Headline

Dapchi Schoolgirls Kidnap: Soyinka Attacks Buhari for Attending Ganduje’s Daughter’s Wedding

Published

8 years ago

March 16, 2018

Eric

Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, on Thursday criticised President Muhammadu Buhari’s handling of killings by herdsmen in the country, as well as his response to the abduction of over 73 schoolgirls in Dapchi, Yobe State, last month.

The renowned writer also flayed the President for attending a wedding (Governor Abdullahi Ganduje daughter’s marriage to Governor Abiola Ajimobi’s son) in the North few days after the abduction of the schoolgirls, describing the President’s action as blasphemous.

Soyinka said Buhari’s disposition to the killings and abduction of the schoolgirls reminded him of former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s approach to the plight of victims of the 2002 bomb blast at the Ikeja Military Cantonment in Lagos.

According to Soyinka, Buhari, who did not deem it necessary to visit Dapchi after the abduction of the schoolgirls or the victims of herdsmen attacks in various parts of the country until he was criticised, was not different from Obasanjo, who promptly visited the scene of the bomb blasts in Ikeja in 2002, but told the “bedraggled survivors (that) surrounded him, pleading for help, protesting, “What do you want me to do? I’m not obliged to be here!”

He described as insensitive how Buhari and other politicians thronged Kano State for the wedding between the daughter of Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, and son of Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State, when the entire country was grieving over the abduction of schoolgirls in Yobe State.

Soyinka spoke in Lagos on Thursday at the maiden edition of Ripples Nigeria Dialogue, organised by Ripples Centre for Data and Investigative Journalism.

The dialogue was titled, ‘Rebuilding Trust in a Divided Nigeria,’ but Soyinka titled his keynote address, ‘From Myetti to Haiti, Notes from a Solidarity Visit.’

On the panel of discussants were a former governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi; Prof. Pat Utomi, who was represented by Mr. Rasheed Adegbenro; and Dr. Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi of the Transition Monitoring Group.

Soyinka said Buhari’s reaction was typical of the “presidential response” to crisis in Nigeria, from Obasanjo to former President Goodluck Jonathan, who waited for “nearly three weeks to accept that nearly 270 plus of our children had been abducted from Chibok village,” and “insisted that it was all a ploy by the opposition to discredit his government.”

He said he recalled that following the statement credited to Obasanjo on the scene of the Ikeja bomb blasts, he (Soyinka) called then President to protest and “chided him severely” but the response he got from Obasanjo was “Kampala tie niyen – that is your own Kampala,” which he said remained a riddle to him till date.

Soyinka said, “Whatever the origin of that expression (Kampala tie niyen), it nonetheless takes us back to the nation’s latest Kampala in Dapchi and here I must express how gratified I was by the reaction drawn by another and contrasting event that took place not far from Dapchi and where that presidential declaration ‘I am not obliged to be here’ would have been more appropriate.

“… They said, ‘Oh yes, that wedding was a needed therapy for the trauma undergone so recently by the abduction of those girls.’ Now, that’s what I call blasphemy. I’m not a religious person, but that is blasphemy.

“…I talk of the Cana wedding. There are so many formulas that could have been adopted to ensure that the couple still had their wedding without the accompanied exhibitionist lavishness so soon after a national calamity.”

The playwright recalled that after Jonathan finally accepted the reality of the Chibok schoolgirls’ abduction in 2014, his wife, Patience “proceeded to stage one of the most nauseating acts of incoherent, tuneless, meaningless and purposeless investigative” session.

Soyinka also flayed the Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan Ali, for his “unacceptable” comments on the killings by herdsmen.

Soyinka, who recalled how during his visit sometime ago to Trinidad and Tobago, the country had witnessed a coup, during which its then Minister of Defence, “in that so-called coup” in Trinidad, was shot in the leg, said, “I consider that shot, however painful, a far more honourable wound than the wound sustained by our Minister of Defence, who shot himself in the mouth with some unacceptable commentary concerning the rampages of the Fulani herdsmen.

“What did you expect them to do?’ – This is after people had been killed in figures of hundreds – ‘What do you expect them to do if you block their route?’ This is addressing victims of Fulani herdsmen; this is addressing issues of rape, of massacre of the takeover of farmlands, the takeover of villages, all over Benue, Taraba, etcetera, etcetera.

“Land grabbers are trying to build on a piece of land that is not theirs ‘and you obstruct them, what do you want them to do?’ Farmers are squatting on land on which they derive their food and complaining, daring to complain, that cows were trampling on their farms and eating their crops. ‘So, what do you expect the cow owners to do?’’

The don said he was surprised that Buhari had not sacked the Minister of Defence.

The Punch

Headline

Tinubu Seeks Transfer of Jailed Ekweremadu Back to Nigeria

Published

3 days ago

November 11, 2025

Eric

President Bola Tinubu has dispatched a strong delegation to London to address the situation of Ike Ekweremadu, a former Deputy Senate President, who has been imprisoned in the UK since March 2023.

The delegation includes the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, and the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi.

The team arrived in London on Monday and held discussions with officials from the UK’s Ministry of Justice.

Alkasim Abdulkadir, spokesperson for Tuggar, said on Tuesday that the presidential delegation was in London to engage with UK authorities to consider the possibility of Ekweremadu serving the remainder of his prison sentence in Nigeria.

The London Metropolitan Police detained the Ekweremadus in June 2022 after a man was deceitfully presented to a private renal unit at Royal Free Hospital in London as a relative of their daughter Sonia, in what turned out to be a failed attempt to convince medical professionals to perform an £80,000 transplant.

The 21-year-old man, who had allegedly been promised employment in the UK, reported the incident to the police in May of that year, saying that he had been brought to the country for an organ transplant.

In March 2023, the former presiding officer of Nigeria’s Senate was convicted of organ trafficking by a UK court. Beatrice, his wife, and Obinna Obeta, a doctor connected to the case, were also found guilty.

This verdict marked the first of its kind under the UK Modern Slavery Act.

On May 5, 2023, Ekweremadu received a nine-year and eight-month prison sentence, while his wife was sentenced to four years and six months, and Obeta was given a ten-year prison sentence.

In his ruling, Judge Jeremy Johnson determined that Beatrice should serve half of her sentence in custody and be supervised for the remainder. However, she was released from prison in January and has since returned to Nigeria.

Headline

Tinubu Congratulates Soludo on Reelection As Anambra Governor

Published

5 days ago

November 9, 2025

Eric

President Bola Tinubu has congratulated Prof Chukwuma Soludo on his re-election as Governor of Anambra State.

Soludo was returned for a second term in office after recording a landslide victory, winning all 21 local government areas in the election, according to results declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Sunday.

The massive victory makes the professor the third governor in Anambra’s political history to win a second term.

In a statement he personally signed, President Tinubu described Soludo’s re-election as a testament to his visionary leadership and the significant progress recorded under his administration.

“Governor Soludo, the Solution, has demonstrated that knowledge is indeed power and that academic principles can be applied in serving the people, undergirding accountability, transparency, and prudent management of people and resources.

“I visited Anambra State in May this year, where I inaugurated some projects executed by the Soludo administration. I highlighted the good thinking behind the landmark projects embarked upon by Mr Solution. That experience is indeed remarkable and will remain indelible in my mind.

“I commend Governor Soludo for bringing discipline, grace, brilliance, and a fresh perspective to governance in Anambra. Under him, Anambra is living up to its motto as the Light of the Nation.

“I urge Governor Soludo to be magnanimous in victory and to seek the cooperation of his opponents in the just-concluded election.

“I assure Governor Soludo of my unwavering support, and I look forward to continued collaboration between Anambra and the Federal government.

“The victory of the opposition All Progressives Grand Alliance in the election again demonstrates the vitality of our political system and the fact that victory for any progressive and hardworking leader can hardly be encumbered or denied,” the President said.

President Tinubu also commended the new INEC Chairman, Joash Amupitan, and his team for conducting what he described as a credible election, based on reports received so far.

He charged the commission to maintain high standards and continue to improve its performance “so we can strengthen and deepen our electoral system.”

The State Returning Officer and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Benin, Omoregie Edoba, who announced the result, declared Soludo the winner after the collation of results from the local government areas.

“I hereby declare that Soludo Chukwuma Charles of the APGA, having satisfied the requirements of the law, is hereby declared the winner and returned elected,” he said at the State headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Awka, the state capital.

Soludo, the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), secured 422,664 votes to defeat his closest rival, Nicholas Ukachukwu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who polled 99,445 votes.

Paul Chukwuma of the Young Progressives Party (YPP) came third with 37,753 votes, while John Nwosu of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) scored 8,208 votes. George Moghalu of the Labour Party (LP) and Jude Ezenwafor of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) polled 10,576 and 1,401 votes, respectively.

Headline

Soludo in Landslide Victory, Relected As Anambra Governor

Published

6 days ago

November 9, 2025

Eric

Governor Chukwuma Soludo has secured a second term in office until 2030 after he was declared the winner of the November 8 Anambra State governorship election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)

According to the results announced by INEC in the early hours of Sunday, Soludo won by a landslide in the 21 local government areas of the South-East state.

The State Returning Officer and Vice Chancellor of the University of Benin, Omoregie Edoba, declared Soludo as the winner of the exercise after the collation of results from the local government areas of the state where the election was held.

“I hereby declare that Soludo Chukwuma Charles of the APGA, having satisfied the requirements of the law, is hereby declared the winner and is returned elected,” Edoba, a professor, told a gathering at the state headquarters of INEC in Awka, the state capital, where the election results were collated.

Soludo, the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), secured 422,664 votes to trounce his closest rival, the All Progressives Congress (APC)’s Nicholas Ukachukwu, who polled 99,445 votes.

Paul Chukwuma of the Young Progressives Party (YPP) came third with 37,753 votes, while John Nwosu of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) scored 8,208 votes.

George Moghalu of the Labour Party (LP) and Jude Ezenwafor of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) scored 10,576 votes and 1,401 votes, respectively.

Shortly after the results were announced, there was jubilation at the residence of the governor in Isoufia community, Aguata LGA.