2-4-2025.

George Owell’s classic, Animal Farm, could have been talking about Nigeria under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who, ably assisted by fellow rent seekers (other greedy animals), high jacked the nation in the pretext of reforming her, but only for himself and the greedy few with him.

It is no surprise that many Nigerians derisively continue to refer to the country as being under the CORRUPT rule of the THREE arms of Government. The three arms of government they mean are President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (Executive), Senate President, Goodswill Akpabio (Legislature), and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyson Wike (Judiciary). Wike is alleged to be in total control of the nation’s judiciary, which is said to do nothing contrary to his wishes, however injurious  they may be to the country. 

The Judiciary, which is supposed to be the ‘last hope of the common man’, is unfortunately the place where the common man wishes to visit, because justice in the land is not for everyone, but for the highest bidder. Which is why one person, who has the public till to dip his hand into, can afford to be ‘generous’ to a fault. 

Also, cases against those who can afford to settle members of the bench, can drag for years, allowing the ‘rich’ defendant to continue with his life, and even ‘serve’ his people in another capacity where more public funds are available for further ‘taking’, without the people’s imprimatur. The federal cabinet and the upper chamber of the National Assembly (NASS) happen to be the places of choice.

Wike is said to be a person who would go to any length to have his way in the judiciary, which explains why he never lost a case in the courts, despite the fact that he was dragged there eleven (11) times, according to a former National Secretary of State opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Wike’s supposed political party.

It is little wonder that a country ruled by such people and their cronies as well as thugs, would have a ‘Lamborghini Club’ in its Capital, and at the same time teem with millions of poor citizens who sleep on an empty stomach because of the pervasive poverty ravaging it. The man-made poverty is so overwhelming in the country that the magnanimity of the few rich philanthropists, and some organisations keep some citizens alive.

This is a nation where the Constitutionally un recognised ‘First Son’ (Seyin Tinubu) flies all over the country with trillions of naira in a presidential plane, distributing prepared packaged rice + a mare two-measure (mudu) of same to a few breakfasting fasters in the North, during the Holy month of Ramadan. However, like father like son, the same First Son gave N50,000 to about 10,000 non fasting people in his native South West Geo political area, where the number one citizen in the country, was roundly defeated during the 2023 Presidential Election.

All these orchestrated political correctness are geared towards, and with, the 2027 presidential election in mind, so that the CORRUPT, CLUELESS and INCOMPETENT president would have an UNDESERVED second (and improbably life) term in office, as the TORMENTOR IN-CHIEF of the hapless and helpless citizens.

Nigeria, under President Tinubu has become a country where for the first time ordinary citizens are openly calling on the military to take over power from the self serving civilians, without the fear of the consequences of their actions, perhaps, in the belief that the status quo is even WORSE than a military dictatorship.

The stage-managed removal of a democratically elected governor is an unwanted anti democratic shenanigan that all serious democracies would not stand by and watch while nonsense is being elevated to an art of governance in Nigeria under the emerging dictator called Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Chief Latif Olasukanmi Fagbemi, SAN, however, justifies the removal of the governor by the dictatorial president as “timely”, saying the president acts in the interests of the nation. He is of course, cheered by a rented cheerleaders.

And the President of the Nigerian Senate, Goodswill Akpabio, made a Freudian Slip where he told fellow Senators that members of the two chambers of the National Assembly, the Senate and the House of Representatives, had been sent millions of naira into their accounts by the government to enjoy the holiday. This came shortly after the imposition of the state of emergency in Rivers state, which some people interpreted to mean a  ‘thank you money’, for supporting the president’s unconstitutional removal of the democratically elected governor of the state, Mr. Siminalayi Fabura on March 18th, 2025.

The Nigerian President of has perhaps forgotten what he said when then President Goodluck Jonathan sacked the governors of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa, and replaced them with Sole Administrators, to run the affairs of the affected states.

According to Tinubu, who was then a leading member and voice of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), “It is now abundantly clear that President Jonathan has finally bared his fangs confirming what was widely speculated. By declaring a state of emergency in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa, he has intimidated and emasculated the governors of these states. We are witnessing a dangerous trend in the art of governance and a deliberate ploy to subvert constitutional democracy.

“The body language of the Jonathan administration leads any keen watcher of events with an unmistakable conclusion of the existence of a surreptitious but barely disguised intention to muzzle the elected governments of these states for what is clearly a display of unpardonable mediocrity and diabolic partisanship geared 2015.

“Let me be quick to say that this administration will be setting a chain of events the end of which nobody can predict. It has become crystal clear, even to the most incurable optimist, that the country is adrift. That the ship of the Nigerian state is rudderless is clearly evident in the consistent and continual attacks ferociously executed by elements often referred to as the insurgents in some northern states of the federation, particularly Borno and Yobe states respectively.

“Let all those who love this country genuinely advise the federal government not to tinker with the mandates of these Governors under any guise. It is a potentially destructive path to take. If security of a society is about the protection of lives and property of the citizenry, the involvement of the people is a sine qua non to affective intelligence gathering. Any measures put in place which alienate the people, in particular, their elected representatives, should be considered as fundamentally defective by every right thinking person in the country”.

Has the president really forgotten those words, or is he just swallowing his vomit, now that he is in charge of the country, a position that gives him the opportunity to see things as they really are?

In any case, the president was in those days quick to mount the soap box to protest any slight upward review of the economy in the country by the reigning government. These days that he is the number one citizen in the Nigeria, suffering the opposition has become difficult to bear for his dictatorial regime in the country.

The body language and open display by Southern Nigeria Presidents of their fatigue with the Nigerian Union (some people call it ‘forced’) between Northern Region and Southern Region of the then British Empire, appear to suggest that it was high time both regions go their separate ways. Let the Southern region take all the buildings and other structures erected by the central government in Lagos, while the Northern region take possession of all Abuja based federal government buildings and other structures.

The refined body languages of President Olusegun Obasanjo, and that of President Goodluck Jonathan, and the crude action and statements (we should not forget EMILOKAN) of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, tell the wise that time is up for the ‘forced’ marriage between the Northern Nigeria and the Southern Nigeria. Every region should go its way, and the North will somehow find its feet (since some in the South, including  the number one citizen, believe that it is a parasite at the moment). The North will not be the only land-locked country in the world. There are very successful others. 

For President Tinubu, blood would appear to be thicker than water, and his tribespeople will always come first over and above any consideration that does not clash with the interests of his Western masters. And REMOVING  Northern Nigeria from the nation will not do any harm to the interest of Western countries. It is an agenda that many of them have been religiously pursuing covertly.

It is no doubt part of the president’s infamous EMILOKAN agenda, which he unveiled before an exclusive Yoruba audience shortly after he was declared the  ‘winner’ of the 2023 election, but before he was sworn in as the number one citizen in the country.

In any case, any Northerner who is opposed to the idea separation, is free to belong to the other side, where he will be considered and called a foreigner. The elites would be more on this side since they have most of their looted-money funded investments there. The Southerners by the way, will have no place for the begging, and shoe-shining ‘Malam’ in their country.

No Nigerian President from the North has ever declared a state of emergency on any state, but was severally done by their Southern counterparts in failed attempt to turn the country into a one-party state. Olusegun did so in  state, Jonathan did it in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states, while Tinubu has started his own with Rivers state, under the guidance and supervision of the FCT Minister, Nyson Wike 

It was said to have allegedly been carried out by the Nigerian President on the orders of the Western governments, notably the US, the United Kingdom (UK),France, and some of the rest of the Western countries, as Rivers produces the largest quantity of crude oil in Nigeria. The Western Countries were said to feel threatened by the huge multi billion dollar one-stream Dangote Refinery. The Dangote Refinery, which started production late last year, was recently asked by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited to hence forth be paying in dollars for the purchase of crude oil from it, so as to make petroleum products more out of the reach of the ordinary Nigerian citizen.

 

The Dangote Refinery was said to have ended the monopoly of importation of refined petroleum products, from Europe and other locations outside Nigeria, most of which were not only of very low quality, but had high content of Sulphur, which make them stink to high heavens at the filling stations. The foreign refineries were owned by the masters and controllers of the Nigerian number one citizen. In matters where one is subjected to foreign control, the interest of your nation comes a distant second to the controllers’s.

The President has openly claimed that his (CORRUPT) regime spent N100 billion every month on Nigerians to “cushion the harsh effect of the removal of the petroleum subsidy in the country”. Then why remove the subsidy in the first place, HOW is the amount spent, and who benefit from the money outside the President, the Federal Capital Territory Minister (Nyson Wike), and the President of the Nigerian Senate (Godswill Akpabio), all three of whom should have been behind bars doing various life sent sentences for corruption, instead of leading and deciding the fate of a country.

Meanwhile, a lot of noise has been making the rounds since the month of the Holy Ramadan about the alleged attempt by the President of the Nigerian Senate, Godswill Akpobio (a former governor) to rape a fellow female Senator, Natasha Akpoti, who was said to be penciled down for suspension for spurning the alleged amorous and sexual advances of the number one Senator in the land.

I had considered it inappropriate to weigh in on the debate because of the might of, and respect for, the Holy Month. Now that the compulsory Fasting Month is over, I am belatedly contributing my input, insignificant and belated as it may appear. It is said that it is better late than never, which is especially the case now.

In any sane country, but an ‘Animal Farm’ type of society, which Nigeria has become under the infamously CORRUPT regime of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the most sensible thing to do by a senior government official whose integrity has come under serious challenge, is to step aside and clear his name. Good name, before fame is the chorus in most countries but Nigeria.

No sane society would totally catapult corrupt people, who do not possess any iota of integrity, to the position of leadership, and expect things to be done rightly. Such people would always operate in a way to suit their own base interests. Little would they care if the society goes into flames (chaos) in the process of satisfying their self interest. Nigeria does not need conscienceless people who would tell peaceful hunger protesters that “we will go home and eat while you protest on the streets”, as leaders.

But on these shores, under the present totally corrupt regime, government officials will CLING to their seats no matter and regardless of the weight of the allegations against them, until they are FORCED to ignominiously vacate the seats by the leader of the regime, or by the people themselves.

The decision to suspend Senator Natasha from the Senate for guarding her honour, was taken by the Senate Committee on Ethics, which is Chaired by Senator Neda Emasuen, who is alleged to have earlier fled from the United States (US, where he plied his trade as a lawyer), for fraud, after the federal government police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), linked him to a $25 million bank fraud.

The six months suspension placed on Senator Natasha from Kogi State was immediately rebuked by some of the leading legal luminaries in the country, including Femi Falana, Abdul Mahmud and Chidi Odinkalu, all of whom described it as unconstitutional.

Two former Senate Presidents, Bukola Saraki and Ahmed Lawal had weighed in on the controversy asking Godswill Akpabio to step aside as Senate President and allow a thorough investigation into the matter. But since this is Nigeria, the advice of the two former ranking Senators was not taken, obviously over the advice of the man whose command must be obeyed on these shores.

One of the leading Christian clerics in the country, Primate Ayodele, warned the Senate President to tread with caution, prophesying that “those praising him now will soon turn against him”, because in Nigeria, most politicians do not go with losers.

Left to continue on their seats, such people will even sponsor some hungry thugs to a counter protest in the constituency of the suspended legislator, and the premises of the NASS, urging for a recall of the legislator. The so called lawmakers go to that length for the simple reason that they came to further ENRICH themselves from the people’s Commonwealth, not to serve the Commonwealth.

There is even an obviously sponsored move to stage manage a recall of the highly popular performing senator by ‘her’ Kogi constituents, allegedly with the connivance of the immediate past Governor of the State, Yahaya Bello, who plans to use the ‘favour’ for the federal government to forgive or forget the charges of corruption hanging over his head. He is dragged to the court over allegation that he had illegally enriched himself with a staggering $8 billion belonging to the people of the poor state. 

During his time as governor, teachers in the state were said to have gone for some years without salary, whereas he paid in advance nearly $1 million to a high flying school in the federal capital, as fees for his children to finish their education from primary school to university level. The school was forced to return the money to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which had taken him to court soon after the end of his Second Term.

Not unexpectedly, Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo of Kogi State declared an all day curfew on the day that a ‘welcome home’ gathering was planned for Senator Natasha by some of her constituents. The immediate past governor was not only a benefactor who ‘installed’ him as a successor, he was also a cousin.

The Movement for the Emancipation of Nigeria (MEN) issued out a statement calling on the Senate President to step aside and allow investigations into corruption, sexual harassment, and political victimisation. In a petition on March 14, 2025, and E signed by its Comrade-General leader from its National Headquarters in Abuja, the movement said it has “unequivocally condemns the growing dictatorship under the leadership of Senate President Godswill Akpabio, where dissenting voices are systematically silenced, corruption thrives unchecked, and democracy is continuously undermined. The reckless suspension of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, following the unlawful suspensions of Senator Abdul Ningi and Senator Ali Ndume, confirms that the Senate under Akpabio has become a tool for political victimization rather than a platform for robust democratic engagement.

“Senator Abdul Ningi was suspended for exposing budget padding, a revelation that should have led to an investigation rather than his persecution. Senator Ali Ndume faced suspension for daring to speak on the unbearable economic hardship Nigerians are facing due to terrible government policies. Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has now been targeted for exposing misconduct and standing against injustice. These actions have reinforced widespread fears that Akpabio is running the Senate like a dictatorship, where voices of truth are seen as threats that must be crushed by the ruling oligarchy.

“The same Senate President Godswill Akpabio was once accused of corruption and abuse of office by the former Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), yet he was never called to account. Today, he is using the same Senate he leads to cover up corruption, victimize opposition voices, and suppress accountability. It is no coincidence that Akpabio’s office suddenly accused Senator Natasha Akpoti of budget padding—conveniently after she accused him of sexual harassment. This move not only reeks of political witch-hunting but also exposes a deeper culture of corruption that must be fully investigated. 

“The initial budget padding allegations made by Senator Abdul Ningi—and now the counter-allegation against Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan—only confirm that corruption runs deep in the Senate under Akpabio’s leadership.

“To further highlight the depth of rot in the Senate, we must call attention to Senator Neda Imasuen, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Ethics and Privileges—the very man who presided over Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan’s unlawful suspension. This is a man who was permanently disbarred in New York for multimillion-dollar fraud and gross misconduct. A fraudster, barred from practicing law in the U.S., is now deciding ethical matters in Nigeria’s Senate! 

The movement therefore demands the “Immediate reinstatement of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, whose only crime was demanding that her petition against the Senate President on sexual harassment be investigated. A full-scale, independent investigation into allegations of budget padding in the 10th Senate. The Nigerian people deserve to know how their resources are being looted under the guise of governance. An immediate investigation into allegations of sexual harassment leveled against Senate President Akpabio. The Senate must not be a place where women are subjected to abuse and silenced when they speak out. 

“An urgent probe into Senator Neda Imasuen’s fraudulent history and how a disbarred lawyer from New York ended up in a position of power in the Nigerian Senate. 

“The immediate resignation or stepping aside of Godswill Akpabio as Senate President to allow for an unhindered investigation into his involvement in corruption, sexual misconduct, and political victimization. A return to true democratic values in the Senate, where all voices—whether in support or opposition—are respected, and no lawmaker is suspended for standing with the Nigerian people. 

“The Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria belongs to the Nigerian people, not to an oligarchy of corrupt politicians who see public office as their private empire. If these demands are not met, Nigerians will be left with no choice but to rise in unified resistance against the destruction of democracy. We refuse to sit back and watch tyranny take root in our legislative institutions. Nigeria must be governed by the rule of law, not the rule of force”.

Meanwhile, a new Accountant General of the Federation (AGF) was recently appointed based on his being Yoruba, and a DEAL that he was alleged to have struck with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Mr. Olayemi Michael Cardoso, where it was agreed that the new AGF would give him N1billion every month. Where is he expected to get the money to SETTLE the CBN governor if not from the Commonwealth. His monthly salary and allowance would not be enough to pay that humongous bribery.

Earlier today, the tribal president, has sacked the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, and replaced him with, you guess it right, a Yoruba man, Mr. Bayo Olajuri. This is a normal practice in a typical Banana Republic, which is ruled by drug pushers, rapists and their many cheerleaders, who only care about themselves, not about what happens to the millions of their poor compatriots.

May God rid the country of the corrupt lot that takes it backwards in a ‘one chance’ vehicle.

Malumfashi wrote from Katsina.