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OPINION: City Boys And Ìjímèrè’s Battle Cry

Published

2 months ago

March 18, 2026

By Suyi Ayodele

Ìjímèrè, the small brown monkey, is counted among the wisest of the dry-nosed primates. Its resilience is legendary; its endurance unmatched. No other primate survives hardship with such stubborn patience.

Yet even Ìjímèrè has a weakness — hunger. When hunger becomes desperate and hope disappears, the creature does the unthinkable. As the elders say: when only the cheapest morsel remains in Ìjímèrè’s home, the palace of Alákedun, the monkey king, becomes the next target (Tí ó bá ti ku èko òníní sí ilé Ìjímèrè, ilé Alákedun di àjerun fún ọmọ òbo).

The short story that births the above saying goes thus: In the days of yore, Alákedun lived in affluence. Being the king over other Primates, the group subordinated their sovereignty to their king. The king was not just powerful; he was the custodian of the essence of the people. His palace had the largest store of all the food items. The king of monkeys lived in abundance; his subjects lived in abject poverty. He determined who would eat or would go hungry. Alákedun could not be bothered who died or lived!

Basking in the euphoria of his position and influence, Alákedun forgot that his position as the king notwithstanding, he also hopped from one tree to the other like other monkeys. So, instead of treating the other monkeys with respect, Alákedun employed the weapon of hunger to punish the tribe. He rationed food items in small bits that could barely sustain others. The affliction was too much.

Then, a time came that food shortage became biting. Mothers watched their children die in their infancy due to starvation. The other monkeys knew that something must give. Who would bell the cat was the issue. Ìjímèrè, being naturally endowed with endurance, continued to manage life; hoping that reason would prevail and Alákedun would open up the storehouse for the monkeys.

Nothing of such happened. One day, Ìjímèrè checked its storeroom. What confronted it was disheartening. Only one wrap of èko was left on the rafter; the room was empty. Ìjímèrè looked at the empty room again and wondered what it would tell its expectant infants, waiting to be fed. Just before any idea came, the town crier gong rang through the empty storehouse. Alákedun had asked all Primates to show up for their next rations.

All the other monkeys ran, their hinds touching their heads, towards the palace. Getting there, they were met with disappointment. Alákedun had nothing substantial to offer the people save his usual miserable rations. Ìjímèrè, looking from afar, saw behind the king, the locked store house. Something stirred in its stomach. The brown monkey, despite its miniature stature, felt a rumbling bigger than the ape, moving all over its body.

Without warning, Ìjímèrè leapt forward. It gave the order like the General holding a parade. The child of the monkey cannot die of hunger when Alákedun’s palace is full of supply. Ìjímèrè shouted the words other monkeys had been waiting for, for years: “Ilé Alákedun di àjerun” (Let the palace of Alákedun be devoured).

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The stampede that followed was unprecedented. All the Primates present made for the palace and its numerous store houses. There was no holding back. Alákedun escaped being lynched by the whiskers! The entire store houses were looted. Nothing precious was left in the palace itself. After all, the people built the palace. The king and his palace can only be beautiful because the people supplied the ornaments.

By the time normalcy returned, the palace laid waste; its beauty and elegance gone. The people took back what they subordinated to Alákedun. A king is royal to the extent the people want him to be! A palace can only remain sacred when the people are happy and filled. Hunger does not respect sacredness; empty stomachs prostrate for no king!

In appreciation of the leading role it played in the revolt that broke the yoke, Ìjímèrè, in its small stature, was crowned the father of all monkeys; hence the saying to date: Ìjímèrè baba òbo! Alákedun lost its primus inter pares position among the Primates because of its insensitivity to the needs of its people.

This is why, when our elders ask Tortoise high up the tree why he keeps dropping the ripe fruits for those at the foot of the tree, he answers: “He who assists the Tortoise in climbing the tree also has the capacity to bring it down” – Eni bá l’ágbára láti gbé Alábahun gun igi ní agbára láti gbée wá sí ilè. A leader is a leader only when the people say so.

There is always a limit to people’s resilience. It is called hunger. Only an asinine leader like Alákedun tests the people’s will with hunger. History has never been kind to leaders who give the people miserable rations from the surplus milked from the masses. It is even more inhuman if such rations are flaunted as privileges!

SccienceDirect.com, says: “Hunger acts as a powerful driver of political instability, acting both as a symptom of fragile governance and a catalyst for revolution, riots, and violence. When substantial portions of a population cannot meet basic nutritional needs, the social contract breaks down, leading to increased desperation that can topple governments and fuel conflict.”

The above aptly described last week’s almost-tragic outing of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s second term campaign cum empowerment programme laundered under the image of the City Boys Movement, headed by the President’s son, Seyi Tinubu, and held at the Rear Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu Square, Owerri, Imo State.

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At the programme, the rent-a-crowd ‘attendees’ were mobilised from the five states of the South-East geopolitical zone. Various items ranging from food to electronic gadgets were on display to be given to the pre-selected beneficiaries before hell was let loose on the organisers, who were forced to scamper to safety.

A two-minute-fifty-two-second video of the pandemonium came with a troubling footnote thus: “The village Boys invaded the City Boys empowerment in Owerri and took what rightfully belonged to them, leaving the city boys on the run. Power indeed belongs to the people. Using food to play with hungry people is like teasing a lion with fresh meat dripping with blood. Things can and will eventually go out of control.”

That was exactly what happened in Owerri. The crowd waited while the razzmatazz of the jamboree lasted. Like a hungry Ìjímèrè leading other hungry-looking packs, the people watched as Seyi Tinubu, the ‘National Leader’ made to begin to distribute the items. Then, they surged forward. It was impulsive. The security cordon was compromised as the crowd broke the barriers and went after the items with fury. It was a sight as some carried the head of sewing machines while others carried the wooden frames. Would they meet later to couple the items? Or each would simply keep what he took as mementos of when their oppressors came flaunting their arrogance in their faces?

The Nation Newspaper, in its reportage of the event says: “Hoodlums loot relief packages at City Boys empowerment programme” I laughed at such a misleading reportorial. Were those women and children carrying bags of rice on their heads hoodlums? Who brought them from across the five States of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo in the first instance? They were ‘hoodlums’ yet the organisers hired vehicles to convey them to the venue?

Again, the headline says “relief packages.” Pray, which natural disaster happened in the South-East that warranted the distribution of relief packages? If the items were meant to cushion the effects of the economic crisis created by the ineptitude of the present administration, how many people would the packages have taken care of? The World Bank, in early January 2026, stated that 139 million Nigerians, over 60 percent of the population, live below the poverty line! The report added that the number increased from 81 million in 2019, “driven by high inflation and economic reforms.”

This is where the problem lies. Any discerning mind who watched the video of the ugly outing would know that what happened was too spontaneous for anyone to read jejune meanings to it. The people, like the footnote that followed the video stated, simply took what rightfully belonged to them! Who are the City Boys, if we may ask? Where did they get the money to buy the items from? Beyond being the son of President Tinubu, what other pedigree does the so-called ‘National Leader’ of the body parade?

Rather than looking for excuses for what happened, our leaders should start thinking of what they will face in the weeks and months ahead as the hunger in the land becomes biting every day. We have said this long ago on this page that unless those in authority make conscious efforts to mitigate the pain in the land, a time will come when they will become vulnerable! Owerri’s event could as well be the opening glee for the theatre of the absurd that looms.

Hunger has no respect for dignitaries. No level of security is too thick for hungry people to break through. Nigerians are getting to that level that politics of tokenism will become an albatross for those weaponising poverty to hold the people down. We are approaching that season, when politicians and their lackeys come calling with the loot from our patrimony in the name of ‘relief packages will be chased away. History abounds, especially of food riots, for our leaders to learn from.

The Salt Riot, otherwise known as Moscow Uprising of 1648, records say, happened because the government of that era took the tax madness to a new level when it introduced Salt Tax. Again, in 1650, when the then Russian Government traded off the people’s grain to Sweden, thus creating artificial scarcity, the way our government has traded off our crude oil, the people revolted in what is known in history as the Novgorod Uprising of 1650.

In the 18th century, the masses of Boston, Massachusetts, had three riots known as Boston Bread Riots, between 1710 and 1713. Ditto the 1775 French Revolution commonly known as Flour War was caused by the inability of the French working class to buy common bread because of its price!

When grain became unaffordable for the Irish people, the masses trooped out on June 6, 1842 in protest that led to the death of three people, killed by the Irish Constabulary. Berlin had its own Potato revolution in 1847 and Italy had its bread riots in 1898. By the 20th century, Santiago, the capital city of Chile had what is called Meat Riots in 1905 and Japan had Rice Riots in 1918, followed by many other food-related riots of that era.

In our contemporary 21st century, West Bengal, India, went aflame in 2007 because of hunger occasioned by food shortages. The 2007-2008 riots in Egypt were all linked to rising food prices; ditto the 2016 and 2017 riots in Venezuela. South Africa had a taste of food riots in 2021 and Sri Lankans protested food shortage in 2022.

If the cited cases above happened in faraway places, what about the 2024 EndBadGovernance protests in Nigeria that lasted from August 1 to August 10, under the watch of this administration? What lessons did we learn? What steps have those who lord it over us taken to avert a repeat?

It does not matter the level of third-party advocacy engaged in to change the narrative of the City Boys outing in Owerri. As long as poverty walks in three-piece suits on our streets and hunger dances skelewu in the eye sockets of the masses of Nigeria, outings like the Owerri City Boys empowerment programme shall continue to be avenues for the village boys to possess what rightfully belongs to them, even forcibly! One can only pray that there should always be escape routes for the oppressors!

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Otuaro: Baseless Allegations, Disregard Them, Group Urges Public

Published

2 hours ago

May 17, 2026

Editor

The Ijaw People’s Development Initiative, IPDI has reacted to a statement circulating online regarding the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), describing it as baseless.

The statement under the disguise ‘Niger Delta Stakeholders Forum and Niger Delta Ethnic Nationalities,’ had demanded accountability regarding the management of the Programme and its administrator, Dr Dennis Otuaro.

Reacting to the statement, National President, IPDI, Comrade Austin Ozobo, said: “We consider it necessary to respond point by point to correct misconceptions, reject unsubstantiated claims, and keep the record straight in the interest of PAP beneficiaries, stakeholders, and the general public.

“It is worthy of note that the PAP operates under strict federal financial regulations and is subject to routine audits by the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation, the Ministry of Finance, and other oversight bodies.

“All disbursements, including stipends, vocational training, education support, and third-party contracts, are processed through the Treasury Single Account, TSA, with verifiable records”, the statement read.

According to the IPDI, the Programme welcomes lawful criticism and scrutiny at any time. However, linking such a call to specific individuals without evidence amounts to trial by the media and undermines due process.

“Dr Dennis Otuaro, administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme has maintained a good record of financial management, hence no formal petition with verifiable evidence has been submitted to any anti-graft agency till date”.

“It may interest you to know that the N65,000 monthly stipend is fixed by the Appropriation Act and can only be reviewed through a budgetary process approved by the National Assembly and the Presidency.

‘The PAP management has consistently conveyed beneficiaries’ concerns on cost of living to relevant authorities”.

“Again, claims that allocations to the Programme have risen significantly while stipends remain unchanged misrepresents the budget structure.

“Note, increased allocations in recent years have been tied to expanded reintegration programs, education sponsorships, skills acquisition, and infrastructure support for training centers, not solely to stipend payments”.

The group reiterated that the allegation that the Amnesty Programme Office “kidnaps and detains delegates” is false, reckless, and defamatory, adding that the PAP has no paramilitary or law enforcement mandate, nor does it operate detention facilities and that any incident involving law enforcement is outside the control and purview of the Programme.

“We challenge the authors to provide verifiable details of time, place, and persons involved so the matter can be addressed through appropriate legal channels,” the group said

On Claims of Selective Empowerment and 500% Payment Increases, the group maintained that payments to contractors, ex-agitator leaders, and service providers were governed by existing contracts and agreements predating the current administration.

“No individual or camp has received unilateral increases without contractual basis or due process. Allegations of 500% increases are unsubstantiated and designed to stoke division among beneficiaries,” it added.

“The current administration has maintained a policy of transparency in engagement with leaders and has expanded inclusion by verifying and capturing previously omitted beneficiaries where due“, IPDI added.

The group further said, “The PAP remains a neutral, peace-building institution established under the 2009 Amnesty Declaration. Its mandate is to coordinate disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration. The Office does not engage in political victimization, intimidation, or exclusion of stakeholders. Engagement with ex-agitator leaders and community structures is conducted based on their role in maintaining peace and facilitating reintegration, not political alignment”.

“The PAP under Chief Denis Otuaro’s leadership remains committed to transparency, fairness, and the original mandate of the Amnesty Programme. Constructive criticism is welcome and has informed policy adjustments in the past. However, campaigns of calumny, unverified allegations, and attempts to drag the Programme into commercial or political disputes do not serve the interest of peace in the Niger Delta”, IPDI said.

“We urge all stakeholders to channel grievances through the established engagement channels of the Programme and to avoid statements that threaten the fragile stability we have worked to sustain”.

Consequently, the IPDI urges members of the public to disregard what its described as “flimsy and unsubstantiated allegations, misconception, and missives by faceless groups above“.

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[OPINION] Olukoyede’s EFCC: Taming The ‘Fantastically-Corrupt’

Published

2 hours ago

May 17, 2026

Editor

Since its creation 23 years ago, by Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, as president of Nigeria, Africa’s most populous and influential country, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), had apparently not gotten a head, who had piloted the affairs of the commission, like Mr. Olanipekun Olukoyede, its Executive Chairman, a chief-operations-officer of the Commission.

It could be said that Olukoyede, the Czar thief catcher and arrestor of economic saboteurs, has given the EFCC’s enemies such a tough time as he has taking the anti-graft fight to the doorsteps of the high-profile individuals across the country. These range from former state governors, serving and former ministers, retired and serving civil servants, businessmen, clergies, traditional rulers, cyber-influencer, entertainers, professionals and numerous others.

Olukoyede brings years of experience in law, fraud management, and business intelligence to bear on the position. Before him, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu was EFCC’s inaugural chair; succeeded by the first and only female, Mrs. Farida Waziri; Ibrahim Lamorde, Ibrahim Magu, and Abdul Rasheed Bawa.

The anti-graft agency has its hands full with massive financial fraud and money laundering cases. In the clause of “physicians, look at thyself”, EFCC in its resolve is known to have been flushing out officers within the body, who run foul to the law.

In the past, before Olukoyede’s appointment, it was widely believed that it was only the “fries and not the big fishes”, who the Commission could summon the courage to prosecute; and that most culprits were also left from the hook, because of compromise by some corrupt officers of the Commission, and feeble litigation processes.

Mr. Godwin Emefiele, former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), happened to have opened to Olukoyede’s a deluge of “big-men and women”, who have been arrested, investigated and cooling their feet in detention or those bailed, that are facing severe court trials. There is the biggest 19-count charge at the Ikeja Special Offences Court, involving an alleged $4.5 billion fraud.
Immediate-paste governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, faces two massive, but separate legal battles totalling over N190 billion on fraud allegation. EFCC secured from the Court of Appeal, forfeiture of 14 properties and huge money linked to him.

Abubakar Malami (former Attorney-General of the Federation), with his son, Abdulaziz and his wife, is currently charged on a-16-count of money laundering. The court has stayed interim forfeiture of 57 properties valued at over N213 billion.

EFCC had also secured the arrest of Sadiya Umar-Farouq, a female former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, and a former Permanent Secretary, through a Federal High Court, on a 21-point alleged fraud and corruption charge, involving $1.3 million and N746.6m and others amounting to 37.1 billion.

Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, also female and former Minister of Women Affairs, was removed from office by President Bola Tinubu, over alleged misappropriation and diversion of N138.4 million, and had been under EFCC questioning.

A recent discovery, which startled Nigerians and the world, the Commission (EFCC) had reportedly arrested a serving Director-General of the Energy Commission of Nigeria, Dr. Mustapha Abdullahi, over alleged money laundering involving about ₦500 billion.

Somewhat, this had deflated the claim that those arrested and persecuted are political opponents and not serving officers of the Tinubu’s government.

EFCC is a “Nigerian law enforcement and anti-graft agency that investigates financial crimes, such as advance fee fraud (419 Fraud) and money laundering. It was also set up to fight against corruption and to protect the country from economic saboteurs”.

The Commission, whilst responding to pressures from the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF), that named Nigeria as one of 23 countries not cooperating in the international community’s efforts to fight money laundering, had revved in performance, in a bid to roll back the blights.

And so, it is a strenuous goal for EFCC, as entrenched in the ‘EFCC Establishment Act 2004’, which gives it specialist jurisdiction against severe financial and commercial crime – covering multiple high and lower levels.

Born on 14 October 1969, Olukoyede, a civil servant, has had a clear break from past, where past executive chairmen of the Commission had left the Commission, where all serving officers were drafted from the Nigerian Police Force (NPF). However, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is widely commended for Olukoyede’s appointment to the position, with the Senate also eulogized for screening him.

Whilst briefing the Press in Abuja, on his two-year activities in office, on October 23, 2025, the Commission’s boss certainly made unprecedented progress in the fight against economic and financial crimes. He spoke through the Director of Public Affairs of the Commission, Wilson Uwujaren, as he listed the recovery of N566 billion, alongside other currencies and assets, among the achievements of the Commission.

He further revealed that the Commission received over 19,000 petitions, conducted 29,240 investigations, filed 10,525 cases in court, and secured 7,503 convictions.

Olukoyede asserted that the Commission recovered ₦566,319,820,343.40, $411,566,192.32, £71,306.25, €182,877.10, and other foreign currencies from proceeds of financial and economic crimes. Added to this was the recovery of 1,502 non-monetary assets, comprising 402 properties in 2023, 975 in 2024, and 125 so far in 2025.

“Among these recovered assets are two notable landmarks: the final forfeiture of 753 units of duplexes in Lokogoma, Abuja, and the forfeiture of Nok University, now the Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia, Kaduna State,” he said.

He listed several high-profile cases prosecuted within the period, including those involving former governors Willie Obiano, Abdulfatah Ahmed, Darius Ishaku, Theodore Orji, and Yahaya Bello. Others are former ministers Olu Agunloye, Mamman Saleh, Hadi Sirika, Charles Ugwu, and former Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele.

EFCC was also said to have reentered and invigorated some longstanding fraud cases, such as ones linking Fred Ajudua, former People Democratic Party, PDP National Chairman Haliru Bello Mohammed, ex-National Security Adviser Sambo Dasuki, and former Nigerian Social Insurance Trust Fund, NSITF boss, Ngozi Olojeme.

The EFCC said it arrested 792 suspects involved in asset and cryptocurrency frauds in Lagos, among who were 192 foreigners who were prosecuted and deported.

A Task Force on Naira Abuse and Dollarisation of the Economy was established by EFCC, which accordingly, had notable impacts in sanitizing money actions countrywide. “The campaign against naira abuse, racketeering, and speculative currency trading has helped reduce pressure on the naira and complemented the Central Bank’s efforts in stabilizing the economy,” he said.

Olukoyede also spoke on the Commission’s strengthened partnerships with foreign law enforcement agencies, including the Korean Police, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Spanish Police, and German Police.

He also mention benefitting synergy with the FBI, the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA), INTERPOL, and Japan’s JICA, in subsequent joint investigations and the repatriation of stolen assets to victims from Spain, Canada, and the United States.

Strengthening EFFC’s mandate at the regional level, and in Africa, Olukoyede and the Commission are said to be up and doing. For instance, a thing that had never happened to EFFC, he had been twice elected as President of the Network of National Anti-Corruption Institutions in West Africa (NACIWA), which led to the founding of a permanent secretariat in Abuja.

A strong media presence is needed to successfully inform the public of the ideals of EFCC and its update activities. And so, ‘EFCC Radio 97.3FM’, Nigeria’s first anti-corruption radio station, was established Olukoyede. EFCC should count itself very lucky for having in its fold, tested, diligent and veteran journalists who are ostensibly seasoned in the ideals and watchdog principles of the Commission.

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APC Primaries: Johnny Rallies Support For Senator Thomas’ Re-election Bid

Published

3 hours ago

May 17, 2026

Editor

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress in Delta State, Chief Michael Johnny, has called on Delta South Senatorial District’s party faithful to come out in large tomorrow and vote for Senator Joel-Onowakpo Thomas (JOT) in the party senatorial primary election.

Johnny, widely regarded as a leader par excellence within the APC, described the primary election as a critical moment that will determine the political stability, unity, and future direction of Delta South.

According to him, Delta South needs a detribalized leader with the capacity to unite people beyond ethnic sentiments and political divisions.

He warned against leaders whose style of politics promotes ethnic division and unnecessary tension within the region.

Chief Johnny stated that Senator Thomas has continued to distinguish himself as a leader who carries everyone along, irrespective of tribe, political background, or local government affiliation.

He noted that JOT’s leadership style has strengthened cooperation, peace, fairness, and political inclusion across Delta South.

Speaking further, Chief Johnny declared that the Ijaw people have resolved to stand firmly behind Thomas because fairness, justice, and political balance must prevail in Delta South.

“As Ijaw people, we have decided to support Senator Joel because this is the turn of the Isoko nation, and Ijaw stands for truth. That is our position,” he stated.

He also appreciated what he described as “genuine Itsekiri sons and daughters” who believe in fairness, equity, and peaceful coexistence, adding that Delta South can only move forward when the various ethnic nationalities work together in unity and mutual respect.

Chief Johnny maintained that the senatorial district must not be dragged backward by divisive politics or ethnic interests capable of weakening the collective strength of the region.

He stressed that all APC members in Delta South must remain united in their support for Senator Joel-Onowakpo Thomas.

“Delta South is bigger than personal interests. This election is about unity, stability, fairness, and the future of our people. Senator JOT represents continuity, experience, and inclusive leadership for all ethnic groups in Delta South,” Chief Johnny added.