Politics
THE MARK OF THE BEAST- Femi Fani-Kayode
“If the Hate Speech Bill had been in place between 2013 and 2015 Lai Mohammed would not be alive today”- Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe.
My dear friend and brother Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, as courageous and truthful as ever, is absolutely right.
I would however go a step further by adding that President Muhammadu Buhari himself, Bola Tinubu, Nasir El Rufai, Rotimi Amaechi, Adams Oshiomole, Yemi Osinbajo and a good number of other leaders in the Federal Government and/or the ruling party would no longer be with us either if the Bill had been in place between 2013 and 2015 because they would all have been hanged for their hateful words and inciting speeches.
Yet that was not the way of the PDP and neither was it ever even discussed, contrived or contemplated because civilised leaders and enlightened political parties do not seek to kill others for airing their views and neither do they seek to supress dissent or destroy those that oppose them.
To his eternal credit President Goodluck Jonathan never locked up anyone for what they said, no matter how provocative, and neither did President Olusegun Obasanjo.
These were enlightened, educated, temperate, accomodating and civilised leaders who understood the importance of freedom of speech in a democracy and who were big and strong enough to resist the temptation of becoming unaccountable and sociopathic tyrants whose sole objective was to crush all their detractors, traducers and political enemies.
Sadly those that rule Nigeria today are from a different world and their mindset and disposition are not as reasonable, charitable or kind.
Simply put they are hard-hearted and wicked men with dark, vengeful, bitter, cruel and relentless souls. Not only are they modern-day tyrants but they are also a bunch of pyscopathic and psychotic sadists who thrive on instilling fear on their hapless victims and on intimidating and oppressing the people that they seek to lead.
This brings me to the topic of this contribution. It is my view that the Social Media Bill and the Hate Speech Bill are the greatest threats to democracy and freedom of expression in the history of Nigeria.
They can be collectively described as the biblical ‘mark of the beast’ because their objective is to diminish our humanity, silence our voices and cage our creativity.
The former seeks to cripple freedom of expression on social media whilst the latter, which is a “copy/paste” Bill from the tiny island of Singapore, seeks to literally murder all of Buhari’s political enemies. Permit me to break it down in simple terms.
Under this proposed new law if you speak against RUGA they will call it hate speech and hang you for it. If you speak against Fulanisation or Islamisation they will do the same. If you speak against their tyranny, their abuse of power, their violation of court orders or their abysmal record in public office they will do the same.
If you speak against their persecution of Christians, southerners, Middle Belters and members of the opposition they will do the same. If you speak against their slaughter of IPOB youths and Shia Muslims they will do the same.
If you speak against their domination and intimidation of the Legislature and Judiciary and the total break down and violation of the doctrine and principle of separation of powers they will do the same.
If you speak against their control and regulation of the traditional media and the fourth estate of the realm they will do the same. If you speak against their implementation of an insidious, frightful, ancient and unholy ethnic and religious agenda they will do the same.
If you speak against the ruling party, its Governors, its Ministers, its officials, its institutions or its leaders they will do the same. It goes on and on.
If the National Assembly makes the mistake of passing either or both of these two Bills Nigerians will suffer the consequences for many generations to come and human rights, liberty and freedom will be a thing of the past in our country.
I would urge the Nigerian people not to view this matter with their usual levity, indifference, complacency, docility, stoicism and lily-livered cowardice because the whole thing is an insidious atttempt to silence their tongues, cage their spirits, capture their souls, break their ability to resist tyranny and evil and finally turn them into a nation of pliant little quislings, slaves and errand boys.
What we are witnessing is the final and greatest manifestation of the fascistic, totalitarian and authoritarian state which, like Hitler’s Germany, is creeping up and hiding under the guise of democracy.
Buhari and his friends want Nigeria to be like Stalin’s Soviet Union or, better still, like modern-day North Korea and Saudi Arabia.
These are countries where dissent, oppositon to Government, plurality of views, variety of opinion, individual rights and criticism of Government policy and the maximum dictator is forbidden and where total power is concentrated in the hands of just one man. This is the classic Orwellian nightmare and it is unfolding before our very eyes.
If they get away with it and achieve their objectives Nigeria is finished and within a matter of years we will become the blight of Africa, the pariah of the Third World, the laughing stock of the international community and the worlds largest, most brutal and most savage prison.
What a terrible fate for a people that are so trusting, so innovative, so resourceful, so resilient and so blessed.
Let us go a little deeper.
The leader of the Fulani herdsmen and President of Miyetti Allah, Abdullahi Bodejo, says he and his organisation are in full support of both the Social Media Bill and the Hate Speech Bill and that these proposed laws would allow those he described as “Fulani-haters” to be jailed and HANGED.
Now we know who is behind these Bills and what their real intentions are!
These people came to power and installed a rabidly and virulent Fulani nationalist Government through hate speech and the social media and now they are terrified of being removed by it.
And of course they are the ones who get to deternine and define precisely what hate speech is.
To them criticising and condemming Buhari, his incompetence, his racism, his religious bigotry and his atrocious Governments policies or speaking out against the mass murder and genocide of non-Fulanis all over the country by Fulani herdsmen is “hate speech”.
To them condemning Boko Haram and those that are secretly backing and supporting them is “hate speech”. To them condemning that which is evil, wicked, unwholesome, barbaric and indefensible is “hate speech”.
To them any mention of the President that does not put him in a favourable light or project him as Nigeria’s long-awaited messiah is “hate speech”.
As a matter of fact anyone that refuses to worship and praise Buhari or lick his rectum will ultimately be accused of “hate speech” and hanged and anyone who so much as criticises him on social media or elsewhere will be arrested and jailed.
That is where this man is taking Nigeria and he is using his minions in the National Assembly to achieve it.
He wishes to impose a culture of silence and fear in our nation and he wishes to intimidate and cow our people. To him we ar nothing but conquered slaves and serfs who do not deserve to have a voice.
To him we are a broken, cowardly, conquered and subjugated people who are not worthy of life and liberty and who do not deserve to be treated as equals.
To him we are vermin that must be subdued and put in their place. To him we do not deserve the privilages, rights and liberties that accrue to other citizens of the world that come from other climes.
To him we are not worthy of having a voice or a defender. To him we must bow our heads, bend our knees and tremble in our beds each time he growls.
To him we must accept subjugation, oppression, injustice and tyranny without expressing dissent or saying a word.
To him when our people are slaughtered like flies by his Fulani brothers and core northern Muslim colleagues we must not complain and we dare not write about it, post about it, tweet about it or even cry about it.
That is Buhari’s shameful vision for Nigeria and that is the kind of society and culture that he is attempting to impose. And the slavish fool of a Senator from Niger state that is propsing these Bills is simply doing the President’s bidding.
Yet all this is nothing new. We have seen it many times before and it never lasts.
The Boers of South Africa passed a law to stop their victims from condemning ethnic cleansing. The Nazis in Germany passed a law to stop their victims from condemning genocide.
The Fulani in Nigeria are passing a law to stop their victims from condemning mass murder.
Yet hear this: whatever you say and do, we the people will NEVER stop criticising and condemning your unholy agenda, racism, mass murder, genocide, ethnic cleansing, oppression, Fulanisation, islamisation and tyranny.
In order to have your way and silence us you will have to hang us ALL!
Today belongs to you but tomorrow belongs to the people. In God’s way and in His own time He shall rise up and deliver us, just as He rose up and delivered the children of israel from the tyranny of Pharaoah.
Until then we challenge you, nay we dare you, to do your damnest worse. Christ in us: our hope and glory!
Permit me to end with the following: any Senator or House Member that supports either of these two Bills should bow his or her head in shame and know this: we the people shall NEVER forget or forgive you.
Politics
Pro-Tinubu Group Demands Sack of Badaru, Other Ministers Who Lost Polling Units in Bye-Elections
Pro-Tinubu Group Demands Sack of Badaru, Other Ministers Who Lost Polling Units in Bye-Elections
The Asiwaju Network has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to immediately disengage underperforming ministers who failed to deliver their polling units and wards during the just-concluded bye-elections.
The group also urged a cabinet reshuffle to inject fresh energy and ensure that only those who can add political and governance value remain in the Federal Executive Council.
In a statement issued on Monday in Abuja and signed by its president, Alhaji Musa Ibrahim Dandoka, the Asiwaju Network said the results of the elections were a litmus test that exposed the political weaknesses of some ministers entrusted with strategic national assignments.
At Babura Kofar Arewa Primary School in Jigawa State, where the Minister of Defence, Alhaji Muhammad Badaru Abubakar, cast his vote, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) scored 308 votes to defeat the All Progressives Congress (APC), which managed only 112.
Badaru, a former governor of Jigawa and APC chieftain, left the venue without addressing journalists after casting his vote amid heavy security presence.
Dandoka said it was troubling that, despite his high office, the Defence Minister could not secure victory in his polling unit.
He argued that such political setbacks undermine the strength of the APC and the credibility of President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope government.
“This defeat is both embarrassing and unacceptable. A minister who cannot win his polling unit cannot claim to possess the political capital required to defend the APC or promote the President’s Renewed Hope Agenda. President Tinubu must act quickly to weed out weak links in his cabinet and replace them with men and women who have proven grassroots capacity,” Dandoka stated.
The group noted that Badaru was not alone in this failure, stressing that another minister from Jigawa and one from Enugu State also lost their wards and polling units.
According to the group, these developments point to a worrying trend of disconnect between certain ministers and their political bases.
“Ministers are not merely technocrats. They are political leaders of the party in their states and zones. If they cannot hold their homes together, then they do not deserve to hold on to strategic national offices. The bye-elections have sent a clear message, and it is that some ministers have lost relevance and electoral value,” the statement reads.
The Asiwaju Network maintained that the APC’s strength lies in grassroots mobilisation, and any minister unable to inspire loyalty within his immediate constituency is a liability.
Dandoka emphasised that President Tinubu’s success in governance must be matched with political consolidation, which requires capable and electorally grounded cabinet members.
“President Tinubu has been bold with tough decisions on subsidy reforms, the economy, and security. Nigerians are beginning to see the fruits of those reforms. But he must also be bold enough to reshuffle his cabinet. A government of results cannot afford ministers who are passengers. The President needs proven drivers of the Renewed Hope vision,” Dandoka said.
The group also commended loyal APC members and supporters who defied intimidation and attempts at rigging in Jigawa and Enugu, saying their resilience was the true strength of the ruling party.
“These members stood firm when those at the top failed to inspire confidence. They turned out in their numbers to defend the APC’s relevance even when some of their supposed leaders abandoned them. These grassroots soldiers of democracy must never be taken for granted,” Dandoka added.
The Asiwaju Network further urged President Tinubu to take the bye-election results as a warning, cautioning that retaining non-performing ministers would embolden the opposition and demoralise party loyalists.
“The message from Jigawa and Enugu is clear: the APC cannot continue to reward failure. A minister who cannot secure a few streets in his ward has no business in the Federal Executive Council. Mr President must urgently rejig his cabinet or risk carrying dead weight into future electoral contests,” the coalition warned.
Reaffirming the group’s loyalty to Tinubu’s leadership, Dandoka said Nigerians expect a government that rewards competence and accountability, not excuses and political failures.
“President Tinubu has the people’s mandate. He must not allow weak ministers to drag down his vision. A decisive cabinet reshuffle now will send a strong signal that the Renewed Hope government is serious about performance, delivery, and results,” he declared.
Customs at the Crossroads: When Lawmakers Look Away and the Executive Looks Aside
By Dr. Bolaji O. Akinyemi
In a democracy, legislative oversight is the scalpel that cuts through deceit, inefficiency, and corruption in public institutions. It is the people’s last institutional shield against abuse of power. But what happens when that shield becomes a shelter for the very rot it is meant to expose? And what happens when the Executive arm, whose duty is to supervise its agencies, pretends not to see?
The unfolding drama between the National Assembly and the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) reveals more than a policy dispute. It exposes a dangerous triangle of confusion, complicity, and economic sabotage. At stake is not only the rule of law but the survival of an economy already gasping under inflation, a weak naira, and suffocating costs of living.
The House Talks Tough
In June 2025, Nigerians saw a glimpse of legislative courage when the House of Representatives Committee thundered at Customs:
> “Nigerian Customs Service, by June 30, must not collect CISS again. You are to collect only your 4% FOB assigned by the President. Even the 7% cost of collection you currently take is illegal—it was an executive fiat of the military, not democratic law. Any attempt to continue these illegal collections will be challenged in court. The ‘I’s have it.”
The voice was firm, the ruling decisive. Nigerians expected a turning point.
But the righteous thunder of the House was quickly muffled by the Senate’s softer tone, which suggested not the enforcement of the law but a readiness to bend it.
Senate: Oversight or Escape Route?
At a Senate Customs Committee session, Senator Ade Fadahunsi admitted openly that Customs has been operating illegally since June 2023. Yet rather than demand an end to illegality, he extended a lifeline to Comptroller-General Bashir Adeniyi:
> “If we come back to the same source… the two houses will sit together and see to your amendment so you will not be walking on a tight rope.”
But should Adeniyi be handed a loose rope while Nigeria’s economy hangs by a thread?
Instead of accountability, the Senate Customs Committee floated adjustments that would make life easier for Customs. The nation was given hints about fraudulent insurance and freight data, but instead of sanctions, what we saw was a search for escape routes. This is not oversight—it is overlook.
Smuggling and Excuses
The Senate Committee also lamented cross-border smuggling—Nigerian goods like cement flooding Cotonou, Togo, and Ghana at cheaper prices than in Nigeria. Senator Fadahunsi blamed the Central Bank’s 2% value deposit for encouraging the practice.
But where are the Senate’s enforcement actions—compliance checks, stiffer sanctions, cross-border coordination? None. The result is predictable: smugglers prosper, reserves bleed, and ordinary Nigerians pay more for less.
A Bloated Customs Budget
The Service’s 2024 capital allocation ballooned to ₦1.1 trillion from ₦706 billion. Instead of channeling these resources into modern trade systems, Customs is expanding empires of frivolity—such as proposing a new university despite already having training facilities in Gwagwalada and Ikeja that could easily be upgraded.
Oversight is not an afterthought; it is the legislature’s constitutional duty. To see waste and illegality and yet propose amendments that would legalise them is to turn oversight into overlook.
Customs has about 16,000 staff, yet many remain poorly trained. Rather than prioritise capacity building, the Service is busy building staff estates in odd locations. How does Modakeke—an inland town with no border post—end up with massive Customs housing projects, while strategic border towns like Badagry, Idiroko, and Saki remain neglected? Is Bashir Adeniyi Comptroller-General of Customs—or Minister of Housing?
The 4% FOB Levy: A Policy Blunder
The central controversy is the Federal Government’s plan to replace existing port charges with a new 4% Free-On-Board (FOB) levy on imports.
Nigeria is an import-dependent nation. This levy will instantly hike the costs of cars, spare parts, machinery, and raw materials—crippling industries and punishing consumers.
Already, the consequences are biting:
A 2006 Toyota Corolla now costs between ₦6–9 million.
Clearing agents who once paid ₦215,000 for license renewal must now cough out ₦4 million.
New freight forwarder licenses have jumped from ₦600,000 to ₦10 million.
Customs claims the revenue is needed for its modernisation programme, anchored on a software platform called B’Odogwu. But stakeholders describe this so-called “Odogwu” as epileptic—if not comatose. Why commit trillions to a ghost programme that will be obsolete by January 2026, when the Nigerian Revenue Service is set to take over Customs collections?
Industry Raises the Alarm
The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has warned that the levy will worsen inflation, disrupt supply chains, and hurt productivity.
Lucky Amiwero, President of the National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents, calls the levy “economically dangerous.” His reasoning is straightforward:
The 4% FOB levy is much higher than the 1% CISS it replaces.
Peer countries like Ghana maintain just 1%.
The new levy will fuel inflation, raise the landed costs of goods, and destabilise the naira.
He also revealed that the Customs Modernisation Act, which introduced the levy, was passed without Senate scrutiny or meaningful stakeholder consultation. He estimates that the levy could add ₦3–4 trillion annually to freight costs—burdens that will be transferred directly to consumers.
Who Is Behind the “Odogwu” Masquerade?
The haste to enforce this levy, despite its looming redundancy, raises disturbing questions. Who benefits from the “Odogwu” project draining trillions? Why the rush, when NRS will take over collections in a few months?
This masquerade must be unmasked.
The Price Nigerians Pay
For ordinary Nigerians, this policy translates into one thing: higher prices. Cars, manufactured goods, and spare parts are spiraling beyond reach. A nation struggling with inflation, unemployment, and a weak currency cannot afford such reckless experiments.
So, while the Senate looks away, the Executive cannot look aside.
The Executive Cannot Escape Blame.
It is easy to focus on the failings of the legislature. But we must not forget: the Customs Service is an agency of the Federal Ministry of Finance, under the direct supervision of the Honourable Minister of Finance, Mr. Wale Edun.
If Customs is breaking the law, wasting resources, or implementing anti-people policies, the buck stops at the Executive’s table. The Minister of Finance is Chairman of the Customs Board. To fold his hands while the Service operates in illegality is to abdicate responsibility.
History gives us a model. In 1999, the Minister of State for Finance, Nenadi Usman, was specifically assigned to supervise Customs and report directly to the President. Meanwhile, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala focused on broader fiscal and economic policies. That division of responsibility improved accountability. Today, the absence of such an arrangement is feeding impunity.
President Tinubu and his Finance Minister must act decisively. Oversight without executive will is a dead letter.
A Call to Accountability
The truth is stark:
Customs has been operating illegally since June 2023 to the Senate’s own confession.
The 4% FOB levy will deepen inflation and worsen economic hardship.
The Ministry of Finance bears ultimate responsibility for Customs’ conduct.
Until importing and consuming, Nigerians demand accountability—of the Comptroller-General, the Senate, and above all, the Finance Ministry—this bleeding will continue.
Nigerians deserve better. They deserve a Customs Service that serves the nation, not a privileged few. They deserve a House that enforces its resolutions, not one that grandstands. They deserve a Senate that upholds the law, not one that bends it. And above all, they deserve an Executive that does not look aside while illegality thrives under its ministry.
Only public pressure can end this indulgence. If Nigerians keep silent, we will keep paying the price—in higher costs, weaker currency, and a sabotaged economy.
Citizens’ Charge: Silence is Not an Option
Fellow Nigerians, the Customs crisis is not a drama for the pages of newspapers—it is a burden on our pockets, our businesses, and our children’s future. Every illegal levy is a tax on the poor. Every abandoned oversight is an open invitation to corruption. Every silence from the Executive is an approval of impunity.
We cannot afford to fold our arms. Democracy gives us the power of voice, the duty of vigilance, and the right to demand accountability. Let us demand that:
The Senate and House of Representatives stop playing good cop, bad cop, and enforce the law without compromise.
The Ministry of Finance takes full responsibility for the Customs Service, supervising it in the interest of Nigerians, not vested interests.
The President intervenes now, before the Service crosses the dangerous line of turning illegality into policy.
History will not forgive a people who suffered in silence when their economy was bled by recklessness. Silence is complicity. The time to speak, to write, to petition, to protest, and to demand is now.
Customs must serve Nigeria—not sabotage it.
Dr. Bolaji O. Akinyemi is an Apostle and Nation Builder. He’s also the President of Voice of His Word Ministries and Convener Apostolic Round Table. BoT Chairman, Project Victory Call Initiative, AKA PVC Naija. He is a strategic Communicator and the CEO, Masterbuilder Communications.
Email:[email protected]
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Aare Adetola Emmanuel King Congratulates Hon. Adesola Ayoola-Elegbeji on Election Victory
The Chairman/CEO of Adron Group, Sir Aare Adetola Emmanuel King KOF, has congratulated Hon. Adesola Ayoola-Elegbeji on her resounding victory in the just-concluded by-election for the Remo Federal Constituency seat in the House of Representatives.
In a goodwill message issued by him, he described the victory as “a historic moment for the Remo people, coming at a time when the constituency yearns for a leader with vision, courage, and genuine commitment to service.”
He noted that the outcome of the election was an attestation to the trust and confidence reposed in Hon. Ayoola-Elegbeji by the people, adding that her sterling qualities, integrity, accessibility, and compassion for the grassroots had endeared her to the electorate.
“The overwhelming support you garnered at the polls is proof that you are the right voice at the right time to carry the aspirations of Remo to the national stage,” he stated.
While acknowledging that the by-election followed the painful demise of the late Hon. Adewunmi Oriyomi Onanuga (Ijaya), Aare Adetola Emmanuel King said Hon. Ayoola-Elegbeji’s emergence symbolizes the continuity of purposeful representation. He expressed confidence that she would not only sustain the legacy of her predecessor but also surpass it with new energy, innovative ideas, and progressive leadership.
The Adron Group Chairman further prayed for divine wisdom, strength, and compassion for the Member-Elect as she assumes office, expressing confidence that her tenure will usher in meaningful development, economic empowerment, and greater opportunities for the people of Remo Federal Constituency.
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