First Bank: I acted in honour – Awosika

Mrs Awosika says that the board had great plans and aspirations for where the bank could go to in its future By Oladeinde Olawoyin May 2, 2021 A former Chairman, Board of Directors of First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Ibukun Awosika, has said that she acted in honour and integrity when she chaired the board of the embattled bank. Mrs Awosika made this known in a statement on Friday titled, ‘My FBN Group Journey’. The former chairman was removed by the Central Bank of Nigeria on Thursday, alongside all the board members of the bank. The decision, the apex bank said, was made “to protect 31 million customers, minority shareholders of First Bank of Nigeria Ltd.” The CBN also announced the immediate appointment of Tunde Hassan-Odukale as Chairman of the bank. Mr Hassan-Odukale, until his appointment, was the Managing Director of Leadway Assurance Company. PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported how Adesola Adeduntan was removed as Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the bank. This newspaper also reported the appointment of Gbenga Shobo as MD/CEO designate, a move the apex bank said was made without regulatory approval. Reacting to the furore on Friday, Mrs Awosika said she worked with others to restructure the bank. “For over five years , I have worked with a dedicated team of board and management , with the support of Central Bank of Nigeria to rebuild and restructure the institution for its future,” she wrote. “This included cleaning up non performing loans, establishing good operational governance systems and processes, building controls and an effective and robust risk management system. “I am confident we have brought First Bank of Nigeria to a place where it is more than able to deliver utmost value to its stakeholders and the nation at large.” The ex-chair said that as a board, she and others acted in what they “clearly believed to be in the best interest of the bank.” She added that they had great plans and aspirations for where the bank could go to in its future, building on all the work that has already been done in the last five plus years. “Without a shadow of doubt, I will unequivocally state that I have always acted in honor and integrity with the utmost interest of the institution, all our stakeholders and the Nation,” she said. At various times, Mrs Awosika was chairman of the board of FBN Life Insurance Ltd, FBN Capital, and FBN quest Merchant Bank Group, which she chaired until her appointment as Chairman of First Bank of Nigeria in 2016.

The Costly Board Crisis at First Bank

May 2, 2021 But for the timely intervention of the Central Bank for Nigeria in the avoidable board squabbles at First Bank of Nigeria, the relative confidence and stability observed in the banking system in recent times would have been seriously shaken. James Emejo writes It all began with the news that the erstwhile Board of Directors of First Bank of Nigeria Limited, which was chaired by Mrs. Ibukun Awosika, had approved the appointment of Mr. Gbenga Shobo to succeed Mr. Adesola Adeduntan as the new Managing Director/Chief Executive of the bank. Adeduntan was ousted after leading the bank since January 2016, but when still within the term limit of his tenure, which is due to expire in December this year. The appointment of a new chief executive was immediately celebrated by the public and depositors, who thought the move was in tandem with good corporate governance of FBN. But little did anyone know the underbelly issues that led to the change, until the CBN, the apex regulatory institution in the financial industry, interpreted the change as a sort of palace coup to oust him. The apex bank, immediately issued the board a rather damning query over the unpopular leadership manoeuvres. The content of the query apparently deflated the board’s ego and exposed the bank’s frailties. Essentially, the CBN had raised stern objection to the removal of Adeduntan, as his tenure ought to elapse in December – and not getting the requisite approval from the apex bank prior to the board change, further violated laid down rules. In the CBN’s correspondence to the board, it further argued that, given that FBN had been on a sort of life support in term of regulatory forbearances and other sorts of financial and regulatory support since 2016, it was particularly wrong for the former board to attempt any board changes without with the knowledge of the regulatory body. While the board was yet to offer explanation for its action, but rather perceived the inquisition by the CBN as unnecessarily meddling in its internal issues – the apex bank, understanding the consequences of the ensuing development on the financial system- especially as this could cause among other things, a run on FBN, decided to wield the big stick to save the situation. The CBN would not fold its arms and allow things to spiral out of control given that FBN is one of the systemically important banks whose action could rock the boat and destabilise the country’s financial landscape. On Thursday, however, the CBN removed all directors of FBN and those of its parent company, FBN Holdings Plc, with immediate effect, to stave off a boardroom crisis that had led to the retirement of Adeduntan on Wednesday. The CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, at a press conference in Abuja, further announced the reinstatement of Adeduntan. He said the apex bank took the actions in order to preserve the stability of the bank and protect minority shareholders and depositors. He also announced the appointment of a former Minister of State for Finance, Mr. Remi Babalola, who replaced Mr. Oba Otudeko as Chairman of FBN Holdings. Otudeko had been chairman of First Bank for 12 years before assuming the position of Chairman Holdings Company in 2010. Also in the sweeping changes, the CBN also appointed other new directors on the FBN Holdings’ board including Fatade Oluwole, Kofo Dosekun, Remi Lasaki, Alimi Abdulrasaq, Ahmed Modibbo, Khalifa Imam and Peter Aliogo. Mr. UK Eke retains his position as Managing Director of FBN Holdings. First Bank Nigeria Limited now has as Chairman, Tunde Hassan-Odukale, who replaced Mrs. Ibukun Awosika. Other board members are Tokunbo Martins, Uche Nwokedi, Adekunle Sonola, Isioma Ogodazi, Ebenezer Olufowose, Ishaya Elijah B. Dodo and Adeduntan. Gbenga Shobo, deputy managing director; and Remi Oni and Abdullahi Ibrahim, executive directors, are members of the reconstituted board. The CBN had on Wednesday queried the erstwhile board of First Bank Nigeria Limited over the removal of Adeduntan, saying the action was without regulatory approval. The query followed the earlier announcement of the appointment of Shobo as the new managing director/chief executive officer. However, to douse tension generated by the boardroom crisis in the bank, the CBN assured depositors, creditors and other stakeholders of its commitment to safeguard the bank. Emefiele said: “The CBN hereby reassures the depositors, creditors and other stakeholders of the bank of its commitment to ensure the stability of the financial system. There is, therefore, no cause for panic amongst the banking public, given that the actions being taken are meant to strengthen the bank and position it as a banking industry giant.” The CBN governor noted that with the changes, the bank must assume its leadership position in the industry, adding that the central bank will be looking into allegations of insider abuse in the bank and will ensure that corporate governance is restored. According to him, the CBN will insist on proper re-capitalisation of the bank to restore its capital adequacy ratio. He stated that the CBN took the action because it considered itself a stakeholder in management changes involving First Bank due to the forbearance and its close monitoring of the bank over the last five years. He added that ordinarily, the board of a bank is vested with the authority to make changes in the management team subject to CBN’s approval. “However, the CBN considers itself a key stakeholder in management changes involving FBN due to the forbearances and close monitoring by the bank over the last five years aimed at stemming the slide in the going concern status of the bank. “It was, therefore, surprising for the CBN to learn through media reports that the board of directors of First Bank, a systemically important bank, under regulatory forbearance regime, had effected sweeping changes in executive management without engagement and/or prior notice to the regulatory authorities,” he explained. Emefiele said the board’s action sent a negative signal to the market on the stability of leadership on the board and management. He added that it was in the light of the foregoing that the CBN queried the directors on the change. He described First Bank as one of the systemically important banks in the banking sector given its historical significance, balance sheet size, large customer base and high level of interconnectedness with other financial service providers, amongst others. Emefiele said: “By our last assessment, First Bank has over 31 million customers, with a deposit base of N4.2 trillion, shareholders’ funds of N618 billion and NIBSS instant payment (NIP) processing capacity of 22 per cent of the industry. “To us at the CBN, not only is it imperative to protect the minority shareholders that have no voice to air their views, also important, is the protection of the over 31 million customers of the bank who see First Bank as a safe haven for their hard-earned savings. “The bank maintained healthy operations up until 2016 financial year when the CBN’s target examination revealed that the bank was in grave financial condition with its capital adequacy ratio (CAR) and non-performing loans ratio (NPL) substantially breaching acceptable prudential standards.” He added that the problems at the bank were attributed to bad credit decisions, significant and non-performing insider loans and poor corporate governance practices. He said shareholders of the bank and FBN Holding also lacked the capacity to recapitalise the bank to minimum requirements, adding that the conclusions arose from various entreaties by the CBN to them to recapitalise. With this, he said the CBN stepped in to stabilise the bank in its quest to maintain financial stability, especially given First Bank’s systemic importance. Emefiele listed regulatory actions taken by the CBN in this regard to include: change of management team under the CBN’s supervision with the appointment of a new managing director/chief executive officer in January 2016; granting of regulatory forbearances to enable the bank work out its non-performing loans through provision for write off of at least N150 billion from its earning for four consecutive years; and granting of concession to insider borrower to restructure their non-performing credit facilities under very stringent conditions. Others included the renewal of the forbearances on a yearly basis between 2016 and 2020, following thorough monitoring of progress towards exiting from the forbearance measures. Emefiele said: “The measures had yielded the expected results as the financial condition of FBN improved progressively between 2016 when the forbearance was initially granted to the current financial year. For instance, profitability, liquidity and CAR improved whilst NPL reduced significantly. “Notwithstanding the significant improvement in the bank’s financial condition with positive trajectory of financial soundness indicators, the insider related facilities remained problematic. The insiders who took loans in the bank, with controlling influence on the board of directors, failed to adhere to the terms for the restructuring of their credit facilities, which contributed to the poor financial state of the bank. “The CBN’s recent target examination as at December 31, 2020, revealed that insider loans were materially non-compliant with restructure terms (e.g. non-perfection of lien on shares/collateral arrangements) for over three years despite several regulatory reminders. “The bank has not also divested its non-permissible holdings in non-financial entities in line with regulatory directives.” Responding to a question on whether Otudeko was given the opportunity to engage with the central bank before the earlier decision to remove Adeduntan before the expiration of his tenure, Emefiele said, efforts he personally made in that regard were rebuffed, adding that the CBN had exhausted all measures to forestall the ensuing crisis after Hassan-Odukale called him to intervene in the matter. Nonetheless, he said the CBN would not “allow a shareholder who feels that he cannot subject himself to regulatory control and authority to remain as a director of the bank.” He said there was no need for the initial changes at the bank, but all entreaties to Otudeko to save the situation fell on deaf ears. He said: “Like we said, this decision came to us as a surprise. Like we said, this bank has been under regulatory forbearance intervention since 2016. “The truth is that yes, even before we issued a query yesterday (Wednesday) to the chairman of the board and copied all the directors and shareholders, the initial attempt to remove the Managing Director, Dr. Sola Adeduntan, was leaked to me by an interested party in the course of the board meeting. “When I heard about this, I had first to call the chairman of the holding company, Mr. Oba Otudeko. He picked my call and I reminded him about the regulatory intervention and forbearance regime in the bank and that the decision to make such sweeping changes would require prior approval of the CBN. “I pleaded with him to step down the decision and that we could hold the meeting to discuss the issues. The current managing director was running on a tenure that is expected to expire on December 31, 2021. And as far as we are concerned, there was no need for such changes. “And I repeat that given our regulatory intervention and forbearance regime, we felt that if there was any misconduct on the part of Dr. Sola Adeduntan that he should have been queried, the CBN should have been informed and the CBN should have been party to such an action to punish Dr. Adeduntan. “We were not informed of any misconduct, nor were we informed of any query; indeed, the CBN has been satisfied working with Dr. Adeduntan on a stabilisation regime for First Bank since 2016. “He had played his role to the best of our knowledge, the best that could be done of a professional banker. He had insisted on governance being put in place and we suspect that it is because he has stood his ground on certain decisions that are not in favour of major shareholders in the bank that they felt hurt and thought he should be removed. “This is against what we stand for. This is a bank where depositors’ funds are almost ten times shareholders’ funds. And like I said earlier, our interest is to protect depositors and minority shareholders who have no voice in this business.” He added: “We would not sit idle and continue to allow this to continue. “I spoke to Dr. Oba Otudeko; he refused to grant my entreaties. I had cause to call two of his major shareholders to ask him to ask the board not to take such decisions without the approval of the CBN, but he refused to pick the calls of these shareholders who are co-owners of the bank. “I called him a second time and heard one of the shareholders listening to me on another line, begging Dr. Otudeko that he should not take that decision, he insisted on taking that decision. “We hung up the phone and I sent that shareholder back to the office of Mr. Oba Otudeko to appeal to him to please suspend the decision to remove the MD. He refused to see the shareholder. “I feel we had done our best and that we would not allow a shareholder who feels that he cannot subject himself to regulatory control and authority to remain as a director of the bank. “So, we didn’t have any choice but to take this decision. As we speak, the chairman of the bank was queried, Ibukun Awosika, we are yet to receive any response. In any case, I would imagine that response is no longer necessary.” Emefiele gave reasons why the CBN spared the executive directors, deputy managing directors and managing director of the bank from being removed in the shake-up. He said having worked with them since 2016, the CBN perceived the board crisis to be more of a breakdown of governance and insider abuse by shareholders. “We felt that because we have worked with them from 2016 till now, what we saw was more of a breakdown of governance and insider abuse by shareholders. “And we felt that we needed to stamp our authority to reappoint and give them a chance to continue to remain executive directors, deputy managing directors and managing director of this bank.” THISDAY learnt that the apex bank aims to insist on the recapitalisation of the bank and restore it not only to profitability, but also to its erstwhile leadership position in the industry. It would also tackle insider abuse and ensure the restoration of good corporate governance. Analysts Laud CBN’s Intervention Meanwhile, analysts who spoke to THISDAY in separate interviews on the development commended the CBN for living up to its responsibility and saving the situation in record time. The Managing Director/Chief Executive, Credent Investment Managers Limited, Mr. Ibrahim Shelleng, said it is important that depositors’ funds are protected and malpractices are called out in order to maintain confidence and sanity in the financial system. He pointed out that the duty of the regulator is to always ensure that best practices and corporate governance guidelines are adhered to, adding that it “seems that FBN had breached those processes therefore it is proper that the CBN intervened”. “However, I would assume that the apex bank had previous communication with FBN to allow them to get their house in order before taking these drastic steps,” he said. Also, a reliable source who craved anonymity because of his connection with affected parties in the development said, “The CBN Governor has taken the right decision to ensure avoidance of huge systemic risk”. He said: “Recall that CBN target examination/stress test on First Bank found their non-performing loan ratio extremely higher than the maximum limit of 5 per cent and also found their capital adequacy ratio very weak, lower than the then minimum of 15 per cent (now 16 per cent) for systemically important banks. “CBN also found them wanting in respect of poor corporate governance with lots of insider related credits, unsecured and attracting lower interest rates. “This is what is called insider abuse. Nothing kills a bank easily more than insider abuse. If after almost five years, CBN still feels First Bank board are still weak and evidently micro managed by the significant shareholders, there is risk to both minority shareholders and depositors.” The source added that being a systemically important bank (due to their size, asset base, number of employees with subsidiaries/branches offshore among others, anything significantly negative on FBN will automatically have huge effect on the entire banking industry as well as the Nigerian economy. He pointed out that, “Besides CBN acted within their powers to avoid huge systemic risk. “However, the question now is, are First Bank majority shareholders the only culprits or there are others with similar challenges being micro managed by CBN and yet to burst?” Also, speaking with THISDAY, Managing Director/Chief Executive, SD&D Capital Management Limited, Mr. Idakolo Gbolade, said the CBN action has saved the bank from systemic collapse due to its bad loans adding that this measure was similar to what happened to the likes of Skye Bank where the apex regulatory body had to intervene due to unsecured loans to directors against financial best practices. Gbolade, First Bank remained an important player in the banking sector and can be said to be a corporation that any news of negative performance will affect the banking sector. “The bank is one of the systemically important entity in the financial sector and reports like the shake-up of the board of the bank and HoldCo will negatively affect the entire banking sector,” he added. In the same vein, Managing Director/Chief Executive, Dignity Finance and Investment Limited, Dr. Chijioke Ekechukwu, told THISDAY that the decision taken by the CBN to sack directors of First Bank was in the interest of the country, and all the stakeholders of the bank. He stressed that the “CBN plays many roles but more importantly, they play both regulatory role and supervisory role over all financial institutions for purposes of financial systems stability”. Ekechukwu said: “Recall that First Bank has been enjoying forbearance from CBN to cushion the effect of their huge non-performing loans profile. There were cases of insider abuses in the credit administration of the bank. “First Bank is one of the biggest banks in Nigeria and anything that affects them adversely will affect the financial system. So to nip it in the bud, it was necessary for CBN to take the decision they did.” Chairman, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Abuja Branch, Prof. Uche Uwaleke, said the CBN’S action will boost investor confidence adding that it is in the overall interest of banking system stability. He added that the action also served to ensure that depositors’ funds are protected. “So, I support the CBN wielding the big stick on any bank that flouts the rules. A banking system regulator should be seen to take the issue of corporate governance very seriously. “In this particular matter, my take is that the apex bank is in order in view of the fact that it gave the Board of First Bank the opportunity to defend itself. “It behooves the CBN now to communicate the reasons for its action to members of the public and provide reassurance of banking system stability.” Also, analysing the development, Chief Executive, Global Analytics Company, Mr. Tope Fasua, said the situation was avoidable and regretted that it was not nipped in the bud by the former board. He said: “What has happened today 29th of April, 2021 to First Bank Limited should not have been allowed to escalate to this level. Since around 2015 First Bank has been in and out of the news for not-too-palatable reasons…” He also argued that the CBN retains the right as a regulator to maintain its oversight on all banks under its jurisdiction, adding that since it receives and examines the books and transactions of all banks, it alone can make a judgment call on whether a bank’s directors have done the right thing. Fasua said: “In the communication we have seen in the space, the central bank has emphasised the fact that it has given First Bank some regulatory forbearance more than once, and that it has had to help the liquidity position of the erstwhile biggest bank in Nigeria on a number of occasions. “I wouldn’t understand how a bank ignores such weighty warnings. The CBN went further to detail some of the insider lending of First Bank, especially as it relates to the chairman of its holding company – Otunba Oba Otudeko.” According to him, “Some of the people on the side of the now dismissed board have alleged all sorts. The most ridiculous is that the CBN is after First Bank for supporting Flutterwave, which also supported EndSARS. Everything has become politicised in Nigeria.” “With the move from the CBN, we pray First Bank finds some peace. But more generally, we hope that our smart people who run banks will understand the sheer enormity of the licences they owe and never get it into their heads to throw it all away in some flight of fancy,” he added.

Otudeko’s Honeywell Group speaks on controversial First Bank loan

The firm says its debts are being serviced. By Oladeinde Olawoyin May 3, 2021 The Honeywell Group has said that it is servicing loan facilities obtained from First Bank of Nigeria Limited and other financial institutions across the country. The company in a statement on Sunday said like most companies, it utilises its own equity and borrows from banks and other financial institutions to carry out its operations. The company is reacting to the recent furore over the board composition of First Bank and credit facility obtained from the bank. PREMIUM TIMES reported how the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) expressed concern that First Bank “has not complied with regulatory directives to divest its interest in Honeywell Flour Mills despite several reminders.” The apex bank also expressed worry over the need to restructure credit facility to the company. In the midst of the furore, the Chairman of the Honeywell Group, Oba Otudeko, was removed as the Chairman of FBN Holdings Plc, the parent company of First Bank Nigeria Limited. In the same vein, Ibukun Awosika was also removed from office as chair of First Bank, alongside all the board members of the bank. The decision, the regulator said, was made “to protect 31 million customers, minority shareholders of First Bank of Nigeria Ltd”. The CBN also announced the immediate appointment of Tunde Hassan-Odukale as Chairman of the bank. Mr Hassan-Odukale, until his appointment, was the Managing Director of Leadway Assurance Company. “Track record” Honeywell Group in its reaction said it has a strong track record of mutually beneficial successes with its local and international financiers based on honouring obligations and delivering returns to all shareholders. The statement said since 1972, Honeywell Group and First Bank of Nigeria have had a professional business relationship that preceded its investment in the bank over a decade later. It said the company’s relationship with First Bank “has always been professional, at arm’s length and in accordance with all regulatory and industry practices and norms”. The credit facilities accessed from First Bank and other banks were granted after due negotiations, with the necessary documentation and in line with regulatory policies and industry standards, the statement said. It added that the Honeywell Group has serviced all its credit facilities in line with the terms agreed with First Bank and at no point has any of these facilities been non-performing. The company said in 2015, First Bank under the directive of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), drew its attention to a 2004 circular (BSD/9/2004) which required that insider related facilities must not exceed 10 percent of paid-up share capital. It said based on this directive, the Honeywell Group subsequently entered negotiations with the bank to agree an appropriate repayment structure and the final negotiated position was duly approved by the CBN, adding that it is important to note that the facilities have been performing from inception and to date. The company said in accordance with agreed terms, its facilities with First Bank are adequately secured with collaterals in place at over 170% of Forced Sales Value and 230% at Open Market Value. It said the Honeywell Group has continued to meet all its obligations on its facilities with First Bank according to agreed terms and has reduced its exposure by nearly 30% in 2.5 years. “The facilities were charged at market rates and the lender continues to earn significant interest therefrom,” the statement said.

Crimson as colour of Remi Tinubu’s wolf and sheep allegory

Festus Adedayo MAY 1, 2021 Did Itsekiri, Delta State-born Senator representing Lagos in Nigeria’s National Assembly, Mrs. Oluremi Tinubu, nee Ikusebiala – interpreted, meaning, “death’s most fitting analogy is a sleep” – wife of the Asiwaju of Lagos, All Progressives Congress (APC’s) National Leader and ex-Lagos State governor, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, know the implication of stirring the hornet’s nest? That was what she did last week when she introduced the wolf and sheep allegory into the current national discourse on the security situation in Nigeria. Advertisement Last Tuesday, at the thick of a dense discourse which had the Nigerian Senate dedicating its plenary to the discussion of the excruciating security situation in the country, Smart Adeyemi, representing Kogi West Senatorial District, like one in a chasm, was suddenly seized by the plethora of Nigerian crises. In a melancholic, teary-jerking submission, Adeyemi painted a grim picture of Nigeria’s descent into anarchy. Sounding like a griot narrating the tale of war in ages past, Adeyemi cleverly wove the tapestry of the Nigerian woes and hopelessness in the hands of President Muhammadu Buhari. “This is the worst instability we are facing. In fact, this is worse than the civil war. Billions of naira have been voted for security services and nothing is coming out of it. I’m a party man and I’m supporting APC but it has gotten to a point that as supporters we cannot keep quiet,” he said in a voice tinged with sorrow and hopelessness. Outside the shores of the Assembly, separated by hundreds of kilometers, was another descent into melancholy. Abagena, a village domiciled in by Internally Displaced Persons, (IDP) was the venue of another weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth. Benue State governor, Samuel Ortom, stood before seven bodies lying prostrate or face-up, in different postures. Blood that oozed from their wounds had started to congeal. Ortom had no choice but to peel the dress of a governor wore on him by ascription and put on the apparel of a man in abhorrence of man whose humanity had been assaulted. He stood there, looking grim, lost, and inconsolable before corpses of his kinsmen. They had been murdered a few hours before then. Leaves were flung in the sky by youth who had come to protest their killing the night before. The Benue seven dead bodies completed the state’s two-week circus of a blood-spilling orgy. All in all, a statistics of 70 murdered people, sent to their graves by men suspected to be Fulani herders, lay on the floor. In the previous week, Nigeria was like a funeral parlour, littered with dead bodies in a democratic blood spillage that had virtually all the regions in Nigeria painted in a crimson colour of sorrow. Five more people were killed by the weekend. Advertisement “It is an unfortunate development. If the federal government had taken a proactive step, we will not be where we are. In the last two weeks, over 70 persons just in Makurdi local government area alone. It is not acceptable. Go to Guma, the same killings are taking place, go to Gwer-west, the same killings are taking place. This is not fair. The federal government has refused to take a proactive step to arrest this ugly situation we are witnessing here today. You recall that I alerted the entire nation when Fulanis from 14 countries met in Yola and declared that except we review the prohibition of open grazing law, Benue will not know peace,” Ortom said. Back in the Senate, as Adeyemi showed his disgust at the sport that shedding of blood had become in Nigeria, Mrs. Tinubu didn’t see blood. She saw the party and its affiliation. Like a wolf aiming for the jugular of the lamb, with stains of blood caressing the nape of her jaws, this Pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) went for the throat of the discourse and the discussant. “Are you in PDP? Are you a wolf in sheep’s clothing?” she howled. Even though what Mrs. Tinubu meant looked poignantly clear enough, discourse analysis seems a sure weapon to tease out what the purport of her allegory meant. Discourse analysis is used as a research method to study written or spoken language, as well as its social context. So, was the Tinubu allegory said after she had read Enoch Adeoye’s Open Heavens for that day, an early morning daily homily? In which case, she must have read Matthew 7:15 which says, “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves”? Or did she go into her Itsekiri ancestry to interpret the death of thousands of people who have died in the hands of Fulani herdsmen under Buhari, to mean that the dead were just sleeping? Advertisement Mrs. Tinubu’s Itsekiri ancestry shares the same heterogeneity with the Yoruba people. It is a mixed ethnic origin of language similar to the Yoruba and Igala, both of western and central Nigeria. Also, it shares the culture of the Benin people of Edo State. In her tirade and upbraid of Senator Adeyemi last week, could she have assumed that the dead are not dead in the real sense of it? Several interpretations of encounters between the lamb and the wolf have been made in history. The Aesop’s fable is one of them. These fables, also called the Aesopica, are a collection of fables that were the brainchild of Aesop, a slave, and storyteller who lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 564 BCE. Aesop told the tale of a shepherd who deliberately sired a wolf cub in the midst of his sheep. Upon the wolf having grown, unknown to the shepherd, the wolf returned to the flesh-eating gastronomy of its wolf ancestry. Whenever a wolf struck the pen and carted a sheep away, the wolf-sheep pretended to be pursuing the invading wolf and kept the chase until it was out of eyesight. At that moment, it shared the sheep meal with its kin – the wolf marauder. Sometimes, it would grip one of the sheep in the pen and share its meat with invading wolves as well. When the shepherd discovered the actual texture of the wolf-sheep, he caused it to be hung on the tree. This narrative is conveyed in a Greek anthology where a sheep lamented that, in suckling what looked like its sheep kin, she suckled an enemy, a wolf-cub: Not by my own will but the shepherd’s folly/The beast reared by me will make me his prey/ For gratitude cannot change nature. Two other wolf fables in history told the story of the danger of putting up a false toga. They are 12th-century Greek rhetorician, Nikephoros Basilakis’s tale, and 15th-century Italian professor, Laurentius Abstenius’. While Basilakis’ was entitled Rhetorical Exercises, Abstenius’ was Hecatomythium. They are however almost indistinguishable in the morals they conveyed. Basilakis’ began by stating that “you can get into trouble by wearing a disguise.” Thereafter, Basilakis illustrated this by telling the tale of a wolf that changed its nature, wore a sheep’s clothing, a sheepskin, which enabled him to accompany the flock to the pasture. At nightfall, the shepherd securely fastened the lock and closed off the sheepfold. With this, the wolf in sheep’s sheepskin secretly gourmands the flesh of the animals in the pen. The shepherd didn’t discover this for a long time. One day, he wanted meat for supper and picked one of the sheep. It was the wolf. In the Nikephoros fable, the moral is that evil-doing comes with a huge penalty. At a time like this when blood has almost totally enveloped Nigeria when the word on the lips of patriots is how to get redemption for this beleaguered country under Buhari, why was the APC/PDP dichotomy the only classification index that agitated ex-Miss Ikusebiala? In her reference to the wolf and sheep allegory, was Tinubu’s wife cleverly taking our minds back to the Aesop’s fable, the tale of a shepherd who deliberately sired a wolf-cub in the midst of his sheep? Was Buhari the wolf-sheep that was sired in the pen, now marauding our sheep? Advertisement The above becomes germane if the current Nigerian situation is subjected to a helicopter analysis. In the month of April, 268 people, including five future of Nigeria from the Greenfield University in Kaduna, were killed, ostensibly by Fulani herders, kidnappers, and bandits. Fulani, Buhari’s ethnic stock, is held to be at the vortex of the killings. Fulani is said to be one of the most deadly, even if nationalistic ethnic tribes in the world. Also known as Peul or Fulbe, Fulani are primarily Muslim and are scattered around many parts of West Africa. From Lake Chad in the east to the Atlantic coast, they wander down to Nigeria, Niger, Senegal, Cameroun, Guinea and Mali. Widely dispersed and originally pastoral people, the killings in Nigeria are directly proportional to the Fulani quest to be everywhere with their herds. Armed with sophisticated weapons, they shed blood with impunity. The killings have countless times been rationalized by Buhari, in his sparse conversations, as well as by his ministers and their accomplices. One of them even said that Fulanis of Africa needed no visa to be in Nigeria. The first question to ask is, why should a ministry like that of Communication, with its indistinguishable relationship with technology, be placed in the hands of a volatile Islamist/religionist like Isa Pantami? It had earlier been in the hands of another Islamist, Mullah Abdur-Raheem Adebayo Shittu. Religion and technology are strange bedfellows. So, was it a coincidence that the duo of Shittu and Pantami superintended over the communication ministry under Buhari? In an interview with Obadiah Mailafia, former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank, published in a national newspaper yesterday, Obadiah had alleged that one of the reasons why Pantami is a sacred cow at the Ministry of Communications, in spite of allegations of his extremist views, was the need for him to carry out a Fulani demographics agenda. “Through Pantami’s devious NIN palaver, they are allegedly importing millions of aliens and issuing them with passports, national identity cards and voter cards. They are fighting a demographic Jihad to ensure that the North is the demographic majority by subterfuge. And then they will have a free license to call the shots in perpetuity. They have allowed hundreds of thousands of killers to invade our country,” he alleged. So, could Buhari, rather than Adeyemi, be the wolf that is putting on a sheepskin so as to devour our sheep? Again, it is apposite to ask whether former Miss Ikusebiala was speaking like a mother when she made that wolf and sheep statement. Even if she spoke blindly in defence of her partisan leaning, didn’t she have human feeling? Did she speak like a Nigerian who was aware that the country was about to explode as a result of the Jihadization of Nigeria by Buhari? Advertisement Ex-Miss Ikusebiala would be excused if she realized that she had predecessors in history. An insouciant statement of that kind had been made by Queen Marie Antoinette in 1789. As famine ravaged France and the cost of bread got to its apogee during the reign of her husband, King Louis XV1, totally bereft of what the ordinary man on the street was passing through, France’s Ikusebiala had told the people in a widely notorious French phrase, Qu’ils mangent de la brioche, translated to mean, Let them eat cake. That carelessness ruptured France. So, could it be that ensconced in the fortress of Bourdillon and the comfort that bullion vans bring, Ikusebiala does not know that Nigerians are hemorrhaging badly under Buhari, in a way that political partisan is lame and lax to stop? Let ex-Miss Ikusebiala continue to preface party before the people’s woes. Her husband, the Asiwaju, is known to be notorious for placing the cart before the horse as well, putting a dead-on-arrival political ambition before the slaughter of hundreds of Nigerians. This is making the callous wolf dig its teeth into our flesh a step further. The truth, however, is that we are getting close to a rupture. As Jamaican Don Carlos sang, there will be weeping, wailing and gnashing of the teeth. Buni and APC’s 40-years-in-power grandstanding When politicians project that they would be in power ad infinitum, what exactly is the content of their projection? Is it spiritual, logical, or merely wishful thinking? The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) regaled Nigerians with this projection a while ago, to the consternation of many. How can perishable man, who flowers today and tomorrow be cast away; possessed of a glowing skin today but tomorrow is a mass of maggots, project a kingdom for an uncertain tomorrow? So when Vincent Ogbulafor, some years ago, said that the PDP would be in power for 60 years, Nigerians wondered what was the content of his audacious projection into an unknown tomorrow? Advertisement Upper week, Yobe State governor and All Progressives Congress (APC’s) interim national chairman, Mai Mala Buni, walked that same boastfully ruinous path. Indicating that he and his party had not learned any lesson from the downfall of the PDP which fell yakata shortly after such biblical Nebuchadnezzar boast, Buni advertised that same toga. In Abuja last Tuesday for the inauguration of a 61-member Strategy and Contact Committee set up ahead of the 2023 general elections, Buni had thumped his chest as is the won’t of the boastfulness of his political party constituency and declared that the APC planned to remain in power for 40 years of 10 consecutive terms. Savouring the company he kept, with governors of the party by his right-hand side, senators on his left and a sprinkle other party faithful, Bunu declared magisterially: “Our vision is to provide a wheel that will drive the party to go beyond 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th and even 10th term of office.” What is on ground does not however justify Buni’s self-chest-thumping. When he came on board in June 2020 as a result of a welter of condemnations against Adams Oshiomhole’s garrulousness, Buni’s choice unsettled so many party bigwigs. The main cause for worry was why a sitting governor would be chosen to superintend over the affairs of a party which had so many worthy party faithful to the man that position. Since then, the implication of Buni being in office for the overarching party interest has been subjected to acute grilling. Even the PDP called on the Yobe governor to resign his dual positions as governor and APC’s Interim National Chairman, citing a pronouncement of the Supreme Court which labeled the leadership of the party “irresponsible and reckless.” Two major states have fallen in the Supreme Court as a result of technical discrepancies. While Zamfara State’s APC, on May 24, 2019, fell to the intra-party dispute in the party, Bayelsa was to follow suit later. On the Zamfara issue, the court had held, among others, that the APC did not hold valid primaries preparatory to the 2019 general election. It thus voided the APC’s erstwhile victory in the 2019 governorship election, while making a consequential order which directed the party which had the second-highest scores in the election to step into the office. In Bayelsa as well, the Supreme Court, on February 13, voided the APC victory just a day to the governor’s swearing-in. With the casualty that the APC has been facing, rather than a boastfulness of its staying in power for the next 40 years, what the party ought to have safeguarded was its continued hold in its 19 controlled states, which is under serious threats. Methinks that putting its house in order by showing Buni the door should have been the most pressing decision on the card of the ruling party. Recently, APC escaped being axed by the whiskers when the election petitions tribunal sitting in Ondo State said it had no jurisdiction to remove its elected governor. This should be a wake-up call for the party. If the tribunal had granted the prayers of the PDP, by implication, every action – and they are plenty, including the recent registration exercise – taken by the APC since Buni became caretaker chairman would have been voided, thus ending Buni’s peacock claim of the party being in government for the next 40 years. Unless it wakes up from its self-inflicted slumber, shows Buni the gate, and reorganizes itself, a stitch in time may not be able to save the boastful APC from the catastrophe to come. Gbenga Adeboye: 18 years after the gnome’s exit Last week, specifically on April 30, 2021, humorist, broadcaster, and multi-talented Master of Ceremony, Elijah Oluwagbemiga Adeboye, clocked 18 years underneath the surface of the earth. He had died on the same day in April 2003. Born September 30, 1959, in Odeomu, Osun State, Adeboye had spent a sizeable portion of his life pulling the stern-faced to the jukebox and getting them to smile to his rib-cracking humours. To describe Adeboye as an enigma was an understatement. He combined an eclectic broadcasting talent with singing, humour, and entertainment. In his death, Southwestern Nigeria lost a major talent and entertainer. Adeboye was a chief host of popular radio programmes on Lagos State Broadcasting Corporation, right from the early 1980s, which he tagged Funwontan Oduology, as well as many others in virtually all parts of the southwest. He had the ability to mimic personages and went by the moniker, Alaye Mi Gbengulo. Those who knew him still dive into the nostalgia of his generosity but he would be remembered by the power of his comedy. He molded so many broadcasters who today are always in sober moods every April 30, one of whom is Yemi Sonde, a.k.a. Jigan Akala. A number of mysteries and mysticism surrounded the person of Adeboye and his short eclectic entertainment career. One of such was his deep romance with traditional African medicine. Those who knew him claimed that his life was as mysterious as his person. Some of this he demonstrated even on many of the programmes he handled for radio stations across the west. He was profound, arresting, and spellbinding whenever he stood behind the microphone. One of such profundity was exhibited in a series entitled Itu Baba Ita, a recreation of an errant personage who was also an outlaw. Adeboye battled forces, seen and unseen, whose upper hands wedged him to his sepulcher. A few months before his final death, he had been rumoured to have died, the harrowing process of which he later sang about in about the last vinyl he produced before his final death. He had an initial unpleasant encounter with the late Fuji icon, Sikiru Ayinde Barrister, a tiff which was unclear whether the duo reached an armistice before their individual passages. Those who knew Adeboye said he died due to kidney-related disease while to some, he was a gnome who had finished his assignment on earth and was due to join the spirit world. May his soul continue to find an anchor in the bosom of his creator.

OPINION: Is Saliu Mustapha Empowerment A Greek Gift?

By Oyewale Oyelola Malam Saliu Mustapha, a Kwara born politician and businessman in the last five years has been empowering the vulnerable persons in the society and offering support to other people to achieve their goals. Saliu Mustapha who is also a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has been consistent in helping downtrodden people, wipe tears of the poor and supporting good course through Saliu Mustapha Foundation. The foundation programmes cover Human Capital Development, Community Development, Education/Scholarship, Youth Development and Gender equality. Since the establishment if the foundation in 2017, Malam Saliu Mustapha has continued to fund the humanitarian activities singlehanded in order to create better life for less privileged in Kwara State and beyond The core loyalist of President Muhammadu Buhari established Saliu Mustapha foundation to expand his reach, put smile on people face and scope of humanitarian activities. Although, some critics have tagged the Ilorin East born politician as Greek gift and bait to get support for his political career. However, the consistency of Saliu Mustapha in act of kindness with humility could be traced to over 10 years of doing Sadaqah by reaching to the needy directly. According to the Quran, the word means voluntary offering, whose amount is at the will of the “benefactor”. In Islamic terminology, sadaqah has been defined as an act of “giving something…without seeking a substitute in return and with the intention of pleasing Allah.” No doubt, the continuation of annual empowerment programme after the political gang up against him in 2018 clearly shows Saliu Mustapha is empowering people to bridge the gap between the privileged and people are striving to achieve their dreams but lack financial strength. For records, the foundation has organized two Empowerment Programmes after Malam Saliu Mustapha’s first political outing. He purchased JAMB form for 2000 students in 2020, donates car to Ilorin Emirate council and supports many worship centres without making noise. Apart from that, the just concluded two-day (February 6-7, 2021) Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Empowerment Programme for 2020 that was delayed due to ravaging COVID-19 pandemic reveals through intention of the passionate philanthropist. Imagine Saliu Mustapha tactically missing the huge platform to score political points amidst crisis rocking Kwara APC. Although, he gives tenable excuse for his absence at the event but close ally said he deliberately missed the event to taking ‘glory for what Almighty Allah is doing through him’. During the event, 75 beneficiaries get N150,000, 150 receive N100,000, 58 people were given N70,000 each, 67 small business owners get N50,000 and 27 Community stakeholders/ previous beneficiaries receive N50,000 each to strengthen their capital base. The beneficiaries were drawn from every part of Kwara state comprises artisans, traders, vulnerable persons nominated by traditional rulers/community based organizations, widows, people living with disabilities, aged, market women/men, youth and women that submitted their request to the foundation, clerics and others assessment by Saliu Mustapha Foundation MSME unit. The main motive of doling out over N40million nonrefundable grants this year is to support small business owners to boost their capacity and complement government efforts in reducing poverty in the society.

Bandits kill three abducted Kaduna varsity students

Greenfield University Godwin Isenyo, Kaduna Bandits have killed three of the abducted students of the Greenfield University, Kasarami in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State. The Greenfield University, a privately-owned institution, is located along the Kaduna-Abuja Highway. Some unspecified numbers of students and a staff of the university were kidnapped by gunmen on Tuesday night. The bandits later made contact with the parents and demanded N800million ransom for the release of the students. The state Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Mr. Samuel Aruwan, who confirmed the incident, said the remains of the students were found close to the university on Friday. The Commissioner said, “In an act of mindless evil and sheer wickedness, the armed bandits who kidnapped students of Greenfield University have shot dead three of the abducted students. “The bandits on Tuesday night kidnapped an unspecified number of students at the institution located at Kasarami Village off Kaduna-Abuja Road in Chikun LGA. “The remains of three students were found today (Friday) in Kwanan Bature Village, a location close to the university, and have been evacuated to a mortuary by the Commissioner, Internal Security and Home Affairs, and Force Commander, Operation Thunder Strike, Lt. Col. MH Abdullahi. “Governor Nasir El-Rufai has condemned the killing of the students as sheer wickedness, inhumanity and an outright desecration of human lives by vile entities. “He went on to say that the bandits represent the worst of humankind and must be fought at all cost for the violent wickedness they represent. “The Governor further said evil would not triumph over God-given humanity. He appealed to citizens to come together against the forces of darkness challenging national security and the very existence of the Nigerian State. “The Governor, on behalf of the Government and people of Kaduna State sent deep condolences and empathy to the students’ families and the university community, as he prayed for the repose of their souls. “The Government will keep citizens informed of further developments.”

Buhari overrules DPR, restores ownership of four oil blocks to NNPC

Olalekan Adetayo The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), on Friday, approved the restoration of the leases on four Oil Mining Licences to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation. The oil licences affected are OMLs 123, 124, 126 and 137. The Department of Petroleum Resources had on March 30, 2021, revoked the licences belonging to the federation. The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, disclosed this in a statement titled ‘President Buhari restores ownership of OML 123, others to NNPC.’ Shehu said the President had directed the DPR to retract the letter of revocation of the leases. Petrol queues, black marketers surface in Abuja, Niger According to the presidential aide, Buhari also directed the NNPC to utilise contractual provisions to resolve issues in line with the extant provisions of the Production Sharing Contract arrangement between the corporation and Addax. The statement read, “In line with the current administration’s commitment to the rule of law, fairness and enabling a stable business climate for investment, President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the restoration of the leases on OMLs 123, 124, 126 and 137 to the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, which is in production sharing contract with Addax Petroleum, a company wholly owned by Government of the People’s Republic of China on the blocks. The leases belonging to the Federation were revoked on March 30, 2021. “This development reaffirms the commitment of President Buhari to the rule of law and sanctity of contracts. “While directing the Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR to retract the letter of revocation of the leases, the President also directed NNPC to utilise contractual provisions to resolve issues in line with the extant provisions of the Production Sharing Contract arrangement between NNPC and Addax. “The restoration of the blocks to NNPC will boost the organisation’s portfolio, thereby making the Corporation to, in the long run, boost its crude oil production and in turn increase the revenue it generates to the Federation Account.”