British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak came to the job as an afterthought, yet his days in Number 10 were numbered before he received the ceremonial blessings of King Charles III.

For a long time after Brexit, the Tories and sections of the British public, still in post-Brexit ecstasy, were madly in love with Boris Johnson. He was incompetent and a congenital liar but a good poster boy of that era. After David Cameron fell on his sword, the Brits wanted someone to extend the comedy of post-Brexit, and Johnson was a good fit.

Then came Covid-19, a global crisis that tested the leadership of nations. Johnson, US President Donald Trump, and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro wereperhaps among the world’s most incompetent leaders of the pandemic era. Their denial and mishandling of the situation took a tragic toll on their citizens.

The former Sunak

In Britain, Sunak was Chancellor of the Exchequer at the time. While he let his appetite for beer get the better of his judgment once or twice during the lockdown, his boss, Johnson, observed lockdown rules only in the breach. As the British economy – like economies around the world – reeled under the effects of Covid-19, Johnson, the sailor of the British ship, was floating on his sea of beer in garden parties while, at the same time, asking people to keep the rules he was breaking.

Much of the credit for steering Britain through that problematic time must go to Sunak, whose programmes, including £330 billion in emergency support for businesses and a furlough scheme, helped keep the country afloat.

Of course, it was only a matter of time before the chaotic Johnson era ended. You would think Sunak would naturally step in, given his outstanding role in managing the Covid-19 crisis and his sound knowledge of the economy.

But no. The mild air of xenophobia, which was also partly responsible for Brexit, had heavily infected Tory backbenchers, too. Even though Sunak’s parents (with Pakistani and Indian roots) immigrated to Britain from East Africa in the 1960s, in a world where you discount identity politics at your own risk, there was still a certain “otherness” about Sunak’s ancestry, his family fortuneand his Hindu religion, that made the British establishment uncomfortable.

Britainistan

With Sadiq Khan as London Mayor, Suella Braverman in the Tory top brass and Hamza Yousaf highly placed in Scotland – not to mention Savid Javid and Priti Patel – therising profile of Indians and Pakistanis, the Raj-anisationof British politics, real or imagined, was a concern. But there was even a more profound concern – the rising economic clout of these ethnic minorities.

In 2017, the Indian diaspora in the UK was estimated to contribute around six percent of the country’s GDP, and by 2019 the combined wealth of this ethnic nationality was estimated at £338 billion. With an average income of £34,300 in that same year, British Indians had the highest average income among ethnic nationalities in that country.

When it was time to replace Boris Johnson, the country that copied Piper’s art from Egypt and popularised it didn’t need anyone to tell the Tory party that handing over the keys of Number 10 to Sunak could signal the echo of an unfamiliar tune. They kicked the idea of having Piper Sunak further down the road.

Liz mishap

Instead, they settled for Liz Truss, a former rebel and basher of the Crown, but a Brit, through and through, to lead the party. Truss didn’t last; her incompetence threatened to bring Britain to its knees. The Tories soon got rid of her, but apart from further endangering the British economy, her brief reign had also emboldened the Labour Party. Keir Starmer, Labour leader and the next British Prime Minister is a gift to Britain from Tory hubris.

After the fall of Truss, with the Tories bereft of options and confronting the threat of an early election, backbenchers exhumed Sunak to clean up the Augean stable. Things were so bad two years ago when Sunak was chosen to lead the Tories that The Economist’sOctober 19, 2022 edition likened the situation to Britaly, a sarcastic reference to the carnage in Italy in the 1940s.

Inflation in Britain was at a record high, with basic foodstuffs and energy prices going through the roof. About 33 percent of the population outside fixed mortgage contracts was struggling to pay, and the British economy, which was 90 percent the size of the German economy, had shrunk to 70 percent.

Sunak record

The story is different today. Inflation is down 2.8 percent, compared to around 8 percent two years ago, and unemployment is also down. The British economy is more robust than two years ago, and fewer people outside fixed mortgages struggle to pay. All of that would hardly matter now. As Britain goes to the polls, Sunak has onlyone in four chances of keeping his seat, and the Tories are bracing for one of the worst defeats ever in nearly two centuries.

Fourteen years of Tory reign have tested the party’s ingenuity and revealed its resilience, especially in the wake of Covid-19 and the aftermath of Russia’s war in Ukraine. But the years have also revealed Tory dark racial underbelly and brought upon it the inevitable consequences of overstay and familiarity. The party was rotting from the inside. Sunak only managed to defer its eventual collapse.

But Sunak was not a saint. He was not altogether blameless. Those who cheered the rise of the first non-Caucasian to Number 10 are shocked that the pair of Sunak and Braverman, both ethnic minorities, hasinflicted a human repatriation policy worse than anything known in recent history.

Weep not Africa

Africa will not shed a tear at his departure. The continent owes him nothing. In his two-year premiership, he only used “Africa” when discussing the UK-Rwanda asylum repatriation in Parliament. His nearest visit to the continent where he was born in 1980 was at the English Channel, from where immigrants were bundled off to Rwanda in defiance of the rulings by the European Court of Human Rights (EUHR) and the UK Supreme Court.

His penchant for dodging Parliamentary scrutiny, the perception that he lacks the common touch, and his inability to rein in party rebels have also combined to put a nail in his political coffin.

But Britain will remember him as a godsend in its hour of need. I’m not too worried about what’s next for Sunak. A brief look at what far less gifted former British Prime Ministers are doing shows that he’ll be all right.

Next life

Boris Johnson earns significant amounts from speaking and writing, as do Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Teresa May. Tony Blair, unfairly despised as the poodle of George Bush because of the war in Iraq, even earns up to £200k for a single speech and has the Tony Blair Institute, which advises governments worldwide.

This must feel like a funeral moment for the Tories and the obsequies of the third prime minister in five years. But Sunak is young and immensely gifted. He is not finished quite yet. His death might have been slightly exaggerated.

** Ishiekwene is the Editor-In-Chief of LEADERSHIP and author of the new book Writing for Media and MonetisingIt.

Sometime in 2022, we (some friends and I) were driving through a village in Kenya when I saw this giant billboard with the face of a presidential candidate named William Ruto. The tagline was, “Every hustle matters!” I thought it was a funny slogan for a presidential candidate, and a friend (who would vote Ruto) gave me a quick rundown of his candidacy. It boiled down to the usual platitude deployed to justify voting a candidate: he is on the side of the people, the masses, the common man (and whatever pejorative labels we assign). I recall thinking, I know how this ends. From Goodluck Jonathan’s “I had no shoes” to Muhammadu Buhari’s claim of 150 cows, politicians like to frame what they have in common with the common man until they actually need to demonstrate it.

The belief was that Ruto who, having once hustled his way to the top, would empathise with the people eking out survival was punctured with the introduction of a tax bill that would increase taxes even on essential commodities such as bread, cooking oil, and diapers. During the stand-off between the leader and the led, it came to light how much Ruto had extended his legendary hustle to public funds. Out of the window flew the image of a man who, having once suffered, would innately understand what it meant to stretch the Kenyan Shilling until its frail edges cover up your nakedness. Ruto eventually backed down from signing the bill, but much had been lost. The protest took the lives of about two dozen protesters and fractured Ruto’s relationship with Kenyans.

Overall, the Kenyan protests should be a lesson for African leaders like Ruto and his Nigerian counterpart Bola Tinubu who think they can tax their way out of the economic troubles. To some extent, their resort to taxes is understandable. The prognosis of the post-Covid is—depending on the rung of the social ladder you occupy—a gloomy one. Africa, which was barely doing well before Covid, is now seriously reeling from the effects of the global pandemic. People are similarly facing dire times in countries around the world, and our social, political, and even spiritual lives are being rapidly upended by the reality of the economic crunches.

Even the United States, with its thriving economy, still presents the contrast of a post-Covid recovery. While the figures show that their economy is strong, millions (especially people of lower income range) are held down by inflation. African countries that were not doing that well before Covid are vertiginous from the global downturn. Countries are urgently looking to recapitalise, which is why leaders like Ruto came up with the very innovative idea of taxing people more. In Nigeria too, we have witnessed a similar strategy. In addition to abruptly withdrawing (at least going by official pronouncements) the subsidies on fuel and forex, the administration also stopped subsidies on electricity. Energy costs have since gone up, stratospherically increasing the cost of darkness. The same administration also introduced the Green Tax, Import Tax Adjustment Levy, Expatriate Tax, and the Cybersecurity tax, some of which had to be reversed either because it made no sense or was ill-timed.

Unfortunately, Africa cannot be taxed out of its economic morass. People are too poor—just too poor—and the national economic means are too singular for people to come up with the taxes necessary to bridge the gaps in revenue generation. The country has a lot of debt to repay, yes, but those borrowed monies never did anything for those being asked to contribute. If those loans had truly impacted their lives, we would not be groaning as much over the mounting tax regimes. Government officials are the ones who take hefty loans, mismanage them, make a public show of pursuing their cronies who stole the money, and after they deem everyone sufficiently amused by the drama of anti-corruption, they pass on the costs to those who had nothing to do with it. It is those who did not enjoy any part of the loans they took that are frequently squeezed to pay; never their friends, many of whom still living large from the stolen wealth.

In serious societies, taxes have meaning because they are used to fund public amenities. But in a society like ours, what good does it do? Our Nigerian public education system is comatose because we barely fund it. Consequently, “private schools” mushroom in every corner of the country. Cheap and unstandardised, they freely toy with the future of millions of children. The same applies to public health. In fact, every aspect of our lives now has to be privatised because the government that will squeeze taxes out of the hands of the dead does not make judicious use of them. Many communities across Nigeria provide their own electricity, security, water, sewage, and even the social governance system. It is an unfortunate truth that in Nigeria, every household is its own government. Amidst all these supplementing of governance, we still pay taxes to a government increasingly indifferent to our plight!

It is almost trite to point out that nobody in the world likes taxes, and Kenyans would likely have resisted anyway. The US is an example of how taxes influence democracy. Their wealthy class typically supports the Republican Party because those ones will cut their taxes and Democrats—when they win—will reinstate it. Presently, rich people are throwing money at the Republican candidate Donald Trump because of his promise to cut taxes. So, yes, while taxes are always political, what we have in our own societies is a case where the people who are already impoverished are still being taxed for simply existing. Taxes are useful when an economy is thriving, not when people are already scraping the bottom.

For Africa to boost its capital, our leaders will need to transcend the loans-and-taxes economies they presently run. We are impoverished because many of the countries on this continent operate extractive companies, solely relying on natural deposits. We are one of the most naturally resourced continents, yet our leaders lack the vision to utilise these resources for our own development, instead choosing to use them as collateral for foreign loans. This undervalues our resources and results in a lack of control over what should be enhancing our value. It requires significant innovation and hard work to act otherwise, but our complacent and unimaginative African leaders seem content with the bare minimum of borrowing. African countries have created a situation whereby they borrow money from China to build the public infrastructure that ultimately serves in transporting the finished products also imported from the same China!

Finally, several commentators on the Kenyan crisis have pointed out the role of international organisations such as the IMF in the tax bill. Indeed, Ruto purported the bill to cover Kenya’s approximately $80 billion of the country’s domestic and external debt. About half of that amount is owed to China, IMF, and the World Bank. It is easy to demonise foreign organisations for their role in taxing already burdened Africans, but the truth is that they do not owe us that much responsibility. Global capitalism is not founded on sentiments, and its administrators are not our elected leaders. They do not live among us, and they perhaps have only a remote idea how hard our lives are already. The people who should know better are our African leaders. Unfortunately, their actions always leave the impression that the only skill they have honed in the decades of interacting with global capitalist institutions is to beg. If they have no sense of obligation or duty of care to us enough to develop the sophistication and savviness to negotiate better deals, why should those institutions act any differently?

Punch

Many of my career mentors have given me a similar tidbit of advice: Do what you know.
For the most part, it seems wise. I personally couldn’t imagine being in a job I knew absolutely nothing about. How long would it take for me to be successful? Would I get on my colleagues' nerves having to constantly ask for assistance?
But if you asked billionaire Richard Branson, it’s the worst advice he’s ever received. He broke through by doing the complete opposite.
“Most of my successful businesses were in industries where I had no industry experience at all,” Branson said on a recent episode of the Work Life with Adam Grant podcast. 
Exploring new projects and fields is smart, said Grant, a Wharton organizational psychologist: People who stay in a single, familiar industry sometimes develop “cognitive entrenchment,” he said.
In other words, as employees and scholars gain expertise, they can lose “flexibility with regard to problem-solving, adaption and creative idea generation,” according to research from Rice University published in 2010.
Instead, “when you’re fresh to an industry, from the outside, you get that ability to see what’s taken for granted and challenge it,” Grant told Branson on the episode.
I find Branson’s perspective insightful — after all, you can’t learn something new without trying something new.

CNBC

Some clerics, rights activists, and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Nigeria are furious following the decision of the federal government to sign the controversial Samoa Agreement.

The agreement reportedly has some clauses that compel underdeveloped and developing nations to support the agitations by Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) community for recognition, as condition for getting financial and other supports from advanced societies.

Named after the Pacific Island Samoa, where it was signed on November 15, 2023, the agreement is gradually gaining traction, despite opposition by many countries that cherish Islamic and Christianity values, in addition to the sensitivity of their cultures.

Information about the ratification of the deal by Nigeria came to public knowledge on Monday, July 1, when the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Atiku Bagudu confirmed the development at a reception organised by the European Union (EU) in Abuja.

But when contacted yesterday, Bagudu’s media assistant, Bolaji Adebiyi, said the documents signed by the federal government, which the Minister of Budget made reference to during the reception by the EU, were strictly for economic development of Nigeria.

He said nowhere in the documents were LGBT or same sex marriage mentioned even remotely, and emphatically stating that it would be wrong for anyone to imply that Nigeria had accepted those tendencies.

He insisted that what Bagudu signed was in relation to $150 billion trade component.

When contacted yesterday to know whether they were aware of recent controversies surrounding the Samoa Agreement, Kamarudeen Ogundele, who is the spokesman of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, said he had to make some findings.

He did not call our reporter back to share the information requested up to press last night.

A Lagos State based lawyer and Chairman, Human and Constitutional Rights Committee, African Bar Association (AfBA), Sonnie Ekwowusi, had raised an alarm on the development on Wednesday, in an article on the matter.

He said that the development was nauseating, occurring despite several meetings held with Nigerian officials, and memoranda sent to them. He questioned the judgement of the Nigerian officials in proceeding to sign the Samoa Agreement.

“The Samoa Agreement, named after the Pacific Island, Samoa, where it was signed on November 15, 2023 is a celebration of perversity. Certain Articles of the Agreement especially Articles 2.5 and 29.5 legalise LGBT, transgenderism, abortion, teen sexual abuse, and perversity in African countries. The signing of the Agreement by Nigeria constitutes a threat to the sovereignty of Nigeria and Africa. It further debases our democracy.

“I can wager that neither Bagudu nor the Nigerian officials or diplomats who signed the Samoa Agreement on our behalf, understand the import of the agreement to Nigeria’s sovereignty, let alone the destructive impact of the Agreement in Nigeria. This explains why many African bodies including the AfBA have condemned the agreement and respectfully urged African countries not to sign it.

“Not infrequently, Nigerian officials in Geneva, New York, and other places sign international agreements or treaties over a cup of coffee or a glass of wine with little or no knowledge of their contents,” Ekwowusi said.

He further queried: “Were the Nigerian officials who signed the offensive Samoa Agreement representing their own interests or the interests of the Nigerian people? Having refused to sign the Agreement earlier, why did Nigeria change its mind and proceed to sign the Agreement?”

He recalled that on November 15, 2023, Nigeria, to the bewilderment of the EU, refused to sign the “offensive” deal.

He also said that apart from Nigeria, 34 other African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) countries, including the Republic of Benin, Senegal, Liberia, Botswana, Burundi, Jamaica, Mali, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Somalia, Namibia, Grenada, Eritrea, Malawi, Guinea-Bissau, Madagascar, Antigua and Barbuda, the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, the Central African Republic, the Republic of Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Equatorial Guinea, the Kingdom of Eswatini, the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, the Republic of Maldives, Mauritania, the Republic of Nauru, the Republic of Palau, Saint Lucia, the Republic of Saint Kitts and Nevis, the Kingdom of Tonga, the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, and Tuvalu, also refused to sign the LGBT Agreement.

“In fact, on that fateful November 15, 2023, Nigeria not only refused to sign the LGBT Agreement but was conspicuously absent in Samoa on the day of the signing. Frustrated by the refusal of these 35 countries to sign the Agreement, the European Union issued a significant threat dated November 24, 2023,” he said.

He said that the signing of the Samoa Agreement was completely unacceptable and Nigeria must undo the damage, by immediately withdrawing from the LGBT agreement.

He also urged the National Assembly to invite the Nigerian officials who signed the agreement to explain why they did so.

It won’t stand –NSCIA

When contacted Wednesday night, an official of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), said that the council’s stance on same sex marriage or LGBT remained unchanged.

Abubakar Akande, who is the Administrative Secretary of the council, said that though they were invited and attended the meeting in March this year, it was not for them to ratify or oppose the draft shared with them.

He said that the 403-page document containing 104 articles was given to the Legal Director of the NSCIA, and that there was no same sex marriage in the draft.

“We (NSCIA) would not welcome such agreement. Our stance remains the same since the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan. We cannot agree to what is against the injunction of our Creator, Allah, on this matter, and which also disrespects Nigeria’s sovereignty,” he said.

On his part, the Ameer (leader), Abuja Muslim Forum (AMF), Abdulrazaq Ajani, said that the African civil society organisations (CSOs), which the AMF is a part of, had met top government officials and members of the two chambers of the National Assembly yesterday, especially the chairmen of the relevant committees in the House of Representatives, and also the administrative leadership of the legislators.

He said they rejected the move completely.

N/Assembly didn’t consider Samoa Agreement – Rep Yusuf

When contacted yesterday, Rabiu Yusuf, the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Treaties, Protocols, and Agreements, said that the Samoa Agreement had not been brought before the National Assembly for consideration.

“To the best of my knowledge, nothing has happened in the National Assembly regarding the Samoa Agreement,” he said.

 It’s a disgrace, if true-African CSOs

Speaking with Daily Trust Wednesday night, a coalition of some African CSOs said that it will be a huge disappointment for Nigeria and its citizens, if it turns out to be true that the deal was signed, and that it is toxic to the moral standing of the citizens of Nigeria.

Richard Kakeeto, a Kenyan lawyer with Family Watch International, Africa Region, told Daily Trust that Africa was counting on Nigeria when it decided not to sign the Samoa Agreement, initially.

“Many African countries, people of goodwill, were hoping that Nigeria will remain in that situation of not signing and probably even withdrawing from the Samoa Agreement totally.

“However, we have received information that on the 28th day of June 2024, the Ambassador of Nigeria in Brussels was given a go-ahead but we don’t know who signed the Samoa Agreement.

“As a result, Nigeria has committed itself to the human rights agenda of the European Union that involves the mainstreaming of sexual and reproductive health and rights, a term or a euphemism that is used to talk about abortion on demand, the sexualization of our children through comprehensive sexuality education, and the proliferation of reproductive sexual and reproductive health services, including hormones to sustain the homosexual lifestyle and transgender practices.

“The word LGBTQ++ that Nigerians have been contesting is now part of our law because Nigeria has decided to sign it. So, Nigerians should be very bitter with what is going on. They should challenge their legislators and policy makers to explain why they chose to commit to this dangerous agreement,” Kakeeto said.

On her part, Mrs. Omoye Olaye, Media Coordinator, World Council for Health (WCH) International and Foundation for African Cultural Heritage (FACH), said the federal government must rescind the deal.

“Our stand is very clear. Whoever signed on behalf of Nigerians needs to apologise to Nigerians. But we need more than the apology. We need President Bola Tinubu, to rescind that signature.

“All he (Tinubu) needs to do is to apologise on Nigeria’s behalf very nicely and tell them that the truth is we have not signed. We are withdrawing from the ACP EU Treaty. That is all we ask the President to do. That is all we will accept. Anything less than that will not be accepted,” she said.

Minister’s speech wrongly interpreted – Spokesman

Speaking more on what the budget minister said, Adebiyi said Ekwowusi’s article was misleading.

“The article does not represent the content of the Samoa Agreement signed by Nigeria. The Articles 2.5 and 29.5 cited made no mention of LGBT rights but rather 29.5 guarantees “support [for] universal access to sexual and reproductive health commodities and health care services, including family planning, information and education, and the integration of reproductive health into national strategies and programmes”, he said.

“Article 2.5 states that: “The parties shall systematically promote a gender perspective and ensure that gender equality is mainstreamed across all policies.

“I fail to see how these articles imply the protection of LGBT rights. Please, note that this is a negotiated agreement among the 27 EU countries and 79 OACPS, which is subject to domestic laws. All 27 EU countries and 74 of the 79 OACPS have signed. Nigeria was the 73rd to sign last Friday, 28th June, in Brussels.

“Following the controversy around the agreement, the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning organised a stakeholders meeting in March in Abuja, comprising NGOs and religious bodies during which concerns were addressed.

“Meanwhile, the EU reception the Minister attended was for the 9th Nigeria-EU Business Forum. It was held in Abuja (not Enugu) on July 1,” he said.

Ex-President Jonathan signed anti-gay law in 2014

Former President Jonathan in January 2014, signed into law a bill that criminalises same sex relationships, defying western pressure over gay rights and provoking United States criticism.

The law contains penalties of up to 14 years in prison and bans gay marriage, same sex ‘amorous relationships’ and membership of gay rights groups.

Various religious bodies across Nigeria have reiterated their commendations to past administrations for maintaining Nigeria’s strong objection to the LGBT tendencies.

Daily Trust

Four electricity distribution companies have announced a tariff increase from N206.80 per kilowatt to N209.5 per kilowatt-hour (kwh) for premium customers under the Band A category, effective July 1, 2024. This change applies to both prepaid and postpaid customers.

Kaduna, Port Harcourt, Kano, and Ikeja DisCos all confirmed the increase in separate statements, assuring Band A customers of continued 20-24 hours of daily power supply as stipulated in the service-based tariff regime. The companies emphasized that tariffs for Bands B, C, D, and E remain unchanged.

Ikeja Electric stated that the increase aligns with the service-based tariff regime and will "further sustain the improved service delivery currently being experienced across all feeder bands within its network."

This latest adjustment comes just two months after a previous tariff modification. On May 6, DisCos had reduced the tariff for Band A customers to N206.80 per kwh, following an increase to N225 per kwh approved by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) in April.

As electricity prices continue to fluctuate, consumers are left wondering if these frequent changes will lead to more stable and reliable power supply in the long run. The impact of these tariff adjustments on both customers and the overall electricity sector remains to be seen, as Nigeria struggles to balance the need for affordable power with the challenges of maintaining and improving its energy infrastructure.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Students of the University of Benin on Wednesday took to the streets, blocking the ever-busy Benin-Ore Highway to protest weeks of power outages on the campus.

The students, who have only two weeks until their first semester examinations, said the situation was severely affecting their preparation.

The university was thrown into a blackout following the inability to reach an agreement with the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) over a contentious electricity bill.

The management of the institution was said to have expressed discontent after the Benin Disco reportedly made an upward review of the institution’s monthly electricity charges by over 200 per cent.

The monthly bill was said to have jumped from about N80 million to between N200 million and N280 million, forcing the university to resort to power generators as well as rationalisation of power on the two campuses and hostels.

“We only had one hour of electricity every day since this issue started. We are tired of studying in the dark.

“We need electricity to read and prepare for our exams. The university management needs to take responsibility and fix this issue,” said John Afolabi, one of the protesting students.

The protest, which began early in the morning, saw students carrying placards and chanting slogans as they blocked the highway.

“We will not leave until something is done. We can’t afford to fail our exams because of the university’s negligence, said Sarah Osaigbovo, a 300-level student residing at the Ugbowo campus.”

The protest caused a disruption to the free flow of vehicular movement, with many passengers stranded and unable to reach their destinations.

A visibly angry commuter, who refused to disclose his name, said, “I’m supposed to be at work right now, but I’ve been stuck here for hours.

“I understand the students’ plight, but they need to find a better way to protest.”

Despite the rainfall, the students were determined to continue the protest.

When contacted, the Public Relations Officer of the institution, Benedicta Ehanire, said a meeting of the Senate was ongoing on how to resolve the issue.

NAN

In a country where the average citizen struggles to afford basic necessities, the revelation that suicide bombers in Nigeria's Northeast were paid as little as N20 ($0.013) for their deadly missions is a stark reminder of the depths of poverty and desperation plaguing our nation. This shocking disclosure not only underscores the vulnerability of our most impoverished citizens but also highlights the complex web of social, economic, and security challenges facing Nigeria today.

The fact that human life can be valued at such an insignificant sum – both for the bomber and their victims – is a damning indictment of Nigerian society's failure to protect and provide for its most vulnerable members. It raises troubling questions about the extreme poverty that would drive individuals to accept such a paltry sum for an act that will inevitably end their own lives and potentially those of countless innocent citizens.

Moreover, this situation exposes the potent and dangerous nature of the indoctrination employed by terrorist groups like Boko Haram. To convince someone that their life is worth no more than N20, and that sacrificing it in such a violent manner is somehow justified, requires a level of psychological manipulation that is both horrifying and deeply concerning.

The recent attacks in Gwoza, Borno State, which claimed approximately 30 lives, demonstrate the ongoing threat posed by these tactics. As noted by security expert Sadiq Shehu, suicide bombings offer numerous advantages to terrorist groups – they are low-cost, difficult to detect, and exploit cultural sensitivities that may hinder thorough security checks.

To address this complex and multifaceted issue, a comprehensive approach involving both the Nigerian state and society is necessary:

1. Poverty Alleviation: The government must intensify efforts to reduce extreme poverty through targeted economic programmes, job creation initiatives, and improved access to education and healthcare.

2. Enhanced Security Measures: Security forces should implement more rigorous and culturally sensitive screening procedures, including the deployment of female personnel to conduct thorough checks on women without violating cultural norms.

3. Community Engagement: Foster stronger relationships between security forces and local communities to improve intelligence gathering and early warning systems.

4. Deradicalization Programmes: Invest in comprehensive deradicalization and rehabilitation programmes for former extremists, focusing on education, psychological support, and economic reintegration.

5. Counter-Narrative Campaigns: Develop and disseminate effective counter-narratives to combat extremist ideologies, particularly targeting vulnerable youth populations.

6. Regional Cooperation: Strengthen collaboration with neighboring countries to address cross-border security challenges and share intelligence.

7. Improved Governance: Address issues of corruption, inequality, and lack of basic services that contribute to the sense of marginalization and vulnerability exploited by extremist groups.

8. Mental Health Support: Establish accessible mental health services to address trauma and psychological vulnerabilities that may make individuals susceptible to radicalization.

The N20 suicide bomber is a tragic symbol of Nigeria's complex challenges. It is a call to action for our government, security forces, and society as a whole. We must work together to create a future where no Nigerian feels so desperate and devalued that they would sacrifice their life for such a meager sum. Only through a united and multifaceted approach can we hope to overcome this crisis and build a safer, more prosperous Nigeria for all.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Nigeria's upstream oil regulator has approved two key onshore assets sale by international oil companies, clearing the way for Oando and new entrant Project Odinmim, to acquire assets, the head of the agency, Gbenga Komolafe, said on Wednesday.

Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) greenlit deals by Eni's local unit Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) to Oando and Equinor to Project Odinmim, Komolafe announced at an energy conference in Abuja, the capital.

The deals had been pending for months as they required sign-off from the petroleum minister under a recently enacted oil industry law. Approvals for Exxon Mobil's $1.3 billion asset sale to Seplat and Shell's divestment to Renaissance remain pending.

"The signing ceremony will be conducted in the next few days," Komolafe said.

Eni had previously announced the sale of its NAOC subsidiary to Oando in September. The deal included interests in four onshore oil mining leases (OML) 60, 61, 62, and 63.

However, Ainojie Alex Irune, Oando's CEO, hinted at further complexities in the deals during the conference.

"We had four transactions; two were approved, one on a yellow flag and the other in abeyance," he said.

The NUPRC chief did not elaborate on the specific OMLs approved for Oando, and Irune did not provide further details.

Oil majors operating in Nigeria have been exiting their onshore fields hampered by theft, vandalism and pollution to focus on deepwater explorations.

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In May, the NUPRC offered faster approvals for pending asset sales by the majors if they took responsibility for spills and compensated communities rather than wait for authorities to apportion liability, which could lead to further delay deals.

Reuters

Business and commercial activities were grounded on Wednesday following a 10-hour downpour in many parts centres of Lagos and Ogun states.

The resulting flooding brought down a two-storey building in the Mushin area of Lagos, grounded vehicular movement on the roads and overwhelmed thousands of residents while pupils could not attend schools in parts of the states.

Though the Lagos State government said the rain lasted for nine hours, in some parts of the state, it started at midnight and did not subside until noon, making it 12 hours.

Such places include Berger, Ikeja, Ogba and in some parts, the rain lasted for 10 hours.

Our correspondents, who visited some affected flooded areas such as Iyana-Oworo, Agege, Ijegun-Isheri Osun, Gbagada and Lagos Island in Lagos State, observed that roads and houses were flooded as a result of long hours of downpour.

Other flooded places in Lagos include Eredo, Bojije, Epe, Sangotedo, Ibeju-Lekki, Awoyaya, Labora, and Abijon.

The PUNCH also visited Atan-Ota, Aseese, Ifo, Sango-Ota, and Ijebu-Ode in Ogun State and observed that major roads were  submerged, making them impassable and leaving passengers stranded.

The heavy showers, which began around 12am, were blamed for the collapse of a two-storey building on Cameroon Road in the Mushin area of Lagos, injuring seven people.

Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Emergency Management Authority, Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, stated that the seven victims were rescued alive from the collapsed structure.

He attributed the collapse of the newly constructed building to the inclement weather.

He said, “Early this morning, seven people were rescued alive from a building in Ewenla, Mushin, that collapsed in the inclement weather.

“Upon arrival of the LRT at the scene of the incident, it was discovered that a newly constructed two-storey building had collapsed. Three females and four males were rescued alive and taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.

“The agency’s search-and-rescue team had searched the rubbles and can confirm that there is no victim underneath the collapsed building. The area has been cordoned off, and operations are still ongoing.”

Non-essential travels

 Due to the unpredictable weather conditions, the LASEMA boss also urged Lagos residents to remain calm and avoid any non-essential travel.

“We are urging the good people of Lagos to remain calm and refrain from any non-essential travel due to the incidence of flash floods across the state,” he added.

Students currently taking exams were affected by the downpour as some schools in White Sand Estate, Isheri-Osun, in the Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos, closed.

The students were advised to stay home due to the hazardous roads.

The PUNCH reports that White Sand Estate is one of the hardest-hit areas in Lagos, frequently experiencing severe flooding.

Flooding in White Sand Estate is a recurring issue, with the area suffering from poor roads, inadequate drainage systems, and a lack of maintenance.

Wednesday’s downpour once again flooded homes, with water reaching mid-level levels.

Our correspondent observed that many residents were trapped in their apartments, unable even to sit down as their living spaces were submerged.

A parent, identified simply as Atinuke, shared a message from the school with our correspondent, praising the school’s management for their “pragmatic” decision.

The message read, “Good morning, dearest parents, trust your night was splendid. Due to the heavy downpour and a predicted serious rainy weather forecast today, we have decided to close the school and postpone today’s exam. As you can see, almost everywhere is flooded.

“As a school, we prioritise the safety of our geniuses above everything else. Consequently, the school bus will also not operate today. We are extremely sorry for the inconvenience.”

Atinuke called for the state government’s intervention, lamenting that water had flooded her living room, forcing her to remove the furniture.

She said, “The rain has entered my house again; just look at the environment. This is White Sand Estate in Isheri-Osun.”

The area was flooded, making it impossible for cars and motorcycles to navigate, while the pedestrians faced significant risks as the flooding obscured drainage channels.

The Public Relations Officer of the area’s Community Development, Johnson Olabode, expressed his frustration, stating, “We are at it again this year. Everywhere is filled with water. I have been up since 3am when the rain started, and all I could do was watch my house get flooded. We can’t even start removing the water until the rain stops.”

He added that schools have notified parents to keep their children at home due to the severe conditions.

Meanwhile, some residents have called on the Lagos State government to urgently address this ongoing problem in their community.

A resident, identified as John Adewale, decried that the flooding had become a yearly nightmare for them.

He said, “This has become a yearly nightmare for us. Every time it rains heavily, we know our homes will be flooded. We’ve been pleading with the government for better drainage systems, but nothing seems to be happening. We’re stuck inside with water everywhere.”

Flood submerges roads

Major roads such as Majek, Abraham Adesanya, and Awoyaya-Sangotedo were also impacted, with ongoing road construction further worsening the situation.

Commercial vehicles and motorcycles seized the opportunity to hike transport fares.

A resident, Anuoluwapo Atanda, in the Pen Cinema, Agege area of Lagos, said that the flood affected her house due to the blocked drainage in her area.

She revealed that it also impacted all the houses on her street and the adjacent one.

Atanda said, “Flooding is an issue here because residents refuse to clean their drainage systems. The main reason for the flood is the dirty and congested drainage filled with waste.

“The government is trying to create a larger drainage system on the link road to my street, but the work has been slow and rough. I think this season is not the right time to do it.

 “They just dug the drainage, but water is not flowing in it because it hasn’t been completed. Once the water in the gutter fills up, it flows into the road and people’s houses.

“Traffic has been terrible because of the flood. Drivers are being careful so they don’t sink with their vehicles, as it is difficult to identify potholes and gutters when everywhere is flooded. It took me about 45 minutes to get to Oshodi from Agege; everywhere is messed up.”

A resident on X.com who goes by the name, Chu Osakwe, stated, “This is Gbagada to 7up inward 3MB. Stay home if you have no business on the island. #Traffic.’’

“If your route this morning is mainland to the island via 3MB, just forget it. Turn back home or reroute. I just passed by on the opposite side, and the beginning of the Third Mainland (Iyana woro?) is flooded to the car doors. I’ve never seen that on the bridge before,” another X user wrote on Wednesday.

“Please let me adjust my advice. If you live in Lagos, do not even consider coming out of your house today. Everywhere is flooded. I didn’t expect it to be this bad on the mainland. Flooded, and all the roads are blocked in any direction,” the resident added.

Our correspondent who visited Ikeja observed stranded commuters forced to find shelter, while others stood by the roadside waiting for commercial buses to take them to their destinations.

The PUNCH also noted that some commercial buses refused to pick up passengers travelling from Ogba to Ikeja due to the flood and traffic gridlock.

Additionally, broken-down vehicles further compounded the plight of motorists.

A driver identified as Tunji blamed the flooding on the poor drainage system in Ikeja.

He said, “The drainage system in Ikeja is inadequate; there’s nowhere for the water to flow, so it stays in one place, damaging cars and other properties.

“The demand for buses is greater than the supply due to the rain. That is why we don’t have vehicles ready to go to Ikeja. The supply went down because of the flood and gridlock. It is a sad thing, but what can we do?

‘’We can’t force them to spoil their vehicles just because we want to get to work. It is not fair.”

Fare hike

The PUNCH also observed that commercial bus drivers and tricycle riders increased the transport fare from the usual N300 to N700 for trips from Ogba to Ikeja.

A 54-second viral video showed hoodlums extorting residents, demanding a N100 levy before allowing them to access an alternate route under the Trade Fair bridge in the Ojo area, following the flood that submerged much of the area.

Some individuals were arrested by officials of the Lagos State Government for allegedly extorting the residents.

“This is the Trade fair under-bridge; pay N100 before you can take the passage. And we have a president in this country. Look at their faces,” a woman’s voice in a video clip said.

The Commissioner for Environment, Tokunbo Wahab, stated on his X.com handle that the miscreants had been arrested by the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps and assured that they would be prosecuted accordingly.

He wrote, “Following a complaint made by @ARISE0214, miscreants charging people for using the makeshift crossover bridge at Trade fair this morning (Wednesday) have been arrested by the operatives of the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps, @LAGESCOfficial. They will be prosecuted according to the law.”

Devastating floods also struck several communities in Ogun State, including Sango-Ota, Alagbado, Atan, Oju-ore, and Lusada, submerging them.

Residents attributed the flooding to blocked waterways caused by indiscriminate waste dumping and construction on drainage rights-of-way.

Abayomi Rufai, a resident of Atan-Ota, reported that his properties worth several millions of naira were damaged by the rainfall.

He blamed the flooding on improper drainage channelling and construction on drainage rights-of-way in his community.

He lamented, “Currently, I can’t access my house. I have to rely on commercial motorcycles because the road leading to my house is currently cut off from the major road due to the flood. Governor Dapo Abiodun should come to our aid before it is too late.”

Victoria Ojelana, a resident of Oregun in the Ijebu-Ode area, told our correspondent that her entire apartment was flooded, destroying some household items.

She explained, “I was sleeping only for me to wake up and see everywhere flooded. The flood was very bad; it entered our house, our kitchen, and even our neighbour’s house.

“There is a neighbour of ours that, even with the fence, the flood broke down the fence, entered their room, and they had to run out of the house. They waited for three to four hours so that the water could reduce. The water is not flowing, it is just stagnant.”

In response to the situation, the Lagos State Government has called for calm.

Non-stop rain

A statement signed by the Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Wahab, explained that Lagos experienced about nine hours of non-stop rainfall since the early hours of Wednesday.

He added that this was coupled with heavy rainfall which the state had been experiencing daily since last week resulting in the level rise of the Lagos lagoon.

Wahab explained that the flash floods which inundated areas like Iyana Oworo linking the Third Mainland and several other areas would recede once the rains abated.

The commissioner added that the state had also deployed officials of the Emergency Flood Abatement Gang to major black spots, including Iyana Oworo, which has been cleared of all blockages.

He urged “All those in low-lying areas, to as a matter of necessity,  relocate to higher grounds at this period to safeguard lives and properties.”

He also admonished residents to desist from wading through floods with their vehicles as they could be swept away, irrespective of the number of occupants.

The commissioner equally advised residents to avail themselves of daily weather reports issued by the State Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources as it serves as a guide to daily itineraries.

Ogun State was also affected by the rainfall with places like Iperu, Governor Dapo Abiodun’s home town, Oju Ore, Joju bus stop along the Abeokuta-Sango Ota Expressway and Sango-Ota under-bridge impacted by flooding.

A Sango-Ota resident, Mrs Adijat Ahmed, stated, “I  observed slight flooding around Joju bus stop, Oju Ore and Sango-Ota under-bridge and this I think is as a result of the rain but it is however nothing so threatening. It is the usual thing during rainy season like this.”

Mr Moses Ayinla also confirmed that there was slight flooding on Iperu-Ilisan Road.

“There was slight flooding on Ilisan-Iperu road due to the downpour but this is not new; the road has always been flooded whenever there is heavy rain, though, the water will later flow away after some hours.

“The problem of that place is drainage and there was a time the government actually worked on the spot but the problem is back, so we plead with Gov Dapo Abiodun to provide the final solution to this problem,” he said.

Owolabi Babalola, a resident of Wawa located just before the long bridge, Lagos-Ibadan Expressway,  said that there was no incident of flooding in the area.

Babalola noted, “The rain is a bit much here too but there is nothing like flooding, even on the long bridge. I just came back home, I never experienced anything of such on the road.

“Though sometimes the place is flooded as a result of excessive rainfall but I didn’t see anything of such when going to work and coming back this evening; probably, it has receded.

“The problem we usually have here in Wawa is not the rain but when the dam is overflowed and it is now opened to empty the water; that is when we used to have issues. We plead for more government support and collaboration to ensure that this challenge becomes a thing of the past.”

Punch

A two-day protest by factory workers at Sumal Foods Limited, Ibadan, Oyo State, has left one of the protesters dead, two others injured and some properties destroyed.

Sumal Foods, with factories located in Oluyole extension, Ring Road Ibadan, Oyo State, produces Yale biscuits and a range of other snacks.

On Monday, scores of casual workers at the company’s ‘Yale 3’ branch in Ibadan, had mobilised to protest unfair labour practices, among other issues. As a result, they declined to work the night shift and suspended production in nine factories.

But, according to a witness who identified himself as Jelili Ismail, while the workers were peacefully expressing their grievances against the company, heavily armed police officers fired tear gas canisters and gunshots at the crowd. The police shootings reportedly killed one protester and injured two others.

“With tears in their eyes, the workers rushed their injured colleagues to a nearby hospital, lifted the corpse and took it to the company’s headquarters at Town Planning, Ring Road, on a motorcycle.

“When they arrived at the headquarters, they found that more armed police officers had been stationed at the premises. The corpse was deposited inside the company,” he said.

Some of the aggrieved workers spoke to PREMIUM TIMES but chose to be anonymous for fear of being victimised.

The first protester claimed that Sumal Foods allegedly withheld palliatives offered to them by the federal government for six months.

He alleged that the federal government gave all workers in both private and public organisations palliatives to cushion the effect of hardship in February and that the organisation refused to give theirs to them.

He claimed that the company posted an internal memorandum denying them membership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), as well as the right to palliatives.

“They said we are not under TUC and NLC, and that we are on our own. At the same time, they added 14 per cent tax to our salary,” he said.

Buttressing the points raised by the first respondent, another factory worker, whose name is withheld, said: “They told us that we were in the private sector (Sumal) and not the government. They offered to add 200 naira to our salary and we refused. The salary cannot even buy two congos of rice and garri,” he said.

Another aggrieved worker, speaking on what transpired on day one of the protests, said heavily armed police officers dispersed the crowd using tear gas and also fired gunshots into the air.

He stated that it was during the confusion that ensued that the deceased was hit by a bullet. He said the company has refused to release the corpse.

Police confirm death

Meanwhile, the Oyo State Police Command, on Tuesday, the second day of the protest, confirmed that the protest that rocked one of the factories belonging to Sumal Foods, Oluyole extension, Ibadan on Monday, turned violent.

“One death was recorded during the violent protest,” the police said in a statement by the state Police Public Relations Officer, Adewale Osifeso.

The police also confirmed the arrest of 12 suspects in connection with the violent protest, stating that normalcy has returned to the affected area with the immediate deployment of the Command’s operational and tactical assets to prevent future recurrence.

The command said that preliminary investigation revealed that the protest was premised on a piece of widespread false information authored and peddled by some of the workers concerning the disbursement of palliative to all private-owned companies and firms in the country.

“Their grouse, however, was that they were being denied the welfare package. Sadly, the protest was hijacked by criminal elements who forced their way into the factory, destroying vehicles and property worth millions of naira,” the statement said.

While the police also confirmed the arrest of 12 persons in connection with the protest, it was silent on the allegation that the deceased was killed when armed police personnel fired gunshots into the air to disperse the protesters.

“Furthermore, the CP has ordered that the entire case be taken up by the Homicide Department of the Criminal Investigation Department with the Deputy Commissioner of Police directly in charge of investigations,” Osifeso said.

Efforts to speak with officials of Sumal Foods Limited were unsuccessful as our correspondent was turned down by security operatives stationed at the company’s premises.

PT