The Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway being constructed by the Bola Tinubu administration has hugged the headlines and dominated public discourse in recent times. The critics of the 700km road with 10 lanes and a train track at the centre, have alleged lack of due process in the award of the contract, the needlessness of the project at this point in time when many Nigerians are grappling with rising cost of living and other existential crises.

Some of the virulent critics of the road, which will boost economic activities in the country and bring direct foreign investment, have even queried the sustainability of the project and doubted its completion within the eight years timeframe. Some pointed out that the road would not be completed even in three decades. Some critics describe the project as worthless or unprofitable investment.

Among the prominent critics of the new road project are the former vice president and presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 general election, Atiku Abubakar, and former governor of Anambra State and presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the election, Peter Obi. Based on their sterling performance in last year’s election, both Atiku and Obi can be said to be the main face of the opposition in Nigerian politics today.

While Atiku cited lack of due process and conflict of interest in the award of the contract to alleged friend of Tinubu, Peter Obi maintained that the coastal road was not a priority right now and queried the loss of businesses on the right of way of the road. Like everything Nigerian, lots of meanings are being read into the road with diverse interpretations. This has ostensibly led to needless war, spat, drama and altercation on a road that will bring progress, business and development in the country.

Therefore, the recent altercation between Peter Obi and the Minister of Works and former governor of Ebonyi State, Engr. Dave Umahi is most unfortunate and regrettable. The brotherly war over the building of a new federal road that will be used by all Nigerians and foreigners alike is needless and uncalled for. No matter the alleged imperfections of the processes of the new road, and the explanations offered by the government in response to mounting criticisms on the project, there is no doubt that roads bring about socio-economic development in a country. The Lagos-Calabar highway will do the same.

When the colonial rulers were here, they first built roads, bridges and rails to connect all of us. They opened new towns and centres of commerce and administrations and linked them with roads, and rails in some instances. Others they linked by air or by water. Roads that bring development should not be a source of friction among brothers and even sisters. If there are differences over the project, they can be ironed out without undue muscle-flexing. Matters over lack of due process, conflict of interest and giving due attention to other roads and issues of immediate importance can be addressed without verbal attacks.

Every road, including the new Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, is an artery of development. That is why every good government invests so much money in road infrastructure. Nobody ever forgets a governor that builds roads, whether it is concrete or asphalt ones. However, because of the nature of our soil, the emphasis now is on concrete roads which will last for 30 or more years. Most of our asphalt roads cave in within one or two years. Some even start caving in even within the first year after completion. As a developing country, we really need a lot of investments in road infrastructure. It is not in contention that so many Nigerian towns and villages do not have a tarred road.

Despite the mounting criticisms, the government has insisted that the new highway was a product of due process. The government has said that the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project complied 100% with the provisions of the Procurement Act and was awarded based on the Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Financing (EPC+F) procurement process. It further stated that the project is an unsolicited bid done on EPC+F.

Further explanation shows that under this model of procurement, the investor provides all the designs, part of the financing and construction, while the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) pays the counterpart funds of about 30%. In other words, the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is based on the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model. Of the N15.6 trillion the highway will cost, the federal government will contribute N4.68 trillion.

Most Nigerians are conversant with the PPP model of road construction. The Second Niger Bridge which more than three administrations built passed through that model. It took the tenacity of former President Muhammadu Buhari for the Second Niger Bridge to see the light of the day. That fact alone demonstrates that government is a continuum. If one administration begins a project and could not complete it, another will take the baton from the former and finish the good race.

Therefore, it is saddening that this worthwhile project that will link Lagos and other states to Calabar, the home of tourism, is being unduly politicised. Apart from Lagos and Cross River states, the road will pass through Ogun, Ondo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers and Akwa Ibom states. Both Dave Umahi and Peter Obi are accomplished Nigerians. Both ruled their states for eight good years and made some appreciable impacts on their people. But Dave was a deputy governor before he fought a great battle to succeed his boss, Martin Elechi. The rest, they say in local parlance, is now history.

While Obi redefined politics and governance in Anambra State after the years of locusts, Umahi transformed a rural Ebonyi State to a metropolitan city with massive road infrastructure and other developmental projects which cut across all sectors, especially education and health. Umahi appointed people from the other South East states as commissioners and special advisers into his cabinet. Let other South East governors emulate this shining example from Umahi. I think the political atmosphere is big enough for them to ply their trade and thrive without unduly crossing each other’s lane. Even if they cross each other’s lane, they will exchange banter and move on.

Both of them reached their present heights on account of their exemplary stewardship to their people. They should not diminish their enviable status with needless altercation over a coastal highway that everybody will use one day. This road that has elicited many criticisms, some fair and others unfair will be a game changer when completed. It will transform lives and empower so many people and probably lift them out of poverty. It is going to be one of the legacy projects of this administration.

Since ever becoming the Minister of Works, Umahi has insisted on finishing some of the roads started by Buhari administration such as the East-West road, the Lagos-Ibadan expressway and some others. He has vowed that for our roads to last, contractors must use concrete instead of asphalt. The work on the Oshodi-Apapa expressway in Lagos has eloquently demonstrated that concrete road is the future of road infrastructure in Nigeria. Umahi has been busy chasing contractors and querying the quality of roads being built and the engineering specifications with drawings and other documentations. He has insisted that they build high quality roads that will last for 30 years and more. He knows his work and he is doing it very well. The war over the new road is unnecessary and avoidable. We should not throw out the baby with the bathwater. Let’s give the new coastal highway a chance.

President Bola Tinubu’s government has declared to the U.S. government that its priority is fighting corruption, which has become a cankerworm hindering economic development.

Mr Tinubu’s position was disclosed in a jointly signed statement issued on Monday, on the occasion of the sixth U.S.-Nigeria Binational Commission held in Abuja. 

In the statement, the Nigerian  government specifically emphasised “its prioritisation of anti-corruption efforts with the commitment to continued participation in the Global Forum for Asset Recovery (GFAR) Action series.”

The Tinubu government explained that it was committed to working with the U.S. on its strides towards greater transparency with the open government partnership. The latter also pledged its support for increasing the transparency of public financial management and civil society efforts to increase government transparency.  

According to the statement, both countries discussed ways the Nigerian government could better coordinate with civil society stakeholders to resolve conflict, especially by supporting state peacebuilding agencies. They also discussed potential legislative solutions that would enable both farmers and herders to live in peace and security.  

They also affirmed their commitment to fostering accountable and effective democratic institutions, strengthening the rule of law and respect for human rights, and improving government accountability and fiscal transparency.  

For its part, the U.S. government promised its support to bolster the rule of law, help improve Nigerian conflict response, and expand community peacebuilding in the black country through early warning and early response activities.

The American government saluted Nigeria’s efforts to use information technology to enable greater citizen participation in government. 

While jointly reiterating their strong commitment to respecting human rights and fundamental freedoms, both countries agreed also to promote mutual respect and peaceful coexistence between religious communities. 

“The sides emphasised the need to take active, sustained steps to respect the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and religion or belief for all and the importance of promoting mutual respect and peaceful coexistence among religious communities,” the statement noted. 

President Bola Tinubu’s media aide, Bayo Onanuga, has knocked former presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, for condemning the ‘deportation’ of non-citizens by the Lagos government to Osun.

Hundreds of people were forcibly picked up by the Lagos authorities and taken to Osun.

In a statement on his official X account on Tuesday, Mr Onanuga, while describing Mr Obi as “deporter-in-chief,” accused the opposition politician of starting the ‘deportation’ of Nigerians to their home states in 2011 during his tenure as governor.

Mr Onanuga said, “Peter Obi has displayed his incurable hypocrisy again over the decision of Lagos State to send some Osun citizens back home. Obi actually began ‘deportation’ of citizens in 2011, which Governor Fashola copied in August 2013 by deporting some destitute from Anambra back home. 

“Obi not only criticised Fashola, he doubled down by writing a protest letter to then President Goodluck Jonathan. Some 11 years after, the deporter-in-chief is playing hypocrite again.” 

To prove his point, Mr Onanuga cited a news item published in December 2011 detailing Mr Obi’s arrest of 29 people in Awka and repatriation to their home states.

 

 

YES, he is. A bonafide Igbo for that matter. After all, he was a two term governor of Ebonyi, one of the five states in the south east of the country. And south east is the core of the Igbo nation. It really does not matter that some elements in Ebonyi state do not really see themselves as Igbo.

There are many dialects of the Igbo language. Sure. But there is something common in the dialects- almost all Igbo people understand and comprehend themselves no matter the dialect they speak. However, there is a particular part of Ebonyi state who, when they speak their dialect, the typical Igbo person from outside their community will never make out any meaning from their words. This assertion is not designed to exclude or make any part of the south east less Igbo.

No. But it is the reality. It is a fact. It is what it is. But Ebonyi state is Igbo land. I can’t vouch for it, but from his utterances, associations, alignments and mannerisms, Engr. David Nweze Umahi, a former chairman of the South East Governors Forum, could be grappling with identity crisis, a man who is still struggling to make a meaning out of his Igboness. He probably still regards his being Igbo a burden or a yoke that should be removed, one way or the other. Umahi may be struggling with the same dilemma confronting the cousins of the Igbo in parts of Delta, Edo, Kogi, Benue, Rivers, Cross River states, among other states.

Some of these people who bear unmistakable Igbo names, including the elaborately corrupted names, feel that identifying as Igbo deprives them of opportunities and privileges in Nigeria. Some feel that they will lose contracts, scholarships for education, promotions in the civil service, the armed forces and sundry places if they identified as Igbo.

Others fear that their careers will be stunted if they be associated with the Igbo nation. l will not begrudge such people. The Igbo were defeated and virtually crushed in the civil war of 1967-1970. And the spoils of war belonged to the victors, not the vanquished. No pun intended on the former Head of State Yakubu Gowon’s hollow slogan of ‘no victor, no vanquished’ which he proclaimed at the end of the war in January 1970.

We can illustrate with one instance when an identity denier became a beneficiary of a high and sensitive post in the Nigerian security structure. Chief Mike Mbama Okiro served as an inspector-general of Police between 2007-2009. In the 60 odd years since the first Nigerian, Louis Edet, acceded to that position in 1964, only one Igbo man, Ogbonna Okechukwu Onovo- 2009 to 2010- had attained that post. The first Igbo person actually should have been Onovo’s predecessor, Okiro. But in the books he was not Igbo. Okiro hails from Egbema in Imo state but from the Nigerian official records, he is from the part of Egbema carved out of today’s Imo state and awarded to Rivers state. The part bears crude oil. It was part of the plot to decapitate the Igbo nation as a consequence of the Biafra-Nigeria War that that part was carved out and ceded to Rivers state. Counting the present occupant, Nigeria has had 21 inspectors- general of police with only one Igbo person making the cut.

Back to our subject-David Nweze Umahi, the reigning minister of works- whose Igboness we advisedly queried in the headline above. The motive is not to deny him his dues or who he is. In relation to the headline, I verily believe that Umahi, probably an Chris Embassy  practicing Christian must be conversant with the Bible Book of the Gospel as recorded by Saint Matthew in chapter 16, verses 22 & 23. The verses read: “Then Peter took Him [Jesus], and began to rebuke Him, saying,

Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. But He [Jesus Christ] turned, and said unto Peter, get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men”. For context, you may need to read the whole chapter. Peter was a preeminent disciple of Jesus Christ, yet he was addressed in the manner Jesus did.

As with Apostle Peter, something works inside of us that sometimes we are not conscious of. The same can be said of Umahi. On May 1, he practically called for the arrest of Peter Obi and the placement of the Igbo nation on the watch list of the regime of the President, Alhaji Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Umahi, claimed without any shred of evidence that Obi, an Igbo like himself, and presidential candidate of the Labour Party [LP] in the controversial 2023 presidential election was inciting the Igbo against the government of Tinubu.

The contention was over the construction of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway which has drawn flaks from some critical voices in the country. In fact, it was the former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar who first raised objection to the project.

He said correctly that there was no competitive and transparent bidding; that the terms of the construction was opaque; that the estimated cost per kilometre for the road was outrageous; and, that the whole project was nothing short of a highway to fraud. Atiku kicked against the obvious ethical issues involved given that the owner of Hitech Construction Company to which the contract was awarded is a business partner of Tinubu. He recently stated that Tinubu’s son’s membership of the board of Hitech raises grave ethical issues.

Obi took a different angle all together in his disagreement with the coastal highway. He argued that the road could not be a priority in the present circumstances of the country. He counseled that instead of committing more than N15 trillion on a new highway that may eventually be abandoned, the administration would do well to recover, repair and possibly reconstruct numerous federal highways which litter parts of the country and which are in terrible conditions. Obi did not make wild allegations because he meticulously listed all the federal highways in the country’s six geo-political zones that are in bad shape. He went further to mention federal roads which have been under repairs and reconstruction for decades on end.

Perhaps, Obi’s crime was that he said that the coastal highway project will lead to massive loss of jobs at a time of high unemployment; will destroy businesses when other policies of this government had made business survival an uphill task [about 700 firms have folded up in the last year while another 300 are barely surviving]; and, that it will discourage both foreign and domestic investors from investing in Nigeria. One major business said to be on the pathway of the road, Landmark Beach Resort, was said to be owned by an Igbo person. Apparently, Umahi latched on this to carry out his hatchet job by inferring that Obi’s counsel that investors should be encouraged and job losses avoided was because of Landmark. The minister must be disingenuous and mean-spirited in this linkage. Many non-Igbo persons have also spoken in the manner that Obi spoke without them being accused of inciting their people against the regime of Tinubu by Umahi. For context, the Oxford Dictionary defines incitement as ‘the act of encouraging someone to do something violent, illegal, or unpleasant’. For any government anywhere in the world, the accusation of planning violence is akin to plotting to wage or levy a war on the country with the aim of overthrowing the head of state/government. It is treated as treason and the common punishment for those charged and convicted is death by hanging or firing squad. For the avoidance of doubt that’s what Umahi has done by accusing Obi of inciting Ndigbo against the regime of Tinubu. He is setting up Obi for arrest and putting the Igbo nation in the crosshairs of this regime.

The Tinubu regime is gasping for breath from self-inflicted injuries. It is desperate and it will not shy away from taking desperate, draconian and undemocratic actions to distract from its many colossal failings. The removal of the so-called subsidy in petrol was wrong-headed. The floating of the Naira has proved a disaster.

The astronomical hike in electricity tariff is becoming the regime’s archille’s heels. Inflation, especially food inflation, is galloping away. Unemployment among the youth population is a ticking bomb.

Transnational businesses are cutting and leaving the country in their numbers- voting with their feet. Even Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man, lamented recently that businesses are hurting badly. There’s no doubt that the heat is on this fumbling government. Otherwise, how does anyone explain claims of wins by the regime’s megaphones where there are no wins. Its claim that Qatar had lifted the travel ban on Nigeria and that it was restoring flight relations immediately turned out to be a flat and fat lie. This same regime claimed last week that Tinubu had secured a $600 million investment for our ports from Danish maritime giant, Maersk. The company debunked the claim and said that the announcement of the deal from the Nigerian Presidency was strange and news to them. No explanations were offered to Nigerians by their government beyond the Presidency deleting its tweet on the bogus ports investment deal. The same was the experience with false claims concerning Qatar. Tinubu’s men are the worst purveyors of fake news and unrestrained abusers of the social media.

The regime is also disdainful and contemptuous of Nigerians. Even as we write this on Sunday, the whereabouts of the President of Nigeria are unknown, six days after the end of the Saudi Arabia World Economic Forum which he had attended.

Umahi can serve his masters without setting up Obi, the acclaimed authentic Nigerian leader, for arrest and possible elimination. He can serve his masters even on the strength of the alleged promise made to him by the ‘owners of Nigeria’ to make him the first Nigerian president of Igbo extraction in this republic without exposing Ndigbo to the wrath of government. But as he does that, he should ask around how many other Igbo politicians have been made similar promise. The Igbo nation is still reeling from the externally induced instability, insecurity and bloodletting visited on them and their homeland under the watch the former President, Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, the undisputed Nigerian affliction. Umahi is a danger to Ndigbo and Nigeria. He should be reined in.

From Adanna Nnamani, Abuja

The Labour Party (LP),  has been enmeshed in a number of crises that have the potential to significantly impact the party’s internal cohesion and external perception.

The party’s internal wranglings, characterized by leadership disputes and allegations of misconduct, can significantly impact its performance in the upcoming elections if not properly managed, political pundits have warned.

The struggle for control and influence among key figures and stakeholders has led to a climate of uncertainty and instability, making it challenging for the party to present a united front and a coherent vision to the electorate.

The party, long before now has alway been embattled, with different factions competing for its soul. Although, the emergence of Mr Peter Obi in 2022 was able to bring some level of sanity with which the LP was able to make a good show during the 2023 general elections.

However, since after the 2023 election, the Labour Party has not known peace. At the centre of the crises is the party’s national chairman, Julius Abure.

The party’s recent crisis began when after the elections, some of its members, led by one Lamidi Apapa, came out to accuse Abure of forgery and fraud.

The Lamidi faction went on to obtain a court order from the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) high court restraining Abure from parading himself as the party’s chairman, while it took over the LP Headquarters in Abuja. Abure later contested the court ruling at the appeal court and won.

The LP crisis reached its peak when the national chairman was arrested by the police in Benin City, Edo State, in February over allegations of forgery and illegal possession of firearms.

At some point, the party’s leader, Obi stepped in, and requested that an audit of the party’s finances be conducted. These persistent allegations, political analysts believe, are not only tarnishing the party’s public image but also eroding trust among party members and supporters, especially considering the ideology that it claims to represent.

The crises in the Party took a new turn in March when the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) leadership led by Joe Ajaero demanded the resignation of Àbure over similar allegations along with allegations of party dictatorship. The bone of contention was a shady national convention which the NLC’s political commission accused Abure of planning in order to serve his interest.

According to the Labour union, which claims ownership of LP, the convention was supposed to include all of the parties stakeholders as contained in a peace accord signed by both parties before the general elections.

Members of the NLC went further to picket the national secretariat of the party and passed a vote of no confidence in Àbure.  They accused Abure of “financial rascality” and disdain for their president, Ajaero, while waving various placards and sang solidarity songs.

Abure nonetheless held the national convention in March at Nnewi, Anambra State, where he was reinstated as the national chairman of the party despite calls from many quarters, including its members at the National Assembly and Obi himself to postpone the event until a wider stakeholder engagement had been established. This move has no doubt deepened the party’s wounds.

The convention, intended to be a significant assembly of party members following the 2023 general elections, where stakeholders would discuss the future of the LP amidst leadership crises, defection rumours, merger talks, and more, ultimately resulted in the opposite outcome.

Yunusa Tanko, spokesperson of the Labour Party (LP) campaign organisation in the 2023 elections, said the national convention was supposed to serve as an avenue to strengthen the party’s structure by mobilizing members from ward level to local government, up to national level. He said that unfortunately it failed to serve that purpose.

Many believe that the convention was orchestrated to serve a particular purpose, which was to return the entire Abure-led executive. This is demonstrated by the fact that, with the exception of the Deputy National Chairmanship post, which will be filled by the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and NLC, all other positions were returned with Abure.

Apart from denying entry to specific groups, it was also learned that at least five people were detained and turned over to the police after they broke into the arena covertly to distribute inciting leaflets thought to be critical of the party’s leadership.

Key members of the party such as Dr Alex Otti, the only governor produced by the party;  Mr Peter Obi,  the 2023 presidential candidate of the party, members of the National Assembly, as well as some state legislators on the party platform were absent at the event. Also, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said it did not monitor the convention.

Outrage over the contentious convention has not subsided, with numerous party members and stakeholders, especially the NLC, vowing never to accept Abure as the party’s chairman unless another national convention is conducted following due process.

The NLC even recently issued a communique after a meeting it held with some aggrieved stakeholders of the party, saying that it had set up a transition committee to replace Abure and take over affairs of the party.

Meanwhile, some members of the party loyal to Abure have dismissed the outrage and criticisms as orchestrated plans by the opposition to bring the LP down.

The National Youth Leader of LP, Prince Kennedy Ahanotu, however, ascribed the clamour against the leadership to the competing interests of those looking to reap rewards for their own selfish endeavours.

He emphasised that the NLC does not have the right to control LP’s business just because it registered the party, and he added that most of the agreements between the two parties have been upheld, with the exception of the postponed inauguration of the Board of Trustees because of the quality of the NLC-appointed officials.

He further explained that since INEC is merely an optional requirement and not required by law, adding that its absence from the convention does not invalidate the results.

Despite the seeming show of indifference by the party’s leadership, a top official of the LP who spoke anonymously to DailySun said they were working frantically behind closed-doors to appease aggrieved members and restore order to the party.

“According to him, we are trying not to speak about the issue to the media because there are ongoing talks and consultations to see how we can resolve the issue ”, the source said.

On his party, Obi who once hinted that he may leave the party if push came to shove, has refused to make further comments on the matter, claiming that he is more focused on making a positive impact on the country, than talking about party politics.

In the meantime, many have advised Abure and the other party leaders to make necessary sacrifices that will restore peace to the party if they hope to stand a chance in the next general elections.

How the party manages to address its current challenges and present a compelling vision for the future will ultimately shape its electoral fortunes in the years to come, according to a Political Analyst, Dr Sam Amadi.

Amadi, Director of the Abuja School of Social and Political Thought, said: “The crisis is predictable in my opinion. The LP party has structural, institutional and cultural defects. You can see that before Peter Obi, the party had over 20 or 30 cases in court. The party never had a proper convention. Abure will succeed someone either by death or by issues. Some of the candidates who lost in APC or PDP ran to LP and bought their tickets. 

“So the party had no capacity to be properly organised and then Peter Obi happened, things moved so fast and they did not have the time to reorganize themselves and structure it. And Peter Obi lost the election and somebody else became the President.

“You know, what happens with these small parties is that the leaders see them as their daily meals and so each time there is effort to remove them, there is a problem.

“So we should understand the psychology for these small parties. It is an opportunity for these activists or their promoters to make a livelihood. Either they keep it as an economic center where they make money, or they keep it as where they run elections.

“So if the Labour leaders are reasonable, (Abure and others), they should be prepared to lose something to gain something bigger. Meaning, within themselves, the answer is that let everyone including Abure step down. Let there be a new leadership. If they do not do that, the party’s time has gone. So, we will not wait for what Peter Obi, Atiku Abubakar and Tinubu will do.

“So my position is that if they resolve it and Peter Obi stays, LP has a chance in 2027 but if they continue with this quarrel, which I think they may not resolve, because everybody is looking at their meal ticket and Peter Obi leaves, then Labour has no chance. It can win one or two seats here and there but never a contender for presidency.Because labour in the presidential election is just peter Obi basically.”

Peter Obi of the Labour Party has condemned the Lagos state government for the deportation of some people to Osun state, saying it is unfair and against national cohesion, while charging Nigerians to stand against every form of “discrimination and injustice.”

Mr Obi, in a statement circulated on his X account on Monday, condemned “reports of the deportation of citizens mostly of Osun State origin by Lagos State authorities.”

“This is not merely a concern for Osun State but for all Nigerians who uphold the principles of unity, fairness, and justice,” Mr Obi said.

“I find this action very distasteful because of the far-reaching effects it will have on our National cohesion and development. As a pan-Nigerian advocate, I vehemently oppose any form of discrimination, injustice, or violation of our citizens’ rights.”

A former Anambra governor, who ran as LP presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Mr Obi, said the deportation exercise by the Lagos government violates the Nigerian constitution, urging Nigerians to stand against all forms of discrimination and injustice.

“Every Nigerian, irrespective of their state of origin or place of residence, deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. Let us always remember that we are all Nigerians, united by a common destiny,” Mr Obi said.

He added “And that it is our collective duty to uphold the values of unity, fairness, and justice, and to stand against any form of discrimination or injustice. Our constitution guarantees every Nigerian citizen the right to reside and find livelihood in any and every part of the federation.”

On Saturday, a video by Sahara Reporters showed several people accusing the Lagos state government of deporting them and hundreds of other residents from the nation’s commercial hub.

Ademola Adeleke, Osun governor, in a statement by his spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, said his government’s investigation team confirmed how luxurious buses dropped the youths in Ilesa.

Mr Adeleke, however, said he spoke with the Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who denied authorising law enforcement teams to carry out the alleged “deportation.”

 

 

Dave Umahi, the  Minister of Works, will never change. He is ill-tempered and intolerant. Contraries have no place in his worldview. He sees life only from one prism. This explains why he is always at daggers drawn with those who perceive reality differently.

 

Dave Umahi

 

Much more than this, Umahi is a quisling in every sense of the word. I have had cause to describe him in this manner in the past. The man radiates self-hate at every turn. His flagellum gets turned on once an opportunity presents itself for him to sell his Igbo brethren to those who do not wish them well. Now, the unrealistic Lagos-Calabar coastal highway has become an Igbo problem, and we owe this curious turn of events to Umahi.

Peter Obi, the most potent voice in Nigeria today crying in the wilderness, spoke against the project. His position was that the coastal highway was a misplaced priority and should be jettisoned in favour of numerous abandoned road projects across the country begging for attention. For saying this, Umahi said Obi was inciting the people of the South East against the Federal Government. One is constrained to ask: how? Was Obi addressing south easterners when he spoke? Does Obi speak for the south east? How did Umahi narrow down a statement meant for the generality of Nigerians to the south east? This is curious indeed.

It should be noted that before Obi stepped into this subject matter, a number of Nigerians had interjected on it with resounding disapproval. One of them was Atiku Abubakar, Nigeria’s former Vice President. If Obi spoke for the south east as Umahi would have Nigerians believe, who did Atiku speak for? Why did Umahi not accuse Atiku of inciting the north against the Federal Government?

What Umahi has done amounts to selective vilification. Umahi takes sardonic delight in anything that is directed against his Igbo kinsmen. By so doing, he hates himself consciously or unconsciously. This makes him a split personality.

By his action and loose statements, Umahi has singled out the south east, his own people, for vilification over the coastal highway project. He is inciting the people of the South West and South South against the South East by giving the impression that the zone (south east) is against the project. Do we have a South East position on this subject matter? Certainly none. But Umahi wants to force one on them. This is mischief directed at oneself.

Umahi’s problem is that he lacks a broad outlook. He is given to little-mindedness, the type that has shrunk his thinking into believing that he can deploy the highway project as an instrument of blackmail. He is blackmailing the south east for no good reason. This makes him a classical quisling whose stock in trade is to sell his people to the enemy. Umahi has severally been caught in the web of this ignoble disposition. He has come round again to exhibit it.

But who is this Umahi in the context of the Nigerian federation? He is a miserable federalist, one of those pathetic pretenders that claim to love Nigeria even at their own peril. Given the unenviable state of the Igbo nation in the Nigerian federation, Umahi feels that his best and easy route to relevance is to stigmatize his Igbo people. He wants to be seen to be running away from his people so that he will be loved by those who want the Igbo to be put out. He exhibited much of this while he was in the saddle as governor of Ebonyi State.

Now, he has found accommodation in Bola Tinubu. He is comfortable in his new enclave. It is a place where phobia for the Igbo is both a way of life and a state policy. The Tinubu administration has a surfeit of anti-Igbo manifestos . Umahi is happy to be recruited to supply the missiles for the annihilation of his people.

Beyond all this, Umahi has a Peter Obi problem. He pines away in bitterness whenever Obi hugs the national limelight. When, in 2019, Obi emerged as the vice presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party with Atiku as the flag bearer, Umahi’s adrenalin boiled over. He was choked with bitterness. He fretted to no end over it.

Then again, when in 2023 Obi took Nigeria by storm in his presidential campaigns, Umahi, like Chukwuma Soludo, was green with envy. Obi’s political ascendancy gives Umahi goose pimples. That explains the tainted colouration he has imposed on Obi’s interventions on the coastal highway project.

But Umahi will be doing himself a world of good if he slows down on his antagonism towards a man whose only sin is that he dared to aspire to a higher height. If Umahi thinks that he has what Obi has, he should step out and join the fray. If he does that, he will discover, if he does not already know that, that he is Lilliputian when placed side by side with Obi.

Umahi must be told in clear terms that ill-temper and blackmail will take him nowhere. The truth about the senseless coastal highway must be told. Just a fortnight ago, I took a clear-eyed look at the project and doubted its deliverability. I had stated in part in this Column as follows:

“The project is ill-timed. Those behind it must have overlooked all the life and death challenges that Nigerians are facing at moment. Food inflation has jumped above 40 percent. The result is that the average Nigerian family is just managing to eke out a living. This is not to talk of the general cost of living in the country. There is pain and agony everywhere in Nigeria. A responsible and responsive government will take more than a passing interest in this state of affairs. Instead, it will take concrete and decisive steps to reverse the ugly trend. This has not been done. So, why rush into a project that will not, in any way, address the existential threat that the people are facing at moment? What is easy to see here is that there is a devious plot behind the idea.

It does appear that the ultimate objective is to pull the wool over our eyes and divert our attention from the real intent of the self-serving initiative. Only those with the gift of circumspection will see through the elaborate charade. The project is far from being real. “

Umahi, for all I care, can bark as much as he wants over the coastal highway. That will not deter anybody from saying it as it is. Nigerians must be made fully aware of the facts of the matter. I can bet Umahi and his ilk that posterity will judge them harshly over this unrealizable project.