet APRIL 2 - 15 2025
Opinion
A world of godfathers
Continued from Page 8<
bellum has been restored. Now,
going forward, what the people of
Lagos State need is peace, not infighting
by their lawmakers. Obasa
must find a way of working with
other members of the House,
particularly Deputy Speaker
Meranda. He is a leader. He cannot
afford to isolate himself. He has
proved his point and his value. I
understand he is the political leader
of Alimosho political constituency.
Nobody can become Governor of
Lagos State without winning that
Constituency. It is the largest
political constituency in Lagos State,
Nigeria and the whole of Africa!”
“Fine. But have you asked
yourself why all of this will happen
and the Governor of Lagos State did
not nip the crisis in the bud? He
allowed the crisis to fester.”
“No, I disagree. What do you
expect him to do? When it is
convenient, we talk about separation
of powers. When politics and
expediency merge, we abandon
principles and blame others. You do
me, I do you, God no go vex. When
Obasa publicly humiliated Governor
Jide Sanwoolu, kept the man waiting
for five hours when he went to
present the Budget for 2025, and
humiliated him further by saying he
too could be Governor, that kind of
behaviour has consequences too.”
“So, this is all about ego then?
Tinubu gets thoroughly embarrassed
because of the ego of his own boys?
I hope Sanwoolu knows that
allowing Tinubu to be embarrassed
under his watch could have
consequences too. We may just not
have seen the end of the tragicomedy
in Lagos State”
“What annoys me, to tell the truth,
is that the fight is not about
principles. I have read stories
indicating that the Lagos lawmakers
turned against Obasa because he was
not giving them enough money. One
of them even said the Speaker
refused to pay his hospital bills when
he took ill.”
“Well, that is some useful
information for the voters in Lagos.
Their lawmakers just want to share
money. It is about their personal
pockets, not democracy. It is
shameful. No. It is not shameful. It is
worse than shameful. I said ego. You
talk about money. In Igbo language,
money is actually EGO. You see, we
are actually saying the same thing.”
“I just think that President Tinubu
should watch it. There is trouble in
Lagos State. There is tension in Osun
State. Two states in the South West,
his own region of the country. In
both places, the President’s party,
APC, is the problem.”
“APC again?
“Yes. APC. In July 2022, then
Governor Gboyega Oyetola,
Tinubu’s cousin had conducted
elections into Local Councils without
giving the mandatory one-year notice
required by the Electoral Law of the
State. He gave a 40-day notice.
Adeleke, not yet elected Governor,
went to court. The APP too. The
Federal High Court, Akure declared
the local council elections null and
void. The elections held and of
course the APC won every single
seat. Adeleke, now Governor,
refused to recognize that election.
The APC local council chairmen
who had been elected fought the
matter all the way to the Court of
Appeal sitting in Akure. The Court
of Appeal recently ruled on two
grounds (a) notice of election and (b)
the time of filing the suit by the PDP,
and dismissed all other prayers as
academic. The Court gave no
consequential orders, no
reinstatement order, and did not
upturn the judgment of the Federal
High Court.”
“I am listening”
“It was a 53-page judgment. On
the basis of this, the Adeleke
administration organized fresh local
council elections on the order of a
court. The APC council men claim
they are the legitimate council
officials. Local Council officials are
on strike in the State. Tension
everywhere.”
“I get it. I get it. The APC officials
are misinterpreting the court ruling
Rt Hon Mudasiru Obasa and Hon Mojisola Meranda
because they have a Godfather in
Abuja.”
“I have not said it is Tinubu
pulling the strings in Osun oh”
“No. I get it. I read stories
showing that the Attorney General of
the Federation gave instructions to
the Osun State Governor to
recognize the APC agitators. The
Inspector General of Police also
supported the AGF’s directive. AGF
plus IGP on one matter equal to
Tinubu when you do your
calculations. Simple logic.”
“I just know that peace should be
allowed to reign in Osun. The APC
National Chairman, Dr Abdullahi
Ganduje, once boasted after the
Ondo State governorship election in
2024, that the APC will take over
Oyo and Osun States in the next
elections. I hope this is not the sign
that we are beginning to see: the
grand plan by the APC to create a
political homogeneity in the South
West.”
“Court rulings must be respected.
The Rule of Law must prevail.”
“I believe you will say the same
about Rivers State where the
Supreme Court has upheld the
defection of the pro-Wike, anti-
Fubara 27-man Amaewhule faction
in the Rivers State House of
Assembly from the PDP to the APC,
and has also ruled that the State can
no longer get Federal allocations
until Governor Simi Fubara represents
the State’s 2025 budget to
the Martins Amaewhule faction. The
court also nullified the local
government election conducted last
year by Fubara. I see Governor
Fubara has been putting up a bold
face, commissioning one project
after the other. The truth is that he
has been thoroughly humiliated.
Minister Nyesom Wike has won.”
“I am more concerned about the
people of Rivers State. It looks like
it is the people of Rivers State who
have lost out. But I really cannot
comment on the judgment of their
Lordships until I see the Certified
True Copy (CTC) of their
submissions. I am confused. What
are they saying for example about the
precedent in Abegunde v Ondo State
House of Assembly which they
decided in 2015, and what the
Constitution says in Sections 68(2)
and 109(1)(g) on the illegality of
cross-carpeting? Those are the core
issues.”
“Hmm. The jungle has finally
matured. Fubara is about to be taught
a lesson for standing up to his
Continued on Page 11<

Opinion
A world of godfathers
APRIL 2 - 15 2025
TheTrumpet
Page11
Continued from Page 10<
Godfather. It is the same thing. Do
you think he will now be
impeached?”
“It depends on how he plays his
game. He may just have to respect
the unfavourable Supreme Court
judgment and find a way to go and
beg Wike in Abuja. He has already
directed his own local council
chairmen to hand over to the heads of
administration in their councils,
effective March 3. The former pro-
Wike local council chairmen whose
tenure was extended by six months
are on their way back to office.”
“But I hear members of the South-
South Elders Forum are advising
Fubara not to beg anybody, because
they will not. I think those elders
should just go and sit down
somewhere. They are the same elders
who pushed Fubara to this point of
humiliation.”
“Not a fair comment. The elders
are saying that Wike is no longer
Governor of Rivers State and he
cannot continue to run riot over the
State from Abuja. After the Supreme
Court judgment, Wike held a
thanksgiving session in his house.
Please how can one man constitute
himself into such a nuisance? He is a
threat to democracy in Rivers.”
“He has a big Godfather. It is
President Tinubu who is indulging
him. He knows he has the President
behind him. The President himself
praised him on live television. We all
know that. Wike might as well do
what he likes with Rivers State.”
“Is that democracy? Godfathers
everywhere. Even in the National
Assembly.”
“I have not seen the hands of any
Godfather in the National Assembly,
at least not in the recent salacious
case of cuckoldry allegations by
Senator Natasha Akpoti”
“That’s another material for
Nollywood. Except that it is not
funny. We cannot afford to have a
National Assembly that spends its
Sim Fubara and Nyesom Wike - When the going was good
time again and again having to deal
with a House of Representatives
member who beats up a woman at a
sex toy shop; a Senate President who
gets accused by Joy Nunieh; and now
a married female Senator alleging
that the Chairman of the National
Assembly, the same Senator
Godswill Akpabio was making
sexual overtures to her and harassing
her.”
“I agree with the former Senate
President, Senator Bukola Saraki in
the matter. We should be more
worried about the integrity of the
institution. We must rescue that
institution. Our National Assembly
must not become a comedy house of
errors. The matter should be referred
to the Ethics Committee of the
Senate and both parties must submit
themselves to the authority of that
Committee. Senator Natasha Akpoti
says she has evidence. She who
alleges must prove. Simple”
“Nothing will come out of it. You
want to bet? This is the point.
Senator Akpabio has a Godfather
that is bigger.”
“Who is that?”
“Who else? And as for Senator
Akpoti, except she brings out that
concrete evidence she claims she has,
she should begin to prepare for worse
humiliation in that Senate. I hear the
other Senators are actually making
jest of her. They are saying even if a
mosquito, the male anopheles,
hovers too closely around Senator
Akpoti, she will scream that the
mosquito is sexually harassing her,
and go to court. She alone: Governor
Yahaya Bello, then Reno Omokri,
and now the Senate President. Next
time she uses that trope, nobody will
pay attention to her.”
“You are taking sides.”
“No. Just thinking aloud…I also
heard that the male lawmakers in the
National Assembly have all resolved
that if Senator Akpoti smiles at them,
they will never smile back!”
“Ha Ha. You kept making this
point about godfathers. It is not only
in Nigeria though. Look at the
President of Ukraine, Volodymyr
Zelensky. He went to the United
States, looking for the godfather’s
support against Russia. For merely
expressing an opinion about Putin, he
was openly humiliated by President
Trump and Vice President J.D.
Vance. I have never seen a thing like
that. The President of a sovereign
nation tongue-lashed like that? Even
his dressing was questioned and he
was ordered to leave the White
House.”
“Godfathers are not always nice.
When you stand up to them. They
crush you. I thought that was a
diplomatic blunder by the way. Why
conduct public policy and diplomacy
on live television? I pitied Zelensky.
He and his country were made to
look small. And America first.”
“He was humiliated. He learnt his
lesson. Beware of the godfather.”

Page12 TheTrumpet APRIL 2 - 15 2025

News
Babangida’s Book
By Reuben Abati
The most important event in
Nigeria in the last week has
been the publication and
public presentation in Abuja, of a
book titled A Journey in Service: An
Autobiography of Ibrahim
Babangida. In many ways, this
should be perfectly understandable.
General Babangida was Nigeria’s
military ruler (1985-1993), although
he styled himself President, to show
as he argues in this book, his
preference for the Presidential
system of government. Since he
“stepped aside” as he claimed in
1993, and with rumoured and failed
attempts to “step back” in 2007, IBB,
as he is known has remained topical
and controversial in Nigerian
politics. The big things around his
neck include the assassination of
Newswatch journalist, Dele Giwa in
October 1996 and the annulment of
the June 12, 1993 Presidential
election, which he has now openly
admitted was won by Chief MKO
Abiola (pp. 390 - 391).
General Babangida argues that
“this is not a book about finding
blame, inventing excuses or
whitewashing known facts.”(p. xv).
But that is precisely what the book is
all about, for the most part. This is
certainly not the first attempt to write
General Babangida into the positive
side of history, such enterprise has
been quite an industry over the years
for a number of intellectuals and nonintellectuals
alike. The basic
references in this regard would
include Chidi Amuta’s Prince of the
Niger: The Babangida Years,
published in 1992 by Dr. Yemi
Ogunbiyi’s Tanus Communications.
Interestingly, both Drs Amuta and
Ogunbiyi are acknowledged in this
book as two of Babangida’s friends
who encouraged him to write A
Journey In Service. The story is even
more interesting with the reference to
Dr. Chidi Amuta who after the
annulment of the June 12 election,
had written what sounded like a
renunciation of Prince of the Niger in
a scathing re-appraisal of
Babangida’s Presidency. Dr. Amuta,
like the alleluia chorus of praisesingers
who attended the presentation
of this book in Abuja, have with the
benefit of hindsight, rediscovered
their “Prince of the Niger.”
This was the same man the
National Democratic Coalition
(NADECO), the Nigerian media,
civil society and others
described as “Maradona” or
“the evil genius. The hypocrisy
that we have witnessed, the
gutless amnesia on display
speaks to the hollowness of the
Nigerian character. History is
written by the living and if you
live long enough, you would
find a ready audience for your
side of the story. Students of the
Babangida story in our national
life should also remember the
book, Foundations of a New
Nigeria by Sam Oyovbaire and
Tunji Olagunju, and Transition to
Democracy in Nigeria (1985 –
1993) by Tunji Olagunju, Adele
Jinadu and Sam Oyovbaire (1993).
When Babangida turned 65 on
August 17, 2006, two groups –
Initiative for Equal Co-Existence and
IBB for President Organisation
organised a four-day carnival-like
event in Abuja to celebrate him. The
newspapers were awash with adverts
and Professor Bolaji Akinyemi, his
first Minister of External Affairs,
delivered a friendly lecture.
What is new is that this is the first
time, apart from media interviews in
the past, that General Babangida is
APRIL 2 - 15 2025
TheTrumpet
Page13
A Journey in Service - An Autobiography of
Ibrahim Babangida
telling his own story in full detail,
and the product is a 440-page book
in Five Parts and 13 Chapters, with a
prologue, an epilogue,
acknowledgements and appendices.
It is an interesting, intriguing and
engaging personal narrative about his
life and his “journey through
Nigeria’s path to the public.” (p.
xviii). Dedicated to his parents: Isha
Aishatu and Muhammadu Badamasi,
“our fallen heroes, my comrade in
Continued on Page 14 >

Page14 TheTrumpet APRIL 2 - 15 2025
Opinion
Babangida’s Book
Continued from Page 13<
arms who fought gallantly to protect
the unity of Nigeria” and his wife,
Maryam Ndidi Babangida, the
foreword is written by General
Yakubu Gowon, Nigeria’s military
Head of State, 1966 -1975. I consider
the book an important and welcome
contribution to the extant literature
on Nigeria’s political, social and
military history, written by a direct
participant for more than three
decades in that history, and whose
perspectives shed more light on not
just the general history of Nigeria but
also the Nigerian military, the civil
war, ethnic politics, coups and coupmaking
and the challenges of
leadership and governance.
Babangida enriches our knowledge
and public discourse with his
boldness to tell his story. This is an
example that should be emulated by
other Nigerian leaders, for it is from
the interplay of narratives that a more
robust context of our historical
experience can be constructed for
public enlightenment. I am however
concerned that most of the persons
who have been running
commentaries on this book in the last
few days sound typically Nigerian -
commenting on a book they have not
read, even when the full text was
already in circulation on social media
before the public presentation ended.
There is more to this book than the
civil war and June 12.
It is a sinful act of dishonesty and
mental laziness for anyone to run
commentaries on the basis of
hearsay. Curiously, this is one book,
whose open piracy has not attracted
complaints about copyright and
intellectual property rights. With
about N17 billion donated at the
book presentation and the launch of a
proposed Babangida Presidential
Library, the bulk of that donation
done on behalf of “all Nigerians”,
many think that the retired General is
getting more than he deserves.
A cross-section of guests at the Babangida book launch
Sometime in 2002, General Yakubu
Gowon had publicly apologised to
the people of Asaba over the 1967
Asaba massacre; on another occasion
he apologised to Professor Wole
Soyinka for his incarceration during
the civil war. Perhaps, following this
cue, Professor Soyinka during a visit
to Kaduna prisons had remarked that
Babangida owes Nigerians an
apology for annulling the June 12,
1993 Presidential election. He does
something close to that in this book,
with caveats to which I shall return,
but what is frightening is that rather
than interrogate Babangida’s
acceptance of responsibility for what
went wrong, most of those who
attended his recent Abuja event
behaved and spoke as if it is
Nigerians who owe Babangida an
apology! This looked like they were
dancing on Dele Giwa’s grave, and
spitting at MKO Abiola’s tombstone.
In the first Three Parts of the
book: Early Years, Early Military
Career and Governance and Military
Rule – The Murtala Muhammed
Years - written in lucid and readable
prose, the author leads us on a
journey through his family
background in Wushishi and Minna,
how he came about the name
Badamasi, and later Babangida, his
early school years at the Gwari
Native Authority Primary School, the
death of his father, and how he ended
up at Provincial Secondary School,
Bida (founded in 1910), which later
became Government Secondary
School, Bida. He tells the stories of
his teachers and also his classmates,
and how his stocky physique and
sporting skills earned him the
nicknames - “Blockbuster and
Kulele”. In November 1962,
Babangida and some of his
classmates including Garba Duba,
Sani Bello, Mohammed Magoro,
Gado Nasko and Mamman Vatsa
were encouraged to join the military
by their teacher, Papa Onimole (later
Dr Adeyemi Onimole) and also by
Captain Yakubu Gowon, Sir
Ahmadu Bello, Alhaji Ibrahim
Tanko Galadima and other Northern
officials who visited their school. In
December 1962, they were admitted
into the Nigerian Military Training
College (NMTC), founded in 1960,
the precursor to the Nigerian
Defence Academy (NDA). The
Northern political elite saw a future
in the military for young Northerners
and had actively mobilized them to
become soldiers.
In Part Two, Babangida offers an
insight into the early history of the
Nigerian military and the training
that he and his colleagues received at
the NDA and the early friendships
that he forged with others with whom
his path crossed at the Academy. He
and others received further training
in India, at the India Military
Academy, Dehradun now in
Uttarakhand and returned to Nigeria
in January 1964 as 2nd Lieutenant. In
this part of the book, General
Babangida gives an interesting
account of the January 15, 1966 coup
and the counter-coup of July 15,
1966, and the ethnic colouration that
the events assumed, and this has been
perhaps a controversial part of the
book resulting in name-calling and
abuses, which I find shocking and
unnecessary. The author is accused
of claiming that the January 15, 1966
was not an Igbo coup. He has been
asked at what point he arrived at that
since he participated in the killing
and marginalization of Igbos during
the civil war and after. My own
reading of the author’s submission is
that the coup plotters of January 1966
were driven by ideology, rather than
ethnic sentiments. They were
idealists not ethnic gladiators. Major
Kaduna Nzeogwu, who led the coup
“was only Igbo in name”. He was
born and raised in Kaduna and was
“as Hausa as any!” (p.59). He was
also the first Nigerian soldier with
training in intelligence and in that
position he and his colleagues were
privy to the excesses of the political
elite of the time. There were non-
Igbo officers in the coup-making,
and part of their plan was to release
Chief Obafemi Awolowo and make
him “the executive provisional
president of Nigeria” (p. 60).
Babangida explains convincingly
that the problem was what came
after. It was an Igbo man, General
Thomas Aguiyi-Ironsi who emerged
as Head of State after the January
coup. This led to suspicions in the
North that Igbos were planning to
dominate Nigeria after killing
prominent Northern leaders
including the Sardauna and his wife
and the much-loved Brigadier
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APRIL 2 - 15 2025
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Page15
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Zakariya Maimalari. The coupmakers
were not punished, instead
some of them were promoted. To
worsen matters, the Aguiyi-Ironsiled
administration introduced the
Unification Decree No. 34 of 1966
which Babangida says was “a
significant disadvantage to Northern
Nigeria” (p. 62). This infuriated
young Northern soldiers who staged
a counter-coup on July 28, 1966.
There is not much that Babangida
has said here that is unknown, either
about the coups of 1966 or the Ironsi
administration, but it is a measure of
how deeply divided Nigeria is along
ethnic lines that this has generated so
much furore.
Subsequently, Babangida gives an
account of the Nigerian civil war, the
horrific circumstances that led to it,
the blow out in the North and the
massacre of Igbos, the Aburi Accord,
and the beginning of the war. He was
sent to the 1st Infantry Division in
the Nsukka sector, under Colonel
Muhammed Shuwa as sector
commander. I doubt if anyone would
disagree with the author’s conclusion
about “the futility of war” (p. 66) or
that “War is horrifying and painful.
All wars erode human dignity in
places and sometimes destroy the
best in us and remain so for a long
time.” (p. 95). Truly, Nigeria is yet to
recover from that war that ended on
January 15, 1970. The scars remain.
The country is still at war with itself.
Part Three is devoted to the Murtala
Muhammed Years. I find particularly
useful here, the author’s reflections
on “coup d’états and the Nigerian
military” (pp. 104 – 115) especially
his submission that military
interventions in politics are often
prompted by the failure of the
civilian leadership and the political
class and that the military alone
cannot be blamed; the civilian
populace often invites and welcomes
military interventions.
On August 27, 1985, Babangida
emerged as Nigeria’s new Head of
State after a bloodless coup that
ousted Major General Muhammadu
Buhari. In Chapter Six titled
“Mounting the Saddle, Defining a
Military Presidency” (pp. 137 – 170),
he describes the circumstances of his
emergence and his priorities in
settling down to office. Chapter
Seven – “Reforming the Economy:
Privatisation, IMF, SAP and other
Some of Nigeria's Heads of State at the Babangida book launch
matters” explains the open, free
market, liberalization and
privatization directions of his
administration and the IMF loan
debate which led to a home-grown
Structural adjustment Programme
(SAP). In Chapter Eight, Babangida
reflects further on some of the
highlights of the new socioeconomic
order that he introduced –
People’s Bank, Community Banks,
DFRRI, and MAMSER. Chapter
Nine is focused on Foreign Policy –
Nigeria’s leadership of ECOMOG,
restoration of ties with Israel,
Concert of Medium Powers, Hosting
the OAU, and the Technical Aid
Corps. In the foregoing, Babangida
thus deals with the highlights of his
stewardship and whereas many
persons may pick issues with his
economic policies and manipulative
political engineering processes, no
one could readily doubt the fact that
he ran a hardworking, well-meaning,
charismatic government. He
recruited some of the brightest brains
in the land, from every part of the
country, creating a cult of pro-
Babangida intellectuals and
technocrats.
It is in Chapter 10 that the author
finally arrives at the controversial
issues of his tenure. He calls them
“the challenges of leadership.” On
each of the issues, he offers
“excuses” that are either downright
disingenuous or that may be
legitimately considered insulting by
the affected parties. He tries to
rewrite history. On the death of Dele
Giwa, he blames the Newswatch
team for “playing to the gallery” (p.
226), the media for hysteria, and he
plays the victim. Years later, the
question is still being asked: Who
killed Dele Giwa? He was President
of Nigeria. He could not solve the
riddle. On “The Vatsa Coup” (pp.
207 - 231), again Babangida plays
the victim, relapsing into a schoolboy
tirade about how Vatsa had always
been envious of his achievements
since their secondary school days!
Babangida should repeat that to
Hajiya Safiya, Vatsa’s widow and
her children, and have a second look
at a documentary titled “A Widow’s
Pains, A General’s Burden” (2006).
He also reflects on the Gideon Orkar
Coup, the OIC palaver, the 1989
SAP Riots, and the C-130 Air Crash.
Other issues are covered in an
interview with TELL magazine
reproduced as Appendix II (pp. 342-
379). Chapter 11 is a well-considered
tribute to his wife, Maryam - without
doubt an outstanding First Lady, a
memorable Juliet to Romeo IBB, and
an accomplished citizen in her own
right.
In Chapter 12, the book reaches
its highest moment titled “Transition
to Civil Rule and the June 12 saga.”
Here, Babangida tries to whitewash
his own story. He says he regrets the
annulment of June 12 1993 election.
Mistakes were made. And although
he accepts responsibility, he wants it
known that Abacha-led forces were
the ones who suspended the
announcement of the results and
when the Presidential election was
annulled, it was done without his
knowledge. He claims he “had a duty
to protect the country at all costs” (p.
288). In retrospect, it looks like the
General was so afraid of his own
lieutenants; he was more interested in
saving his own neck! His June 12
story is a confession of cowardice. Is
he aware that many died and Nigeria
suffered because of that annulment?
Many years after him, a Goodluck
Jonathan as President stopped an
attempt by a certain Elder Godsday
Orubebe to derail the announcement
of the results of the 2015 Presidential
election. Where a civil war hero
turned President ran from his own
troops, a civilian President stood firm
and defended due process and the
rule of law. It is all about character.

Page16 TheTrumpet APRIL 2 - 15 2025
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