News
OPINION: The Waist Beads Of Olajumoke [Monday Lines]
Published
9 months agoon
By
Editor
By Lasisi Olagunju
“All music comes from Africa,” African pop singer, Angélique Kidjo, told an interviewer in 2023. Kidjo’s dad is Fon; her mum is Yoruba. Kidjo waxed lyrical. She said she came from a culture “where you spend 10 minutes saying good morning, how is your father? How is your grandmother?” In every story, every conversation, there is at least a song. And that includes Kidjo’s ten-minute greetings. I feel her. As a Yoruba, I am expected to make anything sing. The unpleasant, if sung the right way, will be good music. That is why we are advised to laugh at any occurrence the severity of which sobbing and weeping cannot redeem. And, so, in spite of everything, the time to sing, dance and laugh is now.
At 4.50 pm on 29 May, 2023, a lady of influence tweeted: “You either accept Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR and Kashim Shettima GCON as your president & vice president respectively or join the wailers for the next 4 years, at least, or 8 years. And if you ask me, wailing for 8 years will be emotionally exhausting. If a new Nigeria is your concern, you’ll pray to God to guide our leaders right irrespective of the party you belong in.”
That was a few hours after Alhaji Bola Ahmed Tinubu became president and pronounced “subsidy gone.”
Fast forward to 10:30 am on 9 September, 2024. The X influencer tweeted: “I am fully committed to campaigning for and supporting any better candidate who can defeat this government in 2027, regardless of their party. For me, removing PBAT is a personal mission and a priority. In shaa Allah.”
Our lady has clearly violated the 4-years-or-8-years timeline she gave us just one short year ago. What has changed that has soured the romance?
In case you are scouring the ocean beds in search of what crime the president committed which has cost him the love of this prime supporter, a window opened at 11:23am on 15 October, 2024. The lady tweeted: “Are we really just going to sit back and accept that spending 100,000 Naira a week on fuel is now the norm? That’s 400,000 Naira a month. How many of us can actually afford this? And meanwhile, electricity costs have shot up by nearly 400%. Are we okay with being drained financially just to survive, or are we ready to question why we’re being squeezed like this?”
MORE FROM THE AUTHOR: OPINION: Petrol Price As Slow Poison [Monday Lines]
The last time I checked, the above tweet had attracted almost 800,000 views. Many who replied to the lady’s tweets abused her. They shouldn’t have. When Saul came back from Damascus and became Paul, how was he received? I commend this lady for her forthrightness. At least, unlike others, she didn’t subscribe to John Milton’s fallen character in ‘Paradise Lost’ who loses and shouts: “…farewell hope, and with hope farewell fear” but goes ahead to yell “Farewell remorse: all good to me is lost; Evil be thou my good.” To that Miltonic character, repentance and remorse are too high a price to pay for whatever sin he had committed. The lady here is one of millions with blisters of buyer’s remorse under their skirts. But she came out to yell and bail out of the abusive love. I commend her. Out of the eight million who voted in this government, there must now be at least seven million sipping the ale of regret quietly in public but cursing King Macbeth privately under their creaky beds. Evil should stop being their good. Because of tomorrow, their buyer’s remorse should stop pressing the mute button.
In 1994, Angélique Kidjo released ‘Agolo’ an album that contains the song: ‘Orio rio/ Ola djou monké n’lo/ Ola djou monké/ Ola djou monké n’lo’. What is she saying? The wordings are obviously in her Quidah, Benin Republic Yoruba. The Oyo-Yoruba in me has no difficulty in situating the root of the lyrics in one of her mum’s folksongs, ‘Ori Ori o Olajumoke nlo…’ There is a story behind that song. And this is where I am going. The folksong rose to meet me when I read the tweets I started this piece with.
The ‘Olajumoke’ song is a lyricised Yoruba folk story about the consequences of rash choices. It says that if you are going to choose a husband or wife, open your eyes, the inner and the outer. The dude you are dying to have may be an empty tin (agolo/pangolo), an àgbá òfìfo (empty barrel).
The story goes that Olajumoke was the most beautiful girl in the village and she knew it. Suitors came after suitors. None was handsome enough to match the taste of the fussy, finicky damsel.
One bright sunny day, a very handsome young man sauntered into the marketplace. The dude is a complete stranger, the type the clairvoyant would see and describe as a beautiful snake. The enchanting young man’s out-of-this-world elegance charmed Olajumoke. The strangeness of his person and his suspicious entry did not alarm Olajumoke. They instead combined to disarm her. She melted and commenced a session of comely stalking, and followed the love of her life up and down the market.
MORE FROM THE AUTHOR: OPINION: Poverty, Professors, And Policy [Monday Lines]
The sun was going down; buying and selling was over. Bobo Handsome commenced his exit from the market but noticed this beautiful girl following him. He asked why. Olajumoke broke all rules and protocols of village romance. She toasted the unknown man of uncommon allure. “Let us be husband and wife.” The strange man was forthright. He couldn’t marry her. “I am Orí (head), a complete stranger here. My place is beyond the Blue Sea (Odò Aró) and even far after the Red Sea (Odò Èjè). You can see that we cannot be husband and wife.”
Because love is blind, Olajumoke would have none of what the stranger was saying. Remember Angélique’s line:
“Ifé ayé ilé /Igbadoun foun ayé (Love in this world is strong/ It is pleasure for the world)”.
The lady of beauty insisted she would follow the strange man to wherever on earth. Then Orí, the young man, lunged into a burst of songs. “Leave me/ If you don’t turn back, we will get to the Sea of indigo/ If you don’t leave, we will reach the Sea of blood…”
The lady of our story did not heed the warnings, neither did she contemplate a change of resolve. She must marry this man of means and colour. That was how she followed a complete stranger on a journey of love. It was a long trek across daylight and moonlight. Then, they reached and crossed the Blue Sea. Soon, they reached and crossed the Red Sea. Then, things moved very fast for the lovey-dovey girl. It turned out that everything that gave the man elegance was borrowed. He started dropping the parts one by one where he got them. He started with his arms, and then his legs. The spirits that loaned them to him got back their properties. Then the torso, the flesh, the hairs and the nails. Every minute part was a borrowed item and the lender got back their properties. Orí is no longer what we call head. What he is is one ugly, scary skull. Now, beautiful girl knew she was in deep trouble. She is married to a Skull – deathly and deadly. She no do again. She told Orí but the ex-handsome man said it was too late; their romance was till death do them part.
Skull did what captors do with their victims. To ensure his ‘wife’ did not escape, Orí decided to ‘bell’ her with waist beads. Each time beautiful Olajumoke attempted to run away, the beads alerted the husband, jingling: “Ori Ori o Olajumoke nlo (Skull, Skull, Olajumoke is running away).” How did this girl get back her freedom? Did she ever get a reprieve? Well, the conclusions are as varied as the storytellers and where they belong.
MORE FROM THE AUTHOR: OPINION: ‘I am Here to Plunder’ [Monday Lines]
How Olajumoke chose her husband is the way we choose our leaders. The signs are always there that the masquerade we are costuming will most certainly snatch the singlet we have as our only garment. Like Mr. Skull, they do not hide who they are. The parts that make up their bodies of intelligence are unreal; they are borrowed. The only parts that are truly theirs are the fingers – for counting billions.
“Omo eni kò sè’dí bèbèrè” was the battle cry of Tinubu’s campaigners in Yorubaland last year. Everything was reduced to beads (ìlèkè) and bottoms (ìdí). Any Yoruba person who campaigned against the child of the house was a bastard. We asked the past why it invented (ìlèkè ìdí) (waist beads) for girls only. The past told us it was for reasons of beauty – rounded hips, slim waists, etc. We asked what else? We are told the beads also tell which girl is chaste and which is not – or likely to be not. The loose loosen their waists; they walk and roll the beads pushing the world into libidinous wars. Where such is seen, waywardness robs such girls of parental adornments. That was why some of us insisted in 2023 that not all omo and their big bottoms deserved the land’s ìlèkè. But they said our mouths smelt bad. What did we know?
The reason we talk today is the reason we counseled yesterday against replacing destroyers with predators. We said last year do not vote for election, vote for structure. Let us break down this house and rebuild it so that we can all be safe. “It is very difficult, indeed almost impossible, to maintain liberty in a republic that has become corrupt or to establish it there anew” (Machiavelli). We ignored structure and everyone gave their electoral waist beads to their own child. Votes were reduced to abject ornaments for voluptuous behinds. Machiavelli wrote again, “people are often misled to desire their own ruin.”
When Sani Abacha took over the government in 1993, people clapped for the kingmaker who had made himself king. They said he was a wrong-righter. When by 1994 it became clear Abacha was determined to sit still on the June 12 election and the mandate it conferred, MKO Abiola went philosophical: Ìlèkè tó sò’dí òpòló ni ejò gbé wò yí o (a string of beads is found to be too large for Toad’s waist, Snake now goes for it). It is the same today. Check toad, check snake, measure their waists, solve the riddle.
Some regime backers, last week, told the newspaper columnist to stop his criticisms of the president and his bumbling presidency. “Provide solutions,” the persons yelled in forwarded messages. Well, the columnist did not campaign last year to be beaded with power. The columnist’s duty is to tell the king that he is naked. If the naked, his clothiers and courtiers do not know the solution to the nakedness, then, what else is there to say other than sing in musician Lagbaja’s voice: “Mo sorri fun gbogbo yin l’okookan.”
I am not done with Angélique Kidjo and the interview in which she spoke the words I quoted earlier. It is in the 29 June, 2023 edition of The Telegraph of the U.K. In her words is a warning to the ‘victorious’ to know how very slippery the mountaintop is. The powerful who think they stand firm and therefore could betray the ground that holds their ladder should hear out Angélique: “I didn’t get here because I decided to be number one. I got here because people decided to listen to me. The people who put you up here, well, they can always pull you down.” Wisdom. But ‘they’ won’t listen. Their ears are like Ori’s body parts – borrowed – and collected back by the lenders.
You may like
OPINION : Awujale’s Burial And Aso Rock’s Graveyard Politics
[OPINION] Buhari: The Good, t The Bad, And The Terrible
[OPINION] BUHARI: The Man Who Missed Redemption
OPINION: Oshiomhole’s Toxic Advice To Okpebholo
OPINION: ‘They Chop Their Own, They Chop Our Own’
OPINION: Olubadan Olákùlẹ́hìn: Names And Destinies
News
‘Missing N6trn’: SERAP Drags FG To ECOWAS Court Over Unpublished NDDC Audit
Published
7 hours agoon
July 20, 2025By
Editor
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) and four concerned Nigerians have filed a lawsuit against the Federal Government at the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice in Abuja, over its failure to publish the forensic audit report of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
According to SERAP, the report, which allegedly details the disappearance of a staggering N6 trillion from the NDDC between 2001 and 2019, is said to be shrouded in secrecy despite being submitted to the Federal Government (FG).
Specifically, the rights group, alongside its co-plaintiffs, are contending that withholding the report amounts to a grave breach of Nigeria’s international human rights obligations, particularly the right to access public information.
The suit, designated ECW/CCJ/APP/35/25, also lists Prince Taiwo Aiyedatiwa, Chief Jude Igbogifurotogu Pulemote, Ben Omietimi Tariye, and Princess Elizabeth Egbe as co-applicants.
READ ALSO:SERAP Sues NNPCL Over Alleged Failure To Account For Missing N825bn, $2.5bn
In their submissions, the plaintiffs are asking the court to declare that the Nigerian government’s refusal to release the audit findings violates the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, both of which Nigeria has ratified.
They are further seeking an order compelling the publication of the audit report and demanding systemic reforms to ensure transparency and accountability in the management of NDDC funds.
“The Nigerian government has violated our right to know the truth about the corruption allegations documented in the NDDC forensic report.
“The obstruction of the publication is aiding impunity and shielding high-ranking officials from accountability,” the plaintiffs said.
READ ALSO:SERAP Kicks As Bill To Jail Nigerians Who Don’t Vote Is Proposed
The forensic audit was initiated in 2019 by the late former President Muhammadu Buhari following widespread allegations of grand-scale corruption within the NDDC.
More recently, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, alleged that the wife of a former minister received N48 billion within a single year under the guise of training the women of the Niger Delta.
Counsel for the applicants, Kolawole Oluwadare, emphasised the public’s right to scrutinise government actions.
They argued that the NDDC audit report is not classified information, and that continued concealment undermines citizens’ ability to hold leaders accountable and weakens the rule of law.
“There is an overriding public interest in the publication and disclosure of the NDDC forensic report.
READ ALSO:SERAP Drags Tinubu To Court Over Fubara, Deputy, Lawmakers’ Suspension
“The continuing failure to publish the report denies the plaintiffs the ability to study its contents and pursue accountability for the documented corruption,” the lawyer stated.
Citing international human rights instruments, the plaintiffs insisted that access to public information is a critical component of freedom of expression and civic participation.
They stressed that information regarding the NDDC audit falls squarely within this right and cannot be withheld arbitrarily or indefinitely.
“Access to public information is a fundamental human right protected by Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
“These treaties obligate Nigeria to respect, promote, and ensure transparency,” the suit reads.
READ ALSO:SERAP Demands Tinubu Probe N26bn Oil Sector Scandal
They also invoked the principle of ‘maximum disclosure,’ a core tenet of the right to information, stipulating that transparency should be the default, and secrecy the rare exception.
Any restriction, they noted, must be lawful, necessary, proportionate, and justifiable under international law.
“The burden is on the Nigerian government to prove that withholding the NDDC audit is consistent with its human rights obligations,” they added.
Furthermore, the plaintiffs stated that the government’s inaction obstructs victims of corruption from seeking legal redress and undermines the integrity of public institutions.
“By denying access to this information, the Nigerian government is violating our right to an effective legal remedy. Secrecy and impunity cannot be the norm in a democratic society,” they said.
No date has been fixed for the hearing of the case.
News
WAEC Speaks On Rumoured Cancellation Of 2025 WASSCE Exams
Published
7 hours agoon
July 20, 2025By
Editor
… says results of exam will be released on or before Thursday, August 4
… report on cancellation of exams fake news — Education Ministry
The West African Examinations Council (WAEC), Nigeria, has distanced itself from a fake press statement alleging the cancellation of all the papers written during the just concluded 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
WAEC noted that the spurious press statement being circulated did not emanate from the council and should be disregarded by the public.
Acting Head, Public Affairs, WAEC, Yaba, Lagos, Moyosola Adesina, reacting to the fake statement, disclosed that the marking scripts for the said 2025 WASSCE exams have just been concluded and results will be released on or before Thursday, August 4, 2025.
She said: “The attention of WAEC, Nigeria, has been drawn to a press statement alleging the cancellation of all the papers written during the just concluded WASSCE for school candidates, 2025.
READ ALSO:WAEC Releases 2024 WASSCE Private Candidates’ Results, Withholds 2,577
“According to the press statement dated Saturday, July 19th, 2025, being circulated on social media platforms, the Federal Ministry of Education, in collaboration with WAEC, had cancelled the said examination due to widespread examination malpractice, coordinated leakage of question papers, and unauthorised digital dissemination of exam materials.
“The WAEC management would like to state unequivocally that the spurious press statement being circulated did not emanate from the council.
“The said examination has not been cancelled.”
Adesina stated that even though the source of the information could be ascertained, the council is certain that the false claim is being peddled by mischief-makers who are bent on bringing the council to disrepute to cause confusion and panic among candidates who sat the examination.
“As a matter of fact, the marking scripts for the said examination have just been concluded, and results will be released on or before Thursday, August 4, 2025.
READ ALSO:2025 WASSCE: WAEC Confirms Readiness, Goes Tough Against Malpractice
“The council would like to use this opportunity to inform the general public and all stakeholders that all information from the council is disseminated via our official and verified social media handles, as well as accredited media platforms across the country,” the statement noted.
In the same vein, the Federal Ministry of Education described the press statement as an outright falsehood, saying it has been drawn to a false and misleading statement circulating online, alleging the cancellation of the 2025 WASSCE exams due to widespread examination malpractice.
A statement by the Director, Press and Public Relations, Federal Ministry of Education, Folasade Boriowo said the ministry wishes to categorically disassociate itself from the fake news.
She clarified that the 2025 WASSCE exams have been successfully concluded, with only a few isolated incidents of malpractice reported, all of which were promptly addressed by the relevant authorities.
READ ALSO:JUST IN: 44.29% Score Credit In Five Subjects As WAEC Releases WASSCE Results
“The ongoing NECO Examinations are progressing smoothly, and as of this release, no cases of examination malpractice have been reported.
“The Federal Ministry of Education has not received any official communication or report from WAEC, NECO, or any examination body regarding widespread malpractice in either of the examinations.
“The Ministry, therefore, urges students, parents, school administrators, and the general public to disregard the fake press release currently in circulation. It is entirely fabricated, misleading, and intended to cause unnecessary panic and confusion.
“The public is advised to seek information only from verified and credible sources, including:
READ ALSO:WAEC Denies Fake Site Offering Online Classes To Candidates
“The official website of the Federal Ministry of Education: www.education.gov.ng; the official WAEC portal: www.waecnigeria.org; the official NECO portal: www.neco.gov.ng; verified communication channels of WAEC, NECO, the Ministry, and reputable media outlets.
“The Ministry remains fully committed to upholding the integrity, credibility, and orderly conduct of all public examinations and will continue working closely with examination bodies to strengthen monitoring and enforcement mechanisms.
“Furthermore, anyone found spreading false information will be reported to the appropriate security agencies for investigation and prosecution,” the statement noted.
(TRIBUNE)

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has revealed that the late Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Dr. Sikiru Kayode Adetona, had predicted his presidency and assured him he would be re-elected for a second term.
Tinubu made the disclosure on Sunday during his remarks at the 8th Day Fidau Prayers held in honour of the late monarch, describing the royal father’s blessing as instrumental to his political success.
“I was successful because of your support and the blessing of the late Awujale. I came to him and he blessed me. And he said, ‘You will win that election and you will be re-elected. Go ahead,” Tinubu said.
READ ALSO:Police Inspector, Two Officers Die In Kebbi Lakurawa Bandits Attack
He described the late Oba as a man of deep wisdom, noting that Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State had carried forward the monarch’s legacy of leadership and insight.
The President, in a moment of gratitude and humour, also commended Governor Abiodun, whom he referred to as “eleyi of Ogun State” for his dedication to the late monarch’s wellbeing.
“I won’t bring out his other titles. Okanlomo, eleyi of Ogun State. At this stage, I must mention clearly how much I thanked him for taking care of our father,” he added.
- ‘Missing N6trn’: SERAP Drags FG To ECOWAS Court Over Unpublished NDDC Audit
- WAEC Speaks On Rumoured Cancellation Of 2025 WASSCE Exams
- Iran Declares Holiday Amid Scorching Heatwave As Water Crisis Deepens
- I’m Burdened By Suffering, Deprivation In Nigeria — Peter Obi
- What Late Awujale Told Me – Tinubu
- Anambra Governorship Candidate Shot
- Why Peter Obi Must Get Security Clearance Before Coming To Edo — APC Chair, Tenebe
- ‘Where’s The 24/7 Electricity You Promised Nigerians,’ ADC Questioned Tinubu
- FG Secures $5m Loan To Upgrade Power Distribution Infrastructure
- NDLEA Nabs Wanted Drug Kingpin With 11.6kg Cocaine, Meth After Seven Years
About Us
Trending
- Politics4 days ago
BREAKING: Edo 2024 PDP Campaign DG Resigns From Party, Gives Reason
- News5 days ago
Buhari Shouted Jesus Christ Of Nazareth, I Asked Him Why – Bakare
- News5 days ago
[OPINION] BUHARI: The Man Who Missed Redemption
- News5 days ago
Court Orders Final Forfeiture Of N335m, Hospital, Five Filling Stations To FG
- Politics4 days ago
What Buhari Told Me During My Campaign — Peter Obi
- Headline4 days ago
Nurse Banned For Paying Patient $3,000 To Cut Off Ex-boyfriend’s Penis
- News4 days ago
Why I Didn’t Attend Buhari’s Burial – Peter Obi
- News3 days ago
How RCCG Pastor Absconded With $8,000, Marry New Wife In US — Pastor Adeboye’s wife
- News3 days ago
JUST IN: FG Renames Nigerian University After Buhari
- News5 days ago
NIS Inaugurates Digital Expatriate Residence Permit Platform