This is the 83-year-old Imam, Abdullahi Abubakar, who saved the lives of 300 Christians and Muslims by hiding them in his mosque during the Plateau killings. More deserving of national honour than most who have been awarded since 1960. Hero.
Religion without love is dead, being alone. Congratulations to Alhaji Abdullahi Abubakar, the 83-year-old Imam who has been honoured for risking everything to protect Christians and Muslims in the Plateau religious killings.
#GodIsLove
Sadiq Daba, the actor, ran into some serious health issues recently. He cried out for financial help to undergo foreign treatment. Pronto, Nigerians reacted overwhelmingly. I did not hear anybody talk about Daba’s religion or ethnic group. We have the “Nigerian spirit” in our DNA
Dear
@PoliceNG
@YomiShogunle
A case of the alleged rape of a 10-year-old is about to be messed up by the IPO at Eleweeran station, Abeokuta. The IPO’s name is Sgt Opebiyi. He is acting funny. Keep an eye on this case, please.
Exactly five years today, we launched TheCable newspaper at the Lagos City Hall. We've had highs and lows but we look back on this day with a grateful heart to God and appreciation to all our supporters and critics. We can only get better! A zillion thanks to everybody🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿
This video of late Prof Dora Akunyili brings tears to my eyes and renews my hope that a new Nigeria can be built by patriotic and competent Nigerians. Let’s keep hope alive!
When news broke that Nigeria had recorded its first C-19 case, some said it was a lie and asked for the name of the Italian. Many Nigerians were deceived to ignore the threat. I hope we've now learnt our lessons. Politics can't be everything and everything can't be politics!
I have seen countries develop under various conditions and systems — unitary, federal, quasi-federal, presidential, parliamentary, democratic, dictatorial, homogeneous, heterogeneous, etc — but I am yet to see a country develop under poor leadership
Announcing the arrival of my book ‘Fellow Nigerians, It’s All Politics!’ to a bookstore near you from Monday, 03-10-22. The essays are on leadership and nation-building. You can still preorder at and get a 10% discount. Offer closes on 29-09-22. Gracias!
ON THE ABBA KYARI TRIBUTE
A friend called me today to express his worries over some reactions to my article on Mallam Abba Kyari. He said he was bothered about those who commented because they genuinely did not have the correct information about me.
THREAD…
Nigeria has so far done well in containing the coronavirus but complacency must not set in. South Africa moved from zero case to 61 in just 10 days!
@NGRPresident
now needs to take more drastic measures, especially by curtailing travels from the red zones. Imperative!
DISCLAIMER: An article entitled "2023: On Peter Obi, let us verify!" is being shared on social media and attributed to me. I am NOT the author. Kindly verify articles attributed to me by searching the websites of THISDAY and TheCable, where my weekly column is published. Gracias!
On a final note, I will say this prayer for all of us who are still alive: may we not become victims of a sustained, destructive campaign and false, damaging narratives. Only those who have been victims of hate campaigns can understand the depth of my prayer.
As we cut our 5th anniversary cake today, I threw at a challenge at my colleagues: ‘You must pursue excellence everyday of your life. There is a difference between ‘that man’ and ‘those men’, ‘that woman’ and ‘those women’. You must stand out in everything you do.
One of the most astonishing things about life is the fact that although we can choose to be Muslims or Christians, and so on, nobody can choose to be Hausa, Fulani, Igbo, Yoruba or whatever. We just woke up one day to find ourselves as members of one ethnic group or the other.
Citizen Adesegun Benson, 32, was arrested by SARS operatives on Sept 28, 1996 in Ikorodu, Lagos, on allegations of armed robbery. His family refused to pay the demanded bribe. He was tortured to death. Sounds very familiar, 24 years after?
#EndPoliceBrutalityinNigeria
There are about 13 million Nigerian children who will never attend primary school — that is the highest number of any country in the world today. That is more than the entire population of the Republic of Benin.
Happy 20th wedding anniversary to a special couple, Mr & Mrs Olusegun Adeniyi. My verdict: you're sentenced to more life of blessings and bliss!
@Olusegunverdict
Today is one of the most significant birthdays in my calendar. Happy birthday
@Waziriadio
. You’ve been a blessing to me for three decades. Continue to be a blessing to millions across the world. Keep on shining!
Why should you discriminate against me, and hate me, on the basis of an ethnic identity that is beyond my control? Is it my fault that I was born into a family that was clearly not my choice?
Tolerance is a scarce commodity to find in the opinion market, but I believe that after spending five years to demonise and vilify Mallam Kyari, his critics should be magnanimous enough to allow us mourn his death. They should go on and enjoy their gloating over his death.
I penned this tribute to Majek on his 58th birthday. I woke up to heavy rains this morning - only to learn that the Rainmaker is gone. Majek Fashek died inna New York 😭 So long...
Majek and the death of protest music
As for the claim that I didn’t defend Kyari when he was alive, kindly let me repeat: he turned down ALL entreaties to state his own side of the allegations against him. He told me that he had the trust of his boss and would ultimately be judged by the Almighty God.
IN PURSUIT OF POLTICS OF PURPOSE
In 2017, I met a young lady, a journalist like me, who expressed an interesting thought on my weekly column. "What I like most about your style," she said, "is that you put things in historical context."
THREAD...
When we launched TheCable, we had one aim: to take professional journalism online in Nigeria. Our journalism is driven by these values: independence, impartiality, integrity, defence of public interest and respect for diversity. We are non-partisan and we shall remain so.
I am, nonetheless, delighted with the overwhelmingly positive responses to my article. Most of those judging Mallam Kyari never knew him. They took their cue from what they heard about him. I knew him and I wrote about the man I knew. I repeat: he was a great soul.
As Beautiful Nubia sang, “Why do we lie to the children about their future when we are not building good schools?” And we have many leaders — Muslim, Christian, north and south, Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa — who are looting the treasury while our education system rots!
Some 91 million Nigerians are under the age of 30. That is more than the combined populations of Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Republic of Niger and Burkina Faso. How many of our U-30s have the basic skills to make anything meaningful out of their lives?
Happy Golden Birthday to Waziri Adio, my friend, brother and mentor whose exemplary life of integrity, diligence, sacrifice and tolerance continues to be my inspiration. May God bless Nigeria with more Waziri Adios.
If Nigeria is going to change, therefore, we must alienate those who see themselves, first and foremost, as ethno-religious champions. It all starts in the mind.
Many more countries are discovering hydrocarbon and reducing their dependence on imports while many are developing alternatives that are cheaper and more environment-friendly. We are still looking for oil in Borno and Sokoto states. Who is going to buy it? We are still sleeping.
I have written this to set the record straight for those who genuinely thought I kept quiet when Mallam Kyari was being maligned. He had all the opportunity, all the means and all the goodwill to defend himself but he chose to leave the ultimate verdict to God.
Exactly nine years ago today, Oronto Natei Douglas, my friend, brother and mentor, exited this world after a battle with cancer. OND, your memory is blessed forever.
Here’s a link to the grieving tribute I wrote on him in 2015:
Happy birthday to
@Waziriadio
, my brother, friend, mentor, critic and motivator. Since we met at Unilag in 1989, it has been a most impactful relationship on my life and career. May God keep you going higher and higher and in sound health with favours unlimited. Amen.
Whenever I asked him for documents even if he wouldn't talk on record, he would say no. He always said he wouldn’t engage in counter-leaks. He would say he did not take the accusations and attacks against him to heart because he knew they were orchestrated.
If we are wise, we should be worried that Nigeria's future is under serious attack and begin to act. Most of our public schools, from primary to tertiary, are a disgrace. We have an exploding youth population that is mostly unskilled, underemployed, unemployable and unemployed.
I do not think we need Sharia to end meningitis and cholera in Gusau, or balkanisation to build roads in Aba, or 1963 constitution to run good primary schools in Ibadan. But that’s me.
@OluseunEsan17
@Beautiful_Nubia
In this age of Ferrari and Gucci lyrics, Beautiful Nubia has kept consciousness and social commentary alive in Nigeria. He’s a great philosopher as well! 🙌🏾
Good people, whether or not you believe
#Covid19
is real, Bill Gates or no Bill Gates, 5G or no 5G, conspiracy or no conspiracy, please STAY SAFE. Let us err on the side of caution. It is not just about you; it is about others as well. Pandemics are as old as the human race. 🙏
For those who really want to know the truth, I want to state this clearly: TheCable does not destroy people. Our mandate is ‘to deliver knowledge-driven journalism in the pursuit of Nigeria’s progress’. We believe in constructive journalism and that is what we try to practise.
At TheCable, we do not practise pull-them-down journalism. We keep an open mind and believe in giving every side a fair crack of the whip. Because we are imperfect, we are not afraid to hold up our hands and apologise whenever we get it wrong.
Now, anybody accusing TheCable of having launched a destructive campaign against Mallam Kyari should kindly post the links. I have searched and searched without finding those “destructive” stories. This is not surprising: TheCable does not set out to destroy people.
As a matter of principle, I do not share messages that are clearly meant to spread hate. It is a duty I owe my conscience. We all have terrible things to say about other people. If we do not allow love to guard our hearts, we will keep adding fuel to fire.
In the year 2017, nearly 180 years after missionaries introduced Western education to Nigeria, there are still over 13 million children who will never see the four walls of a school. They will never learn to read and write. Over 13 million of them!
1/This is how hate works: it focuses on what divides us rather than what unites us. If there are Qur’anic verses that say Muslims should love and care for Christians, the hate merchants will focus on where Christians are called “infidels”.
My own brother, Musikilu Mojeed, the Editor-in-Chief of Premium Times, will present his maiden book, The Letterman, in Abuja today. Great work! I think President Obasanjo deserves a Nobel for Letter Writing if that category is ever created 😁 Congrats, MM!
Kindly join me or tune in at 4pm on Saturday March 25 as I discuss my book, ‘Fellow Nigerians, It’s All Politics’, at the Roving Heights Bookstore, Landmark Events Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos. It’s a great honour to be part of the CORA Book Trek 🙏🏿
Knowing my usual attitude of ‘I have said my own, let others also say theirs’, he said if I refuse to clarify things, then I would be committing the same sin for which I criticised Mallam Kyari: failing to set the record straight.
He said (1) I was accused of failing to defend Mallam Kyari when he was alive and was now shedding crocodile tears (2) I was accused of allowing TheCable, the online newspaper I founded, to be used to destroy Kyari and I was now trying to make amends through the backdoor.
Once again, we are very grateful to those who support us, share our stories on social media, advertise with us and promote us. We wish we could mention their names! We are also grateful to our critics whose constructive engagement has helped us to raise our game. 🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿
REPORTER’S DIARY: With N46,000 bribe, I drove a ‘stolen’ car from Abuja to Lagos, and back! One of the policemen even forgot his helmet in the reporter's car after "collecting"😂
Please STOP distributing child pornography under the guise of proving one thing or the other. It is disgusting and it is against the law. Please STOP IT!
#ChrislandScandal