By Ikeddy ISIGUZO

BURKINABE military leader Captain Ibrahim Traore was the star attraction at Tuesday’s inauguration of Ghana’s President John Mahama. Dressed in a military attire, Traore had a holstered pistol at his waist. He was widely cheered in his show that analysts rightly concluded was an affront on democracy and a defiance of ECOWAS’ stance that military administrations should give way to elected governments.
At the event where wild applauses greeted Traore was President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, also President of ECOWAS, that in July 2023 issued orders to the military government in Niger Republic to leave within seven days. ECOWAS was reportedly mobilising a military intervention to restore civil rule in Niger Republic. ECOWAS imposed sanctions limiting trade and communication with Niger Republic, but these have been lifted.
Burkina Faso and Mali, Niger Republic’s immediate neighbours, ensured that the sanctions did not work.
“Visible weapon by a (Head of State) at such an important event, although seen as an assertion of power could also be a symbol of intimidation and raises concerns about… how we enforce our security laws internally,” a Ghanaian analyst Barnabas Nii Laryea wrote on Facebook. “This was insanely dangerous thing to do. It’s not about trust. For national security reasons, this was very reckless and shouldn’t be allowed again,” Seth Dough, a Ghanaian lawyer, posted on X.
Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger Republic are all under military rule after a string of successful coups, Mali (2021), Burkina Faso (2022), and Niger Republic (2024). On 6 July 2024 they formed the Alliance of Sahel States, a confederation. It is against neo-colonialism in Africa and the world. It also disagrees with French and ECOWAS policies, deeming them contrary to the interests of the Alliance.
ECOWAS was concerned that if the three French-speaking countries succeeded they may entice the military in other ECOWAS States to join their agenda. Some former French colonies in West Africa are buying into the agenda of the three countries that would leave ECOWAS in a matter of weeks.
A more global concern was the presence of Russian mercenaries in Mali. The French forces that were fighting terrorists in the Sahel were driven away by Mali. The Russians replaced the French and are believed to be harvesting the mineral resources and influence that were once France’s. Assimi Goïta, interim President of Mali, is the actual leader of the Alliance as his coup appears to have set off the others.
Traore knew what he was doing when he turned up in Accra in miliary gears, and armed. His manner of attendance spoke of war, power, military rule as the counterpoint to civilian governments. He was representing the Alliance of Sahel States as the only Head of Government that was present. The Prime Minister represented Mali.
For the Burkinabe leader, Accra was a grand farewell to ECOWAS. There were “two regional leaders in Accra”, Tinubu and Traore. If ECOWAS wants peace, the Alliance was ready – and also prepared for war. Tinubu took all these in. Nigeria’s commitment to ECOWAS is high. Beside hosting the headquarters, Nigeria last month cleared 19-year outstanding obligations of N85 billion and $54 million which included part of 2024 dues.
Former French colonies in ECOWAS are sympathetic to the Alliance’s grievances. Cote d’Ivoire, once a bastion of French interests, is with Burkina Faso. Ivorian President Alassane Dramane Ouattara is originally from Burkina Faso and his interests in France have waned. Guinea is a perennial enemy of France. The French stripped Guinea of every moveable asset before its independence in 1958.
Senegal, and Chad, Nigeria’s north eastern neighbour, where they share the Lake Chad, have similar views with the Alliance. Chad is not renewing its defence pact with France, and like Senegal has spoken in strong terms against French troops on African soil.
Chad needs Niger’s cooperation to fight Boko Haram. The Alliance is willing to help. Chad while breaking up with France lamented that France did not assist its troops when 40 of them died in a Boko Haram attack.
The departure of the three-member Alliance from ECOWAS on 29 January 2025 is only 17 days away. President Tinubu would bear the infamy of the one under who ECOWAS that would be 50 on 28 May – a day to Tinubu’s second year in office – disintegrated. What a record!
Tinubu’s heightening relationships with France transverse trade, defence, and a pointed attention on mining of solid minerals which Mali, Chad and Niger Republic once provided for France.
In fairness to Tinubu, he inherited ECOWAS’ 15-member bloc that started degrading with the departure of Mauritania in December 2000. It gave no reason. Some say that the increasing signing of protocols that involved members in the internal affairs of others inconvenienced Mauritania. One such policy could be the proposed regional currency.
The intensity of Tinubu’s chumminess with France has made him an impartial arbiter in ECOWAS. But for the Atlantic Ocean on our southern border, Nigeria is entirely surrounded by French-speaking countries, who also dominate the numbers in ECOWAS – Republic of Benin, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Cote d’Ivoire, Liberia, Mali, Gambia, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo. The question is how much longer would the other five remain in ECOWAS.
Cape Verde and Guinea-Bissau though Portuguese-speaking, are too close to Senegal that they too have French-speaking tendencies.
The English-speaking countries are not much different. The Gambia depends on Senegal’s port in Dakar for imports, some of which go all the way to Burkina Faso, Mali, and parts of Niger Republic. Ghana is interested in the security of its northern border which it cannot protect without great relations with Burkina Faso. Was that what informed Traore’s Accra performance?
An ignored power bloc in ECOWAS is the 52-year-old Mano River Union that preceded ECOWAS. It joined Guinea, Liberia, Cote d’Ivoire, and Sierra Leone to explore the economic benefits of the 320-kilometre Mano River that originates from the Guinea Highlands in Liberia. Finances and the long wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone slowed down the Union but it is still flowing.
On the same Tuesday that Traore was embarrassing Tinubu in Accra, the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, was making one of the most thoughtless decisions in Nigeria’s football history, by appointing former Malian coach, Éric Sékou Chelle, as Head Coach of the Super Eagles. His coaching abilities are too vacuous to merit an examination.
A Malian to manage a major national asset at the peak of the international row with Mali over ECOWAS?
We assume that security agencies, and the Foreign Ministry are involved in screening foreigners appointed at this level. Is it possible that nobody noticed that Chelle is from Mali which with Burkina Faso and Niger Republic have been exceptionally hostile to Nigeria since 2023?
Whoever engaged Chelle is embarrassing the President, if not Nigeria.

Finally…
PRESIDENT Tinubu is on his third trip to UAE in 17 months. Is that not too many trips to one country?
THE National Assembly needs to over-sight the $52.88 million Nigeria has just received from the US as “recovered assets”. The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi has explained that $50m of the money would be deployed through the World Bank for rural electrification. He said the remaining $2m would be used by the International Institute of Justice to expand the justice system and combat corruption. Who decided that? And the remaining $.88m is obviously too small to deserve accounting?
WHY are we praising the Federal Government for establishing five more aviation schools when it cannot finance one school?

• ISIGUZO is a major commentator on minor issues

Mele Kyari, a geologist and Group CEO of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), has dug his way into the tunnel of history. Within a space of two months, he announced the successful revamp of two refineries. In November 2024, Port Harcourt refinery came on stream. The following month, December, Warri refinery burst back to life. Both are not performing optimally, yet. But the journey has only just begun. Kaduna refinery is projected to begin production later this year. And if all goes well, a substantial percentage of the nation’s local petrol consumption would be sourced in-country. The implication on forex, job creation and economic reflation is enormous, positively.
So what? Some Nigerians have asked this question. I won’t even tag them naysayers. There is a tincture of justification in their rage. But if such Nigerians did not rage against those who in the past brought the refineries – Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna – to ruins, they should not shudder at the celebratory dance of President Bola Tinubu and his laudation of Kyari and his team for achieving both the improbable and the impossible. After many years of redundancy, after several failed attempts to restream the moribund refineries with billions of dollars wasted in the fitful misadventures, someone has finally belled the cat. Such a person deserves a worthy pat on the back.
Little wonder, President Tinubu was gushing at the news of Warri refinery cracking back to life. Here, I salute the wisdom of Tinubu in keeping Kyari on his job. Against a crude and virulently malicious campaign to get Kyari out of the way, Tinubu ignored the mob and renewed Kyari’s tenure. One of the missteps of the past was a high and volatile turnover of leadership at the nation’s oil and gas behemoth. Commonsense management will tell you that job insecurity, at any level, is antithetical to sustainable planning for long term goals. Fixing a refinery, especially one that has been rendered comatose for many years (with some bolts and parts gone rusty) is not a one-hour flight. It’s a long-distance haul, requiring patience, precision and meticulous planning. Had Kyari been shoved aside to fit the script of his ‘enemies’ and political mandarins seeking to give ‘wise’ counsel to Tinubu, these refineries would never have come on stream. In the stereotypical Nigerian way, the new management would have reviewed the contract, reworked the papers and even re-awarded aspects of the contract to another corporate. Herein is the wisdom of Tinubu in retaining Kyari highly commendable.
As more Nigerians push for the refineries to attain 100 percent production efficiency, it is apposite to state what Kyari did differently. How did Kyari succeed where many others in the past failed woefully?
Dateline: October 21, 2021, NAF Conference centre, Abuja: Kyari was Special Guest of Honour at the All Nigeria Editors’ Conference. He spoke off the cuff on the subject, “Insecurity as it affects the Oil and Gas sector.” He showed a good grasp of the malaise that has afflicted the Nigerian oil and gas industry. He, however, raised a banner of hope that under his watch, “things are now done differently.” He said issues of refineries not working, crude oil theft, among others, are all traceable to the Nigerian elite which include the editors and everyone present at the event.
Kyari said that refineries had become comatose because the leadership elite had been doing things the wrong way over the years by relying on the builders of the refineries to come to Nigeria to fix the refineries. This model, he explained, does not happen anywhere because there are specialists whose business is to fix such refineries. They are not the builders but their job is to fix them when they break down. He called such companies EPCs (Engineering, Procurement and Construction). He gave an analogy: “You cannot ask Toyota to come down to Nigeria to fix your Toyota car. You give it to a technician. This is the error we have been repeating over the years.”
He credited President Muhammadu Buhari for giving his management the free hand to do the right thing. “This is the first time in history that NNPC and its subsidiaries are allowed to do things the way things should be done. Now, I can confirm to you that we have taken responsibility and we will fix the refineries. We have started the process, contractors have been mobilised to the Port Harcourt refinery, while the same process for Warri and Kaduna refineries will be concluded by the end of this year,” he told a now excited crowd of over 200 editors, representatives of several government agencies including security agencies and the private sector. He got a standing ovation afterwards.
Fast forward. Three years later at the twilight of 2024, two of the refineries had become operational once again all because Kyari walked a different path. It’s no magic. Just focussed, honest leadership. Kyari had been sincere as the helmsman of the NNPC even to his own hurt. The first NNPC honcho to open the ledger for public scrutiny. He did not only audit NNPC accounts, he got them published. And for once in ages, Nigerians got to know the assets, liabilities, strength and weaknesses of the company they own. Kyari has shown that he is a different breed of leader, a transformational leader who has used the same personnel at NNPC, in the same country, against the same headwinds to achieve milestones, some once thought unattainable.
Retaining Kyari, a man he did not appoint, is one of the smartest decisions of President Tinubu. Kyari bestrides two worlds in Nigeria’s oil and gas history. The pre-PIA (Petroleum Industry Act) and the post-PIA, a delicate transition that required experience, emotional intelligence, industry knowledge, and leadership savvy. If the transition was a kind of exam for him, the geologist, earth scientist of crude oil marketer of renown simply aced it. He proved one thing: Nigeria’s challenges can be surmounted by Nigerians.
He deserves all the Presidential plaudits and a green ribbon around his neck as a memorial of national honour.

By Ebuka Ukoh

As a Social Worker and Researcher, I feel for the soul of any country that oppresses its people. Therefore, I must lend my voice in condemnation of the unjust incarceration of Mr. Dele Farotimi, an activist lawyer and advocate for justice and human rights.

His plight exemplifies the fragility of individual freedom in the face of institutional power and exposes the deep imbalance in Nigeria’s social justice system. I never met Farotimi except through his works. So, I write this as a duty to Nigeria, my beloved country.

Barr. Farotimi’s arrest and subsequent prison detention are a chilling reminder of the systemic flaws that plague Nigeria. Here is a man whose life’s work has been a relentless pursuit of equity and accountability, yet he has become a victim of the very system he seeks to sanitise. His incarceration is emblematic of a broader issue: the silencing of dissent and the weaponisation of legal frameworks to stifle voices of reason and resistance.

The Chief Magistrate’s Court in Ado-Ekiti denied bail to Farotimi, in the suit filed by the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Kayode Egbetokun, for alleged cybercrime, including defaming the founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, Chief Afe Babalola, SAN. The presiding magistrate, Abayomi Adeosun, adjourned the ruling on the bail application to December 20. The police counsel, Samson Osobu, had earlier flawed the bail application as incomplete and not properly filed.

Farotimi’s arrest sparked public outrage. The 2023 presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, Omoyele Sowore, called for his immediate release in a tweet on his X handle.

“It is pertinent that the Nigerian police are notified that the institution cannot continue to be used to settle personal scores, and we, the citizens of Nigeria, would no longer tolerate such a situation,” Sowore stated. In the same vein, Femi Falana, SAN, condemned the arrest, describing it as illegal. He urged Farotimi’s unconditional release.

Farotimi’s plight is a tragic chapter in the narrative of injustice in Nigeria. In a society where power dynamics dictate access to justice, the scales are invariably tipped against those who dare to challenge the status quo. His incarceration is not just an attack on his person; it is an affront to the principles of democracy and the rule of law. When a nation’s legal and social institutions are co-opted to serve the interests of the powerful few, the very fabric of society begins to unravel.

I am committed to the dignity and worth of every individual. My profession encourages advocacy for the disenfranchised and oppressed. The treatment of Barr. Farotimi compels us to question: What does justice mean in a system where the powerful can manipulate outcomes to their favour? And what is our responsibility in the face of such systemic injustice?

The imprisonment of a crusader like Barr. Farotimi is a stark call to action. It highlights the need for comprehensive reform of Nigeria’s justice system, starting with measures to ensure transparency, accountability, and the independence of the judiciary. Advocacy organisations, civil society groups, and international bodies must join forces to demand his immediate release and the establishment of safeguards to prevent similar abuses in the future.

Moreover, we must challenge the cultural acceptance of oppression and silence. Farotimi’s incarceration is a litmus test for all Nigerians: Do we remain silent and complicit, or do we rise to defend the fundamental rights that underpin our humanity?

The soul of a nation is reflected in how it treats its people, especially those who speak truth to power. Today, Nigeria stands at a crossroads. Our choice will determine whether justice remains a fleeting ideal or becomes a tangible reality for all. As Barr. Farotimi endures this injustice, let us not allow his voice [and those of countless others] to be silenced. Let us, instead, amplify these voices in a united call for equity, justice, and the restoration of our collective dignity.

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere; the world is watching. May we rise to the occasion and ensure that the soul of Nigeria is not lost to the darkness of oppression but shines brightly as a beacon of hope and justice for generations to come.

• An alum of the American University of Nigeria, Yola, Mr. Ukoh is a PhD student at Columbia University, New York.