Power Is Temporary, Humanity Must Endure — Ambassador Alege Declares at Abuja Book Launch

By: Michael Mike

Nigeria’s political elite, diplomats, jurists and scholars gathered in Abuja on Tuesday as veteran diplomat, Ambassador Shina Alege, delivered a piercing message on leadership, power, insecurity and the declining state of human compassion during the launch of five books drawn from his decades in public service.

The atmosphere at the event was more reflective than ceremonial as speakers confronted difficult national and global realities — from abuse of power and collapsing communal values to insecurity and the moral burden of leadership.

Former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Olukayode Ariwoola, who chaired the occasion, described the books as a rare fusion of diplomacy, personal experience and social conscience, warning that the issues raised by the author could no longer be ignored.

“This is far beyond a literary celebration,” Ariwoola said. “It is a serious intellectual intervention into the crises confronting leadership, humanity and governance today.”

The retired jurist said Ambassador Alege’s writings carried unusual weight because they emerged from lived experience across turbulent moments in Nigeria’s diplomatic history.

“These are not theoretical arguments crafted from a distance. They are reflections forged in service, crisis and responsibility,” he stated.

At the centre of the gathering was Ambassador Alege himself, whose remarks moved between philosophy, diplomacy and sharp social criticism.

Standing before a packed audience of ambassadors, senior lawyers, professors and government officials, the former envoy warned that many societies had lost the values that once held communities together.

“The essence of life is to build a community,” Alege declared. “What we have today is no longer community — it is a crowd. People watch suffering, record tragedies on their phones, and move on. That loss of humanity is dangerous.”

His comments drew prolonged applause from participants at the event.

The diplomat used the unveiling of his books to issue a broader warning about leadership and the temporary nature of political authority.p

Speaking on one of the books, The Expiry Date of Power, Alege said many leaders behave as though power is permanent, forgetting that history eventually humbles every office holder.

“The only person that powers permanently is God Almighty,” he said. “Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Leadership must be exercised with restraint, accountability and conscience.”

Other books presented at the launch tackled conflict management, insecurity and governance failures across Africa.

According to the author, The Sirens and The Flags explores leadership under pressure and moments of crisis, while Insecurity and Regional Leadership in Africa interrogates the inability of African states to effectively confront rising instability and governance breakdown.

Former Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun, represented by Barrister Raji Ahmed, praised the diplomat for documenting lessons from years of international service, including sensitive operations involving Nigerians trapped in conflict zones.

“Books like these are earned through sacrifice, experience and reflection,” he said. “They preserve institutional memory and challenge future leaders to think differently about service and responsibility.”

Beyond the intellectual conversations, the event became a deeper reflection on the state of society itself — one in which speakers repeatedly returned to the themes of empathy, moral leadership and national decline.

For many attendees, the strongest message of the day was not merely about diplomacy or governance, but about the urgent need to restore compassion in public life before ambition, power and indifference completely overshadow humanity.

Power Is Temporary, Humanity Must Endure — Ambassador Alege Declares at Abuja Book Launch

Hunger, Conflict, Disease Push Northern Nigeria Toward Humanitarian Breaking Point — MSF

By: Michael Mike

International medical humanitarian organisation, Médecins Sans Frontières, has raised fresh alarm over what it described as a deepening humanitarian catastrophe in Nigeria, warning that worsening hunger, disease outbreaks and insecurity are driving thousands of vulnerable families — especially children — toward death and despair.

In its 2025 Nigeria Country Report of Activities, the organisation painted a troubling picture of overstretched hospitals, rising cases of severe acute malnutrition and communities trapped between poverty and violent conflict, particularly across northern Nigeria.

The report revealed that hundreds of thousands of children are now battling life-threatening malnutrition in a country that remains Africa’s largest economy, exposing what humanitarian workers described as the widening gap between economic realities and human survival.

According to MSF, more than 250,000 severely malnourished children were treated in outpatient facilities in 2024, while over 76,000 children suffering dangerous complications linked to malnutrition required emergency hospital admission.

The organisation warned that the crisis is no longer seasonal or temporary but has evolved into a chronic humanitarian emergency fuelled by inflation, displacement, insecurity and collapsing access to healthcare.

“Malnutrition is no longer just an emergency during the lean season,” the organisation noted in the report. “For many families, it has become a permanent condition of survival.”

In states across the Northwest and Northeast, medical facilities supported by MSF are reportedly struggling under the weight of increasing admissions linked to severe hunger, measles, malaria and respiratory infections.

The situation in Bauchi State reflects the scale of the emergency. Between January and April 2025 alone, nearly 28,000 malnourished children were treated — a dramatic increase compared to the same period last year.

MSF also highlighted the deadly combination of malaria and malnutrition in Kano and surrounding states, warning that both conditions are reinforcing each other and placing children at even greater risk of death.

The humanitarian organisation said many parents now arrive at treatment centres after exhausting every coping mechanism, including skipping meals, selling possessions and withdrawing children from school.

Beyond hunger, the report drew attention to the impact of insecurity on healthcare delivery, especially in conflict-affected communities where violence, displacement and fear continue to cut millions off from medical services.

In several communities, MSF teams reportedly operated in fragile environments where healthcare workers face enormous logistical and security challenges while attempting to respond to disease outbreaks and medical emergencies.

The organisation also reflected on its long-running intervention against Lassa fever in Ebonyi State, where it supported treatment, laboratory systems and emergency preparedness before formally transferring responsibilities to local authorities this year.

Despite these interventions, MSF warned that humanitarian needs across Nigeria are expanding faster than available resources.

The report called for urgent and sustained investment in nutrition, primary healthcare, disease surveillance and protection for vulnerable populations, warning that failure to act decisively could worsen an already fragile humanitarian situation.

For many observers, the report represents more than a medical assessment — it is an indictment of the harsh realities confronting millions of Nigerians who remain trapped between economic hardship, insecurity and inadequate access to basic healthcare.

Hunger, Conflict, Disease Push Northern Nigeria Toward Humanitarian Breaking Point — MSF

Nigeria to Unveil New PPP Investment Pipeline as ICRC Targets Faster Infrastructure Delivery

By: Michael Mike

The Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission, Dr. Jobson Oseodion Ewalefoh, has announced plans by the Federal Government to unveil a new pipeline of eligible Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects aimed at attracting both local and international investors into Nigeria’s infrastructure sector.

Ewalefoh disclosed this on Wednesday while delivering a goodwill message at the 2026 Infrastructure Dialogue held at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre, warning that Nigeria’s widening infrastructure gap now stands at an alarming $2.3 trillion.

According to him, the country urgently requires innovative financing models and stronger private sector participation to address infrastructure deficits across transportation, energy, ICT, agriculture, aviation, and housing sectors.

He revealed that Nigeria currently requires about $100 billion annually for infrastructure development, while public spending accounts for less than 30 per cent of the funding requirement.

“Traditional procurement models and dwindling budgets are no longer enough. To bridge this gap, the mobilisation of private capital is not just an option — it is an absolute necessity,” Ewalefoh stated.

The ICRC boss explained that the Federal Government had strategically embraced Public-Private Partnerships as a practical solution to bridge the huge financing shortfall, describing PPPs as critical tools for infrastructure renewal, economic growth, and poverty reduction.

He said the 2026 Infrastructure Dialogue, organised by Deutsche Partners Holding and its partners, was particularly important because it focused on moving “from diagnosis to execution” by exploring sustainable financing mechanisms capable of unlocking long-term capital for infrastructure delivery.

According to him, discussions around the role of Development Finance Institutions, Sukuk financing, green bonds, and pension assets are crucial to securing affordable infrastructure funding.

Ewalefoh stressed that the ICRC remained committed to strengthening Nigeria’s PPP ecosystem through reforms designed to improve investor confidence, build bankable project pipelines, and accelerate project implementation.

He recalled that during the 2025 Nigeria PPP Summit hosted by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, stakeholders reaffirmed the central role of PPPs in delivering the administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda and addressing Nigeria’s infrastructure deficit over the next 23 years.

The ICRC Director-General further disclosed that the commission introduced revised PPP guidelines in August 2025 following presidential approval to improve transparency, accelerate infrastructure delivery, and attract private capital.

Under the new framework, ministries can now approve PPP projects worth up to ₦20 billion, while agencies and parastatals can approve projects up to ₦10 billion without seeking Federal Executive Council approval.

Projects above the thresholds or involving multiple agencies would still require FEC approval.

According to Ewalefoh, the decentralisation of approval powers is already helping Ministries, Departments and Agencies deliver projects faster while maintaining transparency and accountability.

He also announced that the commission, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Justice and PPP experts, plans to unveil a model PPP agreement in June 2026 aimed at shortening transaction timelines and accelerating commercial and financial closure of projects.

“In order to provide relevant guidance to the investing community, we intend to publish in the near future a pipeline of eligible projects for investments in Nigeria’s PPP sphere,” he added.

Ewalefoh expressed optimism that the dialogue would strengthen collaboration between government, investors, development finance institutions, and the private sector toward building sustainable economic resilience and infrastructure-driven growth in Nigeria.

Nigeria to Unveil New PPP Investment Pipeline as ICRC Targets Faster Infrastructure Delivery