When President Muhammadu Buhari departed Abuja for Seoul, South Korea to participate in the First World Bio Summit 2022, the usual, unjustifiable murmurings filled the social media space in the country that this is one wasteful trip too many. Jointly organised by the government of the Republic of Korea and the World Health Organisation (WHO), the two-day summit that held from October 25-26 had ‘The Future of Vaccine and Bio-Health,’ as its theme. However, reports about the proceedings and side events showed that Nigeria, like in all foreign engagements by President Muhammadu Buhari, recorded at least two landmark achievements at…
Author: Musa Ilallah
The Nigerian Railway Corporation, NRC’s history can be traced to 1898 when the first rail line in Nigeria was started by British colonialists with the construction of Baro-Kano railway line on October 3, 1912. NRC recorded revenues of N2.12bn in the first half of 2021 showing an increase of 31% over the same period in 2019. Revenue from freight transport was down with gains coming mainly from passenger transport between Lagos and Ibadan on the new standard gauge line. NRC operates a network of 3,505km of single track lines in the country and also operates another 3,505km Cape Gauge network…
It will indeed be not strange, or suprising, if Nigerians wake up one morning and hear that there is another nationwide power or grid collapse. What will however be strange or surprising to Nigerians will be to hear that grid collapse will no longer happen. Despite a N1.52trn bailout given to Nigeria’s Power sector by the Buhari administration since coming to power on May 29th, 2015, the country’s National Grid has collapsed 98 times. Nigeria’s available power generation capacity fell by 981.8 MW between 2015 and August 2022 despite the over N1.51tn intervention in the sector by the Federal Government…
In an unprecedented and overwhelming achievement, amidst the challenging operating environment that has tested the resilience of institutions and businesses globally, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL has continued to weather the storm by recently posting its second straight annual profit after tax of N674.1 billion in 2021 thus showing a significant increase of 135% against N287 billion it recorded in 2020. NNPCL posted its first profit of N287 billion in 44 years of its existenc during the 2020 financial year. The positive result is coming as global economies continue to struggle with the recessionary forces and weak economic…
Wednesday October 5th 2022 was a day quite significant to the collaborative efforts of the Nigerian security agencies. This was a day the efforts of the Chief of Defence staff’s Action Committee, CDSAC broke the cheering news of the release of the remaining 23 kidnapped passengers on the ill-fated Abuja-Kaduna train on the 28th of March this year. News reports had indicated that Nigeria’s national government, security agencies, parents and relations of kidnapped victims have been making concerted kinetic and non-kinetic approaches and support to free the abducted persons. Also not kept out are well meaning Nigerians among whom are…
Once more, and on a final note, President Muhammadu Buhari delivered perhaps his longest and most unique address on the occasion of Nigeria’s 62nd independence anniversary on October 1. For me, the address is not only long and inspirational, but one that sums up his genuine efforts to “unite the country, Improve the economy, tackle corruption and fight Insecurity” aimed at putting the country on the path of sustainable growth, development and prosperity. This can be seen, touched and felt through his massive infrastrutural projects across regions and sectors he embarked upon since coming to power on May 29th, 2015…
On the sidelines of the 77th session of United Nations General Assembly, UNGA in New York, USA, the African Business Round Table and the Nigerian Government put together the 2nd Nigeria International Economic Partnership Forum to give unparalleled opportunity to engage the G7 and G20 countries, the184 members of the United Nations, the International Development partners and the Business community to look at the potentials of Nigeria as a country full of abundant openings for prosperity and economic growth. Undoubtedly, the Forum held at St. Regis Hotel in New York, attracted more than 200 investors,⁹ offered prospects of increasing access…
Without mincing words, it is indisputable that the military all over the world is a symbol of national pride, strength, valour, resilience and power. Nigerian military is not left out in this global vision. While the hallmark of the military include, but not limited to patriotism, tact, discipline, selfless national service, the military is a repository of knowledge which has broken grounds in several scientific and technological innovations aimed at sustaining national growth and development in defence, security, aeronautics, medicine, agriculture and ICT among others. No wonder, the need to partly anchor Nigeria’s ship of Industrialisation on the military at…
Nine months to the end of his second and final term in office, the PMB administration has in its recent Federal Executive Council, FEC meeting in Abuja, approved a bill to give the fight against poverty a formal legal backing. Towards this end, FEC approved a bill to institutionalise the National Social Investment Programme, NSIP of the PMB administration for the country. As one of the flagships of the Buhari administration with the ultimate aim of ‘tackling poverty and hunger’ and lifting millions of Nigerians out of poverty, NSIP came into being in 2016. It is estimated that as at…
●●As Buhari Clears Obasanjo, Atiku’s 19-Yr-Old Mess Almost all traditional and social media news platforms in the country were in the first week of September 2022 awash with the positive and patriotic resolution by Nigeria’s Federal Government of the long-standing contractual dispute with a foreign investor group, Global Steel Group on the Ajaokuta Steel Company. Consequent upon the resolution, Nigeria would now pay $496m or 9% of the $5.258 billion earlier demanded by the company. The settlement agreement, according to Justice Minister Abubakar Malami, came into effect on August 19, 2022. “Nigeria succeeded in reducing the claim in mediation…
Even though Nigeria is well diversified in terms of people, culture, resources, and government revenue expectations, for many years now Nigeria has become almost totally dependent on the oil sector for its domestic and foreign financial earnings and expenditure. For the dire need to communicate effectively there is need to state that non oil export can be defined as those visible and invisible exports which do not form part of oil export but contribute to the growth of the total export which includes manufactured products, agricultural products, services, solid minerals like tin, coal and columbite, among others. Vice President Yemi…
For the purpose of refreshing our memory, it’s important we begin this discussion by taking a look at what Nigeria’s Civil War was all about. The Nigerian Civil War, which began on 6th July 1967 and ended on 15th January 1970, is also referred to the Nigerian-Biafran War. It was a civil war fought between the government of Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a secessionist state which had declared its independence from Nigeria in 1967. Nigerian side was led by General Yakubu Gowon, while Biafra was led by late Lt. Colonel Odumegwu Ojukwu. The United Kingdom and the Soviet…
Since coming back to power in 2019 for his second and final term, President Muhammadu Buhari has shown his determination to wage a relentless war against the Malaria parasite which has killed millions of Nigerians, particularly infants and children. Inaugurating a 16-member National End-Malaria Council, NEMC, President Buhari projected that the successful implementation of the Council’s agenda and savings from the estimated economic burden of the disease would “save Nigeria about N687 billion this year and N2 trillion by 2030.” This is no doubt achievable given the commitment of President Buhari’s administration. It is indisputable, like the President told the…
Undoubtedly, this year’s 16th Edition of the Nigerian National Diaspora Day celebration and the fourth to be hosted by the Nigerians in the Diaspora Commission, NiDCOM with the theme: “Diaspora Engagement in Global Challenging Times for National Development” has come and gone but that the memories of what Nigerians in the diaspora have done to our economy will continue to excite Nigerians, Africans and the global community. In the words of President Muhammadu Buhari, the contributions of 17 million Nigerians in the Diaspora to national development has been instrumental to the growing importance of Nigeria all over the world. PMB…
APC, Nigeria’s ruling party’s recent and much talked-about national convention held in Abuja to elect its Presidential candidate for next year’s election has come and gone. Its peaceful conduct may however have disappointed and shamed those who thought of a break up and RIP. The country’s ruling party and the entire country’s political space had in the last three months, or so, been further put under immense pressure and tension largely due to the number of aspirants that bought forms to contest its primaries, coupled with the party’s increasing nationwide popularity as the ‘politicians delight bride’. Prior to the conduct…
President Muhammadu Buhari recently signed into law three bills aimed at improving the anti-money laundering and counter terrorism financing/proliferation frameworks in the country to further underscore his resolve to fight to finish the two crimes in our society. The bills were the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Bill, 2022; the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Bill, 2022 and the Proceeds of Crime (Recovery and Management) Bill, 2022. The fight against corruption and securing the nation are two of the three major cardinal campaign policy thrust of the PMB administration. Since then President Buhari has deliberately made conscious strategic policy decisions to…
But for the frightening security challenges laden with political undertones that is threatening lives and properties across the country, President Muhammadu Buhari would have been rated as the happiest leader in the world today. Basically, two major reasons are responsible for my whole hearted conclusion. One, the country got a big boost in its foreign direct investment, FDI recently when Microsoft Corporation promised to create an African Development Centre in Nigeria worth $200 million. Secondly, the USA government is building a new $537 million consulate on reclaimed land in Lagos, Nigeria. Its its biggest Consulate in the world. President Muhammadu…
Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State seems unwavering, confident and determined to pick the ticket of his party as its flag bearer in the country’s 2023 Presidential election. Looking himself and gutsy as he declares his intention to vie for the APC’s Presidential candidate ticket at the Eagle Square in Abuja recently, he titled his campaign “HOPE 2023” aimed at bridging existential gaps in Nigeria’s body politics,. Standing in his favour are his youthful age of about 47 years, his mental and physical fitness, courage and foresight to steer the leadership of the country. He also has a lot to…
Less than one year to national elections, Nigerians are again gradually moving into another round of interesting times with the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) now engulfed in its own internal contradictions. PDP’s power broker, king maker, godfather, major financier and Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike has in recent times been engulfed in serious altercations with some of the major actors of the party thereby threatening the unity and cohesion the party needs to wrench back power from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). Since the march to unseat its immediate past National Chairman, Uche Secondus from office to…
As a prelude to discussing this topic, I find it absolutely expedient to recap what premeditated the Nigerian government’s plan to evacuate its more than 12,000 citizens studying and living in Ukraine. Russia began a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, in an escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War that began in 2014. The invasion is the largest conventional military attack on a sovereign state in Europe since World War II. Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama had disclosed that Air Peace and Max Air have begun the evacuation of Nigerians from Ukraine on March 2. This development…
Nigeria’s National Assembly led by Senator Ahmad Lawan recently contributed its ‘widow’s mite’ to the advancement of our growing democracy, rule of law and restructuring of the country, as projected by President Buhari, with the consideration of 68 major amendments to the country’s 1999 Constitution. So much and by so many Nigerians across all the divides of the country had been said about restructuring the country before and after the Hon. Justice Idris Legbo Kutigi’s 2014 Confab report was submitted to then President Goodluck Jonathan. Even though some Nigerians did not doubt the intentions of President Jonathan in his 52-point…
The devastation of displacement, lives, livelihoods and property in Nigeria’s North East region caused by more than 10 years of insurgency by the Boko Haram terrorists is a subject of security, policy, humanitarian and academic concern to all well meaning Nigerians and non-Nigerians alike. However, Nigeria’s de-radicalization, rehabilitation and reintegration, DRR programme for ex-Boko Haram fighters, known as Operation Safe Corridor, OSC has come a long way in lending support to government’s efforts to encourage insurgents to drop their arms and embrace peace. Only doubting Thomas’s would play blind, deaf and dumb to the fact that Government’s operations aimed at…
For the first time in Nigeria, the country’s major revenue generation and collection agency, Federal Inland Revenue Service with the acronym “FIRS” broke the jinx and did wonders for the country. FIRS recorded N6.405 trn revenue in 2021 thus surpassing its target by more than 100%. What a great success. This development keeps Nigerians wondering and asking questions as to why there was never a time the FIRS had ever collected 60% of set targets since its coming on board in 1947. While giving FIRS’s 2021 Update recently, it’s Executive Chairman, Muhammad Nami was full of smiles when he disclosed…
The first good news for Nigeria this year from the international community did not surprise anyone, particularly players and stakeholders, both at home and abroad in the Maritime sector; that the United Nations (UN) strongly commended the Nigerian government for being the first country in Africa to successfully secure conviction for piracy offences. Conveying the UN’s commendation to the Nigerian government from its headquarters in New York, the Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, UNODC, Ghada Fathi-Wali particularly acknowledged that Nigeria’s leadership role and commitment towards curbing maritime crimes could be attributed to the successful collaboration…
History has it that the Nigerian Police Force, NPF came into being in 1820. Since then it has passed through several stages and years of restructuring, reformation and reorganisation during and after the British Colonial administration in the country. During the colonial period, most police formations were associated with local governments and called Native Authority, NA Police otherwise called Yan Doka in all parts of the country’s Northern Region. An amalgamation of the defunct Northern Nigeria Police, NNP and the Southern Nigeria Police, SNP led to the formation of the current Nigeria Police Force, NPF in 1930. As the leading…
Available records from the Debt Management Office, DMO indicate that from the first recession in 2016 that struck Nigeria to date, bailout funds given to the 36 States of the Federation to cushion the effects of recession, have hit N1.75 trillion. The idea of dashing bailout funds to the States was borne out of President Muhammadu Buhari’s desire to support the States in times of dire need. Some Nigerians are however of the view that the recent tranche of N656.112 billion Bridge Financing Facility to the 36 States by the Federal Government should have been withheld until such a time…
Recent judgement of a Federal High Court in Abuja declaring bandit groups in the country as terrorists did not come to well-meaning Nigerians and even non-Nigerians resident in the country as a surprise. Rather, people see it as a big relief that the bandits will finally and legally be spoken to “in the language they understand.” Infact the declaration was long expected because of the disturbing increasing cases of kidnappings across the length and breadth of the country particularly in the northern part of the country. The court had specifically, in a ruling delivered by Justice Taiwo Taiwo, held that…
It is quite appropriate to talk about Nigeria’s Economic Recovery Growth Plan, ERGP as a prelude to the Muhammadu Buhari goverment’s newest strategy of a tripartite ownership of a National Development Plan, NDP estimated at trillions of Naira. Since time immemorial, and particularly since Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999, various governments have made efforts in improving the country’s economic and development plans through a number of ways. However, none has been as unique, all-encompassing and all-inclusive as this latest attempt by PMB. President Buhari’s administration in 2017 launched the Nigerian Economic Recovery and Growth Plan, ERGP with the objectives…
Though the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference known as COP26 being held in Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom between 31 October and 12 November 2021, under the Presidency of Alok Sharma, a British Minister of State and member of UK Parliament will soon come to a close, its memories will remain with us for as long as we can remember. The conference is the 26th Conference of the Parties, COP to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, UNFCCC and the third meeting of the parties to the Paris Agreement. This conference is the first time since COP21 that…
Way back on a bright sunny day on 12th February 2018, President Muhammadu Buhari signed Executive Order 5 into law. The order is to improve local content in public procurement with science, engineering and technology components. Commonly referred to as EO 5, the order portends significant positive impact on local businesses in terms of increased patronage by MDAs in challenge of the preferential treatment for foreign expertise to the detriment of home-based professionals. It is not in doubt that coming at a time of reduced oil revenues and budget deficits, Nigeria needs to manage its foreign reserve with a high…
