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Pendulum: The Empty Promises Nigerians Must Reject Today

Published

7 years ago

February 23, 2019

Eric

By Dele Momodu

Fellow Nigerians, finally, hopefully, the appointed time has come for the most anticipated Presidential election in Nigeria. It is not that the other elections are not important but the stakes are much higher because the President of Nigeria is probably the most powerful man on earth. He can do and virtually get away with any atrocity. A regular and normal human being instantly transfigures into a god or spirit on attainment of such monstrosity. And everyone including those you thought were already made in life and need no government patronage suddenly turn into jelly-fish genuflecting in the presence of the new deity. Such is the tragedy of our situation.

About this time in 2015, we were all excited about the new possibilities offered by our new President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari. Though I had many personal reservations about his inglorious and ignoble antecedents as a coup plotter and bloody dictator, many Nigerians like me were ready to give him another chance. Despite the regrets I harbour today, I’m glad I did with all my heart. Had we not, we would have been feeling extremely guilty that we wasted a good leader who could have turned our long-suffering country into Paradise on earth, like we wasted Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Chief Moshood Abiola, both of blessed memory. Awolowo would have been the best Manager of people and resources while Abiola would have been the best unifier ever who would have spared us the total breakdown of law and order and the menace of nepotism and terrorism that we have all over the places today.

On a personal note, my expectation of Buhari was hinged on the possible fact that having spent three decades outside power, after being sacked ignominiously, he would have improved his human relations and public image as a caveman whose obstinacy is just irredeemable. I was doubly assured that whatever was still lacking in the man could still be polished and garnished by the brilliant minds around him and beyond. But we were very wrong. Today I’m one of the leading wailing wailers, as the Buharideens call us, but I have no apologies to offer. God knows that I love my country above any soul and will passionately defend its interest without any shade of doubt. There is no unprintable name in the lexicon that I have not been called since I committed the supposed heresy of jilting Buhari, the last saint standing in the world. But I’m also as stubborn as President Buhari, if not worse. The more they attack and insult me, the more hardened and resolute I become. In my growing up years, I paid my dues for democracy in my own little way and corner and no one can bully me today for exercising the rights we won on the platter of pain and anguish.

I’m happy for a day such as this. Those who designed democracy were cognisant of the fact that leaders must go through periodic examinations called elections. Examinations are meant to test abilities in varying and various subjects. These days, course works have become integral parts of the final examination. If you did well ahead of the final examination, you may not have to labour much eventually. This has been the case in the matter of President Buhari who wasted the better part of four years with no remarkable marks but suddenly woke up when the main examination was knocking. A man who did not do his homework well, who was absent from seminars and tutorials, and acted rudely to his examiners is now asking to be promoted to the next class by all means, fair or crooked. He is being goaded on by his co-travellers in indulgent rascality who fail to realise that the world has since moved beyond their celebration of mediocrity which they see as achievement. A lot of stupendous investments have gone into preparing the head boy for this epic journey. To whom much is given, much is usually expected. The most nauseating excuse for the failure is the endless blame game. All the promises of performance and good behaviour have since gone up in smoke and what is left are the ashes of disappointments and gnashing of teeth.

A powerful and resounding message must be established from now onwards. No man or woman shall be promoted to the next class if they perform below average. Buhari was expected to deliver spectacularly in three key areas. The first was general insecurity in the country. At the time he ascended the throne, Boko Haram had become a major menade marauding in some parts of Northern Nigeria. A lot of faith was placed in Buhari to win the war against the recalcitrant fellows being a retired Major General. He succeeded in containing their expansionist ambition to some extent but not to acceptable standards. The unfortunate side to it is the breakout of other types of menacing hoodlums like the rampaging herdsmen who audaciously forayed into several states southwards and wreaked despicable havoc on farmlands and their hapless owners. What was worse, our head boy carried on as if nothing happened. There is no country where hordes of people would be killed like cows in abattoirs and life would continue as normal, the way it has been under this government. Nothing seems to move Buhari to show the human side of him except when it touches those very close to him. The case of Benue State would remain indelible forever as the bereaved were left to bury their dead with little or no empathy from the leader who is seeking re-election today.

The last administration of President Goodluck Jonathan was accused of uncommon profligacy in the disbursement of security votes allocated to the fight against Boko Haram. The then National Security Adviser, Retired Colonel Sambo Dasuki, a blue-blood from the Sokoto Sultanate, has remained in detention ever since Buhari arrived on the scene, on the allegations of gross malfeasance. He has neither been properly tried nor convicted by any law court. Bails have been generously offered by the Judiciary but not granted or obeyed by President Buhari. Strangely, President Buhari’s government has also bullied his way into getting approval for its own one billion dollar security votes despite large scale protest from the people of Nigeria. What is sad and saddening is the fact that not much has changed. Our usually gallant soldiers have become miserably exposed to danger at every turn. Many have lost their lives at such tender age leaving their loved ones to morn prematurely. Our fighters have been grumbling aloud about their poor welfare and wellbeing. How can a retired army General find himself in this embarrassing situation?

The next subject Buhari flunked is the war against corruption. Despite the commendable efforts of the anti-corruption agencies, it seems not much has happened due to the subliminal body language of the Buhari government in the open protection of friendly criminals. Unashamedly, the only point Buhari and the Buharideens are using to campaign is their phantom war against corruption. The bold face with which they label and attack members of the opposition is so brazen and daring. Wale Olaleye of Thisday newspapers and I had to plead with a mutual friend recently to stop calling PDP a party of looters when he had been one of its most prominent members and beneficiaries ever. “We won’t be able to defend you if you continue to say this in public…” I told our controversial friend.

The brand of Saint Buhari has deteriorated to the extent that he no longer discriminates in who joins him in campaigning or funding his party. It is so bad that even the President has become the Defender-in-Chief for some of his supporters caught red-handed on hot tapes. He has been speaking in staccato fashion in defence of his inner circle of friends. As the National Chairman of APC recently boasted, “once you join APC, all yours sins are forgiven.” It is apparently true.

The Buharideens have since unleashed a blistering campaign of calumny against the PDP Presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. He has been labelled as the worst demon and biggest looter in Nigeria. First, they conveniently forgot that he was a major benefactor of their idol of worship, Buhari, pre-2015 election, pumping billions of naira into his campaign and releasing his private jet. He was not a devil at that time. If you remind them that he was only the Vice President, they will tell you he used his position to sell government companies to himself and cronies. Ok, let’s agree that wasn’t good enough. What became of those companies that others did not sell to themselves? Failure, perhaps. Atiku has established himself as a consummate entrepreneur in a country in dire need of jobs and opportunities. And if you ask them to pinpoint what Atiku stole, you will draw a deafening blank from them.

Let’s move to what binds all humans together, the economy. Even if Buhari could not improve on what was bequeathed to him by President Jonathan, the least expected of him was to stabilise the economy. But Buhari came with his usual braggadocio of big talk and little action. If truth must be told, his traditional negativity led to the manner Nigeria went straight into coma and recession. It was the same ill-informed decisions that led him and his acolytes to Golgotha between 1983 to 1985, when Nigeria from hero to zero. A new President was expected to offer hopes and confidence to his citizens and foreign partners but Saint Buhari had to first of all flex some muscles and pontificate on why he is the Messiah. Nothing else is impotant to him than the deification of his person and persona by his brainwashed supporters.

For Buhari and his ardent followers, there is always a ready answer for every act of commission or omission on the part of his government: what did PDP do in 16 years? PDP did so much in those years but it is not my job to defend them. If nothing else, PDP produced more quality leaders, and formidable teams than what we have today. Yet we dismissed them for non-performance. The reason we sacked them was because we believed they did not meet current standards in the world. But Buhari and his goons have now limited our search to finding a Pope to lead us as if we live in the Vatican. No. Who Nigeria needs and desires urgently is a performer who has enough experience and exposure in the corporate world and not a man fixated in the Stone Age acting as an avuncular leader.

By far the biggest problem caused by the Buhari government is the gory manner he has divided Nigeria along ethnic and religious lines. If a man who would come to seek votes from every part of Nigeria could act as recklessly as he did in the first term when he reduced Nigeria to a miniature Fulani nation, what won’t Buhari attempt to do when he no longer needs the rest of Nigeria. This should be the serious food for thought. I have no doubts that Nigeria cannot afford to waste another four years in endless strife and senseless ethnic and religious cleansing. I need not say more. God save Nigeria.

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Akpabio Lashes Out at Tinubu’s Critics, Says Nigeria Safe Despite Insecurity

Published

3 days ago

June 10, 2026

Eric

The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, has urged Nigerians to be careful of those trying to kidnap for ransom.

Akpabio argued on Tuesday that those behind kidnapping are perpetuating the activity to create an impression that Nigeria is not safe.

Speaking in Abuja during the commissioning of road projects to mark President Bola Tinubu’s third year anniversary, Akpabio said some of the president’s critics have resorted to paying youths to cause mayhem.

Akpabio accused Tinubu’s critics of focusing on insecurity instead of policy and infrastructure.

“Minister you said that people claimed that nothing is happening in Nigeria under the administration of President Tinubu. If they did not say that, how will they go for election? he asked rhetorically.

“If you realize what is happening recently, when they realized that they can’t talk about projects, performance, good laws, transformation in the Petroleum industry, subsidy removal that have been promised Nigerians for decades, they can no longer talk about the high-rise buildings in Abuja such as the NRS building, they resorted to paying young people and recruiting them to cause mayhem in the country.

“Be very vigilant and be careful about people trying to kidnap for ransom. They are kidnapping in order to give the impression that Nigeria is not safe.

“Our men and women in uniform have done tremendously well but many people will not know and that is why I keep saying that the devil you see today, you will soon see them no more.

“Elections will come and go; elections will never be our end; we will see the end of elections; it will never see our end,” he said.

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The Search for Justice: ADC vs Tsoho

Published

5 days ago

June 8, 2026

Eric

By Eric Elezuo

From the first day the African Democratic Congress (ADC) took a new shape in July, 2025, in readiness to wrest power from the government of the day, crises, allegedly engineered by the President Bola Tinubu-led All Progressives Congress (APC), have remained its lot.

From the struggle for leadership positions to the fight to save itself from deregistration, the hitherto coalition and main opposition party, has remained in a battle for its life and existence. And has not relented in the search for lasting justice. This time, it has taken the law itself to court to ensure that justice is not only done, but seen to have been done.

It would be recalled that shortly after the the party ratified the election of Senator David Mark and Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola as Chairman and Secretary of the party respectively, skirmishes were noticed among the rank and file of the party as a supposedly former deputy national chairman of the party, Nafiu Bala Gombe, claimed chairmanship of party, saying that since the founding chairman had resigned, it is constitutionally incumbent upon him to automatically assume the chairmanship role.

Gombe’s claims came on the heels of his ‘resignation’ from office, which paved the way for a new national executive of the party to be constituted. But his claims did not deter the party from carrying on with the formation and running of the party, including holding a keenly contested presidential primary election, which produced His Excellency, the former Vice President Atiku Abubakar. So Gombe went to court. Yet, Mark and Aregbesola carried on the running of the party.

As a result, Gombe had approached a court for an order restraining Mark leadership from parading themselves as leaders of the ADC pending the hearing and determination of his suit challenging their leadership.

He had also asked the court to issue another order against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), restraining it from recognizing the Mark leadership.

But in his ruling in the interlocutory application, Justice Emeka Nwite ordered Gombe to put the defendants on notice so that they appear before the court to show cause, why the application should not be granted.

Rather than appearing before the trial court to show cause, the defendant appealed to the Abuja division of the Court of Appeal, challenging the jurisdiction of the trial court to dabble into the matter they described as internal matters of the ADC.

The appellate court in dismissing the appeal for lacking in merit, ordered accelerated hearing in the suit and further ordered all parties to maintain status quo ante bellum.

Dissatisfied, Mark had approached the appellate court but, his appeal was dismissed and the matter returned to the trial court.

With the to and from nature of the cases involving the ADC leadership crisis, the party has accused judges of bias in favoring party detractors and disobedience to court rules among other malice, the party has taken a new route to obtain the much eluded justice, and that involves charging the custodians of the law to court.

Consequently, the ADC has filed a lawsuit before a High Court in Abuja involving the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, over concerns arising from the ongoing leadership dispute within the party.

Also joined in the suit is the National Judicial Council (NJC), which the party said had not addressed issues it raised regarding the handling of a case challenging the leadership of former Senate President, Senator David Mark, within the ADC.

The lawsuit, dated June 4, 2026, was filed by the National Welfare Secretary of the ADC, Nkemakolam Ukandu, who is seeking to be joined in Suit No: FHC/ABJ/CS/1819/2025 instituted by Nafiu Bala Gombe against the Mark-led leadership of the party.

According to the suit, Ukandu expressed concerns about the handling of the matter and alleged that the actions of both Justice Tsoho and Justice Peter Lifu, the judge assigned to hear the case, could affect confidence in the proceedings.

The lawsuit further stated that the assignment of the case to Justice Lifu stirred concerns among some members of the party, who believe the process may not guarantee a fair hearing.

The legal action marks a fresh twist in the leadership dispute within the ADC, which has attracted significant political attention ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Aside Justice John Tsoho, other defendants are the National Judicial Council (NJC), and Justice Peter Lifu, a judge newly assigned to hear the suit challenging the Senator David Mark-led leadership of ADC.

The plaintiff, who was seeking to be joined in the Suit No: FHC/ABJ/CS/1819/2025, brought by Nafiu Bala Gombe against the Mark-led leadership, accused the chief judge and Lifu of manifest bias, and willingness to do the biddings of persons against the interest of the party.

Ukandu, in the suit he personally filed at the Federal High Court, Abuja, faulted the chief judge for reassigning the suit to Lifu, in alleged disregard of the orders of the Supreme Court as well as Justice Emeka Nwite of the Abuja division of the Federal High Court, who initially heard the suit brought by Gombe against the party.

The plaintiff, in the suit marked FHC/ ABJ/ CS/ 1165/2026, recalled that an appeal from an interlocutory decision of Nwite rose to the Supreme Court, wherein the apex court on April 30, 2026, “made an order of remittance of Suit No: FHC/ABJ/CS/1819/2025: Nafiu Bala Gombe VS. ADC & 4 ORS back to Justice Emeka Nwite for continuation of hearing of pending applications challenging the jurisdiction of the trial court.”

He stated that upon resumption of hearing before Nwite, the plaintiff wrote to the chief judge praying for a reassignment of the matter to another judge of the Honourable Court.

Ukandu stated, “All the defendants’ counsel, including counsel to the applicants seeking to be joined in this matter, opposed the said application by the plaintiff’s counsel and Hon. Justice Emeka Nwite thereafter adjourned the matter sine die pending the service of the said letter by the plaintiff’s on all the parties in the matter, outcome of the letter by the 2nd defendant and the furnishing of the CTC of the judgement of the Supreme Court to the court.

“Without complying with the orders of the Supreme Court and Hon. Justice Emeka Nwite, the 2nd Defendant in abuse of his judicial powers reassigned this matter,” to Lifu.

He added that the third defendant, on his part, pretending not to see the order of Nwite, went ahead and fixed the matter for hearing for June 3, 2026.

Ukandu further recalled that ADC had on May 7 informed the public through a press release that the chief judge had planned to reassign the case to another judge favourable to the plaintiff.

He said the party had “warned against such unethical practice but the 2nd Defendant despite the public outcry reassigned the suit to the 3rd Defendant who have been nick-named as ‘Wike Judges’.”

He stated that the third defendant had started presiding over the matter, despite taking judicial notice of the orders of the Supreme Court and Nwite, and that the matter came up for hearing before the third defendant.

Though neither the Federal High Court nor the National Judicial Council had publicly responded to the issues raised so far, it is imperative to to state that the ADC appears to have lost interest in both the judiciary, which it believe is kowtowing to the dictates of Gombe, and by extension the body language of the Federal Government.

The ADC appears to have managed to draw the sympathy of the public as a group known as the Grassroots Mobilization Network (GMN), has lent their voice to the supposed injustice leveled against the Mark-led ADC, raising concerns about the handling of the matter, and calling for transparency in the judicial process.

The group alleged that the judiciary was being used to target opposition parties.

The group expressed concern over what it described as growing public distrust in the judiciary and called on relevant authorities to ensure fairness and transparency in the handling of politically sensitive cases.

While Nigerians await the outcome of the litigation, and other resolution of other sundry issues arising from the ADC and the judiciary, the party is going ahead making last minute transparent efforts to nominate a suitable running mate to bear the presidential flag with the presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.

Among the party’s shortlists are the first runner-up in the presidential primary, Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Akinwumi Adesina, Emeka Ihedioha, Emeka Nwajiuba and Chief Dele Momodu.

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Gunmen Abduct Ex-Power Minister Adelabu’s Sister, Her Two Sons in Ibadan

Published

1 week ago

June 3, 2026

Eric

Suspected gunmen have abducted the sister of a former Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

The family of former minister and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) confirmed the abduction, disclosing that Mrs. Olaide John-Paul and her 12-year-old twin sons were kidnapped by the gunmen on Wednesday, June 3, 2026.

According to a statement issued by Adelabu’s media aide, Femi Awogboro, the victims were kidnapped at about 7:30am while Mrs. John-Paul was taking her children to school.

Mrs. John-Paul, the youngest of five children of Mrs. Olufunmilayo Aduke Adegoke Adelabu, reportedly retired voluntarily from her career at First Bank Pension Custodian in 2025 before relocating to Ibadan with her children.

She was said to be making arrangements to join her husband, who had earlier relocated to the US.

The family expressed deep concern over the development but stated that security agencies had already commenced efforts to rescue the victims and apprehend those responsible.

“We are pleased to confirm that security operatives have swung into action and preliminary investigations have commenced in earnest,” the statement partly read.

While appealing for calm, the family urged members of the public to refrain from spreading unverified information that could undermine ongoing rescue operations.

“We are deeply distressed by this unfortunate incident, but remain hopeful that the victims will be rescued safely. We appeal to the public to remain calm, avoid speculation and support ongoing efforts with prayers,” the statement added.

The family also called on anyone with useful information that could aid the rescue operation to promptly share such intelligence with security agencies through the appropriate channels.

It assured that it would continue to cooperate fully with law enforcement authorities and provide updates as investigations and rescue efforts progress.