BethNews Media Publisher Oluwaseun Fabiyi commemorates Pastor Adesegun Olusanya’s birthday

Warmest birthday wishes to Pastor Adesegun Olusanya, a distinguished gentleman, a devoted man of the people, and a rare gem, on this momentous occasion, as he celebrates his birthday anniversary as a business tycoon and an award-winning pastor.

Your proven track record of dependability and trustworthiness, as evidenced by stringent testing, has earned you the numerous praises being showered upon you on this momentous occasion of your birthday anniversary today, September 3rd, 2025

Your leadership is characterized by generosity and a clear focus on promoting humanity’s well-being, advancement, and progress. I am reminded of your efforts to inspire young publishers and provide steadfast support to media organizations in Lagos and beyond

Your reputation as a great uncle from another womb is well-deserved, given your impressive background and philanthropic efforts.

Undoubtedly, your dedication and hard work are paying off, as you leave a lasting legacy that will be remembered for years to come, and many people, including myself, are impressed by your accomplishments

Over time, you have exemplified exceptional leadership skills within the Christian community in various ways, and it is clear that you are a unique blessing from God to humanity. Indeed, I can confidently reiterate that sentiment

It is my pleasure to wish you many happy returns of fruitful, impactful and fulfilling years in sound health and endless happiness, AMEN. Congratulations and many happy returns sir!

The Green Passport and the Price of Poverty: A Nation that Punishes its Own.
(How Passport Hikes Privatise Mobility and Punish the Poor)

By George Omagbemi Sylvester | published by saharaweeklyng.com

If there is a single, cruel joke the Nigerian state is telling its poorest citizens, it is this: CITIZENSHIP WITHOUT MOBILITY is a MOCKERY. On August 28, 2025, the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) quietly approved another staggering upward review of passport fees that takes effect from 1 September 2025. The 32-page standard passport (5 years) now costs ₦100,000; the 64-page booklet (10 years) costs ₦200,000. Less than two years ago these booklets were a fraction of that price. This is not a technical adjustment. It is a social decision with a brutal price tag.

To be clear about what is being sold: Nigeria issues several passport classes. The standard, green passport is what ordinary citizens must buy. There are also Official passports (BLUE) for government functionaries and Diplomatic passports (RED) for accredited diplomats; these latter classes are effectively issued free to their beneficiaries. In short: those who govern or serve diplomatic interests do not pay; those who toil and save for a chance to leave often must. That asymmetry is not incidental, it is symbolic and structural.

Diaspora Exploitation: Nigerians in South Africa Pay Triple.
If Nigerians at home are bleeding, those in the diaspora are haemorrhaging. In South Africa, reports show that Nigerians often pay between R5,000 to R6,500 (about ₦300,000 to ₦400,000) for a standard passport through the Nigerian High Commission in Pretoria or the Consulate in Johannesburg. That is nearly three times the new official rate in Nigeria. Compare this to South Africans themselves: a 10-year passport costs only R600 (about ₦60,000) in their own country.

This disparity is an insult layered upon injury. Diaspora Nigerians are not only ambassadors of culture, trade and remittances, they send home over $20 billion annually in remittances that sustain families and stimulate the economy. Yet they are forced to pay the steepest price for a document that should be their birthright. As one Nigerian student in Cape Town lamented: “By the time I save for the passport, I no longer have money for my study visa. It is like Nigeria itself is blocking me.”

Arithmetic and Politics of Poverty.
The new 32-page fee of ₦100,000 is greater than the legally approved monthly minimum wage of ₦70,000. A single passport now costs more than a month’s legal basic pay for millions of Nigerians. A young student preparing to study abroad, a nurse seeking work to support ageing parents, a trader hustling for better markets all must either delay, borrow or abandon those plans. That is mobility rationed by income. Former presidential candidate Peter Obi summed it up: “In a country where minimum wage is ₦70,000, making a passport cost more than that is a cruel policy that deepens citizens’ hardship.”

The government defends the hike with familiar technocratic language: UPGRADE SYSTEMS, CURB CORRUPTION, IMPROVE QUALITY and INTEGRITY of the PASSPORT. But when process becomes cover for price, citizens have reason to suspect priorities. Every public-sector reform that is funded by charging the many to benefit the few shifts the social contract in the wrong direction. Human-rights groups such as SERAP have rightly called the increase “UNLAWFUL and DISCRIMINATORY”, arguing the move punishes poor Nigerians and restricts fundamental freedoms.

Comedy as Civic Critique.
Across the country, the reaction has been raw: OUTRAGE, SARCASM, BITTER HUMOUR. Comedy (always a pressure valve in Nigerian life) has been doing what journalism sometimes cannot: translate pain into plain, scathing truth. Francis “I Go Dye” Agoda, a comic who doubles as a social crusader, has long used the passport as a punchline for the absurdities of status and access in Nigeria. Gordons too has joked about nearly being stranded because of passport delays, a small anecdote that signals a larger truth: when systems fail, citizens laugh bitterly to mask despair.

As Gordons once quipped on stage: “Na only for Nigeria you go need passport to travel, but na your passport go travel pass you because you never fit afford the money to collect am.” The audience roared; not because it was merely funny, but because it was painfully true.

Comparative Passport Realities in Africa.
Contrast Nigeria’s green passport with others on the continent:

South Africa: 10-year passport — R600 (₦60,000). Citizens enjoy wider visa-free access, including to the EU’s Schengen area.

Kenya: 10-year passport — KSh 7,500 (about ₦45,000). Visa-free to more African countries than Nigeria.

Rwanda: 10-year passport — RWF 75,000 (about ₦45,000). A country with far lower per-capita income makes passports cheaper, ensuring accessibility.

Ghana: 5-year passport — GHS 500 (about ₦50,000). Affordable compared to Nigeria.

Now compare: Nigeria’s ₦200,000 (10 years) stands as one of the highest not only in Africa but in the developing world, yet the Nigerian passport offers far less travel freedom than South Africa’s or even Kenya’s. In the latest Henley Passport Index (2025), Nigeria ranks among the bottom 20 globally, with visa-free access to fewer than 50 countries. What then are Nigerians paying for? A weak travel document sold at premium rates.

Governance Paradox and Moral Failure.
There is also a governance paradox: the classes who receive free or subsidised passports (senior officials, diplomats, political appointees) are the same people making and defending the policy. That reproduces privilege while cutting the poor off. It corrodes legitimacy and strengthens the belief that public policy is a tool of elite convenience rather than public service.

If other democracies cushion fees with low-income waivers, student discounts or staggered payments, why must Nigeria wield only a blunt, punitive instrument?

A Tax on Hope.
When a state makes participation in global life conditional on cash alone, it fails the promise of citizenship. Mobility is a basic ingredient of opportunity in a globalised world. By turning the passport into a luxury item, Nigeria is not reforming, it is gatekeeping. It is taxing aspiration and selling hope to the highest bidder.

And so the jokes multiply because people are hurting. The comedians’ quips are not just humour; they are civic critique in plain language. When I Go Dye or Gordons riff on the passport, they are not simply making people laugh. They are forcing Nigerians to confront the uncomfortable truth: the poor are punished for being poor, while the privileged glide through borders for free.

Finally: Reform or Ruin.
If this policy remains, expect chilling consequences: greater brain drain among those who can pay and deeper exclusion for those who cannot. Expect families to delay education and health travel; expect more irregular migration that is unsafe and unrecorded.

A passport is not just a booklet. It is a social licence to participate in the world economy. Deny it to the poor and you widen the cracks of inequality that already threaten the nation’s stability.

Nigeria must do better. A legitimate state protects its citizens’ rights and enables access, not erects tollgates at every turn. The price of a passport should not be paid in full by those least able to shoulder it. Anything less than fairness, transparency and humanity is not governance; it is exploitation.

Written by George Omagbemi Sylvester. Published by saharaweeklyng.com

Insecurity: Situating Buratai’s ’COVID-19 Style Lockdown’ Proposal

By Louis Achi

Last week, Nigeria’s former Chief of Army Staff, and ex-Ambassador to the Republic of Benin, Lt. General Tukur Buratai (retd.), proposed the urgent adoption of strategic, intelligence-driven lockdowns as part of a new framework to counter terrorism, banditry, and other forms of violent criminality threatening national stability.

The former Army boss urged the federal government to consider a nationwide mobilisation similar to the COVID-19 lockdown to defeat terrorism, banditry, and kidnapping feeding the bloody infamy ravaging the nation.

Buratai who spoke in a candid interview with Channels Television last Friday, argued that insecurity should not be left to the military alone but treated as a national crisis requiring collective sacrifice. His words: “When there are national crises, we need to mobilise everybody, not just the military alone. Look at COVID-19 – how much was spent, how much was invested into information, communication, advertisement, palliatives, and preventive measures.

“The whole nation was locked down because of COVID-19. We can do the same thing. We can lock down this country to make sure that everybody concentrates and deals with this cankerworm of so-called terrorists and bandits.”

General Buratai further noted that before leaving office as Chief of Army Staff, he had warned that the insurgency could last longer than expected if a long-term strategy was not adopted. “Just before I left office, and immediately after I was appointed ambassador to the Republic of Benin, I sent a note of warning that this insurgency may last longer. It is not something that you just wish away. We really need to have a long-term plan.”

In summation, Buratai maintained that beyond military campaigns, citizens must be mobilised “psychologically, through social media, press, and community support” to overcome what he described as the “so-called terrorists and bandits.” Understandably, Buratai’s position has provoked considerable debate among various stakeholders.

The battle-scarred General’s novel proposition provides a new discursive lens to stimulate new modes of analysis on effective strategies to cage violent extremism. His unconventional position fundamentally represents a concept note that should transition to a detailed, actionable engagement strategy for the federal government to fast-track a valid response leading to the erasure of the reign of bloody infamy and destructive erosion of Nigeria’s sovereignty.

This quirky scenario has perhaps understandably eroded public trust in state authority and demands an urgent, coordinated, effective, disruptive strategy that can destroy criminal networks – simultaneously safeguarding civilian lives. There is more.

It is beyond dispute that Nigeria currently faces an overlapping mosaic of extreme, regressive violence. These include Boko Haram and ISWAP insurgency in the Northeast; banditry, mass kidnappings, and illegal mining in the Northwest; farmer–herder clashes and communal violence in the North Central; separatist-linked attacks in the Southeast; oil theft, pipeline vandalism, and cult-related violence in the South-South; and rising cases of kidnappings and armed robbery in the Southwest.

But first, to highlight the urgency of Buratai’s proposal, it would be germane to provide some context in terms of very recent informed positions on caging insecurity in Nigeria and Africa at large. Just this week, United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, called on African defence leaders to take decisive ownership of the continent’s security challenges during her address at the inaugural African Chiefs of Defence Forum in Abuja on Monday.

Mohammed, a former Nigerian Minister of Environment, accurately painted a stark picture of Africa’s security landscape, stating, “The continent accounts for the majority of global terrorism deaths, with attacks in West Africa’s coastal states surging by 250% in just two years. In the Sahel, 14,000 schools were shuttered by conflict last year, threatening an entire generation’s future.”

Lansana Kouyaté, former Prime Minister of Guinea, who proposed innovative security financing through public-private partnerships during the forum, echoed Mohammed’s call for collective action, stating, “This historic gathering of defence chiefs from all 54 African nations underscores that without peace, there is no development.”

While speaking at the 50th anniversary dinner of the Nigerian Defence Academy’s 18th Regular Course in Abuja last month, the National Security Adviser, NSA, Nuhu Ribadu, revealed that over 47,000 lives were lost to insecurity in northern Nigeria before President Bola Tinubu took office in May 2023. He stated that the country was on the brink of collapse at the time, grappling with multiple crises that threatened its cohesion and survival.

He said, “The security landscape we inherited as a government in 2023 was a sobering reality. It was threatening the very cohesion, stability, and integrity of our Nigerian state. We inherited five intractable security challenges that had brought our nation to the brink.” These include Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East, banditry in the North-West and North-Central, separatist agitations in the South-East, economic sabotage in the Niger Delta, and communal conflicts in states like Benue and Plateau.

The NSA went on to paint a positive, if not outright rosy picture of the security situation under his principal, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Although it could not be denied that nine efforts are being made by the current administration to reinstate widespread infamy, Nigeria is far from the safe, progressive haven its citizens are entitled to.

On his part, former Minister of Aviation Osita Chidoka recently weighed in on the ravaging insecurity, claiming that Nigeria’s situation is even more dire than that of countries embroiled in war. Chidoka expressed deep concern over the rampant insecurity, widespread hunger, and severe economic struggles plaguing the nation, emphasizing that citizens are enduring daily hardships as if the country is under siege. He cautioned that if immediate action isn’t taken, Nigeria could face total collapse.

General Buratai’s proposal, not surprisingly, spawned several responses from different concerned stakeholders. The most notable and informed reaction perhaps, is that from the Crest Research and Development Institute (CRADI) and authored by conflict and security expert, Isa Mohammed.

CRADI had responded by convening a Policy Lab under its Co-Creation and Innovation Lab (CCIL), bringing together security practitioners, conflict analysts, governance experts, humanitarian actors, and community stakeholders.

The Lab drew lessons from Nigeria’s COVID-19 lockdown, at the core of Baratai’s proposal which, despite its economic costs, succeeded in reducing certain forms of crime and giving security forces a clearer view of population movements. Participants agreed that lockdowns can be effective, but only if targeted, intelligence-driven, and sensitive to humanitarian needs.

According to CRADI’s Isa Mohammed, “Conventional military campaigns alone cannot address these overlapping threats. Strategic lockdowns, when carefully designed, can restrict terrorist mobility, cut off supply lines, and create the operational space for intelligence-led security operations.”

The body strongly cautioned against a nationwide shutdown, arguing it would cripple livelihoods without delivering sustainable security. Instead, CRADI recommended zonal lockdowns tailored to local dynamics:

Northeast: Seal borders with Niger, Chad, and Cameroon; enforce curfews around the Lake Chad Basin and Mandara Mountains; Northwest: Impose lockdowns in forest belts such as Rugu, Kamuku, and Birnin Gwari; ban illegal mining; restrict rural mobility; North Central: Enforce lockdowns in conflict flashpoints; secure farmlands with patrols; regulate grazing routes to reduce clashes; and Southeast: Introduce night curfews; restrict unauthorized assemblies; secure major highways against attacks.

For South-South C, RADI recommended the implementation of surveillance lockdowns along pipeline corridors and waterways to combat oil theft and cult-related violence; and Southwest: Apply tactical restrictions in forest reserves, especially the Ondo–Ogun axis, which has become a haven for kidnappers.

Strategy and security are core elements for achieving sustainable peace, especially for a developing country like Nigeria. Cut to the bone, when security is absent, it validly suggests the strategies adopted are faulty and need to be reviewed. As Nigerians seek to achieve sustainable growth and development, the citizens must have the requisite state of freedom and peace, amongst others, to lead meaningful and productive lives.

CRADI’s Mohammed succinctly cut to the heart of the debate when he asserted that, “General Buratai’s call for a strategic lockdown is an urgent reminder that Nigeria must rethink its approach to insecurity. If implemented with strong oversight, humanitarian sensitivity, and clear timelines, strategic lockdowns can help restore state authority, protect vulnerable communities, and lay the foundation for peacebuilding and long-term stability.”

The foregoing scenario can fundamentally validate General Buratai’s proposition to the federal government, especially when international partners such as the United Nations, African Union, and ECOWAS play an imperative role as potential providers of technical and logistical support.