Category: Business Day

Today, 6 October 2025, the Honourable Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Henry Dele Alake, clocks 69. For many in Nigeria, the name conjures memories of his decades as a journalist and public communicator. These days, it represents a new hope for sustainable reform in Nigeria’s solid minerals sector and Africa’s mining industry.

To understand the minister, you must know his father, Pa Michael Ojo Alake. He graduated in philosophy from Fourah Bay College, then West Africa’s most prestigious university. He later founded and ran the Benevolent High School in Lagos, where indigenes of his hometown, Ikoro-Ekiti, as well as indigent students, attended free of charge. His sacrifice was not ignored. The Ikoro people gave him the title ‘Eleyinmi of Ikoro-Ekiti’ to appreciate his benevolence.

Between 1979 and 1983, Alake Senior was one of the trusted advisers of Governor Lateef Jakande on the formulation and implementation of the free education programme, a scheme which scrapped the classroom shift system and built over 500 new schools to accommodate the pupils in one single shift within four years.

Being an educationist, Alake Senior knew the impact of good schools in forming the character of a civilised, confident and progressive child. He put his son in the best schools of the times – Surulere Baptist Primary School, Surulere, Lagos; Christ’s School, Ado-Ekiti; Igbobi College, Yaba – and topped it with university education at the University of Lagos, where the minister studied political science and later earned a master’s in mass communication. But his exposure was not only academic. His inter-campus, extra-curricular engagements brought him under the influence of Professor Wole Soyinka, further raising his social consciousness and commitment to public good.

This pedigree set a high standard in morality, elocution, and public service for the minister. He is still determined to surpass it. His father excelled in education, but he chose communications. As soon as he enrolled in the National Youth Service Corps and was deployed to Ogun State Radio, his hard work and creativity were noticed. The organisation entrusted him with tasks of confirmed staffers. His work led to his engagement with Lagos State Radio and a quick elevation to Senior Sub-Editor-one of the fastest advancements in the organisation’s history.

The crusader

As a columnist, news manager, and editor, Alake made crusading for good governance the raison d’être of his career. His choice of stories and writings was deliberately crafted to conscientise the readers in the fashion of Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed. This required immense courage under military rule, and he was often the guest of the secret service. At such times, they would find him ready with his toilet bag. At one point, Concord Press of Nigeria, where he worked, was put under lock and key by the junta. But this didn’t deter the crusader, whose conviction that journalism must have social relevance made him even more determined to mobilise the people to resist bad governance. To Dele, the words of Frantz Fannon, that ‘the future will have no pity for those men who, possessing the exceptional privilege of being able to speak words of truth to their oppressors but have, instead, taken refuge in an attitude of passivity, of mute indifference, and sometimes, of cold complicity’, were a call to be an agent of change.

The annulment of the June 12, 1993 election won freely by the publisher of Concord Press, Bashorun Moshood Kashimawo Abiola, thrust him into the epicentre of the struggle for the actualisation of this historic exercise of popular sovereignty by the Nigerian people. In that titanic struggle, he met and worked alongside Senator Bola Tinubu, who had given up his plan to be president of the Third Republic Senate to facilitate Abiola’s emergence. A comradeship that endures to date was forged in the furnace of that struggle, in Nigeria and in exile. Indeed, Tinubu’s plan to return to the Senate in 1998 was diverted to governorship by advisers such as Alake, who believed he had established the progressive profile and financial wizardry to execute Abiola’s manifesto, Farewell to Poverty, in Lagos State at a micro-level and later escalate to the national level. When Bola Tinubu became Governor of Lagos State in 1999, Alake became the Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, a position he held till 2007. In that capacity, he was instrumental in shaping the communications strategy and public image of the Tinubu administration in Lagos. Beyond Lagos, Alake’s involvement in national politics deepened. In December 2014, he was appointed Director of Media and Communication for the Buhari Campaign Organisation during the 2015 presidential election. Over the years, he cultivated a reputation as a strategist, tactician, and loyal political confidant of President Tinubu.

The mining reformer

Only a man like Alake, who has established the mental agility for cracking difficult tasks and a record of standing up to the status quo, could have been assigned the herculean task of cleaning the Augean stable of the solid minerals sector. The risks were real: weak institutions, vested interests in illicit mining, and security challenges-all posed serious headwinds. Without strong follow-through, even well-intended policies can stall. Since his appointment as the Minister of Solid Minerals Development in August 2023, he has led efforts to reform a sector long considered underutilised, fragmented, and rife with regulatory inefficiencies.

Alake hit the ground running by applying the agenda-setting theory of journalism. He developed the Seven-Point Agenda for international competitiveness and local industrialisation of Nigeria’s mining sector through critical research and review of the literature and interviews with stakeholders. He identified the challenges, such as insecurity caused by illegal miners and bandits, speculation in licence administration, violations of the Minerals and Mining Act 2007, the corporate void caused by the winding down of the Nigerian Mining Corporation, low rates of royalties and administrative fees despite multi-million-dollar technological investment and the failure to establish statutory and regulatory bodies such as the Environmental Rehabilitation Fund. He was very passionate about reversing the export of raw minerals and ensuring that minerals were processed locally to provide jobs and attract higher prices in the international markets.

In 25 months, Alake put no one in doubt that a new sheriff is in charge in the solid minerals sector. He took many steps. He set up the Mining Marshals to combat illegal mining and banditry, revoked 3,974 titles for failure to pay the annual service fee or refusal to mine after obtaining licences, established the private sector-orientated Nigerian Solid Minerals Company and the Environmental Rehabilitation Fund, increased rates of administrative fees and royalties, and revolutionised mining communications. To top it all, the advocacy for value addition that he espoused for the first time at the Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh in January 2024 won the hearts of ministers of mining in Africa. To maintain the momentum across the continent, they formed the Africa Minerals Strategy Group and made him the pioneer chairman. A year after, at the 2025 Future Minerals Forum, they poured encomiums on Alake for branding the one-year-old AMSG into a continental colossus!

The results of Alake’s reforms in the solid minerals sector form a major component of the achievements of the Renewed Hope Agenda of the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. These include an increase in revenue of the Nigerian Mining Cadastral Office from N6 billion in 2023 to N12.5 billion in 2024. It has reported N10 billion between January and April this year. Similarly, for the first time, royalties collected by the Mines Inspectorate department of the Ministry peaked at N6.4 billion as of December last year.

The advocacy for value addition has stimulated mineral processing and manufacturing projects such as Hasetin’s $400 million Rare Earth plant, the $60 million ASBA lithium processing plant, the $200 million Canmax Lithium plant, the $200 million New Energy Materials Company lithium plant, and new processing projects are in the pipeline. It has encouraged existing plants such as Segilola/Thor, Kursi, and Africa Industries Group to scale up operations. The Ministry, through SMDF, its funding agency, is also planning to invest in the $1.3 billion alumina and $96.8 million silica processing projects in collaboration with the Africa Finance Corporation.

The establishment of the Mining Marshals has led to the prosecution of over 300 suspected illegal miners by the Mining Marshals, the dislodgement of illegal miners from 90 licensed areas and the monitoring of 450 locations occupied by illegal miners. With more logistical resources, the enforcement of the mining laws will surely be intensified.

Transparency and accountability in licence administration have been achieved with the upgrade of the Electronic Mining Cadastre system, the launch of the mining decisions website and the improvement of content on the websites of the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency and the ministry. Today, research for and applications for licences can be initiated 24 hours every day from anywhere on the earth.

Alake has also intervened in human capacity development. His deal with the Australian government, negotiated during the Africa Down Under in September 2023, was executed this year with the training of the first batch of Nigerian geologists in modern exploration practices at Murdoch University. Locally, over 250 youths have benefitted from workshops on gemology and jewellery making, and the Institute of Geosciences continues to produce fresh mining professionals yearly.

What no serious witness of the solid minerals sector won’t contest is Alake’s sterling achievement in ensuring better compliance with the law. Operators are now more alert to their responsibilities and religious in observing deadlines and the rules of engagement.

With these records, Alake continues the family tradition by devoting his life to the service of his fatherland. It is a daily grind of hard-work, creativity and persistence that may make him forget that another year has passed and today is his birthday. This article is a gentle reminder for him to take a day off and celebrate God’s grace. Happy birthday, sir!

Kehinde Bamigbetan, former Commissioner for Information and Strategy in Lagos State, is the Special Adviser to Dr Dele Alake, the Honourable Minister of Solid Minerals Development.

Yusuf Liman Dahiru, Speaker, Kaduna State House of Assembly, has commenced the process of amending several state laws.

At Monday’s plenary, the bill to amend the Kaduna State Landlord and Tenant Law No. 18 of 2018 passed its first reading, while bills seeking to amend the Kaduna State Urban and Regional Planning Law No. 31 of 2018 and the Tax Codification and Consolidation Law No. 8 of 2020 also scaled their first readings.

Dahiru stated that the bill to repeal the Kaduna State College of Education Law No. 24 of 2018 and enact the Kaduna State College of Education, Gidan Waya Law, 2025, was taken for second reading and referred to the relevant committees for further legislative work.

The House also deliberated on a motion for the regulation of metal waste vendors across the state, aimed at promoting environmental sustainability, public health, and compliance with waste management standards.

The Chairman of the Joint Committee on Education and Judiciary presented a report on the Bill to Establish the Kaduna State Tertiary Institutions Regulatory Agency, 2025. After consideration, the House unanimously adopted the committee’s recommendations.

Proceedings were adjourned to Wednesday, October 7, 2025.

Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited, operator of Nigeria’s largest upstream oil and gas joint venture, has unveiled its pan-African operational strategy at the just concluded Africa Energy Week (AEW), signalling a new phase of regional expansion and leadership in the energy sector.

Speaking during a dedicated session at the conference, Tony Attah, the company’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, described Renaissance as a transformational force in Africa’s energy landscape.

‘We are Renaissance, not just in name, but in purpose,’ Attah said. ‘Our ambition is to catalyse a new beginning for Africa, one that delivers energy security and industrialisation through sustainable practices.’

Renaissance, formerly The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC), is a wholly owned subsidiary of Renaissance Africa Energy Holding Company, and operator of the NNPC/Renaissance/TotalEnergies/AENR Joint Venture with assets spread across 18 oil mining leases in Nigeria’s Niger Delta.

Attah described the acquisition of the shares of Shell in the former SPDC by Renaissance’s parent company, as a bold move. ‘Acquiring SPDC was seen as ambitious, but we executed it with clarity and conviction. Today, Renaissance stands as the new face of Africa’s energy.’

Speaking earlier on the sidelines of the AEW conference, Layi Fatona, Chairman of Renaissance, described the vision of the company as Afrocentric with a commitment to continental leadership.

‘Our vision is clear on becoming Africa’s leading energy company enabling energy security and industrialisation in a sustainable manner,’ Fatona said, adding: ‘We are not just out to participate in Africa’s energy future, we are out to shape it. Our strategy begins in Nigeria but is designed for scale across the continent.’

Peter Odili, veteran medical practitioner and former governor, has given tips on how to reduce the ‘japa’ syndrome in Nigeria.

Odili, who is founder of the PAMO Medical University in Port Harcourt, said upward salary review would stem the mass exodus of medical doctors.

He also gave another tip, urging states to emulate Rivers by embarking on mass training of medical doctors through scholarship scheme, saying it would reduce ‘japa’ effect by replacing those that leave the country.

Odili spoke at the ‘Induction/Oath-taking’ of 65 newly graduated medical doctors from PAMO University of Medical Sciences (PUMS), on Monday, October 6, 2025, at the Iriebe campus of the university.

The first civilian governor of Rivers State after military rule is also the Pro-Chancellor as well as Chairman of the University he founded with his wife, Mary.

The former state governor said upward review of their remuneration would reduce brain drain witnessed in the health sector.

He stated the University has produced over 330 healthcare professionals in less than eight years of existence, adding that if other institutions across the country could move at the same pace, the country would have enough medical practitioners and will not be affected by unprecedented exodus abroad for greener pastures. He inferred that the country does not have the power to stop workers from moving beyond borders but suggested attractive salaries and fast reproduction of medical doctors could be better option.

The former governor who studied medicine at the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN) commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu through Fatima Kyari, a professor and Registrar/Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN), for bold step in the health sector.

Odili said: ‘We congratulate him (Tinubu) and we urge him to pay very special attention to the training of health professionals because they hold the key to national health. A healthy nation is a wealthy nation.

‘We must be healthy first before the wealth. So, congratulate him (Tinubu) and urge the Federal Government to invest more and also look at the review of the remuneration of health workers. That way, we would be killing two birds with a stone.’

Odili went on: ‘You can imagine what would happen when all the other schools across the country move at the pace PUMS is moving. Nobody will worry about who moves, running away with japa or whatever they call it, looking for greener pastures.’

The initiative began during Nyesom Wike when the school was started, but Sim Fubara continued it. Odili said: ‘So, let me use this opportunity to thank the Rivers State government, especially the governor, Siminalayi Fubara, for the initiative and sustenance of the scholarships for students who are indigenes.

Kyari, while inducting the graduands into MCDN, charged them to be good ambassadors of the institution and the council.

She advised them to see their field of career as a calling and not a profession, warning that any person who indulges in any unwholesome practice would be sanctioned accordingly by the council.

The professor further warned the inductees not to build their practice on the trending artificial intelligence (A.I.), but on empathy with human feelings, which she said connects doctors with their patients.

The advice came at a time some prominent Nigerians have died because doctors were either never available or insisted on police report before attending to critically wounded patients especially at night.

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has been dragged before the Federal High Court in Abuja over a legal bid to stop him from contesting the 2027 Presidential election.

The suit, filed on Monday by Johnmary Chukwukasi Jideobi, a lawyer, asks the court to issue a perpetual injunction restraining Jonathan from submitting himself to any political party for nomination.

The plaintiff also wants the court to bar the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from accepting or publishing Jonathan’s name as a candidate in the 2027 Presidential election or any future poll.

In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2102/2025, Jonathan is named as the first defendant, while INEC and the Attorney- General of the Federation are the second and third defendants.

The case raises a constitutional question: whether, in light of Sections 1(1), (2), (3), and 137(3) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), Jonathan is eligible to contest for Nigeria’s Presidency again.

The plaintiff argues that the Constitution does not permit Jonathan to run, having already served out the remainder of late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’s term and then his own full term following the 2011 election.

An affidavit filed in support of the case by one Emmanuel Agida states that Jonathan was first sworn in as President on May 6, 2010, after Yar’Adua’s death, and was re-elected in 2011.

The plaintiff says recent media reports suggest that Jonathan may attempt another run in 2027, which he believes would violate the Constitution’s two-term limit.

He argues that if the court does not act, a political party may nominate Jonathan, potentially allowing him to contest and win the 2027 election.

That, he claims, will result in Jonathan taking the Presidential Oath a third time contrary to Constitutional provisions.

The plaintiff maintains he has the legal standing to bring the suit as a lawyer committed to upholding the Constitution.

He refers to provisions that state no person who has completed another’s term may be elected more than once.

He also cites the Constitutional requirement that Nigeria must be governed strictly according to the law, with no person or group assuming power outside the framework of the Constitution.

He argues that Jonathan’s return would undermine constitutional order and has filed the suit in the public interest to protect the rule of law.

The plaintiff asks the court to declare Jonathan ineligible to contest, bar INEC from accepting or publishing his candidacy, and order the Attorney General to enforce compliance.

As of the time of this report, no date has been fixed for the hearing.

From October 18-19, 2025, Terra Kulture Arena in Victoria Island, Lagos, will play host to lovers of stage performance as the opera of ‘The Gods Have Spoken’ enthralls the audience for two days.

The opera, directed by Muyideen Oladapo, popularly known as Lala, and written by Taiye Adeola, a PhD holder, will feature a collection of top Nollywood actors and actresses including: Lateef Adedimeji, Femi Branch, Tunji Sotimirin, Omowunmi Dada and Lizzy Jay.

Speaking on the forthcoming opera at a media parley in Lagos recently, Oladapo, who is drawing strength from his successful directing of ‘Kurunmi’, a play by Ola Rotimi, said that the collection of stars for the opera was a deviation from the norm, as the audience would be seeing the cast members in a different element for the first time.

Describing the opera of ‘The Gods Have Spoken’ as a must-see, Oladapo noted that with a 40-page script, over 140 pages of music and over 80 actors and crew members for the performance, the opera is simple breathtaking.

‘Opera is a play in the form of music and art where the singers and instrumentalists perform in a theatrical way. Every line will be acted out in the form of a song,’ Oladapo explained. He confessed that he chose to perform ‘The Gods Have Spoken’ because the message mirrors the society, even more today. ‘It is a story that gives hope to the common man in their pursuit of destiny,’ he said.

On his part, Tunji Sotimirin, a veteran actor and academic, assured the audience of a spectacular experience at Terra Kulture come October 18th and 19th.

‘This is a tiny script with a unique, significant message and dialogue being rendered for a spectacle to behold. This is to celebrate the common man’s voice to equip themselves,’ he said.

Also speaking during the media parley, Segun Adefila, choreography director of the opera, explained that the story which is about destiny and character teaches how man can influence the voice of the gods to bring destiny to life.

Adeaga Mofopefoluwa, the music director, said that, The Gods Have Spoken is a peculiar play with a unique message for the audience.

‘We have been working on the music scoresheet written by the writer and the arranger of the play, orchestrating the performance of this play. I assure the audience of a captivating performance different from what they have experienced,’ Mofopefoluwa said at the performance rehearsal.

However, Olamide Oladapo, the producer of the opera and daughter of the director, assured that the performance will also feature something special, while urging the audience to be on the lookout.

‘This is a satire and total theatre: dancing, acting, singing, with actors saying their lines in the form of songs,’ she said.

‘This will captivate and engage the audience. And I would like to add that we have something special coming on stage. I want everyone to watch out and come and see,’ Olamide, a Theatre Arts graduate, said.

She invites all to visit Terra Kulture, Victoria Island, Lagos from October 18-19, 2025, between 3pm and 6pm to see the highly anticipated opera performance.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu believed deeply that his October 1 broadcast was a huge success, what with avalanche of breakthroughs backed by both government and independent data. Members of his government also felt happy for what they considered the success of the broadcast. Out there, however, most citizens insisted that the figures did not bear true connection with what they go through in hardship everyday.

Whatever be the case, none debunked the figures ranging from slowing inflation from 34% to about 20%; surging foreign reserves of up to $42bn; huge trade surplus with non-oil export surging to almost $7bn per year; numerous companies now posting jumbo profits; and government revenue hitting high heavens.

What was hidden in all of that was the striking credit indirectly given to Samuel Ogbuku, the man who has piloted the affairs of the once ridiculed Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). The broadcast did not mention names of performing government CEOs but any credit given to a sector was deemed to have been given to the concerned CEO.

The President said the management style of the oil region was the reason for the new prosperity Nigeria is witnessing, which is hinged on oil boom.

Tinubu said: ‘Oil production rebounded to 1.68 million barrels per day (mbpd) from barely one million in May 2023. The increase occurred due to improved security, new investments, and better stakeholder management in the Niger Delta.’

Many underlined the operative words in the credits to be ‘better stakeholder management’. Before Ogbuku came, the region was on fire and the NDDC seemed helpless.

The difference was that the youths never connected with the Commission. They saw their role only as that of troublemakers, the only way to attract attention and some cash.

Ogbuku came with a face of ‘activist’ and a brother in the trenches. No one could lay bigger claim to agitation and activism. He knew the language, he created part of the language. Many of his colleagues in the past spoke with guns, he spoke with logic to show why the region deserved more. He became a kind of spokesman for the agitation. When he was appointed Managing Director, many saw him as their leader now in a position to do better; their voice. It thus became difficult to spit at his voice, or his name in the creeks.

The president mentioned other factors that led to the new prosperity. ‘Furthermore, the country has made notable advancements by refining PMS domestically for the first time in four decades. It has also established itself as the continent’s leading exporter of aviation fuel.

‘The Naira has stabilised from the turbulence and volatility witnessed in 2023 and 2024. The gap between the official rate and the unofficial market has reduced substantially, following FX reforms and fresh capital and remittance inflows. The multiple exchange rates, which fostered corruption and arbitrage, are now part of history. Additionally, our currency rate against the dollar is no longer determined by fluctuations in crude oil prices.’

Tinubu said under his leadership, the economy is recovering fast, and the reforms they started over two years ago were delivering tangible results. ‘The second quarter 2025 Gross Domestic Product grew by 4.23%-Nigeria’s fastest pace in four years-and outpaced the 3.4 per cent projected by the International Monetary Fund. Inflation declined to 20.12% in August 2025, the lowest level in three years. The administration is working diligently to boost agricultural production and ensure food security, reducing food costs.

‘In the last two years of our administration, we have achieved 12 remarkable economic milestones as a result of the implementation of our sound fiscal and monetary policies:

‘We have attained a record-breaking increase in non-oil revenue, achieving the 2025 target by August with over N20 trillion. In September 2025 alone, we raised N3.65 trillion, 411% higher than the amount raised in May 2023.

‘We have restored Fiscal Health: Our debt service-to-revenue ratio has been significantly reduced from 97% to below 50%. We have paid down the infamous ‘Ways and Means’ advances that threatened our economic stability and triggered inflation. Following the removal of the corrupt petroleum subsidy, we have freed up trillions of Naira for targeted investment in the real economy and social programmes for the most vulnerable, as well as all tiers of government.

‘We have a stronger foreign Reserve position than three years ago. Our external reserves increased to $42.03 billion this September-the highest since 2019.

‘Our tax-to-GDP ratio has risen to 13.5 per cent from less than 10 per cent. The ratio is expected to increase further when the new tax law takes effect in January. The tax law is not about increasing the burden on existing taxpayers but about expanding the base to build the Nigeria we deserve and providing tax relief to low-income earners.

‘We are now a Net Exporter: Nigeria has recorded a trade surplus for five consecutive quarters. We are now selling more to the world than we are buying, a fundamental shift that strengthens our currency and creates jobs at home. Nigeria’s trade surplus increased by 44.3% in Q2 2025 to ?7.46 trillion ($4.74 billion), the largest in about three years. Goods manufactured in Nigeria and exported jumped by 173%. Non-oil exports, as a component of our export trade, now represent 48 per cent, compared to oil exports, which account for 52 per cent. This signals that we are diversifying our economy and foreign exchange sources outside oil and gas.’

Critics may shout, citizens may frown, but no one has put forward any counter figures or said oil has not increased. Many thus admit that the president has a right to beat his chest or gloat. Many say by giving Ogbuku and the board free hand alone, Mr President changed the free fall of the NDDC. Managing directors before him without guarranted terms found it difficult to initiate any schemes, but did what they could with the funds available. They seemed to operate with ‘make hay while the sun shines’.

But Mr President seemed to get it right not just by leaving the MD but giving the Commission a board with tenure, and setting the team on bond: They signed what to deliver per quarter. Funds were also guaranteed, such as the first ever N1trn grant to add to their 2015 budte into N1.9trn. The President was said to be right to state that management strategy did the magic in the Niger Delta. What the funds did:

President Tinubu was said to be right to go on to state what he did with prosperity. He said: ‘Under the social investment programme to support poor households and vulnerable Nigerians, N330 billion has been disbursed to eight million households, many of whom have received either one or two out of the three tranches of the N25,000 each.

‘The administration is expanding transport infrastructure across the country, covering rail, roads, airports, and seaports. Rail and water transport grew by over 40% and 27%, respectively. The 284-kilometre Kano-Kastina-Maradi Standard Gauge rail project and the Kaduna-Kano rail line are nearing completion. Work is progressing well on the legacy Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and Sokoto-Badagry Highway. The Federal Executive Council recently approved $3 billion to complete the Eastern Rail Project.’

The world is taking notice of our efforts, he stated. ‘Sovereign credit rating agencies have upgraded their outlook for Nigeria, recognising our improved economic fundamentals. Our stock market is experiencing an unprecedented boom, rising from an all-share index of 55,000 points in May 2003 to 142,000 points as of September 26, 2025.

‘At its last MPC meeting, the Central Bank of Nigeria slashed interest rates for the first time in five years, expressing confidence in our country’s macroeconomic stability.’

On security, he said: ‘We are working diligently to enhance national security, ensuring our economy experiences improved growth and performance. The officers and men of our armed forces and other security agencies are working tirelessly and making significant sacrifices to keep us safe. They are winning the war against terrorism, banditry and other violent crimes. We see their victories in their blood and sweat to stamp out Boko Haram Terror in North-East, IPOB/ESN terror in South East and banditry and kidnapping. We must continue to celebrate their gallantry and salute their courage on behalf of a grateful nation. Peace has returned to hundreds of our liberated communities in North-West and North-East, and thousands of our people have returned safely to their homes.’

In mentioning areas of danger, the Niger Delta for once escaped mention. A security official in the region said at a conference (Make-In-Nigeria) that Rivers State and the Niger Delta are the most peaceful in Nigeria at the moment. He said in most other regions, people no longer go to farms.

How Ogbuku did it:

The greatest thing he may have done is consultation and consensus, building trusts. This was impossible in the past. With Ogbuku, analysts said, the youths were prepared to listen.

Ogbuku once whispered some of his strategies with a team of top editors in Nigeria. He said the youths operated in the past with mindset that whoever got access to the NDDC Tower was a millionaire overnight. What Ogbuku said he did was to open up the tower to every youth. It was a deal: feel free to enter, meet whoever you wanted to, but no violence, no noise; deal. So, youths move in and out and go away.

Next was, no sacred cows. If any benefit came, it was put openly on the table. If you get this time, everyone will see it. Next time it is another person. That way, the youths saw that the benefits were going round.

The next was data. He forced all youths to be captured in a database with what you want and what you can do. That way, it was easy to identify the youths and their needs and skills. The era of collect and sell died overnight.

He expanded the foreign postgraduate scholarships by creating 400 slots in local universities and 200 in UK universities. Opportunities went to more persons.

The era of collecting jobs and funds and flee died. The era of work without pay also died. Some sense returned, some prosperity retuned. While big-ticket projects of billions of naira were going on, small ones like solar light were also introduced to take care of people with small needs. The mouths speaking good about the NDDC and Ogbuku multiplied over the few speaking evil.

Evidence:

When youths in all regions roared in anger and declared national or nationwide protests, the FG saw that the NDDC became a rallying platform to appeal to the youths of the Niger Delta. Surprisingly, the youths listened and agreed to obey the voice. This had never happened in the past, for youths of the region to listen to anybody, let alone to a voice from the NDDC. They chose to give Mr President a chance to prove his promises.

Many leaders in the region were seen falling behind the NDDC leader in the hours of fear and tension. Nothing evil happened. Reason: There has emerged a platform to talk and be talked to. It came during the Stakeholders Forum of the region held in 2024. Now, Mr President can talk of pipelines not being burst, oil facilities not being bombed, and oil workers not being captured and killed. Something made this happen, somebody made this happen.

Adams Oshiomhole, former governor of Edo State and senator representing the Edo North senatorial district, has said that only the enemies of former President Goodluck Jonathan will want him to contest in the 2027 presidential election.

Oshiomhole, a former national chairman of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC), gave the advice to former President Jonathan on Sunday while featuring during Channels Television’s Sunday Politics on October 5.

In recent weeks, there have been reports suggesting that former President Jonathan may contest the 2027 elections against President Bola Tinubu.

Although Jonathan is yet to make an official statement regarding his intentions, several leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have been calling on him to run on the party’s platform.

Nigeria’s main opposition, the PDP, once regarded as the most formidable opposition has now disintegrated and become a shadow of itself.

While some Nigerians support the idea and even suggest alternative platforms for Jonathan to join the 2027 presidential race, others have advised him not to join the race, the recent being Oshiomhole.

He advised former President Jonathan not to contest in 2027 to save the current image he enjoys both in the political space.

According to Oshiomhole, Jonathan was defeated by APC even when the party (PDP) was the ruling party, not to talk of now the party followership has reduced remarkably.

‘The South-South is no longer PDP. Where’s he going to start from,’ he responded among other questions thrown to him by Seun Okinbaloye, the host of Politics Today and Sunday Politics on Channels TV.

Like Oshiomhole, other key stakeholders in APC have shown their support for President Tinubu’s second term. For instance, ahead of the 2027 general elections, members of the zonal executive committee of the APC have designed programmes for the success of President Tinubu’s second term ambition, saying he deserves a second term to consolidate what he is currently doing in the country. The presidency recently said it welcomes former President Goodluck Jonathan to the 2027 presidential race.

Bayo Onanuga, special adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, stated this while reacting to a statement credited to Jerry Gana, former minister of Information, who revealed that the former President would contest the 2027 Presidential election on the platform of the PDP.

Onanuga noted that it is premature desperation of the opposition ganging up against President Tinubu despite his glaring giant economic strides.

‘We are once again regaled with a cacophony of voices, most of them full of sound and fury, signifying nothing, to paraphrase inimitable Williams Shakespeare in one of his classic works, Macbeth.’

Unconfirmed report on Sunday suggested that former President Goodluck Jonathan is considering aligning with the African Democratic Congress (ADC) ahead of the 2027 general elections, as the party’s coalition of opposition forces gathers strength and intensifies consultations with key political stakeholders across the country.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, a key contender in the opposition coalition ADC recently denied reports indicating that he would step down for anybody in the 2027 presidential race.

Atiku stated this in a statement by his media aide, Paul Ibe, on Thursday in Abuja.

Nasir El-Rufai, former governor of Kaduna State and key stakeholder in the ADC had said President Bola Tinubu will finish third in the 2027 presidential election.

‘Tinubu will be third in the 2027 election. I have done my maths and I can tell you Tinubu has no pathway to win. The worst case scenario is that there will not be any winner in the first ballot,’ he had said on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics.

The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) has called on the Nigerian government to create a comprehensive legal and policy framework to protect investors and employers, warning that the absence of such safeguards is undermining confidence, weakening industrial productivity, and deterring long-term capital inflows.

In its latest policy brief titled ‘Protecting Investors and Employers: A National Policy Imperative,’ the private-sector think tank said Nigeria’s economy cannot thrive if those who take risks, mobilise capital, and create jobs remain exposed to arbitrary regulatory actions, frequent policy reversals, and unrestrained labour union disruptions.

‘Investors, entrepreneurs, and employers are the lifeblood of every modern economy,’ said Muda Yusuf, director and chief executive officer of CPPE. ‘Yet, in Nigeria, their rights and investments remain inadequately protected.’

Yusuf noted that while workers enjoy strong legal protection, there is no equivalent institutional safeguard for employers and investors. This imbalance, he said, has left the real sector-particularly manufacturing-vulnerable to strikes, coercion, and costly disruptions. ‘There is a growing and disturbing incidence of incredibly disproportionate industrial actions that paralyze production and inflict huge financial losses,’ he said. To correct this, CPPE recommended the enactment of an Investor and Employer Protection Act to codify the rights and obligations of regulators, unions, and employers, while prohibiting intimidation, unauthorised shutdowns, and harassment.

The proposed law would also create penalties, restitution mechanisms, and strengthen the Industrial Arbitration Panel for faster dispute resolution.

The group further proposed establishing an ‘Independent Investment Ombudsman’ to handle complaints against government agencies and mediate disputes. It also urged reforms to guarantee regulatory stability, including Investor Impact Assessments before major policy changes, a five-year rolling regulatory roadmap, and clear limits on the powers of agencies to prevent abuse.

Yusuf said labour unions play a legitimate role in defending workers’ rights but insisted their actions must align with the law and national interest. He urged that essential sectors like energy, transport, and health be designated as strategic, with compulsory arbitration mechanisms to prevent economic paralysis.

‘Protecting investors is not about weakening labour,’ Yusuf said. ‘It’s about balancing rights and responsibilities to foster stability, attract capital, and ensure sustainable economic growth.’

He added that implementing these reforms would restore investor confidence, boost productivity, and strengthen Nigeria’s competitiveness in the global economy.

In his recent national address, President Bola Tinubu once again placed Nigerian youths at the centre of his administration’s vision.

He spoke of his administration’s empowerment, job creation, and investment in education, especially the introduction of a scholarship and loan scheme, through the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), in which about 510,000 students in tertiary institutions across Nigeria are said to have benefitted so far.

The beneficiaries are in 228 higher institutions across 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

However, observers say the current number of students benefiting from the student loan scheme is very small compared to the country’s millions of students.

While the NELFUND has made significant progress in just one year, with over half a million applications received, the scale of the problem and the limited number of beneficiaries relative to the total student population suggests the scheme’s impact is still small.

Many Nigerians say by focusing only on the loans without bringing the entire issue of higher education funding into full focus, the government has only paid attention to the branch, rather than the tree itself.

Despite the Nigerian government’s stated commitment to youth empowerment, critics argue more needs to be done due to rising youth unemployment, insufficient access to quality education and vocation education and vocation training. The promise vs reality

Even though President Tinubu’s address highlighted his administration’s commitment to the youth, especially his administration’s different initiatives and increased investment in education, skills acquisition, and efforts to stabilize the economy.

These ambitions, on the surface, are commendable. Yet for many Nigerian youths, such promises have become familiar tails – echoed by successive governments, but rarely felt at street level.

For many youths, it is a difficult period, the reforms policies of the Tinubu’s administration have led to rise in cost-of -living.

‘It is a difficult period for youth in Nigeria, the current government is not doing enough for youth and they are not sincere,’ Tolu Oshukoyi, a lawyer said.

‘If Tinubu is serious there should be monthly stipends for the unemployed youth and women, that is how it is done abroad. Even the loan scheme, how many people are benefiting and it is enmeshed in corruption. That is why you see all these social vices and terrorism where our youth are lured into.’

Disillusioned with the state of affairs, in the last one-year, Nigerian youth have hit the streets in Lagos and many other states to protest against the current administration policies against the soaring prices of foodstuff and the high cost of living in the country.

The protesters had called for the reversal of the administration’s policies.

In February 2024, scores of youths protested at Ojuelegba part of Lagos State seeking the reversal of the current administration’s policies.

They were singing, and carrying placards with various inscriptions to make their grievances known about the current economic hardship.

‘We are here to protest the anti-liberal governance of Tinubu, the devastating poverty, the removal of fuel subsidy, and the devaluation of the naira.

‘Our people can no longer eat, and they cannot pay for their children to go to school. We need them to provide leadership to ease the suffering,’ one of the protesters had said.

Another youth led protest was held in late 2024 against the current administration style of governance.