The Reunification of China is the Aspiration of the People and An Irresistible Historical Trend-
On the Occasion of the Designation of Commemoration Day of Taiwan’s Restoration

By: H.E. Yu Dunhai, Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria

October 25 may appear to be an ordinary day on the calendar, but for the entire Chinese nation, including our Taiwan compatriots, it carries a profound and distinctive significance.

On October 24, 2025, China’s national legislature adopted a decision in accordance with the Constitution,officially designating October 25 as the Commemoration Day of Taiwan’s Restoration. This decision has been warmly embraced by people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. It not only reflects the unwavering commitment of all Chinese people to uphold the one-China principle, safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity, but also gives voice to the shared aspirations of all the Chinese people at home and abroad, including our Taiwan compatriots. This significant move will undoubtedly inspire people across the Taiwan Strait to carry forward the traditions of patriotism and the great spirit of the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, with the aim of achieving the complete reunification of the motherland and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

80 years ago, the Chinese people achieved a great victory in the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War after 14 years of arduous and bloody struggles. The historic moment has witnessed Taiwan’s return to the motherland. On October 25, 1945, the ceremony to accept Japan’s surrender in the Taiwan Province of the China war theater of the Allied powers was held in Taipei. The Chinese government proclaimed that “As of today, Taiwan and the Penghu Islands have officially been reincorporated to China’s territory, and all lands, people and administrative affairs therein have been placed under Chinese sovereignty.” From that point on, Taiwan and the Penghu Islands returned to China’s sovereign jurisdiction.

Taiwan compatriots were freed from the shackles of colonial rule and joyfully celebrated their return to the motherland. The restoration of Taiwan to the motherland is a major outcome of the Chinese people’s victory in the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. It is an important part of the post-war international order and a historical fact enshrined in the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation, and must never be distorted or denied.

54 years ago, the Chinese government ushered in the historic moment of restoring its lawful seat in the United Nations after 22 years of resolute struggle against hegemonism and power politics. On October 25, 1971, the 26th Session of the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 2758 by an overwhelming majority, deciding to restore all rights of the People’s Republic of China in the United Nations and recognizing the representatives of the Government of the People’s Republic of China as the only legitimate representatives of China to the United Nations. Once and for all, UNGA Resolution 2758 resolved, politically, legally and procedurally, the issue of the representation of the whole of China, including Taiwan, in the United Nations and other international institutions. It also made it clear that there can only be one seat representing China to the United Nations. No issue exists regarding the so-called “two Chinas” or “one China, one Taiwan”.

The One-China Principle embodied by UNGA Resolution 2758 has become an unshakable international consensus and a fundamental norm governing international relations. A total of 183 countries, including Nigeria, have established and developed diplomatic relations with China on the basis of the One-China Principle. The Taiwan authorities under the Democratic Progressive Party, in collusion with external forces, deliberately distort and challenge the One-China Principle and Resolution 2758, trumpeting the fallacy that Taiwan’s status is undetermined. This not only challenges China’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity, but also undermines the authority of the United Nations and the post-WWII international order. It is an absurd and dangerous attempt to turn back the wheel of history. No foreign interference with the One-China Principle shall be tolerated. No individual or force attempting to interfere in China’s internal affairs or distort UNGA Resolution 2758 will ever succeed.

Nigeria has consistently adhered to the One-China Principle and worked with China to uphold the authority of UNGA Resolution 2758 since the establishment of its diplomatic relations with China in 1971. During President Tinubu’s state visit to China last year, Nigeria reaffirmed in the Joint Statement its firm commitment to the One-China Principle, its opposition to any form of “Taiwan Independence” or interference in China’s internal affairs, and its firm support for all efforts made by the Chinese government to achieve national reunification. Over the past year, China-Nigeria relations have entered a fast track of development, with fruitful results in practical cooperation. Our two countries firmly support each other in safeguarding their respective national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and jointly promote prosperity and development. The building of a China-Nigeria community with a shared future has achieved tangible results, benefiting the peoples of both countries.

The Reunification of China is the Aspiration of the People and An Irresistible Historical Trend-
On the Occasion of the Designation of Commemoration Day of Taiwan’s Restoration

Ishaq Kunle Sanni and his warped view about Aregbesola/Oyetola feud

By Ismail Omipidan

I have just finished reading Alhaji Ishaq Kunle Sanni’s beautiful piece titled “Wanted: A Jubril Aminu in Tinubu’s Government.” From the title, one would think that the piece is merely an advocacy or a call for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration to treat South-West Muslims with some modicum of respect and dignity by placing them in some strategic positions that would enable them serve both the government and humanity.

Like many Muslims from the South-West, I too believe that Tinubu’s administration has not treated the Ummah from this region fairly or justly, especially considering the significant role we played in the political battle that led to his emergence as president.

However, while the marginalisation of the South-West Muslims by the Tinubu’s administration remains very glaring, we must also acknowledge our own shortcomings. We have not helped our cause through our persistent lack of organisation. Too often, we pursue personal interests rather than a collective agenda. Until we shift from agonising to organising, and from fragmentation to unity, we will continue to face this challenge.

I recall when the appointment of Dr. Charles Akinola was announced as the MD of South-West Development Commission, President Tinubu and my former principal, H. E Oyetola, was taken to task by some of the South-West muslims. None, however, remembered that Dr. Akinola, who had served Oyetola as Chief of Staff, played a leading role in the establishment of the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) Commission for regional integration.

I am aware that he chaired the Technical Committee of the South-West Development Commission, under the South-West Governors’ Forum. He led the review of the SWDC Bill and coordinated regional consensus on development priorities. Therefore, as I argued then, and still maintain now, it is only natural that he should be given the opportunity to drive the project, now that it has materialised.

Not many agreed with me at the time. Some saw my position as a mere defense of President Tinubu and my former principal. That’s fine. However, it will not stop me from addressing the issues raised by my elder, Alhaji Ishaq Kunle Sanni, particularly his claim that President Tinubu was the architect of the feud between Aregbesola and Oyetola.

Egbon, I know that you are usually emotional and sentimental when it comes to matters concerning Aregbesola. That’s human and you can be forgiven for that, but please, let us always be guided by the dictum: opinion is free, but facts are sacred. You were in the delegation of the Muslim Ummah South West Nigeria (MUSWEN) that visited Oyetola all in attempt to resolve the rift. Given what you heard during that solemn and sincere engagement, how can you, in good conscience, come out in public to assert that Tinubu was the architect of the rift between Oyetola and Aregbesola? Fear Allah. Let us be truthful, even when it’s difficult.

As a journalist and later as an insider, here are the things I know: One, from day one, Aregbesola’s agenda the moment he became Osun State Governor was to see how he would emerge the defacto South-West political leader. This was the reason he embarked on so many ambitious programmes and projects including attempting to re-construct a road from Orile-Owu, in Osun State to Ogun State.

Two, Aregbesola had openly declared to all who cared to listen that Oyetola’s tenure would be his ‘third term,’ confidently assuring outgoing cabinet members that the majority of them would return. In line with this assertion, he went ahead to appoint a Secretary to the State Government (SSG) and a Chief of Staff (CoS) for Oyetola. Whether deliberate or coincidental, both nominees were Muslims from the Osun West Senatorial District of Osun State, a state where Aregbesola himself had previously recognised the rights of traditional worshippers, a gesture you, Alhaji Sanni, justified and applauded to high heavens at the time.

While Oyetola rejected the choice of CoS because according to him, such a critical position must be filled by someone he personally knew well and trusted for competence and capacity, he had little choice over that of the SSG. Ironically, the SSG-designate, who was the serving Speaker of the State Assembly at the time, could not resign his position to accept the appointment. Instead, he nominated a placeholder, Wole Oyebamiji, a respected broadcaster and committed progressive. As fate would have it, the placeholder ended up serving out the full term, while the former Speaker eventually secured a lucrative federal appointment.

Three, in the heat of the crisis, a crucial meeting was convened in Ila, which was attended by Tinubu, Oyetola, Aregbesola, and Baba Bisi Akande. Aregbesola was the custodian of that meeting’s proceedings. He prepared the clean copy of the major decisions reached at that meeting and forwarded it to Baba Akande. But the question remains: did Aregbesola ever abide by any of those resolutions? Let him answer that truthfully.

Four, in 2020 when Aregbesola and Senator Ajibola Basiru, the current APC National Secretary were planning to celebrate what they referred to as “10 years of unbroken progressive rule in Osun,” as Oyetola’s spokesperson at the time, I was advised by him to steer clear of the matter. However, as a political communication strategist, I understood the implications. I knew that allowing that to happen would rub off on his image as a sitting governor, considering that what they were planning coincided with our own second year in office. We were billed to travel. I feigned ill, and pleaded with my then principal that I wouldn’t be available. Once he left the state, I went to work to expose the hypocrisy and inconsistencies in the planned 10th year anniversary.

For instance, when Aregbesola’s spokesperson, Sola Fasure was first asked about the proposed celebration, he had said: “Yes, he (Aregbesola) is planning to cel­ebrate ( 10th year anniversary) it. This is the 10th an­niversary of bringing in pro­gressive government to Osun. That includes eight years of his own tenure and two years of the (Oyetola) current administra­tion. Is there anything wrong with that? Sincerely, I don’t even think we should be de­bating that.”

But following my intervention, he tried to modify his position the next day, saying “The Minister is coming principally to carry out the presidential directive that all cabinet members should go back to their respective states and engage the governor, youths and other critical stakeholders on the issue of security challenges we face in the country, especially on #EndSARS.

“He has written to the Governor to inform him that he will be in Osun and that his coming coincides with the 10th anniversary of the return of the All Progressives Congress administration in Osun.”

As we can see, in one breath, Fasure said his principal was coming to celebrate the 10th anniversary of bringing of progressive government to Osun. In another breath, he said his boss was coming to carry out presidential directive on #EndSARS matter. Haba!

By the way, was progressive government really 10 years old in Osun at the time? Were they saying Baba Akande’s four years’ administration was not part of progressive government in the state?

At any rate, the letter being referenced by Fasure was sent the same day he rushed to press to make his first claim, which was a clear case of an afterthought.

Anyway, in the end, I understood that Tinubu had impressed it on Aregbesola to hold his anniversary, but it should not be when Oyetola was marking his second year anniversary. So, how in all of these, can any sane mind claim that Tinubu was the architect of Oyetola/ Aregbesola feud?. Egbon Sanni, I want to believe you are one of those who were in a vantage position to pull Aregbesola back, when he was heading in the wrong direction. Now, I know why Aregbesola strayed. May Allah lead us all to the right path and not the path of those that have gone astray.

While I agree with Egbon Sanni that we need a Jubril Aminu in Tinubu’s government, the point I am making is, if we must deal with the case of marginalisation of the South-West Muslims, let’s deal with it squarely and not hide under one finger to attempt to paint Aregbesola as a hero, while presenting Oyetola and Tinubu as villains. Ko le work, sir.

Ishaq Kunle Sanni and his warped view about Aregbesola/Oyetola feud

THE IMPERIALISM OF FOREIGN RELIGIONS BY AUSTIN ORETTE

By: Austin Orette

While Africans opine about imperialism of the west and others, the least talked about and the most lethal of all the isms, is the imperialism of religion in African society.

We can criticize our tribes; we can criticize our politicians and politics but the moment we try to examine the role of religion in our backwardness we are considered pariahs. Soon or later a death decree or fatua is issued. Why is it so? What is so special about religion that cannot be criticized?

All over the world, religion has led to the death of many. Any comment on religion that is not in good light is considered blasphemy and the penalty is death. Why this and why Africans should kill each other because of foreign religions. How did these religions enter our society with so many disregards for the life of the African? I have thought about this and came to the conclusion that the fear that religions impose on its adherents in Africa is not only the fear of hell fire but also the fear of physical harm and social ostracism.

How did foreign religions become so powerful to supplant our cultures and assume primacy of place that we are willing to torture and fillet our neighbors because he does not agree with our concept of God? The two religions tearing Nigeria apart are Islam and Christianity. The homeland of these religions has no respect for the humanity of black people. These religions were the tools used to enslave black people and still use to this day to discriminate against black people in the Western and Islamic world.

The practitioners of Islam and Christianity in Africa will form a common cause to kill on behalf of the religion of these invaders. We see all these anomalies in these religions, but our people have been severely and thoroughly mentally enslaved that they are blind to these realities. They are blind to these abominations and continue to revere these foreign gods whose goodness is bestowed on Caucasians or Arabs only. They ravaged and desecrated Africa and the African people and we stupidly believe that their god that told them the African was inferior, and worthy of slavery is also our God. Until we abolish the imperialism of religion in Africa and Nigeria in particular, we are going nowhere with our so-called independence. The reason we cannot criticize these religions is a carryover from their homelands. When the religions were practiced by the villagers and so-called primitive people, it was okay to throw these primitive people into the lion’s den. When the kings adopted these religions for their political survival, it became sacrosanct to criticize these religions because doing so became equivalent to criticizing the king. The king was the church, and the church was the king. These religions became tools of conquest. The penalty for criticizing the king was death. This is how religion became sacrosanct. The king could do no wrong because the king was God. The adoption of any religion by the reigning monarch was the quickest way to spread any religion in early times. The Monarch is converted, and all his subjects are decreed to follow suit.

In Africa, attempts to convert kings were rebuffed and the king was overthrown, killed or exiled. The Western societies dug themselves out of this conundrum. They fought many wars, and Europe became scattered all over the World. A nation called America was born. America looked to the ills of Europe and distilled a blueprint of a society that is not beholden to religion. In America you are free to practice your religion, but the state cannot establish or practice a religion or impose any religion on you. Their constitution has stood them well and the old countries of Europe have gradually ceded their monarchies and religion to the personal realm. In fashioning the American constitution, the good Christians there still considered the African an inferior being that was only three fifths human. This is how far the western religion went in denigrating the African. Islam did worse. The only difference is that the Arab world has done so much to hide their brutality against the African. The Arab world is still under various monarchies and Islam is the religion of the Monarchs. Like their western counterparts, the Monarch is Islam, and any criticism of the king is the criticism of Islam. This is the reason why the crown prince of Saudi Arabia sent murderers to kill Khashoggi, who criticized him in Turkey. Since the King is Islam and Islam is the king, why has the Arab world not issued any decree that prohibits discrimination against Africans.

A stroll through any Arab city will tell the African he is not wanted. This is why I will prefer the west any day. They have made attempts to enact laws against discrimination. No such laws in the Arab world. In the Western world the people may be racist, but the system is being refined not to be. In the Islamic world, the people and their system are racist. It has been observed that during the hajj, punitive conditions are rolled out for those attending from black Africa. It is obvious that they only want the money. Don’t pay attention to the feigned nicety of their big cities.

As I observed earlier, in the Arab world, there is no difference between Islam and the state because the monarch is Islam. So, the concept of separation of the state and religion is still in the horizon (and the future when the church or the state will become so corrupted that people will cry and fight for reformation). It is already happening in Yemen. It is this system that is called Sharia that Muslims in Nigeria want to impose on Nigeria. They forget that Nigeria, unlike the Arab world, is a plural society.

Inspite of all these clear observations, Nigerians are at war with each other to prove the superiority of their imported religions. This is not a religion that originated in Africa. Why are we the ones to keep alive the religions that are dying in their homelands? The imperialism of religion has forced the African, who is a loving being to become the blood thirsty and bloodletting tool of western and Arab imperialism.

It is time we begin to jettison these foreign religions and rely on the culture that saw Africans through the travails of foreign invaders who introduced their gods to us without recognizing our humanity. Nobody should tell us about our divinity except us. Any explanation of our divinity by non-African (the so-called pastors and Imams) will always be fraudulent. This is why they don’t respect us. They cannot believe we worship their gods’ inspite of what they did to us in the name of their gods. Call it Christianity or Islam, they cannot talk more about God and love more than Orissa. This is a call for Africans to remove themselves from the worship of these foreign gods whose holy books were used to enslave the people of God that live in Africa. Until we take this drastic step, the African will always be a creature of pity and contempt. He will always be seen as a slave by the west and a kaffir by the Arabs.

Austin Orette, a physician, lives in Texas, USA

THE IMPERIALISM OF FOREIGN RELIGIONS BY AUSTIN ORETTE