Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, on Monday, decried Nigeria’s inability to live up to expectations since it got independence about 63 years ago, stressing that the country had not only disappointed itself but also Africa and the world. Obasanjo disclosed this while delivering the keynote address at the public presentation of the book titled ‘Reclaiming the Jewel of Africa,’ written by former Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, who also served as Minister of Finance, Olusegun Aganga. The book was unveiled by President Bola Tinubu through his Special Adviser on Monetary Policy, Olawale Edun. The event, which was held in Abuja, witnessed a large turnout of past and current senior government officials, as former President Goodluck Jonathan and Obasanjo spoke virtually. In his address at the programme, Obasanjo said, “Over the last 63 years, we have not lived up to expectations. We have disappointed ourselves; we have disappointed Africa; we have disappointed the black race; and we have disappointed the world.” He, however, stated that “what Segun (Aganga) has tried to identify, itemise and recommend in his book is the way forward. “But the beginning of charting a new course for ourselves is to admit our failure because we have not always put the round peg in the round hole. “We are carried along by ego and emotion of self, selfishness and self-centeredness, ethnic and religious jingoism, with total lack of understanding of the world we live in and gross misunderstanding of what development entails and how to move fast and continuously on the trajectory of development.” The former President further identified two of the major issues that were interrelated in terms of factors for all-round development. “These are peace and security, which we cannot achieve without justice, equity and inclusive society. And telling ourselves the truth, we have not done well on these scores in the recent past—in the last decade and a half. “I will also point at the issue of education, where over 20 million children that should be in school are not in school. We do not need an oracle to tell us the consequences of that for tomorrow,” Obasanjo stated. He said the skill acquisition, empowerment and employment of youth would seem to be ignored or not appreciated. “We do not need to look far for the remote causes of banditry, Boko Haram, kidnapping and other organised crimes. “We are living dangerously on a keg of gunpowder, driving more people into poverty through good policies poorly and thoughtlessly implemented or bad policy and no policy at all,” he stated.

  The All Progressives Congress governorship candidate in the last election in Adamawa State, Sen. Aishatu Dahiru, on Monday, urged the Federal High Court in Abuja to allow the election petition tribunal sitting in the state to deliver its judgement before the suspended Resident Electoral Commissioner, Hudu Ari, is prosecuted. Dahiru, also known as Binani, made the plea before Justice Donatus Okorowo, through her counsel, Chiesonu Okpoko, SAN, while adopting the processes filed in respect of her suit. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Binani had, in a suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/935/2023, sued the Independent National Electoral Commission, Inspector-General of Police and the Attorney-General of the Federation as 1st to 3rd respondents, respectively. In the suit, the applicant sought the interpretation of Section 144 of the Electoral Act, 2022 and a preservative order seeking the maintenance of status quo by parties pending the hearing and determination of the suit. Binani’s counsel, Michael Aondoaka, SAN, in the ex-parte motion earlier filed and granted by the court on July 10, drew the attention of the judge to the fact that a petition was before an Adamawa Election Petition Tribunal and would be dispensed with within 180 days in accordance with the law. But on the last adjourned date, the court, which did not extend the interim order, fixed today for hearing the originating summons served on the defendants. Upon resumed hearing, Okpoko, who held the brief of Aondoaka, argued that the star witness to their client, Ari, was being harassed and prevented from giving evidence before the tribunal, which if continued, would jeopardise the case of their client at the tribunal. The lawyer prayed the court to restrain the respondents from prosecuting Hari pending the determination of Binani’s petition at the tribunal. He based his argument on the grounds that prosecuting the suspended REC now, while Binani was still challenging INEC’s declaration of Ahmadu Fintiri of the Peoples Democratic Party as Adamawa governor after she had earlier been declared the winner of the governorship poll, might create a likelihood of bias in the decision of the tribunal. Okpoko further submitted that the applicant was not saying that Ari should not be prosecuted but that INEC and others should wait until the tribunal gave its judgement within the 180 days prescribed by law. He said the decision of INEC to file the action against any person involved in Binani’s April 15 declaration as winner of the supplementary poll in the state when the tribunal was yet to determine the petition of their client, would deprive her of Section 285(6) of the law which gives 180 days within which the petition filed on May 6 should be dispensed with. He said waiting for the tribunal’s decision would not prejudice the parties in the suit. He then urged the court to halt Ari’s prosecution and uphold their argument. But counsel to INEC, Adebisi Adeniyi, who held brief for Rotimi Jacobs, SAN, disagreed with Okpoko’s submission. Adeniyi argued that the charge being preferred against the suspended REC was a bailable one that would allow him to give his testimony before the tribunal. The lawyer said that Binani had not placed anything before the court to show that Ari was listed as a witness in her petition. Besides, he argued that the applicant had not also shown to the court whether the suspended REC had either been invited, arrested or charged. The lawyer, who said that the judges that would determine the election petition case were not robots, said they were judges that were properly trained, experienced, and would be guided by law. According to him, there is no way the prosecution of the suspended REC will affect the plaintiff’s petition. He submitted that if Ari felt strongly about this argument, he was the rightful person to canvass such an argument before a high court in the state and not Binani. Adeniyi, who challenged the jurisdiction of the court to hear the matter, said the suit ought to have been filed in the state. But disagreeing with Adeniyi, Okpoko argued that all the respondents in Binani’s suit were Federal Government agencies, hence, the issue of court jurisdiction had no place. Justice Okorowo adjourned the matter until Oct. 13 for judgement. (NAN)

  A corps member identified simply as Bright has died at the orientation camp of the National Youth Service Corps in Osun State. Bright’s colleague, who had been traumatised by his death, made the revelation on Facebook. Narrating the events that led to his death, the colleague, Lawrence Echezona, said the corps member died in his sleep over the weekend. His post read, “It’s a pity for us that are in Ede camp. May your soul rest in peace, Bright. He slept the day before yesterday and couldn’t wake up in the morning.” In another response in the comment section, one Ekpueke Mathew, wrote, “RIP Corper Bright, who died during his orientation programme at Ede camp, Osun State.” Bright’s picture was also attached to the post. The state Public Relations Officer, NYSC, Funmi Okundaye, confirmed the incident but refrained from giving further details about the circumstances surrounding his death. “What you read is that a corps member passed on in his sleep? That was exactly what happened; there is no other thing to add. Nothing to add or remove from it,” Okundaye said.

  The National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Asaba, Delta State, has nullified the election of Ngozi Okolie of the Labour Party as a member representing the Aniocha/Oshimili Constituency at the House of Representatives, Journalist101 reports. In a judgment on Monday, July 24, the tribunal held that the Labour Party did not duly sponsor Okolie as he was not a party member as of May 28, 2022, when the primary was purportedly held. The tribunal declared the runner-up in the February 25, 2023, National Assembly, Ndudi Elumelu of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), as the winner. Elumelu, the immediate past Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, had filed his petition, praying the tribunal to disqualify Okolie, who was declared winner of the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission. The judgement has sparked jubilations among PDP members on social media.

  Twitter’s owner Elon Musk and its new CEO said Sunday that the social media network would ditch its bird logo, be rebranded with the name X and move quickly into payments, banking and commerce. Founded in 2006, Twitter takes its name from the sound of birds chattering, and it has used avian branding since its early days, when the company bought a stock symbol of a light blue bird for $15, according to the design website Creative Bloq. Tweeting a picture of the company’s new logo — a white X on a black background — late Sunday night, Twitter chief executive Linda Yaccarino said “X is here! Let’s do this.” Also late Sunday night, Musk changed his profile picture to the company’s new logo, which he described as “minimalist art deco,” and changed his Twitter bio to “X.com,” which now redirects to twitter.com. Musk had earlier tweeted that “If a good enough X logo is posted tonight, we’ll make (it) go live worldwide tomorrow.” Musk also tweeted that under the site’s new identity, a post would be called “an X.” The changes were not visible on the website as of 0630 GMT Monday. Musk had already named Twitter’s parent company the X Corporation, and previously said his takeover of the social media giant was “an accelerant to creating X, the everything app” — a reference to the X.com company he founded in 1999, a later version of which went on to become payments giant PayPal. Such an app could still function as a social media platform, and also include messaging and mobile payments. “Powered by AI, X will connect us in ways we’re just beginning to imagine,” Yaccarino tweeted earlier on Sunday. Yaccarino, an advertising sales executive at NBCUniversal who Musk poached last month to become Twitter’s CEO, said the social media platform was on the cusp of broadening its scope. “X is the future state of unlimited interactivity – centered in audio, video, messaging, payments/banking – creating a global marketplace for ideas, goods, services, and opportunities,” Yaccarino tweeted. New revenue streams Since Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion last October, the platform’s advertising business has partially collapsed as marketers soured on mass firings at the company that gutted content moderation — as well as on Musk’s management style. In response, the billionaire SpaceX boss has moved toward introducing payments and commerce through the platform in a search for new revenue. Twitter is thought to have around 200 million daily active users, but it has suffered repeated technical failures since the 52-year-old Tesla founder bought the app and sacked much of its staff. Since then, many users and advertisers alike have responded adversely to the social media site’s new charges for previously free services, its changes to content moderation and the return of previously banned right-wing accounts. Musk said this month that Twitter had lost roughly half of its advertising revenue since he took control in October. Facebook parent Meta also this month launched its own text-based platform, called Threads, which has up to 150 million users, according to some estimates. But the amount of time users spend on the rival app has plummeted in the weeks since its launch, according to data from market analysis firm Sensor Tower. AFP

  Eight persons have been confirmed dead while scooping fuel after a petrol-laden tanker fell and spilled its content along the Ore-Benin Expressway, Ore in Odigbo Local Government Area of Ondo State. While many were reported to have died from the Sunday evening incident, the Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Ondo State, Ezekiel Son-Allah, on Monday said eight persons were burnt to death following the explosion. He said the white fuel tanker with no registration number lost control due to overspending. Son-Allah noted that following the development, some residents of the close by village stormed the scene and started scooping fuel spilled from the fallen tanker. According to him, unfortunately, the tanker exploded, burning eight persons who were scooping fuel to death. The FRSC boss said the tanker and motor boy managed to escape from the scene unhurt. He said the FRSC rescue team has deposited the remains of the victims at the morgue of the General Hospital in Ore. The incident is the latest in petrol tanker explosions in Nigeria. Fuel accidents are frequent in Nigeria, and commonly happen when residents try to siphon off oil or petrol from pipelines or when tanker drivers crash on poorly maintained roads. In June 2021, five people died and 13 others were injured in Lagos when a tanker exploded because of a gas leakage. In April 2022, 12 people were killed and dozens of houses burnt when a fuel tanker overturned, spilled its contents, and caught fire in central Nigeria’s Benue state. In January of that same year, a tanker explosion in the southern city of Agbor claimed four lives and injured 11.

  Adams Oshiomhole is urging Nigerians to be patient with President Bola Tinubu’s government, saying the former Lagos State governor is not a “magician” that will solve the country’s problems in one fell swoop. He spoke as a guest on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics. “They know they were not electing a magician. And nobody promised a magical solution,” he said. “You don’t need to give me an example. I know what we (APC) promised more than you who was reporting it. Whatever you reported, we were the source. We did not promise a 24-hour solution. We did not promise miracles. We did not promise an overnight solution. “You show me any document that says in 48 hours, this will be done. In 14 days, this should be done. In 21 days, this should be done,” the Senator representing Edo North argued. “I think you are the one who has the illusion that once a promise is made, automatically once you get into office, either spiritually or by miracles, solutions will emerge,” the former Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) president said. ‘Criminal Wage’ According to him, what Nigeria needs is a courageous leader and Tinubu is that person. The former governor said since the removal of subsidy on petrol, the president has taken steps to address the impacts of the decision. “What Nigeria needs is what President Tinubu has demonstrated – the courage to make decisions and to be humble to admit some of the unintended consequences of those decisions, and, the will to deal with those consequences,” he said. “And he has put in place instruments to deal with them.” Oshiomhole also faulted the N30,000 minimum wage in the country, describing it as a “criminal wage”. “What we call minimum wage is a criminal wage,” he said. “If you exchange N30,000 at N800 or N700 to the dollar, what does that translate to? So, the value of that minimum wage when it was N125 – when it was first introduced under, I think, (Shehu) Shagari’s government – is about two times or three times the value many years later, even in the public service.”