Category: Nigerian Tribune

THE proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has given the Federal Government 14 days to ensure the listing and hearing of Namdi Kanu’s appeal, threatening to mobilise for a boycott of the 2027 general election across the South-East and other parts of what it describes as Biafraland.

IPOB’s Head of Directorate of State (DOS), Mazi Chris Nwaogu, issued the ultimatum on Monday in a video broadcast, accusing the government of deliberately delaying the appellate proceedings after moving swiftly to secure Kanu’s conviction.

The threat came amid renewed concerns by Kanu’s family over the delay in hearing his appeal against the conviction and life sentence passed on the detained IPOB leader.

The family recently disclosed that Kanu wrote to the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) and the President of the Court of Appeal, requesting the immediate listing and hearing of his pending cases.

According to the family, the request followed what it described as prolonged delays in proceedings concerning Kanu’s continued detention, conviction and life sentence.

Zwaogu accused the Federal Government of avoiding the appellate court, despite its earlier efforts to secure Kanu’s conviction.

‘The Federal Government has not filed a respondent’s brief, they have not listed the appeal, they have not come to court. A country that rushed to convict is now too frightened to defend the conviction,’ he alleged.

The IPOB official said the group would consider mobilising for an election boycott if the government failed to act within the 14-day deadline.

‘We are giving them 14 days to list Kanu’s appeal. If they refuse, we will consider boycotting the coming elections across Biafraland and beyond. A government that cannot face its Court of Appeal has no right to demand our votes,’ Nwaogu said.

He also criticised the judiciary’s handling of Kanu’s case, alleging that proceedings from the trial court through the appellate stages had raised concerns about the state of Nigeria’s judicial system.

‘This judicial conspiracy through the trial court to the remittal and the present silence will shame the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) and all lawyers who still pretend this system is healthy. This case will either reset the Nigerian judiciary or expose it,’ he said.

Nwaogu further challenged the Supreme Court’s decision which overturned Kanu’s discharge and acquittal by the Court of Appeal, particularly faulting the judgment delivered by Justice Lawal Garba.

He argued that the apex court exceeded its constitutional powers by pronouncing on individual counts that had already been quashed by the Court of Appeal.

Justice Garba crossed a line that the constitution does not allow. This is the heart of the matter,’ he said.

According to him, the Supreme Court could have corrected the Court of Appeal on whether the trial court retained jurisdiction to continue hearing the case, but should not have gone further to determine the validity of individual counts that had already been quashed.

‘Justice Garba did more than that. He went down the individual counts the Court of Appeal had already quashed and declared that the Federal High Court had jurisdiction to try those particular counts,’ Nwaogu argued.

The national president of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), Comrade Muhammad Haruna Ibrahim, in this interview with CHRISTIAN APPOLOS, speaks on the situation, two months after the Federal Government and the leadership of the non-teaching staff unions, signed a new agreement on June 29 following the review of the 2009 agreement.

Two months after the Federal Government and the non-teaching staff unions signed the agreement, what is the current state of implementation?

The struggle of workers in our tertiary institutions, especially our public universities, has been going on for 17 years, from 2009 until today. We have been in the trenches since 2009. In between, we had the Jonathan administration, then eight years of the Buhari administration, and now this government.

We struggled hard to get the government back to the table to renegotiate the 2009 agreement. The agreement itself was a document signed with the government, with a provision that after three years, it would be subject to review. It covered conditions of service and other associated issues relating to university governance and funding. Part of it dealt with university autonomy and non-interference by the core civil service. Those were some of the issues we reviewed in the agreement you have been hearing about.

Then, we came to the financial aspect. The financials have to do with salaries, allowances and other associated payments. The government deliberately said that it would not discuss salary review because it was considering a general review of salaries for all civil servants and other public servants, of which university workers are also part. So it focused on improving the allowances and making available allowances specific to teaching and non-teaching staff. That of non-teaching staff is called CONTTA.

So, what exactly is CONTTA?

CONTTA means Consolidated Non-Teaching Staff Allowance. It is for non-teaching staff. The government agreed to review it after 17 years of struggle. So, CONTTA was reviewed upward by 35 percent. meaning that whatever you are receiving today, if it is N100, there is a 35 percent increase on that N100.

The increase is also meant to cater for data subscriptions, membership of professional bodies and other things we do, including attendance at conferences, seminars and presentations, so that workers will no longer have to take these expenses from their salaries.

In addition to that, there are some specific allowances such as responsibility allowance, excess workload allowance and hazard allowance. But these are not for everybody. They are paid to specific categories of staff. For example, responsibility allowance is only paid to those heading departments, divisions, units and sections. It is not for every staff member.

Then, there is the excess workload allowance. This is for officers on Levels 9 to 12, who have to do more work beyond the regulated hours or beyond the quantum of work they are expected to do. The rate is N2,500 per hour, up to a maximum of 52 hours in a month, for senior staff. For those on Level 13 and above, the rate is N3,500 per hour. Those are the things the government reviewed. It was a very tough job done under the leadership of distinguished Nigerians. We got the agreement signed on June 29. We thanked the government and everybody was happy. A lot of people had been waiting for this. We lost so many members in the course of this struggle. Some could not live to see the outcome because they died from ill health and because they could not afford medication.

Two months after the agreement was signed, how far has implementation gone?

No federal university has been able to get one dime, one naira for the implementation. Because of this, the enthusiasm and celebration have died down. People’s morale is dampened. People are not happy. So, this is where we are: agreement signed, but payment has yet to start. Implementation has yet to start. No money has been released.

This is coupled with the non-remittance of pension contributions. They deduct your money and then, the money is not remitted to the PFAs.

The new law now permits you to take 25 percent from your PFA when you retire, but when you get there and they tell you that the government has not remitted the money in the last one or two years, where is the money going?

With government revenues reportedly increasing, what, in your view, is responsible for the delay in releasing funds for implementation?

What is happening in Nigeria today, especially with regards to funding of our universities, is a case of the more you see, the less you understand. We read in the newspapers and see on television how the government keeps saying that so much revenue is being received. We also see governors celebrating the President and the Federal Government for tripling or quadrupling their allocations. And you can see that in the states because every state is now competing over flyovers. That seems to be the thing now.

But for us working in the Federal Civil Service and those working in our universities, we have not seen that. It is yet to come. So, it is a case of: who do you believe?

Let me shock you. The capital budget of our federal institutions in the last three years is nothing to write about. The releases in 2024, 2025 and now 2026 have been very poor. In 2024 or 2025, only 30 percent was approved, and it was only 30 percent of that 30 percent that was released. All the projects in our institutions are suspended. Contractors are not paid, and universities are finding it extremely difficult to fund their activities, especially payment for electricity.

We also celebrated when this government came with the idea of solar grids for universities. For those that are lucky to have them, they are happy because a lot of burden has been taken off their heads. But how many universities have this? Less than 10, or not more than 10 universities, out of over 100 universities.

The idea of the government generating more revenue is something that is not explainable and cannot be understood by us because we don’t see the corresponding releases. A clear exam is the government approved upward review of allowances for workers in the universities, particularly non-teaching staff, but no dime has been released for implementation two months after.

As we speak, vice-chancellors are finding it extremely difficult to operate. But you know they cannot say much because they are appointees of the government. We can speak because our members deserve to know the situation. For us, if we see what is good, we will say it. If we don’t see, we will also say it.

From your engagements with the ministers and other government representatives, what are they telling you about the delay, and where exactly is the bottleneck?

No matter how a minister wants to perform, he cannot perform magic. We see the enthusiasm in our Minister of Education to get the job done. Any day I call him, he picks up the phone and explains things. But, all ministers eventually run to the Minister of Finance. I will not be able to speak on his behalf, but I can tell you that there are so many approvals lying on the table of the Minister of Finance.

We have been reliably told that the Minister of Education has done his bit. In conjunction with the Budget Office, everything required to implement the CONTTA for non-teaching staff for the whole year has been calculated. But we have not seen the money till now.

As president of a union representing thousands of non-teaching staff, how are your members coping with the delay?

It is a very pathetic situation. My members cry to the leadership ear all the time. They call on phone to know what is happening, they lament, and their morale is very dampened. The most disheartening part of this situation is that we are losing so many members due to their inability to access medical care, their inability to provide good food for their families and their inability to even afford transportation to work five days a week. So many of our people have parked their cars because they cannot afford to fuel them. You cannot fill your tank with N100,000 and use it for one week, and it is finished. When you calculate it over four weeks, that is N400,000 on petrol alone. Where will you get money for electricity? Where will you get money for gas to cook? Where will you get money to pay school fees?

Today in Nigeria, to treat malaria, even at primary healthcare centres, you need nothing less than N30,000 because you have to do the blood tests, get diagnosed and then get drugs for five days. That is a minimum of N30,000.

With the concerns of your members growing by the day, what is your message to President Tinubu on the implementation of the agreement?

My very sincere call to the President of this country is that he came with good intentions. He has shown that he is willing to improve the lives of workers. He approved the minimum wage review, which is now also due for another review. He has approved allowances for the military, the police and other sectors.

And now, coming to our own constituency, universities are the lifeline of human development in this country.

If you don’t have good universities and a well-educated population, you should also expect that your economy will not thrive. People will not be able to give their best, whether in the public or private sector.

So, if universities are poorly funded and the staff are angry and hungry, you will continue to have bad products, and then the country will be in for it.

Our call to the President and his lieutenants is to prioritise expenditure. They need to prioritise expenditure. University education and education generally are priorities anywhere in the world.

If we continue to have this drop in releases in the education sector, definitely, the system will crumble. The government must seriously prioritise expenditure, and fund our universities. Education occupies a very, very strategic place in the development of every nation.

AS campaigns towards the 2027 general elections gather momentum, the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) has said it would remove billboards, not approved by the agency, while individuals or corporate bodies, behind the installation of such billboards, will be prosecuted.

Giving the warning in a statement signed by its Director General, Dr. Lekan Fadolapo, on Monday, the apex regulatory body in the nation’s advertising sector, added that every campaign signages must be approved by the Advertising Standards Panel (ASP), as stated by the nation’s Advertising Law, before being exposed to the public.

It expressed concerns at the activities of some politicians, political parties, support groups, advertising agencies and media owners, who engaged in the exposure of unapproved adverts, some of which have been found to violate religious and ethical guidelines.

The agency, therefore, enjoined all actors in the nation’s political and advertising sectors to exercise caution and ensure that all advertising, advertisement and marketing communications activities align with the nation’s Advertising Law and other relevant extant laws.

It warned that the exposure of unapproved advertisements on the traditional and online media platforms without approval of the Advertising Standards Panel (ASP), constitutes an offence under Section 34(3) of the ARCON Act No 23 of 2022.

‘All political parties, elective political office aspirants, political campaign organisations, advertisement agencies and media owners are hereby advised to immediately cease and desist from exposing advertisements without prior approval of the ASP as required by the ARCON Act,’ the agency added.

National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, has acknowledged growing reservations about the direction of the Nigerian economy.

At a policy roundtable held in Abuja on Tuesday and organised by the All Progressives Congress Professional Forum, the APC Chairman assured Nigerians that the present administration would soon shift its focus from macroeconomic stability to microeconomic prosperity.

Checks revealed that amidst growing external reserves, an increase in Gross Domestic Product, and relative stability in the foreign exchange rate, Nigerians have continued to groan over poor purchasing power.

Professor Yilwatda, who represented President Bola Tinubu at the event to present the scorecards of his administration, declared that the next phase of Renewed Hope would translate to more food, stronger purchasing power for the average Nigerian.

He said: ‘A good GDP number does not automatically put food on a family’s table. Stronger reserves do not pay school fees. A stronger stock market does not automatically put money into the pocket of a market woman.

‘Therefore, we are in the next phase of Renewed Hope which must translate macroeconomic stability into microeconomic prosperity: more food, more jobs, lower inflation, affordable credit, reliable power, more manufacturing, greater exports and stronger purchasing power.’

In a veiled allusion to the declaration by the Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, Atiku Abubakar, to return to the fuel subsidy regime, the APC National Chairman advised Nigerians to pick between consolidation of the progress in the economy and a return to the years of fiscal pressures.

He said: ‘As we approach 2027, Nigerians will hear many promises. Some will promise to reverse the reforms; others will promise prosperity without confronting the structural problems that brought us here. The question is whether we go backwards or consolidate and improve the progress we have begun.

‘Do we abandon infrastructure investment or accelerate it? Do we discourage investors or make Nigeria one of Africa’s preferred investment destinations? Do we allow our ports to serve our domestic economy or position Nigeria primarily as a maritime gateway to the wider African hinterland?

‘For the All Progressives Congress, the answer is clear. We choose progress, productivity, investment, infrastructure, innovation, Nigerian enterprise, exports, human capital, and we choose President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. And we choose the ambition of a $1 trillion Nigerian economy by 2030 by Mr President for our common prosperity.

‘We must power our industries, develop our digital economy, educate our young people and mobilise the private capital required to transform our productive capacity. Above all, we must begin to see Nigeria differently, not merely as a large domestic market, but as a potential maritime, industrial, digital and logistics powerhouse for Africa.

‘The foundation has been laid. The opportunity is before us. The work has begun. Now we must take Nigeria from reform to results, from results to growth, from growth to prosperity, and from prosperity to a $1 trillion economy by 2030.’

Stretching further the narrative of the gains of the present economic policies, the APC National Chairman listed the establishment of social investment programmes such as NELFUND and CREDICORP, which he cautioned must not be reversed.

‘We are investing in the future of our young people because they are the greatest asset of the Nigerian economy. Through NELFUND, we are expanding access to higher education so that financial circumstances do not prevent young Nigerians from acquiring the knowledge they need to succeed. We are also supporting young people in technical and vocational education through grants and skills-development opportunities, while programmes to train young Nigerians in digital technologies are equipping a new generation with the skills required for the global digital economy.

‘At the same time, through initiatives such as CREDICORP, we are expanding access to responsible credit so that workers, entrepreneurs and businesses can acquire productive assets, grow their enterprises and create jobs. This is not simply social investment; it is an investment in the productive capacity of Nigeria and in the young Nigerians who will ultimately build and drive our $1 trillion economy.’

Leadership is often confused with authority. A promotion can give someone a title, a team and the power to make decisions, but none of those things automatically make that person a good leader.

Real leadership shows up when a problem has no obvious solution or when a difficult decision has to be made and someone has to take responsibility for the outcome.

The encouraging part is that leadership is not reserved for people who seem naturally confident or charismatic. It can be developed through deliberate practice, with honest feedback and experiences that stretch the way you think.

A recent report on developing leadership skills through an entrepreneurial mindset similarly emphasises the value of initiative, problem-solving and learning to recognize opportunities rather than waiting for them to appear.

Therefore, if you want to become a stronger leader, you do not have to wait until someone gives you a management position. Hence, Tribune Online recommend these practical things you can start doing.

Take ownership when you notice problems

One of the clearest signs of leadership is the ability to see beyond your job description. If something is slowing down your team, frustrating customers or wasting resources, you can either wait for someone else to deal with it or take the initiative to understand what is happening.

Suppose customers keep complaining about delayed responses. Instead of forwarding every complaint to your manager, examine where the process is breaking down. Speak to the people involved, identify the bottleneck and suggest a realistic improvement. Even if your solution is not perfect, the exercise teaches you to think in terms of outcomes rather than simply completing assigned tasks.

This is also where an entrepreneurial mindset becomes useful. You begin to ask better questions: What problem are we actually trying to solve? What can I change? What happens if my first solution fails? That habit of taking initiative can make you more valuable long before you receive a leadership title.

Make use of feedback

Self-confidence can become a weakness when it prevents people from recognizing their blind spots. You may believe you communicate clearly while your colleagues find your instructions confusing. You might think you are giving your team independence when they actually feel unsupported.

Honest feedback can expose those gaps, which is why it is an important part of leadership development. Research from the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) found that coaching, peer feedback and 360-degree feedback were frequently identified by participants as valuable elements of leadership development, particularly because they improve self-awareness.

You do not need a formal assessment to begin. Ask someone you trust, ‘What is one thing I could do differently to become a better leader?’ Then resist the temptation to explain yourself immediately.

Not every criticism will be accurate, but patterns matter. If several people identify the same weakness, it deserves attention. More importantly, feedback should lead to action. If you interrupt people too often, practice listening. If your instructions are unclear, slow down and confirm expectations before ending important conversations.

Volunteer for challenges that stretch you

You cannot learn leadership entirely from books, podcasts or seminars. Eventually, you need situations that force you to make decisions, coordinate people and deal with consequences.

Look for opportunities that are challenging without being reckless. Lead a small project, coordinate an event, mentor a junior colleague, handle a client presentation or volunteer to improve a process that has been frustrating your team. These assignments create a safe but realistic environment for developing judgment.

You may discover that delegation is difficult because you want to control everything. Perhaps difficult conversations make you uncomfortable, so you avoid them until the problem becomes larger. Maybe you become indecisive when people with different opinions are involved.

Those discoveries are useful. Leadership development is partly about identifying weaknesses while the consequences are still manageable. CCL’s leadership-development research also emphasizes on the importance of applying learning through experience, feedback and real-world challenges rather than treating development as something that happens only inside a classroom.

Find people who will challenge your thinking

The right mentor, coach or experienced colleague can shorten your learning curve because they can see things you may miss. A good adviser should not simply praise your progress; they should be willing to ask difficult questions and challenge your assumptions.

For example, after a difficult meeting, a mentor might ask why you responded defensively to criticism. A coach might help you understand how your behavior affected the team and develop a different approach for the next meeting. CCL’s research on coaching, similarly highlights its role in helping leaders reflect, set goals and apply what they learn to their actual work.

It is also worth building relationships with people who think differently from you. Leadership becomes harder as responsibilities increase because decisions rarely involve one perspective. Learning to listen to disagreement without becoming defensive can therefore be just as important as learning how to speak with confidence.

Leadership starts before the promotion

The best time to develop leadership skills is before you desperately need them. Take responsibility when problems appear, ask for feedback even when it may be uncomfortable, volunteer for work that stretches your abilities and surround yourself with people who challenge your thinking.

You do not become a leader simply because your business card says so. You become one through repeated decisions, responsible action and the ability to help other people perform better.

A title may give you authority, but your behavior determines whether people are willing to trust your leadership.

All On and Energise Africa (EA) have invested a total of $4 million in the development and deployment of solar-powered mini-grids across 19 communities in Jigawa and Bauchi states.

The investment is aimed at expanding access to renewable energy and providing reliable electricity to underserved communities in the two states.

The project will be executed by Maskh Nigeria Limited, a company comprising professionals in renewable energy, construction, engineering, electrification and procurement services.

Speaking on the investment, the Chief Executive Officer of All On, Caroline Eboumbou, said the project would provide reliable, affordable and sustainable electricity to households, businesses and public institutions currently without dependable access to electricity.

Eboumbou said the investment was being made under the Demand Aggregation for Renewable Energy Technology (DART) Programme.

She added that the project was expected to impact about 100,000 people, while supporting local enterprise development, improving access to essential services and reducing dependence on traditional energy alternatives.

Her words: ‘For communities across Jigawa and Bauchi where energy access remains limited, decentralised energy infrastructure can play an important role in enabling economic and social activity. Through the deployment of solar-powered mini-grids, the project will extend reliable electricity to homes, schools, health facilities and small businesses, while creating opportunities for productive use of energy and strengthening local economies.

‘Energy access is not simply about connecting communities to electricity; it is about creating the conditions for people and businesses to thrive. This investment demonstrates All On’s commitment to backing indigenous energy companies that can deliver practical, scalable solutions to some of Nigeria’s most persistent energy access challenges. This is the kind of catalytic investment that can help move Nigeria’s energy transition forward in practical and meaningful ways.’

Also speaking, the Chief Executive Officer of Energise Africa, Ray Coyle, said the investment would support lasting social, economic and environmental benefits in the beneficiary communities.

Coyle stated that by helping to bring clean and reliable electricity to 19 communities across Jigawa and Bauchi states, UK investors were supporting an initiative that would benefit thousands of Nigerians.

On his part, the Director of Operations, Maskh Nigeria Limited, Qaim Mahmood, expressed appreciation to All On and Energise Africa for entrusting the company with the project.

He said the project would contribute to the development of underserved communities while strengthening the capacity of the indigenous company.

‘We are deeply moved to play such an instrumental role in bringing clean, reliable power to underserved communities across Jigawa and Bauchi.

‘As an indigenous company, we are proud that these 19 mini grids will impact almost 100,000 people, helping businesses thrive, improving essential services and creating opportunities for the next generation. This investment also marks a transformative step for Maskh, strengthening our capacity, creating jobs and positioning us for greater opportunities. We are deeply grateful to All On, EA and the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) for their trust and partnership,’ Mahmood said.

Parents have been urged to build strong friendship with their daughters to enable them speak freely about challenges confronting them.

Speaking during the first edition of the empowerment programme, for 105 girls between the ages of 10 and 17 in Ilorin, Kwara State, the organiser of the ‘She, Legacy, Girls Empowerment Summit’, Olayinka Ajani Ajibade, popularly known as Omidan Olayinka, said the summit was designed to educate, empower and enlighten young girls, while equipping them with confidence to make informed decisions, protect themselves and speak up whenever they encounter danger or wrongdoing.

She said the programme seeks to raise a generation of girls who are confident to use their voices, courageous enough to stand up for themselves and others, and prepared to pursue their dreams.

‘We want them to know that they can build whatever they set their mind to become. We want them to know that they can speak up when they are in danger and always have a trusted adult they can rely on in times of need,’ she said.

Olayinka added that many girls are made to feel inadequate by society, adding that the summit was aimed at helping them recognise their worth and understand that their voices matter.

She explained that although the organisation had previously reached families, mothers and children through a weekly women’s programme on Diamond 88.7 FM, the summit marked its first major physical engagement with girls.

The organiser said the choice of participants between 10 and 17 years was deliberate, since girls within the age bracket are considered capable of understanding discussions on health, education, personal safety and other issues affecting their development.

She disclosed plans to organise another edition for younger children between the ages of five and nine.

Olayinka called on parents to avoid creating an atmosphere of fear at home, warning that children who see their parents as threats may find it difficult to open up when they are facing problems.

She urged parents to listen more to their daughters and create an environment where they could freely discuss their concerns, just as she said, effective communication between parents and children remain essential to helping young girls navigate the challenges of growing up and make safer and better-informed choice.

Few hours after resigning from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), former Sokoto State Chairman of the party, Muhammad Bello Aliyu Goronyo, has been appointed as the Director-General of the governorship campaign organisation of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate, Manir Muhammad Dan’Iya.

The appointment was announced by the ADC campaign organisation on Monday, shortly after Goronyo’s resignation became public.

Goronyo announced his resignation from the PDP in a letter dated August 30, 2026, addressed to the chairman of the party in his Goronyo Ward, Goronyo Local Government Area of Sokoto State.

Congratulating him on his appointment, Dan’Iya described the decision as a strategic one, saying it reflected the confidence of the ADC leadership and stakeholders in Goronyo’s political experience and capacity.

In a statement issued by his media aide, Aminu Abdullahi, Dan’Iya described Goronyo as ‘a seasoned civil servant, experienced politician and accomplished public administrator’.

He said Goronyo’s previous experience as the former PDP state chairman and former commissioner under the administration of former Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal would strengthen the ADC campaign.

Dan’Iya said: ‘His understanding of governance, public administration and political mobilisation will be valuable to the ADC campaign.’

He expressed confidence that Goronyo would use his experience to unite the party’s structures, strengthen grassroots mobilisation and promote the ADC’s programmes across the 23 local government areas of the state.

The ADC governorship candidate urged party leaders, stakeholders, youths, women and supporters to cooperate with the new campaign DG, saying the 2027 contest would require unity and collective effort.

He added that the campaign would focus on key issues affecting residents, including security, education, healthcare, agriculture, employment, infrastructure, civil service reform and economic empowerment.

Dr. Jephter Akaehie, founder, Afroganiks Industries Limited and President, Young African Business School of Manufacturing, speaks with NURUDEEN ALIMI, on why it is important for Nigeria to explore technologies to address, agricultural challenges, biodiversity and Africa’s manufacturing future. Excerpts:

You recently made a statement that: ‘when you disconnect a living organism from its natural environment or source of life, you gradually weaken it.’ What exactly do you mean by that?

I am using nature to provoke a deeper conversation about humanity. A fish removed from water eventually dies. A tree separated from its roots eventually withers. The principle is simple: living systems depend on the environments that sustain them. My concern is that human beings are increasingly disconnecting themselves from biological diversity-from diverse foods, indigenous crops, medicinal plants and traditional knowledge that have sustained communities for generations.

I am not suggesting that humans should reject modern civilisation or science. Quite the opposite. I believe we need more science, but science that helps us understand nature rather than disconnect ourselves completely from it.

Are you saying GMO foods are dangerous?

I would be irresponsible to make such a blanket statement. My position is more nuanced. The World Health Organisation does not say that all genetically modified foods are inherently dangerous. GM foods are assessed on a case-by-case basis, and currently approved GM foods have not been demonstrated to cause human-health effects in the populations consuming them.

So, my concern is not simply, GMO is bad, My bigger concern is biological diversity and resilience. When agricultural systems become increasingly dependent on uniform varieties, we need to ask what happens to indigenous varieties and genetic diversity.

The Food and Agriculture Organisation has previously estimated that about 75 percent of crop genetic diversity was lost during the 20th century.

That is a serious issue, because diversity is not just about having different-looking crops. Diversity is insurance.

One variety may tolerate drought. Another may resist disease. Another may survive poor soil. Another may possess nutritional or genetic characteristics that could become extremely valuable in the future.

When we lose biological diversity, we may be losing options for future generations.

But, isn’t agricultural uniformity sometimes necessary to feed a growing population?

Absolutely. Productivity matters. Farmers need crops that can produce sufficient yields. We need technologies that help us address food insecurity, climate change and agricultural challenges. The answer is not to reject technology. The answer is to combine productivity with biodiversity and resilience.

We should be asking: How do we improve yields without destroying indigenous genetic resources, How do we use biotechnology responsibly while preserving local varieties, How do we modernise agriculture without making farmers completely dependent on a narrow range of biological resources, Those are much more intelligent questions than simply arguing whether GMO is good or bad.

You are also a strong advocate for herbal medicine. Are you suggesting that Africans should abandon conventional medicine and return to herbs?

Absolutely not. I have never advocated abandoning hospitals or modern medicine. Not every herb is medicine. Not every traditional claim is scientifically validated. Some herbal preparations can interact with medicines or be unsafe when improperly prepared or dosed.

What I am saying is that we should not confuse lack of research with lack of potential. Africa possesses enormous botanical knowledge. Our responsibility is to subject that knowledge to scientific investigation. We need to identify active compounds, establish appropriate dosage, investigate safety, conduct clinical studies where appropriate, standardise formulations and establish proper quality-control systems.

That is where the future lies, not herbs versus hospitals, not tradition versus science. But traditional knowledge meeting modern scientific validation.

Why is this issue particularly important to you personally?

Because I am a manufacturer. My work has taken me beyond simply asking what products can be sold in the market. I have become increasingly interested in the question:

What can Africa manufacture from what Africa already possesses?

Through Afroganiks Industries, we work at the intersection of nature, science and manufacturing, particularly around herbal and wellness products. But, I don’t want Afroganiks to be viewed simply as another company putting herbs into capsules or bottles, The bigger vision is to demonstrate what is possible when African natural resources are approached with modern manufacturing, quality systems, research and commercial discipline. That is what excites me.

What exactly should African manufacturers be doing differently?

We must move from raw-material thinking to value-chain thinking. For too long, Africa has exported raw materials and imported finished products. We export agricultural commodities, we export minerals, we export biological resources.

Then, we import products made from those same resources at significantly higher value.That model cannot create the Africa we desire. We need to ask: Why can’t African universities research our plants? why can’t African laboratories identify their active compounds? why can’t African farmers cultivate them sustainably? why can’t African manufacturers process them? why can’t African companies develop intellectual property around them? why can’t African brands export the finished products globally, That is how you build an industrial economy.

So, in your view, Africa’s biodiversity could actually become an industrial asset?

Absolutely, I believe Africa’s biodiversity is one of the continent’s underappreciated economic assets, But biodiversity must be protected first, you cannot destroy the resource and then talk about industrialisation, We need sustainable cultivation, conservation, documentation and responsible commercialisation.

Imagine an ecosystem where farmers cultivate medicinal plants commercially, universities conduct research, laboratories validate compounds, manufacturers develop standardised products and African companies export them globally. That is not simply herbal medicine, that is an industrial value chain, And it can create jobs, intellectual property, export revenue and opportunities for young Africans.

You have repeatedly spoken about manufacturing as a pathway to African prosperity. Why are you so passionate about manufacturing?

Because Africa cannot consume its way into prosperity, we must produce. Manufacturing forces us to solve problems, it creates technical skills, it creates supply chains, it creates employment, it creates intellectual property, it creates markets for farmers and raw-material suppliers, it creates opportunities for engineers, scientists, technicians, marketers and entrepreneurs.

And most importantly, manufacturing allows us to capture more value from the resources we already have.

That is why I believe the future of Africa is not merely in having resources.

The future is in what we can transform those resources into.

What does this mean for Afroganiks specifically?

Our ambition is to contribute to a new generation of African manufacturing where nature and science work together.

We want to continue developing herbal and wellness products through proper manufacturing processes, quality control and scientific thinking.

But beyond our own products, I want Afroganiks to demonstrate that African companies can build serious manufacturing capabilities around natural resources.

We need to move away from the perception that herbal manufacturing is informal, primitive or incapable of meeting international standards.

It can be modern, it can be scientific, it can be highly regulated, it can be technologically advanced. And it can become a major African industry.

What is your biggest concern about Africa’s current approach to natural medicine?

We have knowledge, but too little structured documentation, we have resources, but too little scientific investigation, we have farmers, but inadequate value chains.

We have traditional practitioners, but insufficient integration with research institutions.

We have manufacturers, but many struggle to access the technology and capital required to scale.

And perhaps most importantly, we sometimes undervalue what we already have.

Someone in Africa discovers that a particular plant has traditionally been used for generations, and our first instinct can be to dismiss it as primitive.

Then someone elsewhere researches it, standardises it, patents a process around it and brings a finished product back to Africa. That cycle must end.

What role should government play?

Government has a major role. We need policies that encourage research into indigenous crops and medicinal plants.

We need stronger collaboration between universities, research institutes, farmers, traditional knowledge holders and manufacturers.

We need appropriate regulation that protects consumers without unnecessarily suffocating legitimate innovation.

We need incentives for local manufacturing, we need intellectual-property frameworks that protect indigenous knowledge and ensure communities are not exploited.

And we need serious investment in laboratories, biotechnology, agricultural research and advanced manufacturing.

Government cannot do everything, but government can create the environment in which African entrepreneurs and researchers can do extraordinary things.

What would you say to young Africans who want to enter into this sector?

Don’t just look for something to sell, look for something Africa needs to manufacture, study science, study manufacturing, understand regulations, understand markets, learn technology, learn quality management.

And most importantly, learn how to convert African problems into African businesses.

The young African entrepreneur of the future should not simply ask, What can I import and sell? We should increasingly be asking: ‘What can I research, develop, manufacture and export?’ That shift in mindset can change the continent.

On a final note, if you had to summarise your philosophy in one statement, what would it be?

Let me say this; Africa must not merely be the place where nature is found. Africa must become the place where nature, science and manufacturing meet. Nature has given us extraordinary resources. Science gives us the tools to understand them. Manufacturing gives us the ability to transform them into value. Our responsibility is to connect all three. That is the Africa I believe is possible.

And that is the kind of manufacturing future I am committed to building through my work at Afroganiks and through my broader advocacy for African manufacturing.

We do not need to go backward to embrace nature. We need to move forward with a deeper understanding of it.

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has questioned the legal basis for the continued detention of its leader, Nnamdi Kanu, demanding that the Federal Government immediately list and hear his pending appeal or face an election boycott across the South-East and other parts of ‘Biafraland’.

The group gave the Federal Government 14 days to act, saying it would consider mobilising for a boycott of the 2027 general election if Kanu’s appeal against his conviction and life sentence was not heard within the stipulated period.

IPOB’s demand followed renewed concerns from Kanu’s family over the delay in the hearing of the appeal.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, IPOB spokesman, Emma Powerful, said Kanu had written to the Chief Justice of Nigeria and the President of the Court of Appeal, seeking the immediate listing and hearing of his pending cases.

The group questioned why the Federal Government, which it accused of moving swiftly to prosecute and convict Kanu, had yet to file a respondent’s brief or appear before the Court of Appeal to defend the conviction.

The statement read, ‘IPOB is giving the Federal Government 14 days to list and hear Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s appeal. If they refuse, we will consider boycotting the coming elections across Biafraland and beyond. A government that cannot face its Court of Appeal has no right to demand our votes.

‘The Federal Government has not filed a respondent’s brief; it has not listed the appeal, and it has not come to court. A country that rushed to convict is now too frightened to defend the conviction.

‘The Federal Government was in a hurry to prosecute and convict Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. Now that the conviction is before the Court of Appeal, that same urgency has disappeared. No meaningful progress. No urgency to defend the conviction.

‘Nigeria must answer two simple questions: Under which extant written law was Mazi Nnamdi Kanu convicted on November 20, 2025? What specific crime, cognisable under Nigerian law, justifies his continued detention after nearly six years?’

IPOB also challenged the Supreme Court’s decision which overturned Kanu’s discharge and acquittal by the Court of Appeal.

The group alleged that the apex court exceeded its constitutional powers by pronouncing on individual counts that had already been quashed by the Court of Appeal.

According to IPOB, the Federal Government must now defend not only Kanu’s conviction but also the jurisdictional foundation upon which his resumed trial was based.

The group’s position comes as the delay in the appeal has become a major point of contention between Kanu’s supporters and the Federal Government.

IPOB said its proposed election boycott should not be viewed solely through the argument that non-participation could facilitate electoral malpractice.

It maintained that refusing to participate could itself constitute a political statement against a system it believes has failed to deliver justice.

‘At some point, people must ask whether repeatedly participating in a process they believe is structurally incapable of delivering justice is itself the definition of political progress.

‘A collective refusal to participate sends its own message: a people have withdrawn their consent from a system they no longer trust.’