Opinion

Panoroma: Dele Momodu’s Move to PDP, Opportunity for a United, Prosperous Nigeria

Published

4 years ago

October 30, 2021

Eric

By Sani Sa’i’du Baba

My dear country men and women, permit me to agree without hesitation that united and prosperous Nigeria is still possible despite the hiccups and signs of impossibility that had arguably made the majority of Nigerians to believe otherwise especially in a national discuss. Anybody that is keenly following developments in our country as reported by several media outlets must have fell in to the category of impossibility and unhidden pessimism about the matter. Let me divulge into confessing that I was one of them, but this time around, conditionally. And my analogy is that, if progressive, competent and truly patriotic Nigerians with blue prints and who have left good legacies for all to see, excluded themselves from participating in search of ways forward for Nigeria, would justify the sense of impending doom for our dear country, Nigeria. I believe some have already jumped into where I am heading to today. But for the sake of clarity and purpose, I would like to maintain that united and prosperous Nigeria is still possible, especially with the type of people of high caliber, pedigree and stereotypic sense of unity that made them traverse every nooks and crannies of the country, irrespective of ethno-religious differences. These uncommon characteristics had fitted the man with the Chief Moshhood Kashimowo Abiola’s template, Chief Aare Dele Momodu, whom declaration today is believed to have rejig the People’s Democratic Party in the country.

We could recall that in August 2021, former Nigeria military ruler, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida when asked about the future leader of Nigeria, gave an idea where he said that the next president should be within the age bracket of 60. He also identified friendship as an important hallmark of who better leads Nigeria. A potential leader should be able to go to every nooks and crannies of Nigeria and feel at home. This is exactly what the country needed most, a person who has the potential to unify it. Based on my understanding, Chief Dele Momodu is the most qualified not because of my relationship with him but because it is the fact. Of course having friends all over the country despite the fuelled divisions among its people, is a tested grundnorm of progressive politics or politicking. Even though, elections in Nigeria use to look like a “selectioneering” where a certain group of sit-back, nay sit-tight leaders, who are of course listening, watching and studying, are regulating this selectional not democratic process of who leads the country, on the perverse procurement of the spoils of office precipitated by the spoils of power. A phenomenon that will certainly be a history one day especially that people are been pushed to the wall on daily basis.

It is obvious today that the PDP did not lose election in 2015 due to lack performance, but exaggerated security challenges. Even though Boko Haram and kidnapping to some extent were the only pole of insecurity and violence in Nigeria, it is the most cruel that the country has suffered since the end of the civil war that took place between 1967 and 1970. In fact, only the kidnapping of 273 girls from Chibok in April 2014, hidden from the public opinion, made Boko Haram a piece of international news, only after too many attacks, kidnappings and extortions. On the other hand, Nigerian military forces have shown to be inoperative against jihadist violence, to a large extent due to the lack of resources and their limited presence in the most affected areas of the country. Coalition of progressive parties and Buhari’s tenacity was also another reason. In 2015, the priority of Nigerians was the security, perhaps the reason why President Buhari was given the chance to emerge. This time around, the priority in the country is to have someone who has the pedigree, potentials and intellectual capacity that will help him unite Nigeria.

In my relationship with Dele Momodu, not only as his mentee and friend, I have known him to be a good listener, a reliable person, humble in the truest meaning of the word, forgiving even at the face of the greatest provocation, a dogged fighter against injustice and conservatism, a guide to thousands of people irrespective of their social status, and above all, trustworthy. Needless to say that, unity advocacy is one important thing that he is best known for. As he always claims that if President Buhari can do only one thing in his eight years in office, he will be satisfied, and that is to unite Nigeria. In some of his radical weekly PENDULUM, he petitioned the president about several issues of national concern, unity of the country included. The edition of July 18, 2020, titled “Is the President Aware this House is Falling” and January 24, 2021, titled “Who Shall Tell the President Nigeria is Dying” and a lot more where he lamented bitterly about both moral and intellectual decay of the bond that united Nigerians as a nation, with particular reference to security, corruption, promotion of mediocrity at the expense of people with great ideas, nepotism, and favoritism. This he did without fear for surely, he was convinced that he was fighting for the truth. In the opening part of the letter, he made it clear that the country called Nigeria is dying where he particularly mentioned that ‘Fellow Nigerians, please take note of the title of my column this week. I did not say Nigerians are dying. That is stale news, as well as an understatement. My focus is that the country called Nigeria is dying. I do not know what sort of security briefing President Muhammadu Buhari, regularly or periodically receives from his obviously reticent and incompetent security team. I doubt it includes the fact that Nigeria is speeding towards a monumental collapse unless a miracle or something drastic is done to stop this supersonic drift towards perdition.

Dele Momodu initially began to give up to the extent that he declared to go on voluntary sabbatical on January 25, 2020, from advising and telling the government of today the truth, before his more than three decades of the tireless spirit of patriotism made him rethink. He wrote with the hope that the government will take prompt measures to restore the confidence of the Nigerian people in the leadership, and re-establish a more respectable administrative machinery in the various sectors in the country. We could all recall that Dele Momodu offered himself as a voluntary advisor, telling Mr President the truth that his paid advisors and others in the corridors of power might not. What better way could he have used to show his selfless nature and high sense of patriotism?

Momodu has grown many mentees across the country and Africa, and helping them to reach the apogee of their successes. He derives much pleasure in giving, and helping others irrespective of their tribes or religion. He probably adopted the saying of his boss, Chief MKO Abiola, that the hand of a giver is always on top. He tells truth to power always, and tirelessly, irrespective of the cost, and supports leaders irrespective of region or religion. His support for a Northerner, President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015, against a Southerner former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan is enough evidence. Although he is today aggressively criticized and blamed for his actions, but he has justified why he supported him and finally apologized to Nigerians. He did that with very good intentions. This is why I see people criticizing him for not being on the same page with Buhari as ignoramuses. Momodu’s love for Nigeria is truly non-negotiable.

Imagine our Nigeria without the likes of Dele Momodu vis-à-vis helping others, telling truth to a failed administration; it would be akin to a paralysed state. It would also mark the end of an era, separating a moral past and a delusive present. Of all the good qualities I have learnt from this great mentor, the four cardinal principles of life, stand out. These cardinal principles are; intellectual honesty, ability to conquer fears without tears, dedication beatified with vigour and prudence and above all, the unquenchable light of hope, which originated from sound moral and spiritual values. His consistency has shown to the world that he is a Nigerian who has embraced democracy, seeking for a Government for the people, by the people and of the people.” Such process could become an example for other African nations. When he declared to have joined the PDP yesterday, many people project history will repeat itself. The reoccurrence of MKO Abiola’s victory. The PDP should not fail to grab this unique opportunity back to power for a united and prosperous Nigeria.

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Opinion

From Chibok Girls to Christian Genocide: How 2015’s U.S Script is Replaying in 2027

Published

4 days ago

November 3, 2025

Eric

By Dr. Sani Sa’idu Baba

In my own opinion, history is on the verge of repeating itself, this time, in a more dangerous and manipulative form. When U.S. President Donald Trump recently made his provocative remarks about “Christian genocide” in Nigeria, many around the world interpreted them as a moral call to defend persecuted Christians. But to the politically conscious, Trump’s words are not just about faith, they are about power, influence, and attention seeking.

Trump’s sudden interest in Nigeria’s internal affairs is neither noble nor spontaneous. It mirrors a familiar conspiracy, one that Nigeria painfully witnessed in 2014/2015, when then U.S. President Barack Obama and his administration turned world opinion against the innocent President Goodluck Jonathan under the emotional shadow of the Chibok girls’ abduction. That global outrage was cleverly used to weaken a sitting government and shape Nigeria’s political direction.

Today, the same playbook is being dusted off, but with a new slogan. In 2015, the rallying cry was “Bring Back Our Girls.” In 2027, it’s “Stop Christian Genocide.” Different words, same machinery and the same foreign interest in controlling Nigeria’s political outcome.

At the center of this new narrative lies Nigeria’s Muslim–Muslim presidential ticket, a decision that has stirred deep unease among many Christians. For a nation long divided by religion and ethnicity, having both the president and vice president share the same faith inevitably triggered distrust, especially among Christians who form the country’s second-largest population bloc. This sentiment, amplified through social media and Western lenses, has given birth to the idea of an orchestrated “Christian persecution” under the current administration.

However, what many foreign commentators fail or refuse to acknowledge is that both Christians and Muslims are victims of terrorism in Nigeria. Research and on-ground realities have shown that Muslim communities in the North-East, North-West and parts of North-Central have actually suffered even more from terrorist attacks, displacement, and loss of livelihood. The killing fields of Borno, Yobe, Zamfara, Katsina, Niger, parts of Sokoto and Plateau States all in the North are filled with innocent Muslims who have lost everything to the same extremists who disguised as Muslims and now being branded as “defenders of Islam.”

Let’s be clear: terrorism has no religion. Those who kill in the name of any faith are not followers of that faith. Terrorism is not the monopoly of Islam, Christianity, or any religion, it is a global cancer that thrives on hatred, poverty, and manipulation. Around the world, from the Middle East to Europe, Asia to Africa, criminals and terrorists exist in every society. They have no true religious identity, only political and ideological motives. Linking terrorism with Islam is not only misleading, it is blackmail, and it fuels further division in a world that desperately needs understanding.

And this is where Trump’s rhetoric becomes politically dangerous. By invoking religion, he taps into global sympathy while subtly positioning himself as the “defender of Christians”, a role that serves his conservative political base in the United States and simultaneously destabilizes Nigeria’s government ahead of the 2027 elections. His statement, therefore, is not just moral posturing; it’s a strategic geopolitical move disguised as compassion.

Let me be clear: I am not defending the Tinubu administration. I am not a member of the ruling APC, nor am I blind to the country’s economic challenges, insecurity, and social discontent. But as a Nigerian who leans more toward the opposition, I cannot pretend not to see the dangerous manipulation of our nation’s religious fault lines by foreign interests for political gain.

When Obama’s America turned against Jonathan in 2015, it claimed to stand for human rights and accountability. But what followed that “moral intervention”? The Chibok girls were not rescued. Insecurity spread across new regions. The country became more polarized. And yet, the world simply moved on.

Now, Trump’s America seems to be rebranding the same agenda. The “Christian genocide” narrative has become the new international weapon used to portray Nigeria as a failed state and its government as morally illegitimate. The risk is enormous: such a narrative not only undermines Nigeria’s sovereignty but could ignite new religious tensions between Muslims and Christians, who have coexisted, however imperfectly for decades.

What’s even more troubling is the deafening silence of the African Union (AU).
Where is the AU’s collective voice in defense of Nigeria, one of its largest and most influential member states? Why is there no statement condemning Trump’s reckless rhetoric? Africa cannot afford to sit idly by while its most populous nation is once again drawn into the web of Western political manipulation.

The AU’s silence is not neutrality, it is complicity. It sends a dangerous message that Africa’s sovereignty can still be traded cheaply on the altar of Western approval.

Nigerians must remember the lessons of 2015.
The Chibok tragedy was real, but it was also exploited. The world’s sympathy helped unseat a president, but it did not solve Nigeria’s problems. Today, the “Christian genocide” narrative risks repeating that same cycle using religion as a weapon of influence and elections as collateral damage.

We must be wiser this time.
Whether you stand with Tinubu or the opposition, Nigeria’s dignity and independence must come first. The African Union must break its silence. African leaders must speak with one voice to reject any external interference under the guise of humanitarian concern.

Because if history repeats itself in 2027 as it is beginning to do, the consequences will not only be political. They could shatter the fragile threads that hold this nation together.

Dr. Sani Sa’idu Baba can be reached via drssbaba@yahoo.com

Opinion

Nigeria’s Oil Sector and the Q3 Shock

Published

5 days ago

November 3, 2025

Eric

By Michael Abimboye

If Q3 2025 taught us anything, it’s this: Nigeria’s oil sector is in survival mode.

From the state-owned NNPC Limited to big private players like Oando, TotalEnergies, and Eterna, everyone took a hit, and the numbers tell a story that’s bigger than any single company.

Let’s break it down

Oando Plc — one of Nigeria’s leading integrated energy brands posted an operating loss of ₦109.7 billion for the nine months ending September 30, 2025. That’s a major reversal from the profit it recorded last year.
The culprits? Forex volatility, trading losses, and ballooning finance costs.

TotalEnergies Marketing Nigeria Plc — usually a strong player downstream recorded a ₦10.23 billion pre-tax loss in Q3 alone, with nine-month losses rising to ₦14.1 billion. Revenue and sales volumes? Both down, crushed by inflation and weaker consumer demand.

Eterna Plc saw its gross profit crash by almost 67%, dropping from ₦30.13 billion to ₦9.94 billion in the same nine-month period. A bit of foreign exchange gain and smart debt restructuring saved it from deeper losses, but the strain is clear.

Conoil Plc — one of Nigeria’s oldest downstream players recorded a revenue dip of 12%.

Even NNPC Limited, the restructured state oil firm that once seemed untouchable, wasn’t spared. Its profit after tax dropped to ₦216 billion by September 2025, a steep slide that signals just how far the cracks have spread.

Now, here’s the real story

These aren’t failures of leadership or competence. These are symptoms of a system struggling to breathe.

Oando’s ₦109.7 billion loss, TotalEnergies’ ₦14 billion deficit, Eterna’s profit squeeze, and NNPC’s slide all echo the same truth: the problem isn’t the companies, it’s the environment.

No business, no matter how well-run, can win in a system that punishes consistency. Until Nigeria fixes its policy framework, stabilises the naira, and restores oil production reliability, this story will keep repeating itself.

Let’s talk data 📊

Nigeria’s crude oil output has been stuck around 1.4 million barrels per day through most of 2025, far below its OPEC quota.

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) estimates we’ve lost about 93.7 million barrels between January and August 2025, valued at $6.8 billion.

For marketers like Oando, and TotalEnergies, that means erratic supply, higher landing costs, and shrinking margins.

And while the fuel subsidy removal was fiscally sound, it left downstream players in limbo, operating without a clear pricing framework while navigating consumer pushback on rising pump prices.

Add to that inconsistent monetary policy, delayed fiscal reforms, and mixed regulatory signals, and you have an industry operating in fog. Long-term planning? It’s become guesswork.

What Q3 2025 revealed isn’t a “bad quarter.” It’s a broken system. The companies haven’t failed; they’ve survived shocks that would’ve crushed many others.

But when the rules keep changing and the ground keeps shifting, survival itself becomes the miracle.

Nigeria’s oil sector isn’t asking for rescue. It’s asking for reform. Because until the system changes, even the strongest players will keep fighting just to stand still.

Opinion

Groan to Glory: The Leader’s Sacred Journey of Unlocking Possibilities

Published

7 days ago

November 1, 2025

Eric

By Tolulope A. Adegoke, PhD

“Leadership is the sacred stewardship of the groan—the courage to lean into the tension of today to midwife the glory of tomorrow for people, corporations, and nations” – Tolulope A. Adegoke, PhD

Introduction: The Universal Sound of Growth

If you have ever led anything—a team, a project, a family, a company, or even a personal dream—you are intimately familiar with the sound. It is not a scream of terror, nor a shout of victory. It is something deeper, more primordial. It is the groan.

It is the late-night sigh over a spreadsheet that refuses to balance. It is the fervent debate in a boardroom about a risky new direction. It is the quiet frustration of a community leader facing systemic injustice. It is the personal cost of upholding integrity when compromise would be easier.

For too long, we have mislabeled this groan as failure, burnout, or a sign to quit. But what if we have it all wrong? What if the groan is not the signal of an ending, but the essential, non-negotiable birth pang of a new beginning?

This profound leadership pattern is revealed in the ancient text of Romans 8:18: “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”

This passage reframes our struggle. The “groan” is the present suffering; the “glory” is the future revealed. The space between them is where true leadership lives. This is not a passive hope, but an active, gritty, and strategic journey of midwifing possibility into reality for people, corporations, and nations—all as an act of stewardship to God Almighty.

Part 1: Deconstructing “The Groan” – The Leadership Crucible

The groan is the pressure that forms the pearl. It is the tension between vision and current reality. For a leader, ignoring the groan is negligence; understanding it is wisdom; and navigating it is mastery.

A. The Personal Groan: The Weight of the Self
Before we lead others, we must lead ourselves, and this is where the first groans are heard.

· The Groan of Discipline: The 5 a.m. alarm to invest in personal development when comfort beckons.

· The Groan of Failure: The sting of a missed opportunity or a flawed decision that becomes the crucible of resilience.

· The Groan of Loneliness: The burden of confidential decisions that cannot be shared, borne alone in the quiet of one’s office.

· The Glory: This personal groan forges character, wisdom, and resilience. The leader emerges not just smarter, but wiser; not just skilled, but grounded. They become a source of stability for others because they have been refined in their own fire.

B. The Organizational Groan: The Birth Pangs of Innovation
Corporations and institutions do not transform through comfort. They evolve through necessary, and often painful, strain.

· The Groan of Innovation: The financial drain and uncertainty of R&D, where countless ideas die so that one might change the world.

· The Groan of Restructuring: The difficult, people-centric process of dismantling outdated systems to build more agile, future-proof models.

· The Groan of Cultural Shift: The exhausting, long-term work of rooting out toxicity and fostering a culture of trust, accountability, and empowerment.

· The Glory: This organizational groan yields market leadership, sustainable profitability, and a legacy brand. The company transitions from being a mere participant in the market to a shaper of it, creating products and cultures that define excellence.

C. The Societal Groan: The Labor Pains of a Nation
The most complex groans are those of nations and communities. They are collective, historic, and deeply felt.

· The Groan of Justice: The relentless, multi-generational struggle against corruption, inequality, and systemic oppression.

· The Groan of Reform: The short-term political and economic pain endured for long-term national benefit—be it in education, infrastructure, or economic policy.

· The Groan of Unity: The challenging work of forging a common identity and shared purpose out of diverse, and often divided, peoples.

· The Glory: This societal groan builds prosperous, just, and stable nations. It results in a legacy of peace, a high quality of life, and a society where human potential can flourish for generations to come.

Part 2: The Global Landscape: Groans Heard Around the World

This “Groan to Glory” framework is not theoretical; it is actively unfolding on the global stage.

· Local Context (Example: A Community Leader): A small-town mayor groans under the weight of a dying main street and youth exodus. The “glory” is not achieved by a single grant, but through the grueling work of rallying local businesses, attracting new investment, and revitalizing community pride—a glory seen in a thriving, vibrant town a decade later.

· Corporate Context (Example: The Tech Industry): The entire tech sector is in a prolonged “groan” over ethical AI. The tension between breakneck innovation and societal safety is immense. The “glory” will belong to the leaders and corporations who navigate this groan successfully, establishing a new paradigm for responsible and transformative technology.

· Global Context (Example: The Energy Transition): Nations worldwide are groaning through the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy. This involves economic disruption, geopolitical shifts, and technological hurdles. The “glory” will be a sustainable planet, energy independence, and new frontiers of economic opportunity for those nations that lead the way.

Part 3: The Leader as a Midwife of Glory: A Sacred Stewardship

Our role as leaders in every sector is not to avoid the groan, but to lean into it with purpose and perspective. We are, in the most sacred sense, midwives of possibilities.

Our core function is to “deliver possibilities.” This means:

1. Seeing the Potential: Visioneering the “glory” hidden within the present struggle.

2. Creating the Space: Building cultures and systems where the groan is acknowledged as part of the process, not a sign of failure.

3. Providing the Resources: Equipping our people and our organizations with the tools, trust, and time to persevere.

4. Guiding the Process: Steering the tension with wisdom, making the tough calls, and protecting the vision from short-sighted compromises.

And all of this is “to the glory of God Almighty.”

This is the ultimate “Why” that redefines success. When we lead with this mindset:

· Our ambition is purified. Success is no longer about our ego but about our stewardship. The thriving corporation becomes a testament to God’s principles of order, creativity, and excellence.

· Our endurance is fortified. Knowing that our labor in the Lord is not in vain (1 Corinthians 15:58) provides a resilience that worldly motivation cannot match.

· Our legacy is eternal. The “glory” we help reveal—a transformed life, a righteous organization, and a flourishing nation—becomes part of a story far bigger than our own.

Conclusion: Embracing the Sacred Tension

The journey from groan to glory is not a straight line. It is a cycle, a spiral of continuous growth and challenge. The glory of one achievement simply reveals the next horizon, and with it, a new, necessary groan.

Do not despise the groan. Do not fear it. Name it. Honor it. Lead through it.

For it is in this sacred tension that true leadership is forged. It is here that we partner with the Divine in the holy work of unlocking the God-given possibilities buried within our people, our organizations, and our nations.

The world is waiting for leaders who are not afraid to groan, for they are the only ones who will ever truly see the glory.

Let us lead accordingly.

Dr. Tolulope A. Adegoke, AMBP-UN is a Recipient of the Nigerian Role Models Award (2024), and a Distinguished Ambassador For World Peace (AMBP-UN). He has also gained inclusion in the prestigious compendium, “Nigeria @65: Leaders of Distinction”.