Driving through the popular Igbehin Road in the heart of Abeokuta, one would catch a glimpse of the architectural masterpiece of St. John's Church, Igbehin, built from stone and marble in 1847, before the creation of Nigeria.

The 173-year-old structure located about half a kilometre from the Government House, Oke-Igbehin, is one of the few historical monuments, which leads credence to the early existence of the ancient Igbehin Township of Egbaland, in Abeokuta South Local Government Area of Ogun State.

Another historical structure is the Prestigious Abeokuta Grammar School which became operative at a site in the present-day Ijemo Agbadu, Abeokuta on 16th July 1908, but in December 1908, was moved by the Christ Missionary Society to the Igbehin site.

Till date, the Igbehin area where the school started is popularly referred to as "Grammar School". 

That the Ogun State, Government House was located in Igbehin was not a mistake,  but a reflection of the prowess and importance of Igbehin to the socio-economic and political development of Egbaland, Ogun State and Nigeria in general.

Historically, a popular Egba warrior, Sodeke was pivotal to the discovery and settlement of the Egbas in Abeokuta, on the 5th of August, in 1830, with four strong pillars (sections) which include Egba Alake section (under the Oba Alake), Oke-Ona Egba Section (under Oba Osile), Gbagura Section (under the Oba Agura), and Owu Section (under Oba Olowu).

Igbehin was one of the important towns that followed Sodeke then, with Ake, Oke (Oke-Ona), Iporo, Kemta, Kesi, Ikereku, Idomapa, Ido Orun, Igbore, Itoku and others.

There is no way, the story of Abeokuta, the abode of the Egbas, will be relayed without mentioning Igbehin which started their liberation from the sovereignty and over Lord-ship of the Alafin of Oyo Empire, to which the Egbas hitherto belonged.

The Liberation took place between 1775 and 1780, under the leadership of Lisabi, a resident of Igbehin, but who was born in Itoku. Lisabi, an Egba warrior, is venerated for his heroic exploits during those turbulent days of inter-tribal wars and he is thus identified by all Egba people as the strength of their togetherness.

According to history, when the other Egba leaders had resigned to fate under the unbearable servitude they were consigned to by the Oloyo, Lisabi was preoccupied with the thought of how his land of birth would be freed from the shackles of slavery. Towards uniting the people for an onslaught against Oloyo's formidable force which was an amalgam of many towns and villages similarly consigned to servitude, Lisabi reportedly formed a cooperative society with able-bodied men who were farmers as members.

He organized a movement under the name of Egbe “Aaro” Tradition mutual Aid society, which he later used to free the Egbas by organizing the simultaneous killing of the Ajeles or the Ilaris in all Egba towns, in 1780, starting from Igbehin. Ilaris or Ajeles were the representatives of the Alafin of Oyo and collectors of the tribute paid to the coffers of Alafin from all territories under the Oyo Empire.

In all, more than 600 llaris or Ajeles were wiped out in one day. 

The Ajeles or Ilaris in general, behaved like an Army of Occupation in the places they administered. Their Tyrannical rules mark them out as instrument of oppression and suppression of the people. It was this Authoritarian rule of the Alafin and reckless life’s style of this Ilaris in Egbaland that threw up Lisabi and his Peers in Igbehin Land, who resolved to bring an end to the evil rule at all cost. 

With supreme war tactics, Lisabi's army, whose numerical strength was far less than that of the Oloyo, won the battle, consequently obtaining freedom for the Egbas, thus turning most of the farmers to warriors who fought many wars.

Because of Lisabi's prowess in warfare, and the capacity by the farmers turned warlords, till date, igbehin people have the exclusive right to the war title of Balogun of Egbaland.

It is then succinct ,to say that the Igbehin People are well known for their bravery and gallantry as warriors who fought and won many wars. 

Leragun is a prominent traditional warlord title in Igbehin Land and it can only come from a renowned family of warriors. The title can only be conferred on a courageous, gallant, intelligent, fearless and brave personality who can easily replicate traits of the energetic leadership that Lisabi Agbongbo Akala and the Igbehin people were all known for. 

In search of a new Leragun, it was then not a surprise when Igbehin Land, beamed its searchlight on the Lashoju Family, the root of the great Iya Agan Ilu Igbehin, the only powerful woman who can enter the groove with Igbehin Masquerade, .

The Lashoju Family could not but unanimously support the emergence of Chief Oluwatoyin Anthony Amuzu, the son of Mrs Kehinde Bolajoko Amuzu (Nee Odebunmi) whose father, Pa Odebunmi  is from the Lashoju lineage.

The Late Pa Odebunmi in his lifetime was industrious and was a successful farmer among other life endeavours. 

For the people of Igbehin Land, it was a dream come true, when the head of the Township in Abeokuta axis of Igbehin led by its traditional head, Oluwo conferred the chieftaincy of Leragun Igbehin Land on one of their own, in the person of Chief Toyin Amuzu, at the Ile Ogboni, Igbehin in Abeokuta, Ogun State on Sunday, 18th of October, 2020.

The Oluwo among other traditional chiefs said "the Igbehin township has deemed it fit, to install Chief Amuzu with the Leragun Title seeing his support to the community", urging him to continue to ensure the development of his ancestral home and people.

An array of guests  including, a Peoples Democratic Party, PDP Chieftain, Chief Ladi Adebutu, Ogun State former speaker, Rt Hon. Titi Oseni, Consultant to Governor Dapo Abiodun on Media, Prince Ife Akinbode, an uncle to the new Chief, Mr Tokunbo Odebunmi who owns the UK Obalende Suya spot and Amuzu's mum twin sister among others were entertained at Ita-Agemo, Igbehin. 

The new Leragun of Igbehin Land, Chief Toyin Amuzu popularly called TA is a successful Estate Developer, who is breaking new grounds in building construction and engineering. 

He is also the Okanlomo of Ijeunland in the homestead of his grandmother who married Pa Odebunmi from Igbehin.

Chief Toyin Amuzu's love for a better Society and to assist the people brought about the creation of a not-for- profit, non Governmental Organisation, NGO, named Toyin Amuzu Foundation which  facilitated a water project in his ancestry home of Igbehin Land with various other charity support.

Greeting the Igbehin people in their local parlance, saying "Aaro", one can only pray that the installation of the New Leragun of Igbehin land in the person of Chief Toyin Amuzu would usher in more growth and development.

Sodiq Bakene is a graduate of Mass Communication from the Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, a writer and a sound engineer with special interests in the history of the Egbas.

Adedamola Alayaki the son of Dr Adewunmi Alayaki has regained freedom from his abductors.

He was said to have been taken into captivity on Wednesday 18 August 2021 from his father’s farm and by 10 pm on Thursday 19th August 2021, he was back home.

Adedamola was in the farm of his father in Isaga Orile community located in Abeokuta North Local Government area of Ogun State where he was believed to have been abducted.

He was said to have been driven to a forest by six suspected -armed kidnappers, who called the family to demand N20million ransom, and they also gave a deadline to produce the ransom.

Nigerian Newstrack could not confirm whether the ransom was paid as at the time of filing this report, but the kidnappers late Thursday evening, put a call across to the family, to pick the boy at a given location.

The boy in a brief chat said, his captors took him for a long walk throughout the night till day break in the forest but thank God to have come out alive from people armed with sophisticated weapons.

‌

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the review of 368 grazing reserves across 25 states in the country.

Garba Shehu, presidential spokesman, said in a statement on Thursday that Buhari gave the order, based on the recommendations of a committee chaired by Ibrahim Gambari, chief of staff to the president.

Shehu said the committee also recommended the collection of field data on the grazing routes to assess levels of encroachment, stakeholder engagements, and sensitisation.

The committee was also said to have recommended production of maps and geo-mapping/tagging of sites, analysis of findings and report preparations, as well as design of appropriate communication on grazing reserves and operations.

“The number of the grazing reserves and states were deduced from considerations of existing security concerns and other pre-existing socio-economic conditions,” Shehu wrote.

According to him, Buhari directed that the assignment be undertaken to facilitate more understanding on grazing reserves.

He said among its terms of reference, the committee is to collate data from states and confirm the status of the grazing reserves.

The committee is also expected to assess the percentage of available land and those with existing encroachment complications for case-by-case resolution, in partnership with state governments and the FCT.

“The Committee would also make recommendations for gazetting of ungazetted grazing reserves and create a database of National Cattle Herders and ensure that Grazing Reserves are well communicated to all stakeholders,” Shehu wrote.

Members of the committee include Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi state, David Umahi of Ebonyi, and Suleiman Adamu, minister of water resources.

Others are Sabo Nanono, minister of agriculture and rural development; Mohammad Mahmood, minister of environment, and Ade Ipaye, deputy chief of staff.

The technical sub-committee consists of representatives from the main committee, in addition to representatives from the ministry of justice, surveyor-general of the federation, National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA), and the National Space Research Development Agency (NASRDA).

The Cable

A new bill from Nigeria’s tech regulator is alarming startup founders Nigeria’s sudden bans on cryptocurrency trading and Twitter have already put some startups on alert this year, but a bill to reform the country’s technology regulator is sparking fears of a community concussion.

The 26-page draft document (pdf) seeks to amend a 2007 law, in order to address opportunities and threats posed by recent digital technologies. “The kind of information we store on our phones and other technological gadgets make the human brain susceptible to the possibility of being hacked,” Kashifu Abdullahi, the regulator’s chief, told legislators in March.

Seemingly innocuous at the time, Abdullahi’s statement now feels ominous after details of the bill became public this week. Startup founders, venture capitalists, and policy analysts fear the bill will stifle innovation, if it is enacted.

Nigeria’s regulator demands complete control

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) was created in 2001, the year mobile telephone communications arrived in Nigeria.

It got legal backing six years later for two broad roles: nudging government departments to transition to digital technology systems, and guiding the private sector on standards for digitizing the economy. Today’s smartphone-first world has clearly moved on from the GSM protocols of NITDA’s founding, and the evolution of tech calls for old laws to be updated everywhere.

In high-poverty societies, vulnerable consumers may confuse legitimate fintechs offering savings and investment products with Ponzi schemes run by 21-year olds and styled as investment platforms. Some Nigerian digital lending platforms, which typically claim to use artificial intelligence in their products, employ questionable tactics to recover loans, like their counterparts in Kenya and India.

One of NITDA’s 24 updated functions in the new bill is to support standards for robotics, blockchain, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence. The agency wants to be an advisor to businesses, and “promote incentives to encourage private sector investments in the digital economy.”

Good talk, but the bill will also empower NITDA to “completely control technology activities in the country beyond the scope of its original mandate of tech promotion,” says Adewunmi Emoruwa, a public affairs analyst in Abuja. “It’s a power grab.”

New licenses and 1% tax

Outrage over the bill converges around four sections:

Section 6: NITDA will “test, and approve” any technology before it is used in Nigeria, and demand whatever license fees and penalties it deems important for achieving its mandate. It is effectively a gatekeeping role, which seems contrary to the experimental spirit that spurs innovation in developed, democratic ecosystems. Cryptocurrency, which hit record trade volumes in Nigeria last year, could be the unnamed enemy here.

Section 13: Businesses that make over 100 million naira ($243,000) a year will pay 1% of their profit before tax to a fund for Nigeria’s digital economy. The fund replaces an existing one with the same terms; the update is that tech companies and “foreign digital platforms targeting the Nigerian market” join telcos, banks, pension funds, and insurance companies in paying. Nigeria’s tax body explains that the fund, as it exists, invests in promoting technology in the country but Eghosa Omoigui, CEO of EchoVC, a venture capital firm, wonders how the fund has fared in the last 14 years.

Sections 20 and 21: Businesses can identify as being in Nigeria’s information technology and digital economy sector only if the agency’s new register says so. Even while the Corporate Affairs Commission registers businesses, and the Central Bank of Nigeria supervises most fintechs, NITDA will now issue its own product, service, and platform licenses. Emoruwa sees “a back door channel to legitimize future sinister acts such as the Twitter ban” in the agency’s power to revoke tech companies’ licenses.

Taken together, the bill raises questions of regulatory overreach, whether taxpayer resources are wasted by duplicating government functions, and whether foreign investors could continue to leave Nigeria (paywall). Modupe Odele, founding partner at Vazi Legal, which advises startups and investors, thinks NITDA’s intentions are unclear and unfit for an innovation economy, “but if there’s going to be regulation, then it should be ecosystem-led.”It clashes with a dedicated Startup Bill

The controversial draft seems to contradict the spirit of startup-specific legislation in Nigeria that’s being modeled on innovative laws in Senegal and Tunisia.

Plans for a Nigeria Startup Bill started in March and are being led by some founders and investors in collaboration with government representatives. Town halls are scheduled to be held this month, after which a draft will be sent to Nigeria’s president in October. Emoruwa believes NITDA should be putting its weight behind the industry-led startup bill, instead of being a gatekeeper.

To be sure, even the multi-stakeholder startup bill has skeptics who are not convinced of the government’s motives. But it has at least included affected players, while NITDA—like the typical Nigerian regulator who bans motorcycle-hailing taxis or Twitter—has banged the gavel unilaterally.

Quartz Africa

The Taliban called on Afghanistan’s imams to urge unity when they hold their first Friday prayers since the Islamist group seized control of the country, as protests against the takeover spread to more cities on Thursday, including the capital, Kabul.

Several people were killed when Taliban militants fired on a crowd in the eastern city of Asadabad, a witness said. Another witness reported gunshots near a rally in Kabul, but they appeared to be Taliban firing into the air.

On the day Afghanistan celebrates its independence from British control in 1919, a social media video showed a crowd of men and women in Kabul waving black, red and green national flags.

“Our flag, our identity,” they shouted.

At some protests elsewhere, media reported people tearing down the Taliban’s white flag.

A Taliban spokesman was not immediately available for comment.

Some demonstrations were small, but combined with the desperate scramble of thousands of people seeking to flee the country they underline the challenge the Taliban face in governing

Kabul has been largely calm, but 12 people have been killed in and around the airport, NATO and Taliban officials said.

The U.S. military said more than 5,200 American troops were guarding Kabul airport, where multiple gates to the facility are now open, while U.S. fighter jets were flying over the city to ensure security for the evacuation operation for diplomats and civilians including some Afghan citizens.

State Department spokesman Ned Price said 6,000 "fully processed" people were currently at the Kabul airport and would soon be boarding planes. A source told Reuters that White House officials told a congressional briefing that the United States already had evacuated 6,741 people, including 1,792 American citizens and legal permanent residents.

The Taliban swiftly conquered Afghanistan as U.S. and other foreign troops withdrew, surprising even their own leaders and leaving power vacuums in many places.

The Taliban urged unity ahead of Friday prayers, calling on imams to persuade people not to leave Afghanistan.

Since seizing Kabul on Sunday, the Taliban have presented a more moderate face, saying they want peace, will not take revenge against old enemies and will respect the rights of women within the framework of Islamic law.

When in power from 1996-2001, they severely restricted women’s rights, staged public executions and blew up ancient Buddhist statues. They were ousted in a 2001 U.S.-led invasion.

BLACKLIST

A report by a Norwegian intelligence group said the Taliban had begun rounding up Afghans on a blacklist of people linked to Afghanistan's previous administration or U.S.-led forces that supported it. Complaints by some Afghan journalists have cast doubt on assurances that independent media would be allowed.

A U.S. lawmaker said the Taliban were using files from Afghanistan’s intelligence agency, the National Directorate of Security, to identify Afghans who worked for the United States.

“They are methodically ramping up efforts to round those folks up,” said Representative Jason Crow, who has been leading efforts in the U.S. Congress to accelerate the evacuation of American-affiliated Afghans. “I’ve had people send me pictures of Taliban outside their apartment complexes, searching for them.”

Crow voiced concern that the U.S. government may end the evacuation operation on Aug. 31, leaving more than 100,000 at-risk Afghans and family members in danger of Taliban reprisals.

Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn said they had moved to secure the accounts of Afghan citizens to protect them from being targeted amid the Taliban’s takeover.

It was unclear if the Asadabad casualties resulted from Taliban firing or from a stampede.

“Hundreds of people came out on the streets,” witness Mohammed Salim said. “At first I was scared and didn’t want to go, but when I saw one of my neighbours joined in, I took out the flag I have at home. Several people were killed and injured in the stampede and firing by the Taliban.”

Protests flared in the city of Jalalabad and in Paktia province, also in the east.

First Vice President Amrullah Saleh, who said on Tuesday he was the “legitimate caretaker president” after President Ashraf Ghani fled, wrote on Twitter: “Salute those who carry the national flag and thus stand for dignity of the nation.”

Ahmad Massoud, son of guerrilla leader Ahmad Shah Massoud, who was killed by suspected al Qaeda militants in 2001, wrote in a Washington Post op-ed that he is "ready to follow in my father's footsteps, with mujahideen fighters who are prepared to once again take on the Taliban."

LIMITED LEVERAGE

U.S. President Joe Biden said the Taliban must decide if they want international recognition.

“Do they want to be recognized by the international community as being a legitimate government? I’m not sure they do,” Biden said in TV interview.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in an interview with NBC News that the United States is “laser-focused” on “the potential for a terrorist attack” by a group like Islamic State amid the evacuation.

“We will get any American who wants to get to the airport and who we get in contact with who says: ‘I want to get out and get on a plane,’ we will make that happen,” Sullivan said.

About two dozen U.S. diplomats in Afghanistan sent an internal cable last month warning Secretary of State Antony Blinken of the potential fall of Kabul to the Taliban as U.S. troops withdrew from the country, The Wall Street Journal reported.

G7 foreign ministers called for a united international response to prevent the crisis from worsening, in comments echoed by countries including Russia. China said the world should support, not pressure, Afghanistan.

A Taliban official said they could not be blamed for the chaos at Kabul airport. In one scene captured on social media, a small girl was hoisted over the airport's perimeter wall and handed to a U.S. soldier.

Under a pact negotiated by former President Donald Trump’s administration, the United States agreed to withdraw its forces in exchange for a Taliban guarantee not to attack departing foreign forces or let Afghanistan be used for terrorist attacks.

Reuters

The son of a popular Medical Doctor in Ogun State, Dr Adewunmi Alayaki has been kidnapped on Wednesday by gunmen in his father’s farm located in Isaga-Orile community of Abeokuta North Local Government Area of the State.

Report has it, that the 25 year old boy, Adedamola Alayaki was whisked away by the abductors who later got in touch with the family requesting for N20million ransom as at the time of filing this report before he could regain freedom.

The father of the victim, who was a former National Secretary of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), could not be reached as at the time of filing this report, but family source said the case has been reported to the police,at Lafenwa Divisional Headquarters in Abeokuta adding that the abductors have contacted the family demanding for a ransom.

“It is true Adedamola Alayaki, the son of Dr Alayaki was kidnapped between 1 and 3pm on Wednesday while in his father’s farm located in Isaga-Orile of Abeokuta North Local Government Area of Ogun State. As I am talking to you now, the kidnappers have gotten in touch with the family demanding N20 million ransom to set the boy free” a family source said

According to Penpushing who first broke the news, investigations showed that family members of the victim are disturbed by the ugly development, as well as staffers of Hope Hospital, Abeokuta, founded by the victim’s father, known to be a quiet and easy going person.

Meanwhile, efforts to get reactions from the police was yet to be successful, as at the time of this report, while frantic efforts were still  on going to get the police authorities in the state to know update on the development.

..as parents withdraw their children from school to beg for alms

At least 2.3 million children and youth are going hungry in northeast Nigeria where an Islamist insurgency has forced farmers to flee their fields and put the region on the brink of critical food shortages, humanitarian groups have warned.

Attacks by Islamist militants have been intensifying in northeast Nigeria in recent months, with dozens of soldiers and civilians killed and farmers targeted in some attacks.

The more than decade-long conflict has killed hundreds of thousands and displaced millions, but it is now joined by food inflation across Nigeria that has meant millions nationwide can no longer reliably feed themselves or their families.

Save the Children estimated that 700,000 children under five are among the 2.3 million children affected, and called on the government to protect farmers and dedicate more resources to the region.

“We are extremely worried that this will lead to an even bigger food crisis in the northeast of the country,” Shannon Ward, Save the Children’s acting country director for Nigeria, said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said the combination of climate change, insecurity and Covid-19 had put the region on the brink of “catastrophic” food insecurity.

Edward Kallon, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Nigeria, said about 4.4 million people were at risk of critical food shortages and that the “growing threat of catastrophic food insecurity” was at its worst in five years.

Kallon said that without humanitarian assistance in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states, millions would struggle to feed themselves.

“Parents are taking their children out of school to beg in order to survive,” Kallon said, adding: “Women have shared that they resort to eating grass.”

Reuters

This year's Ogun Adire Fashion show coming up on September 12, will be quite interesting, as it will feature runway, products exhibition and merit awards while the 2021 Miss Adire International will emerge.

Nigerians have been enjoined to be proud of the indigenous Adire Fabric by showing more patronage, while private organisations and government should show commitment to its production and distribution.

This advice was given in Abeokuta, by the Project Manager of the prestigious Ogun State Fashion fair, Mr Adeyemi Adeleye, who disclosed that this year's event will honour some prominent Ogun Indigenes who have contributed to the development of the State, most especially as it concerns tourism and the promotion of the local adire fabric.

Mr Adeleye said this year's Edition will honour former Governor Olusegun Osoba, who will be the Chairman of the day as the 2021 Adire Ambassador for his love for promoting the local  Adire Fabric.

He said, "Former Governor Gbenga Daniel would be honoured with a Tourism Innovation Award, based on the creativity he brought to the Olumo Rock to meet a unique standard, while Chief Olumide Aderinokun, Chief Toyin Amuzu and Mr Olamide Lawal would also be awarded.

Mr Adeleye said without investments in local production of our needs, the country would continue to find it difficult to maintain a good balance of trade. 

According to him, "we can't continue to rely on foreign goods for all our needs. The reality today is that we should produce our own things and stop being only consumers who rely on other countries to survive". 

Mr Adeleye said the idea of the Adire fashion show, tagged "Ara Edition" and the fourth in the series is to promote the Adire fabric and raise the consciousness in our people to cherish and be proud of our indigenous fabric". 

He added that a special Adire Fabric for the event is out for sale, to make it a colourful funfare.

Mr Adeyemi stressed that Adire was no longer limited to being used as clothing material alone, but also creatively used in different ways and this can boost the economy of the state if properly explored. “You can use it to make varieties of souvenirs like note books, throw pillows, wall arts, lamp stands and backpacks, among others,” he noted.

He also assured, that this year's Ogun Adire Fashion show coming up on September 12, will be quite interesting, as it will feature runway, products exhibition and merit awards while the 2021 Miss Adire International will emerge.

A former Commissioner for information in Ogun State, Sina Kawonise has reacted to Dele Ogun's defense on behalf of his sister , a former Nigeria's Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, describing the attempt as baseless and puerile saying, the former Minister has no good reputation to protect.

Sina Kawonise stated this in a press release sent to the Nigerian Newstrack, explaining that "Kemi Adeosun as Finance Minister started Nigeria on the path of its bottomless pit of current debt".

The excerpts of the full statement is shown below, in what could be seen as setting the records straight.

Dele Ogun, your sister, Kemi Adeosun, has no good reputation to protect for the following reasons:

Since the High Court judgment on Kemi Adeosun NYSC certificate scandal, you, Dele, have been putting up spirited defense of your sister, abusing everyone who disagrees with your viewpoint, running down Premium Times who broke the story and those who dared to raise issues with your opinions on the matter as ‘idiots’.

In one of your posts, you alleged that some imaginary people “simply wanted to get her out of the office to make way for the one who is mortgaging the country to the hilt, and the best way was to lie through Premium Times”. This is a repeat of your assertion that Kemi was “forced out of office” as Minister of Finance to allow the Buhari government to plunge the country into the debt overhang that has become the hallmark of the federal government Kemi worked for as Finance Minister. 

The fact of the matter is that it was Kemi, as Finance Minister, who started Nigeria on the path of its current debt bottomless pit. 

According to reports from Debt Management Office (DMO), as of June 30, 2015, Nigeria’s debt was N12.12tn. By December 2017, 30 months after Buhari took over as President and 25 months after Kemi became minister of finance, Nigeria’s debt had ballooned to 

N21.73tn, an increase of N9.61tn, or 79.25 per cent over what was inherited. By the time Kemi was forced to resign on September 14, 2018, the country’s debt had further increased to N24.35 trillion. This represents an increase of N12.23 trillion or 100.9 percent of the debt figure inherited.

As “of December 31, 2020, the country’s debt portfolio had risen to N32.92tn. This shows that within a period of 66 months (five and half years), the country’s debt had risen by N20.8tn.” (See Punch, May 27, 2021). Thus, out of the N20.8 trillion debt incurred by the Buhari government as at December 2020, N12.23 trillion (58.8 percent) was contracted during Kemi’s tenure as Finance Minister.

So, Dele, your allegation that Kemi was forced out of office to pave way for unbridled borrowing by the Buhari government has no foundation in fact. When the history of the Buhari government is written in the fullness of time, Kemi Adeosun’s name will feature prominently as a principal figure in the destruction of Nigeria’s economy.

In specific terms, it was Kemi who persuaded the Buhari government to indulge more in external borrowings because, according to her, interests on external debts were lower than local ones. While former President Olusegun Obasanjo achieved the monumental feat of getting Nigeria out of the huge external liabilities - the profile former President Goodluck Jonathan strenuously maintained by keeping external borrowings very low - Kemi Adeosun pushed Nigeria back the precipice of unbearable external debt burden.

Dele, this is not a good reputation for anyone to flaunt!

THE OGUN STATE PILLAGE

Kemi Adeosun became Ogun state Commissioner for Finance in 2011 after I had left office as Commissioner for Information and Orientation. The first thing I realised about Kemi was how easily she lied with figures. A few weeks after she assumed office, she put out a figure of N138 billion as debt left behind by ex-governor Ibikunle Amosun’s predecessor, Otunba Gbenga Daniel. Later on, in August 2011, when she accompanied her principal to Olabisi Onabanjo University to see the devastation left behind by a terrible armed robbery attack on the campus, she told journalists there that the government she served inherited N103 billion debt. This figure got down to N78 billion about six months after. After Ernst & Young accounting firms contracted by the Amosun government to do forensic audit of the state’s accounts finished its work, it was discovered that OGD left a paltry debt of N4 billion after bank reconciliations that yielded to Amosun more than N10 billion refund in excess bank charges and refunds for federal road constructed by the OGD administration. 

More serious than the habitual lying by Kemi was her participation and justification of what became known in Ogun state as the regime with unjustifiably high and mind boggling costs of project delivery. 

What I wrote in May 2018 captures the pillage by the Amosun government, for which Kemi Adeosun was the treasury keeper for 4 years:

“Besides the normal recurrent expenditure, which has been consistently high under the Amosun Administration, about 90 percent of what remained for capital expenditure has been spent on expansion of very few existing urban roads in a few locations in the State. Out of a total of 2,545 kilometers of state (Trunk B) road across the State, Governor Amosun has spent almost N300 billion to expand a total of 347 kilometers. This represents a paltry 13.6 percent of state roads crying for attention. Virtually all internal (Trunk C) roads in every city, town and village in the State have become impassable. This is the case because all federal allocations to Local Governments (LGs), as well as their Internally Generated Revenues (IGR) are seized by Amosun using the instrumentality of a law he enacted immediately he got into office for what he described as State/LG Projects Joint Account.

Apart from all other sectors neglected due to this mono-focus on urban road expansion which, in real terms, adds little or nothing to the GDP of Ogun State, the real tragedy is the huge debt Amosun will be leaving for all of us and our children to settle in at least the next 30 years.

The incompetence and irresponsibility of the current government are vividly captured in the 2016 Financial Statement of the State published in some national newspapers on December 28, 2017. In that Statement, Ogun State had a total revenue of N114.8 billion. From this figure, FAAC allocation from Abuja was N32.6 billion, IGR N71.5 billion, and others (not specified - most probably short-term loans from banks) N10.7 billion.

From this revenue of N114.8 billion, N70 billion (or 61 percent) went on recurrent expenditure in 2016. While salaries and emoluments took N39.5 billion, overhead costs consumed a whooping N13.8 billion, with debt servicing taking away N16.7 billion (this amounts to N1.39 billion monthly).

From the figures above, it would be seen that only N44.8 billion was available for capital expenditure. To appreciate the level of incompetence and corruption of the Amosun government, I’ll cite two roads that are typical of the road expansion projects executed by it.

1. OGTV-Brewery junction road with a distance of 8.7 km at a total cost of N17.2 billion and per/km cost of N1.98 billion.

2. Sagamu-Benin Express junction/Oba Erinwole junction road at a total cost of N11.87 billion and per/km cost of N1.7 billion.

If the total amount available for capital expenditure in a typical year (as it was the case in 2016) was N44.8 billion, how does anyone justify spending N1.98 billion to expand one kilometer of an existing road with no strategic importance or the potential to boost the local economy? At that rate, it means the whole N44.8 billion could expand a total of only 22.6 kilometers in a budget year out of the 2,545 km Trunk B roads and tens of thousands Trunk C roads needing attention.

Now, the reported costs of the road projects are another matter entirely.

The Lagos-Ibadan express road being executed by the Federal Government is 124 km at a cost of N167 billion, which translates to N1.35 billion/per kilometer. While the Sagamu-Lagos end is 8 lanes, the Sagamu-Ibadan portion is 6 lanes. Apart from the width of the FG’s road, the construction is a total overhaul of existing road with massive excavation and very thick concrete and asphalt overlay that are several times the volume and dimension of any of Amosun’s roads. Yet, the FG’s road is far cheaper than what is delivered to us in Ogun state.

The foregoing is the very reason there are no passable roads in the towns and villages of Ogun State outside of the 300+ km in the few urban locations. It is the reason the education and health sectors have deteriorated so badly. It is the reason unemployment is at its worst in the history of the state. It is the reason the 7,334 CDAs and 55,000 cooperative societies in the State receive no attention whatsoever from the government. It is the reason only one out of the 22 so-called Model Schools started 6 years ago is operational. It is the reason the government is owing civil servants 18 months salary deductions and 4 years of backlog in gratuities and pension. It is the reason so many manufacturing concerns in Sango Otta, Agbara, Igbesa, Akute, Ogijo, Mowe and Ibafo axis have shut down and retrenched thousands of workers because there are no motorable roads to their factories. It is the reason agriculture receives no tangible government support and it is the basis of the lie and fraud called MITROS rice. It is the reason all the taps hitherto serviced by public pipe-borne water are dry. It is the reason the whole economic environment of Ogun State is so dreary and mournful.

THE DEBT OVERHANG 

In the 2016 Financial Statement referred to earlier, the government reported a total debt stock of N113.2 billion, being internal and external loans. This is partial reporting and concealment of facts. Non-flow debts of liabilities to workers and pensioners, outstanding payments to contractors and suppliers are not included. Informal estimates have it that total non-flow debts are about N150 billion. With the interest-based debt of N113.2 billion, the $300 million (= N109 billion) World Bank loan recently and dubiously approved for Amosun by the National Assembly, the current government will be leaving a whooping N372 billion debt overhang for Ogun residents to sort out for the next two generations. For, if the debt repayment rate remains at the N1.39 billion per month level of 2016, it’ll take a minimum of 30 years to settle the debt at a conservative single-digit interest rate of 9 percent.”

From the above, it could be seen that before Kemi was pivoted to the federal level by her principal, Ibikunle Amosun, she had become well practiced in the ignoble act of debt entanglement.

KEMI ADEOSUN HEADHUNTED?

Another claim by by Kemi’s elder brother, Dele Ogun, is that she was headhunted to serve Ogun state first and later the whole Nigeria. That term is reserved for outstanding individuals who have made notable marks during schooling, academic accomplishments, professional careers, known notable contributions to public policies, disruption in business, etc. What was Kemi’s position among her class in the UK polytechnic she attended? What academic papers/books did she have to name her name prior to her appointment as Ogun Commissioner? What was her rank in the bank she worked in before coming to Ogun state? Dele, kindly tell us what ground-breaking policy contributions made by your sister as Finance Minister? You claimed that your sister was a victim of Pull Her Down (Phd) syndrome. Of what importance was she to the Nigeria project that some people (beyond her fellow hustlers in the failed government she served) would be sworn to pull her down? From what height? Being Minister? While I understand how destiny-changing being Minister could have been to you in your family, her tenure made Nigeria and Nigerians worse off.

Now, it’s in defence of this your disreputable sister that you think you’re at liberty to abuse those who are superior to you intellectually, in professional attainments and other accomplishments. Dele, what accomplishments do you have as an historian and lawyer to impugn the attainments of Premium Times and the excellent professionals behind the locally and internationally acclaimed publication? The inanities you uttered about the newspaper and those who questioned your prosaic defense of your sister are absolutely beyond you. 

There are far more to reveal about the idol of your clan, Kemi Adeosun. My prayer is that you make good your threat to sue Premium Times. In the open court, you’ll learn that, in matters of integrity, dignity and social attainments, your sister is lighter than chicken feather.

Thanks.

I’m ‘Sina Kawonise