Popular singer Yemi Alade recently drew the ire of some online commentators when she decried the frequency of house demolitions in Lagos. Some of these commenters’ vociferous defence of the government’s decision to demolish houses left me wondering if this is not schadenfreude. Do these people truly believe in the irreproachability of the government, or derive vicarious joy in watching relatively well-off people’s houses being bulldozed? Either way, when it comes to issues of house demolitions, the chatter that attends them is also a problem. We tend to focus on the wrong things. The real trouble with the demolitions is that they are done under the guise of improving the cityscape. Yet, year in and year out our urban spaces remain dysfunctional. What good have the demolitions done?

Last year when the Lagos State government was demolishing houses around Lekki, Ajao Estate, Alaba Market, Abule Egba, and Ladipo, most of the discussion was about the ethnicity of the house owners. Groups alleged that the houses selected for demolition belonged to Igbos, and that the demolition was political vindictiveness. Other groups bounced out with proof that more of those houses belonged to Yorubas, and therefore the allegation of ethnic bias was unfounded.

In all of the bickering and bitter exchange of which tribe the house owners originated from, we forgot to ask what follows. How is the city being rebuilt? Are there options other than demolition that we can explore? Can we imagine a re-organisation of our urban spaces without wasting so much capital that people invested in what is being destroyed? Truth is, too many demolitions do not suggest seriousness about restoring the master plan of an urban landscape. What it signals is a stunted imagination, a chronic inability to think.

Look beyond Lagos State (where another round of demolition is ongoing) and you will find the same attitude elsewhere in the country. Virtually every Nigerian leader has a plan to destroy but no concomitant one to (re-)build. It has become customary to read media reports of this governor planning to demolish 160 houses. Another time you read that that governor too will demolish an entire estate. The one who was just inaugurated yesterday arrived with a plan to level down a street. What you will hardly hear is their plans to at least re-build. Ours is to plunder, never to plough or preserve. For a poor country without a sustained flow of capital, we lack the prudence to manage resources. The little we have, we are rather too quick to bulldoze them. 

Let us take, for instance, ex-Rivers governor Nyesom Wike. When he was first appointed as Minister of Federal Capital Territory, one of his early addresses to the press was his plan to demolish anything that stood in the way of his vacuousness. The sadistic relish with which he talked about bringing down erected structures was quite telling of his barbarism. Like the primitive man who cannot reason beyond what instinct dictates, Wike takes the demolition exercise as the end. Ask him what his vision of the FCT should look like and how all the buildings he is bringing down will help him achieve it, and I can guarantee he will have no clue whatsoever.

He has not quite thought about it, and he is still not going to think about it simply because you asked. Why? Because he is not out to achieve anything in the FCT other than accumulate wealth and power. Wike just wants to destroy, and that is also because he knows nothing else to do. He was not appointed to be a city builder anyway. He is where he is because he helped the All Progressives Congress win the 2023 election and will remain there to help them win again in 2027. He uses his office like a political trophy because that is all it is. Like his fellow demolishers in parts of the country, Wike lacks any sophisticated idea of how our urban spaces ought to be rebuilt and how cities should function. They just want to repossess land and re-award it to their cronies.

Before we fall into the temptation of thinking that Wike’s administrative excesses are unique, consider former Kaduna governor, the one-man evil called Nasir El-Rufai. This was a man who made a career out of house demolitions while he too was the FCT minister. The praises he received for restoring the FCT master plan must have turned his head the other way because, as governor, he demolished houses as if they were built with pebbles. For instance, in 2020, a random poster appeared on social media saying a restaurant and lounge in the state was going to be the venue of a “Kaduna Sex Party.” Without waiting to verify if there was truly going to be a sex party, the state Urban Planning and Development Agency demolished the building on his orders. They were clear on their reasons for bringing down the building until they got some blowback. Then they changed their rationale to alleging the “illegality” of the structure.

El Rufai not only spent a chunk of his tenure demolishing everything from churches to houses, he continued that state-sanctioned malevolence even hours before he handed power to his successor. The Gbagi community where he carried out this final demolition had to be reportedly held down with dozens of security agents who left their trademark sorrow tears and blood in their wake. El Rufai did all of that but (re-)built virtually nothing. Ask him how better Kaduna State functions due to that demolition exercise, and you see a man who was just wicked for nothing.

Then there are categories of beasts who demolish as a sign of conquest, a vanquishing of their political opponent. Successive governors do that for malicious reasons. One of the first things Emeka Ihedioha did as governor was to destroy Akachi Tower, as if Rochas Okorochas built it with his money. I passed that monument shortly after it was tampered with, and the sight was disheartening. What manner of humans are we? In Kano, they brought down a flyover built by the former governor Abdullahi Ganduje because some folks with a low bandwidth of intelligence said the aerial view of the design looked like a Cross, a Christian symbol. Kano was a Muslim state and anything that smelled “Christian”—especially a structure close to the government house, the seat of political power—needed to be destroyed.

Kano governor Abba Yusuf’s demolition spate got to a head this January when some victims sued the state for N30bn. They alleged they had lost about 30 members and goods worth N260bn to the demolition. The governor agreed to settle out of court for N3bn. So, he not only cost the state lives and capital, he will still pay a token for what he broke. In Lagos, the Landmark Beach Beach on Victoria Island was demolished to give way to the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, an ambitious public infrastructure project. The project had hardly been announced when they brought the business operating there down to a wreckage. We are quick to destroy like that because it is easy; it requires neither thinking nor empathy. We can find a way to build around those structures, but that will task the imagination we lack.

Unfortunately, a society that builds to grow does not destroy so frequently unless it is truly necessary. Why? Because, at the end of the day, what we call a developed society is a consequence of additive growth. You add onto what is on the ground, not make a habit of subtracting. At the rate we are going, we will end up merely circling on the same spot forever. We will build 12 things and demolish 13, and then wonder why nothing ever grows on this land.

….tells investors to take advantage of President Tinubu’s economic reforms 

Ekiti State Governor, Mr Biodun Oyebanji yesterday in Dallas , USA told foreign investors to take advantage of the current economic reforms in Nigeria to invest in the country. 

“This is the right time for any investor to invest in Nigeria”, Oyebanji declared at a panel session, one of the major events at the 2024 US- Africa Business Summit organised the Corporate Council on Africa ( CCA), citing the current reforms of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration and the synergy between the Federal Government and the state governments. 

In attendance at the session were heads of national government and sub- national governments; investors; policy makers and development agencies drawn from different parts of the world, including the Chairman of the Board of Corporate Council on Africa, Mr John Olajide. 

Governor Oyebanji, in his presentation also cited a few successful collaboration between Ekiti State Government and some international investors, including Cavista Holdings and Promasidor to make a case for more direct investment in the state, stressing that the right time to invest in the state is now. 

According to Oyebanji “Now we have a reform-minded government that is visionary and we have 36 state governors (I am one of them) and these are people that have keyed in to the vision of the President Tinubu’s administration. 

“And like I have said, the economies of sub-nationals are so critical to the Nigerian economy itself. So, for any investor that wants credible return on their investment, this is the time to invest in Nigeria because the market is readily available, the people are ready, we have a government that is reform-minded, transparent, and trusted by the people. 

“Nigerians believe in this government because we have a President that has done it right and all the governors have keyed into his vision as well. So, the time to invest in Nigeria is now.” He added. 

Wooing Investors to Ekiti, Governor Oyebanji said the State Government is strong on regulatory framework which are designed to protect investors and investments in the state. 

“What we are doing is to ensure that we have a stable and predictable regulatory framework and there must be trust because I believe that for any business to thrive, trust is key. You must have a leader that is visionary, trust-worthy, and transparent. All these, we have in Ekiti State and that is why I am here today so that we can have more investors like Cavista who are relevant to what we are doing in the State.

“So, the sub-nationals are critical to developing the Nigerian economy, but for them to attract credible investors there must be clear regulatory framework. The ease of doing business has to be top notch, security must be guaranteed, put in place the building blocks that will allow businesses to grow and thrive. Things must also be done in the way and manner that will give them confidence to bring their capital to invest.

“The Cavista story is one of our success stories and I am proud of it. Cavista Holdings came to Ekiti State as a company we were not aware of but they showed interest in one of our moribund assets that has been there for many years and nobody wants to touch it. Cavista came to discuss with us but through the help of NIPC, they told us to set up an Investment Promotion Agency so we have an IPA that shields investors away from government bureaucracies. 

“So, they do things the private sector way and we also set up a very strong regulatory system. We have a predictable policy because we realized that when you look for development, investors look for returns on their investments. So we have all our businesses plan being driven by the Ekiti State Development and Investment Promotion Agency (EKDIPA) and the Director-General has access to me directly so that when there are issues, I can give the executive backing. 

“So we started with the facility at Ikogosi Warm Spring and Resort that we are so proud of, and they told us what is expected of us as a government and because of the recent reforms of the Federal Government, which ceded resources to sub-nationals who are able to build critical infrastructure to support investments. Now the Resort is a success story, and because of that, we have now migrated from Tourism to the Agriculture.

“In Nigeria, there is a central government and there are 36 state governments with governors as heads of states; The Nigerian economy is the aggregate economy of sub-nationals and so if the sub-nationals do well, the country will do well as whole. The Federal Government realizing this put in place structures to assist subnational in areas of business development and attracting private investors into their space. 

“As a governor of a state you have responsibilities within the state but there are some critical areas that are better left in the hands of private investors. So through the Nigerian Investment and Promotion Council ( NIPC), the Federal Government collaborates with states and tell us what we need to do to make the state investment-friendly because capitals (finances) will move to a place where they are welcome. 

“So, there are healthy competitions amongst the 36 states to get very responsible and credible private sector players into our states.”

Three weeks from now, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will mark his first year in office. As we approach that first anniversary, it is only natural that the entire nation will be looking back and reflecting on the journey so far. In this piece, I would like to highlight some of the foundational elements of the thinking underpinning the work that President Tinubu is doing to reset and remake Nigeria. I believe that the more Nigerians are able to understand the ‘whys’ behind the ‘whats’, the easier it will be to connect the dots between the vision and its outcomes.

I will start by reiterating known facts: that President Tinubu came to the Presidency with eight years of experience as the Governor of the largest subnational economy in Africa, during which he mastered the art of implementing enduring institutional and process reforms. The President also showed up with an unparalleled understanding of the private sector, honed by his high-flying career as a corporate executive in the oil and gas industry. These have no doubt shaped his approach to the task of leading Nigeria. It is with these in mind that I will now turn to highlight five core principles or ideas that underpin the President’s leadership vision.

Firstly, President Tinubu is resolutely focused on policies and actions that will attract long-term local and foreign investments to Nigeria, knowing that every naira and dollar of new investment in the country means new jobs, increased productivity for local consumption and for export, and much-needed economic growth. For these investments to happen, the business environment must be conducive. This is what is fueling the painstaking rebuilding of the credibility and capacity of the Central Bank. It is also why we have extensive tax and fiscal reforms ongoing, to reduce the burden on businesses.

It is why Mr. President has established the Renewed Hope Infrastructure Development Fund (RHIDF), which is mobilizing billions of dollars for infrastructure projects that will reshape the country’s landscape – our roads and highways, airports and seaports, power plants, and so on. It is equally what explains the constant engagement with local and foreign investors, in which the President plays the role of Chief Marketing Officer with great energy and enthusiasm — and with remarkable success. In the last one year, we have seen investment commitments in excess of 30 billion USD, across various sectors.

Secondly, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is focused on policies and programs that provide direct and targeted economic relief and benefits to the pockets and livelihoods of Nigerians, by way of grants, education loans, food and fertilizer distribution, cash transfers, health insurance, and consumer credit. As we speak, disbursement has since commenced of the nano-grants of fifty thousand Naira each intended for one million Nigerians, part of a larger 200 billion Naira MSMEs credit program.

The National Social Investment Programme (NSIP) is currently being repositioned to ensure that it delivers maximum value to the intended beneficiaries, without the distortion of middlemen. This vision of targeted economic relief has also led to the launch, in recent weeks, of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) and the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation (CrediCorp), as well as the work going on to negotiate a new minimum wage that will touch the lives of millions of Nigerians. A Presidential Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) initiative to provide a cheaper alternative to petrol and diesel for transporters and commuters is also being finalized.

Thirdly, the President understands that desirable developmental outcomes often require a temporary period of pain and adjustment. He seizes every opportunity to be seen and heard asking for the understanding of the Nigerian people. Speaking recently at the World Economic Forum meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, he said, “Concerning the question of subsidy removal, there is no doubt that it was a necessary action for my country not to go bankrupt and to reset the economy and the pathway to growth. It was going to be difficult, but the hallmark of leadership is making difficult decisions when they need to be made.”

On the foreign exchange regime reforms, he said, “The currency management was necessary, equally to remove the artificial element of value in our currency. Hence, our local currency finds its level and competes with the rest of the world’s currencies as we remove corrupt arbitrage and opaqueness.”

President Tinubu wants to build a Nigeria that is confident and competitive on the global stage. Because of this, we can no longer afford certain ways of doing things. We must push past the false comfort of certain ingrained habits and practices, and endure inevitable but temporary discomfort, because we are certain that ahead of us lies lasting reward.

Fourthly, we have a President who listens very actively to the opinions of Nigerians, who does not allow ego to get in the way of doing what is best, and does not shy away from implementing adjustments in the policy-making process, where necessary. When the Students Loan Act required some more work, he wasted no time in getting this done. He sent the Act back to the National Assembly, where it was revised in record time, and returned for presidential assent. Today we have a much-improved Act that will deliver even greater value to the young Nigerians for whom it is intended.

Fifthly, President Tinubu is an adept communicator who leads by example, and wants Nigerians to always be in the know regarding the decisions being taken on their behalf. As the Minister of Information and National Orientation, I can attest to the enthusiasm that I have always seen in him, which has helped greatly in my work. I have personally enjoyed the President’s support to inaugurate a pioneering National Communications Team (NCT) that brings together key communications experts in the Presidency and the Federal Government, alongside the heads of our public information agencies. Our goal is to ensure that Nigerians are carried in a timely and transparent manner, as the President intensifies his determination to deliver on the Renewed Hope agenda. Nigerians will in the months ahead see even more effort from us to communicate this journey of transformation.

Let me now also add this: We were well aware, from the very start, that the task we signed up for as a party and a government — to renew the hope of Nigerians, and to convert that hope into genuine satisfaction, under the inspired leadership of President Tinubu — was never going to be an easy one. That is in fact why we put ourselves forward; because we knew that at this critical juncture in our history, Nigeria requires thinking that is fresh, audacious, and pragmatic; and we are confident that we can deliver this, against the backdrop of a world assailed by myriad fiscal, geopolitical, and technological challenges. Under President Tinubu’s watch, we will rebuild and restore the faith of Nigerians in their country.

As the implementation of our administration’s first full-year budget gathers momentum, Nigerians will increasingly see, across all sectors of the economy, concrete manifestations of the renewed hope they ushered in a year ago. This is where I will again ask for the continued understanding and support of all Nigerians, and for the media to strive to become fully alive to its democracy-nurturing obligations.

As a government, we must be held accountable for all that we have promised the people of Nigeria. At the same time, we also deserve to have Nigeria’s budding success narratives reported and amplified with enthusiasm, and without distortion. With a committed President and team, as we move into the second year of the administration, there is no doubt in my mind that things can only get better for this blessed and beautiful country of ours.

•Mohammed Idris, fnipr, is the Honourable Minister of Information and National Orientation of Nigeria.

The Brickhall School, Abuja, has mourned the death of its four-year-old pupil, Miguel Ovoke, who died from choking on a piece of meat in a home-made meal he ate during school hours.

Lamenting the death of the pupil, the school authorities said it was greatly saddened that the life of the pupil could not be saved despite the timely response of its trained nurse and the eventual decision to rush him to a hospital.

While noting the decision to mourn the late pupil by closing the school for one week, the school respectfully urged everyone connected to the tragedy to respect Miguel’s memory with dignity and peace while allowing medical professionals and law enforcement agencies to conclude with the autopsy.

The school manager said, “It is with profound sorrow and deepest sympathy that we at Brickhall School, Management and the Parents Teacher’s Forum express our heartfelt condolences to the family of our dearly beloved pupil, Miguel Ovoke.

“We are devastated to report that Miguel tragically passed away on April 24, 2024, following a sad incident where he choked on a piece of meat offal from his meal brought from home, despite the immediate and expert care provided by our dedicated staff and certified school nurse.

“In response to this heart-wrenching event, we convened an urgent meeting with our school community on the day of the incident.

“Out of respect for Miguel’s memory and to honour his bright spirit, we suspended classes for over a week, allowing our community time to mourn and reflect on this profound loss.

“We have cooperated fully with the relevant authorities to ensure a thorough and compassionate resolution for everyone affected, especially Miguel’s grieving family.

“The leadership of both the school and the Parents Teacher’s Forum has personally visited Miguel’s family to offer our support and condolences during this indescribably difficult time. We stand with them in their grief and extend our support to all who loved Miguel—his friends, classmates, and our entire community.

“As our school resumes, particularly for students preparing for their Senior and Junior School Certificate examinations, we reaffirm our commitment to the well-being and education of all our students.

“We have continued to work closely with medical professionals, law enforcement, and Miguel’s family to clarify the circumstances surrounding this tragedy.”

The school also reiterated that its duty of care has been efficient, and has never recorded an incident of this magnitude.

It said its staff were trained on emergency procedures and first aid, adding that the licensed school nurse followed laid down procedures for handling such emergencies.

[Dailytrust]

The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) has threatened a shut down of the economy over the plan to begin implementation of the 0.5 per cent cyber security levy on electronic transactions.

The body urged the Federal Government to direct the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to withdraw its directive to financial institutions on the issue, to avert the shutdown.

The union’s President, Mr Festus Osifo, gave the warning in a statement on Wednesday.

CBN had recently directed banks to implement the 0.5 per cent cybersecurity levy on electronic transactions from May 20.

The apex bank said the directive followed the enactment of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) (amendment) Act 2024.

It said that the proceeds were to be remitted to the National Cybersecurity Fund which would be administered by the Office of the National Security Adviser.

Osifo described such plan as illogical, coming at a time that Nigerians were grappling with high cost of living.

He said that such high cost of living was imposed by devaluation of Naira, hyper hike in the cost of petrol, supersonic increment in the cost of electricity tariff, among others.

The President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, has alleged threat to his life and an attempt to burn down his residence.

Iwuanyanwu said some Igbos, whom he described as anti-Igbo, have orchestrated plans to either kill him or burn his house over his leadership of Ndigbo.

He spoke while addressing a briefing at the secretariat of Ohanaeze Ndigbo in Enugu on Wednesday evening.

The Ohanaeze president linked those threatening his life to the death of his predecessor, Prof. George Obiozor.

He said: “This has become very dangerous. These people have carried this too far. Some time ago, I got some information that some people were coming to burn my house; that people said they were hired to come and burn my house.

“Some people also said they were hired to come and kill me; all sorts of stories like that. And I started asking myself: what is it that I have done that would warrant that my house should be burned, that I should be killed?

“I told those people that they shouldn’t worry. Fortunately, one of them said that the person they hired said that I trained his brother in the university. You know I had a scholarship scheme that trained over 5, 000 young people in the university. So he said his brother was trained by me and so he cannot burn my house.

“I feel sad that I should be confronted by some of these types of threats just because I want to serve my people.”

He said the group traced Obiozor to his village to kill him and when they failed to get him, they set his house on fire.

“Obiozor died as a result of that attack on his country home because as a diplomat, all his books, awards and recognition were totally burnt and these were things he cherished so much.

“In the case of Nnia Nwodo, as President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, they trailed him to his village in Ukehe, Enugu State and threw bomb into his house,” he said.

[DailyPost]

A Nigerian woman, Oluwami Dosunmu-Ogunbi, has made history as the first black woman to bag a PhD in Robotics at the University of Michigan in the United States.

Speaking at the university’s College of Engineering convocation, Dosunmu-Ogunbi, a daughter of Nigerian immigrants, spoke on the support she received in realising her aspirations.

She said,  “I do not stand here on my own two feet alone. None of us got here by our individual merit alone, whether it be teacher, friends, family, mentors, or role models, we each have one or multiple people to whom we are grateful for making this moment possible.”

She added that she wants to be remembered as the University’s of Michigan’s first black woman to get a PhD in Robotics and she wants to use her knowledge in engineering to improve the lives of others. 

She added, “A Michigan Engineer is one who does not just provide scientific and technological leadership, but is also one who is intellectually curious, socially conscious, creates collaborative solutions to societal problems, and promotes an inclusive and innovative community of service for the common good.

“We each have a solemn duty to make positive contributions to the world. Well, my reasons for becoming an engineer were initially frivolous, but they eventually moved into something more meaningful. I want to have a positive impact on the world.”

The University of Michigan Robotics Department website describes Dosunmu-Ogunbi’s journey as one shared by many PhD students who initially lack a clear vision for their final goals.

It added that Dosunmu-Ogunbi has been an active community builder in robotics, earning an MLK Spirit Award from the College of Engineering for mentoring and inspiration as well as being named an outreach ambassador by Robotics for three years, 2021–2023.

The Department also disclosed that she was named a runner-up in the
College of Engineering’s three–minute thesis competition and has been inducted into the Bouchet Society, which recognises outstanding scholarly achievement and promotes diversity in graduate education and the professoriate.

Dosunmu-Ogunbi is currently interviewing for faculty positions, the department revealed.

[Punch]

The Editor of FirstNews, Segun Olatunji, has resigned hours after the publication apologised to the Chief of Staff of President Bola Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila.

Olatunji, who spent 14 days in the custody of Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) Abuja for a report on Gbajabiamila, said he resigned for his safety and that of the family.

The report titled: “How Gbajabiamila attempted to corner $30bn, 66 houses traced to Sabiu” was written by Olatunji.

The First News Management, in a statement on Wednesday, May 8, said it had discovered the said story contained “falsehoods and fabricated stories handed out to us as facts by a misleading source which was highly negligent on our part and for which we deeply tender an unreserved apology to the Chief of Staff to the President.”

Hinting that he was unhappy about the apology, he hoped that the truth would come out soonest on what transpired over the report.

His resignation letter reads: ”In view of the latest development regarding the Gbajabiamila story and the stance of the company’s Management, I hereby tender my resignation as the General Editor of First News.

”It has become imperative for me to resign my appointment for the safety of my person and my family.

”However, I want to state that in no distant time, the truth will come out and then it’ll be my word against theirs.

”I hope the Management of First Media Network Limited, publishers of First News newspaper, will be magnanimous enough to fully settle the one year outstanding salaries I am being owed, in no time.

”I thank the company’s management for giving me the opportunity to contribute my quota to its operations in the past four years.”

[TheNation]