“All political parties die at last of swallowing their own lies” – Arbuthnot, 1667-1735, VANGUARD BOOK OF QUOTATIONS, VBQ, p 191. 

Note: This article started on the day of the Ondo State election. The result was not surprising. “You can’t beat something with nothing”. PDP is now nothing. Obong Victor Attah, a former governor of Akwa Ibom State and former Trustee of the PDP, is an internationally-recognised architect. He was the first African to be granted licence to practice as an architect in New York State.

Attah turned 86 on November 20 this year. Few Nigerians are aware that Attah designed the PDP flag. As a member of the G-34, a group led by late Alex Ekwueme, former Vice President, 1979-1983, and an artist like all architects, the flag symbolised an all-inclusive party. Its original constitution reflected the intention of the founding fathers to create a society in which glaring marginalisation of any group will not be allowed.

Ekwueme was on the way to becoming the first President elected under the PDP banner when powerful people intruded into the party; forced PDP to violate its own constitution and accept Olusegun Obasanjo as their candidate. The facts are detailed in PDP: CORRUPTION INCORPORATED. Self-righteous Obasanio was thus the first beneficiary of the corruption of a sacred set of political principles laid out by patriotic Nigerians. Obasanjo quickly moved to dismantle the PDP constitution and to substitute one which was an image of himself – a dictator at heart; despite his hypocritical pronouncements now.

He appointed and removed party Chairmen at will and approved candidates for elections at all three tiers of government. How he removed Audu Ogbeh would bring tears to anyone’s eyes. He sowed the seeds of the destruction of Nigeria’s democracy. Today, Attah is no longer active in politics. But, at 86, he must certainly feel disillusioned by what the PDP has become. The flag he designed is now a mockery of what the PDP has become in his life time. I was still writing this article when the result of the Ondo State election was announced.

It is predictable what will follow. There will be a massive desertion of the PDP to the APC. A few years ago, when the late Vincent Ogbulafor, then Chairman of the party, announced, as if he was God, that “PDP will rule for sixty years”, I told him that he will not live for 70 years, but, he might live long enough to see the party out of power. He did both. PDP had been living on borrowed time since (President) Jonathan lost control of the party and suffered defeat.

Now time has run out for the party. Even now, close to half of the leading members of the APC were once in PDP. More will now follow; leaving a party so weak as not to offer much opposition to the APC. Daniel Bwala, a former spokesman for Atiku, the presidential candidate of the PDP in the 2023 elections, who was blasting the APC as lustfully as he did since the elections in September this year, had been invited by President Tinubu to “come and eat”.

He quickly accepted the offer and is now eating in Aso Rock and singing the praises of his new paymaster. That raises the question: Which party will defeat APC in 2027? The answer curiously enough might be APC itself or a new party primarily northern based. In fact, we might be heading for regional parties such as we had before 1960. Two developments account for this position. One, the APC, never a political party, in just nine and a half years, has left the North reassessing its support for APC.

The eight years of Buhari blinded the people to assume that the party was working in their own interests. His departure had laid bare the truth. Under Buhari, APC was a party of the elite, by the elite and for the elite. Tinubu’s presidency has marginalised the northern elite; like never before. They want to redress the situation as soon as possible. Two, hitherto, northerners have lacked a rallying point; there was no common agenda. Tinubu’s Tax Reform Bills, considered anti-North by the vast majority, have provided the impetus for regional collective action.

It is doubtful if any northern politician will support the bills and survive politically. As one old friend from the North-West told me, “I canvassed for votes for Tinubu. He is holding a knife to our throats in the North. We will not allow him to get away with it.” It was, therefore, not surprising to me that all the northern governors are opposed to the Tax Bills. The real surprise was the unanimous opposition of southern governors as well.

Given the fact that the majority of governors belong to the APC, that has revealed the lack of principle within the party. It is doubtful if any Republican governor will oppose a Tax Bill proposed by (incoming US president) Trump because the party’s position on taxation has been consistent for over a hundred years. A situation in which the president’s own party governors and most National Assembly members might turn against him is worrisome – even if expected in a nation where politics without principles is the norm.

TAX REFORM: POSSIBLE ISOLATION OF LAGOS

“There are plans from Lagos to colonise the North” – Kwankwaso.

The presidential candidate of the NNPP is not alone in condemning the Tax Reform Bills; which most commentators, nationally, have not read; and very few understand. But, it now serves as a fulcrum for moving massive northern sentiments against the APC in the region. The Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, a few days after Kwankwaso spoke, made an even more unmistakable declaration.

2027: “North will be best served by northerners” – Report, November 21, 2024.

Just in case anybody in Abuja misses the point, the ACF Chairman said: “Notwithstanding the parlous state of Arewa’s glaring economic conditions, the policies of the current Federal Government has continued to make matters much worse, with little indications of needed sensitivity to the precarious existential conditions of Arewa people… economic reforms while indeed desirable, should not impoverish the same people they are meant to serve…” Battle line drawn. Elected, as well as appointed, APC northern politicians are now confronted with an unpleasant dilemma: Continue supporting Tinubu and his policies or bail out. Either way, there will be serious consequences. I don’t envy Vice President Shetimma or Ganduje. The attempt by the Board of Trustees, BOT, of the ACF to distance the old association from Mamman Osuman’s outburst by suspending the Chairman was a blunder.

The blowback by several northern groups, especially youth groups, points to the possibility that the more cautious and conservative elders might not be aware of the depth of hostility to FG’s reforms. Nigeria is getting ripe for demagogues. Historically, demagoguery triumphs when there is a very angry, dissatisfied section of the populace who want simple answers to very complicated problems; and when the section can identify another distinct group to blame for its problems.

Kwankwaso, focusing on the section of the Tax Bills which recommends the principle of derivation to be adopted for Value Added Tax, VAT, revenue allocation, represents the northern view that with Lagos accounting for over 50 per cent of the VAT revenue collected, any change in that direction will adversely affect their states. Kwankwaso has deliberately ignored the fact that not only northern states will be affected. Even all the rest of the South-West states will lose.

But, Tinubu is from Lagos State; so the conspiracy to further impoverish the North must be a Lagos agenda. That is most unfortunate; because it has shifted the discussion from addressing the merits of the tax proposal to North versus Lagos. More unfortunate is the fact that the northern leaders conveniently forget that the Nigerian economy was already ruined by the time Buhari finished his eight years in office. More importantly, as the Emir of Kano, Lamido, has warned repeatedly, the North was ruining itself – not Lagos.

Virtually all those in APC, NNPP and LP in the North were in PDP before; when the seeds of destruction of the economy were sown. Not to be left behind, the Northern Elders Forum, NEF, led by Ango Abdullahi, sent a chilling message. Read some of it; and it is clear why political lines have disappeared in the North: “The Tax Reform Bills are conceived in bad faith, poorly packaged and is a palpable threat to our unity and national cohesion.

The brazen way and suspicious manner in which the Tax Bills were imposed on the nation confirmed the sinister intentions of those promoting this outrageous Bill. The days are fast gone when such conspiratorial connivance against the vital and strategic interest of the region, either by those within or outside of the region, would be condoned or even tolerated”.

Non-partisan political war could not have been more brutally declared. The attackers have the advantage. Serious economic hardship, especially coming so suddenly and brutally, invariably gives rise to the search for scapegoats – people on whom to place the blame. Despite Benjamin Franklin’s, 1706-1790, position that, “In this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes”, few people except government officials want to hear the word TAX. But, where there are political parties in the real sense of the word, the Tax Bills should have been discussed with party leaders of the ruling party; and everybody should now be out fighting for its passage. The party no longer counts in this struggle.

LAST LINE: Tinubu and his inner circle of advisers missed a vital step in advancing the Tax Bills. Now, the Bills are virtually dead on arrival.

Vanguard

Tom Huddleston Jr.

To become successful, you might have to learn to take yourself less seriously and be willing to keep doing the work, even when times get tough.

That’s according to Jake Loosararian, the co-founder and CEO of Gecko Robotics, a tech startup that makes wall-climbing robots for jobs too dangerous for humans, like scanning the inside of a power plant boiler or nuclear missile silo for critical structural issues.

After starting as a college engineering project, Gecko launched as a business in 2013. It ranked 42nd on the 2024 CNBC Disruptor 50 List and was most recently valued at $633 million.

Loosararian, 33, says Gecko never would’ve made it this far if he weren’t willing to “go into the unknown and the dirty and unexplored.” He means it literally: Loosararian spent parts of the last decade testing robots in dark, dangerous environments, soldering circuit boards in hot, grimy power plant boiler rooms.

Even launching the business in the first place was a risk — many of his closest friends and advisors thought it was a longshot, he says.

Ultimately, Loosararian says getting his hands dirty helped set him and Gecko apart from the many potential startups and prospective “innovators” who haven’t prospered. “So much of Gecko’s success and progress has been just through embracing that value of grit and gritting your teeth,” he says.

Grit, or the ability to persist in striving toward a goal over the long term, and in the face of any number of obstacles, is a trait that psychologists often associate with success. It can be even more important than skill or intelligence, according to University of Pennsylvania psychology professor Angela Duckworth.

“Grit is passion and perseverance for very long-term goals. Grit is having stamina. Grit is sticking with your future, day in, day out, not just for the week, not just for the month, but for years, and working really hard to make that future a reality,” Duckworth said in a 2013 TED Talk.

A company built on grit

Loosararian spent three years bootstrapping Gecko Robotics after graduating from college with a degree in electrical engineering. He had no money to pay himself, so he slept on friends’ floors and at the power plants where he tested early iterations of Gecko’s robots.

At times, Loosararian considered giving up. He remembers thinking to himself: “I don’t belong in this place. ... I’m a talented engineer with a hard hat on, steel-toe boots and covered in coal soot. I shouldn’t be here.”

Instead, he decided to embrace those challenges, leaning hard on his initial belief that he’d found an untapped, potentially lucrative market — “a secret hiding in plain sight,” he says.

Plenty of other successful businesspeople agree with Loosararian on the importance of endurance. “The most successful people have a lot of skill, but they also have grit,” billionaire and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt told CNBC Make It in 2022. “In other words, they’re willing to put up with the setbacks and the inevitable challenges that people deal with.” 

Unwelcoming environments, like the ones where Gecko’s robots typically operate, are “actually where we’re needed the most as innovators and designers and technologists,” adds Loosararian.

Gecko’s challenging origins helped shape its company culture for the better, he says: Determination and resilience now “permeate” throughout Gecko’s 300-plus employees.

“Everyone has to drive robots and run the software, and has to understand how the built world works. And, man, that’s exciting,” Loosararian says. “You want to get a group of people that are all convicted in that value.”

CNBC

Holcim, a Swiss building materials company, has agreed to sell its Nigerian business to Huaxin Cement Ltd., a Chinese firm.

The deal, valued at $1 billion, would lead to the sale of Holcim’s 83 percent stake in Lafarge Africa, according to a statement on Sunday.

Lafarge Africa Plc is a member of the Holcim Group — a maker of roofing and other housing products, such as cement, aggregates for construction and ready-mix concrete. 

The company said the agreement has been signed, noting that the transaction is expected to close next year.

“Holcim has signed an agreement with Huaxin Cement Ltd to sell its entire 83.81% shareholding in Lafarge Africa Plc, at an equity value of $1 billion on a 100% basis,” the statement reads.

“The transaction is expected to close in 2025, subject to customary and regulatory approvals.”

Holcim, however, did not give reasons for its exit.

On May 24, Kimberly-Clark, makers of Huggies, said it plans to stop localmanufacturing and sales in Nigeria after 14 years of operation.

According to the firm, the decision was made owing to its recently refocused corporate priorities globally as well as economic trends in the country.

Pick n Pay, a South African grocery retailer, in October, also announced plans to exit Nigeria by selling its 51 percent stake in a joint venture.

Sean Summers, chief executive officer (CEO) of Pick n Pay, said the move was part of plans to restructure outside of its home market.

In 2023, three pharmaceutical companies exited Nigeria.

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Consumer Nigeria Plc ceased operations and transferred its business activities to a third-party organisation.

Sanofi-Aventis Nigeria Limited, a French pharmaceutical company, also halted its direct operations in the country in November 2023.

One month later, Procter & Gamble (P&G), an American multinational consumer goods company, disclosed plans to transition from local production to solely importing its products.

The Cable

President Biden pardoned his son, Hunter Biden, after the first son was convicted in two separate federal cases earlier this year.

The announcement was made by the White House on Sunday night. The pardon applies to offenses against the U.S. that Hunter Biden "has committed or may have committed" from Jan. 1, 2014 to Dec. 1, 2024.

"Today, I signed a pardon for my son Hunter," Biden wrote in a statement. "From the day I took office, I said I would not interfere with the Justice Department’s decision-making, and I kept my word even as I have watched my son being selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted."

The president went on to claim that his son was "treated differently" by prosecutors.

"Without aggravating factors like use in a crime, multiple purchases, or buying a weapon as a straw purchaser, people are almost never brought to trial on felony charges solely for how they filled out a gun form," Biden added. "Those who were late paying their taxes because of serious addictions, but paid them back subsequently with interest and penalties, are typically given non-criminal resolutions. It is clear that Hunter was treated differently."

Biden also referenced his son's battle with addiction and blamed "raw politics" for the unraveling of Hunter's plea deal.

"There has been an effort to break Hunter – who has been five and a half years sober, even in the face of unrelenting attacks and selective prosecution," the 82-year-old father wrote. "In trying to break Hunter, they’ve tried to break me – and there’s no reason to believe it will stop here. Enough is enough."

"I hope Americans will understand why a father and a President would come to this decision," Biden's statement concluded.

A court document obtained by Fox News showed that Hunter signed his name on a legal acknowledgment of the pardon.

"On December 1, 2024, I received a formally accepted the President's grant of a pardon," the document stated. "I declare (or certify, verify, or state) under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States of America that the foregoing is true and correct."

In a statement on Sunday night, Hunter said that he would "never take the clemency" his father gave him for granted, and that he plans to devote his life to helping those with addiction.

"I have admitted and taken responsibility for my mistakes during the darkest days of my addiction – mistakes that have been exploited to publicly humiliate and shame me and my family for political sport," the first son wrote. 

"In the throes of addiction, I squandered many opportunities and advantages. In recovery we can be given the opportunity to make amends where possible and rebuild our lives if we never take for granted the mercy that we have been afforded."

Hunter Biden, 54, has had a busy year in court, kicking off his first trial in Delaware in June, when he faced three felony firearm offenses, before he pleaded guilty in a separate felony tax case in September. 

President Biden pardoning his son is a departure from his previous remarks to the media over the summer, declaring he would not pardon the first son.

"Yes," President Biden told ABC News when asked if he would rule out pardoning Hunter ahead of his guilty verdict in the gun case. 

Days later, following a jury of Hunter’s peers finding him guilty of three felony firearm offenses, the president again said he would not pardon his son. 

"I am not going to do anything," Biden said after Hunter was convicted. "I will abide by the jury’s decision."

In the gun case, Hunter was found guilty of making a false statement in the purchase of a gun, making a false statement related to information required to be kept by a federally licensed gun dealer, and possession of a gun by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance.

Prosecutors specifically worked to prove that Biden lied on a federal firearm form, known as ATF Form 4473, in October 2018, when he ticked a box labeled "No" when asked if he is an unlawful user of substances or addicted to controlled substances. 

Hunter has a well-documented history of drug abuse, which was most notably documented in his 2021 memoir, "Beautiful Things," which walked readers through his previous need to smoke crack cocaine every 20 minutes, how his addiction was so prolific that he referred to himself as a "crack daddy" to drug dealers, and anecdotes revolving around drug deals, such as a Washington, D.C., crack dealer Biden nicknamed "Bicycles."

Hunter’s attorneys did not dispute the first son’s long history with substance abuse amid the trial, which also included an addiction to alcohol. The defense instead argued that on the day Biden bought the Cobra Colt .38, he did not consider himself an active drug addict, citing the first son's stint in rehab ahead of the October 2018 purchase.

Prosecutors, however, argued Biden was addicted to crack cocaine before, during and after he bought the handgun. Just one day after the gun purchase, prosecutors showed the court that Biden texted Hallie Biden, his sister-in-law-turned-girlfriend, to say he was "waiting for a dealer named Mookie." A day after that text, he texted that he was "sleeping on a car smoking crack on 4th Street and Rodney" in Wilmington. 

A jury deliberated for roughly three hours across two days before they found Hunter guilty on each charge. 

Hunter was scheduled for sentencing on Nov. 13, which was delayed until December before his dad intervened. 

After Biden dropped out of the presidential race in July amid mounting concerns over his mental acuity and age, Hunter faced another trial regarding three felony tax offenses and six misdemeanor tax offenses regarding the failure to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes. 

As jury selection was about to kick off in Los Angeles federal court, Hunter entered a surprise guilty plea. 

"I will not subject my family to more pain, more invasions of privacy and needless embarrassment," Hunter said in an emailed statement at the time. "For all I have put them through over the years, I can spare them this, and so I have decided to plead guilty."

The charges carried up to 17 years behind bars, but the first son would likely have faced a much shorter sentence under federal sentencing guidelines. His sentencing was scheduled for Dec. 16. 

Ahead of the president’s decision to pardon his son, President-elect Donald Trump said on the campaign trail that he would consider pardoning Hunterif victorious on Nov. 5. 

"I wouldn't take it off the books," Trump told radio host Hugh Hewitt in October. "See, unlike Joe Biden, despite what they've done to me, where they've gone after me so viciously. . . . And Hunter's a bad boy."

"There's no question about it. He's been a bad boy," Trump continued. "But I happen to think it's very bad for our country."

Fox News

Egypt hosts Hamas in new Gaza ceasefire push, looting halts aid

Hamas leaders held talks with Egyptian security officials on Sunday in a fresh push for a ceasefire in the Gaza war, two Hamas sources said, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was set to hold security talks on the matter, two Israeli officials said.

The Hamas visit to Cairo was the first since the United States announced on Wednesday it would revive efforts in collaboration with Qatar, Egypt and Turkey to negotiate a ceasefire in Gaza, that would include a hostage deal.

White House national security advisor Jake Sullivan said he thought the chances of a ceasefire and hostage deal in the Palestinian territory were now more likely.

"(Hamas) are isolated. Hezbollah is no longer fighting with them, and their backers in Iran and elsewhere are preoccupied with other conflicts," he told CNN on Sunday.

"So I think we may have a chance to make progress, but I'm not going to predict exactly when it will happen ... we've come so close so many times and not gotten across the finish line."

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Through several rounds of negotiations over the past year, Hamas has insisted that any deal should conclude with Israel ending the war, while Israel says the war will end when Hamas no longer rules Gaza or poses a threat to Israelis.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Sunday that there was some indication of progress toward a hostage deal but that Israel's conditions for ending the war have not changed.

"We will know in the coming days. From our perspective, the government of Israel, there is a desire to advance in this direction," he said at a Israel Hayom newspaper conference.

Fighting raged on meanwhile in the enclave and the head of the United Nations Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) said it had to halt aid deliveries through one crossing a day after armed gangs inside Gaza seized food from a truck convoy.

"This difficult decision comes at a time hunger is rapidly deepening," UNRWA's Philippe Lazzarini said in a post on X.

The halting of aid deliveries through the Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom crossing came almost two weeks after a large shipment was hijackedon the same route.

UNRWA's Lazzarini said it was Israel's responsibility "as occupying power" to protect aid workers and supplies, and that the humanitarian operation had become "unnecessarily impossible" due to what he said were Israeli restrictions.

COGAT, the Israeli military department responsible for aid transfers, denies it is hindering humanitarian relief into Gaza, saying there is no limit on supplies for civilians and blaming delays on the United Nations, which it says is inefficient.

FIGHTING

The conflict started when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israeli communities on Oct. 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people and abducting more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli officials.

Israel's military campaign in Gaza has killed more than 44,400 people and displaced nearly all of the enclave's population, Gaza officials say. Vast swathes of the enclave lie in ruins.

On Sunday, Israeli airstrikes killed at least 20 people, medics said, as Israeli forces kept up bombardments across the enclave and blew up houses on its northern edge.

In the central Gaza camp of Nuseirat, an Israeli airstrike killed six people in a house, and another attack killed three in a home in Gaza City, medics said.

Two children were killed when a missile hit a tent encampment in Khan Younis in the south, while four other people were killed in an airstrike in Rafah, near the border with Egypt, medics told Reuters.

Residents said the military blew up clusters of houses in the northern Gaza areas of Jabalia, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun, where Israeli forces have operated since October.

Palestinians say Israel's operations on the northern edge of the enclave are part of a plan to clear people out through forced evacuations and bombardments to create a buffer zone. The Israeli military denies this and says it is fighting Hamas.

The military says it has killed hundreds of Hamas militants in that part of Gaza as it fights to stop the faction regrouping. It has also lost around 30 soldiers there in combat over the past two months, a relatively high death toll.

Hamas does not provide details on its own fatalities.

Two Palestinian detainees from Gaza have died in Israeli custody, prisoner advocacy groups said on Sunday.

There was no immediate comment by Israeli authorities.

Reuters

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Ukrainian military desertions skyrocketing – FT

More than twice as many Ukrainian soldiers have been charged with desertion this year than in 2022 and 2023 combined, the Financial Times has reported. The spike in desertions has hampered Kiev’s ability to replenish its thinned-out ranks.

Ukrainian prosecutors opened 60,000 cases against deserters between January and October of this year, the British newspaper reported on Saturday, noting that those convicted face prison terms of up to 12 years.

For some of these men, desertion is seen as the only way of getting off the front lines to rest. Ukrainian lawmakers dropped a provision from a bill earlier this year that would have allowed the country’s longest-serving conscripts to be demobilized in the coming months, and service members told the Financial Times that the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) lacks the manpower to give troops shorter four-week rotations off the front lines for rest and retraining.

”They’re just killing them, instead of letting them rehabilitate and rest,” one officer told the newspaper.

Those killed are replaced by ill-trained and unfit draftees. In an earlier article, Ukrainian commanders told the Financial Times that on some busy sectors of the front, 50 to 70% of these new conscripts are killed or wounded within days of starting their first rotation. Those who survive often go AWOL as soon as they can, the newspaper reported.

Some choose to desert while at training camps in NATO countries. An anonymous Polish security source told the Financial Times that around 12 Ukrainian men abscond from training centers in Poland every month.

Earlier this week, a Ukrainian MP told the Associated Press that as many as 200,000 soldiers may have deserted since the conflict with Russia escalated in 2022.

There are around 350,000 active-duty soldiers in the UAF, although heavy losses – more than half a million since February 2022, according to the Russian Defense Ministry – have seen the country’s longest-serving soldiers replaced first by almost a dozen NATO-trained divisions, and then, after these divisions were chewed up during last year’s disastrous counteroffensive, by unwilling conscripts.

Press-ganged off the streets and dragged out of nightclubs to serve, these draftees include the blind, the deaf, and the mentally handicapped, according to recent media reports and testimony from Ukrainian lawmakers.

”Men who are the right age for the military draft are scared to walk freely in the street,” one draft-dodger told The Telegraph earlier this week. A recruiter concurred, telling the newspaper that approaching a potential conscript is often “like dealing with a cornered rat.”

The UAF is seeking to recruit around 160,000 new soldiers in the coming months. To reach this target, the US has begun pushing the Ukrainian government to lower the minimum draft age to 18, down from 25, the Associated Press reported on Wednesday.

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Ukrainian drone attack in Russia's Bryansk region killed child, governor says

One child died in Russia's western Bryansk region following a massive Ukrainian drone attack, the local governor Alexander Bogomaz said on Sunday in a post on the Telegram messaging app.

Bogomaz said the attacks completely destroyed one house in the Starodubsky municipal district.

According to a Telegram channel called Mash, an 11-year-old boy died after a drone hit a five-story residential apartment in the region.

The Russian defence ministry said its air defences destroyed 29 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 20 in the Bryansk region, seven in Kaluga region, and one each in Smolensk and Kursk regions.

The strikes come after Russia launched a record number of drones targeting Ukraine on Tuesday, cutting power to much of the western region of Ternopil and damaging residential buildings in the Kyiv region.

RT/Reuters

On 20 October, I was gloomy. It was four years since  the #EndSARS protests by Nigerian Youths against police brutality and the bloody reprisals that followed in its wake. I scrolled my phone with intention of exiting the #EndSARS sorrows. Instead, I scrolled unto premium tears.

On Premium Times, I stumbled on an articleheadlined, “Theresa Chikeka: The retired judge who is chief judge of Imo State? By Chidi Anselm Odinkalu”. I take anything written by Odinkalu seriously because he bears a torch in the dark times we find ourselves in this country. By his flint we hope to find guidance to the paths that could make life liveable for those coming after us. The opening phrases of the article read as follows:

“The judicial career of Francis Chukwuma Abosi was supposed to last only seven years. In the event, he did 12 and may well have reached 20 years if events had not intervened. In his 12th year as a judge in April 2020, while serving as the Acting President of the Customary Court of Appeal of Imo State in South-East Nigeria, the National Judicial Council (NJC) mercifully ended it all.”

The story was not about Francis Abosi though. It was about Theresa Eberechukwu Chikeka who was appointed a judge of the High Court of Imo State on the same day as Abosi in 2008. Theresa Chikeka schooled, did Youth Service, and worked on the basis that she was born on 27 October 1956 and should have retired at 65 in October 2021. Instead, she changed her year of birth from 1956 to 1958, thereby making her eligible to retire in 2023 instead of 2021. On 28 June 2022, Imo State House of Assembly confirmed her as Chief Judge, more than eight months after she should have retired.

On 18 November, the National Judicial Council (NJC) recommended the sack of Chikeka for age falsification. Additionally, “the council found that Grand Khadi Mahdi of Yobe State had three different dates of birth – December 10, January 28, and July, all in 1959, while his actual date of birth is 1952. The council held that Babagana, the Grand Kadi of Yobe, committed an act of misconduct in violation of Rule 02908 (i) and (ii) of the Public Service Rules, 2021 and ought to have retired from service 12 years ago.”

I am scandalised to learn that falsification of age by judicial officers is this rampant. How many more retired judges remain in service of the judiciary? The judicial officer’s calling is to do justice and, in some instances, convict people who cheat the system, falsify documents, or depose falsehoods on oath. What is the moral justification for persons like Abosi, Babagana, or Chikeka to purport to dispense justice on others?

I thank Odinkalu for amplifying the situation, keeping it in the front burner and insisting that the right thing is done. It remains to be seen if the NJC’s recommendation directing compulsory retirement and refund of salaries by the number of months that Babaganda and Chikeka respectively overstayed their judicial tenure will be implemented.

However, retirement and refund of salaries alone are, in my opinion, not proportionate punishment for the misconduct established. I think that there should be additional consequences for the misconduct by Abosi, Babagana and Chikeka. They have each done considerable damage to the standing of the judiciary and to the careers of other persons who could have been President of Customary Court of Appeal, Grand Khadi, or Chief Judge who would have filled the vacancies had they left the judicial service when they were due. Their conduct also implicates several heads of crime, including fraudulent misrepresentation, forgery, and perjury.

The Difficult Question

The more difficult question is: what is the fate of judgments or proceedings delivered or conducted by these judicial officers after the time that they ought to have retired?

The judiciary is not like the executive where acts done by a person who is not the governor or duly appointed executive member could still be saved by several theories, such as the doctrine of necessity. Nor is the judiciary like the legislature where the participation of persons not qualified to do so would not necessarily invalidate laws made. Of course, participating in parliamentary proceedings when unqualified is unconstitutional under section 57 of the Nigerian Constitution of 1999.

However, that did not deter people like Salisu Buhari from forging their age and qualifications to claim eligibility to become elected to the position of the Speaker of the House of Representatives from 3 June 1999 to 23 July 1999. Laws, resolutions or proceedings made while he was speaker did not become void. Salisu Buhari would later confess, resign, apologise, and be convicted of his crimes. President Olusegun Obasanjo extended a pardon to him after the courts sentenced him to two years in prison for those crimes.

Numerous lawmakers had been in the national or state assemblies making laws while not eligible to be in those places. The constitution in those instances provides that the ineligibility of a lawmaker does not make the law made invalid. No one has bothered to ask if without those ineligibles, the legislature would have been quorate to begin with.

The enquiry as to whether the acts of Chikeka, Mahdi Babagana, or Abosi would remain valid is important because of its implications for the validity of their decisions after they should have retired. The case of former Abia State governor, Orji Uzor Kalu, is relevant here.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) prosecuted Orji Kalu for stealing the equivalent of about US$700m from the state’s coffers. The trial court convicted and sentenced him to about 12 years in jail. Before the conclusion of the proceedings, the trial judge (Muhammed Idris) was nominated a justice of the Court of Appeal. Orji Kalu applied for Idris to continue and complete the trial. Section 396(7) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) allowed a judge of the High Court elevated to the Court of Appeal to continue to sit as a High Court judge for the purpose of concluding partly heard criminal matters which s/he was handling before the elevation.

Idris granted Orji Kalu’s application and concluded the trial despite his nomination to the Court of Appeal. On appeal, the Supreme Court held that Idris was no longer a judge of the Federal High Court on the day he convicted and sentenced Orji Kalu. It therefore set aside the proceedings. On 2 June 2020, Abdullahi Liman ordered the release of Orji Kalu from custody, claiming that the decision of the seven-person panel of the Supreme Court meant that his conviction was wrongful and there was no basis for him to remain in custody. Inyang Ekwo on 21 September 2021 restrained EFCC from re-arraigning Orji Kalu, holding that to do so would breach the constitutional prohibition against double jeopardy.

The principle in this decision is clear. So, what happens to the decisions rendered by Chikeka, Babagana, Abosi or any other unqualified judge rendered after they were supposed to have retired? What about accused persons convicted or acquitted by Chikeka et al? Will the Orji Kalu precedent be democratised and who will bear the cost of wasted time and resources of the State and litigants? It is not just enough for Abosi, Babagana, Chikeka and others to disgorge salaries unlawfully earned. They deserve their day(s) in court.

** Johnson Agwu, a lawyer, writes from Lagos.

When I think about rebranding, it’s a bit like cleaning out my closet. At first glance, everything seems fine—comfortable, familiar. But when I start looking closer, I realize some of the clothes I’ve held onto no longer fit who I am or where I’m headed. That’s when I know it’s time for a refresh, not just to feel better about the present, but to reflect the future I’m stepping into.

Rebranding is similar. It’s not about discarding everything, but about taking stock, making purposeful changes, and positioning yourself for where you want to go next.

Why are you rebranding?

Before diving into colors, logos, and messaging, the most important question to ask is: Why are you rebranding? Without a clear purpose, your rebrand can fall flat or even damage the company’s image.

Some common reasons to rebrand include:

This Health Food Founder Would Rather Go Broad Than Niche

• Target a new audience: Your current brand may have served you well for years, but as markets shift, you may notice your message resonating with a different demographic or generation. Rebranding can help you reach them more effectively, positioning your company to speak to their values, aspirations, and needs.
• Business evolution: As companies grow, they often expand their offerings or shift their focus. A rebrand can communicate this evolution, ensuring your image aligns with your company’s current and future direction.
• Reputation management: Sometimes, a rebrand is necessary to distance a company from negative associations. Whether it’s a public relations crisis or an outdated reputation, rebranding can give you a clean slate.
• Competition and differentiation: If your market is saturated or your brand is blending into the background, a rebrand can set you apart from the competition and reinforce your unique value proposition.

In any of these cases, having a clear reason for rebranding will guide your decisions and ensure you stay on track. Here are six considerations for your rebranding.

1. Rebrand for the customers you want

One key to rebranding success is understanding that you’re not rebranding for the customers you currently have—you’re rebranding for the customers you want. This mindset shift is crucial. If your company is starting to resonate with a specific generation or demographic, rebranding can be the perfect opportunity to refine your messaging and push toward them.

For example, you might notice that your products or services are becoming popular with younger consumers, or you’re gaining traction in a different geographic region. A rebrand can align your company’s image with their values and preferences. Whether it’s through more modern design elements, a refreshed messaging tone, or a shift in your overall identity, the goal is to appeal to this new group without alienating your existing customers. It’s a balancing act, but when done well, it can open up entirely new markets for your business.

2. Don’t survey your current customers

It might seem like a good idea to survey your current customers before diving into a rebrand. After all, they’ve been with you through thick and thin, and their loyalty has kept your business going. But here’s the truth: Rebranding isn’t about keeping things as they are. Asking current customers what they think about your rebrand can backfire, as their feedback is likely to pull you back toward what they’re already familiar with.

While customer opinions are important in many aspects of your business, a rebrand is often about moving forward and making changes that will appeal to a new audience or take your company in a fresh direction. Your current customers might be attached to elements of your brand that need to change in order to grow. Trust your vision and your market research, and focus on what will drive your business toward your future goals.

3. Streamline decision making

Limit the number of decision makers involved in the rebrand. Too many cooks in the kitchen will create confusion, slow the process, and dilute your vision. Every new opinion adds another layer of complexity, and it’s easy to get bogged down trying to please everyone.

Instead, put together a small, focused team that can make decisions quickly and efficiently. This team should include people who understand the brand, the company’s goals, and the target audience’s needs. With fewer voices at the table, you’ll have a clearer direction and a faster path to launching the new brand.

4. Keep the core values intact

While rebranding is often about change, it’s essential to keep your company’s core values intact. What makes your brand unique should still shine through, even in its new form. The trick is to refresh your image without losing the essence of what has made your business successful.

Ask yourself: What aspects of the brand must remain untouched? It could be your commitment to quality, your focus on sustainability, or your dedication to excellent customer service. Make sure these key elements are carried forward in the new brand so that your rebrand feels like a natural evolution, not a complete departure.

5. The visual elements

When most people think of rebranding, they immediately picture new logos, updated color schemes, and fresh design elements. And while these are certainly important, they are the outcome of your rebrand, not the starting point. The visuals should be a reflection of your rebrand’s strategic goals.

That said, it’s important to ensure that your new visuals communicate your company’s new direction and resonate with your target audience. Keep the design consistent with the message you want to convey. If you’re targeting a younger, more modern audience, bold, minimalist design choices might be the way to go. For a more established or traditional audience, subtle updates to your classic look may be more appropriate.

6. The rollout: Introduce the new brand

Once the hard work is done and your new brand is ready to go, it’s time to plan your rollout. A successful rebrand doesn’t happen overnight; it requires careful planning and communication with your audience. Consider creating a timeline that allows for a gradual transition, easing customers into the new look and feel.

Be transparent about why you’re rebranding. Let your customers know what’s changing and, more importantly, why these changes are happening. This can help minimize confusion and keep your loyal customers on board as you move into the next phase of your company’s journey.

Rebranding is more than just a visual refresh—it’s about repositioning your company for the future. It’s an opportunity to redefine who you are, what you stand for, and where you’re headed. By rebranding for the customers you want, keeping the process streamlined, and staying true to your core values, you can create a brand that’s not only modern and relevant but also built to last.

Inc

Northern Nigeria is seeing a surge in opposition to President Bola Tinubu’s proposed tax reform bills, with regional groups and political leaders condemning the measures as harmful to the economic interests of the North. The four bills—aimed at overhauling the country’s tax system—are currently under review in the National Assembly. However, their swift progression has sparked widespread anger in the northern states, with accusations that the reforms favor southern Nigeria, particularly Lagos, at the expense of the North’s economic stability.

The bills—entitled the Joint Revenue Board of Nigeria (Establishment) Bill, the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill, the Nigeria Tax Administration Bill, and the Nigeria Tax Bill—passed a second reading in the Senate last week, despite vocal objections from northern lawmakers and leaders. Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele described the bills as crucial for streamlining tax revenue administration across Nigeria, eliminating double taxation, and boosting private sector investment. However, many in the North view the reforms as unfairly burdensome, potentially exacerbating the region’s already dire economic conditions.

The latest flashpoint occurred when the Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, who represents Kano North, presided over the Senate plenary where the bills passed the second reading. Northern youths, particularly from Kano, have sharply criticized Jibrin, accusing him of being insensitive to the needs of his constituents. In an open letter, the Northern Youth Assembly condemned Jibrin’s support for the bills, claiming they would “further relegate the region economically and commercially.” The group expressed outrage that Jibrin appeared to prioritize the interests of southern Nigeria over the pressing challenges facing the North, including poverty, unemployment, and infrastructure deficits.

The opposition has been fueled by concerns that the tax reforms, particularly the proposed increase in VAT, would place an additional burden on already struggling businesses and households in the North. Islamic clerics from the region have also voiced their objections, with some suggesting the bills are being rushed through the legislative process without sufficient consultation. Mansur Ibrahim, a prominent cleric from Sokoto, accused the government of using "force" to push through the reforms, warning that they could harm the livelihoods of ordinary Nigerians.

This mounting resistance has prompted calls from northern leaders, including former governors and religious figures, for the suspension of the bills. The Northern Governors' Forum and the National Economic Council have both raised concerns about the potential negative impacts of the tax reforms on the North’s economic prospects.

Despite the growing backlash, proponents of the reforms argue that they are necessary for modernizing Nigeria’s tax system and ensuring fairness across the country. However, with northern political and religious leaders uniting against the bills, and with further debates and public hearings expected in the coming weeks, the proposed tax reforms face significant hurdles before they can become law.

As tensions rise, the political fallout from the proposed reforms may continue to shape the discourse in the National Assembly, with northern lawmakers vowing to scrutinize the bills further and ensure that the interests of their constituents are not overlooked.

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) says it is yet to obtain the full text of a recent judgement of the Court of Appeal’s ruling, which exempted personal items from import duty charges.

According to the NCS in an X post on Thursday, the service will respond to the judgment in the coming days, after a thorough review of its content.

“The service is yet to obtain the full judgement to enable her study and take the next line of action. In coming days, the service will respond accordingly after a careful study of the content of the judgement,” the NCS stated.

The NCS was responding to an inquiry by the former Director-General of the Bureau of Public Service Reforms, Joe Abah, seeking to confirm NCS’s knowledge of the recent judgement and if it intends to implement the ruling.

Background

On Thursday, the Appeal Court upheld the decision of the Federal High Court in Abuja in the case of Chikaosolu Ojukwu, a legal practitioner and the Nigeria Customs Service.

Mr Ojukwu had sued the NCS for unlawfully detaining him at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, upon his arrival from the United Kingdom on February 20, 2022.

His items, four iPhone 13 Pro phones, were seized.

He was also compelled to pay N404,417 import duty charges on the four iPhones.

Undeterred, Ojukwu instituted legal action at the Federal High Court against the Nigerian Customs Service Board, the Nigerian Customs Service, and First Bank Plc.

He sought damages of N160 million and prayed Justice Ahmed Mohammed to declare the customs service’s actions unlawful and a flagrant breach of his fundamental rights.

In the suit filed on his behalf by his legal representative, Segun Fiki, Mr Ojukwu based his argument on the provisions of section 8 of the Customs, Excise Tariff, etc. (Consolidation) Act and paragraph 7 of the Second Schedule to the Act.

In his ruling, Justice Mohammed held that citizens who have not been outside Nigeria for at least nine months were not required by law to pay import duties on their personal effects not meant for sale, exchange, or barter.

Justice Mohammed also ordered the Nigeria Customs Service Board and the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to pay the plaintiff the sum N5 million as damages.

The ruling by the Appeal Court sets a significant precedent for how customs officials handle personal items and the scope of import duties under Nigerian law.

PT