Politics
DO TINUBU AND SHETTIMA PRESENT AN EXISTENTIAL THREAT TO CHRISTIANS?
DO TINUBU AND SHETTIMA PRESENT AN EXISTENTIAL THREAT TO CHRISTIANS?
“For us Christians in the North, the Muslim-Muslim ticket is existential. It is designed to oppress, kill and eliminate us from the political and economic system”- Dr. Babachir Lawal, former Secretary to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
I am very fond of Dr. Babachir Lawal and I have great respect and affection for him but I beg to differ with him on this issue.
What he has said is simply not true and those that espouse and share the views that he has expressed are playing a dangerous and divisive game.
Unlike him I do not see a Muslim/Muslim ticket but rather a Tinubu/Shettima ticket.
They are both human beings and Nigerians before being Muslims. We should at least accord them that consideration and respect.
I believe that one of the most mischevous, cruel, illogical and uncharitable things we can do is to measure a man’s worth by his religious faith alone and refuse to see anything in him other than that.
Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and Senator Kashim Shettima, his running mate, may be Muslims but their faith does not define them.
What defines them is their character, vision and ability to perform well in office and their commitment to a united, peaceful, fair, just, equitable and prosperous Nigeria.
Another thing that defines them, though to a lesser extent, is their ethnic nationality and where they come from in the country.
In this case one is a Yoruba (from the South Western zone) whilst the other is a Kanuri (from the North Eastern zone), both proud and noble ethnic groups with a rich, civilised and ancient cultural and historical heritage and empire which ģo back thousands of years and neither of which was EVER conquered, subjugated or occupied by any other African ethnic nationality or power in their entire history.
These are the things that are relevant and that define each of these two men and not their faith.
In any case how can conceding the position of the Vice President which, with all due respect has limited powers, to a Muslim constitute a threat to our great and mighty Christian faith and how can it overwhelm the wishes and aspirations of the 110 million Christians in our country?
This seems to me to be far-fetched and absurd.
It is true that for many years the practice has been to balance the ticket and pair Christians and Muslims when it comes to leadership positions and governance in this country in order to make adherents of both faiths feel secure.
Yet other than the comforting optics one wonders just how much security such an arrangement really afforded adherents of both faiths?
Did it stop Boko Haram and ISWAP from killing both Christians and Muslims respectively?
Did it stop Christian mobs and militias in the North killing Muslims over the years?
Did it stop Muslim mobs and militias slaughtering Christians in the North?
Did it stop Christian secessionist, in the guise of unknown gunmen, targetting and murdering both Christians and Muslims in the East?
Did it save the life of the young lady Deborah in Sokoto when she was hacked to pieces and burnt alive or that of the young man Gideon Akaluka when he was beheaded in Kano?
We have tried this balancing formula for many years and it really does not seem to have provided the intended results or worked too well.
Consider the plight of Northern Christians over the last 22 years even though we have had two Christian Presidents over that period of time and a Christian Vice President who happens to be a Pastor over the last 7.
Again consider the plight of Muslims in the core North and the Middle Belt over the same period of time even though we have had two Muslim Presidents and two Muslim Vice Presidents.
When barbaric acts and unspeakable atrocities are committed against defenceless civilian populations, including women and children and when people are targetted for their faith or ethnicity without consequence, surely it is a failure of leadership and nothing to do with the religious faith of the President or his Vice.
Given that, perhaps it is time to try something new and provide a more innovative approach. Perhaps it is time for us to start focusing on factors other than faith when it comes to electing our leaders.
Besides which, from an intellectual perspective, when it comes to matters of leadership and national issues and practises nothing is cast in iron and nothing is static: we are meant to evolve.
Leaders ought to be elected on the basis of their quality and competence coupled with their ability to attract and deliver as many votes as possible and not their faith.
Anything less than that is an emotional rather than a rational approach.
Today we have a Muslim/Muslim ticket vying for power at the center and tomorrow, by God’s grace, we shall have a Christian/Christian one.
That is progress and let me remind the skeptics that this has just been achieved in Osun state, where a Christian/Christian ticket won the Governorship election and it happened in Kaduna state a few years ago when a Muslim/Muslim ticket did the same.
In either case the Heavens did not fall.
Thankfully there are Christians all over this country from both the North and the South who are in the APC and who do not share Lawal’s view.
There are also millions of Christians who are not affiliated to any political party all over the country that disagree with him.
The truth is that it would serve our interests better as Christians to negotiate for and insist on key positions in the incoming Government of Bola Tinubu for members of our faith in return for our votes rather than continuously whining and lamenting, threatening fire and thunder, labelling him as an anti-Christ, indulging in mass hysteria, delusion and fear-mongering and acting as if Christianity would face an existential threat under his watch.
Can a deal really be negotiated and cut? Is this doable?
In my view it most certainly is and this is the time to start such talks and open such discussions and negotiations rather than playing to the public gallery and grandstanding.
Those that doubt that this can be achieved should consider the innovative and unique power-sharing arrangement between Christians and Muslims in Lebanon and read up on what is known as the ‘Lebanese formula’.
After their prolonged and horrendous civil war which raged through the 1970’s, 1980’s and 1990’s this negotiated formula and settlement, which was enshrined in their constitution, brought relative peace to that hitherto beleaguered nation.
For the record, no-one can undermine or eliminate Christianity in Nigeria even if they wanted to do so and neither is anyone trying.
Our faith teaches us that “the gates of hell shall not prevail against the Church” so why panic?
It teaches us that “God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power, love and sound mind”, so why the fear?
It teaches us that “Christ in us our hope in glory”, so why worry?
It teaches us that “the battle belongs to the Lord” and that “all things work for good for thos who love Him”, so why the doubt?
It teaches us that “the righteous shall live by faith”, so why the lack of faith?
We are too big and too strong to harbour such fears and our God is too mighty.
Bola Tinubu’s incoming Government will be one of the most liberal, rational, reasonable, compassionate, caring, progressive and Christian-friendly administrations in the history of our country and we have absolutely nothing to fear.
I can vouch for that and I am prepared to stick my neck out for it.
If it had been otherwise I would have been the one to lead the charge against him and neither would I hold anything back because my faith is everything to me.
In addition to this consider the following.
For the last 62 years the people of the South West more than any other have stood by those that are known as the Northern minorities which include the Northern Chritians.
It seems strange that when it is time for them to reciprocate that support, gesture and affection and stand with a son of the South West for the presidential election some of these people are opposing him on the grounds that he has chosen a Muslim as his running mate.
They have shouted about domination at the hands of the Fulani since time immemorial but today they are saying they would rather support yet another Fulani for President than a Yoruba.
Does this make sense? Is there not a contradiction there?
For the first time in the history of our country the key players and ruling party in the core North, including the Fulani, has not only agreed but insisted on conceding power to the South and it is a few Northern Christians that are now opposing this on religious grounds?
Is it because Tinubu is a Muslim?
When some advocated for power shift to the South they never said it must shift to a Southern Christian and neither would that have made sense.
They said it must shift to the South, whether Christian or Muslim and that is the right and proper thing to do.
We must rise above these petty differences and attempt to unite our people rather than divide them.
A nation that has 20 Christian Governors and only 16 Muslim ones cannot be Islamised and neither will it allow for the oppression, killing and elimination of Northern Christians from the political and economic system.
A country in which a Chirstian/Christian ticket just won a Gov. election in Osun state which is 50 % Muslim cannot be Islamised and neither will it allow for the oppression, killing and elimination of Northern Christians from the political and economic system.
A country in which every single Governor in the South, since the Osun election, is a Christian cannot be islamised and neither will it allow for the oppression, killing and elimination of Northern Christians from the political and economic system.
A country led by a man like BAT who, though a Muslim, has as many Christians as he does Muslims in his family, including his wife who is a Pastor in a Pentecostal Church cannot be Islamised and neither will it allow for the oppression, killing and elimination of Northern Christians from the political and economic system.
And as a matter of fact there is no historical record of Yoruba Muslims hiding in bushes and forests and killing Northern or Southern Christians, so why the fear and hate?
Why the attempt to generate panic and hysteria?
Why the suggestion that under BAT Christians are faced with an existential threat?
Why the misrepresentation of intention?
Why the demonisation?
Was it not BAT that gave Lagos state public schools back to the Christian Missions?
Was it not him that gave more land to some of the largest Pentecostal mega-Churches to build on than any other Governor in the history of Lagos?
Was it not him that ensured that the last two Governors of Lagos state were practising Pentecostal Christians?
Was it not him thet ensured that for the last two presidential elections a Pentecostal Christian Pastor from the South West that he nominated was elected as our Vice President?
I could go on and on.
We must rise above this faith-baiting and fear-mongering and instead seek to build bridges of unity, peace and harmony.
It is not about having a Christian or a Muslim leader, it is about having a righteous leader that will protect the interests of every Nigerian regardless of their faith.
A Tinubu/Shettima Presidency would do precisely that.
Of this I have no doubt.
God bless Nigeria.
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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