Kid-hostages and the trial of T-Pain’s regime

THE pictures match. Perfectly. Whenever freelance and hardened criminals released their kidnapped victims, those fortunate victims looked haggard, jaded, famished, hungry, disorganised, disoriented, and generally forlorn. Fortunate kidnap victims? Yes. The unfortunate ones do not come back alive even after family, friends and relatives had paid the usual steep ransom, or the negotiated variant. The pictures and videos of the #ENDBADGOVERNANCE protests prisoners who were arraigned in an Abuja court last week were replicas of the fares we have treated to and will still be treated to in our collective march into further darkness. The message embedded therein is that no matter who kidnapped you, you will end up being treated the same way. If the street kidnapper abducts you in your home or on the highway, you will be roughened up, starved, and tried. The torture and trial are embedded in the ransom negotiations and the constant threats to kill and throw your body to wild animals. If the security agencies of this emerging totalitarian state kidnap you, you will undergo similar experience. You will be imprisoned even before you get a day in court. You will be tortured possibly inside an underground dungeon. You will be starved. Like the victim of street kidnappers, you could be killed execution style. The street kidnapper has no mandate to preserve your life. The state kidnapper has a bounding duty of care for you. But it does not. And it is not often held to account. It has been said that if you want to measure the health or otherwise of any country, visit its prisons. Our country does not allow you to break that sweat. They bring the evidence of our diseased country to the court of law, and put it in open and public display. That was what happened in Abuja last weekend. Some Nigerians who protested against poverty, privations, hunger, and hopelessness imposed and inflicted on them by the dumb economic policy options taken by Nigeria’s president, Alhaji Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s regime, were arbitrarily arrested and herded into prisons. Many of the prisoners were minors even though the government worked hard to make us not to believe the glaring evidence before our eyes. All the prisoners looked withered and weather -beaten. But as we know, especially those of us who were in Biafra during the Nigeria -Biafra civil war (1967-1970), malnutrition has a way of ravaging and savaging younger people. If the minors who were shamelessly brought to court by agents of the state were to stay a little longer in prison, the footage the world would have seen could have competed with what was seen during the civil war. The minors of Abuja were in prison for three months and their images competed vigorously with the images of Biafran kids at the receiving end of starvation as a weapon of war for three years. This administration brought our children to court ostensibly pretending to seek justice but the world saw a demonstrably insecure regime which came to court not to prosecute but to persecute and to intimidate. The regime must have reasoned that if they made an example of their present set of hostages they could succeed in cowering the rest of Nigerians who do not agree with the direction that the country is headed. The irony which regime enforcers may not in their life be able to comprehend is that the minors and the young adults that they brought to court for persecution were the children of Tinubu. Yes, they were to the extent that in our part of the world the president is generally, even if sometimes misguidedly, regarded as the father of the nation. Since obviously Nigeria is not yet a nation, Tinubu might as well pass as the father of the country, a benighted one at that. If Tinubu is the father of the country, then Nigerian children and youths do not really need a father. A father protects, Tinubu does not. A typical father fights for his children, this one stands aloof. A father sacrifices for his children, this one gorges the children’s dinner and ravishes the grand children’s breakfast. If the minors of Abuja manifested tell-tale signs of starvation and malnutrition, could it not be because the state is focused in serving the vanities of our president and his cohorts by providing appointed jets, spectacular yacht, fancy sport utility vehicles (SUVs), vacations abroad, and luxury mansions in choice locations. If this regime were to have its way it would love for the spectacle of last week to continue. That explains why a captured judge in a cowed judiciary adjourned the sham case to January of 2025. In which jurisdiction except under an aspiring dictatorship would a citizen, and a minor for that matter, be slapped with charges of treason for protesting against bad governance, deprivation, and hunger? Where else? Without doubt, this regime has its designs for Nigeria and Nigerians, and those designs are not for the good of a majority of the people. And in this regard, Nigerians need to pay special attention to the Nigerian Police Force (NPF). This security agency does not leave Nigerians in any doubt that they are not on the side of the people. The hackneyed slogan that police is your friend is a ruse to lure citizens to sleep. This police is a friend of the regime, and the regime alone. If you are in doubt read and analyse the statement issued in the name of the inspector – general of police by the Force’s spokesman. Study what that statement said, and especially what it failed to say. The IGP said 76 persons were arraigned on charges including ‘terrorism, arson, and treasonable felony’. The statement proceeded to claim that the ‘suspects were initially presented in court, where they were formally charged, and a remand order was issued by the court’. You are invited to note that the date the suspects were presented in court was not stated, the cadre of the court was not

Tinubu Orders Release of Detained #EndBadGovernance Minors

President Bola Tinubu has directed the immediate release of minors detained in connection with the #EndBadGovernance protests.  The order, which aims to reunite these young individuals with their families, was announced by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, during a press briefing on Monday. Under the President’s instruction, Attorney-General of the Federation Lateef Fagbemi is set to lead efforts to secure the minors’ release.  In apparent face-saving measure, a committee has been established to investigate the circumstances of their arrest and detention, with plans to hold accountable any law enforcement officials involved in improper actions. The directive comes in response to rising public concern, including appeals from the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), which recently condemned the treason trial of detained minors and called for their unconditional release.  The ACF criticized the proceedings as inappropriate, especially given the youths’ participation in the peaceful protests held in August.

Panic As #EndBadGovernance Protest Suspect Faint In Court 

There was a mild drama on Friday when one of the suspects brought before the Federal High Court in Abuja over the recent #EndBadGovernance protests fainted in court.  seventy-five suspects, aged between twelve and fifteen years of age, were brought by the Police before Justice Obiora Egwuatu on a 10-count charge in relation to their participation in the protest. The suspects, who were allegedly arrested on August 3rd and have since been in detention, are accused of attempting to overthrow the government of President Bola Tinubu by participating in the nationwide protest. However, when they were arraigned in court on Friday, one of the suspects fainted, which made Justice Egwuatu rise abruptly. The development caused panic in the courtroom, with some background voices questioning why such young children should be arraigned in court. The other children were also seen shivering in fear with tears in their eyes.

Call for new presidential jet for VP Shettima, “Insensitive” – Peter Obi

Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, Peter Obi, has criticized a call for a new jet for Nigeria’s Vice President, Kashim Shettima, calling it “insensitive” amidst the country’s economic struggles. The former Anambra state governor stated that Nigeria’s challenges, such as extreme poverty, unreliable power grid, and failing businesses, should be the priority of the country’s leaders and not luxury. He urged leaders to focus on essential trips and prioritize selfless service to uplift Nigeria’s development and welfare. “We are today among one of the eleven worst-governed African nations in the last 10 years. “We are also among the 20 most hungry nations in the world, with our people facing worsening mass poverty, extreme hunger and starvation. “Our nation remains the poverty capital of the world, with our per capita income crashing further from $1700 in 2023 to $1109 this year. Are these not the issues that should be prioritized by committed leaders?” Obi queried. Using Indonesia as an example, Obi stated: “It was not until 2014 that Indonesia, with sustainable economic growth of over 6% annually for the past 10 years, adding about 50% to both her GDP and GDP per capita, decide to buy a Presidential jet, used by both the President and Vice President. “The Vice President travels mostly in the country’s national airline, Garuda Indonesia. And since we have recently undeservedly bought one, it should be used on essential, inevitable trips of the President and Vice President. “I appeal to the President, Vice President, and our public office holders that our present precarious situation calls only for minimal and highly contributory inevitable travels. “It is time to sit down and find solutions to our litany of challenges for the wellbeing of the people and the development of our country. Nigeria will rise again if the leadership can commit to selfless service.”

Surge in price of cooking gas: FG bans export of LPG

The Federal Government has banned the export of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), also known as cooking gas, produced in Nigeria, as the price of the commodity continues to soar. The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Rt. Hon. Ekperikpe Ekpo, expressed concern over the rising cost of LPG in a statement issued by his media aide. Despite efforts to stabilize prices, including the formation of a high-level committee in November 2023 led by the Authority Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Mr. Farouk Ahmed, prices have spiked from an average of N1,100-N1,250 per kg to N1,525 per kg. The statement highlighted that Ekpo convened a meeting with key stakeholders in the LPG value chain to address the escalating prices and the hardship they impose on Nigerians. As part of the government’s efforts to curb the situation, the Minister announced the following directives: Short-Term Solution: Effective from November 1, 2024, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and LPG producers are to halt the export of LPG produced in the country. If they continue exporting, they must import an equivalent volume at cost-reflective prices. Pricing Framework: The NMDPRA will engage stakeholders within 90 days to create a domestic LPG pricing framework. The new framework will be indexed to the cost of in-country production, replacing the current system of using external market prices from regions like the Americas and Far East Asia. Long-Term Solution: Over the next 12 months, the government plans to develop infrastructure for blending, storing, and distributing LPG, with the aim of halting exports until domestic supply is sufficient and prices stabilize. The Minister emphasized that these measures are aimed at improving availability, ensuring affordability, and protecting Nigerians from the economic strain caused by rising LPG prices. ReplyForwardAdd reaction

Blaming the World Bank will not save our economy. Only us can

I stumbled on an article by one Mr. Ahmed Sule ( FCA). It is so disappointing to read. It is nothing but a regurgitation of the same well-worn World Bank blame game. There was not one single alternative policy prescription other than the usual finger pointing and externalization of our problem. Expectedly, Mr. Sule latched on the article in which the World Bank gave its analysis of the Tinubu reform, as the bogey-man. He did not even make an attempt to provide his own counter-point to the World Bank. He failed to provide his position on the Tinubu economic agenda other than a listing of the pains it has inflicted on the populace. The president in his inaugural address stated clearly that his proposed economic reform agenda was going to be excruciatingly painful. He stated unequivocally that he was going to remove fuel subsidy and that he was going to float the currency. He did not trick the electorate. He also told the citizens to render their judgement on the performance of his reform policy with their votes in 2027. Mr. Sule in his social media post pretended as if our economic nightmare began with or was precipitated by the Tinubu regime. He had nothing to say about our profligate and obscene economic mismanagement dating back to the mid 1970s-early 80s during which we frittered away our oil windfall like drunken sailors on a pirate ship. World Bank bashing has been our default excuse for our collective failure since the 1986 IMF SAP debacle. We focused on SAP rather than its predicate. We never asked ourselves the hard question about what we did wrong with all the stupendous oil windfall that accrued to our country, and why we ended ended up prostrate in 1986 crawling on our belly to the World Bank and IMF for a bail out. “Have we forgotten the commonwealth fund that was proposed by Sister Ngozi Okonjo Eweala during the President Jonathan regime to put away our excess oil revenue for the rainy day but rejected by the governors, or the hubris of young General Gowon who in the 70s declared that our country’s problem was not lack of money but how to spend it? Now we all have to endure the lean years we didn’t make provision for, in order for us to survive and be here when hopefully the years of abundance come back again.“ The World Bank does not force itself on any country. Countries choose membership of the World Bank out of their free will. They usually approach the World Bank for low interest loan when they are totally out of luck and option, unable to access finance through the open financial market because they have mismanaged their credit worthiness. That was the position Nigeria found itself in 1986. Even after General Obasanjo was able to get a big chunk of our debt written off by the World Bank and other multilateral financial institutions we were indebted to, did we take advantage of that? No, we didn’t. Our politicians continued unabatedly to plunder our commonwealth and they still do. The Bible says the debtor is a slave to his creditor. So, when countries like Nigeria have run out of options and are forced by their desolate and desperate circumstances to crawl on their bellies for financial life wire, of course like the slave described in the Bible to their creditors, they are forced to go on a forced diet (conditionalities) in order to access the low interest loan and sometimes outright grants that the World Bank offers due to the “generosity” of the donor members. We need to know that donors do not donate their fund to the poor out of philanthropy and benevolence. Foreign aids are a tool of promoting national hegemonic advantage. There are no free lunches in international relations. U. S and Europe are not funding the Ukraine war necessarily because of their love for the Ukrainians. They are dropping billions of ammunition and weapons of death into Ukraine to fight Russia because it advances their geopolitical agenda against Russia. It also creates opportunity for the military industrial complex to dispose their unused weapons, to test new one and create jobs in their local economies. We will be wise to understand that our economic success lies with us doing the hard work of national building and advancing our economic interest in an amoral, survival of the fittest, rigged global economic system. We should never again put our country in the position in which external financial institutions dictate or have a veto on our economic policies. China can tell the World Bank to go to hell with its economic prescriptions. In fact China has created its own alternative to the World Bank. As we romance China, we would be wise to learn that China like the West before it is not a benevolent Father Christmas doling out free money for its Silk Road project. “The capital asset of the “World Bank” is minuscule compared to those of global behemoths like the JP Morgan Chase, the China Bank of Industry, or the Bank of America. The world number one bank, China Industrial and Commercial Bank has total assets of $6.3 trillion. By comparison, the World Bank had just about $200 billion of assets under management. The World Bank would not rank among the top 50 banks in the world. In fact, there is a debate whether the term bank can truly be applied to the World Bank.“ The phrase “ World Bank” is in fact a gross abuse, misuse and exaggeration of the financial muscle of the “ World Bank”. When the phrase World Bank was used at its founding it represented an extreme case of hubris. The capital asset of the “World Bank” is minuscule compared to those of global behemoths like the JP Morgan Chase, the China Bank of Industry, or the Bank of America. The world number one bank, China Industrial and Commercial Bank has total assets

Senate confirms appointment of 21 RMAFC commissioners 

In further update of a burgeoning governance superstructure, the Senate today confirms the appointment of 21 federal commissioners for the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission. The Commission is an agency of the federal government presiding over the sharing of oil proceeds and other revenue of the government. It has the responsibility of also deciding the remuneration of the president and other political office holders. The new commissioners whose appointments were ratified by the senate are: Linda Oti (Abia) Akpan Effiong (Akwa Ibom) Enefe Ekene (Anambra) Prof. Steve Ugba (Benue) Chief Eyonsa (Cross-River) Aruviere Egharhevwe (Delta) Nduka Awuregu (Ebonyi) Victor Eboigbe (Edo) Wumi Ogunlola (Ekiti) Ozo Obodougo (Enugu) Kabir Mashi (Katsina). Adamu Fanda (Kano) Dr. Kunle Wright (Lagos) Aliyu Abdulkadir (Nasarawa) Bako Shetima (Niger) Samuel Durojaye (Ogun) Nathaniel Adejutelegan (Ondo) Saad Ibrahim (Plateau) Modu-Aji Juluri (Yobe) Bello Garba (Zamfara)  Mohammed Usman (Gombe).

Ndume begs Tinubu to reduce fuel, food prices

…Says Nigerians suffering, bad advisers sabotaging govt The senator representing Borno South in the National Assembly, Mohammed Ali Ndume, has raised the alarm that certain fifth columnists working hard to sabotage the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Ndume said the astronomical increase in the prices of fuel, food, essential goods and services is becoming unaffordable to average Nigerians and the poor that form the majority, In a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja, Ndume said the bad elements are trying hard to pitch the people against the administration of President Tinubu by pushing for harsh reforms and bad policies instead of controlling inflation and exchange rate that are making life unbearable for Nigerians. The ranking senator said those who are bent on making the President look bad will stop at nothing in inflicting pains on Nigerians through the “so-called reforms until things get out of hand and the blame will be on President Tinubu.” While advising the administration of President Tinubu, Ndume said many families can barely meet up with daily demands in their houses as a result of the hyperinflation caused by incessant increase in the price of essential goods and services. Ndume said: “I personally believe President Bola Ahmed Tinubu means well for Nigeria and Nigerians. I know this because I know what he stands for. But some of his advisers who don’t mean well for the people of this country give him wrong advise. I’m appealing to him to resist these bad people who want to pitch the people against his administration. The hardship these people are inflicting on Nigerians is becoming unbearable. I’m currently in Borno, and I know what I’m talking about. People are really suffering, hungry, frustrated and angry. In Borno State here, many families can’t even feed anymore. The untold hardship of these frequent increases in the prices is unimaginable. Farmers can not even move their farm products anymore because of the high cost of transportation. Those who can still do this add the cost of transportation to the prices of food items they sell, and that’s why many people can’t feed again. People can’t travel anymore. To travel by road from Abuja to Maiduguri, for instance, is a fortune. How many of our people can afford that? I know that President Tinubu means well for Nigerians, and therefore he should not stay back and allow a few bad advisers to destroy this country. That’s why I’m begging him to do something before it is too late. It is not good to test the patience of Nigerians, and that’s exactly what these bad advisers are doing. As soon as the President returns to Nigeria, I urge him to look into these issues and address them urgently. The purchasing power of Nigerians is too poor, and they can’t afford the things that are being pushed on them every day by enemies of state.”

Tinubu Departs UK for France

While Nigerians battle excruciating hardship caused by government economic policies, President Bola Tinubu, after spending nine days in London, proceeds to Paris, France.  Tinubu initially traveled to London for a two-week break, as stated by his media team, marking his first official leave since taking office in May 2023.  The vacation was described as a period for both rest and reflection on his administration’s economic strategies. A close associate, Ibrahim Kabir Masari, who visited the President in London, announced they would be traveling together to France.  Although the specific purpose of this trip is yet to be disclosed, Tinubu is expected to return to Nigeria after the engagement in France.  It remains uncertain if the President informed the National Assembly about his vacation, as required by the constitution.

Ndume begs Tinubu to reduce fuel, food prices

Says Nigerians suffering, bad advisers sabotaging govt The senator representing Borno South in the National Assembly, Mohammed Ali Ndume, has raised the alarm, saying certain fifth columnists working hard to sabotage the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Ndume said the astronomical increase in the prices of fuel, food, essential goods and services is becoming unaffordable to average Nigerians and the poor that form the majority In a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja, Ndume said the bad elements are trying hard to pitch the people against the administration of President Tinubu by pushing for harsh reforms and bad policies instead of controlling inflation and exchange rate that are making life unbearable for Nigerians. The ranking senator said those who are bent on making the President look bad will stop at nothing in inflicting pains on Nigerians through the “so-called reforms until things get out of hand and the blame will be on President Tinubu.” While advising the administration of President Tinubu, Ndume said many families can barely meet up with daily demands in their houses as a result of the hyperinflation caused by incessant increase in the price of essential goods and services. Ndume said: “I personally believe President Bola Ahmed Tinubu means well for Nigeria and Nigerians. I know this because I know what he stands for. But some of his advisers who don’t mean well for the people of this country give him wrong advise. “I’m appealing to him to resist these bad people who want to pitch the people against his administration. The hardship these people are inflicting on Nigerians is becoming unbearable. I’m currently in Borno, and I know what I’m talking about. People are really suffering, hungry, frustrated and angry. “In Borno State here, many families can’t even feed anymore. The untold hardship of these frequent increases in the prices is unimaginable. Farmers can not even move their farm products anymore because of the high cost of transportation. “Those who can still do this add the cost of transportation to the prices of food items they sell, and that’s why many people can’t feed again. People can’t travel anymore. To travel by road from Abuja to Maiduguri, for instance, is a fortune. How many of our people can afford that? “I know that President Tinubu means well for Nigerians, and therefore he should not stay back and allow a few bad advisers to destroy this country. That’s why I’m begging him to do something before it is too late. It is not good to test the patience of Nigerians, and that’s exactly what these bad advisers are doing. “As soon as the President returns to Nigeria, I urge him to look into these issues and address them urgently. The purchasing power of Nigerians is too poor, and they can’t afford the things that are being pushed on them every day by enemies of state.”