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OPINION: US And FFK’s Drum Of War

Published

2 months ago

November 4, 2025

Editor

By Suyi Ayodele

On our way we are going to fight

On our way we are going to war

If it happens, we die on the battlefield

Never mind we shall meet again

Kóláwolé agbára únbẹ

A lè ja o

Fuji icon, Abdulrasaq Kóláwolé Ilori, popularly known as General Ayinla Kollington, waxed the above lyrics in his 1986 album, E Bá Mi Dúpé.

Kollington left the Military as a non-commissioned officer. When such a man says he is heading to the front lines, his relations have every reason to worry, given his limited or non-existent experience he possessed in real combat.

But the fuji crooner’s case is far better than the position of Femi Fani-Kayode (FFK), former Minister of Aviation, who, on Sunday, warned the United States of America, USA, that there would be war should the Big Brother, US, make good its threat to intervene in Nigeria’s plight in the hands of insurgents, militarily.

Here is what FFK said about the impending military action threatened by President Donald Trump of America: “… if he carries out his abominable threat, there will be a war. We shall not leave the country, but we will fight it out with them…”

When a man promises to give you a cloth to wear, our elders caution that you should first look at the rag your would-be benefactor puts on. What is FFK’s pedigree that he would threaten war with the US? Who prepared pounded yam for him and asked him not to worry about the soup with which to eat it (ta ló gún iyán fún un tó ní t’obè ò sòro)? Could it be that the Ile Ife-born politician listens more to the lyrics of Kollington above? Or is there an intoxicating spirit somewhere ministering to his sanguinary needs?

FFK’s father, the Late Chief Victor Babaremilekun Adetokunbo Fani-Kayode, known simply as Remi Fani-Kayode, was elected the Deputy Premier of the defunct Western Region in 1963. His principal was the late Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Chief Samuel Ladoke Akintola. Remi Fani-Kayode was so powerful in the Akintola administration that he was nicknamed, Fani Power. He was, indeed, a great power wielder, consummate politician, brilliant lawyer and alternate Premier of the most cosmopolitan region. He was romanticised such that friends and foes feared him.

But on the night of January 15, 1966, some young military boys under the leadership of the late Major Kaduna Nzeogwu, decided to overthrow the government of Alhaji Tafawa Balewa, Nigeria’s first Prime Minister. When the soldiers struck in Ibadan, capital of Western Region, the man known as Fani Power was picked up effortlessly!

Accounts of that mid-night raid across the capitals of the three regions of Nigeria and Lagos, say that Chief Remi Fani-Kayode did not fire a single catapult at the mutinous soldiers who came for him! Neither did he scratch the skin of the soldiers with his fingernails. Remi Fani-Kayode simply obeyed as he was thrown, like a bag of Kano onions, into the trunk of the van the soldiers rode to his place.

Those who witnessed that era and who knew Fani Power, say that FFK is nowhere near his father in terms of reach, boldness and dexterity. Yet, when the old Fani-Kayode saw guns, his ‘boldness’ evaporated as he begged for his life and led the rampaging soldiers to the residence of his principal, Akintola, where the late Yoruba Generalissimo was said to have shot several times at his assailants before he was overpowered and killed.

Almost six decades after his father surrendered willingly to a few Nigerian soldiers that came for him at the dead of the night, FFK is boasting that should Trump make good his threat to send troops to our shores, “We shall not leave the country, but we will fight it out with them!” Pray, from whom did he inherit the boldness? Has he ever used a catapult to kill a lizard before such that he would boast of a full-blown war with the US?

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How did we get to this stage in our nation’s history that the American President, Trump, would have to warn our government to wake up and halt the ‘genocide’ of Christians in the country, otherwise, America would rise to the occasion?

In a series of tweets over the weekend, Trump threatened to send military help, promising that he would be coming to Nigeria “gun-a-blazing.” I checked the semantic implications of the phrase, “gun-a-blazing”, and my dictionary says it means: “to do something with great energy, force, and enthusiasm or be very aggressive…”

Ask me a hundred times, I will tell you that Trump means business. Yes, the motive may not be altruistic; it can never be, not with the Western world. But his choice of diction indicates a man who will do what he has said. And, sincerely, I pray that it doesn’t get to that level. Should it happen, the jubilation among Nigerians will make the jubilation when General Sani Abacha expired to pale into insignificance. This will be so, not necessarily because Nigerians are less patriotic. But more because the present administration has not demonstrated any strand of leadership in protecting the lives of the people!

Trump went ahead to say: “I am hereby instructing our Department of War to prepare for possible action. If we attack, it is going to be fast, vicious and sweet.” Other top Pentagon officials and political advisors of Trump had also spoken in that direction. It appears an American interest is at risk in Nigeria. The signs are ominous enough for any serious government to ignore. More worrisome is the fact that the Tinubu government’s vuvuzelas who are always quick to respond in aggressive manners to this kind of threat, are loudly silent!

The US, we all know, does not joke with its interests, anywhere in the world. Moreso in “a disgraced country” like Nigeria as Trump christened us. Who do we blame for this? Nobody should be naive enough to think that the US is talking because it loves us. Something is at stake; something that is of a huge benefit to the US, I dare say! So, how did our cock demystify the comb on its head for the Fox to play with? Remember the fable of the cock and the Fox?

Our mothers told us that at the beginning of life, the Fox feared the cock because of the redness of the comb on the cock’s head. The Fox believed that the comb was fire, and it avoided the cock, accorded it its due respect.

But when a man has what it does not value, it gives it out cheaply. For whatever reason, the cock, one day, approached the Fox and told the Fox that it had no reason to fear him because the comb was nothing but a soft mound of flesh. To prove that, the cock asked the Fox to touch the comb and when the latter did and was not scourged, it descended on the cock and made a feast of it. Of course, chicken venison is usually delicious, and the Fox does not forbid a good meal. This is why the cock, and other of its avian family members, are delicacies for the Fox.

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Right from our independence, Nigeria has played major roles in the maintenance of peace and tranquillity on the continent of Africa. We were not just christened Giant of Africa for fun. In the Congo crisis and other crises that threatened the existence of Africa, the Nigerian Military distinguished itself. We restored order in many countries and stabilised democracy in not a few others.

But for the roles of Nigeria in the West Africa sub-region military intervention codenamed the Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group (ECOMOG), probably, countries like Liberia and Sierra Leone would have been in tatters today. Our military personnel distinguished themselves in those campaigns and were awarded laurels by the United Nations (UN).

Also, when the apartheid White overlords held on to the jugulars of our South African siblings, Nigeria was the rallying point. The nation committed personnel and resources to get South Africa its independence. The entire world acclaimed our feats, and we savoured the moments, beating our chests that we are indeed, the Giant of Africa in deeds.

Now, in the year of the Lord 2025, America is issuing us a threat to fix the insurgency ravaging our nation or it sends troops to come and fix it for us in a fast, vicious and sweet manner! How did we get here? What happened to the wonders our Military performed in foreign lands? Why can’t we replicate what we did to help others in our own land?

In answering these questions, we draw strength from the table of the cock and the Fox and more in the moral lesson of an old man and his son on why no man should lend himself as an instrument in any evil machination.

The aged man, according to the story, gathered his children and told them that in all they did, their names must not be mentioned when evils were being planned. When asked why, the old man said that no evil perpetrated by any man would go without a full remittance to the plotters.

Next door, the narrative says, was an equally old man who terrorised the community. But contrary to the projection that no evil man would die without reaping the fruits of his evil deeds, the old, wicked man prospered, had seven sons and five daughters; all of them also prosperous, and he died peacefully.

While his funeral rites were underway, one of the children who took the moral lesson from his father reminded the father that his theory was wrong and cited the case of the dead wicked old man. The father looked at his son and said: “No man who has not been successfully buried can be said to have died a peaceful death.”

The father and son were still at the a-tete-a-tete, when they heard a loud bang from the wicked man’s compound. What followed was a great burst of flames and the corpse lying in state together with the 12 children of the deceased, were trapped in the inferno and burnt beyond recognition! At his funeral, the wicked old man lost all he had here on earth!

The story states further that what ignited the fire was a spark from the gunshot fired in traditional salute to the deceased. The spark dropped in a keg of gunpowder and the resulting flame spread rapidly to the thatched roof, where gallons of palm oil were stored on the rafter, fuelled by the harmattan wind.

The man who relayed this story to me said that it was from that cradle that he made up his mind that never would he join anyone in any evil plot. Such comes back to haunt and harm their perpetrators.

This is what the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration is reaping as Trump threatens military action. It is the reward of the evil voyage of 2014 Tinubu, the late General Muhammadu Buhari, Rotimi Amaechi and Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, as opposition leaders then made, when they approached the US Government of Barrack Obama to block President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan from accessing military fighter jets and other arms and ammunition needed to confront the Boko Haram and other insurgent groups of that period.

Through destructive opposition and the desperation to get Goodluck out of the way, the Tinubu gang sold Nigeria cheaply to the US Government. I have checked the photo of the foursome with John Forbes Kerry, the US Secretary of State under Obama, as they negotiated away Nigeria’s sovereignty in their bid to gain control of power.

Eleven years down the line, that evil voyage has come to collect its IOU from Tinubu. Unfortunately, of the four who sold out Nigeria to the US in 2014, one of them, Buhari, is no more. Today, both Amaechi and Oyegun are poles apart from Tinubu, who is left to carry the ant-infested firewood of that desperate misadventure!

So, what do we do in this circumstance? One, we must agree that there is a genocide of Nigerians across the Federation. This genocide may not necessarily be targeted at the Nigerian Christians; the fact remains that the proportion of Christians killed so far towers far above their Muslim counterparts. Someone, somewhere, is waging a war against the nation and our government remains lethargic!

The second admittance is that in its response to these mindless killings, the Nigerian Government, in the last 11 years of the All Progressives Congress (APC) administration, has been non-existent. Truth be told, the Tinubu government’s emphasis on politics above the welfare and safety of Nigerians, gives credence to the designation of Nigeria as a slaughter slab. There is no way anyone will be able to rationalise the unfeeling reactions of President Tinubu to the calamities bandits and insurgents are visiting on helpless Nigerians.

This is therefore the best time for Tinubu to show that he has the aptitude to lead this country. He should make no mistakes about it: the US will strike if the situation continues. That will be too bad, not only for the President, but for all of us. The cost will be too much for us to bear. Our government must act, and act decisively.

Rather than asking us to prepare for war against the US as FFK suggested in his response, the Tinubu administration, I suggest, should show more seriousness in the fight against the killings going on across our nation. It is an embarrassment to the nation, and more to the Commander-in-Chief, for bandits, armed with sophisticated weapons, to flood our cities to attend the wedding ceremonies and other social engagements of their ‘commanders’ and our armed forces did nothing!

It is a shame that while the rain and bad roads would not allow the President to visit the victims of the attacks in Benue communities where over 200 Nigerians were slaughtered, the same elements allowed him to attend the state banquet the Benue State Government organised in his honour. He ate, drank, belched and flew back to Abuja, leaving the living to bury their dead! That shows the priority of the president at that critical moment, politics above the people’s safety!

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OPINION: Nigeria Deserves A President Donald Trump

Published

37 minutes ago

January 6, 2026

Editor

By Suyi Ayodele

“I spoke with AJ on the phone to personally convey my condolences… He assured me that he is receiving the best care in the hospital.” From wherever he then was, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu relayed that Anthony Joshua, the British-born boxer of Nigerian descent involved in a recent car accident, had told him he was receiving the best medical attention in Nigeria.

Yet, with something as ordinary as a headache, the same president routinely jets out of the country for treatment, sometimes to the United Kingdom, sometimes to France, sometimes to destinations left undisclosed. No one asks Mr. President why he can not stay behind and partake of that same “best care in the hospital” available at home.

Instead, we busy ourselves with tallying the number of days he spends abroad, and when the arithmetic is done, we move on. Nothing more is demanded; nothing more is explained.

So, if tomorrow a President Donald Trump were to bar Nigerians from travelling to the United States for medical treatment, we would promptly denounce him as a racist. Yet the very next day, we would assemble a cultural troupe to welcome home a medical tourist president, one who left Nigeria quietly, without telling us what ailed him, and returned triumphantly after treatment abroad.

That is our lot; the predicament of a people wedded to decay and decadence. And it is precisely this contradiction, this ritual of self-deception, that makes it easy for some world leaders to dismiss Nigeria as a disgraced country.

President Trump is a man many love to hate. And justifiably too. The man attracts ‘hatred’ for himself as if his mission on earth is to do what many consider ‘despicable.’

I, however, have a different opinion about the man who rules America at the moment. I see him as more of an American patriot than the brute many people project him to be. I don’t see anything wrong in a president asking non-nationals to go back and fix their own countries. That, to me, is the central message of the Trump Presidency. My understanding of his philosophy on governance is that citizens should hold their leaders accountable, rather than fleeing their countries.

This is one of the reasons I hardly argue about Nigeria and its numerous failing institutions with any Nigerian living outside the shores of the country, especially those who japa less than 20 years ago. My position is simple: if you know that Nigeria is being run by the best of men now, just pack your bags and baggage and come back home. A friend once asked me why I don’t see anything wrong in “the racist called Trump”, and I responded by asking him to come back home and enjoy our nationalist president. If farming is an easy venture, blacksmiths will not sell hoes and cutlasses. Those are the words of our elders.

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Three days into the New Year 2026, President Trump opened the New Year on a very good note for the people of Venezuela. Venezuelans, at home and in the diaspora, woke up that Saturday, January 3, 2026, morning to discover that they had no president. Trump, using the sophisticated American soldiers in the US elite corps, invaded Venezuela in the dead of the night and abducted, if you like, kidnapped President Nicolás Maduro and his wife. Surprisingly, the people rejoiced at the news!

The husband and wife were in bed when the American soldiers came calling. One can picture how startled they were when they saw the strange faces in their inner room. The shock, especially when Maduro had, less than a month ago, boasted that he was safe and secure and dared America to come after him, is better imagined! What if the couple were making out when the intruders arrived?

Hours later, Trump boasted of the feat as “an extraordinary military operation,” during which “air, land, and sea were used to launch a spectacular assault. And it was an assault like people have not seen since World War Two.” He then described the operation as “…. One of the most stunning, effective and powerful displays of American military might and competence in American history” as the Venezuelan military capacities were “rendered powerless”, and “…. the men and women of our military working with US law enforcement successfully captured Maduro in the dead of night.” Could this be the reason why our elders advise that when one’s mother’s co-wife is older, one must call her mother (Tí ìyàwó ìyá eni bá ju ìyà eni lo, ìyá làá pèé).

A great public speaker, Trump warned that “This extremely successful operation should serve as a warning to anyone who would threaten American sovereignty or endanger American lives.” He listed those to be warned to include Cuba, saying, “I think Cuba is going to be something we’ll end up talking about because Cuba is a failing nation right now, a very badly failing nation. And we want to help the people. It’s very similar in the sense that we want to help the people in Cuba.”

Trump is a consummate power wielder. He did not forget Colombia. It is a known fact worldwide that Colombia and drugs are Siamese twins. If President Maduro of Venezuela could be ‘captured’ because he was accused of importing cocaine to America, the Colombian President, Gustavo Petro, President Trump warned, should “watch his ass”, because “He’s making cocaine and they’re sending it into the United States, so he does have to watch his ass.”

We must get this right from the start. No law permits what President Trump did in Venezuela. The invasion of the presidential palace and the kidnapping of President Maduro and his wife are bad in all ramifications. America is not the world police. At least, the United Nations (UN), that toothless world bulldog, Charter does not permit such an infraction. The sovereignty of Venezuela was raped by Trump. The sanctity of the human person of President Maduro was violated. Oh, yes, I must add this: the solemnity of the bedroom of Maduro and his wife was desecrated! What if Maduro and his wife had slept naked, as most couples do?

Article 2(4) of the UN Charter prohibits any member state from using force against the territorial integrity (sovereignty) of an independent country. The Charter, in Article 51, only allows the use of force in self-defence, while Articles 24 and 25 permit only the Security Council to use joint or collective force against any independent nation that threatens world peace. So, where did President Trump derive the power to invade another country, pick up the incumbent president, and transport him to America in handcuffs, as he did to President Maduro of Venezuela?

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I have read many comments about the Trump Presidency. This recent action in Venezuela added fuel to the inferno of hatred for the American President. If Nigerians in the Diaspora in America were to choose who governs God’s Own Country, Trump would not have smelled the presidency. In fact, he would not have been elected as the mayor of any city. But unfortunately for the entire world, the American people, or, as someone argued, ‘the American skewed system’, elected Trump as president. Everybody, haters or lovers alike, would have to deal with that fact.

From day one, Trump never hid his identity. He never pretended to be a gentleman. He did not tell anyone that he would run America for foreigners. His ‘Make America Great Again’ (MAGA) mantra is self-explicit. America would be for Americans, he promised. And he has lived up to that. That is honesty in its illiterate form! If you ask me, that is the type of president every nation deserves. No pretence, no diplomacy; all that matters is American interests. I wish Nigeria had such a President, the one who thinks, sleeps and dreams of Nigeria. We have been unfortunate with the selfish individuals that we have had as leaders. The present crop of transactional leaders is the very worst in our recent history.

If I were to choose a president for Nigeria, I would not think twice before picking a character like Trump. A man who places the nation’s interest above any other consideration is the man after my heart. This is what is lacking in Africa, and particularly in Nigeria. A nation that has no defined national interest is bound to be in ruins, like most nations of Africa.

Nigeria has the capacity, in all ramifications, to be great. What we lack is a president who is purposeful, courageous and above all, patriotic. We can imagine that our military became suddenly effective and efficient only after Trump ‘invaded’ Sokoto and cleared out a good number of terrorists. Yet again, nobody is asking what went wrong before the coming of Trump.

I have read so much about the sovereignty of Venezuela. I have no problem with that. But the one question I keep asking the proponents of national sovereignty is: at what time does the respect for a nation’s sovereignty stop? If, for instance, the sovereignty of Nation A threatens the peace of Nation B, what should Nation B do? Should it act in the interest of its own peace or fold its hands while the rudderless nation A acts anyhow?

If President Maduro was exporting drugs to America as Trump alleged, what should be the response of President Trump? I also find it curious that many who talked about the sanctity of the American judiciary in the case involving President Tinubu and the Chicago University certificate are the same set of people saying Maduro would not get justice in America! What a people!

After the ‘capture’ of President Maduro, the American President said that the US would “run” Venezuela. Many said that Trump was only interested in Venezuelan crude oil. Trump himself did not deny that. His press conference after Maduro had been taken into custody was clear enough. America had a huge investment profile in the oil sector of Venezuela. One of the responsibilities of President Trump, and this is applicable to all presidents, is the protection of the American economy at home and abroad. If the US investments are threatened in Venezuela because of the activities of Maduro, would Trump not be failing in his responsibility if he did not act in the name of sovereignty?

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Nnamdi Kingsley Akanni, a professor of International Law and Diplomacy, Rivers State University, in a 2019 paper on “The Concept of Sovereignty in International Law and Relations,” suggests that the concept of sovereignty may be a ruse after all. According to him, “The paper found that what third world countries enjoy is not sovereignty but ‘sovereignty on dictated terms’ of the so-called developed powers.”

The erudite scholar states further that at the end of the research exercise, “The paper also found that smaller States are not accorded protection from developed countries and that until that is done, the concept of sovereignty will continue to be elusive to smaller nations.” He then recommends “…that the UN should take proactive steps to give greater recognition and voice to developing countries as well as offering them the platform to assert their sovereignty in line with international law.”

What the scholar is saying here is that the concept of ‘sovereignty’ exists only when the developed countries are involved. When there is a conflict of interest between the world superpowers and any of the developing or ‘disgraced’ countries of the world, the principle of “Just War” applies. This is why Trump is going to get away with the Saturday invasion of Venezuela and the impending similar exercises in Cuba and Colombia, as the American President hinted.

If the UN wakes up today and gets its mojo back to interrogate Trump on Venezuela, the US can simply hide under the cover of the principle of ‘Just war’ as the invasion of Venezuela and the ‘capture’ of its president satisfied the jus ad bellum requirements of the ‘just cause’, just intention’; ‘just peace’; reasonable chance of success’; and ‘expected benefits outweighing anticipated cost.’. We don’t need a seer to predict that many drug-friendly leaders across the globe will think twice before making America their ‘depots.’ Trump took the American oath of office to protect American interests. This is why there has been no serious condemnation of the invasion in the US today.

The invasion of Venezuela is a lesson for third-world countries. The argument that Trump took that decision because of the last Venezuelan election and economic interest is noble in my opinion. That is what he was elected to do: protect America and its interests world over.

In Africa, in general, and in Nigeria in particular, let our leaders learn to develop our lands. Let those saddled with the responsibilities of paddling our canoes do so with utmost patriotism. And more importantly, let those who want to lord it over us do so through free and fair elections. Otherwise, we will all clap and celebrate should Trump decide to ‘capture’ and ship all undesirable elements with questionable character to America for trial. Venezuelans set the precedent on Saturday when they trooped to the streets in jubilation at the news of the removal of Maduro!1

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Oyo Traditional Ruler Suspended Over Alleged Illegal Mining

Published

3 hours ago

January 6, 2026

Editor

The Oyo State Government has suspended the Sobaloju of Ofiki, Chief Jacob Sobaloju, following allegations linking him to illegal mining activities and breaches of Executive Order 001/2023, which governs mining operations within the state.

The state government said the action was taken to protect the public interest and preserve government-gazetted assets.

In a suspension letter issued by the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters and signed by the Director of Chieftaincy Matters, Mr Olajire A.M., the traditional ruler was accused of contravening the executive order and forest reserve regulations by allegedly issuing consent letters to mining firms without lawful authorisation.

The letter further alleged that Chief Sobaloju permitted mining activities within government-reserved forest areas and facilitated unauthorised mining operations, actions said to be in violation of extant laws and regulations.

According to the ministry, the monarch was suspended from the palace of the Onitọ of Ito with effect from Monday, January 5, 2026, pending the outcome of investigations.

The suspension was described as a precautionary step to ensure an unhindered and credible investigation process.

The correspondence, titled “Re: Complaint against Chief Sobaloju of Ofiki for violation of State Executive Order, Forest Reserve Regulations and encouraging trespassing of government gazetted assets,” stated that the allegations bordered on violations of Executive Order 001/2023 and unlawful encroachment on state-owned assets.

Chief Sobaloju was also directed to immediately cease all mining-related activities, including the issuance of consent letters, avoid interference with the investigation, and make himself available to investigators whenever required.

The Oyo State Government reaffirmed its zero-tolerance stance on illegal mining and related infractions, warning that any individual found culpable would be sanctioned in line with the law.

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Why I Resigned As CIGM Boss – Arogundade Breaks Silence

Published

19 hours ago

January 5, 2026

Editor

Jubril Arogundade, former senior executive of CIG Motors, has clarified the circumstances surrounding his departure from the company.

He explained that his exit was voluntary and motivated by concerns over corporate governance, not misconduct.

Recall that Arogundade resigned from his position on December 2, 2025, citing persistent issues with internal controls, financial management, and regulatory compliance.

“I resigned from my position at CIG Motors after careful reflection and in line with due process,” he said.

“It is therefore deeply concerning that my voluntary exit has been publicly mischaracterized. My decision was guided by principle and professional responsibility.”

He explained that over a sustained period, he had raised concerns internally about corporate governance gaps, growing debt, and unresolved regulatory obligations but did not see meaningful corrective action.

“As a Nigerian professional, I take governance, compliance, and institutional responsibility very seriously,” Arogundade said.

“When internal efforts to address these matters did not yield results, I chose to resign rather than compromise on standards that I believe are fundamental to sustainable business.”

Addressing reports linking him to financial impropriety, Arogundade said, “I have nothing to hide and welcome any lawful, independent, and objective review of my conduct during my tenure. Contrary to public insinuations, no regulatory or law enforcement agency has contacted me regarding these claims, and I remain fully available to cooperate should any legitimate inquiry arise.”