National News

LEKKI, LAI, LIES & TALES BY MOONLIGHT (1)

Published

4 years ago

November 24, 2021

News Net Global

LEKKI, LAI, LIES & TALES BY MOONLIGHT (1)

BY CHRIS GYANG

OPENING THOUGHTS

You say they kill something inside you? Buhari and his men – Lai and Garba and Femi? Then you should have perished a long, long time ago. But no, you are still alive and kicking. Are you not a Nigerian, an indomitable citizen? After all, lies cannot kill you.

Could the Lekki massacres of October 2020 be a sad reenactment of the jungle justice perpetrated in 1977 where Fela Anikulapo’s mother was flung out of a second-floor window to her death by an agent of the dictatorship whom a panel later described as an ‘unknown soldier’? We shall soon find out.

For now, it is worthy of note that our neighbouring country, Cameroun (which has been ruled by 88-year old President Paul Biya for 39 years who still wants to contest for another tenure in 2025), calls its national team ‘The Indomitable Lions’. They are a rugged and fearsome side not easily defeated. Perhaps we should also call ourselves ‘Indomitable Nigerians’ because, like Cameroon’s national team, nothing easily squashes our spirits, or bodies.

There was a season when even lying military despots, who remain a not-to0 distant memory, could kill nothing inside y0u, as happened with Fela following his mother’s gruesome extra-judicial killing. Likewise, the falsehoods of present day ministers, corrupt government officials, a sitting president and his aides and spokesmen, can kill nothing in you. But we don’t have to hold tight to that borrowed ‘indomitable’ adjective from the Camerounians.

We have crafted a special nomenclature for ourselves. It suits us perfectly well and says a lot about our docile and sanctimonious nature. We tell ourselves that we are “a resilient people.” We have the incredible ability to bounce back from any adversity in the shortest time possible. Also, don’t forget that in Africa, names carry omens.

FLASHBACK

Now a little flashback would be appropriate to situate our subject in proper perspective. On October 20, 2020, soldiers confronted #EndSARS peaceful demonstrators at the Lekki tollgate, Lagos, during which some of them were killed and many others injured. This was widely reported by local mainstream and social media; and international news networks. However, the Federal Government, through the Information Minister, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, consistently maintained that no one was killed that day.

THE CABLE documented five instances in the past one year where Mr. Lai Mohammed vociferously refuted the reports of those killings, maiming and other human rights abuses. Some of these denials have been full of excoriating remarks and outright denunciations of individuals, credible sources and the organisations they represent.

According to the online publication, CABLE, in November 2020, the minister took a swipe at DJ Switch, a disc jockey, who filmed the army shooting #EndSARS protesters at Lekki tollgate, vowing that soon she would be “exposed for what she is.”

Lai further described her as a “purveyor of fake news” and questioned her motive for saying that protesters were killed by the army which, he said, was “suspicious.”

Also in November, the minister’s castigation of CNN was dripping with bile. He argued that its report on the Lekki shooting “did not just fall short of journalistic standards but reinforces the disinformation that is going around on the issue.” The minister, in a letter written to CNN, accused the international platform of deliberately leaving out video footage which could have shown that “armed hoodlums invaded the Lekki Toll Gate that night and could have hit any of the protesters as they shot sporadically…. This is clearly a ploy by the CNN reporter/presenter to manipulate viewers of its ‘investigative’ report and force them to draw the reporter’s desired conclusion.”

In its own report about the incident, Amnesty International (AI) had said that 12 people were killed by the military. But in January, 2021, Mr. Mohammed challenged AI to show proof of the 12 people killed or “shut up.” In February, 2021, he insisted that nobody had produced evidence of the people said to have been killed at the Lekki tollgate and described the allegations as “fake news and unverified social media reports.”

And Mr. Mohammed, during a press briefing marking the first anniversary of the shootings in October 2021, further claimed that there was still no proof that any protester was killed. He described it as a “phantom massacre,” stressing that it was the “first massacre in the world without blood or bodies.” He added, more sardonically: “One year later, and despite ample opportunities for the families of those allegedly killed and those alleging a massacre to present evidence, there has been none: No bodies, no families, no convincing evidence, nothing…. Where are the families of those who were reportedly killed…?”

PANEL’S REPORT, THE BACKLASH

But THE CABLE reported on Monday, November 15, that a report of the Lagos State judicial panel on police brutality, which was leaked to the press that same day, showed that protesters were indeed killed at the tollgate on October 20, 2020.

According to the NEW YORK TIMES (November 16, 2021), the report showed that the Nigerian Army shot and killed at least 11 unarmed, peaceful protesters and wounded dozens more. It added that four others were missing and now “presumed dead…. The atrocious maiming and killing of unarmed, helpless and unresisting protesters, while sitting on the floor and waving their Nigerian flags, while singing the national anthem can be equated to a ‘massacre’ in context.” The panel also listed 48 people as shooting victims.

The army had insisted that it fired blanks to disperse the demonstrators. On the contrary, the judicial panel declared that ample evidence showed that “soldiers actually shot blank and live bullets directly and pointedly into the midst of the protesters at the Lekki Toll Gate, with the deliberate intention to assault, maim, and kill.” It further maintained that the soldiers turned back ambulances that arrived to help wounded protesters.

Obviously, the information minister had not been telling the truth about what happened that day at the Lekki tollgate, Lagos. Analysts say that his acerbic outbursts that “No bodies … no convincing evidence, nothing…” had been discovered were the height of insensitivity to the dead and their living relatives.

Thus, the backlash from the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) was harsh. In a statement issued on November 16, 2021, HURIWA National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, urged President Buhari to sack and arrest him “for committing a grave and heartless offence that is equivalent to the denial of the Holocaust of the six million Jews by Adolf Hitler, which is punishable by nearly half a century of incarceration.”

While praising the bravery of the panel’s members and chairperson, the human rights body challenged President Buhari “not to sweep the lawlessness of the security agencies under the carpets.”

LAI STICKS TO HIS GUNS

But Mr. Lai Mohammed has hit back at the panel and rubbished its report, which he labelled as ‘tales by moonlight’ – a Nigerian folk tales children’s television show. During a press conference in Abuja on November 23, 2021, the minister insisted that the report would not change the Federal Government’s earlier declared position that there wasn’t a massacre, “adding that the report is intimidation of a silent majority by a ‘vociferous lynch mob’” (Daily Post, November 23).

Also Read: People’s Forum calls for investigation into alleged…

But many analysts say they are not surprised by the Federal Government’s position given that it has never owned up to such accusations of human rights abuses and the spike in corruption in the country from Amnesty International and Transparency International in the past. Only recently, the government lambasted The Economist for offering a very bleak assessment of the administration’s overall performance so far.

IF LAI LIED, SO WHAT?

Now, can Lai’s falsehoods and those of the other president’s men, even his (the president’s), still kill something inside of you? No they can’t, because you are ‘resilient’. You can weather all vicissitudes – hunger, poverty, hyper-inflation, stolen elections, endless strikes, Boko Haram killings, bandits’ attacks, impeachment of a speaker by 8 members of a 24-member parliament, etc – with religious equanimity and calm. Resilient people do not whine about the tissues of lies often hurled at them by leaders who must soften their consciences in order to sleep well at night. We are a people who allow our leaders to get away with all manner of atrocities and misdemeanors.

In fact, is Nigeria as presently constituted and wired not itself a big lie? Set up as a trading outpost for colonial masters, our country has so far been oiled and held together by a single primary commodity – crude oil. Our country is a true commercial enterprise, a business venture driven by the profit motive. The oily, shimmering surface belies the contradictions swirling down below. No wonder, our unity is tenuous – a sea of vaporizing mirages.

Those, especially from the core north, who endlessly mouth platitudes about national unity and patriotism are only inspired by the lucre they scoop from the oil wells that lie in the belly of this wobbly contraption and nothing else. Do you think they would have stuck to this union so tenaciously and continued singing its praises to the high heavens if the black gold was not at the bottom? Expert illusionists, they juggle lies and the beauty of national unity and patriotism before our eyes to keep us perpetually spell bound.

TO BE CONCLUDED…

LEKKI, LAI, LIES & TALES BY MOONLIGHT (1)

National News

UK, Nigeria Launch Flagship Economic Reform Programmes to Strengthen Stability and Drive Economic Growth

Published

1 hour ago

December 5, 2025

Ochuwa Ibrahim

UK, Nigeria Launch Flagship Economic Reform Programmes to Strengthen Stability and Drive Economic Growth

By: Michael Mike

The British High Commission in Abuja has launched two flagship economic reform programmes – the Nigeria Economic Stability & Transformation (NEST) programme and the Nigeria Public Finance Facility (NPFF) – reaffirming the United Kingdom’s long-term commitment to supporting Nigeria’s economic reform and growth agenda.

Backed by a £12.4 million UK investment, NEST and NPFF sit at the centre of the UK-Nigeria mutual growth partnership and support Nigeria’s efforts to strengthen macroeconomic stability, improve fiscal resilience, and create a more competitive environment for investment and private-sector growth.

Speaking at the launch, Head of Development Cooperation at the British High Commission in Abuja, Cynthia Rowe, said: “These two programmes sit at the heart of our economic development cooperation with Nigeria. They reflect a shared commitment to strengthening the fundamentals that matter most for our stability, confidence, and long-term growth.”

The launch followed the inaugural meeting of the Joint UK-Nigeria Steering Committee, which endorsed the approach of both programmes and confirmed strong alignment between the UK and Nigeria on priority areas for delivery.

Representing the Government of Nigeria, Special Adviser to the President of Nigeria on Finance and the Economy, Sanyade Okoli, welcomed the collaboration: “We welcome the United Kingdom’s support through these new programmes as a strong demonstration of our shared commitment to Nigeria’s economic stability and long-term prosperity. At a time when we are implementing critical reforms to strengthen fiscal resilience, improve macroeconomic stability, and unlock inclusive growth, this partnership will provide valuable technical support. Together, we are laying the foundation for a more resilient economy that delivers sustainable development and improved livelihoods for all Nigerians.”

On his part, the British Deputy High Commissioner in Lagos, Jonny Baxter, highlighted the significance of the programmes within the wider UK-Nigeria mutual growth partnership:

He said: “NEST and NPFF are central to our shared approach to strengthening the foundations that underpin long-term economic prosperity. They sit firmly within the UK-Nigeria mutual growth partnership.”

The launch was attended by senior officials from the Federal Ministry of Finance, Central Bank of Nigeria, Federal Inland Revenue Service, Debt Management Office, Budget Office of the Federation, and international development partners.

UK, Nigeria Launch Flagship Economic Reform Programmes to Strengthen Stability and Drive Economic Growth

National News

NIS-Flags-Off 2025 Service Delivery Reforms

Published

2 hours ago

December 5, 2025

Ochuwa Ibrahim

NIS-Flags-Off 2025 Service Delivery Reforms

By: Michael Mike

The Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) has formally launched its 2025 national sensitisation campaign aimed at strengthening transparency, improving efficiency and deepening anti-corruption reforms across its operations nationwide.

The flag-off ceremony, held in Abuja, brought together senior officers of the NIS, representatives of key security agencies, members of the diplomatic community, civil society actors and the media.

The Comptroller General of Immigration, Kemi Nandap emphasised that the campaign, themed: “Elevating for Transparency and Efficiency: Strengthening Service Delivery and Combating Corruption through Reforms,” represents a renewed commitment by the Service to uphold accountability and build a modern, trusted and globally competitive institution.

She said: “This campaign is not merely a slogan. It is our collective pact with Nigerians that service must be transparent, efficient and accountable.”

The CG disclosed that the NIS has expanded its digital architecture to simplify services, automate passport applications and deploy biometric verification systems at national borders.

She said: “Citizens are now able to initiate and track applications with clearer timelines and minimal physical interaction,” adding that: “These reforms have improved processing timelines across commands and significantly reduced opportunities for extortion.”

She further disclosed that passport offices have been restructured nationwide to enhance speed and fairness, supported by a 24-hour call centre, monitored social media channels, and dedicated email platforms to ensure that complaints and enquiries are addressed promptly.

“The worst thing that can happen to anyone is having issues and not knowing where to turn,” she noted. “We corrected that by ensuring Nigerians always have someone listening and responding.”

Reaffirming the Service’s zero-tolerance policy for corruption, the CG announced strengthened internal audits, enhanced enforcement of ethical codes and improved disciplinary measures to deter misconduct.

She said: “Digital payment systems and automated checkpoints now limit cash-based interactions,” she said. “Transparency is not optional it’s the foundation for the work we do.”

She added that officers are undergoing continuous training and process redesign to align with global border management standards.

The CG noted that the NIS has deepened partnerships with sister security agencies, multilateral institutions, migration platforms and the diplomatic corps to support ongoing reforms.

“Change is difficult. Many people resist it,” she said. “But by engaging these agencies and bringing their personnel into our training and sensitisation sessions, they now understand why we are implementing these changes and how to navigate the new systems.”

A major appeal of the campaign is to discourage Nigerians from patronising touts and unauthorised agents.

She said: “You can sit in the comfort of your home and apply for most of our services. Follow our clearly outlined procedures. Do not put yourself at the mercy of anybody.”

She urged the public to use official platforms for enquiries, suggestions and complaints, including phone lines, website portals, social media channels and suggestion boxes.

The CG lamented the killing of NIS officers in the line of duty in Borno, Kebbi and Niger States. She said: “They were attacked by unknown persons while serving their country.”

The CG emphasised that meaningful change requires the collective effort of officers, citizens and stakeholders.

“Efficiency is not achieved by policy pronouncements alone. It requires personal responsibility at every desk, every command and every border post,” she said.

She added that: “The change we seek starts with us. If everyone here decides to do something differently, imagine the transformation we can achieve.”

NIS-Flags-Off 2025 Service Delivery Reforms

National News

Shettima announces Special Fund of N166b for disaster management in 2026

Published

10 hours ago

December 5, 2025

Ochuwa Ibrahim

Shettima announces Special Fund of N166b for disaster management in 2026

By: Michael Mike

The Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima has announced Nigeria’s readiness to lead in the new era of data-driven preparedness against disasters.

Shettima, while making the announcement on Thursday, also announced that the Federal Government has given approval for a N166 billion special intervention fund to help provide anticipatory action before the occurrence of any form of disaster in the coming year.

The Vice President revealed that the country is strengthening national systems to ensure that early warning is not just issued but heard, understood, and acted upon, noting that the essence is to make Nigeria more proactive and enhance its anticipatory capacity.

The Vice President spoke at the National conference on Anticipatory Action in Nigeria, with the theme: “Unlocking the Power of Data-Driven Anticipatory Action in Nigeria” organised by International Rescue Committee, Nigeria.

Shettima said the country is investing in national data generating agencies, Climate-resilient agriculture, Flood prediction models integrated with machine learning systems like IGNITIA, Data-driven disaster management frameworks and Community-led resilience initiatives.

He noted that the target is to have a nation where no community is abandoned to rising waters, failed rains, or eroding livelihoods.

The VP, who was represented by the Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, Senator Ibrahim Hassan Hadejia disclosed that: “A special intervention of N166 billion has been committed by the National Economic Council to fund the National Anticipatory Action Framework in 2026.”

He added: “We are strengthening national systems to ensure that early warning is not just issued but heard, understood, and acted upon at the last mile. “

He stated that the country’s vision is to become a nation that anticipates, not reacts.

He said: “The Nigeria we are building will not be one that waits helplessly for rescue. We will be a proactive nation, not reactive, resilient, not vulnerable.

“A nation where no community is abandoned to rising waters, failed rains, or eroding livelihoods. A nation where innovation meets governance, and data meets compassion.”

The Vice President also said that Anticipatory Action is not only a humanitarian necessity but a development path and climate strategy.

“Anticipatory Action is not only a humanitarian necessity, it is a development pathway. It is a climate strategy. It is a governance strength,” he said.

He therefore stressed the importance of timely and accurate data, noting that it helps to provide reliable early warning systems, and proactive financing.

He sold: “And it is a moral duty. If we unlock the power of data-driven anticipatory action, we will build a Nigeria that withstands shocks, protects its citizens, and stands as a global model for resilience.”

He reminded participants that the gathering is “to chart a course that will redefine how Nigeria anticipates, prepares for, and responds to climate-related disasters. He went on: : “This is not simply a conference, it is a national reset on how we safeguard lives, livelihoods, and the future of our communities.

He noted that: “Our Reality: The Climate Crisis Is No Longer a Distant Threat; Nigeria is already living the consequences.

“Floods sweeping through communities in over 26 states, year after year.

“Drought shrinking agricultural yields in the Northeast and Northwest.

“Cholera, meningitis, and vector-borne diseases rising with changing temperatures. Tens of thousands are displaced annually. Families losing livelihoods to rising waters or failed rains.

For the families affected, these are not “climate events.” They are life-altering emergencies. They determine whether a family eats, whether a child goes to school, whether a business survives, and whether communities remain stable. The climate crisis is not abstract. It is personal, immediate, and local.

“The Opportunity Before Us: Turning Predictability Into Protection. Amid this challenge lies an extraordinary opportunity. Around the world, Anticipatory Action (AA) has proven that if we act before a disaster hits based on data, forecasting, and science we save more lives, protect more livelihoods, and spend fewer resources.
“With accurate data, reliable early warning systems, and proactive financing, we can: Move families to safety before flooding
“Protect farms before drought damages seedlings. Deliver cash support before households resorts to negative coping strategies; Strengthen local systems before they are overwhelmed.”

“This is common sense. It is smart economics. It is good governance. And above all, it is humane leadership,” he added.

He cited government collaboration with the United Nations, The International Rescue Committee (IRC), donors, and partners in Adamawa where the programme has been a huge success.

“Their work shows that when data and proactive action meet, communities recover faster, cope better, and move forward with dignity.

He also called on donors and partners to increase their investment in Anticipatory Action, stating that: “Today, I call on both institutional and private donors: Now is the time to scale up anticipatory action financing in Nigeria, the window to act is narrow, the need is urgent, And the returns in lives saved and communities protected are extraordinary, Every naira or dollar spent before a crisis saves multiple times that amount after a crisis, This is not charity, this is strategic investment in stability, economic growth, and resilience for Africa’s largest nation.”

He also urged all the stakeholders to act together to strengthen data collection and hydro-meteorological infrastructure expand forecasting capacity using advanced analytics and machine learning; develop accessible and reliable early warning systems; scale climate-resilient agriculture and water management; empower communities with tools, financing, and knowledge to act early and review and cascade the National Anticipatory Action Framework to all States affected by floods and other climate induced disasters.

He warned that: “We can no longer afford a response system where communities only receive help after devastation has occurred.”

In his opening remarks, the Country Director, International Rescue Committee- Nigeria, Babatunde Ojei, said “Anticipatory Action is more than an innovation; it is a lifeline. It is the power to act before a crisis becomes a catastrophe. It is the power to protect before families lose everything. It is the power to prevent suffering before it begins.”

He therefore said the gathering was more than a conference; “it is a turning point for our country. A moment where science meets leadership, where data meets decisive action, and where Nigeria demonstrates to the world that we will not wait for disaster to strike before we protect our people.”

He stressed that “For too long, our nation has suffered the harsh reality of a changing climate: floods, droughts, displacement, crop failures, food insecurity, and loss of livelihoods. These crises are not statistics; they are the lived experiences of ordinary Nigerians — farmers, mothers, children, traders, and entire communities struggling to survive forces beyond their control. But today, gathered in this hall, is the collective intelligence, leadership, and commitment necessary to change that story.”

Shettima announces Special Fund of N166b for disaster management in 2026