Politics
Nigeria: The Changing Governance Story
Today, however, Nigeria is home to the largest single-train refinery in the world, with the capacity to process 650,000 barrels of crude per day
Nigeria: The Changing Governance Story
By Temitope Ajayi
Sahara Weekly Reports That Tracking many stories of remarkable progress currently taking place in Nigeria can be a challenging task. This is so because these important stories are lost to some who daily indulge in the cacophony of adverse reports. These negative news often dominates the headlines.
With a 24-hour news cycle that tends to focus mainly on distasteful narratives, several Nigerians have been made to accept the view that nothing good is happening in their country.
Those who rely on the mainstream media and social media as the only sources of news and information they consume are the worst hit by the cycle of misinformation that portrays our country as descending rapidly to the edge of the precipice. However, the reality is different: the country is making progress in leaps and bounds.
Late Swedish physician and Professor of International Health at Karolinska Institute, Hans Rosling, his son, Ola Rosling, and daughter-in-law, Anna Rosling, extensively dwell on this subject in “Factfulness: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think,” a book published in 2018. In the book, the authors demonstrate that most people are made to hold the wrong notion about the state of the world because the media project data, analyse trends and select stories to make people assume that things are getting worse around them. The authors assert that a majority of people view the world as poorer, less healthy, and a more dangerous place to live in than it actually is. In other words, many people believe they are living in a worse period in the history of mankind because of misinformation.
The same situation the Roslings describe in their book is at play in Nigeria, where individuals, interest groups, activists, analysts, self-serving politicians, and opposition elements constantly project and amplify negative stories.
It is as if we are in a race with those who can say the most horrible things about our country. Yet, we have an abundance of good stories to tell the world. We seem so numb to the good news that we are dismissive of breakthroughs and innovative trends. For instance, we downplay the significance of Dangote Petroleum Refinery and its possibilities to reflate the economy.
Many people forgot so soon that we had been importing petroleum products for over three decades because the state-owned refineries are moribund. Our national economy bled, and the country was in a fiscal cul-de-sac for those years as a result of subsidy payments on petroleum products.
Today, however, Nigeria is home to the largest single-train refinery in the world, with the capacity to process 650,000 barrels of crude per day. Cynics do not see this as a breakthrough.
Nigerians who are 60 years old and below started seeing modern rail infrastructure in 2016 when the All Progressives Congress-led administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari commissioned the standard gauge rail system, beginning with the Abuja-Kaduna route, later Lagos-Ibadan and then the Warri-Itakpe.
The national rail modernisation project is progressing with Kano-Katsina-Maradi and Kano-Kaduna standard gauge rail projects at different stages of completion. The contractor working on the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt-Maiduguri narrow gauge recently announced the completion of the Port Harcourt-Aba section. While the Federal Government is rallying stakeholders to promote economic integration across the country, the Lagos State Government recently launched two metro rail lines -Blue and Red Rail lines – as part of the state’s elaborate master plan to build a modern and efficient megacity. Like Lagos State, there are visible signs of remarkable, quantifiable progress in several other states, including Kaduna, Kano, Akwa-Ibom, Rivers, Kebbi, Borno, Gombe, Oyo, Ekiti and Ogun, among others.
A few weeks ago, the President Bola Tinubu-led administration embarked on the construction of the 700 kilometres Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway that will connect nine coastal states in another bold move to bolster economic growth further and open up the country to productive economic activities.
While it may be very easy for critics and other armchair analysts to ignore these developments and their significance to remaking Nigeria, there is no gainsaying that these projects and many more that are ongoing or about to be instituted across critical sectors are the core of President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda. Indeed, it is hard to process why the so-called critics and cynics can not see the Lagos-Calabar Highway project as a clear demonstration of the President’s commitment to harnessing the potential of our renascent Blue Economy.
Despite what is bandied by the most vociferous critics
Lagos Assembly Summons Lands Bureau over Allocations, Recurring Land-Related Issues
The Lagos State House of Assembly has summoned the state Lands Bureau to appear before it to provide clarity on previous allocations and recurring land-related issues. It also approved land compensation for communities where the state government acquired lands for public use.
At plenary last Thursday, the House adopted the recommendations of the Committee on Rules and Business on a petition titled “Application by Oriba Community in Epe Local Government to join in the petition of Ladaba Community” presented by Hon. Noheem Adams.
Following the presentation of the report, the House unanimously adopted the recommendations as its resolution by asking the bureau to appear before it with proper documents to explain the status of lands acquired by the state. The committee also recommended that the bureau issue excision/allocation letters to the 68 affected communities, while their Certificates of Occupancy (C of O) should be ready within one month of the House’s resolution.
Members who lent their voices to the matter commended the committee for ensuring they got justice for the affected communities and suggested that their compensation should be increased from 20% to 25%.
In his summation, Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon.. (Dr.) Mudashiru Ajayi Obasa acknowledged the need for increased compensation but noted that the state government has its plans. Particularly, he endorsed the allocation of 20% (2,000 hectares) of the 10,000 hectares acquired by the state government as compensation.
Speaker Obasa further recommended that the committee should collaborate with the Lands Bureau, Office of the State Surveyor General, and New Towns Development Authority for the effective implementation of the recommendations.
The Lagos State Lands Bureau is responsible for land administration and management. It oversees key activities such as land allocation, issuance of Certificates of Occupancy (C of O), land registration, and the management of state-owned lands.
Its primary goals include ensuring equitable and transparent land transactions, facilitating urban planning, and supporting economic development by maintaining an organized system of land ownership. The bureau also handles disputes related to land and implements policies to optimize land use while protecting public interests.
Oluremi Tinubu and Aisha Achimugu: A Bond Forged in Compassion, by Olabode Opeseitan
Two women with two distinct destinies. One, Oluremi Tinubu, Nigeria’s First Lady, is a political luminary and steadfast advocate for the marginalized. The other is Aisha Achimugu, a trailblazing entrepreneur who conquered the male-dominated oil and gas sector, yet wears her heart on her sleeve for humanity.
Though their paths differ, their souls converge in two profound ways: an unyielding passion for women’s empowerment and a lifelong covenant with charity.
For Oluremi, empowering women and uplifting the vulnerable is not merely a mission—it’s her oxygen. From founding the New Era Foundation as Lagos’ First Lady to launching her Renewed Hope Initiative as Nigeria’s First Lady—a platform championing youth and girl-child education and spearheading transformative projects like the Community ICT Hub—she has turned biblical compassion into action. Her unalloyed commitment to charitable virtues shone brightly during the commissioning of the hub in Ibadan, a Federal Government collaboration under her RHI that bridges the digital divide for thousands, revealing a heart that beats for the forgotten.
In Aisha Achimugu, Oluremi unknowingly finds a kindred spirit. Aisha’s SAM Empowerment Foundation has illuminated the futures of countless Nigerian girls through scholarships, mentorship, and vocational training, transforming aspirations into tangible opportunities. Her compassion radiates beyond borders, driven by a pan-African vision to uplift communities wherever the need arises. Whether empowering women in Nigeria’s underserved regions or advocating for sustainable livelihoods across the continent, Aisha’s mantra—“When God has blessed you, be a blessing to others”— resounds in every act of service. From rebuilding lives shattered by poverty to fostering dignity through education, her golden heart has become a beacon of hope for Africa’s most vulnerable.
Yet, their journeys have not been without storms. Both women have endured savage media trials—unfairly judged, their reputations scrutinized. Society often forgets: behind the headlines are mothers, leaders, and humanitarians whose “crimes” are loving too fiercely and giving too generously. They are imperfect, as all humans are, but in their relentless generosity, they mirror the very best of what humanity can be.
To Oluremi and Aisha: Your resilience in the face of adversity is a testament to your unbreakable spirits. When cynics question your motives, remember the girls now coding in Ibadan’s ICT Hub, the mothers reclaiming their futures through vocational training, and the orphans who see you as their lifeline. Do not relent. For every life you touch—whether through education, healthcare, or the quiet restoration of dignity—a ripple of hope spreads. Your legacies are not etched in headlines but in healed hearts and transformed destinies.
We see you. We celebrate you. And we beg you: keep shining.
UNFOLDING STORY: FAKE NANS PRESIDENT ATIKU ISAH EXPOSED…
SOURCES CONFIRM SEYI TINUBU WILL INITIATE CRIMINAL DEFAMATION PROCEEDINGS.
Seyi Tinubu, son of Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu, has been falsely accused by a certain Atiku Abubakar Isah – a cleric associated with prominent political opposition figures, who fraudulently claimed to be the President of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), of leading armed men to disrupt a NANS inauguration event in Abuja and threatening his life.
Seyi Tinubu has categorically denied these allegations, labelling them as baseless and criminally defamatory. He stated, “Enough is enough with these fake stories and defamation of my character.”
Sources close to the event reported no evidence of Seyi Tinubu’s presence at the specific event venue or any prior interaction between the two men, and neither the hotel management nor law enforcement agencies confirmed any incident involving him. The hotel management has also clarified further, stating that there was no booking for a NANS event at their hotel.
Additionally, the legitimacy of Comrade Atiku Abubakar Isah’s claim to the NANS presidency has been questioned by the incumbent and immediate past NANS leadership, with some groups labelling him an impostor and others providing evidence to debunk Atiku Isah’s claims of ever meeting Seyi Tinubu.
The Nigerian President’s son is expected to pursue criminal defamation proceedings in the coming days.
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