National News
Four Viewpoints on Kyari

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.”
Read Also: BREAKING: IGP Orders Action On FBI’s Allegation Against Abba Kyari
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.
08054102925, 08023673734
mmjega@21stcenturychronicle.com
National News
VP Shettima Mourns Late Alhaji Aminu Dantata, Says Nigeria Has Lost An Irreplaceable Institution

VP Shettima Mourns Late Alhaji Aminu Dantata, Says Nigeria Has Lost An Irreplaceable Institution
By: Michael Mike
Vice President Kashim Shettima has expressed deep grief over the passing of prominent Nigerian businessman and philanthropist, Alhaji Aminu Alhassan Dantata, saying the nation has lost an irreplaceable institution.
The late Dantata, an uncle of Africa’s richest man, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, passed away at the age of 94 in Abu Dhabi in the early hours of Saturday in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), according to Mustapha Abdullahi Junaid, his Personal Private Secretary (PPS), who confirmed the death.
In a condolence message, Vice President Shettima praised the late businessman for his lifetime of service, describing him as “a living bridge that connected us to our past.
“We have not just lost a leader; we have lost an irreplaceable institution,” Senator Shettima said, describing Dantata as “one of the greatest titans in Nigeria’s philosophical history” whose departure marks the end of a vital chapter in the country’s economic and democratic evolution.
“In African tradition, when such an elderly person transitions, a vital chapter of our history departs with them. He was indeed among the great titans, a living bridge that connected us to our past,” VP Shettima added.
The Vice President extended heartfelt condolences to the Dantata family, expressing hopes that they would “find the fortitude to bear this irreparable loss,” even as he prayed that Almighty Allah would grant the deceased Jannatul Firdaus.
Born into the legendary Dantata family of Kano, Alhaji Aminu built on his father’s commercial legacy to become one of Nigeria’s most influential business figures. His empire spans construction, manufacturing, banking, agriculture, and the oil and gas sectors.
Beyond business, Dantata was renowned for his extensive philanthropic work, funding schools, mosques, health centres, and supporting widows and the underprivileged across Nigeria.
VP Shettima Mourns Late Alhaji Aminu Dantata, Says Nigeria Has Lost An Irreplaceable Institution
National News
Nigeria-EU Senior Officials Meet in Abuja to Prepare for Upcoming Nigeria – EU Ministerial Meeting

Nigeria-EU Senior Officials Meet in Abuja to Prepare for Upcoming Nigeria – EU Ministerial Meeting
By: Michael Mike
The Senior Officials Meeting between Nigeria and the European Union (EU) will be held on Tuesday 1st and Wednesday 2nd July 2025 in Abuja to prepare for the upcoming Nigeria – EU Ministerial Meeting and to explore areas of cooperation.
A statement on Saturday by the Press Officer, EU Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Modestus Chukwulaka, read: “The Delegation of European Union to Nigeria and ECOWAS wishes to inform that the Senior Officials Meeting between the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the European Union (EU) will be held on Tuesday 1st and Wednesday 2nd July 2025 in Abuja.
“The agenda of the very important meeting is to prepare for the upcoming Nigeria – EU Ministerial Meeting and to explore areas of cooperation.”
According to the statement, the Senior Officials Meeting will be co-chaired by the Regions, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nigeria, Ambassador Janet Olisa, Director, and the Deputy Managing Director for Africa Department, European External Action Service, European Union, Mr Mathieu Briens.
The statement revealed that the agenda of the meeting is expected to entail wide-ranging discussions that would focus on various aspects of the Nigeria – EU partnership, such as: Cooperation on multilateral and regional issues; Peace, Security and Governance; Humanitarian situation; Trade and Investment; Human Development: Health, Education, Social Protection; Science, technology, innovation and digital transition; Migration; Energy, climate change and green economy transition among others.
Nigeria and the European Union share a deep, long-standing partnership inspired by mutual values and interests as well as support for multilateralism and rule-based international order, the statement said.
Nigeria-EU Senior Officials Meet in Abuja to Prepare for Upcoming Nigeria – EU Ministerial Meeting
National News
Farida Waziri Tasks Benue Leaders to Unite, Act and Save Their People

Farida Waziri Tasks Benue Leaders to Unite, Act and Save Their People
…. Donates relief materials to displaced persons in Yelwata, IDP camp
By: Michael Mike
Former Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC), Mrs. Farida Waziri has charged former governors, legislators, traditional rulers and other stakeholders in Benue state to set aside rivalry, unite and act with urgency to save their people from incessant attacks and killings.
Waziri, a retired Assistant Inspector General of Police and Principal Partner, Brookfield Chambers Abuja stated this on Saturday 28th June 2025 while donating relief materials to victims of the recent gunmen attacks in Yelwata community and displaced persons at the internally displaced persons (IDP) camp in Makurdi, the Benue state capital.
Some of the items donated under the banner of Women, Youth, Children and Crime Organisation (WYCCO), a non-governmental organization founded by her, include: bags of rice, sugar, tubers of yam and other household items.

She said: “This is no time for division. It is no time for political squabbling or ego-driven manoeuvring. Among us are men and women who have led this state — former governors, legislators, traditional rulers — individuals with influence and authority. The time has come to set aside our differences and stand united, for the sake of the ordinary Benue man, woman, and child.
“That is why I stand here today to make this urgent and heartfelt appeal to our leaders: cast aside rivalry, unite, and act. Act with urgency. Act with purpose. Because what we face now increasingly resembles a deliberate, coordinated effort to erase our people and our heritage.
“We must take heed of the words of Sir Winston Churchill, who once said:
‘Our difficulties and dangers will not be removed by closing our eyes to them.’
Another of Churchill’s warnings is just as relevant to our present predicament:
‘If you will not fight for right when you can easily win without bloodshed… you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all odds against you and only a precarious chance of survival.”
Waziri, while stating that her call was a build up to the earlier proposal by President Bola Tinubu during his recent visit Beforehand Benue, noted that meetings alone would not solve the problem, urging that: “But let us be sincere: peace will not come from meetings alone. To end the cycle of violence, we must confront its roots. Before the Yelwata massacre, communities in Gwer West, Apa, and Guma had already endured weeks of killings, kidnappings, and raids. These horrors did not emerge in a vacuum; they are symptoms of deeper issues.
“We must therefore confront the real causes — ethnic and religious tensions, unchecked banditry, and the rise of cultism as well as the abuse of illicit drugs. These forces must be tackled, along with the herder-farmer conflict, with honesty and courage. We cannot afford to keep going in circles. And there is no room for blame games. Our leaders — and indeed, all of us — must be pragmatic. So today, let us commit, as one people, to healing our wounds, reclaiming our land, and ensuring that never again will a child in Benue grow up in a camp instead of a home”
She said the development in Benue must be of “concern to all sons and daughters of Benue regardless of whether we live within its borders or far away in the diaspora to find out the root cause of these attacks with a view to proferring solutions that will bring an end to these barbaric acts”
Farida Waziri Tasks Benue Leaders to Unite, Act and Save Their People
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