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Obasanjo, Okonjo-Iweala, Agbakoba Suggest Solutions To Nigeria’s Challenges

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Former President of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, Director General, World Trade Organisation, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and former President, Nigeria Bar Association, Olisa Agbakogba were on Saturday among Nigerians who suggested solutions to the challenges bedeviling the country at the 113th Anniversary of Kings College.

The anniversary titled, ‘Building the Nigeria of our dreams,’ was organised by the Kings College Old Boys’ Association.

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Obasanjo who led the Kingsweek 2022 colloquium which was held at the Kings College, Lagos, said Nigeria as a country was poor, insecure, and had other challenges because of its choice of leaders.

The former Nigerian leader said, ‘‘We are politically divided, economically disunited we are nowhere, we are down the drain. Diplomatically, Nigeria is not at the table. Before, we had sent troops to Sudan, Seirra Leone but today, we can’t send troops to the Republic of Benin. There are three races in the world, white, yellow, and black. For now, America is leading the whites, the Chinese are leading the yellow race, and Nigeria with 225m people is created by God to lead the black race. When we stop disappointing ourselves we can take care of the continent and the black race. Nigeria has no business with poverty, insecurity, or political division.

READ ALSO: APC: Court Rules In Ekpoudom’s Suit Challenging Akpabio’s Candidature

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‘‘It is the advertently or inadvertently choice of our leaders. It is not God’s choice for us. If God hasn’t chosen that for us we can do better. For Nigeria, we have done a few things right but we have not continued to do it right. We need a government that understands Nigeria and Africa which will be fair and sincere with Nigerians, together with the right government, this nation can become the right leading country to develop Africa.’’

In her speech, Okonjo-Iweala said her dream was for a Nigeria in which 95 per cent of the people had access to potable water, quality education, and more women participation in the political and economic life of the country.

‘‘Nigeria can fight poverty, and improve people’s lives if it is properly managed. Our revenue sources are not diversified we depend only on one revenue. Nigeria lacks a sacrosanct social compact in the country, there should be a guideline that dictates certain things that should be sacrosanct. We should have guiding principles to decide our we manage, save, spend and take vigorous actions on our revenues. As a country, we need to have certain indicators of how our economy should be governed. If we do this, we have so much to gain.

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‘‘We have had episodes showing we can sustain strong growth, all we need is to work on all key indicators and move in the right direction.

‘‘If we build a strong governance we need to choose our leaders wisely, we need to ensure we build a strong foundation, we need to get our leaders to accept social compact that will take us into the future.’’

Agbakoba said, ‘‘We have been to a lot of conferences and it is time for us to face the real question. We will never come out of this if we don’t sit and ask ourselves if we are really one until the infractions are tackled. Do we wish to be one because this marriage was imposed on us? What marriage do we really want? Why have we excluded all the nationals at the national conferences we have had?’’

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Another guest speaker, former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Attahiru Jega, enjoined Nigerians to get involved in the political and electoral processes, saying lack of appropriate and quality leadership, selection process, and criteria while choosing leaders were a major challenge in the country.

READ ALSO: Troops Arrest Several Terrorists, Kill Scores, Rescue Civilians

‘‘Since 1999 till date, there has been a remarkable decline in the quality of leaders. Lack of appropriate selection and criteria in Nigeria’s leadership and electoral process. The country’s challenges cannot be addressed by bad leaders who have come into power through the faulty recruitment process.’’

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Former president of KCOBA, Dr Sony Kuku, added, ‘‘If we have the right people who love Nigeria if we can get people into governance without godfatherism, ‘Ghana must go’ the better for us. The older you are the more you want Nigeria to be together.’’

 

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Police Pension Scheme Violates Constitution, IHRC Tells Tinubu

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The International Human Rights Commission, Nigeria, has thrown its weight behind the renewed push by the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, for a comprehensive reform of the Contributory Pension Scheme, as it affects retired officers of the Nigeria Police Force.

This is contained in a diplomatic memo addressed to President Bola Tinubu and titled “A Diplomatic Appeal for Police Pension Welfare Reform in Line with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

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In a statement signed on Saturday by IHRC’s Head of Media and Strategic Communications, Fidelis Onakpoma, the commission said the current pension arrangement for police personnel amounts to a constitutional breach and urged the President to take urgent corrective action.

The Head of Mission, IHRC , Ambassador Duru Hezekiah, was quoted in the statement as saying, “The commission firmly supports the Inspector-General of Police’s ongoing advocacy for a just and equitable pension scheme for retired police officers.

“We call on President Tinubu to urgently address the systemic flaws in the Contributory Pension Scheme, which violate constitutional provisions guaranteeing dignity and adequate social support for public officers.”

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Citing Sections 17(3)(f) and 34(1)(a) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), IHRC said the Nigerian state is legally bound to ensure the welfare and dignity of its retired officers, a responsibility it is currently failing in.

According to the commission, thousands of retired police officers are living in hardship under a pension system that disregards the realities of law enforcement service.

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The Constitution mandates the state to ensure the wellbeing of retired officers, not to abandon them to a broken system.

“The current structure of the CPS as applied to the police is inadequate, unfair, and incompatible with Nigeria’s constitutional values. These officers spent their lives in service—often in the face of extreme danger—yet they retire into poverty and indignity,” the IHRC stated.

The commission’s intervention follows a high-level meeting convened by the IGP on July 1, 2025, at the Force Headquarters in Abuja.

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The meeting brought together delegations from the National Association of Retired Police Officers of Nigeria, led by AIG Paul O. Ochonu (retd.), and the Coalition of CPS Retirees, led by CP Henry Njoku (retd.), to address mounting concerns over pension inadequacies.

During the meeting, Egbetokun reiterated his resolve to push for a more just and practical pension structure, describing the current system as a gross injustice.

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Our retirees deserve dignity, support, and a structure that reflects their sacrifice and service to Nigeria.

“We cannot continue to subject our heroes to a pension scheme that is clearly unfit for the nature of their work and the risks they bore,” the IG declared.

Egbetokun’s comments echoed sentiments he had expressed earlier in February during an interactive session with retired officers at the Police Resource Centre in Abuja, where he criticized the CPS as “deeply flawed and unfit for the realities of Police service.”

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READ ALSO:NMA Gives FG 21 Days To Avert Doctors’ Strike

The IHRC amplified this concern, highlighting what it described as an unjust disparity between Police and military retirees.

While the latter are exempted from the CPS and benefit from a more suitable pension arrangement, police retirees, the commission said, continue to suffer from a scheme that fails to provide basic security in old age.

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The military has rightly been removed from the CPS because of the peculiar nature of their job. The same logic applies—if not more so—to police personnel.

“Our police officers risk their lives daily, and they deserve a pension structure that reflects that reality. Anything less is an affront to justice, equity, and national security,” said Hezekiah.

In line with Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, the IHRC urged the Presidency to act decisively in addressing the disparity and upholding the constitutional and moral obligations of the state to its law enforcement agents.

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Reforming the police pension structure is not merely a policy issue—it is a constitutional and moral obligation. We believe this government has the opportunity to right this historical wrong and restore dignity to our Police retirees,” the statement read.
(PUNCH)

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FG To Spend N17bn On Lagos Bridge Damaged By Fire

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The Federal Government has negotiated the cost of the Iddo Bridge rehabilitation from an initial N27bn to N17bn.

The Minister of Works, Sen. Dave Umahi, made this known to journalists during an inspection of the bridge on Friday in Lagos.

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He said, “Julius Berger quoted, I think, N27 billion or thereabout, but after much negotiation and discussion, we now arrived at N17 billion.”

Umahi commended Julius Berger Nig. Plc. for demonstrating a sense of cooperation under its new leadership.

He described the company as a “born-again Berger”, attributing the breakthrough in negotiation to the understanding and openness of its new managing director.

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READ ALSO:FG Gives Overstaying Foreigners Ultimatum To Regularise Visa

The minister reiterated the government’s commitment to prudent spending, insisting that all contractors must align with the ministry’s standards and directives.

Umahi noted that the project had been reviewed from mere rehabilitation of the burnt section to a major work.

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He expressed concern over the poor condition of the bridge, blaming it on years of neglect and human abuse, including illegal occupation and collisions by heavy-duty trucks.

He said that three spans of the bridge were severely damaged by fire, which he attributed to activities of illegal occupants who had built makeshift homes under the bridge.

READ ALSO:FG Closes Case In Alleged Terrorism Trial Against Nnamdi Kanu

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They brought in chemicals, built block walls and set up homes. Then, they set up fire that burnt the bridge and damaged three spans. Now we are going to fix the bridge completely,” Umahi said.

The minister said the Iddo Bridge, now with a headroom of about 4.5 metres, had suffered significant structural damage due to continuous hits from trucks and illegal structures beneath it.

He announced that the ministry would be creating a headroom of at least 5.6 metres.

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He said that the Federal Ministry of Works was committed to restoring the bridge for the safety of all Nigerians and ensuring such incidents would not occur again.

READ ALSO:NMA Gives FG 21 Days To Avert Doctors’ Strike

On the issue of displaced persons, the minister said that no one would be allowed to return under the bridge.

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“Nobody will stay under Iddo Bridge again as long as I remain the Minister of Works.

“The lives of the people are more important,” he said.

He warned that the government would no longer tolerate any abuse of national infrastructure.
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Ex-Army Chief Proposes Mandatory Military Training For Nigerians

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Lt.-Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika (retd.),

A former Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika (retd.), has called for the introduction of mandatory military training for all Nigerians, beginning with the National Youth Service Corps.

This, he said, is a way of promoting national unity, discipline, and resilience in the face of growing security and social challenges.

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Ihejirika made the call on Friday night at the 50th anniversary of the Nigerian Defence Academy Regular Course 18 Alumni Association in Abuja.

He reflected on his early days in military service and the camaraderie built over the years with fellow officers.

READ ALSO:FULL LIST: Nigeria Emerges As Africa’s Third Most Formidable Military Force

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The former Army chief said the discipline and patriotism instilled in them during training were instrumental in shaping their careers and national contributions.

Given the current situation of things in our country, I believe it’s time we start thinking about mandatory military training for our citizens.

“We can start with the National Youth Service. This will help us build a generation of Nigerians who understand sacrifice, responsibility, and patriotism,” he said.

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Ihejirika praised the government’s decision to restore the old national anthem, saying it reinforces the spirit of unity.

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He emphasised that the line “Though tribe and tongue may differ, in brotherhood we stand” perfectly captures the essence of national service and shared identity.

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He also expressed concern over how the national anthem is now reduced to mere fanfare at official events.

It should be a daily reminder of our oath of allegiance. It must return to schools, communities, and national ceremonies,” he said.

Drawing from his own life experience, Ihejirika recounted his humble beginnings from his village in Abia and how military discipline transformed him.

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He credited the support of colleagues and mentors for his successful career, which culminated in his appointment as Nigeria’s 22nd Chief of Army Staff.

READ ALSO:542 Senior Military Officers Retire

Beyond his advocacy, the retired general also commended the current leadership of the Nigerian Armed Forces, describing them as highly experienced and well-trained.

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Many of the officers leading today served in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and other conflict zones.

“They have earned their stars through real battle experience and are doing remarkably well,” he added.

He urged Nigerian leaders at all levels to prioritise peace and stability, reminding them that no office or position is sustainable in the absence of national unity.

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The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the dinner had in attendance the Minister of State for Defence, Chief of Defence Staff and representatives of service chiefs amongst other dignitaries.

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