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Opinion: SOLILOQUY: Which Way Nigeria?
By Michael Effiong
It was the Oziddi King, late Sonny Okosun that sang a popular song with the title ” Which Way Nigeria”.
The lyrics talked about the strife in the country, the blame game culture, the suffering of the people and ended with he question: which way Nigeria?
That song is ringing in my ears this morning as I reflect on the state of our nation. Where is the country heading to really? Some events of the last few days have made the question relevant.
Take for instance, the drama over the ministerial list. The list has eventually been dropped on our laps but guess what?
Like it has been done since 1999, names were submitted to the Senate without portfolios.Is that not a which way Nigeria moment?
I am told the reason Presidents usually keep the portfolios close to their chest is to avoid protests especially when some are given ministries that are not ” juicy” or allocated junior ministerial positions aka Minister of State.
Well, if this is the real reason, it does not hold water because either it is mentioned now or later, what will be, will be.
Granted it has not been the norm, but attaching portfolios to the list would affirm the Next Level ambitions of the present government and give it the much-desired PR boost as an administration that is light years ahead of the PDP…But this resort to business as usual, get as e be.
The embarrassing incident of “Bow and Go” would have been reduced if we knew the assigned duties of the ladies and gentlemen.
We, as citizens, could scrutinise these nominees on our own even before they step into the red chamber and our nation will be the better for it. Indeed, we could have been saved from the drama that played out inside the hallowed chambers.
I watched a few of the screening sessions and was not too impressed. The case of the immediate past FCT Minister, Mohammed Bello really hit a raw nerve.
I don’t know if he answered any question before I witnessed him telling the Senators that he should enjoy the privilege to ” Bow and Go” because he occupied the position of FCT Minster which was the equivalent of State Governor!
I was appalled that no one raised the issue that he was an appointee and not an elected official etc. He got his way with cheers from the floor.
Well let us not dwell on the negatives, the screening also brought to fore the need for technocrats and professionals to become politicians.
No doubt if you know your onions, you can stand at anytime to prove your mettle. And that was what Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, Ali Isa Pantami, Festus Egwarewa Adeniyi Keyamo and Sunday Akin Dare showed.
Not only were they cerebral, they were very composed, articulate and regaled us with impressive stories of their personal and professional accomplishments.
While, I say kudos, will the Nigerian system, which stifled brilliant minds like late Chief Bola Ige allow these ones to soar?
Will they be given assignments that will allow them exhibit their prowess and talents? Or Will we come back in a few years to lament in our usual manner: which way Nigeria?
Just when I was pondering over all these, the BBC jolted me from my reverie with a powerful documentary on kidnapping in Nigeria.
Titled “Inside Nigeria’s Kidnap Crisis” by Kunle Falayi, the documentary again brought out the Which Way Nigeria question.
It highlighted the gallantry of the Deputy Commissioner of Police Abba Kyari and his men of the Inspector-General Response Team which has led to the arrest of many daredevil armed robbers and kidnappers.
But the documentary also showed the extra judicial actions of some of the officers, especially the allegation of torture of suspects or relations of suspects.
The one that broke my heart was the story of the family of an IRT Inspector who was killed in the line of duty.
The family of this hero (a wife and four children) was living in penury because his entitlement has not been paid four months after his demise. His children have stopped school and his wife was begging for decent accommodation!
What made it painful for me was that the fine officer, Mr Kyari was right there as the broken, disappointed and despondent woman poured her heart, instead of tellling us how he will facilitate urgent succour for the family, he was lamenting about the poor welfare of his officers! Haba Abba! Which Way Nigeria?
Though he spoke about the need to boost the morale of officers with better welfare and care, the soothing balm for that woman was not to generalise her problem. Maybe he did that in private, but what was shown to us was not palatable at all.
Despite the good work of Mr Kyari and his men, the kidnapping palaver is hitting closer home with an incident reported at the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, as we are pondering over that, we now have the additional tension of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), the Shiite group led by El ZakZaky.
Though I am not a fan of the violent protest embarked upon by the group over the continued detention of its leader, the proscription order which was
nicodemously granted to the Federal Government may not be the right solution.
With all we have on our plate at the moment, was this action deeply thought out? Some say this is a knee jerk approach that will likely worsen the situation and lead to the usual question: which way Nigeria? God help us!
Farotimi, on July 2, 2024, released a 116-page book titled Nigeria and Its Criminal Justice System, setting the stage for a clash of interest resulting in petitions, persecutions, prosecutions and gagging of privileges and rights.
Peter Obi, the former presidential candidate of the Labour Party at the 2023 ele tions, and a political ally of Farotimi, had volunteered to assist in helping embattled lawyer meet his bail conditions.
“He was only arrested after all attempts to make him come and explain himself proved abortive. He has been investigated and the case is already in court,” the Command’s Public Relations Officer, Sunday Abutu, explained.
But Farotimi’s lawyer, Temitope Temokun, countered the Police statement, saying his client was never invited by the Command
“He was invited by Zone 2 on two occasions, and he went there.
“But why would you be inviting somebody to Ekiti from Lagos on something that happened in Lagos? However, he was never invited, and if he had been invited, as a lawyer, I would advise him not to go.”
The situation erupted a discourse on various fora, further questioning the the credibility of the already discredited judiciary before some Nigerians, and further popularizing the said contentious book written by Farotimi.
The lawyer reasoned that, “The book was published in Lagos. The defendant has an office in Lagos. And under the Nigerian Criminal Justice System, the law is not that you have to go to where the defendant is, to go and try the accused. You have to try the accused where the act was committed, except he had escaped justice in another state.
“So if he didn’t do that, you cannot abduct him to that state that he didn’t escape to.”
However, on appearance at The Chief Magistrates Court in the Ado Ekiti Division, days later, he was ordered to be remanded in the state’s correctional centre pending consideration of his bail application.
In the fresh charge dated and filed December 6, Farotimi was alleged to have violated the Cybercrimes laws, when he on August 28, 2024 knowingly and intentionally transmitted a false communication in an online interview on Mic On Podcast by Seun Okinbaloye on his YouTube Channel in respect of a book he authored and published with the titled: ‘Nigeria and its Criminal Justice System’.
According to the charge, Farotimi was alleged to have in the said broadcast interview claimed that, “Aare Afe Babalola corrupted the judiciary”, a claim which he knew to be false information and made for the purpose of causing breakdown of law and order thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 24(1) (b) of Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Act 2015 as amended.
In count two, the defendant was said to have made the allegation “with the intention of bullying and harassing the named persons thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 24 (a) of Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Act 2015 as amended.”
In another charge, Farotimi was alleged to have on December 2, 2024, acknowledged that there was a charge preferred before a court in Ekiti State against him at the instance of Chief Afe Babalola.
“This preferred, hidden from view and the court had purportedly demanded my presence multiple times and failed to appear before the court and this Court had then proceeded to issue bench warrant for my arrest. This is classic Afe Babalola, I detailed his corruptive influence in my book titled: ‘Nigeria and its Criminal Justice System’ which you know to contain false information for the purpose of causing breakdown of law and order thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 24(1) (b) of Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Act 2015 as amended,” the charge read in part.
In count four, Farotimi was said to have described the charge in his online broadcast as “fraudulently preferred, hidden from view and the court had purportedly demanded my presence multiple times and I failed to appear before the court and this court had then proceeded to issue bench warrant for my arrest.”
The police further accused the defendant of bullying and harassing Babalola and other named persons when through his online broadcast alleged that after he sued Babalola for libel, “the machines of corruption went into overdrive and a case that should never have been killed at the preliminary stage was killed”.
Count 10 reads: That you Dele Farotimi on December 2, 2024 intentionally sent a message in the course of a press conference held on Online on your YouTube Channel, where you stated that: “I told the truth of his corruption of the society” which you know to contain false information for the purpose of causing breakdown of law and order thereby committed an offence Contrary to and punishable under Section 24(1) (b) of Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Act 2015 as amended.
On December 10, his case was further moved to December 20 when he was granted N30 million bail. The bail conditions were completed on December 24 when he was released.
Though Farotimi is released, his freedom, which came at a cost, is not completely guaranteed as he will remain a regular visitor to courts until the final determination, which is likely to drag to the Supreme Court.
(4.00 out of 5) from the site which was based on five critic reviews.
The release of the book was accompanied by a public dispute between Dele Farotimi and Afe Babalola, In a controversial development a court in Nigeria issued an injunction halting the further production, distribution, and sale of Nigeria and Its Criminal Justice System. The decision came following a lawsuit filed by Babalola, who alleged that certain portions of the book contained defamatory statements and misrepresentations about individuals and institutions within the Nigerian criminal justice system.
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Maiden Media Chat: I’m Not Ready to Shrink My Cabinet, Tinubu Declares, Defends Subsidy Removal, Insists on Tax Reforms
Nigeria’s President, Bola Tinubu, on Monday firmly defended his administration’s decision to retain his cabinet members, dismissing criticisms that it is “bloated.”
“I am not ready to shrink the size of my cabinet,” Tinubu stated during his first Presidential Media Chat in Lagos.
“I am not prepared to bring down the size of my cabinet,” he reiterated, emphasising that “efficiency” has guided his ministerial appointments.
The president also addressed concerns about the removal of the petrol subsidy in May 2023, reaffirming his stance that the decision was unavoidable.
“I don’t have any regrets whatsoever in removing petrol subsidy. We are spending our future; we were just deceiving ourselves. That reform was necessary,” he said.
According to Tinubu, the removal of the subsidy has fostered competition in the sector, leading to a gradual reduction in petrol prices.
“The market is being saturated. No monopoly, no oligopoly, a free market economy flowing,” he explained.
Tinubu rejected the idea of price control, asserting his belief in the principles of a free market.
“I don’t believe in price control. We will work hard to supply the market,” he said.
On managing electricity bills, which has tripled since the tariff hike for Band A customers, the president advised Nigerians to adopt better energy management practices.
“It’s not negative to learn to manage. You learn to control your electricity bill, switch off the light. Let’s learn to manage,” Tinubu urged.
On controversial tax reform bills, which have divided the northern and southern parts of the country, the president said “no going back”.
“Tax reform is here to stay; we cannot just continue to do what we were doing years to years in today’s economy. We cannot retool this economy with the old broken books, and I believe I have that capacity that is why I went into the race,” Tinubu said.
“I am focused on what Nigeria needs and what I must do for Nigeria, it is not just going to be eldorado for everybody, but the new dawn is here, I am convinced, and you should be convinced.”
The former governor of Lagos State expressed confidence in his security chiefs, arguing the country is more secure than he met it.
He said, “Today, I have confidence in my security architecture. It is very, very unfortunate that, you know, two decades of wanton killing. I remember when I jumped into the campaign, I had to stop the campaign to pay condolence visits to Madiburi, Katsina, Kajuna, Kola. Today, you can still travel the roads. Before now, it was impossible. It took one incident to mess up an organized environment.”
”I am not probing anybody or service chiefs, you cannot disrespect the institution because of the threat of probe. Give them credit for what they are doing, I am proud of what they are doing today.’’
President Bola Tinubu, on Wednesday, presented the proposed 2025 federal budget to a joint session of the National Assembly.
The N47.9 trillion budget saw a whopping N3.5 trillion allocated to the education sector.
Other sectors that got higher allocations include defence and security – N4.91tn, infrastructure – N4.06tn and health – N2.4tn.
“It is with great pleasure that I lay before this distinguished joint session of the National Assembly, the 2025 Budget of the National Assembly of Nigeria titled, ‘The Restoration Budget’ security peace, building prosperity,” Tinubu said as he concluded his 30-minute presentation at 1:10pm.
This budget highlights the government’s focus on improving education, healthcare, and infrastructure, in line with its ‘Renewed Hope Agenda’ aimed at boosting the economy and addressing key national priorities.
The live broadcast of the budget presentation today revealed the government’s plans for the next fiscal year. With a strong emphasis on human capital development, the president highlighted the budget’s commitment to improving the nation’s economic foundation.
Education sector receives major funding
A significant portion of the 2025 budget is dedicated to education, with N3.5 trillion allocated to the sector. President Tinubu stated that part of this funding would be directed toward infrastructure development, including support for Universal Basic Education (UBEC) and the establishment of nine new higher educational institutions.
“We have made provision for N826.90 billion for infrastructural development in the education sector,” Tinubu said.
This allocation aims to improve educational facilities and support ongoing efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s educational system.
Focus on human capital development
During the presentation, the president emphasized the importance of investing in Nigeria’s human capital. “Human capital development, our people are our greatest resource. That is why we are breaking record investment in education, healthcare, our social services,” he remarked.
Tinubu also pointed to the N34 billion already disbursed through the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) to assist over 300,000 students.
The budget includes continued investments in healthcare and social services as part of the broader goal of enhancing the quality of life for Nigerians.
Strengthening the economy and national security
Tinubu highlighted that the 2025 budget is designed to build a robust economy while addressing critical sectors necessary for growth and security.
“This budget reflects the huge commitment to strengthening the foundation of a robust economy, while addressing the critical sectors essential for the growth and development we envision; and secure our nation,” he said.
The budget aims to tackle key challenges and foster long-term economic stability by prioritizing infrastructure and development in key sectors.
Healthcare and social services allocations
In addition to education, Tinubu focused on the allocation for healthcare and social services. The government plans to increase investments in healthcare infrastructure and services to ensure broader access to essential healthcare for Nigerians.
These investments are part of the administration’s strategy to improve overall living conditions and enhance public health across the country.
President Tinubu’s proposed 2025 budget is said to reflect the administration’s commitment to achieving its development objectives, with a focus on economic growth, human capital development, and infrastructure improvement.
As the National Assembly reviews the budget, the president reiterated his administration’s resolve to address the nation’s most pressing needs.
Source: Nairametrics
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