Opinion
Between Wike’s temper and Anambra’s valedictory slap
In the final analysis, it will appear that the Nigerian political elite, adept as it is at plundering Nigerian resources and inflicting pain on the people, has a very scant understanding of the psychology of the people it pillages. A very true story that will succinctly demonstrate this happened in Ondo state, about 1990. Olabode Ibiyinka George, commodore in the Nigerian Navy, had been posted to the state as governor in 1988. As is customary, in tow did he come with his wife, Feyi, a very self-opinionated woman. Unsubstantiated claims alleged that both were on the verge of divorce before the Ondo posting but Maryam Babangida, being Feyi’s friend, had recommended George to her martial general beau, Ibrahim. George and Feyi were thus forced into a marriage of convenience during their odyssey in Ondo.
While George was about his job as military governor, indeed reputed to have established the Rufus Giwa Polytechnic in Owo during this period, one of the state’s thriving tertiary institutions today, Feyi was ruining what was left of his reputation. On this day, Feyi, replicating Maryam’s variant of Better Life for Rural Women in the state, had met women in the Erekesan Market of the state capital, the bulk of whom were senescent, frail and grey-haired women.
The optics of that infamous address still tyrannically assails the memory of the people till today. Cupping her eyelids contemptuously like Queen of France, Marie Antoinette, wife of French’s Louis XV1 must have done while impudently responding to her husband’s starving peasant subjects’ cry of lack of bread during the French revolution, to wit, “Let them eat cake!,” Feyi had courted the ire of Ondo people and came to symbolise the excesses of a reviled Nigerian power elite. She had unconscionably told the Ondo women: “Even though you are old women and old enough to give birth to me, today, I am your mother, the mother of all of you”. In a Yorubaland where age is venerated ahead of wealth, social and political ascriptions, Feyi could as well have been the proverbial child who stoned the Iroko tree and disdained ancient lore of the prowess of the Oluwere goddess residing in the tree as effeminate; did she think the Oluwere is driven by human velocity?
Happening at the twilight of his unceremonious removal as governor, Feyi’s infelicity hallmarked George’s time in Ondo and to date, its ghost still haunts the people. And perhaps, also haunting the two diametrically opposed couple too, who had to go their natural ways at the end of their contractual engagement in Ondo Government House. When the Concord magazine, conducting a valedictory interview for the departing commodore, demanded what Governor George would like to be remembered by and his response became, that “a Lagos boy passed through this place,” amid allegations of plundering of their resources, it was easy for Ondo people to allege that George and Feyi had come to “use Lagos sense for us”.
The slap roulette in Anambra last week involving the wife of respected Nigerian civil war hero, the Ikemba Nnewi, Odumegwu Ojukwu, Bianca and wife of erstwhile Anambra governor, Willie Obiano, Ebelechukwu on one side and Rivers state governor, Nyesom Wike’s intemperate riposte to both governor and deputy governor of Edo state, Godwin Obaseki and Philip Shaibu, brought to mind Feyi George’s incivility and infelicity in Ondo state during Geroge’s tour of duty. A major and mutual take-away from the three encounters is that, not only do Nigerian rulers still harbour imperial attitude to power, they are propelled into arrogance by a Kabiyesi mentality akin to the draconian power of kings in the old Oyo Empire where the king was beyond question. Apparently blinded by the binge of dole-outs they give to political louts and a sense of majesty they feel at superintending over billions of naira patrimony of the people which they fritter away at wills, as well as the power of life and death that the constitution unconscionably gave them, Nigerian rulers fail to realize that, even in their cowered state, Nigerian people disdain haughty leaders. Humble yourself beyond them, in spite of the enormous powers at your disposal and you will have them eating by your table.
Feedbacks from the people and the social media since the self-confessed dirty slap handed to the former governor’s wife by Bianca at the inauguration of Charles Soludo as the sixth elected governor of Anambra state, have concretised the submission that Nigerians loathe leaders who disdainfully, without restraint, flaunt the powers they have over them.
“As she made towards me, I then pulled away her wig. She held on to her wig with her two hands and tried to take the wig away from me. This very act is considered a sacrilege to a titled matriarch such as myself in Igbo culture. It was at this point that I stood up to defend myself and gave her a dirty slap to stop her from,” Bianca had owned up in a press release.
Ordinarily, Mrs Ojukwu should by now have had charges filed against her for assault, though provoked. However, not only is that not happening, a very huge number of respondents on social media, in Anambra state where Ebelechukwu and her husband held sway for eight years and virtually the whole of Nigeria, are abetting this assault by justifying Mrs Ojukwu’s action. A letter purportedly written by the Obi of Awka where “His Imperial Majesty” asked Mrs Obiano to apologize within seven days to Mrs Ojukwu, the entire Igbo race, the new governor and the judge swearing Governor Soludo in when the assault occurred, has “or face the consequences” even when Bianca had owned up to having slapped the ex-first lady, has gone viral. In fact, someone who witnessed the slap binge, a member of APGA, the political party that venerated Obiano and his vile-tempered petrel while in power, had reportedly posed for a photo-op with Bianca after her “gallant” slapping the first lady, declaring that, by daring a generally reputed arrogant Ebelechukwu with a dirty slap, wife of the Nigerian civil war hero had made his day.
Apart from the abstruse sartorial sense of Obiano the husband, his widely circulated rumoured romance with alcohol that reportedly gave him a persistent glazed and unsmiling look like the interior of the glazier, as well as this latest cache of allegations of humongous pillage of Anambra by the EFCC, the ex-governor was never known to be tempestuous. Taking his cue from Peter Obi, reported to have massively developed the Owelle of Onitsha, Nnamdi Azikiwe’s home state, Obiano has a genial personality and literally turned Anambra into a construction company. Ebelechukwu was his counterpoise, temper-wise. Unapologetically tempestuous, a former staff of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) she romanced power as if both of them shared the same umbilical cord.
Ebelechukwu’s ire was courted at the drop of a hat by anyone who encountered her. Though understandably because she, with the active connivance of her husband, had expressed the desire to contest the same senate seat that she currently occupies, former minister, Stella Oduah, an incumbent senator representing Anambra north, had taken to her Twitter page to harangue Ebelechukwu for what she called her “disgraceful (act) against womanhood,” as she “threw decorum away and attacked Her Excellency, Ambassador Bianca Ojukwu”.
Apart from deploring this attitude which she called crude, indecorous and unbecoming “of a woman who had acted as a mother of the state and even desirous of serving in other capacities,” Oduah said that “only a few days ago, an innocent woman was publicly paraded naked in the same community our former first lady hails from and one would have thought that rather than showcase this brute nature of fighting and engaging in public fisticuffs with her guest, she should have exerted same energy and fighting spirit in ensuring that justice is done for that widow”.
While the slap session must gave Oduah an opportunity to seek her comeuppance from Ebelechukwu, those who knew the former first lady had very scant respect for her tempestuous character and ill-temper during her “reign,” Senator Uche Ekwunife, who long fell apart with her, was also said to have been pleased that Bianca unburdened Ebelechukwu of her magisterial haughtiness.
However, in all these, no one has taken time to address Mrs Obiano’s ostensibly justified angst against Mrs Ojukwu. Manifesting the self-righteousness of a duchess dowager over an Anambra that she presumably sees as her familial property – being the wife of the Ikemba who established APGA – the ex-beauty queen, whose marriage to her father, ex-governor Christian Onoh’s friend, Odumegwu, caused a prolonged furore, had serially and impudently dismissed Obiano’s government and went ahead to put down the governorship bid of Soludo. In fact, in one of the press releases she issued against the professor of economics’ nomination as APGA governorship candidate, Bianca said her husband’s spirit would be bitter in the grave that Soludo was the choice of Anambra APGA.
Then, a few hours to Soludo’s inauguration, Bianca had taken to her Facebook page to dismiss Obiano’s eight-year reign thus: “It’s liberation day, and today we sing the redemption song. Anambra will be better. This is the day the Lord has made…a day that reaffirms the age-long truth that no one holds the stage forever. I thank the Almighty for keeping us all alive to witness this day”. To have worked relentlessly for Soludo’s win and finding an impish intruder who had mordantly dismissed her husband’s government in attendance at the swearing-in venue of that same candidate, an act that ostensibly showed a woman who sought to reap from the proceeds of what she did not sow, was enough reason why anyone’s anger would be on tinder as Ebelechukwu’s was at the swearing-in session. However, being an infamously dismissive and cantankerous woman loathed across board, not only was she presumed at first to be the aggressor who dished out the slap, even when that realization dawned on the people, Bianca was still held as a heroine. A temperate-minded woman in Ebelechukwu’s shoes would have bided her time to prove a justifiable point.
Earlier, Governor Wike’s infamous temper had been advertised on national television when he publicly harangued Edo state deputy governor, Philip Shaibu at the inauguration, in Port Harcourt, of the Eastern Bypass Road project. His grouse against Shuaibu was that he threatened to leave the PDP.
“And he lost his local government when we were in Edo, he lost. And he would come out on television to threaten the party that there are alternatives, look at the deputy governor. It’s very unfortunate for our party, a deputy governor is wearing khaki, look at it, I’ve never seen a thing like this in my life … who is his father?” Obaseki immediately replied to this infelicitous statement from Wike as amounting “to a delusion of grandeur,” saying, “In Edo, we don’t accept political bullies and overlords and historically, we have demonstrated our capacity to unshackle ourselves and dethrone bullies and highhanded leaders.”
Apparently lacking the staid comportment that leadership requires Wike, ostensibly commissioning some projects at the Ikwerre local government of the state a few hours after, paid millions of naira to national television to cover live the commissioning that was obviously an opportunity to reply Obaseki. “If you go and check the DNA of Godwin Obaseki, what you will see in that DNA is betrayal, serial betrayal, and ungratefulness. Let me stand today to apologise to Adams Oshiomhole who has been vindicated by telling us that we will see the true colour, we will see the insincerity, we will see the ungratefulness of Governor Obaseki,” Wike burst out in his guttural, seemingly incomprehensible waffles.
Apart from the huge cash he superintends over which makes him an oil sheikh amongst governors, who in turn cringe before him, in comportment and manners, Wike lacks the temperament of power. In saner societies, the lack of this should disqualify him from the position of responsibility he holds where decorum, taciturnity and felicity are demanded. It is often difficult to believe that this governor of the oil-rich state underwent a course in law as he displays less of law and more of lawlessness. His incandescent temper is legendary and in public, has talked down notable governors and persons in Nigeria. He, it was, in May 2021, who threatened “to flog the hell out” of the former governor of Niger state, Babangida Aliyu, on a television programme, for the latter’s temerity of calling him a dictator. Wike also severally singed the flesh of a king and ex-governor Godswill Akpabio, among others, riding on his usual intemperate roller coaster.
While the moral of appreciating a benefactor is an African ethos that is reified in discourses and social interactions, political scientists have been in a quandary in analysing this act among Nigerian politicians whose “benefits” to recipients of their “large heart” are, in most cases, heists pillaged from the people’s common till. While Wike was not forthcoming with the benefit he rendered Obaseki and Shaibu that needed to be requited with a supine attitude to his garrulousness, many have volunteered to say that it was the huge Rivers war chest he opened to the duo while their election was afoot. As the Yoruba will say in their aphorism, it will seem to be the case of a thief’s stolen wealth in the hands of another thief – ole gbe, ole gba. So what gratitude is needed?
What unites the cases of Feyi George, Mrs Obiano and Wike is the inability of power-holders to understand the ephemeral texture of the power they hold. While Wike is reputed to have changed the infrastructural makeup of Rivers in seven years, he lacks the etiquette of a leader and presents as an impatient bully, in the words of Obaseki. Must he reply to every perceived infraction? This is where leaders demonstrate their innate qualities.
A major leadership trait is patience which Wike lacks and which Feyi and Ebelechukwu have scant possession of. Feyi and Ebelechukwu are the women that the French named femmes fatale – the destructive female – whose husbands have no leash over their intemperate and asocial behaviour and who drag their husbands’ names in the mud. Can anyone imagine how a woman’s unguarded temper could bring to its knees her husband’s eight-year tour of duty? The trio authenticates the wisdom in the saying that a low-minded person drags an office to their level.
When one is in office and surveys the seemingly borderless landscape of raw power at one’s beck and call and the vast number of people who grovel before one, there is the risk to think of oneself as a mascot and Superman. The truth, however, is that you are as mortal as the other man next door, equipped with frailties and foibles. What will testament this is when you go to the toilet. Your poo-poo isn’t less smelly than the madman on the street and when you transit this mortal fold, maggots will make a feast of that body you think too highly of. Just as they will the pauper’s body.
As if to underscore the ephemeral component of power, Obiano left government house and a few hours after, he was in the caserne of the EFCC. As James Hadley Chase said, Obiano, “His Excellency,” must have found out that power holders are not only lonely when they are dead; they are, immediately power leaves them. As I often say, of all ascriptions and bestowals in this world, the one that answers to the holy writ’s description of the fleetingness of life as unto vapour, is power. While one who loses wealth, fame, the name could still have their flakes surrounding them, when power leaves its holder, it leaves them in entirety. Obiano must have found out the eternal nugget in that Yoruba wise saying that no one vacates the road for someone who rode the horse yesterday – a i yago f’elesin ana – which underscores the transience of power, That is the lesson which the Feyi, Ebelechukwu and the Wikes of today who are still in power, should learn.
Dr. Festus Adedayo, a Journalist, lawyer and Columnist writes
As the road to 2027 gradually unfolds across Oyo State, political conversations are shifting from routine permutations to deeper questions about competence, generational leadership, and measurable impact. In Ibarapa East, that conversation has found a new voice in Yusuf Abiodun Ramon — a Lanlate-born technocrat whose entry into the race for the State House of Assembly is redefining what representation could mean for the constituency.
In a political environment often dominated by familiar faces and conventional calculations, Ramon presents a profile shaped by technical discipline, structured thinking, and solution-driven engagement. His professional background, anchored in analytical precision and systems management, forms the foundation of his public service aspiration.
For him, representation must move beyond ceremonial presence to practical responsiveness — laws that reflect local realities, oversight that protects public resources, and advocacy that translates into visible development.
Ramon argues that the future of Ibarapa East lies in leadership that listens deliberately, plans strategically, and delivers measurably. He speaks of strengthening rural infrastructure, expanding youth-driven economic opportunities, and institutionalising transparency as core pillars of his agenda. In his view, governance must not merely be symbolic; it must be structured, accountable, and people-centred.
Rooted in Ile Odede, Isale Alubata Compound, Ward Seven of Ibarapa East Local Government, and maternally linked to Ile Sobaloju, Isale Ajidun Compound, Eruwa, Ramon’s story is not one of distant ambition but of lived experience. He is, in every sense, a son of the soil — shaped by the same roads, schools, and economic realities that define daily life in Ibarapa East.
“I was born here. I grew up here. I understand our struggles, our strengths, and our untapped potential,” he says. “Representation must go beyond occupying a seat; it must translate into preparation, competence, and genuine commitment to development.”
His academic journey mirrors that philosophy of steady growth. He began at Islamic Primary School, Lanlate (1995–2001), proceeded to Baptist Grammar School, Orita Eruwa (2001–2007), and later earned a National Diploma in Mechanical Engineering Technology from Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro, between 2009 and 2011. Refusing to plateau, he advanced his intellectual horizon and is now completing a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration at the University of Lagos. “Education,” he reflects, “is continuous capacity building. Leadership today requires both technical knowledge and administrative insight.”
That blend of engineering precision and managerial training has defined a professional career spanning more than a decade. Shortly after his diploma, Yusuf joined Mikano International Limited as a generator installer, gaining hands-on experience in industrial power systems — a sector central to Nigeria’s infrastructural backbone. He later transitioned into telecommunications at Safari Telecoms Nigeria Limited, where he received specialized training in Industrial, Scientific, and Medical radio bands, strengthening his expertise in network operations.
In 2013, he became a Field Support Engineer at Netrux Global Concepts Ltd., then a leading ISM service provider in Nigeria. Over four formative years, he immersed himself in telecom infrastructure deployment and maintenance, mastering field coordination, logistics management, and real-time technical problem-solving.
Since July 2017, he has served as a Field Support Engineer with Specific Tools and Techniques Ltd., a power solutions firm providing services to major operators including MTN Nigeria and Airtel Nigeria. In that capacity, he operates at the frontline of ensuring energy reliability and network uptime — responsibilities that demand discipline, accountability, and systems thinking.
For political observers in Ibarapa East, this trajectory matters. It reflects more than résumé credentials; it speaks to a mindset anchored in efficiency, coordination, and measurable outcomes — qualities increasingly demanded in legislative representation.
Beyond the private sector, Ramon’s political exposure is neither sudden nor superficial. A loyal member of the progressive political family in Lagos, he once served as a personal assistant to a former lawmaker, gaining practical insight into legislative procedure and constituency engagement. Within his community, he has quietly extended financial support to small-scale entrepreneurs and students — modest but consistent interventions rooted in personal responsibility.
“My interest is my people,” he states firmly. “Ibarapa East deserves strategic, responsive, and capable leadership at the State Assembly. We must move from rhetoric to results.”
Across the constituency — from Lanlate to Eruwa — development priorities remain clear: youth employment, vocational empowerment, rural road rehabilitation, stable power supply, agricultural value-chain expansion, improved educational standards, and stronger lawmaking that directly reflects community needs.
Political analysts argue that Ramon’s technocratic background positions him uniquely at the intersection of policy formulation and practical implementation. At a time when national discourse increasingly favours competence over grandstanding, his profile resonates with a broader generational shift toward performance-driven governance. His engineering discipline reinforces problem-solving; his business training strengthens administrative understanding; his grassroots roots anchor his empathy.
For Ibarapa East, the 2027 election cycle may represent more than a routine democratic exercise. It may mark a recalibration of expectations — a demand for representation that understands both the soil beneath its feet and the systems that drive modern development. As political alignments gradually crystallize in Oyo State, Yusuf Abiodun Ramon’s declaration signals the arrival of a candidate seeking to translate private-sector structure into public-sector impact.
One thing is clear: the conversation about the future of Ibarapa East has begun — and it is now framed around competence, credibility, and capacity.
Oluwasegun Idowu sent in this piece from Eruwa, Ibarapa East LG, Oyo State
“In a sky where delays are normal, one airline flies with precision and trust. Ibom Air shows that reliability can be a strategy”.
In Nigeria’s skies, where flight delays and cancellations are often taken as routine, Ibom Air has quietly rewritten the rules. From the moment it launched in June 2019, the Akwa Ibom State–owned carrier has treated reliability not as a bonus, but as a core strategy—turning punctuality, discipline, and operational excellence into a competitive edge that passengers can count on.
While most airlines chase rapid expansion or flashy promotions, Ibom Air has chosen consistency. Flights depart on schedule, disruptions are minimal, and communication with passengers is clear and timely. This predictability has quickly earned the airline a loyal following among business travellers, professionals, government officials, and families for whom time is invaluable.
The airline’s approach is methodical. Every flight is treated as a commitment, and operational decisions are guided by structured planning, not improvisation. This discipline underpins everything from scheduling to fleet management, ensuring passengers experience flying without surprises.
Central to this model is Ibom Air’s modern fleet. Its Airbus A220-300 and Bombardier CRJ-900 aircraft are fuel-efficient, comfortable, and rigorously maintained to meet both manufacturers’ specifications and the regulatory standards of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority and international aviation bodies. Safety here is a culture, not a compliance exercise.
Cabin cleanliness and aircraft health are equally prioritized. Passengers consistently step into neat, hygienic, and professionally maintained cabins, reinforcing confidence and comfort even before take-off. In a sector where small details signal operational quality, Ibom Air’s standards speak volumes.
Technology quietly drives reliability across operations. From booking and check-in to flight coordination and customer service, modern systems enhance efficiency, reduce disruptions, and ensure smooth communication. These tools allow the airline to anticipate challenges rather than merely react.
R–L: Dr. Solomon Oroge, a consultant, and Mr. Idowu Ayodele, journalist and media practitioner, aboard an Ibom Air flight.
Service delivery follows the same disciplined pattern. Pilots, cabin crew, engineers, and ground staff operate under strict professional standards. Courtesy is paired with efficiency, and calm, structured service ensures passengers feel confident throughout their journey.
The Ibom Flyer loyalty programme reflects this structured approach, rewarding consistent passengers and fostering long-term engagement. It turns reliability into a tangible benefit for frequent flyers.
From its hub at Victor Attah International Airport, Uyo, Ibom Air serves major Nigerian cities including Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Calabar, and Enugu, while extending its reach to West Africa with flights to Accra, Ghana. Expansion is deliberate, prioritizing sustainability over rapid growth that could compromise service quality.
Measured growth allows the airline to maintain operational excellence and service consistency even as demand increases—a strategy that contrasts sharply with competitors whose rapid expansion often strains resources.
Mr. Idowu Ayodele, journalist and media practitioner, pictured inside an Ibom Air aircraft.
Beyond commercial success, Ibom Air has become a national example. It has created employment, stimulated tourism, and strengthened regional connectivity, projecting a positive image of Nigerian aviation at a time when confidence in the sector is often fragile.
The airline has also challenged assumptions about government-owned enterprises. By combining professional management with operational autonomy, it demonstrates that public investment can achieve efficiency, accountability, and competitiveness.
Reliability, in the case of Ibom Air, is than a promise—it is a deliberate business philosophy. It shapes operations, informs decisions, and builds passenger trust consistently.
Technology, discipline, and attention to detail converge to produce an airline that works. Every element, from fleet maintenance to cabin service, supports the promise that Ibom Air delivers what it advertises—without surprises.
In a market where uncertainty has been the norm, Ibom Air has shown that consistency can be a strategic advantage. Passengers no longer fly with anxiety; they fly with confidence, knowing their schedules will hold and service will meet expectations.
Ultimately, Ibom Air is not just an airline—it is a model of operational excellence in Nigerian aviation. By prioritizing reliability over spectacle, discipline over improvisation, and planning over shortcuts, it sets a benchmark for the industry and a standard for passengers: in the skies, predictability is priceless
Idowu Ayodele – Journalist, Ibadan, Oyo State
0805 889 3736 | megaiconpress@gmail.com
In Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey, the concept of the “Greek gift” was invented. The Trojan Horse became the undoing of Troy, ending a decade-long war in which many Greeks had perished, including the mighty Achilles. The Trojans accepted the Greeks’ gift, and the rest, as they say, is history.
In the past few days, both social and conventional media have been agog with reactions to President Donald J. Trump’s threat to the Nigerian government regarding terrorism. In his words, Nigeria must “address the genocide against Christians in the North and Middle Belt, or else the U.S. will cut aid to the country and, in addition, come into the country guns blazing in an attempt to flush out the terrorists.”
Sincerely speaking, the tweet made by the U.S. President sounded a bit comical to me, as did many other commentaries that followed. Comical not in a ridiculous sense, but in a comedic sense.
This piece is not written to support or oppose any particular view, but to lay down facts in the most succinct and objective manner, thereby allowing for the independence of a balanced position.
In 2009, a terror group named Jama’at Ahl al-Sunna li al-Da’wa wa al-Jihad (popularly referred to as Boko Haram) emerged with the aim of establishing Islamic rule across Nigeria. According to the group, Sharia was the only path to true progress, and any faith other than Islam was haram (forbidden).
Soon after, this group began launching vicious attacks against Christians and Christian places of worship. From singularly attacking Christians, their targets shifted to government institutions and facilities, and on 28 November 2014, one of the greatest attacks against fellow Muslims occurred with the bombing and mass shooting of Juma’at worshippers at the Kano Central Mosque. Over 120 worshippers were killed and another 260 critically injured.
The point here is to underscore the fact that Boko Haram—and indeed all other extremist groups in Nigeria—are not targeting Christians alone, as earlier claimed, but are pursuing a more sinister agenda of land grabbing with the colouration of economic, psychological and socio-political domination of conquered territories, with intentions of spreading across the country.
From the Northeast, the activities of wanton killing and destruction perpetrated by terrorists spread to the North Central region, particularly Plateau and Benue States. What originally began as farmer–herder clashes metamorphosed into full-blown village and community sackings, where Fulani invaders razed entire communities, leaving hundreds dead or wounded while survivors were displaced and left with harrowing experiences in IDP camps.
This wave of destruction continued, with one of the bloodiest in recent times occurring in Yelwata, Guma Local Government Area of Benue State, on the night of 13–14 June 2025. According to Amnesty/CE/UN/NGO, over 200 people were gruesomely massacred, several houses burnt to ashes, and about 3,000 people displaced and rendered homeless. In 2025 alone, Amnesty reported more than 10,000 additional people displaced in Benue across several local governments, ranging from Gwer West to Agatu, Ukum/Gbagir, Logo, Kwande and Guma.
From the North Central, terrorism—or better still, banditry—also found its way to the North West. The activities of bandits, kidnappers and other criminal elements were consistently reported in Zamfara, Kaduna, Kebbi, Sokoto, Kano, and even Katsina, which was once regarded as the true home of hospitality, as its state slogan depicts, and as I can also attest considering how much I enjoyed the peace and serenity of the state during my days therein as a Youth Corps member. Reuters.ng reports that as of 2025, approximately 2,456 people had been killed in the North West region across multiple states. In addition to this, about 7,260 people, including schoolchildren and commuters on highways, had been abducted, with several millions of naira collected by kidnappers as ransom payments. Some parts of the South West, South East and South South have not been spared the atrocities of terrorists and bandits.
Therefore, it is safe to say that the entire country has, at one time or the other, experienced the activities of bandits, terrorists and kidnappers. The intensity of attack, however, differs from region to region.
Late General Sani Abacha once said that “if any insurgency lasts for more than 24 hours, a government official has a hand in it.” This saying more or less amplifies the complexity of the terrorism–banditry–kidnapping problem in Nigeria. Nigeria is a country abundantly blessed with all manners of rich mineral resources. Apart from the vast arable land required for productive agriculture, there is virtually no region of the country that does not possess one valuable solid mineral or another.
From iron ore in Zamfara, Kogi and Enugu; gold in Kaduna, Kebbi and Osun; lithium in Nasarawa, Kwara, Oyo and the FCT; bitumen in Ondo, Edo and Ogun; plus other industrial minerals like gypsum, kaolin and limestone, with deposits of over one billion tonnes across many states—Nigeria is sitting on an incredibly underutilised treasure worth billions of dollars. The government’s inability to adequately manage these vast potentials provides fertile grounds for opportunistic scrambling, illegal mining, chaos and its attendant conflicts.
One can therefore boldly say that the chaos and violence camouflaged as terrorism and banditry is indeed a calculated campaign driven not just by Islamic extremism but by land grabbing and occupation for the purpose of blood mineral extraction and illicit mining.
Thus, a sophisticatedly armed radical Islamic Fulani ethnic militia, often operating under political protection, carries out multiple killings, displacements and kidnappings across the Northeast, North Central and North West, after which reports reveal that foreign miners appear following the death and displacement of indigenes to exploit the lands.
Amnesty International has also reported that Nigeria loses over $9 billion annually to illicit mining of gold, tin and lithium, with a significant portion—estimated at 10%—funding violence and corruption. The report further revealed that the involvement of some government elements in this corruption is not in doubt, as eyewitness reports of survivors and satellite surveillance footage revealed the connivance of certain government personnel. Some survivors have also repeatedly claimed that they witnessed helicopters in the middle of the night dropping weapons and ammunition for the bandits—a disclosure corroborated by Professor Bolaji Akinyemi in an interview on African Stream earlier this year.
So, it is right to say that the violence and carnage are just a smokescreen and a catalyst to a far-reaching economic, psychological and socio-political agenda of certain influential elements in the country. This is part of the reason why the billions of naira spent on security to equip the military to better fight insurgency have not yielded much result to date.
In addressing the threat of President Donald Trump, I would like to start by recounting a little history about the 47th President of the United States and his previous antecedents. In January 2018, at a news conference in the White House, President Trump referred to Haiti and some African countries—including Nigeria—as “shithole countries” that should not be accorded immigrant status in the U.S.
Furthermore, his government’s stern immigration policies and visa restrictions clearly reflect a hostile stance towards Africa and some other Global South countries. In light of this, it is hard to understand where the sudden genuine concern for Nigerian Christians is coming from—more so when a U.S. congressman earlier this year revealed that USAID played a significant role in the funding of Boko Haram and other terrorist groups. This concern was never mentioned when Late President Muhammadu Buhari visited the White House a few months after the “shithole” saga and was praised by the same Trump for his valiant efforts in fighting Boko Haram and ISWAP, despite staggering reports of attacks and killings in the Northeast and North Central during that period.
Under the erudite scholarship of Professor Kunle Ajayi, I learnt several years ago, in one of our Politics of Global Economic Relations lectures, that in world politics and global socio-economic relations, the overriding determinant of states’ decisions and actions is strategic interest. Altruism is hardly ever a factor.
Present realities of Nigeria’s economic relations are fast approaching self-sufficiency—particularly in the oil sector, where Nigeria was once a major importer of finished petroleum products from the U.S. The Dangote refinery, having begun domestic refining and production of petroleum products, is fast taking over a market once dominated by imports from the U.S. This shift, no doubt, is taking jobs away from American oil workers—no cheering news for the country’s oil conglomerates. Secondly, China has since replaced the United States as Nigeria’s foremost trading partner.
According to Nairametrics (2025), the value of trade between Nigeria and China between 2023–2025 totals approximately $50 billion compared to an estimated $30 billion with the U.S. This paradigm shift would certainly not be palatable to the U.S. or her president, who happens to be a dogged businessman that hates the word “no”. From this perspective, it is not difficult to see where President Trump is coming from.
Be that as it may, I think Nigeria needs to employ shrewd diplomacy in dealing with the U.S. under a president like Donald Trump. Regardless of international law and conventions, the U.S. has repeatedly proven itself willing to take unilateral military action against countries, defying the rule of law and popular global opinion. So those hinging on Nigeria’s sovereignty as a deterrent to the U.S. are not good students of history.
What is, however, more important in all of this is that global attention is once again drawn to the horrible atrocities of these criminal elements in Nigeria. The country cannot continue to behave as though it is normal headline news when people are slaughtered daily, and families and homes are torn apart.
I believe this is an opportunity for the government to rejig the entire security architecture of the country, with the needed political will, to once and for all end these killings. Strategic partnership with the United States in this regard is not a bad idea. With its extensive experience in counter-terrorism operations and access to sophisticated military technology and intelligence, the U.S. can assist in identifying and eradicating the major financiers and enablers of terrorism and banditry. It is not rocket science that when the financing of terrorists ends, terrorism ceases to exist.
However, this should be done only on the basis of shared interest, mutual respect, trust, and understanding reflective of a healthy and balanced foreign policy relationship. By prioritising constructive diplomacy, dialogue and partnership, Nigeria can work with the United States in a strategic alliance to restore peace, security and confidence across the nation. That is the way to go.
Olusegun Hassan, Ph.D
Public Policy Analyst and Social Commentator
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