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THE SABBOTAGE THEORY IN NIGERIA’S CRISIS: The VP As ….
THE SABBOTAGE THEORY IN NIGERIA’S CRISIS: The VP As ….
By: Inuwa Bwala
This piece is a preamble to the main piece. It will not attempt to address the main question, rsth3r it will touch on how the media is becoming a tool for championing the agenda of the aggressors against Government.
When the Vice President, Kashim Shettima, alleged sabotage by smugglers and some unpatriotic Nigerians in the food crisis bevelling Nigeria, some people tried to puncture his argument, but none could deny the fact that, there are indeed people trying to undermine Government efforts.
Most people who discussed the matter stopped at calling on the government to reveal the identities of the culprits.
For the Vice President to give graphic details of the routes being used to smuggle food out of the country, relying on figures, tells more about the information available to him.
Shettima might not have mentioned names, given the audience and the occasion, but it was not lost on most people, that he knew more than he mentioned.
And when the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, alleged that some of the protests that rocked some cities across Nigeria were actually sponsored, some people cried blue murder, accusing him of being insensitive to the plights of Nigerians.
A more curious look at trends in the unfolding national malady makes the conclusion reached by both the Vice President and the Senate President, as not unfounded after all.
I know as a matter of fact, that, both the Vice President and the Senate President have superior intelligence at their disposals, and trying to decontruct their arguments, may tend to take away the minds of Nigerians from the real issues.
Already, a narrative has been started to the effect that the government is responsible for all the problems, and the media is being effectively deployed to orchestrate it.
The setting does not seem to allow anybody to hold a contrary view, different from what is trending.
Watching the Arise TV breakfast programme on Wednessday morning, anchored by my respected professional colleague Ruben Abati: my position was further strengthened to the effect that, the media has become an attractive tool in the hands of politucal hirelings, in undoing Government.
This is how the chorus interventions by Rufai Oseni: who tries to force his opinions down the throats of his guests and viewers alike, rubbished that days edition.
I do not know his professional background, but I dare say, that, Rufai Oseni’s approach is a negation of what we were taught in elementary journalism: not to force our opinions on others.
To pretend not to know, that, there is suffering in the land may sound uncharitable, but to deny that Nigeria is deliberately being sabotaged is to gloat over the facts.
Rufai Oseni wallows in the unmerited advantage of access to the airwaves and talks to colleagues in the studio, guests on television, and viewers, as if he is the only authority on every subject matter.
There is an old saying amongst the Ibos of Nigeria, that, when the owl toos at night, and a child dies by the morning, it is assumed that the owl is responsible for the child’s death.
It is an open secret, that, certain sections of the country, particulally the north west, have not been too comfortable with the policies and programmes of the Tinubu Government, long before some of the problems in the country started unfolding.
I feel some
remarks credited to notable elders, especially from the region, which had threatening tones to the government, symbolises the owl’s cry, and the attendant eruptions are the child’s death.
Again, I particularly noticed a common trend around the protests that took place in Abuja, Kano,Minna, Oshogbo, and Ibadan to the effect that none of them was spontaneous, rather rather, they seem pre-arranged.
While one may not necessarily say they were sponsored, it was obvious that they were instigated, to further portray the Government as unpopular and losing legitimacy.
Given the perception in certain quaters, and our own perception in the North Eastern part, the Presudency should barrow its manhunt for sabnotage from the region that has demonstrated discomfort with her policies.
THE SABBOTAGE THEORY IN NIGERIA’S CRISIS: The VP As ….
NDLEA intercepts cocaine in Saudi-bound religious books
By: Michael Mike
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted a shipment of cocaine concealed in 20 sets of religious books going to Saudi Arabia.
The spokesman of the anti-narcotics agency, Femi Babafemi in a statement on Sunday said the cocaine consignment consisting of 20 parcels with a total weight of 500 grammes and buried in the pages of the religious books was uncovered at a courier company in Lagos last Tuesday when NDLEA officers of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) were searching through export cargos going to Saudi Arabia at the logistics firm.
Babafemi said at another courier company same day, NDLEA officers intercepted five parcels of Loud, a strong strain of cannabis weighing 2.8 kilogrammes hidden in a carton coming from the United States of America.
In Kano, a 22-year-old alleged supplier of illicit substances to bandits, Muhammad Mohammed, has been arrested by NDLEA operatives on patrol along Bichi – Kano road while heading to Katsina with 277 ampoules of pentazocine injection tied to his thigh and private part with Sellotape.
He was intercepted on Sunday 13th April, while another suspect, Mohammed Abdulrahman Abdulaziz, 43, was nabbed same day at Research Rimin Kebe area of Nasarawa, Kano with 68 blocks of skunk, a strain of cannabis, weighing 30 kilogrammes.
He said not less than 557.2 kilogrammes of skunk, 5.6 kilogrammes of methamphetamine and 29.8 grammes of heroin were recovered from a house along Major General Isaiah Alllison Street, Opolo, Yenagoa, Bayelsa state where four suspects were arrested when NDLEA operatives raided the premises last Wednesday
Babafemi said the four suspects arrested during the raid include: Sarimiye Suwa, 46; Roland Prosper, 34; Sarimiye Tare, 45; and Fidelis Ugbesla, 46, while a total of 1,100 kilogrammes of skunk were recovered from a delivery van with the driver, Ismail Abdullahi arrested in Surulere area of Lagos last Thursday.
In Kaduna, NDLEA operatives last Friday raided the hideout of a suspect, Ike Ani, 30, in Zaria, where no fewer than 31,950 pills of tramadol 225mg and diazepam were recovered, and in Kebbi, along Bagudo road on the same day a vehicle loaded with bags of charcoal coming from Malabil, Benin Republic was intercepted, when the vehicle was search, 97 kilogrammes of skunk concealed in the sacks of charcoal was recovered.
. Three suspects: Abubakar Ibrahim, 50; Mustapha Aliyu, 32; and Bashar Lawali, 28, were arrested in connection with the seizure.
A 48-year-old Okafor Marcel was nabbed with 11.5 kilogrammes skunk at Abatete, Anambra state while NDLEA operatives in Osogbo, Osun state last Tuesday arrested Ajala Mercy, 27, with 43 litres of skushi, a mixture of black currant, cannabis and opioids recovered from her room at Dada estate, Halleluyah area of the state capital.
Babafemi said two cannabis farms in Egbeta forest, Ovia North East LGA, Edo state were raided by NDLEA operatives who destroyed 3,717.8625 kilogrammes of the psychoactive plant on 1.487145 hectares and recovered 136.5 kilogrammes of processed cannabis.
At the Tincan seaport in Lagos, a suspect Basorun Kayode, 40, who has been at large for two years was arrested by NDLEA officers in connection with the seizure of 107 kilogrammes Loud imported from Canada in 2023, while another suspect, Dauda Yakubu who distributes illicit drugs within the seaport community was arrested by a team of operatives last Monday.
The spokesman said the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) social advocacy activities by NDLEA commands equally continued across the country in the past week.
Meanwhile, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Rtd) while commending the officers and men of DOGI, Kano, Lagos, Kaduna, Kebbi, Osun, Zone 13, Edo and Tin-can commands of the agency for the arrests and seizures of the past week, equally praised their counterparts in all the commands across the country for ensuring a fair balance between their drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts.
NDLEA intercepts cocaine in Saudi-bound religious books
Fire Guts Water Board IDP Camp in Monguno, Borno
By: Zagazola Makama
A devastating fire broke out at the Water Board IDP Camp in Monguno Local Government Area (LGA) on April 19, 2025, destroying approximately one hundred thatch and makeshift houses.
Eye witnesses said that the fire started at around 1040hrs and rapidly spread across the settlement, burning household items, foodstuffs, and other valuable properties to ashes.
The cause of the fire is yet to be determined, and the value of the property destroyed is still being assessed.
Humanitarian officials were immediately deployed to the scene to maintain crowd control and prevent looting, while firefighters, alongside camp residents, worked tirelessly to extinguish the flames.
Fortunately, no casualties or loss of life were reported.
Fire Guts Water Board IDP Camp in Monguno, Borno
Terrorists Snatch Vehicle in Monguno, Borno
By: Zagazola Makama
Armed assailants suspected to be members of ISWAP/Boko Haram attacked and snatched a vehicle in Monguno Local Government Area (LGA) on April 18, 2025, at about 1400hrs.
Saleh Haun, a resident of the Water Board IDP Camp in Monguno, reported that while he was at the Gumnari Bush Area in Monguno, four armed gunmen, riding on two motorcycles, accosted him.
The assailants, at gunpoint, seized his white Toyota Land Cruiser, before fleeing with the vehicle to an unknown location.
A Military Forward Operating Base (FOB) has been alerted, and efforts are underway to to track the assailant and recover the stolen vehicle.
Terrorists Snatch Vehicle in Monguno, Borno
Troops Foil Fresh Violence as Armed Youths Attack Fulani Settlement in Plateau
Senator Donates Relief Materials to Communal Clash Deceases Families in Jigawa
NDLEA intercepts cocaine in Saudi-bound religious books
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