Business
“Hate” speech: Between Apostle Suleman and the Sultan of Sokoto by Jude Ndukwe
At a two-day conference organized by the International Dialogue Centre (KAICIID), an inter-governmental organization that promotes dialogue to build peace in conflict areas, the Sultan of Sokoto, in a veiled reference to the recent calls on Christians by Christian leaders to defend themselves against the unabated and murderous attacks of genocidal magnitude by Islamist Boko Haram terrorists and Fulani herdsmen terrorists, called for the arrest of such leaders.
One of the most outspoken Christian leaders on the issue of Southern Kaduna killings is Apostle John Suleiman of the Omega Fire Ministry whose video of him calling on his members to fight back against any threat of terror noticed around him or the church went viral and made the DSS to embark on the ill-advised attempt to have him arrested in Ekiti. Thanks to the resistance by Governor Ayodele Fayose.
Bishop Oyedepo of the Living Faith Ministries (Winners’ Chapel) had also made similar calls against the murderous Boko Haram sect in a video that went viral recently as well.
Also, Pa Adeboye had, in a message that seemed to threaten the Fulani establishment and the stranglehold of Islamic fanatics on Nigeria, called on his members to ensure they register with parties of their choice and participate actively in such parties even at the ward levels.
Those who could read the handwriting on the wall understood this as a veiled threat for members of the Redeemed Christian Church of God to use their voting power to rout the government of the day which is seen largely as promoting only the Fulani and religious extremism of Sunni Muslims to the detriment of other ethno-religious interests in the country.
In calling for the arrest of such leaders whose words shake the very foundation of terrorism and extremism, the Sultan betrays the trust reposed on him as a religious leader.
He has to know that when Fulani herdsmen, a people of his ethnic and religious group, relentlessly murder fellow citizens in Agatu, Enugu, Plateau, Abia, Ekiti, Ondo, Southern Kaduna, and other places which are all Christian communities, without being resisted by security forces or arrested even after they confess to such crimes.
Christian leaders whose patience have been stretched over the years by such senseless killings would be left with no other choice but to change their message from that of restraint to self-defence.
Anyone who has a problem with the message of self-defence being preached by Christian leaders after years of suffering irreparable losses without justice from the authorities will need to have his head examined.
It is therefore most unfortunate that the Sultan would call for the arrest of those who preach self-defence while perpetrators of genocide in Southern Kaduna are walking free.
It is even more regrettable that perpetrators of these mindless massacres are rewarded by Mallam Nasir El Rufai, the governor of Kaduna State, rather than being arrested and prosecuted.
It was this same El Rufai who in his tweet of July 15, 2012, at 7:51 pm said “We will write this for all to read. Anyone, soldier or not that kills a Fulani takes a loan repayable one day no matter how long it takes”.
Need we look any further to know why the herdsmen seem to be enjoying government cover?
With such statement made under the reign of this same Sultan, does one then need to wonder too long why the Southern Kaduna crisis has been left to fester for so long while the Fulani herdsmen killers get compensated?
Why is it that the Sultan did not call for the arrest of people like El Rufai then? Or is it because El Rufai is Fulani and Muslim like himself? Is there any message that could cause more friction and crisis between Christians and Muslims than this?
Also, on May 14, 2012, during the visit of some members of the Niger State chapter of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) to him in Kaduna, Muhammadu Buhari, current president of Nigeria, had made that infamous speech of “dogs and baboons will be soaked in blood” still under the reign of Sa’ad Abubakar 111, yet, the Sultan never called for his arrest.
What about the open confessions of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) that they were responsible for the attacks on Southern Kaduna and Agatu, yet, no arrests are made?
Who should the Sultan be calling for their arrests and prosecution? Is it those who attack communities, killing men, abusing women, maiming children, destroying sources of livelihood, and burning down houses with reckless abandon, or those who call on the victims to get themselves ready and girded for self-defence against such attacks?
Most of the religious crises that have happened in this country started after hate speeches by imams from the mosques encouraging worshippers to embark on killing sprees. Who among them was arrested?
Or who among them did the Sultan ask to be arrested? It is time we started being brutally truthful to ourselves.
It is a further insult to our sensibilities not just as Christians or Muslims but as citizens to hear from the Sultan, the governor and other top government officials that perpetrators of such attacks are not Nigerians but Fulani from neighbouring countries, as if being a foreigner is a licence to come into the country and kill while the government looks away!
It was this same Sultan while on a visit to Enugu recently that said there cannot be peace without justice.
Having known this fact, why does he think there would be peace when those responsible for these massacres are not being arrested and he is not calling for their arrests or questioning why they are not being arrested? Why is he so fixated on Christian leaders who call their people out to defend themselves?
Or does the Sultan think Christians would forever fold their arms and watch while their fathers are killed in cold blood, their mothers are abused right before them, their children hurt for life and their ancestral homes burnt?
It is not only hypocritical but also false of the Sultan to insinuate that men like Apostle Suleiman by their preaching are responsible for the friction between Christians and Muslims.
The fact is that the crises engulfing Southern Kaduna and such other places predate the reactions of Suleiman and his fellow pastors.
What is responsible for the continued attacks on communities by terrorist Fulani herdsmen is that they get compensated rather than being arrested and prosecuted. That is not justice!
And until the likes of the Sultan come out clean and be honest about the situation, the self-defence of victims when such happens is very near at hand.
When people lose confidence in government ability or sincerity to provide security for them, they would be left with no other option but to embark on self-help.
The Christians have since turned the other cheek several times and the cheeks have been ripped off to the extent that they have no cheek to turn any more. When they get to that stage, self-defence becomes the only option.
Rather than calm the situation, the purported attempt to arrest Apostle Suleiman and other Christian leaders would only aggravate it. Christians in this country have already been pushed to the edge. Any attempt to push them any further would be counter-productive.
Leave Apostle Suleiman alone! We will not sit by and watch our leaders being ridiculed or humiliated!
SOURCE : Naij.com
Recapitalisation Without Transformation is a Risk Nigeria Cannot Afford
BY BLAISE UDUNZE
In barely two weeks, Nigeria’s banking sector will once again be at a historic turning point. As the deadline for the latest recapitalisation exercise approaches on March 31, 2026, with no fewer than 31 banks having met the new capital rule, leaving out two that are reportedly awaiting verification. As exercise progresses and draws to an end, policymakers are optimistic that stronger banks will anchor financial stability and support the country’s ambition of building a $1 trillion economy.
The reform, driven by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) under Governor Olayemi Cardoso, requires banks to significantly raise their capital thresholds, which are set at N500 billion for international banks, N200 billion for national banks, and N50 billion for regional lenders. According to the apex bank, 33 banks have already tapped the capital market through rights issues and public offerings; collectively, the total verified and approved capital raised by the banks amounts to N4.05 trillion.
No doubt, at first glance, the strategy definitely appears straightforward with the idea that bigger capital means stronger banks, and stronger banks should finance economic growth. But history offers a cautionary reminder that capital alone does not guarantee resilience, as it would be recalled that Nigeria has travelled this road before.
During the 2004-2005 consolidation led by former CBN Governor Charles Soludo, the number of banks in the country shrank dramatically from 89 to 25. The reform created larger institutions that were celebrated as national champions. The truth is that Nigeria has been here before because, despite all said and done, barely five years later, the banking system plunged into crisis, forcing regulatory intervention, bailouts, and the creation of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) to absorb toxic assets.
The lesson from that experience is simple in the sense that recapitalisation without structural reform only postpones deeper problems.
Today, as banks race to meet the new capital thresholds, the real question is not how much capital has been raised but whether the reform will transform the fundamentals of Nigerian banking. The underlying fact is that if the exercise merely inflates balance sheets without addressing deeper vulnerabilities, Nigeria risks repeating a familiar cycle of apparent stability followed by systemic stress, as the resultant effect will be distressed banks less capable of bringing the economy out of the woods.
The real measure of success is far simpler. That is to say, stronger banks must stimulate economic productivity, stabilise the financial system, and expand access to credit for businesses and households. Anything less will amount to a missed opportunity.
One of the most critical issues surrounding the recapitalisation drive is the quality of the capital being raised.
Nigeria’s banking sector has reportedly secured more than N4.5 trillion in new capital commitments across different categories of banks. No doubt, on paper, these numbers may appear impressive. Going by the trends of events in Nigeria’s economy, numbers alone can be deceptive.
Past recapitalisation cycles revealed troubling practices, whereby funds raised through related-party transactions, borrowed money disguised as equity, or complex financial arrangements that recycled risks back into the banking system. If such practices resurface, recapitalisation becomes little more than an accounting exercise.
To avert a repeat of failure, the CBN must therefore ensure that every naira raised represents genuine, loss-absorbing capital. Transparency around capital sources, ownership structures, and funding arrangements must be non-negotiable. Without credible capital, balance sheet strength becomes an illusion that will make every recapitalization exercise futile.
In financial systems, credibility is itself a form of capital. If there is one recurring factor behind banking crises in Nigeria, it is corporate governance failure.
Many past collapses were not triggered by global shocks but by insider lending, weak board oversight, excessive executive power, and poor risk culture. Recapitalisation provides regulators with a rare opportunity to reset governance standards across the industry.
Boards must be independent not only in structure but also in substance. Risk committees must be empowered to challenge executive decisions. Insider lending rules must be enforced without compromise because, over the years, they have proven to be an anathema against the stability of the financial sector. The stakes are high.
When governance fails, fresh capital can quickly become fresh fuel for old excesses. Without governance reform, recapitalisation risks reinforcing the very weaknesses it seeks to eliminate.
Another structural vulnerability lies in Nigeria’s increasing amount of non-performing loans (NPLs), which recently caused the CBN to raise concerns, as Nigeria experiences a rise in bad loans threatening banking stability.
Industry data suggests that the banking sector’s NPL ratio has climbed above the prudential benchmark of 5 percent, reaching roughly 7 percent in recent assessments. Many of these troubled loans are concentrated in sectors such as oil and gas, power, and government-linked infrastructure projects, alongside other factors such as FX instability, high interest rates, and the withdrawal of Covid-era forbearance, which threaten bank stability.
While regulatory forbearance has helped maintain short-term stability, it has also obscured deeper asset-quality concerns. A credible recapitalisation process must confront this reality directly.
Loan classification standards must reflect economic truth rather than regulatory convenience. Banks should not carry impaired assets indefinitely while presenting healthy balance sheets to investors and depositors.
Transparency about asset quality strengthens trust. Concealment destroys it. Few forces have disrupted Nigerian bank balance sheets in recent years as severely as exchange-rate volatility.
Many banks still operate with significant foreign exchange mismatches, borrowing short-term in foreign currencies while lending long-term to clients earning revenues in naira. When the naira depreciates sharply, these mismatches can erode capital faster than any credit loss.
Recapitalisation must therefore be accompanied by stricter supervision of foreign exchange exposure, as this part calls for the regulator to heighten its supervision. Banks should be required to disclose currency risks more transparently and undergo rigorous stress testing at intervals that assume adverse currency scenarios rather than best-case outcomes. In a structurally import-dependent economy, ignoring FX risk is no longer an option.
Nigeria’s banking system has long been characterised by excessive concentration in a few sectors and corporate clients, which calls for adequate monitoring and the need to be addressed quickly for the recapitalization drive to yield maximum results.
Growth in most advanced economies comes from the small and medium-sized enterprises that are well-funded. Anything short of this undermines it, since the concentration of huge loans to large oil and gas companies, government-related entities, and major conglomerates absorbs a disproportionate share of bank lending. This has continued to pose a major threat to the system, as the case is with small and medium-sized enterprises, the backbone of job creation, which remain chronically underfinanced. This imbalance weakens the economy.
Recapitalisation should therefore be tied to policies that encourage credit diversification and risk-sharing mechanisms that allow banks to lend more confidently to productive sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, and technology rather than investing their funds into the government’s securities. Bigger banks that remain narrowly exposed do not strengthen the economy. They amplify its fragilities.
Nigeria’s macroeconomic conditions, which are its broad economic settings, are defined by frequent and sometimes sharp changes or instability rather than stability.
Inflation shocks, interest-rate swings, fiscal pressures, and currency adjustments are not rare disruptions; but they have now become a normal part of the economic environment. Despite all these adverse factors, many banks still operate risk models that assume relative stability. Perhaps unbeknownst to the stakeholders, this disconnect is dangerous.
Owing to possible shocks, and when banks increase their capital (recapitalization), it is required that banks adopt more sophisticated risk-management frameworks capable of withstanding severe economic scenarios, with the expectation that stronger banks should also have stronger systems to manage risks and survive economic crises. In Nigeria today, every financial institution’s stress testing must be performed in the face of the economy facing severe shocks like currency depreciation, sovereign debt pressures, and sudden interest-rate spikes.
Risk management should evolve from a compliance obligation into a strategic discipline embedded in every lending decision.
Public confidence in the banking system depends heavily on credible financial reporting.
Investors, analysts, and depositors need to be able to understand banks’ true financial positions without navigating non-transparent disclosures or creative accounting practices, which means the industry must be liberated to an extent that gives room for access to information.
Recapitalisation provides an opportunity to strengthen the enforcement of international financial reporting standards, enhance audit quality, and require clearer disclosure of capital adequacy, asset quality, and related-party transactions. Transparency should not be feared. It is the foundation of trust.
One thing that must be corrected is that while recapitalisation often focuses on financial metrics, the banking sector ultimately runs on human capital.
Another fearful aspect of this exercise for the economy is that consolidation and mergers triggered by the reform could lead to workforce disruptions if not carefully managed. Job losses, casualisation, and declining staff morale can weaken institutional culture and productivity. Strong banks are built by strong people.
If recapitalisation strengthens balance sheets while destabilising the workforce that powers the system, the reform risks undermining its own economic objectives. Human capital stability must therefore form part of the broader reform strategy.
Doubtless, another emerging shift in Nigeria’s financial landscape is the rise of digital financial platforms that are increasingly changing how people access and use money in Nigeria.
Millions of Nigerians are increasingly relying on fintech platforms for payments, microloans, and everyday financial transactions. One of the advantages it offers, is that these services often deliver faster and more user-friendly experiences than traditional banks. While innovation is welcome, it raises important questions about the future structure of financial intermediation.
The point here is that the moment traditional banks retreat from retail banking while fintech platforms dominate customer interactions, systemic liquidity and regulatory oversight could become fragmented.
The CBN must see to it that the recapitalised banks must therefore invest aggressively in digital infrastructure, cybersecurity, and customer experience, while cutting down costs on all less critical areas in the industry.
Nigerians should feel the benefits of recapitalisation not only in stronger balance sheets but also in faster apps, reliable payment systems, and responsive customer service.
As banks grow larger through recapitalisation and consolidation, a new challenge emerges via systemic concentration.
Nigeria’s largest banks already control a significant share of industry assets. Further consolidation could deepen the divide between dominant institutions and smaller players. This creates the risk of “too-big-to-fail” banks whose collapse could threaten the entire financial system.
To address this risk, regulators must strengthen resolution frameworks that allow distressed banks to fail without triggering systemic panic, their collapse does not damage the whole financial system, and do not require taxpayer-funded bailouts to forestall similar mistakes that occurred with the liquidation of Heritage Bank. Market discipline depends on credible failure mechanisms.
It must be understood that Nigeria’s banking recapitalisation is not merely a financial exercise or, better still, increasing banks’ capital. It is a rare opportunity to rebuild trust, strengthen governance, and reposition the financial system as a true engine of economic development.
One fact is that if the reform focuses only on capital numbers, the country risks repeating a familiar pattern of churning out impressive balance sheets followed by another cycle of crisis.
But the actors in this exercise must ensure that the recapitalisation addresses governance failures, asset quality concerns, risk management weaknesses, and transparency gaps; and the moment this is done, the banking sector could emerge stronger and more resilient.
Nigeria does not simply need bigger banks. It needs better banks, institutions capable of financing innovation, supporting entrepreneurs, and building economic opportunity for millions of citizens.
The true capital of any banking system is not just money. It is trust. And whether this recapitalisation ultimately succeeds will depend on whether Nigerians see that trust reflected not only in financial statements but in the everyday experience of saving, borrowing, and investing in the economy. Only then will bigger banks translate into a stronger nation.
Blaise, a journalist and PR professional, writes from Lagos and can be reached via: [email protected]
FirstBank Makes Home Ownership Possible for Nigerians with Single-Digit Interest Rate Loan
For millions of Nigerians, homeownership has long felt like an ambition deferred. Squeezed by rising property prices, persistent double-digit inflation and high commercial lending rates, the dream of owning a home has remained just that – a dream.
But that narrative is quietly changing. Thanks to FirstBank.
The N1 Trillion Intervention Reshaping Access
In partnership with the Ministry of Finance Incorporated Real Estate Investment Fund (MREIF), FirstBank has unveiled a mortgage opportunity that could redefine access to housing finance in Nigeria.
Backed by the Federal Government’s N1trillion mortgage fund, the initiative is designed to empower Nigerians with affordable, long-term credit to own their homes.
9.75% Interest Rate in a 30% Lending Environment
MREIF is priced at 9.75% per annum, dramatically lower than prevailing commercial loan rates. Eligible Nigerians can access up to N100 million and repay within 20 years. This translates into significantly more manageable monthly repayments and greater long-term financial stability.
Built for Salary Earners, Entrepreneurs and the Diaspora
The MREIF mortgage facility has been structured to be inclusive. It is available to salary account holders, business owners and diaspora customers. Whether you are a young professional aiming to exit the rent cycle, an entrepreneur building generational stability, or you’re a Nigerian abroad looking to secure assets locally, the product opens a pathway that has historically been out of reach for many.
Taking the First Step
For those who have been waiting for the right time, this is definitely it. The question is no longer whether homeownership is possible. The real question is: will you act before the window narrows?
Visit https://www.firstbanknigeria.com/personal/loans/mreif-home-loan/ and in no time you could be the latest homeowner in town.
Alpha Morgan Bank Deepens Presence in Abuja with New Branch in Utako
Marking another milestone in its expansion drive, Alpha Morgan Bank has opened a new branch in Utako, Abuja, reinforcing its strategy of building closer institutional ties within key business communities and bringing its financial expertise closer to individuals, and enterprises driving the city’s growth.
The new branch, located at Plot 1121 Obafemi Awolowo Way, Utako, Abuja is strategically positioned to serve individuals, entrepreneurs, and corporate clients within Utako and surrounding districts.
The expansion follows the Bank’s recently concluded Economic Review Webinar held in February 2026, as the bank continues to position as a thought-leader in the financial services industry.
Speaking on the opening, Ade Buraimo, Managing Director of Alpha Morgan Bank, said the move underscores the Bank’s commitment to accessibility and service excellence.
“Proximity matters in banking. As communities grow and commercial activity expands, financial institutions also evolve to meet customers where they are. The Utako Branch allows us to deliver our services to people in that community efficiently while maintaining the high standards our customers expect,”
The Utako location will provide a full suite of retail and corporate banking services, including account opening, deposits, transfers, business banking solutions, and financial advisory support.
Customers and members of the public are invited to visit the new Utako Branch to experience the Bank’s approach to satisfying banking.
-
society6 months agoReligion: Africa’s Oldest Weapon of Enslavement and the Forgotten Truth
-
news3 months agoWHO REALLY OWNS MONIEPOINT? The $290 Million Deal That Sold Nigeria’s Top Fintech to Foreign Interests
-
society6 months ago“You Are Never Without Help” – Pastor Gebhardt Berndt Inspires Hope Through Empower Church (Video)
-
Business7 months agoGTCO increases GTBank’s Paid-Up Capital to ₦504 Billion
You must be logged in to post a comment Login