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President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN, has described the Business Recovery and Insolvency Practitioners Association of Nigeria (BRIPAN) as a dependable partner in advancing reforms that will reposition Nigeria’s commercial and insolvency law practice.

This was stated at the opening of BRIPAN’s 2025 Annual International Insolvency Conference.

The two-day conference, held on September 25 and 26 at the Civic Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos, had as its theme: ‘Deepening Insolvency Tools for Resolving Commercial and Financial Challenges of Businesses.’

In his goodwill message, Osigwe said the association had consistently contributed to shaping business recovery processes and enhancing the legal framework for insolvency.

‘BRIPAN has remained a dependable ally to the Nigerian Bar Association in strengthening the practice of commercial law and in developing pragmatic solutions to the challenges of insolvency.

‘This conference presents another opportunity to deepen knowledge, sharpen skills, and reimagine insolvency practice in ways that promote economic growth and protect businesses. Our hope is that the deliberations here will lead to concrete reforms that safeguard jobs and build investor confidence in Nigeria.’

BRIPAN President, Chimezie Ihekweazu, SAN, said the association had stepped up its training programmes and regulatory engagements to expand capacity in the field.

He informed over 1,100 members had been trained within the past year, and draft Insolvency Practice Directions had been concluded for the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, and Federal High Court.

Ihekweazu said: ‘Our mission is clear, to build a modern insolvency framework that not only resolves financial distress but also gives viable businesses a second chance at survival.

‘We have worked tirelessly on capacity development and regulatory reforms, including draft practice directions for our superior courts. These are deliberate steps to ensure that insolvency practice in Nigeria is not only globally competitive but also tailored to the realities of our economy.

‘The goal is to create a system where business rescue is possible, where creditors are treated fairly, and where entrepreneurship can thrive without the fear of arbitrary collapse.’

Conference Planning Committee Chairman, Albert Folorunsho, stressed that the event went beyond academic debate, describing it as a practical commitment to shaping the future of Nigeria’s economy through insolvency reforms.

‘This gathering is not just an academic exercise or a ritual conference. It is about building a framework where insolvency is not seen as the end of a business, but as a process of preservation, continuity, and recovery.

‘It is about protecting jobs, securing investments, and giving our economy the resilience it needs to compete globally. Every session and every conversation at this conference must translate into tangible reforms that will strengthen the Nigerian insolvency landscape.’

The Lagos State government has arrested five persons over illegal dredging and land reclamation on the Lekki shoreline.

It also sealed multiple sites in a sweeping enforcement executed by a joint ministerial task force.

The task force comprising the Ministry of Waterfront Infrastructure Development, Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, and the Lands Bureau, targeted ongoing infractions along the Lagos Lagoon.

Leading the exercise, the Commissioner for Waterfront Infrastructure Development, Dayo Bush Alebiosu, announced the sealing of a property at 13A, Admiralty Way, Lekki Phase 1, over illegal reclamation and unapproved extension of its fence. He described the defiance of the owners, who allegedly ignored previous government warnings, as an act of ‘legendary audacity.’

‘This property has been sealed several times since last year, yet the owners continue construction and social activities. Today, we have returned with other ministries to enforce the law,’ Alebiosu said.

He said the culprits would be prosecuted, adding that they risk forfeiting the illegally reclaimed land.

Commissioner for Physical Planning, Dr. Olumide Oluyinka, said while the owner originally presented plans for 1,200 square metres, the reclaimed area had expanded to over 8,000 square metres.

Before pouring jeremiads on Nigeria at 65, behold the parallels between Emperor Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon (reigned: 605-562 BC) and US President Donald Trump, as America approaches its 250th year in 2026!

Much more than a warrior-king, Nebuchadnezzar was a renowned builder. His neo-Babylonian Empire, of course, provided a surfeit of forced labour.

Trump is a real estate magnate. But with Trump accused as a shark that often shirks payment for work done, duped labour is answer to Nebuchadnezzar’s forced labour.

Nebuchadnezzar drove Jews into exile, among hated Gentiles, in his prized Babylon city, with his 586 BC razing of Jerusalem; and his capture and torture of rebellious Judah King Zedekiah.

In a settler country with neither Jew nor Gentile, Trump is creating fake Gentiles of US illegal immigrants, and dumping them in fake Babylon: in Africa, South America and Asia, where as the ancient Jews in Babylon, they might not even know anyone!

But it’s in preening hubris that the Trump-Nebuchadnezzar parallel is eeriest.

At the zenith of his self-worship – even with a prophetic caution, by Daniel the Jew to humble himself – Nebuchadnezzar crowed: ‘Is not this the great Babylon I have built, as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?’

Compare and contrast that with Trump’s United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) September 25 conceit, and you’ll spot the tragic similarity between the two.

Using his native New York and UN base as Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylon city, Trump bluffed and blustered, abused and traduced, cursed and smeared everyone in sight.

The United Nations was useless for alleged escalator and TelePrompTer sabotage; and for not aiding him to stop ‘seven wars’ – a brazen lie by the way – even though America picks up the biggest chunk of the UN tab, which is true.

Global science is wrong on climate change, only because a loud Trump – even with combative ignorance – declared it’s ‘the greatest con ever perpetrated on the world.’

Europe earned Trump’s ire, for not herding own ‘illegal immigrants’ into human pens like hens; and, like the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), cart them off to wherever the wannabe emperor damn well pleases!

For shunning that icy savagery, Trump foreswore Europe would go to hell! Besides, having numbed uppity America with his cocktail of bare-faced lies, and pushing his deep vices as high virtues, he pitches such vile claptrap to the globe. What hubris!

Prof. Wole Soyinka just christened Trump ‘Idi Amin of America’: after that odious 20th century military brute, that made Uganda – and Africa – a global laughing stock. By his UNGA huff-and-puff, Trump further branded himself some neo-Nebuchadnezzar.

But it’s all thanks to American democracy, just shy of its 250th year: returning the Idi Amin favour, and delivering America’s own 21st century global laughing stock!

Dolly Parton, that great American country music megastar, with a sweet but haunting voice, once sang ‘It’s my time to cry .’ in one of her fetching numbers.

Africa and the third world, often savagely caricatured by a condescending America and the rest of the West are, in Trump, grabbing their chance to laugh – or even gloat! Indeed, Trump’s bubbly bumbling would have been so sweet, were it not so tragic!

Nigeria is 65. America, 249 years. But its doubtful if a Trump, with his clear flaws, can gain the Nigerian presidency, even with Nigeria’s many challenges!

Which is why, the world leaders at UNGA, condemned to enduring Trump’s tirade – at least the historic-minded among them – would not but wonder if this was not after all a 21st century Nebuchadnezzar eating grass, after burst hubris!

To be sure, core historians claim that was a Jewish biblical fable – for in truth, no hard core historical account recorded Nebuchadnezzar as eating grass. But it’s a powerful metaphor: pride goes before a fall. That might just be America’s fate under Trump. He radically disrupts the world. Yet, his thinking – and whining – are baby-like!

Still, an ambivalence gifts Trump apologists – quite a number! – some cold comfort.

Nebuchadnezzar was the divine rod from Jehovah himself – thus goes the biblical account – to punish the decadence of Judah.

Trump too, might just be the divine rod to conk the Democratic Party, often blamed for the moral decay of America. The grand irony, though: no single person epitomizes that decay more than Trump!

Still, never mind: Trump as divine rod is why America’s White Evangelicals support him – aside the snouting elephant of White racism in the room! Some priggish Nigerians also buy into that ‘divine’ apologia.

Just as well Trump merrily emits raw American wrongs, buried under more than two centuries of – hypocritical (?) – breeding. But it would appear crunch time!

Still, America is famous for self-correcting, after major crises. Might there then be redemption, after profane Divine Rod Trump is long gone? Maybe!

But a chilly video making the rounds, tracking a 250-year empire rise-and-bust cycle, suggests otherwise.

On 4 July 2026, America will be 250 years. Rome: 244 years from republic to empire. Ottoman: 250 years from its rise to its peak. Britain: 251 years from empire to a bust.

What’s more? America suffers socio-economic dissonance that bodes ill. Its rich 0.1%, claims the video, corral more wealth than the rest 90%. Trust in institutions has fallen 54% from 1970. By 2026, it would plunge below 20% – the Soviet Union sank at 19%. America’s political polarization is almost at par with its civil war period. By its 250th year – 2016 – that fissure would reach nadir not plumbed by any modern democracy.

Incidentally, Trump, the unfazed face of this rot, is here bang at the crunch: levying war against Congress and getting away with it, convicted on 34-point felony yet elected president, and whines regularly to divide, not unite, his country.

Now, if he goes to UNGA to play Nebuchadnezzar, after wreaking the system at home, it’s signal to the rest of the world that America’s global awe is dated.

That has started in earnest: Brazil’s President Lula da Silva, at those same UNGA portals, already told Trump to buzz off pushing political outlawry in Brazil, with his daft support for the jailed Jair Bolsonaro who, after defeat, staged a Trump-like siege on Parliament to stay in power. Unlike Trump, however, he just got tossed into the can.

Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro, right there in New York, told American soldiers to, on Palestine, disobey outlawry orders from their commander-in-chief!

Even the French, philosopher-Kings of America’s ‘liberty and fraternity’ credo: their president had to abandon his car, and trek to own embassy, because insecure Trump must project raw power, and seal up the entire New York!

For these diplomatic incivilities, Trump has the mandate of his people. They voted him. So, if they drown, they drown in concert.

The saving grace is America might not remain a global bully much longer, though it can continue ruling or misruling itself in its vast insular territory.

So, how does Nigeria at 65 take advantage of this winking global opportunity? Use natural and human resources to build Nigeria for formidable global trade – and peace.

That – and not stale jeremiads at 65 – should drive Nigerian thinking.

There will be no economic growth in the absence of the rule of law, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Prof. Lawrence Fubara Anga, has said.

The Founding Partner at AELEX, a commercial and dispute resolution law firm, said the rule of law goes beyond governance.

‘The rule of law is not just a political or human rights issue.

‘It is the foundation of economic growth, investor confidence, and sustainable prosperity.

‘Without it, the aspirations for positive transformation cannot materialise,’ Anga said.

He spoke during a briefing on the firm’s 19th Annual Lecture, billed for October 14, 2025, with the theme ‘Rule of law and economic development: the Nigerian experience.’

The flagship intellectual forum, which has become a fixture on Nigeria’s legal and business calendar, will feature former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo (SAN) as keynote speaker.

Anga said the lecture serves as part of the firm’s corporate social responsibility and provides government, business leaders, and the public with critical insights into national challenges.

He further noted that: ‘People don’t always agree, but they generally engage honestly. That credibility is what makes this forum unique.’

He added that AELEX intends to compile a summary of discussions from the lecture and make them available to government institutions for policy consideration.

Managing Partner, Mr. Adedapo Tunde-Olowu (SAN), described the annual lecture as a platform dedicated to fostering dialogue at the intersection of law, governance, economics, and society.

‘Over nearly two decades, the AELEX Annual Lecture has earned its reputation as one of the most respected intellectual gatherings.

‘It has provided a space for rigorous debate, shaping conversations that influence both national and continental development,’ he said.

Since its inception, the lecture series has hosted global thought leaders, including Judge Mervyn King S.C., Prof. Patrick Lumumba, Mr. John Githongo, Professor Frederic Jenny, and Dr. Kwabena Donkor.

This year’s panel of discussants will bring together leading voices across law, business, and public affairs. Confirmed participants include Dr. Chinyere Almona, Director-General of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Dr. Wale Babalakin (SAN), Chairman of Bi-Courtney Group; Mr. Bismarck Rewane, Managing Director of Financial Derivatives Company Ltd.; and Dr. Reuben Abati, journalist and public affairs analyst.

The 2025 edition will also address pressing issues such as property rights, sanctity of contracts, regulatory powers, and dispute resolution mechanisms, all of which are central to Nigeria’s economic revival efforts.

To extend participation beyond the physical venue, proceedings will be streamed live on the firm’s YouTube channel, @AELEXPARTNERS, allowing a global audience to engage in the dialogue.

The AELEX Annual Lecture has grown into a non-partisan platform where diverse voices exchange ideas without fear of partisanship.

A civil society coalition, the Alliance for Energy Stability and Economic Growth (AESEG), has urged Nigerians to support President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid, noting that his administration has restored investor confidence in the oil and gas sector.

In a statement on Monday, AESEG President Dr. Suleiman Garba Danladi said the recent approval for Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPco) and Nigerian Agip Exploration Limited (NAE) to acquire TotalEnergies’ 12.5 per cent stake in Oil Mining Lease (OML) 118 highlights renewed trust by international oil companies in Nigeria’s regulatory framework under Tinubu’s leadership.

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) confirmed that Shell purchased 10 per cent of the asset for $408 million, while Agip acquired 2.5 per cent for $102 million.

The approval, granted under Section 95 of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, followed a rigorous due diligence process confirming the firms’ technical competence, financial strength, and managerial capacity to sustain deepwater operations in the Bonga field.

Dr. Danladi said such transactions were not only reshaping Nigeria’s energy landscape but also strengthening the country’s economic base.

‘President Tinubu’s reforms in the oil and gas industry have shown clear results. Today, we see Shell consolidating its stake in Nigeria’s deepwater, we see Agip reaffirming its commitments, and we see a regulator that is firm in protecting government interests. This is the kind of progress that only continuity in leadership can sustain,’ he said.

The group recalled that only last week, the NUPRC revoked an $860 million deal involving TotalEnergies and Mauritius-based Chappal Energies for failure to meet financial obligations.

According to AESEG, this underscores the regulator’s strengthened resolve to enforce accountability, a move the group credited to Tinubu’s ‘decisive political will to reposition the sector.’

‘With these bold steps, Nigeria is no longer seen as a playground for speculative investors. Instead, serious players with track records of performance are being encouraged. This has positive implications for revenue, jobs, and energy security,’ the statement added.

Dr. Danladi also pointed out that the Bonga oilfield, Nigeria’s first deepwater project, remains a strategic contributor to the country’s crude output and foreign exchange earnings.

‘By ensuring the continuity of such assets in the hands of experienced operators, Nigeria is laying the foundation for production stability and gradual recovery to the 2 million barrels per day mark,’ he said.

The group further argued that Nigeria’s oil and gas industry is entering a period of ‘delicate balance’ as IOCs divest from onshore operations while strengthening deepwater investments.

‘Only a steady hand at the helm of government, backed by political stability, can guarantee that Nigeria reaps the full benefits of this transition. We therefore urge Nigerians to support President Tinubu’s re-election in 2027,’ the statement said.

AESEG concluded by warning that reversing course in leadership could shake investor confidence.

‘The oil majors are watching Nigeria closely. They are reassured by the current pace of reforms, but they also value predictability. Changing direction in 2027 could disrupt the gains we are seeing today,’ Dr. Danladi added.

The technical director of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), Gabriel Okon, has enthused that athletics can strongly and favourably impact on the Nigerian sports economy.

Okon, who just returned from the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, noted that Nigeria is endowed with numerous talented athletes that are making positive strides in promoting the country’s image internationally.

The former Nigeria International athlete, has therefore, called on the National Sports Commission (NSC) to take concrete steps in providing sufficient financial support for the development of these athletes.

‘As of today, Tobi Amusan, Nigeria’s 100mH World Champion, holds a record time of (12:12s.) and by propagating Amusan’s achievement, Nigeria can encourage others to take up sports but this endeavour requires substantial funding,’ said the former sprinter.’

‘Examples from South Africa, Jamaica, and other nations demonstrate how world-class athletes can drive sports development through targeted investments.’

The AFN TD faulted the common chorus of ‘lack of fund’ often expressed by government officials, describing it as retrogressive for the growth and development of athletics in Nigeria.

‘We don’t just attend Championships, we also learnt from how others are achieving their podium finish,’ Okon said.

He emphasized that countries achieving podium finishes in World Athletics Championships and Olympic Games invested heavily in their athletes over multiple seasons.

He argued that sports funding should come from consolidated investment funds rather than yearly budgetary allocations or personal funds.

According to him, athletes require training grants, competitions, trainers, medical care, equipment, and welfare, none of which should be compromised due to lack of funds.

Okon noted that countries like Turkey, Qatar, Spain, and Saudi Arabia lure athletes from other nations with substantial funding, leading some to change their names and forgo recognition under their birth names.

The Coach also stressed that Nigerian athletics require substantial funding, as the current ad-hoc approach has hindered many of the country’s top athletes to achieve podium finishes.

Sir: Nigeria’s waterways tell a sobering story. Reports of mass drowning, sometimes over a hundred lives lost in a single accident, sit uneasily beside official figures that suggest far fewer. The gap between record and reality is not just a matter of data; it is a measure of whose lives are visible in policy and whose are left to sink in silence.

This dissonance between official counts and lived losses is more than a statistical hiccup. It exposes the politics of visibility in Nigeria, highlighting whose deaths matter enough to be counted, whose disappear into watery margins, and what it says about a state struggling to bridge its reform narratives with the harsh texture of life along its neglected waterways.

Boat mishaps are not random acts of fate. They are predictable collisions of poverty, poor infrastructure, and policy neglect. From January to September, at least 10 major accidents were reported across states like Sokoto, Kwara, Niger, Rivers, Anambra, and Adamawa. Communities described boats packed with traders rushing to market, schoolchildren ferried across swollen rivers, and seasonal workers desperate to reach farmland.

In Niger State in June, villagers spoke of 70 lost; the state’s official report acknowledged fewer than 30. In Adamawa, fishermen counted 40 bodies pulled from the Benue, while federal records insisted on a mere dozen. Numbers shrink, and with them, lives vanish from public memory.

If one traces the trend over the past five years, the pattern is unsettling. In 2021, media tallies suggested at least 500 deaths from boat mishaps, compared to an official 250. In 2022, official counts dropped to 180 while newspapers carried reports of more than 400.

By 2023, the gap widened again, with Sokoto and Kebbi alone producing accidents that eclipsed national totals. In 2024, watchdogs estimated more than 600 waterway deaths; government figures recorded less than half that number.

Now in 2025, even before October, local reporting already suggests upward of 300 fatalities, but consolidated national statements hover below 100. The arithmetic does not add up, unless the goal is to make tragedy less visible.

The gap between official counts and lived losses is not inevitable. Other Global South countries with similar geographies have taken decisive steps. In Bangladesh, once infamous for ferry disasters, strict enforcement of passenger limits, mandatory life jackets, and designated ferry routes cut accidents significantly in a decade.

In the Philippines, public pressure after a string of tragedies forced government to establish a searchable, real-time maritime incident database. Both countries show that visibility is the first step to accountability.

For Nigeria, three reforms are urgent. First, harmonise reporting: independent verification teams including local leaders, civil society, and journalists should cross-check casualty numbers before they are published.

Second, invest in community-based safety infrastructure including subsidised life jackets, regulated boat construction, and trained riverine rescue units.

Third, make water transport part of national economic planning, not an afterthought. If rivers are arteries of commerce for millions, then safety on those waters is a matter of economic justice, not charity.

When policymakers speak of reforms and rising national revenues, they must also account for the ordinary citizens who never see those gains because they drowned on the way to market. The disconnect between Abuja’s statistical optimism and Sokoto’s funerals is not abstract; it is the very definition of a broken social contract.

There is need for a new lens that treats each casualty not as a number to be trimmed but as a life that bore dignity and deserved protection. Critical literacy demands we do not just consume headlines but interrogate them, asking why certain deaths count and others are erased.

Sociological instinct insists we see that statistics are never neutral but reflect power. Policy relevance means creating pathways where communities feel seen, governments are not shamed but invited to reform, and justice is measured not just by GDP but by whose lives the state is willing to keep afloat.

The question is not whether the rivers will rise, but whether Nigeria will rise with them, counting every life, protecting every community, and refusing to let tragedy sink into silence.

Health care and information technology are often spoken about as if they belong to separate worlds. One is about doctors, hospitals, and patients. The other is about servers, data, and networks. Yet in today’s world, the two cannot survive apart.

From booking appointments to storing records and delivering results, technology is no longer optional; it is the backbone of modern healthcare. In Nigeria, the separation between these two worlds is still stark. Patients continue to wait in long queues for records that could be accessed in seconds. Hospitals often rely on folders stacked high in cabinets, while doctors sometimes lack the information they need because files are misplaced or incomplete.

At the same time, Nigeria has one of the fastest-growing technology sectors in Africa. Millions of people use mobile apps for banking, communication, and shopping. But in healthcare, the use of IT remains limited. The gap is visible in the daily experiences of ordinary Nigerians. A man in Kano managing hypertension may visit three different facilities, each with its own file, none connected to the other.

A mother in Port Harcourt may repeat laboratory tests simply because previous results are not available. A student in Lagos may present a paper report that employers or schools doubt, because there is no easy way to verify it. These are not problems of medicine but of systems, and systems are the domain of information technology. Globally, the connection between IT and health is not new. In the United States, electronic health records are the standard. In India, mobile platforms allow patients to access prescriptions and test results instantly. In Rwanda and Kenya, technology is used to notify patients about results or to support community health workers in the field.

These examples show that when IT is integrated into healthcare, patients benefit, providers save time, and governments gain reliable data for planning. Nigeria has begun to experiment with electronic systems in some hospitals and private clinics. But the adoption remains scattered and uneven. In many cases, systems work in isolation. Records do not travel with the patient. Labs and hospitals often operate separately. Patients themselves rarely have access beyond the paper they are given.

The result is duplication, waste, and frustration. The question is not whether technology belongs in healthcare-it does-but how Nigeria will bridge the gap. The banking sector provides a useful lesson. Two decades ago, banks operated with paper ledgers and long delays. Today, customers check balances and transfer money in seconds using their phones. This leap did not happen because of banking reforms alone; it happened because IT became central to financial services.

Healthcare requires the same urgency. Bridging IT and health is not only about efficiency. It is also about trust. In a system that depends on paper, records can be forged or altered, creating room for doubt. Technology can strengthen credibility by ensuring that records are secure, verifiable, and consistent. Patients deserve confidence that their health information will not disappear with a misplaced folder or be questioned when presented for school, work, or travel. Of course, challenges exist. Power supply, connectivity, and the cost of infrastructure cannot be ignored.

But these are the same barriers Nigeria has overcome in other sectors. The spread of mobile banking, the growth of e-commerce, and the rise of digital payments all prove that where there is demand and commitment, solutions follow. Healthcare should not remain the last frontier of outdated processes.

IT professionals have a role to play here. Doctors and nurses are experts in treatment, but technology requires its own expertise. The bridge between these two worlds must be built by collaboration: health professionals defining needs, and IT experts designing systems that make those needs possible. Neither side can succeed alone. Patients also have a role.

Just as Nigerians embraced mobile banking and messaging apps, they will adapt to new ways of accessing health information. In fact, demand often drives change faster than policy. When people expect faster, safer, and more reliable access, providers will be pressured to respond. Nigeria has transformed before. The introduction of the Bank Verification Number reshaped financial services. The arrival of mobile telephony opened communication to millions.

A similar transformation is possible in healthcare, if IT is placed at the centre rather than the side-lines. Healthcare is not just about hospitals. It is about information accurate, timely, and available when needed. Without technology, information is lost, delayed, or doubted. With technology, it becomes a foundation for better treatment, better planning, and better outcomes. Bridging IT and healthcare is no longer a choice; it is a necessity. The health of Nigerians depends on it.

The Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) on Tuesday morning blamed the dip in electricity generation on the disruption of gas supply.

Its management in a statement said the disruption was due to the industrial actions of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) within the gas supply chain.

‘Public Notice on Generation Curtailment Due to Gas Supply Disruptions

The Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) wishes to notify the public of recent major generation shortfalls on the National Grid, caused by industrial actions of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) within the gas supply chain,’ the statement reads.

NISO further noted that the disruptions triggered widespread gas shortages, reducing available generation from over 4,300 MW in the early hours of Sunday, 28th September 2025 to about 3,200 MW at the lowest point.

In response, NISO said it has promptly deployed contingency measures to preserve the stability, security, and reliability of the National Grid.

According to the statement, key interventions include:

Hydropower Optimization: Strategic ramp-ups from major hydro stations, contributing over 400 MW of additional output to cushion the shortfall from gas-fired plants.

The statement added that ‘Generation Dispatch and Load Balancing: Real-time load adjustments to match available generation with system demand, while preventing a system frequency collapse.

Voltage and Frequency Support: Continuous deployment of reactive power compensation and reserve monitoring to safeguard system integrity.

‘Demand-Side Management: Selective load shedding, applied as a last resort, to avert a system-wide collapse and ensure fair power distribution.

‘These timely actions enabled the NISO NCC to minimize the impact of the labour-induced gas shortages, sustain operational security, and maintain supply to critical loads, thereby averting a nationwide blackout.

‘The System Operator reaffirms its commitment to proactive grid management, operational excellence, and the application of best-in-class practices to guarantee a secure and reliable electricity supply for the nation.’

Sir: Nigeria’s uniqueness as a nation lies in its entity and corperativeness, despite years of threatened balkanization by forces of dismemberment. The civil war years (1967-1970) remained a singular episode that buffeted its zeal for survival almost beyond its wits end, but God remained faithful and rather than bring the nation to its knees, the nation once again sprang up to its feet.

The June 12 presidential election annulment topsy-turvy was also an exercise in brinkmanship, but God saved the nation, it also wriggled out of what someone described as a national political catastrophy unleashed on her by an unfeeling and politically heartless leader.

Every four year’s general election to choose a new government has been likened to a war time, because of the large-scale destruction often accompanied by disloyal political contenders who are always bent on winning even when they knew their stakes were ridiculously low, and unabashedly out of political reality, yet God’s faithfulness continue to save the nation out of self-destruction.

The second uniqueness of our situation as a nation these past 65 years is the political stability that the country has recorded since 1999 to date. Many African countries are still under the yoke of military rule with its concomitant abrasiveness and loss of freedom and fundamental human rights.

Despite the lack of popularity of military rule in world politics, a horde of some African countries are still basking in such derisive euphoria with all its limitations in growth and development. But Nigeria has matured politically these past 25 years of civil rule to appreciate the role of uninterrupted democracy in national development.

Given the resolve of the present APC government, one can savely say that the country is on the threshold of total recovery of its past lost grounds.

A lot can still be achieved between now and 2027 if all drummers of diversionary politics will stop their beats and join all hands with the president to pilot the affairs of the country so that the policies and advocacies of the government for the over-all development of the country can be achieved.

Over time the excuse has been the problem of good leadership but in the past couple of years, the leadership has shown unparalleled commitment; with good followers to complement the zeal of the present crop of leadership, Nigeria will soon experience the socio-economic recovery and financial wellness that they have long advocated for.

At 65, even though not yet entirely Uhuru, there is ray of hope and greater hope at the end of the tunnel. The die is no longer cast any more. Rather, the hope is now ever more.