National News
Power Hungry Political Elites Have Destroyed the Future of Nigerian Youth-Na’Abba

Power Hungry Political Elites Have Destroyed the Future of Nigerian Youth-Na’Abba
The Former Speaker House of Representatives, Hon. Ghali Na’Abba has said the Nigerian political leaders have destroyed the future of the Nigerian youth as they have refused to allow the political, and socio-economic system to grow.
Na’Abba gave this verdict at The Fixing Nigerian National Youth conference 4.0 held by the Earnest and Ibrahim Foundation with the theme: ‘2023- Engagement Strategies For A Better Nigeria’ as the system is wasting the youth which are the future, courtesy of some political leaders for personal gains.
He said: “Soon after the democratic system started, few people, mainly heads of the executive arm of the states and federal government, colluded and ceased the political system.
“The Nigeria of our dreams entails that which it’s youth live in security, peace and harmony. Where every citizen is gainfully employed, where every citizen enjoys robust health, where everyone is treated justifiably and equitably.”
He alleged that the political leaders: “Obliterated internal democracy within the political parties, thereby taking away from the people what rightfully belongs to the people. Since then it is this set of people that decides who becomes what in this country.”
He added that: “Almost no one is allowed to play any important role in the polity unless this power hungry politicians so desire. This singular action by these power hungry people have had disastrous consequences to the polity, amongst them, the denial of the youth to have a voice and space in the polity.”
The former Speaker noted that nothing today is more important than to find a way to ensure the relevance of the youth, not just to be politically relevant but to continue to be so, respecting their dignity, as a situation where the youth see themselves as second or third citizens is not acceptable.
He said: “Our effort more importantly is to desire and establish a more viable, inclusive, efficient and effective political system. A return to the era of internal democracy within our political parties is vital.”
Also speaking at the occasion, a member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Muntari Dandutse, said the discourse is happening at an apt time as the agitations of the youth is relatable, adding that there is a need for mentorship as the youth has to be brought up to speed on the happenings as it concerns governance.
According to him, “in Nigeria the youth is about 65 to 70% constituting the larger populace and can change the polity. The youth is the key and engine of progress.they can be used as a tool to work on landmark progress,they should be ambassadors for peace and desist from violence and activities that create more harm to the society. They should be drivers in moving the country forward.
Ambassador Chibuzo Okereke, Co-Convener of the conference stated, a lot of people are not connected to things going on in government and about governance. He said the strategy is to engage for 2023 to get more youth involved. as It is said that Nigeria is practising electoral democracy and not democracy in the real sense.
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He said: “This conference has been going on for the last four years and it is based on trying to find a level ground and an avenue for education, conversation like this help to fix a lot of issues we are experiencing in the country today. And this makes change possible as change is a process and not a one time action.
Ezenwa Nwagwu, Executive Director, Peering Advocacy and Advancement Centre in Africa (PAACA), when making his presentation titled ‘Noise or Impact’, stated that all that needs to happen is a mass education that drives people away from noise and that which creates impact.
According to him, there is a need for young people to go into the dimension of solving problems, thereby creating impact rather than noise making.
He said: “We need to educate ourselves, especially documents that have to do with the policies of engagement as most young people are not interested in reading mostly documents that enlighten them on governance.
“Much of the noise is going on, as young people like glamour. Dubious benevolence has created no opportunity for excellence, as aspiration is now criminalised.
“Now the moving trend in primaries is emerging consensus candidate as high economically standing individuals buys all available forms then gift it to whoever they desired, be it a competent or incompetent imdividual. This will continue to create more ‘ass licking’ and not people of impact.
“Knowledge is lacking and ignorance is parading around. What do you know about the polity? Do you know the reason for the naira devaluation? There is a need for education and I am not talking about going to school. Our problem is that we have glorified public office, they are people who should run in office and then others challenge those in office,”he stressed.
Also speaking, Jeanette Washington, an activist stated that the power of the people as being greater than people in power. When at the decision making table an inclusive agenda should be engaged imbibing the beliefs of all also noting the need to make partners with the youth as the future. Adding that Nigeria has an advantage as there is a huge presence of social media influences and influencers.
Mr. Ernest Nwosu, the Convener, explained that the overall goal of the #FixingNigeria 4.0 Conference is for lawmakers, policy makers, CSOs and the media to share ideas on youth engagement as it concerns the active, empowered and intentional partnership with youth, stakeholders, problem solvers and change agents in their communities and to proffer strategies targeted at nation building for a better Nigeria.
He said: “There is a portentous transition looming that will see a generation of patriots and nationalists rise from the brightest and an often ignored percentage of our populace; a great movement of youth that will build upon the foundations set by past and present leaders to create a Nigeria driven by selfless, visionary leadership and strong institutions deeply set in strong democratic doctrine, ethics and values that will promote patriotism.”
Power Hungry Political Elites Have Destroyed the Future of Nigerian Youth-Na’Abba
National News
2027: A glance at Yobe politics and those struggling to succeed Governor Mala Buni

2027: A glance at Yobe politics and those struggling to succeed Governor Mala Buni
By: Yahaya Wakili
Yobe State in 2027 remains politically heavily influenced by a concentrated group of established elites, including former and current governors, legislators, and traditional leaders who maintain significant control over party nominations and resource distribution. This centralized power structure has contributed to political stability and smooth transitions but simultaneously limits democratic participation and impedes broader developmental progress. Notably, long-serving legislators such as Rt. Hon. Chiroma Buba Mashio exemplify the entrenched nature of this elite dominance. Within this context, the question of Governor Mala Buni’s successor is largely shaped by these influential actors rather than open electoral competition.

Yobe’s political future appears to be orchestrated by a limited cadre of power brokers whose influence will likely determine Governor Buni’s successor. The absence of transparent contestation or emerging alternative leaders suggests continuity within established networks rather than transformative political shifts by 2027.
For now, about six politicians are currently struggling to succeed Governor Mai Mala Buni, CON, in the 2027 general elections in Yobe State. The names currently circulating in the social media, who are all members of the All Progressives Congress (APC), include The former Senate President and current Senator for the Yobe North Senatorial District, Senator Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan, PhD, GCON Sardaunan Bade; Senator Ibrahim Mohammed Bomai, Turakin Fika, Yobe South Senatorial District; Senator Musa Mustapha, Yobe East Senatorial District; Hon. Jibrin Mai Gari, a Commissioner representing Yobe State in the Federal Character Commission; Hon. Kolo Lawan Geidam, who was currently a mandate Secretary for Agriculture and Rural Development, FCT Abuja; and the current Secretary to the State Government, Baba Mallam Wali mni

But the battle line may be drawn between former Senate President Senator Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan, PhD, GCON, and Senator Ibrahim Mohammed Bomai. The two top gladiators in Yiobe politics have been working to win the people recently. All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, however, is warning its members to desist from such calling because it says it is too early now to start campaigning for the 2027 general elections. Yobe State is divided into three senatorial zones: Zone A, Zone B, and Zone C. Zone A is Yobe East, Zone B is Yobe South, and Zone C is Yobe North.

Despite rumors circulating about Governor Buni’s potential defection from the All Progressives Congress (APC), official statements from his spokesperson categorically deny any intention to leave the party or join coalitions ahead of the 2027 elections. This affirmation underscores Buni’s continued centrality within the APC framework in Yobe State. However, neither these denials nor public discourse provide clarity on who might succeed him after his tenure concludes.
Since the return of democracy in the country in 1999, only the APC has been ruling the state, and they call it a one-party state in the country, and since then only Zone A has been producing the governor; this includes the late Senator Bukar Abba Ibrahim, Minister of Police Affairs Alhaji Ibrahim Geidam, and current Governor Hon. Mai Mala Buni CON, and Zone B has produced only one governor, the late Senator Mamman B. Ali, and he spent only 18 months in office before he died, while Zone C didn’t produce anyone, not even the deputy governor. But recently , in his interview with newsmen at his residence in Potiskum, the former APC State Chairman, Alhaji Adamu Abdu Chillariye, said rotation or zoning has become necessary in Yobe politics if they want the party to succeed in the 2027 general elections in the state.

According to Adamu Abdu Chillariye, if they want justice in the politics of Yobe State, let the party introduce the rotating formula of the governorship set in the 2027 general elections to other zones. It is not a traditional institution to say that only one tribe or one zone can continue to produce the governor at any time, he said. This will not augur well for our great party, and even after our lives, the rotating must be done in Yobe politics. If they want justice to prevail in Yobe politics, people are afraid to say the truth. The people of Zone C are crying for marginalization; they said they were marginalized, and they call on the party in the state to do justice. They expressed their feelings. The people of Yobe North, Zone C, have started appealing to the party leadership that this time around it is the turn of Zone C. Because the marginalization is too much, they said since the restoration of democracy in 1999, the people of Zone C have been marginalized. They said we, the people of Zone C, are always loyal to the APC, but they do not carry us along; they have always marginalized us in Yobe politics.

They also expressed their feelings on Yobe politics; the people of Yobe South Zone B said, This time is our turn. Let them allow us to complete our tenure because the late Senator Mamman B. Ali spent only 18 months in office before he died. He was supposed to spend 4 years in office, so the people of Zone B are overdue to complete their tenure. The political analysis in Yobe State says this time in Yobe State, if care is not taken, in 2027 the APC in Yobe State will lose its credibility and its seat to the opposition party in the state because the opposition will use this opportunity to wrestle the governor’s seat in the state. They said the politics of Yobe is becoming a family affair, and if the APC doesn’t change its style of dictatorship, it will lead them to failure.
2027: A glance at Yobe politics and those struggling to succeed Governor Mala Buni
National News
DEMOCRACY STRONG AND ALIVE IN NIGERIA; IGNORE ALARMISTS

DEMOCRACY STRONG AND ALIVE IN NIGERIA; IGNORE ALARMISTS
By: Bayo Onanuga
We have read the alarming claims of disgruntled opposition figures, some partisan human rights crusaders and emergency defenders of democracy over recent defections of key members of opposition parties into the governing All Progressives Congress.
The seismic shift caused by Akwa Ibom Governor Umo Eno’s open declaration of support for President Bola Tinubu, the defection of the Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, the former vice presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the last election, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, and the principal political actors in Delta and Rivers States certainly threw the opposition and their sympathisers into disarray.
While the opposition elements are understandably heartbroken over the failure of their fabled grand coalition to gain traction, we find it disturbing that they resorted to peddling false allegations of promoting a one-party State against President Bola Tinubu, who is working very hard to reverse decades of economic mismanagement in our country.
Contrary to the false claims in the propaganda materials in circulation across mainstream and social media, democracy is not under any threat in Nigeria. Accusations that the administration is moving towards authoritarianism are baseless and exaggerated.
We must add that no policy, official action, or directive from the Presidency seeks to “dismantle democracy” or “weaken opposition or create a one-party state.” Accusations of bribery, blackmail, and the weaponisation of state institutions only exist in the idle minds of politicians and their agents who have failed in their assigned role of opposition and are fishing for scapegoats.
The opposition cannot blame President Tinubu and the governing APC for their poor organisation, indiscipline, and gross incompetence in managing their affairs. It is certainly not part of President Tinubu’s job to organise or strengthen opposition parties.
We find it curious that those who celebrated the defection of the former Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, to the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the formation of a regional grand coalition with the sole aim of defeating President Tinubu in the 2027 election are the same people shedding crocodile tears over Nigeria’s so-called drift to a one-party state and authoritarianism.
While the latter-day defenders of democracy raised no anxious voice against the disgruntled politicians cobbling an anti-Tinubu, anti-APC coalition along dangerous regional lines, even before INEC blows the whistle for party politicking, they are quick to ascribe the political shifts in some states to “bribery, blackmail, and coercion” without any shred of evidence.
Without any equivocation, freedom of association, freedom of speech and freedom of choice are part of the cherished ideals of democracy. When politicians and citizens cannot freely join any association or political party of their choice or cannot openly express their views, democracy is imperilled. Those opposed to the Tinubu administration should understand that they can issue diatribes, without fear, against the government because we practice a thriving democracy.
It is hypocrisy writ large when opposition politicians and their collaborators in the ‘human rights’ movement desire that the party of the President should implode so they can gain electoral advantage and cry wolf when their wish does not materialise.
We want to state that democracy is not threatened or undermined simply because politicians exercise their rights to freedom of association. Nigerians migrating to the APC and expressing support for Tinubu are doing so out of their free will, based on the belief that the reforms being executed are in the interest of Nigerians and the unborn generation. It is a gross disservice to democracy in itself for these emergency defenders of democracy to delegitimise the political choices of some Nigerians while upholding the choices of others to form a coalition against Tinubu and APC.
Under President Tinubu, democracy is strong, and the multiparty democratic system will continue to flourish unhindered. His administration remains resolutely committed to upholding and strengthening the democratic foundations upon which our Fourth Republic has stood since 1999
Politicians changing party affiliation is not new or peculiar to Nigeria. In more advanced democracies, there are ready examples of notable politicians, statesmen and women who changed their parties.
President Tinubu and the National Working Committee of the APC, under the leadership of Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, deserve commendation for making the ruling party viable and attractive to all Nigerians willing to participate in the democratic process.
President Tinubu is an avowed democrat and a firm believer in multiparty democracy. His political activism and democratic credentials in galvanising and strengthening opposition platforms as a force that defeated a sitting President and the then ruling party attest to his credibility as a tested defender of multiparty democracy.
We urge all Nigerians to join hands with the administration in protecting our democracy by respecting our people’s choices and giving alarmists, who draw their narratives from the pool of fiction, a wide berth.
DEMOCRACY STRONG AND ALIVE IN NIGERIA; IGNORE ALARMISTS
National News
At World Bank/IMF Spring Meeting, VP Shettima Pushes For Nigeria’s HCD 2.0 Agenda

At World Bank/IMF Spring Meeting, VP Shettima Pushes For Nigeria’s HCD 2.0 Agenda
** Calls for evidence-based interventions, stronger global partnerships in education, health, labour sectors
By: Our Reporter
Vice President Kashim Shettima has called for stronger international collaboration to advance Nigeria’s Human Capital Development 2.0 (HCD 2.0) strategy.
He reaffirmed the commitment of the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to positioning human potential at the heart of national development.
Speaking virtually at a high-level roundtable on the sidelines of the 2025 World Bank/IMF Spring Meetings, VP Shettima said the success of HCD 2.0 will hinge on data-driven, evidence-based interventions and sustained political will.
The HCD 2.0 programme is designed to elevate Nigeria’s Human Capital Index (HCI) and equip Nigeria to face both national and global challenges, including climate change and digital transformation.
The Vice President pointed out that the meeting was necessitated by the urgency to invest in the Nigerian people and by the recognition that true national wealth is found not in natural resources, but in human potential.
“This meeting, for us, is not just another item on our global agenda. It is a continuation of a journey whose beginnings I had the privilege of witnessing about seven years ago. True national wealth is found not in natural resources, but in human potential.
“We will offer our HCD 2.0 Strategy the political backing it deserves to be the priority of our nation, and His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has never wavered on this,” he said.
The session featured key stakeholders from the World Bank, including Executive Director, Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed; Regional Director for Human Development in the Western and Central Africa, Trina Haque; Senior Social Protection Specialist and Regional Task Team Leader, Africa West & Central region, Tina George, and Chief Economist for Human Development in the World Bank Group, Norbert Shady.
The Nigerian delegation included the Deputy Chief of Staff to the President/ Chair of the HCD Core Working Group, Senator Ibrahim Hassan Hadejia and Special Adviser to the President on National Economic Council & Climate Change/National Coordinator of HCD programme, Rukaiya El-Rufai.
VP Shettima reiterated the federal government’s determination to ensure the continuity and deepening of the HCD agenda.
“Government is a continuum. Nowhere is this truer than in programmes that demand patience, vision, and long-term commitment—programmes such as our Human Capital Development programme,” he noted.
He revealed that under HCD 2.0, six priority indicators from the health, education, and labour force sectors have been selected as “quick wins” to guide policy interventions and track measurable progress.
“We have carefully curated priority indicators and an HCD Dashboard to track them. This allows us to make informed policy decisions and measure our progress against tangible benchmarks,” Senator Shettima said.
The Nigerian Vice President also reaffirmed the administration’s resolve to remain transparent and results-oriented to achieve measurable outcomes.
“We will continue to hold ourselves accountable and press forward toward our bold goal to elevate Nigeria among the top 80 countries in Human Capital Index rankings,” he said.
Senator Shettima also called on the World Bank and other development partners to support the availability of disaggregated, state-level Human Capital Index (HCI) data to enable more targeted interventions.
Stressing the need for equity and inclusiveness in implementing the HCD 2.0 strategy, he said, “We are leaving no sub-national in Nigeria behind. Some of the states have already set a template for the others, having localised the HCD strategies to align with the peculiarities of their people while, of course, aligning them with the national strategy.”
The World Bank representatives at the meeting committed to strengthening the bank’s partnership with Nigeria to improve the country’s Human Capital Index and proposed senior-level stakeholder engagement to identify optimal areas for technical support.
There were also several speeches from representatives of Nigerian state governments, including Akwa Ibom and Lagos, as well as representatives of other local and international development organisations.
At World Bank/IMF Spring Meeting, VP Shettima Pushes For Nigeria’s HCD 2.0 Agenda
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