Headline

“Don’t Disgrace Us”, Yoruba Plead with Tinubu

Published

2 years ago

February 4, 2024

Eric

By Eric Elezuo

Considering how things are in the country presently, the ‘on your mandate’ slogan of the then candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who later emerged elected, that resonated during the 2023 presidential election, now sounds like a broken record. Many say it now leaves a sour taste in the mouth.

“Not many Nigerians are fit enough at the moment to stand on anything, not to talk of on a certain mandate that has become bad news,” a respondent told The Boss Newspaper, and the reasons are not farfetched.

President Bola Tinubu, who emerged winner of the February 25, 2023 presidential election, beating the candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, and the Labour Party, Peter Obi, to the second and third positions respectively, had promised to hit the ground running from day one.

“Actually, Tinubu hit the ground running from day one, but it was obviously for and on the wrong reasons. He messed up the mandate from day one with the unprepared removal of petrol subsidy,” another respondent informed.

On May 29, 2023 when Tinubu was sworn as president, he declared in his inaugural address that ‘subsidy is gone’. That declaration triggered a chain reaction that Nigerians are to recover from, eight months into the administration. It took the price of petrol from N181 to a whopping N617. The spiral effects are better imagined. Every sector of the economy has been seriously affected, and poverty has become the order of the day.

Across the Yoruba states of Lagos, Ogun, Osun, Oyo, Ondo and Ekiti, complaints abound of how life has become unbearable for the citizens. Residents told The Boss that they are taking it personal because Tinubu is on the verge of disgracing the Yoruba race, that contributed to his ascendancy to presidential seat, through legitimacy, aggression and other means.

Among those that protested in some of the states were fish sellers, who lamented inability to make gains anymore amid the rising cost of fuel and every other item in the country.

Much as the government however, has tried introducing and implementing various policies in an attempt to cushion the effect of the harsh economic realities, the prices of food items, and services of every kind, continue to hit the roof, giving the so called poor masses no chance of survival, and no hope for tomorrow. No one is letting ‘the poor breathe’ in Tinubu government.

But among the major reactionaries to the hardship the Tinubu government has wrought on the people of Nigeria are the Yoruba tribe of Nigeria’s South West many of whom arguably voted for the president and stood stoutly in his favour during the electioneering period. These people are die hard fans of the ’emilokun’ agenda that preceeded and ran the aspirations of Tinubu.

On social media platforms, radio and television interviews and newspapers pages, netizens of Yoruba origin have pleaded with the President to soft pedal on his government’s policies, which rather make lives better, have continued to impoverished the citizens. They have separately pleaded with the president not to disgrace the Yoruba, noting that he has so far done everything wrong in the last eight months.

“I’m a Yoruba man, I regret voting for him because this is not what we bargained for,” has been the major refrain from reactions on social media space among those speaking out against the untold hardship the Tinubu-government has so far provided.

Another prominent Yoruba man was spotted on social, wearing a replica of Tinubu’s cap, lamenting the situation, and calling on the president not to bring disgrace on the Yoruba race. He said in part:

“President Tinubu, you are beginning to attract disgrace from Nigerians…if you listen to what Nigerians are complaining about; they are crying because of hunger. All the boys (appointees) working for you in Abuja cannot tell you the truth. You are disgracing us. When you were shouting Emilokan, you didn’t tell us it was your turn to make us suffer.

“There is insecurity. You went to Ogun State during campaign to prostrate to Nigerians to vote you. You are disgracing Yoruba. You should reshuffle your cabinet. All the people you appointed are your loyalists.”

Other regular citizens have taken the cue, calling on Tinubu to temper hardship with mercy as hunger reigns supreme in the land.

In a sermon before and after the elections, Leader of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, Primate Elijah Ayodele, told Nigerians that a vote for Tinubu is obviously a vote for hardship. He said Nigerians will suffer if Tinubu is elected as president.

After the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced Tinubu winner on March 1, 2023, Ayodele reacted to the victory. He said that:

“I am seeing a new government of sorrow, hardship, failure, and economic disappointment. There will be more hardship because God never approved another APC government for Nigerians. Under this new government, Nigeria will not be regarded internationally, this government will not make it better than what we experienced in the outgoing government.

“This is not the government God approved for us. God has not approved Nigeria to be an Islamic republic, he has not said Christians will not be part of the government but these people have berated God, they want to stir confusion in the religious sector but God has rejected them.

“INEC and APC colluded to steal the will of the people, God will definitely fight for the cause of the people at the appropriate time. Nigeria will not enjoy this government, even the APC will not enjoy this government and Tinubu will be the last president the party will produce. The party will go into oblivion very soon because the present government has deprived people of their rights, they have made people suffer and lose hope in democracy,” Ayodele said.

But of all reations directed at the president from his kinsmen, the one from his staunch loyalist and unofficial campaign vocalist, K1 de Ultimate, was the most prominent.

The veteran fuji musician, whose real name is Wasiu Ayinde, practically called out Tinubu, telling him to live up to expectation as Nigerians are living their worse lives in his government. He made the comments while performing on stage at the funeral of the mother of the Are Ago Iyalode of Ibadanland, Bolupe Aramide, held at the University of Ibadan Endowment Fund Hall, Oyo State.

In his usual streak, K1 said in sonorous tune, “Nigerians send their greetings. They said because I am a supporter of your administration. One who dwells in the Lord will see God’s face. Tinubu, hear what the world is saying. Everybody in the country is frustrated, and wants you to do something about the current situation, with the issue of fuel and dollars.

“Someone collecting salary wouldn’t be able to use it for anything. But, I know that my boss, Tinubu, is merciful; and God had given you everything before you took on the burden of being Nigeria’s president.

“My boss, find a solution to this situation. Citizens are suffering, and crying, and there isn’t power supply. Tinubu, please find a solution. All the bad people should find a place to hide. You are merciful, Asiwaju. All of us in Nigeria are angry. The issue of kidnapping is enough to cry over. Please, we beg you to find a solution. Let us be patient with all that the country is facing. The president has said he will make things better.”

Apart from making the remarks at a public gathering, and before notable Yoruba sons and daughters, including a wife of the Ooni of Ife, Olori Ashley Ogunwusi; wife of Olowu of Owu, Olori Saka Matemilola; Otun Iyalode of Egbaland, Taofeekat Babayemi; a former Minister of Industry, Nike Akande; Abiola Olatunji, Suliat Malo, Idowu Agarawu, and Folake Anifosowoshe, the saying has gone viral on the social space, eliciting reactions from all and sundry.

Earlier in the year when Tinubu visited Lagos, he was spotted driving through Lagos Island after attending Jumat with a retinue of aides and fleet of cars in his convoy. But the crowd that gathered around was not there to hail. They came to complain of the prevailing hunger in the land with shouts of ‘ebi mpa wa’ (we are hungry) renting the air.

But the loyalists of Tinubu in the presidency and cabinet have continually mount podiums to defend the president amid his failing policies, rising cost of living, unaffordable fuel products, lingering insecurity, occasioned by kidnappings for ransom, killings among many others.

In his defense, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris Malagi, who spoke during a programme on Channels Television, defended the decision of President Bola Tinubu, saying Nigeria would have been worse off if petrol subsidy was not removed.

“You are premising your argument on the fact this problem just started yesterday. The foundation of our economy had taken a beating a long time ago. The substructure of our national economy has been one that cannot hold a meaningful substructure on it.

“So, it is important that Nigerians recognise that the President and his team would have to go back to reset that and that is why from day one, he said, ‘Look, subsidy issue has to go’. He had to expect that there would be this pain, of course. He anticipated that Nigerians would encounter some difficulties. But it would be worse if that subsidy did not go. It would have been difficult to carry out any meaningful development. We needed to free up resources.”

But while the Yoruba are pleading for a face saving, Nigerians in general are wondering if there is an end to the excruciating pains the populace are experiencing in the present dispensation. They recalled that the eight years of former President Muhammadu Buhari was clueless, and reduced Nigerians to less than citizens.

“The way it is, it appears Tinubu is contesting with Buhari to know who takes the crown of Nigeria’s worse president,” an analyst said.

Time, surely, will tell.

Headline

Parties’ Deregistration: ADC, Not NDC, is the Target

Published

1 day ago

June 29, 2026

Eric

By Eric Elezuo

As the 2027 presidential election draws closer, intrigues, manipulations and maneuvers have continued to be the order of the day as political parties engage in one gimmick or another to outdo and undo one another.

While some are playing politics of numbers and conviction, others are engaging tendencies that tend to question the status quo and established principles under which genuine democracy is formed. As a matter of fact, fingers have been pointed at the President Bola Tinubu-led Federal government as the brain behind all machinations that have attempted to derail multi-party democracy, and institute a one-party state, which is alien to the Nigerian democratic roots. This is as a result of the constant imbroglio that has consistently engulf almost all the major political parties in the country.

Fresh facts have however, emerged to prove that every act of frustration thrown at the opposition has been indirectly aimed at the main opposition party, the African Democratic Congress (ADC), and its presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

According to reliable sources, the recent deregistration of parties, especially the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC), was actually targeted at the ADC.

Recall that the Federal High Court in Lokoja, Kogi State, on June, 26, set aside its earlier judgement directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to register the NDC as a political party. A ruling that put a question mark on the eligibility of the party presenting candidates in the forthcoming 2027 elections

The presiding judge, Isah Dashen, held that all relevant parties must be heard before any substantive decision can be made in the matter.

The court upheld the application filed by a certain organization, the Peace Movement Party (PMP), ruling that the party was a necessary party to the suit.

According to the judge, the earlier judgement was constitutionally defective as it was delivered without hearing from all interested parties.

He declared that such an omission rendered the entire process null and void.

Mr Dashen further ruled that the status quo be restored to what it was before the December 10, 2025 judgement, pending the determination of the substantive suit.

He also observed that certain material facts were suppressed in the earlier proceedings, which justified the decision to set aside the judgment.

Consequently, the court ordered that the substantive suit should begin afresh, with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the PMP and the NDC as parties to the case.

According to NAN’s reports, the applicant’s lawyer, Chikezie Ekeocha, told journalists that the PMP approached the court after discovering that NDC’s registration was based on a logo it had previously submitted to INEC before the commencement of the suit.

According to Mr Ekeocha, the court agreed that the applicant’s rights had been affected and consequently vacated the earlier judgement.

“The court has ordered all parties to return to the position they occupied before the judgment of 10 December 2025, and directed the claimants to join all necessary parties to ensure the issues in dispute are effectually and completely determined,” he said.

He explained that the implication of the ruling is that every action taken by INEC in compliance with the now-vacated judgment stands reversed.

“The recognition of the NDC, the issuance of its certificate of registration, its inclusion in INEC’s records, and any appearance on ballot papers arising from that judgement must be withdrawn pending the final determination of the substantive suit,” Mr Ekeocha stated.

He, however, clarified that the substantive case remains before the court and has not been decided.

“The matter has not been concluded. The court merely set aside its previous judgment and directed that the party whose interests were affected be joined so that all sides can be heard before a fresh decision is reached.”

Mr Ekeocha also dismissed suggestions that the court merely ordered parties to maintain the status quo, insisting that the ruling specifically directed a restoration of the position that existed before the 10 December 2025 judgement.

The ruling effectively returns the dispute over the registration of the NDC to the Federal High Court for a fresh hearing, with all relevant parties expected to participate before a new determination is made.

It would also be recalled that a few weeks earlier, the Federal High Court in Abuja, had ordered the deregistration of five political parties including the African Democratic Congress (ADC). The others are Action People’s Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) and Accord Party.

However, on June 16, the Court of Appeal in Abuja halted the enforcement of the judgement, ruling that it violated its earlier ruling staying proceedings before the Federal High Court.

While INEC awaits the release of the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the judgment to deregister the NDC, the NDC has reacted, rejecting the judgment as travesty of justice.

Lending credence to the notion that the President Tinubu-led administration is basically targeting the establishment of the ADC as a party, and the candidature of its presidential flagbearer, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, who is also the presidential candidate of the ADC, has stated categorically that there are plots to prevent the party from participating in the 2027 general election.

Atiku’s position is stated in a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu on Monday, notifying the public that he had received credible information suggesting that political and legal manoeuvres were being deployed against the ADC, stressing that the persecution that has been thrown towards the NDC was a clear distraction as the main target is the ADC.

Atiku alleged that anti-democratic elements within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) were working to ensure that the ADC is excluded from the ballot.

“We are fully aware of their plots. While they seek to sow confusion within the opposition, we know their real target is the ADC because it represents the most credible alternative,” he said.

Atiku called on Nigerians to reject any attempt to determine which opposition parties participate in the election.

“We therefore call on all Nigerians — not just ADC members and supporters — to rise in defense of democracy and reject any attempt by the ruling party to cherry-pick which opposition parties are permitted to participate in the next general election,” he said.

“Our message to the APC and the hooded men plotting in dark chambers is simple: you may conspire, but you will not succeed.

“If the APC is truly confident in its popularity, why is it so terrified of the ADC?”

He said he hoped the information available to him would not materialise but argued that recent political developments made such concerns difficult to dismiss.

“The pattern has become all too familiar. First, institutions that ought to be neutral are drawn into partisan contests,” he said.

“Then, frivolous litigations suddenly gain unusual momentum. Administrative powers are selectively deployed.

“Political pressure is mounted behind closed doors. Before long, democracy itself becomes the casualty.”

Atiku alleged that the ruling party has focused more on weakening the opposition than addressing the country’s economic and security challenges.

“The obsession with silencing the opposition has become so consuming that governance itself has taken a back seat,” he said.

“At a time when Nigerians are battling hunger, inflation, unemployment, insecurity, and collapsing purchasing power, those entrusted with public office appear preoccupied with political survival rather than national survival.”

Nigerians recall that ever since the official rejuvenation of the ADC in June/July of 2025, where the duo of Senator David Mark and Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola emerged as the party’s chairman and secretary respectively, the party has not known moments of peaceful coexistence as litigations from corners unknown have sprang up in a bid to destabilize the party and deprive it of the opportunity of featuring on the ballot paper come 2027.

ADC, as a child of circumstance emerged from the rumbles of the litigation-ridden former main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), where two factions have consistently remelained at loggerheads over leadership. While the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, who is working assiduously to ensure the reelection of Bola Tinubu, leads one faction, Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, who became a defacto head, leads the other faction. In all, PDP appeared to have no direction, forcing many of its members to jump ship, thereby birthing the ADC, and to a large extent, the NDC, which is presenting Peter Obi as the presidential candidate, with former Kano governor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, as his running mate.

Sources also informed The Boss that the hasty reading and passage of the Electoral Act 2026 by the Godswill Akpabio-led National Assembly, with many great areas left unattended to, were also part of the grand design to deprive the ADC the constitutional rights of presenting candidates for the 2027 elections.

But both the ADC and the NDC has vowed that they would follow every process to ensure that the crackdown on opposition parties by the Tinubu administration comes to an abrupt end.

But beyond the intrigues, Nigerians are gearing up to participate fully in the forthcoming election with cross sections of the population either hailing Tinubu for his policies or knocking him for the untold hardship in the land.

Headline

South Africa Nothing Without Africa – MTN Boss, Mcebisi Jonas

Published

4 days ago

June 27, 2026

Eric

The MTN Group Chairman, Mcebisi Jonas, has condemned the ongoing anti-foreigner sentiment in South Africa, describing it as a symptom of State failure being cynically exploited by politicians with no interest in genuine solutions.

The speech is seen as one of the most substantive interventions by a senior business figure into xenophobic crisis currently plaguing South Africa.

Delivered during the funeral service of Zimbabwean-born activist and public servant, Thokozani Damasane, Jonas’ words have sparked a wave of discussion across South African civil society.

“I was thinking, what is home to Damasane?” he said. “Because I understand, and I understood very early in life, that home is where humanity is. Home is about humanness. It is about the good of humanity and striving for the good of humanity.”

Thokozani Damasane was born and educated in Zimbabwe before relocating to South Africa during the post-apartheid transition period. Jonas described him as arriving “as an outcast” into a country still finding its post-liberation footing – and choosing, nonetheless, to commit himself entirely to its struggles and its people.

“He immersed himself deeply into the struggles, into the pains of South Africans, and he became one of us,” Jonas said.

“In Damasane’s strength, our strength as South Africa and South Africans is reflected. And in his weaknesses, our own weaknesses are reflected.”

Speaking further, Jonas blamed the state for the failure being witnessed, emphasising that if foreigners leave South Africa today, the country’s problems will still persist.

“Foreigners can leave tomorrow – inequality will be with us,” he told the congregation.

“Foreigners will leave tomorrow – unemployment will be with us. Foreigners will leave tomorrow – our police will remain corrupt. Foreigners will leave tomorrow – our politicians will still be concerned with one thing: being elected and re-elected.

“The problem is the failure of the state. The State doesn’t manage immigration. It doesn’t manage its borders. It doesn’t enforce
law enforcement. It doesn’t manage education. What are you expecting?”

Jonas argued that this failure created fertile ground for political manipulation. “When people feel the burn, they become vulnerable to politicians whose sole purpose is to be elected and re-elected. Some of them have no credibility whatsoever. But they lead marches and tell our people that the problem is not us – it is foreigners.”

Jonas recounted a conversation he had witnessed between Damasane and a young man who had challenged the right of foreigners to be in South Africa. Damasane’s response, Jonas said, had stayed with him ever since.

“Damasane said to this guy: Just wait fifteen or twenty years. You will also want to leave your country.”

Jonas told mourners those words now carry a weight Damasane may not have anticipated. “As I stand up today, I look at South Africa. The level of oppression and inequality, the level of exclusion of our people, the level of corruption, the betrayal of the dream of liberation – those words of Damasane ring very loud in my ears.”

South Africa is nothing without Africa

Jonas closed with a call for what he described as a return to “national consciousness” – one rooted in continental solidarity and economic interdependence rather than ethnic exclusion.

“We are a nation embedded in Africa,” he said. “And without Africa, our growth as a country – economically – our fortune is intertwined with the growth of Africa. South Africa is nothing without Africa. And Africa is nothing without South Africa.”

He also reframed the question of legacy and identity for Damasane’s children, who were present. “Sometimes this thing called meritocracy is measured in wealth. No. It is values, it is principles, it is integrity. And your father had all of that.”

“We cannot judge people by their origin,” he told mourners. “We cannot determine the legal status of people by their origin.”

Headline

NDC Rejects Court Ruling on Party’s Registration, Heads to Appeal Court

Published

4 days ago

June 27, 2026

Eric

The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), on Friday, vowed to challenge the judgment nullifying its registration by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), insisting that it would exercise its constitutional right of appeal.

Reacting to the ruling on Thursday, the party’s spokesman, Osa Director, said the NDC was still awaiting the certified copy of the judgment before making a comprehensive statement on the court’s decision.

He, however, confirmed that the party had resolved to head to the appellate court.

“We are still waiting to obtain a copy of the judgment. After reading the comprehensive judgment, we will make a detailed statement,” he said.

The spokesman added: “For now, what is certain is that we will exercise our right of appeal.”

Insisting that the party would challenge the ruling, he said: “It is our constitutional right to appeal, and we intend to exercise that right.”

When asked specifically whether the NDC would appeal the judgment voiding its registration, the spokesman replied: “Yes, the party will appeal the case.”

The party’s reaction came shortly after a Federal High Court sitting in Lokoja, Kogi State, in a judgement that nullified its registration by INEC, a development that could have significant implications for the NDC’s participation in the country’s political process ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The NDC, however, maintained that it would refrain from making further comments on the substance of the judgment until it had studied the full text of the court’s decision.

The party’s planned appeal is expected to set the stage for a fresh legal battle over its status and continued existence as a registered political party.