Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babatunde Fashola on Wednesday proposed a budget of N489.690bn for the year 2014 before members of the State House of Assembly.
The budget proposal, which he described as zero-deficit, is made of Recurrent Expenditure at N234.665bn and Capital Expenditure at N255.025bn with a Capital to Recurrent ratio at 52:48 as against 58:42 in Year 2013. According to Fashola, this is a budget of consolidation.“As I promised last year about reducing our deficit, a zero deficit financing requirement is proposed for Y2014,” he said, adding that General Public Service takes N100,215,966,990bn or 20.47 per cent, Public Order and Safety takes N17,977,368,027bn or 3.67 per cent, Economic Affairs takes N160,046,436,169bn or 32.68 per cent, Environmental Protection takes N39,727,711,248bn or 8.11 per cent, Housing and Community Amenities takes N50,537,201,984bn or 10.32 per cent.
Also, Health takes N37,812,553,057bn or 7.72 per cent; Recreation, Culture and Religion takes N3,482,081,806bn or 0.71 per cent billion, Education takes N77,423,827,872bn or 15.81 per cent, and Social Protection takes N2,466,309,939bn or 0.50 per cent.Delivering the budget presentation speech at the chambers of the Assembly, Fashola said that every time he has had the privilege to present a budget for the State, he did so with a lot of pleasure and with a deep sense of responsibility for the expectations that the budget raises for the people that things will get better.
“Year after year, we have met those expectations and things have got better. That feeling of pleasure and the sense of responsibility is no less different today as I present our budget proposals for 2014,” he said.
“As far as responsibility goes, it is incumbent upon me to report how far we have implemented the 2013 budget as proof, if one is needed, that budgets are important for us, and that we do our best to keep the promises that we make.
“Many will recall that we were the first Government at any level to begin the quarterly reporting of budget performances in this democratic dispensation and this year has not been an exception since we started the practice in 2007.
In the first quarter of this year, I reported a budget performance of 61 per cent, while the second quarter performance was 83 per cent and the recently reported third quarter performance was 70 per cent giving us a cumulative aggregate performance of 71 per cent.”
He expressed the commitment of the government to improving upon the fourth quarter performance and ultimately the total year 2013 budget performance, but gave explanations on why the performances he just reported were not exceeded.“Let me start by saying emphatically, that budget implementation in Lagos is no longer a matter of capacity. We have a highly resourceful and well-motivated workforce in the public service; budget implementation is constrained by the limitation of financial resources. As our population continues to grow, the provisions that we require to support them and meet their expectations are also growing. Regrettably, the financial resources are not growing at the rate of our people’s expectations.
“While I salute those who pay their taxes and whose contributions have helped to continuously develop our state by taking our destiny in our hands, I urge those who are yet to start paying to do so. It is a commonwealth that gives everybody a chance to realize their aspirations. It requires a common contribution to make it sustainable. While our tax contributions have helped to reduce our dependence on the Federal Government monthly FAAC remittance, to about 35 per cent of our financial needs, that 35 per cent is still critical. The recent inefficiencies that States have experienced in the process of Federal Government agencies accounting for revenues and the consequent delays in remittances owing to disputes over accounts have affected all States in different degrees.
“While salaries were delayed in other states; happily, that did not happen here, but the effect was felt in a slight reduction of our third quarter budget performance. This state of affairs, of delays in the discharge by Federal Government agencies of their responsibilities compels me to make a comment about the recent announcement by the Federal Government that a $200m World Bank loan had been approved for Lagos to fund capital projects such as the Light Rail, Adiyan Water Works and so on.
“While I thank them for finally giving the approval, it is instructive to contextualize the timing of the approval. You might all recall that in 2010 when I presented the year 2011 budget, I announced that we had negotiated a World Bank loan for $600m to fund a three-year medium term expenditure framework for years 2011, 2012 and 2013 which required Federal Government approval.
“Although the approval for the loan was given then and the year 2011 first tranche for $200m was released in that year, the year 2012 and 2013 tranches were frustrated by Federal Government agencies. It is the year 2012 component and year 2013 component that is now being approved in the last quarter of 2013.
In truth and in fact, our state’s development was held up and slowed down for two years.“Progress on the Rail was held back, supply of additional 70 million gallons from Adiyan Water Works was slowed down, progress on Lagos Badagry Expressway was slowed down. Improvement in the quality of life of Lagosians was slowed down. But we did not sit idly by and moan. We are the Centre of Excellence. Our tax payers’ contributions were our inspiration. We went to the financial market to raise money, knowing that our state is solvent. So the projects such as Lagos Rail, Adiyan Water Works have started and the Lagos-Badagry Road progresses, even though the approval is just coming.”
Fashola lamented that the state has had to borrow money at shorter tenures of seven years and higher interest rates of 17 per cent and 14 per cent, instead of 1 per cent and 40-year tenure, which the delayed World Bank loan offered.
“But nevertheless, our spirits are high, the high interest costs notwithstanding; I am pleased to report progress on these construction sites which provides employment for 1000 workers on the rail project and 500 workers at Adiyan Water Works. The promise of reliable rail transport system for Lagos and an additional 70 million gallons per day of water when Adiyan is completed makes it all worthwhile.
‘Ti eni be igu loju. Igi ma ru we’.“As if all these were not enough, FERMA, another Federal Government agency, is threatening to start collecting fuel levies, which is a matter within the residual revenue authority of the state. As I have said before, we will resist this incursion by taking legal action to stop the desecration of our fiscal federalist principles.
“Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, in spite of the slowdown, whether by commission or omission, I am pleased to report that ‘Eko o ni baje!’ Our dear state is making progress on all fronts. Except for our cynical opponents who need ‘jigi Bola’ to see the progress, the overwhelming consensus within the state, outside the state and all over the world, is that Lagos is working. Our commitment to Power, Agriculture, Transportation and Housing is manifesting incredible results.
“We have just commissioned the 10mw Alausa Power Plant, which I promised in my budget speech last year. In the aftermath, we have de-commissioned over 120 generators and our secretariat is now on its own dedicated electricity power, run on clean gas fuel. It is the first government secretariat that I know of in our country that has its own dedicated IPP. We have also extended street lighting earlier in the year to Ikorodu Road from Jibowu to Anthony, as we have done across Lagos including 12 streets in Alimosho, and on Carter Bridge to mention a few.
“In total, we have now provided about 70km of street lighting across Lagos, to improve safety and stimulate our night economy.
We have dedicated the month of October as our Energy Month, during which we have commenced an energy saving initiative and just yesterday we flagged off a clean cooking energy initiative of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) to reduce wood cutting.“We are in the process of converting the remaining functional generators to LPG fired generators, which will save us 50 per cent in fuel costs. Pole by pole, IPP by IPP with Lekki and Ikeja GRA IPPs to come next year, we are committed to lighting up Lagos. In the area of Agriculture, we are gradually inching towards our objective of improving on food security. The governor of Ogun State graciously approved land for us pursuant to my request as I promised in 2011.
Although I told you that our rice cultivation moved from 20 hectares to 250 hectares and that we were targeting 500-hectare cultivation, I am pleased to report that we are now cultivating 850 hectares of rice and we are milling at our Imota Rice Mill.“From our farm in Araga, in Epe, we are now producing 150,000 eggs per day, translating to over 50 million eggs a year. Our fish and poultry farming programmes are empowering young and old farmers and agriculture has become a business as well as a strategic security initiative in our state. We are determined to also improve the quality of nutrition available to our citizens especially beef. Accordingly, the Ministry of Agriculture is acting appropriately to restore best practices to cattle rearing, slaughter and processing, including the sanctioning of operators of illegal abattoirs. We are not only enforcing, we are also training. This is why we sponsored 35 cattle dealers and butchers in Oko-Oba Abattoir on a training excursion to Kenya and Bostwana to sensitize them about the vision for cattle and beef production standards that we think our citizens deserve.
“As we embrace these standards, things can only get safer, businesses can only get stronger and opportunities will certainly expand for jobs and jobs seekers, if we move from sub-optimal practices to global best practices. As we deal with increasing capacity in the production of carbohydrates sources such as rice and cassava, and protein sources such as fish, poultry and beef, fruit and vegetable production are also increasing within the State in Araga Epe and from our farm in Osun state.”According to the governor, Lagos is also providing ready sales outlets and guaranteed market in farmers marts, which first started in Alausa and has now extended to Ajah and Surulere with a further three coming up in Shomolu, Ikorodu and LASU. He added that public transportation, the state’s biggest challenge, is by many parameters one of our biggest successes, as the history of the world shows that many cities and states often address one major transport solution at a time.
“The Boston Road Tunnel, the Mumbai Mono-Rail and the Madrid Bypass Calle 30 are examples of transport solutions individually undertaken in cities.
In this area, our state has set an unprecedented record of five simultaneous transport solutions undertaken by one government, from the 40.5km Lekki-Eti-Osa Epe Expressway, to the 61km Lagos Badagry Expressway, the 13.5km Mile 12-Ikorodu Expressway, the 27km Okokomaiko-Marina Lagos Blue Line Light Rail; to the ferry terminals in Ipakodo, Osborne, Badore, Mile 2-Ebute Ojo, it is obvious that your government has its hands full and remains committed to developing first class multi-modal transport solutions befitting of the economic and financial capital of West Africa. In the area of traffic management, about 2,406 personnel of LASTMA have been in intensive training for almost one year, and have written competence examinations and they are now set to graduate with a new ethos to traffic management.“Junction by junction, the number of traffic light installations are increasing and kilometer by kilometer, lane marking and traffic signs are appearing on our roads to make motoring a safer experience. We are encouraged that these solutions are working because of the feedback we get from citizens. On Friday 25th October 2013 a citizen sent me a text message saying: ‘The traffic light at Ojuelegba has been adjusted. No more hold up.’ As far as road repairs are concerned, the Public Works Corporation is building three new asphalt plants in Ojodu Berger, Ikorodu and Ajido Badagry to increase the speed of response to repair potholes; and the Ministry of Works is currently executing over 200 inner city road projects, which I promised in my budget speech last year.”
While he stated that it is impossible to list all the roads in the address, it was important to mention completed or ongoing works, such as:
Ago Palace Way in Okota
Salabiu Olanrewaju in Epe
Ado Kekere in Ajah Badore
Medical Road/Kodeshoh in Ikeja
Igi Olugbin in Somolu
Adetola Road in AgudaSinari Daranijo Street in Victoria Island
Glover Road in IkoyiIsaac John/John Ogunnaike in Ikeja
Balogun Amodu/Alhaji Dodoyowa in Ejirin Epe
Awolumate/Oguntande Street in Ifako Ijaiye
Showonuola Street in Agege
Akinola/Victor Fagbemi/Kollington/Imulokanle in Alimosho
Okusanya/Kufeji/Idowu Williams/Olaniyi at Ifako Ijaiye
Roundabout to Moshalashi/Ipaja/Ayobo Road in Alimosho
Bamgbose/Lewis, Alakoro, Marina/Kosoko Roads in Lagos Island
Orile Ilasan/Iroko Awe Road in Eti Osa
Continuing, the governor said: “In addition to these, there are bridge works in Ajao Estate, Agiliti, Tedi and Ijegun which are at different stages of construction and making progress towards completion. I have also recently approved the commencement of another 25 roads and as these roads and bridges are being completed, we expect to see improved connectivity and improved journey times.
Happily, the Lagos Traffic radio continues to remain the City’s favourite source of advance traffic information, while the Lekki-Link Bridge has achieved its iconic design purpose by becoming a favoured destination for residents and visitors alike and in the same vein is successfully performing its travel time reduction objective.“In response to public appeal, and after extensive consultations, our party the APC and our government have acquired the concession rights to the Lekki-Eti-Osa Expressway with the approval of the House of Assembly and plans are underway to complete the due diligence and takeover of the assets and to complete the road.
I am also happy to report that one year after its implementation, the Traffic Law has recorded huge successes in its life and property saving objectives.
Traffic accidents have reduced from 646 reported accidents in August 2012 to 118 reported accidents in July 2013, and deaths from motorcycle accidents have reduced from an average of 12 per month to one per month and indeed no deaths were recorded in August, September, and October.“We are concluding plans to implement the next phase of the Law, and we have been working with the Transport Unions to sensitize them. But before I move to housing; a little but serious word must be said about the Traffic Law.
Let me reiterate that out of over 10,000 roads in Lagos, the law restricted motorcycles from plying only 475, which are highways, if such motorcycles were not up to the 200 cc capacity. The law also provided that in the over 9,000 roads where there is no restriction, the riders must wear safety helmets and not carry more than one passenger.“While I must commend the operators for largely complying, I cannot say the same for a few law enforcement agents and few military personnel who have either turned enforcement into an extortionist exercise for money or have seen themselves as above the law by violating our traffic laws and BRT Laws. Let me say to them clearly, that it is bad enough if law enforcement personnel violate the laws they are constitutionally paid to enforce; it is the height of impunity if they do so in uniform. That uniform is the symbol of the authority of the state and it is funded from tax payers’ money. I have news for those bad eggs who give law enforcement a bad name in this country. We will bring you to justice and make examples of you; before you bring dishonour to these timeless institutions that have produced officers and true gentlemen.
“In the area of housing, I will not take more time than is necessary. I will only state that the LagosHoms programme is on course. Many of our housing units are making progress on 15 different construction sites, employing a total of 7,757workers, in Shitta, Gbagada, Ajara, Ilupeju, Sangotedo, Igbogbo, Mushin, and Omole to mention a few. At least 3,192 housing units will be added in the first quarter of 2014 to the already completed 1092 units.
“We intend to commence more developments to ensure that there is no shortage of supply once we start the allocation process. Apart from Power, Agriculture, Transport and Housing, we have not relented in other sectors. Our commitment to improving on the successes we have made in the area of security remains at an all-time high. We are consistently breaking up criminal gangs, arresting their members, recovering illegal arms and effecting seizures of hard drugs.”
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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Lagos Zonal Directorate 2, on Wednesday, arraigned self-styled relationship therapist Okoro Blessing Nkiruka, popularly known as Blessing CEO, before the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, over an alleged fresh ₦13 million fraud.
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Blessing CEO was arraigned before Justice Yelim Bogoro on a six-count charge bordering on obtaining money by false pretence and retaining the proceeds of an alleged unlawful act amounting to N13 million.
The latest case brings to three the number of criminal charges currently pending against the defendant before different courts in Lagos.
According to the anti-graft agency, the charges arose from multiple petitions submitted by individuals and organisations, including the Nigeria Cancer Society. The petitioners alleged that the defendant solicited donations from members of the public through social media after claiming she was battling Stage 4 breast cancer and required financial assistance for treatment.
The EFCC alleged that several donors made contributions based on the representation, only for investigations to later reveal that the medical document she presented to support her claims was allegedly falsified.
The Commission further alleged that the donations, totalling ₦13 million, were obtained under false pretences and subsequently retained by the defendant.
The arraignment marks the latest legal challenge for Blessing CEO, who is already facing two separate criminal prosecutions before courts in Lagos.
On Tuesday, June 9, 2026, she was arraigned before Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Lagos State Special Offences Court, Ikeja, over an alleged ₦69.15 million fraud. She was charged with obtaining money by false pretence and stealing.
The EFCC alleged that she falsely represented herself as the owner of a property located at No. 1 Tunbosun Osobu Street, Lekki, and induced Hope Chiropractic Health Clinic Limited to pay ₦69.15 million for a five-year lease. The Commission further alleged that she converted the money to her personal use.
She pleaded not guilty to the two-count charge. Following submissions by counsel, Justice Oshodi ordered that the arraignment proceed and remanded her in EFCC custody pending further proceedings.
The case was adjourned until July 16, 2026, for the hearing of her bail application and commencement of trial.
Earlier on Tuesday, Justice Deinde Dipeolu of the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, granted Blessing CEO bail in the sum of ₦10 million with two sureties in connection with a separate alleged ₦36 million property fraud case.
The defendant, who appeared in court wearing a long black gown over black trousers, is standing trial over allegations relating to the property transaction.
EFCC counsel Suleiman Suleiman opposed her request to remain in the Commission’s custody, informing the court that the agency’s detention facilities were already overcrowded.
In his ruling, Justice Dipeolu ordered that the defendant be remanded in a correctional facility pending the fulfilment of her bail conditions.
The court subsequently adjourned the matter until June 22, 2026, for the continuation of trial.
News
In the impatient age of quarterly capitalism, where executives are judged by immediate returns and investors demand instant gratification, patience has become one of the rarest commodities in business. Yet patience, more than brilliance or bravado, has always distinguished the true institution-builder from the mere opportunist. Few contemporary African businessmen embody this distinction more convincingly than Tony Elumelu.
As Heirs Insurance Group marks its fifth anniversary in June 2026, the milestone is significant not merely because of the company’s rapid ascent within Nigeria’s notoriously underpenetrated insurance sector, but because its story is, fundamentally, a meditation on endurance. Behind the celebratory speeches, growth metrics and corporate accolades lies a less glamorous but more revealing reality: the operational licenses that birthed Heirs Insurance took eight years to secure. Yes, you read it correctly. Eight years.
In most corporate boardrooms, eight years of regulatory limbo would have been sufficient to extinguish enthusiasm, redirect capital elsewhere and bury the idea quietly beneath the sediment of abandoned ambitions. Yet Tony Elumelu persisted. That persistence now appears less like stubbornness and more like strategic foresight.
The launch of Heirs Insurance in 2021 alongside the commissioning of Heirs Towers was never merely the unveiling of another financial-services company. It was the extension of a wider philosophical project that has animated Elumelu’s business career for decades: the conviction that African-owned institutions can achieve scale, sophistication and competitiveness comparable to any global peer.
Today, barely five years later, Heirs Insurance serves nearly two million customers across Nigeria. The Financial Times recently ranked Heirs Life Assurance seventh and Heirs General Insurance forty-first among Africa’s fastest-growing companies, a remarkable feat in a sector that has historically struggled for relevance in Nigeria’s economic life.
The statistics become even more impressive when placed against the broader context of the Nigerian insurance industry itself. Insurance penetration in Nigeria remains below one per cent of GDP, one of the lowest rates globally. In practical terms, this means millions of Nigerians continue to rely on informal family structures, religious solidarity and personal improvisation as substitutes for formal risk protection. Insurance, for many, remains distant, misunderstood or distrusted. It is precisely this structural weakness that Heirs Insurance identified as an opportunity.
Rather than replicate the orthodox models of legacy insurers—many of which remain trapped in bureaucratic inertia and elite urban markets—the company pursued a strategy built around accessibility, technology and scale. Digital onboarding replaced cumbersome paperwork. Mobile-first products lowered entry barriers. Microinsurance products targeted demographics long ignored by traditional operators. Insurance was repositioned not as an elite financial abstraction, but as an everyday instrument of economic dignity.
This was not accidental innovation. It reflected a broader understanding of Africa’s evolving economic realities. Across the continent, formal banking, telecommunications and digital commerce have expanded most successfully where firms adapted products to local realities rather than imported rigid Western templates. Heirs Insurance belongs firmly within this new generation of African institutions that understand scale emerges not from exclusivity, but from inclusion.
Equally significant has been the ecosystem advantage engineered through Heirs Holdings itself. Cross-selling synergies involving UBA, Transcorp and Heirs Energies have accelerated customer acquisition and institutional visibility in ways standalone insurers would struggle to replicate. It is an illustration of strategic integration rarely executed successfully within African conglomerates, where diversification often degenerates into incoherence. Under Elumelu, however, the architecture appears deliberate: finance, energy, hospitality and insurance reinforcing one another within a broader continental vision.
Yet perhaps the most important aspect of the Heirs Insurance story lies not in balance sheets or rankings, but in what it reveals about Tony Elumelu’s peculiar temperament as a builder of institutions. Modern business culture frequently glorifies disruption, aggression and velocity. Elumelu’s approach has often been more measured, almost old-fashioned in its emphasis on staying power. He has long understood that enduring institutions are not constructed through viral moments, but through sustained discipline, strategic patience and reputational consistency.
This philosophy has become increasingly rare in contemporary Africa, where political instability, policy unpredictability and weak institutions often encourage short-term extraction over long-term investment. The temptation for many investors is to maximize immediate returns while minimizing exposure to systemic uncertainty. Elumelu, by contrast, has repeatedly chosen the more difficult route of institutional permanence.
The eight-year wait for licensing is therefore not a footnote to the Heirs Insurance story. It is the story. For what distinguished the venture was not merely the availability of capital, but the willingness to remain committed during prolonged uncertainty. Capital, after all, is abundant globally. Conviction is scarcer. Operational leadership from senior Heirs executives such as Niyi Onifade and Wole Fayemi has undoubtedly translated vision into execution. But execution alone does not create institutions. Institutions emerge when leadership combines operational competence with philosophical clarity about purpose and time horizon.
Elumelu’s broader advocacy for raising Nigeria’s insurance penetration to three per cent of GDP similarly reflects a strategic understanding that no company can thrive sustainably within a weak ecosystem. The ambition is not merely corporate expansion, but sectoral transformation itself. If achieved, such growth would deepen financial inclusion, expand long-term domestic capital pools and strengthen economic resilience across households and businesses alike.
At a deeper level, Heirs Insurance also represents something symbolic within the African corporate imagination. For decades, African financial sectors were dominated either by foreign multinationals or by indigenous firms constrained by insufficient scale, technological weakness or governance deficiencies. The emergence of globally competitive African-owned institutions capable of combining technological sophistication with continental ambition marks an important psychological transition.
It is this larger symbolism that makes the Heirs Insurance anniversary noteworthy beyond corporate ceremony. Five years may appear brief in the lifespan of institutions. But within those five years lies evidence of something increasingly consequential in African capitalism: the emergence of patient capital guided not merely by opportunism, but by vision. Tony Elumelu’s enduring lesson is therefore deceptively simple. Institutions are not miracles. They are acts of sustained belief.
In an era intoxicated by immediacy, Heirs Insurance stands as a reminder that the most important revolutions are often quiet ones; built patiently, painstakingly and almost stubbornly over time until what once seemed improbable becomes inevitable.
In The Spotlight
Nearly three weeks have passed since 39 schoolchildren and eight of their teachers were abducted in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State. Three weeks of rain, hunger, fear, and unimaginable trauma. Three weeks of parents living in a purgatory of hope and despair. Three weeks of children sleeping on wet forest floors while their governor behaves as though time is an infinite luxury. This is not merely a failure of security. It is a failure of leadership.
Governor Seyi Makinde has responded to this crisis with a detachment so baffling, so cavalier, that it borders on dereliction of duty. At a moment when every second counts, when every drop of rain falling on those children is an indictment of the state, Makinde has chosen bureaucratic caution over moral urgency. The children are still in captivity. The governor is still dithering. And the people of Oyo are left wondering: What exactly is he waiting for?
For two weeks, hunters, traditionalists, OPC, Agbekoya, and Sunday Igboho’s network; people who know the forests, who understand the terrain, who have rescued victims before, have offered their help. They have asked for nothing but the governor’s permission so they are not later branded as “non state actors” or “bandits.” Makinde has not only refused them; he has refused to even acknowledge them. Not a meeting. Not a briefing. Not even the courtesy of a public statement.
This is the same governor who once distanced himself from Igangan’s rescue operation, only to watch as non state actors succeeded where the state failed. One would think that experience would have taught him humility. Instead, he has doubled down on a strategy of paralysis disguised as prudence. The hunters say they are ready. The OPC says it is ready. Agbekoya says it is ready. Igboho’s men say they are ready. But the governor; the one man with the constitutional authority to greenlight action is not.
Let us speak plainly. These children are not in a safe house. They are not in a guarded compound. They are in the forest, exposed to the elements, sleeping on mud, drinking whatever water they can find, and living under the psychological torture of armed captors. Every day that passes is a day of dehydration, hunger, illness, trauma and the risk of death. What is the governor’s plan? What is the strategy? Where is the urgency? The silence from Agodi is deafening.
Yes, Nigeria’s security architecture is federally controlled. Yes, state governors are constrained. But constraints are not an excuse for complacency. A responsible leader does not shrug helplessly while children are held hostage within his own state. A responsible leader does not reject help from those who know the terrain better than any police unit dispatched from Abuja. A responsible leader does not pretend that “everything is under control” when the evidence of collapse is everywhere.
In the last few days alone, there have been more kidnappings in Ibadan, more killings across the country and more evidence that criminals now operate with impunity. The truth is simple: the government has been overwhelmed. And Oyo State is not an exception; it is a symptom, but Makinde’s failure is not just tactical; it is moral. Leadership is not measured by press statements or security meetings. It is measured by the willingness to act decisively when lives hang in the balance. Makinde’s refusal to mobilize every available resource, including local actors with proven track records is not caution. It is criminal negligence. It is a betrayal of the children, their parents, and the people of Oyo State.
Nigeria’s insecurity crisis has become a political football. Ethnic blame games. Religious narratives. Partisan point scoring. Meanwhile, criminals do not ask for your tribe before abducting you. They do not check your religion before shooting. They do not care who you voted for. This is not a Fulani problem. This is not a Christian or Muslim problem. This is not a PDP or APC problem. This is a national emergency. And in Oyo State, it is a humanitarian emergency, and the Governor must act now!
Governor Makinde must authorize vetted local hunters, OPC, Agbekoya, and other community groups to join the search. He should create a joint command structure that separates genuine volunteers from charlatans, and provide logistical support to all rescue teams. Makinde should stop pretending that the current strategy is working; and demand federal reinforcement with urgency. He should prioritize the safe return of the children above all else. Nothing else matters until those children are home. The parents of Oriire do not need speeches. They do not need condolences. They do not need promises. They need their children. And the governor who swore an oath to protect them must stop hiding behind bureaucracy and start acting like the chief security officer he claims to be. History will not remember the excuses. It will remember the children, and what he did, or failed to do, to save them.
Opinions
In The Spotlight
“Thank God it is over”
“Yes oh. Now, Arsenal players and their fans can now allow all of us to rest. They have their Premier League trophy. PSG have taken the Champions League. History made on both sides. Heroes made.”
“Who is talking about Arsenal or PSG? Why is it that you, Nigerians are always so unpatriotic? Before you think of your own country, you are more concerned about what is happening in other parts of the world. When I say it is over, I am referring to the party primaries that have just been concluded in Nigeria’s political space. The INEC deadline expired on May 30.”
“Oh, I see. But it is not correct to say it is over. The correct thing to say is that Nigeria is now on a path to a new beginning, a return to high-wire politics that could have serious implications for the future. The end of the primaries is merely the commencement of warfare which Nigerian politics is.”
“Yes. Yes. I know that there will be fall-outs. After all, there have been very loud complaints about the mode of the primaries, consensus arrangements that marginalized many eligible participants and direct primaries that were openly rigged, shamelessly too. And I dare say, no party is innocent.”
“Well, well, well, I have not heard of any complaints from the African Action Congress which chose Omoyele Sowore by popular acclamation, Accord Party which announced Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, the People’s Redemption Party (PRP) that selected former Governor Donald Duke, Governor Seyi Makinde’s Allied People’s Movement, Action Democratic Party where you have Aliyu Bin Abbas, and of course the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) which produced Peter Obi. In these parties, the choice of the flagbearers has been relatively peaceful. It is only in the APC, the PDP, and the ADC that we have had controversies.”
“Not true. There have been issues in all the parties. And this is the point that Minister Wike was making during his media chat on TV yesterday. He said those politicians in ADC and NDC who claim they know how to run Nigeria are all liars, because ordinary party primaries they could not even organize successfully.”
“Are you still taking that one serious?”
“But he has a point. No opposition party has been able to show that their party is better than the APC. We are faced with the same of the same. Wike is right to laugh at them.”
“Peter Obi, the ADC Presidential candidate has promised to generate 10, 000 MW of electricity in 4 years of the single term that he is proposing. He will also empower MSMEs and address youth unemployment. That is something different.”
‘I beg. Is power generation the problem? Electricity is a value chain. How about transmission and distribution? How about tariffs, liquidity? Leakages, wastages. And where were you when failed aspirants in the Democratic Leadership Alliance (DLA) and the Labour Party (LP) were asking for a refund of monies paid into the party’s coffers. In Imo State, one APC aspirant wept openly and on social media claiming that he had spent over N100 million to buy forms for the House of Representatives slot only for the party to impose a woman who never bought any form. He said it will never happen.”
“Did you say an APC aspirant?”
“Yes, from Owerri”
“If he knows what is good for him, he will keep quiet and sulk in silence. The ticket belongs to the party. Even the aspirant that challenged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the APC Presidential ticket is now singing his praise. And what does your Imo friend want the 14 lawmakers in the Lagos State House of Assembly who have been sent away to do, and all the Ministers who resigned their positions to run for one elective office or the other. Maybe only one of them succeeded. The Godfather system that they run in the APC simply means you have to obey and accept whatever you are given by the powers-that-be.”
“But that is not democracy. That is tyranny.”
“Who told you there is a universal model of democracy?”
“There are principles.”
“I know. Take the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) founded by countryman Senator Seriake Dickson. The party is now the beautiful bride. That is why Peter Obi and Dr Kwankwaso left the ADC and ran there.”
“Wike says Peter Obi is a food-is-ready politician! He will run to any party that others have worked hard to build.”
“Don’t mind him. They are all the same. What I am saying is that for you to join the NDC, you have to go to Seriake Dickson’s house. To get an expression of interest form, you also have to go to his house. Major meetings are also held in his house, except may be the party’s convention and that must have been due to reasons of space. That too is democracy. And look at Wike. He gave a directive to events owners and hoteliers in Abuja not to allow any “illegal political groups” to use their premises, otherwise their licenses and land titles will be revoked. The David Mark faction of the ADC fought back but the Turaki faction of the PDP ended up holding their event at an open field. I guess that too is democracy.”
“No, that is against the principles of fair play and equal access. But what do you think will happen now?”
“To be honest, I see a lot of confusion. So much uncertainty. Out of 22 registered political parties, only 11 have announced their Presidential candidates. I doubt if anyone has made any submissions to INEC
by the deadline of May 30. The deadline for moving from one political party to the other was set at May 10. Long after that deadline, we have now seen politicians moving from one party to the other. Babachir Lawal for example has dumped the ADC. Senator Ovie Omo-Agege has moved out of the APC in protest to join the NDC.”
“I believe this is because of the two conflicting judgements in the Federal High Court. Abuja Division. Youth Party vs INEC by Justice Mohammed Umar and SDP vs INEC by Justice James Omotoso. INEC has since gone to the Court of Appeal and has applied for a stay of execution. Meanwhile, everything is in abeyance. Even the lawyers are taking one side or the other, offering conflicting interpretations.”
“Whether we like it or not, Nigeria’s 2027 general elections will be determined by the courts, not by the voters. Look at the confusion in the parties, especially the ADC which has three factions, three Presidential candidates – the Nafiu Bala Gombe faction with Chris Uba, the Kachikwu faction with Dumebi Kachikwu and the David Mark-led faction with Atiku Abubakar. Then the PDP with two factions, two Presidential candidates – the Wike faction with Senator Sandy Onor and the Kabiru Turaki faction with President Goodluck Jonathan.”
“I don’t even understand why President Jonathan will allow anybody to drag him into this state of confusion. He is an international statesman. He is a man of stature, widely respected locally and internationally. He should stay above partisan politics.”
“Wike says nobody drags anybody into politics. It is only when you show interest that people will come and offer you what they think you want.”
“The way you keep quoting Wike this, Wike that, I hope there is nothing. You better don’t waste your time. Wike no send anybody oh. But I agree with you on President Jonathan. He is legally eligible, constitutionally and by all means as recently decided by the Federal High Court of Justice Peter Lifu. But it is not advisable for him to get involved in the PDP crisis. There are two Federal High Court cases in contention: the Court of Justice Uche Agomoh in the Ibadan Division, and the court of Justice Joyce Abdulmalik at the Abuja Division on the basis of which INEC recognized the Wike faction. Wike served President Jonathan as Minister of State over 10 years ago. No. No. No. He cannot be seen to be dragging anything with his own subordinates. He is too distinguished for that.”
“But in the United States, President Trump left office and he still came back and was re-elected. In Ghana, President Mahama left and returned.”
“The situations are not so similar. President Tinubu vs President Jonathan. It will look too messy. It will be too complicated. There is also the constraint of time. We are just about seven months to the elections. Not enough time to mobilize.”
“I think that there is even more than enough time. With the right momentum, 24 hours is a long time in politics. I imagine that with the seven months gap ahead, many politicians will even run out of cash. Many will sell their grandparents homes to keep up with the unrelenting pressure of campaigns and politicking. I even hear that it is Tinubu sponsoring Jonathan. But if I were President Jonathan, and I want to dare everything, I will choose a man like Nasir El-Rufai as my running mate.”
“Stop making suggestions that will not work and do not make sense. Why would President Jonathan want to dare everything? He is not that kind of person. He will not do anything to disorient the country because of personal ambition. He is a leader, not a food-is-ready politician.”
“Then let him issue a strongly worded statement to dissociate himself from partisan politics. No, thank you are three simple words in English. Let him come and say that he is not running for office in 2027.”
“Okay then, let us just sit down and look. But by the way, did you go to Ijebu Ode for the Ojude Oba after Sallah?”
“No. But I followed everything on social media. Very impressive as usual. The colour. The Equestrian displays, the pageantry and the paraphernalia, even in the absence of the Awujale. I like the fact that the festival is community-based and family-based as well and many families stood up to be counted: the Adesoyes, the Kukus, the Adeshiles, the Ashirus, and there was enough space for the traditional societies, the Regberegbes to promote Ijebu nationalism. The good thing is that other Ijebu communities are beginning to have similar celebrations: in Ososa, Ijebu Igbo, and Ago-Iwoye for example. Nigerians have a way of stealing laughter from the jaws of despair. Think of the Durbar in Ilorin and the Bariki Sallah celebration in Bida All good.”
“I also enjoyed the Ojude Oba, I liked seeing the King of Steeze, Farooq Oreagba and his son in action. But what I could not figure out was one woman who showed up this year, Toyin Olushile, whom they called the Queen of Steeze, all the way from New York City. She had a big tobacco pipe in her mouth and she was puffing smoke into the air like a locomotive train. I did not find that funny. The Ojude Oba should not be used to promote smoking of any type. There are children involved and they are watching.”
“Well, it was all part of the show. But talking about children, this past weekend was a sad one for me.”
“Me too. I watched the video of Mrs Alamu pleading for help, from captivity, and my heart sank. I saw her husband, a Professor, kneeling down and pleading with the Oyo State Government to do something to rescue all the 46 children and teachers in captivity, and I felt for him. In Borno state, Askira Uba Local Government, 45 students were also abducted. Same day, May 15, in the same coordinated fashion. Something sinister is happening.”
“Governor Seyi Makinde has tried. He went to the community to empathise with the people. The Federal Government has also sent a delegation. What I do not understand is why the state and the Federal Government had to respond separately. They could have co-ordinated their efforts. Nobody should play partisan politics with human lives. Governor Makinde went to the community on Saturday. The Federal Government delegation showed up on Sunday in a helicopter. The politics was too obvious.”
“Yes. Both the states and the Federal Government should always work together. Human lives are at stake in Oyo, in Borno and other parts of the country.”
“I really couldn’t enjoy the UCL Champions League final.”
“Forget about Champions League. The Super Eagles were playing in the Unity Cup finals against Jamaica at the Valley Stadium in London, the same day. They defeated Jamaica, 4 -0. You are here talking about Arsenal and PSG.”
“Congratulations to the Super Eagles. Gunners ForEver!”
“How about Enugu Rangers?”.
“Rangerrs. Who are they?”
“They won the Nigerian Football League.”
“Oh. Sorry. Never heard of them.”
“Of course”.