news
Examining Mustapha Habib Ahmed’s Scorecard at NEMA – Toni Kan
Examining Mustapha Habib Ahmed’s Scorecard at NEMA – Toni Kan
Sahara Weekly Reports That Those who are appointed at the pleasure of the President, to sensitive and critical Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) are offered a unique opportunity to make a mark in the polity by impacting positively on the citizenry and populace.
But public service is increasingly becoming a thankless job in Nigeria where it has now become the norm for political appointees to be hounded and demonized when they leave office.
This happens many times because there is always scant proof of performance. Nigerians are often confounded by what political appointees do or achieve while in office. The question that roils their minds, to borrow a leaf from the annual lawyer fest convened years ago by the late Efere Ozako, is – wetin government appointees dey do sef?
That is, however, one question very few would ask of Mustapha Habib Ahmed, the immediate past Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).
Appointed to head the emergency agency on May 31st, 2021, Habib Ahmed sat in the saddle up until his handover to the incumbent Director General, Mrs. Zubaidah Umar who was appointed on March 15, 2024.
At the hand over-over ceremony on March 20, 2024, Mustapha Habib Ahmed displayed the same uncommon traits that have defined his tenure at NEMA with a proper and precise hand-over session to his successor.
‘Proper’ and ‘precise’ are two words that come to mind when you think of Mustapha Habib Ahmed, the multi-lingual business administration graduate of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. Born in Kaugama, Jigawa state in 1970, Ahmed studied at Federal Government College, Kaduna and Focus Tutorial College, Lagos before proceeding to ABU for his undergraduate degree.
An astute and successful businessman, his professional career saw him excel in communication, supply chain in engineering purchasing and supplies as well as bulk handling before rising to the position of Director of Finance and Administration at the Sealag Alliance Nigeria Ltd. He would later become the Managing Director of Rapid Engineering Company Limited both in Lagos.
His political sojourn was no less stellar with stints as Member Board of Trustees (BOT) of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Member, Directorate of Logistics, APC Presidential Campaign Council, National Chairman of the Buhari Support Group, member of the Presidential Campaign Council in 2019 etc.
His appointment as the DG of NEMA was loudly applauded by the All Progressives Congress (APC) which noted that his appointment was more than a reward for party loyalty but a “recognition of selfless service to the country, attributes which clearly describe your persona. We trust in your capacity to acquit yourself creditably well in your new assignment.”
Skeptics may well have seen those words as mere platitudes issued by political colleagues but a consideration of Mustapha Habib Ahmed’s stewardship will show clearly that the businessman, technocrat and politician acquitted himself creditably over the course of his almost three year stint at NEMA.
Immediately after the hand-over, Habib Ahmed was joined by his successor and members of staff of NEMA for group photographs and farewell outside the brand new premises of NEMA. It was a telling moment because the building, which was hitherto abandoned for six years, was brought to completion by Habib Ahmed thus bringing all departments and units under the same roof for the first time. (please confirm this)
But he did not just deliver a building; he delivered a world class disaster management facility boasting the very best amenities – Emergency Situation Room, GIS Laboratory, Nigeria Mission Control Centre (MCC) for tracking of distressed aircrafts and ships, Emergency Call Centre, Staff Clinic, and Library.
Speaker after speaker showered encomiums on the outgoing DG and from their tributes what came across was a man who led from the front with a leadership style that can easily be encapsulated under four broad themes: Co-ordination, Collaboration, Capacity building and Communication.
Coordination: Disaster management is about proactive co-ordination of disparate strands. During his time at NEMA, Habib Ahmed ensured that focus was placed on ensuring that the tools which facilitate co-ordination and the discharge of their mandate were available, fully maintained and in tip-top shape.
The Hytera modern communication system was deployed to enable real time communication and live streaming of events from incident sites both in Nigeria and abroad for a better coordinated disaster response; Medical Intensive Care Units (MICU) Ambulances, Search and Rescue Boats, extrication equipment and operational vehicles were procured to strengthen the capacity of NEMA Search and Rescue teams in all the six zones’ while the NEMA Air Wing comprised of the Fixed Wing Cessna Citation Air Ambulance and Bell 22 Helicopter which had been grounded for five years were revived to enhance capacity for Search and Rescue and medical evacuation.
Coordination also went beyond hardware to include processes. The launch of the NEMA Service Charter in 2023 was to help institutionalise and operationalise processes with a formal document that encapsulates and articulates NEMA’s obligations to its service users in terms of benchmarks and information dissemination.
During his tenure, NEMA also developed a comprehensive national Disaster Risk Reduction Strategy (2024-2030) and Action Plan (2024 – 2027) that addresses and puts in context the evolving landscape of risks and challenges facing Nigeria
The Special National Economic Livelihood Emergency Intervention (SNELEI) was a special intervention aimed at supporting the long-term recovery of the nation through the distribution of relief materials such as food and non-food items like water pumps, mattresses, and agricultural supplies.
Proper and precise coordination were key to the successes recorded in the evacuation of stranded Nigerians from various hotspots; Sudan, Libya, Ukraine, India, Dubai and Turkey and it was a delighted Mustapha Habib Ahmed who announced at the conclusion of evacuations from Sudan on 28 July, 2023 that “we have not lost one Nigerian life, which is most important to us.”
Collaboration: Mustapha Habib Ahmed’s savvy, urbane and national outlook as a politician, businessman and student who lived and studied in different parts of the country was obvious in his uncanny ability to forge partnerships and facilitate collaborations during his time at NEMA.
On Thursday August 10, 2023 NEMA reconvened the National Emergency Coordination Forum (ECF), a meeting of multi-sectoral stakeholders comprising agencies of Government, international organisations and the United Nations systems was predicated upon the recognition of coordination and collaboration as vital components of disaster management.
Under his leadership, NEMA emphasised Nigeria’s triple response structure and aligning NEMA to that structure ushered in a hitherto unseen level of collaboration between NEMA and national, state and sub-national level actors. NEMA and State Emergency Management Agencies (SEMAs) were for once, true partners in progress.
But collaboration wasn’t limited to emergency agencies. NEMA under Ahmed prioritised engagement with national-level agencies like the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) and the Nigerian Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA) by paying attention to their annual predictions and forecasts especially the Seasonal Climate Prediction (SCP) and Annual Flood Outlook (AFO) respectively. This led to the comprehensive mitigation of the effects of flooding in 2023.
That collaboration also extended to bilateral and multilateral cooperation and partnerships with participation at various global fora in fulfillment of Nigeria’s commitment to international protocols. NEMA participated and represented Nigeria in the midterm review of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR) 2015 -2030 held between 18th and 19th May, 2023 at the United Nations Headquarters, New York, USA and fostered collaborative partnerships with the United States, Madagascar and others.
Capacity building: A veritable sponge for knowledge, Mustapha Habib Ahmed placed a premium on capacity building and knowledge sharing during his tenure and he was sector, nationality and structure agnostic. Doctors, soldiers, students, community volunteers, journalists, nurses, voluntary organisations, all received emergency response and disaster management especially as first responders.
Under his leadership, NEMA facilitated a training program on Incident Command System (ICS) and Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) in collaboration with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the US Forestry Service.
A ground-breaking collaboration with the Disaster Management Centre of Bournemouth University saw NEMA hosting an Executive Disaster Management Course which focused on finding ways to enhance the capacity of disaster responders.
Communication: There is a common saying attributed to Stuart Britt and it goes like this: Doing business without advertising is like winking at someone in the dark. You know what you are doing, but nobody else does.
During his tenure at NEMA, Mustapha Habib Ahmed showed, without equivocation, that he is not one to wink in the dark. He was a master of communicating plans, processes, initiatives, knowledge and impact.
Under his watch, NEMA’s website was unarguably the most vibrant website of any MDA in Nigeria. Reports on the agencies activities and initiatives were shared copiously and timeously keeping stakeholders informed while the DG’s X (formerly Twitter) handle provided a weekly run-down of his itinerary and activities something not commonly seen in these climes.
The communication of NiMEt and NIHSA’s predictions and forecasts captured as “the downscaling of disaster early warning measures to grassroots for effective live-saving early actions” ensured that the devastation from the floods of 2022 did not repeat itself in 2023.
After his formal handover, Mustapha Habib Ahmed, presented a comprehensive, precise and proper scorecard on March 25, 2024, highlighting how his activities at NEMA impacted the nation in alignment with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
In his scorecard published on social media, Ahmed thanked his colleagues and collaborators at NEMA while emphasising the agency’s “significant transformation, elevating itself to the forefront of disaster management not only within Nigeria but across the entire West African sub-region.”
He noted that even though “Nigeria’s disaster risk profile and the resulting humanitarian outcomes, stemming from both natural and human-induced disasters, have experienced a notable upward trajectory” the effects have been meditated, moderated and minimised considerably because of NEMA’s proactivity under his leadership.
Mustapha Habib Ahmed’s example is not just a humble invitation for scrutiny and corroboration, it is also an example of the standard all public officials and political appointees should aspire and be held accountable to.
**Toni Kan, a PR and developmental expert writes from London.
news
President Tinubu in Turkey: Guard of Honor and Strategic Agreements Signal New Era in Bilateral Relations
By Prince Adeyemi Shonibare
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, was accorded a full guard of honor during his official state visit to Turkey, a ceremonial reception reserved for world leaders and a strong signal of the respect Nigeria commands on the global stage.
The ceremony, held at the Turkish Presidential Complex in Ankara, featured military pageantry, national anthems, and formal protocol before high-level bilateral talks commenced.
The Presidency confirmed that President Tinubu briefly stumbled due to a camera cable while proceeding to the presidential lodge but stood up immediately and continued his engagements without interruption, stressing that the incident had no impact on the visit or his health.
More importantly, the visit delivered substantive diplomatic and economic outcomes. During talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on January 27, 2026, Nigeria and Turkey signed nine cooperation agreements and memoranda of understanding, covering military cooperation, higher education, diaspora policy, media and communication, halal accreditation, diplomatic training, and the establishment of a Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO).
At a joint press conference, President Tinubu emphasized the need to deepen cooperation in security, trade, and economic development, while President Erdoğan reaffirmed Turkey’s support for Nigeria’s fight against terrorism and commitment to strengthening strategic ties.
With Turkey’s strengths in defense technology, intelligence, education, and industrial capacity, the agreements open new opportunities for technology transfer, security collaboration, trade expansion, and human capital development.
In essence, the Turkey visit stands as a diplomatic success, defined not by a fleeting moment, but by honor, respect, and concrete agreements that advance Nigeria’s security, economy, and international standing.
By Prince Adeyemi Shonibare
Preface: The Necessity of Historical Context
Every generation seeks its heroes. In music, this instinct often manifests through comparison—an exercise that frequently reveals more about contemporary taste than historical contribution. In recent years, public discourse, amplified by social media, has juxtaposed Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti with global Afrobeats icons, most notably Wizkid, provoking the recurring question of “greatness” in Nigerian music.
This essay does not diminish the accomplishments of Nigeria’s contemporary stars, whose global visibility is unprecedented. Rather, it offers a scholarly contextualization—one that distinguishes between musical origination and musical succession, and between cultural architecture and commercial dominance—while situating Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti firmly within the category of historical inevitability.
The Problem with Simplistic Comparison
Comparing Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti with contemporary Afrobeats performers is, by scholarly standards, inherently flawed.
Fela’s work transcended performance. He engineered an entire musical and ideological system, fused political philosophy with sound, and permanently altered the trajectory of African popular music. His output represents cultural authorship, not entertainment calibrated to market demand. Fela’s music is timeless precisely because it was never designed to be fashionable.
A Yoruba proverb captures this distinction with enduring clarity:
“Ọmọ kì í ní aṣọ púpọ̀ bí àgbà, kó ní akísà bí àgbà.”
A child may own many clothes, but he cannot possess the rags of an elder.
The proverb is not dismissive. It is instructive. It speaks to accumulated depth—experience earned, systems built, and legacies forged through time rather than trend.
Musicians and Artistes: A Necessary Distinction
A rigorous analysis requires conceptual precision. Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti was a musician in the classical and intellectual sense: a composer, arranger, bandleader, employer of musicians, multi-instrumentalist, theorist, and cultural philosopher. His work demanded mastery of form, orchestration, ideology, and discipline.
Fela composed extended works, trained orchestras, performed entirely live, and embedded African political consciousness into rhythm, harmony, and structure.
By contrast, many contemporary stars—though exceptionally gifted and globally successful—operate primarily as artistes: interpreters of sound whose work prioritizes studio production, performance aesthetics, and commercial reach. This is not a hierarchy of worth, but a distinction of function. Fela’s music demanded study and confrontation; contemporary Afrobeats prioritised accessibility, pleasure, and global circulation—often without courting antagonism.
Afrobeat: An Ideological Invention
Afrobeat, as conceived by Fela, was not merely a genre. It was an ideological framework. Jazz, highlife, Yoruba rhythmic systems, call-and-response traditions, and political chant were fused into a resistant, uncompromising form.
Modern Afrobeats—by Wizkid, Burna Boy, and others—are adaptations and descendants, not replicas. They have expanded Africa’s global cultural footprint, but expansion does not erase origination. Fela’s Afrobeat remains the undiluted prototype upon which contemporary success rests.
Enduring Legacy Beyond Mortality
Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti passed in 1997, yet his influence has intensified rather than diminished. His legacy is evidenced by:
– Continuous academic study across global universities.
– International bands, many formed by people not alive at the time of his death, performing his works.
– FELABRATION, now a global annual cultural event.
– Broadway and international stage adaptations inspired by his life and music.
– Lifetime achievement and posthumous recognition by the Grammy Awards.
– Cultural centres, festivals, and scholarly conferences generating lasting intellectual and economic value.
This constitutes cultural permanence, not nostalgia.
Reconsidering Wealth and Sacrifice
Measured monetarily, Fela was not among the wealthiest musicians of his era. His radicalism came at an immense personal cost. He was beaten repeatedly. His mother, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, was killed. His home was burned. Original artistic archives were destroyed during state-sanctioned violence by unknown soldiers, even though history records who authorised the actions.
Yet Fela gave voice to generations—from Ojuelegba to Mushin, Ajegunle to Jos, Abuja, and even the privileged enclaves of today’s ọmọ baba olówó. He toured globally with an unusually large band long before satellite television or social media could amplify his reach.
Like Wole Soyinka and Chinua Achebe, Fela’s wealth exists beyond currency. It resides in influence, citation, adaptation, and endurance.
National and Global Recognition
Fela received a state burial in Lagos—an extraordinary acknowledgment from a military government he relentlessly criticised. Nations rarely honour dissenters so formally.
Globally, his stature aligns with figures such as James Brown, Elvis Presley, and the Rolling Stones—artists whose music reshaped identity, politics, and social consciousness.
The Crowned Princes: Wizkid and the Ethics of Reverence
Nigeria’s modern stars—Wizkid, Burna Boy, 2Face Idibia, Davido, Tiwa Savage, Tems, Olamide, among others—have achieved extraordinary global success. They are wealthier, more mobile, and more visible internationally than previous generations, and they deserve their accolades.
Wizkid, in particular, has consistently demonstrated reverence rather than rivalry toward Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti.
Femi Aníkúlápó Kuti has publicly stated:
“Wizkid loves Fela like a father.”
Wizkid has repeatedly supported FELABRATION, never demanding performance fees. The only times he has not appeared were occasions when he was not in the country. He has remixed Fela’s music, bears a Fela tattoo on his arm, and openly acknowledges Fela’s primacy.
A senior associate and long-time friend of Wizkid has affirmed that Wizkid adores Fela, would never equate himself with him—“in this world or the next”—and that recent tensions were reactions to provocation rather than assertions of equivalence.
This distinction matters. Wizkid’s posture is one of inheritance, not competition.
Seun Kuti and the Burden of Legacy
Seun Kuti is a musician of conviction and lineage. Yet relevance is best secured through original contribution rather than reactive comparison. Fela’s legacy does not require defence through controversy; it is already settled by history.
As William Shakespeare observed:
“The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,
But in ourselves, that we are underlings.”
—Julius Caesar
The weight of inheritance can inspire greatness or provoke restlessness. History rewards those who build upon legacy, not those who contest it.
The Songs That Made Fela Legendary
Among the works that cemented Fela’s immortality are:
– Zombie
– Water No Get Enemy
– Sorrow, Tears and Blood
– Coffin for Head of State
– Expensive Shit
– Shakara
– Gentleman
– Teacher Don’t Teach Me Nonsense
– Roforofo Fight
– Beasts of No Nation
These compositions remain sonic textbooks of resistance.
Fela in the Digital Age
Had Fela lived in the era of social media, his voice would have resonated far beyond Africa. His music would have found kinship among global movements confronting inequality, oppression, and social injustice.
“Music is the weapon.”
—Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti
Weapons, unlike trends, endure.
Placing Greatness Correctly
Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti’s greatness does not require comparison. He is the great-grandfather of Afrobeat—the musical and cultural architect who cleared the roads upon which today’s Afrobeat princes now travel.
Honouring contemporary success does not diminish historical achievement. To understand Nigerian music’s global relevance is to understand Fela. History, when read correctly, is both generous and precise.
Prince Adeyemi Shonibare writes on culture, music history, and African creative industries. He is a media and events consultant based in Nigeria.
Years after a petition alleging abuse of office, intimidation and institutional misconduct was submitted against operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Hajia Mazangari has drawn public attention to the matter once again, expressing concern over what she described as prolonged institutional silence and the absence of any known resolution.
The controversy arose from a bank draft transaction involving a sum running into several millions of naira, reportedly issued in the name of “EFCC Clients Account” and handed over to one Habibu Aliyu.
According to the account contained in the petition, Hajia Mazangari was later contacted by her bank and informed that an EFCC operative allegedly approached the bank, requesting that the draft earlier issued by her be cashed into another personal account.
The bank reportedly declined the request, insisting that the draft could only be re-issued in the name of a new beneficiary in compliance with established banking regulations. Attempts by Hajia Mazangari, through her solicitor, to retrieve the original bank draft allegedly resulted in hostility from Habibu Aliyu and Ruqqaya Ibrahim, with the situation escalating into what the petition described as sustained malice, intimidation and humiliation.
“It is as a result of this unending malice, torture and humiliation that we passionately plead to you, sir, to save our client who has been run aground by people with personal vendetta disguising as public officers,” the petition read.
In a further petition dated 14 January 2020 and addressed to the then Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, through her counsel, Ibrahim Salawu, Esq., Hajia Mazangari alleged that Habibu Aliyu (a former staff of the EFCC), Ruqqaya Ibrahim (a serving EFCC staff), Mohammed Goje (a serving EFCC staff) and one Mustafa Gadanya (a former staff of the EFCC) had, on various occasions, stormed her family residence in Kaduna.
According to the petition, copies of which were obtained by our correspondent in Abuja, the individuals allegedly accused her, her son and his associates of being involved in a pension scam, insisting that they were “neck-deep” in the alleged fraud and would be dealt with and made to face prosecution.
Hajia Mazangari maintained that the accusations were unfounded and that the repeated visits amounted to intimidation and abuse of authority.
In a related development at the time, counsel to Ahmed and Fatima Mazangari, Barrister Ibrahim Salawu, also wrote to the Chief Judge of the FCT High Court seeking the reassignment of their case to another court, following the elevation of the presiding judge to the Court of Appeal and the resultant irregular sittings of the court.
Despite the seriousness of the allegations contained in the petitions, efforts to obtain an official response from the EFCC at the time reportedly proved abortive.
Years later, Hajia Mazangari maintains that the institutional silence that greeted her complaints has persisted. She faulted the former Chairman of the EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, for allegedly failing to address the concerns raised in the petitions.
She further accused the former Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, of failing to intervene or cause a review of the matter despite being formally notified.
According to her, the situation has not changed under the current leadership of the EFCC, which she claims has continued in what she described as the same pattern of silence and inaction, leaving the issues raised unresolved several years after the petitions were submitted.
She also raised concerns over the continued service of an officer identified as Mohammed Goje at the EFCC office in Gombe, noting that other officers of similar standing were reportedly dismissed in the past for corrupt practices. She questioned why no publicly known disciplinary or investigative outcome has emerged from her complaints.
Hajia Mazangari stressed that her decision to speak out again is not based on any fresh incident, but on the need to draw public attention to an unresolved matter which, in her view, underscores broader concerns about institutional accountability. She called on relevant authorities and oversight bodies to revisit the petitions and ensure that the issues raised are conclusively addressed in accordance with the law.
When contacted for comments on the allegations and the renewed public attention surrounding the matter, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had not responded as at the time of filing this report.
However, the Commission is hereby afforded the right of reply and is free to present its position or clarifications on the issues raised.
-
celebrity radar - gossips6 months agoWhy Babangida’s Hilltop Home Became Nigeria’s Political “Mecca”
-
society6 months agoPower is a Loan, Not a Possession: The Sacred Duty of Planting People
-
Business6 months agoBatsumi Travel CEO Lisa Sebogodi Wins Prestigious Africa Travel 100 Women Award
-
news6 months agoTHE APPOINTMENT OF WASIU AYINDE BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AS AN AMBASSADOR SOUNDS EMBARRASSING