Month: November 2021

EFCC re-arrests ex-minister Fani-Kayode

By Muhammad Sabiu

Merely a week after his reported arrest, a former minister of aviation, Mr Femi Fani-Kayode, has been arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Reports have indicated that the former minister was arrested at the Ikoyi Federal High Court in Lagos.

Mr Shehu Shuaibu, an investigator working for the anti-graft agency, said the ex-minister was apprehended over forgery of documents.

Court faults Sanusi’s banishment, awards him 10 million compensation

By Uzair Adam Imam

The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, has on Tuesday, 30th November 2021, ordered Kano state government to formally apologize the dethroned Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sunusi (II), in two national dailies.

The court judgement was delivered by Justice Anwuli Chikere, and had described Sanusi’s forceful banishment from the state after his dethronement as illegal, unconstitutional and in gross violation of his fundamental human rights.

However, it was gathered that the court has awarded damages against Kano state, in favour of the deposed Emir, to the tune of N10million.

Recall that Sususi was accused of disloyalty and insubordination by the Kano State Government which led to his dethronement on March 9, 2020.

Speaking before the court, Sunusi’s Lawyer, Abubakar Mahmoud, SAN, stated that: “My lord, this is not a chieftaincy matter.

“The Applicant is not before this court to challenge the Respondents’ actions with regards to his removal as Emir of Kano, but the way he was bundled to Abuja and banished to a remote location.”

The Attorney General of Kano State, represented by Musa Mohammed, also challenged the jurisdiction of the court in Abuja to entertain the case.

However, he urged the court to dismiss the suit in its entirety for want of jurisdiction and competence.

The Kano State AG, through the lawyer that represented him in court, Abdulsallam Salleh, said: “We will look at the judgement critically and consult with our client (Kano state government) on whether we will appeal against it on not.”

Twitter gets new CEO as Dorsey resigns

By Uzair Adam Imam

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Twitter, Jack Dorsey, has yesterday resigned from his position, stating that the ‘tough’ decision was partly due to his belief that the company was ready to move on from its founders.

Meanwhile, Parag Agrawal, an Indian-American, has been named as the new CEO. Dorsey sent an email to the Twitter team that Parag was his choice as he ‘understands the company and its needs’.

He has made a clean break from the company and will not stay on in any capacity when his term on the Board of Directors expires next year.

He added that this is to give Parag the space he needs to lead the company that serves close to 400 million users.

“I believe it’s critical a company can stand on its own, free of its founder’s influence and direction,” he said.

In response to this, Parag expressed confidence that the company’s future strategy is ‘bold and right’ and will make Twitter the best for its customers.

El-Rufa’i introduces four-day working week

By Sumayyah Auwal Ishaq

The Kaduna State Government will commence a transition to a four-day working week in the state. The government will begin implementation of the transitional arrangements in the public service of the state from 1st December 2021.

In a statement signed by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Media & Communication, Mr. Muyiwa Adekeye, the government said, “all public servants, other than those in schools and healthcare facilities, will work from home on Fridays. This interim working arrangement will subsist until the government is ready to move to the next stage of the transition which will culminate in the four-day week across all MDAs in the state”.

Mr. Adekeye further stated that “the state government expects the required legal and regulatory framework to be in place by January 2022. This will also enable the organised private sector to engage with the process and agree a longer transition period to a four-day working week”

Scores of ISWAP terrorists killed as Nigerian military launches offensive airstrike

By Muhammad Sabiu

No fewer than 26 insurgents of the Islamic State of West African Province (ISWAP) have been eliminated in Gajiram town, Borno State, after the Nigerian military launched airstrikes on them.

Reports show that the military made the attacks after the insurgents, who came on their gun trucks, made an attempt to invade the town.

A military officer in the know of the incident, whose identity is made anonymous, reliably told journalists that 26 bodies of the insurgents were counted.

Confirming the heavy casualty inflicted on the terrorists, he said, “The aircraft arrived timely and bombarded the locations of the terrorists and burned some of them beyond recognition.

“We have so far counted 26 bodies of the terrorists, but unfortunately, we lost two gallant soldiers while tackling other fleeing enemies.

“More bodies of the terrorists could be seen from afar in their burning trucks along Kunli village road and on the eastern side of the town.”

Should hate be taught as a primary school subject?

By Amara Sesay

We have heard the stories of hate. And they all come in different textures and tenors. There is the hate for a tribe, the hate for a race and then the hate for a country. But anytime we want to sit down and talk about hate, people get really emotional. As if it doesn’t exist!

I think the problem arises from our native perspective on hate. This makes it effortless to hate but embarrassing to admit it. So people get emotional when others develop the courage to analyse their hatred politely. It makes them feel sad. And the person who did the exposè sometimes ends up feeling guilty.

But what if every child had the basics of hatred right from primary school?  Such tough preparation for the future makes it easy to confront and respond to hate in a more calculated and strategic way.

Children deserve to know their historic enemies. And how new enemies are formed both online and offline. And how sometimes they themselves unwittingly recruit their own enemies by the things they say or show (read: show off)

Already, we teach them in nuanced and more pernicious ways. But schools can do the job better, I believe. Because with schools, there is respect for taxonomies, hierarchies and references or evidence. The affective domain should not be entirely left to homes, especially where bitter and frustrated bigots or extremists parade as parents.

Children deserve to know that their competitive nature will attract hatred and enmity; that their relentless strides towards excellence will attract a few more enemies. Every milestone they hit attracts more assassins with buckets of stones waiting for the perfect time and angle to pelt them. They should learn that for every change or significant reform they spearhead, friends will become enemies, and enemies will become arch-enemies. This might not always be the case, but they should learn and prepare for such eventualities.

When we leave hate studies to parlour talk and swathes of private histories taught at night, the wounds of centuries continue to rot unhindered. And nations stagnate while others are progressing.

Let’s be more intentional about teaching hate. And let our children learn this early. Late awareness of such an important issue is always costly, if not fatal.

Amara Sesay wrote from Lagos. He can be reached via amarasesay.amir@gmail.com.

Twitter accepts our conditions – FG

By Uzair Adam Imam

The Federal Government has said that Twitter has agreed to abide by the laid down conditions for its operations in the country.

Appearing on Channels TV, the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo, disclosed.

Recall that On June 5, 2021, the Buhari administration had slammed an indefinite suspension on Twitter.

Keyamo was a member of a committee the government set to dialogue with the microblogging site.

He disclosed that the committee had made significant progress, adding that: “The reason why the President took that step is to recalibrate our relationship with Twitter and not to drive them away from our country. That recalibration we have started it.

“We also set up a technical committee to interface with Twitter and come up with a lot of conditions for them to fulfil for us to lift the suspension.

“It was Twitter that reached out to the Federal Government to say they want to know what and what they can do to straighten up the relationship with the Federal Government and so, we have gone far, but I may not, at this forum, let out a lot, but we gave them a lot of conditions, and they have agreed to all the conditions.”

The conditions were: “Twitter paying attention to national security and cohesion; registering its physical presence and representation in Nigeria; fair taxation; dispute resolution and Local content.”

This indicates that the ban on Twitter will be lifted soon.

COAS charges troops to uphold professionalism

By Uzair Adam Imam

The Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Faruk Yahaya, has charged officers and soldiers of the newly formed 6 Brigade of the Nigerian Army to exhibit professionalism and discipline in their operations and other engagements in their area of responsibility.

A release issued to journalists by the Director of Army Public Relations, Onyema Nwachukwu, disclosed that Gen Yahaya gave the charge on Sunday, November 28, 2021, during a visit to the Headquarters 6 Brigade, Nigerian Army, Jalingo.

The statement described his visit as part of the operation and assessment to formations and units of the Nigerian Army across the country.

The release partly reads: “Presented with a security brief on the Brigade’s area of responsibility by the Commander 6 Brigade, Brig-Gen Hillary Mabeokwu, the COAS proceeded to address the troops, charging them to demonstrate professionalism and discipline in the discharge of their duties.

“He pledged to provide requisite logistics for the full take-off of the nascent Brigade.

“The COAS later commissioned newly constructed 6 Brigade Garrison office and Quarter Guard before proceeding to inspect the proposed permanent site of the Brigade.

“He expressed appreciation to the government and people of Taraba state for providing the Nigerian Army with a parcel of land to build the Brigade,” the statement added.

Gunmen attack Jos prison

By Sumayyah Auwal Ishaq

The Nigerian Correctional Service has, on Sunday, confirmed the attack of the Medium Security Custodial Centre, Jos, Plateau State.

The spokesman for the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCS), Controller of Corrections, Francis Enobore, confirmed the incident, saying “The Medium Security Custodial Centre in Jos, Plateau State came under attack by gunmen who reportedly stormed the facility in large number with sophisticated weapons”

He further stated that “although they gained entrance to the yard, they are however trapped within as men from sister security services were immediately mobilised to assist the armed guards to cordon the perimeter wall and the entire area”

The attack was said to have been carried out at about 5pm on Sunday, and sophisticated weapons were said to have been used by the attackers.

CBN set to enlighten Kano business owners about its policies and programmes

By Muhammad Sabiu

The Kano branch of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has set to educate business owners in December on its policies and how they can venture into various programmes initiated by the apex bank.

This is contained in a letter dated November 25, 2021, and signed by H.S. Mohammed on behalf of the Branch Controller, CBN Kano.

The letter was addressed to the Students’ Union Government president of Bayero University Kano, requesting the student leader to mobilise 50 of his union members at the sensitisation event.

The letter partly reads: “The Central Bank of Nigeria intends to sensitise manufacturers, traders, farmers, banks, artisans, cooperatives and the general public on the various policies and programmes of the Bank which they can key into.

“Consequently, the Bank is cordially inviting you and your members to in-depth presentations from 9:00 a.m daily on Wednesday, 1” and Thursday, 24 December 2021 at Afficent Event Centre, No. 4 Magajin Rumfa Road, Opposite DTSV Office Nassarawa, Kano.”

Explaining what the event is all about, the Bank wrote, “The ‘CBN Fair’ is a harmonised sensitisation program on all the Central Bank of Nigeria’s initiatives (Real Sector Financing and Interventions, Payment Systems Initiatives, Consumer Protection, Clean Naira Note Policy, Financial Inclusion and Consumer Rights) with a focus on the recent e-Naira initiative.”