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Buhari Yesterday, Today and Forever By Tunde Odesola

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CUSTOMSGATE: $3 BILLION PROJECT RUNS INTO DISPUTE

 

The 23rd child of his father, retired Major General Muhammadu Buhari joined the military in 1962 at 19 and at 40, he toppled a democratically elected civilian government to become Head of State before he was booted out of power at 42.

 

Buhari Congratulates Biden, Says Nigeria Looks Forward To Greater Cooperation With US

Within the first 20 years of his working life, Buhari made hay, attaining the pinnacle of his potential. Clearly, he was an exemplary youth.

 

I ask, who among the unruly Nigerian youths that recently distrup the peace of the country with protests at the Lekki tollgate, possesses any achievement akin to this world-class record of Buhari? Who?

 

Not given to frivolities like today’s youths, Buhari is serious. Even in middle age, Buhari was quite unlike the fanny-scratching dingbat from Ile-Ife, who always opens his mouth before thinking, recently cursing and spewing rubbish after President Donald Trump lost the American presidential election. That was a terrible example of a brainless youth living off the heritage bequeathed by his controversial lineage.

 

 

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode (3rd right); Governor Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara State (2nd right); Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State (right); Governor Abubakar Sani Bello of Niger State (left); Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State (2ndleft) and Governor Umaru Tanko Al-Mukura of Nasarawa State (3rdleft) during the Progressive Governors Forum meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja, on Tuesday, April 3, 2018

 

 

 

 

Unlike the fabled Solomon Grundy, Buhari’s life is eventful and enviable. Therefore, whenever the President looks down on Nigerian youths and harshly mocks their luckless destinies, we should understand; Sai Baba is only holding them up to his own matchless standard.

 

 

When presidential spokesperson, Femi Adesina, last week said Buhari acted like a father after deploying soldiers to murder innocent youths protesting police killings and brutality at the Lekki tollgate, he forgot to add that, “Buhari was teaching a lesson in the destructibility and ephemerality of human life because life is but a walking shadow.”

 

I wish Nigerians knew the value of our President and accord him due respect. With Nigeria proclaimed as the global capital of poverty on the strength of just 80 million of her 200 million population living below poverty line, is it wrong to feel exasperated and deploy soldiers to suppress a legion of hopeless youth protesters disturbing the peace of a retired septuagenarian soldier?

 

Many have cursed Adesina out for tactlessly defending Buhari’s endless gaffes. Many have argued that working as spokesperson in the Office of the President sends truth, compassion, humility and integrity on sabbatical. I disagree.

 

 

 

Did erstwhile diligent labourer in the presidential vineyard, Reuben Abati, not disclose to an unbelieving nation that demons abound in the Presidency that could turn the hearts of good people into stones, and twist their heads backwards like a roadkill at dusk.

 

 

How many of the protesting youths ever enjoyed scholarships like Mr President, or how many of them were ever sponsored by Nigeria for any endeavour? So, shouldn’t these youths who never benefited anything from Nigeria show some respect to a President, who has lived his life on the generosity of the country? If Adesina picks an offence against nameless youths taking the name Buhari in vain, or Minister Lai Mohammed seeks to restrict the use of social media, are they unjustified?

 

You never value what you have until you lose it. May Nigeria not lose Buhari now. Show me an enterprising president, and I’ll point at Buhari.

 

 

At barely 20, Buhari was commissioned a second lieutenant of the Nigerian Army in 1963, before assuming various posts such as military governor of the old Gongola State, petroleum minister, among others – within an Army whose generals were notorious for coup plotting, pepper soup eating, beer guzzling and messing up with ladies inside officers’ mess.

 

 

 

The messiness within Nigeria’s military was publicly derided by the Lagos police command spokesperson, Alozie Ogugbuaja, who stirred the hornets’ nest in the 1980s.

 

 

 

If you ask Adesina and Buhari’s other spin doctors, it’s not Buhari’s fault that Nigeria’s military is even worse off today with loyalty and esteem in tatters while ethnicity, corruption and nepotism have become epaulettes worn over patriotism and competence.

 

 


The fault is in Nigeria’s stars which failed to avert the sacking of the Fulani Major General as commander-in-chief by the bloodiest of the Nigerian military generals, Ibrahim Babangida, in 1985. The fault is also in Nigerians who refused to resist Babangida and his bloody co-coupists from taking over power. To perpetually stay in power for Nigeria’s sake, Buhari, surely, wouldn’t have flinched if the dog and baboon were soaked in blood.

 

 

No country has a President like Buhari – simple and plain like tea without sugar. I’m proud of my President. I don’t know why you’re not. Unlike the Ghanaian ex-president, Jerry John Rawlings, who died last week at 73, Buhari, 77, can’t produce his secondary school certificate, though he saw the inside of a secondary school.

 

 

 

Shortly after graduating from Achimota College in 1967, Rawlings enlisted in the Ghanaian Air Force, and was commissioned in 1969 as pilot officer.

 

 

As much as I tried, I couldn’t lay my hands on any record of Buhari bagging any distinguishing personal award as a soldier in training, whereas Ghanaian military records show that Rawlings won the prestigious ‘Speed Bird Trophy’ as the ‘best cadet in flying the SU-7 ground attack supersonic jet aircraft’.

 

 

 

Idioms don’t fly with soldiers because soldiers mean what they say and say what they mean. With soldiers, kill and shoot are hallowed words without synonyms. With the time Buhari has spent mixing up with bloody civilians in the last 35 years, however, he must have learnt some idioms.

 

 

 


The expression, ‘the fish rots from the head down’ is an idiom that won’t be permissible in Aso Rock because of its meaning, which indicts leadership. Rather, Aso Rock will accept the biology fact that fish truly rots from the guts.

 

 

I strongly believe that the Nigerian fish rots from the head down. Were it not so, the Buhari administration wouldn’t have clamped down on the organisers of the Lekki protests, freezing their bank accounts and hounding them. If the Nigerian fish isn’t rotten from the head, under Buhari, soldiers won’t open fire on harmless youth while the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and military authorities engage in shameless buck passing.

 

 

 

 

If the head of the Nigerian fish isn’t rotten, Nigeria and her military should have long crushed Boko Haram like Chad and Cameroon have done. If the head of our fish isn’t rotten, Nigeria won’t spend billions of dollars on Boko Haram insurgency, yet our unmotivated soldiers get killed daily because they use obsolete armaments.

 

 

If Buhari and his Army were not a crude joke, the military wouldn’t have declared Boko Haram factional leaders, Abubakar Shekau, and Maman Al-Barnawi, along with 84 others wanted, last week, having declared both terrorists killed on a number of occasions in the past.

 

 

 

I love idioms, and I will close with three. Buhari and his military are cut from the same cloth. In 2023, I hope Nigerian youths will strike while the iron is hot so that our nation may be saved by the bell.

 

Email: [email protected]
Facebook: @tunde odesola
Twitter: @tunde_odesola

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PRESIDENT TINUBU CONGRATULATES OTEGA OGRA ON ELECTION TO WORLD FEDERATION OF ADVERTISERS EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

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PRESIDENT TINUBU CONGRATULATES OTEGA OGRA ON ELECTION TO WORLD FEDERATION OF ADVERTISERS EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

PRESIDENT TINUBU CONGRATULATES OTEGA OGRA ON ELECTION TO WORLD FEDERATION OF ADVERTISERS EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

 

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has congratulated his Senior Special Assistant on Digital Engagement, Strategy and New Media, Mr Otega Ogra, on his election to the Executive Committee of the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA).

 

The election took place today at the organisation’s Annual General Meeting, held during the Global Marketing Week Conference in Stockholm, Sweden.

PRESIDENT TINUBU CONGRATULATES OTEGA OGRA ON ELECTION TO WORLD FEDERATION OF ADVERTISERS EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

President Tinubu described the development as a significant step for Nigeria’s growing influence in global communications.

 

He noted that Mr Ogra’s emergence as the only representative from West Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa on the Executive Committee reflects the depth of Nigerian expertise and the contribution of a new generation of young Nigerian professionals to global industry standards.

 

Mr Ogra was elected to the Executive Committee on the platform of the Advertisers Association of Nigeria (ADVAN), underscoring the role of Nigeria’s organised advertising and marketing industry in shaping representation at the global level.

 

The WFA is the leading global body for advertisers, representing over 150 multinational and Fortune 500 companies, alongside national advertiser associations across more than 60 countries, with a combined annual marketing spend running into hundreds of billions of dollars. Its Executive Committee is the organisation’s highest decision-making body, responsible for setting priorities and guiding global policy on responsible advertising, media transparency, sustainability, and the evolution of digital ecosystems.

 

President Tinubu noted that Mr Ogra’s election is both a personal distinction and a strategic opportunity for Nigeria and the African continent, placing them at the centre of global conversations on brand trust, platform accountability, innovation and the future of marketing and communications.

 

The President commended Mr Ogra, who also serves as Vice President of ADVAN, for his sustained contributions to strengthening Nigeria’s marketing and communications ecosystem, drawing on a career spanning leadership roles across the banking, manufacturing, and public sectors.

 

“Otega’s election reflects the growing recognition of Nigerian expertise and affirms our capacity to contribute meaningfully to the frameworks shaping global markets,” the President said.

 

President Tinubu added that the achievement aligns with his administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda, particularly in advancing the creative economy, strengthening digital governance, and positioning Nigeria as a competitive hub for innovation and enterprise.

 

Josh Faulks, CEO of the Australian advertiser association (AANA), and Simon Michaelides, Director General of the UK advertiser association (ISBA), also join the leadership team.

 

Current members of the executive committee, David Wheldon, President and Philip Myers, Deputy President, who is also the Chief Institutional Affairs and Corporate Communications Officer at Ferrero, continue in their current roles, as do all regional vice presidents.

 

 

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Hold Peter Okoye Responsible If Any Harm Comes To Our Member – NASRE Fires Back At Singer

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Hold Peter Okoye Responsible If Any Harm Comes To Our Member – NASRE Fires Back At Singer

Hold Peter Okoye Responsible If Any Harm Comes To Our Member – NASRE Fires Back At Singer

 

 

The Nigerian Association of Social and Resourceful Editors (NASRE) has raised alarm over an alleged threat by Afrobeat artist Peter Okoye (Mr P) against journalist and NASRE Directorate member, Mr Bayo Adetu, warning that the singer will be held responsible should any harm come to the journalist or his family.

Hold Peter Okoye Responsible If Any Harm Comes To Our Member – NASRE Fires Back At Singer

 

In a press statement issued on April 20, 2026, NASRE’s leadership, led by Comrade Femi Oyewale, expressed concern over the incident reportedly occurring at the Ikoyi High Court during proceedings in the ongoing legal dispute involving P-Square and their elder brother, Jude Okoye.

 

 

NASRE views the alleged statement as inappropriate and unacceptable, stating that any language suggesting intimidation against a journalist performing lawful duties raises serious concerns about press freedom, safety, and professional ethics.

 

 

The association has therefore called on Mr Peter Okoye to retract the alleged statement and issue a public apology to Mr Bayo Adetu, while also urging all parties involved in the ongoing legal matter to conduct themselves with restraint, respect, and strict adherence to the rule of law.

Read the statement below:

PRESS STATEMENT
For Immediate Release

NASRE RAISES ALARM OVER ALLEGED THREAT BY PETER OKOYE (MR P) AGAINST BAYO ADETU IN COURT, WARNS OF CONSEQUENCES

The leadership of the Nigerian Association of Social and Resourceful Editors (NASRE), led by Comrade Femi Oyewale, expresses concern over an alleged threat issued by popular Afrobeat artist Peter Okoye, widely known as Mr P, against journalist and NASRE Directorate member, Mr Bayo Adetu.

The incident reportedly occurred at the Ikoyi High Court during proceedings in the ongoing legal dispute involving the music duo P-Square and their elder brother, Jude Okoye. Eyewitnesses present in court stated that Mr Peter Okoye drew the attention of Justice Alexander Owoeye to Mr Adetu’s presence, noting that he was formerly P-Square’s publicist but now works with his brothers. The remark reportedly generated reactions in the courtroom.

It is further alleged that after the court session, Mr Peter Okoye confronted Mr Adetu in the presence of others and said, “You, Bayo, I will set you up.”

NASRE views this alleged statement as inappropriate and unacceptable. Any language suggesting harm or intimidation directed at a journalist performing lawful duties raises serious concerns regarding press freedom, safety, and professional ethics.

We state unequivocally that should anything happen to Mr Bayo Adetu or any member of his family, Mr Peter Okoye will be held accountable. Such statements, when directed at a media professional, are taken with utmost seriousness.

NASRE will not tolerate any form of intimidation, harassment, or threat against its members. We are fully prepared to activate all lawful media and legal channels to protect our members and safeguard the integrity of the profession. Mr Peter Okoye must be aware that utterances of this nature carry consequences and he will be held responsible for any outcome arising from this matter.

We therefore call on Mr Peter Okoye to retract the alleged statement and issue a public apology to Mr Bayo Adetu. We also urge all parties involved in the ongoing matter to conduct themselves with restraint, respect, and strict adherence to the rule of law.

The safety of journalists remains paramount, and the media will not be silenced.

Signed:
Lateef Owodunni
Media Director, NASRE
April 20, 2026

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Fuji Star, Saheed Osupa Addresses Prado Controversy, Says Vehicle Was Compensation — Not Political Gift

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Fuji Star, Saheed Osupa Addresses Prado Controversy, Says Vehicle Was Compensation — Not Political Gift

By Alhaji Arems (Baba Fuji)

 

 

Nigerian Fuji star Saheed Osupa has responded to a wave of political controversy surrounding his recent campaign appearance in Oyo State, clarifying that a vehicle linked to the debate was not a political gift but compensation tied to a professional engagement.

The backlash followed the circulation of a Facebook Reel showing Osupa performing at an event associated with Sharafadeen Alli, who has declared interest in the Oyo State governorship under the All Progressives Congress (APC). As the video gained traction, it sparked renewed scrutiny over entertainers’ roles in political campaigns and the assumptions that often follow such appearances.

Amid the reactions, individuals aligned with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) circulated claims on social media alleging that Osupa, alongside gospel artist Yinka Ayefele, had previously received luxury vehicles from the administration of Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde. The claims, which remain unverified, framed the alleged gesture as an example of questionable public spending and raised concerns about political loyalty.

Osupa has since pushed back against that narrative, offering a different account of events. In a video statement, the artist explained that his involvement in the campaign was strictly professional, based on a negotiated performance agreement rather than any form of political alignment.

According to him, he was engaged to perform at campaign events with assurances that he would be adequately compensated after the election. He, however, alleged that those commitments were not fulfilled following the electoral victory.

Addressing the controversy surrounding the vehicle, Osupa stated that his personal car was damaged during the course of the campaign. He said the replacement vehicle later provided to him was intended as compensation for that loss, not a discretionary gift or political reward.

His response reframes the discussion from one of political patronage to a dispute over professional obligations—an important distinction in an environment where entertainers are frequently enlisted to support campaign visibility.

The episode highlights a recurring tension within Nigeria’s political landscape: the blurred line between performance and perceived allegiance. For artists, participation in campaign activities can quickly shift from paid engagement to public endorsement in the eyes of observers, particularly when details of such arrangements are not clearly communicated.

Osupa’s clarification brings that tension into focus, underscoring how easily professional engagements can be recast within political narratives. As conversations continue, the situation points to a broader need for transparency in the relationship between public figures and political actors—especially in moments where perception can carry as much weight as fact.

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