National News

Four Viewpoints on Kyari

Published

4 years ago

August 2, 2021

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FOUR VIEWPOINTS ON KYARI

By Mahmud Jega

The dilemma facing many Nigerians at the weekend was if you have a very good police officer, kind of one in a million, who has been combing the bushes and the digital world and apprehending some of our vilest kidnappers and murderers, and some foreign agency is accusing him of collecting bribes from a scammer and doing the scammer’s bidding to settle intra-gang scores, what is the best thing for us to do?

This question immediately elicited four clashing points of view between imported African legalism, old-fashioned African morality, instinctive African cynicism and native African practicality. Each one of them has a large following in Nigeria. Nigeria has some legalistic people who believe that in modern society, the law is everything, and it should be applied whether it is moral or not. These are mostly legal types, either steeped in the White mindset or those who play the NGO game with money from foreign agencies.

The majority of Africans think that the law is an inconvenience to be evaded, sidestepped, or short-circuited. Ask taxi drivers, who think traffic lights are meant for private motorists. Ask bus drivers, who think it is ok to drive against the traffic because they are in a hurry to earn some money. It is only these legalistic types who will say, “FBI indicted Kyari? Hand him over to them quickly, so he can clear his name.

Our embassy and consulates in America should provide consular services to him, of the kind that British High Commission here is offering to provide to Kanu.”

Some [old fashioned] Africans however believe that morality is the most important thing, higher than the law itself, and law should be thrown overboard if it is immoral. They don’t even want the inconvenience of going through the tedious process of amending the law; just test the law for morality. These ones will say, “If DCP Abba Kyari was found to be dishonest to the point of collecting bribe from Hushpuppi and detaining the scammer’s accomplice because he shortchanged Hushpuppi, damn it, he should be punished! His glitter of medals and his long list of achievements in crime-busting be damned!”

On the other hand, Africa is full of cynics who will never believe anything that Europeans and Americans say, especially their government agencies such as the FBI, CIA, State Department and British Home Office or their adjuncts such as Commonwealth, EU and NATO. These are the Nigerians who, upon hearing of Kyari’s FBI indictment, will say, “You know these White people can tell lies! They said they came here to civilize us whereas they came here to steal our resources. Recently they claimed that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. They killed one million Iraqis looking for it but did not find anything. They are detaining Hushpuppi when they have their own scammers there in America. Now they want to take away our best policeman so that bandits and kidnappers will have free reign. We should hold onto him! If they are looking for crooked policemen, they should look for Derek Chauvin, who murdered George Floyd in cold blood, in broad daylight.”

Sandwiched between the legalists, moralists and cynics, there are the Africans of practicality. They are the ones who will say when they heard the news, “Ah, Abba Kyari did that? That is bad! He is such a good policeman. Are the Americans sure of what they are saying? If we hand Abba Kyari over to them to jail him, then who will arrest the bandits that are terrorizing us here? The Inspector-General has only one Intelligence Response Team. We don’t know why he did not train and equip many more such teams in the last ten years. Anyway, the deed is done, we have only one IG’s IRT. Wherever there is a particularly heinous kidnapping, it is Kyari that goes there to solve it. If they jail him in America, will the FBI send somebody to replace him? After all, he did not commit the crime in their country. Let them send the evidence and we will try him here. EFCC can file the case and it will languish in court for ten years, like all the others. Meanwhile, he will be catching kidnappers for us. We should not throw away the baby with the bathwater.”

How do we resolve these conflicting points of view? Somebody should go to Otuoke and ask former President Goodluck Jonathan whether accepting bribes from Hushpuppi is corruption. “Ordinary bribe, people call it corruption. Is bribery a serious thing here? It is White people who think bribery is a big thing. In their an Americans even wrote that their President should be impeached for ‘treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanor.’ In Nigeria here, if we impeach leaders because of bribery, how many will remain? Joh, kidnapping is our biggest problem. If we have a policeman who is fighting it well, he should continue.”

View from the Gallery in 21st Century Chronicle Monday, August 2, 2021.
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National News

NIMC Promotes 523 Staff Members

Published

9 hours ago

December 13, 2025

Ochuwa Ibrahim

NIMC Promotes 523 Staff Members

By: Michael Mike

The DG/CEO of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Engr (Dr) Abisoye Coker-Odusote has approved the promotion of 523 Staff of the Commission.

The promotion, according to a statement on Saturday by the spokesperson of the Commission, Dr. Kayode Adegoke is in line with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

Adegoke said: “This is a statutory part of the performance reward system for Staff who sat and met the pre-requisite conditions as spelt out in the Public Service Rules (PSR) in the 2025 promotion exercise.

He disclosed that accordingly, two staff members were promoted to the Director’s cadre (GL 17), and eight staff members moved to the Deputy Director cadre (GL 16) and 35 staff staff members promoted to the Assistant Director cadre (GL 15).

He further disclosed that 35 staff were promoted to the level of Chief Identity Officers (GL 14), with 109 moving to Assistant Chief Identity Officers (GL 13).

Adegoke said 113 officers moved to the rank of Principal Identity Officer (GL 12), while 82 were promoted to Senior Identity Officer ranks (GL 10), and 130 to the rank of Identity Officer 1 ( GL 9).

The DG/CEO congratulated all the promoted staff and charged them to see the promotion as an opportunity to serve the country better. She reiterated zero tolerance for extortion and warned staff to desist from it.

Engr Coker-Odusote, furthermore, encouraged all staff members of the Commission to work harder in the coming year 2026 and ensure the successful implementation of the National Identification Number project. She reiterated her commitment to prioritise staff welfare and ensure the dignity of labour.

NIMC Promotes 523 Staff Members

National News

VP Shettima Extols Gov Uzodimma’s Progressive Leadership At 67

Published

9 hours ago

December 13, 2025

Ochuwa Ibrahim

VP Shettima Extols Gov Uzodimma’s Progressive Leadership At 67

By: Our Reporter

Vice President Kashim Shettima has congratulated Imo State Governor and Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF), Senator Hope Uzodimma, on his 67th birthday, saying his exemplary and progressive leadership within the All Progressives Congress (APC), his state, and the nation at large is worthy of emulation.

He noted that as Chairman of the PGF, an umbrella body of Governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Uzodimma has demonstrated exceptional capacity to unite and galvanise the party’s Governors towards achieving a collective vision for Nigeria’s development under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

The Vice President on Saturday, described the age of 67 as an important milestone in the life of Uzodimma, noting that the special moment reflects how far the Governor has come, and sets the stage for what lies ahead.

Acknowledging how Uzodimma’s “exemplary leadership as Executive Governor of Imo State continues to inspire confidence and progress,” VP Shettima described the PGF Chairman as a committed servant of Nigeria.

“Your recent appointment by His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, as Renewed Hope Ambassador is a well-deserved recognition of your unwavering dedication to the ideals of our administration and your proven ability to articulate and champion the transformative agenda of the Renewed Hope mandate across our nation,” the VP told the Governor.

This singular honour, Senator Shettima said, reflects President Tinubu’s confidence in Governor Uzodimma’s leadership and commitment to national progress.

He observed that the Imo State Governor’s strategic governance, infrastructural achievements, and dedication to the prosperity of his state exemplify the progressive leadership Nigeria needs at this crucial time.

The Vice President prayed the Almighty God to grant Governor Uzodimma continued wisdom, good health, and strength to sustain his “remarkable service to Imo State and Nigeria.”

VP Shettima Extols Gov Uzodimma’s Progressive Leadership At 67

National News

EU Invests Additional €45 million in Nigeria’s Digital Economy

Published

2 days ago

December 12, 2025

Ochuwa Ibrahim

EU Invests Additional €45 million in Nigeria’s Digital Economy

By: Michael Mike

The Europe Union (EU) is investing an additional €45 million in Nigeria’s digital economy.

The package was signed by the Nigerian Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, and the European Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jozef Síkela in Brussels.

A statement on Thursday by EU read: “At the EU-Nigeria Digital Open Day, which just took place in Brussels, a €45 million programme completing the EU Digital Economy Package for Nigeria was signed between Nigerian Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, and the European Commissioner for International Partnerships Jozef Síkela.

“This investment will further support the cooperation in digital sector between Nigeria and the European Union.”

The European Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jozef Síkela, said: “Global Gateway is about delivering new opportunities, and the EU-Nigerian cooperation in the digital area has a very strong potential to do exactly that. Our approach to digitalisation is based on skills-transfer, open standards, data protection, privacy and security. This way, we make sure that technologies truly enrich human lives. The new package will take our efforts even further by supporting modern e-public services and investing in the skills that will prepare Nigeria’s youth for the digital future.”

The Nigerian Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani added: The EU–Nigeria digital economy cooperation reflects our shared belief that digital transformation must provide a platform for growth in productivity driven by technology. As part of this, Project Bridge provides a commercially sustainable entry point for European investors and suppliers to participate in deploying an open-access fibre network at scale. Combined with our leadership in Artificial Intelligence, Digital Public Infrastructure and programmes such as 3 million Technical Talents, Nigeria offers European businesses a market where talent, demand and policy alignment converge to support long-term investment and expansion.”

The programme signed on Thursday includes a flagship Global Gateway support to the Project Bridge that aims to deploy 90 000 km of fibre-optic backbone across Nigeria. This project is the country’s most ambitious digital investment supported by loans from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, World Bank and African Development Bank.
The €45 million grant supports the preparation of this strategic project with technical assistance and equipment in three complementary ways: for the detailed fiber optic network design, for local skills development and for the supply chain deployment with the mobilisation of the EU private sector.

The EU programme will also contribute to modernise Nigeria’s public administration through secure, user-friendly digital services. it also involves targeted support for Nigeria’s nationwide digital-skills programme, helping train a new generation of technicians, engineers and IT specialists.

According to the statement, this is essential to create new jobs, because large-scale digital projects can only work if the local workforce can maintain, operate and innovate on these networks.

The objective of the EU-Nigeria Open Digital Day was to facilitate access to information for European investors and suppliers interested in participating in the Nigerian digital ecosystem. The focus was on the Project Bridge, presented as an opportunity for collaborations between the EU tech sector and Nigeria.

With this €1.7 billion flagship project is projected to extend Nigeria’s total fibre to 125 000 km (+70%), making it the third-longest terrestrial fibre-optic infrastructure in Africa, following Egypt and South Africa.

Digitalisation is a priority area for the EU-Nigeria partnership as reflected in the €820 million Digital Economy Package launched in 2022 under the EU Global Gateway strategy. The EU-Nigeria collaboration in this sector spans from connectivity to digital skills, entrepreneurship, service and governance with multiple projects.

Nigeria’s digital economy has potential to create jobs, foster economic growth and open greater democratic space in Africa. Nigeria hosts big companies, and Lagos offers digital and business ecosystem with incubators, access to finance and digital service platforms. It has the biggest e-commerce market in Africa with 87 platforms, employing some 2.9 million people.

It is also leading on the continent on digital and start-ups – of the 8 existing African unicorns, 6 are Nigerian, with impressively dynamic States (Lagos) eager to create an ecosystem that promotes innovation, youth and growth largely led by the digital sector.

Global Gateway is the EU’s positive offer to reduce the worldwide investment disparity and boost smart, clean and secure connections in digital, energy and transport sectors, and to strengthen health, education and research systems.

The Global Gateway strategy embodies a Team Europe approach that brings together the European Union, EU Member States, and European development finance institutions.

Together, they aim to mobilise up to €300 billion in public and private investments from 2021 to 2027, creating essential links rather than dependencies, and closing the global investment gap.

EU Invests Additional €45 million in Nigeria’s Digital Economy