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A Colonel in an elite military unit in Madagascar said yesterday that the armed forces are taking power in the Indian Ocean nation in what appeared to confirm that President Andry Rajoelina had been removed in a coup.

Col. Michael Randrianirina’s announcement in front of a ceremonial presidential palace in the capital, Antananarivo, came almost immediately after parliament voted to impeach Rajoelina, who has fled the country because of the rebellion by soldiers.

‘We are taking power,’ the colonel said.

Randrianirina said in front of reporters that the military would form a council composed of officers from the military and the gendarmerie law enforcement force. A prime minister would be appointed to ‘quickly’ form a civilian government, he said.

He also said the constitution and the powers of the High Constitutional Court had been suspended. He said a referendum would be held in two years, although the details of that were not immediately clear.

Rajoelina had faced calls to resign through weeks of anti-government demonstrations that rocked the country and were led by young Gen Z protesters.

The turning point in the protests came on Saturday when Randrianirina and troops from his elite CAPSAT military unit joined the protests and turned against Rajoelina. That prompted Rajoelina to say there was an attempt to seize power and go into hiding.

Earlier yesterday, Rajoelina issued a decree from his secret location that dissolved the lower house of parliament, apparently to avoid being impeached. It was ignored by lawmakers and they voted overwhelmingly to impeach the 51-year-old leader.

Rajoelina’s whereabouts are unknown. He had said in a speech broadcast on social media on Monday night that he left the country for a ‘safe place’ in fear for his life after the rebellion by soldiers over the weekend.

Madagascar, a former French colony, has a history of military-backed coups since independence in 1960, including in 2009, when Rajoelina himself first came to power as the leader of a transitional government following a military-backed coup.

The youth-led protests against Rajoelina’s government first erupted last month over electricity and water outages but have snowballed into larger dissatisfaction with the government and the leadership of Rajoelina. Protesters have brought up a range of issues, including poverty and the cost of living, access to tertiary education, and alleged corruption by government officials and their families and associates.

The protesters have said they were inspired by other Gen Z-led movements of frustrated youth that toppled leaders in Nepal and Sri Lanka.

Thousands of young protesters continued their anti-government demonstrations in Madagascar earlier yesterday, packing into a main square in the capital, Antananarivo, and repeating their calls for Rajoelina to resign. They also cheered the soldiers.

Madagascar has deep problems with poverty, which affects around 75% of the population of 31 million people, according to the World Bank.

‘We do not get a constant supply of electricity and water from the government,’ said one protester, Soavololona Faraniaina. ‘If Madagascan children are studying in darkness where will the future of this nation be? Where is the wealthy Madagascar that many countries envied?’

CAPSAT is the same powerful military unit that turned against the government in 2009, leading to Rajoelina first coming to power. The unit had said this weekend it was taking charge of all of Madagascar’s armed forces, and new heads of the military and the gendarmerie security forces have been appointed.

CAPSAT commanders had previously denied that they carried out a coup and had said Madagascar’s people should decide what happens next, but the unit appeared to be in a position of authority in some areas of government decision-making since Saturday and Rajoelina called their rebellion against the government ‘an attempt to seize power illegally and by force.’

There was no major violence on the streets – and soldiers riding around on armored cars have celebrated with ordinary Madagascans in the past few days.

In a bid to diversify the economy and reduce over-dependence on oil, President Bola Tinubu has announced N1 trillion investment in the solid minerals sector.

The president disclosed this while delivering the keynote at the 10th Edition of Nigeria Mining Week 2025, in Abuja.

Represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, the president noted that the N1 trillion commitment, which is the largest government-led mining initiative in the nation’s history, was drawn from the N4.5 trillion increase in the 2025 federal budget.

The president said the landmark investment, which was in alignment with his administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda, will fund geo-scientific exploration, geological surveys, and critical infrastructure needed to unlock mineral-rich regions.

‘This is the most significant single investment in Nigeria’s mining industry by any administration. We are turning the wealth beneath our feet into prosperity in our hands,’ Tinubu said.

Commending the sectoral progress made, Tinubu noted that the revenue generation of the sector grew by six-fold from N6 billion in 2023 to N38 billion in 2024.

He however attributed the performance of the sector to new policies, tighter regulations, and the establishment of the Nigeria Solid Minerals Company, a special purpose vehicle (SPV) designed to attract capital, form joint ventures, and boost local mineral processing.

Tinubu then re-emphasised his administration’s zero tolerance for unsafe or environmentally harmful mining practices, stressing that ‘natural resources must enhance lives today and for future generations. Mining should heal and build, not hurt or divide.’

Reaffirming the National Assembly’s support for the sector, Chairman Senate Committee on Solid Minerals, Sen Ekong Sampson expressed readiness of the legislative arm to provide legislative backing for the President’s mining reforms.

He assured that the Senate would continue to enact progressive laws and provide oversight to sustain investor confidence and transparency.

He said: ‘Our focus is to unlock the full potential of this sector through enabling policies and strategic partnerships.’

He expressed optimism that ongoing reforms under the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development would position Nigeria for global competitiveness.

He, however, identified collaboration among government, industry players, and communities as the only way to achieve inclusive growth.

He said: ‘What we need for every sector is collaboration, not conflict. We have no excuse not to make the best of our country’s natural endowments’.

In his address, Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake described the sector’s rapid growth now contributing about 4.6 per cent to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as proof of the effectiveness of President Tinubu’s reform-driven agenda.

‘From all available evidence, our policies are working. But we couldn’t have achieved this without the cooperation of stakeholders,’ he said.

Alake then disclosed that the Federal Government is addressing two major financial gaps limiting local participation, particularly through the African Joint Committee (AJC) framework, to empower indigenous investors to compete with international players.

On his part, the Minister of Steel Development, Prince Shuaibu Abubakar Audu, reaffirmed the Federal Government’s determination to revive Nigeria’s steel industry as a backbone of industrialisation and infrastructure expansion.

He revealed that a Memorandum of Understanding has been signed with a Chinese firm for the rehabilitation of the Ajaokuta Steel Plant, targeting the production of 10 million metric tonnes of steel by 2030. ‘With the right partnerships and renewed investor confidence, Nigeria’s steel industry will soon take its rightful place as the bedrock of national development,’ he said.

The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Solid Minerals Development, Engr. Faruk Yabo emphasized the Ministry’s commitment to building a transparent, technology-driven, and investor-friendly mining environment.

Yabo noted that the various reforms introduced under Alake’s leadership are repositioning the sector to meaningfully contribute to national GDP while promoting responsible mining.

‘Our goal is to ensure Nigeria no longer exports raw minerals but value-added products that create jobs, foster innovation, and strengthen prosperity,’ Yabo stated.

Dr. Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), stressed the importance of transparency and accountability in building investor confidence.

He stated that NEITI’s latest report shows the mining sector still underperforms due to poor data management and weak inter-agency coordination.

‘Transparency is not an option; it is the foundation upon which trust and investment confidence are built,’ Dr. Orji said, pledging NEITI’s continued support for reforms that guarantee fairness and shared prosperity.

Earlier, the National President of the Miners Association of Nigeria, Mr. Dele Ayanleke expressed the association’s unwavering commitment to the promotion of a collaborative, transparent, and sustainable partnership with government and other stakeholders in the sector.

He noted that the progress recorded in the sector was made possible by the exemplary leadership of the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Alake and his team.

He said the mining week has remained a catalyst for sectoral dialogue, innovation, and reforms – bridging the gap between policy and practice, operators and investors, and ideas and implementation.

Ayanleke noted that the sector in the last decade witnessed the introduction of cutting-edge technologies, policy reforms, strategic partnerships, and capacity-building initiatives that continue to redefine the mining landscape in Nigeria.

Sir: Every few years, technology delivers a new wave. Right now, it’s Artificial Intelligence. And unlike some past eras, this one may give Nigeria more than just catch-up: we have real chances to lead. We’ve got land, population, a young, adaptable workforce, and growing digital density.

Combine that with recent investments in skilling and policy momentum and you have conditions where AI could power not only tech firms, but entire sectors. Look at energy, logistics, agriculture, telecoms: all filled with opportunity areas that AI can help fix. But what will really determine where Nigeria lands is how we turn potential into action by fixing gaps, building trust, and investing in real infrastructure.

The government’s National AI Strategy signals that AI is no longer a pipe dream but a national priority to drive economic growth, social development, and technological leadership. That vision is now backed by real research and investment. Microsoft, in partnership with PwC and Lagos Business School, recently released a report outlining how Nigeria can accelerate AI adoption. Among its findings: the nation already shows early success across fintech, agriculture, and health tech. The report highlights the Three Million Technical Talent (3MTT) program and Microsoft’s AI Skills Navigator, both designed to close Nigeria’s digital skills gap. The roadmap emphasizes governance, infrastructure, and ethical frameworks as critical enablers for sustained AI progress.

Few countries can match Nigeria’s combination of population, ambition, and raw data. With over 200 million citizens, growing smartphone penetration, and a vibrant start-up ecosystem, the data backbone for AI already exists.

The country’s chronic infrastructure issues, from unstable electricity to poor broadband, should no longer be treated solely as barriers. They are invitations for innovation and investment. The same instability that frustrates entrepreneurs could encourage smarter distributed energy networks (micro-grids) and more resilient edge computing systems to bring data processing closer to where it’s generated.

But technology without governance is fragile. Meta’s recent $220 million fine by Nigeria’s data protection authority and competition commission for mishandling user data shows the cost of lagging in oversight. A second settlement worth $32.8 million this year reinforced the point. These cases underline the urgency of data sovereignty, ensuring Nigerian data fuels Nigerian growth, not foreign algorithms.

Nigeria’s AI strategy and Microsoft’s roadmap offer a joint playbook: build capacity, enforce trust, and enable collaboration between public and private sectors. The government’s task now is execution, ensuring incentives for start-ups, reliable energy, and active monitoring of AI deployments.

Through years of working on data and technology programs across different contexts, one insight has become clear: innovation thrives where infrastructure and ethics meet. For Nigeria, that intersection could define not only our digital future but our global influence.

The Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Ladoja on Tuesday inaugurated legal luminary, Chief Niyi Akintola (SAN), Musibau Adetunbi (SAN), Yinka Okunade, Rahman Abiodun AbdulRaheem and Tunji Thomas to tackle the menace of land grabbing in the ancient city

Noting that hard times await land grabbers who are giving Ibadan a bad reputation at the Olubadan Palace, Oke Aremo, Ibadan where the inauguration held, the monarch said the five-member committee of legal practitioners is charged with the task of tackling the problem of land grabbing from the legal perspective.

He urged the Committee to co-opt anybody from any profession, including town planning, survey, security agencies, the bar and bench who could assist in giving them sufficient greenlight to fight the scourge.

Barrister Musibau Adetunbi SAN was however absent during the inauguration.

Flanked by members of Olubadan-in-council, Oba Ladoja said the Oyo State Government, the Olubadan-in-council were on the same page in ridding Ibadan of the menace of land grabbing.

According to him, land grabbing is like an interlocking web of complex connections involving diverse interests that need to be unravelled.

The Olubadan said: ‘I know each of you very well. While we entertain no illusion as to the gravity of your responsibility, I have no doubt in my mind that you have the capacity to carry out the responsibility’

He told the Committee to hit the ground running, giving them 21 days within which to make their recommendations.

The Olubadan, however, clarified that the inauguration of the legal advisory committee was meant to strengthen the existing committee on land matters headed by Mogaji Asimiyu Ariori.

Balogun of Ibadanland, Oba Tajudeen Ajibola, corroborated Olubadan’s position, saying it had become desirable for Ibadan to take stringent action against the menace of land grabbing because it has constantly put the people in harm’s way.

He said, if it were possible, there should be the establishment of anti-land grabbing tribunals in all the eleven local governments councils in Ibadanland.

Responding on behalf of the committee, Chief Akintola expressed the members’ gratitude to Olubadan and Olubadan-in-council for giving them the privilege to serve their fatherland.

Saying their inauguration is a call to serve their fatherland, the committee sought the co-operation and support of state government and Ibadan people in checkmating the menace of land grabbing.

He noted that the government was not favourably disposed to land grabbing either, and as such, the anti-land grabbing advisory committee would strengthen the state government’s resolve to tackle the same menace.