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Building Unity, Character and strength in the Borno council after the election, series…….1

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My Binoculars: Of partisan politicians, defection, lack of consultations and the pending rebellion of young people against the present unproductive political order

Building Unity, Character and strength in the Borno council after the election, series…….1

Now that the team has been assembled, what next?

By: Sam Kayode

In my closing campaign discuss, I congratulated everyone in advance for choosing wisely. It was a kind of spiritual pronouncement in line with my conviction of positive thinking which I share with Chairman Dauda Ilya. I am an ardent believer in the Nigerian Union of Journalist (NUJ) and what it stands for. I have never known any union that protects his own since I started practicing three decades ago. That is why I used to wonder why some seemingly renegade proprietors will establish their media outfits and forbid their staff from their rights of application to be members. You should never allow any media owner stop you from learning the ropes of being a thorough bred practitioner through the NUJ. It’s the NUJ that will transform you from an ordinary writer to a journalist.

Hear this, in some states in Nigeria, the NUJ is like a professional pool where organizations send their students on industrial attachment to go learn how to become reporters. They don’t just go to media houses but the nuj has also been recognized as a training ground. In a place like “iwe irohin” house in Abeokuta, students learn so much by being attached to officials like the chair or secretary of the council for instance. They teach them the job and they are present in every news conferences watching and learning how to ask and generate news from news makers. They learn how to walk or talk differently from an ordinary writer and how to be real gentlemen forbidden from physical fights you find in some other unions in Nigeria. They study the ethics and other trainings taught in journalism schools. There is a professional bliss in the air not just the air of cheap wedding parties which ours has been known for after a paltry sum of N15,000.  Or a situation in which street urchins take over the compound and litter the place like ours. 

In sane climes, devoid of insurgency, the only people that come to unwind have their section and they comport themselves decently or be thrown out. Outsiders or shop owners have no right to tell us how to run the place by hiding behind our generators to smoke weed even in broad daylight. They are given instructions and they obey naturally, choosing their favorite food vendor because of the way colleagues in the Exco comport themselves. The nuj is not the place for open drug taking or free meetings. People pay for the usage of every space for meetings. Meetings under the tree has its price. The one in the hall has its price. Even for parking cars inside the first half, non members should pay as much as N50 and we issue tickets. And that is why you need a security guard who will collect our revenue and remit to the union account on a daily basis. That is the only way we can begin to pick up in this post insurgency era. You will be shocked about how many 50 naira you can make in a day because people will be sure their cars cannot be stolen especially when we have paved the place with interlocking tiles.

Also Read: https://dailypost.ng/2022/10/08/iswap-kills-8-boko-haram-members-seizes-large-quantities-of-ammunition/

We must be able to eliminate a certain category of people from using our space for weddings by moving the price upwards by 100 percent if we are serious about revenue. Members too whose nuclear family must marry can be given rebates that would be decided by congress. If using the space becomes 30k, then we will not be patronized by battalions but well controlled crowds of decent people we can control. We can ask members to pay only 10 percent of that which is 3,000 for a specific number of years. And we build more toilets for nawojians that would be our eyes in the first half. Others too will have their toilets to avoid the excuse of getting into our half.

Congratulations Comrades Abdulsalam and Timothy and other challenges

Gentlemen, sometimes it takes quiet prayers and then “wisdom”  which is an ingredient we all need to live in this short life we have before us to succeed. Without wisdom you will never be able to hold on to the philosophy of “truth”  which the NUJ and even the guild of editors stands upon. I am happy that chairman Dauda Ilya has been able to exercise his powers by the appointment of two more members to help them build this council with the help of congress to take us to where we should be. Of course one of them Abdulsalam is equally a lawyer, so our first law advise will be coming from within even before going after our recognized legal firm Ayuba Damo and partners who is presently handling the case of the known diabolic woman who’s boka has told her she will still get her way like she did with other excos. God forbid!! That restaurant rightly belongs to our gentlemen nawojians. They are our colleagues and have equal rights like all of us so nobody should second rate them as just women who must only be seen by lying to them about office meant for them. One of the reasons why the last Exco made so many mistakes was because they ignored the advices of these ladies. I was present when the promise of office was made yet they failed to deliver. Who does that to fellow colleagues? Any one who treats them as toys will surely go back to square one by loosing his next election. This is why I want to advise that the nawojians are given a temporary office space with a toilet they can repair and use until that woman is thrown out of their rightful place where they will equally be given competition so that they do not relapse in the type of food they serve to us in their office/restaurant. We need nothing less than ten assorted food outlets in our centre. Not the monopolistic restrictions which that woman is enjoying  as a result of dangerous manipulations from her. She can easily poison our members in one swoop if we do not bring in new vendors quickly before the year runs out. I don’t think we need to consult a nutritionist on how to go about it. Set up the press centre committee immediately comrades and let us reel out modalities to them. The Exco can then be able to see the mistakes of the committee if any. Their fundamental business would be generate more funds and report to congress on how much progress they have been making in bringing money.

Advise to the new executive

Comrades now that you have been sworn in, always remember that in this life, we cannot talk about wisdom without “knowledge” . You actually need knowledge of the profession to acquire wisdom. This is because wisdom is the principal ingredient you need to acquire knowledge.  It was because Solomon had robust knowledge about the God he was dealing with as a king that he quickly requested for wisdom when asked what he prefers as a gift from his creator. He actually choose wisdom instead of material things because he knew that wisdom should generate material things. Today there is no creed in the world that doesn’t know the story of Solomon the great King who walked the face of this Earth as enshrined in the Bible. Suleiman ended having both before leaving this world back to his Creator as alluded to by the Koran. That is my prayers for Comrade Dauda Ilya and his entire team. You will overflow with wisdom. And God will surely guide you on how to fix immediate needs of the council so that we can enjoy your first congress meeting before Christmas.

Exhausting the grace of the first 100days

There is no law that says the new executive must deliver something within the first 100 days. And this is about three months plus but with what happened to the last executive, nobody will tell them to hurry up. Some of us who have been special advisers of the NUJ at large just believe that you cannot as an Exco be able to make impact without taking care of the first things first within the first remarkable 100 days in the history of this centre. Some of the things you must fix within the first 100 days should be  security and welfare. 

Comrades the security arrangements of our press centre has been in a real mess. In spite of the raging insurgency, any Toyin, Dikko and Modu just comes into the place without checks. This is the height of wrongs we have tolerated for the last decade of Boko Haram. If we are not careful some renegade gunmen not related to Shekau or Mohammed Yusuf can walk into the administrative section and shoot our officials with a silencer pistol and walk back without no one knowing. This is worse than keeping a bed within the administrative place to service the concubines of previous Exco members. 

We are Primus inter Paris when it comes to the usage of even the toilets. None members no matter how beautiful should not be allowed to use our facilities without scrutiny. Even parties must be restricted only to a select group of people. When a non member pays 50,000 to use the lawn then he will be careful about the crowd that would be invited.

Last week Friday, I walked into the centre to eat the only health snap I am permitted to eat at the “akara”  joint of Comrade Sunday only to be encountered by a large crowd at the entrance. After eating my akara dinner, I tried to talk to the hangers on to leave the entrance which could not happen at any other centre but they looked at me like an irritant. That could only happen because there was no security to send them away.  We need a security architecture in our centre badly. It’s not a public place for all. It’s for us journalists. Can something be going on in the bar centre and urchins will just gather like that? How many journalists can even enter the resting place of the MDCAN or residency launge in UMTH and relax without them asking if they can help you? It doesn’t happen in any place I have visited except Maiduguri and someone will say it’s because of insurgency. Why did insurgency not stop some officials from selling our land worth N14 million and squandering same while one of them held up the keys to the only temporary office space for other Exco members including nawojians and used it for his guest house. This will surely be a topic for the future because a bed has no business in that administrative place when the secretary, treasurer or vice chair do not  have offices which they really deserve to have quiet time to work for us.

I don’t think we need an urgent congress for an instant arrangement to be made for at least 2 security guards to take care of the press centre to start working immediately. One should be assigned the duty of manning the front gate during the day while others should take charge at night. This is one action that must take place before chairman Dauda ilya clicks 100 days in office. While I wait for secretary Chiroma to get my identity card from Abuja, i would gladly show him that of my newspaper or that of the govt house if he demands. And I will be allowed in. There is no Crime in him asking members to show some identification when in doubt. But as time goes on,both the night and day guards will be needing our support in making the place a safe one. 

A stitch in time saves nine. In as much as we don’t want our friends in the police or civil defense to send people there which they will gladly do for free, we should be able to organize ourselves and get “organized security”  for ourselves.  We must hit the ground running comrades.

Building Unity, Character and strength in the Borno council after the election, series…….1

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Public Mouthpiece, Politicians, and Grassroots Mobilizers: Holding Leaders Accountable for Good Governance and Peaceful Coexistence

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Public Mouthpiece, Politicians, and Grassroots Mobilizers: Holding Leaders Accountable for Good Governance and Peaceful Coexistence

By: Balami Lazarus

For some time NEWSng has been waving aside the idea of writing on these popular patriotic individuals who are public mouthpiece politicians and grassroots mobilizers that have taken upon themselves to contribute their quota consistently on radio by holding elected leaders accountable and demanding good governance and peaceful coexistence on the Plateau and in Nigeria at large.

It is interesting to know if a media known for featuring and reporting positive developments should allow such important contributions to our democracy with clear objectives for good governance to go down the drain.

Therefore, these men are like the old English musketeers famous for their bravery and professional acts of protection of kings in medieval Europe. These respected individuals are for the public interest, advocating for good governance at all levels through their voices.

They are public mouthpieces, spokesmen for and on behalf of the public who are always calling the attention of elected leaders to challenges faced by the citizens who voted them into power in the political democracy on the Plateau through some radio programs.

The contributions of these patriotic citizens for holding our leaders accountable for good governance in order to make Nigeria better serve as the lighthouses of our democratic growth and development.

If you were to listen to them, you would agree that they are passionate about good governance/dividends of democracy and peace on the Plateau and in Nigeria. They are not critics; they don’t attack, but their actions and opinions/views are raw and painful but are the truth that cannot be denied because they are necessary for the government and other leaders who need to consider them and begin to act to bring developments for the citizens.

NEWSng decided to limit this work to only five in spite of numerous contributors to the radio programs. Musa Kalu, Ada Onugu, Comrade Dadong Antibas, Hon. Omenaka Jude Sat, and Sadiq Umar, whose voices are the true representations of the grassroots. Their voices are cries of the Nigerian masses for dividends of democracy. Ultimately they are holding democratically elected leaders accountable in the present democratic dispensation.

Speaking to them individually on why they are passionate about holding elected leaders accountable. However, they spoke from different angles of developments. Ironically, they are all on the same page demanding good governance and peaceful coexistence among the Nigerian citizens.

Musa Kalu is always on the path of peaceful coexistence without any sentiments. ‘As a Nigerian, I am for peaceful coexistence, progress, and development. Nigeria belongs to all of us in respect of religion, ethnicity, and geographical location. Hon. Jude Sat said that as a public mouthpiece, they will not close their eyes where the government is not doing the needful. ‘I will continue to speak for a better Plateau and Nigeria and for the future generations.’

These individuals are refined politicians in their own right with a strong political hold on their wards/communities. Reliable sources have it that Governor Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang received bulk votes in Jenta/Apata wards, among other wards in Jos, because of the handiworks of some of the public mouthpiece politicians and grassroots mobilizers.

On security bedeviling the state and the country at large, they unanimously said that unless and until the government takes decisive actions on the security challenges, there will be no good governance.

Dadong Antibas said, ‘We will continue to speak and hold our leaders accountable at all times. I have received threats, but that has not stopped my voice…. I have been speaking on state and national issues for years.

Furthermore, Sadiq Umar said that citizens of the state have come to confide in them to speak and call the attention of the government and other elected leaders to their plights. Holding our leaders responsible and accountable…is my responsibility, including you.

Attempts to meet and speak with Ada Onugu failed. However, investigations revealed that their voices are meant to check the activities of government and elected leaders on the Plateau. Their hold on their wards/communities as public mouthpiece politicians and grassroots mobilizers is laudable. Thus, elected leaders and aspiring politicians on the Plateau are beginning to align and key into their popularity at the grassroots.

They all acknowledged the wonderful works of Governor Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang for his efforts in providing dividends of democracy through good governance.

Public Mouthpiece, Politicians, and Grassroots Mobilizers: Holding Leaders Accountable for Good Governance and Peaceful Coexistence

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Burkina Faso’s Ibrahim Traoré and the Revolution of IllusionsThree years after taking power, Traoré’s populist showmanship and defiant rhetoric mask a grim reality of insecurity, poverty, and political isolation — far from the Sankarist revival he promises.

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Burkina Faso’s Ibrahim Traoré and the Revolution of Illusions
Three years after taking power, Traoré’s populist showmanship and defiant rhetoric mask a grim reality of insecurity, poverty, and political isolation — far from the Sankarist revival he promises.

By Oumarou Sanou

Three years after seizing power, Burkina Faso’s strongman, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, continues to project himself as the torchbearer of a new African revolution — a reincarnation of the late Thomas Sankara. Yet, his recent performance, marking his third anniversary in power, revealed more theatre than substance. It was less a presidential address and more a self-congratulatory monologue filled with sweeping claims, imagined enemies, and revolutionary soundbites detached from the harsh realities on the ground.

Facing a carefully selected group of journalists — those unlikely to ask uncomfortable questions — Traoré transformed what should have been a serious state briefing into a one-man show. His tone was confident, even prophetic, yet far removed from the desperation of a nation caught in the grip of terrorism, poverty, and displacement.

Traoré opened with drama: when he came to power, he claimed, the Burkinabe army had “barely a hundred weapons and 100,000 cartridges.” Such exaggerations might thrill loyalists but stretch credibility. Even local hunters would scoff at such arithmetic. Yet, the captain reassured his listeners that 15,000 men are now recruited annually and that Burkina Faso will soon “make its own weapons.”

How, and with what resources? There were no details — no factories, no engineers, no budget. It was a familiar populist pattern: imagination over implementation, rhetoric over realism.

Then came a moment of unintended honesty. “Politics in Africa,” Traoré lectured, “is the art of lying, deceiving, and flattering.” Was this a denunciation of the old political elite, a confession of his own methods, or the mission statement of his self-styled “Progressive Popular Revolution”?

Pressed for specifics, Traoré was blunt: “I’m not going to tell you the exact content.” In other words, the people are expected to believe in a revolution whose goals remain secret. It is governance through mystique — a convenient cloak for opacity and improvisation.

Perhaps the highlight — or low point — of the press conference came with the grand economic announcement: a tomato processing plant. While jihadists overrun villages and thousands of civilians flee daily, the government’s big victory was the promise of locally made tomato paste.

Agricultural processing is undoubtedly essential. But in a nation where more than half of the territory is under terrorist control, the symbolism felt jarring. The message seemed to be: Burkina may not be safe, but at least it will have sauce.

When policies fail, populists find scapegoats. In Traoré’s narrative, the Ivory Coast has now become the enemy. He accused Abidjan of serving as “the rear base of Burkina’s enemies” and even suggested that President Alassane Ouattara had signed a “non-aggression pact” with jihadists.

Such allegations are not just far-fetched — they are dangerous. They strain regional diplomacy, alienate neighbours, and distract from the government’s inability to secure its own borders. Ironically, when a journalist cited a poll showing that 66% of Ivorians viewed Burkina Faso’s leadership favourably, Traoré shrugged: “Really? I don’t follow that… I don’t watch those media outlets anymore.”

This was revealing. In a state where the media is censored and dissent suppressed, even positive news struggles to reach the leader’s ears. Traoré appears trapped within his own echo chamber — and Burkina Faso with him.

Three years on, the outcomes are damning. Burkina Faso remains the most terrorised country in the world. Thousands have been killed, millions displaced, and much of the countryside is beyond state control. Schools are closed, health centres are abandoned, and basic livelihoods are destroyed.

Despite fiery anti-Western speeches and his warm embrace of Moscow, little has changed on the ground. Russian mercenaries and propaganda can amplify slogans, but they cannot rebuild schools, protect farmers, or restart an economy in free fall.

And now, with Burkina Faso — alongside Niger and Mali — having withdrawn from ECOWAS, the country faces deepening isolation. What Traoré brands as “sovereign independence” increasingly looks like self-imposed solitude. Without regional cooperation, intelligence sharing, or trade partnerships, Burkina Faso risks turning into a garrison state — fortified in rhetoric but hollow in results.

In just three hours of speaking, Captain Traoré managed to: turn the Ivory Coast into the supposed headquarters of Sahel’s villains; declare tomato paste the new pillar of national resilience; and redefine politics as the art of deception.

But beyond the theatre, Burkina Faso continues to bleed. The ordinary people — farmers, students, traders, and families — pay the real price for this illusion of revolution.

Traoré may parade as the new Sankara, but three years on, his “revolution” looks more like a parody than a legacy. The real revolution Burkina Faso needs today is not one of slogans or posturing, but of results — restoring security, rebuilding trust, and reviving governance.

Until then, Captain Ibrahim Traoré’s revolution remains exactly what it appears to be: a show more than a solution.

Oumarou Sanou
Social critic, Pan-African observer and researcher focusing on governance, security, and political transitions in the Sahel. He writes on geopolitics, regional stability, and the evolving dynamics of African leadership. Contact: sanououmarou386@gmail.com

Burkina Faso’s Ibrahim Traoré and the Revolution of Illusions
Three years after taking power, Traoré’s populist showmanship and defiant rhetoric mask a grim reality of insecurity, poverty, and political isolation — far from the Sankarist revival he promises.

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Pharm. Samuel Ishaya Gyang: Compass for Future Dividends of Political Democracy

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Pharm. Samuel Ishaya Gyang: Compass for Future Dividends of Political Democracy

By: Balami Lazarus

I have been for youths’ growth and progress in either trades, vocations, professions, or any other legitimate endeavors that will self-empower them or be contributions to their communities later in life.

Before this write-up, I made several attempts to meet and speak with one of the young politicians on the Plateau, but all my efforts failed. Therefore, I decided to put down what I knew personally about the aforementioned political personality and equally what I was able to gather from investigations about this young politician in question who belongs to the youth gallery of politicians on the Plateau.

These young politicians are educated, energetic, focused, and professionals in their chosen careers. They are full of ideas of good governance, excellent blueprints, and roadmaps to future human and capital developments for progress in the realms of our political democracy with clarity of purpose and objectives that reflects our country’s motto, ‘unity and faith, peace and progress.’

The 1999 phase of our political democracy has ushered in mass numbers of youths into the political space, where they are actively participating in meaningful politicking, aspiring for elective positions under a political party of their choice, but with the passage of time, 25 years down the democratic line, we have seen and experienced the contributions of these young, able politicians with a quantum leap in political activities and contributions. Today you find them some elective positions, some with political appointments at both state and federal levels. Unlike in past years, where it was uncommon to find youths as young politicians occupying elective positions, talk less of political appointments. Rather, they are used as political thugs and later dumped when elections are over.

But here on the Plateau, this new dawn has provided the youths who are purposeful the chance and space to participate and vie for political offices, having fulfilled all necessary requirements. I hereby in this work correctly, sincerely, and truthfully declare and attest as to it as a political affidavit that you can find them in many political elective offices and appointments as council chairmen, secretaries, members of assembly aides, and councillors, to mention but a few.

Moreover, my political findings have clearly revealed that Plateau State is a common ground for youth in politics. And more importantly, it has been a healthy launching pad where many more shall reach higher elective positions.

Hon. (Pharm) Samuel Ishaya Gyang is one among such young politicians on the Plateau that has willingly decided to offer himself to serve his people through politics. Investigations have shown that Samuel Gyang is well accepted by the larger members of his community/constituency—Jos Northwest. And to a larger extent, Pharmacist Gyang has gone beyond the Jos North Local Government Area, where he served as secretary with good political records of performance. ‘We have felt him in the distributions of fertilizers in the local government.’

Political rumors going around said that Hon. Samuel Ishaya Gyang is likely to contest once again for the House of Assembly, Jos Northwestconstituency.

Well, there is nothing bad in that. The political spreadsheet is wide and large enough to contain aspirants. Samuel Gyang, keep up the good work and aspire for other high political offices.

Balami, a publisher/columnist. 08036779290

Pharm. Samuel Ishaya Gyang: Compass for Future Dividends of Political Democracy

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