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The latest edition of The Toyin Falola Interviews aired on Sunday, drawing an impressive lineup of global historians who examined the intersection of women, slavery, and power under the theme, ‘Global Africa, Women, and Slavery.’

The intellectually charged episode centred on historian Toby Green’s new book, The Heretic of Cacheu: Struggles over Life in a 17th-Century West African Port. The discussion-moderated by Professor Ana Lucia Araujo of Howard University-brought together an international panel of renowned scholars including Hassoum Ceesay, the Gambian historian and Director of the National Centre for Arts and Culture; Mariana Candido, Winship Distinguished Research Professor of History at Emory University and author of Wealth, Land and Property in Angola: A History of Dispossession, Inequality and Power; José Lingna Nafafé, Associate Professor at the University of Bristol; and Dr. Robin Chapdelaine, Associate Director of the Center for African Studies at Stanford University.

From the outset, the conversation situated gender, trade, and power as key elements in the making of the Atlantic world, offering sharp insights into the economic and cultural agency African women wielded during the transatlantic slave trade.

Speaking from The Gambia, historian Hassoum Ceesay traced the layered, often paradoxical roles of women in the slave economy. ‘I am speaking from The Gambia,’ he began. ‘This region is well noted for its role in the transatlantic slave trade and also in the ways that women were part and parcel of this trade.’ He cited the Signares-Euro-African women of wealth and influence-as cultural brokers. ‘These were women of substance, of economic might and social standing. They were rich enough to have slaves, they kept slaves, and they also traded in slaves. Their role in the trade remains deeply disputed.’

Ceesay drew on vivid historical portraits. He recalled Fanda Lawrence, a Gambian widow of a British trader who continued slave trading after moving to Georgia in the 18th century-‘a story that points to the conflicted role of women in the transatlantic slave trade.’ He also invoked Phillis Wheatley, the enslaved poet from the Senegambian region who became a literary voice of resistance: ‘Wheatley rose above persecution to become a poet of note who received attention even from Thomas Jefferson.’

Drawing on Alex Haley’s Roots, Ceesay emphasized the role of women in preserving identity through ritual and memory. ‘Women like Kunta Kinte’s mother, Binta, who conducted naming ceremonies, embody the endurance of culture amidst historical trauma.’

For Professor Mariana Candido, the focus shifted to West Central Africa-particularly Angola, the Republic of Congo, and Gabon-which, she explained, was ‘the region most affected by the transatlantic slave trade in terms of both duration and volume.’ According to her, ‘When talking about women in global slavery, it is inevitable to remind everyone that Central Africa lost the highest number of people to the trade. Roughly 36 percent of the 12.5 million Africans transported to the New World were women.’

Candido challenged popular assumptions that women were invisible in history. ‘I always heard that it was difficult to write about women, but in my research I found women everywhere-in travel reports, census data, church records, baptismal registers, and even in trading accounts. Women are not invisible in the archives; historians simply haven’t always looked for them.’

She further noted that ‘while men were taken in larger numbers, the women who remained behind filled crucial social and economic roles. Gender influenced the demand and supply of the trade and shaped the kinds of labour enslaved men and women performed.’ Her forthcoming book, A History of Women in Angola (1500-1880), she revealed, builds on these findings and aligns with Green’s effort to ‘recognize the centrality of women in economic, social, and political life in Atlantic ports, which became women’s spaces of power.’

Anchoring the discussion, Professor Toyin Falola contextualized the historical conversation for global audiences. ‘If you go to the US, Brazil, or Cuba and find black populations there, it is tied to this history of slavery,’ he said. ‘Millions were taken from Central and West Africa-from Cameroon, Nigeria, Angola, and beyond.’

Falola praised Toby Green’s work for reclaiming African women’s agency. ‘We are discussing this to emphasise the role of women. In classrooms, we call it agency-how people express themselves and find empowerment. Green shows us that African women were not simply victims; they were traders, political leaders, and brokers.’

He added that the book ‘reveals that the Atlantic world was not shaped by a single religion. Alongside Catholicism, African spiritual systems-dreams, rituals, and ancestral beliefs-coexisted and shaped everyday life.’ For Falola, The Heretic of Cacheu stands as ‘a microhistory of one woman that illuminates the broader global history of Africa, slavery, and gender.’

Building on that, Professor José Lingna Nafafé expanded the lens to the broader Atlantic world, stressing that women ‘carried Africa’s philosophy, religion, and culture across the Atlantic.’ He observed that ‘the Atlantic was saturated by women and young people who were not part of wars but were captured and enslaved nonetheless.’ Women, he said, occupied domestic spaces that became ‘sites of knowledge transmission and resistance.’

‘They worked in the homes of slave owners, cooked, cared for children, and overheard conversations about the systems that oppressed them,’ he explained. ‘These women held the secret knowledge of the operation of enslavement and sometimes resisted from within that space.’ Nafafé also discussed the Black Brotherhoods-Christian fraternities where ‘women were given spaces to trade, and the money they raised was often used to liberate others. They became liberators within an oppressive system.’

He concluded: ‘Women bore the double pain of being mothers-uprooted from their families while also giving birth to children who were enslaved. They were the primary bearers of trauma and, at the same time, of resistance.’

Framing the discussion within a global context, Dr. Robin Chapdelaine of Stanford University asserted that ‘the history of African women in slavery is foundational to understanding the making of the modern world.’ ‘The term ‘Global Africa’ signals both geography and process-the ways Africa and Africans, especially women, shaped economic, spiritual, and intellectual worlds stretching from Senegambia to Bahia,’ she said.

Chapdelaine noted that ‘women’s participation in trade networks tied African interior economies to Atlantic markets. Their labour-domestic, reproductive, agricultural, and commercial-sustained the circulation of goods, people, and ideas that defined the Atlantic and Indian Ocean worlds.’ Yet, she added, ‘their autonomy was often recast as deviance, their knowledge as sorcery, their mobility as a moral threat.’

‘To study women in slavery in a global frame,’ she said, ‘is to reimagine freedom not as a European invention but as a contested African practice.’

For author Toby Green, the story that inspired The Heretic of Cacheu lies in the life of Krispina Perez, ‘the most powerful trader in the settlement of Cacheu in today’s Guinea-Bissau.’ He explained: ‘This was a rare Inquisition trial from 1665 involving a West African woman. Perez was part of the elite trading class, and her influence was so significant that it drew the attention of the Inquisition-something that almost never happened in Africa.’

Green emphasized that the trial documents revealed ‘the emotional world underlying commerce-envy, bitterness, love, fear, anxiety, and debt-all shaping historical experience.’ He added: ‘The book is unusual because it captures the 17th century-a transformative period that set the stage for the industrialisation of global slavery.’

Sunday’s discussion reinforced the intellectual mission of The Toyin Falola Interviews-to connect Africa’s past with its global future through deep scholarly dialogue. By spotlighting women’s overlooked roles in shaping Atlantic history, the episode underscored Falola’s vision of an Africa that continues to speak powerfully to the world, reclaiming its stories, scholars, and the silenced. The event was broadcast across various television, radio, and digital platforms.

LAGOS State Government has been called to take urgent and lasting action to address the persistent flooding that continues to devastate the Lekki axis.

In a statement issued by the Lekki Chapter of the Neo-Black Movement of Africa, the group bemoaned the recurring floods that destroy homes, disrupt livelihoods, and hinder economic growth in one of Lagos’ fastest-growing districts.

Speaking, the Chapter President, Mr. Erauyi Agbon-Ifo, advocated for compensation and an insurance framework to support households and businesses affected by the floods, arguing that taxpayers deserve fair restitution for their losses.

He said the yearly flood inflicted pains on residents as they lost valuables worth millions of naira in the deluge

He canvassed the need for government, private organisations, and community groups to collaborate on sustainable solutions that go beyond temporary relief.

The group urged the state to improve drainage infrastructure, expand stormwater channels, and ensure consistent maintenance of existing systems. It also cited Rivers State as a model for effective flood management despite similar coastal challenges.

It also called for intensified public enlightenment on proper waste disposal, flood prevention, and climate adaptation measures.

Expressing solidarity with affected families, the NBM reaffirmed its commitment to continued advocacy until concrete government action is achieved.

At a high-level roundtable during the 80th Session of UN General Assembly in New York, senior government officials, Solewant Group, and global stakeholders discussed the Gulf of Guinea’s (GoG) energy, maritime, and investment prospects.

The OECD forecasts the African coastal economy will reach $3 trillion by 2030, with the GoG alone contributing $300 billion and generating over 49 million jobs.

Despite producing nearly half of Africa’s crude oil and holding about 10% of global reserves, the GoG remains plagued by challenges like oil theft, piracy, and illegal fishing.

Although 25 coastal states adopted the Yaoundé Code of Conduct in 2013, implementation has proven difficult, with regional initiatives from ECOWAS, ECCAS, and the Gulf of Guinea Commission also facing hurdles.

Speaking at the roundtable, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, former Chief of Staff and Minister of External Affairs, urged regional and international leaders to tackle insecurity to unlock economic potential.

He proposed a five-point agenda focused on enhancing security frameworks, integrating security with development, engaging the private sector, leveraging technology, and establishing a business council for the GoG.

Gambari emphasized the need for transparent management of natural resources to benefit local communities, claiming that inclusive governance can deter insecurity.

He reiterated the importance of collective action to fulfill the region’s economic promise.

Mr. Solomon Ewanehi, CEO of Solewant Group, highlighted the GoG’s potential, noting that responsible investment in coastal economies hinges on security and coordinated public-private partnerships.

He stressed the need for strengthened legal frameworks and operational capacity to protect regional trade and investor confidence.

The Senate is set to address growing claims of a ‘Christian genocide’ in Nigeria, which have been circulated both locally and internationally by some media outlets, advocacy groups, and religious organizations. Lawmakers say the narrative misrepresents the country’s complex security challenges as purely religious.

A motion titled ‘Urgent Need to Correct Misconceptions Regarding the Purported ‘Christian Genocide’ Narrative in Nigeria and the International Communities’ will be debated on Tuesday.

The motion, sponsored by former Senate Leader Ali Ndume, has Senators Sani Musa (Niger East), Magatakarda Wamako (Sokoto North), and Ibrahim Bomai (Yobe South) as co-sponsors.

According to a copy of the motion seen by Tribune Online, the senators said the aim is to correct what they described as a distorted narrative in some international media reports portraying Christians as the sole victims of Nigeria’s violence.

They noted that ‘serious security challenges including terrorism, insurgency, banditry, communal conflicts, and targeted attacks which have affected citizens across various religious, ethnic, and regional backgrounds, resulting in loss of lives and property among both Christian and Muslim communities’ are being wrongly presented in religious terms, a development they warned could further divide the country.

The move follows the Presidency’s recent response to United States Senator Ted Cruz, who alleged that Nigerian officials were ignoring or supporting mass killings of Christians by Islamist militants.

Cruz, in a post on his X handle, claimed that Christians in Nigeria were facing systematic persecution.

Responding, Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, dismissed the claims as false and misleading. He said Nigeria’s security problems are caused by terrorism, banditry, and criminality-not religious persecution-adding that the country enjoys religious harmony.

Ndume and his co-sponsors expressed concern that the US Senate and Congress may have been influenced by such claims and could move to label Nigeria a ‘Country of Particular Concern,’ a designation typically reserved for nations accused of human rights or religious freedom violations.

They urged the Senate to reject the characterization of Nigeria’s security crisis as a ‘Christian genocide’ and to reaffirm that the ongoing conflicts stem from socio-economic, ethnic, and criminal factors that cut across religious lines.

The lawmakers also called on the Federal Government to ‘encourage diplomatic missions especially US Embassy, International organisations, and foreign media to rely on verified, balanced, and credible sources-including security agencies, local communities, and independent observers-when reporting on religiously sensitive issues in Nigeria.’

They further advised the government, through the leadership of the 10th National Assembly, to ‘engage US Senate and Congress; international partners and diaspora networks through official briefings and fact-based publications to correct misconceptions.’

They also proposed that Nigeria ‘support interfaith peacebuilding programmes that emphasise shared victimhood and national unity’ and ‘ensure justice and accountability for all victims of violent attacks-whether Christian, Muslim, or otherwise-to address impunity and rebuild public confidence in state institutions.’

The latest edition of The Toyin Falola Interviews aired on Sunday, drawing an impressive lineup of global historians who examined the intersection of women, slavery, and power under the theme, ‘Global Africa, Women, and Slavery.’

The intellectually charged episode centred on historian Toby Green’s new book, The Heretic of Cacheu: Struggles over Life in a 17th-Century West African Port. The discussion-moderated by Professor Ana Lucia Araujo of Howard University-brought together an international panel of renowned scholars including Hassoum Ceesay, the Gambian historian and Director of the National Centre for Arts and Culture; Mariana Candido, Winship Distinguished Research Professor of History at Emory University and author of Wealth, Land and Property in Angola: A History of Dispossession, Inequality and Power; José Lingna Nafafé, Associate Professor at the University of Bristol; and Dr. Robin Chapdelaine, Associate Director of the Center for African Studies at Stanford University.

From the outset, the conversation situated gender, trade, and power as key elements in the making of the Atlantic world, offering sharp insights into the economic and cultural agency African women wielded during the transatlantic slave trade.

Speaking from The Gambia, historian Hassoum Ceesay traced the layered, often paradoxical roles of women in the slave economy. ‘I am speaking from The Gambia,’ he began. ‘This region is well noted for its role in the transatlantic slave trade and also in the ways that women were part and parcel of this trade.’ He cited the Signares-Euro-African women of wealth and influence-as cultural brokers. ‘These were women of substance, of economic might and social standing. They were rich enough to have slaves, they kept slaves, and they also traded in slaves. Their role in the trade remains deeply disputed.’

Ceesay drew on vivid historical portraits. He recalled Fanda Lawrence, a Gambian widow of a British trader who continued slave trading after moving to Georgia in the 18th century-‘a story that points to the conflicted role of women in the transatlantic slave trade.’ He also invoked Phillis Wheatley, the enslaved poet from the Senegambian region who became a literary voice of resistance: ‘Wheatley rose above persecution to become a poet of note who received attention even from Thomas Jefferson.’

Drawing on Alex Haley’s Roots, Ceesay emphasized the role of women in preserving identity through ritual and memory. ‘Women like Kunta Kinte’s mother, Binta, who conducted naming ceremonies, embody the endurance of culture amidst historical trauma.’

For Professor Mariana Candido, the focus shifted to West Central Africa-particularly Angola, the Republic of Congo, and Gabon-which, she explained, was ‘the region most affected by the transatlantic slave trade in terms of both duration and volume.’ According to her, ‘When talking about women in global slavery, it is inevitable to remind everyone that Central Africa lost the highest number of people to the trade. Roughly 36 percent of the 12.5 million Africans transported to the New World were women.’

Candido challenged popular assumptions that women were invisible in history. ‘I always heard that it was difficult to write about women, but in my research I found women everywhere-in travel reports, census data, church records, baptismal registers, and even in trading accounts. Women are not invisible in the archives; historians simply haven’t always looked for them.’

She further noted that ‘while men were taken in larger numbers, the women who remained behind filled crucial social and economic roles. Gender influenced the demand and supply of the trade and shaped the kinds of labour enslaved men and women performed.’ Her forthcoming book, A History of Women in Angola (1500-1880), she revealed, builds on these findings and aligns with Green’s effort to ‘recognize the centrality of women in economic, social, and political life in Atlantic ports, which became women’s spaces of power.’

Anchoring the discussion, Professor Toyin Falola contextualized the historical conversation for global audiences. ‘If you go to the US, Brazil, or Cuba and find black populations there, it is tied to this history of slavery,’ he said. ‘Millions were taken from Central and West Africa-from Cameroon, Nigeria, Angola, and beyond.’

Falola praised Toby Green’s work for reclaiming African women’s agency. ‘We are discussing this to emphasise the role of women. In classrooms, we call it agency-how people express themselves and find empowerment. Green shows us that African women were not simply victims; they were traders, political leaders, and brokers.’

He added that the book ‘reveals that the Atlantic world was not shaped by a single religion. Alongside Catholicism, African spiritual systems-dreams, rituals, and ancestral beliefs-coexisted and shaped everyday life.’ For Falola, The Heretic of Cacheu stands as ‘a microhistory of one woman that illuminates the broader global history of Africa, slavery, and gender.’

Building on that, Professor José Lingna Nafafé expanded the lens to the broader Atlantic world, stressing that women ‘carried Africa’s philosophy, religion, and culture across the Atlantic.’ He observed that ‘the Atlantic was saturated by women and young people who were not part of wars but were captured and enslaved nonetheless.’ Women, he said, occupied domestic spaces that became ‘sites of knowledge transmission and resistance.’

‘They worked in the homes of slave owners, cooked, cared for children, and overheard conversations about the systems that oppressed them,’ he explained. ‘These women held the secret knowledge of the operation of enslavement and sometimes resisted from within that space.’ Nafafé also discussed the Black Brotherhoods-Christian fraternities where ‘women were given spaces to trade, and the money they raised was often used to liberate others. They became liberators within an oppressive system.’

He concluded: ‘Women bore the double pain of being mothers-uprooted from their families while also giving birth to children who were enslaved. They were the primary bearers of trauma and, at the same time, of resistance.’

Framing the discussion within a global context, Dr. Robin Chapdelaine of Stanford University asserted that ‘the history of African women in slavery is foundational to understanding the making of the modern world.’ ‘The term ‘Global Africa’ signals both geography and process-the ways Africa and Africans, especially women, shaped economic, spiritual, and intellectual worlds stretching from Senegambia to Bahia,’ she said.

Chapdelaine noted that ‘women’s participation in trade networks tied African interior economies to Atlantic markets. Their labour-domestic, reproductive, agricultural, and commercial-sustained the circulation of goods, people, and ideas that defined the Atlantic and Indian Ocean worlds.’ Yet, she added, ‘their autonomy was often recast as deviance, their knowledge as sorcery, their mobility as a moral threat.’

‘To study women in slavery in a global frame,’ she said, ‘is to reimagine freedom not as a European invention but as a contested African practice.’

For author Toby Green, the story that inspired The Heretic of Cacheu lies in the life of Krispina Perez, ‘the most powerful trader in the settlement of Cacheu in today’s Guinea-Bissau.’ He explained: ‘This was a rare Inquisition trial from 1665 involving a West African woman. Perez was part of the elite trading class, and her influence was so significant that it drew the attention of the Inquisition-something that almost never happened in Africa.’

Green emphasized that the trial documents revealed ‘the emotional world underlying commerce-envy, bitterness, love, fear, anxiety, and debt-all shaping historical experience.’ He added: ‘The book is unusual because it captures the 17th century-a transformative period that set the stage for the industrialisation of global slavery.’

Sunday’s discussion reinforced the intellectual mission of The Toyin Falola Interviews-to connect Africa’s past with its global future through deep scholarly dialogue. By spotlighting women’s overlooked roles in shaping Atlantic history, the episode underscored Falola’s vision of an Africa that continues to speak powerfully to the world, reclaiming its stories, scholars, and the silenced. The event was broadcast across various television, radio, and digital platforms.

In the heart of Kathmandu, where devotion meets tradition, little Aryatara Shakya, barely three years old, has been chosen as Nepal’s new Kumari, the ‘living goddess.’ She now carries the weight of centuries-old reverence and unspoken expectations that go far beyond divine worship. Here are five of the most profound, often overlooked expectations placed on Nepal’s living goddesses:

1. Embody Physical Perfection

Before being chosen, a Kumari undergoes an intense selection process. She must possess flawless skin, perfect teeth, unblemished eyes, and an overall aura of serenity. Even the smallest mark or hesitation during tests, like being left alone in darkness or seeing animal blood, can disqualify her.

2. Never Show Fear or Pain

Once chosen, the Kumari becomes a symbol of divine power, meaning she must always appear fearless. Tears, fear, or any sign of discomfort are considered human weaknesses unfit for a goddess. From a young age, she learns to suppress emotions that most children naturally express.

3. Remain Emotionally Composed

Kumaris are expected to stay calm and expressionless, even in isolation. Their words are considered sacred prophecies, so every gesture and statement carries spiritual significance. This emotional restraint often shapes how they experience and limit their humanity.

4. Live Apart from the Outside World

As a living goddess, the Kumari’s movements are restricted. She rarely steps outside her palace except for ceremonies, and interactions with the public are limited. While she is adored by millions, her life is one of quiet solitude, watched, revered, but rarely truly known.

5. Transition Back to Normal Life After Divinity

When puberty arrives, the goddess must retire, instantly becoming an ordinary girl again. Many former Kumaris struggle to adjust to school, friendships, and social life after years of being worshipped. The divine silence they were trained to maintain often follows them into adulthood.

The story of Aryatara Shakya is not just about a child crowned as a goddess; it’s about the invisible weight of perfection placed on her shoulders. Behind the incense and prayers lies a quiet truth: to be a Kumari is to live like a goddess while learning to hide the heart of a child.

AS the World Habitat Day is being marked globally, the Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB) has emphasized that need to engage registered builders to construct buildings in order to drastically reduce the cases of building collapse in Nigeria.

This step, according to the statement by NIOB, would make Nigeria’s urban cities safer, free residents from avoidable displacement, prevent needless deaths, and protect the poor who are always the victims of building collapse.

‘On this World Habitat Day, let us recommit ourselves to making safe, resilient, and affordable housing a reality. Let us embrace the vision of cities that can withstand crisis and protect every citizen,’ the statement read.

As builders, built environment professionals, policymakers, and community members, NIOB urged that they must respond by prioritizing resilient building/construction standards and climate-sensitive designs: and engaging appropriate and qualified professionals in housing developments.

It also called for the need to strengthen urban infrastructure like drainage and safe and affordable housing.

‘Ensuring inclusive policies that protect the marginalized. Working together – government, professionals, private sector, NGOs, and citizens – to build housing solutions that endure.

‘Equally important, we must emphasize that engaging Registered Builders to construct our buildings will drastically reduce the cases of building collapse in Nigeria,’ the statement read.

NIOB said that housing is not just about shelter; but about dignity, safety, and sustainable resilience.

Talking about the theme for the year, ‘Urban Crisis Response’, NIOB said it has called the attention to the urgent need to prepare ‘our cities, towns and communities to withstand shocks – from floods, chaotic planning and development; building collapses, overstretched public infrastructure and climate change to displacement and economic hardship.’

‘In many of our communities, towns and cities in Nigeria, families live in fragile and dilapidated houses, vulnerable to storm damage, flooding, and poor infrastructure. Too often, the most vulnerable in the society- women, children, the displaced, and the poor – suffer the hardest impact. We cannot remain indifferent,’ the statement rea World Habitat Day: HDAN seeks action toward climate-resilient housing, others.

The Iperu Indigenes Forum (IIF) has congratulated the Governor of Ogun State, Prince Dapo Abiodun, on the completion and commencement of commercial operations at the Gateway International Airport, Iperu, describing it as a historic milestone for the community, Remoland, and the entire state.

In a statement jointly signed by the forum’s convener, Prince Ladi Olabinjo, Chief Ifasola Saheed Opeodu (the Oluwo of Iperu), Otunba Adebayo Salami and the Media Officer, Temitope Oyekan, the group commended the governor, an illustrious son of Iperu Akesanland, for his visionary leadership and commitment to infrastructural development and economic transformation.

The forum noted that the Gateway International Airport, which is set to begin its maiden commercial flight today, October 7, represents a new dawn for Iperu and the Remo region, as it strategically anchors the Remo industrial corridor and positions Ogun State on the global aviation and economic map.

According to the statement, the airport’s establishment will drive job creation, industrial expansion, investment, tourism, and urban renewal, while enhancing connectivity and accessibility across the state and beyond.

The forum also expressed optimism that the airport’s eventual international certification by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) will further link Ogun State directly to global markets, facilitating trade and travel.

While celebrating the project, the group urged the state government to further improve intra-city roads, ensure steady electricity supply, and strengthen security measures around the airport and adjoining communities to support anticipated growth in human and vehicular activities.

The forum also lauded other infrastructural projects associated with the airport, including the road linking the airport to the Sagamu-Benin highway, the ongoing Siun-Ajura-Ogere-Iperu-Ilisan road reconstruction, and the proposed Purple Line Metro Rail from Mowe to Iperu-initiatives it said align with Governor Abiodun’s ISEYA development mantra and Building Our Future Together agenda.

The forum congratulated ValueJet Airline for operating the airport’s maiden commercial flight and praised the company’s innovation and commitment to advancing Nigeria’s aviation industry.

Reaffirming its support for the governor’s developmental strides, the group expressed confidence that the Gateway International Airport, alongside the Special Agro-Processing Zone and the Remo Economic Cluster, will consolidate Ogun State’s position as a hub of industrial and economic excellence.

The Forum also saluted all sons and daughters of Iperu Akesanland, both at home and in the diaspora, for their contributions to the realisation of the project, recalling that vast lands across Orubo, Iragbon, Eluju, Arogbo, Idena, Magbon, Isapetu, Emulu and Ogunmogbo communities were provided for the airport’s development.

THE Gbenga Hashim Solidarity Movement (GHSM) has said voters across the North and the South will reject President Bola Tinubu’s bid for reelection in 2027.

Reacting to a recent statement by the Lagos chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the South West coordinator of GHSM, Alhaji Abass Olaniyi, said the party’s ‘usual arrogance and false sense of invincibility’ will once again lead to its downfall at the polls.

‘In 2023, it was in this same manner that the Lagos APC dismissed opposition elements as ‘online politicians,’ only to lose the presidential election in Lagos to the very people they mocked,’ Abass stated.

‘The APC not only lost the presidential election in Lagos State, but Tinubu also lost across Southern Nigeria. He was merely rescued by the APC in Northern Nigeria, a base that has now completely evaporated,’ he added.

It said the northern bloc that supported President Tinubu in 2023 has since ‘fractured beyond repair’ due to what it described as the catastrophic economic and security failures of his administration.

Abass criticised the APC’s economic management, accusing the party of presiding over a decade-long collapse that ‘defies logic.’

‘For 10 years under APC leadership, Nigeria’s economy has suffered a collapse that defies logic. The economy has shrunk by almost 50 percent within a decade, an economic disaster unprecedented in Nigerian history.

‘Not even during military rule, nor in the civil war era, did the nation experience this depth of economic devastation,’ he said.

The movement said the APC administration has failed woefully in addressing insecurity, despite campaigning on the promise to end insurgency in the North East.

He described the Tinubu administration as ‘synonymous with hunger, poverty, and hopelessness,’ adding that the people of Nigeria can no longer be deceived by propaganda or empty promises.

Olaniyi emphasised that the 2027 general elections would not be determined by regional loyalty or political coercion, but by the people’s lived realities.

‘With the decapitation of the APC in the North and its dismal record in office, no amount of coercion or conscription of Southern State chief executives into its fold can offer it a pathway out of comprehensive defeat in 2027,’ he said.

‘The South West electorate is far too educated and progressive to reward monumental failure with another term simply because President Tinubu hails from the region,’ he added.

Responding to the APC’s mockery of Dr Gbenga Hashim, Abass drew a parallel with former President Muhammadu Buhari, who contested four times before achieving victory.

‘President Buhari, whose burial site President Tinubu is now clutching to like a political totem for the 2027 election, contested four good times before becoming victorious. The time for victory in the race of life is in the hand of God, and it is our firm belief that 2027 is the time of Dr Gbenga Hashim by the Grace of God,’ he declared.

The GHSM maintained that Gbenga Hashim’s ideology of responsible governance and people-centered politics has become the new hope for millions of Nigerians disillusioned by the deceit and manipulation of the Tinubu political structure.

The movement stated that the 2027 elections will not be a contest of propaganda, but a referendum on competence, truth, and genuine development.

‘The people have seen through the deceit. No political marketing can sell hardship as progress anymore. Gbenga Hashim will not only emerge as the PDP’s presidential candidate in 2027; he will defeat Bola Tinubu and restore Nigeria to the path of justice, prosperity, and national unity,’ the group said.

Nigerian Air Force (NAF) on Monday marked another milestone in its transformation journey with the commissioning of the NAF Headquarters Annex Complex in Gudu, Abuja.

This was contained in a statement made available to Defence Correspondents in Abuja on Monday by the Service Spokesperson, Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame.

According to the statement, the new NAF headquarters annex facility, designed to decongest the overstretched Headquarters in Garki, was described as a bold step towards strengthening institutional capacity, enhancing productivity, and boosting personnel welfare.

Beyond its administrative value, the project also reinforced the NAF’s capacity to project airpower more effectively in defending the nation and protecting the lives of citizens.

Speaking at the event, the Special Guest Minister of Defence, Dr Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, commended the foresight of the NAF leadership, noting that the project reflected resilience, vision, and commitment to institutional growth.

He observed that since its establishment in 1964, the Air Force had expanded tremendously in scope and responsibility, creating the need for new administrative and operational support structures.

According to him, relocating key branches such as the Air Secretary, Standards and Evaluation, Transformation and Innovation, as well as the 051 Personnel Management Group and an Annex of the Chief of the Air Staff’s Office, would not only ease congestion but also provide a firmer institutional foundation for the future.

While praising the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Hasan Bala Abubakar, for aligning the project with his Command Philosophy of maintaining a highly motivated force through welfare and infrastructural renewal, he declared, ‘This Annex is a reflection of the Air Force’s habit of excellence and foresight’.

In his remarks, the Chief of the Air Staff explained that the Gudu Annex was deliberately acquired and remodelled to create a conducive work environment and strengthen coordination.

He emphasised that the project underscored the Service’s commitment to excellence and welfare, noting that motivation thrives where efficiency and infrastructure are prioritised.

According to him, ‘the commissioning of the HQ NAF Annex stands as a testament to our dynamism, resilience, and forward-looking posture,’

Earlier in his welcome remarks, the Chief of Administration, Air Vice Marshal Idi Sani, described the commissioning of the Headquarters Nigerian Air Force Annex Complex in Gudu as more than the unveiling of a new structure.

He noted that the event represents a defining milestone in the continuous transformation and dynamic growth of the Nigerian Air Force.

Several dignitaries attended the occasion, including the Acting Chairman of the Senate Committee on Air Force, Senator Augustine Akobundu; the Chairman of the House Committee on Air Force, Honourable Kabiru Al-Hassan Rurum; the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa; Service Chiefs and other senior officers.